Thinking of You

You Are So Kind

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Nothing says elegance quite like a white on white greeting card.  I love how they look and how subtle their beauty is.  I am not sure this will fit into a regular envelope with all of those layers.  I think I will have to make a custom one.

You Are So Kind

I knew I wanted to use the new brick wall embossing folder, I have been so excited to get it.  I also knew I wanted to use both sets of butterflies dies.  I just didn’t know for sure how to fit them all together nicely.  They ended up all layered together, all five of them.

You Are So Kind

I only used one stamp from the watercolor wings set for the sentiment.  I haven’t let myself play with all of the other stamps.  I do try to budget how much time I give to my craft each day, otherwise nothing else would get done.

You Are So Kind

I used the bitty banner punch to give me banner ends on my sentiment and layered everyone up with dimensionals.  I glued my butterfly layers together using tombo and put the final butterfly object on dimensionals as well.  I finished it off with basic rhinestones, a string of nine for the body, and a scattering along the left side and bottom.  Just right.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Trust God

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

So much has happened during the last week, even as I write in advance for this blog, I know my heart is both heavy and full at the same time.

Trust God

Taking yet another child to university is so exciting, but reminds me of how little time we actually have with these children and how soon they grow up and leave home.  Luckily, I still have a few more years with my youngest.

Trust God

Then partnering that event with a demanding and fulfilling pioneer trek has surely put me over the edge.  But in a good way.  Even though it was surely to be physically and emotionally difficult, I have complete faith that I loved it and will treasure it always.

Trust God

I created this set knowing how I would be feeling, and knew there would be a lot on my mind.  The flowering flourishes has been one of my favorite stamp sets for a very long time.  The results it gives are always different and very beautiful.  This color combination is soft yet ornate at the same time.  I wasn’t sure about layering the stamps over each other, but these colors allowed it.  I hope you have enjoyed it as I did.

Have a beautiful, and very creative day.

Moana

One Butterfly Too Many? I Think Not…

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It was time to gather the butterflies, and I didn’t even use them all!  There is another punch and framelit and other stamps as well.  Clearly I love these!  Can you blame me?  They are so beautiful.  I am getting excited for a new stamp set that is on its way.  It has a dragonfly in it and those are my favorite.

One Butterfly Too Many? I Think Not...

It is hard to match this combination though.  I wonder how many butterflies I have seen so far on my pioneer trek.  I might be too tired this morning to notice.  But today I get to come home.  This yellow is the accent color in my skirt and matching apron I made for this trek.  What an event it must have been.  I will have to tell you more later.

One Butterfly Too Many? I Think Not...

I layered up this beautiful butterflies after I sponged their edges pretty heavily.  I wanted them to be one color, but have a subtle difference as well.  It worked nicely,  I also used the tiny butterfly stamp from the perpetual birthday calendar set to create a flock of them flying up the side and across the top.  That was really fun.  With some heavy sponging that look was complete.

One Butterfly Too Many? I Think Not...

I didn’t know if I wanted to stamp my sentiment with so saffron or black.  I started with so saffron, decided it wasn’t bold enough, and offset a second stamping in black.  It worked out really well.  The photopolymer stamps really make things like that super easy.  I repeated some of those stamps on the inside and then blinged up the butterflies properly.  They do look grand, do they not?

Have a creative day!

Moana

Flower Patch Beauty

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My husband was given a thank you note that inspired this simple creation.  I usually like more, but this couldn’t be more perfect.  The subtle layering of the flower, the gentle stem, and the touch of glitter come together to make this stunner.

Flower Patch Beauty

I did a narrow border with an additional layer of watermelon wonder and popped that combo up on dimensionals.  I thought about adding some of that lovely dotted lace trim, but didn’t want to interfere with the glitter or the stem.  Really, it turned out so nice.

Flower Patch Beauty

So, here it sits, in its simple glory.  I love this color and I love it even more in this beautiful card.  Maybe I should send this note back to the friend that inspired it.  They certainly are wonderful.

Flower Patch Beauty

 

Look for inspiration in every day life, it is there waiting for you.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Kinda Eclectic with a Ray of Sunshine

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

This burst of sunshine should be posting while I am in Utah getting my Denali all settled at university.  She is a huge burst of sunshine in my life, so it suits the day perfectly.

Kinda Eclectic with a Ray of Sunshine

I have used the sunburst stamp from the Kinda Eclectic set in so many projects.  It is why I bought the set, but the rest of it is just as beautiful.  I am so glad that it carried over to the new catalog.  I wasn’t ready to say goodbye just yet.

