In Everything, Give Thanks...

Hey, ladies! Hope you are well. I stayed home from church yesterday because of my monthly yuck and felt just a little bit like stamping. But you know how it is when your whole body is miserable and it's hard to think straight. So I went simpler than I usually do. NO Cuttlebugging! Hard to believe I actually resisted the embossing folders! But I wanted to do a card that wouldn't tax me too much and that had an autumn theme. I don't give Halloween or Thanksgiving cards, so this was strictly for pleasure again, and really, to test my newly-made cloud template!!!!!!

I had colored the image the night before while watching The Stratton Story with Jimmy Stewart. Amazon has these 4-pk. sets of old movies for dirt cheap and I had bought one with Jimmy Stewart movies. The Stratton Story is a true story about a famous baseball player who loses his leg in a hunting accident and struggles to persevere and rise above his handicap. A very good and satisfying film with a wonderful ending.

I folded this one like a gatefold card, but turned it on its side. All I did was stamp the SU Pumpkin Pie cardstock with the old SU Flannel Plaid background stamp to go along with a cozy autumn theme. I hope you can see it. I used VersaMark ink so it's very light.



I wanted to do something with jumbo black eyelets, and was going to tie them together with some black hemp twine, but then I thought it would complicate the opening so I turned the twine to the side and wrapped it around to the inside. I did a simple paper piercing design around most of the edges and left the top and bottom plain. I glued all of this onto a piece of black cardstock.

I had a lot of fun coloring the image from the old SU set Country Pleasures. I realized that I did not recall ever doing a card with this set! That's a pity because the images just cry for Copics! I heat-embossed with Brilliance Graphite Black ink and clear ep. I made 2 images and cut out the pumpkins on one and popped them out on the other. I stamped a saying from SU Happy Harmony within the image using Memento Tuxedo Black. It was perfect for the autumn theme I was trying to create. Unfortunately, it stamped just a tad crooked, but I was not about to scrap it and start all over! No, sir!

Btw, the colors are actually truest in the top pic. The bottom pic is more muted than on the real card. It's so hard to get pics right! The lighting is always changing, and certain colors just don't photograph well, especially reds and oranges.



As you can see in the top pic, I did clouds in the sky and used my newly-made cloud template!!



I cut out some cloud-like Nestabilities dies and glued them together in cloud-like formations. The clouds in the scene are actually a bit darker than the top pic shows. But only a bit. I sponged SU Bashful Blue ink for the clouds. They're happy-day clouds.

When I think of all the clouds I've missed out on because I was stuck on the idea that I had to buy a template, well.......I'm just glad that I can now make my own for free! And I can keep changing them!

Thanks for coming by and checking out my latest creation! I'm a happy stamper once again and it feels good to be getting into the stamps and ink! I'm not sure how interested people will be in seeing me use mostly old stuff, but I am finding great contentment in it and will continue to look for new ways to use it. I have so many sets I've hardly or never used! Such a shame!

Stamps: SU Country Pleasures, SU Flannel Plaid, SU Happy Harmony

CS: Black, SU Pumpkin Pie, White

Inks: VersaMark, Brilliance Graphite Black, Memento Tuxedo Black, various Copic markers

Other: Cloud template, black jumbo eyelets, black hemp twine, sewing machine, paper piercing tool, foam tape, sponge, Crop-a-Dile (to cut and set eyelets)