6-4-2 adventures

Did you miss me?  After my last post in May, I spent 6 weeks preparing to retire, 4 weeks on the road to Dallas and Denver to spend time with the cutest grandsons in the known world, and 2 weeks catching up on chores at home - more adventures than I can tell about!  Included in the catching up was 200+ blog posts.  OK, really I skipped some of the older challenges.  I made this card last week, using a beautiful new stamp set and thinlits bundle, for the retired Peace on Earth challenge at Jingle Belles:

stamp set - Carols of Christmas; ink - Versamark, Craft White; Stampin' emboss powder - Silver; card stock - Silver Foil, Dapper Denim; Big Shot and Card Front builder thinlets

(I would like to say that I can't believe I forgot to post it, but unfortunately, it's all too much like me to forget to post) Then the new Jingle Belles challenge came out - Spirits of Christmas Past - and I pulled out retired supplies for this card:

stamp set - Seasonal Bells; ink - Crumb Cake, Encore Gold (retired); card stock - Very Vanilla regular and thick; punch - Bell; Big Shot with Holiday Frame embossing folder (retired)

(So perverse of me to use new for old and old for new, and then to think it sounded like a rally cry for the Three Musketeers)  In an effort to redeem myself, I used supplies you're still able to purchase for the not-yet-retired challenge at Hand Stamped Sentiments, and created a card suitable for the current season:

stamp set - Rose Wonder; ink - Pool Party, Lemon Lime Twist, Flirty Flamingo; card stock - Pool Party, Flirty Flamingo, Whisper White, Watercolor; Big Shot with Rose Garden thinlits; Aquabrush

This card is a CASE from a card I thought I had pinned, using a technique the original artist described - watercoloring through the die-cut negative.  Now, I can't seem to find the original post anywhere (aaugh!) - if anyone can point me to it, I'd love to link it here to give her credit!