Here Luvvvvvvie Luvvvvvie...

Yipee!!!  Richard Garay has been revealing NEW colors that will SOON be available in our FSJ color line and on Monday he revealed the first of SIX new colors!  Are you ready for some amazing BRIGHT AND TRENDY NEONS????  Well, prepare yourself to be ZAPPED by the newest color: Electric Green!  WOOO!  I was so excited about this announcement that I headed up to my craft room to create a manly Valentine card that incorporated the brightest greens I could find in my Copic stash.  I searched high and low for the perfect stamps that would be masculine enough to pull this color off!  I found that stamp in the ATS called Lift Me. I don't often have the opportunity to use my Flourescent Copics so I was THRILLED to be able to incorporate them in this piece!  WOO!  

I stamped the background stripes using River Stone ink then applied the I love You sentiment from the Selfie Love set over that with Black Licorice ink.  That seemed a bit overpowering to me so I added an asymmetrical swatch of Whip Cream cardstock to balance it out.  Pleating some leftover Journey Basic Prints stripes was the next step.  I adhered this pleated layer using some White Liner Tape.   I love how this pleated paper adds just the perfect little bit of texture and dimension to my cards!  The final touch was adding a machine stitched strip of cardstock along the bottom edge. You wouldn't know it but that strip was used to cover up some crooked stitching underneath!  I hate it when my machine goes crazy in the middle of a stitching path!  LOL.  Great save!

After coloring the hot air balloons, I fussy cut them and attached them to the stamped panel using some small foam squares.  The completed panel was adhered to some Black Licorice cardstock then attached to an A2 Whip Cream card base.

(The antique marbles/ball bearings are precious to me...They're my Grandpa's toys!  :)

Stop back soon to see another creation when Richard reveals Neon color #2!!!  I'm excited to be playing along with his reveals!

You Lift Me Up and Make me Smile!

This week's Make-Live-Share involves creating a project that combines my joy of using stamps in unconventional ways and my love of creating "collections".  I also wanted to incorporate my March Sketch Challenge over at CreativeBloomsJourney.  In this challenge, I required a scalloped border in the layout design.  Since I didn't have a scallop long enough, I knew I had to improvise...and then the fun began...

I thumbed through my stamps and spied a "round-ish" image that would possibly do the trick.  The "Lift Me" ATS worked perfectly for the scalloped border.  It kind of reminds me of bunting- so NOW I'm going to continue to use this idea for all sorts of cards!!!

I created this collection of six cards to fit specifically into this new Bamboo box.  I purchased several of these "organizational" boxes because I knew they would make great containers for cards, recipes and photos.

Now who is this for?

Well, I received word the other day that a retired teacher I worked with a few years ago lost her daughter to metastatic breast cancer.  So this is a gift for her... She returns to sub at the school often, and I can't imagine how much her heart aches.  Her daughter had been battling this cancer for five years and had a tremendous spirit and determination to fight and win.  Laura Elizabeth (Harbour) Scott leaves behind a loving husband, two young children (7 and 9), a sister, her mother and father and countless family members and friends who are blessed by the gifts she leaves behind.  Her legacy of giving and loving is immeasurable.  She co-founded a nonprofit called FamiliesFightingFlu and was passionate about the importance of vaccine-preventable diseases.  She will be so greatly missed.

Six perfect little cards to fit in the box and such a special person to give it to.  I hope they lift her spirits at this most difficult time.

#FSJSC2