Sylvia's Stamping Corner

COFFEE LOVERS GOT TO HAVE COFFEE! A FALL COFFEE BREW!

Wonder colors, Wonderful smells...almost nothing compares to fall weather and a cup of hot coffee. No matter how you like it, it somehow finds a way to sooth the soul. Happy Wednesday...a hump day for sure this week.

This card has a medium gold card base and is matted with designer papers and white cs. My new pad of 6 x 6 fall paper, love the earth tones and the greens.So many places are green this time of year, but fall is always depicted as brown, orange, gold, etc. I used some new and some old Stampin'Up! stamps and dies and added in a little Starbucks. So what do you think, does it warm your heart, your hands, or are you chilled to the bone about now?

When I do cards for my Etsy Shop , I do some repeats as the ones that sell seem to be timeless...so...I don't always have new designs. But with coffee cards, I like to make them different, so the new one for today! I love this paper and the card....Haven't completely got the new background stamp, but I will. The rains and cool temperatures continue. makes sleeping cozy, so cozy in fact that I did not want to get up Tuesday morning. Check out my shop for more new items. I can't possibly blog them all. Have a wonderful Wednesday, thanks for stopping by, until then!

IT'S ABOUT TIME...WATER COLOR ART ELEPHANT CARD!

We are finally cooling off and it is amazing how much better I feel. Except for the mosquitoes, the world is a happy place here. Night before last we were 59...so nice. The rain is on it's way back. I have another good story. It was at least two years ago that I lost some metal dies that accompanied my prize coffee cup die. It was the sleeve, cup top and several others in a separate envelope. For days I looked high and low to no avail.I finally decided they must have slipped into the trash can as I had gone through every drawer, nook and hiding place in the craft room. Well three days ago, I saw a book sitting in one of the cubbies on the floor, picked it up. I keep books that I buy cheap for crafting in some magazine cubbies on the other side of the middle of the room work station. I opened the book to look at the civil war maps and out fell the envelope of dies. I am not sure how it would have fallen there, but am so glad they are found. Nice things do happen in the midst of chaos!

I finished up this card on Thursday night. It has a soft blue card base and is matted simply with white cs. This elephant has been one of the go to cards that I continue to love to create. I meant to do it for World card day, but it just did not happen. I did a bit of masking, stamping the elephant last...yes, this one isn't fussy cut and glued on top. I think this card turned out well. The colors are vibrant and just as I imagined them. Do you love elephants?

This is one amazing elephant stamp from Art Impressions. You may see it and others in my Etsy Shop . I have had a sick kitty all week, Miss Daisy is better now. Considering she is 14 years old I was so worried when she could barely move about. My daughter is in Lisbon tonight, so it is a little lonely here...now who can really be lonely when there are cats in the house! Have a lovely weekend. I have baseball, a little football...my team has already played and won on the road! Yeah! There will be crafting done tomorrow for sure! Thanks for stopping by and for all the wishes!

 

HELLO OCTOBER...GOODBYE BASEBALL...HELLO FOOTBALL...TRICK OR TREAT!

It's been a long time since I felt I had time to write a post. Days come and go, working hard to fill my Etsy Shop . I managed to see most of the Ryder Cup, golf between the USA and the Europeans. It was amazing in some ways and disappointing in others. So my days are filled for sure. The weather is really wet for September, the temperatures mild in comparison to years past. I am on my tenth year here in Texas and haven't figured out what the weather will do, perhaps I never will.

Today I have a Halloween card using Graphic 45 card stock, as is is to thick to be called paper. When you want to make a beautiful card and not stamp a lot, their designer cs is fabulous. All the pieces are layered, one over another. I love the colors of fall, all the sayings and especially the punched cat and die cut leaves.

I have a funny story to tell about some garlands I made.I got an order, a sold Halloween garland, very early in the morning. I got the message via phone which is always beside me when I sleep. Then I got a custom request for 4 garlands and the listing came up on my phone. I was so excited, I opened the email and the listing was the pumpkin garland...never trust what you see without checking it. I answered that I could do the garlands and got up to start the process. I die cut and die cut until I though I was going to turn in to a die cut. Finally after two days the listing was ready and I sent the customer the invoice. He replied back was it the Halloween garland I had sent him? I had sent him two invoices as the first one had the wrong price, so I thought this was the source of confusion. I also had deleted the first one along with 39 other listings which took me so long to put up and cost me twice. I went back over the man's request, only to find out that he had ordered leaf garlands...he had paid for Halloween garlands, so he got a hefty discount....if I had left the first pricing the listing would have been wrong but the pricing right and I would not have deleted 40 items....lesson learned, Don't ever trust what is on your phone, check the computer so your order will be correct.....in the meantime, anyone need a Halloween garland???? Find them Here ....I have 5 of them now and no one seems to decorate for Halloween with garlands anymore.

