Ahoy matey ...

The days are passing too quickly.  We are celebrating some family birthdays this month - that's when you begin to realize how precious each year is.  Be sure to cherish the moments - I'm trying to remember to do the same.

Embellish Magazine is hosting a fabulous challenge.  Nautical colors and images are the theme.  You should take the time to stop by and view the Design Team inspiration.  The blues are wonderful and with a splash of red against a background of chocolate brown ... can't you hear the waves?

 

As you know, I've been playing with my crochet hooks lately.  I tried my hand at creating lace, but with limited success.  I seem to be better at going around in circles than in a straight line ... I'll save that story for another post.  Loving the look of doilies layered with embellishments,  I used my latest crochet work on this card. Call me crazy for covering so much ... but it was hard to stop!  The Nautical Expedition paper collection provided a "ship shape" background and anchors to match the theme.  The flower is red felt - a strip with a large scallop edge, gathered into a flower with a long running stitch.  There may be more of that flower type in future projects - so easy to create and so many possibilities with different materials.  The leaves are simply cut from burlap and some lace scraps added to the layers softens the overall look and feel.  The Jolly Roger and the sentiment are stamped in Chocolate Chip ink.  A Scallop Edge Border Punch creates a decorative edge.

The ship button is from my drawer ... no recollection of where it's from - perfect for this theme.  Seam binding is kept white while another strip is dyed with a light blue ink refill ... both wrinkled and scrunched before becoming a bow.   Bakers Twine in a red and white stripe holds the bow in place while pins from Viola add another texture.  Pirates and pearls go together ... right?

Thank you, "mates" for stopping by ... I hope you enjoyed your visit!

The Open Sea ...

Hello friends!  It's wonderful to be back sharing with you again!  I won't be a bore with a list all the activities that have distracted me over the past couple weeks ... but it's all good (as they say).  On Mother's Day (after a weekend of volleyball on the other side of the state), I returned home to find my son with the GREAT BIG HEART did this ....

 ... he planted my old clay pots with beautiful flowers!  Utterly exhausted, I pulled into the driveway and saw these "gifts" from him - I was so touched and so very proud.  He also photographed some flowers in the garden that he thought were special  - I think they are special too.

Even though I've been "away", I've tried to visit all your blogs ... leaving notes here and there - you keep me inspired and wishing for more time in my craft room!  I'm sure you've seen the adorable beach scene over at The City Crafter Challenge Blog.  Kirsty and her team of fabulous designers have done it once again ... so much to see and sigh over ... be sure to pay them a visit!  Here's the inspiration -

Beginning with Very Vanilla Cardstock, I layered on prints from the new Nautical Expedition Designer Series Paper collection.  It's gorgeous with shade of blues and neutrals.  It also has wonderful red prints and I really wish I would have used one as a splash of color on this card.  (Next time...)

The nautical images are from The Open Sea  and the sentiment from the retired "In A Word".  The buttons are from wherever I can collect them (you can never have too many buttons).  My seam binding is an old piece laying around that I dyed with reinkers ... shades of blue that I don't recall which I used.  The flower is handmade from cardstock with a pearl to embellish the center.

That's all for today but I'll be back again tomorrow.  Thanks for stopping by - I appreciate your visit!