Snow...

.....one of the joys of living in Minnesota. Even worse living in the country.

We've been blessed with lots of snow this winter. Many rural roads have been drifted shut lots of days with very strong winds to blow all the snow.

Last Tuesday, my husband & I weren't able to get home after winds blew drifting snow all day. Our road was completely plugged. We stayed with my parents who live a mile from us as the crow flies or 3 miles on the road.

On Wednesday, when we were able to get home after work, our road was like a tunnel in places.

This snowplow was working on an intersection about a mile west of our place. When I came through this intersection (from the right on the photo)it was so narrow I didn't try to make the turn. Instead I went straight through a short ways and turned around. It was easier to make the turn from that direction. This plow widened it out after I got home.

My view of the road once I made the turn. Our place is ahead on the left of the road.

.....a little further into the tunnel. Plenty of snow on the road yet.

I walked back to the tunnel to take all these photos after I got home. I didn't dare stop when I was driving! I set my self timer to get this photo. I'm 5' 2". The banks were well over me.

At this point I wasn't sure if I would run into that snow bank ahead.....as I got closer I could see the opening curved to the left.

......through the tunnel and nearing home.

......very close to home.

I was so glad to get there. Looking beyond our place the road looks clear.....it's not. About 1/2 mile ahead the snow is 3-4' deep between the snow banks. The township has decided not to open that portion of the road. Frustrating to me as I drive that way to get to work.......my detour is an extra 4 miles. I remind myself to be thankful that we can get out and get back home!

My snowman had a new shape after the snow blew so hard. Quite a "hair do", huh?

Since I took all the snow photos, a bulldozer widened the "tunnel". All the snow banks have been pushed out into the surrounding fields. We had strong winds on Saturday but the drifts didn't build up on the road.......thank goodness.

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All the snow inspired me to create this card.

The covered bridge stamp is from Artistic Outpost's Old Grist Mill . I water colored it with pale shades of gray and brown and a touch of blue in the sky. I added white Flower Soft for snow and sprayed it with White Marshmallow Glimmer Mist. I couldn't quite capture that in the photo. There are snowflakes (from AO Snowy Woods) on the card front embossed with Polysparkle EP (not very visible either). The verse is just a portion of a stamp from AO Home. The "snow" shows up a bit more in the close up below....

Thanks for visiting!

Enjoy Simple Beauty

I'm busy preparing for the Fond Memories Workshop.......coming up September 26th.

Wish I could show you the projects.........but not until September 26th. Be sure to check the Fond Memories blog that day for all the projects. I'll post the ones I created here.

For now.....

....this is a card I created for Artistic Outpost's new release, Old Grist Mill.

This card started with the background......multiple daisies stamped on cream card stock. Then I applied Distress inks.

The daisy is actually four stamped images. The first on Kraft paper. I stamped 3 more daisies on white paper, added a little color with Copic markers, then cut them out. I curled the petals for dimension and cupped the center.

Once I put them all together, you can see how real the petals look.

The faint daisies are colored with Prismacolor pencils including the white scribble over the verse.

......enjoy simple beauty!

smiles...

Frittered Away by Detail

........another card created with stamps from Old Grist Mill from Artistic Outpost

When I first received the Old Grist Mill stamp set, I stamped this background without adding the Distress inks. The oak leaf was repeatedly stamped with Ranger Adirondack Espresso on cream card stock. I set it aside and worked with other stamps. When I was putting together my projects for the AO new releases, I pulled it out again. I added distressing over the whole sheet starting with Antique Linen, then added Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain and Black Soot around the edges. What a difference that made! It brought the focal point to the center.

From there, the card design quickly fell into place. I stamped 3 leaves using Adirondack Caramel and Ginger inks on a piece of file folder, then heat embossed them with clear EP (same technique as Live in the Sunshine) I rubbed Distress Walnut Stain over the leaves and ironed out the EP. I cut them out leaving a border and curled them.

The verse is also stamped on a piece of file folder using Versafine Black Onyx. I cut it out with a Spellbinders Long Rectangles die also embossing the edges. It's distressed with Antique Linen and Vintage Photo with Black Soot just along the very edge.

The ribbon started as ivory.......it just wasn't the right color. To change the color, I placed the ribbon on my Ranger Craft Mat and rubbed various Distress inks over it. I misted it and rubbed the color in until I like the color. I ironed it to dry it. (If the ribbon gets wet, the colors will probably bleed.) I tied a bow and added the ribbon across the leaf paper with the ends glued in place on the back. The leaf paper is glued to the front of a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" cream card. I put a little Crafter's Pick The Ultimate glue on each leaf stem and tucked each one behind the bow. The verse is mounted on foam tape right over the ribbon.

