A Sad Day

I am so sad as I write this post. June is rolling to a close and that marks the end of my time on the Our Daily Bread design team. I have greatly enjoyed working with Kelley and all of the other "Breadsticks" and am truly blessed to have made some wonderful friendships. AND another plus.... I have a gorgeous collection of ODBD stamps.
I will never forget this last year.
My decision to "retire" from the Bread Basket was not an easy one. Although I'm sure I will still find time to stamp...my real focus at this time needs to be on finding a job.
I did hear it through the grapevine that ODBD has five gorgeous stamp sets premiering tomorrow. I hope when I find a job, I don't end up shooting myself in the foot and spending the entire check at the ODBD store. LOL

For my project today, I've used the June release "Quiet Waters". I adore this tranquil scene of a doe and her fawn by the stream. And although "coloring" is not high in my skill set, I do enjoy it from time to time. Believe me if I can watercolor, anyone can! My old standby is my blender pen and ink pad lids and that's what I colored this image with. When I finished with the coloring, I masked the scene and sponged the sunset behind. The "Blessings" sentiment comes from another ODBD set- "The Cross of Christ".
Thank you for stopping by. I'm glad you did!
Blessings~
Angel

Card Recipe:
Stamps~ Quiet Waters, Cross of Christ (ODBD)
Ink~ Palette Black and an assortment of inks to watercolor
Paper~ Black, Old Olive, Marigold Morning, Watercolor paper
Accessories~ Nestabilities, SU Oval & Scalloped Oval punches, Blender pen, EK Success Dotted Wave punch

Above My Desk

I moved things around in my stamp room a bit recently. To make room for my new Clip It-Up Ribbon Organizer!!!!! It's so cool to have ribbon right at my fingertips! I know I'll be using it more now.
At first I had the ribbon lengths clipped up right onto the clips, but it left teeth marks in most of the ribbons, so Katie helped me make some ribbon holders out of chipboard. We cut the cardboard into 2" x 4" pieces and used a tag punch to make indentations where the ribbon could be wrapped. It took a little time, but it saved my satin rbbons especially.
Look, there is even a place for my ribbon/fabric scissors!

Do you see my framed name above the Clip it Up? A while back my sweet friend Kelly made this for me! I felt so incredibly loved when it arrived in the mail from Canada! Kelly is incredibly talented. Her expert area of creativity is "art journaling". I wish, wish, wish I had even a little ounce of the artistic ability Kelly has. Her art work is incredible and you can tell it has heart and soul... hers! Thank you again, Kelly!
The difference between try and triumph is just a little UMPH!"
I liked this motivational saying so much I made a little plaque if it to hang above my desk to inspire me!

We enjoyed a long weekend here in the Wilde house. It was great timing since Katie just got home from Kansas. Sporting a new look that I love, I might add!

But... back to life! I've got stamping and crafting projects lined up! Time to get to it!
Thanks for stopping by today!
~Angel

"Hinged" Card

I made some cool diecut hinges on my friend's Cricut a long time ago. They've been in a box of odds and ends that's been really accumulating. You know those things you start and then decide to go another direction altogether? Punches, diecuts, stamped images, cardfronts and embossed panels..... I don't want to throw them away. But, what do you do with them? Obviously, I am not good at going back and using these half-made creations. There are SO many at this point that I am going to need a fresh start! Maybe trade? That's an idea.
Okay.... enough thinking while I am typing.... Sorry about that. Back to the hinges.....

I remembered them as soon as I saw this awesome door stamp from Our Daily Bread Designs. I decided to pull them out and use them on this card.

I'm going to have to be short and sweet today. My "To-Do" List is so very long. And tomorrow I go to pick up my daughter from the airport! I'm looking forward to seeing my baby girl again!
Have a fabulous day, friends!
~Angel

Card Recipe:
Larger Card Size is 6 1/4" x 4 1/2"
Stamps~ Ask, Seek, Knock (ODBD)
Ink~ Cocoa, Not Quite Navy, Versamark
Paper~Not Quite Navy, Kraft, Vanilla, SU Bella Bleu & Basic Grey DP
Accessories~Clear EP, Cricut diecut hinges, Paper distressing tool

Water Bottle Pouches

I love giving little gifts away to my friends. And as soon as I saw these Flavor Pouch Holders that Rose Ann posted for Lizzie Anne Designs, I knew I wanted to do something similar for my TOPS girls. I rummaged through my DP scraps and followed Rose Ann's directions pretty much to the letter. But instead of stamping an image for the center of my scalloped circle, I printed motivational quotes and punched them out. Each one is different... kinda like fortune cookies. hehehe
Here is my favorite quote:
The difference between Try and Triumph is just a little UMPH!
OH.. and FYI...water is on sale this week at Walgreen's for $3.99 a case (with coupon) and the boxes of Wyler's powdered drink packets are only $1 at Family Dollar. That makes these pretty cheap to make for a group! I think I'll be making them for my Bunco friends too.
If you have any other cool inexpensive gift ideas like this to share, I'd love to hear them!
Blessings~
Angel

Yep...No Layers

I think no layer (or one layer) cards are a real challenge. Yet, if you think about it....how many Hallmark cards have more than one layer of cardstock? Some do, but most are just one flat card. In my opinion, the trick is to make it appear as if the card has more layers by using your ink creatively.
That is what I tried doing with this simple Father's Day card. The first thing I did was cut an oval out of a sheet of copy paper. (I used the Creative Memories Circle/Oval Cutting System.) Then I positioned the paper with the oval cut out on top of my card where I wanted my focal image to be. I then stippled ink into the oval. Here I used Creamy Caramel, Old Olive and a bit of Close to Cocoa for dimension. Next I inked up my scene from "Quiet Waters"- a gorgeous new Our Daily Bread Designs stamp that is perfect for a masculine card.

