What a Nice Visit. . .Thank Yous are Needed!

I recently returned from a nice long visit in California with my mother and occasionally with my sister, my brother and his wife, and a few nieces and nephews as well.  It was such a lovely visit and thankfully the weather was with me.  You see, those of us from the Northwest just don't get along with weather in the 90s and 100s.  Typically, Redding, CA has had many days over 100-degree days by the third week in June and many more in the 90s, but Mother Nature was looking down and smiling upon me.  In the seven weeks I was there, we only had two days over 100 and two days over 90.  There were many days in the mid- to high 70s and the low to mid-80s and even several cloudy and rainy days with thunder and lightening. . .at least eight to nine days of those days!  My gosh, I felt almost like I was at home!  But, I got out of there just in time, because since I left ten days ago, they have had weather in the high 90s almost every day and even over 100 at all times!

Mom and I (and my sister when available) did lots of things and had lots of fun.  The highlight was our week-long Cardmaking Get-Away to Mt. Shasta.  In addition, Mom and I went on several mini-trips to visit the coast and our old stomping grounds and to visit relatives.  We played numerous games of Mexican Train, Bunco and weekly Bingo games as Mom is the Bingo manager in her village.  In addition, we saw lots of movie with lunch dates and lady friends along, and we even did a bit of cardmaking when at home.  I got to meet some lovely new ladies in her village and renewed some old friendships made on other visits.  It was all quite a lovely time. . .too bad I live so far.  

I wanted to send my mother a thank you card for her wonderful hospitality and the lovely visit.  I found several thank you cards in my stash that seemed to fit the occasion just right, but the one I chose will suit Mom to a tee.  My card is derived from a kit designed by Liz Thayer for our 2015 May Girls' Get-Away.  I modified my version by not using the single white cardbase, but added two color mats instead: a Coastal Cabana cardbase with an overlay mat of Hello Honey and then the card front.  I also shifted by pom-pom ribbon knot to the left instead of centered and added glitter to my letters.  I love the design Liz provided for us to work with, and I think Mom will enjoy the card I chose as well.

Before my card could be sent off, I needed to complete the inside with a complimentary design and a verses that suited this thank you occasion.  After reviewing several ideas I had in mind, I decided on the following because it matched my needs:  a compliment to the card front and a verse that said everything I wanted to say:

Ingredients:  Stampin" Up products:  Cardstocks--Bermuda Bay, Hello Honey, Crumb Bake, Whisper White.  Stamps--For Being You (2015 SAB).  Ink--Early Espresso.  Stamp-Write Markers--Hello Honey, Coastal Cabana, Calypso Coral.  Embossing Folder--Perfect Polka Dots.  Embellishments--Thick Baker's Twine-Hello Honey, Calypso Coral Pom-Poms, 1/4" Cotton Coastal Cabana ribbon.  Dazzling Diamonds Glitter.

A Daughter's Pre-Birthday Family Dinner!

The immediate family plans to celebrate my eldest daughter, Michele's, birthday this week-end with lunch at the Pac Island Grill in Federal Way.  Her sister, Jackie, discovered this little, tucked-away, Hawaiian barbecue-style restaurant several years ago on a blind date.  The family re-discovered it a few months ago when celebrating Jackie's birthday, and I think, we've decided to adopt it as a good place for family get-together, dining events.  Their Loli Loli Chicken is awesome and very similar to Huli Huli Hawaiian chicken, which you may have been able to try if you've ever vacationed in the Hawaiian Islands.

Oh, and the point. . .this pre-birthday luncheon idea was a quick, family decision, and I had not quite finished Michele's card that I was in the process of designing and creating just for her.  This forced me to resort to my card stash for an already completed birthday card to save the day.  I chose a beautiful pink card that I made back in January at a Dara Peterson/ Luci Kirschbaum Occasions Catalog Kick-Off cardmaking event.  This lovely card design uses the new rose stamps and dies to create a die-cut design that overlays the pink watercolor wash paper, Perfectly Artistic, from the Stampin' Up 2016 Sale-A-Brations flyer.  The card's design is an eye-appealing, wonderfully easy one, and I thank Dara Peterson for presenting it for our re-creation attempts.  See my efforts below:

Next steps, per my usual carddmaking completion style, is to create an inside design and verse that blends well with the card front and compliments the occasion for which the card is given.  Luckily, this was one of the cards that I completely finished on my May Mt. Shasta Girls' Get-Away with Mom and Sis.  I know Michele will love her card inside and out!

