Word Art Wednesday Psalm 119:103

One challenge that I love to play along with, but haven't visited in a while is Word Art Wednesday. The way their entire blog is dedicated to honoring God is so wonderful! I really need to get over there more, so I've included their badge on my sidebar as a reminder to play.

This week was a great week for me to jump back in. The scripture from Psalm 119:103 are a perfect match for my Honey Bear stamp. It's one of my favorites that I've had for a while. 

It was also a great week to participate because we just got a new printer. My old one was about 15 years old, had been flipped over several times and survived a cross-country move. It was a real trooper and I'll miss it. But one thing it didn't do was to print well on card stock. So I was so happy to be able to print on card stock without it jamming. 

My complete supply list is:

• Scripture from Word Art Wednesday Blog
• Speckletone True White Card Stock & Envelope
• Memento Black Ink
• Honey Bear Stamp from Too Much Fun Rubber Stamps
• Copics Y15 and Y23
• Graphic 45 Patterned Paper
• Stampin' Up! Delightful Dijon Card stock
• Grey Card Stock
• Misc. Paper Flowers & Brads

I'm not sure where this little guy will be going, but the matching stamped envelope will announce his arrival. I hope he makes someone very happy!

Thanks for stopping by my blog today, and thanks to everyone over at Word Art Wednesday for a lovely challenge post!

NBUS Challenge #49

It's amazing how quickly the months go by! I have just three days to get this entry into the NBUS Challenge #49. And my card really qualifies! First of all, I've never used the die, and for a sad reason.

I ordered this die on eBay because my daughter was coming home for Christmas break and wanted me to help her make some "Dorm Dec's" for her building. She's the RD or Resident Director of her dorm at App State in North Carolina. Apparently decorating your dorm room doors is a big thing in university. Anyway, weeks went by and the die never came. I was so frustrated. I needed it for her winter break, not later. I contacted the seller and he insisted it was delivered and asked for proof that it wasn't. Hmmm.... I still haven't figured out how to prove that! A refund was out of the question.

Clover went back home to North Carolina. I wrote the guy a bad review. I have never done that in my 20 years of eBay history. I hated doing it, but the die never came and he wasn't giving me my money back.

Fast forward three months. We're having our house painted. Guess what the painter found, tattered in the bushes? The die. I felt so bad for giving this guy a bad review. I tried to revoke it, but according to eBay policy, I couldn't. 

One thing I noticed is that it was drop-shipped from Amazon. If I had just bought it from Amazon they could have proven with a photo that it was delivered. The whole thing was a debacle.

Anyway I've felt too guilty to even use this die, until today. I bought it because Clover loved it and I wanted to honor her by making her a birthday card with it. She'll be opening it when she's in Montana, hopefully at Glacier National Park. It seemed like the perfect design for a card for her.

So my NBUS products are:

• Mountain Road Die
• Sentiment Strips

I found the perfect sentiment for her birthday card in a package of sympathy sentiments. It simply says, "I love you so very much." Perfect for her birthday this year!

I also just used some various colors of card stock and a simple glue stick.

Well it's just about time to get another NBUS card underway. I love the challenge of using a product that I've never used before. Thanks to Darnell and everyone else over there for putting together another great challenge!

Retro Rubber Challenge 205

Today over at Retro Rubber's 205th Challenge (RRCB205) there's a great sketch. As soon as I saw it I knew I wanted to use two-sided patterned paper. What a cute way to show off both sides of these great sheets. Everyone on the design team did just that, except for Jane. All the cards are wonderful, but her card is so different! It took a totally different spin on it and used geometrics at the corner. It's such a fun and colorful card. I'm loving that new Parakeet Party color too. I've pinned it for inspiration later on. Be sure to check out their blog.

Anyway, the next thing I thought of when I saw this sketch is an animal popping out of the corner. I found just the critter from an old Close To My Heart Set from 2016. The card is a standard A2 size card, but with the rabbit popping out of the top, it's going to have to be mailed in a 5 x 7 envelope.

