Tweeting a Belated Happy Birthday to a Dear Sister-in-Law!

WOW!  I'M EVEN MORE GIDDY!  

THIS CARD IS NAMED A

SPLITCOASTSTAMPERS FAVORITE OF THE

WEEK ENDING - JULY 16, 2017!!

Take a peek below at the card that I designed and sent off as a belated birthday for one of my sister-in-laws on my husband's side of the family.  Also included below is the verse and complimentary design I created as well.  Then, follows The Story behind the creation.

The Story

With the slow recovery from my knee replacement surgery, I am so far behind, and I have missed so many birthdays and other events with my inability to climb stairs to my craft room.  Some are so far back, I will just have to let them go this year and concentrate on keeping up to date in the future.  Yet, I have several sister-in-laws' birthdays that I've missed, and I would really like to send them belated wishes if I can without getting behind with upcoming celebrations.

My sister-in-law, Dianne, is the wife of one of my husband's younger brothers.  They were married within a year of our marriage, and we spent a lot of time together as couples in the early years of our marriages.  This was before we each began a round of transfers around the country due to career promotions, etc.  We have never ended up residing in the same state in more than 30 years.  Just a few years ago, this younger brother passed away from a heart attack, but Dianne is still very much a part of the family, and she is always included in every reunion and get-together!

Since I have a new goal in cardmaking to try to enter more Splitcoaststampers' challenges, I thought I would focus my card design around at least one challenge's requirements.  I chose the Inspiration Challenge IC605 - Dessert Bies: Macaroons & Meringues, but ended up being able to use it in the Alphabet Challenge as well from its tag.   For the Inspiration Challenge, I went to the Pinterest inspiration board set up for the challenge.  Oh my, I learned a lot about macaroons.  While my stomach realized it was hungry and began growling loudly the longer I looked over those delicious-looking, beautifully, colorful morsels that can be any color in God’s Earth from soft pastels to bold and vibrant dark splashes of color!!  Below are the three particular pictures that inspired my card:

    

When I first start creating a card design, if I don't have a particular idea already in my mind, I check out my leftover, partial card pieces to see if there is anything that inspiring me to use it.  I found a yellow tag with pink ribbon and an uncolored birdie stamp tacked to a patterned dsp.  It was pretty bright and cheerful, but had a thanks sentiment stamped at the bottom of the birdies, which was actually part of the original stamp.  I thought...hmmm...trim off the sentiment and make the tag shorter to fit the shorter image.  Then, I separate sentiment tag with belated birthday might fit below the tag...I was in business and started rolling right along!

The little dsp attached had a bit of navy in the flowers; therefore, navy had to be the cardbase after seeing those lovely navy macarons (see above).  I switched out the pink tag ribbon for navy, and then I chose mat layer colors to add to the tag and dsp and layers to add to my cardbase.  Daffodil yellow would be my top layer and I decided embossing it would dress it up and make it more interesting and even better, crop the layer corners with my WRMK Deco Corner Chomper.  

When I began assembling, I popped up the tag and its layers on the yellow layer,  and then decided to pop up the yellow and Melon Mambo on the cardbase.  Before reattaching the stamped birdies to the tag, I colored them with Copic markers and finished with Clear Wink of Stella to add sparkle.  Because my tag was pretty small, I decided to use the Washi punch (SU retired) and modify it by shortening it and only used a one-word sentiment to keep its size in balance with the tag.  I'm pretty satisfied with my card for Dianne...take another peek above!

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up products: Cardstocks-Night of Navy, Melon Mamo, Daffodil Yellow.  DP: Gingham Garden.  Stamp-For the Birds (retired), Happy Birthday Gorgeous (sentiment).  Ink: Memento-Tuxedo Black, Wink of Stella-Clear.  Embossing Folder: Perfect Polka Dots (retired).  Punches: Washi Label,    1/4" Circle punch.  Ribbon: 3/8" Denim.  White Baker's Twine.  Other products:  Copic Markers; Darice: Foam Sheets.  Computer-verse.  Size: 4-3/4" x 6".

A Sister-in-Law Birthday Beyond Compare!

As I've mentioned in numerous posts over the years, I have eight sister-in-laws. . .WOW!  But, on September 1st, just one day after my birthday,  a sister-in-law beyond compare has her birthday.  You may ask why is she beyond compare?  For one good reason, she is extra special because she is the sister-in-law I have known the longest, and she has always been willing to go that extra mile if she can be of help.  Of course, there are many other reasons as well. . .too many to list, for sure!   

