Christmas Goodbye

It's a little hard to write this post.  For the past two years it has been my privilege to be a Design Team member for Color My Heart.  Now it's time for me to step down.  Over the past couple years, I have built virtual friendships with the wonderful ladies on the team.  Their generosity isn't limited to offering up inspiration.  They have blessed me in many, many ways.  I will miss being part of the team and am deeply grateful for the time I got to spend with them.

This week the colors are Sorbet, Cranberry, Olive, and New England Ivy.

One of the things I love about CMH is that we often get color combos from older paper packs.  This one is called Evensong.   I paired it with a recently retired stamp set (Remarkable Wreath - one of my all-time favorites) and a current one (Artfully Sent coordinating - sentiment).

Thanks to all of you who have joined me here because of my participation with this fun challenge.  I hope you will keep coming to see more projects and to follow my writing journey.  I expect news on whether or not I'll be part of a second collection of novellas any day now.  (How's that for a teaser!)  And be sure to look for The Homestead Brides in WalMart on February 1, 2015.

Until next time,
Becca

Fall Into Autumn

Fall is my favorite season of the year.  I love pumpkin spice lattes, caramel apple cider, and the crisp bite to the air.  For this week at Color My Heart, we are working with the colors from the new Pathfinding paper.  I also wanted to see if I could take the "No Ink" Challenge over at Heart2Heart.  Here's what I came up with:

I don't think it needs much explanation except to say that the sentiment came from one of the zip strips included in the paper.  So easy!

Until next time,
Becca

Merry (Color My Heart) Christmas

This week at Color My Heart, we are working with Honey, Smoothie, and Olive.  I'm still on my Christmas card kick, so I came up with this:

Lately, the blogs I visit have had a number of cards with what I call "peek-a-boo" features.  I decided to do an easy one.  The stripes of colored paper are .25" wide and of various lengths because I used up scraps. I glued them to another scrap piece of paper until I had a length of 5.5".  I did make sure they were all at least 1.5 inches tall, though, because that helped when it came time to assemble the top panels over the stripes.

My top, white panel was originally cut at 5.25 x 3.75".  I then cut it into two pieces at the .75" mark so I had two strips measuring 5.25 x 3" and 5.25 x .75".  Using one of my top panel pieces as a guide, I trimmed the edges of my colored paper strip until I had an even fit.  I really wanted my two end pieces of Smoothie cardstock to be the same size, so it required some centering and eyeballing before cutting. 

When I had the striped panel and the two white panels of the same length, I glued the stripes to my card base so it was centered at about 1" from the bottom of the card base.  I then foam mounted my two white panels so they lined up with the stripes and were evenly bordered by the card base.

To add a little extra flourish to my sentiment, I used some Liquid Glass on the inside and outer ring.  I like the way the shine and dimension makes this look more like a puffy sticker.  I'm still debating over whether or not I should have added glitter to the outer ring. Or maybe, now that the inside and outer ring have dried, I could add glitter to the crisscross part of the frame.

Too much?

Good idea?

What do you think?

Anyway...I was looking at the finished card and thought, "Hmmm, it could use a little something more, but not too much." So I grabbed some ribbon, tied it in a knot, and secured it with another dot of Liquid Glass.

You will likely see more "peek-a-boo" types of cards in the future because I love how they add dimension without adding lots of bulk.

Now I just need to figure out how to take better pictures with my fancy-schmancy new light box the hubs got me.

Until next time,
Becca

Winter Cheer

I need Christmas cards. Lots of them. So...this week I decided to see if I could take the Color My Heart challenge colors of Thistle and Sunset from the Scaredy Cat paper pack and turn them into a Christmas card.

Kinda fun, huh?

The bears are from Polar Bear Holiday.  I used the Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge to cut the tag and topper (p. 60).  The tag is 4" tall and the topper is 1' tall.  To color, I used Copic markers W00, W3 (bear bodies); YR12, YR18 (orange sweater); V0000, V12, V15 (purple sweater and scarf); and 0.  I created a color matching ribbon by using V15 on a white satin ribbon.

The background paper behind the tag is 2.25" x 4.25", and the top strip is however big it needed to be to get the pattern.

Except for the coloring, this was super simple to put together.  And even the coloring wasn't that time-consuming or difficult.  I could easily color these while watching TV then assemble the cards later.  I'm thinking ahead, people.  Seventy cards in a month...plus the ones I need to make for a friend as a wedding present.  She got married in May.  I'm a little late.

