Horse Cards

A quick post with some horse cards I made for an online order. It's been a while since I dove into my horse stamps, so it's been fun to revisit some old friends!

First Card: Inkadinkado Horse, unknown sentiment (MFT Radial Stitched Circle Die)
Second Card: Unknown Horse and sentiment
Third Card: Deadbeat Designs Horse, Papertrey Sentiment

CASology 105 - Run!

This week's CASology Cue Card is Run!

Run is not my favourite word in the world - I walk quickly (a lot!) but I only run if someone's chasing me! Still, it's an interesting cue card and will inspire a lot of amazing creations, I'm sure. I went back to an old favourite - an image from Bareback from Stampin' Up. To take it up a notch from plain black and white, I stamped the horses using Royal Satin Kaleidecolor Ink. This adds a subtle punch of colour and some interest. I didn't 'frame' the horses - leaving the ends white so that there is no limit to how far they can run!

Now it's your turn. Before you go, make sure you check out the blogs of the rest of the DT members for more inspiration!

Gillian Ross
Jen Wills
Joyce Mehrberg
Judy Marino
Kimberly Wiener
May Park
Melissa Chipperfield
Tracey McNeely

and our Guest Designers: Lindsey and 

CASology 104 - Pet

  Click to link up to Darnell's birthday party before July 16. 

This week's CASology Cue Card is Pet.

Many of you know that one of my sisters is an equine surgeon. Since she was big enough to know what a horse was, she knew what she was going to do with her life! I make horse cards for her to give to her clients and friends, and I collect horse images and sentiments. This Whippersnapper Designs image is really a fantastic one - it clearly shows the joy that a horse can inspire.

But I felt that it was a little big to use on a CAS card. Solution? 'Crop' it by cutting out only a portion of the image and create lots of white space. I finished the card with an old Stampin' Up sentiment (a quote from Frankenstein's monster, actually!).

And now it's your turn - but before you go, make sure you drop by the other DT members and see what they came up with for your inspiration!

Gillian Ross

Jen Wills
Joyce Mehrberg
Judy Marino
Kimberly Wiener
May Park
Meghan McMillan
Melissa Chipperfield
Tracey McNeely

and our guest designers: Angela and Lindsey

Big News!

By now, most of you know that one of my sisters is an equine surgeon. I often make cards for her to give to friends and clients. But now, she's making a big move - she and her husband are leaving Wisconsin and moving to Virginia! She's busy organizing, packing and saying good bye and I know that one of the hardest good byes will be to a certain 'redhead' named Harley and the people who are involved in helping her learn to ride him in various horse shows.

This Whippersnapper Designs image is perfect for this occasion (almost - I changed the horse's face a bit with some masking and a black pen) - I don't often colour this much, but I was happy to make 3 of these for my sister's friends (along with 20 other much more generic "May the Horse be with you" cards).

CASology 83 - Jump!

This week's CASology Cue Card is Jump!

I guess I must have a sister who loves horses (I do!) because I immediately thought of horses jumping. To keep this card very CAS, I masked a square and sponged only the top and bottom with sky and grass colours (leaving a white area between the two colours). Your eye  is very smart and it 'completes' the square so that it doesn't really look like anything's missing. Having a defined focal point leaves plenty of breathing room for a clean feeling!

As usual the DT has come up with some great interpretations of this week's Cue Card - go check them out and then make sure you join us before the deadline on Sunday at 5:00 pm EST.

Gillian Ross

Jen Wills
Joyce Mehrberg
Judy Marino
Kimberly Wiener
 Maureen Merritt
May Park
Meghan McMillan
Melissa Chipperfield
Tracey McNeely

and this week's Guest Designer:Piali

Happy New Year!

Tomorrow is Lunar (Chinese) New Year and the beginning of the year of the Horse. I'm well prepared for this occasion, with a whole drawerful of horse stamps!

Red and gold are lucky colours in Chinese design. I embossed my Deadbeat Designs abstract horse and (awesome!) sentiment in gold on red mirror cardstock. I used an embossing buddy to ensure minimal stray embossing powder. I had to 'buff' the panel to get the extra embossing buddy-stuff off after, but I'm pretty happy with my first try at embossing on mirror card! I made the cardbase out of red mirror card.

