105 Years Young

We have a relative who recently turned 105 years young. She is a dynamo still going strong, although she will tell you her ‘body is not what it used to be’ and she is ‘adapting, still’. She is the oldest resident in her facility.

As a teenager, she volunteered in the home. Later she worked there as an adult. When it was time to leave her own home, there was no question as to where she would live. She even managed to get a room with the best views.

When we visit her, she tells us about the youngsters that moved in recently. When we ask how old these youngsters are, she gets a wry little grin and says only in their eighties. The last time we saw her she was commenting on the new babies in the facility – in their sixties.

If you ask what is her secret to her longevity she will answer ice cream. She loves those little cups of vanilla ice cream. They have to be very frozen and only vanilla. The staff at the facility know they have to keep them on hand for her. She eats them with every meal – breakfast, lunch and dinner. Sometimes she will start the meal with ice cream and end the meal with another. Yet, she maintains a healthy weight. She has outlived many of her (younger) doctors. Maybe they should have eaten more ice cream. 😉

design of a special card

For many years I have been sending her unique cards, made just for her. After all, it is not every day, or every year, a person turns 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104 or 105! This year the card I designed is much larger than my normal cards. It is 6″ wide and 9″ tall.

This is the finished card in ivory and blue with rose gold paper.

The finished card is 6′ wide by 9′ tall. I did not have a card stock that would allow for 6 x 9 when folded, so I had to do the next best thing – fudge it.

I cut one piece at 6 x 9 and another at 7 x 9. I scored a one inch margin along the 9″ side to use to tape the front and back together. The margin is taped to the left front of the front of the card, and the remaining 6 x 9 piece folds back for the back of the card.

Using a piece of blue card stock cut to 5.5″ x 5.5″, I created the background for the heart cut out on the card face.

In this image you can see the margin that has been taped to the left edge.

This is the face of the card, you can see I die cut a large scalloped heart from the ivory card stock. Reserve that die cut heart for later use.

This layer covers the margin from the back of the card.

Using a die cut, I cut out the detailed heart in rose gold glimmer card stock and took care in gluing it in place with a fine tip glue pen.

I then die cut the little flowers to match in silver shimmer paper and glued them with the fine tip glue pen.

The final step in this layer was affixing the blue rhinestones around the outside on the scallops and throughout the heart.

I used foam tape strips to affix the decorated heart to the card face. With the dimension of the foam, you can see the layer of blue below the heart. It gives the card face an extra dimension.

‘happy birthday’ and 1005th are die cut from card stock.

‘happy birthday’ is actually five layers of the same die cut. Each layer is carefully glued to the next with a fine tip glue pen. I used a stamping block to hold the die cut in place as it dried.

To add a little more detail to the lettering of the plain blue card stock, I used the fine tip glue pen to give the lettering a bit of shiny dimension.

From this angle you can see the depth of the happy birthday and the layering of the heart over the blue panel.

I also die cut 105 th in the rose gold paper and used the foam tape to affix them over the first silver layer.

Now that I made a special card, I needed a special envelope. I created this card with a 12 x 12 piece of card stock and an envelope board.

Celebrate, amazing and the word you are all from a Stampin’ Up! die cut set. I wanted a heart on the envelope, so I die cut the heart, then die cut the word ‘you’ from that heart.

I sent the special card with a bunch of photos in an USPS hard envelope with a padded sheet to protect the card in transit.

Many of the products used here are retired Stampin’ Up! products.

I am an independent Stampin’ Up! demonstrator.

A Dove of Hope

This ornament represents two of my favorite Christmas images/icons – the peaceful dove and the beautiful poinsettia.

the dove is a peaceful message of hope

For many a dove represents peace, a messenger to your spirit, a messenger from the holy spirit or a symbol of inner peace.

the poinsettia is a symbol of the nativity

The poinsettia began its association with Christmas in 17th century Mexico. Legends associate the poinsettia with a local nativity, and The Franciscan Monks adapted it to use in teaching of the Nativity. The star shaped flower is taught to represent the Star of Bethlehem, and the red color of the most traditional Poinsettia represents the blood Jesus shed for Christians.

the recipe

The products for this ornament were all from Stampin’ Up!

