A Tree is a Tree is a Tree

 I made a very quick Craft Roulette card last night.  What I LOVE about Craft Roulette, is figuring out what direction I plan to go.  I typically, will mull over the parameters, I'll rummage through my many MANY many stamp sets...MANY...I started this crazy collection about the year 1997ish...so, MANY...  I'll put a pile of options in front of me...like 3+, (last night I had about 6 potentials)...I stare at them for about 5 minutes...and let my mind start to "feel" which direction I want to go.  99% of the time...I will stick with my final choice and I eliminate one by one...I did NOT with my 100th contribution, I actually wasted a night of stamping on that one...(my previous post)...(originally, I had chosen a raccoon...oh how that ROYALLY changed)

Last night, I expected to use one of Lavinia Stamps, or there were some fun silhouette pooch images  from Unity Stamps I had in my pile.  But, I kept thinking of the "old product" parameter, and that kind of narrowed it down for me to use a Stamping Up set.  Once upon a time, I was a hobby demo, so you can imagine the collection I have ...  lol (7 years?  maybe 10?)  One day, you may learn why I quit...it certainly wasn't because of the quality of the products.  I really do enjoy using my SU sets, especially my backgrounds, AND...I love the card stock too.  I'm glad I branched out...now, my options are massive, and Craft Roulette night is like a crafting mega amusement park for me...  There is NO parameter that cannot be done!  lol!

I settled with a set, that had never seen ink.  I believe I purchased it around 2008ish?  I KNOW the randomly stamped little "thank yous" was acquired early 2000s...it may be one of the first SU sets ever for me.  It MIGHT be a "Sale-A-Bration" set even.  I believe it's purple rubber, I'll have to check when I get back to my craft studio.  I didn't really pay much attention to that last night when I made the card.

Anyhow...my card:

 I justify these parameters in the following ways:

1.  If you look close...you will see random "thank you's" all over the background.

2.  The fallen on the ground "yellowish" Granny Smith apples from our apple orchard lead me to using earth tones on this card.  Coincidently, I noticed them yesterday, before I watched CR.

3.  Silhouette of the "tree"...which is NOT an apple tree...but, I was thinking apple trees and my way of thinking... a tree is a tree is a tree is a tree...and this one is a silhouette!

4.  Any SU product of mine is OLD...I have not been affiliated with the company since 2008ish?  

And there you have it!!!

I absolutely LOVE my Friday nights!  Even when I'm remote, I'll pull up the parameters...this one was fun and easy....so if you are on the fence...  you should join in!

Craft Roulette Invitation

It is a TON OF FUNN!!!!!

English Rose / Candle in the Wind

 I tried to finish 2025 with my 100th Craft Roulette contribution, but just couldn't do it...even though I started one, yikes...I even finished it...yikes again...but I will post down the line some day.

My 100th...what can I say... I started out so different, but, it wasn't sitting with me.  I truly wanted something special.  I'm not sure I did it justice, but I sure traveled down memory lane with this one, and I suspect, I'll be chatting with many as we all recollect that time in our lives.

 First, the parameters are what lead me to using my Her Royal Majesty stamp set from Scrappy Boy.  It may not be available anymore, but just in case...I provided the link.  I adore this company, and it's offerings, there are so many fun stamp sets ... and if it's no longer available, there are so many other fun stamps that this company offers.  I'm not affiliated with this company, just a loyal customer, who loves the line!

 

 

 

 

So...here goes, this could be a very long post!

I'll start with the parameters first:

I chose to use this set based on the outdoor critter parameter...combined with the 1990s.  I remembered ALL the crazy "collector" Beanie Babies I purchased through one of my dear "Candy Bouquet" customers of mine...(back in the day, when we were cranking out tens of thousands of 3D solid chocolate roses for the franchise)  (That was a big gig) Of all those beanies, there are maybe 2...that I will not and would not part with, although I did find my stash of them, while I was ransacking my closest, looking for "English Rose". (The beanie that TY released after the tragic accident in honor of Princess Diana.)  If I recall, the royal bear, was very hard to come by, and my customer, with her limited supply, saved me one, and shipped it to me...all the way from Kentucky!  (FYI...the other one is the Millennium)  

From there...I created my card.  

I stamped and colored a little purse to include among the white roses, and our little critter bear (if that is too far of a stretch for "outdoor critter"...I did add a butterfly, which fits the criteria)...the colors, 90s colors, that Princess Diana loved (pink was her favorite) and wore (who can forget the famous super yacht image of her wearing blue, dangling her feet above the majestic ocean blue water)...and for the textile parameter...  I used my much used, maybe the most used stamp in my craft room....my Stamping Up! background "Linen" stamp.  It's been YEARS since I was a hobby SU person, but I still have all my stash, and since Craft Roulette, I find uses for stamps that would otherwise never see the light! (yikes)  Linen isn't one of those...I use it TONS TONS TONS TONS...in fact, one of the ladies I used to swap with, nicknamed me Linen, because I'd praise how much I used that stamp...that and "True Thyme" cardstock...another must.

