Dreamy Dragonfly

A Cheerful Visitor

Have you ever seen a silver dragonfly before?  Shortly after a loved one passed, I saw something glistening on my tree.  I was in awe.  It was a shimmering pure silver dragonfly.  What a special creature!  I was told she was a gift... a cheerful visitor during a sad time.  I'll take it.

So, here is my version of a the silver dragonfly.  

Yesterday, I found my Stampin Up Shimmery White art paste.  I just love this stuff.  It just takes a card to the next level with sparkling texture.  There's nothing like a little sparkle, am I right?!

I don't know if you can see the beautiful shade of mauve on your screen, but I think that is what makes this card, dreamy... at least for me.

On top of that gritty sparkle, I added a piece of white cotton gauze.  With a 3" folded piece of cotton gauze, I loosened the strings by stretching it over the brick, then swirled... the messier the better.  

Gluing the gauze in place is a bit tricky.  But, adhering all of the layers on top, I don't think the strings are going anywhere.  I love how the cotton just softens everything.  Can't wait to try the combination of these layers again.

I used silver metallic card stock for more shine and a light patterned paper beneath, all while resting on shades of greenery.

I really enjoyed seeing this card come together.  Maybe it was the colors... the texture... the sparkle... or maybe a reminder of a cheerful visitor.

If you would like to make this card, (or, just see it again - and maybe - favorite it 😁), please take a peek at the card kit in my Etsy store.  

Thank you for visiting.

Have a joyful day!

Luci 

Postal Carrier Appreciation

I guess I was taking postal carriers for granted.  Someone shared this video with me (warning, crude humor)*, which suggests that the US Postal Service, helpful and vital for so many years in America, is in now in danger of becoming insolvent by the end of this summer:

"...it has become clear that the Postal Service will not survive the summer without immediate help from Congress and the White House. Every community in America relies on the Postal Service to deliver vital goods and services, including life-saving medications.”

A law was passed in 2006 which required the USPS to refund retiree health benefits, causing significant losses:

Although the Postal Service lost money in the early part of the decade, in 2001 and 2003, the most significant losses came after the passage of a 2006 law requiring the agency to refund retiree health benefits.

Now, I have no affiliation with the post office, nor am not making any political statement.  I just think it is a terribly unfortunate problem.  Alternatives to USPS will command much higher postage costs and cuts in the service we have come to know and appreciation in all areas from rural to suburban to city.

I, for one, would miss the postal service, if it disappeared.  We, personally, rely on our mail carriers for vital deliveries (truly, vital).  Not only that, I know not everyone has a mail carrier like ours (friendly, helpful and what you expect from the USPS).  I know I cannot solve this problem, but at the very least, I think it is time for me to show a little appreciation every now and again to my mail carrier.  Here's to our mail carriers!

So, in appreciation of my postal worker, thank you for being on the front lines, especially in this pandemic:

"Nut 'n but appreciation for our mail carrier!"

 *This is John Oliver humor, and is not for everyone's taste.  Beyond his humor, though, he does offer some staggering points.

Postal Appreciation Day is in February.  

I hope we will be celebrating it in 2021.

Happy Card on a Rainy Day

I am really going deep into my stash and re-discovering some beautiful papers.   This was one of my favorite collections, as the colors remind me of summer.  Beautiful berry colors and shades of sunshine!  (Wait... can you have shades of sunshine?!)

 Moving on.

It was a rainy day when I put these colors together and immediately, I liked the way the contrast of the lighter shaped card stands out from the more solid pattern cardstock.  

The layout was one I used a while ago with a different card.  I love the simplicity of it, yet it looks, shall we say... a bit sophisticated (said in a British accent).

The gem is placed at the point of the off-set angle, and it is, well... that little bit of sparkle which tells the recipient:  Yes!  Yes, you are worth my using a Stampin Up embellishment that costs $10,000...😜

So, if you or someone is interested in making this card, here are the pieces you will need.  And, if you don't feel like measuring, cutting,

and...

...wait for it...

... tying a bow, all of that is done for you in a kit that I am selling on Etsy.

I am getting more together as time goes on.  They do take a while to coordinate, cut and put together.  So please check back again, soon. 

Want to see something special?  Write to me - let me know what you are interested.  Maybe someone else wants the same, and I can get a nice kit together for you.


