Bold Blue Thanks

Hello everyone,

Today's post is the last thank you card that I crafted for my daughter.

The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Stampin' Up Cameo Coral.  The die cut sentiment is of unknown origin.  The butterfly is punched from more Cameo Coral and painted with LuminArte Ice Twinkling H2Os.  The flower embellishment is of unknown origin.

This sentiment was originally linked with two horizontal strips but I cut them off because I thought just the simple lettering would be more interesting against this beautiful butterfly paper.  I'm grateful there are some blue butterflies to go with the letters.  I played with a number of butterfly options but in the end decided a simple punched butterfly with a bit of shimmer would do the trick.  I think it turned out rather well in the end.

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

Gisèle

Bright And Bold

Hello everyone,

Today's thank you card is so bright and pretty.

The printed paper is BasicGrey Euphoria layered on Stampin' Up Gable Green and Whisper White.  The sentiment is Stampin' Up So Very Much stamped in Melon Mambo and Altenew Parrot on Whisper White and highlighted with Sakura Clear Star Gelly Roll pen.  The banners are punched from more Gable Green.  The embellishments are Recollections Glitter Adhesive Dots.

This is a piece of very bright and busy paper.  It is lovely but can be really hard to use in terms of colour coordination.  I've got enough of the Gable Green left to use up the sheet as it's really the only green that works well.  Melon Mambo also works well so that is the ink colour I usually turn to.  I love this set of sentiments.  There is something about the clean lines of this large 'thank you' that does it for me.

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

Gisèle

Owl Thanks

Hello everyone,

Today's post is another thank you card crafted for my daughter.

The printed paper is Joy Crafts Owl's World layered on Stampin' Up Early Espresso.  The sentiment is Hero Arts Small Greeting stamped in Early Espresso on Recollections White.  The ribbon is Crafts.  The embellishment is of unknown origin.

My daughter belongs to a sorority at her university and one of their symbols is an owl so I figured this paper would be perfect for a thank you card.  I took my time cutting so I wouldn't lose too many of the hearts and the owls would still be the focus.  I've had this set of sentiments for eons but don't know why they don't get used all that often as they're really wonderful and easy.  They fit the Stampin' Up tag punch perfectly.

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

Gisèle

Sweetly Simple

Hello everyone,

The next few posts are thank you card that my daughter asked me to craft.

The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Stampin' Up Soft Sky.  The sentiment is also of unknown origin stamped in Stampin' Up Rich Razzleberry on Recollections White and highlighted with Sakura Clear Star Gelly Roll pen.  The embellishments are Crafts Rhinestone Strips.

I've always loved this whimsical paper and thought it would be perfect for one of my daughter's thank you cards.  It's a very simple card/layout with just minimal elements.  The rhinestones add just enough bling to make it special.

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

Gisèle

Bee Botanical

Hello everyone,

Today’s post is the last of the charity cards that I’ve crafted to feed the I SPI blog while I’m on holidays.

The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on a Bazzill Green and Mustard.  The sentiment is Stampin’ Up Painted Petals stamped in Altenew Paper Bag on an ivory of unknown origin and layered on more Bazzill Green.  The bee brad is of unknown origin.

For some reason botanical papers really appealed to me for this series.  As I was trying to choose a sentiment I thought it was time to craft a card with a non-standard sentiment.  I have plenty of these types of sentiments but rarely use them.  This sentiment needed to be quite bold as it has to compete with all the text on the printed paper.  I played with a number of different inks before settling on this dark orange because I didn't find black or brown was enough of a contrast.  I've had this bee brad for ages and I think it may have come from the Dollar Store.  The yellow on the bee was really pale so I brightened it up with a Sharpie and actually surprised myself with the result.

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

Gisèle

Quick Botanical Wishes

Hello everyone,

Today’s post was another quick and easy birthday card.

The printed paper is of unknown origin (likely Graphic 45) layered on a dark brown Bazzill.  The sentiment is Creative Vision Simply Said stamped in Stampin’ Up Early Espresso on an ivory of unknown origin.  The embellishments are Pebbles Brown Pearl Candy Dots. 

