random reflections

Stemmed Statements

A friend and I were talking about our process when working with a new stamp set. I don’t vary the process much. I think about what card I need, who the card is for, and then try to design it from there. My friend, on the other hand, lays out the stamps, and just starts playing with them. I purchased “Stemmed Statements” from Papertrey Ink because I just loved the flower images, and liked the small sentiments as well. I decided to “just play.” I stamped a lot of images, colored them with Copic markers, and die cut them all. Here they are laid out on my craft mat after I arranged them into clusters I thought might work on a card.

I ended up with eight cards, some of which have gone in the mail already, and several are ready to mail out in September. I thought I’d share a few today, and will share the rest later when I know the recipients have gotten them.

The first two use the Nasturium image. When Papertrey had a paper sale during their February anniversary release I picked up the Woodblocks prints pad. This beautiful orange pattern seemed perfect as a backdrop for the nasturiums.

I layered a couple of the Infinity Frames and added a tag from the Stemmed statements. The patterned paper was die cut with the Stitched Rectange die from Simon Says and it was all adhered to a Terracotta Tile card.

In order to cut the stitched rectangle from the patterned paper for the card above, I was left with a narrow frame of the paper, and didn't want to throw it in the trash. I layered it on white cardstock after embossing it with an old embossing folder.

For the sentiment, I used an old favorite PTI die Double Ended Banners cut from Terracotta Tile. The sentiment is from Banner Sentiments which I partially masked to get just the three words.

Next up for today are the cards created with the poppy image. I love red poppies so decided to color them all in red. I'd seen a card during the release of Stemmed Statements with the poppy image on kraft paper, so that's where I started.

I die cut the Horizontal Stripes die from kraft as a subtle background for the poppy, and tied a bit of twine to it for an accent. I also added three black enamel dots. 

Next up might be my favorite from the Stemmed Statement play date.

Red, black, and white is always one of my favorite color combinations. I die cut the black "frame" from the Mix and Mat: Pretty Brackets die, adhered it to Fresh Snow Linen cardstock and added the poppies and a small tag from Stemmed Statements.

That's it for today. We have a very quiet weekend. Matt, Betsy, and the girls are coming for dinner tonight, but there is nothing else on the calendar. I'm hoping to get the desk cleared off, and get back to my long neglected Project Life pages.

#The100DayProject

When I took on the #100DayProject I knew it would be hard for me to commit to doing a sketch every day for 100 days. I also allowed myself some slack so if I missed a day, it would be OK to catch up the next day. It didn’t happen often, and I did really well, until Day 75. At that point, we had company here, and then were on vacation. Despite the fact that I’ve taken some online courses on sketching while traveling, it’s not anything I’ve been comfortable doing. I always feel like my photography takes enough personal time while traveling, and to ask fellow travelers to find something to do while I sketch has never seemed reasonable.

But over the last month, since we’ve returned I’ve been working to complete the project, and now have 100 sketches done between April and August. Since I hadn’t done any sketching for nearly a year, I’m pleased with the outcome.

Some of the sketches I like quite a bit, some I wouldn’t think of sharing! I found some of the images to sketch on Pinterest, some came from photographs I took, some are objects I found around our house, or flowers from our garden.

More than half the sketches were done in ink, then watercolored. I used my good Daniel Smith watercolors, my Inktense watercolor pencils, and my Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolors. Some were left as pencil sketches, and a few were just pen and ink, or colored with markers or colored pencils.

All in all, it was a good project. I don’t expect I’ll be able to maintain a daily habit even now, but I do hope to get 3 or more sketches done each week.

 

 

 

August Five in Five: The Front Yard

I don't remember the last time I took a two week break from blogging. This one was unintended and it's the result of just having too many things on the calendar. We're definitely enjoying the end of summer weather with day trips to Ithaca and the Finger Lakes, and a fair amount of entertaining.

This weekend will serve as an example of our schedules. Friday morning I got up early to start dinner preparations since we were entertaining. I was not happy to discover that the refrigerator was not working. The freezer was fine, but everything in the fridge was warm. It's a long story, but by Saturday we'd figured out (and solved) the problem but not before having to toss a lot of food, and transfer all our frozen food to my mother-in-law's extra freezer.  Friday afternoon I spent three hours at our final Cooking Matters class run by Food Link at the refugee center where I volunteer twice a week. We had a potluck luncheon and there were many delicious international dishes to choose from. Saturday we spent with Matt and our granddaughters while Betsy attended her sister's bachelorette party. We spent a few hours at the zoo, and just hung out playing on the swing set and blowing bubbles in their backyard, but let me tell you, a one-year old, a two-and-a half year old, and a nearly six year old can keep you really busy no matter where you are! Yesterday our book group met for lunch and a discussion, and I attended a going-away party for one of the refugees who is moving to North Carolina. Then I finally got to the store to replace all the food we had to throw out. This week, both of the nonprofits where I volunteer are closed so hopefully, I can get back to a more consistent posting schedule. I spent a couple of days last week playing with a new stamp set, so I'll have cards to share as well as photos from our July vacation. But now, here's the 5 in 5 before I miss this month's deadline.

