Happy Birthday Little One!

Two great nieces, who are sisters, share January birthdays.  I was starting to think about Paisley's first birthday coming up at the end of the month,when I came across this cute little vintage baby girl image.  It inspired me to do a very girly vintage card in pinks...a color I don't seem to have used a lot in making cards, so I was excited to get started.  

After trying out a sunburst ray background card a few weeks ago and enjoying its effect and how easy it was to do, I was anxious to try it again but with sewing stitches.  I really thought this would be a very cute idea with this little girl image.  So, the hunt was on for papers in pink to fit the image.  I got a little carried away and used six different papers for my rays, plus another for a background mat as well.  I got out my sewing machine and added the machine stitching down the rays and zigzags to finish off the outer perimeter.  I think it really adds to the finished look of the card, and I am please with the results.

For the image framing and the sentiment background, I reinforced the cardstock weight by adhering the pink cardstock to a cream cardstock using an adhesive spray glue.  I used Spellbinders Lattice die to cut out the frame.  After cutting the lattice frame out, I sprayed the front surface with adhesive spray. While it was still "wet," I sprinkled it with fine iridescent white glitter with pink sparkles and tapped off the excess. A friend told me how she used adhesive spray to create the snow falling glitter on her Christmas cards. "The cheapest brand works great," she said.  And, it does work great and is very easy to do!

Below is the finished front and inside of Paisley's little birthday card with papers and embellishments to coordinate.  I hope Paisley likes her little "Can Can Cherub!"

Recipe:  Paper: Darice Kraft-base, BoBunny-Vicki B./ Perky-mat, Scrapbook Walls/ Rosey Bouquet, DCWV: Le Tres Chic Stack, Authentique: Cherish Two, Crate Paper: Farmhouse/ Handpicked, Anna Griffin: AG1467, DCWV: Garden Tea Party Stack, Authentique: Cherish One. Darice Pink cs.  Spellbinder Dies: Lattice; Rectangles SM. Stampin'Up punch: Modern Labels. Offray crochet lace. Stash: Satin-sheer 1" ribbon. Computer-made sentiment: Christine font. Homemade crochet flower.

Birthday #93!

My husband has another aunt who has lived a long and lovely life, and she will shortly be celebrating her birthday.  Her children, my husband's cousins, have decided to "shower" her with cards to mark her 93rd birthday and have asked all of the family to send birthday cards to create the "shower."  With all of her relatives, I think it might be more like a monsoon as my husband comes from a large family with large families!

I made this card last spring knowing I would find just the right person to send it to because I really wanted to try out the Stampin' Up Dress Up framelits.  As Margaret always looks like she just "stepped out of a band box," I thought this dress was probably one we could easily have seen her wear on a warm summer Kansas evening.  I hope she enjoys her little "dressed up" card and has a wonderful birthday.

Recipe:  SU papers: Not Quite Navy cardbase/ mat, Pool Party cs, 2011-2013 Pool Party In Color dsp stack, Very Vanilla cs. DCWV stack: Glitter Polka Dot. SU stamp: Flowering Flourishes. SU Dressed Up framelits. Spellbinders Labels 4. SU Argyle embossing folder. SU Ink: Island Indigo (sponging), Pool Party (flourish). SU Glimmer brad. SU adhesive pearls. Spritzer:  Metallic Aquamarine (homemade). SU ribbon: 5/8” Vanilla Flower trim, 1/8” Pool Party taffeta ribbon. Stash: Stripe ribbon, Baker’s twine (necklace).  3M foam tape, 3M tape runner.  EK punch: Fancy Corner (inside).

A Washington HELLO!

One of our girls has been transplanted to West Virginia for going on one-and one-half years, where her husband is assigned by the Coast Guard.  For one reason or another, we have not been able to get away to visit them.  We were able to see her briefly when she came to California twice to visit her grandmas.  We are missing Michele and her husband everyday, and they are missing "home."  We have enjoyed Skyping with them during family holidays and for other "spur of the moment"  reasons.

Let me tell you a humorous and odd, all rolled into one, story, which makes me smile every time I think about it.  Being from Washington state, we are all extremely excited about our football team, the Seahawks, and their winning ways.  So far, NFC Divisional Champions...and hopefully, all the way to the Super Bowl...Go HAWKS!  Well, because of my daughter's location in West Virginia, obviously they did not get to watch the Seahawks games unless they were playing a team from the northern part of the East Coast.  So, to solve their problem, we came up with Skyping the last two regular season games for them.  We put my husband's laptop in front of the big screen in the exercise room, and though they did have to suffer through commercials, they got to enjoy the entire game.  They were STOKED!  Unfortunately, we could not watch in the same room as the laptop had to be place directly in the viewing area of the television screen for them to see, so we watched our DVR recorded version in the living room.  We were excited to be able to provide them with this opportunity.  Aren't electronics and computers wonderful!

So back to the original reason for this post...a card.  To keep in touch, I was inspired to make this card from a design by my friend Sandy Stroble, and I thank her for the idea.  She gave me the information of where I might find the Washington stamps needed, which I ordered from a company online.  My version of Sandy's card is a bit larger than the original and features scallop mats backing the 2-inch x 2-1/2-inch rectangles.  I have also added a bit of ribbon, a knotted tie, buttons, and two more color layers.  I hope Don and Michele enjoy our little HELLO to them from their "home" in the Northwest!

Recipe:  Paper: The Paper Company-Primary-Emerald Green cs, Seaside-Lt. Green cs; Georgia Pacific-White cs.  Stamps: Wood Cellar-Wasghinton; Impress-Seattle, Space Needle.  Stampin' Up Ink: Garden Green, Pistachio Pudding.  Spellbinder die: Scalloped Recantgles SM. Impress Stamps heart brad. Stash: 5/8" Emerald Green Satin/ 3/8" green ginham ribbons; Buttons; Thread. 

