Tuesday 21 February 2017

A Sparkling Cheers to You!

Lately, I've been getting back to clearing out some of the excess 'stuff'' in my house.  Do you keep books you enjoyed because you might read them again and store things you might use in the future? I do, however I am attempting to turn over a new leaf.  Letting go is an effort, for me, but I'm forging ahead, donating and recycling as much as possible. Confession - I do have quite the stash of paper, ink and stamps, and although I only donated a few of those, so far. Good new though - I have organized my studio!

My card today uses Pool Party card stock for the base. Such a fresh and pretty colour!  To create the watermark effect, I used inked up a stamp from the Sale-a-Bration set called Avant Garden in the same colour ink as the card base.  Same for the layer.  I found a scrap of Whisper White to use for the sentiment Cheers, from Love Sparkles in the Occasions catty.  Using Foil Sheets, I die cut the balloons using the Balloon Pop-Up Thinlists Dies, also from the Occasions catty.  Aren't the balloons sweet!!


Using dimensionals I popped up one of the balloons and the layer. Then, to finish off the card with bit of bling and sparkle I used Silver Metallic thread looped around the layer, and Rhinestone Basic Jewels placed near the balloons.  Naturally, everything I used is from Stampin' Up!

So there you have it - a clean, crisp and simple card with some sparkle!

Be sure go to my main page (home) and click on the images of the Sale-a-Bration, Occasions, and Annual catalogues to view the items I used for this card, and so many more wonderful offerings from Stampin' Up!  Please contact me to place an order.

I hope you have a cheery day!  Thank you for stopping by and happy crafting!


Sand

Monday 20 February 2017

Mixed Media - Times Two

What a glorious weekend we're having in Southern Ontario.  Sunshine, mild temperatures, melting snow!  Plus, it's a long weekend to boot!  Lovely!

Today, I'm working on two mixed media paintings at the same time.  Same colours, same textures. Quite different already.  Even in this early stage, I love how they are coming together. 



I think this must be backward day - I ate supper at breakfast, and rather than in my studio, these paintings are being done in the living room on a board that's on an ottoman, topped off with a pink plastic table covering.  My Ikea 'art cart on wheels' is beside.  And, gasp, I didn't crop the photo. True! 😉 

Rest assured, I'm not going bonkers....I'm just going with what feels right for me today. I'm a go with the flow kind of gal.  Today, at least.  Hahaha.

The paintings have a long long way to go so be sure to back as I'll post more sneak peaks in the coming days.

Thank you for stopping by and Happy Crafting.


Sand

Wednesday 15 February 2017

Love

It's a bit of a long story, but be sure to read all the way to the end of the post.  I was chatting with an elderly gentleman as we waited for our cars to be repaired.  We talked about many things, but one story struck me so profoundly, that I wanted to share with you.  He buys lottery tickets, but his wife thinks they are a waste.  Late one evening his wife and friends were driving home from out of town, encountered a road closure, and had to detour onto country roads.  Starting up from an oddly angled intersection the car was hit by a transport truck.  His wife called to be picked up, saying she and her friends had been involved in an accident.  As he approached the scene, the gentleman saw one car, clearly hit from the right passenger side and onward toward the engine. A total write-off.  He wondered which car his wife and friends had been travelling in.  Couldn't be that car - there would have been terrible injures, or so he thought.  It was the car.  Somehow they had no injuries at all.  His wife had been sitting on the passenger side where the truck hit.  On the drive home, his wife told him she had won the lottery that night.  Life.

I love that story.

There are more important things in life than money. Like life.  Don't get me wrong,  I don't dislike money, but it's not the be-all and end-all driving force in my life.

Having been so inspired by that conversation, I made this framed project.



I hadn't used the bee stamp from the Dragonfly Dreams set - I love it...buzz buzz buzz!  Just a wee reminder, that set will not be around after May 31/17.

This is my first project in this style. Other than the frame, everything I used is from Stampin' Up!  Let me know what you think - I love to read your comments.

Just before signing off ... a bit more from the elderly gentleman.  The tv at the repair shop was on and covering the first meeting of our PM and the U.S. President.  He said, 'speaking of the Gong Show'... hahahaha, 'oh you wouldn't know that show'.  Yup, I do.  'Nooooo, your mom must have told you about it'.  Nope, I've seen it.  Then I admitted to being not as young as he may think.

When my car was ready, we concluded our conversation.  'You're going to tell everybody you were talking with an old geezer'.  Actually, I said, I'm going to say I had a wonderful chat with a gentleman.  (please pardon my lack of punctuation)

I hope you're feeling inspired!

Thank you for stopping by.  Happy crafting.  Happy Life!


Sand