Birthday for a Niece!

One of my sister's girls, my niece, is having a birthday in August.  I wanted to make her a little card to let her know I was thinking about her on her birthday even though I knew it would be a little late.   The tardiness was due to our first ever family camping vacation with all of our children and their spouses.  The group gathered at Mt. Baker Lake...my what beautiful scenery...God's country to be sure!  Still, I wanted Lindsey to know that I was thinking about her on her birthday while enjoying this wonderful vacation, which I hope is the first of a yearly tradition!

With nature on my mind, I decided to case and make a card from a card class last year given by Liz Thayer.  I decided my card needed a bit more color, so I added two more layers to match the butterflies' colors and a little fishtail flag birthday sentiment.  I made up a little verse to fit the belated birthday occasion and designed the interior to coordinate with the front.  I hope Lindsey enjoys her card, though a bit belated for sure!

Recipe:  Stampin' Up:  Cardstocks: Whisper White, Shimmery White, Midnight Muse & Starfruit (retired), Pool Party; Stamp: Papillon Potpourri; Ink: Midnight Muse, Starfruit, Pool Party; Punches: Elegant Butterfly, Bitty Butterfly; Framelit die: Apothecary Accents; Essentials Piercing Pack; Honeycomb Embossing Folder; Dazzling Details Glitter Adhesive; Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz (ret.); rhinestones.  Wilton 4-inch Doily.  Computer sentiment: Cigno Bold.

Ginger...Snap! It's Her Birthday in August!

My lovely daughter-in-law celebrates her birthday just two days after my mother...two very special ladies for sure!  I finished Mom's card, and now I needed to focus on Ginger.

I'm going to a Stampin' Up demonstrator "shoebox crop" hosted by my upline in several weeks.  Those in attendance each design a card and bring cut papers, stamps, and materials for each of the other demonstrators to make your card and take it home.  Everyone will go home with new ideas and cards totaling the number of gals at this festive occasion.  It's sort of like a cardmaking make-n'-take potluck!  The catch is that each person's card must be created using strictly Stampin' Up currently available products...no previously offered or retired products allowed.  My goal was to create a card for Ginger's birthday and use it for my "shoebox crop" offering.

I had several ideas running around in my head that I wanted to try out, and one was the Embossing Folder Stamping technique that I had seen in early May in the Splitcoaststamper's Weekly Inkling tutorial.  It looked like a great idea and an easy and fun technique to try.  I have attached to link in case you are interested in seeing just how it works:  www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/embossingfolderstamping/.   Of course, I had to bite the bullet and try it out on my offering for the upcoming shoebox crop.  After making my mother's birthday card with embossed vellum, I wanted to use it again so I'd be completely comfortable with this technique for future use, so I incorporated that in my card as well!  

My next task was to create a birthday verse that suited Ginger and to make inside decorations that complimented the outside design.  I am pretty please with the way my card evolved and I think Ginger will love her birthday card.

Recipe:  Stampin' Up papers:  Night of Navy cs, Real Red cs, Coastal Cabana cs, Watercolor Paper. White Vellum cs.  Stampin' Up stamps:  Beautiful Bunch, Sassy Salutations.  Stampin' Up Inks:  Night of Navy, Real Red, Coastal Cabana.  Stampin' Up Punches:  Fun Flower, 7/8" Scallop Circle.  SU dies: Apothecary Accents framelit (modified).  SU EF:  Chevron.  Other SU Products: Pool Party Emboss Powder, Dazzling Details (glitter glue), Color Sequins, Coastal Cabana Thick Baker's Twine, Beach House Washi tape - red.  (Embossing Folder Stamping technique). (Size: 5-1/4" x 6").

Mom Deserves a Beautiful Birthday Card!

My mother's birthday is coming up in mid-August, and with the title of this post in my mind, I wanted to do something really special for her, while venturing into new cardmaking realms that I had not traveled before.  Foil seems all the rage right now, so I decided I would try using foil paper for her card.

