Something Metallic Cards

Hello, to all my card making friends.  It has been awhile since my last blog post.  I am back!  If you were wondering where I have been I will explain at the end of this post. Today I want to share with you some cards that I made for the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge.  

All three of my cards are surprisingly easy to create.  I like to make multiple cards with variations in colors and layouts.  For all three I used the SSS "Greeting Mix 2" stamp set for the sentiment, SSS "Leaves Lucky to Know You" stencil and the SSS "Etched Dragonfly" & SSS Bundle of Stitched Shapes dies. 

This purple version of the card uses three Distress Oxide Inks for the background and stenciled leaves;  Milled Lavender , Seedless Preserves  and Dusty Concord .  I die cut the Dragonfly Wings from DCWV "Holographics 6 X 6 stack and the body of the dragonfly from leftover bits of black cardstock in my stash.  
For my sentiment I used the  SSS "Greeting Mix 2" stamped with Versafine Black Onyx ink  but heat embossed with Brutus Monroe "Sterling Sparkle" Embossing Powder .

My blue version of the card is the one I am demonstrating on my Youtube channel.  If you are interested in seeing the card that way, I am sharing it below.  This one is just a slightly different layout and uses just two colors of Distress Oxide for the background ink blending and the stenciled leaves, "Speckled Egg" and "Stormy Sky".   I also added a few embellishment gems from Lucy's Little Things "Clear Iridescent jewels as a finishing touch.

For third version of the card was aiming for something on the more masculine side.  I changed up the colors of Distress Oxide Inks, this time choosing "Old Paper" and "Peeled Paint".  This time I cut my dragonfly wings from the green Tim Holtz"Metallic Confections Kraft Paper" that I had in my stash from the SSS Card Kit of the Month from September.  The greeting was stamped in Versafine Black Onyx ink  and heat embossed with a clear embossing powder.

Thanks so much for dropping by.  Your comments, questions and suggestions are always very welcome. 

Why I was MIA for a bit?
If you follow me with the Flickr Love group, you already know what was up with me.  To those who don't know, I was in a terrible car accident on November 15th.  My fellow card making friend, Marsha and I traveled from Chicago to Gina K's store in Milwaukee.  We had the most wonderful day with the bonus of meeting all of our stamping and coloring idols, Gina K, Kathy Racoosin, Jenifer McGuire, Kristina Werner, Rina K and Simon Hurley.  Just the best day ever. Until... As we traveling back to Chicago from Milwaukee, a speeding car came into our lane hitting us resulting in Marsha's car being forced into the concrete barrier.   We were both injured and ended our day with a trip to the ER in Kenosha, IL.  My injuries were the worst.  My right wrist was shattered in the accident.  I needed surgery and 6 months of occupation therapy.   We were very lucky to have survived the accident and had it not been for some wonderful truckers who stopped in time and diverted traffic, preventing us from being hit a second time, the story may have been worse.  The good news is that 3 weeks ago I was given a  release from the care my doctor and therapist with a near complete recovery of my wrist and hand movement.  All along it was my biggest goal to be able to get back to the thing that kept be moving forward,  my love of creating pretty things.  

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