Dove Inspired Sympathy Cards - the Hungry Jpeg!

Seems that I have been making a lot of sympathy cards this summer so far.  I am always looking for new ideas  and I love how beautiful these doves came out.  I love using vinyl for more intricate files because it can handle the detail often much easier than paper!

The image is from The Hungry Jpeg.

Sometimes the simplest designs can help create the most beautiful cards that express much with few words.

The image on the left was removed with transfer tape.  It is the main image and the one

on the left it was what remained behind - leaving another beautiful image for a card.

This file was super detailed, but cut beautifully out of vinyl.  It's a good thing to remember

that there is no reason all cards must be made with card stock and paper.

The vinyl adds a lovely touch and transfers easily and needs little else.

I have another sympathy card to share soon, along with some birthday cards and new recipes.  I was feeling a bit "uncreative" lately but am getting some enthusiasm back.  I have to admit that a lot of my free time has been spent working on my diamond painting (I am still loving it) which is huge and I have collected many more to do - I love them.  It's a great way to just stop and take a breath.  I have also been doing more volunteer work and am getting ready to take over the presidency of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Oceanside so have been trying to get more organized so I can continue to find the time and energy for all of the things that I love.  I am still a work in progress!!

Enjoy what you love.......Life is too short.

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A Special Wedding....

This past weekend, my family traveled to Fresno where my daughter and granddaughters live.  It is not my favorite place to travel as it is a long car ride on a good day (about 5 hours).  And in the summer, it is hot.  Fresno did not disappoint when it comes to summer weather..  It was in the 90s when we drove in and 102 on Saturday - ugh.  People tend to say that dry heat isn't as bad, but let's face it - HOT is HOT!!

But enough of that - once settled in, we were able to enjoy some family time. I loved having extra time with my two boys (who are really adults!), my DIL and my adorable grandson. He entertained all of  us with his dancing and chattering and toddler antics the whole time.  It was great fun.

Saturday was the day of the wedding and all went well. I don't think I have ever seen my daughter happier, and I hope that stays with her the rest of her life. Her daughters love her new husband, and his daughters love Missy.  Seems to be a beautiful blended family.  What more could I hope for - right?

Her colors were gray with purple accents, so I used that inspiration to design her wedding card.  I wanted it to be simple and elegant and think I achieved that.  I used a beautiful image from Power Poppy ( LOVE her floral designs) and foiled it in purple. The foiling is so difficult to capture, but hopefully with the different angles you can see how pretty it was. I was thrilled to see how all of the detail was enhanced by the foil.

A perfect example of how difficult it is to capture the color and shimmer

of the foil.  But also a good way to see the detail of the digi image.

It is beautiful in its simplicity.

A little better capture of the foiling.  Now you can see why I love it.

It just brought the image to life.

The sentiment is from Anna Griffin, stamped on Gina K Heat Resistant acetate 

and heat embossed.

I wish them a very HAPPY life.....

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Lost and Found... my Mojo!

For the past month I have really been struggling to come up with ideas for cards.  There was absolutely nothing that inspired or excited me.  So I did a total purge of my craft room that took a couple of weeks and emptied one entire unit of drawers and shelves that covered an entire wall!  It felt so good to let go of  "stuff" and that led to "new hones" for many of the remaining supplies.  Clearing space was a good start, but I was still feeling a bit lost when it came to being creative. 

So... I just took a stamp I had never used, stamped it on a piece of cardstock and started coloring.  I pushed myself to stick with it and slowly I found I was actually enjoying it. (More on that next month!)  I had no idea what I was going to do with it, but I didn't give up. While trying to come up with the next step, I found a stash of leftovers that were never used in projects, but were just waiting to be used!. And that was apparently what I needed to jump start my card making process.  I was beginning to feel the joy that comes with having an idea and making it come to life.  Yippee!

Unfortunately, this void in my creativity made me over a month late in crafting a birthday card for a friend. So I decided a friendship card would be more appropriate all things considered.  I had saved the negative image from a flower card that I made 3 - yes THREE years ago - so I pulled that from my new-found stash, and brought it to life!  I am so happy with how it turned out.  The original image was from a floral image I found online.  I kept it simple with glitter and just added ribbon and pearls to embellish it. 

Using two shades of glitter was something I had not tried before, but it was easier than expected. 

I worked slowly with little embossing powder spoons to control where it fell. 

I wanted the colors to flow into each other gradually.

Trying to capture the shine of the glitter is tricky, but it was so pretty in person.

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