Another week has gone by and I spent nearly all of it at home. What a shocker! ‘Tis true, everything on my schedule was cancelled due to snow/ice/wind/extreme cold..any and/or all of the above. So, from last Wednesday until, maybe tomorrow, I have been home except for a very quick trip Monday to get some groceries and bird seed and suet between storms. It was actually freezing rain before I got home.
You might think I would have done something really important, like – uh, taxes? I am the world’s best at procrastinating when that is looming, so, no, I watched the birds at my feeders, read 4 books, played some solitaire, made a few cards, watched birds, made some jewelry, watched some You Tube tutorials, watched the birds at my feeders. (do you see a trend here?) And, yes, I did actually do some work…vacuumed, did laundry, cooked more than usual, did dishes (cooking makes a lot of dishes), did some paperwork, paid bills, and got a small start on spring cleaning by cleaning out 3 or 4 kitchen cabinets and washing down the fronts. Also, of course, is the clearing of sidewalks of ice/snow/sleet. I am not a TOTAL shirker!
But, my week’s work, or lack thereof, is not why we are here. It is time for our talented Krew to share some lovely cards with you. We have a sketch for today, and I have chosen to implement it with the climbing Roses stamp set. On with the hop!
I like soft colors when I am making something for a woman, and I have several birthdays upcoming, most of which are of the feminine type. One of my favorite Stampin’ Up colors is Soft Sea Foam, so that is my card base. I also like layers, so layers you get.
I stamped the roses in Basic Gray on Whisper White and used my Stampin’ Blends and Stampin’ Write Markers to color them. Colors used for this were Rich Razzleberry Light Stampin’ Blends, and Soft Sea Foam, Mint Macaron and Powder Pink Stampin’ Write Markers.
The Climbing Roses Bundle has everything I needed except the birthday sentiment and the inside sentiment, and the embossing folder.
The mat behind the roses is Powder Pink and I ran it through the Big Shot with the Tufted 3D Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing folder. This was attached to a Blackberry Bliss mat with Liquid Glue. Liquid Glue is the only adhesive used on this card except for the Stampin’ Dimensionals under the sentiment.
The extra leaves and the rose on the sentiment are also from the Climbing Roses Bundle. The Powder Pink flower and the Blackberry Bliss berries were some die cuts I had cut for another project and didn’t use. They may have been from the holiday catalog, but I am not sure. Anyway, I like to save things like that as you never know when they will come in handy.
The sentiment from All That You Are was stamped in Rich Razzleberry on Whisper White, then die cut with the die in the Climbing Roses Bundle. It looked too small and too plain, so I adhered it to a scrap of Soft Sea Foam and fussy cut around it, leaving a narrow margin. Hmmm…still too plain, and still too small. OK, let’s mount it on a scrap of Blackberry Bliss and fussy cut it, leaving a larger margin. Oh, yes. Much better. The little rose adds a finishing touch. This was afixed to the front, then the whole was Liquid Glued to the card base.
On the inside, my Powder Pink liner was stamped with a sentiment from Golden Afternoon in Rich Razzleberry. The corner adornments are also from Climbing Roses and stamped in Basic Gray using the second generation stamping method. I left these un-colored.
This was adhered to a mat of Blackberry Bliss and into the card base. I don’t know if you can tell from the photo, but the mat is embossed with the Tufted Dynamic Embossing Folder. I don’t usually emboss the mat, but I originally thought I would put it on the front of the card, then decided it was too dark. Rather than add it to my stash of paper-to-be-used-later, I just used it as a mat.
Card finished.
The envelope also got the small rose spray on the front, stamped in Basic Gray and colored with Powder Pink and soft Sea Foam Stampin’ Write Markers. Since I had not used any Designer Series Paper to also use on the flap, I simply stamped the large rose spray on the flap, letting it extend down onto the envelope. I then colored it with Powder Pink, Rich Razzleberry, Soft Sea Foam and Mint Macaron Stampin Write Markers.
My apologies for the appearance of some of the photos. All were taken at the same time with the same lighting, so I don’t know why some of them look striped. It is a mystery. Let me assure you….they are NOT striped!
Now, to see what the rest of this talented Krew has for you, just click the next button to see what Eva has done for you. Or, just click on any name hop to her blog. Enjoy!
Card cuts and products used are below.
Julie Johnston
CARD CUTS: Soft Sea Foam: 5-1/2″ x 8-1/2″ scored at 4-1/4″, extra leaves 1-1/4″ x 3″, sentiment mat 2-1/2″ x 3-1/2″; Blackberry Bliss: front mat 4″ x 5-1/2″, sentiment mat 3″ x 4″, inside mat 4″ x 5-1/4″, scrap for berries; Powder Pink: embossed mat 3-3/4″ x 5-1/2″, inside liner 3-3/4″ x 5″; Whisper White: rose spray 3-1/2″ x 5″, sentiment 2″ x 3″
Product List
Wild Wing Creations 
Your card is wonderful. I love eveyrthing about it, even the envelope flap. I was exhausted following your itinerary for the day!.
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Ha! That was my itinerary for the WEEK I was pretty much housebound. Thanks for your comments. It is for a niece’s birthday. I have another one for tomorrow and one for a nephew in a few days. Warming up today, so some of this snow/ice may melt.
