Stampin! with Jaydee

Hi Everyone.  Happy Wednesday

Well... the title of my post might be Snowy Hamlet (because that's the stamp I used on tonight's card), but it also perfectly describes our little neck of the woods.  We had about 4 inches of the heavy wet stuff yesterday and the world looks so magical.  I am hoping to get outside later to take some photos to share with you.

I saw this Penny Black stamp as a recommendation on Amazon whilst I was buying something else and immediately fell in love with it - must be the fact that I am in the Christmas spirit.  One of the things I loved about it though, is the fact that it makes a fabulous winter card - and not necessarily just a Christmas card.  I also loved the fact that it could be colored with so many different mediums.  I was very keen to try out a couple of those different ways this past Sunday - today's card shows the watercolor - night sky - version

I began with some Canson hot pressed water color paper and inked up the stamp with Versafine black ink.  Waited a couple of minutes for it to dry, and then got busy with my Distress Inks and a watercolor brush!

Here's my card:

I decided to back the watercolored image with fun foam and pop it onto a Soft Stone yardstick base.   The Soft Stone was the perfect color - not white - not grey - and seemed to fit the colors perfectly.   

It's one of the very few cards that I make that did not have a sentiment on the outside... I have this THING about NEEDING to put sentiments on the front of cards but, as my dear friend Brenda once said, "you don't always NEED a sentiment on the front - sometimes an image is good all by itself".    I thought this card was one of THOSE times.  So, I stamped my sentiment and greeting on the inside instead.   I finished off the card with some Irresistibles in white to resemble snow.

I really do think this is such a pretty image and I love the tranquility of it - it makes me feel peaceful just looking at it :-)   

On a personal note:

Well... I am (somewhat) on vacation today - just checking and handling urgent email - otherwise, I am off to my craft room to play with my goodies - and will also get a start on our Christmas decorations.  We won't be doing the outside until Friday.  A couple of weeks ago - when the temps were in the high 60s - our neighbors were putting out their Christmas decorations and Lou said "why on earth are they putting up their Christmas decorations now?"  Well, considering it is now in the 20s - and there is 5+ inches of snow on the ground - I think he knows why the neighbors did their decorations when it was in the 60s.... cos, he's going to be VERY cold handling all of those metal objects (like our Nutcrackers) this weekend :-)

I do have a couple of photos to share with you today - they were taken with my iPhone - one was taken at about midnight last night - before we got the heaviest of the snow.  The driveway, under the light, looked so quiet and peaceful.  No cars, people, or animals, had made a mark in the snow and the it was so quiet that the first thing that came to my mind was "not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse"!

This morning dawned and was a slightly dull day - but the wetland and woodland looked magical - and the deer were enjoying a surprise meal.

I'm hoping to get out today with my camera and take some better shots for you.  In the meantime, enjoy the winter wonderland through my iPhone images! :-)

I'll be back tomorrow with another card and Thanksgiving wishes.  In the meantime, warm hugs and prayers for those of you who need a little lift today.

Hugs

Jaydee

Card recipe:

• Stamps:  Snowy Hamlet - Penny Black
• Inks:  Versafine black.  Distress Inks for watercoloring
• Cardstock:  Canson hot pressed watercolor paper.   Soft Stone - Papertrey Ink