A Sympathy Card for a Dear Husband. . .

My daughter's father-in-law just passed away from a long and painful illness.  With his type of illness, as time passes, it is a blessing for him to find peace in heaven with the Lord.  I wanted to make a special sympathy card for my son-in-law's mother so that she would know she is in our thoughts and prayers in hope that she will soon overcome her pain and be able to cherish the memories of her long married life of well over 50 years with her dear husband.  Take a look below at my finished card inside and out.

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up products:  Cardstock--Shimmer white (cardbase), Daffodil Yellow, Whisper White.  Stamps--Simply Sketched (retired/ sentiment).  Punch--Curvy Corners (retired).  Dies--Butterflies & Bold Butterflies.  Glitter--Dazzling Diamonds.  Pearls (Copic colored).  Others:  Ink--Memento-Tuxedo Black.  Dies--Spellbinders: Roman Trellis Background; Classic Ovals SM; Scalloped Ovals LG.  Elmer's Spray Adhesive.  Recollections: Flower.  Stash--5/8" Trimmed Satin.  Computer-made verse.  Wink of Stella-Clear.  Technique: Frosted Glittering (using spray adhesive and glitter).  Size: 4-3/4" x 6".

Tidbits

To make my background die glittered, I used what I call Glitter Frosting.  I have no idea if this is considered a technique, and if so, I have no idea what it is called; thus I named it Glitter Frosting.  

After you have cut out your cardstock with your die and Big Shot machine (or other die-cutting machine), place the die-cut in a protected area and spray it with a spray adhesive, which works better than trying to apply craft glue or liquid glue.  I use Elmer's Craft Spray Adhesive, which I purchased at WalMart.  (I also use a cardboard box lined with scratch paper to catch the excess adhesive over-spray.  I also do my spraying outside as the spray adhesive has a pretty powerful odor.  You also do not have to worry about the adhesive over-spray to much if it gets on your grass or driveway.)

After spraying on the adhesive, I gently pick up the wet die-cut with craft tweezers and move it to a clean piece of printer paper or other scrap paper about printer paper size.  Next, I sprinkle it with Iridescent Glitter (Stampin' Up Dazzling Diamonds) making sure all areas of the wet die-cut are liberally and thoroughly covered with glitter.  Again, I pick up the die-cut with the tweezers and tap it on its edge to shake off excess glitter.  I set it aside for about 30 minutes to be sure the adhesive is dry and the glitter is well set.  

Finally, I take a paint brush and gently brush the entire surface to further remove any more loose glitter.  When finished, you can pour the glitter off the printer paper back into your glitter bottle to be re-used in the future.

Sympathy Cards Needed for Two Families!

My cousin-in-law, whom you just saw a birthday post a few days ago, lost her mother August 18th on her birthday.  How sad to always remember losing your mother on your birthday, but in this case, her daughter gave her Mom permission to find peace in heaven with her Dad, and that it would be the best birthday gift she could give her.  Very poignant. . .it brings tears to my eyes.

My other sympathy card goes to my son-in-law and my daughter in the loss of his father August 15th.  His illness has been going on for almost two years, and as the severity increased in the past two months, we have all been praying for God to ease his suffering and for him to find peace in heaven.  He passed away this past Sunday.  I'm hoping both families receive a little comfort from my handmade cards. . .take a look below:

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up products:  Cardstock--Night of Navy, Crumb Cake, Old Olive, Very Vanilla.  Stamps--Bloom with Hope (ret. 2015), Hardwood (background), Mixed Bunch (large flower-ret.), Petite Petals, .  Ink--Night of Navy, Whisper White Craft (ret.).  Dies--Hexagon Hive (ret.), Sizzlits Little Leaves (ret.).  Punches: Modern Label (ret.), Blossom (ret.), 5/8" Chevron Ribbon (ret.).  Pearls.  Other: EK Punch: Scallop Corners, Medium.  Computer verse.  Size: 5" x 6".  (TY Liz Thayer for original design idea).

The Card Story & Other Tidbits

For these two families, I decided to use a design that I was introduced to over two years ago in March 2014 at a cardmaking event hosted by Liz Thayer, my Stampin' Up upline.  This was an event where we were to make two cards of six designs.  As I began preparing the parts for this particular card, as is usual for me, ideas began popping in my head of some things I wanted to change on the basic design and the embellishments.  I knew I wanted to added a little more color, some more mat layers, change the sentiment, and tweak the embellishments just a bit.  I completed the stamping, punching and die-cutting needed, and I decided to pack up my card pieces to finish these two duplicate cards at home.

