Hello...What a Delightful Visit!

On a recent trip to California, we were able to spend time with some long-time friends of over 50 years!  We had lost track of them for over 20 years, and re-found them about eight years ago.  What a delight to visit with friends my husband and I made before we were even married!  We had a wonderful afternoon visit that extended into evening with dinner out.  It was so very nice!  This couple has had some severe health issues in the last few years, and it is nice to see them feeling like themselves again and enjoying life to the fullest.  I wanted to send a little "Hello. . .Just a Note" card I made at a card class designed and given by my sister, Heidi Gonzales (My Lil' Scrap Corner).  During my assembly, I decided to add an extra colored layer of light aqua blue to bring out the blues in the card.  This card seems just right for this occasion...just a note to say hello!

Recipe:  Stampin' Up cardstocks: Whisper White, Pool Party.  DSP: WRMK-Feelin' Groovy: Flowers / Chevron (rt. border).  PTI stamps/ dies: Mini Blooms.  PTI die: Jar Label.  SU Inks: Crushed Currym, Real Red, Pacific Point.  Memento Ink: Tuxedo Black.  Colorbox: Chestnut Road (distressing).  Hug Snug Ambrosia seam binding ribbon.  Green felt (leaves).  Tim Holtz Memo pin.  Inside: SU: Scalloped Scallop Edge Punch (retired).  Computer-generated verse.  Font: Malihini Cuban BTN/ 16 Bold.

Happy Birthday to Sister-in-Law #5

Of my eight sister-in-law birthday that fall between May and October, I am on #5 for the month of August.  This is one of my husband's sisters, and she is the third oldest of the eight brothers and sisters.  As mentioned before, John is the oldest of eight!  Joanie still lives in Kansas where the family was raised, but has retired away from Wichita and out in the "boonies!"  I think sometimes she find this very remote and wishes she was closer to her children and grandchildren, not to mentioned the many, many cousins and in-laws!  I like to send her one of my cards each year to let her know John and I are especially thinking about her on her birthday, along with other times throughout the year as well!  

Fortunately, with John's sibling family reunion in early July, we had a great time visiting with all these relations from five different states!  I made this gate-fold card about a year ago using a card designed by Misty Bradley in May 2013.  I modified a tickets from the paper line's embellishment page by scanning it and dropping it into PaintShop Pro to re-color its background from tan to a soft sage green.  After printing my new ticket, I added it to the front of the card as a closure for the gate-fold.   I re-sized my new ticket to smaller version to include on the inside of the card near the sentiment journaling card.  I also added petite pearls to the peach die-cut doily on the front.  The flavor of the original card design is retained, but I like the little additions and changes I made, as I think it made the final card even better.

I  knew when I added the "LOVE" ticket to the front design that this card would be reserved for a close family member.  It is definitely a feminine card with its soft hues of peaches and pale greens.  I think this little "LOVE" card will fit Joanie just right! 

Recipe: Georgia Pacific-white cs. Bazzill Moss, Justy Peachy cs. Authentique Grace patterns: Humble/ plaid, Delicate/roses/ Foundations/ LOVE Ticket (background changed to Moss)/ Floral journal tag (inside). Sizzix Sizzlits Vintage Doily die. Martha Stewart half-pearls.  LOVE ticket recolored beige background to sage green and added pearls).  (Inspiration thank you: Misty Bradley).

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.