Shine Brightly

It has kind of been a little of a down day. Tyler emailed (he can email once a week most weeks) and let us know that he will not be able to receive mail for about 6 weeks at a time. This makes us very sad for him because we know that he has really enjoyed getting letters from us, but it is also sad for us because that means that he won't be able to send any either. We have really come to enjoy his almost weekly updates, he is an excellent writer and has done a great job of letting us know where he is and what he is doing. We feel so blessed that he is serving right now at a time when we can use the internet to stay in touch, not even ten years ago that would have been impossible and we would have had to just wait and worry! How this makes me appreciate how we can communicate instantly and give me such compassion for everyone who had to wait months to hear from their loved ones years ago when all they had was the post to communicate by. Those letters must have been very precious, this has given me a very acute appreciation for the days we live in.

I had a chance to make a card (thinking of Tyler, LOL!) with the new "Reach For the Stars" Rummage Bin set and "Astronomy" Scrapblock that Julia designed. This set is so beautiful and very different from the usual stamp art that you might see. And I am seriously in love with Ranger products, they are so easy to use and come in such great colors! For this project the Astronomy Scrapblock was stamped onto plain white paper with Distress embossing ink and then I used Super Fine detail embossing powder and then it was spritzed from a mini mister that had Broken China Distress ink, water and Blue Smoke Perfect Pearls in it. A quick wipe with a baby wipe (or paper towel) to reveal the embossed area and it was good to go. The words background is in Broken China and so is the Shine Brightly. The star was painted with Picket Fence White crackle paint, rubbed with Broken China ink and then some Perfect Pearls in the Blue Smoke were then brushed on. It is very mono-chromatic, but such a soothing combination that I couldn't bring myself to put any pops of color on it.

I have also been stalking my mailman because I am expecting a huge group of stamps from CHF!!!! Some new art lines that I am super excited about and one in particular that has me in a twist because I am so anxious! I can't wait to share more with you!!! Will be sure to share sneaks asap!

hmmmm, that is about it. If you don't mind keeping Tyler in your prayers it would sure be appreciated!

B-