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.

October Sister-in-Law Birthday....#7

I'm on the HOME STRETCH!  If you read my blog last May, you would have found that I have eight, YES, eight sister-in-laws; therefore, eight birthday cards to be sure I make...and don't forget anyone or be late!  My first card in May was for my only brother's wife, Diane.  The other seven are either for my husband's sisters (4) or his brother's wives (3)!  My last two sister-in-law birthday cards are the two in early October!  So, as I say, I'm on the HOME STRETCH!

The card I chose to make is for June, one of my husband's four sisters.  As her birthday is in the fall, I am able to make a fall card, which is so exciting!  I love fall colors and an excuse to make a card using the wonderful oranges, red-oranges, yellows, reds, burgundies, cinnamons, etc. that we see in nature's color palette as trees change colors and drop their leaves.  I cased the following card layout from a card my sister (Heidi Gonzales: My Lil Scrap Corner blogspot) taught in a Stampin' Up class a year ago.  I tried the layout of the leaves and acorns about three times last year and could never get them arranged evenly, so I gave up, deciding to bring it home and try it later.  Well, I was determined and I finally succeed on this fourth try. . .don't know why I was having such a time with it!  I changed the sentiment and its punched design so that I could use it as a birthday card.  I hope my sister-in-law likes her card and its fall colors as much as I do.

Recipe:  Stampin' Up Products:  Papers-Cherry Cobbler cs, Natural White cs.  Stamps-Day of Gratitude (retired).  Inks:  Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, More Mustard (retired), Bravo Burgundy (retired), Early Espresso, Baked Brown Sugar (distressing).  Punch: Ex. Lrg. Oval.  Framelit die: Apothecary Accents. 3/8" Soft Suede Taffeta ribbon. Sentiment: computer-made.   

A Friend's October Birthday!

This is a very busy month with all the friends and family birthdays and the Halloween holiday ~ all great excuses to have to make cards!  I have 18 different cards that I must make during the month of October, and only 7 of them are Halloween cards!  The only month that comes even close is December when I have to make a total of 37 cards, and 35 of those are Christmas cards.  As a result, I have been very busy, but enjoyed every minute of it.

I just found out that a friend, who has become an even better friend in the last year as we began cropping and cardmaking together, is having a birthday.  My usual modus operandi that allows my creative juices to flow more smoothly is if I know things about the person I want to make the card for, then it seems to speed up those juices for some reason.  Does anyone else operate this way?  Probably not, I find I'm usually "strange."  What I found was this person likes flowers and gardening, so that is the direction I went.  (For future reference, I found out she does not like tea or coffee, but does like soda. . .all good tidbits to know!)  

I had a little card kit I had not made up that my sister (remember her ~ my cardmaking mentor:  Heidi Gonzales - My Lil' Scrap Corner) had designed last spring.  As you know from previous posts, many times I change a few things, add embellishments, or tweak kit cards a bit to make them more "me," but usually, I find I can hardly improve upon Heidi's designs.  I love this card's design, and it follow Heidi's typical, "you don't need to change a thing" style.  I designed the inside to coordinate with the outside and added my little verse to finish it off.  I hope Charlene likes it as well in wishing her a very happy birthday!

Recipe:  SU stamp: Bloomin’ Marvelous (2013 SAB-sentiment). Papers: SU cardstock-Night of Navy, Old Olive. WRMK Feelin’ Groovy dsp: Stripes, Stripes back; Retro-gold. SU canvas. PTI die: Tag Sale #6 (tab/tag). MFT die: Rolled Daisy. WRMK Deco Corner Chomper.  EK Punch: Fancy Photo Corners (inside). Colorbox Chestnut Roam Ink (edge distressing). Brown burlap. Olive felt. Pumpkin Twill trim.  3/4" brown button. MayArts hemp twine. 

A Sweet Niece's Birthday in Early October!

One of my sister's girls is an Army wife and is far removed from home while her husband is stationed in Georgia.  I know how difficult it is to be so far from home, so I wanted to send her a homemade card to let her know that her Auntie was thinking of her and remember her birthday.

