Hello dear friends,
Welcome to a cold and windy visit on my front porch! A friend said the weather in Charleston is like picking power ball numbers - 56, 31, 27, 65, 19, 70! Maybe I should purchase a ticket (she laughs). How about you, how's your weather? Our poor little cyclamen plants had to be brought in from the screened porch to weather out the next few days of cold. But no matter the weather, rain or shine, I've got a bluebird on my shoulder! And that my dear friends is the title of my newest card.
I'm sharing a mid-January card using several Hello Bluebird Stamp sets and transitioning these older sets to create new scene for Valentine's Day. So let's get our beverage and start talking crafty talk shall we?
How did I create this card:
- Cut a 4.25 x 5.5 card base (top fold) from Neenah Solar White Classic Crest card stock 110 lb
- Cut a panel 3.75 x 5.25 from Neenah Solar White Classic Crest card stock 80 lb
- Ink blend the 3.75 x 5.25 panel with Ranger Distress Oxide Spun Sugar and Wilted Violet and spritz with water. Stamp your sentiment and set aside to dry. I used Brutus Monroe Detail Ink (Raven) as my ink choice.
- Stamp your images and color with your choice of medium, then die-cut with the available coordinating dies. I used the following stamp sets:
- I colored my images with Copics so I chose to use Memento (Tuxedo Black) as my stamping ink.
- With my panel now dry, I arranged my colored images. I used the stamped sentiment to ground my larger elements. The little girl is popped up with 3M tape as are the clouds and sunshine The puppy and duck are adhered with Nuvo by Tonic Deluxe Adhesive
- Instead of raindrops I've added rays of sunshine hearts in yellow "sunshine" by PaperSource
- Little details are subtle:
- The bluebird on the shoulder
- Tiny heart on the puppy's collar
- Valentine heart in the little girl's hand.
Don't forget those little details for in my humble opinion they take a design to the next level. A simple card such as this now keeps the viewers eye longer and brings a sigh of delight (I hope) *laughing* Background colors also play a big part too. I tried several different colors and mediums before settling on the purple/pink combo (remember your color wheel).
It's my hope to have a dialogue with crafters here on my front porch; so thank you as always for visiting and leaving such lovely comments. I hope you've enjoyed this sunny little valentine.
The sun will be out tomorrow, but in the meantime let's create something that makes that little bluebird on our shoulder sing! Until next time.
Very sincerely,
Susie ~
Oh and now I have a happy song in my heart and head, "Zippedy Do Dah, Zippedy ay...my oh my what a wonderful day!" What a delightful card. From the bright happy yellows to the subtle additions, this card makes me smile. I appreciate your sharing your subtle details that help to elevate a card. I love the idea of having a crafty chat! I must share with you that when you respond to comments, it just shows up on this page, it doesn't get sent(emailed) to the person who commented. So, they would need to remember to come back to this page to see if you left any sort of response. I must confess that I have neglected to do that. I think you can set it up in your blog settings to have your replies sent to the commenter, if they've got their email set up to receive them. (I do, and would receive a response if you had it set up this way). I've developed some wonderful online friendships this way! Happy weekend and thanks always for taking the time to share your wonderful talents, Susie!
ReplyDeleteOooh, I just notices the notify me check box! I just did that and now, hopefully, any response from you will be emailed to me! Yay! :)
ReplyDeleteYay! Thank you, Jeanne! Yes, I believe the reader must check that box on their side after they leave a comment. Please let me know if it worked. I always respond, because I want people to know they can have a dialogue here. I'm delighted you liked this card too. Hugs, Susie ~
DeleteHello again, Susie! I got the email with your reply, however, I can't reply back via the email, because yours is a "no reply blogger." That means I have to come here to your blog to respond. If you go in your blog settings there is a place that says email. If you click on that, there is a box where you can add your email and it should start allowing people to respond to your comments via email. At least, that is what I am seeing on my end. Being able to email back and forth should definitely help get a chat going. :)
DeleteHi again! Jeanne, I've looked at some blogger info on the web and I'm now wondering if I have the newest version on Blogger. My dashboard looks very different from what I'm seeing online. I have changed the email notification to include your email address but I believe you will have to except that. Let me know if things look better for you now and whether you can email me a reply rather than coming to the blog again. Thanks, Susie ~
DeleteBeautiful, sweet, and yes, YES to the details! That little bluebird... I read on one of your posts a while back that there is a bluebird in every stamp set. Am I remembering that correctly? Of course, there would be -- Hello Bluebird. It's something to make these stamps all the more memorable.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Leslie. No, I probably miswrote it. There are birds in a number of the sets, but not all. I like to use the "bird in flight" from the set, Away in a Manger", and the sitting bluebird (which there are two (R/L)) in the set, North Star. I try to find a spot in most of the card designs that I've created for Hello Bluebird. Leslie, would you mind doing me a favor. I sent you an email earlier, but thought I'd ask here. I want to make sure everyone who leaves me comment receives my reply. If they want to continue a dialogue is there a way in which they can do that through email without coming back to the blog a second or third time? One reader said I have a "no-reply" blog. Is there a way I can fix that? I'm hoping you might know since you're using the blogger platform as well. You'd think I'd know by now.
DeleteSusie, I just now looked at your Blogger profile and you look current, and you do have an email in your profile. Therefore, you are not a "no reply" blogger. I emailed you, which you've probably seen by now, too.
ReplyDeleteI did see your email and thank you so much. I googled some info on the web about "no-reply" and the only thing that I noticed was my dashboard doesn't look as current. I had remember a conversation with you from a while back about the reader checking the box. But, like you said, I don't think everyone wants to read every single comment especially if it doesn't pertain to them. I like the idea of visiting on the front porch with friends near and far and that's what I have always wanted with my blog. Thanks again, friend! Hugs Susie
ReplyDeleteOmg! I love your style. I've only seen a few of your cards but they are lovely! I will share these with my daughter whom loves to craft with me. Thanks for sharing!!!
ReplyDelete