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".

Woodland Scene (Christmas X10 Card #10)!

I finished all of the Christmas X10 event cards in time for my Christmas mailings.  I was so busy before Christmas that I did not get all my posting completed, so since my daughter is getting married in about two weeks, my cardmaking time is now very limited, so thought I would post a few more of those Christmas cards that I didn't get posted yet.  This card, though a Christmas card because of its sentiment, really doesn't have to be.  It could be a winter birthday or even a thinking of you.  The possibilities seem endless when you actually think about it. . .the sentiment is often the determining factor!

For my card, I stayed pretty true to the Dara and/or Luci's original design, but of course, I did make some changes.  A normal change for me is adding one or more layers, and I certainly did so here.  I added Rose Red cardstock as the bottom layer, which became my new cardbase in lieu of using the Delightful Dijon layer as the original suggests.  I chose to usd a little Impression Obsessions die set that is full of Cardinal birds in different poses and two different sizes instead of stamping a Cardinal onto the vellum and then trying to color it as was featured in the original design.  I did try that method at the event and found it very difficult not to smear the bird or color out of its lines.  My little die-cut Cardinals work super well!  

A trick I learned about vellum is how to adhere it to its underlayer without the adhesive strip showing. . .try to bury it somewhere.  For this card, that was quite easy to do by using my tape runner on the back side of all the trees.  This tape does not show at all!   This is also the first time I have inked the backside of vellum to create color through to the front.  The tree trunks were colored on the backside with a Soft Suede Stampin' Write Marker.  Take a peak below at my finished product.

Recipe:  Stampin' Up products:  Cardstock--Rose red, Delightful Dijon, Mint Macaron, Whisper White, White Vellum.  Stamps--Among the Branches (2015 Holiday).  Ink--Delightful Dijon.  Punches--2-3/8" Scallop Circle, 2" Circle.  Embossing Folder--Woodland Texture (2015 Holiday).  1-1/4" White Jute.  Stampin' Write Marker--Soft Suede.  Impressin Obsession dies:  Cardinals.  (Thank you Dara Peterson & Luci Kirschbaum for sharing the original card design).

Embellished Ornaments (Totally Lovin' Christmas #4)!

Oh, and here is an especially pretty one from Liz Thayer's October Totally Lovin' Christmas card event that I attended.  I made this design exactly like the sample Liz Thayer shared during the class, though I did decided to make my separation between layers a bit larger because I wanted the pink layers to pop a bit more.  I also dropped the sentiment in the upper right corner just a bit more and decided to gold emboss it like the ornaments.  (I think Liz had her's stamped with Crumb Cake ink if I remember correctly).

I know many people don't like to use non-traditional colors in their Christmas cards, and I most definitely think pink falls into that non-traditional category.  But, I absolutely love this color combination. . .don't you think ornaments made from Stampin' Up's Embellished Ornaments stamp set cut out with their coordinating Delicate Ornaments Thinlit dies are simply beautiful! 

Now here's something that has always puzzled me!  I can't, for the life of me, figure out why they don't name their dies the same as the coordinating stamp set with which the die set is first introduced?  I do realize that in the future, they often add a new stamp set named something entirely different, but for me, it would still be easier if they just named it the same as at least one of the stamp sets with which they coordinate.  As I say, it's a puzzle to me, and of course, that is my personal opinon!  Getting back to the pink color with the gold embossing, doesn't it makes an absolutely lovely finished card?

Recipe:  Stampin' Up products:  cardstock--Blushing Bride, Pink Pirouette, Very Vanilla. Winter Wonderland dsp (2015 Holiday).  Stamps/ coordinating die:  Embellished Ornaments/ Delicate Ornament Thinlits (2015 Holiday).  5/8" Gold Satin Ribbon, 1-1/4" Very Vanilla Subtle Stripe Ribbon.  Gold Embossing Powder.  Pearls.  (Thank you Liz Thayer for the beautiful card design).

Making Spirits Bright (Totally Lovin' Christmas #2)

I've been finishing this little reindeer Making Spirits Bright card today. . .it's my second card design from Liz Thayer's Totally Lovin' Christmas.  This card is a fun-loving, whimsical card for sure, and it uses some of Stampin' Up's newest products from their 2015 Holiday mini catalog, such as the Reindeer clips and the Holiday Fancy Foil Vellum.  I had to bring this one home from the event to finish, because I had such a terrible time getting the Making Spirits Bright solid sentiment to stamp out correctly.  Now, I know I'm a perfectionist, but believe me, I wasn't even close to the problem!

