Floating Poppy Birthday!

One thing I really need to set my mind to is building up my birthday card stash. It seems I am always missing sending a birthday or two throughout the year because I run short of time to create one. Birthdays just sneak up on me and catch me short-hand more often than not. For the next several months, not only do I need to focus on my Christmas card stash, but also get started replenishing my meager birthday card stash. 

I started browsing through my Splitcoaststamper "challenge catch-up" list to see what challenges I have yet to do since 2017, and believe me, I still have plenty to complete! I was hoping to get my creative mojo juiced and stoked. I got lots of color ideas, techniques, and design ideas from my search with a total about 20 or so challenges that I could use to influence the design outcome of this birthday card for either one of my fall birthdays or for my birthday stash. After deciding on my card design, theme, and colors, I used 14 challenges that I can claim that inspired me. My card also uses the Floating Elements technique. Take a peak below at my finished card:

Ingredients: Stampin' Up products-- Cardstock: Basic Black, Starry Night, Sweet Sorbet, Tahitian Tide, and Orchid Oasis. Window Sheets. Dies: Poppy Moments. Gems: Polished Dots. Other-- Happy Birthday Shadow die. Copic Markers (gem coloring). Chatterbox verse. Size: 4-3/4" x 6".

Candy Cane Wishes for Christmas!

 I still have very few Christmas cards ready for Christmas giving this year. It is starting to weigh heavily on me that I'm so far behind; therefore, my next card must be a Christmas card for my stash! I just received my Sweet Candy Cane stamps/dies and the Christmas Banner stamps/ dies that I ordered from the current Stampin' Up mini catalog so I'm eager to try them out. 

The Sweetest Christmas dsp in that same catalog has a lot of wonderful patterns and strips. I decided on a criss-cross background effect by using a striped diagonal paper pattern overlaid with the diagonal panel die-cut. I used all three colors in the striped paper on my card front stamping and die-cuts: Real Red, Garden Green, and Pool Party, plus I added a bit of aqua glitter paper to add some sparkle and bling! 

As most candy canes come in individually wrapped, clear cellophane wrappers, I decided to cover my Real Red, ink-stamped canes with Scotch clear packing tape to resemble these cellophane wrappers. This is an idea we used in a class card designed by Dar Peterson that I borrowed. I am pretty happy with the way my card looked upon completion...take a peak below at the finished card:

Ingredients: Stampin' Up-- Cardstock: Basic White, Garden Green, Pool Party. DSP: Sweetest Christmas. Stamps/Dies (J-D 2022 Mini): Sweet Candy Canes/ Candy Cane dies; Christmas Banner dies (pine boughs). Ink: Real Red. Punch: 1-1/4" Circle. Ribbon: 3/8" Pool Party Sheer. Gems: Elegant Faceted Gems. Other-- Paper: DCWV 6"x6" Glitter Pastels Mat Stack. Spellbinders Dies: Splendid Circles. Scotch 2" Clear Packing Tape.

Baby & Winnie Are Roommates!

I had a baby shower to attend to welcome the upcoming birth of a dear friend's great granddaughter! The baby room is decorated with a Winnie the Pooh theme, so I wanted to use that as my card theme.  I've always loved the Winnie the Pooh quote "Sometimes the littlest things take up the most room in your heart!" I really wanted to use it in some way with my card.  I search online for some free images and downloads, and I came up with this doodled image of this quote and decided to use it as the card front focal point.

I printed the image and quote, colored it with Copic markers and sponge-colored the background with Pool Party ink. I found a Spellbinders die to frame the quote & image, some pretty variegated sheer ribbon and rich golden dot paper.  Putting it all together, I came up with a cute and quick card!

Last, I composed an inside verse, printed it, distressed the edges, punched decorative corners and added some sparkly gems to this corner punch area that I color-shaded using Copic markers.  Check it out below both inside and out:

Ingredients: SU Cardstock: Whisper White, Garden Green. Recollections Cardstock: Light Yellow, Patterned Paper: MFT--Dots & Stripes Sorbet 6x6 Paper Pack. Spellbinders Dies: Fleur de Lis Rectangles. SU punch: Curvy Corner Trio. Image/Verse: Free Winnie the Pooh Doodling. Ribbon Scrap: Offray 1/2" Two-Tone Sheer. SU Gems: Glitter Enamel Dots (Copic colored). Chatterbox Verse. Size: 4-3/4" x 6." 

A Just Right Day!

My daughter-in-law's birthday falls in mid-August two days after my Mom's birthday. I went to a card class back in March or April and several of those cards remained unfinished because I wanted to change them a bit rather than follow the original design exactly. As Ginger loves flowers, and I think she would love to have a greenhouse added to her backyard, I decided one particular unfinished card lent itself well to Ginger, as well as several challenges I wanted to enter.

First, I add a few more flowers and extra foliage inside my greenhouse, plus one more blossom outside as I like the look of an odd number of blooms rather than just two, which is an even number. I finished the greenhouse and attached it to the planned white stitched rectangle panel.

The original cardbase design used the same Just Jade cardstock color under the Just Jade embossed brick layer. I wanted to add larger underlying layers and more color. I decided on a Pale Papaya cardbase to match the sentiment die-cut and to use this new cardbase in a picture frame look with an added white mat, and then the Just Jade Brick & Mortar 3D embossed layer. 

I trimmed brick embossed layer about an 1/8" smaller all the way around. I decided to add Clear heat embossing over the 3D bricks to give them a bit of sheen and bring out the texture. I added a little sponged Pale Papaya ink to a recycled scalloped doily for the edging that peeks out just below the greenhouse white stitched panel.  I shaped the doily into a double fan look.  

Next, I offset this same white mat panel quite a bit more to the right than in the original card design to accommodate for the sentiment overlap, which was placed in this location with a specific challenge requirement in mind. I really like my changes and additions to the larger card size, the new Pale Papaya cardbase, the white mat layer, the Clear heat embossing over the 3D brick dry embossing, the extra blooms, and the fan-like doily as I think they all added and enhanced the original card design, which was presented by Luci Kirschbaum!  Take a peak below at my newly-made finished card inside and out:

Ingredients: Stampin' Up: Cardstock--Pale Papaya, Whisper White, Just Jade, Soft Succulent, Vellum. Stamps/Dies--Garden Greenhouse/ Greenhouse Dies. Dies--Stitched Rectangles, Message Dies. Ink: Just Jade, Pale Papaya, Versamark. EF--Brick & Mortar 3D. Elegant Faceted Gems. Other: WOW Clear Matt Embossing Powder. Rectangle doily from stash. Chatterbox verse. Size-4-3/4" x 6".

My Daughter Grows Beautiful Flowers

 In the middle of thinking about and making Father's Day cards, I realized I also needed to be thinking about my oldest daughter's birthday card! I attended a June card class where we learned to make two cards in one by die-cutting a lacey floral die out of white cardstock to use as a stencil on another white card front panel, creating a negative inked floral bouquet. We were to use our blender brushes to ink and colorize our blossoms with three lovely ink colors, but I decided to use four: Polished Pink, Orchid Oasis, Starry Night, and Parakeet Party for the leaves.  What gorgeous colors these are together.  Our white cardstock stencil ended up very prettily ink blended as well and became the focal die-cut for the second card.  This is the card I decided to finish for my daughter! 

I adhered four 1/2" black paper strips spaced 1/2" apart and horizontally across the white cardstock front panel, starting in the middle...find the card front middle before starting.  Next, adhere two 1/4" black strips at the top and bottom, but also leaving 1/2" of the white cardstock showing. I adhered this card front panel to a black mat layer with a narrow 1/8" border. I add two more base layers...the 4-3/4" x 6" black card base and a Gorgeous Grape cardstock cut to 4-3/8" x 5-5/8". I positioned the inked Artistic lacy flower die-cut where I liked it, allowing for my sentiment strip toward the bottom and offset to the left. 

To finish, I added a 1/4" x 1" tiny black strip to host three medium rhinestones colored with Copic markers to match the Parakeet Party ink and positioned the strip toward the upper right corner of the card front. I punch my white cardstock sentiment strip with the Lovely Label Pick-A-Punch and popped two rhinestones beside the stamped "Happy Birthday".  I also added two Glitter Enamel Gems to the flower centers, coloring them with Copics to accent the inked blooms.

I was super pleased with the look...black and white always dresses up any card...such a classic combination!  Take a peek below and my finished card and my inside Chatterbox verse:

Ingredients: Stampin' Up products: Cardstock--Basic White, Basic Black, Gorgeous Grape. Stamp/ Dies--Artistically Inked (sentiment)/ Artistic Dies (lacy floral). Inks--Polished Pink, Parakeet Party, Orchid Oasis, Starry Night. Punch--Lovely Labels Pick-A-Punch (sentiment label). Glitter Enamel Gems (flower centers). Basic Rhinestones--medium & small. Other: Copic marker (Rhinestone & Glitter Gems coloring). Blender Brushes. Chatterbox verse. Size: 4-3/4" x 6".

My Mother is Celebrated & Loved!

