Count my Blessings

Helloooo!  Are you there?  I really hope someone will be reading my post today!

We've been having some very blustery winds the last few days, so much so that all the leaves have been torn off my pretty sweet potato vines that are planted in pots in the back yard.  I love those vines for their lime green leaves, which add such a summery look to a pot of flowering annuals.  Well, they are pretty no more.  I guess it's time to look for some new plants for those pots... something sturdy that can stand up to 25-30 mile-an-hour winds for a couple of days in a row.  Ugh!  We had winds like this last week too and I thought they were gone, but this morning we woke up to blowing dirt that made this area look like the Dust Bowl.

OK... time for the card!  I made several cards this past weekend and could have made more except I wasn't feeling very creative.  Have you ever been in a creative slump?  I think most of us have been there at one time or another.  I've begun working on Christmas cards and even selected one of my Christmas stations on Pandora to help me get into the mood.  Too bad that didn't work!  I will try again later and hopefully the creativity will start to percolate in my brain. Since it is early October, I'm going to be focusing on fall cards for a little longer.  Then toward the end of the month I'll get serious about Christmas cards.

This stamp set, Count My Blessings, in the Holiday catalog caught my eye right away because of the font.  I liked the images too, but the swirly font really makes this set something special.  I stamped the leaf and acorn clusters in Pear Pizzazz ink on Very Vanilla card stock.  The sentiment is stamped in Early Espresso and the Early Espresso is repeated again in one of the mats.  I'm sorry you can't see how sparkly the ribbon is.  It is the new 3/8 inch Shimmer Ribbon in Pear Pizzazz.  

Yes, I probably could have added the sentiment on a separate layer and perhaps I could have used some Designer Paper to add another design element, but sometimes clean and simple is the way to go.  That clean and classic look is what I try for 90% of the time.  Cards with torn edges, distressed paper, doilies, staples, lace trims, and an abundance of pearls, rhinestones, and sequins just look like someone tried too hard and the end result is usually pretty sad.  I think that look is called "Shabby Chic" but to me it looks just plain shabby.

Here's a quick list of what I used:

Count My Blessings stamp set, annual catalog, page 50, 144790, 20.00

Pear Pizzazz Shimmer Ribbon, annual catalog, page 199, 144153$7.00

Card Stock:  Very Vanilla, 144237, $7.00

                      Pear Pizzazz, 131201, $8.00

                      Early Espresso, 119686, $8.00

Ink:  Pear Pizzazz, 131180, 6.50

         Early Espresso, 126974, $6.50

The host code for October is KTNP764Q

Thank you, dear customers!   Your business, your friendship, and you are greatly appreciated by a very grateful me.

Hugs to all,

Susan

Please use this code before checking out when placing an online order of less than $150 (before shipping and tax).  If your order is over $150, please DON'T use the code.  Then you will get the host rewards.  For the month of October, I will add your name to my Host Code Drawing when you place an order of at least $35 before shipping and tax.  You could be the winner of the host stamp set of your choice!