In looking at the card pieces and then the picture of the card design, I decided that my first step was to tackle and stamp that most difficult sentiment.  I recently bought myself a MISTI stamping tool (MISTI = Most Incredible Stamping Tool Invented), and it finally arrived about a week ago.  I knew this sentiment would be quite the test for it, but it was time to see if it could live up to its advertising.  I mounted the stamp onto the MISTI cover, inked it up, gently closed the lid, and pressed firmly and evenly on the cover where the stamp was adhere.  Voila, it worked...it truly lives up to its advertising!

The more I looked at the card's original design, the more I thought I just had to add some red and green foil papers to coordinate with the green foil trees on the vellum.  I replaced all of the red cardstock with red foil and added another layer in green foil underneath, and I also added a white cardbase to start it off.  I thought the card was looking good so far; therefore, it was time to give the little reindeer a look see.  I decided he need a perky little bow under his nose instead of a double-trailed knot, and he definitely need some eyes; Googlies eyes would be just right.  You take a look see and see if I got it right.

Recipe:  Stampin' Up products:  Shimmery White cardstock; Holiday Fancy Foil Vellum.  Stamps: Among the Branches.  Ink:  Real Red.  1/8" striped ribbon-green.  Reindeer paper clips.  DCWV Foiled Cardstock Stack.  Darice Googlie Eye.  Recollections Large Rhinestone.  (MISTI by My Petunia).  (Thank you Liz for the original design sample.)

Happy Scenes (Totally Lovin' Christmas #1)!

Every year I attend an annual Christmas cardmaking event sponsored by my Stampin' Up upline, Liz Thayer, which she aptly names Totally Lovin' Christmas.  Each year she bedazzles us with ten magnificent cards made with the newest Stampin' Up materials presented in the Holiday mini catalog.  It is always such a fun and enjoyable event, that I would be really sad to miss it.  Miss it I did NOT, and the following card is one that Liz designed that I made at the event.

I love the theme and design of the card, but I did want a popped up sentiment under my window instead of a sentiment stamped in white directly onto the black card base, and I thought it would be very pretty stamped with metallic gold ink and set off with a black layer underneath.   I also decided not to put on the little tiny bow at the top of the window frame, but to sparkle up the frame with some Gold Wink of Stella (a gold inked glitter pen).  

Recipe:  Stampin' Up papers:  cardstocks--Basic Black, Whisper White, Very Vanilla.  Winter Wonderland dsp.  Stamps: Happy Scenes, Versatile Christmas.  Framelits: Hearth & Home.  Ink:  Pool Party, Basic Black Archival.  3/8" Gold Glitter Ribbon.  Dazzling Diamonds Glitter Adhesive.  Encore: Gold Metallic Ink.  Copic Marker: C0.  Wink of Stella: Gold Metallic (window frame). (Thank you Liz Thayer for the lovely card design sample).

Mixing the Old & the New @ Christmas!

As Christmas is looming every closer, I'm still working on Christmas cards, but  wanted a change of pace.  For the fun of it, I decided I wanted to do a card using some of my many old cardmaking Stampin' Up products instead of using those that are currently on sale, plus I wanted to maybe mix them with a few of my newest items.  This led me down memory lane where I remembered a few cards I had seen with a Christmas wreath made by using an embossed scalloped circle.  I am sure this was before the plethora of wreath coordinating stamps and dies were available from numerous cardmaking companies.  I thought it was a clever idea at the time, but never got around to trying one myself.  I was feeling my creative juices flowing, so this seemed like a good project to use my "mixing the old & the new" idea.

My wreath idea could be made by using a scallop circle die or a punch, but I decided to go with punches.  I chose the 2-3/8" Scalloped Circle punch, which was first introduced in the Stampin' Up 2008 annual catalog, and is still in the current annual catalog!  I decided that the 1-3/8" plain circle would be perfect to cut out the center of the scallop circle, and thus, the beginnings of my wreath was born.

To get a leafy look on the wreath, I used the Petals-A-Plenty Embossing Folder, which retired at the end of the 2013-2014 annual catalog.  Another punch that was around for many years before it retired two years ago was the Scallop Trim Border punch, and I chose that to embellish my card. With a little bit of Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Diamonds glitter adhesive for holly berries and a small wreath bow created from a narrow red stitched ribbon, and I was true finished with my wreath and ready to pop it onto my card front.  The Rejoicing with you. . . sentiment takes center stage at the top of the card, coming from the brand new 2015 Holiday stamp set: Versatile Christmas.  I like the way it came together, and I'm done. . .take a peek below:

  Recipe:  Stampin' Up current products:  Cardstock--Whisper White, Real Red;. Stamps--Versatile Christmas; Ink--Real Red; Dazzling Diamonds glitter glue--Cherry Cobbler.  Stampin' Up 2014 retired products:  Cardstock--Gumball Green; Birthday Basics dsp; Embossing Folder--Petals-A-Plenty; Punch--Scallop Trim Border; 1/8" Stitched Grograin ribbon.