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up products:  Cardstock--Whisper White, Blushing Bride.  Patterned paper--Perfectly Artistic-pink.  Ink--Blushing Bride.  Stamps--Rose Wonder.  Dies--Rose Garden Thinlits.  Rhinestones.  Punch--Curvy Corners.

A Sister-in-Law Birthday in June!

I have six sister-in-laws from my husband's side of the family and the first of those has a birthday in June.  With my cardmaking get-away, I am READY!  This birthday card is even going to be a week early when she receives it!  Oh my, that surely must be a first for me!.

I made this sweet little wildflower birthday card using one of Stampin' Up's Sale-A-Bration stamp sets and my favorite embossing folder, Elegant Dots, as a background.  This embossing folder turns your cardstock into such a lovely and delicate pattern, and it was perfect for the little wildflowers!  This card's original designer, Liz Thayer, presented the design at a cardmaking event in April, and I took it home partly finished. because I wanted to color my flowers with my Copic markers.  

I tweaked my card just a bit by adding three wildflowers rather than just two, as I prefer the look of an odd number of elements rather than an even number.  I think I read somewhere that this has to do with your brain and its perception of things it sees.  It automatically pairs things seen, and if there is an even number, it subconsciously reaches that conclusion quickly and becomes less alert; where as, an odd number keeps your brain alert and attuned to what it is looking at.  In other words, it does not get bored!  Whatever the reasons, that one sounds good to me!   See my finished sister-in-law birthday card below!

My finishing touch was to create an inside design that complimented the front design and choose a suitable little birthday verse.  As I am traveling, I used my Mom's Papertrey Ink birthday stamps to find this verse rather than composing one of my own and completing with my computer and printer.

Recipe:  Stampin' Up products:  Cardstocks--Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Pistachio Pudding, Melon Mambo.  Patterned--Birthday Bouquet dsp (2016 Occ).  Stamps--Flowering Fields; Boys Will Be Boys (sentiment); Party Wishes (to make inside corner pattern).  Embossing Folder: Elegant Dots.  Bow Paper Clips.  Glitter: Dazzling Diamonds (flowers).  Other: EK punch: Scalloped Corners-medium.  Papertrey Ink stamp:  Inside & Out: Birthday.  Copic Markers.

A Day to Honor Fathers!

Our four children and spouses will arrive at our home on Father's Day bringing the goodies to make a magnificent barbecue dinner to celebrate my husband and myself.  You see...as I was traveling on Mother's Day to spend time with my 90-year old mother on her day, my day was planned to be celebrated with my husband on Father's Day.  We are willing to share our days with one another!

I wanted to make a special Father's Day card for my husband to not only celebrate him, but to thank him for allowing me a long vacation away to visit my family in California. ( I have to say, I was a busy gal, and enjoyed every minute of it!)  I have had the Stampin' Up Traveler stamp set for some time, and I have been itching to use it, but have never taken the opportunity.  I won a second copy of this very stamp set at a stamping event, which I brought down to share with my mother.  This was perfect. . .I'd use her set while visiting.

The stamp I wanted to use is the vintage locomotive, and I had in mind to emboss it to fit my black, white, and red card theme.  I used the Perpetual Birthday Calendar stamp set to form my background in Real Red and Smokey Slate. . . modifying it just a bit.  By using my MISTI stamping tool, I was able to wipe off half the red ink with a baby wipe and yet still be able to repeat-stamp to get a rich impression.  I was also able to re-position for the gray to enlarge that area.  I have to say, I just love my MISTI stamping tool.   Take a look at my finished train card below...it really is black, white and red in RIL...don't know why the picture picked up pink and charcoal)!  I think my husband will be very pleased with his Father's Day card.

