.sending smiles. February 9, 2011

Sometimes errors can’t be fixed, but other times, they just become a new creative challenge…this card started well, then got a little messy, then was salvaged & has turned into one of my favourites!

The top left corner was originally blank.  I decided the blank bit was too large in comparison to the placement and shape of the beautiful blossom stamp (from the lovely ‘Easter Blossoms’ Stampin’ Up set).  So I stamped some of the blossom off the top left hand corner of the page…however, it turns out the rubber image on the bottom of the stamp and the image sticker on the top were not lined up, so everytime I stamped, it was completely in the wrong place.  So frustrating when you know exactly what you are trying to achieve.

So, after putting it down for an hour, I decided to so some more tearing & cover the whole mess up with the blossomed paper (Christina Re paper designs).  (Thanks to my friend Bec for the indirect inspiration – she made a fantastic bloke’s Valentine’s Day card recently with torn paper at the top & bottom of the card with the sentiment in the centre, & it helped me salvage this one).

Next, to felt…

This little bluebird brooch was a gift for a friend recently to cheer her up, and I’ve decided to offer more like him in my Made It Online Shop.

Best return to the jobs that won’t seem to go away, no matter how many times I check my blog…(o:

Love Ruth x 

P.S. So sorry for horrid blurry photos…my camera has decided it prefers blurry focus over anything else, and I can’t be entirely sure, but I’m thinking it could have something to do with a certain 2 year old’s fingerprints that I tried to clean off the lens the other day.  Hmmm…

.happy easter. April 2, 2010

I don’t normally make Easter cards, but this year Ethan gave one each to his pre-school teachers.  They are simpler than my usual ones but I am needing simple lately.  I have a theory that I go through “less is more” stages periodically in response to the fact that I am convinced I have more words than most and can’t seem to leave many of them left unsaid!!  (Even my explanation is wordy!)  So creating something simpler is my attempt at counteracting my busy/cluttered/chatty contribution to the world.

Easter always creeps up on me because someone keeps changing the date!  But, {speaking of simple}, even when I’m fully prepared for Easter, I still prefer it uncomplicated.  Maybe it’s because I don’t want to add 3kg thanks to chocolate, or because the informal family catch-ups are so relaxed and leisurely.  But mostly, I think it’s because I love the Jesus story of Easter so much that I just want to keep it as uncluttered as possible and not get distracted by another Christmas-esque kind of silly season.  {I love Christmas too, by the way, in case I sound a bit bar-humbug!  I just prefer the simple version of that too for all the same reasons, as those who know me have to endure me telling them every year (o: }

So I guess I’m trying to say that I hope your Easter is not just another long weekend, an overdose of chocolate (not that I’d ever turn away a lonely chocolate!) or a last-minute frantic trip to the supermarket.  But I do hope it’s full of great times with people you love, and appreciation for a life given that has eternal impact, even now. 

I found this fantastic verse that says it so much better than me.  Wishing you a wonderful Easter.

“Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The day is coming when you’ll have it all—life healed and whole”.  {1 Peter 3b-5} 

Love Ruth x

My ‘Happy Easter’ cards have been entered in the lovely Just Add Ink Challenge #11 which is wonderfully broad and all-encompassing this week!