Slimline Hello

Hello and welcome!  I've got flowers and a big "hello" on a slimline card today.  I don't make many slimline cards, but this one insisted on it.   The flowers were sized right, and I recently purchased these cool wood grain letter dies that I hadn't used yet.  I started playing and the next thing you know I had a card!

It really all started with the flowers.  It's a digi stamp and it is totally FREE.  Interestingly, it's an 1892 needlework pattern.  You can find it here.

I've had a long-running fascination with these vintage images over at the Digital Two for Tuesday blog.  If you decide to visit there, do take time to scroll past the first page or two, or search the categories or archives.  She hasn't posted since 2018, but blog owner, Cora, has a treasure trove of digitally refurbished illustrations that color up beautifully.  All are scanned from various catalogs and publications, copyright expired so no worries about infringement  Over the years it has been one of my favorite crafty pastimes to turn these old-timey images into current card creations.

I colored with Copic markers.  The wood grain letters are new-to-me Memory Box Wooden Alpha, triple-layered for dimension.  I Copic colored some die cut flowers for extra decoration and gave them light gold glitter cardstock centers.  The black border strip is cardstock.

I dearly love my stamps, whether wood block, cling, or clear, and it's great fun to search through the drawers of old favorites or pull from the basket of new-to-me stamps, but I also like to keep a boxful of digi-stamps printed up and ready to color.  Now and then I sift through the box and find something I'd completely forgotten about.  I feel fortunate.

I'd like to join these challenges:

NBUS Challenge #25 -- My never before used schtuff is the Wooden Alpha

Tic Tac Toe Challenge #108 -- I've used the middle vertical column:  florals, free (free digi image), any shape die

 

Have a beautiful day!

Stamps:  1892 digitized embroidery design from Digital Two for Tuesday (free)  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White, black, SU Bermuda Bay, light gold glitter cardstock  Ink:  Printer  Coloring:  Copics  Dies:  Memory Box Wooden Alpha, Elizabeth Craft Bunch of Flowers 4, Die-namites Small Ivy  Other:  1/4" circle punch

Double D Challenge: Looking Back in Time

First order of the day:  All winners from our 3rd anniversary/birthday "It's on the Menu" challenge were announced on the 15th at Double D.  Please check there for a full winners list.  I will contact the winner of my prize.  Thank you!

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Our new challenge at Double D is "Looking Back in Time".  Think of something that reminds you of days gone by.

Do you recognize the White Rabbit on my card?  I read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass when I was eight years old.  Now, there's a bit of nostalgia from the (ahem) distant past!  I was able to bring this memory back thanks to an honest to goodness vintage image digitally remastered at Digital Two for Tuesday (and it's free!).

More card talk in a minute, but first have a look at our inspiration board:

The Double D team will vote on creative winners, and there is a prize for a random winner, as well:

I've had this image printed and awaiting color for I-don't-know-how-many years.  I always thought it would be fun for a belated birthday card, but never got around to it.  I do have a "sorry I'm late" sentiment, but it was too small and the font wasn't quite right for the vintage look, so I used this one instead and I think it still gets the point across.

An ornate frame, a pad of old-timey papers, watches cut from one of the papers, sepia-toned Copic coloring with just a spot of color...  I don't do much vintage these days, but, gosh, this was fun.  I also stamped an old SU Sanded background over the image and sentiment panels to give a little more aging, and then finished it off with copper brads.

I even propped the photo with an antique book -- Poems by James Thomson (born 1700).  I don't remember where I got the book, but it has an inscription in it dated 1898.  Definitely looking back in time!

Well, that's enough from me, I suppose.  I hope you'll take a look at the Double D blog and all my teammates' vintage-themed cards and be inspired to play along.  Thank you so much for your visit!