A Birthday Spin!

My little great niece will be celebrating her 5th birthday today all the way across the country in Georgia.  Her mother and family are transplanted to Georgia from California while her daddy is stationed there on military duty.  Though I miss seeing them all on my visits to California, I am happy they are on U.S. soil, and Daddy has finished most, if not all, of his tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I wanted to make a whimsical card for Taylor, so thought of the pinwheel Sizzilit I had stashed in my cardmaking equipment and of a card I had previously made at a Stampin' Up class given by Liz Thayer and thought I'd begin there.  My little birthday spin evolved into the card below, and I hope Taylor likes it!

Recipe:  SU Island Indigo cs, Recollections Cool Water cs pack, SU Sycamore Street dsp (2013 SAB). Spellbinders Big Scallop Ovals SM.  SU Clouds Embossing Folder. SU punches: Modern Label, Word Window. Sizzilits Pinwheel die. Offray double-sided satin ribbon, Mini gold brads, SU Pool Party Baker’s Twine, SU Dazzling Details (glitter glue), Toothpicks. Becca’s Bowmaker.

A Little Ford Coupe for a Birthday!

Now for the other brother-in-law celebrating his birthday on January 5th as well!  Both of them are owners of antique cars, so I thought I would focus on this idea for this second brother, Jeff's birthday this year.  His automobile is a 1933 Ford Coupe, so I went on the hunt for a digital image that I could use my Copic colors on and hope to come as close as possible to the actual color.  It is blue, but I think my little coupe is a slightly different blue than the actual car, but it goes nicely with the papers I chose for the card...LOL!

I have been seeing many cards on Pinterest using the sunburst ray design as the background and I really waned to try it out myself.  I found several U-Tube videos with instructions.  It surprised me greatly as it was a lot easier than I thought it would be.  I wished after I finished that I had done a little straight and zigzag stitching to finish off the sides of the rays, but oh well, maybe next time!

Note: There are eight colored flags in auto racing: green (start), yellow (slow...caution), red (stop), black (respond to concern), black/diagonal white stripe (suspended/ no response to black), blue/diagonal yellow stripe (slow autos must yield to faster...not in same lap), white (lead driver in final lap), checkered (winner crosses finish line).  In my card Jeff has been given two colors of flags:

• White on the front: he is lead driver on his final lap, and 
• Checkered inside: he is the winner crossing the finish line.  

I hope Jeff likes his little winning Ford Coupe that he will receive for his birthday!

Recipe:  Papers: Recollections-Dk. Green cs (base); DCWV-The Corrugate Neutrals Stack/ Kraft, The Shimmer Stack/ Dark Green; Heidi Swapp-No Limits/Champion; Graphic 45-A Proper Gentlemean/ Sophisticate, Bird Song/ Enlightment, LeCirque/ Wizards of Wonder, Renaissance Faire/ Romantique; Stampin' Up-Naturals/ Ivory. Spellbinders dies: Ovals, Deckled Ovals. Sizzix die: Tim Holtz Weathered Clock. Copic markers. Computer-made sentiment.

Following is the inside of the card designed using coordinating papers from the card front and a computer-made verse. 

Inside recipe: Papers: Recollections-Dk. Green cs (base); Graphic 45-A Proper Gentleman/ Sophisticate, Domestic Goddess/ Farmer's Market (checks); Stampin' Up-Naturals/ Ivory. EK Scallop Corner punch.

Mr. Moustache Birthday Card!

Happy Days!  This card was chosen as a

SPLITCOASTSTAMPERS FAVORITE OF

WEEK ENDING - DECEMBER 29, 2013

Two of my husband's brothers celebrate their birthdays on the same day...January 5th!  I had been wanting to make a masculine card featuring a moustache, and as brother, Joe, has had a moustache regularly for going on ten or more years, his birthday was the perfect excuse!  I had seen several cards over the last few years featuring Stampin' Up's Mocha Morning designer paper using postage stamp squares (the inchie style) and loved the look of it.  I wanted a larger card (big surprise) than an A2 size that is usually used by most SU designers.  I also like more layering than is typically used with most inchie cards, so came up with the idea of combining inchies and banners together.  Here is the result of inchies, banners, and Mr. Moustache!  I hope Joe enjoys his card.

Below is the inside of the Mr. Moustache card showing the design to coordinate with the style of the card.

Recipe:  Stampin' Up products:  Early Espresso cs, Crumb Cake cs, Very Vanilla cs, Basic Black cs, Pink Pirouette cs, Regal Rose cs (ret.), Mocha Morning dsp; Punches: Postage Stamp square, 1" square, Bird Building (moustache), 1/2" circle, 3/4" circle, small oval, Ex. lrg. oval, Decorative Label; Framelit: Banners (modified). MayArts twine. Stash: buttons. Computer-made sentiment. (Mr. Moustache and sentiment are popped).  Inside: EK Fancy Corner punch. SU Mocha Morning dsp.  (SplitcoastStampers Thread: December 29, 2013/ #52).

Happy New Year . . .Welcome 2014!

A Toast for a GREAT 2014! 

It is with many thank yous and some sadness that I say good-bye to 2013!  It feels good to say that for the most part it was a good year for those near and dear to my family.  

It was with sadness that we said good-bye to Alice, my husband's mother, in 2013; it was her 97th year!  She had a long and very good life and was a inspiration to all of us on how to live your life well with belief in God and always to be there with a helping hand for others. 

 

With a few other blips along the way, the rest of us made it through the year, ending with smiles on our faces and thank yous for our many blessings.  So, I end the year sending out well wishes for a wonderful new year in 2014!