A Sympathy Card for a Dear Husband. . .

My daughter's father-in-law just passed away from a long and painful illness.  With his type of illness, as time passes, it is a blessing for him to find peace in heaven with the Lord.  I wanted to make a special sympathy card for my son-in-law's mother so that she would know she is in our thoughts and prayers in hope that she will soon overcome her pain and be able to cherish the memories of her long married life of well over 50 years with her dear husband.  Take a look below at my finished card inside and out.

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up products:  Cardstock--Shimmer white (cardbase), Daffodil Yellow, Whisper White.  Stamps--Simply Sketched (retired/ sentiment).  Punch--Curvy Corners (retired).  Dies--Butterflies & Bold Butterflies.  Glitter--Dazzling Diamonds.  Pearls (Copic colored).  Others:  Ink--Memento-Tuxedo Black.  Dies--Spellbinders: Roman Trellis Background; Classic Ovals SM; Scalloped Ovals LG.  Elmer's Spray Adhesive.  Recollections: Flower.  Stash--5/8" Trimmed Satin.  Computer-made verse.  Wink of Stella-Clear.  Technique: Frosted Glittering (using spray adhesive and glitter).  Size: 4-3/4" x 6".

Tidbits

To make my background die glittered, I used what I call Glitter Frosting.  I have no idea if this is considered a technique, and if so, I have no idea what it is called; thus I named it Glitter Frosting.  

After you have cut out your cardstock with your die and Big Shot machine (or other die-cutting machine), place the die-cut in a protected area and spray it with a spray adhesive, which works better than trying to apply craft glue or liquid glue.  I use Elmer's Craft Spray Adhesive, which I purchased at WalMart.  (I also use a cardboard box lined with scratch paper to catch the excess adhesive over-spray.  I also do my spraying outside as the spray adhesive has a pretty powerful odor.  You also do not have to worry about the adhesive over-spray to much if it gets on your grass or driveway.)

After spraying on the adhesive, I gently pick up the wet die-cut with craft tweezers and move it to a clean piece of printer paper or other scrap paper about printer paper size.  Next, I sprinkle it with Iridescent Glitter (Stampin' Up Dazzling Diamonds) making sure all areas of the wet die-cut are liberally and thoroughly covered with glitter.  Again, I pick up the die-cut with the tweezers and tap it on its edge to shake off excess glitter.  I set it aside for about 30 minutes to be sure the adhesive is dry and the glitter is well set.  

Finally, I take a paint brush and gently brush the entire surface to further remove any more loose glitter.  When finished, you can pour the glitter off the printer paper back into your glitter bottle to be re-used in the future.

Celebrated My Birthday!

I have a late summer birthday...the very last day of August!  Another very significant date in August was the end of World War II on August 14 with Japanese Emperor Hirohito's decree to surrender, which was announced over the radio.  I remember my mother talking about this and saying that I was a post-World War II baby; and, therefore, I have always considered myself of the baby boomer generation.  At a recent family gathering, my sister-in-law informed me that she and I were not baby boomers, and she went on to explain about the new baby boomer group in her retirement village.  When she inquired about joining, she was informed that she did not qualify, and then, the date-range to qualify was explained to her.  I looked it up: according to the Internet, you had to be born post-World War II, but between 1946 to 1964 to be considered a baby boomer.  WOW! what a shock...I'm NOT a baby boomer even though I was born post-World War II!!!  That is a difficult thing to adjust my thinking to after so many years of considering myself a baby boomer!  I think they have their facts messed up...don't you??!!  It should be anyone born post-World War II up to 1964!  But, I digress!

The purpose of this post was to show you the beautiful card that my mother made for me...it is truly beautiful and I absolutely love it!  Now, don't get me wrong...she has made me many very pretty cards over the last four years, but I so love this Toile paper...so Victorian...and such a pastoral scene.  My sister and I have to laugh at Mom, because when we all get together for a cardmaking retreat or just a home crafting day, she is always lamenting that she just can't make cards like Heidi and I!  NO! Mom, this is not true as we have said...your cards are absolutely lovely!  You stymie your creativity and put up roadblocks in your creative mojo when you voice that negative self-talk!

It is stunning, Mom, and I love it!  It reminds me of a picture I could have had in my head while reading Anne of Green Gables when I was a teen-ager!  Thank you so much...it will sit in the card place of honor displayed on the dining room table in the wrought iron glass tray with the pitcher of flowers.  Love you!

Three Masculine Birthdays!

October brings three male birthdays in my family~all nephews or nephew-in-laws, and of course, all living in states other than mine!  I went to my card stash because I knew I had at least three masculine cards made that would be useful.  In addition, as I was making these cards, I was thinking, "Oh, these will be nice to have when all those October male birthdays arrive at my doorstep demanding attention, and I am so short of time getting ready for my annual fall trip to visit my mother."  