For this special birthday card, I thought I would try out my new Spellbinder Birds on a Wire die.  There are ten birds. . .I think these represent her eight sister-in-laws and her two sisters. . .isn't that clever?  I think June will like her card with all those sisters that have come to visit!  Perhaps, we'll all have a cup of tea or a glass of wine during our visit.

Ingredients:  Recollections cardstock: 25 color pack: black, lavendar purple.  DCWV stack: Pocket Full of Posies.  Stampin' Up cs: Soft Sky.  Dies: Spellbinders Shapeabilities: Birds on a Wire; Petite Circles; Petite Scallop Circles; Scallop Circles LG. QuicKutz Scallop Corners.  Punches: SU Curvy Corners (retired).  Stash: 3/4" Variegated Silk Ribbon.  Petite Daisies (Copic colored).  Computer sentiment/ verse.  Size:  4-3/4" x 5-1/2". 

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".  

Serene Silhouettes Inspiration!

I made a little card designed by my friend, Liz Thayer, at her Totally Loving Christmas event back in August.  I had this stamp set in my stash, but had never used it or thought about it in terms of a Christmas stamp.  It was such a wonderful, serene Christmas scene that it inspired me to make another, using her fog technique and torn snow mounds.  As I like layering in my cards, I added a few more layers and patterned paper to the look, as well as enlarging my card.  I really liked how the pattern paper picked up and enhanced the bird coloring to make them pop.  Thanks Liz for the wonderfully pleasing effect of this card.  It makes you feel like you are looking out the window at a pristine snow-covered world that no one has dared to walk upon to mare its excellence!

Recipe:  SU stamps: Serene Silhouettes, Gorgeous Grunge (background illuminate), Petite Pars (sentiment). SU cardstock: Basic Black (base), Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry. Sycamore Street dsp. SU ink: Smoky Slate (stamping, sponging, distressing), Illuminate Glimmer. SU markers: Basic Black, Rich Razzleberry. SU Dazzling Details-silver. 

Sister-in-law Number. . .What Number is She??? I'm Losing Track!!!

My husband's sister, Joanie's, birthday is in August, so I needed to get busy and get a card made for her.  I had a two-year-old card kit, purchased at the Paradise Scrapbook Boutique in Chico, CA, that I had been wanting to make up.  Because it was designed as a smaller card than I like to make (silly me), I had to do a little tinkering.  

I had the paper that was in the card kit in my own stash, and I was very glad that I had the same hot pink Wasabi measuring tape, because that provided in the kit got stuck together while wrapped up.  I began by making a new Vanilla cardbase to add another layer and to make it larger than the blue provided, thus I was able to use the blue cardbase for matting both inside and out.  I moved some of the design elements from vertical to horizontal and placed my bird a bit farther to the left allowing for my added petite banner birthday sentiment.  Stampin' Up does not yet have a "Happy Birthday" stamp to fit their Bitty Banner Framelits, so I came up with my own idea to use Microsoft Word's WordArt to make my own wavy banner sentiment.  With a little fiddling, I was able to get it just the right shape and size to fit the die frame. . . I was so excited! ( I see many possibilities in the future!)  I really liked this card's original design, so my re-design creation basically retains the flavor of the original with a bit of tweaking here and there and a few enlarging additions.  I hope Joanie likes my bird's birthday message flown to her across the miles to the Midwest!

Recipe:  SU Pool Party cs. BoBunny Double Dot-Blush Dot. Le Paper Cafe Wasabi measuring tape. SU Bitty Banners Framelits. EK Success Victorian Corner punch. Hug Snug Seam Binding-Limoges Blue. Colorbox Chestnut Roan (distressing). Sentiment: Computer-made for Bitty Banners Framelit). Kit provided: Accu-Cut Bird die #10 (Swallow), Pink pattern paper/chipboard (for bird), Lt. blue cardstock, Pattern papers, Blue button, 1/8" Lt. pink ribbon, mini flower.

Mother's Birthday - August 15th!

My mother celebrates her birthday in mid-August and my focus was to make a very special card that just to look at it said, "That must be for Mom." 

 I have been wanting to make a card for a very long time using a clock face.  Mom loves butterflies and birds, and she uses them a lot when making her own cards.  The colors she favors are aquas and peachy-corals.  I came across just the right paper when searching through my stash.  It has all the right colors, and it has butterflies as well.  Then, I went in search of a clock face to use.  I didn't have a stamp with just a clock face or one the right size.  So, to the computer I went, Googled, and found just what I was looking for.  The clock graphic wasn't the right size, but that was easily remedied on the computer.  Below is the card I developed for my Mom's special day!  I hope she absolutely loves it!

