Thinking Of You Card -- French Manor

 Hello, hello, my crafty friends!!  And a VERY BIG welcome to all of my followers -- I so appreciate you!!  :)

I really struggled with creativity today...  Luckily, when I called (and whined) to my mom, she encouraged me (as always) and gave me some inspiration!!  Of course, you'll have to wait and see what she inspired...  Maybe tomorrow :)  For today, I finally got my thoughts in order and wrapped around what I needed to do for TWO challenges...  Cricut Cardz Challenge #65 (make a tall card, 9"x4", using any cartridge, colors, and theme) AND Cooking With Cricut Challenge #20 -- Time To Spring Forward (make a project that includes a timepiece, clock, or some reference to time)...  I hope you'll stop on over at both of those sites to see all the other wonderful creations!!!

For my card, I chose to use the clock image from the Cricut Circle Exclusive Cartridge French Manor...  I have only used this cartridge once before, so I was happy to pull it out again!!  YAY!!  I cut the clock at 8.5" and then added a few personal touches -- Chocolate chalking ink on the edges, CM brown pen for details (including the clock face), and CM metallic bronze pen for the accents on the clock hands and pendulum (which was my own addition, so you won't find it on the cartridge)...

My 'Thinking of You' stamp is from SU!'s "Great Greetings" -- I can't even tell ya when the last time was that I used that set!!  My label was created by cutting a 1.25"x2" rectangle and then punching out the corners with a circle punch.

The base cardstock is a shimmery metallic copper from my scrap stash (yup, I've got some pretty big scraps in my stash!).  The patterned paper is from SU!'s Christmas paper -- I just love how that pattern looks with the clock!!  :)

I added a cream-colored liner to both sides of the inside of the card -- Since this is a tall card, I liked the balance of both sides being lined (that funny OCD character making an appearance here)...

And I popped up the sentiment label for some extra dimension...

So although my mom is indeed the one who inspired me not to give up on creativity today, the rest of the inspiration came from two people...  My grandpa and my dad...  Aside from the fact that this card could easily be considered a 'masculine' card, there's something about grandfather clocks that, well, kind of encourage you to think about your grandfather!!  :)  Of course, I was already thinking about my grandpa after seeing Gigi's card (*click here to see it*) for this week's CTO challenge...  My grandpa had one of those bobble-head dogs in his car that I remember from my days of being very small -- I used to love making that head bobble, bobble, bobble...  Anyway, grandfather clocks always make me think of him too...

And my dad...  Well, he has to be one of the greatest woodcrafters ever...  He's just another example of how  creative my family really is...  Growing up, I remember watching him turn plain pieces of wood into amazing creations -- The smell of sawdust and fresh cut wood remind me of moments spent in his woodshop watching him measure, draw, cut, and build...  He made me a beautiful desk with a drop front and fancy edges when I was probably 11 or 12 -- I loved running my fingers over the texture of the wood and feeling the banding and curves...  As I added the details of this clock, I was reminded of how I love that desk (it's in The-Boy-Child's room now)...  How lucky I am to have so many things in my home that are such a part of who my parents are...  The furniture my dad made, the arrangements my mom made, the things passed on to me to make it my home, some of which will eventually be passed on to my children in their homes...  It certainly makes it easy to look around and not only feel loved, but also to be always thinking of them...  :)

Thanks again for stopping by...  I hope you have enjoyed my card today -- Comments are always encouraged and appreciated!!  And, of course, I'd love to know what grandfather clocks make YOU think of!!  :)   Please remember that if you haven't already enter my Fantastic Follower Giveaway (for a CM Stork's Delivery Cricut Cartridge), there's still time!!  Simply CLICK HERE and enter to WIN!!

Until next time, may your memories inspire you and remind you of how special YOU are...