I finished off my husband's Fathr's Day card by crafting an inside to coordinate ith the outside creation, and I fashioned a little verse fitting this special occasion.

Recipe:  Recollections cardstock: Black, Pewter.  Patterns: DCWV Bella Armoire Stack.  Stampin' Up products:  Red Glimmer Paper; Stamps--Traveler, Perpetual Birthday Calendar; Inks--Real Red, Smoky Slate; Embossing Powder--Black; Dies--Finishing Touches Edgelits-Pinked (retired).  Cottage Cutz dies: Expressions--Happy, Father's Day.  Recollections: Red Pearls.  EK punch: Scallop Corners-Medium (inside).

A Birthday for My Niece Who Turns 10!

It's time to celebrate my little niece, who lives here where I am visiting.  Another card that I finished on my Girls' Get-Away to Mt. Shasta was one I started at a cardmaking class hosted by Dara Peterson and Luci Kirschbaum, a partnership of two Stampin' Up demonstrators.  Their classes are always fun to go to, and the other cardmakers make it a fun gathering one doesn't want to miss!

This is what I would call a "clean and simple" card, which is not always my favorite style of card to make as I usually favor cards with lots more detail and fussiness, but I really like this card's color combinations, with the little balloons and the washi tape application so it moved to my "I'm likin' this one" category!  I did add another layer of color with the black cardbase under the Melon Mambo layer.  I just thought it needed just a bit more and made the other colors pop!  Thanks to Luci Kirschbaum for her design for us to make).

True to my cardmaking style, I set myself to design and inside to coordinate with the front card design.  I chose a retired stamp for the verse, as I wanted to color it with Copics to tie in the rich vibrant colors depicted on the card front. 

Recipe:  Stampin' Up products:  Cardstock--Black, Melon Mambo, Whisper White.  Stamps:  Party Wishes (balloons/ sentiment), Big Day (2015 SAB).  Ink--Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry, Mint Macaron; Memento-Tuxedo Black.  Punch--Party Punch Pack-balloon, Curvy Corners (inside).  Washi--It's My Party (2016 Occasions).  Twine: Thick-Blace/Melon Mambo.  Other: Goosebumps--Queen & Co.-Hot Pink Quartz (inside).

A Friend's Birthday Has Arrived!

While in Mt. Shasta on our week-long Girls' Crafting Get-Away, with my Mom and my sister, my goal was to get ahead of my cardmaking needs.  I had lots of ready-to-finish cards in my stash that I brought with me from Washington to work on while gone.  I finished over 15 card completely, inside and out, but it didn't even put a dent in my stash. . .woe is me!  One of the cards that I did complete is this cute little flower card, and I thought it would be perfect for Liz, my cardmaking buddy and Stampin' Up upline. 

I cannot claim the accolades for the original design as that honor and my thanks belong to Darla Watson, another Stampin' Up demonstrator that I know in California.  As I re-created her card, I took the liberty of making a few modifications to make it more mine.  I raised the ribbon tie to allow for a sentiment fishtail flag to be stamped and popped up at the bottom as there was no front sentiment, which I prefer.  I also enlarged my Early Espresso cardbase to make it more of a picture frame background.  Even with these changes, my card retains the flavor of the original design.

To complete my card, I followed my usual cardmaking plan, which is to create an interior design that compliments the card front and to choose or create a verse that coordinates with the occasion for which my card is intended.  Take a look at my finished product below.

Recipe:  Stampin' Up products:  Cardstock--Early Espresso, Daffodil Delight Whisper White.  Dot paper--stamped with Dots for Days background stamp.  Stamps--Flower Patch (flower/ sentiment), Remembering Your Birthday (verse), Dots for Days (background).  Ink--Early Espresso.  Memento Black.  Dies--Flower Fair Framelits.  Punch--Curvy Corners.  Ribbon--1/4" Cotton-Daffodil Delight.  Pearls--Copic colored.  Other:  Zutter--Curved Corner punch.