FFC23 - Merry (Horsey) Christmas

A gentle reminder that there is still time to play along with the current Festive Friday Challenge!

It's been a while since I made any horse cards for my horse-surgeon sister. I bought this stamp at Crate and Barrell just before Christmas (but don't worry, it was already on sale!). This is a Scandinavian  toy horse from Yellow Owl Workshop and I think he works really well with the barn on this inspiration photo. After I stamped him, I went through my Christmas stamps, looking for a Scandinavian-looking sentiment. No, I didn't really know what that would look like either, but I figured I would know it when I saw it! lol! In the end, this Stampin' Up sentiment with the lines works perfectly to provide grounding for the horse, in a fairly neutral font.

The deadline is Wednesday at midnight PST (which is 3 am EST).

CASology 50 - Free!

This week's CASology Cue Card is Free!

I think I may have been the "Einstein" that suggested this one and over the weekend there was some discussion amongst the DT members as to how to interpret this cue card. By the end of it, there were lots of ideas (as you'll see when you visit their blogs!). I even thought I could have used my "Wheels" card for this cue card!

We knew that people (at least American and some Canadian people) would be making patriotic-type cards as we approach Canada Day and Independence Day, but of course our participants stretch further than the borders of these two countries! In honour of my American family and friends, here's another FREE card for you, inspired by both the card above (layout) and yesterday's birthday card for Struan (colours):

So feel FREE to make a card that represents FREE however you interpret it. How about that shopkeeper's sign 'Unattended children will be given an espresso and a free puppy'? (I couldn't find my puppy stamps!)

I went with horses - these ones from an old SU! set look especially free to me, as they gallop through their misty field. I decided to make a one-layer card, which is pretty much as CAS as it gets. I masked and sponged a small area, used dramatic black silhouettes and left lots of white space. Even this sentiment has been masked - it's the last line of a much larger sentiment from Door County rubber stamps. This one will be given to my sister, the equine surgeon. Unfortunately, she sometimes needs horse sympathy cards  and they're hard to find in Hallmark!

Now it's your turn to interpret FREE for your creation this week. Before you do, drop by the blogs of the other DT members and see where they went with this cue card!

Tracey McNeely
 Rosemary Dennis
Melissa Chipperfield
Meghan McMillan
Maureen Merritt
Judy Marino 

and this week's Guest Designer: Vicky

Pony Party!

Our little friend Trinity turned 4 the other day. She loves ponies. That same day, I got a new little DeNami pony in the mail (along with his 3 little farm friends), so it was the perfect opportunity to ink it up!

No clever CAS design here - just pure fun and everything a 4 year old loves - sparkly bright colours and her name in big letters!

As well as the DeNami pony, I used a There She Goes balloon and Clear and Simple Stamps' Duo Alphabet (you get the solid and the outline stamps for each letter). (I used the period from the set to make the confetti).

After dinner on Thursday, Kate and I walked over to Trinity's house to deliver her cards (Kate made one too), and her gifts. She and Kate immediately started playing with the Playmobil horse set we had brought.

She reminds me of another little 4 year old who has now grown up into an equine surgeon (my sister) - I'm sure I'll be using this little guy again very soon - I haven't made many horse cards for a while!

Words for Horse Lovers

Words are hard to find when someone dies. We struggle to say something that will provide comfort, when we know that nothing we can say will really help. Often we don't say anything, worried that our words won't be good enough.

I find myself in a similar situation when making my horse sympathy cards. I am the first to admit that I am more animal respecter than animal lover. But my sister is a true animal lover. Her whole life is devoted to making their lives (and deaths, sometimes) better.  Over the years, I have collected some good 'horse sympathy' sentiments like the ones used in these cards, from  Door County Rubber Stamps, along with the Starving Artistamps horse image.

When I made this card a couple of weeks ago, I had no idea how much meaning it could have for animal lovers. I made it as a cheerful card, but my sister immediately saw something else. A rainbow is the subject of a poem about animals, and is the perfect imagery for pet sympathy cards.

The Rainbow Bridge

inspired by a Norse legend

By the edge of a woods, at the foot of a hill,

Is a lush, green meadow where time stands still.