Stampin' Up has a beautiful set of papers out in their new catalog, named "Gold Soiree," that I recently purchased and absolute loved the look of it...gold metallic with a creamy white petite rose print.   I thought it would be fun to try and make my own patterned paper using an embossing folder and brayering white over top.  My first learning experience:  white Craft ink pads do NOT work on foil papers, because they never dry!  My next thought was white StazOn, which worked really well and dried in less than 30 minutes!  But, it was a bit messy to clean the brayer when finished.

Here we go back to my same dilemma, I like cards that are at least 5-1/4" x 5-1/4," and am not overly fond of the basic A2 sized card (4-1/4" x 5-1/2"), because they just seem too small.  Embossing folders are generally about A2 sized; therefore, I realized right off the bat this was going to be a problem to emboss my entire 5" by 5-1/2" card front layer.  The embossing folder I chose, was not a repetitive pattern like wallpapers, so I could not place the paper back in the folder and match up the already emboss image along its edges.  Fortunately, to solve my problem, I was able to turn my embossing folder sideways as its pattern could be used either way.  I then used a border embossing folder to finish off this unembossed area bottom at the bottom and planned to use a vanilla cream satin ribbon to cover the area where the two types of embossing met cover up the seam and any "messy and unbeautiful stuff."

I also had not worked a lot with vellum and embossed sentiments.  That was pretty easy, but adhering it to my frame was a little tricky as the vellum wanted to pucker with the glue...I probably should have used a tape runner or only attached the top and possibly the bottom, but not the sides as that is where the puckering happened.  Also, anything below the vellum showed right through, making it very "busy," and thus, the sentiment didn't stand out.  To solve this issue, I adhered a piece of vanilla cardstock beneath the vellum...this worked really well.  The rest of the card went together very quickly once I finished the embossing texture, white brayering, heat embossed sentiment, and die-cut its frame.  

I am pretty pleased with the results, considering the cardmaking process was not at ALL smooth, but it was certainly a "learning lesson."  I finished the card off by creating a birthday verse for inside and decorations to compliment the outside design.  I hope my mother loves her card and knows it was made especially for her with love in my heart.

Below is a peak at the inside verse and coordinating design, where I used a gold metallic spritz before printing the verse.

Recipe:  Stampin' Up papers:  Very Vanilla cs, Foil Sheets, White Vellum.  Stampin' Up stamps:  Happiest Birthday Wishes (ret.), Flower Shop, Petite Petals.  Ink:  Encore Gold Metallic; StazOn White (brayered).  Stampin' Up punches:  Pansy, Petite Flower.  Sixxiz Sizzlit:  Little Leaves (ret.).  Martha Stewart Butterfly Double Punch. Lifestyles die: Eyelet Squres.  Stampin' Up Folder:  Lovely Lace, Delicate Designs borders.  Other Stampin' Up: 5/8" Vanilla Satin ribbon;  Half pearls; Gold Embossing Powder.  Stash:  Metallic Inca Gold Spritz (homemade). (Card size: 5-1/2" x 6".)

Happy Birthday to a Friend Across the Miles!

The wife of one of my husband's Kansas cousins is having a birthday in August.  She is a special person, whom I consider a friend.  Over the years, we have had some very nice visits with this couple, and they have extended their hospitality when we have traveled to Kansas to family reunions, just visiting relatives, or passing through as we traveled beyond them, usually in our motorhome.  I have enjoyed these times to visit with Barbara and get to know her better, and it is always a fun and relaxing time.  Barbara celebrates her birthday in August, and I wanted to make her one of my handmade cards.

In thinking over what kind of card I wanted to make, I decided to re-create a card I saw at the Paradise Scrapbook Boutique in Chico, California a few years ago.  I so very much like this card, and I snapped a picture of it for my card mojo file.  I remember thinking at the time, that I had already purchased the papers from that very store while attending the three-day crop, and I made sure to buy whatever embellishments I might need as well.  I put the picture away with the stash of embellishments and the papers for future use.  It was time to  pull out this packaged bundle and get to work.  I decided to add a Vanilla cardbase to the design, a double bow, and patterned layers to the fishtail sentiment to spruce it up a bit more.  

I particularly liked this card for Barbara because she is always dressed with great style, and having been to a few weddings with her in attendance, I thought the little dress on the card was perfect for her.  I hope she likes her dressy little birthday card!

