Trusted Hands

This is a crazy world we live in....full of much beauty...and maybe just as much pain.

Life has a way of taking our breath away sometimes.

We enjoy the moments of joy in watching our children grow and thrive, watching others we care about succeed in life, celebrating life events, traveling and absorbing the beauty around us....but sometimes we are stopped in our tracks.....

Someone close to us may pass away, our children may suffer a dangerous illness, we are called to care for an aging parent long term, or we develop a life threatening disease ourselves....pain and stress that can sometimes go beyond comprehension....it can drive us down into very deep, dark places and steal your joy you were just experiencing the day before.  

This sentiment in the "Hold on for Hope" stamp set is a wonderful reminder that there's Someone bigger than you and me and our problems, stresses and pain! All we have to do is put our trust in Him and watch Him work through it all for the best.

Trust His hands to carry your burdens and lighten your load so you can see and experience the joy and beauty around you again!

Hold on to Hope! and Joy!

~Happy Stamping!

Hold on to Hope stamp set #145780

Hold on to Hope Bundle #145970

Southern Serenade stamp set #145921

Eastern Medallions Thinlets #143725

Stitched Shapes #145372

Decorative Ribbon punch #143721

Dazzling Diamonds DSP #135315

Stampin Piercing Mat #126199

Paper Piercing tool #126189

SHOP HERE!

My Main Squeeze!

Don't these colors just make you crave Summer?!!

I'm SO ready for some consistent warm temperatures....it's been crazy here in Virginia lately!

We go from 10" of snow to a week of 70 degree weather, back to below freezing the next.

My plants are so confused right now!!

Well, if this card strikes your desire for those warmer temps and days sipping a nice cold orange juice  (maybe with a touch of coconut rum in it) then I've done my job! :-)

You know I'm still playing with the Brusho Crystals and seeing what I can do with them....this is another use with them on the orange juice. I used the WhisperWhite thick card stock and spritzed water on it, sprinkled the Brusho Crystals in Gamboge with it heavier in places, then spritzed more water over top until I got my desired look. Once dry, I ironed the paper on the backside and it worked great!

Coffee Cafe stamp set had the perfect stamp for use as a cup!

Just stamp your image on acetate with StazOn and it takes no time to dry and is permanent. :-)

Well.....go have some fun playing with your Brusho Crystals! There's five color mixes in the pack, so you can create whatever drink your heart desires! 

~Happy Stamping!

Don't forget to have fun making little cards too!!

These can always be a smaller design from your larger cards...while you have all your supplies and colors already out!

Coffee Cafe photopolymer stamp set #143677

Lemon Zest stamp set #143808

Coffee Cafe Bundle #145331

Brusho Crystals #144101

Whole Lot of Lovely DSP #144110

Dazzling Diamonds glitter #133751

Stampen Spritzers #126185

SHOP HERE!

Happy Easter!

Easter Blessings to you all!

Hope you enjoy your family as you celebrate the Easter holiday together!

For some of us it's not all about the Easter bunny, eggs and candy....but my kids sure do love the easter egg hunt....and some of them are in High school! :-) 

I'm not sure they'll ever outgrow it. lol.

This adorable bunny is a three-step stamping process which gives it the depth and texture you see.

I used Crumb Cake, Soft Suede and Early Espresso for the bunny colors.

You have so many options for colors, as well as options for use. This bunny would work great for a Baby Shower card too!

I dipped into my Sale-A-Bration DSP for some brighter colors for this card. 

The Calypso Coral and Lemon Lime Twist are fun together!

Throw in some die cuts and pearls and you have an Easter Card! :-)

~Happy Stamping!

"Sweet Little Something" stamp set #145848

Decorative Ribbon Punch #143721

Pearl Basic Jewels #144219

Petal Burst embossing folder #141493

Flourish Thinlets Dies #141478

Bubbles & Fizz DSP #147244 (FREE with $50 purchase in SAB catalog!)

SHOP HERE!

Little Pieces of Fun!

