On the 6th Day of Christmas...

I don't know about you, but my card stash is running pretty low right now.  With the rush of preparations behind me, I get to spend a little time with some of my new supplies, making little gifts for the second, third, fourth, etc. days of Christmas.  

this could be a sympathy or encouragement card...using my favorite iris stamp from Penny Black

an engagement card

Thanks so much for visiting!

Happy New Year!

Jingle All the Way

Third Sister Handmade

The Leaves Grow Old

I almost think I love late autumn best of all, when the sky hangs low with wintery-looking clouds and those last bright leaves still cling to the tree branches.  I’m forever trying to capture this look on paper.  

For this card, I knew I wanted to do some double-layer stamping. 

I dotted in colorful leaves with yellow and orange dye ink...

 ...and then added  Imagine Crafts/Tsukinedo Amplify! to make the bigger tree pop from the page without adding a lot of extra bulk.

I fell in love, first with this quote and then with my card, and I decided to send it to my aunt June for her 89th birthday.

Materials Needed

 Tsukineko:       Kaleidacolor Tahiti ink;   Radiant Neon Warm ink;  Memento Rich Cocoa ink;          Radiant Neon Amplify! Electric Orange and Electric Yellow;  Sponge daubers;   Bullet tip Fantastix

·        Sheer Shimmer Spritz;  Tear It! Tape

·        Inkadinkado:  Fall Trees stamp set

       Penny Black:  Fantasy Tree stamp

·        Pretty Pink Posh:  Stitched Banner Duo die set

·        Momenta:  Gemtone Basics 8 x 8 cardstock pad

·        Miscellaneous:  kraft and white cardstock, heat gun, calligraphy pen, temporary adhesive

Thanks for visiting!!

Autumn Birthdays

I can't help it.  I'm hooked on fall, even if the weather doesn't always cooperate.  So any birthdays this time of year are likely to celebrate the season as well.

Here I experimented with a couple of new stamp pads from Imaginecrafts/tsukineko, not blending the sponging too much.

 Supplies:

  Imaginecrafts/tsukineko

•  Kaleidacolor Tahiti ink
•   Radiant Neon Warm ink
•   Memento Rich Cocoa ink
•  sponge daubers 

 Inkadinkado

•   Fall Trees stamp set    

·        The Paper Studio

• Dendrology paper pad

From the Shop............

Those Kansas City Royals are keeping me up late at night!

Today I'm sketching alder branches to go with a poem I'll be calligraphing.

At first, I tried watercolor pencils.

For some reason, I almost like this best in monochrome.

But I do like a hint of winter sky behind.  I used mostly blue here, but added a touch of pink of a snowy sky look.

Then here's a bare branch, touched with snow.  I used Conte crayons for this sketch.

I haven't yet decided which one to use with the poem.

What do you like best?

www.thirdsisterhandmade.etsy.com

Thanks for stopping by!  

Another Winter Card

Here's one of my first attempts from the other day.

Something seemed to be missing, and yet the Christmas ball die cut that I wanted to use didn't work, either.  I used a sheet of cardstock from an old Christmas pad for this one.  The snowy blue background caught my eye.

It makes me think of those December days with just a trace of flurries in the air, when our good friend Karon has fresh-cut cedar, and it smells so good piled in the trunk of the car.  We bring it home, and Mother fills the window box.

Royal Blue

Browsing through other blogs lately, I've been seeing lots of Christmas cards, and it's got me in the mood.  Perfect timing.  I wanted to create something to enter the latest Serendipity Stamps Challenge. 

 This month's theme is What's New.   I have a couple of new paper pads, but neither of them seemed appropriate for the stamp scene I wanted to create.  I do, however, have these die cuts that I received for Christmas a couple of years ago.  The package was a bit sticky, so I took them out and put them in a little box...and forgot about them when last Christmas came around. 

 I also have this new set of pens to use.

I knew for sure I wanted to make something blue, in honor of our Kansas City Royals playing for the ALCS pennant.  I went through my paper pads and picked out this lovely snowflake blue.  The stamping looked great, but it DID NOT go with the die cut I had picked out, so I tried two more cards and finally came up with this one.

Supplies:  Winter Homestead stamp from Serendipitystamps.com; Branches stamp set from Inkadinkado; Cloud Blue stamp pad from Ranger

I'll share those other two creations another day.

Thanks for stopping by!

Autumn Leaves

Fall is beautiful.

