Pine Leaves and Pine Cones

Christmas is almost here and I'm still scurrying around trying to get some more of my Christmas cards this season posted for you for another quick viewing.  

I recently went to a trunk stamp show near where I live and was able to find this pretty pine leaf stamp which very much reminded me of Stampin' Ups stamp set this is quite similar. So I grabbed the stamp and unfortunately I didn't see any pine cone stamp to coordinate with it.  However, I was in Jo Ann's Fabrics and did find this small pine-cone stamp there.  

I made this quick card just to see how they looked together?  I look a fine paint brush and used my white Acrylic paint to make dot's of snow flakes.  I used plain green ink to stamp the pine leaves and then took my Tom Bow pens of brown and darker green to color the leaves with more depth of color to them. I also added glue to the leafs and sprinkled white glitter onto the leaf that the lighting did not pick up. In real life it looks like snow is stuck to the leafs.   Lastly I shaded blue to the background.  I also put a pine leaf in the corner of the inside verse so that when you open the card  another leaf is there as well.  

Hope your almost ready for the most wonderful time of the year?  

Wishing you a few weeks early....

A Very Merry Christmas blessing to you and your family.....!

Music To My Ears....

 Hello ladies....I know that some of you may have noticed I've been gone a few weeks.  Usually I don't write much about my personal life.  However, today I will share a bit of sad news with you.  My sweet father passed peacefully last week.  He was 87 years old and in poor health for many years.  He lived a good full life and lived his life to his fullest despite his ill heath for many years.  I took care of all his needs the last ten years and I'm so happy that myself and my husband spent quality time with him the day before he passed.  He was happy and smiling and talkative and actually sitting up in the bed reading when we left the ICU.  He had been in and out of the hospital for two weeks as he tried to fight the pneumonia that had settled in his lungs.  He told the nurses moments before... that he was ready and waiting for the Lord to come for him.   "I love you Dad and will miss you.  May you enjoy the peace, love and gift of your new eternal home in Heaven now"!

On to happier things now....  I had put Versa Mark on the black music lettering and added fine glitter with my embossing gun.  It really looks prettier in real life.

The embossing folder was new and thought the music motif together would blend nicely. 

I have a lot of catching up to do and getting ready for the holidays.  May you enjoy your Thanksgiving holidays with family and loved ones.   Happy Thanksgiving!

Christmas Card Exchange

SoAs the Christmas Holidays begin to approach so does anxiety.  I promised to show you the cards I made for my Tropical Stampers Club that I attend once each month.  I didn't want to have to much anxiety when I signed up at our club for the Christmas Card exchange so I began way back in Sept. to being making each card for the exchange at the club this month.  This was the card I created to exchangyue.

I made 15 cards. I made more than I needed so I'd be sure to have plenty to exchange in case a few extra girls signed up that I wasn't aware of.  I figured any left over certainly wouldn't go to waste.  I always like having a few extra to hand deliver when seeing special friends during the holidays. 

  I used this Christmas Embossing folder that I had never used before.  I bought this a couple years ago at a craft show that I traveled to in Orlando, Fl.  So what a better time than now to use it?

Below is some of the the pretty cards that I received in exchange.  Aren't they lovely? We have some talented stampers in our club and I enjoy and look forward to attending club each month. 

As the Christmas Holiday countdown will soon be under way I hope that this brought you some inspiration your way and you'll get stamping and creating with the Christmas spirit in mind!  

Jesus is the reason!

Fall Is In The Air...

I'm sure that where you live you are feeling fall in the air.  Cooler temps and the clocks turned back for most parts of the country,.  I'm one of many that dislike the time change and wish they would do away with this nonsense.  However, many of you are probably enjoying the beauty of the fall colored leaves.  

Today this card is for a special friends birthday, who I never forget.  Her name is Ann.  Ann has MS quite severely and is  home bound and in her wheel chair daily so I always try to make something hoping to brighten her birthday.  While her birthday is in November I'm hoping she'll appreciate this one with the pretty fall colored leaves?

