Fall Break boxing in Louisville

My kids are on fall break for a few days this week.  Yesterday, Daddy's Favorite Princess and I went to Louisville to look for the new Who Killed Colonel Sanders boxes.  I have been thinking about hiding a Clue series myself and wanted to find these boxes.   We left home at 7, stopped at McDonalds, and stopped to find a box at a rest area on the way.

We arrived in Louisville around 9:30 our time and found the first few boxes rather easily.  With the route that I chose to get us around the city, in a way I thought was most efficient, we discovered who the killer was, what the weapon was, and the room quickly.  The series has 21 boxes and we found 18.  Most of the time, when we box in Louisville, we visit cemeteries.  We really enjoyed all the places that these boxes took us.  

I planted a box while we were there and we left 2 hitchhikers and found none :(  I really like hitchhikers and rarely find them.  I will keep making them because I enjoy them.  I have an idea for a large series of hitchhikers that I can use my scraps to carve.  

Altogether, we looked for 23 and found 20.  I was worried that we would not be able to find them all in one day but we actually made it home before dark.  The weather was great, even though we drove home in rain.  

It's Fall Y'all and some boxing

 

It's Fall Y'all: Autumn

This is my card for jlsd0218's "It's Fall Y'all" LTC swap.  My card is called, "Autumn."  For this tracker, you were supposed to use some sort of embellishment.  As you can see, I used eyelets.  I bought them a long time ago but I don't know if I ever used them.

THIS was the inspiration for my card.  I considered carving a tree blowing in the wind but couldn't find just the right image.  

For the background, I used my Geli Plate.  I have been having problems with my plate lately.  Can they dry out or go bad?  I bought new paint at the end of last year and thought it may be the problem.  So I got new paint and it worked better.  I'm very happy with how the cards turned out.

Haubstadt, Ind

I went letterboxing last Saturday and had a great time.  The weather was beautiful and I found all 7 boxes that I looked for.  

I started off in Haubstadt looking for a box that someone planted passing thru. I also explored a nearby park.  Next month is my 10 year letterbox anniversary and I have been thinking about planting a ten box series.   I checked out a park that used to have a few trails.  Now it is a disc golf course.  I think I will plant there anyway if I can get my butt in gear and carve the stamps. 

Owensboro, Ky

Then I went to Owensboro, Ky.  Big jump, I know.  There is a new boxer there and she has planted a bunch of boxes.  I went over back in July and got some of the boxes.  This time I got all of them but one that is inside a library.  

A while ago, I got a message that one of my boxes in Owensboro was missing.  The area had flooded and the box washed away.  We went on a field trip to an orchard just 2 miles away and I had to check while we were so close.  I found the box!  It was in a pile of flood debris.  It was in bad shape so I cleaned it up and rehid it in a better place last weekend.  

I was great to be out boxing again.   I love this weather and all the awesome stamps :)

Autumn Craft & Swap

These are my cards for aMAZEing adventure frogs "Autumn Craft & Swap 2020".  There is no theme for these swaps and I usually make something for the season or holiday.

This card is kinda the fall version of my Water Lily card.  I cut light tan texture paper to card size, laid a wood grain stencil on, and rubbed Walnut Stain Distress Ink thru the stencil.  Then I sprayed the card with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist Woven Burlap.  I cut the top corners off to make it look like a tag and rubbed the same distress ink around the edge of the paper.

When I had the bleeding tissue paper out to make my camping cards, I made some extra for the leaves of this card.  I painted water on watercolor paper, laid the bleeding tissue paper down, and I added a little more water on top.  Once that was dry, I stamped and embossed my leaf stamp, and cut them out.

Autumn Craft & Swap '20: Pretty Maple Leaf

You may recall that the water lily card has vellum and text papers.  So I added vellum and scrapbook paper to this set too.  I loved using thread on the other card and used twine on this one.  I think it needs a little extra color but I'm happy with it.

Brads

Brads: Patience 

Way back in the spring, I participated in Team Awesome Pants's A-Z w/Thee LTC swap.  I never made a blog post for those cards but I plan on it.  When she sent the cards back to you, she sent a surprise.  The surprise was brads.

She then made an LTC swap where you were supposed to make a card with the brads you received.  It was when I was working full time and I didn't really want to make the cards.  I also wasn't crazy about the brads I got.   But I felt guilty throwing the brads away and I didn't want to mail them back.

My brads were tiny, brightly colored birds.  I didn't like them because they were too small and the colors were too bright.  I went thru my paper stache looking for something loud that fit the birds.

