11/24/2008

Cardinal Christmas!!

Here is a card I did for a swap last month with a Christmas theme. It may just be my Christmas card. And yes, I have gone insane to consider coloring ALL those cards-our list tops 100! I'm afraid to get the list out and take a look just yet! Every year seems like we add a few but can't take very many off!

Aside from the coloring this didn't take too long. I cut the Naturals Ivory cardstock with the Top Note Die. Next I stamped the Cardinal in Jet Black Stazon near the bottom & the Merry Christmas above it. The card base is Riding Hood Red. The Cardinal is colored with Riding Hood Red using the classic ink and a blender pen. I went over him lightly once, then a second time on the head/back/tail areas to make it darker. The leaves are Mellow Moss done the same way, lighter once then darker on one side. Branch is Close to Cocoa, feet & beak are More Mustard. I added a piece of the 1-1/4 Riding Hood Red/Very Vanilla Grosgrain ribbon (from the Holiday Mini Catalog) underneath the Top Note and & Vintage Brad on each side point. Oh, it's hard to see but I stamped the solid branch from the set on the Riding Hood Red in Riding Hood Red on each of the four corners. Sorry my scanner is still toast & the camera doesn't pick it up well.

Enjoy! Hopefully I'll be back soon, but no promises. This time of year is always so busy! I started the new job last Friday and it went well. Lots to learn. The days at home go sooooo fast though-I have yet to get very much accomplished! Thanks for stopping by!

11/08/2008

Still here!!

Wow, where has the time gone? Lots of things have changed around here since I posted last! We were enjoying nice warm fall weather until the last 3 days. It's now cold and windy. Not near as cold as it can be, but a definite difference from last week! Last weekend was warm, sunny, light wind in the low 70's. Today is overcast, very windy, high in the 30's. YIKES!!

Here is something else that's happened-Harvest! This was taken here a week ago Wednesday. I love to see the farming going on around here! It only happens a couple days a year. The corn crop was great this year due to our wet spring/summer. Soybeans did OK but not as well as the corn due to hot/dry conditions in July & August. We usually have about half corn and half beans, rotating crops each year. Corn is tough on the soil so we only do it every other year! Didn't know you were going to get farming lesson from a stamping blog did you?


We now have hot wire fence around this field and 8 head of cattle wandering around in there. This is right in front of the house. We can also see traffic going down the road for the first time in months. And we'll be able to see the deer hunters who are attempting to shoot from the road. I wish I were joking but I'm not. It's a real problem we have here. We have a great stand of trees through the middle of our property that is the perfect home for deer! We do have the number handy for the Game Warden!

OK, on to stamping! Time to share club samples from October-which seems like forever ago! Below is a swap card I received that I thought was really cute. I don't like to copy cards exactly, and I didn't have the same paper so I changed it up.


The swap card is by Cherri Gustafson. She used the Frosty Day DSP paper. My version is below using the Holiday Treasures dotted paper. Base color is Baha Breeze. Other colors are Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip & Old Olive. Mr. Twigster is stamped in Basic Brown and colored with Blender pens. We used 2-way glue to add Dazzling Diamonds glitter. The Curly Label Punch Bundle was also used. We stamped the Merry Christmas stamp in Ruby Red and punched it out. We stamped again in Baha Breeze and cut out the Merry Christmas. We attached it to the Ruby Red one with Dimensionals.


Next is a sample using the Top Note die. Again I received inspiration from a swap received. This one was created by Kathy Morgan and her version is below. The DSP she used is also from the Holiday Treasures pack. She used Always Artichoke for her base, Riding Hood Red behind her Top Note, wide Old Olive grosgrain ribbon, and a felt flower with Rhinestone brad.

I stayed within the same paper pack, but varied the colors a little. I used an Old Olive card base. I used a piece of DSP under the top note and a narrow Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon. I used a Baha snowflake from the Little Felt Flurries set in the Holiday Mini Catalog.

The possibilities are really endless with a pack of DSP! Each piece is double sided, and the colors all coordinate!
One more change to mention-I have a new job! I'm finishing up this next week at the local State Farm office and will be starting the following week at the Edward Jones office. I will only be working 3 days a week but it will be challenging work as it's a very busy office! I've done that type of work before so I'm excited to be getting back in that field. I intend to use my days off to get my house caught up (cleaned, organized..) and to do some more stamping! Most days now it's really hard to find time!!

If you haven't signed up for my newsletter (on the left in the sidebar), please do! I'm sending out a newsletter at least monthly with all news SU! You won't want to miss it as it may contain specials you can only get through me! Also, don't forget to tell your family and friends what you want for Christmas this year! They can contact me directly to order goodies for you, or they can order online.

Thanks all for stopping by!