Just be advised that you will probably be seeing nothing but Christmas from now until the middle of December.

Until next time,
Becca

It'll be Okay!

This week for Color My Heart, we are working with Goldrush, Honey, Crystal Blue, and Pacifica.  The colors reminded me of a sunrise I saw the other morning.  I may not like everything about the climate or scenery in Oklahoma, but you can't beat their sunrises and sunsets.

I feel like I'm channeling this card; however, when something works it works. 

The supplies are simple...two sponge daubers and the four colors in dye ink.  I started with the Honey first and worked it from the bottom edge toward the center.  Using the same sponge dauber, I topped the Honey with Goldrush. Then, using a different sponge dauber, I repeated the process with Crystal Blue and Pacifica starting from the top edge and working toward the center. To make my black tree and sentiment stand out more, I used pigment ink.  The land was hand drawn using a black marker.  The stars were dotted on with a white gel pen.

So simple and quick!

When I first got the Keep Your Chin Up stamp set (tree and sentiment), I was pretty sure I wouldn't be using the "It'll be OKAY" sentiment...and then my friend's son crashed his car.  It was bad.  And yet, miraculously, he not only survived the crash but the ensuing fire that engulfed the car.  They have a long road to recovery ahead of them, but it looks like he will have no permanent injuries.

It'll be OKAY, indeed!

Until next time,
Becca

Keep Your Chin Up

I had an idea in my head for this week's Color My Heart...and it turned out just as I planned.  That doesn't happen very often so I have to draw attention to it!!

I used three different stamp sets.  I very, very easily could have used just two, but I really wanted the sentiment from Keep Your Chin Up because this was going to a friend recovering from knee replacement surgery.

To be completely honest, this was a lot of fussy cutting and took lots of time, but it was worth the effort.

Here are a few pictures of the process:

 The banner in a very light ink in order to know where to place the greenery.

 Used the rolling technique to color the leaves in both Pear and Juniper.

 Used a scrap of the Cotton Candy paper to lengthen the width because 

I trimmed the panel too much on one end.

To make sure my panel goes down where I want it, I partially peel back the foam tape

backing, line it up, stick it down, and then peel off the rest of the tape.

Gotta go.  I'm at the American Christian Fiction Writer's conference this week.  More on that later.

Until next time,
Becca

Lifetime of Happiness	Keep Your Chin Up	Banner Wishes	Brushed Paper Packet	Pear Exclusive Inks� Stamp Pad
Juniper Exclusive Inks� Stamp Pad	Cotton Candy Exclusive Inks� Stamp Pad	Sorbet Exclusive Inks� Stamp Pad	Slate Exclusive Inks� Stamp Pad	Black Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad

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Be Happy

This week for Color My Heart we are using a monochromatic color scheme with Honey, Sunset, and Barn Red.  I stole an idea from one of our CMH challenge participants a few weeks ago who posted this card and turned it into this:

One of the great things about being on a design team where people submit their projects is seeing all the various forms of creative expression.  Since we judge the submissions, it forces me to look at projects critically in the sense that I have to determine what I like, what don't I like, and what would I do differently.  I loved Katrina's card and wanted to CASE it (Copy And Steal Everything). My card has a more "Clean And Simple" feel than hers because CAS happens to be my "go to" style.  I condensed the size of my image by using a smaller tree, a smaller sentiment mounted over top of the tree, cutting the image panel square, and then mounting on white rather than colored cardstock.

I embossed the tree in clear over top of a white panel.  Starting at the bottom, I used a sponge dauber to add Barn Red, moved to the middle with Sunset (using the same dauber without cleaning in between), and then Honey at the top (again with the same dauber).  Lest you think I had some grand design scheme in mind by doing it this way, let me tell you the straight up truth: I had a dauber already inked in Barn Red for another project (which is coming to you in October) and didn't want to clean it.  I then worked backwards by inking in Honey again working at the top, added Sunset to the Honey for the middle, and Barn Red to the Sunset on the bottom again.  The sentiment (from the September promotion "#30yearsofhappy") was stamped in Honey, fussy cut, then edged with the sponge dauber with the residual Barn Red still on it.

Speaking of things coming in October, I'm thrilled to announce that I have joined forces with my drug stamp supplier as a design team member.  I've known Shannon Buck for probably ten years now.  She's the consultant I chose after I stopped being a consultant myself.  My term with her begins October 1, so you'll start seeing projects here and on her blog at www.stampinbuds.com soon.  However, since she supplied all the stamps for this card, I wanted to give her credit.