I found this old pad of paper that I used a few years ago in a Bind it All swap.  You had to make some kind of book using your BIA.  I made little recipe books in the shape of aprons.  I thought they were cute.

I used scraps from that book to make these cards.  The cards also have a plain brown border.  My cards are called, "Patience" because the brad bird is waiting for the eggs to hatch.  You used to be able to make a synopsis of your "box" on the Box Details page.  But you can't anymore.  So I put in the Keyword box, "tapistryingmypatiencewiththesebrads".  XD

Camp Life LTCs

Brief life update: On Monday, July 27th, I was fired from Rural King for not wearing a face mask.  I have ordered my home school curriculum and it should arrive on Friday (7/31).  I hope to start our home school adventure on August 10th. 

(7/29)With loosing my job, have a lot of free time and jumped right into making cards.  This is my card for the "What is your life?" swap.  My card is called, "Camp Life." 

I thought about making a geli print background but went with the bleeding tissue paper because it is just so easy.  You brush or spray water on paper, lay the bleeding tissue paper down, and you can add more water if you wish.  When they dry, the tissue paper falls right off.  It's so easy.  I'm using it on another card too while I have it out.

What is your life?: Camp Life

Once the cards were dry (I used a cheep watercolor paper) I stamped and embossed my stamp.  Then I glued the whole thing to brown scrapbook paper.  Nothing exciting but I like it, and like creating and being artsy again <3

Life Update & Some Boxing

Hi.  I'm still alive :)  I haven't made a blog post in a while.  I had a little bit of free

Western Ky Botanical Garden

time and decided to send out an update. 

So, I was a stay at home mom for 13 years.  Then I worked part time at a day care for 2.5 years.  When the corona virus hit, people stopped sending their kids to the day care.  I thought I would be off for 2 weeks.  But after 6 weeks of not working and hearing almost nothing from the day care, I started looking for a job at an essential business.   

I now work full time at Rural King, where I am on my feet for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.  During the first 2 weeks, I could barley walk when I got home in the evenings.  My husband cooked supper those first 2 weeks because I was so exhausted.  I have very little time or energy for letterboxing.  

Elmwood Cemetery

Any LTC swap that I didn't finish before I started working at "The King", I dropped from.  Some of them I was very excited about and had images on rubber, ready to carve.  I just didn't have the energy to do it.  My Etsy shop has been on and off  this whole time.  I get an order or 2 and I am ok.  But then I get a ton, overwhelmed, and behind and close it up for a bit.  

I am already off on weekends so I was off today for Independence Day.  And I spend most of the day letterboxing.  I got 4 boxes in Evansville, 9 in Owensboro, 1 cootie, and I planted one.  It was so nice to got out and box.  

Things should get better.  My husband has decided that we should home school our kids this fall.  So I will quit my job or drastically cut my hours and I'll be home with my kids.  I'll be able to carve stamps and make cards while the kids do school
work.  

That is it for now.  I know I'm behind on a few blog posts for cards.  Maybe I can type them up this evening.  Hope you are all doing well :)

PS-Blogger has changed the website and it may take me a while to figure it out. 

How do you relax? LTC

How do you relax? into the woods I go...

I joined Thompson Whangdoodles, "How do you relax?" tracker and my first thought was take a walk.  When I get stressed I like to get some fresh air.

I carved my stamp and then started thinking about how to make the card.  I really like Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Inks/Oxides.  They are my "go to" for card backgrounds.  I have over 50 distress ink/oxide ink pads and I have never once used them to ink up a stamp.

I inked my stamp with Peeled Paint Distress Oxide ink and stamped it on dark green paper.  The oxide effect is really neat.  I should have carved my stamp a little smaller but I am happy with how these cards turned out.

Due to the corona virus, I have been out of work for 3 weeks (as of April 13).  During this time I have carved almost 20 stamps.  You can say that carving stamps and making LTCs helps me to relax.  Sometimes people send bonus cards in swaps and I decided to make an extra card for carving stamps and making LTCs.

How do you relax?
 Carving Stamp & Making LTCs

At first I got out my Gelli Plate pulled a print but I was not happy with it.  I had some extra prints and used those for this card.  Some of these are leftover from previous swaps.  A few are from the very first time I used my Gelli Plate.  I remember that I made a few prints to try it out but had no use for them and set them aside.

I tore the prints to size and used Mod Podge to glue sections of them together.  I glued the stamp image and the background together with a glue stick.  I wanted to add some glitter but many folks are anti glitter so I didn't.

My cards for this swap are pretty simple but I am happy with them :)