Thank you for stopping by.  Please feel free to leave a comment, and/or stop by my Etsy store to "favorite" something.

Think Summer!
Luci

Rainbow Congrats

With a rainbow of colors, this congrats card is easily assembled with layers and sparkle.  

I like this layout because it's simple and clean.  The background has the color and the focal point is the center sentiment die cut.  To make the "congrats" die cut stand out, I added a cluster of shapes behind the word. 

And, since sparkle is my favorite color, I had to add a rhinestone sticker to the top and bottom of the diamond shape.  If I wanted to step this up, I would add florals, greenery or stamped images coming up from the sentiment sentiment area.

I now have it listed as a card camp in my Etsy store, if you are interested in putting a few handmade cards together.   I will also add card kits with the same layout, but different colors.  And for a limited time, I am holding a 20% off sale, as I upload more card kits.

Photo by Leone Venter on Unsplash

Please Just Make This Stop

I was watching the news last night and they shared a video of extremely tired, suffering nurse.  Her sheer physical and mental exhaustion was completely evident.  If I could read what her eyes were saying, I would swear I could hear:

"Please just make this stop."

She made such an impression on me.

It made me pause and reconsider my experience of social distancing, and how difficult and inconvenient it may be for me.  But, I cannot forget the nurse's eyes, desperately begging for this horror to stop.

We all have our challenges in this pandemic.  But, if it can help her, or other medical heroes, I am going to do my best.

My advice to anyone who is going stir crazy at home, please consider taking up a craft for a few moments.  I promise, you will feel so good being creative, and even more so, knowing that you helped a healthcare hero.

If you are looking for paper-crafting activity, I am posting more DIY kits today in my Etsy store.  They are taking a while to put together and post, but I will continue.  I hope you will stop by.  Visit.  If you like something, and it can keep you busy, creative and happy at home, please try it.  I am trying to make them fun for you by leaving out most of the tedious prep work, and color coordination.

Whatever you do, let's all do our part to stay at home to stop the spread of the virus.  
That's all I have to say.  Thank you for reading.  

I wish you well,
Luci

Gold and Diamonds!

Missed Stamp Camp?  

I am de-stashing my studio.  This card is available as a DIY kit in Etsy. 

More DIY kits to come!

So this card is mostly a collage of trendy things I love... paper, lace, washi tape, designer paper, gold flakes, ombre letters, and of course, diamonds!

The ombre letters were created by sponging white ink over the Night of Navy word, followed by gold tipped letters.

Thank you for stopping by.

Have a great day!

Luci

Watercolor Art with Brusho Crystals

Want to step up your stampin' game?  Then, you might want to try these brusho crystals.

With just a tiny amount of crystals and some water, you can achieve a pretty blend of watercolors.  Definitely use watercolor paper and an archival/permanent black ink for your stamp, prior to using the crystals and water.  A heat tool is helpful to dry in between some colors, so that they don't get too muddy.

The tag was gold embossed on the edges and on the sentiment.  Can you also see the gold embossed dots between the flowers?

Tri-colored sequins just finish off the bouquet.

Thanks for stopping by.

Have a great day,

Luci

Blooming Heartfelt Thoughts

This is just a simple monochromatic card with an intricate floral stamp arrangement.  I popped the center flower by stamping on another cardstock, fussy-cutting and popping with a dimensional.

Gold sequins always add a little flash...

And, tone on tone punching adds a type of shadow, like a ruffle... you know it's there, it feels good, but it's not overwhelming.

Thanks for stopping by.

Would love to hear your thoughts,

Luci

Celebrating You

Missed Stamp Camp?  

I am de-stashing my studio.  This card is available as a DIY kit in Etsy. 

More DIY kits to come!

I loved how using two coordinating die-cuts together created a lace-y, delicate flower.  Originally, I was making this a 2-step die cutting process... put one die cut through, then match up the other die cut... 'cause ya' know, I like to do double work... :P

However, both die cuts will go through at the same time and create a beautiful flower!  Who knew!  (LOL... everyone but me!)

I wanted the "YOU" to stand out more.  So, I die cut out and additional "YOU" in black card stock and off-set the word to create a shadow.

Oh... and I cannot forget the diamond bling!