I've said it before and I'll say it again...my absolute favorite way to create is using the CASE method but putting my own twist on it like I did with this card.  (UPDATED 9/15: Since "Favorite Technique" is the challenge at Heart2Heart this week, I'm linking up over there.  CASE'ing is a technique!!)  However, before I had enough confidence to put my own twist on something, I straight CASE'd from catalogs and other stampers.  If you do CASE something and put it on your own blog, remember to follow the common curtesey rules of linking back to the inspiration piece and not submitting it for publication.

I'm looking forward to seeing what you'll come up with this week!

Until next time,
Becca

Keep Your Chin Up	National Stamping Month #30yearsofhappy	Honey Exclusive Inks� Stamp Pad	Sunset Exclusive Inks� Stamp Pad	Barn Red Exclusive Inks� Stamp Pad	VersaMark� Ink Pad
Ranger� Clear Super Fine Embossing Powder	Craft Heater	Sponge Daubers	Micro-tip Scissors

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Color My Heart with Confetti Wishes

Okay...so I feel like I totally cheated on this card.  There's not a skosh of stamping on it, but who ever said hand made cards always have stamping?

This weeks Color My Heart challenge was to use the colors from the new Confetti Wishes paper pack:  Canary, Thistle, Pacifica, Lagoon, Crystal Blue and Pear.  Thanks to my amazing friend and DT buddy, Marie Flayer, who graciously sent me some of the paper, I cut a sentiment cloud plus a strip of paper from the same sheet to create this:

To conserve paper, I used 1.5" wide and 5.5" long over where I'd cut out the sentiment, overlapped them on my 4x5.25" panel, and put the sentiment back over the top where no one would see. 

I added a few extra touches because they are the things that take a card from "Nice" to "Oh, that's so CUTE!"  My extra touches on this were stitching around the background piece and covering the sentiment with Liquid Glass to make it look like a puffy sticker.  My original idea was to just do Liquid Glass over top of the "HAPPY" but my hand wasn't steady enough and it got outside of the lines.  Then the letters started running together, so I just covered the whole thing.

I cheated in another way, too. I used Honey ink (not on the color palette for the week...bad Becca) to sponge around the edges of the sentiment cloud.  I think that extra bit of shading helps to really define the edges and set it apart.

If you plan to recreate this card, I highly recommend that you be generous with the foam mounting tape under the sentiment cloud, especially if you are going to do Liquid Glass over top.  And be sure to let the Liquid Glass dry overnight before you stick your card into an envelope or you stash of cards.  (Go ahead...ask me why I'm passing along that bit of advice.)

Cheating or not, this turned out exactly as I hoped and, aside from waiting for the Liquid Glass to dry, took about ten minutes to pull together.  Hey...if you're going to cheat, you better make it worthwhile.

Until next time,
Becca

I Never Met a Cupcake...

I combined several challenges for today's card: Color My Heart: Lagoon, Sorbet, and Flaxen; CAS(E) this Sketch #90; and Heart2Heart: Inspired by Food.

The stamps are from a retired CTMH set called A Chocolate Affair.  I stamped the cupcake in Versamark and then used chalk to color.  Remember chalk?  I hardly pull it out any more, but it was perfect to color this little cupcake.  The sentiment actually reads, "I never met a CHOCOLATE I didn't like," so I stamped the top line in white and the bottom line in black.

Now...you see that cool marbling effect.  Here's how I did that.  I set the lid of my Momento Tuxedo Black ink pad right on top of my card.  And it wasn't on purpose.  What's a girl to do but add a whole bunch more and pretend it was the plan all along?  I even added a touch of black sponging around the edges of the top panel to increase deception.

Background paper is CTMH Chalk It Up, Baker's Twine and colored chalk is Stampin' Up!, Q-tips for applying chalk from Johnson 'n Johnson. :)

Time for crit group.  Depending on what they think of my synopsis for "Valley of Shadows" I may need to make consolation cupcakes later today.

Until next time,
Becca

Good Times with Color My Heart

This week at Color My Heart, we are challenging you to use two colors which have stood the test of time: Olive and Smokey Plum.

This was a pretty easy card to do.  I temporarily stuck down a circle and used my sponge daubers to swipe color.  I started on my circle and swiped outward to achieve the streaked look.  I started with Olive and left room for the Smokey Plum next.