My full supply list is:

• Black Card Stock
• White Card Stock
• CTMH's Spring Critters (2016)
• CTMH's Spring Critters Dies
• Memento Black Ink
• Copics RV00, R20, BG72, YG61
• Misc. Black Button
• Stampin' Up! Blushing Bride Gathered Ribbon
• Jen Hadfield Flower Patch Patterned Paper from American Crafts

I own a "thank you" to a the owner of our antique mall who gave me a couple of really cute mini baskets. I can't remember if I thanked her. It's so embarrassing. Even though we're taking a break from selling antiques right now, I want to keep in good standing with her, and she deserves the thanks either way. Sometimes I get too caught up in my own thoughts that I fail to be kind and considerate to others. It's something that I'm working on. And at least it's a good reason to send out another card!

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

A Tropical Hello

This card was supposed to be entered into a challenge, but it took on a mind of its own and turned out differently than I imagined it would, and the layout didn't fit the sketch real well by the time I was done. Plus, the challenge ended. Still, the attempt at participating in the challenge gave me a card that I really do like, and one that I probably wouldn't have created otherwise.

Most of this is created with Stampin' Up!'s Tropical Chic Dies and DSP. The base is SU! Parakeet Party card stock. The "HELLO" dies are from Pink & Main's "Hello Sunshine" set but I cut off the sunshine part.

This 5 x 7 card will probably be a gift to my mom, who frequently complains about the size of the standard A2 cards. She says they're small and would like bigger cards. So here's one for her!

Thanks for stopping by my Snail Mail Studio today!

Clover Jude's Pickup Truck

I just finished this cross stitch piece for my beautiful daughter. Her given name is Charlotte, but she recently wanted to identify as Clover Jude, and that's fine with me. It's a non-binary name that she feels fits her perfectly right now. And I love the name too.

Since she's only one year away from graduating with her master's in Student Housing, she's just about ready to set off to start her new life as a professional. I know she won't be able to keep this in her office because it's too cute-sy, but hopefully it will find a nice place in her new home.

She also just got a tattoo of a clover today too. It's her first ever tattoo, and the first in our immediate family. Neither her brother, Dad or me have one. She's truly a trailblazer!

Right now she's fine with me still calling her my daughter. If she wants to be called just "child" in the future that's fine too. And I may have to get better at using "they" and "them" pronouns rather than "she" and "her," but that's fine. I love her and it doesn't matter to me how she identifies. She'll always be my baby!

Vintage Atlas Card & Envelope

This week there was a 7-year-old boy on The Angel Card Project who loves mail and geography. This is also the week that I happened to buy an old atlas at an estate sale for $1.00. I paired the two up and made him a card with my hometown on the front and his hometown on the front of the homemade envelope.

I'm including this in the Miscellaneous Crafts section as well because this is easily a card that can be made without any fancy supplies. Simply buy and old (or new) atlas, but out the areas that you want to feature and glue them on regular card stock from the craft store.

If you want to add wording, simply hand-write or print something from your computer. You don't need a fancy truck like I put on. I was going to just add a simple "Happy Birthday" stamped word but when I opened my birthday stamp box this jumped out at me and I thought it would be adorable, especially for a little boy, on a card with a map.

For the truck I used a set from Taylored Expressions called "Big Delivery." It's such a fun set, but it's from 2015 and isn't available anymore unless you buy it used. I also used white card stock from Michaels (110#) and Memento Tuxedo Black Ink. The Sentiment "From Our House To Yours" is from Avery Elle's set called Chalet. The Copics I used are: R24, C5, C1 and C3.

I think it turned out really cute. I'm mailing it Monday and I can't wait for him to get it. I'll be looking for other opportunities too to create and send cards and envelopes to others. I have 48 pages left in my atlas!

 

100% Washi Tape Card

Stamping is great, but sometimes, with the right supplies, you can skip the rubber and ink and still come up with a cool card. That's what happened here. This simple card is made just by using 3 different kinds of washi tape and card stock. I even extended the washi over to the back of the envelope.

I don't have a lot of washi in my stash. Lately I've found it kind of expensive. But after seeing this card again that I made a few years ago, I'm going to keep and eye for it on sale or at yard sales. It's amazing how much fun you can have with just a few supplies!

