Hummingbird Counted Cross Stitch and Some Cards!

Hello There!

I felt it was high time I came back and thanked all of your for your kindness and comforting thoughts with regard to my previous post. They meant so much to me. 

I also thought you might like to see something a little happier. 

My mother in law is having a milestone birthday very soon. She is turning 80! She still knits daily and is pretty feisty. Guess I know what I am in for with my husband as time goes by. ;) 

Anyway, she loves hummingbirds. Last Friday I got the bright idea to find a counted cross stitch pattern of a hummingbird and came across a gorgeous one desgined by Sasha Turisheheva that I purchased from her Animal Cross Stitch shop on Etsy. I fell in love with the colors. I downloaded the pattern, printed it, taped it together and pulled my colors. I started on a piece of Aida and worked all that evening. The next morning I went to start working and looked closer at the pattern. I determined that the design wouldn't fit on the size cloth I had. Darn! I had to run and get a new piece and start over. Then I stitched like a maniac every spare minute I had this past week. 

I am SO happy with the final result. My girls and I found this frame at Michaels and I ended up going outside to take a picture. I'm sad to say even this photo, with editing doesn't truly capture just how vibrant and pretty the colors are. The frame has more green in the color than shows up and really picks up the blues and greens in the stitching. Feel free to click on the photo to get a better look. Cross stitch pieces under glass are extremely hard to photograph, but I did my best. Anyway, I think she will be happy with her gift.

And for those of you who stop by to see cards, I've got a few to share today. 

My brother Jeff has done a wonderful job handling all the details that come with someone passing and I made him this card, along with a batch of his favorite cookies. We've always called them Ranger cookies. They have oatmeal and coconut in them. We usually took some on a backbacking trip when I was growing up. Anyway, he loved the surprise. 

The thanks is inlaid and I used a stencil on the background. 

This card is a case from Nichol Spohr. I made this one for my brother who had lived with my dad. He moved in with some friends and I wanted to send him some happy mail at his new place. I think those pineapples are so fun. I followed Nichol's YouTube video to make the stripes, too. 

Finally, I couldn't resist this birthday bus after I saw a card on the internet using it. I colored it with my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers. Looking at it now, I realize I should have put the sentiment on the other side of the card to help balance it. Oh well. It was fun to make. 

I'm doing okay over all. Keeping busy as you can see has helped. Back to school time is fast approaching. Only a couple of weeks of "freedom" left. Maybe I can squeeze in a few more cardmaking sessions before my time becomes more limited. 

Thanks so much for stopping by! 

I so appreciate your visit.

Hugs,

Jeanne

Shimmery Butterfly Thanks Card

Hi There!

I recently started following a blog called Me and Minime Crafting. Marika is a wonderful artist and I've watched a video or two of her watercoloring. Oh my! Such talent. :) Anyway, she recently posted this card and I was instantly smitten. Butterflies! Squeeeee! I really liked how she heat embossed the image in white and chose to watercolor the butterflies green. I decided to try my hand at a similar look.

Since I felt a bit more successful watercoloring with pencils, I used them again. Why mess with success, right? These butterflies are from an old CTMH butterflies set (long retired, I'm sure). I forgot to note the name of the set, and I'm too lazy to go back and look for it. Let me know if you'd like the name of the set. I stamped them in Versamark and heat embossed with white. The first butterfly I made was all green. Then I started to wonder (uh oh) what it would look like with some blue. I liked the result! I set them aside to dry. Then I added some shimmer with my Wink of Stella pen. Only you can't really tell. I set this aside and left it alone until today. Should I mention I'm working hard now not to rush myself in finishing a card? 

I sat back down today and decided to fussy cut the butterflies out. Initially I planned to plop them onto white cardstock, but I got to thinking again...I wonder what it would look like if I washed a watercolor card piece with shimmery blue watercolor? I liked the result! (whooo hoooo 2 for 2)

You can see the shimmer much better in this second photo. :)

Finally, I wanted to add a sentiment and I really like the thanks Marika used. But I don't have that die. I noticed some wayyyyyyyy old Cuttlebug dies on a shelf. I mean these were released the first year the Cuttlebug was, if I remember correctly. I remember when purging before debating whether I should donate the dies as I'd not used them much at all. But I decided to keep them. Golly! Am I happy to have hoarderish tendencies when it comes to crafty supplies. :) I cut the thanks with a shimmer cardstock from Michaels. It's a recent release stack called Sophia and is part of the Recollections brand. Adds just the right touch. And to finish off the card, I added some sequins. 

Happy sigh!

Thanks so much for stopping by. 

I hope you have a happy day.

Hugs,

Jeanne