The days have flown by and soon it will be Christmas, where has my year gone. Except for a rash, maybe hives???? my health is not too bad. The allergies abound, but my walking has gotten a little better. Hope all are in good health and those of you who still drop by, have not given up on me. I miss all my blog friends and will have to do better. It seems I am so tired by the time the day is nearing bedtime, I don't go to the computer for fear I will be up all night. Thanks for stopping by for a visit. Have a wonderful Fall!

 

JUNE IS FOR GIVING!...FOR THAT SPECIAL TEACHER....NEW STAMPIN'UP STAMPS...

Summer is here but there are still some schools in session. If you are one of those moms who has children still in school, here is the card for you! Whether you drink coffee or tea, there is always room for one more card like this. Sending cards is a lost art, but giving them isn't. It is always so nice to walk up and greet a friend with a card in hand for a friend. You never know when you just might lift a spirit!

The nicest prize I ever won during a Coffee Lovers Blog Hop was the die I use all the time from Top Dog Dies. Once I found dies, I became a shopaholic....This card has a soft blue card base and is matted with layers of card stock and designer papers. The belly band is white cs embossed with the alphabet...the rest of this card is just pieces of this and that. The new stamps are the apple background, I love the way the apples were used, they almost resemble the word stamps. Add a cute tag and you have a wonderful teacher card.

I used so many dies on this card, but the bird is fussy cut! I think he is cute, telling his story. My scaredy cat, Tigger is intimidated by a Blue Jay that seeks him out and torments him with his squawk. I meant to post this last night, but I was up really late watching the College World Series where my team, the Texas Tech Red Raiders, beat the #1 seed Florida. It was a real pitching duel, but the outcome came with the bats and lots of errors! It was an exciting game to watch, thank you Red Raiders! Well, that is why I posted this afternoon instead of last night I was literally falling asleep at the computer when I finished up last night. Hope you had a wonderful Monday...thanks for stopping by for a visit. Yea for teachers and drink more coffee!

 

HE WAS QUITE A MAN....HAPPY FATHER'S DAY DAD!

Happy Father's Day to all who celebrate. Today will be a quiet day, unless the storms make some noise. It was clear earlier but the clouds are getting heavy and rain on it's way (I hope). Father's Day was always a special day at our house, my father was special, well aren't most dad's to daughters?

I made this card for Father's Day earlier in the year, one of my favorites, I love the 50's theme. Men wore hats, elegant clothes and the cars were just like this one, before color made a splash. This card uses mostly card stock and designer papers, a very little bit of stamping, but the mix of different papers makes this card special.

Well, there is World Cup, Baseball, College World Series...Texas Tech plays tonight....US Open Golf to watch, although the golf is painful at this venue. I am not a fan of ugly golf and every year I want to just leave it off as it is the worst golf tournament of the year. The players are so frustrated that you can almost see them turn gray. But on the bright side, there is so much good sport to watch and there is a choice for dad's today! I will be right in there as well...soccer is on as I type! Have a wonderful day, hope it is bright and sunny, a quite lovely day!

JUNE...SUMMER IS HERE...CREATIVITY VERSUS SUMMER HEAT!

Happy June...I seem to visit and post less this year. It is not because I am not interested, but because there don't seem to be enough hours in my day to do everything I need and want to do. We have just started a new year and catalog for Stampin'Up. I am still a demonstrator but do not hold events any more. My Etsy shop has spurts of selling with Etsy throwing more crap at us. Etsy has gone through so many changes and is now becoming the new eBay, increasing fees, charging monthly fees, and making it more difficult to make a profit while not increasing our visibility. I am annoyed with all the changes and money spent needlessly by Etsy, which not made it a better selling place. I am not a computer genius, I so not have the time to market an independent website devoted to my items for sale. With that said, bear with me as I try to re-establish communication with all of you who have visited and enjoyed some beautiful designs and also some not so good.

I love making banners, it is a wonderful way to use up the vast amounts of card stock I have accumulated over the years of crafting. But I know most of you like to see stamping and cards. A card using a retired blue card stock, has flowers and leaves water colored with a blender pen and ink. This stamp set is new but very similar to one in years past. I love framing cards this way, adding a sentiment as requested. I am still using the Work of Art stamp set. This is one of the most versatile sets Stampin'Up! has ever made. You can view all the latest items listed in my Etsy shop or on Google+.

I know the weather is not warm everywhere. My son and wife are off to a wedding in Sweden today then on to Norway where it is expected to be rainy and cool, a change from 115 in Arizona where they live. Wishing everyone a beautiful Thursday, thanks for stopping by for a visit.

