Friends as Blessings

     A dear blogging buddy included me in a list of friends she believes have been instrumental in support and inspiration, and I felt so honored by that.  Today's card was made as a way of giving back to her the honor she bestowed.  She was the primary person who encouraged me to continue my journey into card making back in the days when I was learning the most basic things about card designs.  It's also because of her that I started blogging and she's the lady who has made all my blog mastheads with the adorable felines.  Thanks so much, Donna!  This card should be in your real life mailbox in just a few days.

The digi image is by From the Heart Stamps

and I used their latest sketch and their twist of

'Use a Die Cut.'

     I used my ProMarkers to color the image and decided I wanted to stay with a monochromatic yellow combo in my overall design.  The image and the mat are both die cut but since the die is  rectangle in shape, I had to cut once then move the die and cut a second time to get the square shape.

     I dug through my box of scraps and found 2 papers very close in color, even though one is a marbled design and the other very flowery.  They must have come from the same paper stack originally, but I have no way of knowing since they were just small pieces in the scrap pile.  I die cut one of the strips using that same die set.  I decided to try putting everything onto a black card base and I really like how it made all the yellows pop.  The sentiment is also from one of my From the Heart Stamps sets and I corner punched it before adhering it onto the dove-tail strip.

     I tied the bow with black satin ribbon and added a glittery flower and a rhinestone to one of the flowers in the image.  Oh, yes, I embellished with faux stitching, too.  :-D

     Challenges:
Artistic Inspirations
Craft Your Passion 
Crafty Boots 
Crafty Cardmakers (embellies: bow/flower/stitching)
Cutie Pie
Die Cuttin' Divas
Glitter n Sparkle
Lemon Shortbread
One Stitch at a Time
Outlawz Greetings
Passion for ProMarkers
Ribbon Girl
Through the Craft Room Door
   
     That's all I have until Friday unless I find some spare time from an unwanted sleepless night or a cancelled doctor's appointment.  :-D  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie