Cards to Welcome Autumn

I googled "words to describe autumn" and found a bountiful list. Bountiful is even one of the words, so is orange, colorful, brown, and golden. There is also pumpkin, leaf, foliage, and maple. These words are classic fall vocabulary, and I present my cards depicting these spectacular (another word) adjectives.

Pumpkins by Impression Obsession, colored with water color pencils and a blender pen;
vintage frame dies by Penny Black; leaf die by Hero Arts; sentiment by Simon Says Stamp

Pumpkins are heat embossed with "cinnamon spice" embossing powder;
stitched detail added by My Favorite Things; background sentiment by Simon Says Stamp.

In the card below I used again the Autumn Icon Fancy dies by Hero arts, the Autumn Greetings by Simon Says Stamp, and pumpkins by Impression Obsession. Links are above in the first caption.

Fall offers plenty of inspiration for cards, but, bless your heart Georgia, the adjectives I'm looking for are: brisk, chilly, frosty, and wondrous!  

Le Tour Cards

Every July, for almost 20 years now, I have watched the Tour de France. I justify watching as much of the three week event as I can by using the time to work on card projects. Not that anyone needs to justify watching the Tour de France or making cards, though! 

These cards celebrate the four coveted jerseys earned during the race. The yellow jersey is worn by the best overall cyclist – the one who completes the 2,000 plus miles in the shortest time. The polka dot jersey goes to the king of the mountains, the wearer of the green jersey has the most sprint points, and the white jersey is awarded to the best young rider. My cards will certainly celebrate four of my friends, whether or not they have ever ridden a time trial. 

Bicycle and sentiment by Tim Holtz; "road" by Pink and Main

Bicycle by Tim Holtz; sentiment die by Simon Says Stamp,
circle dies by MFT Stamps 

Bicycle by Darkroom Door; sentiment by Fiskars;
embossed background by Stampin' Up. 

Congratulations to Geraint Thomas; Julian Alaphilippe; 

Peter Sagan, and Pierre Latour.

Vive Le Tour! 

Adirondack Chair Cards

Five months after my husband and I began dating he went on vacation with his family to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. To my surprise he brought me back an Adirondack chair from a local shop. After Robert and I were married his parents told me that's when they knew their son was in a serious relationship. :-) I bought a matching chair a few months later so we could each have one, and they are still on our porch. 

Our anniversary is a wonderful reason to return to my blog. (I really didn't think it had been an entire year since I last posted!) I made these cards earlier this week with an embossing stencil and colored them with pastel chalks. I did not plan for the first one to be an anniversary card, but that's the great thing about this hobby – all I had to do was add the sentiment when I realized I had a great memory to share on our anniversary. It's just right for him.

Happy 21st Anniversary dear Robert! 

Now I have to decide which of your parents will receive the birthday card. 

Graduation Cards

May is always a busy month, which is why this is my only blog post. This year is busier, because my daughter is graduating from high school and family is coming to visit. I have been making graduation cards and stocking up on thank you notes. (I will share some of those in June.) These are my favorite cards - each with a purpose. 

I made four of this design especially for "The Squad"; the girls who spend the night, text endlessly, and offer unconditional support to one another. 
The sentiment is from Impression Obsession and the "chips" stamp is from Unity Stamp Co. 

 WHS school colors are blue and red. This one works for many graduates. 
Stars, sentiment, and punches by Stampin' Up. 

Two special girls are taking a gap year to study and serve
in other countries before going to college.
The globe stamp is from Hero Arts.

T-minus 4 days, 1 hour and 53 minutes until graduation! I won't add, "But who's counting?", because I know my daughter is. 

                           

Card of the Week

Funny thing about setting a goal for yourself – you have to figure out how to keep it going. My goal for 2017 is to post here weekly and write a weekly letter. The letter part is easy, because I don't have to share it. The cards and posts are harder, because I try to tell a little story without rambling. I'm not sure I have much of a story this week. 

Today is the twenty-fifth day of #The100DayProject, and this is not the card I posted (go to @lettersarebetter on Instagram to see that one), but of all the cards I made this week. This is my favorite. It's a simple design and I really like how the colors blended on the daisy, plus I am always fond of a textured background. Ahh! Hello Weekend!

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. 

Gift Card Envelopes

Gift cards are often appropriate tokens of appreciation, but the basic envelopes they come with are a little bland if you are not putting them inside another card. I have an envelope template that makes short work of a nice piece of decorative paper, and since I used my flower stamps and punch, I was finished in a snap. I think I will make a few more just to keep on hand!

                          

                      

These are all to say "Thank You!" to the girls from whom my daughter borrowed prom dresses this past month. She attended three dances and borrowed three dresses. Paying for dry cleaning and a few gift cards was a bargain! 

Easter Card

 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." John 15:9-11

Sentiment byUnity Stamp Co. heat embossed with gold powder.
Wreath die by Penny Black. I trimmed it to create the crown.

Happy Easter!

He is Risen!