Friday, January 2, 2015

Hello, how are you...

Good morning!

Wow! Thank you for such a warm welcome back. It was a pleasant surprise after my six month hiatus from not just blogging but coloring and card making all together. I'm not ashamed to admit that I've been a bit nervous about jumping back into it. My coloring skills are more than a little rusty but it feels good to hold a copic in my hand again so I'm just gonna let it be what it will be until I'm fully back in the groove. ;)

Yesterday I promised a brief explanation of my absence and first things first, the family is all healthy and happy. No new health scares or anything worse befell us in 2014, everything is good in that regard. And no, I wasn't kidnapped by pirates... though if we are talking Captain Jack Sparrow, I certainly wouldn't have minded that scenario. LOL
Seriously though, it wasn't any one big thing that knocked me out of commission but more like a hundred different things. I certainly never intended to take such a long break from crafting and creating but each time I tried diving back into it something else seemed to come up. And before I new it the new year was hear. 
There was good, an entire kitchen remodel. There was bad, a leaky roof right into my craft room. There was work stuff and there was play stuff. Dog stuff and cat stuff (my senior aged yorkie is diabetic and has gone blind and a new kitten recently joined the family). My camera is on the fritz (hence the slightly fuzzy pics) but my Kindle is working just fine (hello Outlander series). And just a need to cut back on my internet time for a while.

Now I'm ready to dive back into card making, refreshed and ready to use some of the stamps I've recently acquired in anticipation of my return. Like Honey here from Roberto's Rascals. I love her winter style! Unfortunately when I started coloring her up I realized that my Copic color chart is MIA after the roof leak that I previously mentioned. It must have gotten lost in the clean-up and I felt like I was coloring blind without that trusty piece of paper. So the blend on her sweater isn't as smooth as it could have been but I'm going to take some time this weekend to make a new chart and be better prepared for next week's cards. Which brings me to one key change that I will be making around here. I know in the past that I've kept this blog going with posts seven days a week but this year I am cutting back to five days, taking the weekends off for other things. I think this will help stave off possible burn out and keep me fresh and excited to be here doing my thing and sharing it with all of you.

So thanks again and enjoy your weekend... I'll see ya again on Monday. :)       
 


Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill and Copic X-Press It
paper- Simple Stories (Snow Fun)
stamps- CC Designs (Roberto's Rascals Honey), Craft's Meow (sentiment), Papertrey Ink (stitches)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and espresso truffle, Prima old road and shabby tote
American Crafts fleece heart
buttons
Silver Smooch
Copic markers:
skin- E000, E00, E11, R00, R20, RV14
hair- E50, E51, E53, E31
eyes- E34, BG000
clothes- BG70, BG72, BG57, B37, B39, W3,W5, W7, W9, YG03, YG95, YG99, BG10, E81, E40, E41, 0
ground- E43, E44

21 comments:

theCook said...

Hello and welcome back! I really love that Honey image, love the way you colored her and the paper and the sweater match!
Love that she looks like she's sitting on a wooden floor...

Juls said...

Love it, your colouring looks fab & I love the knotted background :-) xx

Larisa said...

Happy New Year Amy! What a very cute image and a lovely card.

Pöydän kulmalla näpertelijä said...

Fab card! Love the dp you've chosed for that gorgeous image.

Marianne said...

I think we would all be very happy if you could manage only 3 posts a week. And you won't hear me complaining about your colouring skills either. Love how your combined the blue and the teal.
Marianne x

Kathy Straw said...

Welcome back! I love how you always seem to find the perfect papers for the images you colour Your colouring is gorgeous!

~* Jay Jay *~ said...

I'm happy that you are back to crafting! I always loved your stuff and I still do! Wonderful card! I love the colors and the pattern paper.

Hugs,
Jay Jay

Creations by Shirl said...

Great posting! And love your card...
I'm sure your kitchen up-do must be gorgeous.....

Julie D. Richards said...

I think her sweater is gorgeous.

I haven't posted to my blog for all of this last year. While you were away I lost my pop on Mother's day and my mom on Thanksgiving. Glad 2014 is over.

Heidi Brawley said...

AWE that sweater paper is PERFECT for this cute stamp!!!! I think your coloring is Amazing as always!!!! Love it!!!!
Have a Wonderful weekend doll!
Hugs, Heidi & Brooke

Ellen H. said...

Glad to see new cards and to hear everything is fine. You probably don't know me, I discovered your pretty cards when you were not here; so warm hi :D

Holly AKA KopyKat said...

OMGosh welcome back. This is so super cute!!! I have this stamp, but I need to get her inky. Love the coloring and honestly, it looks perfect, don't worry. Hope you find your chart so you feel better. I had to take a month and a half off too, just burnt out but then I was glad to get started again. Welcome back and Happy New Year!

grace said...

Welcome back!! I started to worry, but I'm glad to hear everything's okay~ I can't wait to see more of your cards this year!!

Islander Girl said...

I'm so glad to hear everyone is doing well! Sorry about your Yorkie, I would do anything for my Yorkie-pie! (^_^) Love seeing your work again! Take care!

Have A Scrap Happy Day said...

Welcome back!!! I was wondering what happened. Despite the loss of your Copic chart, you did a fab job!!! Crafting should be fun with no pressure. Gosh, for me to post 5x/wk. would make me crazy. Glad all is well and again, welcome back.

gobeagirl said...

You know I woke everyone up to let them know that you are still with us! :O) I know we are weird, but I think you understand how much we all missed you. I am glad to read that you aren't going to be posting on the weekends. You need some time off. I also don't think you have lost your touch at all my friend. This card is so cute! I love her and her outfit. Ok, now what is your knew kitten's name? We have a couple of new kittens in the house as well. Long story. lol... All is good on this side of the state! Hope all is good with your home now. Hugs Lisa

RiNNE said...

So so happy to see you back. I know we haven't spoken in a while but I got all worried and kept checking back to see if you had posted anything new. What a big sigh of relief then to hear you were just taking a break. But so sorry to hear about your roof, craft room, doggie. :(. Glad to also hear you'll be taking less days-- I totally understand about getting burned out and needing some time for non-crafty things (I, myself, haven't blogged since October). Anyway, your 2015 cards are just as fabulous and your coloring is superb!! (I am nervous about coloring again too). Take care, Amy! Happy NY!

Leanne said...

So happy to hear that everyone is happy and healthy. Congrats on the new addition and hugs to your Yorkie, poor thing. I can understand the need to take a step back and re-evaluate. I can also understand the burn out part. I have totally been enjoying not doing anything remotely crafty the past couple of weeks. I see although you lost your coloring chart you haven't lost your coloring touch. Love this card!
Again welcome back Amy!! We've all missed you!

Barbara Sproatmeyer (LM2) said...

Happy New Year and welcome back. :) I just wanted to share a card I did with your stamps and had such a fun time coloring them. Love the Mason Jar - so many possibilities!

http://forgottenscraps.blogspot.com/2015/01/mermaid-and-mason-jar.html

Lysa said...

Welcome back to blog land! I definitely missed seeing your fabulous coloring & creations! Your coloring is such a great source of inspiration!! Happy 2015 😃

Stephanie said...

I am so happy to see that you are back! And am glad to hear that you are doing well and didn't go through any big catastrophes! Love your card, your blending looks great!