Down in my bones

(birthday greetings card by me, using some papers I found in a page protector already put together for a future card...my minds eye star and brade embellie that I colored red with my Copic; creative imaginations ribbon; Pow Bam Star stationary border paper from Office Depot; American Crafts striped paper; DCWV yellow cardstock cuttlebug-embossing with Allegro folder; Elvis birthday stamp by IBFS stamped with black Ranger archival ink on Wausau 110# index stock and diecut with Spellbinders Labels #9, then colored with Copics and Prismacolors.)

It's been pain 24/7 in my hips all week long and when episodes like that consume me there is little energy left for creativity. So I didn't get as much done as I wanted to. And the weather yesterday didn't help. My folks live in NE Arkansas and were afraid yesterday's slammer cold front / blizzard was going to be a redux of that horrid ice storm exactly one year ago. Blessedly, they fared okay this time, no power lost. I feel badly for the folks in Oklahoma...I think they received the brunt of it.

Wow, I just remembered, a few years ago, it was Missourians sitting in the dark and cold for a few weeks. January is really the cruelest month for weather.

So, anyway, my Elvis card was fun to make, using this week's sketch at Stepping Stones Designs. I am perhaps addicted to using sketches for cards now, I think. The other day I almost made a card without a sketch at all and stopped myself. I mean, why do that when there are about a zillion sketches out there? (See what I mean? LOL)

Okay, I've had a ton of people ask me how I made that red foofy flower on this card. I thought about writing a tutorial, except that it's just too simple for all that.

What I did was take some ironed rayon fabric (and I am pretty sure that any other similar fabric would work -- if it's too flimsy, try starching it lightly) and I diecut a dozen of a Sizzix flower shape with it. (I used just one diecut so all of the layers were identical.) I also diecut a circle shape out of Bazzill card stock that was just a tad smaller in diameter than my flower.

Then I cut a little x in the center of each one with my fabric scissors as a hole for the brad. Then I assembled it: card stock  circle, fabric flower layers, brad.

Several people wondered what made it poof up. I did nothing to assist that. I think it is just what lightweight silky material like that does on its own. And yes, I used I know close to a dozen of those layers. You just keep adding layers until you get the foofy you want.