With my paper still placed on top of my card I stamped the scene inside the oval. Next, I took the oval I had cut out of the paper and used it as a mask stamping the background stamp in Caramel over the entire card front. The sentiment and embellishments finished the card.
That's one of 3 Father's Day cards finished! They may all get into the mail in time too.
That's all for me today, but I've got more stamping stuff to share this week. I'll be back!
Blessings~
Angel

Card Recipe:
Stamps~ Quiet Waters (ODBD), Sanded & All Year Cheer (SU)
Ink~ Palette Black Noir, Creamy Caramel, Olive, Cocoa
Paper~ PTI White
Accessories~ Stipple Brush, Martha Stewart Branch Punch, Button (Stash) and Twill Thread

A Little Birdie Told Me....

...It's Taylor's birthday!
Happy Birthday, Taylor!
Something tells me there are probably lots of birthday wishes floating around Blogland for Taylor today! There may even be a few cards using her weekly Cupcake sketch!
Here is mine:

I wish I would have had some cupcake stamps on hand,
but all girls like flowers too, right?
Now, if the messiness of my stamp area after the card is finished is ANY indication of how pretty the card turned out, than this card would be a masterpiece. Too bad that is not a true gauge! Man, did I ever make a mess!
It's all cleaned up now though and I plan on stamping most of the day today. Frankly, my couch and I have been way too close the last few days.
The stamps are calling my name!
Be sure to stop by Taylored Expressions and wish Taylor a Happy Cupcake Birthday! She deserves it!
Blessings~
Angel

Card Recipe:
Sketch TECC72
Stamps~ Nature Silhouettes (CHF) Short & Sweet (SU)
Paper~ Pink Pirouette, Gable Green, Shimmery White, Melissa Frances DP
Ink~ Palette Black, Gable Green, Apricot, Bashful Blue, Pixie Pink
Accessories~ Floral Fantasy CB Folder; SU Fancy Fibers; Pewter Hodgepodge Hardware; White Silk Flowers painted w/ Shimmerz: Golden Wheat, Bubblegum, Sky Blue; Martha Stewart branch punch; SU Spring Bouquet Flower punch; Hero Arts green half pearls

Divine Design- June

It is time for our monthly Bible Verse Challenge and I am SO Sorry I am late posting!

Things are just about back to normal here in our house. Our youngest has now graduated from high school, all of our house guests are back at their homes and wouldn't you know it... I woke up sick today. I'm just glad I wasn't sick last week!
I know most of my fellow scripture chicks have already posted their projects... Lori Craig, Jami Bova, Nancy Morgan and Taylor VanBruggen's will be a bit on the late side as she's busy getting ready to move to Iowa!
My project is a great reminder for me as I place it in my treasured book of scriptures! Too often I forget to pray and ask God for the things I need. But, prayer and seeking a relationship with my God is exactly what this verse is all about.

"Ask and it will be given to you;
Seek and you will find;
Knock and the door will be opened to you."
~Matthew 7:7
The scripture comes from a new Our Daily Bread Designs set called "Ask, Seek, Knock" and it definitely needed to be on a page of my book!
Here is a close-up of that keyhole which is actually a brad that is on an oval punch out and popped up in the corner of the page. The cardstock I used is from Core'dinations Chocolate Box line- one side is Chocolate brown and the other olive green. I LOVE this cardstock!
I wish you could tell better in the picture, but there is lots of paper piercing done here as well.
Thank you for stopping by today. I'm off to the couch to relax for the rest of the day!
~Angel

Recipe~
Size: Page is 6x6
Stamps: Ask, Seek, Knock (ODBD)
Paper: Coredinations Chocolate Box, Prima DP (The First Blush) and Basic Grey DP
Ink: Choc Chip
Accessories: Oval Punch, sandpaper, Ornare Template and Paper Piercing tool, Key and Keyhole brads by Spare Parts (Hobby Lobby)

Release Day!

Today is June 1st! And that means a new release from Our Daily Bread Designs. You may have seen a few sneak peeks around the blog world this last week. Although I didn't get a chance to stamp these last few days to show you a sneak peek myself, I've seen some amazing projects from the the rest of the ODBD Bread Basket (Design Team). These 2 new sets are SO COOL!
I've got 2 projects to show you today- one from each of the new releases.

The first uses Ask, Seek, Knock.
Check out this awesome door stamp!(Stamps and Paper Distresser available at ODBD)

And my next card uses the other new set- Quiet Waters. (Stamps, Paper Piercing tool and Labels 3 Nestabilities are available from ODBD)

For more creations made using these fabulous new stamps, check out the blogs of DT members Angella, Angie Z, Becca and Betty or any of the others listed on my sidebar!
My stamping time has been limited this week as I am preparing for a house full of company for my daughter's graduation. BUT, these new sets were so easy to use, they practically created for me. My cards took little time to make and ended up being uncomplicated, but I was happy with the end results.
I can't wait to hear what you think!
Thanks for stopping by!!
~Angel

Card Recipes:
Door card
Stamps~ Ask Seek Knock- ODBD
Paper~ Kraft, Choc Chip, Riding Hood Red, Vanilla
Ink~ Choc Chip Kraft, Choc Chip Classic
Accessories~ Clear Detail EP, Distressing Tool, Hodgepodge hardware, Paper Studio Corner embellishment, Riding Hood Red Taffeta ribbon
Deer Card
Stamps~ Quiet Waters- ODBD
Paper~ Kraft, Choc Chip, Baja Breeze, Parisian Breeze DP
Ink~ Choc Chip Craft & Classic
Accessories~ Clear Detail EP Labels 3 Nesties, Air Art tool, Paper Piercing tool