This card utilized a background die cut over designer paper for an interested colored effect.  I took the extra card stock diamonds (a girl can never have too many diamonds) from the die cut background and added for additional layer and texture.

Thanks for stopping by.
Luci


I appreciate your comments.

Heartfelt Blooms

This year's Sale-A-Bration stamp, Heartfelt Blooms, just knocks it out of the park.  I had a chance to play with it, and what a versatile stamp!  This stamp can be the centerpiece in a clean and simple card... or it can be used to create an elegant layered card.

Here, I stamped the flower bunch in Smoky Slate.  Then I accented the florals with different colors of pastels.  As you can see the grey ink gives this a soft and muted color:

If you like a muted look, stop there.  While pretty, I felt it still needed a bit of "oomph" in certain areas.  So, I grabbed a black drawing pencil and added light and dark strokes.  I think the addition of these shadows make all the difference.  It almost looks like it was hand-drawn, no?

It was so relaxing to color and "sketch," and I think it offers a great look to a CAS card:

So, pick up a black pencil, turn on some soft background music and go to town.  So fun!

Would love to hear your comments. 

Thanks for visiting,
Luci

My Sale-a-bration Order Just Arrived

Happy New Year everyone!  January sure seemed to fly by, didn't it?  I am finally able to dig into my new shipment of fun supplies in the best season of stamping -- Stampin Up's Sale-A-Bration 2018. 

A few things:

1.  STAMP CAMP has been RESCHEDULED:

NEW DATE:  March 23, 2018.  RSVP here.

2.  If you order $50 or more from me, between now and stamp camp you will:

• Get a discount on stamp camp.
• Get a free stamp set or other item from the Sale-A-Bration webstore or view the Sale-A-Bration Catalog (PDF).
• You will have supplies to play with after a stamping class (i.e. camp).
• Also, if you order $100 - you can choose a higher level, free item.

3.  For new supplies, go to the Occasions Catalog Webstore or view the Occasions Catalog (PDF).

4.  For great deals, visit the Clearance Rack!

Well... off I go to explore ways to make these stamping supplies into beautiful projects for you on Friday.  Hope to see you there!

Lucian

http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/luci/

Summer Send Off Stamp Camp - Birthday Sunflowers

When I think of sunflowers, I think of beautiful bright yellow-orange happy flowers.  Somewhere along the line, I spotted pink sunflowers!  OMG - I absolutely adore the Powder Pink layers along with Smokey Slate giving shadow in this 2-step stamped card.  

Look at my imperfect centers!  That's right, imperfection does not matter with this stamp set, Painted Harvest.  It welcomes imperfection.  

Don't like the first stamp impression?  Stamp it again!  These stamps practically beg you to do just that.  Each layer of stamp impression, gives this flower more depth and watercolor-y dreaminess.

So, go ahead and be imperfect.  Stamp and repeat.  The result is ideal.

Thank you for your visit.

Luci

P.S.  My next stamp camp is scheduled for October 13, 2017.  Pencil it in on your calendar and RSVP here.

Summer Send Off Stamp Camp - You Warm My Heart

I am beyond lucky that in the Fall, I can look out my studio window to see a spectacular show of vibrant and lavish colors so gracefully gifted to me by nature.  I can already see some of the early color-loving leaves presenting a dramatic brushstroke of red within a sea of a still-green forest.

OK… well enough about my view.  This card is the vision of what my view is to become.  There has been so much inspiration on the web for this type of design, so I will try to add what I think might be my personal touch, within the directions:

• Using the Woodland Textured embossing folder, ink and stamp the embossing folder.  (I used the tree spots from the Sheltering Tree stamp set.  The inks that I stamped progressed from light to darker rich Autumn color inks - cleaning in between each color.)

• When all the inks are randomly stamped on the folder, lightly spritz the embossing folder with water.  (To add more drama, outline the tree section of the folder in brown marker).

• Run a piece of Whisper White through the Big Shot to be "dry" embossed.  (Don't worry if the ink did not covering the entire background.  White areas make the colors pop.)

• Sponge around the sides with Night of Navy to add more shadow and depth.

• Layer the sentiment strip, doily and vellum as part of the card top embellishment.  Then add everything to the base of the card.