The dove is cut from Heavy Whisper White cardstock and glued together with Multipurpose Liquid Glue. I used the solid wing die for the background of the wing, layered below the cutout detailed the wing. This would also be beautiful with a silver shimmer paper or silver foil paper (132178, page 153) as the background of the wing.

The poinsettia is two cuttings of the smallest poinsettia from the Poinsettia Dies – offset to show more petals. The leaf is from the same die set. The yellow dots on the center of the flower are done with a 1/8″ hole punch.

The hanger on this example is white bakers twine, however, I want to make more with the white Snowflake Splendor 1/4″ ribbon.

from the Handmade For You, August to- December 2020 Mini Catalog:

Detailed Dove Dies 153526, page 13

Poinsettia Dies 153522, page 16

Snowflake Splendor 1/4″ ribbon 153548, page 37

from the Annual Catalog

Thick Whisper White card stock 140272, page 153

Real Red card stock 102482, page 142

Garden Green card stock 102584, page 142

Daffodil Delight card stock 119683, page 142

I am an independent demonstrator for Stampin’ Up!

Stamping Workshop Recipes

workshops are for sharing the love of stamping

As an Independent Demonstrator for Stampin’ Up!, I host workshops to share my love of stamping with friends – old and new.

I love to share my designs and the fun techniques. The Tasteful Touches stamp set from Stampin’ Up! has been the basis for several cards in our workshops. It seems very versatile, and works well for masculine and feminine inspired designs.

This card features the flower from the Tasteful Touches stamp set by Stampin’ Up!

The colored flower was stamped first. Using a mask the other four flowers were stamped to create a layered depth, without over stamping the images.

take home directions for workshops

I create a reference sheet for the people attending, so that they may follow along or work ahead during the workshop. The ‘recipe’ is also a great take home for them, as it comes with a photo of my finished example card.

the recipe for the recipe

The recipe I share with my stampers includes all of the paper, inks, stamps, tools and embellishments needed for the projects. I delineate the sizes of the papers to be cut. On the sheet, I give the page numbers for the materials used, so that the stampers can more easily find them in the catalog and discover other items which may coordinate – which I do not use for the workshop.

some of the cards from my workshop

Each of the participants had their own take on my design. A couple of the ladies followed my design almost exactly. One of the ladies is a trained artist, can you tell which one?

All of the products for this project are available from Stampin’ Up!

JeanetteScott.StampinUp.net

good things in life are better with you, tasteful touches

masculine floral card

I love making masculine cards. There have been a lot of men in my life that love getting flowers. Either as plants for the yard or cut flowers for inside the house. So why not give them a card with a flower as well?

But then, why does this card have to be for a man? It is also perfect for fall colors for a woman.

This flower from the Tasteful Touches (152562) stamp set from Stampin’ Up! lended itself well to the fall color pallette, and seemed heavy enough to be considered masculine.

the good things in life are better with you

This message is great for a birthday, a thank you note, thinking of you, or to lift someone’s spirits.

I love sending cards to friends and family when they are not expecting them. Just a note to brighten their day, or to lift them up on a sorrowful anniversary.

the elements of the design

I started this card by stamping the main flower image and the message with Cinnamon Cider ink (153114) on a 4.75″ x 3.50″ pieces of Whisper White card stock (100730). Because I wanted the main flower image to be more prominant, I used the Stamparatus (146276) to stamp the flower twice. This gave the image a heavier line. Before the ink had a chance to dry, I covered it with Clear Embossing Powder (109130) and used the Heat Tool (129053) to set the powder.

I created a ‘mask’ for the flower by stamping the flower image on Vellum Cardstock (101856) and ‘fussy cutting’ the image. To use the image as a mask, I cut to the inside of the flower perimeter.

This allows the other images stamped around the flower to butt up to the flower, and make the flower appear to be in front of them.

I placed the mask over the main flower. If you can see it, the outline of the stamp on the card is visible around the mask.

I then stamped more flowers around the main flower.

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I then colored the main flower with Cajun Craze (147085), Crushed Curry (147087) and Old Olive (14790) using Blender Pens (102845). I actually keep several blender pens in my stock, marked for each of the main color families – yellow, brown, blue, green, black, purple, orange, red, etc. Although the pens can be ‘cleared’ of the ink on the tips after each use, clearing the ink uses the solution within. I would prefer to keep the solution in the pen for use in coloring, rather than waste it.

