TST #148 Woodgrain Accent

Well only one more sleep before good old Saint Nick comes visiting.  Don't know about your household, but with work and all of the other obligations things have been very hectic around my house.  So hectic in fact that I almost forgot to post my card for this weeks challenge at Try Stampin on Tuesday.

This week our sketch challenge adds the extra element of wood accent or woodgrain to the card.

I decided not to incorporate the three little extra embellishments in the top and bottom corners.

I started with a piece of DSP that I had on hand that was full of woodgrain.  Then by accident I picked up a dabber that had red not chocolate chip on it so that is why the sponging appears to have a reddish hue to it.

Next I chose the Lovely as a Tree set which was my very first SU set purchased.  I haven't used it in a while and again with the woodgrain theme I thought it only fitting.  Butchers twine was wrapped around the middle and then the star accents were added.  

This will make a great masculine birthday card, which I know I will need in the near future.  

I hope you like what I have come up with.  Now it's your turn.  Hop on over to the TST site and see what the other great Designers have in store for you.

Lastly this will probably be my last post for this year and because of that I would like to personally thank everyone that has taken the time to leave me a comment on my blog.  I wish you all and your families a Very Merry Christmas or whatever you may celebrate at this time of year, along with a very Safe and Happy New Year!  See you in 2014!!

Nancy

TST #122 Celebration of Life...

Last week was a busy one for me and I didn't get to stamp at all.  You see I had my Dad living with me and trying to help him through the transition from his own home to a Retirement home. He did great with us.  We were able to bring his blood sugars into line and he was getting exercise and healthy meals.  Now he has moved into a Retirement facility just minutes from us. This facility is the best of the best.  My take on the place is that it is a Cruise Ship that never leaves port!    We weren't too sure how he was going to receive it all, but to our amazement we went last night, his first day there, and he was so excited.  He even told us that he would not even think about leaving!  Big sigh of relief for us, and now we know that he is safe and going to be looked after in the manner that he should be.

Now back to business.

Today at Try Stampin on Tuesday we have another great sketch challenge for you.

I decided to make my Dad's new surroundings a Celebration of Life.  With Lovely As a Tree I used the tall evergreen to represent my Dad.  Trees take so long to grow and mature and at 87 years, he has definitely grown!  Then rather than using the black around the entire piece to accent it I used two small strips.  These strips represent my Brother and I.  We are the ones that are here to look after him.

The sentiment was one from Cloud 9 Design called Simple Thoughts - Happy Birthday.  Even though it is an overall birthday stamp set I though that the sentiment was perfect for my Dad.

I finished off the inside of the card with the pine tree again stamped just to the bottom off the card.

Dad you mean so much to us and we are all so glad you are happy with your new surroundings.  See you soon...

Now it's time for you to show us what you can do with the sketch.  Do you have a special person that you would like to celebrate?  Need more inspiration?  Hop on over to TSOT blog and check out the other great Designers.

Thanks for stopping by today.  

Nancy

Your comments mean so much to me, so please remember to leave one.

Masculine Monday 4/6/12

Well as you know for the past four weeks my Masculine Monday cards have featured the "Lovely as a Tree" stamp set, so I figured why not just one more card.  So here I am with another idea using this great set.

This time I embossed the stamp set and and then sponged around the embossed areas then finished off the card front with a simple ribbon and knot.

Hope you enjoy.

Nancy

I like to know what you think, so please leave me a comment.

Masculine Monday 28/5/12

Masculine Monday once again.  Today I have a card for you that could be used as a masculine card or a general card.  This was created for a friend of my Daughters who was gracious enough to pick her up at the airport.

Can you tell I really love the "Lovely As a Tree" stamp set.  This is four weeks in a row that I have shown you cards made with this set.

Hope you enjoy.

Nancy

I like to know what you think, so please leave me a comment.

Masculine Monday 21/05/12

First I would like to start off by wishing all our fellow Canadian's out there a Happy Victoria Day!  Long weekends...you got to love them!

Today I have the final card of three that I created using Lovely as a Tree.  These cards as I mentioned a few weeks ago were created for my Dad's Birthday. Today's card was created using the square lattice embossing folder for the background and then tree was stamped onto a piece of whisper white after I had sponged in a skyline.

