A Little Dab of Glycerin

This is my fourth card in my Could Ya? Should Ya? Would Ya? Yea! series. Say what???

In this monthly series, I plan to try something out of the norm... i.e. a size of card I rarely use, a technique I've wanted to try (or try again), an unusual fold, a card for a bizarre holiday, etc. I also plan to try a new recipe on these days - not a card recipe, a kitchen recipe.

This month I tried a new technique. I'd never heard of using Glycerin when blending inks, but I saw it demonstrated in a brief video on FB (thank you Georgia) and it looked so fun that I had to try it.

I stamped the sentiment using Memento Tuxedo Black ink on White cardstock prior to cutting the heart-shape using a die. I added ink directly from a SU Wild Wasabi ink pad onto a large acrylic block that served as my art palette. I added one drop of Glycerin and used a blending sponge to mix the ink and glycerin together. I then sponged that substance all over my green heart. Once I'd done that I took a wadded up paper towel and dabbed it all over the heart, which is what gives it a textured look.

Other than this fun technique, this card features Eyelet Outlet products...

Enamel Heart

Sloth Brad

Summer Tree Brad

and Three Designs of Washi Tape

Glitter Heart

Glitter Red

Skinny

The sparkly red heart is actually made with Washi Tape:

Here's the card:

Could Ya?

Should Ya?

Would Ya?

Yea!

And don't forget... there's the added feature of this series - try a new recipe. What's for supper? Million Dollar Chicken Casserole. I hope we like it.

Last month I made Navajo Flatbread and it was delicious!

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Stamp Set: Art Impressions Sloth-some stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink

Papers: Recollections Black and 110# White and SU Wild Wasabi CS and DP from my scrap file

Dies: Firefly Nested Hearts

Special Feature: Wild Wasabi Ink and Glycerin

Eyelet Outlet Products: Enamel Heart, Sloth Brad, Summer Tree Brad, Glitter Heart Washi Tape, Glitter Red Washi Tape, and Skinny Washi Tape

A Blast from the Past

Do you ever like to go back and do things like you used to? Don't get me wrong... I would not want to get rid of the dishwasher! However, today's card is old-school for me (using newer products) and I can truthfully say it was a fun card to make.

When I first started stamping many MANY years ago, I mostly stamped images that required multiple colors of ink and no coloring. That's what got me drawn into stamping and cardmaking. Then I discovered that I love to color and my style sort of shifted to line-drawn types of stamps.

But for today's card, I stamped in multiple inks once again... and I enjoyed doing it.

Thank you for stopping by my blog today!

Stamp Sets: SU Bloom by Bloom stamped with SU Real Red and Wild Wasabi Ink and SU What I Love stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink

Papers: Recollections Black and White and SU Real Red CS and Paper Studio Diagonal Stripe Black/White DP

Embellishments: SU Pearls and Ribbon

Always Thinking of You

The Challenge Your Stash stampers were challenged to make a card this month using a floral stamp that had not yet been used. You might remember this group must use what we have; no purchasing allowed... but not to worry about using a stamp that had not yet been used. I'm embarrassed to say I had quite a few of those in my stash to choose from since I enjoy the hobby of collecting stamps and supplies to be used at some point in the future. I decided it was time to ink up the Technique Tuesday Royal Jasmine stamp.

I also went with a color scheme that I don't usually use - lavendar (SU Almost Amethyst, to be exact) and no black anywhere. WOW!

I hope Joyce (whose theme it is) and Barb (the leader of the group) and the other Challenge Your Stash gals like my card.


Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Stamp Set: Technique Tuesday Royal Jasmine stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with Copic Markers

Papers: Recollections 110# White and SU Almost Amethyst CS

Dies: MFT Blueprint 15 and MFT Single Stitch Line Rectangle Frame

Embellishments: Eyelet Outlet Glitter Enamel Dots and SU Gold Cord

2020 Travel the World - Week 17

PLEASE NOTE: This week's Travel the World card is posting a day early as I have another commitment on my blog tomorrow. 

I started a Travel the World Series last year. (It should be noted that I did a similar thing in 2018, only it was the 50 states.) For 50 weeks in 2019, I visited a different country (virtually) and shared facts about that country. I then selected one tidbit of information about that week's country as inspiration for a card. Fifty weeks; fifty countries... BUT there are 195 countries in the world so that was just a little over 25% of them. Of course I couldn't stop, so this year I'm continuing with fifty more countries, one per week.

This week's country is...

Denmark

Denmark is an archipelago made up of over 100 islands, some of which are not even inhabited.

In Denmark one is never more than an hour's drive from the sea.

Greenland is part of the kingdom of Denmark.

Denmark is known for its happiness. Survey after survey report that the Danes are the happiest people in the world.

The Danish language has no word for "Please".

Danish houses are kept clean and tidy at all times because looking at something beautiful and well kept makes them happier.

