Thanks

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.
William Arthur Ward

I finally got around to taking photos of the cards I have been working on lately. In the first photo are three cards stamping on glossy cardstock using Dee Gruenig stamps and (mostly) Marvy Uchida inks. On the fish card, I took a piece of plastic mesh I'd saved from a bag of potatoes and sponged through it using Distress Ink (Broken China) and a wedge-shaped makeup sponge. I love the way it came out sort of wavy instead of perfectly straight. Of course, I hadn't planned it that way!


In the photo above are two more cards using Dee Gruenig stamps. The southwestern card was done on glossy cardstock (I trimmed about 1.25" off the edge so that the "Gracias" on the inside of the card shows when the card is closed). In the arctic themed card, the igloo, person and sun were stamped on glossy paper and added to patterned cardstock. The snow was cut from a piece of soft fluffy paper that someone gave me a very long time ago, and I'd never used! The border at the bottom with the snowflakes was inked with Radiant Pearls paints and embossed using clear embossing powder.


And finally, this card has a dark blue, matte cardstock base. On that is a piece of glossy cardstock that I colored using Adirondack Alcohol Inks. I bought those back in October and hadn't really used them yet. In an effort to start using more supplies (before they dry up or spoil in some other way), I am going to make more of an effort to use all those things I just had to have but have never (or barely ever) used. The background was done with the colors Wild Plum and Stream. The trim and snail were done on cardstock colored with Wild Plum and Butterscotch inks. I had fun and am pleased with the results, but I want to keep playing with these inks and see what other kinds of looks I can achieve.

I started out making thank you cards because the girls and I have people to thank for Chanukah gifts. I realized, though, that I want to make as many more cards as I can, because it turns out I have a lot of people I am very grateful to have in my life.