So, out from the stash they came to receive verses and embellishments to compliment the already complete exteriors and with each gentleman in mind as I worked.  My next step was to get them into bubble-wrap-protected packaging to fit into mailing envelopes, addressed, and then I would be all set!  I hope Davis, Jesse, and Jared enjoy their cards when they arrive throughout the month of October.  Below is a picture of each card.

This card is for Davis and was made at a Stampin' Up Card Club hosted by Amy Muhly, using all Stampin' Up products.

The inspiration for this card came from one made at a Stampin' Up card class given by Misty Bradley (Rock, Paper, Scissors - Redding, CA).  In my version of the card, I have added trim and black pearls and changed the layout positioning a bit.  I also added the black matting to give it another layer.  My sentiment is computer-generated.  I hope Jesse enjoys it on his birthday.

Again, inspiration was from a previous card made by Misty Bradley (Rock, Paper, Scissors - Redding, CA).  The black and white color theme is the same as the original card, but layout elements are re-arranged and embellishments added: white and black buttons, ribbons, Baker's twine, and white enamel brads. This one is for Jared who is serving our country and stationed on the East Coast.  Here is hoping he enjoys his card, and know we are thinking about him and his family!

Anniversary Card for My Daughter's Good Friend

My daughter was checking out my "card's I like" file the other day when she realized her good friend's anniversary had come and gone.  She was very unhappy with herself!  She came across a card picture I had saved from my very first "favorite" scrapbook store, Paradise Scrapbook Boutique in Chico, CA.  She was oohing and aahing over this card, so I told her I would make one similar to it if she wanted to send it off to her friend in Colorado.  She was thrilled, and even offered to pay me for it, which of course, I said, "NO...it just gives me an excuse to make another card"!   I had also admired this very same card while visiting the store on one of my trips south where it was on display; therefore, during my shopping spree, I purchased many of the same embellishments for my own stash.

Here is my take on PSB's card, which is very similar to their original design, except I enlarged it from its original size and changed its shape to almost a square.  I also added a few more mat layers than the original.  My daughter was very happy with the results, plus the "Belated Anniversary Wishes" and embellishments on the inside.

Recipe: SU stamp (ret.). SU Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Basic Black. Pattern: Recollections Black & White Stack. Sizzix Sizzilit Label die. PSB Embellishments: Prima Flower, Black seam binding ribbon, Rhinestone flower trim. 

Mother's Day!

I was able to be in California to celebrate Mother's Day with my Mom and my sister, Heidi.  We had a lovely early dinner out with the three of us and my sister's husband.  Mom and I finished off the evening playing Mexican Train, and I actually won!  My mother is a master at most card and board games so to actually win is certainly a novelty!  But, win or lose, we don't care, we just enjoy the camaraderie of playing the game and gabbing as we go.

While we were in Mt. Shasta on our family crop retreat-vacation in April, I brought my "To Do" stash along. . .it could keep me busy for several weeks for sure!  I had joined Becca Feeken's Amazing Paper Grace monthly kit group back in September 2012.  I had kits from the beginning through February that I had not even started on ~ shame on me.  I was determined to catch up and finish some, and I did.  My mother fell in love with one I was making while there.  I had no intention of giving it to her, because I would not make one in front of her that she could see if I was actually going to give to her.  She kept "oohing and aahing" because she REALLY loved it, so I decided after the fact, that it would be her Mother's Day card.  I generated a computer verse to fit the inside diamond created by another set of filigree die cuts like those that grace the front.  

This was a lovely design that Becca Feeken came up with as one of the four projects in the October 2012 kit.  This card was quite a challenge because the dies are so intricate and there were 12 of them to deal with!!  They did not cut or punch out unless you used wax paper on each die cut.  That little trick certainly helps a LOT!

I apologize for the picture focus.  I did not have my scanner in California, so I resorted to taking a picture with my cell phone.  It is not one of the "new" phones with all the bells and whistles; thus, the pictures are not the best, but I think you get the general idea of how pretty this card really is.

A note to my dear readers and friends:  I will be out of commission for a bit as I make my return travels to home in Washington.  Then, I will have loads of stuff to sort, unpack, and put away, not to mention, oodles of stuff to catch up on of those mundane chores of everyday life: laundry, house cleaning, yard work, etc.  See you when I get back to catching up with my blog.

Recipe: Amazing Grace kit, Neenah White Cardstock 80#, Spellbinder dies, Button w-round pearl center, pearl stick pin, flat-bottom pearls, Prima mini roses, white seam binding ribbon, Beeca Feeken bowmaker.