• Add sparkle with 3 rhinestones, or in this case sequins.  HINT:  Apply a tiny drop of glue onto the woodland scene - where you want the sequins to go.  THEN, add the sequins on top of the glue.  It seems to work better that way, rather than adding glue to the sequins and then the card.

• Want more shimmer?  I added additional twinkle with Wink of Stella on the birch tree trunks.

Thank you to all who generously offer inspiration and challenges on the web!  Feeling like Autumn, too?  Try the Autumn Colors challenge.

Have a beautiful day.

Luci

P.S.  My next stamp camp is scheduled for October 13, 2017.  Pencil it in on your calendar. 

Summer Send-Off Stamp Camp - Gold Congrats

Here's another stamp camp design.  The 2017-18 SU catalog has a bevy of layout ideas.  This card was for the most part, cased for the shine and beautiful watercolor papers.  I liked the idea of using the snow folder as "confetti" in this happy card.

Feathers, being so trendy right now, seemed to fit perfectly on the left.  The best part of 2 step stamping the feather (which by the way has more than just 2 layers - so you can go crazy with the combinations of colors) is the 3 dimensionality and realistic shading of a feather image, which seems to mimic the watercolored style of the designer paper.

HINT:  I recommend that you put the washi tape on the card first, then run the card through the embossing folder.  That will adhere the tape firmly to the base of the card.

Thank you for stopping by.  

Luci

P.S.  My next stamp camp is scheduled for October 13, 2017.  Pencil it in on your calendar. 

Summer Send Off Stamp Camp - The Light

Goodbye Summer 

Welcome Autumn

Happy first day of Fall 2017.  I've been wanting to post our farewell to summer cards from stamp camp, so here we go…

This has to be one of my favorite 2 step stamps (just to be clear, I have many favorites, and I really like this one). The light house is stamped with a darker shade to show the dramatic shadow of late summer sun on the other side.  

I cut out the lighthouse to add dimension to the layers, plus it provides a forgiving approach to hiding my non-perfect 2-step-stamp line-up.  Beneath the lighthouse are the lime-light beams stamped on a circle shape of seagulls and waves.

What else are my favorites?

• I think the Lemon Lime Twist In-Color is such a wonderfully trendy color that updates whatever other color combos are used.  

• I cannot get enough of the delicate rhinestones.  Here it is used as the "light" in the lighthouse.

• The sponge brayered inks on the glossy can't be beat. 

• Did I mention glossy cardstock is back?!  YAY!

Lastly, I adore the sentiment.  I am so grateful to have people in my life that shine beautiful light… so grateful.


Wishing you a peaceful day,
Luci

P.S.  My next stamp camp is scheduled for October 13, 2017.  Pencil it in on your calendar. 

When Words Are Not Enough to Say Thank You

I was honored to be asked to make a special thank you card.  After listening to the request, I realized this card had to be something more than special - it had to be full of love, because of the kindness that was offered in the aid that contributed to my friend's long recovery.  Words, I felt, could not be enough.

So, with that in mind, I set to work and here is the result:

You can see there is a combination of of stamped sentiment, sponged edges, layered florals, and thinlit die cuts.  

While I wanted the colors to be subdued and soft, I found the perfect shade of pop (Watermelon Wonder - In Color '16), and made a layered flower.  To make this flower, I punched 4 layers of card stock, fastened them together with a tiny SU brad, then rolled each petal up until I liked the look.  This took a bit of time and fuss… and love.

The butterfly on top of the note tag is a layered with multiple punches to repeat the shape, adding dimension, texture and even a little flutter.  The gold die cut center adds the shine.  The personal note tag can be pulled out from the pocket by the burlap ribbon.

My favorite little accent is this detail in the corner.  I cut, rolled and sponged a layer of the designer paper to create a curl that I purposely made to reveal a subtle bird in flight… freedom.

Above the curl, I added a rhinestone accent and a piece of a doily.  Did I mention that I love texture?

This card helped me to slow down and enjoy each layer as I built it, loving each piece.  Maybe I achieved the goal for making this thank you card after all - it had to be filled with love.

NOTE:  There are some ideas that made this card in the "flying spirit of birds" from Time Out Challenges.  Were you able to find my winged friends - and their spirit - in this card?  Thank you Steph for recommending!

May your day be filled with creative joy.

Luci