Card-making & Paper-crafting Inspiration by Janet Bright
Hey Friends,
It just came to my attention that Stampin’ Up has updated their clearance rack. Everything is first come, first served, and when items are gone… they’re GONE! So, if you’re looking for a little retail therapy to fuel your creativity, now’s a great time to check out what’s there! I just took a peek and there’s a lot of metal dies, embossing folders, ribbons, designer series paper to name just a few!
Click here to shop the sales!
Thanks!
Janet
The temperatures are warming up, the skies are blue and the sun is shining. I love, love, love springtime. The grass is growing and flowers are starting to bloom; momma cows are bellowing for their calves who are running and kicking up their heels across the pasture.
As I was walking down to the barn this morning, I saw my first frog of the season also.
I assume it was a “she” given her big old belly, likely full of eggs. I picked her up and took her down by the creek (safer than in the driveway). On my way back up the hill, I noticed lizards out sunning on the rocks. What an absolutely beautiful scene with the creek trickling by, birds chirping, cows mooing, and my horses nickering at me to hurry up! All I could do was take a deep breath of the fresh air and thank our God above for His beautiful creation, and the promise of life that each spring brings. As written in Song of Solomon 2:11-12, “See, The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.” Yes, springtime brings with it a sense that all will be well again. Our God is so very good!
Soon Mother’s Day will be upon us… this year is flying by! Today’s project is another one to prompt some planning in that regard. So, let’s get on with it!
I was looking at the calendar today and realized that Mother’s Day is just one month away!!!
I’m a great procrastinator who’s trying very hard to change her ways. With the realization that there are less than 30 days to go, I decided it was time to start making Mom’s Day plans now.
How about you? How do you typically celebrate Mom’s Day?
We quite typically pack up a picnic lunch and head for the coast. The Oregon coast can be quite cold and windy, however; so plans are subject to change. Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve loved looking in the tide pools and identifying who’s living there.
The rocks are slick and, of course, timing is everything. I wouldn’t want to get stuck out there with the tide coming in!
At any rate, I figured I’d start working on some Mother’s Day cards to hopefully inspire you to start making plans also!
Continue reading “Only 1 Month To Go… Are You Making Plans?”
Hello Friends!
Today’s project was made for a card challenge over at Fusion with the following card sketch.
As implied in the illustration, one can choose to use the sketch, the photo, or both to inspire one’s design.
I chose to stick to the sketch for this card, incorporating elements from Stampin’ Up’s Ornate Garden suite of products. The daisy image included in the Ornate Style Stamp Set was too wide for my strips, so I chose to use the daisy image from Stampin’ Up’s Daisy Delight stamped in graduating colors to coordinate with the Ornate Garden Designer Series Paper (DSP) in the background. Given the narrow nature of the vertical strips, my Stamparatus positioner was key in getting everything just right.
Continue reading “Graduating Color – Clean and Simple Design for Fusion Card Challenge”
You’re Timeless, Just Like Tulips!
I needed to make a birthday card for my very special mother-in-law. She loves to garden and I learned quickly that if I knock on the door with no answer, she can usually be found outside working in her yard. She has a huge assortment of beautiful flowers planted in multiple beds throughout her yard with something blooming spring through fall. Given the fact that she loves flowers and has an April birthday, Tulips seemed the perfect fit! This is what I came up with.
Continue reading “You’re Timeless, Just Like Tulips – Happy Birthday Card”
Hello Friends!
Just a quick reminder that April 10 is the last day to subscribe and still receive April’s Paper Pumpkin.
Paper Pumpkin is Stampin’ Up’s monthly kit club and while I don’t know what April’s kit looks like yet, I have every confidence it will be fantastic – just like every kit is! This month’s theme is “My Wonderful Family” and includes supplies for 8 cards w/envelopes. All Paper Pumpkin kits come with all the stamps, ink, paper and embellishments you need to make the projects included.
Here’s a look at the cards from March’s Paper Pumpkin just to let you know the quality included in these kits. The cards pictured below include nothing extra added from my stash – just made with the supplies in the box.
Continue reading “Last Chance To Subscribe For April Paper Pumpkin”
Easter Greetings with Fable Friends
Hello Friends!
I’m still working at a hectic pace on Easter cards; it’s time to get them in the mail! Today’s card is slightly more labor-intensive but oh-so-cute with the little rabbit image from Stampin’ Up’s Fable Friends. I used the Small Bloom Punch which was available during Sale-A-Bration (which is over now ☹), but rumor has it that the Small Bloom Punch is going to be carried over into the new 20-21 Annual Catalog which will be unveiled in June – we’ll see if the rumor is true!
Springtime never fails to make me want rabbits again (and chickens, and ducks, and a kitten, and more horses…..). I raised rabbits in my youth and my kids raised and showed rabbits in 4H for many years. They’re so, so cute and make all kinds of great fertilizer for the flower beds and garden!
Hello Friends!
Can you believe Easter is just right around the corner? It feels like we were just celebrating New Years a couple days ago, and yet, we’re a quarter of the way through the year already. I guess that’s just proof that “time flies when you’re having fun”.
We generally have the whole family come to our place after church on Easter for a big outdoor egg hunt. Our family gave up on a formal Easter dinner several years ago, as our family has gotten so large. Instead, my husband smokes up a batch of chicken (can I say YUM!), we build a fire in our fire pit, pull the chairs around, and have an old-fashioned hotdog roast. Everyone brings a side dish or dessert, and we feast on smoked chicken and hot dogs following the egg hunt, while sitting around the fire. Not traditional I suppose, but it’s become our new family tradition and we all enjoy it very much!
This year’s going to be a little different unfortunately. I guess we’ll be doing Easter service via Facebook Live at home. We’ll surely miss getting together, but in the big picture it doesn’t change the fact that Jesus died on that cross for our salvation and rose again that beautiful third day. Hallelujah! His grave was empty, and nothing can steal the joy and celebration of that!!
Hello Friends!
Today’s post was inspired by my horse, Ace. As I rounded the corner to our barn on my way for morning chores, he stuck his head over his stall door to say Hello! He’s my goofy, snuggly boy. He lets me bury my face in his neck and breathe in that amazing horse goodness any time I want to. Yes, happiness does have a smell!
I managed to capture a picture of him “smiling” at me this morning… sweet Ace!
With Springtime in the air, it’s time to get my boys out and “Take life by the reins”.
As soon as he gave me his goofy smile this morning, I knew I was going to be reaching for the stamp set “Let It Ride” for today’s project.
Hello There!
I’ve got another card made with the early release, Ornate Garden, which became available to order just yesterday. I hear it’s been a super-hot item since its release about 24 hours ago and Stampin’ Up is already telling us their inventory is running low. So, please act quickly if you want it NOW, otherwise, it will be on backorder and the wait will be longer. I absolutely love everything about this suite. The papers are so pretty; the two stamp sets are so versatile; and the dies… oh my goodness, I love fancy borders and layers, so these are right up my ally! The paper is full of gold metallic highlights, so you might consider adding some gold foil sheets to go along with these papers.