A Belated Birthday Card for My Sister

We had an enjoyable, relaxing Sunday - went to church in the morning, a walk in the afternoon, and a dinner get-together with friends in the evening. It was a great way to end a good weekend!

For today's post, I decided to share a birthday card that I made for my sister, Monique. The reason I didn't share it on her actual birthday was because she hadn't received it yet and she reads my blog on occasion. Well, I discovered the card one day in my own mailbox, about a week after I had sent it to her - it was returned to me! Apparently, not enough postage... :( It was a little bit thicker than normal because I had stuck a bookmark in it. Well, I let her know it was still coming and she finally received it about a week or so after her birthday... better late than never!

 

I tried to make it a little 'artsy' by adding different materials and giving it a vintage look. The Tea for Two DSP from Stampin Up is one of my favourites. I used it here for the background and the circle in the center. I used burlap ribbon as one of the layers and topped it off with roses and small pearls to embellish it.

 

 

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your Monday!

 

Card Ingredients:

Stamps: Fabulous Phrases, Everything Eleanor

Paper: So Saffron, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, Tea for Two DSP

Ink: Soft Suede

Tools: Circles nestabilities, Little Leave sizzlit die, Extra Large Oval punch

Accessories: Burlap ribbon (CTMH), Flower Trim Ribbon, Pearls (Michael's)

Inspired By... A Beautiful Vintage Headband

It's the weekend! So happy Saturday is finally here - I get to see my hubby today! It's been a long week filled with ups and downs (yesterday, especially, dragggged on!). Hoping this will be a productive weekend! I need to build up my stock of crafty items!

Saturday means a new challenge with...

It was my pick this week and I came across a photo of a beautiful headband that I found on Etsy.

Isn't it gorgeous?! I love the spring colours and the vintage style. The lady who made this headband is so talented! Take a look at her Etsy shop: Aldona's Boutique.

I was so inspired by this photo! I incorporated the colours, as well as the vintage style into my card. The elegance of it is perfect for a newlywed greeting card!

 



I just LOVE how it turned out! It is somewhat different than what I usually create. I may have to incorporate this vintage style into more of my cards. I started off with a sketch from My Favourite Things. And my creative imagination went from there!

I wrapped Victoria Crochet trim ribbon around the card front - I thought it was a perfect resemblance of the head band itself. I cut roses from the Flower Trim ribbon and sponged each one with different colours. Strips of flagged ribbon are added. I stamped the Ribbon Cotton with Bloomin Marvelous stamps in Tangerine Tango and Old Olive and sponged them lightly to give them some colour. I then added pearls to embellish the roses. I am also entering this card in the Stampin Royalty challenge this week. Their theme is "Ribbons and Pearls".



This is definitely one of my favourite wedding cards!

Make sure to check out how this photo inspired Karly by visiting her blog, Karly's Creations!

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy your Saturday!

Card Ingredients:
Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: So Saffron, Tangerine Tango, Very Vanilla, Pear Pizzaz, Old Olive, Summer Smooches DSP, Brights DSP
Ink: Tangerine Tango, So Saffron, Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler
Tools: Little Leaves sizzlits die, Circles Nestabilities, Word Window punch
Accessories: Pearls (Michael's), So Saffron grosgrain ribbon, Ribbon Cotton, Victoria Crochet Trim ribbon

PP139 Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge {Set of Gift Tags}

Even though the work days seem long, it feels like this week is flying by! Last night I came home feeling exhausted... not sure why. I think my body is telling me that I need more sleep! It took a alot of effort to go to Zumba Fitness. I just wanted to stay home and craft and then go to bed early. But, I'm glad I went. It woke me up a bit and made me feel a little more energized. It's a new session and I think it's going to be a good one! The routines were a bit challenging, but I think after a couple more classes I should be able to catch on!

I played along with the Paper Players challenge for today's post. It's a tic-tac-toe challenge! How fun is that?!

SO many choices! I knew for sure that I wanted to make gift tags and I love using ribbon and pearls on my paper craft projects, so I went with ribbon, a tag and pearls. I love working with sketches, but this time I looked through my past card creations and used one of them for inspiration. I love the colour combo of this card I created back in beginning of February and decided to convert it to a gift tag.

 

It's a fairly simple design as I wanted the stamped flower image to stand out. I added a pearl as an embellishment in the center of the flower and tied Tangerine Tango satin ribbon through the hole at the top of the tag. Stampin Royalty's challenge this week happens to be "Ribbon and Pearls". So I decided to enter this project in their challenge as well. I made a set of 6 identical tags:

 

 

 



Thanks for stopping by!