Cardz 4 Guyz Challenge

My card stash is getting a little low and masculine cards are always needed, so I went over to Cardz 4 Guyz to get some inspiration. Right now, Challenge 320 is going on and you have to use either wet or dry embossing. I chose both! 

My complete supply list is:

• True White Speckletone Card Stock
• Stampin' Up! Rooted In Nature
• SU! Tropical Chic (for little leaves)
• SU! Old Olive Card Stock
• SU! Baked Brown Sugar Card Stock
• SU! Old World Paper Embossing Folder
• Hero Arts Sentiment
• Sizzix Oval Die
• Memento Toffee Crunch Ink
• Memento Pistachio Ink
• Simon Says Stamp Ultra Fine Cream Embossing Powder

I'm grateful to have challenges like this that help me create cards that are better than I would have thought of on my own. And I especially love the Cardz 4 Guyz Challenge. I really need to make more cards for the other half of the population!

Vintage Bible Verse Eggs

Old Bibles are plentiful at garage sales. This one I picked up for $1.00. The pages were fragile and because it's written in the old King James Version, it's likely that it won't be read in today's world. So I bought it and decoupaged styrofoam Easter Eggs with it's torn pages. A special verse in intact on each one.

They make a great addition to your Easter table, and you can even give one to each guest when they leave. Taking a Bible verse home with them in the form off a decoration is a great way to spread God's love.

For more details, watch the video below!

UPDATE: After making this video and letting the eggs dry for a couple of weeks, they were still tacky to the touch using regular Modge Podge. They weren't terrible to use, but not ideal. So I ended up using a household shellac that I had over them and they dried nice and hard and weren't sticky at all. If you do this craft, Modge Podge does make several products that seem better, namely Modge Podge Hard Coat and Modge Podge Dishwasher Safe versions. But look around your garage, you may have just the thing that you need and won't have to spend any money!

An Easter Freebie From Me

Making cross stitch patterns is a true art form in many different ways and I'm quickly learning that it's something that I don't do real well yet. It takes a lot of practice and professionalism. I love the thought that I can actually imagine a design and potentially make it come to life with a needle and floss, but it's not as easy as it looks. That's why I would rather rely on the skills of those who are so good at it.

But sometimes things happen that make me want to create my own design and this is one of those times. 

It all started with this frame. I fell in love with this little 3" frame at Michaels and it was only $3.00. I thought it would be really cute to stitch up a mini Easter pattern for it. Well try as I might, I couldn't find anything I really liked that fit into it. So that's where I created my own.

I'll include the pattern here, but beware, mine did come out a little smaller when stitched on 14 count aida and I had to go back and add a little more on the ends. That wasn't too hard to do, but it's certainly not very professional!

Anyway, I like dabbling with charts and I'm happy to have made this. Feel free to use this chart but if you distribute it in any way please give me credit here on my blog. It's also not to be sold.

If you click on the chart it will should get larger and if you decide to print it out it should fill an entire 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper so it would be easier to read.

 

Rustic Easter Cross Stitch

I like pastel colors for some things. Spring cards. Easter dresses. Baby blankets. But in general, I'm not a pastel person. I do decorate with pastels around Easter, and even made a couple of finishes in pastels this year. But when I saw THIS PATTERN on Etsy I was in love. Finally an Easter pattern that truly reflected me. I love brown, rustic-feeling things. And I love God's Word. Both of which are present in this piece from Fuzzy Fox Designs. 

It was a pretty easy project, which I was grateful for because I made it really close to Easter. There were a few changes that I made. I left out the Bible verse references on the bottom because I thought they looked too much like footnotes and were messy looking. I also changed a few of the colors to suit my fabric which was a little darker than the sample that was stitched.

The Fuzzy Fox has so many cute designs. I already have my eye one one more for next Christmas. Be sure to check out her website, and thank you for visiting my blog today!

My First Design: Winter Home

Card making has been a hobby of mine for almost 20 years. I just love taking a blank sheet of paper and turning it into something pretty. There's such a satisfaction in that. Years before I started making cards, I cross stitched. And with this project, I feel like I've put both of those things together.

