Eskimo Proverb Sympathy Card

***Edited to Add***
FroggieTalks left a comment wondering where this Eskimo Proverb stamp is from - it's from the clear stamp set, "Sympathy Sentiments (CL114)" made by Impression Obsession.   If you click on the CL114 link, it'll take you right to the Impression Obsession website where you can see the whole stamp set and order from there if you'd like, too.  Happy Shopping!  :)

This sympathy verse is one of my favourite sayings for this occasion.  This Eskimo proverb is such a lovely way to think of those who we've lost.  I tend to use it a lot for sympathy cards that I make and I like to keep a few extra cards like these on hand, just to have ready when the unfortunate time comes, that you do need one.

A close up of the bow, simple but elegant in keeping with the theme of the card.

Here's a close up to show you the flourish that I stamped using white craft ink, then over-stamped the sympathy verse in rich cocoa.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Sympathy Sentiments (Impression Obsession), Flourishes (Stampabilities)
Cardstock: Soft Sky (SU), Chocolate (CRS), Flat White (Staples)
Ink: Soft Sky (SU), Memento - Rich Cocoa (Tsukineko), Whisper White Pigment Ink (SU)
Tools: 1/8" Dimensional Squares (EK Success), Scissors, Cuttlebug, Fancy Scalloped Border Piercerabilities (Spellbinders)
Embellishments: Decorative Satin Ribbon (Michaels), Jumbo White Brad (Dollarama)

Princess for a Day

I totally forgot that I had this Butterfly Impressabilities and found it this morning!  So, I thought I'd play with it for a card that I needed to make for a friend of my oldest daughter for her birthday party this weekend.

I used the Butterfly Impressabilities to emboss the background.  Then, I used my new Fancy Scalloped Border Piercerabilities for the border and embossed with it first.  Then, I cut out the scallop on the top as it only embosses, it's not a diecut.  I added an extra diecut layer on the bottom and paper pierced the swirls around the butterfly.

Here's a close up to show you the embossing and the paper piercing that I did using the Border Piercerabilities.  A fun tool to use!  :)

Thanks for stoppin' by!  :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Crown - Fairest of Them All - Snag'em Stamps (Imaginisce), Just Chillin' (Making Memories), Sentiments 1 (Impression Obsession), Butterfly by Kathy Davis (Inkadinkado)
Cardstock: Light Pink (CRS), Soft Sky (SU), Flat White (Staples)
Ink: Coal Black (Ancient Page)
Tools: Fancy Scalloped Borders - Piercerabilities (Spellbinders), Butterfly Impressabilities (Spellbinders), Paper Piercing Tool, Paper Piercing Mat, Quilling Tweezers 
Embellishments: Blue, Pink and Clear Bling (Dollarama)

A Spring Challenge

My great friend, Val, has a wonderful challenge running on her blog, here's the info taken from her blog:

Hi everyone!

As a tribute to Spring, I am issuing a challenge to all of my stamping friends out there! It's a tough one (at least for me anyway!)

Spring is a time of regeneration and renewal... the flowers are peaking out and the trees are getting ready to burst into a leafy green frenzy! Spring is also a time for airing out the house, deep cleaning and detoxifying.

Starting today until the end of April, I pledge to save trees by not buying any new crafting paper! I am going to work on USING my existing stash of beautiful papers and scraps!

Will I have the willpower? Do you? Let's do it together - there is strength in numbers - invite a friend!! Please join the fun via Mr. Linky and we'll count the "detox" days together and blog about it as we go!

I'm using a card that I made a few days ago using scraps of paper and I vow to not buy any more paper at least until the end of April!  

Thanks for stoppin' by and I hope you decide to play along, too!  :)

Coffee Filter Flower

I saw this gorgeous creation on Corie's blog today and I just had to CASE it with some new patterned paper that I just got the other day. She used a bit of a different flower than me, here's a tutorial for the one that she made.

Here's a close up of my handmade flower.

