I wanted this to look like a quilt folded back to reveal a lace sheet.  The lace and sentiment are secured to the inner part of the card and only the flap lifts.

Miscellany

I love this card with the multiple layers of embossing.  The French stamp with cherubs in pink ink is one of my favorites.  I bought it in Lock Port New York on one of the best family vacations we ever took.  Great stamp and great memories!

Second Cover of The Stamper's Sampler

A Stamper's Sampler arrived in the mail one day.  They had a few pieces of mine, but I had no clue what would be in the magazine.  What a surprise to find one of my favorite pieces, the boy in the tent, on the cover!  They always keep me guessing!

Aug/Sept 2009 Halloween Card in The Stamper's Sampler

 

My "Boo" card made it into the Halloween section!  But the bat card didn't.  : (

Oct/Nov 2008 Stamper's Sampler Submission

These happy sunflowers were made with the PSX sunflower stamp on a busy background paper.  The script background is from Stampin' Up.

Here's the original card.

Autumn 2008 Take Ten Submission

This card features my father's aunt and his father when they were children.  Bessie and Morton Sparks were their names.  I remember my great aunt Bessie as an old woman sitting on the porch.  I never met my grandfather, as he died tragically when my father was 4 yrs old.  Anytime I get depressed about how hard life seems now, I just look back at how hard it was in that time.

Doodling is Big Feb/Mar 2008 card in The Stamper's Sampler

I've always loved to doodle, but I don't think I'm as creative in it as most artists I've seen.  I really feel like I need to just loosen up and not always fixate on having it just right. Doodling was hot, so I gave it my best shot, and it got published!  My card is on the lower left corner.

The Victorian Scrap Cards

Here are the original cards printed in the June/July 2008 issue of The Stamper's Sampler.

Four Years Later . . .

After my little successes in getting artwork published, life took a difficult turn and left me no energy or creative joy. I changed careers, and in mid-stream, my son needed three surgeries and endured a 4-month mono-like illness that caused him to have to drop out of high school for a semester. Here in Los Angeles, the writers' strike and then the recession took a hit on my husband's work. Stress, stress, stress... and lots of migraines! But the faithfulness of the Lord saw us through those days.

Trying to revive my creative muse, I forced myself to create one summer and came up with a series using Victorian clip art that I loved, and that again was published in The Stamper's Sampler in a two-page article.

Second Submission to The Stamper's Sampler

Giddy and confident over my first success, I tried my hand at the French-fry template and was delightfully surprised when it also got published.

First Cover on The Stamper's Sampler

The card on the cover at the top left was my first submission to The Stamper's Sampler. At the time, I only owned about five stamp pads and 20 stamps, most of which were dregs purchased at a local Joann's that was closing. I submitted the card, which was a template challenge, in June of 2004 for consideration in the Dec/Jan issue. I was just dying to see if my card had made it into the magazine, so I drove to a local stamp shop as soon as it hit the stands, picked up the magazine, and screamed with delight. My first submission had made it onto the cover! It was an especially meaningful moment, as the card featured my mother-in-law and her sister as little girls, and her sister had passed away a month earlier.