Finally - Happy Birthday Dear Friend...

Sometimes I love Royal Mail and USPS and sometimes I don't. These last few days have been a time that I don't... they let me down and I'm not a happy bunny! Luckily, however, the card finally got to its destination and was very well received.

The inspiration was a thread on SCS about "Martha" cards and this. Well, somehow that translated into what I made for my friend for her birthday - she has a downright addiction to the "rubbah" and we are always teasing her about it. When she decided to go unmounted, I remember her saying about actually physically aching because of how much there was to do! She also profides alot of training in her line of work so quite a bit of talking to groups etc.

Here's the card and I hope you like:




INGREDIENTS:
Cardstock: Georgia Pacific; Hobby Lobby
Ink: Big Juicy; Archival Jet Black
Stamps: Viva Las Vegastamps; My Sentiments Exactly multi alphabet.
Brad: Making Memories
Prismacolor Pencils
Oderless Minerals Spirits


RECIPE:
I used the Big Juicy inkpad on the background audience stamp from VLV. I also did a direct to cardstock technique for the envelope back and inside the card with the same ink pad. The Emma Peel stamp was stamped in Archival Jet Black and clear embossed and colored in with Prismacolor pencils and cut out. Sentiment was printed on the computer and says "Eilis captured the full attention of her male audience with the mere mention of her rubber fetish"

ARGH!!!!!!! why didn't I just leave well enough alone.

I think the title says it all - I'm truthfully not that overly happy with this card. I feel like I just didn't know when to stop and of course I'm blaming the husband who came out with the "it's a bit bland" comment when I had finished my subtle vision in tonal whites!!!!

I used a dove Hero Arts stamp (Christmas set) to represent the Holy Spirit. Stamped it in Platinum Planet and clear embossed. I then colored the dove with Moonlight White and the olive branch with Sakura green glitter gel pen. Using a marvy black scrapbooking marker to highlight the eye of the dove. The greeting is My Sentiments Exactly Mini alphabet with Starlite Silver.
That is where I think I should have stopped.

However, with my confidence unsteadied with the comment - I proceeded to alter the card adding in shadow around the Dove with Prismacolor pencil and Odorless Mineral Spirit and then pouncing Pearlescent Sky Blue and Aegean Blue around the edges of the card.

I have to admit that I don't dislike the card but I just don't love it as much as I did before I compensated. Oh well, live and learn!

I still have loads and loads of cards and posts to catch up on so hopefully I will update soon! Just wondering if I should give my blog reading friend with the birthday next week a big juicy clue or just leave her

Say Cheese!!!!!

Hi! - been busy away from blog-land for some family time. We all have to have a bit of family time and I make no apologies for it. It was Spring Break and we did a few day trips and swimming, but our biggest trip was to Huntsville, Alabama to the U.S. Space and Rocket Museum . We had a great time going to the Sun and to Mars; being launched into space; experiencing 4 G's; as well as landing the Space Shuttle and climbing mountains in Mars! It really was a great day out... but I think the highlight of the trip was finding a Piggy Wiggly (all you Jeff Foxworthy fans know what I am talking about) that just really kept us giggling like children for quite a while.

Alas, down to Earth with a thud and realisation that I have a list of cards to do as long as my arm!

I've got two done but I have to wait to share one because I know she's a blog reader (though just between you and me there is a very slight hint in this entry - oh she is going to kill me! LOL ).

This card is for my uncle-in-law (AKA DH's Uncle). He has very specific interest which makes theming cards for him easier than for some people. I decided this year to play on his love of cheese and his photography hobby.

The cardstock is Bazzill, DCWV and linen textured from Hobby Lobby. The cheese background was made with my cuttlebug and Quickutz circle cookie cutters as well as my Silent setter and cropadile (who knew you needed so many things to make a round HOLE!). I then shaded the cardstock with chalks. The camera is a Cuttlebugs die with DCWV cardstock highlighted with Sakura clear glaze and glitter pens. The "say cheese" is an mini alphabet from My Sentiments exactly.

The inside of the card says "Swissing you a Gouda Brieday!" (same alphabet set).

The envelope - I used a leftover camera die cut for a mask and just pounced some ink off my Big Juicy rainbow pad directly onto the bottom of the envelope and used the alpha again for "cheese!"

