In Praise of Stepmothers

I lost my mom to breast cancer when I was 23 years old.  As difficult as this was, there was more pain ahead.  As the eldest, I felt a burden to hold the family together, when my mom was the real glue of the family.  I watched helplessly as my dad tried to cope with his suddenly lonely, solitary life, and my two younger sisters were suddenly cut adrift, much too young.  I was incredibly relieved when my dad met and married Edna, my stepmom!  Edna was so good for my dad, full of life and joy.  She was just what Dad needed at that time in his life.  And Edna worked so hard to bring the two sides of our families together to be a unit again.  This was not an easy job and not always successful, but I will always be grateful to Edna for trying and for being there for us.  I wanted a way to say thank you to her as her birthday approaches.

Edna was born in England and for some reason, the Everything Eleanor stamp set makes me think of the British Isles and all that the English countryside embodies.

Here's the card I created just for Edna:

Marina Mist isn't the blue I usually choose for my cards, but I love it when combined with Basic Black and Whisper White.  This is the combination chosen this week for the Dynamic Duos challenge #29.  This is Black Tie Week and the challenge is to use Marina Mist and Basic Black with a dessert option of a Snowman Theme, although that wasn't mandatory.

 

I think the reason I like Everything Eleanor so much is the variety of beautiful elements it has.  The

flowers are exquisitely represented, but not difficult to fussy cut and curl with a bone folder. The flourish is so...well, flourishing!  And I love the treatment of the label!  And pearls work so well with it!  It was such a welcoming break from designing Christmas cards! (I never thought I would hear myself saying THAT!) 


 The card is fairly self-explanatory.  The blue panel in the background is embossed with the Fancy Fan embossing folder and the Big Shot.  To get the black shape shadowing the Happy Birthday label, I stamped the label on Basic Black with the Marina Mist and then traced around the border with a silver Stampin' Dazzle marker so I could see to cut it out.  Stampin' Up:  We need a framelit to fit this shape!  We have a smaller version in Apothecary Accents framelits, but not this size!  It's just begging for one!  (There!  Do you think they heard me? I'm sure you'll see one introduced in the next few days! lol)
I hand cut it and positioned it so it was off-set to the sentiment label. Speaking of the sentiment, it is one of the new single stamps from the Perfectly Penned stamp set - just perfect for this card!

Well, that's all my secrets revealed here....regarding this card I mean!  Let me know what you think of Everything Eleanor!  And do any of you have a special stepmom in your life?  I love to read your comments and get to know you a bit better.

Stamps:  Everything Eleanor (w124162; c124164); Perfectly Penned Happy Birthday (single stamp) (c132309)
Paper:  Marina Mist (119682), Basic Black (121045) and Whisper White (100730) card stock
Ink:  Classic Stampin' Pad in Marina Mist (126962); StazOn Jet Black (101406)
Accessories: 3/8" Taffeta Ribbon in Whisper White (109070); Pearl Basic Jewels (119247); Large Pearl Basic Jewels (125577)
Tools:  Fancy Fan embossing folder (127751); Paper Snips (103579); Stampin' Dimensionals (104430); Glue Dots (103683)

Summer Time, and the Livin' is Easy!

Do you recognize the title?  It's a jazz number that always evokes summer time images for me!  Today is the first day of official summer, and the first day that has actually felt like summer for ages around here.  June is usually an unsettled month in these parts, with lots of rain, but this year has been really wet and flood warnings are in effect all over BC as the temperatures rise and the higher than normal snow pack begins to melt.  Down by beautiful Okanagan Lake, the beach has disappeared and the willows are standing knee-deep in water.  One friend posted on Facebook that the Revelstoke Dam opened its spillway for the first time in 15 years!  You see the massive amounts of water thundering through and you've got to be thankful that you live in a country with an abundance of clean drinking water, when in so many places on earth, people are dying daily for a lack of it!
But, by August, we'll be hot, dry and wishing for a little rain, I'm sure.

