Life’s Natural Rhythm

A couple of days ago, I got sad news that a good friend and fellow stamper had lost her mother-in-law.  On that very same day, I received the joyous news that another friend and stamper had given birth to her very first child–a little girl.  I'm reminded again of the rhythm of life – one life gone, a new life begins.

Today I'm honoring a life well lived by Kathleen “Peg” Christensen, who had a remarkable 93 years with her friends and family.  Here's a special card for her son Alan and daughter-in-law Judy.

Because it was Alan's mom, I wanted a decidedly masculine card and Splitcoast's color challenge offered just the right pallette.  I used Bravo Burgundy, Basic Gray and Whisper White, with just a touch of Crushed Curry.  Lovely as a Tree stamp set seems my "go-to" stamp set for masculine cards.  I never get tired of it!  The sentiment is from Thoughts and Prayers stamp set; it's stamped in Basic Gray Classic Ink, as are the trees, and punched out with the Large Oval Punch, layered with Bravo Burgundy card stock punched with a Scallop Oval Punch.  A piece of Bravo Burgundy 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon knotted and wrapped around the Basic Gray card stock completes this simple card.

I'll get to work on a special card for that darling baby girl and share it with you soon!

THINGS YOU'LL NEED:

Item No. 115026 Lovely as a Tree   $27.95
Item No. 113252 Thoughts & Prayers   $25.95
Item No. 114889 Scallop Oval Punch   $15.95
Item No. 107305 Large Oval Punch   $15.95
Item No. 109053 Bravo Burgundy 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon   $7.95

Stamping 101 Library Class

I've had so much fun teaching two sessions of a beginner rubber stamping class at both the Naples Library in Naples, NY, and the Wood Library in Canandaigua, NY.  Thought I'd share the projects from these classes with you.

This card got its "wow" from cutting the frame and oval from the Big Shot using the Scallop Frame Die.  We stamped a beautiful tree from the Thought & Prayers stamp set in Old Olive Classic Ink and added a sentiment from that same set.  We punched a few flowers using the 3 Flower Punch and Perfect Plum card stock and attached them to the card with some Gold Brads.  A piece of Old Olive 1/2" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon completes this easy yet effective card.

The next card is a bright, fun birthday card showcasing several of the In Colors — Melon Mambo, Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry and a bit of Soft Suede.  We used the Crazy for Cupcakes stamp set and colored in the main image with Blender Pens and Stamp Pads.  A dash of Bermuda Bay 1/2" Polka-Dot Grosgrain Ribbon coordinates so beautifully!

It's the middle of November, so no card class this time of year would be complete without making a Christmas card.  We used several products from the Holiday Mini Catalog to create this card — Delightful Decorations stamp set and coordinating Ornament Punch, Four the Holidays sentiments stamp set and Silver Elastic Cord.  Colors used are Bordering Blue and Rose Red.  An extra bit of glitz comes from the 2-Way Glue Pen and Dazzling Diamonds glitter on both of the ornaments.  The Eyelet Border Punch was used to complete this elegant card.

I like to show my students that stamping isn't just for card making and scrapbooking, but you can make wonderful gift-giving items as well.  And 80% of the students voted this their favorite project out of the four the completed!  Here's a simple pouch with topper using our Small Cellophane Bags.  I showed how to ink up the rubber stamp from Holiday Best (Level 1 hostess exclusive stamp set) with markers to get a multi-colored image and brought in the colors from the Autumn Traditions Designer Series Paper that's wrapped around the chocolates.  A bit of Elegant Eggplant Rick-Rack from the Ribbon Originals Orchard packet gives an added bit of interest.