I have always loved the Authentique Grace papers that I bought last spring.  I went to a card class hosted by Misty Bradley (Rock, Paper, Scissors) while visiting my mother and made several of her cards during the class.  One, in particular, was a favorite of mine, and gave me inspiration for my card.  I decided to case the layout and the patterned papers as I was running late getting Shauna's card made.  But, as those of you who know me well, I can't just copy something; I have to add my own twist and creativity to most things I do.

I changed the cardstock matting to browns instead of grays, made the "word" mat a bit smaller, and the card size a bit bigger. I re-positioned some of the layout elements just a tad to accommodate the slight paper size changes made. I made my bow a double loop and re-positioned it a bit and added some pearl embellishments.   Though the original card used a "ticket" sentiment, I wanted a different sentiment word and color.  I scanned some of the tickets on my Authentique sticker page and dropped the gray-green Sweet ticket into PaintShop Pro, re-coloring it to a soft golden background to bring out the gold in the paper.  Now, I was much happier, plus Sweet fit a birthday card for a sweet niece much better.  I decorated the inside of my card with similar paper layers and home-made corner embellishments and I was done!  I hope Shauna likes my take on this card.

Recipe: Georgia Pacific-white cs. Core’dinations-Coffee cs. Authentique Grace patterns: Beauty/ flowers, Sweetness/ Words, Foundations/ Sweet Ticket (background changed to Gold). Hug Snug/ Brique seam binding ribbon. Sizzix Sizzlits Vintage Doily die. Recollections half-pearls/ Copic E74. 

October Birthday for a Son. . .

My youngest son, Mark's, birthday is in October is just a few days.   I was thinking about what theme I should use this year and it was a bit of a challenge.  For previous birthday years, I've done a vintage truck (representing his very first vehicle that he owned), tools used as a building contractor, and his dirt bike riding hobby. . .so what to do this year?  After pondering a bit, I know Mark has always loved the outdoors.  As a teenager, he used to ride his dirt bike in the forest behind and around the area where we live with a couple of his high school buddies, and as they grew older, they added camping with bike riding trips to their hobby list.  I remembered two stamp sets: "The Great Outdoors" and "Under the Stars" by Stampin ' Up, which I thought both had great potential.  

I had a vague memory of seeing "The Great Outdoors" bear carrying a bear stein.  I went in search of it to refresh my memory and found Michelle Surette's beer-bearing bear card with a "Cheers to You" sentiment.  I thank her for the idea as beer is Mark's beverage of choice on a hot day and especially after the dirt bike riding is done for the day.  I wanted to do something with camping and a forest scene involved, and I thought the bear with the beer could be somehow incorporated.  The problem was I didn't have a stamp with a beer stein and the one Michelle Surette used was retired after 2010.  Whoa is me!  To the computer I went. . .I found a free, black and white line drawing of beer in a stein very similar to the one Michelle used, but much larger.  I downloaded it and put it into PaintShop Pro and fixed it up a bit and saved a mirror image of it as my bear is a two-fisted beer deliverer, and I was ready to go.  

The card evolved as I progressed.  I decided I needed lots of trees so I could make a layered forest, so I used Stampin' Up "Evergreen," which is actually a Christmas stamp set, but then that is the kind of trees we have in the Northwest.  As I Copic colored eight trees, I had plenty of time to ponder and my mind got stuck on a big moon behind the bear with his delivery of beer.  The card is done, as well as the inside with my poem and embellishments too.  I think Mark will absolutely love it.  It was so fun to make!

Recipe:  SU Stamp: Under the Stars (bear).  Digital beer stein.  Ink: Memento Cocoa Brown.  Moon Sponging Inks: Memento Desert Sand, Cantaloupe; Stampin' Up So Saffron.  Paper: Darice Kraft cs; BoBunny-Camp-A-Lot Plaid/ Dots, DoubleDot-Mellow Yellow (moon);  PTI-Summer Camp (sky); X-Press It Blending Cardstock-White (w/Copics).  Copics: bear, steins, trees.  Dies: Lifestyles: Circles; Spellbinders: Fancy Tags 1. SU Corner Rounder mini punch.  Colorbox Chestnut Roan-distressing.  Stickles-Lace (beer foam).  Favorite Finding Buttons (mini). May Arts twine.  Computer-made sentiment (Font: Annie Use Your Telescope).

