The card base for this card is off-white and is layered with Almost Artichoke and the third layer of black which has the stars die cut into it. The Birch Grove, 0305-T and Doe by Branch, 0225-K are stamped on off-white card stock, fussy cut, and attached to the black layer. The Happy Birthday saying is a die-cut of off-white cardstock. The moon is die-cut using Light Yellow cardstock.
Wow! Mother’s Day seems to have come upon me so fast! It has been a fun few weeks making Mother’s Day Greeting Cards for my display rack at the local Hardware store. Now, I am busy making Graduation cards. The card I’m showing today features one of my favorite drawings done by my Mother when she was 89 years old. It is Kitten on Creel, Lg. 0774-L. The background has 4 fishing flies. Listing from top left clockwise, they are Bivisible (dry fly), 0423B; King’s River, 0424A; Spinner, 0751C; Caddis, 0750-C. Colored pencils were used to color all images. The Kitten on Creel was cut out and mounted with dimensionals on a black oval. The card is ivory cardstock, layered with black and ivory cardstock.
Living in North Idaho, I frequently see white-tailed deer in my yard, and I like to stamp with images of wildlife that is frequently seen here. The image used on this card was drawn by my mother in 1949, and I made it into a rubber stamp in 1995. It has become one of my favorite stamps. What I particularly like about this drawing and many of my mother’s drawings, is that it captures the animal ready to run at a moment’s notice, almost as to say, “I’m aware you are there.”
“Doe by Branch,” 0225-K, was stamped in black dye ink and cut out with an asymmetrical die-cut, then layered onto an “Always Artichoke” die-cut that is one size larger. That was adhered to a base layer of homemade paper using dimensionals. The card base is Stampin’ Up’s “Always Artichoke.”
Here we are at the first of March with rain expected for most of this week. We’ve had heavy snowfall this winter. I’m seeing the snow melting very rapidly as our weather recently has been in the 40’s and rainy. This winter, there have been sightings of moose; however, I haven’t seen one for several years. It makes me happy to know that they are being spotted occasionally. i walk regularly in a forested area near my home and do see evidence that they have recently walked there also. The card I’ve chosen to share with you this month is a card stamped with Lg. Moose, 0766-K. The basic card is Stampin Up’s Crumb Cake which is layered with handmade paper that I purchased 30+ years ago. I figured it was time to pull it out again. The moose is stamped on tan cardstock, gluded to brown cardstock and attached to the card with dimensionals.
I’m excited to share the valentine’s card that I made using Bold Block, – Love Hand MC1208-G, and Hugs and Kisses, MW0672-D. The Heart/Hand stamp is stamped in maroon ink on white cardstock and cut out with a square die-cut that is 1/4″ bigger on all 4 sides, then layered on maroon cardstock and a final layer of white cardstock. A piece of maroon cardstock is cut 4″ x 5 1/4″ and, after embossing with a heart folder, is layered on a white card base. The word stamp, “Hugs and Kisses” is stamped on white cardstock, trimmed on the ends, and layered over a maroon piece that has been cut out with a punch. It is then layered on a white piece that has been cut with a die-cut. Both layered pieces are mounted on the maroon heart embossed piece using dimensional as shown in the picture below.
The card I am sharing today was made with a stamp (Geese in Flight, 0758-M) drawn by my mother around 1980 and another stamp of unknown origin. I’ve sold this stamp and often wondered how others use it, but have never seen it used by anyone other than myself. Making this card challenged me to get the depth perception that I wanted. I hope that when you view it, you do see the depth. Living in North Idaho, we often see the Canadian geese flying in their beautiful formations. Just recently, I saw seven geese fly over and, suddenly, I came to the realization that one of them had lost his/her mate as usually, they are in groups of even numbers. I felt sadness for that goose, but happiness that he/she is still with his/her community which is just another example of how important support groups are.
We are almost to Christmas and find ourselves, yet again, facing another virus, Omicron. I miss traveling to conventions. One of the things I enjoyed the most about doing shows at conventions was visiting with customers. At conventions, the comment I would hear most often was that the hobby of rubber stamping had saved someone”s life. Well, I imagine many people feel that same way today considering the stress of everyday life as we know it. I’m glad to be still making stamps and taking orders. Many of you know that I started my company in the ’90s and other than taking a few breaks due to being a caregiver for my mother in Oregon for six years and making a move to Idaho 11 years ago, I’ve been manufacturing stamps and running my business steadily for 30+ years. I still index (stamp on maple wood blocks) my mounted stamps and thoroughly enjoy doing so. Of course, I also offer rubber on cling and just rubber images. My card this month features the Igloo mailbox, 1189-J, Sm. measuring 1 3/4″ x 2 1/4″. This stamp is also available in a larger size measuring 2″ x 2 7/8″. Happy Holidays to you and yours!
With Halloween just a few days behind us, it’s time to think of the next motivational holiday to inspire us, or perhaps it is a good time to simply enjoy the outdoors. Living in North Idaho surrounded by the beautiful mountains, and with lakes and rivers nearby, it is fun to stamp scenes that remind me of the locales. The card I am sharing today is just that. It is a fisherman in a stream with a fish on his line. I am very proud of this drawing that was done by my mother in 1949. She drew it on an envelope that she sent to my brother who had joined the Marine Corps and was in boot camp expecting to be sent to Korea when through with boot camp. The stamp is 0224-N, Mtns., Fisherman in Stream with Fish, and the “Happy Birthday” stamp is 0919-D.
Well, here we find ourselves in another Covid crisis, well at least here in North Idaho. Our hospitals are filled to capacity and our governor has initiated the Crisis Standard of Care. Putting that concern aside, I find that making cards to stock my card rack at the local hardware store has become my main focus. The card I am displaying today was made using a photopolymer scene and a die-cut that I purchased on the Internet, as well as my Stamps Galore 0267-F, Log Cabin drawn by my mother in the ’90s. The cabin was stamped, cut out, and attached with dimensionals. All cardstock and ink are black and white as shown.
This last month has been a busy one with my granddaughter, Bailey, getting married and family from Missouri visiting. I did make time to stamp; however, most of my stamp-related time was spent pricing individual items that I’m selling for a friend who has moved to Hawaii and has decided to give up her stamp collection. The card that I’m sharing today was made by Donna Hamblin and features the Lg. Loon Fishing, 1024-P. The “Happy Birthday” is by Stampin’ Up.
