An Attitude of Gratitude

Good morning, friends, and thanks for starting your Saturday out with my post for Our Creative Corner.  This month, our host is yours truly and the challenge I have cooked up for you is "An Attitude of Gratitude".  I have to say that ever since I was a young person, I have keenly felt how blessed I have been.  In this season of gratitude, I thought it would be good for us to reflect upon something that we are grateful for and then to make a card that is inspired by that feeling.  This week, my dad celebrated is 85 birthday.  He is blessed to be in good health and is still quite active.  My mom had a stroke 3 years ago and he has been her main caretaker.    We are all blessed to have him in our lives.  His hobby is antique tractors and everything about them.  He buys them and restores them and on weekends, especially at this time of the year, he and my mom travel in their mini-motorhome to tractor shows. A few years ago, I purchased this Tractor Time set from Stampin' Up and have used it several times to make cards for him.  But it has been about two years since I last used it.  So I dusted it off and created this birthday card for him.  

I know you are probably tired of seeing it, but I love the technique I have been using lately of embossing the edge with UTEE mixed with gold Perfect Pearls and sponged with Vintage Photo DI.  I used it here for the bottom layer.  The frame around the main image was made using the Spellbinders Labels 1 die and all the stamps from the Tractor Time set.  I stamped with Walnut Stain distress ink and clear embossed it, then sponged with Vintage Photo distress ink.  The hardware is HodgePodge Hardware from SU and the sentiment was computer generated.  I think the rest is self explanatory.  Let me know if you have any qeustions.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I very much appreciate your comments.  Now hustle on over to Our Creative Corner to see what the rest of the team has made.

Update:  A reader asked what card stock I use for embossing with UTEE.  Other than for coloring with Copics, I use Stampin' Up CS pretty much exclusively.  Their CS is 80# and it does curl and warp a bit when the heat gun is applied for the longer time it takes to melt the UTEE.  However, it seems to relax as it cools and flattens back out.  For this particular card, the bottom corners did want to curl a bit, but that is the first time that has happened and I think that was because I heated it for longer than was necessary.  

Blessings & hugs,

Challenges entered:

Paper Sundaes - One For the Boys

Sentimental Sundays - Birthdays

Crafty Cardmakers - Stitching
Oldie But Goodie - Distressing
Cards for Men - Anything Goes, as long is it is for a male
Papertake Weekly - A Penny for the Guy
Raise the Bar - Let's See Those Curves