Sympathy and Encouragement Cards

Hello everyone, how are you doing?  I'm still here!  My family and I are doing well; life has been full.  There are definitely not enough hours in the day to do all that needs doing.  But, then again, 24 hours are enough to manage.  😀

I spent some time after work tonight photo-editing pics to share, though these are not the ones I did tonight.  Thankfully, I already had this post semi-completed.  Just had to fill in the captions.

I've got to do something about the change coming to email subscriptions through Feedburner.  That's the next thing for me to do some research on.  I've seen a couple of my blogging friends use follow.it as their new service, so I will check into that.  I'm so non-techy, and I groaned when I read about Feedburner going away.  I'll be back in touch here about migrating the email subscriptions.

Now, here are some sympathy and encouragement cards to share.

Papertrey Ink - Boutique Borders: Sympathy stamps and matching die; Anna Griffin flower cluster sticker; gold embossing powder; clothing tag; Gina Marie Designs Frilly Lace Rectangles die

Papertrey Ink - Boutique Borders: Sympathy stamps and matching die; Gina Marie Designs butterfly die; gold gem; Delicata Filigree Gold ink

Papertrey Ink - Beautiful Blessings sentiment; Stampin' Up! Crab & Company shell stamp and matching border stamp; Love Nicole - Scallop Shell die; gold cardstock

Stampin' Up! - Rose Wonder sentiment, stitched oval die, Certainly Celery ribbon, premade card base

Inspired By Stamping - Elegant Flowers rose stamp, Garden Seed Packets crocus stamp; Spellbinders Scalloped Rectangles die; ivory gem dots; Papertrey Ink - Pen & Ink sentiment

Papertrey Ink Stuck On You Mini sentiment; Stampin' Up! heart and flower die cuts; pearl

Stampin' Up! Paper Pumpkin kit My Wonderful Family (April 2020 kit)

Stampendous Sincere Sentiments sentiment; Stampin' Up! Floral background stamp, Flower Trio punch; ivory gem dots; Martha Stewart Deco Fan border punch; burlap ribbon

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!  I am SO glad it is Friday!!! 😊

God bless you,

Birthday Bunch

Hi!  It's Wednesday evening, April 8, 2020.  My work day is over, so I get to share some things with you now. 😊

I had this post mostly prepared, but then I threw in some silver baby cup pics at the end.

Here are the birthday cards that I made within the last several months, and are/were at Arts Plus Gallery shop for sale.  They are open by appointment these days, if you interested in a visit there. 

Lost Coast Designs Butterflies butterfly stamp; Altenew Label Love sentiment; crochet lace; Gina Marie Designs blue dots

Avery Elle Winter Wreath wreath, berries stamps and matching dies; orange rhinestones; Impression Obsession Birds dies; L'il Inker Designs Stitched Rectangle die; Papertrey Ink Keep It Simple: Birthday III sentiment stamp

Papertrey Ink Tiny Tags sentiment, tag; pearls; vintage thread; Stampin' Up! Wonderfully Worn background stamp, Kindness Matters butterfly stamp; Stampendous Charm Collection 'carte postale' stamp (stamped over patterned paper)

Impression Obsession Birds dies; Memory Box / Poppystamps Breezy Wreath die; Papertrey Ink Tiny Tags tag die and sentiment; pearls; Stampin' Up! rose die cut border (from a scrap bag), Sanded background stamp, Flower Trio punch; crochet lace; vintage thread

Stampin' Up! Bella Toile background stamp, floral and striped patterned paper scraps, Hip Hip Hooray card kit sentiment stamp; vintage thread; embossed gold scrap from a store-bought card

I mentioned in a post very early today that I had been polishing some silver baby cups.  And some of you have also been polishing silver, as well!  I took some quick pictures today with my iPhone to show you.

"Warren"

My daughter's monogram (and my fingers in the reflection 😆)

One of my faves, a tin cup that says 'Baby'

'E.M.' - such beautiful cursive initials

The other side of the 'E.M.' cup.  Isn't that an exquisitely detailed image??

My husband's cup on the right and the one that started my interest in collecting these is on the left.  It's a Wallace cup, and the silver has all but worn off over the years, showing copper beneath.

Hope your day was a good one, and I so appreciate your visits!
God bless you!

Sympathy and Hydrangea cards

Hello!  My absolute favorite flower is a hydrangea, especially blue varieties.  I used the Hero Arts 'Hydrangea' stamp and plenty of blue Copic markers to create the first card you see.  I hand trimmed the flower, added dimensional tape behind it, and framed it in white.