Jolly Roger Brings Birthday Wishes!

It's my nephew's birthday this month.  I recently saw this cute little pirate punch art card by Rae Harper (Wild West Paper Arts) inspired me to make this little pirate card that I thought would be perfect for Landon.  As I did with my Frankie card earlier this month, I decided I didn't just want a card made in the shape of the punch art head, but that I would incorporate the head as the main feature of a layered card.  I also decided I liked the 3/4-front fold layout of my Frankie card, so I would repeat it with "Ahoy!" as my vertical word.

While I was doing errands the other day, I found a fat-quarter at Wal-Mart with skeletal pirate heads and I thought it would be perfect for my pirate card that I planned to make the next day (though I have never used fabric when making a card before).  But, I thought, "Oh well, let's give it a whirl and see if I can figure out how to make it work."  I am pleased to say that I did!  I took a piece of cardstock and the fabric and hand-cut them to the same size.  Next, I rolled my tape gun in very close vertical and horizontal glue strips on the piece of cardstock.  I adhered my fabric onto the cardstock, and it adhere very well.  The cardstock gave the fabric body, and I was able to treat it just like a single piece of cardstock that had always been a unit.

Most of Captain Pirate's parts are cut with punches and used just like they punch out.  But, there are a few exceptions that were a bit challenging to modified, such as the 2-1/2" circle cut for the mouth and teeth.  These circles need to be re-punch cutting them into approximate 1/4 moon shapes with the teeth being slightly smaller than the black mouth.  The top curve of both then needs to be hand-cut to make a more shallow curve.  The mustache is part of the side of the Top Note die with the perforated edge hand-trimmed away and the lower shape hand-cut and shaped to match the top.  The scarf also ended up being a bit of trial and error to get it just right.  I started with a circle a bit larger than the Top Note head, but the crown was too rounded.  I re-cut it, using an oval to make it shallower and trimmed the sides to fit the width of the Top Note.  I ended up trimming the crown even more with scissors so it was curved just above the edge of the top note.  I decided to make templates so that I would not have to re-created them from scratch if I wanted to make Captain Pirate again.  Here is my finished card for Landon's birthday. . .I think he is going to like Captain Pirate a lot.

Punch Art Pirate head inspiration from Rae Harper (Wild West Paper Arts).

Recipe: SU Papers: Basic Black cs (base), Real Red.  DCWV La Crème Paper Stack. SU Ink:  Burnt Brown Sugar (pirate distressing), Basic Gray (verse distressing).  SU Die:  Sizzix Top Note (head/ mustache).  SU Punches: 1/16” circle (patch punches), 1/2” circle (earring hole), 3/4” circle (pupil/ earring), 1-3/8” circle (eyeball/ eyelid/ patch), 2-1/2” Circle (mouth/ teeth), 2” Ex. Lrg. Oval (ears), Owl Punch (nose). Scarf/ Tails:  Hand-drawn/ cut.  Sizzix Wingo Zingo Alphabet Sizzlit.  SU Chalk Marker. SU Dazzling Details: frost (alphabet glitter).  SU rhinestones (Copic colored).

In Sympathy!

A good friend of many years and my hairdresser has had a very trying month of September.  It seems that if it could go wrong, it did go wrong!  To culminate an already trying month on various levels, my friend then experienced the onset of a severe bout of medical issues with her mother, and finally lost her to her illnesses.  Losing anyone close to you is a difficult thing, but we realized in losing my husband's mother during this year after numerous falls, concussions, and broken bones that this particular death is very harsh.  I want my friend know that I am thinking about her, keeping her in my prayers, and truly understand her sorrow.  The only thing one can know is that your loved one is no longer in pain and in a better and more peaceful place.  Below is the card I am sending to my good friend with heartfelt sympathy.

