Miss You

Operation Write Home needs miss you, Valentine's Day, love, and birthday cards right now, so I'm breaking up the Christmas card push with some variety. Today's card uses a wonderful Martha Stewart border punch to make the grass, and golly, the results are cute!

The heart was stamped on a scrap, cut out, and popped up. The red creates a very strong focal point for the card, amidst all the green and brown and (of course) white. Placement of the sentiment was tricky. It just didn't feel right floating it in the area between the stylized circle of plaid leaves and the grass, so I put it on the grass, as far from the heart as possible, to reinforce the feeling of absence.

I think it works, but you're entitled to disagree. I'm anti-totalitarian, you know.

On another subject, I'm entering a weird phase of crafting, sort of restless and dissatisfied and a tad insecure. (Can't imagine where that last one comes from...deeply unusual for me!)

Don't panic! I'm definitely not giving up papercrafting, but I'm trying to re-evaluate what I'm doing and how I'm doing it. Partly, this stems from my natural ebb and flow with this hobby, partly from my thoughts on minimalism, partly from some other things I want to make time for, and partly from a desire to keep things fresh, for myself and for you.

I'll keep you posted, although in the end, you might not notice any difference whatsoever. This is just further evidence (like anyone needs further evidence) that I over-think stuff. It's a curse.

Supplies
stamps: Papertrey Trendy Treetops, Love Birds (sentiment)
ink: Memento
paper: PTI white, unknown lime
accessories: MS grass border punch, dimensional

Super Size

Sometimes, to make an idea work, you have to think outside the box, expand your horizons, and cut your card stock a bit bigger.

And by bigger, I mean 10" x 7", folded into a 5" x 7" card.

Which looks huge when you're used to 4.25" x 5.5".

But super sizing the card was the only way to allow this particular sentiment (Hero Arts, I think) to be matted and have plenty of white space to breathe. The glitter paper (that horridly heavy stuff from Michael's) is so very pretty and sparkly and blue. It was worth super sizing.

This card would be easy to mass produce, by the way. Just sayin'.



Supplies
stamps: Hero Arts
ink: Memento
paper: Michael's glitter paper, Papertrey white
accesories: Martha Stewart snowflake punch, Corner Chomper

One-Layer Wednesday 113: Dark Red, Yellow/Gold, and Green

This week's odd-numbered One-Layer Wednesday challenge is to use the colors dark red, yellow/gold, and green on a card. This was inspired by the view out my study window a few weeks back. The trees and bushes positively glowed in those three colors. Interestingly, you could probably make Christmas cards using those colors, as well as autumn/Thanksgiving cards. The theme of the card doesn't matter, just that you use those three colors (plus dark brown or black if needed for a sentiment).

Hmmm. So many ideas!

Of course, I made a Thanksgiving card for the Gratitude Campaign. This one uses a piece of watercolor paper I found in a folder. I inked up the leaf stamp (Fall Elegance, Papertrey) using Memento inks (rhubarb, pistachio, dandelion), spritzed heavily with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Dazzling Diamonds, and stamped.

OLW113 Rules

1. A one-layer card is defined as a single layer of card stock folded in half. No other layers of card stock allowed!

2. Use the colors dark red, yellow/gold, and green to make a card. You may add black or dark brown for the sentiment if necessary. Please remember to keep embellishments to a minimum!

3. Upload your card somewhere online and link to it using the InLinkz button on the sidebar. If you link to your blog, please make sure the link goes to the individual post, not to your blog's home page.

4. HAVE FUN!!!!!! (That's the most important rule of all!)

Supplies
stamps: Papertrey Fall Elegance
ink: Memento
paper: unknown wtaercolor paper
accessories: Glimmer mist

Words with Punch

Okay, a few of you mentioned that my card here didn't look like I made it, seeing as it's remarkably lacking in my beloved white space. Well, today let's consider a pair of cards that you will have no trouble identifying as LateBlossom creations.

*snort*

A few words, a punched focal point, a little bling or pearls, plenty of white space...that's all you need to make a card.

A pretty card.

Of course, I love the other card I made, too. It's sometimes fun to play and make unexpected things. But I'll always come back to my happy, happy white space. It seems that card making is the one area in my life where I can get white space, 'cause the rest of it is utter chaos filled with dust bunnies and dirty laundry. *wink*

And yes, I'm giving that mistletoe card to my honey in his stocking this year. Who else could I give it to, after all?

Supplies
stamps: Papertrey Mistletoe and Holly
ink: VersaColor
paper: PTI white
accessories: punches, rhinestones, dimensionals, pearls

Holly and a Tag

Today's card uses a corner punch I'd forgotten I have...until I pulled out the ticket punch for another card and saw it lying in the drawer.

