Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Sunshine on a Cloudy Day

Hey there!

I'm posting a card for the Shopping Our Stash Challenge #171:  

I love those fabulous days, those exhilarating moments, when I recognize 
how much there is to celebrate,
how much there is to be grateful for...



Authentique paper, Papertrey Ink cardstock, stamps, & dies,
Hero Arts inks, hand lettering

Many thanks for stopping by!

Color-Blocked Background

I'm getting in just under the wire (hopefully!) for the
  September Our Daily Bread Design Challenge at Operation Write Home.
 This month's challenge was to create your own background.


I tried some color-blocking with Papertrey Ink cardstock--
Autumn Rose, Smokey Shadow, & Simply Chartreuse on Rustic White.
I die cut the Mama Elephant "hello", gold embossed some Hero Arts trees,
and added a smattering of sequins.

And for a seasonal update,
 it's crazy colorful right now in Vermont everywhere you go,
but seeing it from the air must be truly breathtaking.
A local TV station, WCAX, is collecting images on their web page and this one
really captures the breadth of this indescribable display



Photo: The view from above in this leafie. Photo by Peter Kimball – Pilot, Winston Currier
 I thought you might enjoy seeing the beauty over Eastern Vermont and specifically, Lake Groton, the Groton State Forest and beyond to the West. #leafies 

The view from above in this leafie. Photo by Peter Kimball – Pilot, Winston Currier
I thought you might enjoy seeing the beauty over Eastern Vermont and specifically, Lake Groton, the Groton State Forest and beyond to the West.#leafies


I hope you have a beautiful day wherever you are,
 and thanks for stopping by!


Thursday, September 25, 2014

Papertrey September Blog Hop Challenge


Blog-hop-logo



A spectacular foliage display is well on it's way here in VT-- an inspiring day to be thnking
all things fall!
Here is the inspiration for this month's blog hop at Papertrey Ink


Inspiration photo

There's so much to delight the mind and eyes in this photo--
 the colors, the textures, the patterns,
and of course, the suggestion of coziness in the first crisp breezes of September--
 but it was those branches and pink berries that  inspired my card.


On a Soft Stone panel, I used Polka Dot Basics III for the berries in Autumn Rose,
Raspberry Fizz and Ripe Avocado.  I die cut the stems from Simply Chartreuse and used the
matching stamp from Larger Than Life in Ripe Avocado.  The sentiment is
from Autumn Abundance stamped in Smokey Shadow.  I split the panel in two, adhered both 
pieces to a Ripe Avocado base, and wrapped the space with silver twine,
 finishing off with a pink PTI button and dots of silver pen.

Happy Fall, All!








Saturday, September 20, 2014

Thinking Autumn


BLACKBERRY EATING

I love to go out in late September
among the fat, overripe, icy, black blackberries
to eat blackberries for breakfast,
the stalks very prickly, a penalty
they earn for knowing the black art
of blackberry-making; and as I stand among them
lifting the stalks to my mouth, the ripest berries
fall almost unbidden to my tongue,
as words sometimes do, certain peculiar words
like strengths and squinched,
many-lettered, on-syllabled lumps,
which I squeeze, squinch open, and splurge well
in the silent, startled, icy, black language
of blackberry-eating in late September

We're picking our last wild blackberries.  Last night's frost-- the first of the season-- means I'll be putting my garden "to bed" soon.
Here are a few cards to say thank you and goodbye to beautiful summer and welcome old friend fall...





Thanks for stopping by!