Apothecary Art

Well it's almost here. Labor day is just around the corner. In protest I plan to wear white well into September. I know, I am such a rebel. Anyway I really can't believe August is almost over. I am beginning to think I need to live somewhere that doesn't have snow. I don't mind the cold as much as I miss all the summer colors in the dead of winter. I love color and the white just doesn't cut it for me for the length of time we have it. And as I type, there is a hummingbird right outside my window at some phlox. She even came closer to the window to take a peek inside. If that isn't a reason to love summer.

So onto color. Today's card is all Stampin' Up. The colors are Soft Suede, Poppy Parade and Baja Breeze (in the picture the Baja Breeze looks more like a light blue- sorry about that). I used the new die cuts called Labels Collection Framelits. They are much like the Spellbinders but you can't emboss an edge with the framelits. The stamp set- Apothecary Art, was designed to fit these framelits. Way to go Stampin' Up for offering these! The butterfly is from the set Creative Elements and the seam binding is Baja Breeze. The DS paper is also from SU but I can't remember the name. I got it during celebration this past year.



Even though I complain about winter, I do tend to spend more time in my stamping studio during the winter months. I guess that is my creative time of year. On a beautiful summer day I love being outside too much to be inside crafting. I am getting antsy though to do some more altered art. I have been hording away all kinds of little do-dads. We will see what fall brings.

 

~Have fun and enjoy!

Mon Amie

Today's card is out of the box for me in regards to color. These aren't two colors that I would normally put together but it worked. I used a color from SU which is no longer available but I still had a good stash of it. It is called Groovy Guava. The embossing folder is from Darice called Journal Flourish and I used it upside down- or maybe not. Who is to say which is the right way. Anyway, I used Spellbinders Label 10 and Fancy Tags 2. The sentiment Fancy Phrases and the Label 10 border is from Waltzingmouse Stamps. She has quite a few borders for several of the Spellbinders Labels. You can check her out by simply clicking the hyperlink. It will take you right to her online store.

I added a row of laced rosettes to the bottom. This was a great find in the clearance isle at Hobby Lobby although I had to buy the entire bolt. I also added a few black pearls.

The weather has cooled down a bit here in Michigan. I am sure there aren't too many people complaining as we have had an abnormally hot summer. We started working on a path from the driveway around to the back patio. I wanted something informal as you walk past the gardens so I went with an irregular stone that is meant to interlock but I am putting a one inch gap between them. It's not a very wide path, in fact it is only 36 inches. Just enough to lure you back but not enough to obstruct the lawn. Hopefully one day there will be moss between the stones. I had seen on an episode on Martha Stewart where she used yogurt to get moss to start growing on pots to make them look old. I might just have to paint the edges of the stones with the yogurt. First we have to finish laying the stones so I better get out there and start working.

~ Have fun and enjoy!

Create Kindness

I know it has been awhile since I have posted- sorry to dissapoint all of you that follow my blog. I wish I could say that I would get better at posting more often but life isn't always as we plan. I have noticed that my stamping mojo has taken a leave of absence again. When life seems to get chaotic; stamping takes a back seat as it should. Again we play the waiting game with my son's treatment. He has finished his radiation treatments but the radiation will continue to work for the next two weeks. I wish I could tell the radiation that there would be an extra bonus in it if it worked even harder. I wonder- would a mother's relief count as a bonus? Again it is one of life's challenges that is out of my hands and into another's higher than myself.

I know my love of stamping has slipped away when I didn't feel the excitement of beint at a stamping convention in Novi, MI. Nevertheless, I enjoyed a day with the grils and spending some money on new stuff. I had told myself before we left that I really didn't need anymore stamps, but guess what I came home with? You guessed it- more stamps. I was pretty proud of myself for having some restraint. When I found something that caught my fancy, I asked myself - do I already have something similar at home, and most of the time the answer was yes. So back on the vendor's shelf it went. Mind you, I did come home with a sizable bundle. I'd like to call it my therapy session (probably cost me the same).



Today's card is using a couple of Stampin' Up (SU) stamps. The three sets I used are Kindness Matters, Charming and Creative Elements. The image of the woman is from Hero Arts called Smart Style. It is just a collage of layered papers. The large scallop in the back is from an old dictionary. The woman was stamped in artprint brown and then I used SU Designer Frames Folder and cut around it. I dyed the flowers to match with a Ranger ink pad some water on a paint brush. I also brushed some ink on the lace to give it a vintage look. Here is a hint: A strong mixture of iced tea or instant coffee is also a great way to create that vintage look on your embellishments. Just dip your lace or flowers in it and then let them dry.

I was planning on sitting outside in the sun today with a good book. I am reading a collection of love letters and poems from an 1800 poet and theologist by the name of Francis Ellingwood Abbot. Boy they sure don't make men like that anymore. It looks like it is going to be cloudy most of the day, so maybe I can try to get back in the swing of things with my new stamping goodies. My DH has been gone all week camping in the rustic UP with no electricity or running water (not my idea of a vacation). He even took the dog with him, so I have had a clean house to myself- now that's a vacation!

~Have fun and enjoy!