Birthday Love

Hi All,

If you follow my blog, you know that I had a birthday back in March.  One of the many things I was excited about was getting some handmade cards.  I was pretty impressed that (5) of my girlfriends came through.  I was so very impressed with their work, that I just had to show off a little bit :)

This card was made by Nicole Oldham.  She used the Kindness Matters stamp set, which I love.  The butterflies are just perfect and she couldn't have chosen better colors!  Nicole is not a fan of ribbon or twine, so I was impressed that she got some on this card. 

This card was made by Linda Appel.  She used the Abundant Hope stamp set and paired it with the Sweet Shop DSP.  This is such a sweet summery print.  The organza ribbon was the perfect addition. Linda has her own blog if you'd like to check it out: Linda's Cozy Craft Corner.

This card was made by Anne Martin.  She is relatively new to stamping, so I was very excited to see that she pulled some of her great products together.  I love the colors that she chose. Baja Breeze and Soft Suede are perfect together.  She let the embossing be the star of the show and added a few accessories.  Love the wide grosgrain ribbon!

This card was made by Jenni Brasington.  Lots of fun goodies on this card!. She used the Word Window Punch for the sentiment, Stickles for the candle flames, Diamond Dust for the icing and the Signo Gel Pen for the Scalloped Circle.  Who wouldn't love all this fun bling?

This oversized gem was made by Mary Beth Walker.  She cut a print from the Botanical Gazette DSP and used that as the base of her card.  That fabulous flower and butterfly are both from the
Mixed Bunch Stamp set and the Blossom Punch.  Mary Beth was the one to point out in the Occasions Mini that you could create this butterfly from this set.  What a great idea!

I am so impressed with the work that my friends do.  They are truly an inspiration to me!  Girls thanks so much for making me feel so special on my birthday!  There truly is nothing better than getting a handmade card!

Hope you all enjoy them as much as I do.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Stamps: Mixed Bunch, Abundant Hope & Kindness Matters
Paper: Botanical Gazette DSP/Not Quite Navy &Marina Mist Cardstock, Sweet Shop DSP/Pool Party Cardstock
Accessories: Blossom Punch, Scalloped Border Punch, Word Window Punch, Decorative Label Punch, Organza Ribbon, Hemp Twine

No 147: Bashful Bird

I got the inspiration for this card from the fabulous Jackie Wright. You can see her card here. She made her card in about 64 seconds, mine took a little longer.

First, I switched up the base color and went with Bashful Blue. It needed a vintage-y look, so I inked it up. For this technique, I opened up my stamp pad and just started dropping it on the cardstock in different directions. I did the same for the petal cone before I assembled it. This gives it a different look that what a sponge does. I think that worked better for coordinating with this piece of DSP.

Next, I stamped the bird from the Nature Walk set and cut it out. It was then popped up with pop dots to give it some dimension. Finally, I added a layer of Early Espresso, some Rik Rak and it was done.

Once again, this print is from a whole sheet of the Botanical Gazette DSP that was just trimmed down to a portion that would fit a card. It doesn't get much easier than that ;)

Hope you like it!

Stamps: Nature Walk & Because I Care
Paper: Bashful Blue, Early Espresso & Very Vanilla DSP; Botanical Gazette DSP
Ink: Early Espresso Classic Ink
Accessories: Petal Cone Die, Fun Flowers Die, Large Oval Punch, Hole Punch, Brown Button, Linen Thread, Shear Brown Ribbon, Brown Rik Rak, Dimensionals/Pop Dots and Glue Dots

The Cherry Cobbler Gazette

This card is a CASE of Ilina Crouse's card seen here. The design was simple and the colors were gorgeous! See those yummy red raspberries, that print is trimmed down from a full sheet in the Botanical Gazette DSP.

To go along with the card, I created a coordinating petal cone. The vanilla was a little plain, so I spruced it up by stamping a butterfly on the cardstock before putting it together. It's adds a nice little touch.

On a final note, did you notice anything different about the flower on the petal cone? There's a brad in the center and it's one I've never used before. It's taken a year, but I finally ordered the Antique Brads. This brad added the prefect vintage-y feel to the design.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Nature Walk & Because I Care
Paper: Cherry Cobbler & Very Vanilla Cardstock; Botanical Gazette DSP
Ink: Cherry Cobbler Classic Ink
Accessories: Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch, Petal Cone Die, Fun Flowers Die, Antique Brads, Cherry Cobble Seam Binding, Mat Pack & Paper Piercer and Glue Dots