Card Ingredients:
Stamps: Madison Avenue
Paper: Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry, Summer Smooches DSP
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Tangerine Tango
Tools: 1/4" Circle Punch, Circles Nestabilities, Scallop Circles Nestabilities, Scallop Tag Die
Accessories: Pearl (Michael's), Tangerine Tango satin ribbon (Sale-A-Bration)

Three Challenges in One

It's been difficult for me to get motivated lately to create papercrafts for the upcoming craft fair. I didn't get quite as many items made on the weekend as I wanted to, but with my hubby gone this week, it gives me lots of time to get caught up. Last night was a good start. I completed two more mini albums and two mother's day cards. I also snuck in a phone call with my hubby, a skype call with my sister, and a phone call with my Mom. It was a good night!

Today's design was created using three different card challenges. Karly and I were brainstorming at work yesterday afternoon which inspired me to create this card:

 

I used a great sketch from Mojo Monday for the layout, a colour combo from Dynamic Duos and a theme from The Pink Elephant.

 

 

 

Our challenge theme this week is to:

"Use 3 Decorative Papers & Your Favorite Embellishment"

 



This sketch was great to work with. And I love that we could choose our own colour to go with Primrose Petals. I chose So Saffron. I think it's a nice pastel contrast against the bright pink. The biggest challenge for me was to use 3 different decorative papers in one card. But, I think I managed to make it work and have it not look too 'busy'. I used neutral colours for the card base and the card front so that the two colours 'popped'. The Primrose Petals cardstock is embossed with the Elegant Bouquet embossing folder. I like adding a little 'bling' to my cards, so I used pearls as embellishments.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Card Ingredients:

Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes

Paper: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Primrose Petals, Very Vanilla, More Amore DSP, Floral District DSP, Subtles DSP

Ink: Early Espresso

Tools: Large Oval punch, Scallop Oval punch, Circles nestabilities, Scallop Circles nestabilities, Elegant Bouqet embossing folder

Accessories: Pearls (Michael's)

Deconstructed Sketch #90 {Thanks So Much}

This morning we wake up to more snow and lots of wind. Now is the time of year that I get cabin fever and I'm anxious for the next season... Yesterday almost felt like spring! I went for a walk with our dog, Keta, down the forest service road near our apartment. The sun was shining and it was warm enough to take off my jacket! It was a beautiful day!

 



Another highlight to my Saturday - I got to catch up with my brother and sister-in-law in Uganda! It was so nice to hear their voices and to hear what they have been up to lately. I miss them all so much! I hope one day, my family can all live closer together!

 

For today's card I used the new sketch by Deconstructing Jen. It's a good one! I really like this layout.

 

I created a square 5"x5" card and picked "Spice Cake" designer paper for the 4 squares. While this may not be my favourite designer paper collection, I really like how well it coordinates with Soft Suede and Pool Party in this card:

 

I stamped the Triple Treat Flower in three different colours and layered them. The top layer is popped up using dimensionals and I added a small pearl in the centre. Linen thread is wrapped around the Very Vanilla cardstock. I sponged the edges with Soft Suede ink and added the sentiment "Thanks So Much" to complete the card. 

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Card Ingredients:

Stamps: Triple Treat Flower (ret.), Sincere Salutations (ret.)
Ink: Soft Suede, Pool Party, More Mustard
Tools: Fancy Flower punch, Five Petal Flower punch, 1/2" Circle punch

Accessories: Pearl (Michael's), Linen Thread

Mojo 280 {Get Well Wishes}

Well, it's back to work after a great 3-day weekend! I was able to enjoy beautiful sunny weather and catch up with some family members. I also crossed a lot of things off my to-do list, including a handmade V-Day gift for my hubby (to be posted on Thursday!) It will be hard to get up for work tomorrow...

Today's card was inspired by Mojo Monday's sketch:

 

I wasn't too sure what occasion to use for this card, and then I thought of my Mom asking me for a "get well soon" card for her friend. Her closest friend went through a serious back surgery, where they put rods in her back. She is doing well, but it will be a long recovery. I wanted to use soft and subtle colours, yet somewhat cheerful, so I went through my designer series paper and came across "Attic Boutique" DSP. I also chose an elegant, yet simple, flower stamp to use as the main focus of the card. Here is my interpretation of this sketch:

 

I embossed the Pool Party cardstock with a vine design and added Soft Suede taffeta ribbon. The sentiment "get well wishes" is popped up using dimensionals. I've added pearls to embellish the card.