Recipe:  SU cardbase: Island Indigo; Recollections: Essentials Distressed cs-lime, Teal Faded Dots, Teal Butterflies; Stash: Coral pattern (behind lace), miscellaneous corals, teals, aquas (bird, flowers, butterfly).  Distress: Colorbox-Chestnut Roan. Recollections: various size half-pearls, teal mini brad. Punches: SU Boho Blossoms, Build-A-Bird; Martha Stewart 3-in-1 Butterflies. WRMK Corner Chomper: Deco. Trims: white lace (stash), Offray lime ribbon. Wilton 4" Doily. Becca's Bowmaker.

My Fall 2012 Trip to California!

I have been a bit out of commission for posting to my blog, and I do apologize.   Plus, I am extremely behind keeping up with my favorite cardmaking blog friends; therefore, I have not been posting comments either...shame on me!  I think I was just having too much fun!

While away, I attend several cropping events and retreats...oh how enjoyable!  I've already told you about my family crop retreat in mid-October at a small town north of Redding, staying at the rustic Trout House...that was scads of fun...just my Mom, my sister, and me this time!  Regressing: in the first two weeks of my arrival, we went to two one-day crops south of Redding: one was private crop hosted by Teresa Barnett in Red Bluff, and the other was an anniversary crop at the Paradise Scrapbook Boutique in Chico (our favorite vintage-decorated shop).  Of course, we stayed away overnight and shopped before we start home at any quaint little shops we found as well!  In the last part of October and early November, we went to a one-day crop at the "Rock Paper Scissors," a new Redding scrapbook store, and another most-of-the-day event called the Christmas Card Extravaganza.  We made 18 cards by six designers in 7 hours!  Needless to say, I brought a few unfinished ones home to complete.

To finish off my trip, we traveled east to the tiny town of Weaverville to a four-day crop retreat, called Trinity Scrapbooking Retreats.  We had a blast with our papercrafting, but also enjoyed this small town's Halloween evening festivities.  It was such fun to see how a rural town celebrates the holiday with costumes worn by shop owners and restaurant employees and each business giving out treats to passersby.  But while there, I did manage to get a little crafting and cardmaking done too.  Some of the cards are from kits provided by my sister, Heidi Gonzales (www.mylilscrapcorner.blogspot.com), who designs and teaches cardmaking at Redding's "Rock Paper Scissors," plus holds her own events and is a Stampin' Up demonstrator, as well.  Here are my "sister cards" with a few modifications if a whim struck me while making them:

Following are some cards I made from ideas I got online or at various events or stores, as well some of my own designs.  I left off the sentiments on most of them so I could decide later what I wanted to use them for, and here they are:

Now that I am home, I must get started on Christmas...I will be sharing a mini album I started in California and some cards I made as well!  Hope your late September, October, and early November were as enjoyable as mine!

My daughter-in-law's birthday to celebrate!

Ginger's birthday follows on the heels of Mom's; therefore, it require a lots of cardmaking busyness all at one time!  When my son, Mark, married Ginger, he inherited a menagerie of pets...a dog, 3 cats, and 4 birds.  He seems to have readily adopted them as his family, and it's fun to watch.  It wasn't too hard to figure out what theme to use for Ginger's birthday card, and it gave me a chance to use my new Stampin' Up Bird Builder punch...so cute!

Happy Birthday Ginger...hope your day is very special!  As it's on a Friday, maybe you can make a three-day weekend of it and enjoy it to the fullest!

Recipe:  Papers: SU Perfect Plum cs/ dsp stack, Whisper White cs, stash papers.  SU Build-a-Bird punch.  Recollections purple brad. Sizzix Daisy die.  Stash: white lace, purple ribbon..

My special sister...celebrates her birthday!

My sister, and cardmaking mentor, is having a birthday!  It is almost mandatory that I make her a card...right?  It is surprising, though, that both of us find we miss each others birthdays in cardmaking because are just so darn busy making cards for everyone else.  This year, I was going to a shoebox card swap, so I used the opportunity to make a card just for my sister for this event.  Here is what I came up with...hope she enjoys it!   (It was so three-dimensional that I had to send it as a package...LOL!)

Happy Birthday, Heidi, Sister Dear...Luv you!

Paper: Joann's openstock/ cardstock; Helen Grace; Minds Eye.

Sizzix: Daisies Flower Bigz Die; MFT Homespun Birdhouse Die-namics; Spellbinders Elegant Posts.

Offray Ribbon; Recollections brown mini pearls; pearl brad.