Psst… I’m still here!

Good morning!!

YES! I am still here! Once again, I am so very sorry for being so quiet. I know that I warned you all that the blog would be taking some time off, but I didn’t intend on it being THIS quiet!

37 weeks pregnant, and getting ready for the baby boy to make his appearance any time now. If I don’t have him on my own, I will be induced on July 2nd. It is so exciting to have an actual end point in site!

But it is getting harder and harder to make my way up and down stairs. This belly has gotten BIG. My craft room is in the basement, so in order to get down there, it takes some planning. No more quick trips just to try something while it is on my mind.

That doesn’t mean that I haven’t been playing though! I certainty have and I have been loving the items from the new catalog. I am sure that you have seen it already, but in case you haven’t, check it out below.

Stampin’ Up 2017/2018 Annual Catalog

It is full of amazing new items as well as returning favorites.

Now, I didn’t go nuts with my preorder, knowing that I am going to have something else to focus my attention on shortly. But I ordered a box of fun that showed up on my doorstep this past Tuesday. I am hoping that I will be able to tear into it this weekend and play a bit. We have our annual family party on Saturday that I look forward to every year, but on Sunday… that day is MINE! Not to mention, tomorrow is my last day of work before I go on maternity leave! YAHOO!!!! My husband starts his paternity leave next Wednesday. It is going to be wonderful having that time together before the baby shows up! Well, fingers crossed he gives us a few days at least!

This past Saturday I spent some time stamping, working on cards that I know that I will need for events coming up. I didn’t want to be left without a handmade card in case I go into labor before an event. So I cranked out some birthday cards, as well as some Father’s Day cards. I am not going to share the Father’s Day cards since I like those to remain a surprise.

But this card below is for my son’s 23rd birthday at the end of the month. Yup, you read that right! My first baby boy is going to be 23!!!!! He is an amazing kid, coming into his own. He actually works for the same company I do, it is so much fun to see him every day. I think he visits my office so much since I keep a drawer full of pregnant lady snacks that he can snag when needed 😉

I think that this is my favorite of cards that I have created lately!

I dampened a piece of watercolor paper with water, then using an aqua painter I dabbed some Lemon Lime Twist ink onto the wet portions of the watercolor background. I then went back and added some Tranquil Tide (my favorite of the new InColors!), allowing the colors to bleed together a bit. A little splatter in both colors and the background was done! I dried it quickly using my heatgun, since I have zero patience to let things actually air dry lol

The beautiful ribbon you see is the Tranquil Tide 1/2″ Finely Woven Ribbon. SO pretty, and ties into bows beautifully. This ribbon is available in all of the new InColors!

I will admit to using a retired stamp set for the Happy Birthday, which I rarely do. But it is one of my favorite sets and I can’t see myself ever getting rid of it It was stamped onto a piece of Lemon Lime Twist cardstock, and adhered using Dimensionals.

The stars on the balloon were stamped with Versamark, and then heat embossed using clear embossing powder. I love the little bit of shine it brings to the card!

The vellum circle was die cut using the Stitched Shaped framelits. I so love these! They add just enough visual interest without overpowering your project.

A few silver sequins were added before adhering the card front onto a piece of Lemon Lime Twist cardstock, and the whole thing was adhered to an A2 side folding card in Tranquil Tide.

Again, I am loving the way this card came out. Watercolor backgrounds are so much fun to do, and SO simple. I encourage you to give it a try!

See you in a few days with a card from a class that I gave recently.

Have a great weekend!