 

 

Card Ingredients:

 

Stamps: Love & Sympathy, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Paper: Soft Suede, Pool Party, Very Vanilla, Attic Boutique DSP, Brights DSP

Ink: Soft Suede

Tools: Scallop Border punch, Word Window punch, Vine embossing folder (Cuttlebug)

Accessories: Soft Suede taffeta ribbon, pearls (Michael's)

 

Thanks for stopping by!

KCRR #4 {Faux Patina Technique}

Happy Friday!

One more work day and it's the long weekend for all of us in BC! We get our first ever Family Day on Monday, Feb 11th. For some reason, our Family Day is different than the rest of Canada... But, all the same, I am ecstatic to have an extra stat holiday!

It's time for another card challenge brought to you by:

Here are the two items we randomly chose from our long list of card ingredients:

Faux Patina Technique

Pool Party

 

I was quite excited when these two items were chosen! I love incorporating different techniques in my cardmaking. I have only done the Faux Patina technique once in a card class and haven't tried it since. I just love this technique and hope to try it more often! Here is my card:

 

KCRR #4

 

Faux Patina makes a card look so elegant! I decided to use the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder for the background. I used Crumb Cake, Pool Party, Always Artichoke and Early Espresso to sponge the embossed cardstock. The lighter inks are sponged first and the darker inks accentuate the embossed pattern. I sprayed champagne mist over the whole background to give it a velvety shimmer.

 

 

Tea Shoppe is one of those stamp sets that I love but don't use enough! It fits so well with the elegance of this card. I popped it up on a framelit label and added pearls to embellish it.

 

Hop on over to Karly's Creations to see what she has created for today's KCRR challenge!

 

Card Ingredients:

Stamps: Tea Shoppe
Paper: Early Espresso, Whisper White, Pool Party DSP

Ink: Crumb Cake, Pool Party, Always Artichoke, Early Espresso, Champagne Mist Paint

Tools: Labels Collection Framelits die, Word Window Punch, Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder

Accessories: Pearls (Michael's)

 

Thanks for visiting! Come back tomorrow for a new "Inspired By..." challenge!









Mojo279: {Tea for Two: Me & You}

A couple days ago was Groundhog Day and Punxsutawny Phil and he made his prediction. He expects an early spring! While the legend of the groundhog may be somewhat hoaky, it gives me hope that spring is on it's way!  It's been quite mild in Prince George lately. Snow is melting, it's raining instead of snowing, and signs of spring are in the air. I know I am probably speaking way too soon, but part of me is getting really excited for a new season. As you can probably tell, I'm not a huge fan of winter. Even though the snow can be quite pretty, by the end of February I'm ready for it to melt and for the spring flowers to bloom:)

The card I created for Mojo Monday this week has a little touch of spring in it. This sketch has a great layout. At first I wasn't too sure what to do with it... what stamp set to use, what type of occasion, what colours... But, after a lot of brainstorming and sketching my ideas out on paper, I knew exactly how I was going to design my card. Here is the sketch:

I love the layers in this layout. It gives lots of opportunity to use coordinating designer paper. I pulled out a designer paper collection that I haven't had a chance to use much: Tea for Two. And the stamp set that I thought of right away was Tea Shoppe. Both have the "tea" theme - perfect! With lots of playing around with paper and embellishments to see what coordinates best together, this is what I came up with:

I love how it turned out! This has easily become one of my favourite cards! After layering the designer paper, I embossed and cut out the oval frame and layered it on the apothecary accent stamped image. The sentiment is stamped in Early Espresso, the edges are sponged and the oval is popped up within the embossed frame. I added small roses and leaves to embellish the sentiment. Small pearls are placed in the right corner to complete the card.

 

 

 

Card Ingredients:

 

Stamps: Tea Shoppe, Everything Eleanor

Paper: Old Olive, Very Vanilla, Lucky Limeade, Tea for Two DSP, Early Espresso DSP

Ink: Early Espresso

Tools: Extra-Large Oval punch, Little Leaves sizzlit, Oval Frame Embossing Folder

Accessories: Rose ribbon, pearls (Michael's)

 

Thanks for visiting! 

PP131 {Sending Sympathy and Prayers}

It's been a great weekend! Unfortunately, the weather was kind of gloomy most of the weekend, so I didn't get out much. But, I did get caught up on house cleaning, laundry, and greeting card orders! I also had some great chats with family members (including a skype call with my dear sister, Esther). Hoping I have the motivation to get caught up at work this week also!

