Hi Everyone. Happy Monday.
One of my crafting resolutions was to use things that I don't normally use – and create things that I find difficult – like masculine cards! Lou really pushes me to NOT use ribbon, sequins or anything like that on a masculine card, so it forces me to really get down to bare bones. The new SU occassions catty contains some DSP that was one of the first things on my pre-order. I think it's ideal for masculine cards and, in fact, I used the DSP on this card.
I wanted to make a card for Lou to let him know how appreciative I was for his decision to take me to the UK for Christmas – and for taking me cruising on our anniversary in October. As he travels so much during the year, we really do appreciate these trips that we are able to do. In addition to our trips, Lou did a fair amount of driving up and down Minnesota when our dear friends P&J and R&R were here visiting us back in July. So, I really thought he deserved another card.
Thanks to the DSP – and to the sentiments from the new Big on You stamp set – this card was a breeze to pull together.
Here's my card:
I love the subtle stripes on this particular piece of Adventure Bound DSP and the white embossing powder works really well with the Natural White card stock that I used for the base. No embellishments, no ribbon, no nothing :-) However, I couldn't help using my Lil Inker's Stitched Rectangle dies and love the way they frame the sentiment.
On a personal note:
Thanks to those of you who have left messages or sent emails of support after this post. I really appreciated your heartfelt comments and they meant a great deal to me. Thank you! I keep saying I have wonderful bloggy friends and readers – and I really do!
It was back to work today and it felt as though I was in the twilight zone…. this morning I had to struggle to remember passwords, etc. It took a few hours to get back into the swing of things. You know you have had a great vacation when you can't remember your passwords!
A large storm hit Minnesota today, but we were spared the snow, however the temps really did drop and it was very cold. The wetland and woodland look amazing with their rusty colors and carpet of snow. I'll try and get a couple of shots to share with you tomorrow – if the sun is shining that is!
The cats have settled in to us being back home. They do miss us each in their own individual little ways, but manage to let us know that they were not that impressed that we were gone so long. Charlie is the one that suffers the most I think, purely because he is such a one person cat and spends much of his days very close to me. He didn't appreciate the cat sitter very much and, apparently, wasn't afraid to let her know that! 🙂
I'll also be working on a couple of posts this week that show you some photos of our trip. I didn't take many, but there are some fun ones to share with you. We spent a couple of days in London and managed to do some really fun, touristy things…. like walking the streets of London to see the shop displays and Christmas lights; Cocktails at Buckingham Palace; a visit to Bletchley Park and lots of wonderful dinners! We walked and walked and walked and walked and it was wonderful!
I'll be back with another card for you tomorrow. In the meantime, warm hugs and prayers for those of you who need a little lift tonight.
Hugs
Jaydee
Card recipe – all ingredients Stampin' Up!:
- Card stock: Naturals White
- Stamp: Big on You
- DSP: Adventure Bound
4 Responses
Sounds like a great vacation to England!! That is so awesome!!! How does one have cocktails at the Buckingham Palace? Just can’t wait for your photos!!!!
I thought of you Jaydee when I came home yesterday in one of the biggest storms on record for our area (30″ of snow in 24 hours in my yard!) and saw where the deer had walked in my footprints of a couple hours before. The little Chickadees and Nuthatches were busy at the bird feeder even though the snow was coming down and the pile of snow on the feeder nearly covered it all. We’ll soon see the wood peckers eating the suet. Haven’t seen the rabbit yet but it’s white so won’t show well against the snow. It’s a winter wonderland I live in in the middle of the Rockies! Love it!! And, yes, please do tell how you can party in Buckingham Palace! Some day I’d love to tour Ireland and England…(can you get away with drinking coffee in the Palace instead of tea? 🙂
Wooooowwwwwwww girls!!! . . . you do have plans!! Jaydee your vacations sound beautiful BUT I cannot imagine that amount of snow . . . Colleen!! 30″ of snow . . . that is . . . 75 cms!!! . . . . I love seeing pictures of snow, but I do not know if I could manage that amount!!
Jaydee, will be looking forward to your pictures.
Much love to you and to all your followers.
Marina . . . from far Africa
Hi Jaydee! Keeping warm? I don’t even want to go outside in this cold. Good thing I can still make cards. I just used, and love, my “new” stamp set “Gift of Kindness”, but forgot to take a picture! I too look forward to photos of your wildlife. Hugs to you. Glad your trip was wonderful – I had noticed you were gone from blogland.