Making The Time To Play

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As I mentioned in my last post, I was under the weather and feeling really bad but started feeling a bit better once I made the effort to be a little creative. I decided to take some more of the same medicine and made another card and, by george, it worked again! There were a few scraps and things lying around on my craft table leftover from a recent OSA Crane Swap I entered. After staring at them for what seemed like an eternity, I ran with a simple idea and created this card. It's really very simple compared to the anniversary card I made last week. Strong, contrasting colors and simple clean lines are what this card is about.

The first thing that draws the eye is the ornate border element on the left, cut with Spellbinders Persian Accents die set. Some of the open spaces in the motif were accented with red card stock creating a bold color statement. The left edge of the design was also built up with the edge of the black card stock leftover from cutting the border design. I simply cut a very thin strip from this waste paper, matched its cut edge to the border motif and left a narrow space between them. A narrow strip of red card stock highlights the open spaces in the design as well as the narrow gap. The red accents in the rest of the design were created by punching red circles and red tear drops with a hand held punch and gluing them behind the openings. This was the fussiest part of creating this card yet it was the part I enjoyed most. The crane and verse stamps came from the Birds of the Orient 2014 clear stamp set from Mark's Finest Papers and Stamps.

To accomplish the text in different colors, I inked the stamp in Versafine Onyx Black ink, wiped off the ink from the word I wanted to highlight with a cotton swab, then colored the word with a Dee Gruenig brush marker and stamped. Please note: although the verse is seen in two parts on this card, it is actually one stamp. I masked out the part I didn't want to stamp, inked it up, removed the mask and stamped. In this way I was able to get double duty out of one stamp.

Guess I'll have to keep taking doses of creativity to stay healthy. I can do that. :)


Ballo ergo sum
- Gitana, the Creative Diva

Creating heals. Sorta...

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So I've been sick for the last four days with what is either a very bad cold or a very mild flu. It isn't bad enough to keep me totally bedridden but it's annoying enough to leave me without much energy. I had to forgo my dance class today, something I really didn't want to do, which underscores the level to which I am sick. Next to nothing keeps me from a dance class. Thankfully I have been lucid enough at times to venture into my craft workshop and make up a couple of cards.

"Celebrate You" was created in honor of my sister and brother-in-law's 29th wedding anniversary. It was made in shades of white and iridescent ivory and accented with tiny bits of black and gold bling. Materials used were: Spellbinders Borderabilities A2 Curved Borders One die, Memory Box Vivienne Butterfly die (style #98265), Stampin' Up Elegant Lines Embossing Folder (retired), Celebrate You stamp by Stampin' Up (retired). Flowers, pearls and mini bling from my stash.

"Center Your Heart" was created for the Oriental Stamp Art (OSA) Yahoo Group's weekly layout challenge. The challenge for this week was to create a card similar to this one that also adhered to the basic rules for the weekly challenge, those being that the card must be Oriental in nature and must contain at least one stamped image. This was my best attempt. Actually it was my only attempt. I was lightheaded and fatigued as a result of my not-quite-the-flu symptoms but I liked the challenge so much that I muddled through until I finished it. I'm so glad I did. Creating a card, however simple, gives me a satisfying feeling of accomplishment. It goes a long way to combating the feelings of uselessness I get from spending a day slopping about in pajamas and generally feeling like...like...bleeechh!

Yeah, okay. It's time for me to crawl back into bed again.

Ballo ergo sum
- Gitana, the Creative Diva