Kinda Eclectic with a Ray of Sunshine

I loved using the super smooth whisper white card stock to make a matching bag.  It folds rather crisp, but is easier to manipulate that the other card.  And of course I love the stamp.  This set is done in hello honey and it works so well.  I even got out an embossing folder to give it a little extra.

Kinda Eclectic with a Ray of Sunshine

A simple card that is all about the saying and a few bright touches to bring it full circle.  Perhaps this one will find its way to someone in need of a pick me up.  Sounds about right!

Have a creative day!

Moana

Wondrous Wreath and My Plum Trees…

~ moanaj ~ 1 Comment

I was out looking at my plum trees last night and decided I wanted to bring those colors into a project.  My photos aren’t the best, you can hardly even see the mossy meadow layer in-between the two others, but it is there.  I so need a new camera.

Wondrous Wreath and My Plum Trees...

Either way, I still love how it turned out.  I stamped off once on my first layer of leaves.  So when I added the second layer of leaves with the second stamp I left it full strength.  Lovely contrast if I do say so myself.  I did the berries in rich razzelberry to match of course.  I continued those little guys on the inside, and they are so cute.  I can see me using the berry stamp to make a background paper.

Wondrous Wreath and My Plum Trees...

I know my wording is a bit slanted, but I was tired.  The heat has been so bad lately that by the time I get to settle down to work, I am so warm and tired that I don’t have the patience I should.

Wondrous Wreath and My Plum Trees...

My brain is so all over the place.  Just too many things to get done and not enough time.  Summer break may be here, but I have yet to really enjoy any of it.  July will be better, supposedly.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Banner Blessings with Beautiful Bunch

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I so enjoyed getting the silver ink out yesterday that I went back for more.  I really love working with metallic inks.  I hadn’t water colored with them before, but I thought I would give it a go.

Banner Blessings with Beautiful Bunch

The idea came from my daughters art final.  She pained this  beautiful water color and brought in gold.  It looks much more dramatic on her project, but hey, it is a start, right?  I liked how it turned out.

Banner Blessings with Beautiful Bunch

I wanted to use a stamp from my collection that would suggest a star, to match the sentiment, without being a star.  I ended up going with the flower centers from the Beautiful Bunch set.  I tried a different one first, but it looked more like paint splats or bad graphics from an old Star Trek episode.  I settled with the one you see here.  I do love making my own background paper.

Banner Blessings with Beautiful Bunch

I repeated the stamping on the edges of the card base and of course had to stamp on the inside opposite corners of my insert.  I even did one on the back bottom center, just to make Donna happy.  I love how the gold ink looks on blackberry bliss.  I see another project with those two coming along soon.

I used my aqua painter and the gold ink to highlight the scripture reference.  I stamped ink on a clear block and used that as my pallet.  It worked like a charm!

Have a creative day!

Moana

Cucumber Crush Party

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Getting back into the groove can be a bit slow at first.  I also gave myself a challenge this morning by making cucumber crush my main color.  We haven’t become friends just yet, so I thought we needed some together time.  I helped it find a friend in blushing bride, and I like how it worked out.

Cucumber Crush Party

I used a full sheet to make this pretty gift bag.  I stamped the background paper with the fun leaf from the Kinda Eclectic set.  Loved it.  I used it full strength some, but mostly stamped it off once first.  I like how different this color looks at different strengths.

Cucumber Crush Party

I sometimes stop myself from using flowers, because I feel like I really get them everywhere.  I just love flowers!  So, I didn’t hold back at all here.  I usually stamp off blushing bride, but it needed to be strong to work with this fun green.  The combo is full of life.  I think a yellow would have paired nicely, but I had to stop somewhere.

Cucumber Crush Party

These pretty clear faceted buttons are so fun to use.  It helped me finish up this gift bag nicely.  Sometimes I go overboard on bling, but not today.  I wasn’t sure when I started this project, but I love how it ended up.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Camp Bountiful in a Card

~ moanaj ~ 2 Comments

Spending a week with a wonderful group of ladies working together to serve the most beautiful girls, communing with nature and worshiping God, it is obvious why I created the card I did.

Camp Bountiful in a Card

Lovely as a Tree will remain one of my long time favorites, always.  Being surrounded by nature and removed from technology and distractions brings solace like no other.

Camp Bountiful in a Card

The girls, that huge group of lovely girls, worked together, learned together, laughed together, and cried together.  It was such a wonderful experience and I hope I get the opportunity to serve again next summer.

Camp Bountiful in a Card

It wont be easy to get back into the routine of life, but there isn’t a choice.  But, I can choose to keep myself in tune with the things I learned and felt.  I will continue to serve those I love.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Guy Greetings and Father’s Day Too!

