Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to mothers everywhere - even if she lives only in your heart, like mine...

I sent two Mother's Day cards this year, to my stepmother, Marjie, and my mother-in-law, Irma, but I forgot to take photos before I put them in the mail. I thought this pretty purple butterfly could stand in...

Such a gorgeous butterfly stamp, from Strength and Hope.

I stamped it in Wisteria Wonder and made a mat of the same. The square scallop mat, in Almost Amethyst, is embossed using Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, and I added a small detail with the Dotted Scallop Ribbon punch. Four tiny pearls make the butterfly's body.  

The sentiment is from Faith in Nature. The small flowers were stamped using Punch Potpourri (a retired hostess set) and punched out with the Boho Blossoms punch. Looking at the inside right now, I can see that it just might need a tiny butterfly to balance these blooms; I think I'll do that before I send it out.

It's funny how a photo sometimes distorts certain elements of a design.  The white circle is matted perfectly on the Wisteria Wonder circle, but probably due to the angle I took the photo, it looks off-center.  Perhaps I need to compose my photos as carefully as I do my cards!

I hope you enjoy a lovely Mother's Day!

Funky flowers

I haven't had much of a chance to sit down and really play with this set, Botanical Silhouettes, which I've craved since I first laid eyes on it. It was Papertrey Ink's 2011 anniversary set (which I didn't earn - didn't even know about the anniversary promotion until Linda got it).  I recently found it for sale on the PTI Forum and was so happy when it arrived in my mail box last week.  I love everything about this set - the flowers, the foliage, and especially the beautiful sentiments.  I wondered what Island Indigo would look like stamped on Pool Party; as it turns out, not my favorite color combo, but the Lucky Limeade grass and ribbon add enough balance to satisfy me.  Originally, the centers were stamped with Daffodil Delight but it didn't delight me and instead I covered the centers with some ivory Flower Soft (which looks pretty thick in the photo but in real life looks okay, although I may scratch off a little more...)

A pretty PTI Aqua Mist button with a baker's twine bow is just the right accent to complete the card.

My neighbor Toni keeps asking me to make more birthday cards.  She is in the habit of popping in to buy a few cards now and then, mostly birthday cards.  My supply has dwindled this year, so I've been trying to add some new birthday cards to my basket.  Funny thing is, tonight she needed a Mother's Day card to mail in the morning!  I changed out a sentiment on another card to satisfy her need, but I guess I should have anticipated her request.  Now to make some for my own use!

Happy 40th, Shawn!

My niece Shawn just celebrated her 40th birthday. Her mother and step-mother organized a surprise party for her today and we traveled to New Hampshire to share in the celebration. While making a card for Shawn, I decided to try and incorporate some colors from Papertrey Ink's Make It Monday challenge. I chose this selection:

Since I don't have many PTI colors, I substituted similar colors from Stampin' Up!'s palette:  I used Naturals Ivory, Kiwi Kiss, Aqua Mist (PTI), Tempting Turquoise and Cameo Coral.  

I love Garden Variety II, particularly the vintage quality of the images.  I didn't do justice to the lovely terracotta pot, as I finished up this card late last night and redid the cut-out pot a couple times trying to find a good match for Berry Sorbet.  It looks okay in real life but the camera didn't pick up the nice texture on the image.  "Birthday wishes" is from Tea for Two; the twill ribbon is PTI and the little butterfly brad is from SU!'s latest SAB offering.

The mat and frame were cut using the Labels Embosslits and by popping the panel up, it created an interesting little shadow-box effect.

I'm sorry to say I didn't really like these colors together.  I think the turquoise and the green are a little too harsh with the Aqua Mist mat.  (Granted, Hawaiian Shores is a little softer than Tempting Turquoise.)  So I decided to remake the card using colors I find more pleasing in combination.  I love Pear Pizzazz and Marina Mist together (you might have noticed it's one of my favorite combos!) and the pot is stamped in Cajun Craze, which shows the texture much more clearly.  A bow of Scallop Dots ribbon accented with an Antique brad finishes off the new version.

I selectively inked "celebrate" from Think Big Favorites #9 for the interior sentiment.

I'm so thankful that I was able to join my niece and her family and friends to wish her joy and happiness on this milestone birthday!

Happy Birthday, Max!

I can't believe my great-nephew Max is 10 years old today! Here's the card I sent to him:

Last week's Papertrey Make It Monday technique challenge was glittered die cuts.  You want glitter?  You got glitter!

I'm not a real big fan of glitter (hate when it gets all over everything) but I'll agree it can add just the right touch of bling to spice up a card. I used Heather Nichols' tip to run my diecuts through my Xyron sticker maker (which has been sitting, new in the box, for months now).  It really works great for adhering glitter and keeps it from falling off your project.  (I still ended up with a sparkly shirt when I was finished, though!)

I used Martha Stewart tinsel glitter on the clouds - love this! - and SU Dazzling Diamonds on the stamped balloons from PTI's Up, Up and Away.  (I certainly have gotten my money's worth from this set, especially for challenges!)

I enjoyed using PTI's alphabet die to cut out the letters from some Bashful Blue Designer Series Paper.  This die comes with all the letters attached, but they're easy to separate, so I was able to cut just the letters I wanted.

Another fun element on this card is the secret compartment hidden by the zipper diecut under the Lucky Limeade DSP.  After the cash treat is removed, a message appears in the open strip:

 

I hope Max found his treat hidden under the zipper element... Happy Birthday, Max!

Happy Birthday, Ellen!

I made an interesting card for my friend, Ellen, who celebrated her birthday recently. This flip card design used the Framelits Labels die collection and the Apothecary Art stamp set.  I colored the flowers and leaves using SU markers in Blushing Bride and Pear Pizzazz.  The Blushing Bride card base was stamped with the (retired) French Script background stamp using PTI's Fresh Snow ink.

When you open the card, the main image flips around to reveal the inside.

The butterflies were cut from some (long-retired) pink vellum with the Beautiful Wings embosslit.

It's fun to try out new card designs, especially interactive ones.  I'm always so grateful to those creative people who share their clever ideas.  Thanks to Cristy Butzen for her flip card video tutorial, which she shared on the Stampin' Up! demonstrators-only Stampin' Connection website.

Easter Blessings

For the first time in several years, my children and I will be spending Easter with my sisters, nieces and nephews and I am so grateful! Toots cooks a wonderful dinner and also organizes a fun Easter egg hunt for the kids. It will be so nice to spend some time with my loved ones.

I will miss a few of my favorite people, so I created a card to send each of them:

I began with the sentiment, which is from Fabulous Florets, inked in Wisteria Wonder. The lovely tulip is from a long-retired set called Watercolor Garden II, inked in Barely Banana, Daffodil Delight, Pear Pizzazz and Old Olive. The focal point was cut with a Framelits Label die and the mat layer was embossed with the Finial Press embossing folder; I added a little ruffled ribbon as an accent (I know it looks crooked in the photo, but I straightened it out.)

I've also been a busy little bunny making some favors for our table tomorrow (as well as my coworkers, some neighbors, and a niece and nephew who live locally). I made about 40 of these little baskets, all cut by hand and punched with various punches. I stamped the Easter egg images in white using a (retired) Stampin' Around wheel called Easter Fun. I even made the grass inside the baskets by hand - kinda nuts, I know, but I didn't find any shredded paper in a color I liked... I made a larger version for each of my kids, too. Good thing I started them last month, since I only just finished them tonight!

I wish you and your loved ones a basket full of Easter blessings.

"Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" John 1:29

Reach for the sky

Here's my entry to PTI's Make It Monday challenge this week. The idea is to stamp an image more than once without reinking to produce graduated color for your images. It's a great way to stretch your palette and get matching hues.

I like the balloons from Papertrey Ink's Up, Up and Away for this effect because the lighter balloons at the top give the suggestion of being farther away. I used Island Indigo, Concord Crush, Calypso Coral and Sahara Sand (for the baskets) on PTI Aqua Mist card stock and masked the balloons (with die cuts) to stamp the clouds in Fresh Snow Ink (PTI). The mat and the baker's twine are Island Indigo and the polka dot brad is Pool Party.

It's a simple but cheery card; I think I'll stamp "Congratulations" on the inside and give it to a graduate later this spring.