 

 

HAPPY MAY...HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY DAD...LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU!

The first day of May...this day has always held a place in my heart. It is, was my dad's birthday. It is cloudy and looks like a rainy kind of day, but the sunshine is till in my heart. I worked in the garden for almost 4 hours yesterday. It did not go fast as alas I am not able to stand for long periods of time. So with my walker and my wheelchair with standing in between I managed to prune, water, and fertilize two large rose bushes and one smaller on. I planted Daylilies and got the area cleaned up of leaves and put down pecan mulch. The work is tedious, by the time it was finished I was glad I could go inside. 

Working outside reminded me of the days we spent outside working in the yard. We always had a beautiful garden full of all the flowers anyone could imagine. My dad's favorite was whatever he had blooming. I made this card some week's ago. It has a rich card base and is matted with white cs. The orchids are colored like some I have. Orchids grow in my window, the brighten the space with color. I fussy cut all the petals and stems then molded them. They don't quite bend like mine, but they are still lovely.

If dad were alive, I would have sent flowers and this card. That was his favorite birthday gift. Happy Birthday to everyone who has a May birthday...joining my dad, my husband, my brother, and my blog friend Kirsty...and a host of other relatives have May birthdays. A Ginormous Happy Birthday to all of you....and to the rest of you, have a beautiful day!

IT'S THE END OF APRIL...HOPE YOUR DAY IS MAGICAL!

Another month is almost gone and you might wonder what I have been doing, certainly not sharing. I am sorry, time just gets away from me. I enjoy short naps as my Tigger comes and gets me out of my craft room in the afternoon wishing me to hold him while he sleeps. I am happy to oblige as he is such a sweet kitty. On the other hand I lose work time, but I am managing to sty so busy.

I have done ever so many cards and things since last I posted. Friday I pulled out some stamps and paper that have lain idle for several months. I made three shaker cards using stamps from this set and the matching paper. It said shaker card to me, so here is what I did with the first card. The card base is soft blue and it is matted with a wonderful piece of designer card stock...notice I did not say paper as it is thick enough I could have used it for the card base. I made an oval die cut window, using a piece of designer paper for the background...adding sequins from my Etsy Shop. I also added a stamped and water colored mermaid and tiny seahorse. Don't you just love the wave of sequins?

Every day should be magical, little girls seem to love mermaids, why not adults as well! The weather has been perfect, but I only get out occasionally. The flowers continue to be beautiful and with the weather getting hotter, they will need more care. I solved the problem of something eating my Basil....I bought more and the pots come in at night! Fooled that critter! LOL! Have a wonderful Sunday...hoping someone will pass by and see this post and feel the magic!

HAPPY EASTER....WISHING YOU SUNSHINE AND HAPPINESS ON THIS BLESSED DAY!

Happy Easter everyone! Nothing says Easter and Spring like flowers in bloom and the birds singing. It started out a cool Saturday, but I potted up new plants anyway. It turned out to be a beautiful and warm afternoon. We went with Amy to her favorite garden store and bought more plants. We have been blessed with lots of rain, so the flowers are really lovely. In the craft world, I love to do flowers and the ever special Daffodil is an Easter favorite.

This card has a soft green card base. I used the new Stampin'Up! Daffodil stamps with some of my favorite go to background stamps. I love how simple this card is, it sends joy to the person who received it. Growing up we always had lots of bulbs in our winter spring garden. Pennsylvania was the perfect place to welcome all the glorious tulips, grape hyacinths, and daffodils! Easter is a time for renewal. May your day be wonderful, hopefully spent with family. Happy Sunday and just ignore that it is also April Fool's Day.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY TO YOU....THERE MUST BE A LITTLE IRISH IN EVERYONE!

Top of the morning to everyone...Happy Saturday! I have been watching March Madness...for those who are clueless...the NCAA Basketball tournaments are going on and it is really mad this year...lots of seed going down! I am having a hard time working as I don't want to miss a game. A Shout out to my team, the #3 Seeded Texas Tech Red Taiders who escaped the first round and play tonight against Florida. Good luck Raiders, as always my Irish eyes will be watching.

I made a card for St. Patrick's Day, but alas this one did not sell...oh well I will be ready for next year...LOL! It is a beautiful white card with green shamrocks.I love white on white and the lacy butterfly.

This card is surely as lucky as I am...I will enjoy it all day! Wishing all of you a wonderful Saturday...my husband is putting up a greenhouse, one my daughter bought from her neighbor and gave to us. Wonder if we will do any better with our garden? Thanks for all the shout outs from wonderful blog friends....you are truly awesome to send kind thoughts.

Here is a green card for all my coffee loving friends!

Love you all!