Stamps:  White Rabbit free digi from Digital Two for Tuesday, SU It's Your Birthday, SU Sanded background  Paper:  Neenah Classic white, Neenah Husk card base covered (not visible), Bo Bunny Timepiece designer paper  Ink:  Printer, SU Close to Cocoa, CTMH Parchment (for the Sanded background), Copics for coloring  Accessories:  Brads, Sue Wilson Porto die and Pierced Flags

Flowerful Friday: Red Roses for Sympathy

Welcome back!  Today's Flowerful Friday is another sympathy card.  Still working on that order and making prettier cards when I have the chance.  This is an 1893 illustration from The New Guide to Rose Culture.  I promised myself I'd color more of the digis I saved from Digital Two For Tuesday, so they'll be sprinkled in here and there.  Remember, everything at DTFT is a freebie.  You can find these roses here.

This image does have a vintage look, but I lightened it up with white and pretty aqua.  You can see it's printed in sort of a teal-green.  I like that.  However, it was absolutely not my idea.  It was my printer's idea.  It does the strangest things when it needs a nozzle cleaning, and it needs a nozzle cleaning every time I use it.  Well, I forgot... and imagine my surprise when it printed this color.

I printed on Neenah Classic Crest Solar White and used Copics for coloring.  Retired Just Rite sympathy sentiment in die cut rectangle.  Die-namics Stitched Rectangle Frames.

I'll pop in with something cheerful on Monday.  Staying focused...  Have a happy day!

Flowerful Friday: Another Free Digital Stamp

Happy Friday!  I don't know about you, but Friday sure sneaked up on me fast.  It was a busy week and I was not home enough for quality stamping time.  That's when I get in a hurry and nothing turns out worth a darn.  I've taken a notion that I want to reserve Fridays for flower cards.  Well, sheesh, it would be nice if I could actually color some flowers.  So after casting off several duds I thought maybe it was time to share something I colored last month.

This is an extra super simple card.  Well, somewhat simple.  It didn't take much time, but I like it.  As stated in my title, it's a free digi.  You can find it here at the Digital Two for Tuesday blog.  There are two pretty flower images in that post, both embroidery designs.  This one had a vertical orientation, but by flipping it horizontally and dropping it off the side it made the smaller image appear to be in the background.  You'd never know this was a 1953 image.  It looks very current to me.

I added a double row of stitching and some silver cord.  A Stampin' Up sentiment.  Lots of white space.  I printed on Neenah Classic Crest Solar White and colored with Copic markers.  That's all, folks!  Hoping for better stamping times coming up.  I'd like to get ahead on my card needs before summer calls me away.  Have a happy weekend!

Purple Poppies

Just one last card before the weekend, and I hope it will leave you with pleasant dreams of warm weather and sunshine.

Isn't this a pretty poppies stamp?  Well, you can't buy it, but you can have it for free.  If you like to color and don't mind digital stamps there are all kinds to choose from at Digital Two for Tuesday.  Now, when you first click on the blog you may think it's not your thing, unless you're a very vintage-minded stamper.  I don't do much vintage these days, but many of the images Cora has shared do not appear vintage at all.  This one, for instance, could pass for a brand new stamp.

Colored with Copics and popped up on a sanded Core'dinations card base, some pretty iridescent sequins added... where's the vintage?  In fact, Cora found these poppies in a 1953 Jane Snead embroidery design booklet.  I still say, "where's the vintage?"  Does that mean I'm vintage, too?

If you'd like to have these poppies to color one of these days, you can find them and more right here.  Click to open the image in a light box, then right click and save.  These Jane Snead images are some of my favorites.    To see more of the pretty Jane Snead flower designs, click here and scroll down.  There are many I've colored in the past and many more I'd like to color in the future.

I've been following Cora on Digital Two for Tuesday for years.  It's a hugely selfless thing she does, searching out these images and cleaning them up for us to use.  Picking out one of her many vintage images and giving it a new look is a treat I haven't given myself for a while, but since I've been coloring so much lately...  I plan to do more.

That said, I have some brand new stamps I'll be spending time with, as well, so I'll be back next week if stamping continues to happen.  See you then!