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Supplies:

AO Old Grist Mill

Distress inks: Antique Linen, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain, Black Soot

Ranger Adirondack Espresso ink

Silk Ribbon

Spellbinders Long Rectangles die

Clear Embossing Powder

Cream Card Stock, File Folder
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I hope you enjoy this bit of creating...my style!

-judy

Simple Beauty

A huge Thank You to all who visited for the Artistic Outpost Blog Hop! Thank you to everyone who left comments........I love reading them! It's so great to get feedback.


I have another AO design to share......a totally different style.

I used stamps from Old Grist Mill to create this simple card.

I stamped the daisy with Memento black ink on a plain white card with a rounded corner. I added the verse with the same ink. On another piece of white paper, I stamped the daisy 3 times. I cut out 2 daisies and one center. I cut some of the petals off one of the daisies.

I colored the daisies with Copic Markers: Y21, Y32, W1. I used E37 and touch of W1 for the center. I shaped the petals by rolling them over my scissors handle, between my thumb and the handle. I turned the daisy center over on a foam mat and rubbed a paper stump over it to give a cupped shape.

I assembled the daisy by gluing the complete daisy over the daisy on the card front, then adding the missing petals daisy and finally the center is fastened with a foam dot. You can see the dimension in the close up photo.


This was a quick & fun card to create.


Until next time.......I'll be working on my...style! Creating, that is!

Thanks for stopping!
-judy

New Artistic Outpost Stamp Sets!

Today, Artistic Outpost is releasing 3 new stamp sets! They're awesome images!

Here's an excerpt from AO about the new releases:

The newest three collections from Artistic Outpost have a very natural vintage style, an ode to simpler times. We were inspired by some of our favorite quotes of Henry David Thoreau. His simple advice to "simplify, simplify" are words we should use in our daily life - the hustle and bustle of work, home, and community - as well as in our art. How often do we just need to stamp! Just the act of simply putting ink to rubber is calming and rewarding. We hope you find simple inspiration to create something that makes you happy.

And, we know you will love and want all three. So for a limited time, we are offering 20% when you purchase all three stamp collections. Simply use coupon code: September2009 at check out.

The Outpost: This collection is inspired by our Serenity signature set and continues this theme with a much larger image of our "outpost". You will love the versatility of this collection including the ATC sized farm house, and the nostalgic pocket watch.

Old Grist Mill: We live in the South where covered bridges are not quite as common as they are in other parts of the US and Europe. However, we absolutely long to be driving through the countryside in the fall, stopping at each covered bridge, and just listening to the "clippety, clap" of the tires going over each floor board. Again, we are reminded to enjoy simple beauty.

Generation Redux: These vintage images are grunged up a bit in a unique collage style. They are designed to go with not only The Outpost and Old Grist Mill, but think of using them with Home as well. We love this generation and find that this style of photo stamp is a perfect versatile style to add that "human" element to your creations.

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I had the opportunity to work with Old Grist Mill and The Outpost for this release. What wonderful images! I loved working with both of them. Both of these sets work well together. My favorite, though, is Old Grist Mill. I only touched on a few ways to use this set.

Here's my first project......



The grist mill......

......stamped with Adirondack Espresso ink on natural card stock. I colored it with Copic markers: C1, E31, E42, E44, G94, W1, W3, W5,YG03, YG11, YG65, YG91, YG93, 0
(photo below)


The green mat and cream card were cut with Spellbinders Curved Rectangles dies. Yes, the card started as natural color. I colored the edges with Copic YG91, W3, W5. I also stamped the grist mill advertising stamp around the edges of the card front using Espresso stamped off once. I think I added a bit of Antique Linen distressing, too......It was awhile ago when I created this card and I didn't make notes so I'm not positive.

The green mat has Distress Walnut Stain around the edges.

The brown mat started as a rectangle. Then I used a paper distressor on the edges for a worn look. I've added a bit of Black Soot to create a "burnt edge".

I stamped "simplify" with Espresso and cut it out with a Spellbinders tag. While the paper was still in the die, I colored it with Copic YG91 . I added 3 tiny brads in front of the word. It's mounted with foam tape.

To assemble, I glued the green curved mat to the card front. Then I slipped twine through the opening on the fold edge and around the card several times. It's knotted near the opening edge. The grist mill is glued to the dark brown paper and then fastened to the card front with thin foam dots. "Simplify" is attached with thicker foam tape.

If you'd like to see more wonderful projects using these new sets, visit the Artistic Outpost website and click on the Designers names to see their creations. Today, my ATC is pictured on the home page. Really exciting to see it featured there! I'll post it and the rest of my projects over the next few days.

Be sure to check out the AO Blog Hop on September 1st! I'm saving my best project for that day.

Thank you for stopping!

Smiles to you,

-judy