Inspire Create #113 Thinking of You

Happy Monday, peeps! Boy, what a weekend!  Rain, sunshine, snow, wind...you name it, we had it!  Crazy March weather! Still chilly and then up into the 70s in a couple of days? I guess March came in like a lion and will be going out like a lamb!  Anyway, I saw this sweet card a couple of days ago and it reminded me of a cute image from Feathered Friends from many, many years ago.  I made a card and it sort of fit the sketch from Inspire.Create:

So here we go:

These line-image drawings were what first attracted me to Stampin Up!  I just love the details and they're small enough to be colored in quickly!  I stamped the image on Thick Basic White cardstock in Stazon ink and used my aquapainter and inks to color it in:

After diecutting it with the Stitched Shapes die, I used DSPs from Heart and Home, and added some Fan baker's twine as well as a little stitched zigzag border of Crumb Cake.  Thanks for popping in today!

Despite the chilly weather, my bluebirds were still enjoying the suet cakes we put out.  This picture was taken through the screen outside my craft room window, so it's not real clear, but you can see Mr. Bluebird enjoying a snack!

Enjoy your day and be blessed!

"I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.  They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be blessed." Psalm 37:25-26

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Feathered Friends (2007!)
Card stock & Papers	Thick Basic White, Crumb Cake, Heart and Home DSP
Ink	Stazon Black, Misty Moonlight, Garden Green, Poppy Parade, Pear Pizzazz, Crushed Curry, Cinnamon Cider, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede
Accessories	Fan Baker's Twine, Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched Shapes Dies (ret), Basic Banners Dies, Aquapainter

In(k)spire Me 451 Welcome Baby

Happy Friday, peeps!  I spent a very frustrating afternoon yesterday dealing with new cell phone issues, and I didn't feel much like stamping, but I forced myself to sit down and do some watercoloring with the colors from In(k)spire Me to create a baby card: 

Although I found the sketch interesting, it didn't work with this "vintage" SU image I wanted to use:

This image is from Feathered Friends, from 2006!  I haven't used it in a long, long time, but I always loved this line-drawing artwork!  I stamped it in Stazon on watercolor paper and did some watercoloring....the designs are so small, I'm afraid I didn't do a very good job.  I rushed it instead of drying each color as I finished it, but hopefully the recipient won't mind too much!  I used Pool Party, Blushing Bride, Bumblebee, and my mystery color was Balmy Blue.  I mounted it on a scallop of Bumblebee, then on some retired Gingham. 

I diecut three buttons from the same watercolor paper and watercolored them as well, so they would be a paler shade and not overpower the design:

And for fun I ran some cotton perle thread through to make them look sewn!  Simple design, nothing fancy!  Thanks for visiting today!

My two great-nieces came over to play with Cassidy yesterday; I am afraid Cassidy has just outgrown her dolls, but I saved the dollhouse and accessories just for days like this.  She USED to play with them:

but she was content to let these two play with it outside in the fresh air yesterday!

Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Blog Hop for Linda

Happy Hot Saturday!  Another scorcher today---hope you can find some cool activities to do!  Today, Lesley is honoring a sweet team member, Linda Callahan with her very own grandmother-to-be Blog Hop:

Linda will be a grandmom real soon to a sweet little baby girl!  I keep telling her that her world is going to be turned topsy-turvy and she will be IN LOVE!  The theme for the hop is a sweet saying:  “A garden of love grows in a grandmother’s heart”!  Here’s what Lesley says about the inspiration:

• Use anything that reminds us of our grandmother…a lesson she taught us, her favourite colours, a memory…to inspire a creation by you. You can use any colours or themes that connect to the quote above and also incorporate a congratulations theme too…really…the sky is the limit!

First, let me show you my card.  I used the Mojo Monday sketch 247 and a retired favorite SU set, Feathered Friends:

 

I did some watercoloring (sorry, I am stuck on that this week!) and some new SU papers from Storytime and Patio Party.  Linda always likes my random stamping on my backgrounds (she calls it stamping stamping stamping) so I added some of that to my Baja Breeze card, and finished it with a sweet little red bow and some hearts.

Lesley also asked us to share a little about our own grandmothers.  I have to admit, I got a bit choked up when I sat down to write my memories.  Both my grandmothers have been gone for over 30 years, so my memories are very old and faded!  My paternal grandmother (Gramma) lived on the farm with us, in a separate house, but I saw her every day of my childhood.  She was frugal, funny and wise.  She would scare us on Halloween by dressing up as an old lady and taking out her false teeth!  She LOVED to garden and I cannot see a peony or poppy to this day without thinking of her.  I used to follow her around with a jar of gasoline as she tended her rose bushes and drop Japanese beetles into it!  And she prayed for us to become Christians and grow up to be helpful, caring people.  My maternal grandmother (Nan) was a bit more stern, so I was a tad bit intimidated by her until I got older.  She was an excellent cook and extremely crafty!  Although I always say I got whatever artistic genes I have from my dad, my maternal grandmother instilled a love of crafts in me.  We were just getting to a point where we could do some projects together, and sadly, she passed away.  Looking back, I can see where both grandmothers influenced me in my areas of giftedness, and I am SO blessed to be able to have had both of them close by.  It makes me appreciate being a grandmother to Cassidy even more….I hope I can nurture her gifts and talents like my grandmothers did to me!  And I know that Linda will be a fantastic grandmother…..we are all anxiously awaiting the moment when that will happen!  I created this card because the flowers remind me of Gramma and her garden, and the watercoloring and “crafting” part of making the card itself reminded me of Nan.

Okay, if you’ve made it through my long post, you can hop over to the others on the blog hop!  You can start if you like, at Freshly Made Sketches, and here are the others, be sure to stop by and give them some love as well! 

Lesley Croghan

Mary Fish

Cindy Hall

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

Nance Leedy

Jen Mitchell

Tui Nathan

LeAnne Pugliese – you are HERE!

Ann Schach

Jennifer Timko

Rita Wright

And congrats to Rita, also, who just became a mom on Wednesday!!!  Lots of snuggles & hugs going out to your little one!