This is a really wonderful piece of botanical paper.  The colours and details are just beautiful.  This is a super quick and easy card with four straight forward elements and a simple layout.  I was inspired to place the sentiment off the paper because I didn't want to cover up too much of the berries or the moth.  I didn't really need to add the brown pearls but I thought it worked with the vintage aspect of the paper.

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

Gisèle

All Autumn

Hello everyone,

Today’s post is an unequivocal autumn birthday card.

The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Bazzill Rust and Bazzill Mustard.  The sentiment is a Crafter’s Companion Die’sire Happy Birthday die cut from a dark brown Bazzill.  The ribbon is Michael’s Special Value.  The leaf brad is of unknown origin.

I think this is one of the most wonderful autumn papers I've ever come across.  The scale of the images is just perfect for cards.  I debated making this a thank you card but felt that would be rather predictable.  A lot of people have fall birthdays.  I decided to use ribbon because I was so happy with yesterday's card.  This brown sheer ribbon couldn't work better.  I had a bunch of different colour leaf brads that I tried but I liked how this red worked with the overall colour scheme.

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

Gisèle

Vintage Get Well

Hello everyone,

Today’s charity card uses another wonderful piece of printed paper.

The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on DCWV Luxury Stack.  The image is Stampin’ Up Faith In Nature stamped in Early Espresso on Recollections Vanilla and layered on more DCWV Luxury Stack.  The sentiment is Close To My Heart Sincere Expressions stamped in Altenew Pure Graphite.  The ribbon is Michael’s Special Value.  The pear embellishment is Marianne Design Flowers.

The most difficult part of this card was getting the image stamped.  I have to say, I'm not a fan of the 'new' Stampin' Up ink pads.  They either leave too much ink on the stamp or dry out more quickly than they should.  This was especially frustrating with this delicate image.  I must have made four attempts before I decided to try it with a 'second' impression which is what actually worked.  I added the delicate pearl flower embellishment because I didn't get the ribbon placed well and ended up with too much space at the bottom of the card.  I really love this card and will have a hard time putting it in the sale box.

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

Gisèle

Dots, Dots And More Dots

Hello everyone,

Today’s post is a more masculine card.

The printed paper is Chatter Box Dark Tie Circles layered on Stampin’ Up Night of Navy.  The sentiment is Creative Expressions Petite Scribbled Sentiments ‘Occasions’ stamped in Close To My Heart Outdoor Denim on a vanilla of unknown origin.  The brads are also of unknown origin.

I've never been particularly happy with this paper.  While I love all the elements and the colours, I just couldn't ever get it to work well with cards.  No matter how carefully cut or the size of the card, it just never works all that well.  I thought adding the brads would help disguise the issue but I think it just accentuated the problem.  I'm actually glad this is the last bit of this sheet. I don't hate this card but it's not my best work either.  I'm going to blame my 'quick and easy' challenge that I'm under to get this series crafted.

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

Gisèle

A Yellow Butterfly

Hello everyone,

Today’s post is one of those cards that should have been quicker and easier than I made it. 

The printed paper is of unknown origin highlighted with Star Dust Stickles.  The sentiment is Rubbernecker Happy Birthday stamped in Stampin’ Up Early Espresso.  The butterfly was die cut from So Saffron with Joy Crafts Floral Flourishes 6003/0006 die and highlighted with Wink of Stella Clear 999.

This is actually ‘take two’ as the first attempt had such a badly placed sentiment, I couldn't fit the butterfly without it looking terribly awkward.  There is something about the combined graph and circle elements that I find particularly appealing on this paper.  I used a more smallish vertical sentiment because I thought it was interesting on the squares which certainly made alignment a breeze.  I got the idea for this butterfly from last Tuesday's Italian card.  In this case, I found the So Saffron rather bland so I gave it a bit of shine with the Wink of Stella.  A pretty good result notwithstanding the frustration.

