Hello, Stampin' Friends! Some of you may have noticed that I took an (unexpected) break from blogging...and instagramming...and crafting...and pretty much everything except coffee. So, so very much coffee. I've been having a really hard time personally, and I just kind of "turtled up" and withdrew for a little while so I could focus on self care and rebuilding. Sometimes life just happens, runs you over when you least expect it, and sends you in directions you never anticipated. Things are looking better now, and I've been feeling a little itch to get back to, well, being me. Less sad, more happy. Less moping, more crafting. Less napping, more yoga. Less coffee...ok, well that's not true yet, and maybe never, but that's ok. I am embracing the glorious mess that I am!
This week though...this week it's the 250th sketch over at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge, and that is a great reason to dust off the stamp room table and make something pretty. I hadn't touched a thing that I ordered from the new Seasonal Expressions...or almost anything from the last one either. It's pretty much a travesty of crafting, a craft fail of epic proportions for someone who used to craft a little something pretty much every single day. Well, no more!! For this card I used the new Make Waves MERMAID papers combined with the gorgeous February Stamp of the Month. I even broke out my as-yet-to-be-used embossing diffuser, which is now on clearance for a fabulous price to create the perfectly sized smooth circle in the center of the Rose Embossing folder for stamping the circular sentiment from that February SOTM.
I stamped the sentiment again onto Canary Cardstock to highlight the SUNSHINE word as a banner. Then I stamped the floral bits from Sunny Thoughts in Emerald, Pansy, Pixie, and Canary inks so I could paper piece the floral sprays. I used a fine point journaling pen and the new Bashful (yes pink!) Shimmer pen to add details to the floral sprays. Don't you just love that Rose embossing folder reversed and sanded? I've got blue dust all over the place right now, but it was totally worth it!
Since it is the 250th Sketch for Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge, as well as my return to crafting and blogging, I think a giveaway is in order! Enter here to win your very own copy of the February Stamp of the Month : Sunny Thoughts. I'll draw a winner next week on Monday afternoon. If you are still here after all these months of radio silence, I thank you, Stampin' Friends!
