FIRST CHRISTMAS CARD OF THE SEASON!

Today's entry is for two challenges - Color Throwdown - CTD 611 (gray, green, kraft, and white) and Freshly Made Sketched 453:

I hope I'll be forgiven the small amount of red on this card for the Color Throwdown! 

The trees were fussy-cut from some old Christmas paper. The circle die is an old one that I've had long enough that I don't remember from where it came. The background wavy snow was a Lawn Fawn die and the deer die is from My Favorite Things. The falling snow is KaiserCraft "Fading Dots" using white embossing powder. The sentiment is Impression Obsession B13486 stamped with PTI "New Leaf".

https://colorthrowdown.blogspot.com/2020/09/color-throwdown-countdown-611.html

https://freshlymadesketches.blogspot.com/2020/09/freshly-made-sketches-453-sketch-by-judy.html

  

AUTUMN COLORS

Impression Obsession's current challenge is to produce a card with autumn colors. This is my entry:

The framed image is IO #CL698 "Early Sunsets". The sentiment is from the same stamp set, but don't tell Lindsay Ostrom (the designer) that I cut off the "Falling Leaves" portion of her Early Sunsets sentiment! All ink is PTI "Dark Chocolate" and the coloring is done using Copic markers. The envelope is custom.

https://mitrafriant.typepad.com/impression_obsession_news/2020/09/autumn-colors-challenge-fun.html

 

SEPTEMBER IS BIRTHDAY MONTH

September is always a big month for our family. The twins have their birthdays on the 9th, my son's father's birthday is the 11th, my husband's is the 17th, and if my dad was still alive this Friday would have been his 100th. My birthday is the 25th and my sister-in-law's is the 2nd. My son and his wife celebrate their anniversary on the 28th.

This is the birthday card and envelope for my husband's birthday on Thursday. I used the challenge at Seize the Birthday #199 - "Die Cuts Only" as a jumping-off point. 

Dies: Main flower image Alexandra Renke "Magic Flower 2" and rectangular dies from my stash, unknown

Ink: VersaMark Watermark with Stampendous "Pirate Gold" embossing powder

http://seizethebirthday.blogspot.com/2020/09/seize-birthday-199-die-cuts.html

September 25, 2020

HALLOWEEN CARD #4

Less is More Challenge #428 "Shades of Purple" is where I started today. I'm not sure that this completely works as a "Less is More" card. When it comes to Halloween cards I tend to tart them up a bit more than most of my cards! (It's also tough to photograph with our horrible smoky atmosphere.) 

Dies: Sizzix Thinlits - Jim Holtz #664194 and #664209

Stamps: "Happy Halloween" from my stash (Simon Says?), spider web Jim Holtz image from last year, and the bat from Stampers Anonymous "Haunted House #CMMS308"

Inks: VersaMark Watermark with ZING! "Purple" Embossing Powder and Hero Arts "Unicorn"

The card inside is all yellow-orange with the windows cut through the card to show the interior color.

http://simplylessismoore.blogspot.com/2020/09/challenge-428-shades-of-purple.html

HALLOWEEN CARD #3 - CUT INTO THIRDS

Playing with Halloween cards is a good way to take my mind off the horrible happenings here in southern Oregon. I live 3 miles from Phoenix, OR and the Almeda Fire that ripped through that community and neighboring communities of Ashland, Talent, and southwest Medford. After a couple of days of having our bags packed in case of evacuation, we're now dealing with the horrific air quality and heavy smoke. There's still no official count of how many homes and business were razed or the full extent of the damage. 

However, we have been very fortunate - we and our son and his family all still have a house over our heads. For that we're very thankful.

I used the challenge at Just Us Girls #553 "Cut Into Thirds" as the inspiration for this card.

The house and tree dies are from Sizzix Thinlits Jim Holtz #664194 and the stamped witch image is also Jim Holtz - Stampers Anonymous "Haunted House CMS308. The coordinating #10 envelope is made using an Anna Griffin plastic template I've had for quite a few years.

Here's a close-up of the banner on the witch's broom:

http://justusgirlschallenge.blogspot.com/2020/09/just-us-girls-553-trend-week.html

 

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SUPPORTERS

 I do volunteer work for an organization (Northwest Seasonal Workers Association) that provides emergency food and clothing, medical and dental help, and legal advocacy services for the county's seasonal workers. Seasonal workers are described as anyone whose work is seasonal in nature - agriculture, fire-fighting, and hospitality. In addition to their work being seasonal, the seasonal worker is also our lowest-paid wage earner. Our organization is made up completely of volunteers and it's structured as a self-help vehicle. IOW, if a member asks for assistance, they're expected to spend time volunteering in exchange for that help. However, we never turn away requests for food if someone stops by our office who is hungry. Given the current state of affairs in this country, our organization has been exceptionally busy distributing food and legal advice and assisting with wage-theft and illegal evictions.  

Off the soapbox! Our supporters have been particularly generous this past 6 months and I've been turning out cards for special, more personal thank you notes. I used this week's CAS(E) this Sketch #388 as a jumping-off point for the cards.

One of the ways our group raises funds is through sales of annual calendars produced and provided to us free-of-charge from the National Labor Federation. These calendars are filled with beautiful illustrations by professional artists. Last year's calendar had a poster insert that I've been using to make envelopes for our cards. The die-cut flower stems (Sizzix Thinlits - Jim Holtz) are cut from the scraps left after using what's needed for the envelope.

Each of these cards will be unique as I run out of a particular color of ribbon or use scraps in my own stash. I have to turn out 40 of these!

http://casethissketch.blogspot.com/2020/09/case-this-sketch-388.html

    

ADD GOLD

 My sister-in-law's birthday was this week and it got past me, but I went to my craft room today to rectify that and decided on using a card challenge to produce her card. This week's "Seize the Birthday" challenge is "Add Gold". I wanted to make a envelope/portfolio type card by making an envelope first out of some old bird paper from my stash and lining it with metallic gold vellum. I then mounted the card to the inside and added satin ribbon to tie the envelope before slipping it into the outside envelope.

I have no idea whose dies these are. The sentiment is from PTI's "Beautiful Butterflies". The embossing powder is Recollections "Champagne".

http://seizethebirthday.blogspot.com/2020/09/reminder-198-add-gold.html

 

 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN #2

 Today's "Halloween Treat" is in response to Less is More challenge #427 "Chalkboard Technique". I did a card several years ago using this technique but had completely forgotten about it. I used Hero Hues "Unicorn" pigment ink and over-printed with PTI "Orange Zest" die ink but the orange color faded, no matter how many coats of ink I used. Perhaps this is due to layering two different types of ink.

The primary image is from Stampers Anonymous "Haunted House #CMS308". The "dingbat" below the image is a piece cut off from a very old clear stamp set. The spider and web are from a Tim Holtz set of a couple of years ago. I made the 3 little embellishments by punching three circles and dropping glossy accents on them.

 http://simplylessismoore.blogspot.com/2020/08/challenge-427-chalkboard-technique.html