90th Birthday & MOJO Monday 308

 

          My husband’s father was one of 22 children – 2 different mothers.  (It still makes me hurt to think about that!)  Out of all 22 children and their 22 spouses, only 2 of the siblings are living.  We are celebrating Uncle John’s 90^th birthday on Saturday.  He is a WWII veteran, too.  We have much to celebrate and be thankful for on Saturday!  So of course, I needed a guy type of card.  I immediately thought of my papers from the Paper Loft (www.paperloft.com) who I have worked for the last 3 years of CKC-Charlotte.  They have a really good niche that they have established for guy themed paper.  I think you’ll agree that these papers were perfect.  Please go by and visit their website or better yet get your favorite paper craft store to carry them.  Their papers are really thick cardstock – and double sided, too!  Tell them that Donna from CKC-Charlotte sent you!

·       Stamp set(s):  Stampin’ Up! – The Open Sea(Inside), Memorable Moments, & Lovely as a Tree(Inside); Heartfelt Creations – Uplifting Scriptures

·       Ink(s):  Memento – Rich Cocoa; Stampin’ Up! – Early Espresso & Crumb Cake; chalk ink for distressed edges

·       Paper:  Stampin’ Up! – Core-dinations Early Espress CS, Always Artichoke & Very Vanilla CS; The Paper Loft – Scattered Pine Mountain’s Fawn Lake Forest & Scrub Oak Valley

·       Dies & Embossing folders:  Spellbinders – Standard Circles Large; Stampin’ Up! – Framelits Labels Collection & Square Lattice EF

·       Embellishments/Other things of note:  Martha Stewart Pine Needles Trim Double Edged Punch 

 

 

My card is 5.5” by 5.5” square.  The Core’dinations CS is cut and scored to form the card base with the really handsome Paper Loft papers and the pine needles trim is cut from the Always Artichoke CS.  I used the Stamp-a-ma-jig to place the sentiment for “Happy 90^th Birthday” but still found it difficult to line up.  I am going to get SU’s Clear-Mount Perfectly Placed Guides to go with my SU Clear-Mount Acrylic blocks.  I saw a YouTube video recently where guide lines were used to line up stamps, so note to self – try that idea!

I dressed up the inside of the card using the nautical themed SS – the Open Sea – and Lovely As A Tree SS on the inside with the Heartfelt Creations scripture sentiment.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my offering for MOJO Monday 308!  Please leave a comment to let me know that you’ve stopped by to see me!

Many Blessings,

Donna

 

Happy Anniversary from Apothecary Arts

         

           I am in need of anniversary card for my brother and his wife who will be celebrating their 47^th wedding anniversary next week.  My brother has had some recent health issues that gave us all a scare so I wanted to really recognize their accomplishment and show my gratitude to the Lord for His Mercy towards my brother!  God is soooo GOOD!!!!!  This is also my first entry into the MFT Wednesday Stamp Club.  I love their stamps and dies; I have a few but would love to get some more with their gift certificates that they award to one lucky stamper each week.  What a blessing!  Here’s my list of what I used to make my card.  Once again, I got in a rush and forgot to emboss the yellow piece of CS before I put it all together.  I was trying to get this done before my husband got home from work.  Help me to remember!!!!  My card is 5.5’ by 4.25’.

·       Stamp set(s):  Stampin’ Up! – Memorable Moments & Apothecary Art

·       Ink(s):  Memento Tuxedo Black; Stampin’ Up! – Daffodil Delight and Pear Pizazz

·       Paper:  Stampin’ Up! – Whisper White, Daffodil Delight and Pear Pizazz;  Karen Foster Designs Yellow Garden (2003) a golden oldie in my stash probably bought on sale at a store I used to work for where it was hard for the owner to let go of old stuff!  LOL  She’s a real paper hoarder!

