Most of the trees around our house are bare now – except for the oaks and the sweetgum, who are modest and like to stay clothed for as long as possible. There are some stamps that just lend themselves to variety and our Bare Tree – 1185E is one of those stamps. Here is a little gallery of bare trees.
We have an old, old barn on our property. It’s beautiful, falling apart, and as much a part of the natural landscape as the giant red boulders left by the glaciers thousands of years ago that dot the hillsides next to it. Next time you’re driving in the country – or even in some suburb – pay attention and I’m sure you’ll see some old barns - maybe even one like the one below. Sharon Briss made this card using 1145K – Barn & Windmill. Sharon is the Creative Team Leader for Gingersnap Creations. Her personal blog is Ill Tempered Ink.
I’m listening to Julia Child’s biography titled “My Life In France” (audio is a great way to enjoy this book – to hear the narrator pronounce all that lovely French!). And guess what? Julia “was nuts about rubber stamps!” I always knew I had something in common with Julia – it obviously isn’t my cooking skills, so it has to be the rubber stamps! It is a really fun book – to read about what life in France was like post WWII and of course all that food! And just to hear someone talk so enthusiastically of something about which she is so passtionate. It’s inspiring! And to inspire you further here are cards from Carolyn Hurst, Holly Craft, and Sue Eldred.
All are made with our set 1153QCL - Kitchen Tools which will be 25% off until Friday!
Don’t forget to enter our Customer Challenge. Send a photo of your Christmas Ornament or Gift – made with Serendipity Stamps – to serendipity@serendipitystamps.com by Nov. 11 and you’ll be entered in our random drawing for a $20 gift certificate to Serendipity Stamps. Remember a Christmas Gift does not have to be made with Christmas stamps! It just has to be a “gift” or an “ornament” rather than a card.
A gift that requires time and thought is truly special. Since we’re in the midst of our Customer Challenge – Christmas Ornament or Gift – I thought I’d provide a little inspiration with an absolutely amazing design piece that was made a while back by Christine Scharfer – who lives in Sweden. Christine used our Illustrated Months 597FCL or 597L3-UM to create this accordian calendar. For each panel, she stamped, colored, and cut out the oval month (notice she cuts each month image into a different shape?). Then she adds a hand-lettered calendar grid and other embellishments. This alone would be a treasure to receive, but she doesn’t stop there – Christine made a pretty little case for her calendar. Below are several photos. Enjoy! Then check out Christine’s blog – http://stampeltokig.blogspot.com/2009/08/sukkersott-1.html (it’s in Swedish though!)
We had three great entries for our Halloween Customer Challenge and Cindy Malone is the winner of our random drawing. (this is a very sophisticated process – I write everyone’s name down on a scrap of paper and put them in a bowl. Mary, my trusty 75 yr old employee – who everyone thinks is my mother – closes her eyes and swirls the scraps around for a minute, then picks one). Cindy wins a $20 gift certificate to Serendipity Stamps! Thanks so much Cindy, Patricia and Marge for entering our challenge – your cards will be in our Serendipity Customers Gallery from now until the end of time!
Be sure to enter the next challenge – create a Christmas Ornament or Gift using Serendipity Stamps. Email it to me at serendipity@serendipitystamps.com before November 11th and we’ll draw one name out of our trusty little bowl to win a $20 Serendipity Stamps Gift Certificate. It could be you!
Every time I look at this card, created by Holly Craft, I see something new and wonderful. The way the mountains fade into the distance. The pink (yes pink!) leaves on the tree and on the ground beneath the tree. The eyelets that mirror the colors of the mountains. The texture of the “road” the buggy travels. Holly used 1185E – Bare Tree, 1198H – May the Peace of God, and 1184E – Buggy.
By the way – if you’re looking for an outstanding book to read, check out “Mountains Beyond Mountains” by Tracy Kidder.
I’m not really an owl collector – I only have 2 or 3 that were my mother’s. But my mother – did she have an owl collection! Wooden, ceramic, hickory nut, salt and pepper shakers, and of course, a macrame owl. Gosh I wish I had that macrame owl…Here is a nice little collection of owls from Serendipity Stamps.
NOTE: We sold hundreds of Halloween stamps last week during our sale! All you new owners of Serendipity Halloween stamps – send in your Halloween cards for our Customer Halloween Challenge! Just email it to Serendipity@serendipitystamps.com by Oct. 15th and we’ll post it right here and enter you in the drawing for a $20 Serendipity Stamps gift certificate!
I couldn’t help myself! I found a photo of the same type of owl we had hanging on our basement wall for years! (A similar one hangs on a wall in the movie Frost/Nixon). In looking for a photo of this lovely macrame owl, I came across a fun little website – macrameowl.com – which is dedicated “to saving, rehabilitating and reviving the macramé owl”. It’s comforting to know that someone is taking care of this – don’t you think?
I know fall is here when my husband puts out the big styrofoam target, gets out his bow, and starts shooting arrows, most of which end up stuck in the hillside behind the target….I’m not a hunter – I like my warm bed too much for all that nonsense. I’ll cook it – but don’t ask me to kill it OR clean it! Here is a card from our Design Team Alumni Holly Craft that exemplifies the beauty of nature and all her bounty. Holly used our Buck & Doe 1183L image and May the Peace of the Lord 1195F.
You still have time to enter our Monochrome Challenge! Just email your entry, along with your name and your blog info, if you have one, to Serendipityreadercards@gmail.com. You could win our Oval Months Unmounted Sheet Set! We have a gorgeous entry from Rachael. One of my daughters is a ballet dancer so of course, Serendipity Stamps has an abundance of ballet stamps! Rachael used 609F – Ballerina Silhouette and 039C – Dance. You can check out Rachael’s blog at http://rachaelscreativemoments.blogspot.com/
Mary and Opal
Welcome to the Serendipity Stamps Gallery! I’m Mary Lee, Serendipity Stamps’ owner. For years I’ve had a small team of great designers – Holly, Sue, and Carolyn. You’ve seen hundreds of their projects on www.serendipitystamps.com over the years. Now we’ve added seven more to the group! Each member of the Serendipity Stamps Design Team has her own page, where you’ll see a gallery of her projects.
I started Serendipity in 2000. I can’t believe it’s been almost 10 years! Back then my daughters were 4 and 6 years old – now they are 14 and 16 and we’ve added a third one to the bunch- she’s 13! My husband of 19 years has to put up with all these extremely hormonal women — he spends a lot of time out in the barn puttering around…And then I have Opal – she keeps me sane. When all the other girls in the house are complaining that there’s nothing to eat, that I make them do too many chores, that it’s too hot, too cold, that I’m too strict, that we need faster internet and more TV channels, Opal just smiles and wags her tail, and I’m able to shrug my shoulders and say “Opal seems content, I think we’re good.” So here’s to all the Opals out there in the world, reminding us that smiling and wagging our tails is the best way to get through any day!
Mary