Saturday, July 30, 2022

SCRAPBOOK SATURDAY - REMEMBERING BAXTER & THE RULES

 

BAXTER ARRIVES AND THERE WILL BE RULES!












Needless to say, the RULES didn't seem to last long as Baxter melted our resolve and our hearts.  Oh well, rules are meant to be broken right?


Friday, July 29, 2022

MICHIGAN CHRISTMAS ROBIN

Since the Robin is the State Bird of Michigan, I couldn't resist turning the cute, little bird from Perched in a Tree into Robbie the Robin.


His chubby little belly may be a bit redder than a true Robin, but it's OK because he is a Christmas Robin and his belly needed to match the Poinsettias!

Now, in reality, we don't see many Robins around Christmas Time because they are smart little birds, and they go someplace warmer for the frosty winter months.  But Robbie wanted to be here to wish you a Merry Christmas, so I said he could perch on my tree branch.

I found his Poinsettia Bouquet on the Boughs of Holly DSP and snipped them out to decorate his tree branch.  He was happy that they matched!

The white background behind him was cut with the largest die from Deckled Rectangles Dies and then embossed with the Timber 3D embossing folder.


Robbie chose the sentiment LET HEAVEN AND NATURE Sing because he said he loves to sing!  I know every spring we always look for the first Robin to return so we can listen to their songs.

The sentiment was stamped with Black Memento.  I then needed to search my stash for a die that was just the right size.  I found it in the Beautiful Shapes Dies.  I love the organic shape and debossed rings that encircle it.  Can you see them?  They may show best on the first photo.


To provide a bit of bling, I added Evening Evergreen Opal rounds to the center of each Poinsettia and Red Rhinestones to the sentiment.

To decorate the inside of the card (no naked insides allowed!), I stamped another sentiment from the Perched in a Tree stamp and added a narrow strip of the same designer series paper from which the Poinsettias were cut.   I thought this sentiment worked well as a Christmas greeting.  Afterall, Jesus, the gift of Christmas, is the reason we can enjoy abundant joy & peace. 


What do you think of today's card?  I'm happy with it, but I particularly feel really good that I have one more Christmas Card done!

If you would like a tutorial for today's card, please use this link to download a FREE copy.

A list of products used is shown below.

Product List

Wednesday, July 27, 2022

AUTUMN LEAVES FROM PERCHED ON A TREE

Before I started making my Perched in a Tree cards this week, I decided that I needed to have at least one card that did not use the adorable little bird.  It was hard to do.  I love that cute little guy, but I wanted to show some versatility of design so assigned myself the challenge of making at least one card without him.


This Perched in a Tree bundle includes two leaf dies, but they do not have a coordinating stamp, so that made an even larger challenge for me on how to make the leaves "look pretty".  To just simply die cut them from a solid color seemed a little "boring", so I wanted to add some color variation.

I started with Basic White cardstock and used my Blending Brushes to add Mint Macaron and Calypso Coral ink.  Then I also stamped some speckles with those same colors as well as Crumb Cake ink to add depth and texture.  Next, I die cut the leaves which also debosses the veins.  I then used a Fine-Tip Glue Pen to add fine lines of glue to the veins and the edges so that I could apply Gilded Leafing to the leaves.  That added some beautiful shimmer and shine on the leaves.  Here is a close-up.


I also added Gilded Leafing across the top off the lower Crumb Cake section on the bottom of the card.  I used Tear & Tape to adhere the Gilding Leaving on that upper edge.

The background behind the trees was made with Blending Brushes and various ink colors blended on Shimmery White.  The Shimmery White cardstock adds a beautiful subtle shimmer behind the trees.  It looks as if the sun is shining.  Please refer to the detailed tutorial available for download to see all the ink colors used for the background.


A double bow of gold cording from Simply Elegant Trim completed the card front.

For the inside of the card, I stamped a sentiment from the Perched in a Tree stamp set with Soft Suede Ink.  Using Tear & Tape to adhere it, a stripe of Gilded Leafing was added on the left side of the Basic White cardstock.  I have found using Tear & Tape to be the easiest way to apply the Gilding Leafing to any project, but obviously it only works if you want to use it in a straight strip.


For a complete list of all products used, please refer to the list below.  To see details on any of the products, simply click on the product image.



Product List