·       Dies & Embossing folders:  Stampin’ Up! – Framelits Labels Collection   

·       Embellishments/Other things of note:  Sandy Lion Cream & Sugar Stickers, Big Shot, SU Blender Pens, Stamp-a-ma-jig

When I saw the sketch, I immediately thought about the Apothecary Art SS.  The shape of the stamp and coordinating die is very similar.  I made a few changes to the layout by making it horizontal and enlarging the shape to accommodate the stamp.  I stamped the design in Memento Tuxedo Black and used my Stamp-a-ma-jig to get the placement right for the sentient in the middle.  Someone deserves an award for thinking up this handy little tool!  I colored the flowers and leaves with Daffodil Delight and Pear Pizazz respectfully using my SU Blender Pens.  It’s so easy to do and you get great results.  Love this!  I popped the sentiment up with Stampin’ Dimensionals and added the flower to the lower right corner of the card.  I also rounded the corners of the card base and yellow mat to mimic the curves of the stamped image.

It really was a simple card to pull together – just wished I’d remember to emboss the yellow mat!  Oh, well next time.  I’ll start my card for this Wednesday’s Stamp Club earlier.  But I did get my card ready in plenty of time to get it to the happy couple in Georgia early next week!

Thanks for stopping by.  I’d love to have you leave a comment.  I was told about the crazy letter stuff that was on my blog if you leave a comment and took it off so that you can leave comments easier!  Please do and let me know what you think!

Many Blessings and Happy 4^th of July!  Celebrate Our Independence Day!

Donna

You Are My Sunshine!

 My take on the sketch!

 

 

          Hi, yes, I’ve been busy in my crafting room today.  My headaches are better so that has spurred my creativity!  This is the first time that I will be submitting my take on a sketch from Freshly Made Sketches.  When I saw the sketch, I knew immediately that I wanted to use a Stampin’ Up! stamp that I’ve had for awhile.  During one of their single stamp promotions, I saw this stamp and knew that I had to have it.  I was a single mom of two beautiful daughters – now grown up – and I used to sing this song to them.  They are still my sunshines and each of them will get a card handmade especially for them from their mama!  I love you, Rachel & Rebecca.  You light up my life every time I think of you!

·       Stamp set(s):  You Are My Sunshine (ret.) – Stampin’ Up! (single stamp promo)

·       Ink(s):  Stampin’ Up!:  Gumball Green, Marina Mist & Daffodil Delight

·       Paper:  Stampin’ Up!:  Gumball Green, Whisper White, Daffodil Delight, Floral District DSP (ret.) and a piece of delightful paper from my stash – no idea where it came from.  I am a self-confessed paper hoarder!

·       Dies & Embossing folders:  Stampin’ Up!:  Edgelits: Adorning Accents;  Spellbinders:  Classic Scalloped Squares

·       Embellishments/Other things of note:  sponge and sponge dauber, Aleene’s Super Tacky Glue, Stampin’ Dimensionals, SU Basic Jewels Rhinestones, American Crafts Ribbon

Now onto the card!  It is 4.25’ by 5.5’ and folds down from the top and up from the bottom.  I cut a piece of Whisper White CS vertically and then scored each piece at 3’ and 8.5’ respectfully.  I attached a piece of Gumball Green CS cut to 4.25’ by 4’ to fold up from the bottom for my “green hill” for my “sun” to partially hide behind.  The “sun” was paper pieced from Daffodil Delight CS & Floral District DSP.  I inked the top piece of Whisper White CS with Marina Mist using a piece of sponge for my “sky”.  Lastly, I attached a piece of blue ribbon and added some sparkle on the sentiment and a string of sparkle across the ribbon to glitz things up a bit!  One thing I forgot – don’t tell my girls!  I meant to add some texture to the grass with an embossing folder – and would do so if I made this again but I’m not tearing it apart now!  Too much work!  It is Sunday after all!

Thank you so much for stopping by my corner of the digital world.  Let me know what you think if you are so inclined!  Be blest and be a blessing!

Many blessings,

Donna





 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





Trust In The Lord & VLVJun2013, Week 4

I’m finally getting it together and doing week four’s card during week four – but just barely!  I do enjoy using sketches to start my design juices flowing.  This week’s offering is the result, plus one component came to be because I got ahead of myself.  Have you ever done that?  Tell the truth now!  This card is 5.5 x 5.5 inches.