Sadly, A Sympathy Card is Needed!

While I've been away from home, it seems all kinds of unforeseen things have happened.  It is strange how just a month of time can change a whole lifetime.   While I've been gone, my oldest son's girl friend's father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and within three weeks has already passed away.  Our family knows from several family experiences that this is a fast-moving, almost impossible to cure, or put into remission, cancer.  In most cases, such as this gentleman, it is a silent killer, usually quite advanced before you even know you are sick.  We were fortunate to have met and shared some time with my son's girl friend's father, and we grieve with her in her loss.

I wanted to send a card to her from my husband and myself to let her know that we are both keeping her and her father in our thoughts and prayers.  We hope and pray that her painful grief can be short-lived to allow her peace and thus the ability to remember her father in peace, cherishing her lifetime of loving and happy memories.  For her card, I cased a Liz Thayer original from a card class that I took with her just a few short weeks before I traveled south for my visit.  I changed the original card up a bit with a partial switch of front colors and added another color layer by using a new cardbase.  I substituted a new layered sentiment so that my card became a sympathy card, rather than a "hello" card.  I like the original card, but I really love the way the changes allows my card to present as a lovely sympathy card.

My finishing touch is always to create my own card interior to compliment the exterior design and make up or choose an appropriate verse suited to the occasion.  I have used the verse that I chose before, but wanted to use it again because I really love the way that it shares exactly what I hope for any person who has lost someone near and dear to them.

Recipe:  Stampin' Up Products:  Cardstocks--Very Vanilla, Smokey Slate, Pool Party.  Ink--Crumb Cake, Pool Party.  Dies:  Botanical Builder Framelits.  Embossing Folder: Boho Chic.  Punch:  Curvy Corners (retired/ inside); Sentiment underlay:  Blossom punch modified (retired).  Lace--Very Vanilla 1/2" Lace Trim.  3/8" Metallic Pool Party Ribbon (2016 Occasions retired).  Basic Pearls (inside pearls Copic colored).  Sentiment/ Verse: computer made.  Size:  4-1/2" x 5-3/4".

A Minion Birthday is LATE!

My nephew had a birthday in the early part of April, and I blew it all to smithereens!   In other words, I did not get his card made and sent on time.  It was not just a little late but a LOT LATE!  I was totally distracted getting ready for my trip to California to visit my Mom right around the time of his birthday.  I had not been down in two years, and it seemed I was just totally out of sync trying to complete my personal packing, my cardmaking packing (now that's a chore), plus finishing up personal business before leaving, i.e, Mr. Tax Man!  I'm sure it doesn't make my nine-year old nephew feel any better, but I missed making his mother's birthday card as well, as her birthday falls six days after his.  Note:  I finished her card a few days ago and both were hand-delivered together today!  Whew! Now I'm all caught up with by late cards.

To make Parker's birthday card, I tossed around several ideas before leaving home,  and I even had a plan to color a cowboy crab at the beach. . .even down to getting the digi printed, with papers for paper-piecing and dies chosen, but I left home without them, so I had to start planning from the beginning all over again.  I was peeking at Pinterest a few days ago and saw another Minion card.  I've seen quite a few on Pinterest some with the whole card a Minion head, some with one Minion and a birthday sentiment, and several with balloons featured in some manner.  Balloons are my favorite birthday thing. . .I love to give them; I love to receive them; and, I also love to put them on cards for birthdays that I make.  My mind was made up. . .Parker's card would feature a Minion and balloons!

I was in luck. . .I had put in an order while here purchased the Stampin' Up Brights designer paper stack.  The Minion colors seem to be Pacific Point Blue and Daffodil Yellow, both from the Brights Color Collections.  I wanted to feature a layered frame look, so my new paper stack would work just great.  The first two layers of the Pacific Point blue cardbase and the patterned Daffodil Delight diagonal stripe are adhere together.  Then, smaller layers of the blue plus white embossed with Cuttlebug's Birthday embossing folder are adhered together and popped up off the cardbase layers.  I was thankful I brought along all my embossing folders from home, because I dearly love Cuttlebug's Birthday folder. 

