Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello to everyone, and Happy Thanksgiving to all of my American friends!  I hope that you are enjoying a wonderful time of celebration with dear family and friends.    

My project for today uses a bounty of stamps and supplies all from Stamp Simply.  

I was going for a sparkly, slightly but not too far over-the-top elegance with close-but-not-quite traditional colors.  

Gathering together for Thanksgiving is exactly what this day is all about!  Enjoy!

Supplies:

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Vintage Seed Packet Bundle
• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Boho Pumpkins Bundle
• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Boho Fall Leaves (Blessings)
• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Give Thanks (Thanksgiving sentiment)
• Stamp Simply Steel Dies - Fishtail Sentiment Banners
• Carta Bella Gather at Home 6x6
• Craft Consortium Ink Drops Sunset 6x6
• Craft Consortium Grunge Light 6x6
• Seam Binding Sampler - Rich Pastels - 40 yards
• May Arts Vintage Sampler - On Fire with Orange & Yellow (beads)
• Melissa Frances Self-Adhesive Round Pearls - Cream
• gold cording
• various distress oxide inks
• Copic markers

Stamp Simply

Holly Jolly Christmas!

Hi y'all!

It has been a very busy November around here so far!  Last weekend and the weekend before were chorale concert weekends so life felt all sparkly and aglow and a-flurry!  Now that Thanksgiving is just around the corner and Christmas is truly in sight the holiday hub-bub has started in earnest! 

I've been doing some planning for our ukulele group's annual Christmas ring/sing for the Salvation Army, and so when I sat down to stamp this week's project this sentiment/stamp set caught my eye!  We'll be singing this song!    

I had lots of fun combining designer papers to create this scene. Hopefully the whole fireplace/mantel idea comes across clearly!   Those little touches of plaid give a nod to my Scottish heritage once again which brings more sweet memories of my recent trip to mind.  

The inside has a little strip of plaid designer paper to add to the warm cozy atmosphere of the scene and the sentiment that reinforces the idea.  

Supplies:

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Christmas Stockings & Mittens Bundle
• Carta Bella A Wonderful Christmas 6x6
• Craft Consortium Brick Textures 6x6
• Craft Consortium Scorched Wood 6x6
• Sizzix Thinlits Dies by Tim Holtz - Holiday Greens Mini
• Gems
• May Arts Baker's Twine - 110 Yard Spool - Kraft
• Stamp Simply Steel Dies - Vintage Ovals and Twigs (tiny holly sprig)
• Copic markers

The Edmund Fitzgerald

 

Today is the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald.  I was a senior in high school in November of 1975 at the time of this mysterious tragedy, and had recently graduated when Gordon Lightfoot's song was released in August of the next year. The song reached #1 in Canada and #2 in the US and helped to bring a midwestern disaster national/international recognition.    

My card for today commemorates those 29 souls lost.  I chose papers and embellishments that I hoped would reflect the swirling mists, thick ice, and perilous storm that overtook the ship on Lake Superior on that awful day.  

I was inspired by this post for the fold/measurements of this project.  

Supplies:

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Great Lakes Freighter - The Edmund Fitz...
• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Patriotic Sentiments
• Craft Consortium Over the Rainbow 6x6
• Craft Consortium Metal Textures 6x6
• Sizzix Thinlits Dies by Tim Holtz - Countdown
• Stamp Simply Steel Dies - Fishtail Sentiment Banners
• May Arts Baker's Twine - 110 Yard Spool - Kraft
• Gems

Edmund Fitzgerald Resources:

• Great Lakes Maritime Museum
• National Museum of The Great Lakes
• Lake Erie Living article
• The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot (song on YouTube)
• Gordon Lightfoot's website (full lyrics and revisions)

2025 Fall Winter Coffee Lovers Blog Hop

Hi everyone!  A special welcome to the Fall Winter Coffee Lovers Blog Hop participants!  

Stamp Simply

Stamp Simply is honored to be a Super Sponsor of the hop, and Sharon is giving away a $25 gift code. Visit her blog for information regarding how to be eligible to win.  