Before I end this very long post....who can remember where they were the night the news hit.  My husband and I were headed home from a Labor Day weekend BBQ at a dear friend's house.  We were just starting our journey to parenthood, which ended up taking a very long time,  we didn't know it at that time what struggles were ahead of us. Our friends had recently become new parents, so there was lots to talk about.  I remember the silence, once we turned on the news and heard of the accident.  It still tugs at my heart, the images of what was to come.  It feels like yesterday, and yet it's going on 30 years.  Since then, my family has suffered huge loss, from a nationally known violent crime, all the way to the recent loss of my Dad, who I miss terribly every day, and my sister in law, just a few months ago.  We have had great joy too...college graduations, new nieces and nephews (great), and so many blessings (my son's successful surgery at such a tender age..to remove that nasty tumor).  There were moments in this card that I wasn't sure if I did it justice for Diana or not...I know sounds a bit deep for a Craft Roulette card, lol...but for me...it felt good to recollect where we have come, through hard times and good times too. I know how hard things have been at times, and I know things get brighter eventually, and perhaps going back that far, and then recollecting all the in between...maybe if I didn't do the card justice, it did for me!

I have found good ole fashioned creative therapy playing with my supplies...and although I'll put in a plug for Craft Roulette , it has turned out being my "go to"... I encourage any and all, to find "something".  I can start another long post with the advice of "something" that was once given to me...and although I forget to practice it from time to time...I'm glad I did, and I'll spare that info for another long post!

 So...tomorrow night, the wheel spins again...pop in, and then share!

Happy New Year to ALL! 

 

Yakkity Yak...Don't Look Back!

 I couldn't resist... just had to.  It has been a minute since I was able to play in the weekly Craft Roulette  challenge that I love to participate in each Friday night / week.  I thoroughly enjoyed creating my 99th submitted contribution!

 My sky...I have to tell you about that....  I am attempting to learn ink blending....I realize several things...

1.  I probably don't have the best brushes...I am using very inexpensive brushes purchased through Amazon.  I would supply a link, but, if it's the brushes that is my problem, which I think is one of the main issues of mine...I don't want to suggest them.  They are substantially less in price than the really nice ones I see offered through craft companies, such as Scrapbook.com or other.

2.  I may not be using the right card stock ...  smooth vs one with "give".  I did find a smooth (Hammermill) that I like, purchased through Amazon...Hammermill Premium Color Copy  smooth white card stock, 100 lb, and I'm used it here on the citrus green grass....  and the sky too.  You see the sky is SPLOTCHY...BUT...I liked that for the illusion of actual, real life clouds.  The sky was in my trash pile, and it caught my eye ... that I actually preferred it over a solid blend.  But...it was a reject from weeks ago, and like I said...the struggle is real for me.

3.  I think I'm a little heavy handed....I know I am.  I don't want to waste my ink, so I am utilizing my glass mat or silicon mat to release a little of the ink before I gently try to blend it on my card stock.  I'm getting better, but, still not quite there.  I do believe my brushes have an awful lot to do with it... I never clean them, and I have like 1 for each color...A TON...  

Anyhow, the parameters were really fun!  

I have been patiently waiting for ACK to show up!  I didn't have my Yak planned, just knew there were tons of options with ACK!  (back/black/attack/stack/pack/sack/hack/jack/lack/QUACK/rack/tack/etc...  I really thought I'd do something with a duck, but now looking at my list of words, an elk (horns), Santa black Santa sack resting on his back...  you see where I'm going here!  This little Yak, though was so so cute, and I very enjoyed doing something refreshing!  As far as gummies....as much as I want to run run run far away from gummy kabobs...our customers sure love buying them, so I am very well versed in the colors of gummy bears!!!!  We have been working with a ton of green ones!!!

We have to be loco to do these in quantity....but that's what we do!  YIKES

 

 

 

I used a die that appears (Deckle) to be "tearing", although if our little Yak is sad...he could be tearing.  I hope he's not sad...if he was, he isn't now...  OK, enough silly nonsense.  I just wanted to quickly share my 99th Craft Roulette contribution, and hope to play along tonight, when I hit that magic 100!  It's been a TON OF FUN...100 weeks of it, (maybe a couple in there, that I never finished, but only a couple)...although I can't play every week, I try, and have come close.  I've met some very fun friends, and I feel I've grown as a card maker HUGE...even though I've been at this for going on 30 years now!  You never know!  If you are looking for something new and different...I encourage you to play along!

 

Craft Roulette 

 

Romance Scenes

 “True love stories never have endings.” —Richard Bach

How true the Richard Bach quote is and the  December 2025 Kindred Stamps New Release will remind you how timeless love is.  I have memories attached to the scenes of each character from this set, and I suspect many more besides me will too.  This month, I celebrate my anniversary, and to this day, I still remember going to the movie theater to watch a very long love story, a misfit couple on a historic cruise ship.   I remember eating the popcorn, and where we were sitting in the theater.  I even remember at the time, some very heavy heart concerns we were dealing with,  as we were just starting our journey to parenthood.  I almost didn't want that movie to end.  (We had a very happy ending...not so much the characters in the movie...but we did... now 24 and almost 26)

So, just in time for Valentines Day... 