My Mom just purchased the SU's Balloon Celebration stamps and punch, so I decided those would work in my card as well.  I searched for stamps sets in Mom's stamp stash to use on my balloons to indicate they were birthday balloons and found several to my liking.  I was also able to use stamps from Mom's stash for the inside "verse" as well.  SU's Owl punch is used to make the Minion.  Once I decided on my design and gathered all my tools, inks, and stamps, my card went together really fast.  Take a peek below. . .isn't it just too cute!

I finished my interior design in record tme as well.  I love the large birthday sentiment from Stampin' Up's Age Awareness.  I added a little BELATED from one of her Papertrey Ink stamp sets, a punched balloon out of patterned paper and a few starts from SU's Balloon Celebration stamp set.

Recipe:  Stampin' Up products:  Cardstock--Pacific Point Blue, Daffodil Delight.  Pattern--Color Collections DSP Stack--Brights-Daffodil Delight.  Stamps--Balloon Celebration, Pretty Petites (retired), Age Awareness (inside).  Ink--Pacific Point Blue, Daffodil Delight.  Punches--Balloon Bouquet, Owl Builder (Minion), Itty Bitty Pack-Circle.  Other:  Cuddlebug Embossing Folder--Birthday.  Papertrey Ink stamps--Inside & Out-Birthday (BELATED).  Size:  4-3/4" x 6".  (Thank you to Patty Bennett for her tutorial on how to build a Minion using the Stampin' Up Owl punch.)

Hello There. . .Seems I Missed Your Birthday!

I must say this traveling does not help me keep up on getting my cards finished and mailed in a timely manner.  Come to think of it, this seems to happen to me now and then, even when I'm not traveling. . .so, guess that excuse doesn't really work too well! 

The card I am in need of is for the principal of the school where I worked before I retired, and my former boss, who has a late May birthday.  I really like to make him a card and get it to him on time to show him that I'm not a total reprobate now that I'm retired.  But, ho-hum, that's not the case this year.  

With the attitude "better late than never, I dove into my "To Do stash" that I brought along with me on my travels to try to get some work done in my spare time.  Surely, there would be the perfect "need to finish" masculine card for me to work on hidden away in the stash.  I found this wonderful Open Seas ship card that was partially made with pieces of paper in its envelope for completion.  The ship and its port hole where already finished, as well as the self-stamped patterned paper made with The Open Seas stamps.  

To finish the card, I, of course, could not seem to follow directions exactly, a problem that seems to plague me frequently.  So, my card is just a bit different than the original by Liz Thayer in that I changed the card base color to a darker gray and made it a belated birthday card rather than just a "hello" card, and I added copper porthole brads all around.  Liz's original card was featured in one of her card classes I took over two years ago!  I am super pleased to say that I have another card finished and out of my "To Do Stash," and I think it is perfect for Scott.

Next up, was finishing my nautical masculine card with an appropriate interior design to compliment the card front.  I wanted my "Hello There" greeting on the front to be the intro into missing Scott's birthday by a few days and sending him belated birthday wishes to exonerate my seemingly reprobate behavior. . .LOL.  

Recipe:  Stampin' Up products:  Cardstocks--Basic Gray (cardbase), Bermuda Bay, Very Vanilla, Smokey Slate (porthole).  Pattern paper--self-stamped using The Open Seas stamps w/Crumb Cake).  SU stamps:  The Open Sea (all things nautical-retired 2016); Happy Days (sentiment-retired 2014).   Ink--Crumb Cake.  Die--Deco Label Framelit.  Punch:  2-1/2" Circle.  Essentials Paper Piercing Pack (porthole circle).  Acrylic Clear Sheet.  Staz-on Black Ink (ship).  Memento Tuxedo black (sentiment).  Other:  EK Punch:  Victorian Corners.  Recollections mini copper brads.  Computer verse.  Size:  4-1/2" x 5-3/4".