Say what?!? We’re back??? Heck ya!!! Whoo-hoo!
Y’all, life got crazy for most of the Squirrel Squad, so we opted to take a few months off from posting, but we were excitedly discussing the possibilities for when we reconvened and I’m happy to announce that we are hopping today! To remind you, we have monthly themes and the goal is to make a project for the theme that uses supplies we have “squirreled away”. 😉 For August, the monthly prompt is Summer/Vacation. As you might recall, we also include either a specific supply or a technique we must use. That is my favorite part of our little (there is just 6 of us) collaboration… I love seeing the personality of each of us revealed in the way we interpret the theme using supplies from our stash, many of which tend to be old, retired, or simply forgotten about. It’s the perfect occasion to use those items we just had to have… and then never used once we got it in our stash. Before we take a look at my project, here is the hop list so you can see how all the Squirrels interpreted the theme:
- Marie Bingaman
- Karen Page – YOU ARE HERE
- Lounon Riviere
- Anna Mahtani
- V Fairchild
- Bory Yankova – taking this month off
This card uses so many things I had to have… most coveted of all is the Clustered Leaves die from Simon Says Stamp. I wanted this thing so bad for so long and finally broke down in 2020 during a Simon brand sale… and then I did nothing with it. And the flower? Another Simon exclusive die called Cosmos Stem, this one bought in 2019, also never used. I used Wild Honey Oxide ink over yellow cardstock to achieve the variant in color on the flower. The background die called Lattice Frame, which was bought from Tessler Crafts at a stamp show also back in 2019, has been through the die cutter only once prior to this card. You might remember it here in a project I did for the now defunct Create and Inkspire. I had this already die cut panel in a baggie of backgrounds waiting for its turn, so its like a double win that the die has been neglected *and* I used up an extra die cut piece! I thought about using some kind of fancy paper or finish for the lattice, but the plain white on white allows the floral die cuts to shine while adding interest in the background. I struggled big time with the sentiment. The only “summer” sentiment I had was this one from Jane’s Doodles Summer Icons. But “Hello Summer” isn’t really a card I would actually send. And y’all… my brain kept insisting that I use a Simon Says Stamp since I was using all their products (yeah, forgot that background die wasn’t theirs 🤦♀️). So I dug through my Simon stash and found this “Missing You” sentiment in their Some Bunny set. Now let me rationalize why I’m using it here in a summer/vacation theme. See, my bestie and I used to see each other every summer, twice in fact. In June I’d go stay a week with her and in July she’d come stay a week with us. That hasn’t happened in quite awhile, and I miss those days, and her, so much! So its a little summer and a little vacation, but not exactly. Which is how my brain works… not exactly. 🤣 Here’s the same card with my preferred sentiment:
Tell me in the comments below if you have ever actually mailed a “Hello Summer” card! Heck, I’m lucky if any of my cards ever see an envelope, much less get mailed. But this one should make its way to central Florida… providing I can find where I hid my stamps. That’s it for me this month, but you still have 4 other stops to make to see what my sweet friends have packed in their summer suitcase for you!
Next up is the amazing Lounon from Craft Me, Craft Moi!
Thanks for dropping by today!
Misplaced Mojo 
[…] you are hopping you should come from the blog of Karen and after me, I invite you to hop to Anna’s blog to discover her beautiful […]
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Oh Karen! I got those clustered leaves from SSS too, but the outline version and like you, I never got to use it! You inspired me to break it out and give it some love. Beautiful card! I hope you get to spend time with your bestie soon!
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Oh, I wanted the clustered leaves stencil, stamp, outline… All.The.Versions. I’m so glad I made myself chill out and just get one! I rationalized that I could make my own stencil with the die, so I was getting 2 uses for the 1 purchase. But honestly, I’d have to use this thing 20 times before I got my money’s worth from it. I’d love to see what gorgeousness you create with your version!
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[…] Karen […]
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They look so pretty Karen ! I think I may have made cards with Hello Summer/Winter/Fall… but I rarely have a recipient in mind when I make them. I like the card format even if they are not sent 😉
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Thanks! And, I guess I am very practical, so making cards I will likely never mail out seems like a waste of my time and supplies. I’m not very good about repurposing a card afterwards. I could have left it Hello Summer and changed it to sympathy or whatever down the road, but at that point the mood is lost, and it would be harder to find the coordinating papers and ink. There are a couple cards in my stash that are in envelopes along with 4 or 5 potential sentiments and some foam tape, so I can pick a sentiment as needed. I did that when I thought I was going to sell my cards, which is laughable when I think about it now!
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I love this card! The flower on that crisp background with a bit of blending and the leaves cluster (a die I also had to have and haven’t used yet)! And I’m glad you changed the sentiment! Especially after your justification! Haha! Gorgeous work!!!!
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Thanks V! And once again I feel like we were on the same creative wavelength…. flowers and stubborness! 😉
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Such a gorgeous card, Karen! Love the flower die and the yellow color you chose screams summer 🙂 I hope you’ll spend time again with your friend soon! I don’t really send “Hello Summer” cards: summer is too short here so that by the time card arrives it might be already over (even if it takes two days for the post) 😀
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LOL! That is about how long my fall and spring seasons are. Where I live it is mostly summer and winter. Thank you for the sweet words, Bory 😘
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Hiya Buddy! This card is so lovely, and I agree with you about the white-on-white background really setting the flowers off nicely. I hope you get to see your bestie sooner rather than later! 🙂
~Marie
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Thanks Marie! Me too 😉
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