Thinking of You

Hello everyone,

Today's card was commissioned by a colleague whose neighbor's daughter is seriously ill. I used Sunday's Card Position Systems sketch as a jumping off point because the sketch was just too irresistable. My colleague also asked for specific colours, her favourites, navy and burgundy with some sparkles.

The background paper is Stampin' Up Rich Razzleberry designer paper. The remaining paper, also Stampin' Up, is Not Quite Navy, Rich Razzleberry and Whisper White. The octagons were cut with Spellbinders Nestabilities. The image and sentiment are Annabelle 's Sentimental Bluebells stamped with Nick Bantock Prussian Blue. The image and background paper are highlighted with Diamond Stickles.

I think this card turned out great. My colleague will love it! I love the navy, bugundy and white colour combination. The sketch was a really great one and I know I'll use it over and over again. I think I'd like to try it with a Christmas card.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Vintage Greetings

Hello everyone,

I'm slowly moving into Christmas card mode. Today's card is based on Mercy's Tuesday Sketch. It also meets today's Creative Inspirations challenge which is Christmas in September.

The background paper is Creative Imaginations Tinsel Town. The red layer is QuicKutz Quick Stripz Garden. The green layer is Close To My Heart Ponderosa Pine textured with Sizzix Holly plate and highlighted with Shimmerz Candle Light. The sentiment is Expression In Ink 4-in-1 Holidays stamped on Close To My Heart Colonial White.

I picked up the Creative Inspirations paper pad at Michael's at the end of the season last year because I was really inspired by the vintage feel of the paper. I'm not really one to craft super vintage cards but the paper was really irresistible. I had not originally planned to highlight the holly on the green layers but I really like the effect of the painted Shimmerz. I think it works well with the vintage feeling I tried to create.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Happy Birthday Sister

Hello everyone,

This Saturday is my oldest sister's birthday and if it's to get to her on time, I need to get it in the mail. I used Saturday's I {Heart} 2 Stamp Sketch For You To Try as a jumping off point. I also used a really fresh colour scheme because it's was something different from the traditional fall colours.

All the printed paper is DCWV Floral Prints. The white layers are Stampin' Up Whisper White. The solid purple and green layers are of unknown origin out of the scrap bin. The image is Studio G. The sentiment is Hero Arts Small Greetings.

I think my sister will love this card. The purple, green and white is a really classic colour combination that just turned out beautifully. I used a lot more layers than the sketch called for but I found that all the printed papers one on top of each other was too much but that little bit of white really makes everything pop. I also wanted dimension without adding brads or anything too bumpy because Canada Post doesn't like that extra thickness.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Jolly Swap

Hello everyone,

In honor of World Card Making Day this coming Saturday, I'm attending a potluck and Christmas card swap at a friend's. I need to make seven cards for the swap and used Techno Stamper's Monday Lunchtime Sketch as inspiration.

The card base is and solid papers are all Recollections Christmas cardstock. The patterned paper is Little Yellow Bicycle 25 Days of Christmas. The gold layer is from Canford. The red layer was textured with Cuttlebug's Holly embossing folder. The sentiment is Cornish Heritage Farms Christmas Expressions which was heat embossed with Close To My Heart gold embossing powder.

I'm really happy with this card. I love all the layers and the classic Christmas colours. The Little Yellow Bicycle paper has a really smooth feel to it and is just wonderful to work with. I can't wait to use it for more Christmas cards. Now of course, I just have six more cards to put together.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Happy Anniversary

Hello everyone,

Today's card is for one of my closest friends who will be celebrating her wedding anniversary within the next couple of weeks. She asked for the autumn colours, the sentiment and sparkles. Easy! I started with today's Waltzingmouse sketch challenge and the card just took off from there.

The background paper is Stampin' Up Sweet Pea. The solid papers are Stampin' Up Ruby Red and Chocolate Chip which are textured with Cuttlebug's Leafy Branch. The patterned paper is DCWV Retro Stack. The sentiment is Stampin' Up Warm Words II which was stamped on Whisper White and layered on Chocolate Chip. The embellishments are Multicrafts Keepsakes Memories.

I love this card and I'm pretty confident my friend will as well. It is a great masculine card but still beautifully depicts their fall wedding. I'd love to use this same sketch for a Spring, Summer or Winter anniversary card.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Happy Birthday Hubby!

Hello everyone,

Today is my ever-loving husband's birthday. My gift to him was a golf trip to PEI, so he has been away all week and I've sure missed him. He is a really easy guy to create for as he has a ton of interests from which to draw inspiration. He loves golf. He is a big American Civil War buff. He likes the NFL Raiders and the University of Georgia Bulldogs. Though I'm too late to enter the challenge, I used last Saturday's Waltzingmouse sketch as a jumping off point and choose silver and black as inspiration. He'll love this card!

The background paper is Stampin' Up Basic Grey textured with Sizzix Small Dots. The red layer is Stampin' Up Real Red. The patterned paper is DCWV Glitter Stack. The sentiment, Sweet 'n Sassy's Birthday Greetings, is stamped on a scrap of Stampin' Up Whisper White.

Silver, black, grey and red are a favourite colour combination. I like how the patterns work together and though busy, are not overpowering. I hope I can come up with a wonderful poem for the inside as easily as I came up with the elements for this card.