So how are things with you?!  If you're like I am, you've been leaning a little harder on your coffee cup this week while trying to adjust to the time change!  My body clock has been struggling for most of October anyway...that 5 hour time difference between here and Edinburgh has been hard to get over!  I was just about back on track, but this one wee hour of time change will throw me off again!  🤪  

I had a lot of fun creating today's project.  I have an ivory Christmas tea cup with holly branches imprinted on it that looks a lot like this die cut paper coffee cup!  

 

I love projects like this that use up the odd bitty and bobbly scraps of paper, all while showcasing how various prints work so well together!  I love that little peek of tartan plaid in rich coffee creams and browns! Just a hint of Scotland!  And y'all know how much I love an interesting card fold! (This one is super easy.  It's just a 5 1/2 x 11 inch piece of card stock, scored at 1 1/4, 5 1/2, and 9 1/4 inches, held closed by a belly band).  

I stamped the bird and branches directly onto the die-cut mug (just needed a tiny bit of masking) and colored it all with Copic markers. (I debated inking the edges with tea dye distress ink but ended up leaving it just the way it was.)  All of the stamping was in brown ink, and for a little extra emphasis I took a fine point marker and lightly added a little black to the note "dots" on the music scores.  

Here is the inside.  I could have done more with those extra surfaces but decided that I really liked the more minimalist look for this particular card.  It kinda has a more masculine feel except for that big red bow!  

So grateful that His mercies are new every morning and that He is indeed a place of refuge because sometimes life can be challenging or just downright hard!  But still, I am thankful!  And it is November so gratitude is in sharp focus this month!       

Supplies:

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - God Will Take Care of You Bundle
• Stamp Simply Steel Dies - A Cup of Java (Coffee)
• Sizzix Thinlits Dies by Tim Holtz - Tag Collection
• Craft Consortium Scorched Wood 6x6
• Craft Consortium Tartan Plaid 6x6
• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - A Cup of Java (Coffee) (coffee beans) 
• Red ribbon
  
• Copic markers
• spattered with diluted Delicata ink

Thanks for visiting!  Have a great weekend, and Happy Veteran's Day!  

Shaped Masculine Birthday Card

Hi y'all!  

I'm here today with a card whose shape was inspired by a "front pocket wallet" that I gave my husband for Christmas years ago...less likely to be pick-pocketed and perfectly shaped to fit into the front pocket of his jeans.  

Here you can tell that this gift has been well loved and daily carried for a long time!  

No fancy how-to's for this project either...just a pot lid aligned along the top and side edges of a piece of card stock, traced with a pencil and cut with scissors.  For more control I chose to cut the front and back separately. Distressing the edges helps to hide any imperfections in your cutting, so you don't even have to be too particular about being precise.

I love the way this stamp set and the leaf dies go so well together!  I tucked a few sprigs (die cut from white card stock and colored with Copics, as were the pearls) behind a fish tail banner sentiment panel.  The twine wraps around the card front and through a tiny hole in the fold to tie into a small bow.  (I don't usually put bows on masculine cards but I felt like this tiny twine one would work out just fine!)

The inside reflects the same fonts and patterned paper as the card front.  Relatively clean and simple and super easy.

Supplies:

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Floral Cluster Fall Flowers
• Stamp Simply Steel Dies - Floral Cluster and Sprigs
• Stamp Simply Steel Dies - Fishtail Sentiment Banners
• Echo Park It's a Boy 6x6
• Craft Consortium Scorched Wood 6x6
• Melissa Frances Self-Adhesive Round Pearls - Cream (colored with Copic markers)
• May Arts Baker's Twine - 110 Yard Spool - Kraft
• Copic markers
• clear Wink of Stella

Sunny Days to Come!

Hello everyone!  I hope you are doing well and enjoying the beautiful colors of Fall!  They may already have peaked where you live, but here in the Deep South we are still in the very beginning stages if there's color yet at all.  Fall Foliage Map 2025

We did witness the most beautiful rainbow a few evenings ago when we were coming home from dinner at a local restaurant.  It was one of the biggest, brightest, most vibrant rainbows I've ever seen (the photo does not do it justice!), and the skies behind us were an incredible, intense yellow gold.  I have never seen a sky glow quite like that!   

I wanted to make a card that would reflect the look and feeling of that "Sunny Day."  (The original idea was to make get well cards for two of our nephews who were each in the hospital recently...but that little hint of pink in this lovely background paper got me side-tracked so I might need to revisit that intention!)

