Oh my goodness! Here it is 2023 and I've missed more than a year since my last post! I'm still creating although these days it's mostly in my art journal. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic I now work from home and since I don't see my co-workers in person I need fewer birthday cards. The last few years have also seen the loss of my mother and two aunts-all women I loved to make cards for. So I've had to find a new creative outlet. Let's take a look.
Have you ever played with the Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Inks? I used to pick them up every once in a while and play with them but I didn't really appreciate the fun things they could do until I started watching Tim's demos last year. Turns out I've just scratched the surface of them. This project uses several distress ink pads and stencils and then the finished page is cut down to make some slimline cards. Depending on how you cut your page, you can get 4 or 5 cards. I chose to cut 3x8 panels so I got 5.
With summer fast approaching I thought it might be a good time to share some past summery cards. Maybe if we all wish hard enough summer will come early.
This nutcracker stamp may be my find of the 2020 Christmas season. He's one of many nutcrackers in the Stamplistic collection. There are dies to help cut out all of the pieces if you want to layer them. Three of these are layered together and two are painted with Twinkling H20 watercolors. Love him!
As we near the end of this unusual year I find that I'm as happy to see 2020 in the rearview mirror as everyone else. This year of the pandemic has been tough on a lot of people and I'm no different than most...my job is now done from home, my shopping is done online and I drive up for my groceries and they load it in to my car. We eat at home or get carry-out. I miss my co-workers, I miss the occasional dinner out at our favorite restaurants and I don't miss grocery shopping. I won't lie...I may never go back to conventional grocery shopping again!
Thank God for art. Pandemic stress, work stress, election stress - I can shrug it all off in my studio and ignore the madness.
Here's what I'm working on for Christmas. I choose a single design to make multiples for friends and family, but I still somehow end up making one-of-a-kind cards, too. This pine cone by Heartfelt Creations on paper by Graphic 45 is the main design this year.
Some stampers say they have trouble creating cards for the men in their lives. I don't have that problem. I think whatever hobbies your favorite guy is into will make a great theme for a card. Here are some sports car and other designs that I've done in the last several months.