The Danish flag was first acknowledged back in 1219, which makes it the oldest state flag still in use by an independent nation.

Swimming in a harbor is rarely considered to be a healthy idea, but  Copenhagen Harbor is clean enough to swim in.

There are 18 different shark species living in the Danish waters.

Danes love to sing.

Danish pedestrians typically wait for the traffic signal to change to "go" before crossing, even if the road is clear. Jaywalking is rare, too, as it can result in a hefty fine.

There are a lot of bicycles in Denmark. Interestingly, there are more bicycles in Copenhagen than there are people.

The longest pedestrian street in the world is in Denmark in the heart of Copenhagen – the shopping street Stroget, which became the world’s first pedestrian zone. 

Danish buses have an interesting feature – they can lean to the right, thereby facilitating boarding for disabled people and parents with children in wheelchairs. In addition, there is a free Wi-Fi on the buses.

The average age in Denmark as of January 2017, is 41.3 years. Also, at the same time, there were 1,143 people that were older than 100 years.

Healthcare and education are free in Denmark.

Denmark has the highest cancer rates in the world. One-fourth of all deaths in Denmark are caused by cancer.

Danes eat an average of 42 sausages a year.

They also drink an average of 4 cups of coffee each day.

Denmark’s sales tax of 25% is one of the highest in the world.

While most Danes are easygoing and shy away from formality, they are quite hung up on being punctual and precise.

The highest mountain in Denmark is only 561 feet tall.

Interestingly, in Denmark, it is the birthday boy who buys the cake for his friends and not otherwise. On your birthday, your college would put a Danish flag on your table. It is a tradition in the country.

If you are unmarried by the time you turn 25, cinnamon is sprinkled on you and if you are 30 and still unmarried, they will sprinkle pepper.

The average age to get married for men and women in Denmark is 34.8 and 32.2 years respectively.

The children’s LEGO toys are one of the most famous Danish inventions.

There are more pigs than people in Denmark.

In 1902 Denmark became the first country in the world where fingerprints were used as proof of the guilt of the suspect in the crime.

Denmark remained neutral during World War II.

Readers Digest did an experiment in 1996 and left some 40 wallets on streets in various locations in some countries. Only in Denmark and Norway the all 40 wallets were returned.

I decided to let this Denmark fact be the inspiration for this week's card... It rains an average of 170 days a year in Denmark.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Stamp Sets: Colorado Craft Company Sympathy and MFT Umbrella stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with Copic Markers

Papers: Recollections Black and 110# White and SU Daffodil Delight CS and MFT Black/White Stripe and SU Gingham DP

Embellishments: Brads from an unknown vendor

New Mercies Each Morning

I love Sundays that are free on my blog because it gives me an opportunity to do some Bible Journaling and share what I've journaled. My style is very simple and layered and not the typical Bible Journaling. BUT - one thing I've learned about Bible Journaling is it's really not about the outcome, the style or any of that. It's about getting into God's Word, and enjoying His lessons and His presence as I invest in this art form. 

In these days I wanted to be reminded that each day is a new day - and His mercies are new each morning - so I turned to Lamentations for my journaling.

Great is his faithfulness;

his mercies begin afresh each morning.

Lamentations 3:23

Supplies Used 

Stamp Set: Stamplorations New Beginnings stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with Copic Markers

Papers: Recollections Black and White CS and DP from my scrap file

Additional Items: Spellbinders Circle Die and Washi Tape from an unknown vendor


Thank you for stopping by my blog today!

Stay @ Home Update #3

Each Sunday (at 5:00 AM) I'm sharing how the week's 10-minute stay@home organizational challenge went. If you don't have an idea what that means and you're curious, you can learn more in my original Stay @ Home Update blog post - found HERE.

Now here's the disclaimer: Some of these daily stay@home challenges are taking more than 10 minutes, but who's counting, right? 

Here's what I've accomplished this week...

Day 1 - SUN, April 19

I have a lot of dies and have had them organized for a long time. They are even separated into categories, so overall, a pretty good system. For some reason though, I hadn't thought to label each one in a way that is easy to know the name/company. Today I labeled (just handwritten labeling) each of the dies in one of my metal crates. This is about half of my dies, so obviously I'll be doing this same task another day to complete the job.

Day 2 - MON, April 20
I still have several drawers of wood-mounted stamps to upload into my Evernote inventory so I added the ones in the Nature-Flowers drawer today.

Day 3 - TUES, April 21
A couple of days ago I labeled about half of the dies in my die storage. I had originally thought that wasn't needed, but over time realized it really would be helpful. Today I labeled the other half, so my dies are now all labeled. 

Day 4 - WED, April 22
Today I added the stamps in my Ocean-Beach drawer into my Evernote inventory. 

