I'm wondering where January disappeared to. I'm still reeling from enjoying our two granddaughters, ages 2 and 4, from December 9 to January 9. Of course, everything was put on the back burner during their stay, including any time in the studio. After my quick trip to CHA immediately afterward, I came down with the coughing crud that is going around; that sidelined me until just a few days ago.

I sneaked in here on Sunday and I felt like a beginning crafter, totally overwhelmed with product.

When I last posted, I showed a Christmas card. The next morning, I thought it looked a little bleak.The sentiment had faded into the background and was barely readable (lesson learned!), so I restamped it at the bottom. I also added a stamped ribbon from Midori.

And here's the dressed up version.

So, I've learned another lesson . . . when time permits, I need to take another look at what I've done the next morning!

This last Sunday was my granddaughter's husband's birthday. I needed to do a quick handmade card for a guy. Wouldn't you know that most all of my card stash was more suitable to the female gender. Hmmm! As I previously said, I had not been in the studio for 2 months. I was totally lost. As I moved around, I came upon my collection of Animal Spirit stamps from Earth Art International. The artist, Sue Coccia, makes these wonderful animal designs with intricate images inside each of them. I chose the "Royalty" stamp and off I went!

Earth Art International's Animal Spirit Stamps "Royalty" Stamp

Impression Obsession Clear Rubber Stamp Set (sentiment stamp)

Ranger black embossing powder

Spellbinders 3D Embossing Folder "Need a Rope?" E3DS-006

IMAGINE Crafts' VersaFine in Onyx Black, VersaMark ink, Marker Pen & misc. glitter pens

Hero Arts Ombre Ink - Pool to Navy AF308

So Silk Card Stock & Metallic Card Stock

A2 Card Base -- Conqueror 118# in Diamond White

Adhesive flat-backed pearls

I don't know if you saw the blog hop between StencilGirl Products and Inchie Arts last month. Lisa Lee with Inchie Arts created the most wonderful art piece using the Inchie Arts' Swatch Art Boards, Pan Pastels, and StencilGirl stencils. WOW!

Isn't this gorgeous? It will be a short while before I can pull out my Pan Pastels. This inspiration from Lisa has moved them up the priority list. Wow! You can see the full posting that includes Lisa's how-to by going to this site: http://inchiearts.typepad.com/inchie_arts/2016/01/hopping-with-stencilgirl-day-1-.html

By the way, you can find most or all of these products at Art 'n Soul. They have a new blog site: artnsoulhome.blogspot.com

Thank you for stopping in.

#AnimalSpiritstamps #EarthArtInternational #PanPastels #Spellbinders #IMAGINECrafts #StencilGirlProducts #InchieArts #ImpressionObsession #HeroArts