Shining Brightly on Thankful Thursday

Happy Thursday, everyone! It's a little chilly here today, but the sun is shining brightly. Another beautiful fall day in Central Ohio.  :)

Several things to share today: some SAS4Kids cards, my SAS4Kids/SSS card, and a post-election day Thankful Thursday. So, let's start with those SAS4Kids cards.  :)

SAS4Kids

My apologies to Penny for not sharing her cards sooner. They arrived last weekend but, somehow with my father-in-law's birthday celebration and election day, the week kind of got away from me.

As you can see, Penny sent a wonderful variety of holiday and general sentiment cards for the kids at Nationwide Children's. Thanks so much, Penny!!! The kids are going to love these works of heart.  :)

Shine Bright Like a.... Stocking?!

There are two challenges that I wanted to be sure to play along with this week: Shine Bright Like a Diamond (aka using a little bling) over at Simon Says Stamp and Happy Holidays 4 Kids at SAS4Kids. But, I probably only had time to make one card. So... how about some glittery stockings mounted on a card for an older child?!

DCWV Christmas glitter stack; Stampin' Up! sahara sand -- I think; Recollections black
SU festive fireplace images and framelits; SU festival of trees (masked) sentiment
SU hardwood background stamp
stamping in StazOn jet black and Distress Ink hickory smoke; coloring with Prismacolor pencils
circles: SU owl builder and cookie cutter builder punches; Paper Studio tiny brads
adhesives: Scotch ATG; Ranger multi medium; Zig 2-way pen; Paper Studio foam

For this card, I:

• used masking to stamp the bough, the mantle, and the hardwood background.
• used masking to change up the sentiment just a bit.
• went with subtle inking and coloring so that the stockings would pop right off the paper.
• stamped with StazOn jet black on red, green, and white glitter paper before fussy cutting and paper piecing the stockings. 

Thankful Thursday

Election day has come and gone. That alone is worth a whole lot of thanks. What I'm most thankful for, however, is that it came and went without incident... without any international hacking or interference and without any incidents of rage or violence at polling places. A peaceful transfer of power... and the best reason of all to give thanks for being an American. 

This entire election season, I've tried my best to avoid any political conversations -- even going so far as to deactivate my Facebook account. Please allow me a couple of post-election reflections.

• Not only has this been an election that has divided our country, but also divided families. My gut tells me that my dad, brother, and sister-in-law voted for a different candidate than my husband and I did. As Katy Perry said, we're going to be sharing Thanksgiving dinners with loved ones who have very different feelings about what's transpired this past week.
• Yet, I have real concerns about what America will look like, feel like in the coming years. What will it mean to be black in America? Gay in America? Latino? Hispanic? Muslim? Jewish? Disabled? Female? It is my fervent hope for our beloved country that our President Elect governs with grace and empathy.

Parting Thoughts

A Piglet-inspired gratitude challenge is underway at Words 2 Craft By, and we'd love for you to play along with us. The challenge is open until December 7, which means there's plenty of time to play along. Plenty of time to share all those Thanksgiving projects you're making for other challenges with us at W2CB.   :)

Did I mention there are a couple of Simon Says gift certificates up for grabs?! Now, that's something to be thankful for!   :)

Have a friend coming in to town tomorrow for an overnight visit.... which means I may not be checking in for a couple of days. So, have a great weekend... thanks for stopping... and happy scrappin'!