Sunset Celebrations in the Woods

Honorable Mention at 2 Crafty Critter Crazies
Coffee/Tea of the Day - Spiced Pumpkin Hazelnut coffee

Hello! the weekend is almost upon us.  can you feel it in the air?  :)

In honor of our beautiful fall weather here, I am sharing a card that I created to recognize our son both moving across several states and becoming engaged. he and his fiancee became engaged at dusk in the woods, which is the scene I tried to replicate. their new home in Missouri is also surrounded by many trees, so the card serves a double purpose. I do apologize for the poor lighting. I was trying to get the photo taken before my husband left the next morning before daybreak to go help them with their move. because of the many layers, it took me several days to make the card, especially since I move so slow these days.

The adorable images are all by Stacey Yacula from Purple Onion Designs.  aren't they just the sweetest? my son and his fiancee have both a dog and a cat, so the little cuties on the lower level are perfect to symbolize the two of them. :)  the images are inked to look just like their fur babies.

the card has 3 levels to the accordion fold. the Tim Holtz Treeline border die was used to add extra dimension to several of the levels. ideally I should have taken side view photos for you, but I was in such a hurry and wasn't feeling to spiffy.

the sunset was created with distress inks. the designer paper is from the Prima Farmhouse collection. no other embellishments were added, which is unusual for me. I thought the card sufficient without them.

thank you for stopping by! have a most amazing day!
Jennifer

Challenges:
Crafting By Designs - anything goes
Crafty Creations - anything goes
Ellibelle's Corner - stamp it
TTCRD - anything goes
2 Crafty Critter Crazies - anything goes w/a critter
Animal Friends - at least 1 cat
Love to Craft - anything goes
Crafty Cardmakers - add a critter
Dare 2B Artzy  - cute animals
Corrosive Ch - anything goes
Sweet Stampin' - animals
SSS WCMD
Catch the Bug - anything goes

Engagement Gift

Coffee of the Day - only drinking green juice right now. out of almond milk, which I need for my coffee. have a cup of Victorian Earl Grey tea brewing, which is a fabulous Earl Grey with lavender, rose hips, and rosemary.

That horrid migraine came back to rear its nasty head, so I've been in bed ever since we came back from Indiana. yuck. :(  But I did want to share with you how I wrapped the engagement gift for Ryan and Elizabeth.

Please excuse any typos.... the headache makes it hard for me to see. having to rely upon my typing skills from way back in the high school days. can't see the monitor very well as it's all a blur.

I had picked up some neat typeprint style wrapping paper at Michael's a while back, thinking it would be great for crafting. since we don't tend to give many wrapped gifts that aren't holiday based, this seemed to work out well for the engagement present.

Elizabeth really enjoys period type television shows such as Downton Abbey and Save the Midwife, so I knew that going with a pretty floral stamp would be perfect. I chose 'Strong and Beautiful' from Unity Stamps to stamp across the paper in various shades of her favorite colors - plum, sage, and lavender.  vintage lace was used for the bow.

I also stamped the flower in plum ink on a tag made from the same cs used in the card for her letter. (see previous post) it was stamped again in sage ink as a shadow effect. a doily portion was adhered in addition to some crochet trim and pretty little Wild Orchid Crafts blossoms & leaf. a cheesecloth bg stamp was used on the tag base and then the SU! ink squirty tool. Zipper Stop seam binding that was distressed was tied at the top and a re-purposed bit of plum twine anchors the tag to the lace bow.

and here is a photo of what was inside. We gave them a Lladro bride and groom figure. Dave and I had one on our wedding cake. I used to collect Lladro pieces. it seemed only fitting to give them one as they begin their happily ever after together. :)

Challenges:
Crafty Creations - anything goes
Creative Moments - anything goes w/optional spring theme
Inspiration Destination - #147 anything goes
Crafting From the Heart - anything goes

It's an Engagement! :)

Top 3 Pick at Creative Craft Cottage

Coffee of the Day - Cinnamon Hazelnut

So not only are you getting my first craft project in almost a year, but you are also getting the happy news of another happy engagement in our family! :)

I am so excited to announce that Ryan and Elizabeth are engaged!

This weekend we drove to Indiana for a surprise engagement party that Ryan (our youngest son, for those of you who aren't familiar) and Elizabeth's family planned. Mick (our middle son) and his girlfriend, Lauren were able to join us, too!

Ryan asked David and I to each write Elizabeth a letter. Of course I had to make a very special card to present my letter to her.

The little fairy proposal image is so sweet that I just couldn't resist using it. Papers are from the Prima Indeed digital pack, ribbons are from Really Reasonable Ribbon, mulberry flowers & leaves are by Wild Orchid Flowers, digital tickets and post cards are from Create With TLC, and little butterfly die is by Cheery Lynn.

vintage buttons, crochet trim, and doily are from my stash. lots of distressing was done with inks and a paper distressing tool. Stampdendous Frantage powders in wine were added to the main image. distress stickles in black soot were added to the butterfly. tiny pearls have been added both inside and out to the corners. the interior vintage button was tied with SU! linen thread.

it's a bit hard to see, but on the inside pocket, I have added a flourish that was die cut from some clear packaging that I re-purposed. the die is by Tim Holtz. it's a subtle, but very pretty element that packs a lot of punch irl.

Thank you for hanging in there and waiting on me to get something made! I hope you think it was worth it. ;)

and congrats to the happy couple!!!!

Challenges:
Southern Girls - die cuts (butterfly & flourish)
Crafty Creations - anything goes
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - any project with patterned paper
DL Art - flowers
Inspiration Destination - #146 anything goes w/optional spring/pastel colors
QKR Stampede - anything goes
Mod Squad - ready for spring
Die Cuttin' Divas - flowers
Craft-Dee BowZ - anything goes with a handmade bow
Creative Craft Cottage - make it feminine