·        Stamp set(s):  Stampin’ Up! – Secret Garden & Trust God

·        Ink(s):  Stampin’ Up! – Gumball Green, Primrose Petals, Raspberry Ripple, & Summer Starfruit; Memento – Tuxedo Black

·       Paper:  All Stampin’ Up! – Very Vanilla CS, Gumball Green CS, Primrose Petals CS,  Print Poetry DSP (Retired), DSP Stack In Color 2012-2014 (Retired)

·       Dies & Embossing folders:  Stampin’ Up! - Sizzlits Clearlits Scalloped Rectangle, Embosslits Beautiful Wings, Bigz Top Note, Secret Garden Framelits, Ovals Collection Framelits

·       Embellishments/Other things of note:  Martha Stewart Doily Lace Trim Double Edge Punch; Stampin’ Up! – Sizzix Big Shot TIEF Lacy Brocade Embossing Folder, Gumball Green Satin Stitched Ribbon, Basic Jewels Rhinestones, Blender Pens, glitter, 2-Way Pen

Once I had the sketch, I then begin to think colors and patterned paper.  As a self-confessed paper hoarder I have much of the DSP from this past year’s Stampin’ Up! line.  One of my absolutely favorite – wish I had more than this one stack – is the Print Poetry papers.  Since its size is 4.5”x6.5”, it caused some changes in the design right out of the box – er, paper pad!  I selected the inks based upon the color flowers that I wanted to make.  I used SU blender pens to color the lower flower where I used Raspberry Ripple and Primrose Petals ink pads.  I love having matching dies to cut out flowers and other objects.  (Stampin’ Up! needs to do more of this!  Hint, hint!!!)  I embossed the Top Note Die after I cut it out to add some texture between the patterned paper and the Very Vanilla Oval.

With the colors and patterns taken care of, I began to assemble my card, but this is where I got ahead of myself.  I did not stamp my sentiment onto the oval before I added the dimensional pop-ups thus came along my green rectangle rescue.  I’m glad of this “accident” as I think the flowers and size of the oval would have overwhelmed the sentiment.  So it all came out for the good.  I also wanted to add a larger presence to the ribbon on the lower right hand corner so I backed it with a piece of the Doily Lace trim.  I would probably back it with a different color if I had to do it all over again, but all in all I like how my card turned out!  What do you think?

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look!  Please free to leave a comment to let me know what you think!

Many Blessings,

Donna

MOJO MONDAY 296

 

          I was in need of a card to go with a gift for a 5^th grade graduation.  My church has adopted a Title I school in our city.  This is the 2^nd year that I’ve been working with this lovely student and I needed a fun card to go with the beautiful new book bag with her monogrammed initials.  This is my offering using the MOJO MONDAY 296 card sketch!  All of the items are Stampin’ Up! products unless otherwise noted!

·         Stamp set(s):  Chalk Talk(new item)

·         Ink(s):  Primrose Petals, Melon Mambo, Baja Breeze(retired), Crumb Cake

·         Paper:  Bazzill Yellow CS, Primrose Petals, Whisper White, Pale Aqua(retired SU CS without name), Pennant Paper from my stash with no designer noted,

·         Dies & Embossing folders:  Sizzix SU Embosslits:  Flower Burst & Beautiful Wings; Spellbinders Beaded Circles, Sizzix SU TIEF Chevrons   

·         Embellishments/Other things of note:  Ribbon – American Crafts, Hampton Arts Glitter Glue; Basic Jewels Rhinestones, sponge dauber, sponge, Big Shot

I used the Flower Burst Embosslit to cut out the flowers in Primrose Petals and Pala Aqua CS.  I used a sponge dauber on both flowers to apply Melon Mambo Ink to the rose colored flower and Baja Breeze to the soft aqua flower.  I stamped the sentiment with Primrose Petals ink and cut and embossed it with the Beaded Circles die; I inked around the edges*with Primrose Petals Ink.  The piece of yellow cardstock was embossed with the Chevron EF and then applied Crumb Cake Ink with a sponge to bring out the texture in the paper and add depth to the card.