Recipe:  Paper: Georgia Pacific cs-white, Bazzill cs-Just Peachy; Authentique-Sweetness/ Poised. Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; Colorbox Chestnut Road (distressing). Punches: SU-Butterfly (ret.), Small Oval; EK Journal Bracket. EK Fancy Corners punch (inside). Snug Hug-Peach seam binding ribbon.  Butterfly: pearl flower stamens; adhesive pearls.  Credit for the original card design is given to Misty Bradley (Rock, Paper, Scissors) with a few personal additions to her initial design.

Thank Yous Are in Order!

I went to another of Liz Thayer's wonderful cardmaking events a few weeks ago.  It was called a Card Buffet, and this one had a little different slant.  There were 20 cards to pick from that you could make within the time frame of the cropping event all designed by Liz.  As everyone attending was a seasoned cardmaker, there was no instructions only the sample cards available to look at for assembly.  There was a set price for the first three cards and each card thereafter only increased your price by $1.00!  Now THAT is a bargain!  Of course, I wanted to make all 20, but unfortunately, I could only fit five in during the 3-hour period that we had.  But, Liz assured us that in the October Card Buffet coming soon, we would have another chance at those we missed, plus there would be some new additions as well!

I wanted to send a little thank you to both Liz for all of her hard work designing and making our sample cards and to Trish, who opened up her home for this event.  We surely appreciate Trish (and her husband) for allowing us to come in and invade their space, messing it up with lots of paper scraps and pieces that you know ended up on the floor instead of the wastebasket! 

As I was already running late getting cards mailed, I had no time to come up with a brand new design and make cards from scratch.  So, I dug into my stash to see what was there.  I came up with two cards from a set that I made during the first few months that I started to make cards!  I always loved these cards and especially the paper with the little soft glitter added to the backgrounds. They were perfect for what I had in mind.  I did a little re-do on the sentiment for one to fit the occasion better and created an inside design for each to coordinate with the outside.  I also switched out embellishments on the outside to pearls on one and totally added them to the other so that I could use complimentary pearls on the inside!  AND, drum roll. . .I actually made the "hello friend" card a bit shorter so that my pink scallop trim would fit on the inside better.  (For those of you who read my blog. . .I am always changing card kits I buy, and one of the things I most often do is to make the card larger. . .but not this time!  LOL.  I was pretty happy with the end results. 

  

This one is for Liz.  I hope she likes my little thank you card and her Starbuck's liquid refreshment!

This one is for Trish.  I hope she also likes my little thank you card and her Starbuck's liquid refreshment!

(Credit and thanks to my sister, Heidi Gonzales - My Lil' Scrap Corner (www.mylilscrapcorner.blogspot.com) for the class where she taught me how to make these cards...my very first cardmaking class!)

Mr. Frankie Re-Created...

I saw this Punch Art Frankie head on Pinterest about three weeks ago and it was LOVE at first sight! I traced him back to his author: Jacquelyn Dorer-Russell (www.sugarssmilinpapercrafts.blogspot.com) and left a comment on her Frankie blog entry.  She was kind enough to respond to my comment and offered to send me instructions for Frankie via email, which she did!  Since then, she has also posted a video on her blog with instructions for making him.  

My creative juices have been bubbling and fermenting for about two weeks, and I could no longer wait to make him so I began the hunt for the perfect papers this morning!  I decided I wanted him to have a little bow-tie and place him on a 3/4-top-layer card in order to be able to add the vertical word SCARY  beside him, which is actually adhered on the inside layer of the card.  I also decided to add a little glitter to the letters to make them stand out more.  I will now be able to use another Top Note die inside to hold my Halloween verse.  I am pretty stoked with how he turned out since it went just the way I pictured it in my brain. . .I hope you like him as well.

Recipe:  SU Basic Black cs, Wild Wasabi cs, Recollections Spice Market Burnt Orange cs, Karen Foster: Spooky Collage; DCWV Halloween & Fall Stack (dots). SU Top Note die (head). SU Punches: 3/4" circle (eye pupil), 1" circle (eyeball/ lids), Round Tab (nose), 2" Extra Large Oval (ears), Decorative Label (mouth). Sharpie marker. SU Chalk Marker. SU Ink: Basic Black (distressing). Sizzix Wingo Zingo Alphabet Sizzlits. SU Dazzling Details (frost). Stash: 3/8" dot satin ribbon, Halloween Baker's Twine.