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Wow, I was really off base this morning mixed up with day/week (wondered how you read 4 books in a day!) along with other tasks, niece/nephew…but I wasn’t off base with loving your creation! I hadn’t had my coffee yet 🙂 Have a wonderful rest of the week and weekend.
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LOL! Coffee does wonders doesn’t it?? Your words make my heart happy. Thank you.
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Very pretty Julie! Your die cuts under your sentiment are perfect. Hope that you can get out and about again soon! 🙂
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Thank you, Amy! Got the first layer scraped off this morning. Warmed up overnight, so maybe the rest will melt. Think I can get out today.
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Julie, I love reading your post. I have been wondering how you were fairing in the snow and ice they keep saying Iowa was getting. Hope it has warmed up to above freezing now so you can venture out. I love your card. You got the effect (is that the right word or is it affect) you wanted it is truly soft and feminine.
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Why thank you Shirley! Your words warm my heart. You are correct, effect is the right word. This is for one of my nieces. I have another one for tomorrow and one for a nephew coming soon. We have LOTS of January/February birthdays in my family. It is above freezing today,for a change, so I have been digging away at the ice, one square foot at a time. It warmed up overnight, and the wind is out of the south. However, weather folks say it won’t last long. Maintainer went by this morning, knocking a dent in the ice on the road. Highways are pretty good, they treat them, so it is just the gravel rural roads. I go out about every hour to chip away some more. I actually have 2 (small) patches down to bare boards and bare concrete!
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Julie, this is such a beautiful card!!! I just love your layers and the colors you chose to work, love the contrast of the soft against the dark color. And stay warm in this cold hard winter! We have a cold snap here as well and bundled up!
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Thanks much Eva! Today is warm enough that I could chip through most of the ice. Now down to bare sidewalk. Won’t last long. The wind just switched and it has already dropped 5 degrees. Supposed to be 4 degrees by 6 a.m. Snow again Saturday and Sunday. Guess it is truly winter!
Thank you for your kind comments. I too liked the dark and light colors together. Much more striking I think than just all soft colors.
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Love your card! I would CASE it, but no way, no how, could I fussy cut as well as you! And now for what I really NEED to know, LOL: What interesting birds have you seen at your feeder???
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You might surprise yourself on how well you can fussy cut. As for the birds…..nothing too unusual. I have been doing Project Feeder Watch, so spending more time than usual watching and counting. The worst day of the cold and ice there were 24 cardinals at feeders and on the ground. A couple of weeks ago on two different days I had a Coopers Hawk hanging around, hoping for a quick, easy meal. Prior to this winter I have never had a Song Sparrow in the yard, but one is here every day the last week or so. Otherwise, American Tree Sparrows, Eurasian Tree Sparrows, House Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos, including one Oregon Junco, House Finch, Gold finch, Blue Jay, Mourning Dove, Eurasian Collared Dove, Starling, Downey, Hairy, and Red-belly Woodpeckers, Chickadee and Nuthatch. I think that is all. Mostly what you would expect to see here. Do you watch birds?
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Yes, I do quite a bit of birding, although more in the past, than I do right now. I haven’t had time to take part in Project Feeder Watch, but have done bird counts in the past. My list at the feeder is similar to yours, including the Cooper’s Hawk. Every now and then, he gets one, but not often enough that I need to remove seed for awhile. You’ve got me doubled on the Cardinals at the feeder! 🙂 Now at my last house, I saw soooo much more! I had a creek running through my property and loads of trees, so I had a resident Great Horned Owl, Wood Ducks, Pileated Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – I could go on and on . . . Yup – miss that!
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Sounds like you were in a wonderful place. Sorry you don’t have all that now. Only 8 cardinals today. All the rest of the usual suspects. No hawks.
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beautiful card Julie, love the color combo and your choice of details is just perfect. Your envelope is over the top!!!
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THanks much Kristi! And, thank you for liking my envelope.
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So pretty! Love that embossed card front – one of my favorite folders! And it sounds like you’ve found time to do lots of little things here and there whilst sequestered by winter! And watching the birds is a perfect way to while away some time. Taxes suck anyway, so…can’t hardly blame you for procrastinating on those! 🙂
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I really love it when someone actually READS my posts. Probably didn’t do as much of the work sort of thing as I should. Oh, well. Watching the birds has been fun…the worst of the days there were 24 cardinals at the feeders and all over the ground. Quite a sight. THanks for taking the time to read the post and comment. I appreciate it more than you know.
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The layers under the sentiment are so so pretty!! Love that embossing folder!!
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Thanks, Jaimie. That TIEF is one of my favorites.
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Love the colours you chose. That set is beautiful and you used it very well.
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THanks, Shelagh!
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You seem to be quite an ornathologist. I would not know half those birds. I love your card. Very beautiful. Your post was very interesting. Crafting now, Taxes, whenever. Enjoy your relaxing time.
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I agree, crafting or ANYTHING now, taxes, whenever! Thanks Dianne for your comments. I am really VERY amateur as a bird watcher, but I am learning. They are fascinating to watch. I am really more of a bird photographer, but to do that I have to learn a lot about their behavior.
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