A Nephew's Birthday to Celebrate!

One of my sister's boys has a birthday in October a few days after my own son, Mark's, birthday.  Well, why not...doesn't EVERYONE want a birthday in October!  I just counted up, and I have 12 birthdays in October with 9 of them before October 15th, plus an anniversary in mid-October as well, and not to mentioned, Halloween cards!  It's a very BUSY month!  I think I'm overwhelming myself just thinking about it!!! 

This post is about my sixth birthday card this month for my nephew, Davis.  My mojo was sending me to thinking about a card using owls as they just seem to go with fall and the month of October, in my mind anyhow!  I had a stash of paper by Echo Park called Fall Fever from a few years back loaded with leaves, owls, and trees, and the owl paper just spoke to me.  A friend of mine, Misty Bradley, made a card several years ago with this very same paper, and I thought I would borrow the theme of her layout with a repositioning and changes here and there to make it my own.  She gave me some Cricuit cut letters for the word fall that she used on her card, and I found them stored with the paper, so away I went.  My card will be a squat rectangle rather than the traditional 5" x 7", with a few more color layers added, and I thought the birthday sentiment, WHOO's BIRTHDAY??, would fit the bill.  What probably doesn't show in the picture is the little red owl that I decided to fussy-cut out of the paper, added googlie eyes, and popped him up on his own image from the paper below.  This is my card that evolved using a layout similar to Misty's and a bit of my mojo added for Davis's birthday.  I hope he enjoys his little fall owl card as much as I enjoyed making it!

Recipe:

Paper:  Bazzill Mono cardstocks: Brown (base), Saltillo (red-orange), Coastal, Glow, Pear, Dotted Swiss-Mud Puddle; Echo Park Fall Fever Owl/ Stripe.  Spellbinders dies: Circles/ Scallop Circles. May Arts Hemp Twine.  Stash: Googlie Eyes, Cricuit Letters.  Fishtail banners: hand-cut.  (Size: 5"x6-1/4").

Whoo's Under the Weather?

A very, long-time friend of my husband just had spinal surgery.  He will have a long recovery and therapy process, which will probably run into months.  My husband wanted me to make a card to send back East to let him know he was thinking about him and wishes every good thought for his complete and speedy recovery.

I remembered an owl card designed by my sister, Heidi Gonzales (My Lil' Stamp Corner), that I made several years ago in one of her Stampin' Up classes that I thought I would work really well as a Get Well card by using "whoo" in the sentiment.  I then designed the inside to coordinate with the front of the card and composed a get well verse to suit the occasion.  Here is my little card that I re-created.  My sentiment and its shape is my own choice.

Recipe:  Stampin' Up papers: Pumpkin Pie cs (base), Baja Breeze cs, Everyday Enchantment dsp (SAB 2012).  Stampin' Up stamps: Aviary.  Stampin' Up Ink:  Lucky Limeade, Chococate Chip.  Everyday Enchantment Ribbon: Calypso Coral/ Lucky Limeade. Stampin' Up Punches: 1-1/2" circle; 1-3/4" Scallop Circle, Dotted Scallop Ribbon border.  EK punch: Medium scallop photo corner, Journal Plate (modified). WRMK Corner Chomper: Deco.  Colorbox Chestnut Roan distressing.

Little Owl Valentine for Mom!

Valentine's Day is coming and I decided to start with my card for my Mom.  I went to a cardmaking event last Saturday and made a little owl card that gave me the idea for mine.  I decided on my card I would add two more layers and enlarge my card as well.  I dug out the Stampin' Up More Amore paper that I bought but did not get a chance to use for my patterned layer and then matched it to the Cherry cardstock in my stash.  My banner uses two banner flags punched from the More Amore paper, and the other banner flags were stamped with Strawberry Slush ink (SU) using the Banner Blast SU stamp set offered in the current 2014 Sale-A-Bration promotion currently in progress.  I also decided my owl was definitely a little girl, so she gat a bow for her head made from the bitty hearts on the owl stamp using the More Amore paper.  I made a duplicate little owl to place on the inside to dress up the verse.

Recipe:  Staples cs: Cherry (base), SU: More Amore, Smoky Slate cs, Pink Pirouette cs, Basic Black cs.  SU Emboss Folder: Woodgrain.  SU Punches: Full Heart, Heart to Heart, 1-3/8" Circle (wings), Modern Label, Banner (SAB 2014).  SU Stamps: Banner Blast (2014 SAB).  SU Ink: Strawberry Slush.  Maya Arts Fine Twine.  Recollections: Cherry rhinestones, medium Googlie eyes.  (Inspiration card by Janine Henrickson.)

