What?!..... Rubber?!

I Have High Hopes!
(And now I'm using them!)

I'm so in love with digital images that I've been ignoring my rubber stamps. I have many new ones that I bought just before I discovered Mo's images, and they have gone unused. I thought it was time that they got a little ink and a little love!

I ordered several stamps from High Hopes just before they stopped selling retail. I had to wait months for them to arrive, but, when I finally received the package from them, they had sent a pound of rubber....more than twice the number of stamps that I had ordered! There were a few that I already owned and one or two that were not my taste, so I found a home for those with a friend and put the others away. 

I just took them out the other day and made this card. I used SU! black to stamp the image and found that it bled when I started to color. I had to apply an artist's sealer before I could finish.

I've been wanting to make a card like this for some time just so that I could use a cute little poem that I found. 

I wish I were a glow bug,

For a glowbug's never glum.

'Cause you just can't be unhappy

When the sun shines out your bum!

I think it will be a great card to send a little cheer to someone who's feeling down. I know it makes me smile!

The main image, colored using Copics, is a stamp from High Hopes, the little bug near the sentiment is a Hambo Stamp, and the sentiment, mounted on oval punch-outs from SU!, is from PrintWorks.

The printed papers are from Basic Grey, and the CS is Guava, Dusty Durango, and Sage from SU!. I distressed the edges to give it a bit of texture. A bow of grosgrain ribbon and cord and a few pearl cabochons add some interest

Down on the Farm

This is another of my High Hopes stamps.  I love this beat-up little tractor! It's a birthday card for a man. 

I colored the image with Copics and Prismacolor pencils. The patterned paper is Basic Grey and the CS is SU! Sunshine Yellow, Real Red, and Black. The white CS is from PTI. The yellow is embossed using a Cuttlebug and embossing folder. The sentiment is also from SU!, from a set called "Wonderful Words".

The little vegetables are Jesse James buttons. I cut the shanks off and used glue dots to adhere them to the card. 

 The little pottery bowl is filled with tiny handmade ceramic vegetables. I saw them somewhere in our travels,  and they were so perfect, I just had to have them! I don't think I'll ever outgrow my love for all things miniature!