Please enjoy and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Simply Nature Inspired

Hello everyone,

Tonight's card was crafted for yesterday's One Layer Wednesday challenge which was to be inspired by nature. A good 75% of my stamps depict nature, either flowers, trees, leaves or butterflies. This card was the perfect opportunity to use a stamp that I've had for a while but had yet to ink up.

The card base is from Recollections. The image is Gina K Spring Blooms which was coloured with Faber-Castell markers. The sentiment is Gina K Botanicals stamped with Nick Bantock Charcol Grey.

I just love this card. The lines are so beautifully simple. Perfect for a really clean card. I figure this would be a great card for either a birthday or a wedding or even an engagement and that makes the sentiment very flexible.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Simple Birthday

Hello everyone,

As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, I have a ton of birthdays over the next couple of weeks so I'm in that creative mode at the moment. I was inspired by a paper packet that I picked up at a Close To My Heart open house (thanks Sue) on Friday night.

The card base is from Recollections. The paper is Close To My Heart Good Time and a scrap of Stampin' Up Whisper White. The background layer was textured with Cuttlebug's Oriental Weave folder. The sentiment is Hero Art Small Greetings.

I think this is a great card. It would have also worked very well for the teen birthday card from yesterday's post. Unusually, I didn't use any challenges for this card. The paper was inspiring enough and I really wanted to use up some of the goofed card bases from cards past. I like the fresh colours and the textured background really makes this card more sophisticated than it really is.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Teen Birthday

Hello everyone,

It feels so good to be back. Today's card was commissioned by a close friend whose teenage son has a teenage girl's (not girlfriend) birthday party to attend. I promised her that I could deliver the perfect card for him to give to her. I used Sunday's Card Positioning Systems sketch as a jumping-off point. Monday's Ooh La La Creations challenge was to use a sentiment as a focal point. No problem.

The card base is from Strathmore. The paper is all Stampin' Up - Elegant Soiree, Baja Breeze, textured Soft Suede, Crumb Cake and Whisper White. The sentiment is Penny Black Happy, Happy.

I just love this card. I think it is perfect for a couple of teenaged friends. Not too frou frou for a boy to give but elegant enough for a girl to enjoy. I fell in love with the Elegant Soiree paper when I first saw it in the new Stampin' Up idea book and it was the first item on my last order. I suspect I'll need to order a second package.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Clean & Simple Birthday Owls

Hello everyone,

Well, after a pretty long absence, I'm finally back. Vacation is over. Renovations and painting are finished. Back to work and school was survived. My laptop, which died, is up and running once again. I'm feeling like my creative mojo is back!

September and October are full of birthdays for me. I used last week's One Layer Wednesday recipe challenge, to use three images and one sentiment, to craft this card. It only took me two tries but I think this is a really cute card.



The card base is from Strathmore. The images are Close To My Heart You're A Hoot stamped in Stampin' Up Chocolate Chip and Old Olive. The sentiment is Close To My Heart Celebration stamped in Stampin' Old Olive.

I love these little owls. One of my best friends loves all things owl so I bought this set because I thought I'd get a lot of use from it. This was a really fun card to put together although it took tremendous will power to leave the glitter and embellishments on the shelf.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Happy Birthday!

Hello everyone,

Further to yesterday's post, today's card is my card for my colleague's 50th. I know she has a penchant for things Asian so I used that as inspiration. I started with Monday's Sketch and Stash challenge.

The background paper is DCWV Far East stack. The coloured paper is Bazzill Bling textured cardstock. The sentiment is Penny Black ...your life... stamped on a scrap of Stampin' Up Very Vanilla. The flowers are Bosskut Star Burst Flower die #0695. The brads are of unknown origin from the brad stash.

I just love the colours in this card. The gold and coral are perfect compliments. I can't wait to see Terry's face when she opens this card because I know it is perfect for her.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Birthday's Galore

Hello everyone,

I'm back! Posting will likely still be irregular for the next couple of weeks, at least until we finish the painting the final bedroom.

September is a month full of birthdays. This card was commissioned by a colleague for another colleague. This card meets three challenges - Saturday's Card Patterns Sketch, today's Happily Ever Crafter challenge was to use gold and today's Fab 'n Funky offered up a whatever challenge.

The card base is from Strathmore. The background paper is Stampin' Up textured Rich Razzleberry. The horizontal layer is Stampin' Up Night of Navy, textured with Close To My Heart gold embossing powder and the Stampin' Up Cornelli Lace Jumbo Wheel. The vertical stripe is Stampin' Up Rich Razzleberry designer series paper. The ribbon is Michael's Sheer Creations. The personalization is Making Memories Diva Shimmer Alpha Stickers affixed to a scrap of Stampin' Up Whisper White and layered on a scrap of gold paper. The embellishments are Crystal Sticker Cabochons.

I really like this card. My colleague had specific colour, personalization requests and glitter. This certainly fits the bill. I know our colleague will love this card.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

This Too Shall Pass

Hello everyone,

I know, I know, posts have been falling off lately. I'm still on vacation and doing work around the house and now getting ready for back to school and work. Give me another week or so and it should all get back to normal.

Today's card is for Simplicity's One Layer Wednesday challenge which is trees. While this card looks simple, it did take me a while to find the image and sentiment. It works though.

The card base is from Recollections. The image is Gina K. Tree Silhouettes. It was coloured with Stampin' Up watercolour crayons then misted with water. The sentiment is Sweet 'n Sassy Autumn Blessings.

I wasn't all that happy with the image when I first stamped it but once dry, it has that great watercolour effect. This is the first time I've used this sentiment and it is perfect.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle