His & Hers Cards

Howdy peeps! The weather has been so beautiful here in NE Ohio, except for today. :(  It's been rainy, cold, and damp. BUT... this is Ohio so I'll just hang around a day and the weather will change.

I haven't been around much lately. Not because I don't want to, but I just haven't had the energy. I battle on and off with depression and it has been acting up. A lot of it is situational, meaning certain things going on will make it worse. Right now it's issues with my mom, who is 90, and in the nursing home. She's had slight dementia for awhile but right now it's starting to get a little worse. Mom know exactly what she want to say but can't say the words. She knows what is going on with her and gets, understandably, upset. So sad!

Hoping to get on a brighter note: My doctor increased my med dosage and I'm starting to have some desire and energy again. I'd like to share with you 8 cards I just made. I made them for this week's Midweek Throwdown [MWT] on OWH's blog Stars & Stamps. The challenge is to make two cards, one for Him & and one for Her, using the same layout. You can find this challenge here.

The layout is one Kristina Werner used in the Online Card Class I took recently. Ironically enough the class was titles "His & Hers". The classes are fantastic and a great source for learning and inspiration. I used to following 6x6 paper pads: Set 1, Indie Chic Nutmeg by My Minds Eye; Set 2, Renew collection by Authentique; Set 3, Hope collection by Authentique; Set 4, Hers, Carefree collection  and His,Original collection, both by Authentique.

The background paper is cut at 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" and I used two border punches for the sides. Hers is by Fiskars and His is by EK Success. The white strip is 2" x 4 1/4" with rounded corners on one end. For my ribbon I used a 1 1/2" circle punch and a 2" scalloped circle punch, both by Fiskars. The banners on the ribbon are cut at 3/4" with one end cut to make the V. The sentiment is from Very Special clear stamp set in the Jan 2013 SSS card kit of the month.

Well, that's about it for me. Thank you all for stopping by, hope you enjoyed your visit!

CardSwaps Challenge, OWH Sketch, and Pinterest Make For Strange Bedfellows!

Blessed Sunday my friends! I know this is a long post title, but it fits this card to a T! The challenge at CardSwaps last Monday was to have a wreath on your card. I so wanted to make a punch art wreath with branches, or snowflakes, or leaves... all attempts were fails. I should clarify and say 3 days of fails! :(   Then I saw a card on Pinterest with the cutest, and simplest, wreath. I eagerly abandoned my punch art fails and made the Pinterest wreath. Seriously, this wreath took all of about 10 minutes start to finish. Operation Write Home's weekly sketch 145 came out this morning on their blog Stars & Stamps. An A-HAH moment and it all fell into place.

I really, really like how it turned out. I was able to take a concept from Pinterest, modify it slightly, and make a card that fills the CardSwaps challenge and the OWH sketch challenge. It was quite easy to put together and would make a great kit card. Oh... and there isn't any stamping involved. Last year I found Rub-On sets by The Paper Company. It's an outside - inside set meaning the Merry Christmas is the front, or outside sentiment. The inside sentiment reads Wishing you peace, joy and happiness. Actually, I assigned Merry Christmas to the front because it fit with the sketch. Whichever way you use the sentiments it reads very well, so I don't think it matters.

For the wreath I punched the center circle first then centered the larger punch over it and punched. For the banner I used the 3/4" square punch, at an angle, to make the fishtail ends.

Ooops! I had to come back and add something. Don't ya hate when that happens? Here is the sketch we are to follow at OWH:

Supplies:
Card Stock: Bazzill red, white, green
Embossing folder - SU Petals A Plenty
Punches: 2 1/2" scallop circle(Marvy Uchida)
               1 1/8" plain circle (not sure)
               3/4" square punch (Creative Memories or CM)
               Small heart border punch, EKSuccess... I think.
Sentiment: The Paper Co (TPC) rub-on set Merry Christmas Multiples
Ink: Ranger Distress Ink in Festive Berries
Poinsettia & Leaf: Hero Arts felt embellishments
Liquid Pearls: White Opal

Thank You so much for stopping by, hope you enjoyed your visit!

OWH Midweek Throwdown

This is the last week of OWH birthday month, and this week features SRM stickers. Soooo, we are to use stickers. Now I'm not a big fan of stickers but, I have to admit, these new stickers that are coming out are really cool. The edges/backgrounds are clear so no more awful white that really looks stickerish. [Yep, just made a new word.] I chose OWH sketch #131 and turned it on it's side.

Aren't those penguin stickers sooooo cute? If you know me then you know I love penguins. When I saw these whimsical, happy stickers at Hobby Lobby I just had to buy them. I mean really... don't you think they're cute? I'm really happy with how this card turned out and I think this will be one design for this year's Christmas Cards.

Papers: Authentique 6x6 paper pad, Peaceful collection
Stickers: "Cute Penquin Stickers" by Hobby Lobby
Sentiment: "Christmas Assortment" clear stamp set by Scrappy Cat [gems included]
Border Punch: E.K. Success

As always, Thank You so much for stopping by, hope you enjoyed your visit!