One of those days...

Today was one of those days at work that was too surreal to be true- you just can't make up stories that would be as crazy! Such is my amazing life in medicine! Today's issues reminded me of a joke my sister sent me by email:

What's the difference between bird flu and swine flu? One needs "tweetment" and the other needs "oinkment"!

OK, on to less taxing and much more fun topics- stamping! Awhile back, when I was in the mood to color, I stamped and colored a stack of images one weekend morning- just me in my craft room, my coffee, my Copics and Nora Jones- bliss! Sometimes I find it therapeutic to stamp a bunch of random images that I like, color them the way I think they look good, with no immediate intention of making a card. It's a bit freeing to just color like a kid! When I needed a special birthday card last week for my friend, Yvette, I pulled an image from that pile, then constructed a card around the image- it's a bit backward, and a bit more challenging, but fun!



This image is from Unity, colored in greens and blues- a funky, simple stamp that I really like! I wanted a bit of texture for the background, so I ran the Brilliant Blue CS through my Sizzix machine with one of the new Stampin' Up embossing folders called "Finial Press". If you sand some cardstocks, you can reveal the inner white layer and make it look a bit weathered. Since Stampin' Up cardstock is full-thickness color (usually a very good thing!), I sponged white craft ink on the embossed image to make it stand out a bit.

I dug through some of my paper stash for a coordinating green (a challenge for those who know me well, as I tend to live in the natural or Earth Elements colors and not the Bold Brights!) and use Chocolate Chip in the ribbon and one of the layers to give it a bit of contrast/grounding. I am trying to pay a bit more attention to the "rule of threes" when I stamp lately, as I notice it really does lead your eye to repeat colors or similar elements in threes and balance the card or page.

The greeting was stamped and cut out using a nested die tag, then tied with some narrow chocolate twill that I have been "saving" (aka hoarding) for awhile. It was a fun card to make and my friend has given it a nice sunny spot in her office- hopefully it brightens her day as much as it did mine to make it! Thanks for stopping by- tomorrow's another day!

Heidi


Supplies: Stamps: Unity KOM
Paper: Brilliant Blue, Chocolate Chip, Gable Green, Whisper White, DP
Ink: Brown pigment ink
Accessories: Copics, nested dies, Sizzix machine, narrow chocolate twill ribbon, dimensionals