Playing around online and searching for places to create cross stitch patterns, I came across stitchfiddle.com. I found it really easy to use and it's amazing how many great things you can do with it without spending a dime. But if you want to do more, you can subscribe for only $5.00 a month.

So here's the chart below. Feel free to download it and print it out for your own personal use only. I'd love to see your finished piece if you make this. You can comment here or on YouTube!

Whimsical Snowman Freebie

I stumbled upon this adorable guy on Pinterest one day, and was so please to find that he is a FREEBIE over at Notforgotten Farm. I love all of her cross stitch designs, and many of them are free. There are at least two others freebies that I really want to stitch. If you click HERE you'll go directly to the freebies page. It's about halfway down. 

She doesn't list the colors, but here are the ones that I used:

• Shirt: 3857
• Head: Ecru
• Coal Smile, Eye Pupils & Hat: 310
• Eyes: 927 (*see note about eyes below)
• Carrot Nose: 3776
• Hat Band & Crosses Up Top: 920
• Vines From Hat: 610
• Yellowish Leaves: 3829
• Greenish Leaves: 3052

*The sample looks like it was designed on a lighter background using a darker floss for his head. I used 14 count aida in Toast from Hobby Lobby. Since my fabric was a bit darker, I used a lighter (Ecru) floss for his head. Since white wouldn't show up well around his eyes, I changed them to light bluish-gray.

Even though he's an autumn/winter guy, I love him too much to put him anywhere but on a wall year round. I also think he'll blend in really well with samplers. Having a "picture" kind of breaks up the monotony of a lot of lettered pieces.

I'm really glad to have taken the time to stitch this because he's an adorable addition!

Christmas Ornaments From A Sampler

Since this is my daughter's first year away from home at Christmas, and since she bought herself a little tree for her apartment, I wanted to send her some homemade ornaments. I found THIS PATTERN on Etsy and fell in love with it for several reasons. First, the design is just adorable. I love how it looks good on so many different backgrounds too. I also liked the fact that you can stitch a little square one at a time. It's good to be able to see your progress being made. And lastly, I like it because it's so easy to turn these individual blocks into ornaments, which is what I did for this project.

Finishing them was really simple too. I bought some stiff, red felt and cut it just a little bigger than each ornament. The loops are made with mini rick rack that I picked up at Hobby Lobby.

This is one of the few patterns that I really think I'll use again. I'd like to do the entire sampler at some point for my own house. I also think these would be really easy to send in snail mail envelopes at Christmas. There are so many lonely people out there who would love to have a little gift like this. I really need to carve out time to send some of these this year.

The video below gives a little bit more detail into the making of these. If you're looking for something cute to stitch for Christmas, this may be just the pattern for you!

Psalm 46:10 Cross Stitch

A friend of mine loves this verse, and I wanted to stitch her something kind of quickly so she could have it in time for Christmas I found THIS PATTERN on Etsy and felt it was perfect. It was easy enough to do and enjoy during the holiday season.

I also loved it because, after adding a simple border and some matching buttons, it fit perfectly into an 8 x 10 frame. I even redid an old frame that my mother gave me using paints and varnish that I had, so that was a freebie too.

One thing I always try to do is to frame my cross stitch pieces as economically as possible. (Yep, I'm cheap!) I collect frames that I like when I see them at thrift stores and yard sales, and it usually pays off. Redoing frames is kind of fun and it's amazing how much money you save. 

On one of my recent finished, the framing cost close to $100.00 on a similar size. It was a custom size, which adds to the expense, but still, that's a lot of money. Now, before I even stitch something, I try to think about how I am going to finish it.

Another way to inexpensively finish a piece is by turning it into a pillow. This is an especially good idea fo those things that are oddly shaped.

Putting borders, buttons, additional stitched designs and using fabric are also clever ways to get those oddly shaped pieces into standard frames.

I was glad to be able to make this for my friend. She's struggling with some health issues right now and I know this piece will give her some much-needed encouragement.