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

Gisèle

Soft Botanical Wishes

Hello everyone,

Like all the cards in this series, today’s quick and easy charity card is all based on a beautiful piece of paper.

The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on DCWV Luxury Stack.  The sentiment is Avery Elle So Happy stamped in Altenew Jet Black on Recollections White and layered on more DCWV.  The pearl embellishments are of unknown origin.

I love this paper!  I wish I had multiple sheets.  I find the botanical element quite compelling and it certainly helped me craft this super quick and easy card.  The hardest part was punching the 'banner' on the right of the sentiment.  I hadn't planned to layer the sentiment but it felt really floaty without it.  I'm taking the opportunity to use up some of the older papers that I've had in my stash for eons.  This DCWV stack is one which I often forget I have.  It's a mat stack so it's just the right size for cards.  It also has a hint of shimmer which is probably why I got it in the first place.

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

Gisèle

Quick Thanks

Hello everyone,

This next series of cards are extremely quick and easy as I feel the need to keep the I SPI blog fed while I’m on holidays.

The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Stampin’ Up Mossy Meadow.  The sentiment is Stampin’ Up Four Square stamped in Mossy Meadow on Recollections White and layered on more Mossy Meadow.

All the cards in this series will be donated to the charity card sale at the office this fall.  Most of the paper has been generously donated by favourite local scrapbooking store - Crop A While.  I realized the weekend before my vacation that I didn't have enough cards to pre-post while I'm away which was the perfect excuse to craft some very quick and easy cards.  This paper was perfect for quick and easy.  I could have even stamped the sentiment on the paper but felt it would pop just that little more if I stamped and layered it separately.  A great card!  

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

Gisèle

All Italian XII

Hello everyone,

Today I’m posting the last of the Italian card series I've been working on for the past week.

The background image is Stampin’ Up You’ve Got This stamped in Altenew Frayed Leaf.  The images are Altenew Painted Flowers stamped on Recollections White with Altenew Coral Berry, Forest Glades, Frayed Leaf, Frosty Pink, Jet Black, Moss and Ruby Red.  The images were cut with the coordinating Altenew die.  The sentiment is Microsoft Word printed font layered on Bazzill Black.  The embellishment is Marianne Design Butterflies.

A few weeks back I order the coordinating die cut for the Altenew Painted Flowers stamp set and I thought this was the perfect time to play.  I'm thrilled with this card.  I love the hints of black in the flowers and layering the sentiment with more black just adds more pop.  I really love these painted flowers.  They are multi-step but really don't have to be perfectly stamped to get a great result.  Having the ability to die cut just adds more layout options.  One of my favourite cards in this series.

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

Gisèle

All Italian XI

Hello everyone,

Today’s post is as different from yesterday’s Italian card as I could possibly imagine.

The printed papers are Stampin’ Up Birds of a Feather.  The sentiment is Microsoft Word printed font layered on Stampin’ Up Crumbcake.  The banners are punched from Recollections White that was stamped with Close To My Heart Brushstrokes stamped in Altenew Dusk and Ruby Red, and Stampin’ Up Crushed Curry.  The card is highlighted with Diamond Stickles. 

I think one of the things that makes this card so very interesting is the layers of patterns.  It's subtle, but still visible enough to add interest.  I didn't originally intend to add banners but had planned a stamped background for the sentiment.  I just couldn't get it to work so punched the banner from the stamped background.  The colours of the banners are meant to replicate the colours of the birds.  It's a little strong for the subtle colours of the paper but I can live with it.  A pretty decent card given I was pretty much flying by the seat of my pants.

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

Gisèle

All Italian X

Hello everyone,

Today’s Italian card post is a little different that my usual.

The printed paper is Kaisercraft Elegance ‘Boho’ layered on Close To My Heart Juniper and Recollections White.  The images are Stampin’ Up Four Feathers, Close To My Heart gold heat embossed, and die cut with Sizzix Feathers Framelits.  The sentiment is Microsoft Word printed font layered on more Juniper.

