Autumn Harvest

The wind is howling outside, thanks to Hurricane Sandy.  We are five hours west of New York City, where she is wreaking havoc with strong winds (stronger than here) and storm surges that are flooding many parts of the city.  Up and down the east coast of the United States, Sandy has made her presence known.  My heart goes out to those of you affected by this huge and powerful storm.

Our thoughts at the Ingram household have turned to my husband's expected hospitalization sometime next week as he undergoes what will be a second stem cell transplant for him (his first was in June, 2006).  I have individual portions of several main dishes in the freezer, but still have baking to do so I will have some treats to take to the hospital with me every day.  I learned the first time around that there will be times I'll need some comfort food, not to mention that I have quite a sweet tooth!  It's much more economical to make my own granola bars and cookies than to go to the hospital cafeteria to buy food.  If the granola bars are good - and the blogger who shared the recipe says they are delicious - I will share the recipe!

I am finally working on some cross stitch again.  My arm still bothers me some, but with frequent breaks and avoiding stitching for too long at one time, I have been able to finish a few projects.  I can't share everything with you because I'm working on Christmas ornaments for family, but that's what happens this time of the year!

One project I finished is Autumn Harvest by JBW Designs.

As usual, I can't find the chart, so I am unable to tell you exactly which threads I used, but it was a combination of the specialty threads mentioned.  (The chart listed at least three different color combinations.)

I did a new-to-me finish for this one:  I found a wooden tray at A. C. Moore for less than $3.00, and painted it with black acrylic paint.  I then mounted the stitching on a piece of foam core that I padded with cotton batting.  I glued the trim around the outside, tucking the ends down beside the piece.  I am thrilled with how it came out!

Happy Birthday Card

Another birthday card, this time for my sister-in-law.  And another card whose inspiration came from a card I pinned on Pinterest. 

This card afforded me the opportunity to use scraps.  I went through our scrap box, pulling out nearly all the patterned paper pieces which I thought were large enough for my card, and then I sorted through until I ended up with four which went together reasonably well.  After cutting the pieces to widths that seemed to be close to those of the original card, I estimated the lengths, then cut the "tails" as you would ribbon.  Finally, I sponged the edges with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Vintage Photo.  They were all applied flat to the card.  The sentiment is by Stampin Up! (set unknown) and was stamped using Memento Tuxedo Black ink (a new favorite), which I again sponged with Vintage Photo.  This was also applied flat.  To finish the card, I added a rhinestone flourish from Recollections (available at Michael's). 

This was a fun card to put together.  My only regret is not writing down the lengths and widths of the focal pieces.  I can see using this layout for many different types and styles of cards.

Another Birthday Card

Our son-in-law had another birthday in August.  I ran out of time to make him a card, and threw this together rather quickly.

Since Anthony is a filmmaker, the clap board was perfect.  It is from a set by BoBunny Clearly Stamps.  Although you can't see it well, I stamped "Happy Birthday" in gold ink as the title of the production.  The word "Action" I cut out with Spellbinders Nested Pennants.

Anniversary Card

My parents celebrated their 54th wedding anniversary back in August.  This beautiful card - which I pinned to my Pinterest Cards & Paper Crafts board - was my inspiration.

Please take the time to enlarge the photos so you can see the detail of the white pieces across the center.

Those white pieces were cut and then pierced with Spellbinders Pierceabilities 5-1/2" Fancy Scalloped Border, which I cut in half and spread apart.  In the space between the pieces I placed my sentiment.  "Happiness Always" is from the Whimsical Words set by Stampin Up!, which I stamped using a VersaMagic Perfect Plumeria ink pad.  I cut it out using Spellbinders Standard Circles Small and while the die was still in place, I sponged VersaMagic Sahara Sand over the sentiment.  I then adhered it to Spellbinders Classic Ovals Small, and placed the entire piece inside Spellbinders Fancy Tags Two.  The flowers and leaves were made from Spellbinders Bitty Blossoms.  So cute!  And fun to make.  The pearls are by Recollections and available at Michael's.

This is probably one of the most elaborate cards I have made.  The pieces sat on my desk for many weeks while I worked to bring everything together, and in the end, I was totally pleased with the card.

Hold Tight!

Do you think she's concerned someone might take her toy?

Birthday Card for My Niece

It seems I do a lot of sighing these days, although a lot of it is silent.  My first priority is always my family, notably my role as caregiver to my husband.  We had made a decision about his treatment, but then were put on hold, which I find harder than knowing a difficult and demanding protocol is just around the corner.  But we are now moving in a definite direction and know that it will commence in just over a month.  (If you are interested, you can read the latest Caring Bridge entry on my husband's site here.)  It's going to be a busy month, to include (I hope - I'm trying to work it out) another injection in my knee, which will give me some down time.

My niece had a birthday back in July.  After corresponding with my mom, I decided on a sparkly kitty card.

The kitty is a Sizzix die which I got on clearance some time ago.  I think I paid $2.97, and I got a dog die for the same price.  I embossed her crown and bow with "Bridal" embossing powder by Personal Stamp Exchange.  Kitty is sitting on an oval from Spellbinders Classic Ovals Small, and she has rhinestones for her collar.  Moving up to the sentiment, it is from a Verve Stamps set called Circular Sayings, which I embossed with "Violet Glitter" by Stamp-n Stuff.  I cut the sentiment out with Spellbinders Standard Circles Large, and placed it on top of Spellbinders Picot Edge Circles.  Then in the left upper corner, I cut out Corner Flower #2 by Sizzix.  The decorative paper was in my stash, and it has lots of glitter on it as well.