Recipe:  SU Very Vanilla cardbase, Crumb Cake cs, misc. patterned papers.  Die: Papertrey Dress Form, Spellbinders Ovals LG, Lifestyles Nesting Scallop Ovals (largest/ modified).  Fishtail Banner (homemade).  Stash: 1/16" Grograin ribbon, gray netting, pearls. Computer sentiment.

Thank You for a Great Training!

Several of my cardmaking buddies and I went over to Liz Thayer's for a Stampin' Up training using the new Blendabilities alcohol markers.  Liz had just returned from convention all revved up and ready to spread the word!  Not only did we learn lots, but we got to use all the colors as we desired from Liz's personal stash in addition to the set of our own provided with the cost of the class.  But, the goodies didn't stop there, we had a delicious potluck dinner and dessert with the main course provided by Liz.  And still more wonderfulness...let me go on.  It was such a fun-filled evening with great laughter and joking around, so much so that I'm surprised we got anything done or learned anything, but fortunately, this wasn't true...we did learn three different techniques in how to apply colors and blending.  To top it all off, we got to make two card using Blendability coloring, and one was a sneak-peek at an ornament in the new Holiday catalog.  We were all stoked and came away with new-found knowledge and skills to put to work in our own cardmaking. 

It was such a delightful time that I got busy and completed a thank you card kit designed by my sister and first cardmaking mentor, Heidi Gonzales (My Lil' Scrap Corner) to send to Liz letting her know how much I appreciate her technical expertise, but also how much I enjoy learning from her because she is such a fun person to be around and laughter is never at a minimum!  I colored my little sunflowers with Blendabilities.  I tweaked the card just a bit by adding an Early Espresso card base instead of leaving just one cream layer, and I made my green sentiment back layer peaking out  twice as large to add more color.  I also I hope Liz enjoys her little flower card shown below.

Recipe:  Stampin' Up: Early Espresso cardbase, Very Vanilla, Mossy Meadow.  Patterns: unknown/ provided in kit.  Papertrey stamps: All About You Additions.  Papertrey dies: Photo Finish Strips, Tiny Tags.  Stampin' Up Ink: Early Espresso, Stampin' Up Blendabilities: Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Skin Tone Asst.  5/8" Offray Satin ribbon.  SU: Linen Thread, Neutrals Button.  Stash: Copper Glitter.

Thank You for a Lovely Gathering!

My husband and his six siblings celebrated a family reunion over the July 4th weekend, which was hosted by his brother who lives in the Sacramento, CA area.  The siblings gathered from Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Washington (that would be us), and California, and a great time was had by all.  We motor-homed down, bringing our bedroom with us!  

Joe and June put a lot of work into assuring that it was a fun-filled and memorable occasion.  The reunion gathering was filled with catching up on our lives, reliving hilarious memories, and just generally a lot of talking, laughter, and joking around.  An old-fashioned hot dog and hamburger barbecue topped off the day with a yummy selection of salads, chips, desserts, homemade ice cream, iced tea, beer, and wine.  But, not only did they feed the group on this reunion day, July 5th, they also hosted a 4th of July gathering as well, with barbecued pulled-pork sandwiches, broccoli/ bacon salad, chips and dips, veggie and fruit trays, watermelon, and a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages!

And then to top it all off, this same lovely sister-in-law, June, hosted another event a few nights later for the ladies in the family.  (We let the guys fend for themselves with pizza and politics out on the patio.)  You might well ask, "What is Happy Hour Painting?"  This is the scoop!

The owner of the company comes to the house and sets up easels, canvases, oils, brushes, and wine, thus the name: happy hour.  June chose the subject of our painting lesson beforehand: a peacock.  When the setup was complete, the artist arrived with her sample of the painting that we would all be trying to replica.  There were 12 ladies in attendance all related and a few very close friends, all who had never painted in their lives before and didn't really think we had an artistic bone in our bodies!  I was absolutely shocked that 2-1/2 hours later, we all had a peacock painted on each of our canvases, and not a bad job either!  It was an absolute blast, full of chatter, joking, and laughter.  I hope I get to do it again someday.  The company hosts painting sessions at several cocktail lounges during happy hour on a regular basis.  On my next visit, I will have to take June, her daughter, and hopefully my daughter(s) out for this occasion!

