Paperamblings

A Break from All Things Christ-mas!
Well, I TRIED to get back to the blog-ging world but appar-ently, it didn't take! As I was just telling my cyber friend, Jeannie (please visit her awesome blog), sometimes the pressure to create "that perfect card" is just too much! There is SUCH tremendous talent out there in the paper-crafting/stamping world, and sometimes trying to "keep up with the (crafting) Joneses" simply becomes over-whelming...what is supposed to be a fun HOBBY and a BREAK from work and pressure and the everyday world turns into a BURDEN. In fact, I find that lately I do everything BUT go down-stairs to my craftroom (yes, I even resort to folding laundry and emptying the dishwasher rather than turning to my paper and ink...how sad is THAT?!). So for now, until I get over this "I am not worthy" rut, I'm just gonna take things day by day and create and post as my perfectionism allows (Do I feel a New Year's resolution coming on?!).

And in addition to "the rut", there is also the hustle & bustle of the Holidays to contend with...I am well underway with decorating, shopping, and even wrapping, but there's still loads to be done, and I'd like to get there in time to actually ENJOY the season and bask in all the joys and festivities, the sacredness and family time, that the Christmas season is SUPPOSED to bring! So since I've been working hard to reach this goal, as well as hoping to over-come the aforementioned rut, I stepped away from all things Christmas (and all COLORS red & green and gold & silver) to make this little "Get Well" card!

Now for details: This adorable little lamb (as well as the heart and the sentiment) is from Saltbox Studio's (a division of A Muse) "Sheep" set, and I began by stamping him in "Timber Brown" Staz-On ink on a corner-rounded white panel, followed by the phrase just under the little guy's tummy, and then a line of hearts below that. For coloring, I used Copics in the Red-Violet and Warm Gray families. The hearts got a little dose of "Frosted Lace" Stickles, and for dimension, I popped on several of my new fave embellishment, Bella Dots from Stamping Bella (this color is called "Glitter Pink Orchid"). Next, I used one of my scalloped rectangle Nestabilities on a piece of old pink gingham patterned paper (The Paper Patch) to create a mat for our wooly fella, and before attaching him to the card base (Bazzill's "Scout" color, topped with two patterned panels from Imagination Project's "She Wears Pink" collection), I ran a strip of Bazzill's "Hot Pink" cardstock through my Cuttlebug using the "Swirls" embossing folder and attached it vertically and left of center, as you can see in the pic. Oh, and I used Martha Stewart's "Cornice" border punch on one of the patterned pieces and also rounded several corners here & there! Finally, a length of two-tone organdy ribbon from May Arts & a couple scraps of super-thin center-stitched pink ribbon (also May Arts, I believe) finish it all off!

Thanks for stopping by and checking in...I HOPE it's not so very long till my next post and that I can REALLY, TRULY get back in the swing of things, but I now know enough not to promise! For now, bedtime for my kids calls!