I Like Birds

Have you seen the movie A Big Year? It stars Steve Martin, Owen Wilson, and Jack Black, and it follows the three characters as they compete against each other for a big year—the race to see as many birds in North America as possible. The winner gets glory in the birding community, but no fortune. I highly recommend the film!

While I’m nowhere near obsessed with birds, I do enjoy watching them on our Netview Birdfy bird feeder. The feeder has a motion-activated camera and shoots 20-second videos. (Not compensated for this mention, just a happy customer.) Occasionally the videos show our boys mowing the grass or the dogs playing or an occasional chipmunk, but mostly we get a wide rage of birds.

Today’s cards use the Simon Says Spring Birds stamps and dies. 

These stylized bird images—colored with Copics—appeal to me for so many reasons. They are cute as can be, easy to color, easy to die cut, and easy to design into CAS designs. A win-win-win-win in my book!

Several of my friends are scared of birds. Are you? 

Mercy, grace, peace, and love,

Susan

A Darling Little Giveaway

Today’s post comes courtesy of my buying stuff I already have, and one of you with a mailing address in the United States will be the lucky recipient! 

Included in the giveaway are:

• Three Copic Sketch markers: R81, R83, and R85
• One Hero Arts clear stamp set: Merry Snowmen
• One Lateblossom original card using these products (shown)

All you need to do to be included in the giveaway is to comment on the blog OR Facebook OR Instagram before Sunday, June 22, EDT answering this question: 

What motivates you to create cards?

Everyone is invited to comment! After all, I’m very Methodist, and we believe in including all who want to partake at the communion table. If you live outside the U.S., please comment but include your country’s name. One of you will receive a card made by me! 

If you already have this set and the Copics, and do NOT wish to be included in the giveaway, please say so in your comment. Ditto for those of you who hate coloring. 

And thank you all for your kind support for Simplicity over the years. The stamping community really is the best!

Mercy, grace, peace, and love,

Susan

Copying a Design I’ve Copied Before

Do you have favorite layouts? I do, and this is one of them, inspired by another stamper’s design (can’t find it…but she was amazing).

It turned out to be perfect for the Ellen Hutson tile set I bought last year and gave me a chance to play with lots of colors from my collection of Simon Says Pawsitively Saturated ink.

Up first, three cards with colored card stock bases: a very old gable green (StampinUp), a pretty pink (unknown), and a salmon-y orange-pink (unknown, but perhaps Papertrey). 

And next, white card bases for a different feel. 

I varied the sentiments a bit, but otherwise the cards are identical in all except color. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be the blue tiles on white. Do you have a favorite color?

Mercy, grace, peace, and love,

Susan

PSX Never Goes out of Style

The old stuff from PSX has a timelessness that I adore…plus, this leaf is perfect for Copics!

In the closeup, you can see the gold spatter and edging. 

And that’s all I have to say today!

Mercy, grace, peace, and love, 

Susan

Gina K for the Win!

In the past year, I’ve picked up several sets from Gina K, all in the same style of outlined flowers. The outlines are dainty, the images darling. As I’ve made a commitment to use—actually use—my Copic markers more, these sets are simply perfect. 

First up, Garden of Wishes, in three different color schemes and the simplest of card layouts. This set has a very balanced design, and its size means it fills the card nicely, with plenty of space left over for clean margins.

I chose to omit the colored mat on the yellow card because it didn’t have enough contrast with the white and looked weird. Y’all know I love me some white-on-white card stock for the clean lines and simplicity.

The second set, Tall Stems, begs for a few butterflies to adorn the space above! The larger design didn’t need a mat, so I used colored card stock to match. 

I really like this sentiment from the set and am blessed with a number of people to send these cards to. 

In the future, I will experiment with different layouts, cropping, and coloring. But for now, the simplest designs make me ever so happy! And no, Gina and I are not in cahoots. I just really love these sets I bought!