Below are all three cards that were made for his special day.  I think I see a pattern here, don't you?!

Hope you enjoy.

Nancy

I like to know what you think, so please leave me a comment.

Masculine Monday 14/5/12

Thanks for dropping by today.  I have another card using Lovely as a Tree. The background was stamped  using chocolate chip ink but stamped off first before applying it to the CS.  The tree was inked up using Old Olive, stamped off and then using an Old Olive marker I added in highlighted areas, coloured the grass and then with a Chocolate Chip marker I inked the tree trunk.  After huffing on the stamp to remoisten it I stamped it onto the CS.  The overall effect was very subtle yet dramatic. The envelop was created using my Scoreboard and the backside was stamped using the leaf stamp.

I hope you enjoy.

Nancy

I like to hear what you think, so please leave me a comment.

Masculine Monday 7/5/12 - Make a Wish

Didn't have much time over the past few days for a new card on Masculine Monday so I went through my library and found this one that I had made for my Dad's Birthday.

When I made this one I made a series of three in total all using Lovely as a Tree.  Each card used a different stamp from that set.

The envelop was made to accompany the card using the MS Scoreboard.




Hope you enjoy.

Nancy

I like to know what you think, so please leave me a comment.

TST #57

When I saw this weeks Try Stampin on Tuesday sketch I knew right away I would be using Lovely as a Tree.

It could be used as a masculine card, but I needed a Thank You for friends who had us over for a sprimp boil while we were in Florida.  I thought it would be just the thing with me being from up north and them from Florida.  No palm trees up north.

I stamped the tree by first loading up the stamp with Daffodil Delight ink and then lightly brushed over the yellow with the Old Olive.  By using the Daffodil Delight first you don't dirty up the pad with the Old Olive.  Always start with your lightest colour when loading up a stamp.

Once I had the card completed I thought it needed just a little bit more so I spritzed it using Chocolate Chip.

Your turn now.  Let's see what you can do!

Hope you enjoy!

Nancy

I love to hear what you think, so please leave me a comment.

Masculine Monday 20/2/2012

The title for this Mondays card is not my idea, but one that I saw from Francis Martin or "Frenchie".  So thanks Frenchie for challenging me to come up with Masculine cards on a weekly basis.

So often it is difficult to come up with masculine cards and when I saw her Masculine Monday card last week I thought, great idea and so now every Monday I will post a card with a Masculine Flare to it.

Today's card actually started out without an idea in mind.  Then after I had made the card I saw a challenge and thought OMG my card is almost like the sketch, but when I went to post it to the site I noticed that there was a card there already with the same principle to it so thought good idea just too late.

Lovely as a Tree is one of my favourite stamp sets and I use it a lot for masculine cards. 

Hope you stop back each Monday for a new Masculine Card to add to your collection.

Hope you enjoy!

Nancy

TST#43

CherylAnn has been after me to try the "Try Stampin on Tuesday" challenges for a bit now and I had an extra 5 minutes yesterday so I came up with this quick and simple card to go alone with the sketch challenge.

Using plain white CS I scored in one inch from every edge of the card and then made a second line 1/8" to the right of that line.  Then I cut two pieces of CS from scraps of Chocolate Chip CS and DSP.  Using Lovely as a Tree stamp I stamped using Old Olive and then took my Chocolate Chip marker to accent the tree trunk.  The top section with the tree has been elevated using dimensionals.

Clean, simple and fast to produce if you need a card in a hurry.

Hope you enjoy.

Nancy

Picture? or Picture Frame?

My first post is one that comes from being a Guest Designer on Stampin Fun and Friends - Christmas Dreams Session.

My contribution to the Christmas Dreams was the Thank You Card.  This thank you card has a little bit of a twist to it.  It can either just be a thank you or you can add a photo and make it a photo frame that can be used over and over. 







I encourage you to check out Stampin Fun and Friends.  You never know where your next inspiration will come from.  We have lots to share with you.  Try the challenges and don't forget the chats.  I have made some great new friends from Australia, New Zealand and of course the USA.  I'm certain you will enjoy their work as well.   Sign up now for our next session "Sweet Spring" starting in February.  See you there.

Nancy