Retired BNF #33

It's Black Friday and I decided to stay in my pajamas and relax. Everybody's still asleep so I was able to take my time drinking my coffee this morning. 

I realize it's been a long time since I posted a card using retired stamp sets. This stamp set was one of the very first ones I purchased from Stampin' Up! when I became a demonstrator thirteen years ago. It's called Sweet Seasons and I really love all four images that came in this set. It has an image of either a boy or a girl of four different seasons. Even back then I enjoyed coloring so I knew I had to have them. Over the years, I have acquired many stamp sets and let go of many, too. However, there are still quite a few that I know are keepers such as this set. Anyway, I am hoping I can find time to dust off my favorite retired stamps and use them. 

This card was so simple and easy to create. I just stamped the image on a watercolor paper and colored using my ink pads and Aqua Painter. It brought me much needed peace and refuge. 
Thank you for stopping by! Enjoy the rest of you Thanksgiving  weekend. 

Sheltering Tree

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I've been lazy all morning although I have managed to make five Christmas cards. I just chose not to do any chores around the house. My husband played golf today, so I thought that I should do what I love to do as well. I want to share this card with you created with the Sheltering Tree (137163) stamp set. I love this set and have found it very versatile. I think I have made cards for Valentine's Day, Christmas and Thanksgiving cards with it. It really is a must have to add to your collection. 

I stamped the tree first in Early Espresso then used sponge daubers to add Tangerine Tango, Crushed Curry and Pear Pizzazz ink on the branches of leaves then used the leaves image all over by using Rich Razzleberry and Cherry Cobbler ink pads.

It's hard to see on the photo but I added drops of glaze or glossy accents randomly on the leaves just all over to add another dimension to the image. It actually turned out really nice. 

Well, that's all for today, folks. I'm going to get ready to go to my mom's for our Thanksgiving dinner. Have fun and be safe shopping tomorrow!

Count My Blessings

Sometimes, a girl just needs to take a random day off to chill, to do whatever makes her happy and to not have to deal with the bullshit of work. That was me today. I kept myself occupied, but it was my kind of busy. My daughter was in school, my husband played golf and I was alone. Then I picked-up my daughter from school, went back home and took a long nap. What a gift today was! I did a lot of watercoloring and made eight cards. The whole time trying to come up with ideas how I can afford to just do this...how I can quit my job and make this work. Well, a girl can dream...Smile.

I just love this Count My Blessings stamp set and the Painted Autumn Designer Series Paper. It's definitely in a Must Hoard category. Haha.

I stamped the image using Versamark ink and then black embossing powder, heat embossed. After that I used aqua markers and ink pads to color. The clear wink of Stella made a difference by adding shimmer after the coloring.

Well, that's all folks. This weekend is going to be very busy, my daughter's Band Review, my son's coming home and my sister and nephew are coming to visit. I made a few fall cards today - hopefully I can post them before this month ends. Oh well, happy weekend, everyone! The products used to create this card is below. 

Painted Autumn Designer Series Paper

$11.00

Count My Blessings Wood-Mount Stamp Set

$28.00

Count My Blessings Clear-Mount Stamp Set

$20.00

Lemon Lime Twist 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

$8.00

Lemon Lime Twist Classic Stampin' Pad

$6.50

Cajun Craze 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

$8.00

Cajun Craze Classic Stampin' Pad

$6.50

Watercolor Paper

$5.00

Versamark Pad

$8.50

Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush

$8.00

Aqua Painters

$17.00

Heat Tool (Us And Canada)

$30.00

Snail Adhesive

$7.00

Stampin' Dimensionals

$4.00

Bone Folder

$7.00

Simply Scored

$30.00

Stampin' Trimmer

$30.00

Table by StampinBuddy. Try it FREE.

Halloween 2017

It's still Halloween, so I can still post these cards to share with everyone. My life as usual has been excruciatingly hectic that I didn't even get to send out my halloween cards. I'm always busy as it is, but more so around the holiday season. I'm beginning to feel really burnout that I just want to quit it all. I want to quit the job, the cards classes, everything. I'm done! I want to go back to Paris! 

