Teacup Card

We drank espresso. We ate cronuts (awesome cream filled combo of a donut and a croissant). We shopped, tried on really fun shoes (bought the practical ones), drove with the top down, ate dinner out, and talked a lot. We sat on her wrap around porch that welcomes anyone who passes by and talked a lot more.

She recently learned to paint and wields a brush on canvas with precious realism. She would rather drink her tea from a warmed ceramic mug, but this stamp brings to mind her attention to style. She shared her gift of hospitality, and I basked in the comfort of friendship.

Card details: Teacups by Stampington & Company, heat embossed with black ink on watercolor paper; colored with watercolor paints. Sentiment by Hero Arts.

Cracked Pot Card

Japanese pottery and scripture have a connection. Kintsugi is a Japanese art form that restores a broken item incorporating the damage into the aesthetic of the restored item, making it part of the object's history. Kintsugi or kintsukuroi uses lacquer resin mixed with powered gold, silver, platinum, copper or bronze, resulting in something more beautiful than the original. (Click on the link above to see examples.)

A more contemporary version of the verse on this card goes like this: "We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves." 2 Corinthians 4:7 My cracks are part of my history, and I trust the Master Potter to fix the new cracks, too, so His light continues to shine through me.

Flowers and pot by Stamp It! I used sticky powder to heat emboss the pot with gold and metal leaf on watercolor paper, then I painted the image and background. I used Prismacolor pencils to color the flowers and added gold Wink of
Stella to the flower centers. 

I want to be a cracked pot – not to be confused with being a crack pot. The first one is way better than the second. 

Cards for Scraps

I was looking for a simple card design that would translate well into masculine birthday cards. I found this card sketch on Pinterest. The original crafter used ribbon pieces around her circle, and I decided to hunt through my box of scraps for dark or neutral colors. It's typical that the first card I made is not in the least bit masculine! I gravitated towards this one last piece of bright paisley and didn't stop until I said, "Oh darn! That's not for a man."

Sentiment by Paper Smooches is heat embossed with black ink and clear powder on glossy white card stock.

So I looked through that fun heap of scraps and pulled out the one last square of fleur-de-lis big enough to cut out five banners. Nothing says "guy" like navy blue, right? Now, this is one of a kind, because I don't have any of that paper left. 

I made a few more cards using up scraps for both the background and the banners. Now I have a handful of general birthday cards, and I used some yummy bits of paper to do it. That makes me a happy stamper. 

One Stamp Three Cards

My story for today's cards is I don't have a story! I've decided if I don't have a good story to tell, then I will make three cards featuring one stamp, because that is always a worthwhile endeavor. This week I pulled out a stamp I had not used before. That happens sometimes – in a set of stamps there is one that gets overlooked. Three ideas immediately came to mind, but the finished results are always a surprise. 

I have seen this technique of white pencil coloring on craft cardstock done by a few crafters on Instagram, and I really, really like it. I used Prismacolor pencils to color the images, added a thin line of washi tape at the bottom, then mounted the Simon Says Stamp die cut "thanks" using craft foam. The stamp image is by Stampin' Up. 

I began with a wash of rainbow colors on watercolor paper then heat embossed the flowers with versamark ink and gold embossing powder. I heat embossed the sentiment (by Stampin' Up) with black ink and clear powder. Ribbon was added for texture and to hide a flower that didn't turn out right. My card crafting motto: There is no such thing as a mistake, just an opportunity for embellishment. 

I used a blender pen and water based markers to color the image before I cut it out. The card sketch came from Lori Tecler on Instagram. I happily give credit if I am borrowing from someone else's creativity. The sentiment is from Simon Says Stamp! 

I can safely say I will not be overlooking this stamp again!