Thankful For . . .

Here’s my card for this month’s Paint the Town color challenge at Market Street Stamps. The warm, fall colors and flower bouquet in the inspiration photo are definitely represented in this card.

I used the sunflower bouquet from Market Street’s new Autumn Greetings stamp set as my focal image. I colored the image with Copic markers to match the challenge colors. The flower at the center was stamped on a scrap of cardstock, colored, cut out, and added to the bouquet with a dimensional dot. The flower centers are filled in with Coffee Bean Brown Sparkly Fluff for a fun texture.

I used a piece of yellow and cream gingham paper for the panel underneath the flowers. Something about sunflowers makes me think of country, and so does gingham, so it seemed like the perfect pair. It’s edged with a terracotta scalloped strip and tied with some brown baker’s twine. The set’s “thankful for you” sentiment is stamped on a circle panel in a rust colored ink and added to the card with a dimensional dot.

I’m hoping that today things will finally be dry enough that I can get Chloe the cutie puppy outside for a good chunk of time. She’s been a real trouper during our stretch of rainy days that kept her inside, but I can tell that she’s itching to run . . . And, I feel like I should acknowledge today's anniversary of 9/11 with a personal note. Ten years ago today, it was the second week of the new school year and I was the teacher in a kindergarten classroom not more than 4 miles away from the Pentagon. I spent the day putting on a brave front for the few of my students that remained through the end of the school day, all while watching the chaos from my classroom window, wondering what was going on around me and what the next day would bring. Even though ten years have passed and lots has changed since then, I still vividly remember the events and my feelings from that day and on this day, I'm most thankful for the strength and resilience of the USA.

Materials Used:
from i {heart} papers: Market Street Stamps Autumn Greetings stamp set, Tsukineko Memento Rich Cocoa and Potter’s Clay inks, X-Press white Copic blending cardstock, Copic markers (Y21, Y32, Y35, Y38, YR14, YR21, YR30,YR31, W00, W-1), Our Craft Lounge Coffee Bean Brown Sparkly Fluff, My Mind’s Eye Blink of an Eye 6x6 paper pad, Spellbinders circle dies, Divine Twine Brown Sugar baker’s twine, Sticky Thumb dimensionals

other: Harvest Gold and Terracotta Tile cardstock (Papertrey Ink); Chocolate Chip cardstock (Stampin’ Up!)