Nearly a year ago, Matt started working on our front yard. By the end of October, he had replaced our front walks with a new brick walk, and started the new landscaping. You can see before photos here (last September's Five in Five.) This summer he replaced the the front porch, and we had new railings made that extend down the steps providing needed support for some of our less mobile friends. I thought this might be a good subject for this month's Five in Five.

This is the view of our house from the street. We replaced our glider (to the left in the photo,) and Tracy built a brick "platform" for it to sit on.

Here's a closer look at the new front porch and railings. The house was built in 1931, and the stones on the top of the porch had worn away.

Last fall, Matt planted a total of six hydrangeas (three on each side of the walk) and a hydrangea tree, all of which are blooming this summer. He also left some bluestones on which we've placed some planters.

The planters on the front porch.

And, finally, a closer look at the planting closest to the house.

Matt also redid all the landscaping to the right of the driveway which is so much better than it was before. Now we're working (again) on the back of the house. Tracy's laying a small patio below our shade gardens for our fire pit (only used once since we bought it two years ago), and a set of red Adirondack chairs. I'm not expecting it will all get done this summer. I'm linking this up with Sandie, who kindly hosts this monthly meme.

CASology: Juicy

A quick post to enter a couple of cards in this week's CASology challenge: Juicy.

One of my go-to kits for quick cards is the Papertrey Ink: Still Life-Summer kit. When I saw this challenge, and needed a couple of thank you notes, once again, it filled the bill.

I scored a pattern onto some white cardstock, added a strip of patterned paper from the kit and four die cuts. A quick, easy, and cheery thank you note.

Recently, I've been attracted to bright colors on dark backgrounds, so for the next card, I made essentially the same card but with a black background. The all black was too stark, so I layered it on a Raspberry Fizz card. Bright and cheery, even on dark cardstock.

The cherries reminded me of one of my favorite treats in the summer:  Rainer cherries---expensive, but oh, so sweet.

Hope your day is bright and cheery, too!

Summer Photography Scavenger Hunt: Part 2

It's time for an update on the scavenger hunt being hosted by Mary-Lou at Patio Postcards. I found 11 of the 25 items in June and I was certain I'd find most of the remaining items on the list while we were on vacation. In fact, by the end of the month I'd found them all. There are a few I'd like to find better examples for, but the pressure is off. I have several photos to posts for some of the items.

Number 4: A zigzag. I found this one at the McKenzie Barn Sale:

Tissue box holders

Number 5: A seasonal relaxing space.

Jetties Beach on Nantucket

Number 6: A pipe

At The Heritage Gardens in Sandwich, MA. This also is another entry for #10: Something Yellow

Number 7: The inside of something. I have two for this one.

The idea for this one came to me while cooking breakfast in Nantucket.

The inside of a geode. Also works for #20: Something found underground

Number 9:  A kite or a balloon.

 This kite was hung in the dining hall at my niece's wedding.

At Jetties Beach

See from our boat on our harbor cruise in Portsmouth, NH.

Number 12: A wedding

Two photos from my niece's wedding in Vermont 

Number 14:  Someone Fishing

Getting instruction at Orvis in Manchester, VT

In Portsmouth, NH

Number 15:  Something crafted from wood.

At the Burlington, VT pedestrian mall. Another entry for #9: A kite or balloon

On the road from Manchester to Burlington

At the Kittery (Maine) Trading Post

Outside the Kittery Trading Post

Number 18: A fan (This is one I'd still like a better photo for.)

An old fan refashioned into a clock, found in a gift shop in Stockbridge, MA

On the porch at The Fisherman's View in Sandwich, MA

Number 20:  Something found underground:

Oil well (oil underground)

Marble sidewalk and wall (marble from underground)

Number 22: A dial. I found several sundials. I'm sure I could find some other kinds of dials, as well.

Sundial at Eastview Mall

A most unusual sundial on the side of a barn on the road from Manchester to Burlington, VT

The sundial at The Heritage Gardens in Sandwich, MA

Number 23: Something powered by wind.

Vermont

The Old Mill on Nantucket--the oldest functioning mill in the country

 Number 24: Seasonal food or drink

Sangria on the harbor in Portsmouth, NH

Number 25:  A hat

My hat and my camera bag ready to pack in the car.

Thanks for hanging in there for a LONG photo-heavy post. You can see the entire collection on Smug Mug.

We had a lovely weekend in Toronto. I'm hoping to get a travel post up in the next few days about our vacation as well as the weekend away. I finally have most of the photos sorted and edited.