August 3rd Weekly Post

Happy first Sunday in August, everyone.

I'm really amazed at how fast this week sped by!

I wouldn't mind waking up tomorrow and it's Nov. 1 and no hurricanes this year.

One can always dream!

It's been a weird nature year here. Strangely, we saw no butterflies in Spring but now they are everywhere. Along with cardinals!

No June bugs or cicada killer wasps.

Never saw a black fly in my life but we've been inundated with them on and off since March, after rains and it's rained a lot this year.

I was thinking all this time they were flying roaches but there was an article about them in the Houston paper recently, because they're a new pest for us.

And we just had a mini cool front. Didn't even break 90 degrees for 2 days.

Not to mention all the crazy weather going on everywhere else right now.

So you can see why I'm gonna hope for no Gulf storms this year.

Might as well, Nature's always changing up the game!

🙏😉🙏

I'll continue the cool front with two Christmas cards I made for the July Doors theme at Splitcoaststampers.

I got this Colorado Craft Christmas Winter Village stamp as a freebie in Creative Stamping Magazine Issue 115 a while back and always wanted to use it, so here we go. 

(At the image's bottom, there are several houses with DOORS.)

I stamped the image first on masking paper with Memento ink and cut it out with a knife so that I also had the outer shape surrounding the tree as a mask. I also cut masks for the horizontal white lines you see using a My Favorite Things Cloud Cover die.

Then, with Versamark ink on white card, I stamped both the image and the Impression Obsession sentiment and heat embossed them with white powder.

Next, I applied the outer mask around the stamped image and ink-blended the tree using Twisted Citron Distress Ink and let that dry before removing the mask.

I laid down the line masks and placed the tree mask over the stamped image and ink blended the background using Peacock Feathers Distress Ink, let that dry and removed the masks.

I layered my card onto a white card blank and the card front was done.

 

The sketch was flipped vertically, switched to a portrait mode in PSE for my A2 card. 

(I learned how to remove the sketch number with the Eraser Tool.)

I used the sentiment with its two large words in place of the two pink dots and I placed the lines behind the tree instead of in front.

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For this card, I used a door die I had but hadn't ever used yet.

I cut it out of white card and colored the door and window above it using a black Promarker and a gold glitter gel pen, and I added a wreath sticker from Tim's Christmas Sticker Book.

The I Brake For Stamps brick wall was stamped with Nocturne Versafine Clair on Kraft card and colored in with a red Promarker. The Colorado Craft sentiment (a freebie from the same magazine cited in my first card) was stamped with Versamark on Kraft and heat embossed with white powder. I fussy cut it before adding.

The card base is Kraft card and the dp is from The Paper Studio.

The circles were cut using a Spellbinder die and I added gold star stickers to each circle. I also added a gold glittery border sticker horizontally where the designer papers meet.

No adjustments made to this sketch. I followed it pretty much as is.

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And last but not least, a birthday card for a sweet friend.

The card base is SU and the dp is Pink Paislee with a scrap of white for the MFT sentiment stamped with Warm Breeze Versafine Clair ink.

I cut all the paper layers using various stitched dies fromm MFT and The Stamps of Life.

The Art Impressions cake was stamped with Nocturne VF Clair and colored with Promarkers and glitter gel pens, then cut with the matching die before adhering to the front.

And here's the sketch I followed as is.

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Well, that does it for me this time.

It heated back up today but I believe the highs this coming week are only going to be in the low 90's and that's something to celebrate for August!

Thanks for visiting and I hope you have a wonderful week!

Stay cool and hydrated,

XOX