This year I chose to incorporate these pretty fall color leaves that I bought one afternoon while shopping in a home decor store where I live. Yes...a home decor store not a craft store.  They came in a package and were tiny enough for my cards so I picked them up and said "what the heck"?   I added a few Diamond Stickles glue to the leaves to help glam them up. (It really didn't photograph well). I had these pretty pearls that are attached to clear wire and placed them on my card for added interest protruding from the sun burst..

I really like this sun burst embossing folder.  My sweet friend Peggy Dollar was kind enough to send me a few of these sun burst embossed images to me.  That was extremely sweet of her and I truly do appreciate it!  She sent several to me a long time ago but I waited for something that I thought would look special with it.  I felt it looked like the sun radiating behind the leaves.

It won't be long and with Thanksgiving around the corner  and we will soon be celebrating Christmas again.  So I'm off to finish more of my Christmas projects to share with you again later.  Next week I'll share my sixteen Christmas cards that I had to make for a Christmas Card exchange at my ladies card club that I belong to and attend once a month.  

Toodles girls....stop back again soon!  I loved having you visit!

A Touch Of Fall...

This card is for my brothers birthday who happens to be in the fall months.  So I set out making a fall style card for him with also fish incorporated into the theme for him.  He lives to fish so each year I have to find and incorporate a fish for him on some form to continue the interest of my  homemade card for him.  

I found a free download of this fish which I think....is a bass fish?  Not sure, but most men fish for bass?  I put one fish on the top of the card and one smaller one on the bottom.  They seem to blend in quite a bit at a quick glance.  So we'll see if he notices them immediately when he opens the card?

 The stamp set is from Stampin' Up of course, called French Foliage.  The large Maple leaf's are from a single stamp that I bought years ago at Micheal's Arts and Crafts.  I used photo paper when I stamped the large leaf and used my dobbers to color the leafs.  The shiny look to the leaves add a bit more of texture and pleasing look to the front.  I colored the fish the same as I did to the large leafs.  

I punched up the leafs with glue dots and the fish as well.  I have a small leaf punch and placed a few colored leafs around the card.  I was pleased with this card and hope he is as well?  

I'll be back next week with another fall card.  So I'm hoping you'll stop by again next week for another peek?  See you then ladies.   Enjoy your stamping!

Wedding Anniversary To My Niece...

Hello ladies!  I know I should probably be sharing some  festive fall cards or Christmas cards like everyone else out there is.  However, I've been working on my Christmas cards that I send to friends and family and have finally finished them.  I also have been working on more Christmas cards that I signed up for with my card club that I meet with once a month.  We are doing a Christmas card exchange and I need at least 20 of them for that.  I happen to have a few other cards backed up and hoping to get these few cards posted first and then on the my Christmas cards to show you.  

Once again It was my niece's Anniversary this past week so off I sent this to them and she text-ed me on Facebook to tell me she really really liked it.  I'm glad it made a hit with her. 

Again the photography is not  the best.  I photographed it on a dull day which doesn't help.   This card is all white and the camera just doesn't show the simplicity and elegance of an all white card.

Special Thanks to a few new followers to my blog.  I'm always tickled when you take time to join as a follower to my blog and take time to leave a special little comment.  It makes my day!  

THANK YOU!

By The Sea....

This week I have another beach scene card for you.  No sweet little girl in this one like last week but some cute little sea shells again and birds by the ocean. 

Like I said before I bought these sea shell die cuts and think it will inspire me to do more cards related to the ocean.  The ocean defiantly provides a calm and relaxing time to ones spirit when strolling along the shore for a walk  or just sitting by the ocean. Watching the ocean waves and hearing each of them crash is mesmerizing to me. 

The verse is computer generated. I thought it would make a nice verse for a veritable card for anything?   I used the die cuts here with pearl-ized gray paper which show up nicely against the white paper in real time.  My lighting just doesn't pick up the pearl-lized effect it has. Unfortunately I photographed several of my cards on a cloudy day. Resulting in poor photography.  My apologies! 

I also made those white waves out of vellum paper and added white ink (with my dobber) to the top of the waves to help make them look the waves are moving as the blue color begins to fade as it moves to the shore.  I created the water, sky and sand with my dobbers and chalk inks against shinny photography printing paper. Then stamping the birds with black Stazon Ink. While free handing some smaller birds in flight in the background.   

Now...my best to each of you who stopped by and a special thank you to each of you who are so sweet to leave me a comment.  Truly appreciated!  Please have a super week!  

Till next time.....Leanne

She Sells Sea Shells...

I have a dear dear friend Debbie who is an old High-school friend and we keep in touch regularly by mail.  Letter writing anymore is something of the past, I think? With so many computers, email and social media most of us are hung up on that form of communication most generally? However, Debbie works full time and has no home computer.  So writing a note and sending a card is our only option.  

As you very well may have figured out.... I recently sent this card in the mail to Debbie with a little note to catch up.  I enjoyed fussing with this old stamp of the sweet little girl standing at the oceans edge. I really don't know the name of the stamp as it's not a stamp I own?  You may notice that there are two separate stamp sets here.  The sand and bushes below are of an another stamp.   I happened to pick it up that particular stamp at crafting garage sale for $2.00. The only marking on the stamp says:  Arizona Stamp Pad -copyright? 

I lightly colored the card with some colored pencils and used some Ira-decent Stickles and some pink liquid pearls to outline her dress.  I then added a row of lace to her dress to help give it a more dimensional look.  I also used this new Spellbinders die I recently bought called "Fantastic Flourish Two" and attached it to the left corner while attaching a brad. I also picked up those sweet little sea shell die cuts while at a craft store in the area where I live.  The die cut punch is from Impression Obsession called Mini Shell Set DIE 76-E 

For those of you who may have noticed,  I signed my name to the right bottom side of the card.  That is something I never do.  Sign the front!  This card seemed to call for it?  Yes I do always put some form of signature to the back of my cards. I also use a computer program that makes special labels that I attach to each of my cards with my name and blogs name on it in-case the recipient would like to view more of my work?  That's all for this week ladies....

I hope you enjoyed stopping by today?  I enjoyed having you.  Please come back soon?

Creating With Scraps...

I'm sure each of you stampers have a large box filled with extra things you may have stamped or cut out and your collection is growing.  Well....mine is and I decided it was time to start trying to use up some of the scraps and such. 

I generally try to cut out more than one die cut or embossing folder while I have it out as to save time somewhere down the line later.  This particular embossing folder from Marianne Designs is one that I had a lot of them as spares so I decided to make a quick and easy card today.  I needed a quick birthday card for one of my girlfriends Sandy.  So it was put in the mail and on it's way.

Have a happy scrapping week ladies!

All Occasion Card...

I was in JoAnn's Fabric's recently and looking for something else I needed and while perusing the stamping aisle I came upon this new die cut that I had never seen before either in the store or on someone else's blog site of cards so, I picked it up and bought it.  I thought it was pretty and could do a lot with it?   Time will tell?

I believe the Spellbinders die cut is called Flourish Trim.

This is actually two of the die cuts married together to look like one die cut.  So don't be fooled by my picture here.  I just happened to like them put together and one overlapping the area that I cut it shorter at to give it a different look.

I added five  pretty little diamond shaped penalized embellishment to add interest to the line where the two die cuts are married together.  I will eventually stamp a sentiment of some kind into the center when I need this for any occasion to send to someone.   So I have another all occasion card ready to go!

Before you leave don't forget to stop by Darnell's place for her challenge.  I decided to enter today since my new die cut happens to be NBUS!  Which simply means NEVER BEFORE USED STUFF!   

                                                            

Pansies And Bling, Bling ....

Oh my....another week is over and it's time once again for another little shot of more of those homemade pansies on another card trying to inspire you to make some of your own.  If they inspire you at all you can go to my last weeks post for directions on making your own.

I enjoyed last weeks card so I tried creating something similar but also hoping to look a little different.  I used glitter paper to cut out the background and smaller Spellbinders die to add some bling to this card.  I tried shooting the picture in the sunshine so it would show off the bling, bling here for you. 

 I haven't used a large butterfly on any of my cards lately and decided this would set the pansies off nicely. 

Until next week ladies, I hope you have a wonderful time creating and enjoying some of the fall weather setting in in many parts of the country where you might live.  I know those fall leaves will soon be upon us and the gift of fall colors for all to enjoy.