Congratulations on your new home cards

It seems like with this time of lower interest rates, a lot of people are moving into new homes. I recently went to Tennessee to help my daughter move into her new home. Clayton was so happy that he now has a fenced in backyard, as he loves to play outside!

 I took a few snaps inside the house and outside.

One of the gifts I like to give someone when they move into a new home is a set of notecards announcing their new address. I work from one of my photographs and create a watercolor image of the house.
I scan the image and print them to use on the cards.

 I was so happy to find that Quietfire has come out with a Home-Congratulations stamp set that is absolutely perfect to use on my cards. Below, you can see how I put the house stamp into use both on the envelope and inside amongst the computer generated text.

I love the warmth the gold gives inside! I love this set so much that I am featuring it on my next Guest Designer posting on the Quietfire Blog on June 21. It will include other projects where I have used this most versatile stamp set!
I recently made a set of cards for my friend Yunetta for her new home and am even hoping to move myself!
Even if you don't do personalized watercolor notecards, I am sure that you would find the new stamp set from Quietfire very handy to use! Be sure to check out the blog there!

Spellbinders 3D M-Bossabilities

 I love texture on a card! I was thrilled when Spellbinders came out with M-Bossabilities as there are two designs and I like the larger size (compared to many folders). Then they came out with 3D M-Bossabilities! I couldn't imagine the design being deeper, but these things are amazing. As a crafter who kept a notebook of "texture items" to put through my Wizard back in the day (I cut up baskets, screen, had just about every type of gutter guard made....etc), I was just thrilled how easy these make it to achieve a deep sculpted surface!
The 3D folders, due to their depth, provide only one design per folder (compared to those not 3D that have two designs per folder) but there are six different designs available. I also like the larger size of 5 by 7 inches. That size is perfect for a framed piece, like the one below. If you want to make a smaller card, just choose a portion of the design and use that only.
The shell examples above were made with watercolor paper and then the color one was water colored and the other had ink applied. You can also use these for letterpress. Apply ink with a brayer and then insert paper and run through the Grand Calibur.

 Above and below, I used the Ornamental Swirls 3D folder. In June, I am the guest designer for the Quietfire Blog, Quietfire Creations. Above is a little sneak peek of the project I having coming up there in early June. I have used Spellbinders projects and Quietfire images together for years as I think they both have such a classy look! Be sure and check out the Quietfire blog and website!

 This basket weave really takes me back to my texture folder of actual baskets that I had cut up! Look at that detail!

 Aren't these cogs fun? You almost expect to see the gears to begin to turn! Here again, you can cut up the sections and use them individually if you want a smaller portion.

I am just beginning to play with these folders, but I can tell that it is going to be a long lasting relationship!

Quietfire Fairy Tale

 You know I love beautiful lettering and calligraphy and one of my favorite companies for stamps is Quietfire Design. One of my favorite companies for die is Spellbinders, so I have combined the two to create this framed quote accented with a rose. The heart stamp was used both on the quote and as leaves for the rose I created with Blossoms five die.

This is the first flower I made with this die set and I think it turned out very pretty if I say so myself! Must be the fact that it is a great die design and I followed instructions given by my friend Linda Duke last summer when the die was introduced. Just click on "instructions" above and watch Linda's video. I used three colors of ink rather than two. For the leaves, I embossed the heart design in gold on watercolor paper and then painted with an iridescent watercolor. I hand cut the "leaves" and curled them before adding them to the flower.

 I have always loved this quote and have been busy working on projects for my niece's wedding who is getting married in May, so I guess I had fairy tales on the mind. Quietfire has other new stamps that are specifically for Valentines Day and I will share those soon, but I love thinking out of the box. Using the heart design as the leaf for this flower I had been wanting to try since last summer jumped to the front of the line. The flower and "leaf" also makes me think of camellias, which are our roses of winter here in the south and are so lovely right now. I am sure I will see some in Savannah, Ga on my trip there this week. I will have to play with making a yellow fringe center and the same leaves to create a camellia!

Quietfire is located in Alberta, Canada, whose flower is the wild rose, so another reason this all works. I love it when these images make their way from our friends up north, but I would prefer that they keep those arcrtic blasts like we will be experiencing this week up there! LOL! Be sure to check out all of Suzanne's images at Quietfire!