Do you have any favorite sets for coloring with Copics? Inquiring minds, and all that!

Mercy, grace, peace, and love,

Susan

Memorial Day

Memorial Day honors Americans who died in service to our country, from the Revolutionary War through recent conflicts. For me, the day has always been a chance to reflect on WHAT, exactly, these brave soldiers, sailors, aviators, and marines died for. I was taught some rather basic principles that are at the heart of the United States of America as it should be: 

• Freedom. Of speech, assembly, religion, press, thought, political affiliation.
• Separation of church and state.
• Due process and equality under the law, and innocent until proven guilty.
• The freedom to move around from state to state without interference.
• Checks and balances of power between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.
• Respect for police, firefighters, emergency workers, and anyone committed to serving our country in the military or civil service.
• My rights end where someone else’s begin. That’s not a bug; it’s a feature. It means if I have an opinion or belief, I’m entitled to it, but I am NOT entitled to harm someone else just because they think or believe differently from me. There will always be people saying, believing, or doing things that I disapprove of, but as long as I am not being harmed by them, too bad. They’ve got the same rights I have. 

I remember so vividly my childhood trust that our government was just, balanced, and fair. As I grew older, I realized the ideals listed above ran more like guidelines than rules in the real world. For instance, more African Americans than white people receive the death penalty, even though whites commit more murders. Police officers can behave very badly, as can politicians and civil servants. 

In fact, anyone can be an angel, an asshole, or a psychopath, no matter what their position in life. 

But the ideals serve a purpose, a goal, an aspiration for a better world, a kinder world, a fairer world. They’re the lighthouses we should seek in tempestuous times. 

And hundreds of thousands of men and women put on the uniform and gave their lives for those ideals. 

Today, I’m sharing a few sympathy cards. Karen’s Card Shop ALWAYS needs sympathy cards. They seem appropriate.

And as you eat a burger and watch a parade or whatever you do to mark the occasion, take a minute to reflect on how we are (or are not) living up to those ideals. Are we betraying their sacrifice and trust?

I wonder.

Mercy, grace, peace, and love,

Susan

Menopause Brain and a Few Cards

The spring semester has closed, and what a weird one it was, somewhat captured in the following photo:

That’s what my feet looked like Sunday, two weeks ago, at church. Just call me Miss Matched. The rest of my photos for today are (hopefully) proof I haven’t completely lost my mind. 

And if you’d like to feel better about yourself—especially those of you who are women of a certain age—check out @justbeingmelani on Instagram. I’m a card-carrying member of her new club for perimenopausal and menopausal women: The We Do Not Care Club. We do not care if our shoes match. We do not care if we have makeup on. We do not care what people eat for dinner. 

It is very liberating, actually. 

A most relevant entry for this blog might be “We do not care if we make pretty things and no one cares.”

And now for some cards, the making of which led me to buy the large and small sets of Simon Says blending brushes because I wanted something better than the Tim Holtz blender pads.

First up, a delightful posey stamp from Gina K. Blues and greens are my go-to colors. They are so peaceful and soothing. I embossed the stamp, masked the border, sponged the inks (Distress ink), and added bling and a sentiment.

Next up, a very similar card using a stamp from an old set by Mama Elephant. Similarly, but embossed outside the masking. I like the look, even if it doesn’t show up well in the photo. 

For the remaining backgrounds, I brayered Kaleidacolor ink on scraps and cut shapes out of them, layered on die cuts, and let the color do the work! The color truly is spectacular with this technique. 

I’ve bought a LOT of new stampy stuff recently and am working my way through it all. One thing that has changed my life (in a small way, of course, but seriously, it’s cool): the Pawsitively Perfect Tacky Mat. I put it into my MISTI, and it’s so much nicer than using magnets to hold paper down.

What have you added to your supplies recently that has made your crafting better? Inquiring minds and all that….

Mercy, grace, peace, and love,

Susan