Memories...September 2012 Brings Their 8th Anniversary!

Happy Days!  This card was chosen as a

SPLITCOASTSTAMPERS FAVORITE OF

WEEK ENDING - AUGUST 19, 2012

Wow!  It is absolutely difficult to believe this is my daughter's 8th anniversary  (and her husband, too)...LOL!  She was such a beautiful bride, making new memories for September 11th!!  It is good to have this date represent something good and wonderful and not just a memory of planes colliding into the Twin Towers in New York!  For their anniversary, I traditionally purchase a dinner gift card, but as they have just moved to West Virginia, I'll have to do some research on what restaurants are available in their little town!  (I'll figure something out of that I'm sure.)   In the meantime, I hope they enjoyed the card I made just for them, which uses a digi image with Copic coloring and a little stencil sponge daubing.

Happy Anniversary Don & Michele!

Papers: old DCVW pad/ Bazzill cardstock; Tiffany Doodles digi: dogwood; Copic markers; SU Framelits/ Spellbinder Oval;  Inks: Momento Tangelo; SU Choc. Chip; Joann's ribbons/ lace; THoltz: button; Recollections rhinestones.  (SplitcoastStampers Thread: August 19, 2012/ #58).

A Sister-in-law Birthday Following Mine!

Another of my sister-in-laws celebrates her birthday in early, early September, but this one is special...her birthday is the day after mine!!  I made her this little card using my new Stampin' Up flower stamp set with lots of glitter added to match my glittery paper.   A card by Liz Thayer at a shoebox crop I attended inspired me.  I adapted a similar fold idea, but went with a deeper 3/4-fold, added a background edge to the flower stamp, used the Dotted Scallop ribbon border on the flower and the sentiment added to the front.  I finished off the card with inside decorations and a personalized verse.

Happy Birthday June. . .hope your had a delightful day and you enjoyed your card made just for you!

Recipe:  Stampin'Up stamp: Blooming with Kindness.  StampinUp Ink & Markers: Stazon Black; Midnight Muse, Wisteria Wonder.  Paper: SU Midnight Muse; DCWV-Plaid/ Stripe Stack.  SU punch: Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border.  SU Ribbon: Taffeta Midnight Muse. SU Button: Vintage Faceted.  Computer-made sentiment.

My daughter-in-law's birthday to celebrate!

Ginger's birthday follows on the heels of Mom's; therefore, it require a lots of cardmaking busyness all at one time!  When my son, Mark, married Ginger, he inherited a menagerie of pets...a dog, 3 cats, and 4 birds.  He seems to have readily adopted them as his family, and it's fun to watch.  It wasn't too hard to figure out what theme to use for Ginger's birthday card, and it gave me a chance to use my new Stampin' Up Bird Builder punch...so cute!

Happy Birthday Ginger...hope your day is very special!  As it's on a Friday, maybe you can make a three-day weekend of it and enjoy it to the fullest!

Recipe:  Papers: SU Perfect Plum cs/ dsp stack, Whisper White cs, stash papers.  SU Build-a-Bird punch.  Recollections purple brad. Sizzix Daisy die.  Stash: white lace, purple ribbon..

Moving Day Came... -:)

My daughter has made her move and I am already missing her!  I wanted to send her a special card about moving, settling in, and making her new house her home no matter how temporary.  I sound as though she needs help with this, but this is actually her fourth move to be where her husband's Coast Guard duty station has taken them.  The difference is that this move is across the country; whereas, her first three moves were all on the west coast either in Washington or Oregon...so at least within driving distance of not more than 7 hours!  So, maybe this card and what it says is more a reflection of knowing who she is and what she does each time they move!  I, of course, am already looking three years in the future for when she will return to Washington!

And, following are my thoughts for her and how I know she has handled being a military wife who has had to pick up and move...the process she goes through!

Dear Daughter:  I have named my card "An Ode to a Military Wife;" a fitting title for my message!  We miss you already and look forward to getting on a plane and making a visit soon.  The East Coast has some beautiful landscapes, and you will enjoy taking your 5th-Wheel out in search of the very best places!