Challenge: Cycling On...

I wanted to make another entry in the "Paper Sweeties" Sketch Inspiration #11 before it closes on September 30th.  The link to the sketch entry guidelines are below; click over and take a look at the wonderful entries:  www.papersweeties.com/uncategorized/paper-sweeties-sketch-inspiration-11/

I love bicycles and particularly penny-farthing bicycles, and I had a yen to making a card with one.  I chose the Feeling Sentimental stamp set from Stampin' Up and decided black and red would offset a black stamped penny-farthing a bring a little dramatic contrast as well.

The instructions said the sketch was a starting point and you could "flip it, change the shapes..."  I decided to do both.  My center focal point would be a square instead of a star to accomnodate my bicycle stamp, and the ribbon or trim would be diagonal instead of horizontal!  I'm hoping I'm still within the guidelines!  Here is how my card evolved.

Recipe:  SU Stamp: Feeling Sentimental (SAB 2013) – penny farthing bicycle. SU papers: Very Vannila base, Basic Black cs, Cherry Cobbler cs. Pattern: AdornIt-Happy Holidays.  SU Ink: Basic Black. SU Punches: Lace Ribbon (ret.), Modern Label. WRMK Deco corner punch. SU 3/8” and mini glimmer brads. SU ribbon: 1/2” Cherry Cobbler Scallop Dots ribbon (reverse side), Offray 3/8” Picot Edge Satin-Black. Recollections Florals. Stickles-Lace. 

September's Anniversary!

My daughter, Michele, and her husband celebrate their ninth anniversary this year.  Their tradition has been to take a vacation during the week in which their anniversary falls, journeying with their 5th-wheel camping trailer to see new and far away vistas.  This year, as they are living on the East Coast for the first time, they will be taking a trip through Pennyslvania, New York and up to Bar Harbor, Maine, visiting historic and camping destinations along the way.  Thus, I decided a card depicting this camping journey would be just right for them.  

I had an idea in my head, so I began searching online to look for a camping trailer stamp or die, but all the samples I found were on cards made several years ago and the stamps had been discontinued.  I decided to venture another direction, and I found a little online vintage trailer graphic, which I thought would be just right.  Its coloring was a little too dark, so I lightened the teal in PaintShop Pro.  The BINGO card in my stash was bright orange, so I scanned it to a jpeg and then re-colored it as well.  I also made it smaller to fit my card better.  The computer can be wonderful to find things just right for cards if you don't own a stamp or die that will do the trick!  I was able to find several camping graphics and even bought a few on Digi Web Studio, but I didn't end of using those this time around.

I do hope Don and Michele enjoy their anniversary vacation and my take on depicting that journey via this card and the little camping verse made for inside.

Recipe:  SU Always Artichoke cardbase; Recollections-Great Outdoors (stripe); GCD Studios-The Great Outdoors pad (tree scene). Free images: Vintage Camper/sign, Camping digis. Colorbox Chestnut Roan (distressing). Seam binding ribbons: Hug Snug-Serbin Brown (olive); SU: Island Indigo. May Arts twine. Stash: BINGO card (re-sized/recolored); Map (re-sized); buttons, pinking shears.

Anniversary Card for My Daughter's Good Friend

My daughter was checking out my "card's I like" file the other day when she realized her good friend's anniversary had come and gone.  She was very unhappy with herself!  She came across a card picture I had saved from my very first "favorite" scrapbook store, Paradise Scrapbook Boutique in Chico, CA.  She was oohing and aahing over this card, so I told her I would make one similar to it if she wanted to send it off to her friend in Colorado.  She was thrilled, and even offered to pay me for it, which of course, I said, "NO...it just gives me an excuse to make another card"!   I had also admired this very same card while visiting the store on one of my trips south where it was on display; therefore, during my shopping spree, I purchased many of the same embellishments for my own stash.

