Thinking of You, Friend!

I have several Thinking of You cards that I need to make and get in the mail, yesterday!  One is for a friend who always have me over for tea when visiting in her seaside town.  I saw a challenge where we were to make a card around a song, and as soon as this, I thought about her and the song, I'm a Little Teapot, came to mind, and I couldn't get it out of my head.  With tea in mind, a search through my To Do box and brought forth pieces of an unfinished card that I started in a class about 4-1/2 years ago.  

Yes, I love to go to classes and socialize, and I usually don't get all the design samples completed.  To give me some credit (rolling my eyes), sometimes that is deliberate, because an idea comes to mind where I want to change something little or big about the card.  I don't complete the card at class in order to make the changes at home with my own supplies.  This one, I have kept near the original design, but made the original Melon Mambo card base into a layer.  I re-sized most pieces smaller, plus I added two more layers. . .a white cardbase and a die-cut decorative Old Olive layer.  I also popped up all the layers above the Old Olive layer from those first two added layers.  As a finishing touch, I ink distressed all my edges for a bit of a vintage flair, but I see this does show up well in my picture.

I think my friend will like her card, with its little teacup and happy colors, and be pleased to know I've been thinking about her.  Take a peek below at my finished card inside and out.

Recipe:  Stampin' Up products:  Cardstock--Old Olive, Melon Mambo, Whisper White.  Patterned dsp:  Gingham Garden (2013 AC).  Stamps: Kind & Cozy (2013-14 AC).  Ink: Old Olive, Melon Mambo; Ink Distressed: Soft Suede.  Punches: 2-1/4" Scallop, 2-3/8" Circle. Scallop Trim Border (ret.).  Embossing Folder: Stripes (ret.).  Ribbon: 3/8" Old Olive Striped Organdy. Rhinestones.  EK Punch: Scallop Photo Corners.  Die:  Reverse Confetti Die: Lacy Scallop Frame.  Fussy-cut teacup.  Chatterbox verse.  Size:  4-1/2" x 5-3/4".

Traveling Teapot Challenge...Sympathy Card #2!

Splitcoaststamper's Teapot Challenge for May 15, 2018 is for the mother and grandmother of our SCS friend's great niece, who has left us and gone to her final resting place with God.  I wanted to participate in this challenge and send my card on the way to this family, who are so grief stricken.  I am praying that all of our SCS cards will help bring solace to their wounded hearts.  It is always difficult to deal with losing loved ones, but when they are young as well, it makes it doubly difficult.  Take a peek at my card below, which is bright and cheerful, and I hope it bring a small smile to their faces.

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up products:  Cardstocks--Bermuda Bay, Lemon-Lime Twist, Whisper White.  Pattern Paper--Eastern Palace DSP.  Stamps: Thoughts & Prayers, Christmas Quilt (stamped bg).  Ink--Bermuda Bay, Lemon-Lime Twist.  Dies--Quilt Builder Framelits, Layering Ovals Framelits (plain/ scallop), Stitched Shapes Framelits.  Pearls.  Size: 4-3/4" x 6".

Hugs & Prayers for SCS Friend. . .

A wonderful Splitcoaststamper friend has lost her young, great niece, and I wanted to join the Teapot Party to let her know we are so sorry for her family's loss.  To lose someone is always difficult, but that much more so when they are very young!  I am sending our friend hugs and prayers in a card, sealed with a kiss.

I have had this fantastic stamp set that I know it has flooded Splitcoasterstampers and Pinterest with oodles of card, but I have never inked it up myself.  I thought this lovely tree and scenery would be just right for a sympathy card.  I'm hoping it bring comfort to our SCS friend.  Time will eventually help heal and allow her and her family to remember wonderful memories of this sweet little girl who has gone too early to a peaceful and loving place.  Take a peek below at my finished card inside and out.

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up Products:  Cardstocks--Blushing Bride, Lucky Limeaide (ret.), Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla; Stamps--Sheltering Tree; Inks--Chocolate Chip, Pear Pizzaz, Strawberry Slush, Pink Pirouette, Memento Tuxedo Black, Burnt Brown Sugar (ink edge distressing); Embossing Folder--Petal Pair (2018 Occ); 1/2" Pink Pirouette seam binding ribbon (ret.).  Other:  Stash--Metal Leaf; Chatterbox sentiment/ verse (computer printed); Size--4-3/4" x 6".

Sorrow for Our Alpha Sister!

It is with sadness that I must make another sympathy card for a dear friend that I've gotten to know through Splitcoaststampers.  She is a fellow Alpha Challenge sister, Art Deco Diva, and after a long struggle, she has lost her mother to the battle.  We are all so saddened to hear this, but want our friend to know how much we are thinking of her and praying for her and her family.

