Elegant Thank You

I was trying to come up with an Elegant Thank You card and remembered the "Under $10.00 Stamp - Elegant Thank You" so I actually used it for the first time.
I wanted to use some Shimmery White cardstock but was so sad to find I didn't have anymore, so instead I used the Whisper White Cardstock. I'm thinking the confetti White Cardstock might have been good too.


Anyway, I was looking for a tone-on-tone card, so I cut the paper to 4" X 4". Then using another 4 X 4 piece, I measured and used my 1 3/8" square punch to make a perfect square by pushing the punch in all the way and punching all the way around the card to make it square. Then I put the piece back in the paper cutter and cut 1/2 of the outside edge off. Next I laid the piece I just cut perfectly in the middle of my first piece and carefully turned it over. On the back side, I then used my embossing tool as you would a brassy template to make an embossed square around the edge of the card.

I took my new Elegant Thank You stamp, pressed it in White Craft Ink and stamped in the middle square of my card, then covered with White Embossing Powder and heated it until the powder was melted.

Then I cut small slits at the outside embossed edge on each side and threaded my white tafetta ribbon through and tied it in a bow on the front.

So, do you think this is too white? It's sort of hard to see the "thank you" but I've purchased notecards before that the thank you is dry embossed into the cardstock and there's no other color. I would like your opinion. If you click on the card to enlarge it, you can see the sentiment better.

I decided to also try the same thing using a bold color.... one of my new very most favorites is Rich Razzleberry.
This one is using Rich Razzleberry Textured cardstock. This is a little harder to emboss the squares as the cardstock is thicker. I used Versamark and the Rich Razzleberry Classic Ink then I poured "Clear" embossing powder over and heated it until it melted. This time when I made the slits for the ribbon, I actually used the Horizontal Slot punch. The ribbon I used is the Polka Dot Rich Razzleberry, but I used the plain side to keep it tone-on-tone; however, the middle of the knot still shows some of the polka dots ;) This card doesn't have the same elegance of the white tone-on-tone; it's more of a "FUN" thank you ;)
Have a nice Sunday!!!

Kristina Color challenge #56

There are a lot of colors in this challenge, but it's interesting how they all come together nicely. I used some retired items (DSP and Buttons), but the rest of everything is current. To make the thread in the buttons I cut a "very" thin strip of pumpkin pie cardstock and threaded it through and tied in a soft knot. The greeting is from the new Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set.
I stamped the apple and the orange slice from the Tart and Tangy stamp set with ruby red and pumpkin pie and punched them out using the 1 1/4" circle punch. Then I cut alternating circles of Ballet Blue and Certainly Celery with the 1 3/8" punch.

My Squirrels

OK, by now you all probably know that we have the most fun yard for watching things. Steve has done so much to encourage all kinds of wildlife to inhabit our yard and move in with us. Our pond has a REALLY large bullfrog that I've shown you.... he croaks really loud especially at night. Did I tell you that one night about a month ago, one of our neighbors came over asking if we'd lost a pet... Of course now you know we have three dogs (I'm showing them off on the side of my blog, they're part of the family dontcha know), so I'm looking around the room panicing that maybe one of the girls got out... well, the neighbor pulls out his cell phone and says, I took a picture of it, is this yours. Would you believe it was our bullfrog???? When I went over to rescue my frog, they told me they had always wondered what we had in our yard because the sound they heard sounded like a farm animal, like a sheep or a cow or something LOL. Anyway the frog is back in the pond, croaking as usual. Occassionally, he gets out on the land in the weeds by the pond and when one of the "girls" is exploring they run into each other and both run in the opposite directions. Too Funny.

Not only do we have fun with the frogs (yes plural) and fish, we have birdhouses and birdfeeders all over the yard, so we watch the sparrows raise several families each season. The really sad thing I saw early this spring was at a bird house that was originally put out for decoration. It's really tall and skinny; well, we've had several bird families this year.... about a month ago, I was outside reading and looked over and saw a sparrow (the mother or father, because there were babies) caught on a string and was struggling and hanging by one foot. I ran over to rescue him, but he was so scared seeing me coming that he actually was able to get upright and take off. The string was really long and hanging out of the nest, so I pulled it out and threw it away in the house so another bird wouldn't try to make it a part of their nest. Anyway, I was worried that it would never come back because of the shock of it all and I was right..... Steve finally took it down and emptied it out and found the whole family "expired". It was a sad day. I don't know if it's the same family or not, but it is being inhabited again, I hope they don't find string to put in it.

Are you wondering why I'm babbling on and on about our wildlife????? We also have a squirrel feeder with lots of peanuts that they keep burying everywhere!!! I watched one day not too long ago when the dogs were in the house that a squirrel had gotten really brave and was in the yard busily burying peanuts (in the shell). Well, that little thing got into one of my newly planted pots and buried a peanut in there...dirt was flying while he dug; it was really funny to watch. Last weekend you won't believe what I found..... the peanut took root and is growing in my flower pot. I would have never believed it if I hadn't seen it happen. I'm anxious now to see what a peanut plant looks like. The shell is still even attached at the top. LOL. That still isn't what this started out to be.

Today, one of the squirrels was in our tree in the backyard; my husband even called me at work to tell me about this.... close to the ground, the squirrel had laid down on a branch and hung his legs on both sides of the branch and apparently kept laying his head down. I guess it was really funny; he got several pictures of him on the branch resting with his head down. The funny thing is the tree is only about 10-15 feet away from where he was sitting.

So what do you think, isn't this the cutest????

So the new catalog is unveiled today for everyone. I'm really excited about all the fun new things happening this summer..... There is a weekly special through July with discounted items; what fun is that? Also, you can become a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator for only $85.00 from 7-1-09 through 8-15-09. I can't wait to see what all they are planning.

Have a nice Wednesday!

Hugs!