Overwhelming Thoughts / 'Beautiful You' Umbrella Walker

I am calling today's card my 'Beautiful You Umbrella Walker' and it has just the sentiment that I need for myself right now.  I've had so many medical issues come up lately, as arthritis continues to eat my body alive.  Usually, I can put it all to the back of my mind and play with puppies and grandkids or create in my studio, but this week my life was consumed with it all.  I had a medical type 'adventure' each and every day this entire last week.
Monday, we spent over $200. (of vacation money:( -on medical equipment that I'd need soon.  Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, I had doctors' appointments - 2 in Springfield and one in Decatur.  Friday, we had to go back to Springfield for a 2 hour class (which lasted 2 1/2 hours:( -on joint replacement.  I'm having surgery this month and again in December.  Both are pretty major and pretty much not fun.  In the meantime, no cortisone shots (to avoid risk of infections) so more pain.  I'm basically facing a very rough rest of 2017 and just cannot put into words how overwhelmed I feel.  I have no words!!! 
I do love my card and so let's focus on that today.  It has all my favorite elements --- Dapper Denim, Lemon Lime Twist (with paper piecing) and watercoloring.

Look closely in the photo below and you can see the punched piece peeking out.  Love it!

I love these colors together and, with the crisp white layer, they all just sing.

I found this photo on a new blog I discovered that I think I'm really going to like.  She likes to stamp and play with watercolors --- a kindred spirit!  Her blog is:
http://ramblingrosestudio.com/

August Classes:
August 14 -- Scraps and Prayers
     5:30-7:30 / $15.00 -- book box with cards project
Class registration is closed.  Class is full.

We'll be making this book box, along with the 3 cards below.

- Thanks for stopping by my corner of the blogging world.

- Come back often for more creative inspiration.

- Check back soon to check for class updates.

A 'Crafting Forever' Cute Little Sign for my Studio

I had this cute little sign back in my storage room for a while and had used it with products from our previous Annual Catalog.  I painted it to go with my updated decor in my studio.  I thought it could use a display update since the previous products I had on display in it had retired.  Our Crafting Forever stamp set was the perfect choice to use for this project.  This involved a lot of fussy cutting, but I think it was worth it.  Enjoy! 

My little sign has a pot of paint brushes, a cute little 3-D hanging sign, a colorful pen and 3 old fashioned clothespins (love!) wrapped with Baker's Twine.  The vintage clothespins and pot of paint brushes are totally me and the old fashioned pen reminds me of my daddy.  He loved this style pen and I used to spend many hours watching (and later helping) him fill the pens from various jars of ink.  He had blue, black, red and even green inks.  He also had a variety of rubber stamps --- the old kind with handles.  Hmmmmm ... that's a lot of 'genes' I inherited:)

I watercolored the images, using inks and my Aqua Painter.  The background paper (gorgeous Lemon Lime Twist!!!) is from our Eastern Elegance DSP (from our Eastern Palace Suite).  It's so much fun to create something like this that you can enjoy in your work space.  I hope you'll try creating something fun to enjoy in your space.  It puts a smile on your face and gets your creative juices flowing.

August Classes:
August 14 -- Scraps and Prayers
     5:30-7:30 / $15.00 -- a fabulous book box with cards project. 

THERE WILL BE NO SATURDAY STAMPERS CLASS IN AUGUST, DUE TO MY SURGERY.  CHECK BACK FOR SEPTEMBER DATES AND CLASSES. 
  

- Thanks for stopping by my corner of the blogging world.

- Come back often for more creative inspiration. 

Beautiful You Front Step Card

In today's post, I'm sharing one of the cards we'll be making at my Saturday Stampers class this week (July 15).  This card is called a Front Step card and, amazingly enough, it folds flat to fit a regular envelope.  I chose the gorgeous color story of Dapper Denim and Lemon Lime Twist ... again.  I love them together!

I watercolored the beautiful lady, using inks and my Aqua Painter.  I added a second oval behind her and watercolored it, to add extra color and dimension.  This layer is optional.

It is surprisingly easy to make this kind of card.  I'll share more after my class this week.

In the image above, you can see how I've folded it flat.  This really does fit into a regular envelope.

In the side view below, you can see how it's constructed.

This card was inspired by a wonderful lady on a blog I discovered recently ... Jan B, at JanB cards.
http://www.janbcards.com/

July Classes:
July 15 -- Saturday Stampers     1:00-4:00 / $20.00 -- fun techniques to create 6 cards.