The Splitcoaststampers Traveling Teapot Challenge, which chooses someone each week that we want to honor in some manner and for different reasons.  Unfortunately, some of those reasons involving losing someone near and dear to us.  Art Deco Diva's SCS galley is filled with lovely cards that can only be described as eclectic.  We are choosing to honor Art Deco Diva with cards that feature the shabby chic style and are challenge hostess wants us to include lots of detail.

I love shabby chic, one of my favorite styles, but I prefer it not to be too over the top, but for sure it must include ribbon, lace, flowers, and definitely be feminine.  I am using all of those things, plus some layering and dry embossing to add texture.  Of course, it has to have some sparkle, so I added a flower rhinestone medallion for the center of my flowers.  Take a peek below at my finished card inside and out.  I'm hoping it will bring solace to ADD's sorrowful heart and let her know that we are thinking of her and keeping her and her family in our prayers during this trying time.

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up products:  Cardstocks--Sahara Sand, Lost Lagoon, Very Vanilla.  Stamp--Petal Potpourri (2015 Occ).  Markers--Lost Lagoon, Sahara Sand.  Dies--Stitched Shape Framelits/ Ovals.  Punch--Flower Medallion (ret.).  Embellishment--Something Borrowed (Occ-2015).  Ribbon--3/8" Stitched Satin-Lost Lagoon (ret.).  Lace--7/8" Lace Trim-Sahara Sand (ret.).  Other:  Cuttlebug EF-Summer Set/ Floral.  Dies--Spellbinder Petite Scallop Oval SM.  Chatterbox sentiment/ verse (computer printed).  Size: 4-3/4" x 6".

Mother's Day for Grandbaby's Mom!

My daughter-in-law is celebrating her second mother's day, with grandbaby, Callie being 14 months old.  I, of course, wanted to make her a card, and after waiting for my mojo to kick in, I finally had a great idea.  

Ginger loves ice cream and Cold Stone Creamery, so I planned to give her a Cold Stone gift card, and a greeting card with ice cream cones would be perfect.  I thought of a Stampin' Up DSP collection called Tasty Treats, and I found the perfect piece.  See the story below on how my mojo began to jell so that I arrived at my great idea!

After finishing the card front, my next step was to design an inside that continued the card front's theme.  I composed and typed an inside verse appropriate for a Mother's Day card and finished the verse off with a bit of embellishing.    I'm pretty happy with my stash scraps added to make Ginger's card and color ideas borrowed from several SCS challenges, and I think she will be pleased. Take a peek below at the finishing inside and out!  If you are interested in "The Mojo Development and Construction Story," it is located at the bottom, below the Ingredients list.

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up products:  Cardstocks--Calypso Coral, Crisp Cantaloupe (ret.), Whisper White; Paper--Best Ever dsp (2015 SAB); Tasty Treats dsp (2015 Occ); Stamps--Crazy About You; Ink--Crisp Cantaloupe (ret.); Punch--1-3/4" Scallop Circle, Banner Triple, Scallop border (ret.); Dies--Hello You Thinlits; Solid Twine--Crisp Cantaloupe (ret.).  Punches: Zutter Corner Rounder, EK Med. Scallop Photo Corners, WRMK Corner Chomper: Scallop. Wink of Stella-Clear; Copic marker.  Chatterbox verse (computer printed).  Size: 4-3/4" x 6".

"The MOJO Development and Construction Story"

I have bits and pieces in my stash of cards I started and didn't finish or from cards designs from classes that I attended that I wasn't totally sold on the original design and took the pieces home to add to it to make it more fitting to my card style.  Last week, I was browsing and found a scalloped punched flower, a button, a two-layer square mat with "CELEBRATING" already stamped and a cursive "you" die-cut.  I had several birthdays coming up and another Mother's Day card needed, so I set these pieces aside, thinking I might be able to do something with them.

Meanwhile, I had been browsing SCS challenges to see if anything inspired me, and I saw a card by Jennifer (aka picard76), the current Featured Stamper, that I really liked, including the lovely colors.  Here was possibly another idea for my next card.  

Another day or so went by, and I revisited my pieces thinking I definitely might use them for my daughter-in-law's Mother's Day card, because the "celebrating" her would fit in.  Now, I had already purchased a Cold Stone Creamery gift card, because she loves ice cream and Cold Stone.  

My mojo began to work and thoughts began to jell as the colors in Jennifer's card brought to mind the Stampin' Up Tasty Treats DSP paper collection from several years ago that featured these same colors in the form of ice cream sundaes and cones.  An "aha moment" arrived, and I knew just what I wanted to do!

I wanted the flat stamped and punch flower to have more dimension as it was just too flat.  I though of stamping more flowers and layering them, but then I decided to cut the individual petals so that I could lift them and thus give the card more depth and dimension.  I also rounded two of the square corner on the layered square where the flower would rest.  The "you" sentiment die-cut was already cut out from Crisp cantaloupe cardstock, and I colored it with Copic markers to the color of the Calypso Coral cardstock as I decided to use both shades in my layers.  I threaded my button flower center with a criss-cross solid cantaloupe cord, and I tied a knot and frayed the ends.  I decided to make the fishtail banner shorter and centered it under the flower's square, but keep its tails loose.  This allowed the "you" die-cut space to reside on the ice cream dsp close just a teeny bit under loose banner ends. 