I fumble my way through this project a little here on this video below, but it shows how I got to the finished project. You may find it helpful.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Lizzie Kate Fall Freebie

This cute little piece was so fast and easy to make. Again, it was on my Pinterest Board for a long time. Once I got back into cross stitching I was surprised at how easy it was to make and wondered why I didn't make it sooner.

The FREE PATTERN is courtesy of Lizzie Kate. Her stuff is so cute! In order for it to fit on this wooden plaque that I had, I had to add a border around it which I just did myself.

If you're thinking about giving cross stitch a try, be sure to consider this design. It can even be made into an ornament or small, decorative pillow. It's the perfect accent to a fall display of mini pumpkins!

The YouTube video that features this piece is the same as the Autumn Cross Stitch. I just included it because both projects are covered here.

I hope you enjoyed this post and that you enjoy making this cute freebie!

Autumn Cross Stitch

This FREE PATTERN has been on my Pinterest board for years. I always knew I'd like to take up cross stitching again so I kept it around. Well I'm happy to say that this past fall I finally got it finished. It's a small pattern, but it's one that you really have to pay attention to because of the detail and rounded nature of the design. I was able to keep up with it without any mistakes and that made me really happy.

Instead of framing it, I used an old sign that I found at the thrift store and painted and sanded it. It only cost a couple of dollars. I've got to keep my costs down. You can see just what I did on the video below.

The coolest thing that happened with this is that the original designer of this pattern contacted me via YouTube! She lives in France, Paris to be exact! She no longer designs, but was happy to see me use her design in a YouTube video. It was so very exciting talking to her. Sometimes it's easy to think that it's just a big digital world out there, but there really are people behind all these posts!

This piece is one that I really love and plan on using for many years to come.

Janlynn's Joy In The Journey Cross Stitch Kit

Hurricane Ian was ready to make landfall somewhere on the west coast of Florida in the Fall of 2022. I've been through hurricanes before, but this one really made me nervous. The track was, at one point, scheduled to hit the coast just 6 miles from my house. I live right where the 2 is on the map to the right.I went to bed that night thinking that we need to update our will now that our kids are adults.

I knew it would be a rough time, so a couple of days before it got bad, I ordered a cross stitch kit to keep my mind off of it all. I needed it fast, so I went to Amazon to find it. It came in time and was the perfect companion for those windy times.

As it turns out, we were fine, but our neighbors just a few hundred miles south of us weren't. The damage was devastating to so many.

Stitching really keeps me calm in so many situations and I'm glad that I had this project during that time.

In the YouTube video below, I also talk a little about the cost of professional framing. It's expensive! Now I try to find frames at yard sales and thrift stores and upcycle them. Not only is it cost-effective, it's actually fun!

See my full review below:

Another "Giant Card"

After making my biggest card ever for my pastor, I'm kind of known as the unofficial poster board card maker at church. This week I was asked to make a second one for our Director of Programs who is leaving to be a stay-at-home mom and violin teacher. They also want to do a house church for their neighbors, which is so cool.

I used Stampin' Up!'s Large Letters for the "WE WILL MISS YOU" and for Sam's name I pulled up letters on my desktop and traced them onto copy paper. Then I taped them down on the red patterned paper and cut them out.

My favorite part of this project is the patterned paper on the bottom because it has violins on it and she plays the violin! I've had this for years thinking I would use it for my daughter who was a music major in college then. That was short lived and I forgot about the paper until today. So glad I had it now.

We will miss Sam, but I'm so excited about everything God is doing in her life. And maybe I'll have to make a welcome card for a new pastor sometime soon!

Spring Swing for Retro Rubber

This week over at Retro Rubber their celebrating their 204th challenge with a Spring Scene theme, rrcb204. I took the title of this challenge very literally, and I really wanted to find a stamp that was a scene of some kind rather than just flowers. This little girl from My Favorite Things was my go-to for this project. I'm not sure of the date, but I looked her up online and she's no longer on their website. I know I've had the set for at least 5 years, so she definitely qualifies as "retro rubber," which I love. It's so easy to always want new stuff (I'm guilty, my Stampin' Up! order is en route as I write this) but there's something special about pulling out an old set that you once loved and making a new card from it. I'm always so grateful to them and their challenges for encouraging me to do that. There were no dies that went along with this set, but fussy-cutting is something I really enjoy, so I didn't mind.

