Fall Card Mash-Up

Two more fall cards for you today using Taylored Expressions' Farmhouse Wreath stamp set.  

I stamped TE's Farmhouse Wreath twice on this card in Memento brown ink, colored the leaves and did a little shading with my Copics, and heat embossed the black bats.  I surprised myself with some self-control and didn't buy the Farmhouse Sentiments set, knowing I could find something from my stash!  

I loved the look of something inside the wreath, so this card is a mash-up with one of the sentiment and pumpkin I colored and fussy cut from Right At Home's Grateful Heart stamp set.   It's popped out on foam tape.  A little twine, jewels, and patterned paper from my stash completed the card.

The wreath is stamped once for this card and mashed up with a very old Halloween set from Inkadinkado and a different sentiment from the Right At Home Grateful Heart set.  This time, the sentiment is embossed with white EP.

I must say I am so impressed with the packaging of TE stamps.  This one came in a nice, heavy duty plastic envelope!  No need to have my own to transfer them to for storage.

Thanks for stopping by my blog.

In kindness, Cathy

 

Fall Colors and TE

 I am trying to get back into the swing of blogging and see that I still have some problem solving to do when it comes to text and photos!!  Grrrr!  Anyway, I was in my local stamp store a few weeks ago and purchased Taylored Expressions' Autumn Array stamp, stencil, and die set.  I love the autumn feel of it and our leaves are starting to change in MN, so it's been fun using the set.  

This first version uses inks and stencils with some Copics on top to add extra depth to the flowers.  It's a super easy set to use and creates great results! 

Did you know TE sells a printed version of her Simple Strips stamp set??  It's called Simple Strips in Reverse (Everyday Occasions).  If you like the look of white on black, it's perfect - just cut and go!!  BONUS- there is a Christmas version, too!!

I wanted to play a bit with the set, so my second card is stamped with Distress inks on dry watercolor paper, lightly spritzed and then I used Taylor's blending brushes on the edges.

This card uses another sentiment from the collection in the Simple Strips in Reverse - Everyday Occasions packet.

Thanks for stopping by my blog.

Hope your fall weather is inspiring!

In kindness, Cathy

Freshly Retired and A New Blog

Retiring after 30 years at the same school this past June has been an interesting adventure.  There's no rat race of my former  8-6 p.m. work hours; "have-tos" are minimal which has resulted in a love/hate relationship with time.  

Two things I know for sure right now:

#1.  As a society, we don't give enough attention to transitions in our lives.  FYI - retiring is one of the big ones.  

#2.  This phase of life is another chance to grapple with identity and in this moment, I am in a place of dis-ease.  Practicing patience and staying out of self-judgement for feeling like a boat traveling aimlessly in circles is a challenge! There are glimmers of empowerment as I allow myself to discover sources of joy and choose things I "want-to" do with my newfound "free" time!

My cousin, Diane and me outside our YURT in Bayfield, WI

I did some traveling, started walking, listen to Podcasts, and am thinking about cooking meals!  Creative endeavors have been one of my joys - so I am back on a card-makers design team.  This one is called Passionate Paper Creations and Friends over on FB.   Deadlines and purpose are two motivators when it comes to choosing to hang out in my craft room!  I hope you will visit the group and come back to see what is happening on my blog!  It started out as a craft blog, but don't be surprised if there are some ongoing posts about retiring.

In kindness,  Cathy