A New Project

Life has a funny way of changing, doesn't it?
My last post on this blog was in January 2018 after Christmas. I fully intended to make more cards and post them here but I got distracted by a sale at Walgreens on photo developing and I developed an entire year of photographs (2015)!!! I typically only develop a month or two at a time but this was a really good sale!
So I spent the next few months working on a family scrapbook for 2015 and forgot all about blogging about the pages I made. After all, this blog is about all the things I create, not just cards. But I forgot.
At the same time, my husband and I decided to sell our rental house and use the proceeds to fund a really exciting project.....a new house on the land we live on now!
The real estate market was so hot, our house sold in a week for the full asking price! We closed at the end of May 2018.
This new project, building a house, requires that we move out of the house that is currently in the spot where we want to build, tear it down, and build the new one.
The point? I had to pack my craft room and put it in storage. So sad. But so exciting because in the new house, I designed a 20 x 16 foot craft room! Such luxury it will be since for the last 3 years I've been using a 7 x 8 foot room. So crowded!
But, again, back to the point: I had to put all of my craft supplies in storage. So I won't be making cards or scrapbooks for a while. Well, unless I find another way.....
But really, most of my energy for the next year or so is going to be concentrated on building the house so I won't be updating this blog. (Although there is always crocheting........)
Instead, I am going to start a new blog all about the journey of building a house ourselves. I already have a couple of posts just waiting to be written about our progress so far. So hop on over to my new blog and follow our craziness as we move out, tear down, and rebuild. It should be fun, right? (Enter suspenseful dun, dun, dun, music here).
The new blog is called The Ashby Journey of a Thousand Steps or How to Eat an Elephant...Ashbyphant....One Bite at a Time......
Ok, the title is still a work in progress.....but it'll be something like that.

Card Challenge Junkies challenge #1 January 2018

I joined a FB group called Card Challenge Junkies which is a group that encourages card making cards with certain criteria that must be included. This is the first card I made:

The challenge was to use a sketch that was provided. The sketch showed a circle, rectangle and sentiment. Once those things are included, I was free to interpret the rest of the card however I wanted. For this card I used:

Stampin' Up! Secret Garden stamp and die (flower)
Tonic Studio circle dies
Stampin' Up! Just a Note stamp (sentiment)
Stampin' Up! decorative square punch
Scrap papers I had left over from other projects
Spectrum Noir alcohol markers (for coloring the flower)

I am still pretty new at coloring with these markers. They are alcohol based so they take longer to dry giving more opportunity for blending the colors. The way I colored the flower on this card is actually my second attempt. Here's the first:

I was trying to make the petals of the flower look curved in the light. It was an ok attempt but I liked the other flower better so I used it. I'll try this again another time.

I needed a birthday card for my brother-in-law today, so I decided to follow the same sketch as issued in this challenge, but I changed it a little:

Supplies:
Stampin' Up! Giggle Greetings stamp set
Stampin' Up! You Make Me Smile stamp set
Stampin' Up! decorative rectangle punch
EK Success Memory Pencils
FSJ Cocoa Powder Ink Pad
Scrap papers
Unbranded decorative square die

I don't get much practice making masculine cards so it's hard for me to not add a flower here and there, so I used a marker and added dots instead. lol

Christmas Cards 2017

I made three different cards for Christmas 2017. Usually, I design one card and make 50-75 of the same card for everyone on my card list. This year, however, I needed two different cards for church activities in addition to personal cards to send to family and friends.

The photo shows all three designs I made this year. The card on the left was for a Relief Society Leadership Christmas party. I have already written about this card in the post entitled, "RS Leadership Invitation". You can search for that blog post in the menu on the right side of the screen.

The card on the right was for people at church who need a little extra love from the RS Presidency (Leadership of the women's group in my church). These are widows, people who needed assistance from the church, or people who suffered a major loss this year. Or for people we just wanted to show that we care and are thinking about them. 

 Supplies:
Georgia-Pacific 110 lb Premium Cardstock for the card, tree, and sentiment bases
Stampin' Up! Creamy Caramel Ink
Stampin' Up! Baroque Motifs stamp set (background)
Just Rite Clear Gift of Faith Sentiments
Generic Christmas tree stamp
Sizzix embossing folder
Creative Memories Oval Cutting System
Want2Scrap Self Adhesive Bling (tree decorations)
Acrylic Jewel (tree topper)
Generic 1/8" Cream Ribbon (12")

Tips: I stamped the Baroque Motif first and then embossed the card base. I also stamped the tree and sentiment before cutting them with the oval cutting system. Ink the edges of the ovals before attaching to the card. Tie the ribbon all the way around the card front before attaching the sentiment. Use pop dots to adhere the sentiment so there is room for the ribbon to run behind it.

The last Christmas card I made this year was my personal one. Now that Christmas is over and everyone has received the card, I can write publically about it. 

I wanted to make a tri-fold card because I hadn't ever made one. One of my goals in my cardmaking this year is to try more creative folds.

Supplies:
White cardstock
Stampin' Up! Sounding Joy Stamp Set (sentiment on front)
Stampin' Up! Evergreen Stamp Set (trees)
Just Rite Nativity Sentiments (Bethlehem town)
SonLight Impressions Star stamp
Stamp Oasis Hope and Love stamp (sentiment inside)
PSA Nativity Stamp
Stampin' Up! Night of Navy Ink Pad (sky and sentiments)
Stampin' Up! Garden Green Ink Pad (trees)
Versamark Ink Pad (star and nativity)
Ranger Gold Embossing Powder (star and nativity)
Fun Stamps Hologram Embossing Powder (front sentiment)
Comotion Clear Embossing Powder (inside sentiment)

The clear embossing powder I used (see supply list above) got bumpy when set. I thought maybe I was melting it too long but even when I removed the heat gun right when it started melting, it was still bumpy.  It makes kind of a neat look, even if it wasn't really what I was after.

My hope was to make the inside of the card look like a forest opening up to the wonder and golden splendor of the nativity scene.

I took the photo at this angle to try to get the camera to pick up the silver embossing on the trees. It looks like frost!

If you have any questions about any of my cards, please leave a comment!