Birthday Celebrations the French Way!

A friend of an especially good friend is having a birthday later in September, and several ladies, including me, will be taking her to lunch.  I wanted to mark her birthday with a handmade card from me.  I have made at least three "Paris" cards in the last few year and added them to my card stash, probably because my daughter-in-law loves all things French.  The Eiffel Tower is one of her favorite tourist attractions, especially since she and my son made their trip to France and Italy a few years ago.  Probably because of this, I have felt the nudge to create "Paris" cards depicting The Eiffel Tower.  

The "Paris" card that I have chosen for my friend's upcoming birthday is made from several pieces of the Graphic 45 Tour de France paper collection.  Graphic 45 is one of my favorite paper companies, especially when making vintage style cards, though I don't think this card is truly of the vintage style.  I hope the birthday lady enjoys her French birthday card and her gift card for a cup of latte!

To turn this "Paris" card from just a generic card depicting The Eiffel Tower on its front and into a birthday card, I decided to use a little French in it's inside birthday verse.  Here's a peek at the inside design and my little French verse!

Recipe: SU Chocolate Chip cs, MME-Everyday Tango, MME-So Sophie/Celebrate, K&Co. Portabello stack, Graphic 45-TourdeFrance/ Eiffel Tower.  SU Calypso Coral (sponging); Colorbox Chestnut Roan (edge distress).  SU Early Espresso Scallop Tulle.  SU Buttons: Sweet Stitches, Regals Designer.  EK CardCreator Corner punch-Basketweave (modified/ inside).  Karen Foster Scrapper's Floss:Yellow.  Stash: Brown Lace; Rust/Gold Velvet ribbon.  Computer-made verse.

Sister-in-Law Birthday...#8 and Final for 2013!

One of my many sister-in-law's just returned from a vacation in France.  She absolutely loved it, and divulged that to her surprise France was absolutely beautiful!  One of the many, many sites they saw, of course, was the Eiffel Tower.  I completed a card this last spring while in California, and I posted it on my blog on June 2 after coming home.  There is a lot of information in that post about how this card evolved, but after all that I had done, I still wasn't happy with it.  I know you have all been there...a card that just doesn't "jell" well, and there is this sense of dissatisfaction with what you've done and how it turned out!

Surprisingly, when I decided I would give this card to Judy for her birthday, because it depicted Paris, IF I could do something to it to be more pleased with it, then a creative light bulb went on!  My creative juices seem to work better when I am making a card with a specific person in mind.

All of a sudden, I just knew it needed a flower that blended with all the papers on the front; that meant I had to make the flower myself from the card papers.  My final decision was to use a soft gold metallic paper to blend with the metallic look in the ribbons used and just one of the papers (Graphic 45 Birdsong-Joy Luck).  I was able to peel off the bow that I had previously adhered with hot glue by heating it well with my blow dryer.  The bow peeled off looking like new, so I would be able to re-use it.  Since I knew the card was to be for a birthday, I was also able to add a mini sentiment flag to add a bit more color to the front, which I also felt was needed.  I really hope Judy likes my Eiffel Tower card, as I go to bed pleased with the way it finally turned out!

Recipe:  Bazzill cardstock: Starburst-base, Blackbird, Straw (embossed); Graphic 45 Birdsong-Joy Luck (layer #2).  Extras: Sizzix TH Eiffel Tower Embossing Folder; Spellbinders-Rose Creations die; Recollections Black pearls, Fleur de lis; Memento Tuxedo Black Ink (sponging/ distressing); Trims: 1" black lace, 3/8" gold sheer/ satin edge ribbon, 1/4" Black satin/ metallic gold-edge ribbon.

My Lovely Daughter-in-Law's Birthday!

Ginger loves all things French, except maybe French Poodles. . .not sure about that.  She and my son took a trip to Europe about two years ago; her only wish was that she could have stayed longer and seen more!  