For my flower, I used coffee filters, dunked them in tea and wrung them out. Dried them flat with my heat tool and then crumpled up each layer. I used 14 layers on this flower. Each layer was with the smallest scallop circle nestie - punching out 4 at a time.  I poked a hole with a thumbtack down through the centre of all the layers and used a small brad to hold them all together.  I ruffled up the petals and distressed them a bit with my Tim Holtz Tea Dye distress ink.   A fun project for sure!  :)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Supplies:
Cardstock: Ivory (Staples), Soft Sky (SU)
Patterned Paper: Bridgeport - Sunday Bruncg (s.e.i.)
Ink: Tea Dye  - Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Ranger)
Tools: 1/8" Dimensional Squares (EK Success), Quilling Tweezers, Cuttlebug, Scalloped Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Scallop Dot Punch (Martha Stewart), Textile Texture Embossing Folder (ProvoCraft), Thumbtack, Copper Brad
Embellishments: Pale Blue Pearls (Dollarama), Striped Satin Ribbon (Michaels)

Flower Swap Card by Val

I drew Val's name this month for the card swap among our local group of crafty gals and I received this gorgeous flower creation by Val Wilson.   The theme was to make a flower ourselves and incorporate it into a card.  The flower that she made is fabulous - I just love all the layers and the distressing that she did.  Her background is great, too.  I really like the way she cut her patterned paper and offset it slightly and she added such a dainty little white flower rub-on.  Thanks so much, Val, for this beautiful card!  I love it!  :)

Here's a close up of her handmade flower using scalloped circle Nestabilities.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Paper Flower Swap

The theme for our monthly card swap this time around was to make our own flower and to use up one or more scraps of patterned paper.  I made this flower by stamping out 4 flowers from the True Friend set from SU.  I carefully cut each one of them out and then crinkled them all up.   I used my bone folder to curl the petals up and then used a thumbtack to poke a hole down through the centre of all the flowers.  A Decorative pewter brad finished off the flower and holds it all together.  I love this frame, but I don't own that particular Nestabilities, so I freehand drew it myself and cut out two of them!  So proud of myself!  lol  :)

I saw this card below and fell in love with it and decided to CASE it in part.  It was created by Amy Sheffer for StampersDream.com.  I've always been a huge fan of Amy's, her artwork is absolutely gorgeous and such a joy to look at. 

Here's a close up to show you the flower a little better and the dimension of the card.

My girls decided to they wanted to make flowers, too.  Here's the one that my 6 year old made.  She loves red and she's all about shiny things, so she chose this metallic red paper.

This is the one that my 8 year old made - just like Mama's but baby blue.

Well, it's a beautiful day here today, so we're heading out to the yard to enjoy the sun!  :)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Amy Butler - Lotus Greeting Stamps (K&Company), True Friend (SU)
Cardstock: Pumpkin (Bazzill), Ivory (Staples), Chocolate (Bazzill), Deep Red (Bazzill)
Patterned Paper: Bountiful (Creative Memories) - scraps from three sheets from this paper pack
Ink: Chocolate (Ancient Page)
Tools: Thumbtack, Bone Folder, Scissors, Sponge (SU), 1/8" Dimensional Squares (EK Success), Cuttlebug, Classic and Scalloped Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders)
Embellishments: Jumbo Chocolate Brads, Slate Blue Lace Ribbon & Striped Grosgrain (Autumn Splendor - Making Memories), Pewter Decorative Brad (Dollarama)

Email Subscription Help...

I have a bit of an odd question for anyone out there that might be able to help me. It's regarding my email subscribers. Lately, I've had a few people that have unsubscribed, which is fine, tastes change or they may even be subscribing using a different format.  But, the reason they gave was that their "ISP requested removal." I'm just a bit confused by that, it's not like I'm posting anything thing questionable or of adult nature.

Perhaps there's a setting on blogger that I have clecked by mistake and those ISP's think it's a bad site.  The only obvious setting that I know of is under Settings - Basic - Adult Content.  I've always had this marked as No.

Anyway, hopefully there's someone out there can can shed some light on my problem.  It also just occurred to me that this could be an issue with how I set up my email subscriptions.  Any suggestions?

Thanks for the help! :)