Howdy!

And also Hello ;-D  It has been a wonderfully busy time and I am shocked (shocked I tell ya!)  that it has taken me a week to get back on the blog.  I have actually been coloring but just not "assembling" ...but that all changed today!  Today it was miserable out and so I got down to business.  I am really diggin' the larger card size.  For so long I felt like it was a struggle to fit what I wanted onto a traditional 4 1/4 by 5 1/2 card size.  And, in line with that, I often churned out the same layout over and over again.  When it came to trying new things, new types of embellies or accents I generally held back as it seemed too "crowded" looking on my cards.  But, I have been playing around with 5 by 6 3/4 cards and it has been really refreshing to experiment with a larger canvas.  If you haven't ventured out of the traditional note card size I urge you to try it.  It really can wake up the creative spirit within you!  So, that all being said, today I have two cards.  They were FUN to make and I hope to improve on my basic layouts.  I am a terrible sketch person and so am challenging myself to learn more styles of card layouts.  I am always in awe of the various ladies who can create such diverse cards.  And so many of you out there have a really incredible "eye" for overall card design.

I also mixed up my stamps today and I feel that I am really at a point in my crafting supplies where I have a really nice selection of stamps from various companies that truly  work well with each other.  When I first started crafting I would only use stamps that were from the same company together...don't ask me why....I know it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.  But now, I find that my crafting time is so much more enjoyable when I mix and match papers, stamps, textures etc...

So, on the hunch that you are perhaps sick of me droning on endlessly and are really visiting my blog for cards rather than personal opinion I will show you what I have worked on today! Both cards use both Northwoods Rubber Stamp Co images as well as Hero Arts stamps. And, both cards are colored with Copics, distressed a bit and stickled. I have used the HA "Friend Definition" background stamp for this first card popped up and curled the wings of the butterfly.

For the second card I used the large Newspaper Background woodblock.  I also used a HA sentiment that I have always liked.....just so cute with the change in fonts.  I am a bit displeased with how the sunflowers center has turned out but oh well.....once again HANDCRAFTED!  At least that is the excuse I give for all my mistakes! ;-D

Thank you for stopping by and I hope your lives have been as busy and enjoyable as my own has been!

Be well,
Sheila