As I am generally known for making cards with the person in mind by thinking about what they like, their hobbies, their dreams, their bucket list, etc., I thought I would make a card that definitely says France. . .with the Eiffel Tower as the focal point.  I wanted the card to be immediately recognizable by almost anyone in our immediately family that this card was definitely for Ginger!  

I have a couple of Eiffel Tower stamps and even some dies, but I was looking online and at Pinterest and found many graphics and vintage pictures depicting various French items and scenes that I really liked.  In the end instead of using my stamps and dies, I went with a colored graphic that immediately brought to mind some papers I had in my stash that were begging to be used. . .and, voila. . .here is Ginger's card! 

Recipe:  Cardbase-Recollections: Spice Market-olive; Stampin'Up: DSP Patterns-Raspberry Ripple, Very Vanilla cs ; BoBunny Jazmyne-stripe/ floral vine. Colorbox Chestnut Roan (distress). Martha Stewart Corner punch. Spellbinders Fleur de Lis Rectangles. Stampin'Up Vintage Resin Rose. Inca Gold homemade spritz. Recollections colored half-pearls. Ribbon (stash): 5/8" Raspberry Organza, 3/4" Olive Organza. Glues: 3M Tape Glider, 3M foam tape, Glue gun. 

A Yen to See New Vistas!

I'm finally BACK home!  It was certainly a longer vacation/ visit to California than expected!  My plan was to head home right after Mother's Day, but about that time, my husband surprised me with the decision to head south himself.  So, we extended our stay almost two week to makes visits to his family and some friends in the Sacramento area, as well as mine in Redding.  He was also able to accomplish my mother's honey do list.  He was a big help, replacing electric switches and replacing worn-out fan controllers and even her battery in her car, which decided to fail while he was there!  

Toward the end of my planned visit, I began thinking of summer coming and wanting to take a vacation to see scenery other than my regular stomping grounds in Washington or California.  I'm thinking that is what made the Tim Holtz Texture Fades Eiffel Tower embossing folder by Sizzix so attractive!  

I bought a 4-card making kit from the Rock, Paper Scissor store in Redding with one of the four cards a "bare bones" set of three papers:  a cream card base,  a piece of black card stock, and the straw-colored embossed card stock.  The challenge was to make and embellish it to your own liking. . .no sample or ideas provided.  I looked at the papers included and decided it would be very plain without something more even if I tried cutting and layering the papers into different sizes. It needed some color and pattern added to liven it up and some ribbon and embellishments were a must.  I tossed the cream card base and decided on an Antique Gold instead.  I also decided to enlarge the card size just a bit; it ended of 5" x 6-1/4."  I kept the black card stock to use as one of the background mats and added a black/ gold pattern from the Graphic 45 Birdsong collection.  I tried a little black sponging on the embossed piece to help bring out the Eiffel Tower/ Paris patterns.  This was my final design that I came up with.

After making this card and because I have a daughter-in-law who loves everything "Paris," I decided I needed to purchase this embossing folder for myself.  Now, that took a bit of doing to actually acquire it!  It took up over five visits to the Redding JoAnns store, who normally have it in stock,  and two visits to other stores in different towns.  Several weeks into this wanting to make this purchase, and after much conversation and questioning on my part, I finally found out they actually had not ordered more to re-stock.  It was not clear if that was intentional or not.  The "cards" remained on the wall as though they were in stock, but to get one, you actually needed to do a special order.  This information was finally forthcoming on my fourth visit after lots of questions!  The entire process took over four weeks!  I'm determined if nothing else. . .like a dog with a bone!  I will certainly treasure this embossing folder. . .it turned out to be a whole lot of trouble! (As you can probably tell. . . there is a lot more to the story.)

Recipe:  Papers: Bazzill Starburst, Blackbird, Straw; Graphic 45 Birdsong Joy Luck (back). Extras:  Sizzix TH Eiffel Tower Emb. Folder; Recollections Black pearls, Fleur de lis; Memento Tuxedo Black Ink (sponging/ distressing); Trims: 1" black lace, 3/8" gold sheer/ satin edge ribbon, 1/4" Black satin/ Metallic Gold edge ribbon.