I stamped the Sunny Days sentiment directly onto a scrap of paper from our Coffee or Tea pad.  The daisy pitcher was stamped and colored with Copic markers and accented with Wink of Stella.  To tie everything together, I splattered it all with diluted distress oxide inks in hues of gold and pink, and then again with diluted white acrylic paint.  

There's a strip of that same paper inside.  I die cut a heart from it and inserted one cut from pink paper into the negative space.  More splatters here too.  

Well, what do you think?  One nephew has a wife and little daughter so maybe I could get away with sending him a card with splashes of pink?!  The other is 14 so it might not work so well there!  ☺️  

Stay golden!

Supplies:

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Daisy Pitcher Bundle
• Craft Consortium Over the Rainbow 6x6
• Stamp Simply Paper Pads - Coffee or Tea 6x6
• Seam Binding Sampler - Rich Pastels - 40 yards
• Melissa Frances Self-Adhesive Round Pearls - Cream (colored with Copic markers)
• Stamp Simply Steel Dies - Farmhouse Pierced Nested Hearts
• Copic markers
• distress oxide inks in golds and pinks
• diluted white acrylic paint
• clear Wink of Stella pen

Square Column Fold Card

I love this fun fold for displaying a card upright, and was especially happy to find that our border stamps fit perfectly within those score lines!  Easy peasy!  

I stamped it right onto the card base, colored with Copics before folding, then simply added patterned paper and a little more stamping to spice up the rest of the card.

The colors of the designer papers and the Copic markers that coordinate with them portray the beauty of  Fall at its finest!  Some of us, depending upon where we live, must live vicariously!  ;)  I suppose the spattering of copper ink and diluted white acrylic paint could even be considered to represent an early snowfall.  

This photo shows the card's easy "box" construction.  The measurements and method can be found in this tutorial.  

  

I cut the inside leaf into two pieces before adhering it to either side of the inside fold so that the card would fold completely flat for mailing.  Fits into a standard envelope and with the exception of the bow it would be completely flat for mailing. 

Supplies: 

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Falling Leaves Border Strip
• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Give Thanks Bundle
• Craft Consortium GrungeLight 6x6
• Craft Consortium Ombre 6x6
• Seam Binding Sampler - Rich Pastels - 40 yards
• Delicata Non-Tarnishing Ink Pad - Celestial Copper and diluted white acrylic paint for spatters

Time for Tea!

Hello everyone!  You might have noticed that it's been quiet around here for a few weeks!  I was in Scotland from September 22nd through October 2nd.  Usually I try to stamp ahead of time and post cards while I'm traveling but this time there was so much to do, the trip kinda snuck up on me!  

This was my second trip to Scotland.  Last year we went in May, so the weather was similar.  We repeated some of the same locations/activities this time, dropped some and added a few different ones too.  One of the things included for both trips was a trip to the Balmoral Hotel for afternoon tea!  Here's a photo of my desserts from last year (we had pastries, dainty sandwiches and savories before that, hence the to-go box)!  This year I was more "in the moment" and didn't take nearly as many photos.  It was so nice to be able to relax and enjoy without feeling the pressure to document.        

For this year's tea I was seated on the inside corner of a table for seven which meant that the server had to reach w a y across the table to pour my cup of Jasmine Silver Tip green tea...and he MISSED!  Oopsie!  So my card for today is inspired by the pretty Balmoral table setting and a well known passage of scripture to go along with that "mishap."  

I used our Coffee or Tea bundle for the cup die cut and some of the sentiments, adding the greenery from Farmhouse Signage to the top of the tea cup to mimic the Balmoral's china.  If you look closely you can see a splash of tea underneath the tea cup.  

On the inside that splash has become more of a puddle, just as it was IRL!  😂   

Supplies:

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Farmhouse Signage
• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Coffee or Tea? Bundle
• Spellbinders Nestabilities - Standard Circles LG
• Craft Consortium Ink Drops Organic 6x6
• Luxury Pearlescent Metallic 105# Cardstock - Quartz White 6 ct
• Melissa Frances Self-Adhesive Round Pearls - Cream
• May Arts 1" Sheer - 100 Yard Spool - White
• Delicata Non-Tarnishing Ink Pad - Celestial Copper

I'll leave you with a few of the many more photos I took of this year's trip.