Anyway,  here's my finished card. My complete supply list is:

• My Favorite Things Sweet Friends Stamp Set
• Lawn Fawn Spiffy Speckles Paper
• Misc. Dot Paper (from my stash)
• Copic Markers E34, Y23, Y11, E01, Y15, YR07, R35, R43, RV52
• Memento Black Ink
• White Card Stock
• Misc. Yellow Ribbon (gifted from a friend)

I'm hoping someone at my church will love sending this to a friend and cheer them a little this spring. Thanks again to Jane and everyone over at Retro Rubber for another great challenge! Be sure to check it out!

Strawberry Well Wishes

Once again I am so grateful for stamping challenges that help me create something that I would have never made without their inspiration. This week over at Freshly Made Sketches Cecile created a lovely sketch design. Although any shape could be used instead of a heart, I ran with it.

I'm not sure just how "clean" my card looks, but I made it just for this challenge so I'll enter it anyway. I really loved this sketch because I love making cards with hearts, but it's a little difficult if it's not Valentine's Day. 

My complete supply list is:

• Stampin' Up!'s Sure Do Love You Stamp Set
  
• SU! Sweet Strawberry Stamp Set
• SU! Real Red Ink
• SU! Cherry Cobbler Ink
• SU! Poppy Parade Ink
• SU! Granny Apple Green Ink
• SU! DSP
• Sentiment from Papertrey
• Copics Y11 and YG13

Unfortunately I'm sending this card to an out-of-state friend who has had Covid for 4 weeks. Yikes! She's definitely in my prayers too. I would have prefered a cherrier sentiment,  but I'm hoping these sweet strawberries will brighten her day.

Many thanks to Cecile and everyone over at Freshly Made Sketches for helping me make another great card!

Springtime Thanks

I was a little reluctant to choose this set as a freebie from Stampin' Up! this winter because I wasn't sure just how much I'd use a carrot stamp. But what finally sold me on it was the fact that it's a two-step set. Ever since I started buying SU! products over 15 years ago I've always kept an eye out for two-step sets. It's just such a fun way to make simple stamping look so professional. And it's so easy. So given that fact, I chose it as my bonus set. I'm so glad I did! Not only is it perfect for a springtime thank-you card, I think I'll try to pair it will a bunny next year for a really cute Easter card. Even standing alone, carrots and Easter are really cute.

My complete supply list is:

• Stampin' Up! Thanks A Bunch Stamp Set
• SU! Pumpkin Pie Card Stock and Ink
• SU! Cajun Craze Card Stock and Ink
• SU! Pear Pizzazz Ink 
• Misc. Green Patterned Paper
• Speckletone True White Card

Well that's it for today's card. Thank you so much for stopping by my blog and may your springtime come quickly!

Springtime Kites

I've been busy with lots of little things lately and stamping has taken a back seat. But yesterday I was able to make a card for the first time in a while and it felt so good! 

About a month ago Stampin' Up! had a really good sale. I picked up so many sets that were really marked down and I can't wait to use them all. One set that I probably wouldn't have bought unless it was on sale is this one called Kite Delight. I love entering stamping challenges and I thought it would be cute for some of those. Plus I have nothing like it. Now I love the set because it's perfect for those in-between ages when you don't want to make a kid card but they're still young. Another thing that I really love about this set is the clouds. I'm surely going to pull them from this set to use with other sets as well.

In addition to the Kite Delight stamp set I also used:

• Stampin' Up! Seaside Spray Card Stock and Ink
• SU! Granny Apple Green Card Stock
• SU! Island Indigo Card Stock and Ink
• Lawn Fawn Grass Die
• Pre-made Sun Die
• Copics Y13, YR07, YG06
• Generic Rhinestones from Michaels

No matter how crazy life gets, stamping is such a constant and I love that. It just feels so right being at my craft desk and creating something that hopefully will put a smile on someone's face real soon.

Thanks so much for stopping by my little blog today!