You might ask where this story is going...well, I felt it only fitting that I make and send a thank you card to Joe and June for all their hard work and for providing such a delightful five-day visit!  I made this little card from a kit provided once again by my cardmaking mentor, Liz Thayer.  It was so cute, I just had to share it with these special relatives down south to be sure they knew how much we enjoyed our visit, how thankful we are that they took on this huge task of hosting all of us for this event!!! 

Recipe:  SU products: Cardstocks:  Pool Party, Real Red, Whisper White.  DSP: Fresh Prints pack; Stamps: Happy Watercolor; Ink: Real Red; Framelit dies: Circles; Stampin' Write Marker: Real Red. Gold Sequin trim.

In Memory of a Lovely Lady

My husband's last surviving aunt just passed away in July.  She celebrated her 93rd birthday in late June, and we certainly were not expecting this sudden turn of events.  She was a wonderful person, so kindhearted and personable, and quite humorous as well.  She will be missed, but we know for sure that she has been welcomed with open arms into God's home in heaven.  We wanted to share our sympathy with her children, John's cousins and let Dan and Vali, and Sister Rebecca  know that we have been thinking of them often and praying that their loving memories of their mother give them solace from their grief.

For sympathy cards, I finished a few cards that I had started at a cardmaking class several months ago with Liz Thayer and converted them to sympathy cards.  I made just a few changes to Liz's original designs to change their sentiment focus.  I think Liz would approve of the changes I made for this time of sorrow.

 

Recipe Card #1:  Stampin' Up products: Cardstocks: Midnight Muse, Whisper White, Brown Sugar; Stamps: En Francaise background, Flowering Flourishes, Four Frames, Petite Pairs; Ink: Midnight Muse, Kraft White, Burnt Brown Sugar; Punch: Decorative Labels; Ribbon: Midnight Muse Stitched Satin; Button: Very Vintage.  Sizzix: Top Note die (inside). Technique: Embossed Resist; Sponging. 

Recipe: Card #2: Stampin' Up products:  Cardstocks: Strawberry Slush, Black, Whisper White; Stamps: So Very Grateful (Spring 2014), Love &Sympathy; Simply Pressed Clay--Blossoms Clay Mold; Ribbon: Primrose Petals Satin Stitched ribbon. Ink: Strawberry Slush, StazOn: Black.  Spellbinder dies: Ovals SM, Scalloped Ovals SM.  Sizzix: Top Note die (inside).  Technique Crayon Resist, Sponging.

Birthday for Sister-in-Law #4

My sister-in-law, living in Colorado, celebrated her birthday in July as well!  That's three sister-in-law birthdays and one sister to celebrate this month!  I blame it all on my husband with his big family of seven siblings, who are all married!  So, with my busy month of getting ready for vacation, I decided I needed to use some of the cards in my stash, and I came across this little "Hello" card that I made several years ago at a card class taught by Misty Bradley in Redding, California.  

I love the soft pinks and grays together, and I am sure my sister-in-law will be pleased with it.  Knowing I would be seeing her this month at the sibling family reunion, I knew I would be able to hand-deliver it to her.  I hope Jeanie enjoyed her card when she opened it on her birthday as much as I enjoyed making it, creating the inside coordinating design, and finding just the right inside verse for the occasion.

Recipe:  SU cardstock:  Whisper White, Pretty-in-Pink.  BoBunny Double Dot: Shadow Dot.  SU punches: 1-3/8" Circle; 1-3/4" Scallop Circle.  Offray: 3/8" pink satin ribbon.  Liquid Pearls. (Size: 4-1/2" x 6").

July 2014 Anniversary #8!

My youngest son, and youngest child, is having his eighth wedding anniversary in the month of July.  It is difficult to believe that eight years have gone since this wonderful occasion.  His bride was as lovely at the wedding as she is a person, and we are all so happy to have her as part of the family!

For their anniversary, I wanted to convey this note of happiness, so I chose a card from a kit designed by my sister/ card mentor, Heidi Gonzales (My Lil' Scrap Corner @ blogspot), and completed it with my own tweaks and changes to make it more me.  To do this, I added two more layers of colored cardstock that accomplish three things:  it added more color to the card (which originally only had a vanilla base); it added more layering; and it enlarged the card size from the standard A2 size.  I also added a little twine bow to the front embellishments and rounded the corners of the vanilla layer.  I decided to add decorative corner cutouts to my new blue layer, to add more detail, and then after trimming the vanilla sides a sliver, I attached the top vanilla unit to my blue layer.  I finished by popping this entire unit off the base card.  I think the additional colored cardstock layers enhanced the front banners and made them pop more.  I also think the whole card is even more eye-appealing than it already was in its original lovely design.  I think Mark and Ginger will be please with their So Happy for You anniversary card.

Recipe:  SU cardstocks: Crushed Curry (base), Island Indigo, Very Vanilla.  Pattern Papers: DCWV: Adhesive Cork; MME--Miss Caroline-Dilly Dally/ Dolled Up/ Fiddlesticks.  Papertrey: Stamps-Mini Blooms (sentiment); Dies-Delightful Dahlia (leaves).  MFT dies: Fishtail Flags.  SU punches: 5-Petal Flower (ret.), Boho Blossoms, 1" Circle, 1-1/4" Scallop Circle, 2-3/8" Scallop Circle, Scallop Border (inside).   Spellbinders: Labels 1.  WRMK Corner Chomper: Scallop.  American Crafts: Corner Rounder (small).  Queen & Co. Goosebumps (some colored w/ Copics).  May Arts Hemp Twine.  Stash: Sage felt.  (Size: 4-3/4" x 6").

Birthday for "Sister Dear"!

My only sister celebrates her birthday during the month of July.  I wanted to send her a birthday card to let her know that though we are miles apart, she is in my mind daily.  Now, there are many reasons for this, but three primary reasons are: 1) she is my sister, 2) she is my loving friend, and 3) she is my very first cardmaking mentor.  In other words, she is responsible for my very favorite hobby of my entire lifetime...cardmaking.  She has taught me right from the first novice stages:  how to cut paper; how to save paper while cutting; what glues to use; how to use a tape runner gun; how to make a mini album; how to color and shade, first with woodless colored pencils and then with Copic markers; and finally, she got me involved in Stampin' Up.  She has more patience in her little finger while teaching real beginners than I have in my entire body!  She also has more creative genes in her little finger than I do in my entire body!  So, I thank her and wanted to make her this little birthday card, which says it all "LOVE!"

Recipe: Paper: SU cardstock: Whisper White, Crisp Cantaloupe. Authentique-Grace: Poised/ dots, Beauty/ flowers, Sweetness/ Words. Computer-made sentiment.  SU Punches: 1-3/4” Scallop, 1-3/8” Circle, 1” Circle. Flower punches: Blossom + Pansy. MemroyBox: Typewriter Upper Alphabet dies. Seam binding ribbon dyed Crisp Cantaloupe. Recollections Brad pearl.  (Size: 4-3/4" x 5").

Birthday Card for Cousin Junie!

My oldest cousin will be having a birthday in July, and I wanted to make her a birthday card, which meant I had to get busy because of my looming motorhome vacation.  I was pretty sure we might still be traveling when her card needed to be mailed, so I needed to complete it and take it with me.  I decided to case a design from another little card I made at one of Liz Thayer's card classes and add a few modifications to see how it turned out.  I added a third flower to its original design and a few more leaves.  I also changed the sentiment to a birthday theme and stamped it on a separate pieced of white cardstock instead of directly onto the card front.  I tweaked its location  and popped up with two decorative punched layers peeking out behind.  I tried a little punch creativity by using the Blossom flower punch to punch out the bottom green layer of the sentiment. 

