Direct the Wind, Words of Encouragement

Direct the Wind

One of my favorite quotes is, “We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.”  This quote is appropriate for so many different situations and something we can all learn from.  When I saw the color combo for today’s  Color Challenge CC381 Whisper Island Party on Splitcoaststampers, I immediately thought of this PSX Yacht and quote and I thought it might work with this week’s sketch challenge #101 at The Paper Players.  I don’t have Island Indigo or Pool Party cardstock, so I used Not Quite Navy and a scrap fro my stash for Pool Party.  For the background panel, I stamped the Stampin’ Up! Canvas background stamp in Pool Party and the Stampin’ Up! Weathered background stamp in Island Indigo on Not Quite Navy.  I stamped the boat in Island Indigo on Whisper White and matted in Not Quite Navy cut with Nestabilities Circle dies.  I stamped half of the sentiment for the outside and stamped the other half on the inside of the card.  I matted the sentiment in Not Quite Navy, mounted all the pieces  on a Whisper White background panel and mounted on a Not Quite Navy Textured cardstock card base.

Seagull Perch

Today’s challenge on Splitcoaststampers is the Ways To Use It Challenge WT379 ~ Man up, make a masculine card.   I had one more Father’s Day card to make and this gave me the nudge I needed to get it done.  I stamped the Seagull and Lighthouse from Impression Obsession in Versafine Sepia ink on Whisper White cardstock and colored the image with Stampin’ Up! markers.  I then cut the image and mats in Basic Black and Bravo Burgundy with Nestabilities Oval dies and used a sponge to pounce Distress Ink in Vintage Photo over the image.  For the background, I embossed Stampin’ Up! Naturals Ivory cardstock with the Cuttlebug Embossing Folder Oriental Weave.  I used Vintage Photo Distress Ink direct to paper to color the raised portions of the embossed background, sponged with Creamy Caramel and mounted on a Bravo Burgundy card base.  I stamped the sentiment from Stampin’ Up! Teeny Tiny Wishes in Vintage Photo Distress Ink on Ivory Naturals cardstock and mounted it on a Memory Box Bistro Label die cut.  That’s three masculine cards in a row for me, I am ready for some bright colors!

CAS Lighthouse Father’s Day Card

I love lighthouses!  No, I don’t collect lighthouse tchotchkes, wear lighthouse patterned clothes and carry a lighthouse themed bag, but I do love lighthouses.  More specifically, I love lighthouse stamps.  I have way more than I really need and there are several more that I really want.  I am desperately seeking the PSX Key West Lighthouse stamp and wouldn’t mind getting my hands on the New London Harbour Lighthouse either!  My love of lighthouse began when I was a small child growing up in Miami.  Our favorite beach was on Key Biscayne, right next to the Cape Florida Lighthouse and I loved swimming and playing in the shadows of the lighthouse.  The boys loved to tell pirate stories about the lighthouse, and somebody always had the bright idea to dig for buried treasure.  My favorite part of the day was Palm tree races, seeing who could get the highest up the fastest.  I was pretty good at it too, until one day I got up too high for my own good!  I still remember hanging on to that Palm tree for dear life, my scrawny arms and legs wrapped around the trunk while all the kids were yelling at me to jump.  My brother finally came over and stood under me, ready to catch me if I fell, and coaxed me down to the cheers and clapping of our friends.  I was so embarrassed but also so grateful for my big brother, I love you Derry!

My Father’s Day card is a quick and easy CAS card using today’s Sketch Challenge SC389 on Splitcoaststampers.  I needed a Father’s Day card, so I replaced the girly swirls with Rope cording.  I stamped the Impression Obsession Cape Lookout Lighthouse in VersaMark ink on Stampin’ Up! Kraft cardstock and embossed with Stampin’ Up! Black Embossing Powder.  I tied a Sailors knot, link to tutorial below, with two pieces of Stampin’ Up! Rope cording and attached to the panel with glue dots.  One quick tip is to separate the cords in the rope on the back to help it lay flatter.  I mounted the Kraft panel on a Basic Black card base, stamped the sentiment from Stampin’ Up! Teeny Tiny Wishes in Black and punched with the Stampin’ Up! Word Window Punch.  I layered it over a Black mat punched with a Stampin’ Up! Modern Label Punch.  That’s it, done!

Sailors Knot Tutorial

Lighthouse Birthday 12/100

This is another card I did for the 100in100 challenge.  For this card, I used a rope frame by Stampendous that I had stamped to use on another card, but decided not to use.  I used my Stamp-a-ma-jig to position the Stampendous lighthouse stamp inside the frame. It didn’t fit perfectly, so I hand drew some more rocks to fill in.  I used Cra-Z-Art pencils for my coloring and matted it with Brocade Blue. The sentiment  from Stampin’ Up! Teeny Tiny Wishes was stamped in black on the banner.  I used a scallop circle as a mask for the clouds, sponging with Soft Sky. The plaid designer paper is from Making Memories and is matted with Real Red.  The card base is Stampin’ Up! Naturals White.

PSX Sailboat Silhouette 2/100

I was on a roll today, finished 10 cards for my 100in100 challenge using scraps, leftovers and unfinished pieces that were cluttering my desk.  11 down, 89 to go!  For this card, I used a leftover oval cut out as a mask, sponged on Creamy Caramel, Old Olive, Tangerine Tango and Summer Sun. I used my Stamp-a-ma-jig to position the PSX Sailboat and sentiment.  I used a black Sharpie to color in the sailboat to create the silhouette.  I really love using this technique with outline stamps to create silhouettes, the possibilities are endless!