On the inside design, I punched a little scallop edging at top and bottom of the verse cardstock, and I added double-layered, scalloped photo corners around the verse.   I also added a pocket on the right flap of Crisp Cantaloupe cardstock covered with a smaller panel of the ice cream patterned paper.  I added a scalloped edge at the top of the pocket to dress it up a bit.  The pocket was now ready to have the Cold Stone gift card inserted.

My Lovely Mother!

Mother's Day will be here before I blink, and I needed time to get a card made and mailed to my Mom you lives several states away!  I went to a card-making class, hosted by Dar Peterson and Luci Kirschbaum, a few weeks ago to try out my new knee and see if it would withstand several hours in the sitting position.  It didn't like it much, but managed to survive until I could get home and elevate it in my recliner, where I promptly fell asleep!

While at class, I started a card from a very nice design, but visions of things I wanted to add or change kept interfering, plus the desire to color the daffodil stamped image with my Copic markers rather than the pens our hostesses were providing, prompted me to gather its parts and bring it home for completion.

I think I'm pretty pleased with my totally remodeled card...it is surely more my cardmaking style, and, I think, worthy to be a Mother's Day card for my Mom.  I thinks she will be delighted with it!  I found I will also be able to enter it into several SCS Challenges that I checked out before starting my finishing project. 

Take a peek below at the card front, as well as my interior design and Chatterbox verse!  Check out the modification story below the ingredients list if interested.

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up products: Cardstocks--Daffodil Yellow, Whisper White, Old Olive; Patterned paper:  Delightful Daisy dsp; Stamp--You're Inspiring (2018 Occ); Ink: Old Olive; Twine: Crushed Curry Solid; Pearls; Washi tape--Basic Pack #2.  Dies: Reverse Confetti Lacy Scallop Frame (yellow mat layer); Spellbinders Lattice Rectangle (daffodil frame); MFT First Place Ribbon (double fishtails).  Punches: Martha Stewart--Butterfly Trio; EK--Medium Scallop Photo Corners (inside).  Copic Sketch markers.  Computer printed sentiment/ verse.  Chatterbox verse.  Size: 4-3/4" x 6".

The Modification Story

Several days ago, I finished coloring my daffodil image, I was really pleased with it...such a pretty stamp set!  Next, I began with my own design ideas to finish off the card.  

I added a new daffodil yellow mat layer die-cut with one of my favorite rectangle edging, and I adhered it to a new and enlarged white cardbase (cut 9-1/2" x 6" and scored at 4-3/4").  I cut the green patterned paper layer provided in the card class smaller to allow my new yellow mat layer's edging show.  I adhered this green patterned paper to the yellow mat.  I also cut my daffodil image smaller to fit onto a new yellow lattice-work rectangle frame, where the lattice curves peeks out around the edges of the daffodil image.  

I decided to center my lattice-framed daffodil image from side to side and center my double fishtail sentiment below.  I added criss-crossed golden-yellow twine to the olive green one-inch wide horizontal strip, and centered the strip from top to bottom beneath image frame.  

To finished, I plunked a bitty butterfly hovering along the edge of my daffodil flowering image.  The butterfly is punched from a lemon-lime and white striped washi tape adhered to a piece of Daffodil Yellow cardstock with a bitty pearl added for its body.  I prepared my sentiment using my computer and composed a versed to added to the inside, which I colorized to match Old Olive green.  I added punched scallop photo corners, using the olive patterned paper, and more bitty butterflies punched from the same washi-covered cardstock and body pearls.

Sharing in Your Sorrow!

My daughter-in-law, Ginger's uncle past away quite suddenly...what a shocking surprise!  I needed to put together at least two sympathy cards and get them in the mail post haste.  I had been eyeing several Splitcoaststamper challenges for my next card.  One required patterned paper and the other a shade of the color Jade.  I decided I could develop a sympathy card around these two ideas...take a look below at the finished card both inside and out, which will go to Ginger's mother.  Check below card picture for the "Card Story" if you are interested.

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up products:  Cardstock--Whisper White, Bermuda Bay, Coastal Cabana; Patterned Paper--Best Year Ever (2015 SAB); Stamps--Lotus Blossom (2015 SAB); Thoughts & Prayers; Ink--Bermuda Bay, Coastal Cabana; Punch--Open Scallop Border (ret.); Embossing Powder--Iridescent (ret.).  EK punch--Victorian corners.  Ribbons: stash.  Pretty Pink Posh: White Ice sequins.  Chatterbox verse/ computer-made.  Technique: Embossing glitter paper.  SCS Challenges.  Size: 4-3/4" x 6".

"The Card Story"

UNDER CONSTRUCTION