It is already May, and I really need to get my Mom's Mothers' Day card made, compose my inside verse, finish the inside card design, and get it into the mail ASAP in order for it to arrive on time.  After reviewing various Splitcoaststamper challenge possibilities, I decided to finish one of my card class designs (original by Luci Kirschbaum) that I remembered was lurking in my “To Do Stash,” but there were some changes I wanted to make that occurred to me while in class. I wanted to jazz it up a bit and make it more me by adding layers, making it larger, and change the sentiment and its presentation.

I added layers below the card front with a Poppy Parade cardbase and a White Iridescent Glimmer layer.  I changed the label shape and sentiment theme from a simple fishtail flag to the Lovely Labels punch design, and I made my new sentiment Mothers' Day wording using two computer fonts I really liked. I have to say, I really like all my changes. 

I composed an inside verse using the computer and added a two-layer corner punch design to the four corners of the verse cardstock. I coordinated these punch corners with the card front's beautiful tulip dsp and the iridescent glitter paper. I'm just sure Mom will love her card......take a peek below:

Ingredients: Stampin' Up: Paper--Poppy Parade cs, Petal Pink cs, Flowering Fields dsp (2 patterns); Punch: Lovely Labels; Ribbon--3/8" White Taffeta; Gems--Opal Rounds. Other: Recollections White Iridescent Glitter paper; EK Punch--Victorian Corner; Chatterbox Creations sentiment/ verse. Size: 4-3/4 x 6 inches.

Little Lamb is Coming for Easter!

Easter is coming, and its time to get busy to allow for mailing.  I checked my "Need to Finish...TO DO Stash" to see if any Easter cards lurked that needed finishing.  I found a lamb image already colored and some paper pieces for possible finishing, but I wanted my card a bit bigger than the original card, so I decided to remodel the original design by Liz Thayer.

I kept the cardbase and first layer the same colors but changed the card face from a vanilla to a very soft yellow that I found in my 12x12-inch paper stash.  It was probably one I picked up from either Joanns or Michaels years ago.  There was a little Mint Macaron banner pre-cut, but I decided I wanted it longer.  I wanted to add some ribbon, and found a pretty Offray pink with white dots sheer ribbon that I thought would go nicely.

Take a look below at the finished card inside and out.  That little lamb is just darn cute!

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up:  Cardstock--Blushing Bride, Mint Macaron, Crumb Cake. Stamp--Easter Lamb for Baby (2016 Occasions).  Dies--Layering Ovals. Ink--Early Espresso, Cajun Craze, Memento Tuxedo Black. Banner Triple punch. Enamel Dot--It's My Party. Other--Soft Yellow Cardstock (stash, Dot paper (stash), Copic markers, Sergeant Colored Pencils, Offray pink-dot sheer ribbon, Uniball Signo White gel pen.

A Sea Life Birthday to You!

 My daughter-in-law's birthday is in a few days, so I needed to get busy with a card.  My son built her a fish pond in their backyard a few years ago, so I thought a card using the new Stampin' Up Seascape stamps and Sea Life dies, which includes a koi-style fish, would make a great card!  I saw two cards that gave me great ideas for using this stamp and die set.

I borrowed some of the colors and card design from Luci Kirschbaum's Sea Life card from a card class from several months ago, plus from SCS Featured Stamper ksenzak1/ Karen Ksenzakovic's Sparkly Fish Birthday card.  Here is a link to my card with a link in challenge #7 to Karen's card: (under construction).

I used the school of fish stamp, bubbles, and the small fish and sparkly goldfish dies from idea cards.  My card changed up the fish and bubble layout, plus I added a gold foil die-cut mat, and  grassy overlays for more texture and dimension.  I wanted depth and texture in my card without using the diorama dies, so I added a wonky stitching gold foil mat layer and two-layer sea grass to the card front.  I accomplished the grass overlays by stamping the first layer onto the card front with a very light stamp-off technique.   I also stamped my fish schools and water bubbles at this point as well.  Then, I  stamped a second set of sea grass onto scrap cardstock and fussy-cut each blade overlaying with a slight offset onto those already stamped on the card front.  Now I was ready to add the die-cut fish, my goldfish, the bubble gems and the happy birthday sentiment.  Take a peak below at the finished card plus the inside design and verse.  I think Ginger will be pleased with her pond-life card!

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up products:  Cardstock--Mint Macaron, Just Jade, Bumblebee, Gold Foil, Very Vanilla.  Stamps--Seascape, Peaceful Moments (sentiment).  Dies--Sea Life, Stitched So Sweetly (sentiment).  Ink--Mint Macaron (fish/ bubbles), Tranquil Tide (grasses--stamped off, sentiment).  Genial Gems--mint macaron, pale papaya.  Other:  EK Punch--Victorian Corners.  Reverse Confetti--All Framed Up Confetti Dies.