Warmest Sympathy

As much as I enjoy making cards, it is always hard when you need to make a sympathy card.  My future son-in-law’s grandfather has been very ill for quite a while and this last week my daughter called to let me know that he had passed away.  I had met his grandmother and was very touched by her sweet and kind personality.  She holds a very special place in my heart for opening her home to my daughter, after she had surgery, and taking such wonderful care of her.  I knew I wanted to make her a very special card to let her know she was in my prayers.

I decided to give the card a very delicate look by combining vellum with mulberry paper.  I heat embossed the image from the new Pansy set with white detail EP and colored from the back.  I layered it on die cut sticker paper covered with Purple Potion Velvet Glitter, and added it to a wispy piece of mulberry paper on an embossed card front.

I needed several more cards for other family members and made this card using a simple embossed resist technique.  The image is Spiked Blossoms Rectangle, embossed with Velvet Sparkle Embossing Powder and sponged over it with Sweet Plum Memento Ink. 

Head on over to the Sparkle N Sprinkle Blog for more details on these cards.

E. Marie

These cards are entered in the following challenges:

Pansy Sympathy

Totally Papercrafts Challenge #155 - Hope for Spring

Crafty Catz Challenge #171 – Dies and Punches

Craft Your Passion Challenge #150 – All That Glitters
Bunny Zoe's Crafts Monthly Challenge #33 - Flowers and Pearls

Spiked Blossoms Rectangle Resist

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 85 – Blooming Images

Cute Card Thursday Challenge 257 – Simplify

Sparkle N Sprinkle Monochromatic Blog Hop

Happy Valentine’s Day and welcome to the Sparkle N Sprinkle Monochromatic Blog Hop.  If you came here by Jackie Smith’s wonderful blog you are in the right place.  If you just came by to visit, you might want to start back at the Sparkle N Sprinkle Blog to get all the details.  By visiting each designer’s blog and leaving loving comments, you have the chance to win one of 5 different prizes.

The hop runs through Friday, February 15 so if you have a special Valentine date, you will still have time to finish the hop.  Winners will be announced on Saturday, Feb. 16^th.  Here is the line up in case you get lost:

April Williams

Barbara Bruder

Shanna Shands

Jackie Smith

Marie Berquist (You are here)  

Dawn Bennett

Julie Zippel

Keri Brown

Brigita Skopas

Karalee Ingram

Cammy Vietzke

Anne Temple

Shona Erlenborn

Karin Martin  

Brenda Smalle

I have several cards to share with you, starting with the sweet Fiona the Little Irish Lass, designed by Michelle Perkett.  She is now available in rubber as part of the new Irish Shamrocks set.

I colored this image with markers and a dove blender and cut it out with a Spellbinder label die.  After adding Shamrock glitter with a glue pen, I popped it up on the front of the card with dimensionals.  To get more details on this card, visit the SNS gallery here.

My next card uses the beautiful bird house image from the new Shabby Chic Birdhouse set, from designer Beccy Muir.  I stamped this image in Peacock Feathers Distress Ink and colored it with the same ink and a dove blender.  I distressed the edges and sponged ink on all the layers.  

The lovely floral flourishes on both sides of the image are die cut from "Tear-ificTape" on white cardstock and covered with Priceless Peacock glitter.  I used more of the Peacock Feather ink to color the floral ribbon along the bottom.  This card can be found herein the gallery. 

It is time to head over to Dawn Bennett’s beautiful blog.  I know you will love what she has to share.  Don’t forget to leave a comment so you have the chance to win.

 

A reminder that through the end of the month St. Patricks, Valentine’s/Romance & Easter/Spring categories are on special – 15% off.  You can find all the specials here. 

Thank you so much for hopping by and have a wonderful Valentine’s Day!! 

These cards are entered in the following challenges:

Fiona

Basic Grey Challenge #87 – Your Favorites (Spellbinder Dies are my favorite – used Basic Grey Sun Rays cardstock from the Lauderdale Collection)

Beautiful

Clearly Inspired Challenge #68 (CIC68) – Let's Get Inky / creative ways for using ink

Anything Goes Challenge 86 - Vintage/Shabby Chic

Save The Date

Welcome to one of my favorite times of the year – chocolate and roses!!  As long as I get those this week, my husband will stay on my good side!!  I am surprising him with red velvet cupcakes so I know he is going to forgive me for missing Valentine’s evening to start a fun long weekend with my stamping buddies.  We always go out for our Valentine’s date when the resturants are little less crowded so he wasn’t all that upset.

