A Little Paris for Your Birthday!

My oldest daughter's birthday is coming up next week.  Her sister is hosting an early, social-distancing, birthday party in her gigantic backyard this Sunday.  It is a potluck...bring your own masks, gloves, wipes, hand cleaner, side dish, beverages, and lawn chairs.  That way we are not touching an ice chest or chair that belongs to someone outside our own household. 

  

I needed to have her birthday card finished early for this week-end celebration.  I had several things going on in my head.  I just signed up for Stampin' Up's Paper Pumpkin after avoiding it since its inception.  I am not one to make cards from pre-set kits, but I have seen several this last year that I really wished I'd been able to get, plus I bought a kit from the catalog and tried it out and found I could use the kit parts to make other cards not exactly like the pre-designed cards.  I also got the free kit during the annual 2020 Sale-A-Bration (SAB) back in December (a perk as a "hobby demonstrator," and I had yet to open it to even make sure all the parts were there!  

My first Paper Pumpkin kit, A Box of Sunshine, arrived a few days ago, and I was going to try it out by making my own design from part of its paper and embellishments.  But, my daughter loves turquoise/ aqua colors, and there was no aqua to be found in this new kit!  I really wanted to go with her favorite color, which is when I remembered that SAB Kerchief Card Kit had the perfect color in one of its flower kerchief papers.  Needless to say, I immediately switched gears.

One day in early March, when we were first housebound with "social distancing," I did a Pinterest search for ideas to use with the Kerchief kit.  I fell in love with a card by Krystal Roberts that used the Eiffel Tower die from the new SU Mini Catalog and saved it to my Board.  I particularly remembered it, because a few years ago on a Las Vegas vacation with this daughter, our hotel window had a close-up view of the Paris Casino Eiffel Tower without any impediments...what a gorgeous site to see each night with its colorful lights changing every half hour!  To commemorate that fun trip, I purposefully revisited Kyrstal's Kerchief card yesterday.  I was still in love with it and my commemorative idea, so I decided to plan my card using the Eiffel Tower die as she did.

I did do some changes, but because of using the patterned paper, dotted vellum, and prepared flower die-cuts in the Kerchief Kit, it still bound to resembles\ her card a lot, thus I give her credit and thank her, hoping it is okay to CASE her card if I give her credit!  

For my card, I cut the flower-patterned front off the aqua linen pre-folded cardbase provided in the kit.  I added a larger Night of Navy card base and a gold foil mat layer under the flower-patterned card front, which enlarged my card much more to my liking.  I did not use the kit's pre-cut oval, the two-tone green leaves, or the burlap twine.  I die-cut my own Night of Navy label, using the Stitched So Sweetly label die and my own Pear Pizzazz leaves, using an old Sizzix Leaf Branch Sizzlet.  I did used the kit's gold foil leaves and mini flowers.  I lightly ink distressed my flower-patterned layer and the rose die-cut with navy ink.  I added a gold embossed, stitched flag sentiment as well.  Take a peek below at the finished card inside and out.  The inside verse is my own Chatterbox verse.

INSIDE "UNDER CONTRUCTION"

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up products:  Cardstock--Night of Navy, Pear Pizzazz, Gold Foil, Kerchief Card Kit papers/flowers/leaves; Stamps--Birthday Banners (modified sentiment); Dies--Parisian dies (Eiffel Tower), Stitched So Sweetly (navy label).  Other:  Dies--MFT Basic Stitch Lines (sentiment flag).  Sizzix Sizzlit--Leaf Branch.  EK punch: Victorian Corners.  ColorBox Cat Eye--Navy (ink distressing).  Size: 4-3/4" x 6".  

Great Father's Make the World a Better Place!

I just received the new Stampin' Up Beautiful World stamp and die set, and I was anxious to use it.  I had a sentiment and verse percolating in my head, and I wanted to use them with this new set.  I also went in search of some Splitcoaststamper challenges that might work well with my card as well.

