HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

 

Last Fall one of my mother's friends asked me to make some special occasion cards for her family members.  I didn't make all of them at once but wanted to give them to her more as she needed them.  Her son and daugher-in-law's wedding anniversary is coming up soon so this is the card I made for her to send them.

 

The stamp set is from the Apothecary Art set and it works with one of the SU die sets.  I used Copic markers to color the image and used my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig to line up the sentiment in the space provided.  The Cuttlebug Dotted Swiss embossing folder was used on the top portion of the white mat.  The fancy border on the lower edge is from Stampin' Up!  It really makes a very pretty edge for a special card.

 

We got snow over night - not much but enough to make some of the side highways slippery for drivers this morning.  My husband drives a school bus and to be even more careful than usual.  What is with this weather????  It's supposed to be SPRING! 

 

Thank you for stopping by today!  Your comments are always appreciated!

 

SPRING TULIPS

 

 

 

Back to the SU Backyard Basics stamps set.  Spring weather can't really be too far away, can it?  We had two fairly nice days last week but now the temperature has dropped to a much cooler degree again.  Easter cards can be so fun to make after a long Winter because of the soft colors which are so often used for coloring flowers etc.

 

To begin I embossed the front of the white card base with the Stampin' Up!  tulip folder.  For this card I stamped, colored and die-cut five tulips.  I arranged the three tulips holding them in my fingers and then carefully added the two yellow tulips on top while still holding all of them together.  I rotated my hand so that I could add dots of Tombow Mono Adhesive Glue to the backs of all the pieces while they were still being held.  I wanted them all to intersect at a point. 

 

All 5 tulips were carefully added to the card.  Using a Spellbinders die I cut the sentiment after stamping it first on white card stock.

 

As you can tell from all of the cards using this basic design, tulips are probably my very favorite flower for Spring even though they don't last long outside with the typical windy days when the tulips are in bloom.  This set has made it so easy making a quantity of cards for the Independent Living Center.

 

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CROSSES OF HOPE

 

Last year I believe I posted a picture of a card made like this from when I attended a Stampin' Up! workshop.

 

 

So this year I wanted to use the same basic design again, but for this card I chose to use the tulip embossing folder on the front of the Melon Mambo card.  I cut a white oval with a Spellbinders Classic Oval Die.  While the oval was still in the die, I lightly sponged Melon Mambo ink over the exposed area.  The cross was stamped on a piece of white card stock using the same ink and added to the oval using foam dots.  The green sprigs were punched from the bird punch and I shortened the stems and tucked them under the cross with a tiny bit of glue.

 

Thank you for coming by today!  I hope to have something new for you again on Monday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KRIS!

Backyard Basics - Stamp Set and Die

 

My friend, Kris, is celebrating her birthday today and I hope she has time to do something very special.  This is the card I sent to her.  The main idea for it did come from Pinterest, but I changed it up to make it my own.

 

The card is a top fold 4 1/2" x 5 1/2" card.  I embossed only a portion of the front of the card with the Swiss Dots folder.  Two scored lines were added just below the embossing.  I found the sentiment in the Stampin' Up! "Blooming With Kindness" stamp set and it fit nicely in the area at the bottom of the card.

 

The floral design was one I had stamped and cut out with the matching die several weeks ago and I wanted to get it used.  It was colored with Pretty in Pink and Garden Green markers.  The white layer that I added it to was cut with one of the dies in the Spellbinders Floral Doily Motifs.  The banner was made from a piece of the Pretty in Pink dp.

 

 

If anyone is interested in purchasing the Backyard Basics Stamp Set and Die Bundle, I do happen to have an extra set.  Just let me know if you would be interested.  The set has six great stamps and six matching dies.  To be honest when I first saw it I didn't think I wanted it............but I am really glad I have it!!!

 

Thank you for stopping by!  Your comments are always appreciated!

HAPPY EASTER

 

I have been having such fun with the Stampin' Up! Backyard Basics stamp set with matching dies.  Anytime I don't have to cut out a stamped image is fine with me.  By adding these to a white mat, the white edge that the dies leave is hardly noticeable.  Actually it shows up more on this picture than in real life.

 

The tulips were colored with Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo and Wild Wasabi.  The sentiment is also from Stampin' Up! but from the retired Easter Blossoms set.  After adding the top layer to a mat of Wild Wasabi, I attached a strip of Melon Mambo ribbon around the piece and then tied a small knot from a separate piece of the ribbon.  The entire piece was then attached to the front of the Melon Mambo card base.

 

Remember, I have an extra set of the Backyard Basics stamps and dies, so if you would be interested in purchasing them, just let me know.

 

Thank you for stopping by today!  I love reading your comments and appreciate your taking the time to tell me what you think of my posts. 

 

FUN WITH GRANDCHILDREN

One of our daughters has four children and their school is on Spring Break all week.  The oldest two daughters have things going on during the week but the other two children came on Sunday to stay between our house and the other Grandmother's.    Taryn has been making cards here for several years and that was the first thing she wanted to do after breakfast on Monday morning.  These two pictures show Taryn and Tucker with the cards they made.

 

In anticipation of things they like to do, I made sure I cleaned my craft table so it would be easier to spread out.  Taryn loves running things through the Cuttlebug and will use any excuse to be able to run things through the Xyron instead of using tape to attach things to her card.  She has definite ideas of how she wants to do things and plans each side of her card very carefully before doing anything.

 

I brought out some Easter stamps that I had never used before, and since they were larger than some that I have they were easier for her to color after stamping them with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  Of course with Easter Bunnies she wanted "grass" and knew that I had the Martha Stewart punch that "makes grass".  She wondered how she could make the sky blue so I showed her how to swirl blue ink on with a sponge.  The last time she was here she made a card with clouds and she wanted to know where the "cloud things" were - meaning the dies.

 

The inside and back of the card were decorated just as nice with some punched birds and butterflies that she found on my craft table so her card took some serious time to complete.  She even drew a house on a hill with a stamped car driving down the driveway.

 

Tucker also enjoys playing with my stamp things but being a boy was much quicker making his card.  He used some of the same stamps but didin't care about so much detail.  The highlight on the front of Tucker's card was an Easter train stamped from a Taylored Expressions stamp set.  He wanted the train on tracks (of course he did) so I tried my best to use a black marker to give the illusion of some train tracks.  The train was stamped on a separate piece of card stock and cut out so that it could be on top of the tracks.

 

It was fun working with each of them individually.   Later yesterday we mixed up a double batch of cut out sugar cookies using Easter designs.  Today we baked them but they had to leave before we got them iced.  The other Grandma made some icing and they will decorate them at her house.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY

I don't believe I have a drop of Irish in me, but to my friends and those who follow this blog who ARE Irish............HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

 

My brother-in-law is Irish.  I don't always make a card for him, but I had a last minute thought to do it on Friday.  He and my sister have two sons so I made cards for their families too.  It's a very, very simple card but inside I stamped a very nice Irish Blessing for them.  I had some very cute St. Patrick Day stickers that were teddy bears so I decorated the back of their envelopes with them.  So sorry that the cards may arrive late since they all live out-of-state but at least they will know I was thinking of them.  I'm sure there will be some green beer today.

Thank you for stopping by today!