 This week is all about love so I have an extra fun card to share.  I guess I have wedding on the brain since my daughter is in the midst of planning hers.  I used the Sparkle N Sprinkle's Today's Wedding set to create this wiper card. 

I used layers of pink and dark green, along with some striped and floral coordinating decorative cardstock.  The wedding dress was heat embossed with Opaline EP and lightly colored with alcohol markers.  I cut it out and layered it on the front. 

When opened, this card reveals a wedding cake, heat embossed with Silver Pearl EP on pink cardstock, with a hint of coloring (alcohol markers) and pearls.  The sparkly writing of the date was created with a glue pen and Cyclamen glitter.  And the best surprise is the pop up little heart with the Save The Date sentiment.

For a full tutorial on making a Wiper Card, head on over to the Sparkle N Sprinkle Blog for my Sunday Sharing.  For details on this Save the Date Card, head here in the SNS gallery.

Have a wonderful Valentine’s Day!!

 

This card is entered in the following challenges:

Bunny Zoe's Crafts Monthly Challenge #32 – Anything Goes

Spectrum Noir January Challenge – Love

Penny Black And More at Allsorts February Challenge – Pink, Pearly and Swirly

Simon Says Stamps Challenge – Have a Heart

Sweet Stamps.com Challenge 103 - Think Pink

Top Tip Tuesday Challenge 95 – Let Me Call You Sweetheart

Catch The Bug February Theme Challenge – Affairs of the Heart!

Crafts and Me Challenge #119 – Favorite Color Combo (Pink and Green)

Corrosive Challenge #167 – Hearts and Flowers

Crafty Catz Challenge #169 - Love is in the Air (feature a Heart)

Cute Card Thursday Challenge 255 – Love Struck

The Cuttlebug Spot Challenge – Love Is In The Air

Everybody Art Challenge #222 – Heart

Incy Wincy Designs Challenge – Love Is In The Air

One Stop Crafts Challenge 215 – Love Is In The Air

Ooh La La Challenge #123 – Love Story

Totally Gorjuss Challenge 170 – Love

Crafty Calendar Challenge - Love and Marriage!

Sweet Stampin’ Challenge - Pearls & Swirls (see the cake)

A Great Day With Great Friends

What a fun weekend!!  My friend, Cheryl, came to visit from Charlotte, NC and we joined a group of our friends for a delicious supper at the new Monterey Mexican Restaurant.  Cheryl and I shared a Fajita for Two.  Yum!  After this we headed to Beverly’s house where we all sat with our computers, watching TV, and visiting.  Needless to say, I fell asleep in the chair, and woke up there the next morning all covered up.  My friends take such good care of me.

Saturday we were off to Georgia for the stamp convention.  It wasn’t a large show but still a lot to see.  I picked up a few new embossing folders (someday I will have to count how many of these I have – or not), two new stamps, and more cardstock.  I also found some lovely paper at Marco’s that I think will be perfect for those wedding items I am working on for my daughter.

The delight of the convention was getting to meet my fellow Sparkle N Sprinkle designers, AnneTemple and Brigita (Gita) Skopas.  We had lunch together and I really enjoyed visiting with them.  I think I talked their heads off.  I sure hope we can spend more time together in the future. 

After the show we headed to Archiver’s.  On the way there we spotted a Hallmark Outlet and decided to peek in.  How disappointing to find out that it had nothing to do with cards and ornaments.  It was like a junky outlet store, though I did get a great deal on a K-cup holder.  Then on to Archiver’s, where I found a great holder for my Spectrum Noir markers.

We did some additional shopping and, of course, had a great dinner together before we headed home.  Here’s to a great end to a fantastic day with the best friends a woman could ever have!!

Just a reminder - I posted the promised tutorial for my frog card on the Sparkle N Sprinkle blog today, as promised.  Check it out.

Thanks for stopping by.

E. Marie