I then went to work creating a decorative design for the inside to coordinate with the front.  I decided the little Boho punch flowers and rhinestones that I used on the front Flower Shop flower centers would be a nice touch on each of the verse corners and, maybe, I'd throw in a few tiny leaves under each flower and it would be just right.  I was pleased with the additions I made to the original card design, my birthday verse,  and the coordinating inside design.  I think my cousin will enjoy her birthday card.

Recipe:  Stampin' Up cardstocks:  Whisper White, Melon Mambo, Gumball Green.  SU stamps:  Flower Shop. SU Ink: Primrose Petals.  SU Modern Mosac EF.  SU Adorning Accents Edgelit.  SU punches: Bird Builder (leaves); Boho Blossoms; Modern Labels; Pansy; Blossom punch (modified for green sentiment back).  SU rhinestones. Computer-made sentiment/ verse (Xiorama font).  (Size: 4-1/2" x 5-3/4").

My Son-in-Law's Birthday!

My son-in-law's birthday was coming up in mid-July, and I was leaving for a few weeks on vacation...our first excursion out in the motor-home this year.  With our leave date coming up soon, I needed to be proactive and get Don's birthday card made early to leave as we would be gone on his actual birthday. Yikes, I was feeling the pressure to get busy very quickly.

Now, he is a big coffee drinker, so I decided to use my Perfect Blend Stampin' Up stamp set with his card. Then, I remembered a really cute card I had started at a class taught by Liz Thayer several months ago where she taught the masking and reverse masking techniques.  We used the Perfect Blend stamps with the reverse masking technique to make this card.  I had all the parts stamped, cut, and embossed, I just needed to assemble the card that was almost complete, but I decided I wanted to modified my card's design a bit to put a little more "me" into it.  I wanted to enlarge it and add more color for interest, so I added a black card base to make a fifth layer, which accomplished both things.  I also added the printed belly-bands to the two outside cups instead of just on the middle cup.  I decided to use red scrappers floss ties on my ribbon instead of twine and put it on the top as well as on the bottom.  I then added a larger dark brown glimmer ticket as a base layer to my ticket sentiment and a red star with his initial on the center cup.  I also added an inside pocket to place a Starbucks gift card inside, and made a birthday verse for the inside with decorations to coordinate with the front.  I think my additions enhanced Liz's original card creation yet preserved its original cute design.  I hope Don likes his card as much as I enjoyed make and modifying it.

Recipe:  SU Papers:  Cardstock-Basic Black, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla; Neutral Paper Stack; Red Glimmer.  DCWV Glittery Glitz: Dark Brown.  SU stamps: Perfect Blend.  SU Ink: Soft Suede.  Spellbinders die: 5-Point Star.  SU Punch: Ticket Corner (ret.).  SU Decorative Dots EF.  SU Chevron ribbon.  Making Memories Glitter letter (colored with Copics). Stash: Red Scrapper's Floss.  Technique: Reverse Masking.  (Size: 4-1/2" x 5-3/4").

2014 Sister-in-Law Birthdays - #3

So, with two of the eight sister-in-law birthdays already under by belt, it is now time for sister-in-law #3's birthday.  Dianne used to be a tea drinker in her younger years when we live near each other in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Wow!  That was 40 years ago...a lot of time has gone by.  She has lived in at least three states other than California since then, and the same is true for me.  The only other state we both lived in was Virginia, but our tenure was separated by at least ten years.  Each of our other states of residence have been totally different areas of the country.  It is amazing how a husband's work career can move you around the country.

Back to Dianne's card...remembering our tea drinking days, I decided to make her a little card depicting a teacup...I just love all the stamps and dies available to do just that.  I chose a Papertrey Ink set of stamps and dies to make this little card.  I cased a card made by my sister several years ago, and changed it up a bit by enlarging my card to a 5-1/2" square and adding a darker aqua layer and more sewing machine stitching.  I also coordinated my tea bag color with the card...that was a bit of luck!  I add a little homemade verse and coordinated the inside decor with the front of the card.  I hope Dianne likes her little tea card!

Recipe:  Papers: SU Whisper White cs (base), Coastal Cabana cs.  Papertrey Ink patterns: Green Boutique, 2008 Bitty Dots, 2008 Bitty Box Basics.  Papertrey stamps/ dies: Tea for Two Additions.  SU Ink: Soft Suede, Baja Breeze. Zutter Corner Rounder. Colorbox Chestnut Roan (distrressing).  Machine stitching.  Computer-made verse (Tempus Sans ITC font). EK punch: Fancy Photo Corners.  Stash:  Baker's Twine.  (Size: 5-1/2" square).  (Thank you Heidi Gonzales for design to CASE).

A Coast Guard Retirement...Congratulations!

My son-in-law has decided to retire after 27 years of service in the Coast Guard.  His last duty station was at the USCG Operations Center in Kearneysville, West Virginia - the software development center for the Coast Guard and Homeland Security.  His first question upon receiving this assignment was:  West Virginia! Is there any water or boats in West Virginia?  And, the answer was, "No!"  For a man used to being on a boat in the ocean, I would say this was disconcerting to say the least! 

I am a lover of U.S. history, and I found the Coast Guard's history very interesting.  Here are a few of those items I found to be interesting tidbits:

• The Coast Guard is the oldest continuous seagoing service of the United States, and its original purpose was to collect customs duties in the nation's seaports under the U.S. Treasury Department, starting in 1790.
• It has changed the department that it reports to seven times in its history, as follows:  U.S. Dept. of Treasury (1790-1917); U.S. Dept. of Navy (1917-1919: World War I); U.S. Dept. of Treasury (1919-1946); U.S. Dept. of Navy (1941-1946: World War II); U.S. Dept. of Treasury (1946-1967); U.S. Dept. of Transportation (1967-2003); Dept. of Homeland Security (2003-present).
• It can be transferred to the U.S. Dept. of Navy by the President at any time or by Congress during times of war; therefore, its motto is Always Ready.
• It is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission with jurisdiction in domestic and international water, and also a federal regulatory agency as well.
• In terms of size, the Coast Guard, by itself, is the world's 12th largest naval force.

For Don's retirement, effective July 1st, I made this card with a few photos of "boats" and/or duty stations to which he has been assigned throughout his 27-year career to commemorate and thank him for his years of service to our country.

Recipe:  Bazzil cs (cardbase): Admiral; DCWV: Glitzy Glitter Stack/ The Corrugated Stack; Authentique: Pride/ Unified/ Amend; BoBunny: Dark Denim Dot; Recollections: Photo Burlap.  Recollections Essentials Distressed.  Dies:  Sizzix Tim Holtz Picture Reel BigZ; Spellbinders Labels 15/ Stars.  WRMK Deco Corner Chomper.  Zutter Corner Rounder.  Recollections Star brads.  Stash:  Button, Scrapper's Floss.  (Size: 5-3/4" square).

Thinking of a Friend...Feel Better Soon!

A good friend has been under the weather for over a week, and I wanted to send her a little pick-me-up card to let her know I was thinking about her and wishing her well.  

I decided on a card I made a few weeks ago that has been waiting to be chosen for the perfect person it was surely meant for.  The bones of this card are from a lovely design of my sister's, Heidi Gonzales/ My Lil' Scrap Corner.  While putting it together, of course, I had to make a few adjustments to make it more me.  I added two base layers, changing the card base from white to navy and adding a little aqua layer in-between it and the first patterned-paper layer.  I also decided to add a corner design to the navy pattern so it was not just a plain square by using my WRMK Deco Corner Chomper.  It also sports a navy ribbon with a double bow instead of an indigo blue single layer bow. 

I hope my friend enjoys her very colorful little card, and it perks her up, and she knows she is thought about often!

Recipe: Stamp: PTI Mini Blooms (sentiment/ mini flowers). Papers - SU cs: Night of Navy, Pool Party, Whisper White. WRMK Yellow cs.  DSP: WRMK-Feelin’ Groovy: Harmony (diamonds), Stripes (back: scroll print).  Memento Tuxedo Black ink. Spellbinders die: Scalloped Squares. PTI die: Happy Day. WRMK Deco Corner Chomper. Colorbox Chestnut Roan (edge distressing). Hug Snug Skipper Blue seam binding ribbon. Recollections mini rhinestones.