Traveling Fool - O is for Old-Fashioned

So there I was. Staring at a key which apparently had no home in the car. I searched for a keyhole. I rattled the steering wheel. I checked by the cd player. Nothing. Finally, I had to get out of the rental car to ask the attendant if I was crazy. Apparently, the car was from the future because it didn't require a key to start, just the press of a button. Say what???

I am currently bored in a hotel room in West Virginia, which is beautiful, by the way! The lush, rolling hills and fall colors drastically differ from the flat, windblown landscape of North Dakota. I called my boss and told her I might not come back! I'm presenting tomorrow at a rural health conference (gulp*) here. Unless I die of nerves tonight...

I remembered that I had some pictures on my phone of some cards I could share with you, so I thought I'd do that to prevent myself from dwelling on my impending doom.

The challenge at Simon Says Stamp is "O is for...." and my O is for Old-Fashioned, because it uses an old-fashioned car on an old-world map. I'm sorry about the not-so-great photo, but  I was in a hurry to pack and only had brief time to whip something up. 

I made my own background, so I could participate in the Craft-room Challenge's "Make your Own Background" theme. I had lots of fun creating this, and wish I had thought to get a close up photo because the background so pearly and beautiful. The creative crafters at the Craft-room Challenge have some GREAT inspiration cards so go check it out!

For the left half of the card, I dipped my background into blues and then inked the old-world map stamp (from Northwoods Rubber Stamp Co, I believe) with some Perfect medium. Then I brushed over it with blue Perfect Pearls. I then stamped the image a second time using Distress Inks Vintage Photo. 

The right half of the card was made using Tim Holtz's "The Journey" stamp set. I stamped a ticket in the background with old paper and then embossed the car with a brown powder. This card opens in the center, for a really cool layout. (again, forgive the rushed photo)

In order to keep it closed, I glued on two tickets and used an Xacto knife to create a closing slit. 

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One other thing I'd like to ask of you lovely folks is this: My Aunt Jerrie started her own blog because she wanted to participate in Jingle Belle's Pink Christmas charity challenge. Here's her card

 

Now the thing about my Aunt Jerrie is, she's LEGALLY BLIND! Yes, you read that right. I've mentioned before about how my family has played such a role in my love of crafting and Aunt Jerrie is no exception to that rule. She has the best sense of humor and the most beautiful cardmaking aesthetic. Her eyesight has gotten progressively worse, but she keeps on crafting. She uses magnifying glasses and other tools to be able to see. As she says, "Hey, I might color outside the lines and my paper might not match exactly, but I don't let that stop me".

It would mean so much if you could go cheer her on with a comment! Here's her blog:

Coloring Outside the Linez

Last, but not least, I'm debuting a new 'do. I ditched the blond and decided to go back to my natural roots. Unfortunately, my hair dresser went way darker than my natural color. I was shocked to see almost black! After recovering, I realized I don't hate it. What do you think?

 

I adore reading through your comments and hope to return the favor on your blogs, so drop me a line to let me know you've been here!