Changing seasons

Since I live in the southern Nevada desert, our seasonal changes are different than in many areas.  We had beautiful fall colors until yesterday.  These photos were  taken 2 days apart in my front yard.  We had a small amount of rain during the night and lots of wind.  A few of the leaves are piled against the fence, but most are being shared by neighbors down the street.

While the wind was blowing and leaves were flying outside, I decided to make some cards that will probably arrive at their destination after Christmas.

Seasonal cards

We have each been raised with our cultural differences.  I was raised to believe that we celebrate Christmas because of our Christian beliefs.  I realize that others have different beliefs, so I do make seasonal cards for people who do not celebrate the holiday season in the same way.  Here is a card I made to send to others during the winter season.

I embossed this glossy paper with a snowflake embossing folder, then patted white Brilliance ink onto the raised snowflakes.  Glossy paper does not photograph well.  The color is really much closer to the other colors on the card.

Christmas cards

I've received many nice cards from other card makers on Gingerwood Bulletin Board.  They have been trying to inspire me to make cards again.  Last month, I received a birthday card from one of them.  I was impressed by the stamp and die set that she used, so I asked where she got it.  It was the Fancy Banner set from Taylored Expressions.  I had never been to their website and was very impressed.  I ordered the banner set and will try to use it soon.  I also bought a Nativity Die and liked it so much that I made Christmas cards this year, first time in years.  I made them all alike, except that some are cut from gold glossy paper and some from silver glossy paper.

The sentiment is an old rubber stamp from My Sentiments Exactly.  I removed this portion from the wood and used it with my Mini Misti stamp positioner.  The edges of top layer are rubbed with Versamark Ink and dipped in embossing powder.  This gives a nice edge on that top layer.

Time will tell if I succeed in continuing to make cards.  I'm impressed by the quality of the dies from Taylored Expressions and may need to get more of them.

Birthday Boy

I haven't been making cards for some time.  I was motivated to begin again because my brother will soon turn 95.  I've been making cards for his birthday for many years, so I couldn't stop now.  I used a card base that I made a few months ago and embellished it.

The card was made with watercolors and I added the balloon stickers.  I mounted the balloons onto cardstock, then popped them up on dimensional tape.  I placed the gold embroidery floss between cardstock and dimensional tape, then tied a knot and glued it down with liquid adhesive.