Ginkgo Leaves

I had lots of fun with this one. I've coveted the Leaf Lines set for a long time now. It's probably time for me to break down and buy it, but I'll admit that I stamped this little guy while at a friend's house (thanks, Marge!). I decided to try out the ginkgo leaf using Always Artichoke & Wild Wasabi ink. They make for a nice & natural feel, especially when paired with the hemp twine. I wanted a little more elegance for this one though, so the first layer of background cardstock is brushed gold. It goes to show you can be natural & elegant at the same time! The Always Artichoke layer is given a little something extra by adding the Sanded Background Stamp. Simple, but lovely.

Nature Walk Collage/Color Throwdown #129

Whew! You know how your muscles feel when you exercise with out stretching enough first? That's sort of how my brain feels right now. I've never done collage stamping & this card is way out of my comfort zone. I think I like it though! My husband suggested I get the Nature Walk set when I first showed it to him in the Occasions Mini catalog because it's so different than anything else I have. The detailed natural images fit me so well, but I wasn't sure if I would be able to figure out how to make them work together. I am so glad I got the Sanded background at the same time. The two work so well together. Then, I saw a tutorial on Splitcoast of how to make your own stitched ribbon flowers. Had to try that out too. Of course, I put just about every embellishment you can think of in the center of that flower before I decided on this Jumbo Brad. (Literally over a half hour of tinkering.) The Antique Brads look great in the center too...maybe next time! My only problem is, I might like this card enough to have it as part of my classes tomorrow. Sigh. Time to write up some instructions... Just when I think I have everything ready & planned in advance, I go and change it up! Thanks to the folks over at Color Throwdown for the color choices today. I did add a bit of chocolate for my ink, but I think that's okay, right?

Masculine Sympathy

I recently had a request for a masculine sympathy card. It was interesting to me because I had just ordered the "Thanks for Caring" set after being inspired by a masculine sympathy card. This image is very striking in all dark ink, but I wanted to try something a little bit different. The detail and symmetry seemed to work well with coloring in bits and pieces with markers. For the Crumb Cake layer, I used the Sanded back ground stamp to add a soft yet detailed feature to this simple card. The Twill Tape works nicely, but I'm really wishing that my Night of Navy Satin Ribbon was here already. It makes me really look forward to the ribbon share! Perhaps I'll change up this card as soon as it arrives. Remember to join in the ribbon share, you need to contact me by this Thursday.