Where the friends of man and woman do run,

When their time on earth is over and done.

For here, between this world and the next,

Is a place where each beloved creature finds rest.

On this golden land, they wait and they play,

Till the Rainbow Bridge they cross over one day.

No more do they suffer, in pain or in sadness,

For here they are whole, their lives filled with gladness.

Their limbs are restored, their health renewed,

Their bodies have healed, with strength imbued.

They romp through the grass, without even a care,

Until one day they start, and sniff at the air.

All ears prick forward, eyes dart front and back,

Then all of a sudden, one breaks from the pack.

For just at that instant, their eyes have met;

Together again, both person and pet.

So they run to each other, these friends from long past,

The time of their parting is over at last.

The sadness they felt while they were apart,

Has turned into joy once more in each heart.

They embrace with a love that will last forever,

And then, side-by-side, they cross over… together.

© 1998 Steve and Diane Bodofsky. All Rights Reserved

Horse Sympathy

Another horsey sympathy card using Deadbeat Designs Sketchy Horse.  I used this image couple of weeks ago and was struck by the (completely irrelevant) fact that he had no feet but that thought inspired this misty treatment, created by daubing white pigment ink onto the panel around his legs. I used a blender pen to put white ink into his blaze.

My poor sister has had a rough week and needs a couple of these sympathy cards for her clients.

Thank you for all  your kind wishes - I'm feeling much (not quite completely) better, but it's birthday week for my daughter and there's much to be done, including a pre-birthday party for her and one of her friends who can't come to her party next week. I'm taking the two of them for a mani-pedi and then back here for pizza and cheesecake (not sure I'll be eating that - crackers still sound good to me!)

Horse babies

A couple of final horse cards before I send them all off to my sister's dressage trainer. This adorable Printworks image makes the perfect card for horsey people to send to friends who have a new little 'colt'. (I did a 'filly' version as well!)

I used the grosgrain texture plate again and another new Verve sentiment.

This Whippersnapper image is also great for horsey baby cards. And here's a rare (for me) appearance of patterned paper!

Now it's time to load them all up and put them in the mail. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

CFC91 - Hi Ho Silver!

This week, CASual Fridays has a completely fun challenge that just SCREAMED for a horsey card (I'm sure you all remember the Lone Ranger and his horse, Silver):

I am near the end of making a stack of cards for my sister's dressage trainer. This is a design that I just LOVE. This abstract Deadbeat Designs image is perfect for this minimalist treatment of 3 different embossing powders. And there's not much else to say about this card!

But I do have a response to a comment I received yesterday that made me laugh out loud about how I manage to achieve crisp stamping - is it the ink or the technique of stamping that I use? Well, to be serious for a minute, I'm back to using mostly Stampin' Up (old fabric) ink pads. I find as long as the inkpads are inked properly and the stamp is covered properly, they work pretty well most of the time. I do find that different stamps (clear vs rubber) take different ink differently. I usually use Whisper White for my card front panels - it's lovely and bright and smooth. And as for my technique. If only you could see how many of those pinwheels hit the recycling bin yesterday. I guess it is technique (and some luck), but since I have to just keep stamping until it happens, I'm not sure I can explain it to you!

Finally, if you've never played in a challenge, but would like to (or if even if you have), here's an interesting post that Jackie Rockwell wrote that gives some good tips and pointers for getting the most out of your experience!

CFC90 - Horsey Thanks!

This is a quick post for this week's CASual Fridays challenge:

And a quick reminder about this week's CASology cue card - flame (this could qualify - I certainly hope you'll be playing along if you haven't already!)

This is another card for my sister's dressage trainer - I'm up to about 40 cards and just about ready to send them out to her.

This was a fun technique that just evolved as I was playing around with the Muse challenge (I ended up going in a different direction for that card). I stamped a large circle in Daffodil Delight, then a smaller one in Summer Sun and then finally an even smaller one in More Mustard. Once it was all dry, I stamped the (unknown) horse and sentiment in Onyx and embossed with clear powder.

I liked it so much that I also made this one, with the same technique, although it does not qualify for this challenge:

Tomorrow I'll be back with this week's CAS(E) This Sketch card at 10:00 - see you then!

