Plaid Poinsettia and Sad Times

Hello Stamplings!

How are you? I hope you are all doing well. It was a sad and moving weekend for this country as we marked the 20th anniversary of 9/11.

I'm still rootling around and uncovering things I wish I had finished and never did and starting new things, without finishing them, so years from now I will discover them and oh, man, it really is a mess up in here. 

I'm trying to filter and come up with a plan and there will be more on that in time, but once again, I stopped to enjoy the pleasant distraction of a coupla challenges. I'm hoping to make a few more fall cards, but because I make a lot of Christmas cards, I'm putting my emphasis there ~ seeing as how this year is rocketing by like a firecracker shot from a cannon.

Onefer

For my cards I used a NBUS "From the Vault Poinsettia" wooden stamp from Hero Arts. I'm sorry that I seem to be in a rut with my direct-to-stamp inking lately, but I love how simple, easy, and effective it is. I attached the watercolor paper panel to a plaid background and then added a narrow strip of the plaid pp to delineate the image from the sediment. The sediment is also from Hero Arts, stamped in CP ink and then clear heat-embossed. I added metallic gold to the flower center with a pen.

Challenges

• CAS Christmas Card: Plaid, chosen by Colleen.
  
• Holly and Ivy Christmas: A/G. Congratulations on their 100th Challenge!
  
• Krafty Chicks: Christmas.

Twofer

Hammy wanted to wink the first image, but I wasn't sure how much the ink would schmear when winked, so I stamped a second image and let him have a play with his winker. It gives it a lovely watercolored look, as well as being schparkly. Good job, Hammy, as always! I added more schparkle to the center with a gold metallic pen. I used my MFT stitch dies to cut the panels and I gold heat-embossed the sediment.

Allsorts Challenge ~ Tribute to Kath.

I was sad to hear recently that a wonderful bloggie friend, Kathleen (Kath) Scholefield (Plain & Simple) passed away suddenly after a very short battle with cancer. It was a shock to her family and all who knew her in Blogland. Kath and I got to know each other through commenting and then I had the privilege of meeting her in person on my grand tour of England in 2016.

Kath had a wicked sense of humor, so you can imagine our emails back and forth! She was a talented card artist and beloved DT member and she will be greatly missed. Over at the Allsorts Challenge, Brenda is dedicating this week to Kath's memory and I am entering my card. This would have been Kath's week to host and she had chosen favorite stamp with the option of paper-pieced flowers. 

~~~

And here at home, it was a sad weekend for our family as we said goodbye to our beloved granddog, Duke. Many of you have watched Duke grow up via photos I've shared over the years.

RIP Duke

May 9, 2010-September 10, 2021

Duke became the owner of the grandtwinks when they were five years old. They are devastated.

We are all going to miss him very much.

And little Jack is going to miss his "Dad."

Losing a beloved pet is heart-breaking, but we were so blessed to have Duke in our lives.

~~~

Enjoy your day! No, seriously, enjoy! LITS!*

*Life is too short!