A Valentine in the Pink of Things!

I have another Valentine card to enter on my blog.  This one is especially made for my first daughter, and she gets one made with pink and punches to fit my Splitcoaststmper Alphabet Challenge, Letter "P" for just that...PINK and PUNCHES!  The double challenge for this letter was "K" for kraft.  The description indicated that kraft could also be bleach white, like that used on large envelopes or gift paper bags.  I went in search of the big white envelope that came in the mail with my insurance papers in it.  I cut a piece of white from it, and used it to stamp on my little Valentine plant.  Sure hope this meets the double challenge requirements!

I am also trying to meet a self-imposed goal to use a lot of my old Valentine materials and tools in my stash rather than buying new things. . .though I have to admit I did buy a few new stamps because I just couldn't help myself, but they haven't actually arrived, so I won't be using them this year!

I really delved deep for Michele's card and pulled out a stamp set I bought way back in 2011 that I haven't used in at least four years called Valentine Defined by Stampin' Up.  I really like this set for its variety of stamps that can be so creatively used.  I decided on the little long-stem tiny heart plant, the LOVE sentiment, and the string heart border that I used to make my own stamped paper.  I also added my own punched hearts from red glimmer paper to add some bright colors and glitz!  I needed to use pink on my card to fit the alpha challenge so I used pink cardstock and pink ink distressing on my white kraft panel.  In addition, I used all punches and no dies to be sure I was spot on with Letter "P."  First three layers where adhered together flat (gray cardbase, red and pink layers) to form a set of three layers.  The remaining layers were adhered together flat and popped up off the first set of three layers.  I used a foam sheet to "pop up" the top set of layers, which is difficult to see in the photo.  Take a peek below at my finished card both inside and out!

Ingredients:  Paper:  Stampin' Up cardstocks--Basic Bray, Real Red, Pink Pirouette, Red Glimmer; Envelope Kraft White (recycled).  SU Stamp: Valentine Defined (2011-Occ/ retired).  SU Inks: Basic Gray, Real Red, Pink Pirouette.  Punches:  SU--Scallop Edge (retired), Heart to Heart (small heart-retired).  Stamped patterned paper (part of stamp set).  Darice Foam sheets.  Stahs: 1/2" Red grosgrain ribbon. Ink Distressed (Pink Pirouette ink).  Computer verse.  Size: 4-3/4" x 6."

Remembering Sister on Her Birthday!

I wanted to make a special birthday card for my sister, Heidi, to go with the little Brighton Sister necklace I left with Mom to give to her on her birthday.  This is what I came up with:

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up products:  Cardstock--Old Olive, Soft Sky; Pattern--Irresistible Yours (2015 SAB) sponged.  Stamps--Butterfly Basics (including sentiment).  Inks--Soft Sky, Mossy Meadow.  Ribbon--3/8" Stitched Satin-Mossy Meadow.  Dazzling Diamonds Glitter.  Pearls.  Other products:  Stamps--Jillibean/ Butterflies (inside verse).  Memory Box dies:  Cascadia Butterfly Trio (solid-large); Leavenworth Butterfly Trio (filigree-large).  EK Scallop Corners-Medium.  (Thank you Liz for the original design to case.)

The Card's Story + Other Tidbits

I made a card with almost the same colors at Liz Thayer's January 30th STAMP-A-LOOZA in 2015.  She demonstrated how to make patterned paper with the stamps included in the Butterfly Basics set.  She also introduced the Sale-A-Brations Freebie flyer with the lovely Irresistible You, pre-embossed, white, patterned papers, and she showed us how this paper could be sponged with inks to change their color.  I loved the ideas and wanted to incorporate them into a card similar yet different, so I cased Liz's card and came up with my own version.

My first step was to make my three-pattern paper, using the little netting background, the postmark, and the lacy butterfly stamps from the Butterfly Basics set, stamping with Soft Sky ink on White cardstock.  I needed to make enough of this patterned paper for my two layered panels.  In addition, I needed to make the one-pattern paper shown above the ribbon, using only the netting stamp with Soft Sky ink on White cardstock.

