Stranger Things

My aunt took a trip to Japan and thoughtfully picked up a package of absolutely gorgeous paper for me.

Then she read my comment on Ellen Hutson's FB page that I don't use patterned paper and worried I wouldn't use the papers.

So I made this card to prove her wrong.

The design in the paper was perfect for a narrow vertical strip which leaves lots of glorious white space, so it definitely looks like a LateBlossom card. So no worries, kind aunt!

The gorgeous paper contains an olive green that looks amazing with the pink background...a color combo I would never have come up with myself. That olive shade on the paper is slightly darker but a great match for Brilliance pearlescent olive ink. The slight shimmer of the olive ink looks great in real life with the shimmer of the gold on the paper. 

There are stranger things than LateBlossom using patterned paper. Plus, it's fun to get out of the box now and then...especially with such lovely papers!

Thanks, Aunt Sylvia!

Love, peace, hope, and joy,
Susan

Supplies
stamps: My Favorite Things label maker sentiments
paper: Japanese paper, Papertrey white
ink: Brilliance pearlescent olive
accessories: tape runner

Blogger AWOL

Well, it's been a while. Sometimes, life just takes over, doesn't it. My husband had arthroscopic surgery on his knee Wednesday, and blogging had to take a back seat. The patient is doing very well, but his days of competing in Ironman triathlons may well be over. Severe arthritis in the knee and running marathons just don't go together.

I missed you!

I found a great idea for party favors while getting a peppermint mocha at Barnes & Noble about a month ago. They'd just put out these adorable snowflake marshmallows for hot chocolate toppers, and I bought all they had. Combined with a single-serving pouch of Land O' Lakes hot chocolate mix in a snowflake treat bag (Hobby Lobby) with a jingle bell and tag for accents, and you've got a sweet-looking party favor!

I've made a bunch of them and thrown them in boxes of gifts for family and friends. These in the basket below are for our Stephen Ministry Christmas party, and after that event, I'll reload the basket for our book club, which I'm hosting this month because everyone wants to see my book tree.

For the record, I chose The Hundred-Year-Old Man who Climbed out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson for our December meeting. It's a satisfying read, very much along the lines of Forrest Gump. I love our book club...we actually talk about the books, but we also have time for socializing and fellowship. We've been meeting for over four years now, and it's really quite delightful.

Do you like to read? Are you part of a book club? If so, what do you like best about your book club?

Tonight, I'm going to see If a Man Answers, the high-school fall play. My son Nick has a part in it.

Here's a picture of Cooper and the beginnings of my Christmas decorations. We went to the tree farm on Sunday so hubby could kill a tree, drag it into the house, and put it in the stand before surgery. We will decorate it when the play is over and my son can help.

Here's a picture of the two pups sleeping. Because you can never have too many pictures of pups sleeping. They lower your blood pressure, you know.

Can you tell I have holiday ADHD? Whew. I'm all over the place. Well, everywhere except my craft room. I got some time today to stamp, only to discover I've forgotten how to do it. *sigh* It'll come back, but I made a lot of pretty trash today.

I hope you all had a November that was surgery-free and full of thanksgiving, and I pray your December will be surgery-free and full of the love and peace and hope and joy of Christmas.

Love, peace, hope, and joy,
Susan

Supplies
stamps: Hero Arts
ink: Archival red geranium
paper: Papertrey white
accessories: white satin ribbon (1/8"), treat bags, silver twist ties, silver jingle bells, snowflake marshmallow toppers (Barnes & Noble), Land O' Lakes hot chocolate mix

Guys Have Birthdays, Too

Making cards for guys can be tough. When I saw this pin, I knew I could come up with something similar, and here it is.

You'll note there's an elegance to the inspiration card that's utterly lacking in my version. I simply don't have the dies to duplicate what Daniela did. But the idea of a deer looking out from behind a tree, of a snowy background, and soft neutral colors absolutely came from her lovely card. The rest rocks a masculine vibe that will be perfect for one of my nephews.

The stamps and die are from Papertrey's In the Meadow set, and the birthday stamp is from Clearly Besotted's A Little Sentimental. The paper is one of PTI's natural cardstocks, so it's softer than stark white and works well with the light browns.

I even stamped an envelope to match.

Perfect for a January birthday...all thanks to Daniela's elegant inspiration.

Mercy, grace, peace, and love,
Susan

Supplies
stamps: Papertrey, Clearly Besotted
ink: Hero Arts soft wheat, soft brown
paper: Papertrey natural cardstock
accessories: Papertrey tree die, dimensionals

Fresh Take on an Old Set

I have no idea why Mehndi Medallions called my name, but it did, and I pulled it out to play. Paired with a Hero Arts ombre inkpad, it looks fresh and funky and perfect for my niece.

The design here started off an echo of this manly Christmas card, but I opted for a smaller, cleaner sentiment panel.  Instead of centering the sentiment panel as I originally intended, I stuck it to the side, in the the sweet spot (horizontally one third up from the bottom and vertically covering two thirds from the left edge). This location adds some energy to the design...centering tends to make everything look stable and secure (a perfectly acceptable option for that silent night Christmas card, but not so much for a teenager's birthday card).

The ombre effect of the background is fun and interesting (and busier than I usually make), but it's balanced by the simple, clean sentiment panel. The crisp, serif font looks great with the medallions, too.

A bit of bling in the centers of the medallions, and it's fit for fun!

I also made a coordinating envelope.

Now that Thanksgiving is finished, I'm getting started on Christmas decorating. We're going to get our tree tomorrow (we cut down a tree at a tree farm every year we're in town for Christmas). It's a bit earlier than usual, but my husband is having exploratory knee surgery next week and might not be fit for scrambling around a giant tree farm afterward.

I've nixed the idea of another Treezilla like last year. We'll get something more suited to the space and less, ahem, expansive.

Mercy, grace, peace, and love,
Susan

Supplies
stamps: Papertrey 
ink: Hero Arts
paper: Papertrey white
accessories: rhinestones, craft foam, glue

Giving Thanks, Part 4

Well, I am grateful for an awesome prime birthday (51 is lovely) and an awesome Thanksgiving two days in a row. Next year, my birthday will BE on Thanksgiving.

This may or may not be why I love Thanksgiving so much.

Today's card takes the layout of Tuesday's cards and changes the theme from flowers to sea shells. These stamps are from the Color Layering Sea Horse set from Hero Arts...one of my favorite sea-themed sets.

Can you tell me what's wrong with this card? It didn't hit me until I was photographing it, but the sentiment and the stamps don't really work together. That sentiment, which worked so well with Tuesday's floral stamps, is too loose and whimsical for these layered stamps. They are too visually heavy...and the sentiment too light.

Adding the sand in between the shells helped a bit to anchor everything, but I want to remake this card with a heavier sentiment in a very dark brown or maybe dark blue...but the black seems pretty stark here.

Other than that, I love it!

On my birthday, I received two orders of stamp supplies, one from Papertrey (my SIL gave me a gift card) and the other from Simon Says Stamp (my mom gave me money). So much fun stuff!

When I tried to use some of this goodness, I found myself paralyzed and overwhelmed. Weird. Anyway, I'm slowly starting to chip away at actually using this goodness, and oh, my...it's becoming fun! I'm grateful to get new stuff.

And let's close with yet another thing I'm grateful for: my dogs. Here's a cute picture of Cooper the Bobble-Head. He looks so serious...and he's not.

I'll try to embed a video of Cooper and Daisy playing, but the video is not playing well with my PC and Blogger doesn't work right on my iPad. First world problems for sure.

Okay, so the video won't load in Blogger, but you can see it on Facebook HERE. Let me know if there's a problem.

What are you grateful for today?

Mercy, grace, peace, love, and gratitude,
Susan

Supplies
stamps: Hero Arts
ink: various dye inks
paper: Papertrey white
accessories: None

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing all my readers a very happy Thanksgiving...even if you're someplace that doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving. Every day should be a thanksgiving, don't you think?

Thank you for reading Simplicity, for your comments, for your emails, and for your positive energy. I wouldn't do this if it weren't for you!

Mercy, grace, peace, love, and gratitude,
Susan

Supplies
stamps: Papertrey Through the Trees, Clearly Besotted A Little Sentimental
paper: Papertrey white
ink: embossing ink, Tim Holtz Distress inks, Ancient Page henna
accessories: white embossing powder, heat gun, inking tools, craft foam, glue

Giving Thanks, Part 3

Part 3 has three cards, all with the same basic layout and same sentiment, but with different stamps and different colors. I love playing around like this!

Papertrey Beautiful Blooms II

The monochromatic pink daisy card came first, and I liked it so much, I had to play some more. Out came a Christmas set and presto! A Christmas thank you in two colors!

Papertrey Peaceful Poinsettias

Then, I decided to go wild with colors and made this bright card.

StampinUp Endless Thanks

It's always a treat to see how different colors and slightly different stamps affect the feel of a design. The first card is the simplest, with three sizes of the same daisy stamp, three shades of pink, and three sizes of bling. As the simplest, it's also my favorite.

The second card creates more interest with two complementary colors (red and green) adding energy, along with three different stamps (flower, leaves, berries) dancing around. I regretted adding the bling to the centers of the flowers...it sort of weighs down the design. The open berries would have reinforced the open centers of the flowers, adding more unity to the design. Oh, well. Bling and learn.

The third card has much looser images, almost whimsical, with vivid colors and no bling. I'd originally planned to add bling but after not liking the bling on the second card, I decided against it on this one. The open centers of the flowers keep things bright and light.

Which is your favorite?

Also, what are you thankful for today? I'm thankful for my Tuesday morning Bible study. It's an awesome group of amazing, faith-filled people who teach me so much and who inspire me to be a better person. Love them!


Mercy, grace, peace, love, and gratitude,
Susan


Supplies
stamps: Thank you from Hero Arts
ink: various dye inks from Hero Arts and Archival Inks
paper: Papertrey white
accessories: rhinestones