Believe it or not, I have looked at these cards at least ten times in the past two years and have never actually finished them, but I did decided that they would make lovely sympathy cards rather than the original "get well" design.  Remembering this thought, I pulled out the pieces and finished both cards to give to the loved ones of those who have passed on to peace with the Lord. 

Besides changing them to sympathy cards, my other changes are that I added a navy blue cardbase and a Crumb Cake mat layer to coordinate with my ribbon flag, which enlarged the cards, making them more my style.  I turned over the chevron-patterned ribbon, deciding to use the solid color on the back.  I moved the ribbon flag and flowers higher on the cards to allow more room that I thought was needed for the sentiment.  I added an under mat to my sentiment and also added more leaves to the flowers, using a different die.  Though Liz's original design to very evident, I think my changes here and there really add to the lovely original design, and it suits my cardmaking style.  I finished off my cards by creating an inside design that coordinates with the card front and a sympathy verse to suit the occasion.

Fun Birthday Splatters For A Niece!

One of my sister's girls has a birthday in my birthday month of August.  I thought I would like to try out the Splatter Technique that I was briefly introduced to just about a year ago in late August at a cardmaking/ teaching class given by the Stampin' Up duo. . .Dara Peterson and Luci Kirschbaum.  This first try was on a Christmas card, and it seemed a simple enough technique and quite effective so I thought I would try it again.  Take a look at my niece's finished card, which I cased using a card design by Darla Watson, a California Stampin' Up demonstrator that I visited during my trip south this past spring. 

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up products:  Cardstocks--Bermuda Bay, Whisper White.  Sponging Ink--Pear Pizzazz, Bermuda Bay.  Stamp--Sassy Salutations (retired).  Stamp Ink: Old Olive.  Sequins--Metallics.  Splattering: Bermuda Bay Ink.  White Emobssing Powder.  Papertrey Ink stamp--Inside & Out: Birthday I.  Size: 4-1/4" x 5-1/2".  (Thanks Darla Watson for your lovely original design).

The Story & Tidbits

Darla's card that I chose to case was definitely a clean and simple style, of which I am not generally a fan, but this particular card used one of my favorite color combination: teal and pear green; thus, it really caught my eye.  The original card had a less splatters on the front, as it was achieved by stamping the splatters with Stampin' Up's Gorgeous Grunge stamp set.  For me, it didn't have enough splatters, thus the idea came to mind to use the Splatter Technique that I had learned and used that one time.  It achieves a similar look to spritzing as well, but I find it much more controllable and your splatters do not end up as large, which is what I wanted in this case. 

First, I heat-embossed my sentiment with white embossing ink.  Next, I sponged my ink colors onto the front area as shown on the card.  I sponged until I achieved the color depth I desired.  The final step is to add your splatters either by stamping with an appropriate stamp, such as Stampin' Up's Gorgeous Grunge, or by using the Splatter Technique, which I describe below.

The Splatter Technique is achieved by using a water brush, (in Stampin' Up lingo, it's called an Aqua Painter), which has its hollow barrel filled with water, stamping ink, and the flicking motion.  For your color, you can use a bottle of stamp re-inker by dropping a few droplets onto the inside lid of its matching stamp ink pad, or by squishing your stamping ink onto its box lid, or dropping your ink onto a large acrylic stamping block (because it cleans up easily).  There are other ideas out there as well.  For the flicking motion: gently squeeze the water brush barrel to load your brush tip with water, dip the wet water brush into the re-inker drops, lay the barrel of the water brush across your pointer finger about one inch below its bristles, and finally, flick (or snap) the brush barrel below the bristles with your other hand.  Reload your brush with water as needed and with ink, and repeat the flicking motion until you get enough splatters to suit.  The distance the brush is away from your paper will change the splatter effect.  So, practice with it, achieve the color intensity desired, you feel comfortable with the flicking motion, and you achieve the look you like.  

If you do not have a water brush, you can also use a regular paint brush (like one that comes in a children's paint set),  dip and wet its brush well into a small container of water and then into your ink drops and flick.  For the most intense color, you can use a regular paint brush, dampening it just to moisten, wipe off excess water on a paper towel, and dip directly into your ink drops and flick.  You can also mix your ink color and water prior to flicking.  The formula I was told to use for this method was approximately one tablespoon of water to one to three drops of re-inker, depending on how dark you want your ink splatters to be.