Next, I cut the Irresistible You white pre-embossed scallop patterned paper large enough for my bottom panel below the ribbon.  I sponged this piece with Soft Sky ink and voila the paper became Soft Sky in color and the scallops popped!  I fitted the Soft Sky netting pattern to the Irresistible You sponged scallops along the narrow sides and Scotch tapped them tightly together on their back all along the center seam.

I cut a strip of the Mossy Green ribbon and applied it to the front across this horizontal seam, overlapping the ribbon over the cardstock edges and taping on the back.  Toward the right side of this horizontally adhered ribbon, I inserted another piece of ribbon vertically, tied a tight knot, and clipped the ribbon ends in a vee or fishtail shape.  I matted this panel to a piece of Soft Sky cardstock.

I cut my homemade three-pattern stamped paper into two panels.  With Mossy Green ink, I stamped one panel with the happy birthday sentiment, and the other with the fern stamp, all from the Butterfly Basics set.  I matted each of them with Soft Sky cardstock.  I used two Memory Box butterfly dies:  the solid butterfly die for the base, cut in Soft Sky cardstock, and the filigree lacy butterfly for the top layer, using white cardstock, to which I applied glue and sparkly glitter.  After the glitter dried, I adhered these two butterflies together and finished off with the Soft Sky butterfly body and pearls.

I adhered the happy birthday matted panel directly to my card front.  Next, I popped the fern panel a bit left of center as shown on the card.  The final step for the card front was to adhere my glittery little butterfly next to the fern, but only on the underside along the center of his body, leaving his wings free and unglued.

My traditional final step for all my cards is to design a complimentary inside to the card with a verse appropriate for the occasion.  I found the cute little Jillibean sentiment about glitter and thought it was perfect to stamp it onto a piece of Soft Sky cardstock in Mossy Green ink.  Below this verse, I repeated the Butterfly Basics happy birthday sentiment that I used on the card front.  The scallop corners are made by stamping the Butterfly Basics lacy butterfly stamp with Mossy Green ink onto white cardstock and punching out four corners from those stamped butterflies.  To finish off my corners, I applied glue and sparkly glitter. . .after all it's all about leaving a trail of glitter!  I think my sister will be pleased with her birthday card, made with just her in mind.

Hello There. . .Seems I Missed Your Birthday!

I must say this traveling does not help me keep up on getting my cards finished and mailed in a timely manner.  Come to think of it, this seems to happen to me now and then, even when I'm not traveling. . .so, guess that excuse doesn't really work too well! 

The card I am in need of is for the principal of the school where I worked before I retired, and my former boss, who has a late May birthday.  I really like to make him a card and get it to him on time to show him that I'm not a total reprobate now that I'm retired.  But, ho-hum, that's not the case this year.  

With the attitude "better late than never, I dove into my "To Do stash" that I brought along with me on my travels to try to get some work done in my spare time.  Surely, there would be the perfect "need to finish" masculine card for me to work on hidden away in the stash.  I found this wonderful Open Seas ship card that was partially made with pieces of paper in its envelope for completion.  The ship and its port hole where already finished, as well as the self-stamped patterned paper made with The Open Seas stamps.  

To finish the card, I, of course, could not seem to follow directions exactly, a problem that seems to plague me frequently.  So, my card is just a bit different than the original by Liz Thayer in that I changed the card base color to a darker gray and made it a belated birthday card rather than just a "hello" card, and I added copper porthole brads all around.  Liz's original card was featured in one of her card classes I took over two years ago!  I am super pleased to say that I have another card finished and out of my "To Do Stash," and I think it is perfect for Scott.

Next up, was finishing my nautical masculine card with an appropriate interior design to compliment the card front.  I wanted my "Hello There" greeting on the front to be the intro into missing Scott's birthday by a few days and sending him belated birthday wishes to exonerate my seemingly reprobate behavior. . .LOL.  