My Fall 2012 Trip to California!

I have been a bit out of commission for posting to my blog, and I do apologize.   Plus, I am extremely behind keeping up with my favorite cardmaking blog friends; therefore, I have not been posting comments either...shame on me!  I think I was just having too much fun!

While away, I attend several cropping events and retreats...oh how enjoyable!  I've already told you about my family crop retreat in mid-October at a small town north of Redding, staying at the rustic Trout House...that was scads of fun...just my Mom, my sister, and me this time!  Regressing: in the first two weeks of my arrival, we went to two one-day crops south of Redding: one was private crop hosted by Teresa Barnett in Red Bluff, and the other was an anniversary crop at the Paradise Scrapbook Boutique in Chico (our favorite vintage-decorated shop).  Of course, we stayed away overnight and shopped before we start home at any quaint little shops we found as well!  In the last part of October and early November, we went to a one-day crop at the "Rock Paper Scissors," a new Redding scrapbook store, and another most-of-the-day event called the Christmas Card Extravaganza.  We made 18 cards by six designers in 7 hours!  Needless to say, I brought a few unfinished ones home to complete.

To finish off my trip, we traveled east to the tiny town of Weaverville to a four-day crop retreat, called Trinity Scrapbooking Retreats.  We had a blast with our papercrafting, but also enjoyed this small town's Halloween evening festivities.  It was such fun to see how a rural town celebrates the holiday with costumes worn by shop owners and restaurant employees and each business giving out treats to passersby.  But while there, I did manage to get a little crafting and cardmaking done too.  Some of the cards are from kits provided by my sister, Heidi Gonzales (www.mylilscrapcorner.blogspot.com), who designs and teaches cardmaking at Redding's "Rock Paper Scissors," plus holds her own events and is a Stampin' Up demonstrator, as well.  Here are my "sister cards" with a few modifications if a whim struck me while making them:

Following are some cards I made from ideas I got online or at various events or stores, as well some of my own designs.  I left off the sentiments on most of them so I could decide later what I wanted to use them for, and here they are:

Now that I am home, I must get started on Christmas...I will be sharing a mini album I started in California and some cards I made as well!  Hope your late September, October, and early November were as enjoyable as mine!

Sister-in Laws with July Birthdays...

I have two sister-in-laws with birthdays in July--what can I say, my husband is the oldest of eight, plus my own family--makes for a lot of sister-in-laws!!

Dianne's birthday is TODAY, and the wise owl sends birthday thoughts her way!  I just love using owls in my cardmaking!  (Again, this card was taught by my sister, Heidi Gonzales (My Lil' Scrap Corner)...it was fun to put together and use all of the Stampin' Up tools and the Smooch paper line.)

Happy Birthday, Dianne!

All the way in Colorado, another sister-in-law celebrates her birthday later in July.  Again, the card I chose for Jeanie was made as part of a class taught by my sister, Heidi, using the Stampin' Up Smooch papers.  I changed the front sentiment using the computer with Razzleberry-colored ink and the Fling LET font.  The card I chose for Jeanie follows:

Happy Birthday, Jeanie!

Recipe: SU cardstocks, Smooch paper, SU button, SU stamp: Aviary, SU ribbon, Daffodil seam binding ribbon.

Another Graduation Owl...

I soooo love this little owl punch!  I needed to make another graduation card for John's great-nephew, Tim...I just had to do another card using this lovable little guy.  I really got myself involved in this one.  School colors were forest green and silver and it had to be a guy card, too!  I just wasn't finding  paper I liked or in the right shade of green, so I decided to make my own.  Out came the green cardstock--I composed a Word document with definitions of all things graduation to make my star paper, and then I was on a roll.  Didn't have gray thread for the tassel, so out came the Copics...love how you can use them to color embellishment, even ribbon, the right shade!  Here is my new little star owl:

Congratulations, Tim!

And then, I finished the inside:

Graduation Owl Contratulations!

Very late last night, my son contacted me with a brilliant idea (he knows I'm a night owl, LOL).   But, the catch was he needed help with his idea!  Hmm...the question is, should I say yes or no, which is the right answer!  Dumb me, I just don't know how to say no!  Lo and behold...it was a graduation card needed for the daughter of an old friend.  The catch was he needed it by 8:00 a.m. the next morning because that was when they were leaving for Idaho for the graduation.  Guess who was up all night getting this wonderful card done...but, I am really happy with how my little graduation owl turned out:

Your welcome, son!

And, here is the card's decorated inside with verse: