Saturday Sketch Challenge 271, and an Important announcement.

Good Evening Friends,

Tonight's stamping 411 post comes with an important announcement that I wrote this morning for stamping 411.  Here is a copy of it.  It really says it all:

For more than three years, the operators here at Stamping 411 have been bringing you weekly sketches, color challenges, inspiration, techniques, tips tricks and more.  I think if you look around the side bar of our blog you'll agree that we have built quite a resource over the years.

In the very beginning, I thought that we could support our customers and friends more effectively together by pooling our resources and efforts, than we could as individuals.  That spurred the idea for 411 or "information" without strings, without marketing.  That original idea has become that shared resource for you and your customers (and my customers) as a go to for an online creative space to play, learn, and share.

This journey has been filled with fond memories, team work. beautiful relationships, friendship and fun.  Of course, like any journey, we hit our bumps in the road and grew as artists and individuals, always moving forward. 

Today, I'm happy to announce that we have decided to take a break.  You might ask why I am happy.  Many (not all) of the operators have had some personal challenges recently that have added so much stress to their lives. Some are having family members who are sick.  Others have has a huge shift in the time that they have to devote to 411.  As a result, it has become something that they have to do instead of the joy and "value add" in which it was intended.  I LOVE seeing people play along and I learn from you.  I really try to make the time to see what you've been up to and take the time to leave you a message that "I was there".  For some of you, I've watched you grow and develop the way that our blog has through the years.  We've grown together!  So tonight, I bid you a fond farewell.  Please don't think of it as a goodbye forever.  We ~ the operators ~ will give ourselves a little break, then re-evaluate.  We plan to leave the resource here for anyone to use and when we are ready come back, perhaps it will be in a different way.  We are taking an extended leave effective this week.  I'll still be by to leave you a comment.  Much love to you from all of your operators and from me.

Selene Kempton

If you want to leave some love for the operators at any time, here are links to their blogs.

Selene Kempton (me)
Patti Chesky
Gretchen Barron
Lee Conrey
Tammy Fite
Vicki Burdick

On to tonight's card and sketch challenge.  

I had a ball with the sketch this week and since this is a "so long for now" week, I made a dedicated to the operators of stamping 411.  Not just one person, every single operator since our inception.  

I wish them all joy and happiness, and just KNOW we will be back as a team doing something special together in the future.  I love each of them and have enjoyed this journey so much.  

So, I wish them all to achieve their dreams.  More than that I wish them the courage to reach for them. This card is made totally with gold card stock, vanilla, and soft suede ink.  The soft suede ink doesn't dry very quickly on the gold card stock, so I embossed it to set and sponged this card like crazy.

I added a gold marker from the mini catalog to the pearls, which I let dry, then added to my butterflies.  I had to put my finger on the main picture to hold the flap down, but it's cool to use edgelits to make a decorative border across the bottom of the card. 

 

Here's a closer view of the sentiment.

This is truly a work of heART and was made with my BFF's in mind.  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!  :)

Love,

Selene