I've always loved feather cards even though I resisted the stamps and dies for quite a while.  I really wanted to use this unusual feather paper and thought gold embossed feathers would be the perfect combination.  It's not exactly as I'd hoped.  I think it may be too much of a good thing.  The other issue I had was finding coordinating paper.  The Juniper works pretty good but I would have loved to have a dark teal as I think the entire card would have popped just that little bit more.  It's not a terrible card but I don't think it's necessarily my best either.

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

Gisèle

All Italian IX

Hello everyone,

Today’s post is a beautiful Italian anniversary card.

The patterned paper is BasicGrey Cappella – Bellini layered on American Crafts and Recollections White.  The sentiment is Microsoft Word printed font layered on more American Crafts.  The ribbon is Michael’s Sheer Creations.  The pearl heart embellishment is of unknown origin.

I thought it was very ironic that I chose this very Italian BasicGrey paper for this anniversary card.  I didn't know it when I picked it out of my stash.  Obviously it was meant to be.  Given this is quite busy printed paper, I picked out a more subtle layering paper but something with a bit of shine.  The ribbon mimics the layered paper with it's own bit of shine.  The heart embellishment adhered to the knot, just seemed perfect.  I love this card.

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

Gisèle

All Italian VIII

Hello everyone,

I’ve another Italian card today.

The patterned papers are is Close To My Heart You Rock.  The sentiment is Microsoft Word printed font layered on Olive, Outdoor Denim and Goldrush.  The banners are Sizzix Banners Framelist.  The star embellishment is of unknown origin.

This is one of my favourite Close To My Heart papers.  I've used it sparingly over the years.  I wanted  to include a more masculine card in this hostess gift set and I thought this would be just right.  I felt the font of the sentiment also worked well with the printed paper.

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

Gisèle

All Italian VII

Hello everyone,

Today’s post is another Italian card in the hostess gift series I’ve been crafting.

The patterned paper is Stampin’ Up Shades of Spring layered on So Saffron and Pretty In Pink.  The sentiment is Microsoft Word printed font.  The butterfly is Joy Crafts Vintage Flourishes die 6003/0023 cut from So Saffron.  The embellishments are Crafts Rhinestone Strips.

I really love pink and yellow together which is probably what drew me to this paper in the first place.  Unfortunately the scale of these flowers is quite large for cards.  I had to try a few different butterfly dies to find one which I liked.  This flourished one is maybe a little over the top but it's not too bad overall.  I'm happy with the final result.

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

Gisèle

All Italian VI

Hello everyone,

Today's post is the first of a bunch of Italian birthday cards I'm crafting for this hostess gift.

The printed paper is Bella Blvd Classic Calendars layered on Close To My Heart Lagoon.  The image is Stampin' Up Thanks For Caring stamped on Whisper White in Altenew Forest Glades, and coloured with Faber-Castel Watercolour Pencils.  The sentiment is Microsoft Word printed font layered on more Lagoon.  The image and sentiment panel are layered on Recollections Black.

This is one of my favourite printed papers.  I love all the flourishes and the colours are just wonderful.  You can coordinate this paper with absolutely any colour combination.  I used the black on the image layer to ensure it didn't disappear against the strong background.  I often lament about my colouring abilities but I don't think I did too back with this one.  I had hoped that the watercolour aspect of these pencil crayons would help this endeavor.

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

Gisèle

All Italian V

Hello everyone,

This hostess gift set is going to be a variety of cards.  Today's post is a congratulations card.

The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on  Bazzill green and Recollections Black.  The sentiment is Microsoft Word printed font layered on more Recollections Black, Bazzill Green and Stampin' Up Whisper White.  The embellishments are Crystal Stickers White Glitter Dome Stickers.

I chose this particular printed paper because I thought the colour combination would work well with the more formal font of the sentiment.  I also thought the berries were 'olive-like' which fits with the Italian theme of this series.  I love how the layering is rather modern against the more vintage style of the floral paper.  Those types of juxtapositions always appeal to me.