PS I would like to thank LilLuvsStampin on SCS - I didn't CASE her card, however I had punched my holes and was trying to use a much darker paper behind and it wasn't going right and I probably would have abandoned the whole idea if I hadn't seen her card in the SCS gallery.

Stamped and Beaded candle - oh and a bit of rubbah!

Well I couldn't just send a card to the happy couple now could I? I saw the stamped images on a candle technique and then I saw the gallery on SCS where some very talented ladies had taken it one step further and put photos on candles. THEN if that weren't enough another talented lady showed how to bead hers. Well that was it, I knew from that moment the perfect project. So I got the photo and did the technique using wax paper and my handy heat gun - I can't really believe how straight-forward it was. I took a small pillar candle. The photo is a black and white print, the date is off Word and the Initials are from my set I used on the Wedding card - this time in black because when I stamped it out in gold it just didn't work on this project.


I then cut measured the candle with the wax paper and cut the sheet of O'So sticky adhesive to size. I adhered the sheet to the candle and took off the outer protective rubber coating and then heated it slightly and rolled it in the clear beads.

It's not the "main" pressie but just a little token to go along with the main pressie that I hope they will like.

On the rubbah front - I have managed to hit 5, YES 5! of my favorite shops today! and I'm so excited to get working with my "new" stash. Hopefully I will get caught up with a few of my crafty projects in the near future and of course I will be sharing! Take care!

A Wedding Card

This is a wedding card I made for a couple getting married in late April. I took my color cues and design elements (the monogram initials in a heart) from the couple's invitation (which they had designed themselves) and what knowledge I had about the color scheme of the wedding.

I really wanted this to be special and I hope the couple likes it. The card is 5x7 made out of white linen cardstock, gold irredescent vellum and black linen cardstock. The linked hearts are out of my Celebration images See D's set. The Monogram are Stampendous exclusive to Archivers. These were stamped in Dew Drops Galaxy Gold (really shimmery).

I used a Hero Arts stamp with Versamark and then O'So sticky embossing powder to make the beaded heart over the monogram. I then used a cut to size a strip of OSo sticky tape to bead the line of hearts at the bottom of the card.

I then made an envelope out of hammered cardstock by using a technique of using measurements of 1/8 inch larger than the card in all directions and then using a corner rounder on the exposed corners. I found the how-to somewhere on SCS - sorry having a dipsy brain moment. So if it is your technique please let me know. Then I lined the envelope with matching vellum to finish it off.

PS - if you look carefully at the close up you can just about see the hearts on through the gold vellum.

Personalised Pens

Just thought I would share some of the personalized pens I made to send out for Easter. I got the instructions from SCS, the pens from Wally's world and the Beads and adhesives from PennyWiseArts. Again I used paper for the stamping as I couldn't find the right sized labels and adhered with glue. The Alpha stamps are my Hero Arts set, the background stamping on the pens are from See D's - boys toys, cute and cuddly and Morsels -whimsical garden. The butterflies were colored in with prismacolor pencils and I used Archival Inks black, Versafine -red, Dew drops - galaxy gold, pixie dust, spring pansy, sea breeze and perfect plumeria.

Limited Supplies? Well not really....just to die for

Well, it wasn't really set as a limited supplies challenge with these last few posts but I think it probably looks like it - Again my lovely bunny stamp makes an appearance - this is the card I sent my Brother in law and Sister in law for Easter.

The cardstock is DCWV brights pack - its lovely mauve colour (purple-y rose) and of course it has the lovely texture that the DCWV color stacks have. I then put the card and a half size blank through my cuttlebug with two of my Quickutz cookie cutter dies to make the apeture and the backing for my stamped image. I put GP white cardstock through the cuttlebug for the stamped image and cut. I stamped the Penny Black bunbun on the cardstock and colored with Prismacolors/gamsol technique from a previous post.... I then positioned a bit of thread (long enough to go across the gaps and stay) on the back of the stamped image and glued the corresponding sized flower on the back. Then I placed the image in the middle of the aperture and put the threads across the back of the front of the card and glue the card blank to the back of the front. I then stamped the message with my Stampendous circle talk alphabet with VersaMagic Dew Drop - Perfect Plumeria.

Hope you have a wonderful and safe Easter Holiday and remember, don't eat the little brown eggs if the Easter Bunny visits your garden LOL