Something Blue...

 My sister emailed me last week and asked for help with a wedding card for some friends of hers that were getting married. She had searched the stores and couldn't seem to come up with the right card for a couple with an alternative lifestyle, so little sister to the rescue!

I searched some quote sites for a bit before I came up with a quote that I thought really summed up their relationship- not too mushy, not too religious, but meaningful. I used two fonts in Photoshop to accent the important words and fit the words to fit the die I planned to use. I stamped an image from the The rest was fairly simple- some pretty flocked background paper, cream silk ribbon, and some pearls.

The inside was finished with a simple "congratulations" on a die-cut mat and some more of the pretty flocked paper. A clean and simple card in 10 minutes! The card is much prettier IRL, but I was rushed to get pictures of it before I sent it off to my big sis in the mail- she'll vouch for me:)

Hope your day is off to a good start!

 




Supplies:
Stamps: Stampin' Up: Note to Self, Warmest Regards
Paper: Baja Breeze, Very Vanilla, "Garden Party"-DCWV
Ink: Baja Breeze
Accessories: Sizzix Big Shot, Nestability dies, silk ribbon, Basic Pearls, dimensionals,

Hey Toad Sister...

This is what happens when I use the tween's music list for running- I get her tunes stuck in my head, lol! I was inspired by Linda McCain's awesome Halloween card found {here} and decided I had to make a card of my own with this stamp!

I stamped the image in Memento Tuxedo Black and colored with Copics. The background was paper from the retired Stampin' Up "Night & Day" paper pack, stitched to some Gable Green and Basic Black cut with Nestability dies. Sewing in a circle was stressful for me, but looks cool! The ravens were cut from a page in the My Mind's Eye "Spider's Web" pack- I think they add to the anxious look on his face. I wasn't keen on the greeting that went with the stamp, so I printed one out my daughter came up with using Photoshop.

The inside is finished with coordinating papers, stitching and a computer-generated greeting. My son loves this card (or at least the idea of turning his sister into a toad!) so this may be his for Halloween.

Hope your Monday is painless!

 




Supplies:
Stamps: Toad Sister (Eat Cake Graphics)
Paper: Basic Black, Gable Green, Whisper White, DP- K&Co
Accessories: Sizzix Big Shot, Nestability dies, sewing machine, Baker's twine, button, silver brads

Sizzle My Circuits!

Rain, sweet rain! We have lived in Atlanta for almost 2 months now and, with the exception of a few short rain showers, this is the first rainy day we've had. I wish it were tomorrow instead of my holiday, but hey, I'll take the water!

We have a bunch of birthday parties coming up, so I figured I would get a jump on making some cards so I'm not caught short the day of the party (also makes a gift card much more attractive!). I started with this adorable robot image from Torico's "Birdie Brown" shop and dug out my "Cogsmo" paper from Cosmo Cricket- what a great match!

I didn't want to cover the robot in the background of the paper, so I cut out my little guy and attached him with dimensionals. Because this is going to a boy, I had to keep the embellishments simple- a bit of cool stitching, silver brads and a die cut greeting - definitely NO ribbon!

The inside is finished with a coordinating strip from the paper pack, another die cut and a computer generated greeting.

Since I get questions about this, here are the Copic colors I used on this card...

I'm off to enjoy this rainy day in my craft room:))))))

Supplies:
Stamps: "Robot with Balloon"-Torico
Paper: Whisper White, Poppy Parade, Buckaroo Blue, Peach Parfait, "Cogsmo"-Cosmo Cricket
Accessories: Copic markers, Sizzix Big Shot, Nestabilities, Sewing machine, dimensionals

Bring on the Cake!

 Last week I bought whole bunch of digital stamps from Torico's Birdie Brown Etsy shop- it was hard to stop at just a few;)) Her images are whimsical and just downright cute! I decided to give this birthday pup a try since I have several boy birthdays coming up.

I like the color combination in the "True Blue" patterned paper pad from My Mind's Eye and colored the pup and his presents with Copics to match. I ended up with more layers than I planned, but it's only postage, right?! The greeting was generated in Photoshop and accented with an orange button from the Brights Collection-Stampin' Up. When it was all laid out, it looked like it needed something more- a strip of Espresso cut with the ZigZag border die from MFT fit the bill perfectly!

The inside was finished with a strip of the number paper, a coordinating zigzag and a punched greeting. It's my nephew's birthday today, so this one will be a bit late- hopefully the present will make up for it!

Hope you having a great day wherever you are!