Here is my take on PSB's card, which is very similar to their original design, except I enlarged it from its original size and changed its shape to almost a square.  I also added a few more mat layers than the original.  My daughter was very happy with the results, plus the "Belated Anniversary Wishes" and embellishments on the inside.

Recipe: SU stamp (ret.). SU Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Basic Black. Pattern: Recollections Black & White Stack. Sizzix Sizzilit Label die. PSB Embellishments: Prima Flower, Black seam binding ribbon, Rhinestone flower trim. 

A Sister-in-Law in the "Out Law" Group!

My "outlaw" of a sister-in-law, June, celebrates her birthday one day after mine on September 1st.  I wanted to honor her birthday by making a special card with her in mind.  This past year she has "housed" many out-of-town family members for various family necessities, as well as fun visits too.  She is always so very gracious and welcoming. . . and my husband and I thank her for that.  A thought comes to mind when thinking about those visits during the past several years. . .June always has a pitcher of ice tea ready and welcoming when you visit.  A very cool and refreshing drink for those warm spring and summer days!  

With this in mind, I remembered a "tea" card kit that my sister (Heidi Gonzales: My Lil' Scrap Corner blog) had given me several months ago.  I thought it would be perfect for June.  In creating it, I tweaked Heidi's design just a bit to enlarge the size by adding a vanilla cardbase and a watermelon-colored mat layer.  As I traditionally do, I decorated the inside and added a verse that I composed. This is the card I chose to make June for her birthday and I hope she really likes it.

Recipe:  PTI pattern papers, SU cardstock: very vanilla, blushing bride; Bazzil cardstock: watermelon.  PTI dies: Tea for Two die/stamp set, Fillable Frames #11, Edger #2, Tremendous Tags Dies, Leaf Prints dies. Martha Stewart: Vintage Floral Around the Page punches. Memento Coca Brown. Colorbox Chestnut Roan (distressing)Hug Snug Vivid Pink seam binding ribbon. Stash: Lime green felt, pink flower, rose cut-out, pink/white scalloped lace.

First Class Event: Totally Loving Christmas!

In mid-August, Liz Thayer had her annual stamping camp event:  Totally Loving Christmas!  We spent the entire day making ten wonderful Christmas cards with Stampin' Up's newest line of stamps presented in their Holiday catalog booklet.  For me, I am so thankful for this wonderful event, because it gives me a head start on the many Christmas cards I want to make for the upcoming holiday season.

I know Liz spent many, many hours getting this event put together for all of us who were delighted to attend; therefore, I always like to send Liz a little thank you card with a Starbucks gift card to provide her with a probably much needed recovery caffeine "pick-you-up."  For her thank you card, after giving it some thought, I finally decided on just the card.  

Last year, I belonged to Becca Feeken's Amazing Grace kit club for the short time it was available...I love Becca Feeken's lovely card designs.  In the very first kit, there were stamps to make a card that depicts the words "First Class" on the front. . .so perfect to tell Liz what "First Class" events she always put on for all of who are lucky enough to get to go.  Because this card's design was so perfect just the way it was, my card re-creation follows Becca's design almost entirely, except that I changed the flower embellishment.  I thought it needed a softer look than the one provided with the kit.  I loved making this card with the new Spellbinder postage dies and the JustRite stamp set that came in the kit.  I hope Liz enjoys it as well!

Recipe:  Neenah Cardstocks: Classic Linen Natural White cardbase, Classic Crest Cream. 7Gypsies cardstocks: Canyon Brown, Mulberry +Antiquities Postale DSP. JustRite stamps: Signed Sealed Delivered (First Class background + Cents). Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, StampinUp Rose Red, Colorbox Chestnut Roan (distress). Spellbinders: Postage Die Frame (kit exclusive). Hug Snug Mastic Beige seam binding ribbon. Want2Scrap Finesse White Swirls.  Triple pearl hat pin. Wood flat bead. Adhesive half-pearl. Silk & Organza flat flowers.

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.