Recipe:  Stampin' Up products:  Cardstocks--Basic Gray (cardbase), Bermuda Bay, Very Vanilla, Smokey Slate (porthole).  Pattern paper--self-stamped using The Open Seas stamps w/Crumb Cake).  SU stamps:  The Open Sea (all things nautical-retired 2016); Happy Days (sentiment-retired 2014).   Ink--Crumb Cake.  Die--Deco Label Framelit.  Punch:  2-1/2" Circle.  Essentials Paper Piercing Pack (porthole circle).  Acrylic Clear Sheet.  Staz-on Black Ink (ship).  Memento Tuxedo black (sentiment).  Other:  EK Punch:  Victorian Corners.  Recollections mini copper brads.  Computer verse.  Size:  4-1/2" x 5-3/4".

My Husband Celebrates His Birthday!

My husband celebrates his birthday today, and I wanted to make a special card that if you knew my husband, and then saw the card, you'd know right away that card was meant for him.   I was excited to see a stamp set in the 2016 Sale-A-Bration flyer this year named, Sky is the Limit.  I couldn't wait to add it to my stamping stockpile, and, of course, I knew just who would get the first card made with it for his birthday!

My husband received his private pilot's license when he was in his twenties and even owned a small plane with his father for several years until job promotions and transfers no longer made it possible for us to keep it.  But, he still loves to pilot his own craft, and he would probably love to buy another plane now that he is retired.

As it turns out the new Stampin' Up 2016 Occasions mini catalog has several products that fit into my aeronautical card theme.  There is a Sunburst die that looks very interesting, and I have had the chance to use it twice at two cardmaking events that I have attended.  I would like to add it to my collection, but I have not done so.  It would have been the perfect die for the card I had in mind for John, but I decided not to let that stand in my way.  Over the last several years, I have made several sunburst ray cards that were handmade, and I thought why not, it should work just as well, if not better than die.

I wanted my ray papers to have a sky theme to go along with the biplane stamp I planned to use, so I used the night sky constellation and the world map papers that are in the Going Places paper stack.  I needed at least two more patterns or types of paper, but I did not see anything else that jumped out at me, so I decided to make my own paper by stamping a Compass Rose onto black cardstock with White Craft Ink.  For my fourth paper, I decided to use an antique gold glitter paper.

As my card evolved, my sun got changed into a sentiment sun by under-layering the sentiment with gold glitter paper, plus layered over some vellum clouds as well.  I heat embossed my biplane in black, fussy-cut it out, and double popped it up to overlap the sentiment sun edge just a bit.  I added a trio of  black and metallic gold gems on the lower right corner to finish off my card front.  I'm pretty pleased with my homemade sunburst ray card, and I think it will please my hubbie as well!

Below shows the inside coordinating design and little birthday verse with a "flying" theme that I made for my husband's card.

Recipe:  SU products:  Cardstock--Basic Black, Naturals Ivory (retired), White Vellum, Going Places dsp stack (2016 Occasions); Ink--Craft White; Stamps--Sky is the Limit (2016 SAB), Going Global  (2016 Occ.); Punches--2" Scallop, 1-3/4" Circle; Embossing Powder--Black.  Other: Darice Glitter Silk-Kings Crown; Recollections Black Pearls; Studio 112 Gold Metallic Gems. 

Thanksgiving Pressies!

My good friend and cardmaking buddy, Sandy, sent me the cutest darn Thanksgiving card.  She has been on a bing of cardmaking using her flip-it framelit die, because, as she says, "I've had it for close to a year now and never used it...shame on me!  Don't you think it's about time!"  But, not only did she use her flip-it framelit die, but she also created her cute little scarecrow with punch art, added with felt leaves and a bit of washi tape.  Take a look at this darling little scarecrow with the goolies eyes and yarn hair!  Isn't it just the most adorable thing ever!

Next came a thank you card from my sister, using Papertrey Ink's Quilted: Autumn stamp and coordinating die set.  Love that copper metallic crocheted lace bordering the leaf panel and the bit of burlap setting off her quilted leaf!  Thank YOU, Heidi, for such a lovely card!