Pretty Ponies

I'm making more horse cards - this time for my sister's dressage trainer, who was the recipient of one of the sets of cards I made for my sister to give to her friends at Christmas. For many of them, I'm reusing old designs, with small changes, but I'm really happy with this one, which I have not done before. It's so simple to do, but it's quite pretty, I think!

I stamped the Starving Artistamps horse 3 times in versarmark and embossed in clear. Then I sponged a line of each colour of my Flannel Kaleidecolor inkpad to create the background.

I hope she likes rainbows as much as I do!

First Horse of 2013

This is my first horse card of 2013. I make them for my sister, the equine surgeon, to give to her friends and clients. This image is from Coronado Island, the sentiment is from Door County Rubber Stamps.

To create the background, I started with 5 different blue Copics. With the darkest, I coloured a line about 1/2 inch thick, and went over it more times near the bottom than the top. I worked my way up, using a lighter colour each time, and overlapping with the colour below. At the end, I used my lightest shade and went over the whole thing until it was translucent, it was so wet. Once dried, it turned into this beautifully blended sky.  I simply stamped the image in black and then put the card together.

You may have noticed that I have customers with unique needs - between the bells and the horses and Christmas cards for 2 church congregations this year, I think I'll have no problem keeping myself busy and out of trouble!

Final Horse Cards. For Now.

These are the last two designs I made for the sets of cards I made for my sister to give to her friends and clients.

And this is the last scheduled post due to my weekend trip to deliver these cards to my sister in Wisconsin. (I came back late Sunday night, and I knew I wouldn't have time to make a card before Monday morning.)

Unfortunately, I don't know who made either stamp (they're unmounted rubber). For the first one, I used Silver Lightning embossing powder - it's so hard to get a photo of how pretty it really is - it has glitter in the powder and it catches the light so nicely! I used brushed silver for the main panel and Cherry Cobbler for the mat.

On the second card, it's looking rather Pumpkin Pie-ish, but it's really More Mustard, and Soft Suede. The ink is my Spectrum Kaleidecolor pad - one of my favourite ways to get a 'wow' out of simple stamping!

Tomorrow it's time for CASology again - be sure to come back at 9:00 for another inspiring Cue Card!

More Horse Cards - Day 2

I'm in Wisconsin this weekend, on my annual trip to visit my sister, so this post is scheduled. Here are two more cards I made for my sister to give to her friends.

I'm sorry, but I have no idea who makes this horse stamp. (ETA - Lura has helped me out (Thank you so much, Lura!)- these stamps are Wild Horse Canyon stamps - I have two sizes, but I could not tell you if they are large and medium, or medium and small.) (the horse I used on the first card is bigger than the one on the second).

While I was making the first card with the 'herd', I realized that this horse made me think of the Longchamp logo, and that inspired me to make the second.

I used Marina Mist, Baja Breeze, London Fog and Sahara Sand on the first card, matted the image panel on Marina Mist and a Soft Stone card base.

For the second card, I used Versafine Onyx ink and clear embossing powder (Waltzingmouse sentiment) and then used Kaleidecolor Spectrum ink with Papertrey's Super Stripes to add a pop of colour.

Another Horse Card

It seems only appropriate that while I am away visiting my sister, the equine surgeon, I show you the rest of the horse cards I made for her to give her friends.

This is a very simple treatment of a Rubber Cafe stamp. I love that it looks hand drawn. Stamped in Versamark Onyx, and embossed in clear, matted onto black and then a Soft Stone card base.

CTS6 - Another Horse Card

Yes, I'm still slowly churning out the horse cards I'm making for my sister. For this one, I was inspired by this week's layout for CAS(E) This Sketch (again!).

I have to admit when I first looked at this sketch, I got stuck on what's actually there. This happens to me with most sketch challenges. It takes me a while to look beyond (in this case) the big flowers, and make it my own. Quite often when I'm stuck, I try to either (or both!) minimize the elements, or make it one layer. Changing shapes is another option. But I try to stay true to the sketch - here, I made the main image smaller, changed the shape and took the sentiment out of the main image, but I think (hope!) it's still recognizable as the original sketch.

The stamp is Inkadinkado, the colours are London Fog and Midnight Muse.