Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Retail Therapy

I may or may not have indulged in a bit of crafty retail therapy this past weekend, and I felt it necessary to use some of it, if only to justify its purchase. I made two cards that show off some of my, um ... acquisitions, and I'll show you the first one tonight.

This one uses some new paper (yes, I was weak):

This was cut from a parent sheet that jumped into my basket. I know, I know, I've sworn off paper, especially parent sheets, but this one spoke to me. It is ab.so.lute.ly luscious. In addition to the fabby texture, it has a sheen to it:

You can sorta see the sheen above the tree. Definitely a fondle factor purchase.

The tree was cut with the Memory Box Arbescello Tree die, and I used the metal shim plate to get it to cut like buttah. I find I need to do that with the more detailed dies. The sentiment was stamped with Ranger Distress Gathered Twigs ink and clear-embossed. I love that the Distress inks stay wet long enough to emboss. :) 

I actually started this card last night, but got stuck. At that point it just had the tree and the sentiment. It needed ... something, but I wasn't sure what. Tonight I added a brown twine bow to the trunk:


... but it was still ... yawn. Then I got a clue and added the blue heart to the tree. I die-cut it from a "clean-up" tag -- a Ranger manila tag I keep out on my desk to pick up excess ink from my craft sheet. See? I took the Tim Holtz online class and I even listened! So here's the die cut:


I needed a teeny tiny heart, and now I have many. :)

In other news, I've signed up for the next Online Card Class called Kick Start. In my opinion, these classes are a bargain based on the material you get and the stuff you learn. I cannot wait! How many of you have already signed up? Can we do our homework together? :)

Thanks for stopping by!

8 comments:

  1. And here I thought you made this luscious card because you missed me. Dang. *sniff* Heehee!!

    It's so, so pretty! But, you're right the photo doesn't show off how totally gorgeous that paper is. Beautifully done with the die-cut tree and the teensy-weensy heart. <3 it...and YOU!

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  2. So pretty! I love anything with orange in it, and this is just gorgeous! I love that tree die too.

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  3. LOVE!!!!! And believe it or not, I had this same exact die marked to order tomorrow! Yikes.....ESP!!!
    Love your card and that paper. The little blue heart is perfect!
    Lynn

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  4. Fondle factor...this explains so many of my in-person purchases. Now I know what to call it!
    Love this paper - and the teeny heart is exactly what you needed. The pop of blue is perfection :)

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  5. Oh, cool! My stash is still in the bags (I was only in my craft room yesterday for the first time since I saw you & Lisa), and I was working on your card spreadsheet. I finally figured out how to do the formulas...go me! I can be taught!)

    Your card is beautiful. Super background paper and a gorgeous intricate tree die. The single heart and twine are wonderful touches. I can see you punching those Tim hearts in (gah) pinks, reds, and white for a Valentine...

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  6. This paper on your lovely card would be perfect for the card I made for my post today. As a matter of fact, our cards are somewhat similar -great minds and all that!

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  7. That is the perfect Autumn card and I love that paper! Who makes it? I need it.

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  8. You are so lucky that paper jumped in your card because it's so perfect! And the tree with the twine around the trunk and the single blue heart is lovely!

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I'd love to hear what you really think! :-)

PS: I've had to disable Anonymous comments, because the spammers were killing me. If you are unable to comment, please email me your comment and I'll get it posted for you. Sorry. (stoopid spammers)