The really cute Pennant/Triangle paper was cut to 4” x 5.25” and mounted onto the Primrose Petals card base after affixing the two pieces of American Crafts ribbons to the front.  All this to say:  the card fits nicely in an A2 envelope and measures 4 ¼ by 5 ½.  I used the Beautiful Wings embosslit to make the butterflies to add to the card to make it a bit more playful for an 11 year old girl.  Overall, I am pleased with the outcome and hope you found it worth your while to stop by my corner of the ether world!

Thanks for stopping by and please feel free to leave a comment so that I know that you’ve stopped by.

Many blessings,

Donna

Anniversary Card For My Guy

         Thom & I recently celebrated our anniversary – had a lovely time in Charleston, SC!  (It was a wonderfully romantic time away from home in a beautiful city!)  As I’ve mentioned previously, guy cards can be a challenge for a woman who loves flowers and bling, but I hope that I rose to the challenge.  I used the same stamp set as my previous post; just used the bicycle this time.  Thom & I like to bicycle when time and health permits so it just seemed to work for me.  I wanted to use my new Spellbinders Die Page Maps (designed by Becky Fleck) and the banners in SU DSP Pool Party seemed a perfect fit!  So here is my list of products used!

·        Stamp set(s):  SU Feeling Sentimental (SAB)  & Word Play

·        Ink(s):  SU Midnight Muse

·       Paper:  All from SU – Whisper White, Midnight Muse, DSP Pool Party, and DSP Pattern Stack, 2012-2014

·       Dies & Embossing folders:  All Spellbinders dies – Classic Scalloped Squares, Classic Scalloped Ovals, Large and Page Maps

·        Embellishments/Other things of note:  DMS Embroidery Floss # 311, Recollections Super Fine Glitter, SU Jewels Basic Rhinestones and SU Buttons, Bitty

Sometimes, we are our own worst critic.  At first I wasn’t satisfied with this offering, but the more I looked at it the card, the more I realized that I was looking at it through my FLOWER Glasses – the lens that I use for most of my designs.  I like the flow of the smaller banners on the paper when juxtaposed to my larger banners that I cut out with my new die.  I used the ric rac die that comes with the set to add some movement across the bottom of the card where I used a 1.75” strip of striped paper – say that fast – that I added glitter to.  Even my husband needs some bling now & again!  LOL  With a couple of heart buttons from the Bitty Collection, I felt that I completed the project.  Thom liked the card, too, and when it really comes down to it, that is what matters most!

Thanks for stopping by my little part of the web to take a look!

Donna

Celebrate Birthday Card for Your Guys

 

Being a lover of flowers and bling, I have found myself drawn most often to choose flowers and similar type stamp sets, but during SU’s recent Sale-A-Bration, I really fell in love with the Feeling Sentimental SS, so I choose this to send out to our son-in-law for his recent birthday!  So here is the list of what I used to create this card:

·         Stamp set(s):  SU Feeling Sentimental

·         Ink(s):  SU Early Espresso, Clear Embossing Powder

·         Paper:  Core’dinations Early Espresso CS, Crumb Cake CS, Very Vanilla CS (thru here by SU! and from my stash, 7 Gypsies, Louvre

·        Dies & Embossing folders:  SU Framlits Apothecary Accents & Labels Collections, SU Chevron Embossing folder

·       Embellishments/Other things of note:  SU’s Linen Thread, SU Basic Jewels Rhinestones (I had to get some kind of bling going on!), SU Designer Buttons Brushed Bronze, Stamping Sanding System block, SU Stampin’ Dimensionals, Sizzix Big Shot

The card is 4.25” by 5.5” and opens on the right.  The card base is made from Crumb Cake CS.  The panel that was embossed is 4” by 5.25”.  The sentiment is popped up.  The linen thread was wound around the embossed and sanded panel prior to fixing it to the card base.

I hope that you have enjoyed the card.  I’d love to know who you are and please feel free to leave me a comment.  I’ve begun to get the Botanical SS from Technique Tuesdays and will try to get around to making some samples next week.  Until then, have a blest Easter!  He is Risen!

Donna