A 2011 Valentine for the Female Gender in the Family!

I started with a card for my mother and after making it, I decided I like it so well I would make another and give one to my mother-in-law too.  I loved this paper that was flocked and had glitter as well.  This card's design is what would be called a "clean and simple" card currently.  I found the foam-glittered hearts at my local craft store and loved their puffy look.  My "Moms" appreciated being remember on Valentine's Day.

With my next card, I tried using the sandable cardstock and a peek-a-boo heart that showed the little verse on the inside of the card.  This card is for my daughter, Michele, and her husband.  I hoped it wasn't too feminine for Don, but Michele said she needs to receive a card once in a while that doesn't focus on Don.  I thought that was a good idea. . .if it is a joint card, one time it will be more feminine and the next one will be toward the masculine slant.  Seems fair, and here is their card.

My final card is for my youngest daughter, Jackie.  I was able to cut loose on the feminine side and decided to try the vintage look on her card.  I had been admiring vintage cards with doilies.  I found this lovely vintage lady on some paper that I had in my stash and fell in love with her.  Using two red heart doilies, I created this card:

A 2011 Valentine for Each of My Two Sons

On a roll with masculine Valentine cards, I thought I should attempt those I needed to make for my sons, David and Mark.  

Because I had this idea of threading a ribbon through the sentiment, David did get a ribbon and bow.  After finishing the card, I came to the conclusion that I could have used a fishtail knotted ribbon instead of a bow, but that just didn't come to mind until I was all done. . .so a bow he got!  I liked his card even with the "prissy" bow, but at least it was black!

My next card was for my son, Mark, and his wife, Ginger.  Because he has a wife, I figured I could fudge on the totally masculine card, after all it is for her too!  Though you can't see it well, the hearts on the balloons have the letters that spell out LOVE U. 

Valentine's Day 2011 has struck...

It was time to make cards for the family for Valentine's Day.  I decided to start with my husband's because I often find make cards the suit a man are more difficult than those for a woman.  Some guys don't like ribbons and bows, etc., so that cuts down lots of your embellishment options.  Hearts a generally thought of as girlie, but isn't it nice that Valentine's sweeps that thought out the door.  So, my husband got lots of hearts for his card, but they became more masculine by being in shades of brown.  Here is the card I made for John in 2011:

First Card of 2011 - Birthday for My Hubby!

A new year of cardmaking began.  I was starting to feel a bit more comfortable with designing my own cards.  So, I thought I try something of my own completely from scratch.  My husband is quite the television watcher from political news, business news to sports.  His favorite series is House, M.D.  He pretty much monopolizes the television and the remote during his relaxation time, which, as he is retired, can be most any time of the day or night!  

I made his the perfect card for my channel surfing husband, who hates to watch commercials so he switches the channel until he finds a station without commercials. . .the inside verse grants him a free day of channel surfing. . .no questions asked!  LOL

The Last of Christmas 2010!

My final two cards that I made and will post are not using pre-made chipboard embellishments but are more "from scratch" as I find I enjoy making my own embellishments more.  It gives the cards a much more homemade look, which I prefer.

I found a wonderful card in PaperCrafts magazine that I loved, and I had to try to make one very similar to see if I could make a card from a picture and change it a bit here or there where I saw fit.  I do not remember who the original author was, so I am sorry I am not able to give her credit.  I specifically went out and purchased the Sizzix Candy Cane die that I used for my card.  This card is for my daughter, who always loved to have as many different flavored candy canes as she could find.  She would take a box to school and trade with friends until they all ended up with a variety of different colors and flavors.

This last card was made by fussy cutting patterned paper and piecing and layering them together to create my own scene of the birth of Christ.  I cut out my own snow-covered ground to place by images upon.  I thought my daughter Michele's in-laws would really appreciate this card, so it was sent their way.

More 2010 Christmas. . .

I was finding if I had a certain paper that I loved or was a match for the person I was making the card for it seemed to help with my mojo.  So, I thought if I chose chipboard embellishments to fit each person, that might also help with the card development.  I went to work choosing chipboard embellishments with each of my children in mind, and then it was time to see what I could do with them.  

For our firstborn, a son, who always loved the story about Frosty the snowman, this little snowman card seemed just right:

For Jackie, who has built several gingerbread houses and tried her hand at gingerbread cookies, I thought this card was perfect for her:

And for Mark who was sure he could hear Santa and his reindeer on the roof, this was the perfect embellishment for him and his wife, Ginger!

And, then it was Christmas 2010!

I had been practicing making cards now for about a year, but still did not feeling like I had it down, that's for sure.  I, of course, was running out of time as I still haven't learned to pace myself well.  I decided to use chipboard embellishment pieces to help with my card designs where I could.  My first two cards were for my mother and for my mother-in-law, and this was how they turned out: 

Mom's card using Santa and JOY chipboard embellishments.  He was such a cute little Santa!

Alice's card (John's mother) was made using an ornament paper I had in my stash and making them into rectangles using my Spellinger dies.  The snowflake was a felt pre-made embellishment.

Learning to Color...

So, I wanted to learn to color.  In the Fall of 2010, while visiting in Redding, California, my sister (Heidi Gonzales, My Lil' Scrap Corner) gave several classes in coloring with woodless colored pencils (available at Michael's in the art department) using mineral spirits to set the color between shadings and finishing.  Following are several of my favorite first attempts. . .

Edwin - a Magnolia stamp

Ladybug Tilda - a Magnolia stamp

Dragonfly Tilda - a Magnolia stamp

A C.C. Design stamp (or digital image)...isn't she cute!