Musical Inspiration

OK, it's really late (or early, depending on how you look at it), so I apologize if there isn't much substance to this post, but I wanted to make sure that I got my HCCC card for September posted before the month was over :)

Here's a look at my finished product:

It is a 6" x 6" card. I had a hard time picking a 'favourite' song to inspire me. How can I just choose one? So, I decided to keep my selection to music from the past year, and I picked the song that I listened to the most over the past 12 months. My inspiring song choice was 'United States of Eurasia' by Muse. I listened to it over and over and over and over again while working on the card so that it would inspire me.

The second part of the challenge was to use paper piecing. Ever since I got this sweet stamp (as seen in the above pic) in a Unity KOM, I have been dying to paper piece it. It took me several attempts to get the effect that I was going for, but I am really happy with the final result.

But, it just didn't seem like enough on its own. I needed a little something extra to pull the card together, and settled on adding a cluster of buttons in the lower right-hand corner for that finishing touch.

I wasn't really sure what type of sentiment to put on the card, but felt that the one I chose fit in with the umbrella.

Not sure what type of occasion I can use this card for, but I'm sure I will find a use for it someday. In the meantime it looks pretty sitting on my bookshelf :)

White Crayon..... Who Knew?

I'm really excited about this post. I just finished this card, and I couldn't wait to share it with y'all:

I received a truly excellent, unexpected gift on the weekend, and needed to make a card to thank the giver. Since the intended recipient likes all things 'rooster', I knew that I was going to use the rooster stamp from my SU "Provencal" stamp set.

I cased a bunch of different cards on Splitcoaststampers and combined all of the elements that I liked into this card. I wasn't really sure what to do with the empty space at the bottom under the stamped image, but ended up finishing it off with some rustic looking button-y goodness.

The most exciting part of this card for me is the stamped image of the rooster. While I was looking for inspiration on Splitcoaststampers, I saw a card on which the artist had used white crayon and then used the emboss-resist technique overtop. "Interesting," I thought to myself, "what a great way to highlight a stamped image..... I can totally do that!"

So, I hunted through my crafty storage and unearthed a white crayon from an old box of crayons, and set to work. I just love the end result:

I will totally have to use this technique on more cards in the future.

Vintage-y Christmas

It feels as if it has been eons since I have posted a card on this blog. I've been so busy lately, I haven't had any time to take pictures of the cards I've been making.

That all changed this weekend, when I had the opportunity to snap a few quick pics.

My favourite season of the year is Winter, and my favourite holiday is.... you guessed it.... Christmas! As soon as that first hot, humid, heat wave hits in the Summer, I'm usually looking forward to the day when the snow will start to fly. So, it should come as no surprise that I love to get a head start on my Christmas cards (that's not true - it always surprises me - I'm a procrastinator by nature).

A few months ago, I made a batch of Christmas cards using a card layout that I especially liked.

Here's a look at the finished product:

I think that the end result has a 'vintage-y' feel to it. And I like that I was able to bring together stamps from various different stamp sets and companies to create the card.

Stay tuned for more Christmas creations in the next few weeks :)

Prayers

Back in July I posted this card which I had made for a student at my school who has been battling cancer.

This young woman was in her first year of University when she was diagnosed with leukemia. Now, it's a new school year, and there is a new batch of students roaming the halls full of life and energy, while their peer lays in a hospital battling cancer.

The past few weeks this student has spent most of her time in an induced coma and yesterday we learned that her parents had made the tough decision to take their child off of her respirator.

This year the theme at my institution is to "pray without ceasing". If you are reading this post, please take the time to lift up a prayer for this young woman and her family at this difficult time