This is the final design. I mounted the Whisper White panel over a 5.0″ x 3.75″ piece of Crushed Curry (131199) and a 5.25″ x 4.0″ piece of Cinnamon Cider (153078) card stock. The base of the card is Thick Whisper White (140272).

The products I used for this card are all from Stampin’ Up! The product numbers are in parenthesis.

I am an independent demonstrator for Stampin’ Up!

the simplicity of simple bows

a simple bow, just the right touch

A simple bow is just a little detail, but it can give a lot of pizzazz to a card or project. This simple bow lies flat for mailing, and the tails are both facing downward without forcing it.

This bow actually unties to allow you to pull the message and gift card out of the sleeve.

Start by tying the ribbon, as you would a shoe lace. ( I am right handed, so it usually starts like this – but – it works just as well for a lefty.)

Starting with the left tail, I make a loop.

Wrap the right tail behind the left loop and bring it around the left side of the loop to the front.

The right tail is now wrapped behind the left loop and brought to the front of the loop.

Now push the right tail through the center opening.

Essentially the former left loop now becomes the right loop, while the right tail now becomes the left loop.

Pull the loops to tighten the ribbon, you may find you will go between pulling the loops and pulling the tails to make the bow tighten.

Most importantly, both tails are now on the bottom of the bow.

This bow looks great, and serves a practical purpose. The best part is that it emerges from an envelope with out looking pressed,

I have struggled with bows, many times ending with the tails in all directions. Sometimes both tails coming from the same side. How? I do not know.

Handcrafted from the heart by ScottyWorks.

The papers, stamps and inks in this project are from Stampin’ Up!

I am an independent demonstrator for Stampin’ Up!

feathers on stucco

where to use a feather stamp?

I love the feather stamp in the Tasteful Touches stamp set from Stampin’ Up! Pining for inspiration, I started perusing blogs, when I came upon a card design where the designer used the feather with her greeting on a die cut with the message.

I loved the visual of that little detail. However, I wanted more feathers on my design.

I am also smitten with the In Good Taste Designer Series Paper from Stampin’ Up! There are so many great masculine papers in that pack. Looking to use the feather, and in a blue color scheme, I liked the look of the stucco with blue highlights.

happy birthday bubble card

fun simple technique

I was trying to make a design that just didn’t work out. Looking across my crafting table, I saw some ‘test’ punched circles and the scraps from which they were punched. Then a bubble appeared in my head and I saw inspiration. Always a good thing. 😉

grab some daubers and play

I pulled several colors from Stampin’ Up!’s subtle shades of stamping pads, and some sponge daubers.

trying to decide the right way to honor father with a card

honoring the ones that made us who we are

I love to create cards that honor our parents: the reason we are here, the people with the most vested interest in raising us, the people that were there for our first steps – literally, then there for all the other steps in our lives. Our parents were there to help pick us up when we fell. They were our first teachers. I could go on, and on, and on…..

Our parents created the foundation of who we are.

Then there are the husbands, uncles, and father figures in our lives. They all deserve recognition and to be honored.

card for the loss of a dog

loss of a faithful companion

A great friend recently had to put her dog to sleep. The friend is 90 years young, and this was the last dog she and her husband adopted before he passed away. So this loss was very hard on her. Her faithful furry companion had been with her for 17 years.

a card to honor the loss of her dog

She loves the handcrafted cards she receives for Christmas and her birthday. Not only the cards I send, but handcrafted cards from another friend. She keeps all of her handcrafted cards to look at when she needs a pick me up to lift her spirits.

blue martins?

bird friendly farm

One of my favorite things about gardening is attracting birds and butterflies.

We have been restoring a farm which dates back to the 1850’s. Most of the farm/working buildings were built during the early and mid 20th century. For the past several years, we have been working to restore the working buildings.

When we purchased the farm, there were no windows in one of the buildings. We laughed and said it was the biggest bird house we have ever seen. Every time you walked in the building birds would fly out in all directions. At least ten different species.

Another building was home to several families of barn swallows. We had to wait until the nestlings took flight before closing the building in. Now every so often, if the large doors are open the swallows will come in and say hi.

In addition, we have been working on the grounds. Bringing trees back to looking cared for. Creating gardens for vegetables, as well as, for aesthetic.