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

Gisèle

All Italian IV

Hello everyone,

Today's post is the final Italian Christmas card that I'm crafting as part of the hostess gift.

The printed paper is Echo Park Reflections Christmas layered on Bazzill red and green.  The image is Delta Rubber Stampede Santa Collage stamped in Stampin' Up Mossy Meadow on Whisper White and covered with Crystal Glitter Ritz.  The sentiment is Microsoft Word printed font layered on more Bazzill green.  The embellishment is Ruby Rocket Glittered Layered Accents.

I needed to craft a somewhat more formal card to work with this more formal sentiment.  I decided to use this Santa image, which I had glittered, because it is a wonderful image and works great with either formal or informal Christmas cards.  I spent quite a bit of time going through the ridiculous amount of Christmas embellishments to find one that worked and this is the best of the lot.  It's from the dollar store but I really liked the candy canes and holly.

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

Gisèle

All Italian III

Hello everyone,

Today's post is another Italian Christmas card that is part of the series of cards I'm crafting for a hostess gift.

The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Stampin' Up Orchid Opulence and Close To My Heart Lagoon.  The sentiment is Microsoft Word printed font layered on more Lagoon.  The card is highlighted with Diamond Stickles.

Just as I couldn't help but craft a 'holly' card, I also wanted to include a non-traditional card. I love all the trees and all the dots were perfect for adding a little bit of sparkle.  I also thought this font type worked particularly well with the paper.  The blues, purples and greens are a favourite colour combination as well.  This is a great non-traditional Christmas card.

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

Gisèle

All Italian II

Hello everyone,

Today's post is another Italian Christmas card.

The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Bazzill red and green.  The sentiment is Microsoft Word printed font layered on more Bazzill red and green and Stampin' Up Whisper White.  The embellishment is Sizzix Embosslits Holly & Berries die.

I can never craft Christmas cards without doing something with holly.  I particularly like this printed holly paper with it's bright green leaves and red berries.  It took me a bit to find just the right embellishment.  I didn't want something too small or delicate because there is quite a bit of space above the sentiment and given the busy background, it needed to have some size so it wouldn't blend in to the printed paper.  I have a lot of die from which to choose.  This is a great result.

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

Gisèle

All Italian

Hello everyone,

For the next couple of weeks I'll be posting a series of Italian cards that I'm crafting as a hostess gift.

The printed paper is Carta Bella layered on a light blue of unknown origin and Bazzill black.  The light blue layer was textured with Cuttlebug Winter Wonderland embossing folder.  The sentiment is a printed Microsoft Word font layered on more Bazzill black.  The brads are of unknown origin.

I couldn't craft a series of card without including some Christmas cards.  I thought this vintage style printed paper was really awesome and I just had to see what I could do with it.  Notwithstanding the great printed paper, I decided to texture the light blue layer to add even more interest.  The little reveals of black add a great pop!

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

Gisèle

A Better Birthday Cat

Hello everyone,

Today's post is the birthday card that I am going to send to my brother.  It's a much better cat card!

The printer paper is of unknown origin layered on Stampin' Up Whisper White and Recollections Kraft.  The image is Stamp Barn stamped in Altenew Dark Chocolate.  The sentiment is Close To My Heart Happy Birthday also stamped in Dark Chocolate.  The cats tail is Darice hemp.

This is the card I wanted to craft for my brother the first time around.  I love this cat paper.  I've only a wonky cut piece, hence this somewhat bizarre shape.  This off-cut did allow me to be creative with the sentiment placement and I quite like the angle.  I had hoped to have more of the left side of the cat under the printed paper but that miss facilitated the creative hemp tail.  I really love this tail!

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

Gisèle

A Birthday Cat

Hello everyone,

Today's post is a card that I was planning to send to my brother for his upcoming birthday but once I'd finished it, I thought I could do a better job of it.