As you can see, there are a variety of Splatter Techniques and even more than I have mentioned.  Check it out on Pinterest or YouTube videos. . .enjoy Splattering!!!

Birthday Celebrations for Cousin-in-Law & Friend!

One of my husband's MANY cousins has a delightful wife whom I find a very warm and caring  person.  I got to know her well several years ago when another of John's cousins in Kansas decided to host a huge extended family reunion on their farm around the 4th of July. . .food, visiting, a lake, swimming, boating, and massive fireworks. . .what's not to like!?  This lovely cousin-in-law did not hesitate to invite my husband, me, and our four teen-age to young adult children to share their home and hospitality.  In addition, they offered us an extra automobile to drive during our stay, which enabled us to pick up family members at the airport as they arrived and visit others of my husband's many, many relatives residing in the Kansas area.  I will never forgot the kindness extended to us; therefore, I love to send Barbara one of my homemade cards each birthday to celebrate her special day.  Take a look at the card I chose for this special cousin-in-law, along with a peek at my inside design that coordinates with the card front!

Ingredients:  SU products:  Cardstock--Whisper White, Crushed Curry.  Stamps--Remembering Your Birthday (sentiment).  Fluttering E-Folder.  Punches--Petite Petals, Itty Bitty Pack-flower, Curvy Corner punch (retired).  1-1/4" Burlap Ribbon.  Pearls (Copic colored).  Papertrey stamp--Inside & Out: Birthday I (verse).   

The Story & Other Tidbits!

The card that I chose to give Barbara is one that I began at a cardmaking event I attended while visiting my mother in California this past spring and finished on our Mt. Shasta Girls' Get-away.  The cardmaking event was hosted by Darla Watson, a Stampin' Up demonstrator, whom I met about eight years ago while attending one of her four-day special papercrafting retreats. . .what lovely memories that brings back.  I loved Darla's card design, which was a Mother's Day card, but I knew right off that I would not be able to use it for that occasion as my Mom was sitting right beside me making one too.  Mom needed to change her greeting sentiment because her Mom (and my grandmother) is no longer with us for going on 45 years.  We both decided not to finish the card, except for the texture embossing and take the parts home to finish it later.  

Darla's original design was monotone in all white, except for the little flower centers, which were yellow.  When I pulled out the parts later, my brain said, you need more color.  I added a Crush Curry mat layer and decided that's exactly what I wanted.  So, I cut a larger card base, added the Crushed Curry layer and then the textured embossed card front.  

I came away from the class without the colored enamel dots for the flower centers, so I used pearls instead and colored them with my Copic markers, choosing to make mine multi-colored instead of just yellow.  I really like how the colored pearls look with their soft sheen instead of the flat, mat finish of the enamel dots.  I also found the perfect birthday sentiment and verse from two of Mom's birthday stamp sets.  The sentiment was from a Stampin' Up set and a birthday verse was from a Papertrey stamp set.  I was pleased with the outcome of my finished card.

A Special Card for Mom's Birthday!

As is true every year. . .I always want to make an extra special card just for Mom for her birthday.  It needs to be something pretty and feminine that she will love.  My gosh, it is difficult to believe, but Mom will be 91 this year!  I just returned from a long and wonderful visit during May and the first half of June, and I am happy to say that she is just as spry as she has always been.  She always was able to walk my legs off on any mall shopping trip.  

For her card, my creative juice have been fermenting for quite some time while I was busy making other cards.  I had definitely decided that somehow I was going to use flowers on her card by using my new Stampin' Up Botanical Builder framelits that I had purchased in the early spring and somehow had never gotten around to using them!  Shame on me!  Take a look at my finished card that I finally decided upon, as well as the finished inside to coordinate with my outside creative design.

Ingredients:  Bazzill Platinum Frost Vellum.  DCWV: Watercolors Stack.  Darice Glitter Silk: Opulent Opal (glitter paper).  SU products:  Pretty in Pink cardstock, Gold Foil, Pretty in Pink Ink, Botanical Builder framelits.  Digital image by 2 Cute Ink: Pretty Ostrich.  Copic Marker coloring.  MFT dies: Zigzag Stitched Ovals.  Spellbinder dies: Big Scallop Ovals SM (largest).  EK punch: Arrows.  Wink of Stella: Gold.  Technique: Cloud Sponging.  Size: 4-3/4" x 6".

