Belated Birthday Sentiments for a Long-Time Friend

So, I'm under the eight-ball AGAIN!  What seems to be news about that, I say.  Yes, I am late for birthday wishes for a long-time friend of more than 50 years. . .shame on me!  I decided to send her a card that I made last spring while visiting in California at a card event hosted by Stampin' Up demonstrator, Darla Watson.   This card will be perfect, because it is for sending belated birthday wishes! 

I really liked Darla's card design, but as I always seem to like lots of color layers, I decided to add a new black cardbase under the original Cajun Craze one.  To do this, I cut off the back of the base, making it ready to become a mat layer between the patterned card front and the new black cardbase.  I liked this additional color mat for all the usual reasons. . .it complimented the black sentiment tag and the black flower stamens in the patterned paper.  Now, all I needed to add was a suitable inside design and verse befitting the outside design and the card occasion, and voilá, my card is done.  Take a peek below to see the finished product, which will be on its way in tomorrow's mail! 

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up products:  Cardstocks--Basic Black, Cajun Craze, Mint Macaron. Corrugated Kraft (retired).  White Emobssing powder.  Botanical Gardens Jewels (2016 Occasions).  White Baker's Twine.  Daffodil Yellow button (retired).  Rhinestones.  Papertrey stamps: Inside & Out: Birthdays.  EK punch: Victorian Corner.  Memento: Black Tuxedo ink.  Size: 4-1/2" x 5-3/4".  (Thank you Darla Watson for the original design idea).

Birthday Celebrations for Cousin-in-Law & Friend!

One of my husband's MANY cousins has a delightful wife whom I find a very warm and caring  person.  I got to know her well several years ago when another of John's cousins in Kansas decided to host a huge extended family reunion on their farm around the 4th of July. . .food, visiting, a lake, swimming, boating, and massive fireworks. . .what's not to like!?  This lovely cousin-in-law did not hesitate to invite my husband, me, and our four teen-age to young adult children to share their home and hospitality.  In addition, they offered us an extra automobile to drive during our stay, which enabled us to pick up family members at the airport as they arrived and visit others of my husband's many, many relatives residing in the Kansas area.  I will never forgot the kindness extended to us; therefore, I love to send Barbara one of my homemade cards each birthday to celebrate her special day.  Take a look at the card I chose for this special cousin-in-law, along with a peek at my inside design that coordinates with the card front!

Ingredients:  SU products:  Cardstock--Whisper White, Crushed Curry.  Stamps--Remembering Your Birthday (sentiment).  Fluttering E-Folder.  Punches--Petite Petals, Itty Bitty Pack-flower, Curvy Corner punch (retired).  1-1/4" Burlap Ribbon.  Pearls (Copic colored).  Papertrey stamp--Inside & Out: Birthday I (verse).   

The Story & Other Tidbits!

The card that I chose to give Barbara is one that I began at a cardmaking event I attended while visiting my mother in California this past spring and finished on our Mt. Shasta Girls' Get-away.  The cardmaking event was hosted by Darla Watson, a Stampin' Up demonstrator, whom I met about eight years ago while attending one of her four-day special papercrafting retreats. . .what lovely memories that brings back.  I loved Darla's card design, which was a Mother's Day card, but I knew right off that I would not be able to use it for that occasion as my Mom was sitting right beside me making one too.  Mom needed to change her greeting sentiment because her Mom (and my grandmother) is no longer with us for going on 45 years.  We both decided not to finish the card, except for the texture embossing and take the parts home to finish it later.  

Darla's original design was monotone in all white, except for the little flower centers, which were yellow.  When I pulled out the parts later, my brain said, you need more color.  I added a Crush Curry mat layer and decided that's exactly what I wanted.  So, I cut a larger card base, added the Crushed Curry layer and then the textured embossed card front.  

I came away from the class without the colored enamel dots for the flower centers, so I used pearls instead and colored them with my Copic markers, choosing to make mine multi-colored instead of just yellow.  I really like how the colored pearls look with their soft sheen instead of the flat, mat finish of the enamel dots.  I also found the perfect birthday sentiment and verse from two of Mom's birthday stamp sets.  The sentiment was from a Stampin' Up set and a birthday verse was from a Papertrey stamp set.  I was pleased with the outcome of my finished card.

Under the Weather???

One of my husband's cousins had an accident that turned into quite an ordeal about three months ago, and we just heard about it a few weeks ago.  While mowing his lawn, a small stick flew up from under the mower, hit his eye, and lodged in his cornea.  Because of the intense flair-up and swelling, they were unable to tell the extent of his injury for quite some time.  Eventually, it was determined that he had cornea damage, and would have to have a cornea transplant to repair his eye sight.  This surgery took place about four weeks ago, and now it is a wait and see situation, hoping the body does not reject the transplant.  John and I are really sorry that we did not know of this situation sooner, but I guess word travels slowly when you are not on Facebook (as my husband is not)!

I wanted to make a card for John Kerry letting him know we are both thinking about him and praying for his full and speedy recovery.  So, with the thought in mind that it is not a sickness, my card evolved into sentiments of feeling under the weather and hoping he would be feeling up to par very soon.  My creative mind turned to gray clouds with the sun shining through as it would soon burst through in glorious sunshine.  This is how my finished card looked that we sent out to John Kerry in the mail!

Recipe: SU cardstock: Smoky Slate (base), So Saffron, Pool Party, Whisper White, Hello Honey.  SU DSP stack: 2012-2013 (Basic Gray dots). Paper Co. Victorinia Lt. Gray. Stash: misc. yellow patterns.  SU Ink distressing: Smoky Slate. Cloud dies: My Favorite Things/ Papertrey Ink. SU punches: 1-3/4" Circle, Bitty Banner. Ribbon: 5/8" Smoky Slate Satin. SU Dazzling Details-Silver. Computer sentiment: Shelley/ DaddyO fonts. Inside - EK Scallop Corner; WRMK Corner Chomper-Scallop. (Size: 5-1/4" x 6-1/2").