Card ministry cards

Can you tell I currently own only one cross stamp? :) I also have a ton of "Outlaw" designer paper to go through, and I just loved how that paper went with the style of the cross. These are a collage of the cards that I handed off to our minister's wife last week, and ones I'll hand off this week. You can click on the photo to look at a bigger image.

I really enjoyed that this project/task pushed my creativity with only limited supplies (especially with using only ONE stamp).

Finally feeling mostly "whale" again!

The coughing crud has finally passed (and so has my birthday). I don't feel any older, but I sure feel better. :) I have been so lucky to have people wanting to celebrate with me, but it seems they mostly want to EAT with me. I do love eating though, so it hasn't been too rough on me. But I'll also have to put my new tennis shoes to work to make up for it! I got fitted for new running shoes (that I'll never RUN in), and I'm excited to hit the trail by our house for some intense walking.

While I was sick, I made these two paper-pieced get well cards with the most cheery colors I could get my hands on. I made two while I had the supplies out, but you can see that the whales came out a little differently based on where they were stamped.

Thanks for visiting, and I hope you're healthy as you read this! It seems like there's been so much sickness going around this winter and I'm hoping there's no more in my near future or yours.

This little piggy is resting in bed ...

Having been sick myself lately, I have get well cards on the brain. I made this card last night while watching some TV and taking it easy. I paper-pieced his bedding and bed "frame" from patterned paper, and I just love that he has good "bedding" to snuggle down into - it's so important to get comfortable to get better. :) I also like the juxtaposition of the elegant designs, with the pig. The dots on the blanket are brads that just happened to match really well. The ribbon is Stampin' Up! taffeta in moss.

EDITED TO ADD: Since KT asked (see the comments), the stamp set is a retired Stampin' Up set, Farm Fever, and the pig was colored in with Prisma Pencils and Gamsol.

Paper-pieced long notes

The color is off in these photos, but I want to share them anyway, because otherwise, I'll never get anything posted! I've been sick, and right now I can't sleep (but at least I'm not coughing), so I'll finalize this post and put it out there.

The green in this first card is River Rock (not celery like it looks). We made these cards as a stamp club project, and the girls got to choose the stamp to use from Pun Fun, and then they paper-pieced the bodies of the various animals out of Ginger Blossom designer paper.

These first two cards are mine (my sample that was prepared beforehand, and the one that I made so they could see the process).

The one below uses faux stitching with a white gel pen to tie in the stitched guava ribbon and to break up the guava cardstock so the patterned paper can really POP.

This next one is a close-up of one of my stamper's coffee cups from her card (with Crystal Effects on the liquid). I think this looks like an expensive ceramic Starbucks cup that changes with the season.

And, then -- this card is great with the cutie skunk on it, but this stamper took it a step further and embellished her envelope with flowers cut out from the Ginger Blossom paper and mounted in the corners. Such a simple step, but really impactful and lovely.