Forward Is the Only Way Through

This card dedicated to all my fellow Houstonians. In the midst of catastrophic hurricane Harvey we have also witnessed heart-warming unity and camaraderie in our city. People risking their own lives to rescue others, unselfish acts of kindness and concern for our fellow man. My daughter and her husband were turned away from helping at three different volunteer locations today because they were all fully staffed. When checking on their own neighbors they discovered an elderly woman who was physically fine, however had run out of food so they gave her all the food in their refrigerator. I share these things for my non-Houston family and friends to spread hope, to give us something positive to read!  When our current situation threatens to overwhelm us it helps to look forward and focus on the "other side" of the situation. Trouble won't last always. Houston will re-build. We will move forward, together.

Supplies Used: Unity Stamp set Forward and Through, Altenew and WPlus 9 inks, rose gold metallic pen, gold Deco-foil, mini MISTI, gold textured card stock, 80 lb white card stock

You Are My Favorite Season

As I type this, my family is waiting out what is now tropical storm Harvey (so NOT my favorite season living in the Gulf Coast area!). Bright side? More time for card-making!

I’m sharing an instructional post today (the first of many). 

I received some new WPlus 9 dye inks that were waiting to get some attention. Also at my craft area was my Lacy Leaf stamp set by Concord and 9^th so I decided to take one of the small images to break in the inks.  What started as a swatch project turned into a self-challenge. The more I stamped leaves the more I wanted to challenge myself to create a design using only the smallest stamps in the set. Using my MISTI stamp positioner and a grid transparency helped me center everything. I used the small leaf, heart and small-lettered sentiment and came up with the following:

 I love those little sentiments: Greet & Gather, Bonfires & Blankets, Pumpkins & Pinecones, Acorns & Apples. I must admit I felt a little Jennifer McGuire-ish after finishing as she often makes patterns out of small images😀. To separate the design from my main sentiment I hand drew a divider. I layered rust-colored card stock to outline the main panel and then adhered everything onto a white card base.  

Thank you for stopping by!  I am not yet sure how often I will post, bear with me as I figure this blog thing out. If you are in Texas and affected by Harvey, I wish you blessings and protection!

-Michelle