Spooky Cat bundle (146014), Spooky Night DSP (144610), Classic Label punch (141491), Black and Pumpkin Pie cardstocks

I CASED this card from Tami White. The technique is called "masking". I used Seasonal Chums bundle, aqua painters, basic black, pumpkin pie and old olive ink pads and retired stamps set for the spider and web.

Well, that is all for today. Thank you for stopping by. Happy Halloween!

Graveyard Gate

It has been very hectic since we got back from our trip. Sad as it is for me to admit, it only took a few days back to the office for all the joy of Europe to dissipate. When I look at the mini Eiffel Tower statue on my desk, I have to remind myself that I was just there and that one day soon, I will go back. I loved Paris and one of my favorites was when we went to Shakespeare & Company by the Notre Dame Church. I could easily spend all day upstairs or at the next door Cafe reading. 

Oh well, I want to share this really cute Halloween card created using the Graveyard Gate bundle from the 2017 Holiday catalog. I love the Detailed thinlit gate dies. It was a little challenging to cut out all the pieces with my Big Shot at first. I found the Precision Base Plate (139684) really helpful. Definitely worth the investment. I can't wait to CASE all the adorable projects on Pinterest. 

I achieved the background by using a circle punched mask then sponging around it with Wisteria Wonder, Pumpkin pie and Pear Pizzazz ink pads.

This is all I have for today. Thank you for stopping by. The list of products used to create this card is below. 

Graveyard Gate Wood-Mount Bundle

$54.00

Graveyard Gate Clear-Mount Bundle

$46.75

Big Shot

$110.00

Precision Base Plate

$25.00

Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

$8.00

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

$9.00

Pumpkin Pie 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

$8.00

Rhinestone Basic Jewels

$5.00

Stamping Sponges

$3.50

Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad

$7.00

Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad

$6.50

Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin' Pad

$6.50

Wisteria Wonder Classic Stampin' Pad

$6.50

Fine-Tip Glue Pen

$7.00

Snail Adhesive

$7.00

Stampin' Dimensionals

$4.00

Table by StampinBuddy. Try it FREE.

Painted Harvest

I was surprised that it was a little chilly when I woke up this morning. I could almost smell fall, my most favorite season. I have been very preoccupied lately packing for our very first trip to Europe to celebrate our mom's 65th birthday. I've been a wreck trying to check off as many things on my to-do list before I go, while my mind wanders off already to an almost ten day out-of-the office and out of my very mundane daily routines vacation. Yep, that's right. I want to vacate this life and see what's on that side of the world. More than anything I am so excited to spend time with my three favorite women: my mom and two younger sisters. I cannot remember the last time the four of us shared a room together or have spent that much time in each other's company. May we not fight a lot. Haha. 

I remember almost fifteen years ago when we still lived in Juneau, we visited California and took the kids to Disneyland. That particular trip was the one thing that really convinced us to leave Alaska. Sure, we'd toyed with the idea to get out, but that one act gave us the push. It opened our eyes to other possibilities and made us realize that simply put, it's okay to see what the rest of United States could offer. The rest is history. 

Anyway, I would like to share with you this card created with the Painted Harvest stamp set. I love sunflowers, just the mere sight of them make my heart happy. I used the three-time stamping technique. It was very easy and simple to create. 

That's all for now. The list of products used to create this card is below.  Thank you for stopping by. 

Painted Harvest Photopolymer Stamp Set

$21.00

Early Espresso 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

$8.00

Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad

$6.50

Very Vanilla 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

$9.00

Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad

$6.50

Peekaboo Peach Classic Stampin' Pad

$6.50

Garden Green Classic Stampin' Pad

$6.50

Snail Adhesive

$7.00

Bone Folder

$7.00

Simply Scored

$30.00

Stampin' Trimmer

$30.00

Clear Block D

$8.50

Clear Block C

$7.00

Clear Block H

$8.50

Clear Block B

$6.00

Table by StampinBuddy. Try it FREE.