Speaking of water, nothing is as comforting and down-home as a nice cup of tea!  Don't you agree?  Everything looks a little better as you cradle a warm, steaming cuppa in your cold hands!  Here's a card I created while waiting for Grandbaby #2 to decide to show up!

This card involves some layered stamping and emboss resist techniques and took a while to make, but I'm really pleased with the way it turned out.  I used the Framelits Labels collection and die cut a label in Very Vanilla.  I used Crumb Cake ink to stamp the background stamp, En Francais, then sponged over it randomly with Crumb Cake, Calypso Coral and Pool Party.  I then used Versamark ink to stamp the tea cup and the little violet-like flowers around the outside.  I covered them with clear embossing powder and heat set the powder for a clear finish.  Then I sponged Soft Suede ink over the whole label, which brought up the tea cup design beautifully, but leaving some of the background of the En Francais still visible.  The heat embossed areas resist the Soft Suede ink and it only colours the areas that are not embossed.

The Calypso Coral cardstock in the background was dry embossed using the Fancy Fan embossing folder (mmmm!  love it!) and I used some Very Vanilla Seam binding ribbon and some Paper Daisies to embellish, along with some Basic Pearls.  The sentiment is also part of this Tea Shoppe stamp set and it was punched out using the Modern Label punch. 

Looks like I'm on a kind of Calypso Coral kick right now, and why not?  It's such a great colour! I'll have to switch gears for my next blog, I think.  Have a wonderful Summer Solstice, everyone! 

Stamp Sets: Tea Shoppe, En Francais

Paper: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Calypso Coral and Very Vanilla cardstock

Ink: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Calypso Coral and Pool Party

Accessories: Very Vanilla Seam Binding ribbon, Paper Daisies, Basic Pearls

Tools: Big Shot, Fancy Fan embossing folder, Framelits Labels Collection, Modern Label Punch, Boho Blossoms punch

Fancy Fan Embossing Folder

Tea Shoppe Stamp Set

En Francais background stamp

Kindness Matters

I have been working on some new workshop projects, and since I have a workshop deal for new stampers, to get what they need to actually start stamping, I used a set called Kindness Matters, which is one of the stamp sets that is part of the deal.  I chose it because of the lovely images, but also because it includes some sentiments and it is one of the more affordable sets that Stampin' Up offers.

I've been dying to use more Calypso Coral, because coral is one of my all time favourite colours, but I have been searching for some other colours to coordinate with it in a combination that I like....and it came down to Basic Gray again.  But I do like this palette, so take a look at the project and see what you think.

Those little butterflies are so lovely and this set has such nice flourishes.  I used the new Fancy Fan embossing folder with the Big Shot to give the Calypso Coral some appealing texture.  I used the Framelits Labels Collection for the main image and the Basic Gray matte.  The designer series paper in Basic Gray is from the Twitterpated collection.  I love how the Calypso Coral ruffled ribbon adds more texture.  The main image is popped up on dimensionals, and a few Basic Rhinestones add some bling!

Stamp Sets:  Kindness Matters
Paper: Basic Gray, Calypso Coral and Whisper White Cardstock
DSP: Twitterpated
Ink: Calypso Coral and Basic Gray
Accessories: Calypso Coral Ruffled Ribbon, Basic Rhinestones, Stampin' Dimensionals
Tools:  Big Shot, Fancy Fan embossing folder, Framelits Labels Collection, Modern Label punch

Don't forget the great deal that Stampin' Up is offering Hostesses of Workshops held in June and July. 

For a qualifying workshop (total orders before shipping and taxes of $525 or more, the Hostess earns $150 in free Stampin' Up products plus one item at 50% off. (That's an extra $60 over the usual rewards!)  You could earn a BIG SHOT!  How awesome is that!  Call me right away to book a workshop.  My slots are filled in June, but I still have some available in July!