A Dear Mother's Birthday!

It's my mother's birthday next week!  It will be nice to be thinking about her on her special day having loads of fun!  She and my sister are taking a four-day girls' scrapping retreat that Heidi is hosting in a small town with a cute vacation rental house where you can hear the sound of the river flowing and train whistles in the distance.  They plan to crop until the wee hours of the morning, sleep in if they want, laugh, have fun with good scrapping friends, take time out to visit local boutiques, and do whatever they want...what could be better than that!  Oh, I know, if I could be there too, that would surely be lots better!  My mouth is almost watering just thinking about it!

Happy Birthday Mom...I'm so excited you get to go away for your special day to gab, crop, have fun, and rest?? (Not too sure about that...LOL!)

Recipe: Papers:  SU cardstocks: Midnight Muse, Baja Breeze; "Stash" papers. Computer-made sentiment.  EK Tulips border punch, SU Petite Pennants punch, Recollections brad, Sizzix Daisy die, Spellbinders Scalloped Ovals, Midnight Muse stitched ribbon, "Stash" ribbon. White twine.

My Kansas sister-in-law has a Birthday in 2012!

As you might expect, I have a sister-in-law with a birthday in August.  With eight sister-in-laws, there's got to be one almost every month of the year, though I do think I miss a few.  But, if I start making cards for brother-in-laws, I know I will certainly hit every month for sure!  I am trying to get better at sending birthday cards since I am now retired...my work has become cardmaking, LOL!  Do you ever think, "This is crazy, I'm stressing myself out because I have too many cards to make!  It's supposed to be fun...not work."  I find it kind of funny at times!  So, here is Joanie's card adapted and inspired by a card design by my sister, Heidi Gonzales (My Lil' Scrap Corner).

Happy Birthday Joanie...have a great one!

A Little Thank You

Here's a little card I made as a thank you for gracious hospitality sent my way.  I also need to thank my sister, Heidi (My Lil' Scrap Corner), for lending me inspiration from a card she had made several years ago using a similar idea.

I used Mind's Eye papers, Bazzill cardstock, Papertrey stamps, and twine.

An Anniversary in the family!

A wonderful couple, my son, Mark, and his beautiful wife, Ginger, celebrate their sixth anniversary on July 22!  Wow, how time flies.  Today is a cool gray day in the Seattle area, but remembering back to their outdoor wedding, brings the vivid memory of an unheard of 95 degree day, full of blistering heat and lots of sunshine!  For their anniversary, I had to make a card meant just for them, and as they have three birds, a birdcage seemed just the thing!   For these two special people in my life, and in my usual cardmaking fashion, I decorated the inside with matching papers and a unique verse!  And, here is their card: 

A very Happy Anniversary, Mark & Ginger.  We love you!

I was asked to see the inside decoration/ verses.  Very easy, using front papers, computer for verse, and Spellbinders die...so here it is:

My special sister...celebrates her birthday!

My sister, and cardmaking mentor, is having a birthday!  It is almost mandatory that I make her a card...right?  It is surprising, though, that both of us find we miss each others birthdays in cardmaking because are just so darn busy making cards for everyone else.  This year, I was going to a shoebox card swap, so I used the opportunity to make a card just for my sister for this event.  Here is what I came up with...hope she enjoys it!   (It was so three-dimensional that I had to send it as a package...LOL!)

Happy Birthday, Heidi, Sister Dear...Luv you!

Paper: Joann's openstock/ cardstock; Helen Grace; Minds Eye.

Sizzix: Daisies Flower Bigz Die; MFT Homespun Birdhouse Die-namics; Spellbinders Elegant Posts.

Offray Ribbon; Recollections brown mini pearls; pearl brad.

My son-in-law celebrates a birthday!

