In the Bullrush

At times when creating a card with a lot of white space one might think the card is very simple and basic. Yet, once you begin looking at the finer details you suddenly realize the time put into the final creation.

Today's card does have a lot of white space but let me tell you all the smaller details still took up quite a bit of time.  It was well worth it though as the result is a well balanced, eye catching card.

Several tools were used just create the elements on this card:

• die cutting and embossing machine
• embossing folder -Woodgrain (retired)
• dies - Catch of the Day
• ink - Memento Black, Soft Suede, Pool Party, Smoky Slate
• stamp set - Best Catch
• Stampin' Blends - Old Olive, Smoky Slate, Calypso Coral
• cardstock - Smoky Slate, Mossy Meadow, Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Vellum
• adhesive - SNAIL adhseive
• Stampin' Dimensionals
• Stampin' Sponges
• marker - Early Espresso

One of the fun things for me when using coordinating stamp sets and dies is being able to stamp and colour a multitude of images, die cutting them and then settling in to create fun little works of art.

What is your favourite masculine set to play with?

Until next time.

Margaret 

Magnolia Note Cards

No one ever said that cards had to be more than one layer.  If you are a beginner stamper you can start with a few simple supplies.

Today's design will show you how you can make cards with very few items. (note: I did use one sentiment from another set but you can easily make a set using only the sentiments from the Good Morning Magnolia stamp set.)

Supplies used:

• Note Cards & Envelopes(used here are retired Crumb Cake) 
• current available colours are Whisper White (131527), Very Vanilla (144236), Scalloped Note Cards (149610)
• Good Morning Magnolia stamp set (149298)
• Clear Block F (118483) & D (118485)
• Soft Suede Ink (147115)

Simple steps to create:

1. Fold Note Card in half
2. Ink up large magnolia image using Soft Suede ink and stamp on card front
3. Ink up sentiment you wish to use in Soft Suede ink and stamp on card front.

That's it and don't they look great! 

No one said you needed to break the bank to make cards :D

Until next time!
Margaret 

Suite Magnolia

The products in the Magnolia Collection are sweet! The items each on their own are beautiful but when combined together to create projects, the end results are stunning.

Today's featured card uses:

• Magnolia Lane Specialty Large Cards & Envelopes
• Magnolia Lane Memories & More Card Pack
• Good Morning Magnolia stamp set
• Magnolia Memory Dies

I could have used the first two products with some adhesive and Stampin' Dimensionals and still created a beautiful card but I love adding extra details.

I used the stamp set and Soft Suede ink to stamp the large magnolia image in the top right and bottom left corners of the card.

I stamped the smaller magnolia image using Versamark ink on Vellum Cardstock, added White Embossing Powder and heat set. Then I used Stampin' Blends to colour on the backside of the Vellum for a little depth and dimension.

Of course I just have to share with you a photo of the card with the envelope because the envelopes have a simple touch of detail as well.

With all the projects I have already shared using the Magnolia Collection, has this made it on your wish list yet?

Until next time.

Margaret 

A Mothers Love

Okay, so I am going to do this to you two days in a row!   After this card, I am done sharing Mother's Day cards with you (for awhile at least).

Yesterday I shared with you the card I made for my mom for Mother's Day and today I am sharing a card that I made for my oldest daughter.  She became a mom on Christmas Eve 2017 and she works hard to ensure her little guy is cared for, loved, nurtured, fed and safe.  She is a wonderful mom and I wanted to be sure she knew how proud we are of her.

I spent nearly 2 full hours creating this card for her because I wanted it to be just right! From the cardstock colour on each layer to the placement of each Pink Pearl.

There are many small details that you may not even notice at first glance but lets take a walk through this card and have a look.

So the very first thing I did was stamp, colour and die cut the large magnolia image from the Good Morning Magnolia stamp set. The outline was stamped using Soft Suede ink.  Then I used my Stampin' Blends to colour in the flower.  If you're not aware, Stampin' Blends are alcohol based which means you need to stamp your outline in a waterbased ink so that the lines don't disappear while colouring.

I used a few colours (both light and dark Blends) to achieve this result:

• Petal Pink 
• Old Olive
• Crumb Cake
• Daffodil Delight

Now I won't lie, I don't feel I'm the best at colouring images, but I am super proud of how well the flower turned out.

My next step was deciding on the card base colour.  I chose Crumb Cake as it is such a perfect neutral colour and helps tie in the Crumb Cake branch in the image.  I added a second, slightly smaller layer of Crumb Cake cardstock but for this layer, I added some embossed line details.  Do you know, it has been so long since I used my Simply Scored tool that I had to check to see if it was still available for purchase in the catalogue!  I pulled that bad boy out and used it to create the line details.

I had planned to use the gorgeous Magnolia Lane Designer Series Paper but I found it too busy or not the right balance of pattern and colour to go with the magnolia image.  Back to the drawing board I went and decided to try out a few different colour cardstocks, embossed using the Subtle Texture Dynamic Embossing Folder.  I picked the Petal Pink as the right fit for this card.

Next was ribbon and while this particular ribbon has been retired for years, I really wanted to use the old Victorian Lace (I believe that was the name of this particular design).  Next, I took 1/8" braided Linen Ribbon and pulled apart the braid, leaving the ribbon looking like loose threads.  I adhered these bits under the die cut magnolia image for an added vintage touch.

Of course I wanted to add a Mother's Day Sentiment so I stamped the Happy Mother's Day from the set Tea Together using Memento Black ink and die cutting using the Stitched Shapes Framelits. 

The final touch on this card was the Share What You Love Pearls. Soft and delicate, not overwhelming.

I don't tend to make such "detailed" cards, shall we say and while this card took me a couple hours to make, I am so proud of the finished product.