The results of spinning with friends in the Lounge at the hotel in Dumfries.

On the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond!  🎶

A mirror selfie in the hotel in Glasgow...this is the entirely spindle-spun, hand knit sweater that was inspired by a photo of a Highland Coo that I took last year.  

Another coo...

and another wonderful tea at Kitchen Coos and Ewes.

Sunset on the beach and bay behind our hotel on the Isle of Mull, taken through the dining room window with such a magnificent view.

The ruins of the nunnery on the Isle of Iona.

Some of the Iona flock...I have spun fiber from this flock in the last year too!  I am knitting some of it into fingerless mitts.

And in this photo I was spinning the Iona Abbey color way (from Inglenook Fibers) while visiting the Abbey.  Such a beautiful, sacred, serene space.  I love it there so much!    

Tartan Plaid and Turning Leaves!

 

I'm leaving for Scotland on Saturday so of course I had to use a plaid on today's card!  It ended up being a fun card to make using paper from several different pads and two of our beautiful stamp sets.  Black and Beige is one of my favorite color schemes, this time made even richer with a bit of "chocolate."  

This is another no coloring card!  This leaf is so beautiful in bold changing colors courtesy of a sheet of designer paper from Craft Consortium's Metal Textures pad.  

The adjacent sentiment is stamped on a sheet from Test of Time, which has a bit of a wood bark feel.  

The cross was stamped onto a sheet from the Scorched Wood pad, and sits atop another print from Metal Textures.  

Inside, there's another scrap of the tartan plaid against a background from Test of Time.  

Supplies:

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Give Thanks Bundle
• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Easter is for Jesus Bundle
• Craft Consortium Tartan Plaid 6x6 (front)
• craft-consortium-test-of-time-6x6 (sentiment, inside right)
• Craft Consortium Metal Textures 6x6 (leaf, inside left)
• craft-consortium-scorched-wood-6x6 (cross)
• May Arts 1.25" Silk - 32 yard spool - Black
• gems

I'll be leaving Florida's temps in the upper 80's for Scotlands 50's with lows dipping into the low 40's, so I'm trying to decide what to pack.  I'm touring with a knitting group, so we're all looking forward to some Sweater weather!  Last time we were there I was either too hot (indoors) or too cold (outdoors) so this time I am determined to pack thinner, more adjustable layers that will be more comfortable outdoors and in.  I'm taking my hand-spun, hand-knit Highland Coo inspired cardigan!  I finished it just in time!  

Fingers crossed that I will find some beautiful fleece/fiber and yarn to bring back home as souvenirs from this trip!  🇺🇸 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🇺🇸 

Count your blessings and give thanks!

Hello friends!

Today's project was inspired by one sheet of Ink Drops Vivid designer paper where the sage blue-greens faded to golden yellows.  I thumbed through the rest of my paper pads looking for prints that would harmonize and landed upon a few prints from Echo Park It's a Boy!  (Kinda nice to be able to use that paper pad for something besides baby boys, as much as I love 'em!  The colors work great together IRL but my camera kinda struggled to catch them accurately.)  

I'm also trying to use some of my "just shy of card-size" bits of card stock, so I went with something sort of like a buckle card using Tim Holtz tags.  I like that this layout gives an opportunity for those various prints to play together even from the inside.  

This photo shows how the tag (two pieces of designer paper glued together and scored so that they'll fold over the front edge) attaches to the inside.  I used the tag die cut to remove a portion of the white mat and designer paper layer to eliminate some thickness/heaviness, so the tag actually adheres to the gold card base.  

Since the "baby" paper print had leaves of various colors, I grabbed one of our other Fall sets to stamp and die cut a few leaves from scraps of the harmonizing prints and some card stock.  No coloring at all on this card!  Just stamped ink.  

Supplies:

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Autumn Blessings Bundle
• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Harvest Bundle
• Sizzix Thinlits Dies by Tim Holtz - Tag Collection
• Stamp Simply Steel Dies - Farmhouse Signage (tiny heart)
• Craft Consortium Ink Drops Vivid 6x6
• Echo Park It's a Boy 6x6
• May Arts 5/8" Faux Linen Canvas Ribbon Sampler - 27 yards
• Spellbinders ovals
• distress oxide inks