Supplies:
Stamps: Party Dog- Birdie Brown by Torico
Paper: Early Espresso, Pumpkin Pie, Bermuda Bay, Whisper White, MME- "Fine & Dandy-True Blue"
Accessories: Copic markers, Open Zigzag dienamics die (MFT), Stampin Up: Sizzix Big Shot, Modern Label punch, Designer Label punch, Designer Buttons-Brights, dimensionals, hemp twine

Stars in Heaven...

Good morning! Hard to believe it's Monday already- weekends go by so fast! I'm sure my friends and family on the East coast wish this weekend had gone a bit faster- a lot of flooded basements and some trees down (thankfully none on houses) for people I know, but after cleaning up from Ike a few years ago, I can certainly sympathize!

The topic of sympathy, unfortunately, brings me to my card for today.  Over the past few weeks, I have had two friends give up their fight with cancer. Both have been fighting unbelievable battles for several years and both will leave incredible holes in their families and communities. I wanted a simple, elegant look, but was at a loss for a stamp with the perfect sentiment. Google to the rescue!

I started by searching for "sympathy quotes" and found this one which I think is perfect for my friend who left a 7th grader daughter behind. I know they watched her suffer for several years, but the end is still so hard to deal with, especially as a pre-teen. I formatted the quote in Photoshop using several different fonts and sizes and printed it in Early Espresso ink onto Vanilla card stock. A little tip for Stampin' Up fans- you can import the color codes for all teh Stampin' Up colors into Photoshop and make yourself a custom "Swatch book" so when you print, the colors match their card stock exactly!

The card was finished simply with layers of some pretty patterned paper I had in my stash, some crinkled seam binding ribbon and an antique brad from Stampin' Up. Now the hard part comes- finding the words to write...

Hope your week is off to a good start and that those in the Northeast get power soon!

Have a cool day...

Good morning! I hesitate to say this knowing that half my friends and family are sweltering in the Texas heat and the other half is dealing with Hurricane Irene, but boy, is is a beautiful morning in Atlanta! It is a cool 64 degrees, clear blue skies, light breeze- absolutely gorgeous! We took a family bike ride before it started it heat up and discovered just how steep the hills in our neighborhood are (and just how out of shape I am-lol!).

Now that several people have voted on the penguin dude, I decided it was time to finish my brother's card. It's very frustrating having half my life in storage- I couldn't find the paper I wanted or a stamp for another card I am working on, so time to improvise!

I started with this week's MFT Wedensday Stamp club sketch pulled out some Hawaii themed papers from an old stash.  I love the way sketches get you jump-started on a card! I expanded mine to a square to give me a bit more room to play.

I used the blue chilly dude since he was  a better match for these papers and added some layers of DP and coordinating card stock, stitched together on my sewing machine and sponged to give them a weathered, beachy feel. I couldn't find my crimper (storage, I suppose) so I scored a piece of Kraft card stock and sponged it with brown ink to make it look like beach wood.

The inside was finished with the coordinating striped paper, a surfboard and a "cool" birthday greeting. Now the big challenge- getting it into the mail!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend~

 




Supplies:
Stamps: Penguin in Summer (Birdie Brown by Torico)-digital
Paper: Kraft, Whisper White, Soft Sky, Cajun Craze, Hawaiian DP (can't remember name)
Accessories: Sizzix Big Shot, Curly Label Punch, Marina Mist Seam Binding ribbon, button, hemp twine, Nestabilities, Dienamics, dimensionals, sewing machine

Chilly dude...

Good morning! I know my friends and former neighbors in Houston are dancing the rain dance after getting a big storm blow through last night, dumping 1-2 inches of sorely needed water. Since we still own our home there, we share their enthusiasm-keep it coming!

Today is my brother, Pete's, birthday (52, if we're counting:) and I am behind on making his card. I planned to get it done last night, but minor surgery on my face (youch!) derailed me- I decided that a glass of wine and an Alleve was more in order. Hence, no card finished for Pete today.

I did start planning his card over the weekend when I found this adorable digi stamp by Birdie Brown- I love her images and bought a whole bunch (hee, hee). I had a clear idea of how I wanted his shorts to look, so I began coloring the image with my Copic markers without picking the paper first-danger Will Rogers! After I got his shorts colored and shaded just the way I wanted, I was a bit stuck over what color to do his body.

I ended up coloring one with a traditional grey-toned body and one a little funkier in a cool blue. Now I can't decide which of these guys I prefer, so I thought I would bring it to you all to decide. Leave me a comment and vote for which cool penguin you like better and what you think his name should be! I know you guys are creative, so I can't wait to see what you come up with:))

Have a {cool} day and here's praying for more rain!