Grateful (Thanksgiving)

 Hello. Hope you are all well. I've a few friends now down with the Covid and it's just wild how some people get it and some don't, no rhyme or reason at least in my little world. I took a long weekend to sleep because I needed it I suppose, and to do some necessary craft organizing I'd been putting off. I made a few cards too, so I will have these to share if I can just focus enough to write the blog posts.

Sharing a Thanksgiving card today. So many Thanksgiving challenges right now and I've got quite a collection of card elements in my Fall/Halloween/Thanksgiving box so time to use some up.

PAPER: Springhill and SU card stock, photo paper, DCWV theme paper stack, 

IMAGES/STAMPS: Gecko Galz collage image from Oct. 2017 newsletter subscriber sheet, W Plus 9, Impression Obsession, Papertrey

INKS: Versafine Clair, printer, Promarkers, Memento, VersaMagic

DIES: Sizzix Pumpkin Vine border, Spellbinders Birds on a Wire and A2 Distressed Edges

OTHER/STASH: circle punch, dark brown card stock tag, red rhinestone, Darice Fall Leaf Background embossing folder

   

I used Split Coast Stampers Sketch #68 from 2006. I resized it to A2 in PSE. Instead of the ribbon elements, I used a pumpkin vine die cut. I will add here at this point I began designing the card with my two Tic-Tac-Toe challenges in mind (they are listed below)

   

Thought I'd also show you a bit how my mind works: on the left is my dry mock-up, before I begin coloring. I don't look at the actual mock-up, I always look at the PHOTO of it because you can see what's wrong and what's right much better that way. Here I noticed two things: the orange vertical card needed something on it to tone it down and it needed texture, so I dry-embossed the orange card and ink-swiped it with a muted green ink; and I also did not like the way the vines went up and just ended, so I thought to add the birds across in a dark silhouette to obfuscate that somewhat. (I have no idea why the embossed part doesn't show up orange once I did that - may be the preset filter I run my photos through.)

On the inside, I used a die to cut out a computer-printed sentiment using a Proust quote and my additional words. I ink-distressed the edges.

On the back I just grabbed some leftover paper scraps and combined them. The center strip is a Graphics45 scrap, the bottom is DCWV and the top is ??? I hand-stamped my siggie and used a circle punch on it, then direct-inked it and ink-distressed the edge.

The front sentiment was hand-stamped directly on the collage sheet image. I love that font!

And I have to show a close-up of this lovely, lovely image. She is gorgeous, isn't she? I ink-distressed the edge all around with chalk ink after cutting her down to fit the tag, but I left her flowers to lay off the edge. That Sizzix pumpkin vine die is extremely old -- it's a border for 12x12 scrapbooking, but hey, it works great here so why not use it? You can also see the embossing where the large leaf curves along with the vine on top of it. That was just lucky serendipity, as was being able to curl the top of the tag vine around the bird wire.

Final view: I do very much like how this turned out. Maybe the dry mock-up confirms that about my natural tendencies. If you know me, you know I love to layer stuff on when I can. Not all the time, but I can't go long without it. So maybe this "style" whatever it is, is right up my alley, lol. And it's going to someone who will love that about it. You know, we worry so much about our style and products and the latest cardmaking fads. I think we often place way too much importance on those and not nearly enough on what the recipients of our cards care about...and what they could care less about. Just my two cents, but the latter is a lot less pressure on us! I thank you for dropping by and letting me share today. Hope your week's going well. XOX

MY CHALLENGE PLAYLIST:

1.  Split Coast Stampers Sketch 68

2.  Gecko Galz Facebook November Challenge : ATG for the Holidays  -- Thanksgiving holiday

3.   Time Out Challenge #174: Festivals -- celebrating Thanksgiving  

4.   #TTTC090 Featured Designer Ashwini --  I chose bottom left to top right diagonal: Critter (birds) / Holiday (Thanksgiving) / Gemstone (red rhinstone on tag top)

5.   Scrapping4Fun #179:  Thanksgiving / Thank You / Gratitude

6.   Double Trouble #71: All the Trimmings Partnering with Paper Funday -- Thing 1 Trouble Maker: If I can count my brown tag as a frame for my image, then I have done every square, so take your pick, I tic-tac-toe 100%. Thing 3 Twisted Sister: Sentiment-al I have Grateful on front. Thing 2 Double Dare: I have shared with PF, see below.

7.   Paper Funday #23: AG + Opt. Give Thanks / Thankful / Grateful -- Option played with Grateful sentiment and also fulfills Double Trouble Thing 2 (see Challenge 6)

8.   Colour Crazy Craft Challenge Week 44: AG with Colouring -- I coloured the pumpkin vine with Promarkers.

9.   Crafty Gals Corner #213: Thankful

10. Die Cut Divas November: Thanks / Thanksgiving -- Die cuts used: pumpkin vine, birds, inside mat

11. The Crafters Cafe #255: Embossing -- dry embossed panel underneath pumpkin vine