The Paper Players has a theme challenge this week:

A handmade card is sometimes the best way to show your love and support to someone who has lost a loved one.

For my card I chose an older Mojo Monday sketch. I love the layers in this layout! I struggled a bit with the colour combo in this card, but it came together in the end.

I chose the beautiful flowered designer paper from the Comfort Cafe collection and picked out my colours based on that paper. So Saffron is the colour of the card base and I chose Soft Suede for the card front. The Pool Party cardstock is embossed with Perfect Polka Dots and a strip of Pool Party designer paper and a scallop border in Night of Navy is layered on top. I stamped the sentiment in Soft Suede and punched it out using the Curly Label punch. The card needed a little something extra, so I added the leaves and small pearls to complete it.

 

Card Ingredients:

Stamps: Petite Pairs
Paper: So Saffron, Soft Suede, Pool Party, Very Vanilla, Night of Navy, Comfort Cafe DSP
Ink: Soft Suede
Tools: Curly Label punch, Scallop Border punch, Leaves sizzlit die, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder
Accessories: Pearls (Michaels)

Thanks for stopping by!

ColourQ #174 & FMS#71 {Be My Valentine}

Can't believe it's already Thursday! Feels like this week has flown by! Last night was a bit of a blur, but overall a good night! After enjoying a delicious dinner of baked trout, lemon and herb quinoa and veggies, I went to my weekly Zumba fitness class. To be honest, I wasn't so eager to go this week. I just wanted a relaxing evening at home. But, I pushed myself to go and I'm glad I did! This second time around was so much easier than the first! I was able to follow the routine quite well this time and got a good work out! I went home to my crafting table and created a Valentine's card, playing along with the Colour Q and Freshly Made Sketches challenges.

The colour combo from Colour Q is perfect for Valentine's. I love how they threw in Early Espresso with the pinks - so pretty! And even though you can use any shape in the sketch, I wanted to stick with the heart. I knew exactly what I was going to use. The More Amore DSP comes with single-sided laser cut sheets in the shape of hearts. I just snipped one of the hearts from the sheet. I saw this idea on someone's blog (can't remember which one, unfortunately) and just loved it! Here's my interpretation on the sketch using the beautiful colour combo:

I didn't have any Raspberry Ripple cardstock (not sure why I don't have this - I'm realizing how much I love this colour!), so I looked through my stacks of DSP and found this beautiful polka dot designer paper in the Orchard Harvest collection. It fits perfectly with this card! I kept my card fairly simple at first, but I didn't like the empty space, so I embossed the card front with Elegant Lines, added small hearts in the top corner and pearls to embellish the card. I also added crochet ribbon and a small rose on the heart. The sentiment and small hearts are popped up using dimensionals.

 Card Ingredients:

Stamps: P.S. I Love You (ret.)
Paper: Early Espresso, Pink Pirouette, Primrose Petals, Very Vanilla, Orchard Harvest DSP
Ink: Early Espresso
Tools: Heart to Heart punch, Elegant Lines embossing folder
Accessores: Crochet ribbon, Rose ribbon, large eyelet (ret.), pearls (Michael's)

Thanks for looking!

FMS69 Everything Eleanor

When I saw the new sketch challenge on the Freshly Made Sketches blog, I wasn't sure how I would go about designing my card.  I thought of what shapes I would use in place of the three circles, and if I would make the card as simple as the sketch or spice it up a bit.

I recently got a few new stamp sets, one being the elegant "Everything Eleanor". This one was on my wish list for a while and now after using it, I'm glad I got it. It is such a beautiful stamp set and I know I will make good use out of it! Here is my card:

 

I realize now, comparing the sketch to my card ,that I changed the direction of the diagonal line... oops! :) You will notice I am a bit of a perfectionist :) But, I actually like the way it turned out! The colours Soft Suede and Very Vanilla are such an elegant colour combo and Cajun Craze adds a little pop of colour. The flowers are cut precisely using paper snips and are popped up using dimensionals. I've added pearls and crochet ribbon to embellish the card.



 

I love that swirl so much, I decided to stamp it on the inside of the card. I think this would make a great card for newly weds. What do you think?

 

Card Ingredients:

 

Stamps: Everything Eleanor, Petite Pairs

Paper: Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, Comfort Cafe DSP

Ink: Soft Suede, Cajun Craze

Tools: Circles Nestabilities, 1" Circle Punch

Accessories: Crochet Trim Ribbon, Pearls

 

Thanks for looking!