Retreat!

Happy Saturday everyone!    Well, it is still warm here in Georgia on this September 25th! My airconditioning is working hard.  However, I heard changes are coming and we should have highs around 78 degrees on Monday!  Let's hope that weather lasts for awhile so we can enjoy Fall.  I love opening my windows up in the evenings and enjoy the crisp air.

On to the most important topic:  I am at retreat!  Our group comes to the Grand Oak Retreat in Scottsboro, Alabama once a year.  (Truth be told, we'd love to come more than once a year, but you know how hard that is...)  It is a FABULOUS home on the side of a cliff overlooking a lake in Alabama. 

The house has 6 guest bedrooms and it was built as a retreat for crafters, so there are plenty of beds and bathrooms in each room!  The most wonderful part of all is, Cindy, the proprietor, cooks all of our meals for the whole weekend!  We wake up to a delicious breakfast, salivate for the 1:00 lunch bell, and almost stampede when it's time for dinner. 

Best story of the weekend... My girlfriend Heidi and I were overlooking the balcony at dinner on the first night. We had chicken on the menu and as usual, it was delicious. Heidi's bedroom was right near the chicken coop and all of a sudden it dawned on her that she might be awakened with a "cock-a-doodle doo" before she was ready to pry her pretty eyes open! So she turns to me and said in her most serious "mom" tone of voice, "If those 'flocking'chickens 'doodle' before 7:00 am tomorrow morning, chicken will be back on the menu tomorrow evening!" (Flocking is a product used for papercrafting.) I almost wet myself from laughing so hard! What this weekend does for me is not give me the time to focus on my favorite craft project, but: allows me to reconnect with the most wonderful women; to laugh so hard your sides hurt; and to spend some quality time with my mom (she's on my "crew"...). Good times were had by all.

This picture above was the sunrise this morning.  Overcast skies made the day cooler than expected.

One of the cards that I made this weekend was a Thanksgiving card.  It was using the Heartfelt Creations stamp and die cut set.  You can find it here.

I stamped it with Memento black ink on Gina K. Designs Pure Luxury white paper and then embossed it with clear embossing powder.  If you have not tried that, you need to give it a whirl.  It really made my image deepen.  I really like it.   I used my Copic Markers to color it, standard cardstock to frame it, my Martha Stewart punch on the right side.  I used the Storybook Cricut cartridge to cut out the label.  I distressed all the sides with my edger and then used Tim Holtz' Walnut Stain Distress Inks.

I hope you enjoyed my blog today!  Have a terrific week!

Crisp Air

I'm sure it is getting cooler up north but it is still warm here, ranging about 88 for the highs. In Georgia, we have what we call Indian Summers. It is after the first cold snap when the days get warm again. So warm that you consider turning your air conditioning back on! We have not had Indian Summer yet this Fall. It should happen sometime around the first or second week of October . However, you can tell it is turning to Autumn. The humidity is very low, the skies are blue and every once in awhile, I see a leaf fall off of a tree. I love taking my dog out in the morning from my front door. I look out into an island of (mostly) pine trees. The sun rays are shining through and it's quite a lovely sight. I have a Japanese Maple out there as well and it's leaves will turn a bright red this Fall. It is my favorite time of year.

I created this card with that in mind. The background paper is encaustic waxing. If you follow my blog, you know it is one of my favorite techniques. It is a napkin that I waxed onto a glossy piece of cardstock. I then shaded it with gold wax. I love it. The pumpkins stamp is from Gina K Designs and it is the "Signs of Autumn" set. I colored it with my Copics (Y12, Y16, Y18 and Colorless Blender). I then added my Gelly Roll pen to add some shine. I cut the image using my oval Nestibilities and my scallop oval Nestibilities. I shaded using Tangelo and Cantelope Memento Inks while the shapes were still in the die cut. The ribbon I purchased at Hobby Lobby and the back ground papers were nothing special, except I always use Gina K Designs heavy weight Pure Luxury paper when coloring with Copics. I hope you enjoy it and enjoy the season!