Now that they've all received them I can share my latest batch of card making. This first one is a Bride To Be card for my friend Jessica. I used my new stamp sets which when I ordered them I thought "You know, I don't really have a huge need for these but I love them so I'm buying them anyway." Glad I was proven wrong and was able to use them so quickly. Jenni had the vellum in her stash. The pink paper and ribbon were leftovers from my Valentine extravaganza. And of course I had to emboss part of it. I love the finished look of embossing and the silver popped nicely against the black linen paper. Jessica seemed to like it and it opened up a whole new shared love as she's been to a Stampin' Up workshop too!
Next was a wedding card for Greg. It sounds sexist but I really do struggle with making cards for men still. Aside from Shawn (who appreciates the artistry I think), I'm just kinda at a loss as to how to make them masculine enough. I'm definitely channeling girly Heather during the creative process. But Greg is a dear friend and highly valued co-worker (he's Sundance to my Butch) so I had to do something special for him. At first I was disappointed in how the gold embossing powder didn't stick to all the grooves of the paper's texture. But then when I put the ribbon and grommets on it, I kinda liked the voids. It makes it feel old and classy.
Lastly I created a birthday card for my friend Melissa. She LOVES green. So I used some of my spring designer series paper with coordinating green solids. Jenni had purchased the stamp set last month and we'd learned water color techniques so I used this opportunity to test out my skills. I'd bought the Stampin' Up water color pencils even though I'd used the crayons in the workshop. I think I preferred the end result of the crayons better but as for application and clean up the pencils were much better. I need to adjust the amount of color to get the colors perfected.
Oh and this has nothing to do with card making and wasn't the "newest love" I was thinking of when I started this blog entry but I have to inclue a pic. This is my latest splurge on myself. It's a darling Betsey bag with all kinds of yummies on it-- mint chocolate chip ice cream, banana splits, root beer floats, fudge sickles, etc. It was so summery cute and even though I wasn't thrilled with the gold (I'd prefer silver) I bought it anyway. I love it. And I get lots of compliments on it.
As to my newest love I've fallen head over heels in love with Edward Cullen. At the urging of my friend Sherri I read the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyers. Well actually she urged me to read the first book "Twilight" but I couldn't stop there. I devoured them in the way a vampire would. I couldn't sleep once I started Twilight; I had to keep reading to see how it ended. I wasn't disappointed. It made me, a grown woman, swoon. The second book "New Moon" was... amazing and yet so difficult. Stephenie truly captures how it feels to be broken by love and it brought to surface some feelings in me that I assumed were long since dead. About halfway through it I was so touched by what Bella was going through that her morose carried over to my real life. But you know by the end I was beaming again. I finished the third book "Eclipse" last Saturday and while I didn't like where it went in some places (I love the character of Jacob as a friend but not as anything more, Edward is Bella's soulmate!) again it made me think about my past. I've been broken by love before. And I've been healed by a wolf, of sorts. Weird huh? Anyway now I have to wait 45 torturous days till the fourth and final installment "Breaking Dawn" comes out. Of course I have it easy... most of her fans have been waiting much, much longer. Give them a read if you get a chance, you will likely get as caught up as the rest of us.
It also makes me introspective though. I wonder if I'll ever love a real man the way I love Edward Cullen, Helo Agathon, Mal Reynolds, Mr. Darcy... I may be cursed to only love in fiction.
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