OLW47 Wishful Thinking

Today's card was inspired by the fact that it snowed here today. Really? Snow?

Sadly, yes.

Instead, I'm left longing for butterflies. Summer.

This week's OLW, hosted by Jennifer, is a sketch challenge, and what a challenge it is to keep it to one layer. I chose to go with a very old block stamp from Hero Arts (one of the first rubber stamps I ever bought!) and a butterfly from an alphabet set, also Hero Arts, that happens to coordinate. LOVE this shade of blue (Bahama from Memento). I jazzed the card up with little dots of Sakura Stardust pen in the middle of each butterfly, though I don't think it shows up well in the photo. It adds just the right amount of interest in real life!

This card isn't perfectly square because even with a stamp positioner I stamped it too far to the right and had to cut an eighth inch off the left side.

You wouldn't have known if I hadn't told you. But I did. Nobody's perfect.

So click on over to Jennifer's blog to play along with the OLW!

Supplies
stamps: Hero Arts
ink: Memento Bahama
paper: white
accessories: Sakura Stardust pen in clear

CC316 The Ocean Calls...

If you haven't seen the Winner posts, please click here and here to see if you won!

The color challenge at SCS this week is AWESOME! Marina mist, baja breeze, and certainly celery. Oh happy day!

Here's my card, which takes us under the sea with a sea turtle. I love sea turtles. And pearls. I love pearls.

Oh how I want to go to the beach. Living in a land-locked state stinks.

And yes, I used wavy decorative scissors to make my wavy edge. There's no school like the old school.

Happy Wednesday!

Supplies
stamps: Mark's Finest Papers Tropical Vacation (sentiment), Flourished Sea Creatures
ink: marina mist, certainly celery, baja breeze
paper: marina mist, white
accessories: deco scissors, dimensionals, pearls

New Day 1 Winner

Since one of the selected winners for Day 1 never contacted me with her snail mail address, I drew another winner using Random Number Generator, and the lucky person is...

Janet a.k.a. swanlady21, who said...
I got to have my lovely sharp Victorinox knife!

Congratulations, Janet! Please send me your snail mail address at susanraihala at woh dot rr dot com.

The Rest of the Little Things Winners!

First of all, I want to thank each and every one of you who posted comments for the Little Things Blog Anniversary celebration! I enjoyed reading all the little things that make you happy in so many areas of life. I also want to thank the Sue in South Carolina (you know who you are!) who sent me a microfiber cloth of my very own. Big hugs, prayer buddy!

If you're lucky enough to be listed below, please send me your snail mail address at susanraihala at woh dot rr dot com.

Day 4's winner of the glitter and glue pen is...

Charlotte, who said...
I will be copying the fine glitter trick -- sometimes my cards need a bit 'o bling. I use a lambswool duster to clean the cobwebs and dust from upper ledges and shelves and angles on high ceilings. Love that little thing. You can also immobilize a spider in it and transport it safely outside.

Day 5's winners of the Smooch are...

Christine - Cndn Stamper, who said...
Great cards. I haven't tried Smooch yet, I have so much that I didn't want to like anything new in case I need it multiple colours. Your ink enabling was bad enough! I used to happy with just my SU inks - no longer... Another story. My favourite piece of jewellery is a pair of small garnet earrings that my DH gave me even before we started dating. I should have known then. Anyways, they are on small hooks, like the old fashioned dinner sets with pewter wire coiled around them to look like flowers. They always make me feel loved.

Brenda R, who said...
I am always loosing earrings from the cheap to expensive ones, so I tend toward inexpensive ones that my niece makes from beads. I wear the "fish hook stoppers" and that doesn't guarantee I won't loose one. My favorite jewelry is a three diamond ring with white gold made by a CA designer in a very unique design that does not have the standard "prongs" to hold the diamonds. Sorry I don't have the exact words to describe it, but it is beautiful to me.


Day 6's winners of the metallic Prisma markers are

Susie, who said...
Casting Crowns - Jesus, Hold Me Now. I must look at your tutorial to see how you get the lines straight.

Cassie_lu said...
beautiful card and my tops has got to be any song by Toby Mac. Really not picky about which one of his as long as it's him singing :)

Finally, Day 7's winners of the scissors and dimensionals (which will not ship until I receive the dimensionals on my SU order) are...

stampjourney, who said...
Lovely card! I love using dimensionals--they just add that little perfect touch! Someone framed our wedding invitation with beautiful pressed flowers. It's on a shelf and I smile every time I look at it.


Nancy L., who said...
lots of pictures of my family :)

Congratulations, everyone!

What's with the Top Fold?

Someone asked why I make portrait-oriented cards with folds on the top rather than the side. Honestly, I hadn't really thought about it. No good reason, I guess, except that I find it easier to photograph them that way and they seem to stand up better for display.

Here's a portrait-oriented card with a top fold. See how nicely it stands for its picture?

Now, here's a landscape-oriented picture with a top fold. It also stands nicely.

As far as I know, there are no rules about folds. I certainly don't judge folds. In fact, you can fold any way you want and as long as you're not hurting anyone, it's okay in my book.

Orientation, on the other hand, does have certain design rules, but those pertain to balance and harmonious composition for each individual card. Neither orientation is right or wrong in and of itself; orientation is a case-by-case issue, as these two cards show.

And by the way, I don't judge orientation, either.

Supplies
stamps: Shady Tree Studio Eastertide (a gift from STS's owner Nancy)
ink: Palette noir
paper: Papertrey white
accessories: colored pencils, dimensionals, scallop scissors

Can You Bling a Dude Card?

I think so.

Happy Monday!

Supplies
stamps: Hero Arts (fern), Papertrey Birthday Basics
ink: Memento Bamboo
paper: Papertrey white
accessories: ribbon, rhinestones

Yellow and I

I have decided that I own entirely too much yellow cardstock. This makes me sad, and I'll tell you why.

It's all sitting there, in my Cropper Hopper vertical paper storage, doing nothing. Nothing. I bought full packs of barely banana, so saffron, summer sun, yo-yo yellow, and marigold morning. In 2006. I've actually used some of the summer sun and marigold morning on fall cards, but the others...as my son would say, "they aren't my favorite." In fact, I pretty much despise barely banana and so saffron, which look almost indistinguishable to me and so very blah.

I'm going to attempt to use up some of these colors so I don't have to look at them anymore, and here's my start.

Do you have a color in overstock that you thought you liked but in retrospect wish you hadn't bought?

Supplies
stamps: Hero Arts (flower), Papertrey (sentiment)
ink: SU summer sun
paper: white, barely banana, some shade of orange
accessories: orange rhinestones, dimensionals