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT JULY SPECIALS BY CLICKING ON THE IMAGES ON THE LEFT.  

August Classes:
August 14 -- Scraps and Prayers
     5:30-7:30 / $15.00 -- book box with cards project. 

THERE WILL BE NO SATURDAY STAMPERS CLASS IN AUGUST.  CHECK BACK FOR SEPTEMBER DATES AND CLASSES. 
 
BE SURE TO SIGN UP EARLY BECAUSE CLASS SIZES ARE LIMITED AND ARE FILLING UP FAST!!!

- Thanks for stopping by my corner of the blogging world.

- Come back often for more creative inspiration. 

Hello, Blues and Greens

As I mentioned, I love how Lemon Lime Twist and Berry Burst play together.  Well, Lemon Lime Twist looks great playing with blues, too.  I wanted to use some fun stems and leaves and decided the stamp from our Jar of Love set would look great for the project I had in my head.  I love how it turned out.

If you look closely, you'll see some tiny details that truly add a lot to my card.
- a teeny, tiny sliver of Dapper Denim, along side the Lemon Lime Twist DSP
- a tiny bow with white Baker's Twine
- I added some very faint 'dots' in light blue
- Glitter Enamel Glitter Dots (They are the perfect touch for most any card!)
- a fancy banner to say 'Hello'  (I scored each end and folded it back, adding Stampin' Dimensionals under the middle of the banner, to hold it up a little

I used the same stem and leaves stamp for the inside of my card and for the envelope.

I added more depth and dimension to the leaves by stamping off for some of them.  It gives you layers of colors and shades of colors.

I've always loved blues and greens together.  This is one of my favorites!

Don't forget:
I posted the winners from our party in my previous post.  If you haven't looked, be sure to check them out.  The prizes will be in your bags when you pick up your orders.  They're already getting them ready to ship!!!  Yay!

NEWS FLASH:
At this point, it looks like I can hold all my classes before a surgery I'm having later in July.  My other surgery will be in August.  I will be able to have the Scraps and Prayers class, but had to cancel the Saturday Stampers (for August 19).  I'm planning on teaching both classes in September and will keep you posted if I need more time to recover.  Be sure to keep checking my blog to get all the up to date news.
MORE GOOD NEWS:
By popular demand, I'm changing our August Scraps and Prayers project to sharing with you how to make my book box.  That was a huge hit at the party.  I look forward to sharing this!
More good news --- Several of the cards that people especially likes were the tri-shutter, the 'hugs' card and the front step card.  These will all be included in our July Saturday Stampers class!!!

BE SURE TO SIGN UP EARLY BECAUSE CLASS SIZES ARE LIMITED AND ARE FILLING UP FAST!!!

July News Coming Up Next ... Stay Tuned:)

- Thanks for stopping by my corner of the blogging world.

- Come back often for more creative inspiration. 

A Mini Album from Coasters

Today, I have a cute little coaster album to share with you.  We made this at my Scraps and Prayers class a few days ago.  It starts with 7 coasters.  You can add photos and/or journaling to both sides.

Here's a close-up of the front cover.

This is one side of all the coasters, opened.

... and the other sides.

As you can see, all the papers coordinate beautifully.  I love this Eastern Elegance DSP.

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

Thanks and Hello, Friday Night Cards - Sneak Peek 2 and 3

Today, I have 2 cards to share with you, along with a video for you to enjoy.  I hope your weekend is going well.  My first card features Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry and Whisper White, a very crisp and clean look.  I even used a little scrap of Bermuda Bay Baker's Twine for added texture.  We'll be making this card at my Friday Night Cards class on August 9.  

With the help of the Mosaic punch, this card goes together rather quickly.  At the class, I'll show you a quick way to make the 'flag' piece.  I punched 3 of each mosaic design, so I could add some to the inside of the card too.

The second card is one I showed you recently.  It's here to remind you that we'll be making it at my class, too, AND learning my new technique with our new striped embossing folder.

A nice thing about taking a class is that you get to enjoy social time with friends and nourish your creative spirit.  Yes, you can stamp at home and I hope you often do so.  At a class, I have all the footwork done for you --- supplies gathered, designs created, and all materials cut and ready to go.  Also, it gives you the opportunity to use new stamp sets and new products.  Sometimes, it's just nice to sit back and have the initial work done for you.  I hope you'll join us for a Friday Night Cards class soon.  Remember to get a friend to sign up, too, so you can each make the bonus card.

Before I go, here's a little video for you.  Just click below.  Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=CqY2MUi893Y

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.