Hero Arts 'Hydrangea' stamp - Spellbinders 'Classic Frame' die

Next up is an encouragement card for the faithful, who put their trust in the Lord.  I love this verse of Scripture from Romans 12:12.  I surrounded the stamped sentiment from Papertrey Ink with a butterfly frame that I was blessed enough to win on Instagram. (supplies in caption)

Memory Box 'Hovering Butterfly Frame' die - Martha Stewart Hydrangea punch - Papertrey Ink 'Everyday Blessings' sentiment of Romans 12:12

The next two cards are sympathies...both featuring botanicals.  Hollyhocks on one (Stampendous) and ferns on the second.  They're simple, and clean, and both use the same sentiment from My Favorite Things 'Essential Sentiments'.

My Favorite Things 'Essential Sentiments' - Stampendous 'Jumbo Hollyhock' - Stampin' Up! Pink Pirouette cardstock - white pencil

My Favorite Things 'Essential Sentiments' - fern paper from a Stampin' Up! scrap bag

A fairly clean and simple post today!
Thanks for coming by, and God bless you!

Sending Strength

I love to make encouragement cards to let people know they're being thought of and prayed for.  I've got two I'm sharing today.

The first is super-feminine, and uses a sentiment from Power Poppy 'Olive and Oak Expanded' clear stamp set.  I stamped it onto an oval die cut, which had been shaded (before stamping the words) with Antique Linen Distress Ink while it was still in the metal die.  The paper is from DCWV Nana's Nursery: Girl, and I used a bit of crochet lace and a paper gardenia from iamroses.com.

Power Poppy 'Olive and Oak Expanded' sentiment stamp

The next card was made for my brother and his wife as they experienced tremendous flooding in their home during Hurricane Harvey.  Most of their belongings were ruined by water in their house.  My brother actually took a canoe over to his home to see what kind of damage had been sustained. 😢

The card was just a little something to let them know that we wished there was more we could to help but that we were thinking of them and praying for them.

My Favorite Things 'BB Cool Cat' vase, 'Sunny Skies' sun die - Memory Box 'Madison Window' die - Stampendous 'Sincere Sentiments' sentiment

Thanks so much for your visit today.  Hope your day is beautiful!  God bless you!

Catching Up

Hi there!  I'm catching up!  This post is jam-packed with pics of cards that I've made for the shop, Arts Plus Gallery. Of course, the Mother's Day ones are not there anymore, but the rest are for sale, if you are interested.

Do you like to sew?  I found out about a non-profit group called, Dress A Girl Around The World, and they can always use our help.  A couple of kind ladies at my local church told me about this organization.  They need volunteers to help sew simple dresses to be given to girls in need around the world.  In one particular case, according to the lady I spoke with at church, there are young girls in Africa who walk a long distance to school.  There are uniforms the girls need to wear when they get to school, but they are not allowed to bring the uniforms home; those need to be kept at the school. Since these children are so poor, they do not have proper clothes to wear on the journey to and from classes. Because they are defenseless and barely-clothed, they are often attacked on the road. Breaks your heart, doesn't it?

That's where Dress A Girl Around The World comes in.

They ship pretty, simple dresses made by volunteers like you and me to the children. They get to keep their very own dress, and can wear it under their school uniform. You've got to see the sweet faces on the website's home page. Those kids have likely never seen such beautiful clothes, let alone owned them, and there's something really awesome about these dresses:  each one is sewn with a Dress A Girl label on the front.  This helps keep predators at bay, because it shows that these girls are being cared for by an organization and are LOVED.  What a wonderful way to share love with little ones around the globe, and help them stay safer.

I hope to sew some of these dresses myself soon.  If you are interested in helping the organization, please visit their website. Thank you, and God bless you!

Thanks for stopping by!  Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Jumbo Peony

I've got a huge paper peony to share with you today. Wish I could share the real deal, as well. We had some beauties in our yard up until just the other day. I LOVE the scent and the shape of peonies. They are my second-favorite flower, hydrangeas taking first place, of course. :-)

I have to admit this Jumbo Peony stamp by Stampendous had me stumped at first. It really is a big flower, and I wasn't sure it would work. My card sizes are typically an A2 (4 1/4" x 5 1/2"), and this peony positively fills the front cover. 

I stamped the flower on a piece of patterned pink paper (tongue twister!), then added strokes with a pink Copic marker to create more dimension. I trimmed it out, adhered it to a panel of swirl-embossed kraft cardstock, added die-cut greenery (Spellbinders) and ink gems and pearls.

My coloring is no masterpiece, believe me. This was actually the first time I'd used the Jumbo Peony stamp, and it was my practice run. Hope you don't mind that I've shared it here!

Thanks so much for coming by today, and have a wonderful day!