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Card workshop is today and even though I am totally exhausted, I know I will have a great time.  This is one of the projects we will be making.  It is getting close to Father’s Day, so of course we had to make something to celebrate that wonderful holiday.

Guy Greetings and Father's Day Too!

Can you see the learning opportunity in this first photo?  I was chatting it up with my own father and wasn’t paying close attention.  I know my stamping is a bit wonky, but I neglected to use my stampin’ pierce mat with the one on the left.  Of course my image wasn’t as clear and even a bit void in the center.  Yes well, it didn’t click on that second attempt.  The one before is hiding behind that one.  I tried to re-stamp it, but even with the photopolymer being so very clear, the image was too detailed for me to line up perfectly.  It gave it a nauseating 3-D look that had to go.  We all learn, right?  Use that mat for best results with photopolymer.

Guy Greetings and Father's Day Too!

Some of my ladies like to have choices as they work, so this should work nicely.  The stamp set it so huge that not only do they have choices, they just might be overwhelmed.

Guy Greetings and Father's Day Too!

I have used just a touch of seam binding ribbon to add some color, just a little bit. A nice masculine card is definitely something to have on hand, and this fits the bill.  I am so glad this stamp set carried over because it is the best for making all kinds of manly cards.  Love it!

Have a creative day!

Moana

A Whole Lot of Lovely

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How about a sneak peek at some new product coming out next week!  I have been waiting to play with some of the new products, but have made myself wait until it was closer to being released.  The background stamp is a returning favorite, but the rest is all new!

A Whole Lot of Lovely

Let’s start with the color.  It is called Tip Top Taupe and I love it!  It is darker than Sahara Sand and lighter than Crumb Cake.  I think it is so pretty.  Wait until you see the other four new In Colors.  I will do one a day to show all five.  How fun!

A Whole Lot of Lovely

The stamps shown are two of the four in one of the new host sets coming out. I love it when they make a stamp that fits a punch just right.  How perfectly does this pretty sentiment fit inside the 2″ circle punch, right?  Just the perfect nudge of white boarder around the image, yummy.  And then of course just a little inside stamping to coordinate.  I really went at the sponging today and gave it an almost vintage look.  I wanted to put this new color to the test.  It has passed with flying colors.

Take a look at the new ribbon though.  It is called Dotted Lace Trim and it comes in the new five colors.  It is actually quite soft and just a bit stretchy.  I can see myself using this often, good thing I get a discount.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Maritime Thank You

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Today is a day filled with gratitude.  Not only for our freedom, but for those who sacrificed so much to provide it to us.  Sometimes we feel a bit removed from celebrations like Memorial Day.  Today I have the opportunity to spend time with family, and to thank my own sailor, my father-in-law.  Hence, the nautical themed projects for today.

Maritime Thank You

I used the awesome anchor from Guy Greetings to make a background paper for my sentiment and stamp inside as well.  All you need to say is ‘Thank You’.  We will enjoy writing special notes in these.

Maritime Thank You

I had to make a treat bag, of course.  But I knew I would be making this specific, so I actually bought candy to go inside.  It is already tucked inside ready to go.  Everyone needs a treat once in a while.

Maritime Thank You

So, don’t forget to take some time in your busy, and hopefully wonderful, holiday to share your gratitude.

Maritime Thank You

Have a creative day!

Moana

Sassy Salutations with Flowering Flourishes

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Let’s just say that my camera doesn’t always do me the best favors.  It is pushing ten years of heavy use, guess that is to be expected.  You get the idea though.

Sassy Salutations meets Flowering Flourishes

I was stumped for an idea, so I asked my youngest daughter for a little help.  All I asked her for was a color, something to get me started.  She said red, but not a love card.  I took her challenge and had fun with it.

Sassy Salutations meets Flowering Flourishes

I don’t normally work in red, but I do like the results.  I used two cut and ready card bases, retiring sad to say, for this set.  One for the card and the other for the box.  You could also make these from just one sheet.

Sassy Salutations meets Flowering Flourishes

I stamped on the velum with stazon and let it dry for a bit while I did the red stamping.  I hid my adhesive under the stamping and my embellishments.  Aren’t these just beautiful?  When they went on sale I broke down and bought a couple of containers.  So glad I did.  They are also retiring.

Sassy Salutations meets Flowering Flourishes

Even though my camera didn’t help out too much today, I think you get the idea.  Give yourself a challenge and see what happens.  You might be pleasantly surprised.

Have a creative day!

Moana