Kindred Stamps Releases the perfect set:  Romance Scenes 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was creative using random dies in my stash of hundreds if not thousands of dies... I used a fence for my boat rail, a living room lamp post for my street light, cut rectangles out of the inside of a scallop frame, etc...to name a few...  one thing remains constant though...  I use my Card Basics Die Set over and over and over again!  

 

Tomorrow Romance Scenes will be available at 8:00 a.m.  Pacific Time, along with other fabulous new release sets.  You will definitely want to get a few of these in your cart!!!  I'm hoping to have a little unwind time for the holidays, now that my crunch time is officially over (2 more BIG hurdles for 2025 for me)...I hope I can get a little nostalgic TV time ... catch an iconic romance movie or 2!  

 

Happy Holidays & Seasons Greetings to all!  

 

Trudi 

 

12 Day of Advent

 When I discovered this sweet stamp, I immediately thought love and world, and "Love Makes the World Go Round".  I'm not even sure if I really listened to the song with those lyrics, as when I played it, it certainly didn't sound familiar to me.  Not sure why that popped into my head.  When I have more time, I'm going to look into it.  I'm sure there is a version I'm not aware of at this moment of time...

 

When you open this card, the little world "spins".  I had not planned on this at the start of this card, but I had seen a little spinny card with a different image that sparked the idea of a spinning world...now, I can think of all kinds of spinny things...might take another try of this type of card in the future.  Well...I'm being brief here...things are getting close to the wire for me in the factory...I will be pulling a rabbit out of a hat for the next few days, so it seems....  ho ho ho ... I can see where it would be easy to be a grinch.  It's hard on suppliers and retailers too...we do our best, but it does beat a person up.  It truly is a count down...I hope to keep up with the advent calendar, but, am truly glad I got as far as I did!  There are some super fun ones ahead!!!  When things settle down, I want to get a little video  here with the world spins!

 

 

 

Day 11 Advent Calendar

 I can smell an apple crisp in my mind...or spiced apple cider, maybe the smell of cinnamon apple potpourri that I so fondly remember smelling whenever I popped in to visit the gift shops we used to sell to locally.  Once upon a time, we had our specialty foods in up to 37 locations (locally) 1000+ nationwide....quite a few for the our small community, the oasis in the desert that we are from.  (When you think of Washington State, you really don't think of dry sagebrush...)  Anyhow, that was the olden days, we have evolved in a different direction with our distribution, but...I sure love the memories of visiting several sweet gift shops...most are no longer, 40 years has come and gone...that's a long time.  So, I truly got a Countryside Cottage vibe with this card...one of the very first retailers ever that we sold to...truly one of the best I have ever dealt with ... cheers to Trish if she ever sees this post!  This cards for you!

 

 

Advent Day 10

 Not sure what I was entirely striving for.  I did expect/want this to be QUICK...but, it didn't turn out that.  I did learn, to not force an embossing folder into a Big Shot...it may come out permanently warped.  I guess for never using this folder after having it for a couple of years, I'll accept the lesson.

Haste = Waste

haha

Truly, not sure where I was going, but the more I was going... it was having fun.  I am inspired to find a metallic pen, like the one I used for the poinsettia insides here.  I was gifted a very fine tipped pen, with liquid ink inside...(it did leak a time or 2 when using it...again...haste equals waste).  It really looks like shiny 14 karat gold after you apply it, not like gel pens or sharpie type metallic...or wink of stella type...it is liquid type paint in a pen.  I love it and I want another...will be on the hunt.  Anyhow, my take on Day 10...resulted in a muted, soft blurred type canvas, showcasing Advent Day 10, Thank You Heart image...  I left it blank inside for a future sentiment, or personal note.

I used Cloud 9 Interference Ink to lightly brush a gold shine on the embossed petals and "berries". 

 Cloud 9 Interference Inks

I believe I used Peanut Glow.  I'm not entirely sure if that was the gold I used...I'm at my desk in the factory, and for some odd reason, I do not have record of the order I placed with Scrapbook.com .  I must have ordered as a guest and not logged in.  I'm not always near my account info when I order.  Or, maybe I ordered from a different company.  If anyone want to know, leave a message here, and I'll follow up.  All I know, is I only have 3 Cloud 9 ink pads, and I recently ordered them, I thought from Scrapbook.com, and I plan to order more.  I do need to figure a good way to blend, with the proper brushes and card stock...if I find the magic combo, I will share...if anyone knows the magic combo, let me know...I've definitely self taught, and not really watched any instructional videos...I probably should.  Anyhow, the inside of my card:

Til tomorrow!  :)  It's the last card I have entirely finished...so, the real test will be, if I can keep up with the last half of this advent calendar.  I do have ideas in my head, which is the hardest part, but...last night, I crashed and burned...and I have other important craft obligations I need to wrap up...PLUS...a factory full of gift baskets / gifts to finish up too...  You might see some VERY FAST things here, but...that's ok, I think my favorite so far, was Day 4, the little snowman, so...we will see!