So....how many of you realized that Stamping' Up has brought back 

the envelopes to fit 3x3 cards?!! Only in the Occasions catalog...so stock up before the end of May!

This lady was SOOOO happy, because I just LOVE creating little cards for gifts for others and to add to gifts I'm giving! 

You can use almost any stamp set you already have to create these little cards!

I chose one of our new ones here, to create cards to give with gifts of wine....Yum! :-)

"Half Full" stamp set has the perfect sayings to pair with the images....and the little wine glasses were the perfect size to incorporate into a small card!

Don't be afraid to color on Crumb Cake with your Stampin' Write markers, because they work great! :-)

Hope this inspires you to make little cards too! 

Fun and easy! 

Cut your card stock to 3 x 6 inches and score at 3 inches.

And don't forget to order your envelopes before they are gone with the Occasions catalog!

~Happy Stamping!

Half Full stamp set #144999

Whisper White 3x3 envelopes #145829

Basic Rhinestones #144220

Stamping Write markers #131264

SHOP HERE!

Amazing You!

Ok, you know I wasn't too thrilled with my first attempt with the Brusho Crystals. Lol.

So, I told you I'd be playing more with them to see what I could do, and it turns out that just using a spritzer bottle works so much more effectively than pushing the aqua painter around in the crystals. 

You get some prettier effects that way!

The following two cards were my attempt at simplicity. :-)

Same design, two different card bases so you can see the difference your background color makes!

SO much fun!!

I used the Brusho Crystals in the blue and yellow. I love that the crystals within each container are not all one solid color, but a myriad of hues. You never know what you'll end up with! :-)

I wanted a big floral stamp to add just a simple line image so the colors could just do their thing...so "Birthday Blooms" was my go to. (LOVE this stamp set! A keeper for me!)

I used Watercolor paper on one and Whisper White card stock on the other...to be honest, there wasn't much of a difference in the way the color and water performed on the papers. I had to iron them both, once dried, because they both drew up some. The more water you spritz on the more blended the colors are, so work it until it's where you want it to be. You can also dab off excess water with a paper towel and add more crystals and water to achieve your look. 

You'll see that the watercolor paper has a bit of a texture to it, and I feel like I don't get as crisp a stamped image on it.

Break out your die cuts and have fun pairing your words together! :-)

~Happy Stamping!

Birthday Blooms stamp set #140658

Brusho Crystals #144101

Celebrate You thinlet die cuts #146840

(FREE with $100 purchase in Sale-A-Bration catalog)

Basic Rhinestones #144220

SHOP HERE!

Blessed Friends!

Well, how are you all liking the new Occasions catalog and the wonderful Sale-a-Bration items?!

I'm super excited about so many of them!

The following card was a 'play' attempt at trying out the new 'Brushed Crystal Color' to see how they work. It's was trial and error and therefore not the prettiest of blends you see others have accomplished. :-) I realized I need more water doused on the card stock before shaking on the crystal powders, so I ended up spreading color around with my aqua painter more than anything. :-)

NOTE: If you use Whisper White paper, it will work, but as your paper dries it will curve up on itself, so be prepared to lay a heavy book on it, or iron. :-)

Watercolor paper, of course, is ideal for this product....but I like to try my favorite Whisper White. :-)

So, with that said, I embossed the image from "Southern Serenade" (in the Occasions catalog) with clear embossing powder on Whisper White card stock. Then I applied water over the areas I wanted the two powder colors and then sprinkled on the powder. Honestly, it does not take much of the powder at all! Once I got the color where I wanted it and it started to dry, I grabbed a paper towel and wiped over it, just to remove any 'floating' color on the embossed image. 

Super easy and fun!!
I'll play some more with the product and post more samples later.

Hope you enjoy using the Crystal Colors! They come 5 containers (different color blends) in a pack!

~Happy Stamping!

Southern Serenade stamp set # 145921

Brusho Crystal Color # 144101

Stitched Shapes Framelits # 145372

Aqua Painters # 103954

Clear embossing powder # 109130

Heat Tool # 129053

SHOP HERE!