Next, I tried out my sentiment on vanilla cardstock and found a font I liked with the look of the stamps.  I printed it out, die-cut it and used the layered sentiment to build my card from using the SCS challenges to help me decide on the look and design.  Take a peek below at the final design both inside and out.

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up products:  Cardstock--Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Copper Foil.  Stamps/ Dies--Beautiful World/ World Maps Dies.  Embossing Folder--Hammered Metal.  Other products:  Patterned Paper--DCWV Maps, Text & Ledgers Stack.  Colorbox Ink--Chestnut Roan (ink distressed edges).  EK punch--Victorian Corner.  Pattern:  DCWV Maps, Text & Ledgers Stack.  Chatterbox sentiment/ verse.  A6 Size: 4-1/2 x 6-1/4 inches.

Have An A+ Birthday While Dancing to Tutti Fruitt!

Ah...the fourth and very last Splitcoaststampers' Virtual Stamp Night Mini Challenge.  Our hostess wishes to honor Little Richard and his song Tutti Fruitti!  Did you know that tutti fruitti is Italian for "all fruit."  With this in mind, we are to put some fruit on our cards.

I don't usually buy fruit stamps, but I remembered I recently bought the Harvest Hellos Stampin'  Up stamp set from the 2019 Holiday mini catalog, because there is a challenge every now and then that requires the use of fruit and things related to teachers and schools.  An apples fits both, plus this "apple" stamp and punch can also be turned into a pumpkin...that sold me!  I do like apples, schools (after all, I am a retired elementary school office manager), and pumpkins!  I am so thankful I was SOLD!

I don't have any close friends who are teachers...most have all retired, but my sister is a pre-school mentor coach, who also teaches college courses to students looking toward certification as pre-school teachers.  I thought I could use my apple card with a little twist for her upcoming birthday. . .I came up with an A+ birthday card.  See it below!

Here is the little "verse" that I cooked up to place inside with a bit matching rickrack as seen on the front and some apple-colored photo corners!

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up products:  Cardstock--Basic Black, Whisper White, Granny Apple Green, Real Red, Old Olive, Soft Suede.  Patterned paper--6 " x 6" Brights Color Family dsp--Daffodil Delight Gingham Checks.  Stamps--Harvest Hellos.  Punch--Apple Builder.  Other:  Ink--Memento Tuxedo Black; Colorbox--Chestnut Roan (edge distressing).  Dies--Papertrey Ink--Rick Rack Border.  Chatterbox sentiment (computer).  Size A6:  4-1/2" x 6-1/4."

Essence of Love Is Kindness!

This is a continuation of the Splitcoaststampers' Virtual Stamp Night Mini Challenges.  The second challenge was issued last Friday night at 6:00 p.m., ET and is entitled:  Don't Stand So Close!  Sound familiar?  Our hostess is doing a sketch challenge with a take-off from our COVID-19 social distancing and a song by The Police...Don't Stand So Close to Me!   This challenge requires that we use the sketch provided and incorporate 4 corners on our center panel all of the same shape...all circles, all stars, etc., which depict keeping our distance from one another.  

My 4 shapes are the sparkly circular beads on each of my corners.  I dressed up my sketch interpretation by adding a few more layers below the centered rectangle. . . 3 base layers:  vanilla cardbase, black mat, and newsprint mat, plus 3 layers for my centered rectangle:  Calypso Coral, black, and vanilla.  This card was saved and given to my wonderful Mom for her birthday.  See her finished card below:

This is the little birthday verse I cooked up to place inside:

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up products:  Cardstock--Basic Black, Caylpso Coral, Very Vanilla.  Patterned dsp--Typeset Specialty (2015-16 Annual/ retired).  Stamps--Love is Kindness (2015 Occasions/ retired).  Ribbon--1/2" Seam Binding--Calypso Coral.  Other: Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; Colorbox--Charcoal (edge ink distressing).  Wink of Stella, Clear.  Copic Markers (tulips).  Jolee's All That Bling--Black Circle Bling Gems.  Size A6:  4-1/2" x 6-1/4".