The Story + Tidbits

Not only did I know I wanted to add flowers made with my Botanical Gardens thinlits, I also wanted to use a flamingo, which seems to be all the rage right now.  I found this darling flamingo paper in a DCWV stack called Watercolors.  It was shade in the ombre style in a light pink-violet shading into almost white at the bottom.  It was really just was I was looking for except I was looking for more of a real pink shade without the violet tinge.  My solution was to choose the perfect pink for my cardbase, which turned out to be Pretty in Pink (a retired Stampin' Up color).  I then sponged the flamingo paper with the Pretty in Pink stamp pad ink until I got the depth of color I desired.

In my mind's eye I had light pink vellum mixed with Pretty in Pink shaded petals and gold foil for the leaves and flower centers to match the gold foil flamingos.  I had some really pretty frosted platinum white vellum that looked pearlescent.  I sponged the back and the front of the flower petals with the Pretty in Pink stamp ink, which doesn't really show up in the picture.  Next, I chose Pirouette Pink cardstock for the base of the flowers and shaded them with the Pretty in Pink ink as well so it had different shadings of light and darker rather than a flat color by just using the color of the cardstock.  It made for a prettier more realistic flower, though I don't think the picture does it justice.

I colored my 2 Cute Ink digi image with Copic Markers to match my cardstock and patterned paper colors, choosing a darker shade for the head flower and body flowers on the little flamingo.  I also used Wink of Stella: Gold on the digi images flower centers.  Except for the larger head flower, I'm not sure this gold glittery effects shows up elsewhere.  Next came the background behind my flamingo digi.  I didn't think just a brushed light blue with my Copic markers would really look that good and I thought it needed clouds.  So, I used the cardstock template idea made with a scalloped die to get the look you see on the card picture.  I had seen several YouTube videos showing this technique, but never tried it myself.  I think it turned out okay, but feel I still need a bit more practice to feel totally comfortable.

Getting Well After Surgery. . .

My son's girlfriend recently had surgery and spent a day in the hospital.  She's in that after-surgery rough patch where the pain becomes worse and nothing seems to be going the way you think it should.  I wanted to send some meals and a little homemade get-well card to cheer her up and to let her know that we are thinking about her and hoping she feels better real soon.

I'm still in my vintagey mood, so I put together what I call a simple vintage card, using soft-colored patterned papers, distressing, layering and embellishments to dress it up.  I love word dies and this lower-case "get well" word die that I recently purchased will be perfect for my style of card.  Take a look below at my finished card creation, showing both the front and the decorative inside with a little "get well" verse made up just for Katrina!

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up cardstocks: Blushing Bride, Soft Sky, Very Vanilla.  Iralamija Music Notes digital paper.   Darice Opulent Opal Glitter paper.  Currugated paper: DCWV sask.  MFT dies: Corners (modified).  Paper Smooches die: Get Well.  Papertrey Ink die: Large Scallops.  Accu-Cut die: Bird.  Stampin' Up Pearls.   Hug Snug seam binding ribbon. Computer verse (Fonts: DaddyO 14/ Shelley 10.5).  Size: 4-3/4" x 6".  

A Sister-in-Law Vintage Birthday in August!

I have sister-in-law number FIVE to prepare a birthday card for in the month of August.  I was in the mood for a vintage birthday card, and I was excited to begin.  It seems I take spells where I must do some vintagey stuff or bust!  I had to hurry, because my husband is making a trip south to a family get-together and this particular sister-in-law will be there all the way from Kansas.  Unfortunately, I will not be able to travel with him because of some previous commitments made before we knew this get-together was going to take place.  But, here was a chance to hand-deliver this birthday card. . .I would not have to worry about weight and bulkiness due to postal limitations!  I was stoked, and I got to work immediately!  Take a look at my finished vintage birthday card just for Joanie!

Ingredients:  Stampin Up cardstock:  Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Pretty in Pink (retired).  BoBunny: Love & Lace (rose pattern).  Punches: Becky Corner Rounder, EK Scalloped Corners, WRMK Deco Corners.  Dies--Spellbinders Scallop Hearts.  SU: Metallic sequins, Gold Embossing powder. Stash: Crochet Flower, Black lace, Vellum.  Computer sentiment/ verse.  Size: 4-3/4" x 6".  (Note: Flower center...black sequins tied into a sequin knot with needle/thread).