Day 5 - THUR, April 23
Today I created the labels for the stamp company dividers in 9 of my bins of unmounted/cling mounted stamps. I've now completed those dividers for 28 of my bins of stamps. I have 9 more bins to go. 

Day 6 - FRI, April 24
I really am wanting to get my stamps all inventoried, so today I added the "Owls" drawer to my Evernote file. Interestingly, since this is a smaller number of stamps, I actually managed to do this task in just over the 10 minutes allotted for my stay@home challenge. Most days take quite a bit longer than 10 minutes.

Day 7 - SAT, April 25
My Embossing Powders were taking up space in two drawers and were a disorganized mess. I decided it was time to do something about that. 

I purged first, getting rid of duplicates and others that I felt certain I would never use.

Once I'd decided which ones to keep, I created samples/labels so I could easily tell what the embossing looked like and I organized them all into one single drawer. 

It looks much better and I can easily find the one I want to use.


Okay, that's it for this week. Stay tuned to see what I accomplish in the coming week.

Brilliant Sunflower

This is the 4th Saturday in April and the 4th time I've used the Large Sunflower stamp from SumMore Fun for my Saturday posts. I committed to doing that and said I would use it in a different way each week.

Week 1 - I used a paper-piecing technique.

Week 2 - I stamped part of the image repeatedly around the edge of my card.

Week 3 - I stamped onto Kraft paper and colored with Inktense colored pencils.

This week I colored the flower and then fussy cut it into three pieces: each individual leaf and the bloom. I then reconfigured it onto my card.

In addition to the Large Sunflower stamp, I used three items that I received in my SumMore Fun Stimulus Package. Not sure what that is? It's a goodie box filled with items from the SumMore Fun store. Check it out - HERE. 

Not every Stimulus Package is exactly alike but they are similar in nature.

This is a picture of what was included in my Stimulus Package:

Each Stimulus Package also includes the No Loss for Words stamp set.

The three items I used from the Stimulus Package on my card included: the Brilliant die (I love it!), the glittery foam ladybug (it was white but I colored it), and a wobble for my sunflower bloom. It is such fun. The bloom spins/wobbles - but it does not photograph well.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Stamp: Victorine Originals Large Sunflower stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with Copic Markers

Stimulus Package Items: Die Versions Brilliant Die, Ladybug Embellishment, and Wobble 

Papers: Recollections 110# White and SU Sahara Sand CS and  DP from my scrap file

A Hollyhock Thank You

I had already colored these flowers for the Daily Marker 30-Day Coloring Challenge so when I needed to put together a quick Thank You card for a friend, I grabbed them and a few papers and was able to get a card together without delay. 

I love it when a plan goes together. 

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Stamp Set: Technique Tuesday Hello Hollyhock stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with Copic Markers

Papers: Recollections Black and 110# White and SU Real Red CS and MFT Black/White Stripe and Paper Studio Red Gingham DP

Die/Punch: EK Success Corner Rounder and MFT Stitched Rounded Rectangle Die

Embellishments: Recollections Rhinestones

Mom: Another Word for Saint

Mother's Day will be here before we know it so it's time to start thinking about ways to celebrate our Moms. It might be a bit different this year - if the restaurants are still closed it will definitely be different since Mother's Day is often considered the day each year that has more people eating in US restaurants than any other day of the year.

One thing doesn't need to change. We can all make Mom a card.

Today's card - made just for Mom - features the Defined stamp set from The Project Bin.

And here's an FYI for you - I'm pretty sure you'll be seeing a Father's Day card from this same stamp set on my blog in the near future.

Here is the inside of my card:

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Stamp Set: The Project Bin Defined stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink

Papers: Recollections Black and 110# White and SU Crushed Curry CS and SU DP

Die: MFT Wonky Stitch Rectangle

Embellishments: Flower and Ribbon from unknown vendors

2020 Graduate: Reach for the Stars

Graduation season will soon be upon us. A time for celebrating the completion of formal education and dreaming of a future and all that it holds. Most years this is done with ceremonies, gatherings of friends, parties, and more. This year, due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, graduation may seem a little anti-climactic. I get that. Some seniors might even wonder if anyone is noticing. If anyone cares.

I. care.

Because I care, I've made this card for a graduate I don't know at a request from a woman I don't know. Her school system has asked the community to "adopt" a senior and give him/her a card and gift. She's a cardmaker, so she's recruited other cardmakers (including me) to add a card to what she and her family are doing for one young man.

I can do that. 

So I made a card and will include a handwritten note of congratulations inside to help one young man celebrate this milestone in his life.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Stamp: Art Impressions Reach for the Stars stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink

Papers: Fun Stampers Journey Green Olive, Recollections 110# White, and SU Night of Navy CS and DP from my scrap file

Dies/Punch: Cropodile Corner Rounder Punch, Sizzix Mini Globe Die, and Spellbinders Circles Dies

Embellishments: Ribbon and Star-Shaped Brads from unknown vendors