I used Spray Pens with water and re-inkers but didn't spray.  Instead, I took the nozzle off and tapped the end against my palm to splatter both colors.  After removing my circle mask, I carefully inked "good" in Smokey Plum, turned my stamp around and carefully inked "TIMES" in Olive, and (after giving my stamp a huff to refresh the ink) stamped inside my circle.

Of course, at the very last instant, my hand wiggled and my sentiment ended up off-kilter.  I had planned to add only one banner. Instead, I added the Smokey Plum banner at an angle that was even with my wonky sentiment, then added a second banner in Olive at an even wonkier angle.  It still bugs me, but my Design Team buddies assured me it almost looked like I planed it that way.  Love those ladies!!

All the stamping was done with the "Good Times" set that comes in the Artbooking Cricut collection.  The stripe on the Olive banner is the notebook paper stamp turned sideways.

I used the same basic layout as I did on this card.

With all the new, fun papers and colors in the CTMH Annual Inspirations catalog that came out at the beginning of the month, it's fun to sometimes be reminded to use those "tried and true" colors.

Until next time,
Becca

Christmas Color

I will readily admit that some of the color combinations our fearless leader over at Color My Heart comes up with leave me scratching my head.  This was one of them.  Sorbet and Barn Red together, yes.  Sorbet and Pear, that works, too.  But Sorbet, Barn Red, and Pear?  I just wasn't feelin' it.  After trying to be clever and come up with something not Christmassy, I bowed to the inevitable pressure of a due date and came up with this:

The thing I like best about this card are the fake enamel dots because I made them myself.  I punched circles using two different sizes from Sorbet and Barn Red cardstock and, after affixing them to the card, covered them with Liquid Glass.  It gives you the same effect as the ones you buy pre-made, but you get to choose your own colors, sizes, and quantities.  LOVE that!

The tree was cut at 3.5" using the Artbooking cartridge.  I created the panel behind it by pulling a couple of retired Christmas sets, grabbing words and small images at random, and placing them on an acrylic block with no particular rhyme or reason other than switching up font sizes and layering in the images.  Without these particular sets, the same effect could be done by using multiple stamp sets (because who has just ONE Christmas set???) or even by creating words from different alphabets.  I stamped them in Pear and then used a Sponge Dauber to add a soft color wash over top.

I made the background for a different idea I had which, after an hour of fussing, just needed to be tossed.  It's the chicken wire background from Distressed Backgrounds.

Since I get to see what the rest of the Color My Heart Design Team comes up with before the new challenge goes live, I encourage you to go see their wonderful, non-Christmassy creations.  They will inspire you!

Until next time,
Becca

Color My Heart with Jubilee

This week at Color My Heart we are using colors from the Jubilee paper packet set to retire in a few days.  I must admit, this paper packet wasn't one I thought I'd use much when it first came out.  WRONG!  The more I play with it, the more I love it.

Both the tag and apple are from the Artbooking cartridge.  I started by inserting the tag at 4.5" then added the apple at 2.5".  I positioned the apple inside the tag then cut.  This process was easier to do with my Cricut Expressions machine but still doable with my new Explore.  You have to do a little more finagling, but it's possible.

I wasn't fussy with cutting my strips of Jubilee paper.  They are random widths and lengths and aren't perfectly flat. Some strips layer over the top of others.  The points don't meet exactly, either, which is why there's a little heart gem covering them up.  None of this is noticeable so it's not worth pulling your hair out as you put a card like this together. 

Once the sunburst pattern was done and trimmed, I placed lots of foam tape around my apple tag and laid it over the top of the sunburst.  I used small bits of foam tape to make sure the areas around the leaf and stem will stay up.

The sentiment was positioned to create a triangle of red with the baker's twine, heart gem, and sentiment banner.

I am also linking this up to Simon Says Stamps for the Emboss It challenge.

And now for my confession...I made this card on Sunday.  It was one of those lazy mornings because our choir is on summer break.  Thinking I had all the time in the world, I decided to work ahead on my CMH Design Team projects.  When I looked at the clock again, it was 10:25  and I was still in my pajamas.  It takes fifteen minutes to get to church and my husband had promised to pick someone up at 10:45 so I had five minutes to take a shower, get dressed, and fix myself up.  Yep...skipped church.  I'll be hearing about that for weeks!