Birthday Rose for a Beautiful Daughter-in-Law

My youngest son's wife has an August birthday, and she became a special addition to our family ten years ago last month.  I wanted to make and send a special birthday card that jumped right out and said, "That's for Ginger!"  As I made this particular card that I chose several months ago at a Liz Thayer card gathering, I loved it right off, and I thought it would be perfect for Ginger because she loves flowers and gardening.  

I finished the stamping, heat embossing, and watercolor painting on the card front at the card event, I decided not to completely finish everything that day, because I knew I wanted to make a few additions and some small changes.  Take a peak at my finished version of the card front, which included adding some iridescent sparkly glitter to the rose petals, as well as my inside design creation below:

Ingredients:  SU products:  Cardstock--Whisper White, Shimmery White (front), Hello Honey, Blackberry Bliss; Stamps--You've Got This; Inks--Blackberry Bliss, Melon Mambo, So Saffron (rose)/ Old Olive, Mint Macaroon (leaves); Dies--Deco Label framelit (inside); White Embossing powder; Silver Metallic Thread; Metal-Rimmed Pearl; Basic Pearls; Dazzling Diamonds glitter; Wink of Stella-Clear; Aqua Painter.  Papertrey stamp: Inside & Out II (inside verse).  Size: 4-1/4" x 5-1/2". 

Two Celebrate Their 10th Anniversary!

My youngest son and his wife celebrated their tenth anniversary in late July. . .it's difficult to believe ten whole years have gone by.  It was time to make them a special card to note their special day.  This year I decided on what I call a slightly vintage card style.  I love the vintagey look as long as it isn't way over the top, so my vintage-like cards tend to be low key.  Take a look at what I came up with below:

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up cardstock: Pool Party, Basic Black.  Pattern paper: stash.  Cottage Cutz Expressions word dies.  Bird Silhouette: Silhouette Graphics (PaintShop Pro modified).  Wilton 4-inch Doily.  Prima flower.  Hug Snug: seam binding ribbon (hand bleach/ crumpled).  Computer-made verse.  Size: 4-3/4" x 6".

The Story & Other Tidbits

Following is an explanation on the making of this card as I do not think the picture makes it totally clear.  Just a note to start: each of the layers are approximately 3/8" smaller than the layer below it both in width and height, and I sized and cut all layers prior to assembly.

To start, I cut my aqua cardbase to 4-3/4" x 6" and adhered the smaller black mat layer to it.  Next, I cut the chevron block patterned paper along its zigzag pattern so that it would be shorter than the aqua damask patterned paper that I planned to use as a layer below it.  I adhered these two patterns together so that 1/3 of the damask was exposed above the chevron blocks and 2/3 of the damask would show below.  I then positioned my half doily on the left of this patterned set, folding over a bit of the raw edge to the underside of the papers, and adhered the doily to the patterned set.  I was now ready to pop-up this set of patterned papers onto the black mat layer.  Once all four layers are adhered and popped-up adding the final touches to finish the card can begin! 

I positioned and adhered my black cardstock, happy anniversary die-cut toward the bottom right as shown.  I tied two pieces of the pink crinkled seam binding ribbon into a bow and adhered with a bit of hot glue.  Next, I attached my leaves with mini glue dots, and affixed my rose with a bit of hot glue.  

The final piece for my card front was to make my black silhouette bird family.  I cropped my family from a Googled jpeg-image filled with numerous silhouetted bird types, choosing exactly which birds I wanted to use.  I dropped my cropped image into PaintShop Pro and modified my bird family a bit.  There were two babies in the nest, and I decided I only wanted one, so using the software's tools, I erased one baby and made the nest smaller.  Next, I moved the Mama and Daddy birds closer to the baby's nest and shorten the branches on both side, eliminating a few leaves.  My last step was to save my new jpeg-image and then copy/paste it into a Word document to re-size for my card.  I printed it on white cardstock and fussy-cut it out to adhere to my card front.  

My last step as is traditional in my cardmaking was to finish the inside so that it complimented my card front.  I found the John Keats quote on line, which I love.  I also decided to incorporate my bird family to the inside as well.  I copy/pasted the verse into a Word document, sizing it to fit, and I found the perfect fonts to add the closing happy anniversary sentiment along with my son and daughter-in-law's names.  My bird family was also copy/pasted several inches below the verse.   Once I printed my Word document, I cut it to fit inside the card, distressed the edges, and adhered it inside the card.  I fussy-cut more of the chevron block patterned paper to decorate my verse at the top and bottom.  I think Mark and Ginger will really like their handmade card from Mom along with a dinner certificate for a night out.