Everywhere we go, the trees are turning.

I think I like it best when the trees have nearly lost all their leaves and just a few still cling to the dark branches.

With so many colors...which one is your favorite? 

Celebrating the many colors of fall, I created this easy, colorful card.

Supplies:   Cherish Yesterday  stamp set from Hero Arts; Autumn Leaves Kaleidacolor stamp pad from Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko

Thank you so much for stopping by.

Following Fall

Many thanks

 to all of you have stopped by these past several years with 

helpful observations and kind comments.

I've recently made a few adjustments

that will make it much easier to follow me!

Meanwhile,...

enjoy autumn while it's here!

Walk through the leaves!

Stand under a golden tree!

Feel that thrilling change in the air!

When Inspiration Hits...

What do you do when inspiration hits at four in the morning?

That's what happened to me.  I woke up with this idea in my head, got up and, as quietly as I could (so I wouldn't wake anyone else) made this card.

I usually try to keep some white card bases on hand, so this one was ready to whip out.  

I simply used the brick embossing folder along the center of the card and sponged that with Picante chalk ink.  

From another scrap of white cardstock I cut this rectangle for the two flowers and die cut this tag.

• Cardstock, foam adhesive squares and A2-Bricks embossing folder (Hobby Lobby)
•  My Notebook set (Hero Arts); ST-15-21 Peonies (Avery Elle)
•  Picante chalk ink (Clearsnap)
•  Cantaloupe, Bahama Blue, Bamboo, black dye ink and sponge daubers (Tsukineko)
• Stitched Labels die set (Pretty Pink Posh
• Sizzix Big Shot

It was so much fun to make, I ended up doing several more that day.

Thanks for stopping by.  

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A Winter Eden

My latest client requested Robert Frost's A Winter Eden done in calligraphy.  

After a bit of practice writing and measuring, it went from this:

...to this...

...to finished piece...

...complete with sparkling snowflakes.

Next, I'll be doing another version with an illustration of winter berries.

Thanks for visiting and following!

Come back soon!

Autumn at Last

My second cousin Dick wrote from Washington over a month ago:   

The trees in the yard are starting to change color and we watch the geese getting ready for their trip south (some stay here all year).  It’s been a very hot summer here, (20 days over 90 degrees)  (2 months over 80) and we are glad to see fall come around.  It was a good year for the fruit trees in the back yard; cherries, pears, plums, apples and peaches all did well.  Also the raspberries and Logan berries.

I was so jealous, for it was still hot and sticky here in Kansas.  Now, however, autumn is beginning to show.  We traveled to Homecoming in Fredonia, Kansas, on Saturday. Along the roadside, the bright gold of wild sunflowers has given way to the deeper gold of ripening soybeans--fields and fields of them.  Some are even curling and brown, ready to harvest.  Here and there, a tall tree stood out, bright red among all the other greens.  It was even sweater weather.  Add to that the smell of pork sausages smoking on the town square.  

Yes, fall is here.

And so I tried another card for the Serendipity Stamps Challenge #47, which is all about creating your own background. 

When I first saw this stamp of geese, I knew I wanted to use it to create my oldest brother's birthday card. 

Here I added a background with chalks, blending the colors (blue and brown) with a cotton ball.  I stamped everything with brown dye ink from Tsukineko and added a touch of contrasting orange to those berries on the branches from Inkadinkado.

Happy Autumn, Everyone!

Backgrounds

I'd been searching for just the right background for this hollyhock (one of my newest favorite stamps from Serendipity Stamps)  I stamped with watercolor pencils, and today I decided to emboss a pink piece of cardstock and lightly distress it with sandpaper, sponge those edges with brown chalk ink and mount it all on a square celery card. 

I know this isn't an autumn card, but it's hard to think autumn when it's still so sunny and hot here!  Looks like the forecast might be changing pretty soon, though.  Hooray!

I'm entering this in the Serendipity Stamps Challenge #47, which is all about creating your own background.  

Thanks for visiting!

Come back soon!

Hero Arts Makeover Challenge

It's still summertime here in the midwest, but my heart, as always, longs for fall.  I want to feel the cool days and crisp nights, see the trees slowly turning colors on the hillsides, smell woodsmoke in the air and hear the crunch of acorns underfoot.  

My card-thoughts turn to autumn, too.  

I wanted to enter the Hero Arts Makeover Challenge, which asks us to makeover one of our own old card designs.  What better to makeover than an old autumn card of mine?  

