A Rosy thank you

 I like the simplicity of the current sketch at Freshly Made Sketches.  It is the perfect format for a thank you card I needed to make.

 

 Here is how I used it.

Celebration

 I made this card for a friend who was just declared cancer-free by her doctor.  I and all her friends have been praying for her for three years, so this was a celebration for us as well as for her. 

The sentiment I used is from a stamp set I purchased in 2016 and I thought it suited the circumstances perfectly. 

This card follows the sketch for the current challenge over at Retro Rubber Challenge Blog, so I think I will enter that challenge.  Not only did I use an old stamp for the front of the card, I was able to use a piece of pretty roses paper that I've had for a while and I added the scallop cover die in the background that I have had for several years as well, so I am pretty pleased with the final card design.

More Leaf Paper Cards

 Well, I have used all but a small piece of the leaf paper I started using earlier, and I am pleased to have come up with so many ways to use that paper, and I like all of them!

The first one is based on the current challenge over at Freshly Made Sketches.  This is the sketch I used:

 

Here is my interpretation, using the leaf paper as the background:

 I double stamped and embossed the sentiment, first with white pearl embossing powder then offset slightly and embossed with plain white.  I wanted a shadow effect, but not too much.  That's why, in the photo, it looks like it is blurred, but in "real life" it is quite striking.

I am going to submit this to the challenge.

I also made two other cards using the same leaf paper in the background.

I wanted to try some more non-traditional color combinations.  I am always afraid to try that even though I enjoy seeing what others do in that area.  I don't have a lot of color confidence, but I was pleased with my little girl card and the pinks and fushia I used.

Leaf sympathy card

 I have a bad habit of keeping papers I purchased to use in scrapbooking and/or card making and not actually using them.  Sometimes it is because I like the paper so much I want just the "right" way to use it.  That is what has happened this week.

I have a page of leaf-covered paper that I really like but never seemed to find just the right time to use it but when I saw the current challenge at the Alphabet Challenge Blog this week, I decided I needed to get out that paper I've had for several years, and put it to use. The challenge is "L is for Leaves."

Then I took a look at the current challenge #709 over on Sketch Saturday and saw the perfect opportunity to use it, given what I was thinking of doing for the leaf challenge.  Here is the sketch I used:

 

Here is the card I made that I am planning to enter into both challenges this week.

As you can see, I have used my leaf paper for the background.  The leaves on the paper are a nice mixture of green, blue and turquoise colors with a brown every now and then. I really like the little leaf die so I cut two from green metallic card stock and one from a dark turquoise paper.  It's interesting to me (the non-photographer that I am) that the green metallic paper I used for both of the small rectangles showed up so differently in this photograph when I put the turquoise leaves on one and a matching green metallic leaf set on the one on the upper right, but in any case, I was pleased with the final outcome.

I made this into a sympathy card for a dear friend.

I still a a piece of the leaf paper, so I have more challenge ahead to actually use it up!  This project gives me courage to keep working on it.
 

Masculine birthday card

 I usually have a hard time coming up with ideas for masculine birthday cards so when I saw the sketch at the Freshly Made Sketches this week, I immediately saw how good a sketch it would be for using a masculine theme.

This is the sketch they have for the current challenge:

 

With all the right angles and the general layout, I thought this looked very masculine!  Here is the card I made based on that sketch.

 Blue and brown were the main colors, as you can see.  I used a piece of tan embossed card stock for the background.  The multicolored top rectangle is white card stock that I inked using a stencil I got recently in a kit from Pink & Main.  I wanted to add a little bit of colors besides the hues of blue and I think that helps with the card's appeal.

Long story short, I am entering this card into the challenge at Freshly Made Sketches.

Never-ending Need

 Seems like the older we get, the more frequently our friends pass away.  Russ and I knew that would be the case, but these days the reality of it all hits us often, so it seems I need to make a stash of sympathy cards so I'll have at least one on hand at all times.  This is the one I made yesterday.  I actually made two, and already found it necessary to use one of them, so this is the one I have left.

I embossed a piece of white card stock to use as the background, and made one of my favorite color combinations, black and white.  It is on a background of black, and then put on a white card base.

Will I remember next time?

 I have made and sent so many cards in the past year and a half, but until yesterday afternoon, I never seem to think to photograph them before they get mailed.  I have never been good at using my camera, and am not really certain I have gotten into the habit even after all these years of photo opportunities.

But one can keep on trying to change things like this, so I'm going to try once again to be more deliberate.  Having card challenges helps motivate my photography, so this week I am entering my card in the Sketch Saturday challenge #708.

 

I missed my friend's birthday, so made this card based on the colors of her favorite (American) football team, orange and purple.