Sweet Baby Eloise

Hello everyone,

Today's baby card was commissioned by a colleague.

The black pleated paper is of unknown origin.  The images are Inkadinkado Baby Animals stamped in Versafine Onyx Black.  The sentiment is Stampin' Up Itty Bitty Banners stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Whisper White and die cut with Sizzix Bitty Banners Framelits.  The name is Creative Expressions Sentimentally Yours Elegant Alphabet & Numbers stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Whisper White and layered on Ridinghood Red.  The ribbons are American Crafts.

My colleague had previously commissioned me for this custom baby card for a little baby boy named Oscar.  His baby sister has been named Eloise after the children's character so I had great inspiration.  Eloise wears a black pleated skirt and a red hair ribbon.  She has a dog and a turtle.  Could this card ever have been more straightforward to craft.  My colleague loved it!

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

Gisèle

Mummy's Card

Hello everyone,

It's my pleasure to post today's custom Mother's day card.

The printed paper is Close To My Heart layered on Pear and Hollyhock.  The images are Close To My Heart A Budding Friendship stamped in Versafine Onyx Black, Close To My Heart Sweet Leaf, Hollyhock and Juniper, and Stampin' Up Crushed Curry on Stampin' Up Whisper White, highlighted with Wink of Stella Clear 999, and layered on more Pear.  The sentiment is Creative Expressions Elegant Alphabet and Numbers stamped in Holloyhock on Whisper White and layered on Hollyhock and Pear.  The ribbon is American Crafts.

I never realized, until I got this commission from a colleague, that 'mommy' in the UK is spelled 'mummy'.  Last mother's day my colleague came to me on the Friday before asking for a card with 'mummy' for his British wife.  I didn't have one and didn't have time to craft one.  This year, he remembered to give me a couple of days notice.  I checked to make sure that girly was the way to go and was assured that it was, so I just kept rolling with it.  I love this card!  I hope that Mummy does too.

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

Gisèle

Layers of Thanks

Hello everyone,

Today's masculine card is a little more feminine than I'd hope but I'm sticking to my guns.

The printed paper is Stampin' Up International Bazaar layered on Whisper White and Pool Party.  The Pool Party layer was embossed with Couture Creations Royalty embossing folder.  The image is Stampin' Up Summer Silhouettes stamped in Tangerine Tango on Whisper White.  The sentiment is Bonnidee French Wording #1 stamped in Tangerine Tango on Whisper White and layered on Pool Party.

Whenever I'm low on inspiration, I just turn to the Stampin' Up designer paper in my stash and run with it.  In this particular case I was intent on crafting a masculine thank you card.  I feel that all the Pool Party has resulted in a much more feminine card than I wanted.  I love the texture and the layers and the focal shape.  I wouldn't have thought that the Tangerine Tango and Pool Party would work but it does.  Why then does this feel so feminine?

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

Gisèle

Strips And Studs

Hello everyone,

I'm determined to knock-off some of the masculine French cards on my list.

The printed papers are BasicGrey Oxford.  The sentiment is Bonnidee French Wording #1 stamped in Stampin' Up Dusty Durango on Whisper White.  The embellishments are from Fabricland.

I wanted to challenge my creativity so turned to my envelop of BasicGrey leftovers. I think the result is fantastic.  I love the layers and the studs.  Of course, the banners add just that little extra interest, using a more prominently patterned paper.  More often than not, I use these great metal stud embellishments for masculine cards because, well, they're manly.

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

Gisèle

Berry Mother's Day

Hello everyone,

I realized yesterday that Mother's Day is early this year and it just wouldn't do if my mother didn't get her card on time!

The printed papers are Gina K Berries & Vines.  The sentiment is Close To My Heart Say It All stamped in Outdoor Denim on Stampin' Up Whisper White and layered on Real Red.  The strawberry was punched from the Stampin' Up Heart Punch from Real Red and BossKut Petite Flowers from a green of unknown origin and highlighted with a black pen and a gold Sakura Gelly Roll.  The embellishments are Close To My Heart Glitter Green Triangles.

When I realized that I was a week off for Mother's Day I was grateful that I've got plenty of strawberry options in my stash.  I did some blog research however just to make sure that I was repeating a card inadvertently.  I'd seen these punch art strawberries on Pinterest and thought it would be a perfect embellishment for what is a really straightforward card.

Happy Mother's Day!

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

Gisèle