I'll bet none of you ever has that particular first-world problem...having so much stuff you forget what you have.

Bless our little forgetful hearts.

Anyway, the sentiment stamp from Papertrey's Happiest of Holidays fits perfectly on a tag shape, so that's what I did with it. The holly makes a nice, festive backdrop, too.

The little tiny bling on the tag is the same green as the holly...it's just too small to register as anything other than black on the photo. Notice how the red berries guide the eye to the tag? I tried using red thread and then green thread on the tag, but both were visually distracting. White was an okay compromise that doesn't stop the eye from going to the sentiment.

UPDATE on Memento Inks: There's nothing to update. I got a concerned response to my original email asking for photos, which I sent, and I haven't heard anything back. Some of my favorite older pads are starting to dry up (whatever would I do without pear tart?!?!?). I'm going to replace them and hope for the best.

I hope you all had a lovely weekend!

Supplies
stamps: Papertrey Mistletoe and Holly, Happiest of Holidays
ink: Memento
paper: PTI white
accessories: SU tag corner punch, circle hole punch, dimensionals, tiny rhinestone, craft thread

Big Images

The large sizes of the images in Papertrey's Mistletoe and Holly set drew me to it, and the same goes for the large sentiment in Happiest of Holidays. Most of my holiday images are smaller, and I really wanted to play around with these large-scale stamps.

Y'all know I like white space, but it's fun to fill it up sometimes, and that's what I did with today's card.

The background takes advantage of the very light shades of green and pink from Memento. Using these pale shades with smaller stamps makes them looks washed out, but with big stamps, the lighter shades are so much more useful! Color and central placement create a strong focal point of the larger sentiment. The strong red pops off the card, and the bright lime green mat helps frame the focal point nicely. The light pink ribbon unites the background and focal point, and the ticket-punched corners are reminiscent of the shape of the holly leaves.

What fun!

Supplies
stamps: Papertrey Mistletoe and Holly, Happiest of Holidays
ink: Memento
paper: PTI white; unknown lime
accessories: dimensional, ribbon, SU ticket corner punch

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Reader Christine from Canada made a comment about how she's sent far more Christmas cards than she has received and how grateful she is for any card she gets. I, too, have seen a drop in the number of cards I receive, which is somewhat shocking because so many of our cards come from military folks, who tend to be rather dedicated to staying in touch with long-distance friends for forever.

A couple of years ago, I wrote a piece for Advent on my other blog...a piece about greeting cards. If you're interested, you might find some inspiration in it either to send out more cards this Christmas or, if cards are a burden and not a blessing for you this year, to make sure that you send out greetings however you can.

I joked around in a recent post about panicking regarding Christmas cards. How will I make enough in time??!?!?!? Well, my panic is sort of real (because I'm sort of obsessive that way) but it is also sort of silly. Even we card makers can *gasp* purchase ready-made cards to send if we can't make enough for everyone on our lists. If you need permission to do so, I'll be happy to grant it.

For now, I'm having a blast making Christmas cards, but if I really do start to stress out, I'm going to put away my Christmas stamps and pick up a box of cards at Barnes and Noble.

The Latest OLW and the Gratitude Campaign and Something Funny

OLW112

First up, the latest OLW is on Ardyth's blog, and it's called A Song in My Heart. Well, the songs in my heart right now are Christmas themed because I'm thinking hard and fast about how there's less than two months 'til Christmas, and I still don't have a plan.

What will I make? What will I buy? What crafty things do I really want to do?

I DON'T KNOW!!!!!

I'm trying not to panic, but it's hard. You know it's hard. Don't you?

Anyway, my entry for OLW112 gets me one card closer to my Christmas card total of 120. That's what I'm aiming for. I think I have about thirty right now, but I can't remember. Don't want to.

I was playing around with some new Papertrey sets, including Mistletoe and Holly, and Happiest of Holidays. The colors are soft and old-fashioned: VersaColor olive and old rose. Such a pretty pairing and just the right thing to make the card special since there is no bling or embellishment whatsoever.

And the song that inspired it is sort of obvious, don't you think?

Thanks, Ardyth, for a really great challenge!!!

Gratitude Campaign

Well, I've made all my gratitude Campaign cards, and now it's time to start writing in them and mailing them. Just wanted to remind those of you who have embraced the cause of actually giving thanks on Thanksgiving not to get so wrapped up in the fact that Christmas is just around the corner that you forget to send your Gratitude Campaign cards.

Honestly, I just about did forget. How embarrassing.


Something Funny

"Why is she laughing at me?"

Daisy came to my craft desk the other day to beg while I was eating Halloween candy celery sticks, and when I looked down, that is what I saw.

Those little backing pieces for SU dimensionals get everywhere, don't they?