What is the longest amount of time you have spent making one card?

Until next time.
Margaret 

Mother's Day... celebrating my Mom!

How blessed we are to celebrate our Mother! While those of us who still have a mother in our lives are fortunate to spend time with them, I also feel for those who have lost their mom and struggle on this day.

My husband and I took my parents out for a nice dinner on Saturday evening.  Really after nearly 80 years, what does your mom really need other than her childrens time?

Now since I love making cards, and even though my mother by her own admission to me in the past told me that she does not keep my cards, I sat down Saturday morning to create a special card just for her.

Now I don't really want to tempt or tease you with products from the new 2019-2020 Stampin' Up! catalogue just yet, I also don't want to wait a few weeks just to show you Mothers Day cards. So don't get too excited over these products yet because I still have plenty of projects to share with you using retiring items.

For this card, I used the Magnolia Lane Memories and More Card Pack.  I was going to use the Magnolia Lane Card and Envelope pack as well but couldn't bear the thought of covering up the silver outline on the card base.

The leaf layer that is attached to the Whisper White Large Memories and More card base is actually printed Vellum!  This paper is sooooo pretty.  The images were simple black outlines, so I added colour to the leaves by using Old Olive Stampin' Blends.

You may have noticed that I do like to use the stamp set Well Said that coordinates with the die set Well Written.  These products are available in the current Occasions catalogue as a bundle at 10% off. Just a reminder that while these products will be carried over to the new catalogue, they will no longer be available as a bundle at the discount, so if these are on your wish list, I recommend ordering them now ;)

I stamped Mother's Day and die cut the word Happy and added them to one of the smaller designs from the Magnolia Lane Memories and More card pack, added a few of the retiring Share What You Love bling. Now I love ribbon, so I added a little hint of white ribbon peaking out from under the top layer before adhering to the card base using Stampin' Dimensionals.

Such a pretty card and quite quick to make as well!

Are these Magnolia themed products calling out your name?

Until next time.
Margaret 

Friendship....A Million Little Things

Throughout life we make friends all the time and while some friendships are fleeting for whatever reason, others last a lifetime even when you don't get to chat or visit as much as you'd like.  My friendship with Angela is one of the latter.

I met Angela October 2008. She had responded to a newspaper ad I ran about a World Cardmaking Day event I was hosting. She was relatively new to the 'area' (she lives 45 minutes away from me) and was thrilled to find a Stampin' Up! demonstrator close by.  The moment I met Angela in person I knew I had found a new friend for life.  Her presence alone and beautiful smile just draw you in and you feel God's love emanating from her.

It has been a bit since I have had a chance to visit with Angela and being the bad friend that I am, I failed to send her a birthday card yet again this year, even after I promised myself I would make sure she received one this time!

I knew it was time to make her a very special card to let her know what her friendship means to me. While I typically struggle with creating a watercolour wash background, I gave it yet another whirl and was thrilled with the result.

Now if you haven't seen the Butterfly Beauty dies in the Occasions Catalogue, they are absolutely beautiful and while I could have die cut two different images that layer over top of each other, I wanted to create a 'shadow image' instead by die cutting in black only.

The card needed some texture and a bit of bedazzle, so I pulled out the Shimmer Embossing Paste and the handy dandy masks that allow you to add designs to your cardfront and added just a bit. I wrapped Whisper White Bakers Twine around the cardfront several times and tied in a simple bow. I stamped my sentiment "Our friendship isn't one big thing" in Memento Black ink and die cut using Stitched Shapes dies.

The top layer is attached to a black matte which in turn has then been adhered to my Old Olive base.  I added a layer of Whisper White cardstock on the inside to make it easier to write on. I also stamped the latter half of the cards sentiment which was "it's a million little things".

I mailed the card off and while Angela doesn't live all that far away it took nearly 2 weeks before she received it.  I was itching to post the card but didn't want to do that until I knew she had it.
 
Until next time.
Margaret 

Entertainment wants to Impress, Hospitality Wants to Bless.

Last week a co-worker stopped by my desk to chat and she mentioned a saying she had heard on a podcast that she wanted to remember. She determined that if she shared with someone right away, she had a better chance at remembering it. The saying really is meaningful and the moment she shared it with me I knew that I wanted to create a special piece of artwork that could be framed and hung on her wall to remind her of the saying.

"Entertainment wants to impress, Hospitality wants to bless". 

This was the saying she heard on a podcast by Jen Wilkin from Flower Mound Bible Study.  The point of this saying is to remind us not to stress over having a clean home when visitors pop by. I think it comes natural to us to want our home to be neat, tidy and clean because we worry about how others perceive us.  However, when people come to visit, it is not to see the state of our home but rather to spend time with us.  Hospitality is about our guests, sharing our time and ensuring we are caring for their needs, not our own needs.

I was very excited to begin work on this project and Saturday I focused on designing and creating a wall art piece that would be a gentle reminder not to sweat having a clean house for guests.

I won't deny it, I did use some recently retired Designer Series Paper that had been available during Sale-A-Bration but I think you might agree that it adds a beautiful touch of colour.

While I could have hand stamped each letter to create the saying I did not have the style lettering available in my stamp collection, so instead I created the saying in a Word file using fonts that I believed would help make the words stand out.

You also notice around the outside of the center matte that I added some butterflies. These were punched out using the Butterfly Duet punch. I'm so happy I purchased this punch!

While I forgot to take a photo of my packaging, I used the retired set Swallowtail to stamp butterflies over Kraft Paper which I used to wrap the frame in.

My co-worker was thrilled with the gift . My heart is happy that God has blessed me with the ability to be creative with paper and share my passion with others, if but in a small way.

Until next time.
Margaret