Until next time,
Becca

Altered Tea Can

I love tea.  LOVE it!  And my favorite is Chai.  So it will come as no surprise that I shelled out an outrageous $14.95 for Oprah Chai Tea at Starbucks a couple weeks ago.  I think I got four cups of tea from what was in there, but that's because I also like my tea strong...like three and four bags of tea strong.  At any rate, I had this great tin left over so I decided to decorate it and combine this weeks Color My Heart's Sorbet, Sweet Leaf, and Indian Corn Blue challenge with Heart2Heart's Spice of Life challenge.

The rosette, flower, and leaves were made with Artiste, the letters were made with Art Philosophy.  The patterned paper is from a retired paper pack called Caboodle.  It uses Crystal Blue instead of Indian Corn Blue, but since the polka dots are so small, I figured I was okay.

I filled the center of the flower with beads secured with Liquid Glass--an absolutely critical supply to have on hand for a project like this.

The Sorbet ribbon was from a retired CTMH Red Collection, and the white is from Hobby Lobby.

The best part about this tin is it still has the wonderful Chai aroma. Every time I open it the spicy scent brings a smile.  I don't think I'll be buying another tin, though.  Yummy as it was, I bought it as a celebration for getting my novella turned into the publisher a day early.  Call it a splurge.  Now, I'll just settle for lifting the lid and inhaling while I drink my much more modestly priced Chai from Stash Tea.

Until next time,
Becca

Happy, Happy Birthday

This week at Color My Heart we have some fun, summery colors: Gypsy, Lagoon, Pear, and Sunset.  It took me days to figure out what to do with this one.  I was going to see if I could come up
with a Christmas card just to be different, but in the end, I went with a birthday card.

I used pigment ink to get the nice, strong color.  For the hanging words, I stamped BIRTHDAY onto a piece of cardstock using Keyboard Alphabet leaving plenty of room above the letters.  Then I cut the sides and bottom leaving a long piece above each letter.  I could then glue the tabs to the back of my top panel (4.25x4.25").  For the sentiment, I used Card Chatter - Birthday.  I masked off the bottom half of the stamp and inked one "happy" in Lagoon and the other in Pear.

To add the Baker's Twine, I first punched a tiny, half-circle on the sides of my top panel.  I forget where I saw this technique, but I love how it holds the twine in place.

The best part about a card like this is it's useful for all ages and any gender.

Until next time,
Becca

Three Challenges in One

I am combining two OWH Virtual Card Making Challenges (#3-Paper Piecing for Kids and #4-Red, White, and Blue Birthday) with this week's Color My Heart Challenge: Crystal Blue, Pacifica, and Barn Red.

Time to get ready for BBQ and fireworks.

Until next time,
Becca

Love Note

This week over at Color My Heart, we are working with some lovely pastels: Blush, Cotton Candy, Crème Brulee, Sweet Leaf and Pear.

I mixed two stamp sets for this: Doodle Signs (Hostess Rewards) and Good Times (Cricut Artbooking Collection).  The sentiment was created using "love" from Doodle Signs and "note" from Good Times.  It's amazing the new phrases you can come up with by mixing words from different sets.

The torn note piece was cut with Artbooking and stamped with the coordinating paper lines from Good Times in Pear.  I used a large round sponge to add Crème Brulee over the top and did an extra bit of sponging along the edges.  The hearts were stamped and rolled to create the shading.  For the pink and green hearts, I did that by stamping in the lighter of the two challenge colors, Blush or Sweet Leaf, then rolling the edge of the stamp in Cotton Candy or Pear.  For the Crème Brulee hearts, I achieved the same effect by inking the heart, stamping off, and then rolling the edge in Crème Brulee again for a combined second generation and first generation image.

If you decide to join the fun over at Color My Heart, I challenge you to use two or three different stamp sets to come up with a fun, new phrase.  Be sure to tell us which sets you used to make it. 

Until next time,
Becca

Mosaic Tile

This week for Color My Heart, we are using the colors Honey, Outdoor Denim, New England Ivy, and Olive.  I went back to a technique I learned years ago using snips of paper to create a mosaic tile effect.

Here's a close-up:

I simply snipped pieces of cardstock into small bits and glued them down. The trick is in having all your pieces cut and in the gluing.  I used the large-tip, two-way bonding glue.  I went in small sections, used every color making sure the same colors weren't clumped together, and covered the whole background letting pieces hang off the edge.  When all the pieces were securely affixed, I trimmed the sides before squirting Liquid Glass over the top and smearing it with my finger to cover the entire surface.  The Liquid Glass sealed the paper and covered the areas where the two-way glue was still exposed.

