Sneak Preview…

On Thursday, I leave for CHA (Craft & Hobby Association) annual trade show in Anaheim, California.  I have five new Garden Notes (including this Daffodil #1139), seven new CountryScapes, including a new category I’ve called Garden Edges and three new stamps from Seeds of Thought.  If you follow Susan’s Garden Club on FaceBook, you’ve seen some of the new dies.

I thought since it’s so chilly here (we’ve gone from 75-degrees at Christmas to 37-degrees today!), I’d give you something to look forward to–Spring.  When I get back, I promise you new projects with these flowers, as well as, combining them with some of my others to create beautiful bouquets.  Stay Warm, y’all!

Joy of Giving – 2nd Giveaway for November

Take Time…

Take time to do what makes your Soul happy.

My daughters and I loved doing ‘Spa Day’ – a day full of manicures, pedicures, facials, and neck massages. It was a special bonding time when we could talk about fashion and gossip, and most of all, laugh (especially when we had mud masks on!)

When Kelly was diagnosed with breast cancer, Spa Day became even more special. Her skin was showing the reactions to the powerful chemo drugs; both her sister and I longed to make her feel good about her appearance. After she passed, I learned of other friends diagnosed with this horrible diagnosis. In order to uphold my daughters’ and my tradition, I came up with “Spa in a Jar” to send them. I also sent the jars to my older daughter, sister, and a close friend; I wanted them to know I was thinking of them.

Keeping with my gift giving theme this month (and knowing how stressful the holidays are), I’d like to send this ‘Spa Jar’ to you. It’s filled with hand and foot creams, facial masks, therapy soak, etc. – a Spa in a Jar! I added a special tag, adorned with a Chrysanthemum and stamped with my ‘Seeds of Thought’ stamps. Both the Chrysanthemum die (1087) and stamp (RS008) will be included with this week’s giveaway. Simply follow the entry instructions below and you could be the winner!

Click here for a helpful video on Susan’s Garden Club – Garden Notes – Chrysanthemum

To enter the 2nd giveaway…

1. Like my Facebook Page: Click here to go to my Facebook page, then ‘like’ the page.
2. Share the Facebook post about this week’s giveaway: Click here to go to the post, and then share the post.

Monochromatic Magic

 Before E.L. James wrote Fifty Shades of Grey, my mother painted a watercolor (below) titled  Somewhere in Time. Since the movie Somewhere in Time (starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour) is one of my favorites, she gave the painting to me. It’s a perfect example of working in a monochromatic palette and the inspiration for my card today.

Monochromatic is all about one color; shades and values of that color. It’s been an important component of avant-garde visual art throughout the 20th century. Expressionists painters like Milton Resnick, Ad Reinhardt, and Richard Pousette-Dart have created distinctive works of art in a monochromatic palette.  I was inspired at the ways these artists handled texture and limited color in their paintings. I experimented today with this technique and used my birch tree, split rail fence, and wagon wheel in my scene. Choose a color and see where you can go with a monochromatic palette!

Let’s get Started…

Hope is the Thing with Feathers…

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. In 2009, our daughter Kelly was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer and one of her favorite quotes, which she posted on her blog after her diagnosis, was:

“Hope is the thing with feathers
that perches in the Soul and Sings the tune without words
and never stops ~ at all.”

                          Emily Dickinson

This quote has become one of my Seeds of Thought stamps because having hope is what kept us both strong. Sadly, she passed away on May 14, 2010, but I still have hope for a cure so that no family should ever have to feel this loss. The other inspiration for this card came from my good friend Bianca Petroschi’s design of a blue bird. Bianca is the newest licensed artist with Elizabeth Craft Designs and shares my love of nature. Creating a wreath from the branches of my birch tree, frames it beautifully!

Let’s get started…