Looking back through photos of my older cards--some of them my first attempts--I often cringe.  But often I also come across ideas that I still like.  This leaf card is one of those. 

I decided to play with this idea today, using the same leaf from my Hero Arts Poetic Prints set, but trying a one-layer card.

First, I made this one, sponging around a circle mask and adding the outer leaves from Stampin' Up.  Everything is inked with Kaleidacolor Autumn Leaves rainbow inkpad from Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko

For a second card, I masked and sponged two background squares beneath the same leaf, using Yellow Ochre and Chestnut Roan.  I added the sentiment from Hero Arts Cherish Yesterday set.  At first, I was going to place it as I did in the original card, but I decided to go all around the edges.  

What do you think?

another one for Susan

Planning this card for Susan, I had a dilemma.  I knew I wanted to use the Serendipity Stamps hollyhock, and I also wanted a fence image to go with it.  But...I wanted to keep this a clean, one-layered card. 

After much puzzling--and one ugly disaster!--I hit upon this solution. 

I die cut this fence from Spellbinders and used it as a mask, sponging around it with Sky Blue and Moss Green.  Then I stamped my hollyhock with watercolor pencils and added a bit of calligraphy.

I'm entering this in the Serendipity Stamps SSCB #46: Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by!

Remember, I love it when you leave a comment!

Anything Goes

Can you tell I'm in love with bluebonnets this year?

A whole patch of them popped up by surprise this spring.  Then I couldn't resist a little container of Scottish bluebonnets at the grocery store greenhouse, and those are still blooming!

That's why I had to have this bluebonnet stamp, and I used it yet again to create a birthday card for my honorary fourth sister, my sister-in-law, Susan.

I stamped the bluebonnets with blue and green watercolor pencils.  I layered this on a card made from part of an old DCWV stack.  The birthday wish is from Flonz, the Sweetheart Birthday set.

I'm entering this in the Serendipity Stamps SSCB #46, "Anything Goes."

Thank you so much for stopping by!

I appreciate all comments.

Early Christmas: Part Two

Ever start on a design that went awry, but you just couldn't bear to waste it?

That's now this card began.  

I decided to just cover up my flaws, and it actually worked!

Again, I used Winter Homestead from Serendipity Stamps, and Vintage Pine Tree from Stampabilities; paper is Visions of Christmas stack from K & Company; brown dye ink from Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko

I didn't want to add any words to the front of this card, so it can be used as a birthday card if needed.  (We have plenty of winter birthdays around here!) 

I'm entering this in

SSCB #45 Challenge: Monochrome

Thanks for stopping by!

Early Christmas

It's hot and muggy here in Lawrence, Kansas, hardly the right time to be thinking about my Christmas card design. I'll get to that when we have our first cool snap!  It is, however, the right time to start stocking up my mother's Christmas stash.  

I made this one to enter the 

SSCB #45 Challenge: Monochrome

I'm using the SS Winter Homestead stamp, which looks like it came straight out of The Homecoming! Trees in the foreground are Vintage Pine Tree from Stampabilities; the sentiment is from an old set from Hobby Lobby.  I sponged all around the edges to give it a vintage feel.   

I'd love to be in this scene right now!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stars

I created this piece today in loving memory of my cousin,

Kenneth Andrew Osburn,

who should have celebrated his 58th birthday today.

After completing the calligraphy, I sponged around the piece with Sky Blue and Twilight dye ink, then added a few stars with gold.

I couldn't resist playing with these lines a bit more.  With Kenny looking over my shoulder, I soon created these versions.

Like this quote?  You can find it on my Etsy shop at Third Sister Handmade

Happy Birthday, Kenny!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Blooming Hollyhocks

The hollyhocks in our yard are fading fast, especially with the temperatures nudging up near 100 day after day.  My hollyhock stamp from Serendipity Stamps, however, keeps on blooming.

I didn't mean to mess with cards today.  I meant to get back to work on a dress for my mother.  But I couldn't resist making these cards for her to use instead.

I used my watercolor pencils directly on the hollyhock stamp for both of these cards, using greys (with a touch of black here and there) on the first and pinks on the second.

Other supplies:  pre-folded watercolor card from Strathmore: Stitched Banner Duo die set and pink sequins from Pretty Pink Posh;  Cherish Yesterday stamp set from Hero Arts

I'm entering these cards in the Serendipity Stamps Challenge #45, Monochrome

Thanks so much for stopping by!