You must, must, must let it dry before you do anything else.  The paper may curl on you, but you can bend it back into shape after it dries.  Did you catch that?  LET IT DRY!!

To match the shine of the Liquid Glass, I used glossy paper for the top panel.

The best part of this card, in my opinion, is the quote.  Love it!

Until next time,
Becca

Color Me Funky

This week at Color My Heart, our combination is Sunset, Olive, and Lagoon. It's also the colors for Color Throwdown this week.  I decided to go funky!

I don't know what it is, but several of my last few cards have all had that side panel thing goin' on.  It just WORKS! 

The background is from the CTMH Paper Fundamentals Basics.  One side is a matte printed pattern, and the other side has a glossy resist pattern.  I used sponge daubers to color the glossy resist side of Champagne.  I then went into my stash of paper and literally just pulled out scraps, cut a V in the end, layered them on top of each other, and stapled the whole thing to my card with colored staples.  I stamped the sentiment from CTMH Holiday Tags in Champagne pigment ink.  The colored panel is 5.5x3.75.

So easy, and I think it will work for either a boy or girl, young or old.

Until next time,
Becca

You & Me: Friends

Since I just got back from my big trip--and because I'm procrastinating on getting some writing done--I decided to sign up for the Online Card Class: Watercoloring.  Yep, it's the last day and I'm starting with Day One, but that's how I roll.

I decided to combine a couple other challenges on this card:
Heart to Heart-A Banner Day
Color My Heart: Buttercup and Hollyhock

The design of the card comes from the first video in class where you are supposed to use a stencil to pool the watercolors.  Didn't have a stencil, tried it with a stamp, didn't work so I sortof cheated by embossing the image with white over the top of my watercolor background.  Not cheated...combined techniques. Yeah...that sounds better.

Here's my supply list:

• Stamps: CTMH Jubilee Workshop on the Go (swirl), CTMH Designed Decor Frame Kit (sentiments)
• Ink: CTMH Hollyhock, Buttercup, and Cocoa; Versamark
• Paper: watercolor paper, CTMH Buttercup
• Accessories: Stampin' Up White Detail Embossing Powder, sequins, Liquid Glass (to adhere sequins), foam mounting tape, white waxy flax

Well, procrastination over.  Time to get this novella done so I'm not pushing my deadline.

Until next time,
Becca

Home is...

Are you loving the RV/Camper trend this year?  So many fun images.  I used Camper Crazy from CTMH for this week's Color My Heart Challenge using Cranberry, Honey, Juniper, and Twilight.

I took waaaaaay longer to get this card done than needed.  But, when you have to do a close up of your card, it's best if you haven't got a bunch of smears.  A bunch!  Then I just fussed and fussed some more.  Good thing it turned out this cute!!

Here's the supply list (CTMH in italics):

• Stamps: Camper Crazy
• Ink: Cocoa and Juniper
• Cardstock: Cranberry and Honey (paper pieced bottom of camper and windows)
• Marking pens: Honey, Twilight, Cocoa, and Copic W3 (gray)
• Accessories: Sanding Kit, Liquid Glass, Sponge Daubers, white gel pen, heart punch, large deckle edge scissors

I think everything is pretty self-explanatory, but here are some things you might not be able to see:  1) the Honey marking pen was used under the Honey cardstock windows because it's really difficult to cut those teensy, tiny pieces; 2) the Liquid Glass is over the Twilight colored banners (didn't even TRY to cut those out of cardstock); and 3) the camper is stamped on the card base and a second, decorated one was mounted over top using foam tape.

The little flag coming off the back was one of those trying-to-cover-a-flub things that worked out to be perfect.  If you look closely, you'll see a place where I got Cocoa ink on the edge of my acrylic block.  When I stamped "HOME is," a bit of it got right under where that red flag is now.  I was going to cover it with the flag, but it looked better higher.  I hand-drew the flag pole with my Cocoa marker.  I got the red flag from the camper image I had stamped in Cocoa on Cranberry cardstock.  It's the awning that's on the right side of the camper with little ruffles hanging off.  I cut off the ruffles and flipped the awning upside down.

The sentiment comes as one block of text.  I cut it in half to separate the saying.  If I were to do this over again, I would stamp "HOME" by itself on the top, and add "is" to the bottom strip of words.  But, after as much time as it took to get this done, I wasn't about to start over again.

As this post goes up, I am on a plane heading back from my mother-daughter trip to Paris.  And, no, we didn't stay in an RV!

Until next time,
Becca