The background image is Stampin' Up Crosshatch stamped on Recollections vanilla in Altenew Limestone.  The second layer of background images are Close To My Heart Brushstrokes stamped in Altenew Arctic, Mountain Mist and Sea Glass.  The sentiment is Joy Crafts Saying stamped in Versafine Onyx Black.  The image is Stamp Barn also stamped in Versafine Onyx Black.  The card is highlighted with Avocado, Black and Platinum Liquid Pearls.  The image/sentiment panel is layered on Close To My Heart Black and Grey Flannel.

This card base, I don't know the make, is actually quite a yellow vanilla and I think that's part of my issue with this effort.  The brushstrokes images are all cool ink colours and while it's not a terrible combination, it's not great either.  I love the layers of the focal panel, the image and the sentiment but something just fall flat.  Not the most terrible effort, but I'd like my brother's birthday card to bit a little more uplifting.

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

Gisèle

Another Happy Father's Day

Hello everyone,

Today's post is the first card which I attempted to craft for my husband.

The images are Inkadinkado and A Muse Putter stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White and coloured with Chameleon and Tombow markers.  The sentiment is Close To My Heart Say It All stamped in Versafine Onyx Black.  The image is layered on Bazzill Blue and Recollections Black.  The embellishments are K & Company Golf Sticker Medley.

After I finished this image panel I realized it didn't suit my husband at all.  While I like the blue and red together, it's not right for hubby who leans towards silver and black at the best of times.  I moved on.  This is still a great card, I love the images and the embellishments.  It's masculine, with no muss nor fuss.

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

Gisèle

Happy Father's Day

Hello everyone,

Father's Day is just around the corner.  Today's post is the card I crafted for my husband who is an awesome father!

The images are Inkadinkado and A Muse Putter stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White and coloured with Faber-Castell and Chameleon markers.  The sentiment is Close To My Heart Say It All stamped in Versafine Onyx Black.  The image is layered on Bazzill Blue and Recollections Black.  The embellishments are Kaisercraft black pearls and Stickopotamus stickers.

I always have a great time crafting cards for my husband.  His cards are actually really easy as there are a lot of different themes that I can run with and one of my favourites is golfing.  This golf card uses the colour scheme of Mizuno, my husband's favourite golf company.  I also picked him up a gift card from his favourite golf store.  I know he'll be pleased.

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

Gisèle

Happy 20th

Hello everyone,

A few days ago my darling daughter celebrated her 20th birthday.  Today's post is the special card I crafted for her.

The image is Joy Crafts Orientals 6002/0232 die cut from Recollections White and sponged with Altenew Jet Black, Rocky Shore, Espresso, Moss and Olive.  The background images are Local King Rubber Stamp Panda Bear 4  and Stampin' Up Artistically Asian stamped on Recollections White in Altenew Forest Glades and Bamboo.  The image panel is layered on Close To My Heart Sweet Leaf and Recollections Black.

I love this card.  The combination of stamped background and the raised image are really appealing. It was a little tricky to sponge the images.  I had to tape over those parts where I didn't want the ink colours to overlap.  I also wanted to be sure that I didn't get colour in the white areas as that would just mess up the panda aspect.  This card turned out wonderfully and my daughter loved it!

Happy Birthday Darling!

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

Gisèle

Nutcracker In Platinum

Hello everyone,

Today's post is the last of the nutcracker Christmas cards I've been crafting for the past couple of weeks.

The image is a Tattered Lace Nutcracker die, cut from a glittered platinum of unknown origin and layered on a shimmery vanilla Bazzill and an opalescent gold also of unknown origin.  The ribbon is Multicrafts.  The pearls are Recollections.

I think I'm done with the nutcrackers.  I didn't realize exactly how many die cuts I'd made and when I look at all the photos, I may have gone a little overboard.  I'm very pleased with this last card.  I love all the neutral layers and the shimmer from the glitter is really wonderful.  I kept this last card sentiment-less because I really had enough of trying to get them right.

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

Gisèle