Don has decided to celebrate his birthday today by going camping one last time in Washington before their move to West Virginia!  I don't think the West Virginia humidity will make camping as much fun there, but in Washington, July and August are the very best months to camp...no humidity, of course.  The weather is generally in the low to mid 80s...can't ask for anything better that's for sure!  To celebrate his birthday, I thought a card about camping out be perfect, and here it is:

Happy Birthday Don...enjoy you camping trip!

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.

A Daughter's Birthday!

Happy Days!  This card was chosen as a

SPLITCOASTSTAMPERS FAVORITE OF

WEEK ENDING - JULY 15, 2012

 

Daughter, Michele, celebrates her birthday today!  I had to get my creative juices flowing to make her a special birthday card that said, "Yes, this card was made especially for Michele!"  For the past year, I've been thinking about making a card for her using a vintage seed packet, depicting gardening, because she so likes to work in her yard.  She has been wanting to plant some roses...especially Mr. Lincoln (a blood red with a delicious smell) to commemorate her late Grandfather Bill, his favorite.  But with their move to West Virginia in the near future, that will have to wait three years until their return as roses need careful tending here with all our rain and cool weather!  But meanwhile, her new rhododendron garden is looking beautiful...so fitting here in the northwest where they grow wild!  Here is her card that evolved from perking slowly for almost a year...LOL! 

Happy Birthday, Michele...enjoy!

Ingredients:  Papers: Backround/ Aqua: Mind's Eye (Laundry Line/ Breaking Free); Paisley/ Red dot (behind seed packet): K&Company-Classic K Balley pad; Tools/gloves: K&Company dimensional stickers; Butterfly: Martha Stewart (sponge daubbed); Fence: Die-namics (My Favorite Things).  (SplitcoastStampers Thread: July 15, 12/ #9).

HUGE Congratulations in Order...

This post is bittersweet for sure!  My son-in-law has been promoted to Warrant Officer in the Coast Guard...that is absolute GREAT news!  Now the bittersweet part, they are being transferred from Washington state to West Virginia!!  That is just a bit of a distance...approximately 2,700 miles or 42 hours of driving!  Hmm...right now I drive to Michele's house in 10 minutes...that will be a HUGE change for three years, and who knows after that!

To celebrate and congratulate Don on this GREAT promotion and wonderful milestone in his career, here is my card: 

Ingredients:  Night of Navy/ Cherry Cobbler/ Baja Breeze cardstocks (Minds Eye stripe/ stars unknown).  Embossing Folder:  Square Lattice.  Stamp set:  The Open Seas - gold embossing lightly applied/ heavy to anchor.  Denim/ Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine.  Applied faux patina process to Baja Breeze embossed with Square Lattice, using stamp pads:  Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler and Not Quite Navy: sponge daubbing followed by Versamark/ heat-set Gold Embossing powder.  Sentiment: computer-generated; Stampin' Up Modern Labels punch.

Father's Day 2012 is almost HERE!

Several weeks ago I returned from a loooong visit to California, and I've been trying to get my car full of scrapping tools and materials back into the house and put away.  Of course, not only did the old stuff come home, but lots of new goodies as well!  It is taking a lot of creativity to get it all stored away, but not the kind of creative juices I really wanted to employ!

 In the back of my mind, I've been fermenting an idea for a card for my husband for Father's Day.  Over the last several months, I've seen several cards using maps, and with that idea in mind, I just had to see what I could come up with.  The other day an overwhelming urge drove me to get started (even though my room's still a mess...LOL).  After much "that's good" and "no, not good" attempts, here it is.

Father's Day card...June 17, 2012

I had blues and browns in mind and some sort of vintage car, depicting traveling and a journey.  Internet surfing brought me this little 1930 Austin in just the right color, and I was on my way.  I only had two papers with maps and neither would work...so again to my computer.  I found several maps and passport stamps and downloaded them; tweaking their colors to get just what I wanted, even sponge daubed Canada...it was too white!  (I really liked the shades of blues on an Antarctica map, but didn't see John traveling there, so had to discard that thought...but, I really like the colors...oh well...another day!) LOL

And here is the finished inside...

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: