Kitty Cat Wishes

 Hello everyone,

Today's post is a trio of fun cat 'birthday' cards.

The card bases are Recollections White, Close To My Heart Crystal Blue, and Darice White.  Two of the printed papers are of unknown origin while the third is Echo Park "Little Girl".  The printed papers are layered on Stampin’ Up Cherry Cobbler, a black Bazzill, a vanilla of unknown origin, Close To My Heart Eggplant and an orange Bazzill. Some of the images are Wish “Cat” dies while others were punched with the Stampin' Up cat paper punch.  They were cut from a white of unknown origin, Recollections Black and more orange Bazzill.  Two of the sentiments are Frantic Stamper while the third is Rubbernecker Happy Birthday.  All three are stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White and Vanilla, and are layered on more Cherry Cobbler, Crystal Blue and orange Bazzill.  The embellishments are Frantic Stamper.

I think this is the first time I crafted cats cards for the seniors' residence birthday card commission and I can't figure out why I hadn't done it before because these are three great cards!  I just had a ton of fun pulling all the elements together!  I think any cat-minded person will love getting one of these cards.

I hope you enjoy these cards and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

For the Gentlemen

Hello everyone,

Today's post is the last two French cards I crafted for this 'birthday' card commission.

The card bases are Craft Smith.  The printed papers are PhotoPlay “Here and There” By Land, Air and Sea, and of unknown origin.  The printed papers are layered on a vanilla of unknown origin and Recollections Black, and Close To My Heart Barn Red.  The sentiments are Bonnidée French Wording #1 stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on a vanilla of unknown origin and are layered on more Black and Barn Red.  The embellishments are Hero Arts Midnight Black Accent Pearls and Close To My Heart Round Durables.

I love finding printed paper that is especially masculine.  These scraps worked beautifully for two really masculine French cards.  The layouts are quite straightforward and were used to maximized the printed paper.  I think the font of the sentiments also works really well with the printed paper.  Also, the embellishments were chosen with the images in mind.  These are two really wonderful results.

I hope you enjoy these cards and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

More French Birthday Wishes

Hello everyone,

Today's post is another pair of great French 'birthday' cards.

The card bases are The Paper Studio.  The printed papers are of unknown origin layered on Recollections Black and Stampin’ Up Merry Merlot and Blush Blossom.  The sentiments are Bonnidée French Greetings #2 stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White and layered on more Black, Merry Merlot and Blush Blossom.  The ribbon is of unknown origin.  The embellishments are Crafts Rhinestone Stickers.

I can't resist using a vertical greeting.  In this pair, I decided to craft a masculine and feminine card and I this the results are fabulous.  The green/black/white colour combination is wonderful and the floral is just so pretty.  This sentiment is the perfect size for cards.  I love how different each card is even though they have the same layout.  These are just a wonderful pair of cards!

I hope you enjoy these cards and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

French and Feminine

Hello everyone,

Today's post is a pair of fun French feminine 'birthday' cards.

The card bases are a gold of unknown origin and The Paper Studio.  The printed papers are of unknown origin and BasicGrey “Kissing Booth” Butterfly Kisses layered on Recollections Kraft and Stampin’ Up Merry Merlot.  The sentiments are Bonnidée French Greetings #2 stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections Vanilla and layered on more Kraft and Merry Merlot.  The embellishments are a Dimensional Sticker, Forever In Time, a metal flower of unknown origin and a Crafts brad highlighted with Sequin Stickles.

I don't know that there are a lot of francophones in this particular seniors' residence but I always try to include a few French cards in the commission.  This pair of cards is particularly feminine and uses the same layout.  I had these two flower embellishments that were perfect for this sentiment so decided to do similar cards.  The results are wonderful.

I hope you enjoy these cards and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Funky Floral Pair

Hello everyone,

Today's post is another pair of great floral 'birthday' cards.

The card bases are The Paper Studio and Recollections White.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Stampin’ Up Lost Lagoon.  The sentiments are Hero Arts Greetings stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White and layered on more Lost Lagoon.  The embellishments are Recollections rhinestone stickers.

I love this pair of cards!  The images are the perfect scale for cards and are wonderfully funky!  The colours are fabulous and the options for colour coordination are infinite which makes crafting so easy!  I decided to use the same layouts but different colours because I was so happy with the white card I just had to repeat it!  This is a card I could easily often repeat!

I hope you enjoy these cards and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Birthday Berries

 Hello everyone,

Today's post is a set of six fantastic 'birthday' cards.

The card bases are The Paper Studio and Stampin’ Up Poppy Parade.  The printed paper is Stampin’ Up Berry Delightful layered on Pacific Point, Rich Razzleberry, Night of Navy, Poppy Parade and Granny Apple Green.  The images are Stampin’ Up Berry Blessings and Sweet Strawberry stamped in Altenew Blush, Rouges, Vineyard Berry, Heart Beat, Velvet, Crimson, Magenta, Fuchsia, Olive, Moss Desert Night and Dusk on Recollections White and layered on Pacific Point, Rich Razzleberry, Night of Navy, Poppy Parade and Granny Apple Green.  The sentiments are Stampin’ Up It’s Your Birthday stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White and layered on more Pacific Point, Rich Razzleberry, Night of Navy, Poppy Parade and Granny Apple Green.

I love Stampin' Up's new berry line!  I got the idea for these cards from this post on Pinterest and even though it's not an exact case, it's pretty close.  These two-step stamps are really easy to align and the impressions all turned out beautifully.  It was fun to play with my Altenew ink pads! The sentiment is from an old Stampin' Up set, one of my first purchases if I remember correctly.  I think these cards are perfect for summer birthdays.  I know I'll get a ton of use from these stamps.

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

Gisèle

Fabulously Floral

Hello everyone,

Today's post is a pair of very pretty floral 'birthday' cards.

The card bases are Stampin’ Up Lucky Limeade and Crushed Curry.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on more Lucky Limeade and Crushed Curry.  The sentiments are Close To My Heart Happy Birthday stamped in Altenew Industrial Diamond on an ivory of unknown origin and Sweet & Sassy Stamps Script Birthdays stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White and layered on Recollections Black.  The ribbon is American Crafts.

Whenever I've come across this paper in my scrap bin I'm never too thrilled with it but, once I've used it on a card, I just love the result.  The background is a light grey which maybe turns me off but the colours are wonderful and the design is perfect for cards.  I had a little fun with ribbon and am thankful that I finally am pleased with my bow-making.  

I hope you enjoy these cards and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Pretty Paisley

 Hello everyone,

Today's post is a trio of pretty paisley 'birthday' cards.

The card bases are Darice White, Recollections White Linen Textured cardstock and Close To My Heart Crystal Blue.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Close To My Heart Sweetleaf and Peacock, and Stampin’ Up Sahara Sand and a white of unknown origin.  The sentiments are Stampin’ Up Warmest Regards stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White and layered on more Sweetleaf, Peacock and Sahara Sand.  The embellishments are Close To My Heart Glitter Triangles, Frantic Stamper, Offray Ribbon, Recollections adhesive faux pearls and more pearls of unknown origin.

I just love paisley so these cards are some of my favourites in this commission.  To be fair, the colours are part of the draw.  There were lots of options for colour coordination and I tried to take advantage of all the possibilities.  I played with embellishments and loved the results except for the glitter triangles - am not sure what I was thinking there!  Three great results none-the-less.

I hope you enjoy these cards and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Funky Floral Wishes

Hello everyone,

Today's post is a pair of pretty floral 'birthday' cards.

The card bases are Recollections Vanilla Linen textured cardstock.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Stampin’ Up Bermuda Bay, Dusty Durango and Cajun Craze.  The sentiments are Close To My Heart Happy Birthday stamped in Stampin’ Up Early Espresso on an ivory of unknown origin and layered on more Bermuda Bay.  The die cut stems were cut with Sizzix Wildflower Stems #1 and Wish leaf dies from Stampin’ Up Old Olive and Cajun Craze.  The embellishments are Forever In Time Rhinestone Medley.

I chose this printed paper because there were so many color coordinating options.  The layouts are very straightforward and ones I've used often in this commission.  I did a horizontal and a vertical card to show some versatility.  They are both wonderful results.

I hope you enjoy these cards and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Sharing Birthday Wishes

 Hello everyone,

Today's post is a set of six lovely 'birthday' cards.

The card bases are Stampin’ Up Shaded Spruce, Rich Razzleberry, Petal Pink, Pear Pizzazz and Mossy Meadow.  The printed paper is Stampin’ Up Share What You Love layered on more Shaded Spruce, Rich Razzleberry, Petal Pink, Pear Pizzazz and Mossy Meadow.  The sentiments are Verses Rubber Stamps, Penny Black Special Sentiments and Banner Sentiments, and My Sentiments Exactly Handwritten Sentiments stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White and layered on more Shaded Spruce, Rich Razzleberry, Petal Pink, Pear Pizzazz and Mossy Meadow.  The embellishments are Stampin’ Up Iridescent Pearls, a sticker of unknown origin, a Wish leaf die cut from Shaded Spruce, a glittered butterfly of unknown origin, Burgundy Stickles, Recollections Black Candy Dots and Pebbles Black Candy Dots.

I'm quite pleased with all six of these cards.  They're very much Stampin' Up cards but though they use many of the same elements, they all have a different look and feel. I love that some of the cards are pretty neutral.  I used some new-ish sentiments and am quite pleased with them.  I think I'll get a lot of use from them.  I used a wide variety of embellishments and wish I could say my stash is diminishing but it's not!

I hope you enjoy these cards and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Cottage Wall Wishes

Hello everyone,

Today's post is another series of Stampin' Up cards.

The card bases are Stampin’ Up Old Olive, Orchid Opulence and Rich Razzleberry.  The printed paper is Stampin’ Up Cottage Wall layered on more Old Olive, Orchid Opulence and Rich Razzleberry.  The sentiments are Stampin’ Up It’s Your Birthday, Warmest Regards and Curly Cute stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White and layered on more Old Olive, Orchid Opulence and Rich Razzleberry.  The die cut sentiments are Sizzix Happy Birthday Thinlits and Crafter's Companion Die’sire Happy Birthday.  The embellishments are Darice Rhinestone, Crafts Rhinestone Stickers and Silver Stickles.

Cottage Wall is one of my most favourite Stampin' Up papers ever!  I use it judiciously so it will last as long as possible.  Before it retired, I bought an extra package just to always have some available.  The coordinating colours are really beautiful and all the cards I've made turned out really well.  I changed things up with different sentiments, including a few die cuts that I've used before.  The results are as great as I'd hoped.

I hope you enjoy these cards and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Loving Birthday Wishes

Hello everyone,

Today's post is another set of Stampin' Up 'birthday' cards.

The card bases are Stampin’ Up Pretty In Pink and Recollections Vanilla Linen Texture cardstock.  The printed paper is Stampin’ Up Sending Love layered on Stampin’ Up Pretty In Pink, Early Espresso and Real Red, and Recollections Vanilla Linen Texture cardstock.  The sentiments are Verve Happy Birthday and Just Rite Large Fancy Sentiments stamped in Early Espresso on Recollections Vanilla and layered on more Pretty In Pink, Early Espresso and Real Red.  The embellishments are red pearls of unknown origin, Crafts Rhinestone Stickers, Close To My Heart Mocha Opaques, and Offray Ribbon.

This is another old Stampin' Up designer series paper.  I think it's intended to be Valentine paper but I decided it would make some very pretty 'birthday' cards.  Again, solid colour coordination was pretty easy. The most challenging aspect was probably choosing the sentiments.  The layouts are pretty straightforward and are ones I've used many times before.  I'm quite happy with these results!

I hope you enjoy these cards and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Lily Impressions Birthday Wishes

Hello everyone,

Today's post is another set of Stampin' Up 'birthday' cards.

The card bases are Stampin’ Up Blackberry Bliss, Bermuda Bay and Petal Pink.  The printed paper is Stampin’ Up Lily Impressions layered on Blackberry Bliss, Bermuda Bay, Petal Pink, Granny Apple Green, Coastal Cabana, Gorgeous Grape, Pretty Peacock, Highland Heather and Strawberry Slush.  The sentiments are Close To My Heart Joyful Birthday stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White and layered on more Blackberry Bliss, Bermuda Bay, Petal Pink, Granny Apple Green, Coastal Cabana, Gorgeous Grape, Pretty Peacock, Highland Heather and Strawberry Slush.  The embellishments are Stampin’ Up White Organza ribbon, Michael’s Melodies and Lace Pearls, Multicrafts (purple ribbon), white pearls of unknown origin, Stampin’ Up Iridescent pearls and Crafts Rhinestone Stickers.

From the moment I saw this designer series paper, I've loved it!  The colours are just wonderful and I find the style extremely appealing.  I took advantage of the paper to use as many different solid colours as possible and I wasn't at all disappointed in the results.  Though I only used two of the four sentiments in the Close To My Heart set but all four are fantastic and well worth having in a stash.  I had a lot of fun choosing embellishments and layouts because the possibilities were just endless.  I'm so pleased with the results.

I hope you enjoy these cards and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Best Year Ever Birthday Wishes

Hello everyone,

Today's post is a set of great 'birthday' cards.

The card bases are Stampin’ Up Calypso Coral, Coastal Cabana and Crushed Curry.  The printed paper is Stampin’ Up Best Year Ever layered on Calypso Coral, Coastal Cabana, Crushed Curry, Soft Suede and Recollections White.  The sentiment is Stampin’ Up A Wish For Everything stamped in Soft Suede on Recollections White and layered on more Calypso Coral, Coastal Cabana, Crushed Curry and Soft Suede.  The embellishments are Forever In Time Gemstone Stickers and Pearl Accents, a light teal ribbon of unknown origin, Recollections Woods Dots and Rhinestone Stickers and Hero Arts Silver Metallic Décor.

I love these six cards.  Even though the paper is quite a few years old, I find it's still fresh and fun!  I really enjoyed using the different designs in the collection to make six quite different cards.  I really like that I ended up with neutral, masculine and feminine cards.  I was grateful that Stampin' Up's ready colour coordination allowed me to quickly pull together these six cards.  I have a fair amount of Stampin' Up paper in my stash so will try to do a few more of these sets for this commission.

I hope you enjoy these cards and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Sweet Critter Wishes

Hello everyone,

Today's post is another pair of fun 'birthday' cards.

The card bases are Stampin’ Up Pacific Point.  The printed papers are Stampin’ Up Good Morning Sunshine layered on a pale blue and a white of unknown origin and more Pacific Point.  The sentiments are Stampin’ Up Sweet Strawberry stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White and layered on more pale blue and Pacific Point.  The embellishments are Crafts Rhinestone stickers and BasicGrey Metal Studs.

Given the large size of this 'birthday' card commission I decided to use up some of my Stampin' Up paper stash.  This printed paper is really cute but has very limited options in terms of solid colour coordination so I was grateful to have had some Pacific Point available.  I love that these cards are fairly neutral and sweet.  Even with the limited colour options, I'm very pleased with the results and these are a great pair of birthday cards.

I hope you enjoy these cards and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Thistle Birthday Wishes

Hello everyone,

Today's post is a pair of very pretty 'birthday' cards.

The card bases are The Paper Studio.  The printed paper is Glick WZ05 layered on Close To My Heart Thistle and Willow.  The sentiments are Stampin’ Up Birthday Blossoms stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White and layered on more Thistle and Willow.  The embellishments are a glittered flower of unknown origin highlighted with Silver Stickles and Close To My Heart Spring Harmony ribbon.

This paper is actually wrapping paper that I found in a small paper boutique.  I just love the images and colours, and find it wonderful for crafting cards.  These cards are an example of using similar elements to craft two very different cards.  With different solid coordinating colours as well as the horizontal and vertical orientations, resulted in two very different cards that are both wonderful.  The results are just wonderful.

I hope you enjoy these cards and come back to SPI again.

Gisèle

Birthday Balloons

Hello everyone,

Today's post is another great pair of fun 'birthday' cards.

The card bases are Stampin’ Up Elegant Eggplant.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on a textured green also of unknown origin.  The sentiment is Stampin’ Up Birthday Blossoms stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White, layered on more textured green and highlighted with Reeves Watercolor pencil crayons.

Balloons are an inherent element of birthdays so it was a no-brainer to craft a couple of birthday cards using this awesome printed paper.  The colours were obviously drawn from the printed paper and I thought it rather fun to add the textured green paper.  The layouts are very simple and was determined to leave the images as visible as possible.  The results are really effective and just great!

I hope you enjoy these cards and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Text and Vines

 Hello everyone,

Today's post is another great pair of 'birthday' cards.

The card bases are The Paper Studio and Stampin’ Up Soft Suede.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Stampin’ Up Pool Party and a tan Recollections.  The sentiments are Altenew Birthday Builder stamped in Soft Suede on an ivory of unknown origin and layered on more Pool Party and tan.  The embellishments are Recollections Faux Pearls.

Like yesterday's pair, I used similar elements in different ways to show the versatility of this wonderful printed paper.  The colours and style of this printed paper is really great and the solid coordinating colours were pretty easy to choose.  I did take care to make sure I had the paper the 'right-side' up otherwise the text would have been up-side-down (hard lesson learned).  This Altenew sentiments set is fantastic and I particularly love that the 'words' are separate stamps which allow for the different options I used here.

I hope you enjoy these cards and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Vintage Gardens

 Hello everyone,

Today's post is a pair of lovely vintage-styled garden 'birthday' cards.

The card bases are Recollections Vanilla Linen Texture.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Close To My Heart Desert Sand and a light pink Core’dinations.  The sentiments are Close To My Heart Happy Birthday stamped in Altenew Industrial Diamond on an ivory of unknown origin, layered on more Desert Sand and light pink, and highlighted with Sakura Clear Star Gelly Roll pen.  The green/sage ribbon is from Michael’s while the other is of unknown origin.

This pair are some favourites in this commission.  I really love the printed paper and used different but similar elements to show it's versatility.  There were lots of options for colour coordination but I really like pink/green/beige together.  The browns of the second card are just great too.  Both are truly wonderful results.

I hope you enjoy these cards and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Birthday Sweets

Hello everyone,

Today's post is, literally, a pair of sweet 'birthday' card.

The card bases are The Paper Studio.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Close To My Heart Saddle and Juniper.  The sentiments are Penny Black Banner Sentiments stamped in Stampin’ Up Early Espresso on Recollections White and layered on more Saddle and Juniper.  The embellishments are Close To My Heart Mocha Opaques, a flower of unknown origin and Fruit Punch Stickles.

This pair was another attempt to make masculine and feminine cards from the same printed paper.  I think it worked okay but the paper really is a little too feminine for super masculine cards.  I love this Penny Black sentiment set.  At first I was concerned about the waviness but once I ignore it, the sentiments work wonderfully.  I don't know how you'd use them if you tried to follow the shape of the wave.  The layouts are following many of the ones I've been using for this commission but they're tried, true and easy, and with this many cards, I can't imagine trying anything overly complex or fussy.

I hope you enjoy these cards and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Hats Off

 Hello everyone,

Today's post is a pair of really fun 'birthday' cards.

The card bases are Stampin’ Up Bermuda Bay.  The printed paper is Stampin’ Up Birthday Basics layered on Stampin’ Up Gumball Green, Summer Starfruit and Raspberry Ripple.  The sentiments are Stampin’ Up Curly Cute stamped in Altenew Pure Graphite on Recollections White and layered on more Gumball Green, Summer Starfruit and Raspberry Ripple.  The embellishments are Crafts Rhinestone Stickers.

This such fun birthday paper that it had to be used for this commission.  I didn't have much of it but enough for these two great cards.  I'm a big fan of using multiple company products but sometimes, a true Stampin' Up card is just the ticket.  I wanted to do masculine and feminine versions but these both turned out more neutral which is just fine.  The angled sentiment is not at all centered which irritates me but I'll live with it.  Both are still great cards.

I hope you enjoy these cards and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Butterfly Birthdays

 Hello everyone,

Today's post is a great paper of butterfly 'birthday' cards.

The card bases are The Paper Studio and Recollections White.  The printed paper is Echo Park Hello Spring layered on Recollections Black, Close To My Heart Baby Pink and Stampin’ Up Soft Sky.  The sentiment is Stampin’ Up Happy Thoughts stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White.  The embellishments are Diamond Stickles and Creative Impression butterfly brads.

I think this Echo Park paper makes the sweetest birthday cards.  There are tons of colour options however in these cards I chose soft pink and blue, and black.  I love how the black makes everything else pop! Both layouts are very simple and are 'tried and true'.  Both are just great results.

I hope you enjoy these cards and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Doggy Wishes

 Hello everyone,

Today's post is a fun 'birthday' card.

The card base is Recollections White.  The printed paper is of unknown layered on Stampin’ Up Handsome Hunter.  The sentiment is Stampin’ Up Happy Thoughts stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White and layered on more Handsome Hunter.  The sticker is Twin Seven.

With such a large commission, I had it in my mind to craft a few dog and cat birthday cards.  I found this set of stickers at the Dollar Store a while back.  I have some cat and butterfly stickers in the same style.  I think they're super cute and make for great cards.  The printed paper is rather neutral so is rather a blank canvas and perfect for adding this cute dog image.  It's a great result.

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

Gisèle

Summer Fresh Wishes

 Hello everyone,

Today's post is another very pretty 'birthday' card.

The card base is Recollections White Linen Texture.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Stampin’ Up Hello Honey and Almost Amethyst.  The sentiment is Stampin’ Up Happy Thoughts stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White and layered on more Hello Honey and Almost Amethyst.  The ribbon is Michael’s Sheer Creations.  The daisy embellishment is of unknown origin.

I really love this printed paper because it has me thinking of summer and I'm more than ready to be done with snow and cold!  The scale of the images are just perfect for cards.  I love the colours and was thrilled to find this rainbow organza ribbon in my stash.  The daisy button embellishment was another bonus find.  The coordinating colours seem much more stark/harsh in this photo than in reality but I know my photo skills are limited so you'll have to trust me.

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

Gisèle

Pretty Plaid

 Hello everyone,

Today's post is a lovely plaid 'birthday' card.

The card base is The Paper Studio.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on a white of unknown origin.  The sentiment is Stampin’ Up Happy Thoughts stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White.  The ribbon is American Crafts and the embellishment is of unknown origin.

This is such a lovely and simple card.  I think the minty green and white colour combination is wonderful.  I love the sentiment tucked into the ribbon buckle.  With the printed paper having only two colours (or shades thereof), colour coordination was straightforward so I focused on elements and layout.  The possibilities are endless but I'm quite pleased with the final results here.

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

Gisèle

Ladybug Birthday

Hello everyone,

Today's post is another fun 'birthday' card.

The card base is The Paper Studio.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Stampin’ Up Cherry Cobbler.  The sentiment is Stampin’ Up Happy Thoughts stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White and layered on more Cherry Cobbler and a white of unknown origin.  The ribbon is of unknown origin.

I never craft a ladybug card without thinking of my mother and I suspect she'll give me a 'thumbs up' when she sees this post. This is a really fun card!  Ladybugs are such happy insects.  I love the black and white checked ribbon.  I probably could have used a lighter red for coordinating but it's the worst I've ever done.  The layout is very simple but the results are great just the same.

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

Gisèle

A Cheerful Argyle

Hello everyone,

Today's post is another very happy 'birthday' card.

The card base is Recollections White Linen Texture.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Stampin’ Up Lucky Limeade and Dusty Durango.  The sentiment is Stampin’ Up Happy Thoughts stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White and also layered on Stampin’ Up Lucky Limeade and Dusty Durango.  The embellishments are from Multicrafts.

This is another cheerful card.  This argyle is pretty bright!  The layout is very similar to the card that I posted last Thursday.  I had a heck of a time figuring out if I was using Dusty Durango or Cajun Craze and I'm still not certain I've got it right.  I've had these studs for ages and have them in both silver and gold.  I can't find them any more but still have quite a few left, thank goodness.

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

Gisèle

Birthday Iris

Hello everyone,

Today's post is another great 'birthday' card.

The card base is Recollections White Linen Texture.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Stampin’ Up Blackberry Bliss.  The sentiment is Stampin’ Up Happy Thoughts stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White.  The ribbon is of unknown origin.  The pearl embellishment is from Michael’s.

I've crafted quite a few cards with this paper and they are all beautiful!  I chose the darker Blackberry Bliss for layering which is different from the other cards but I quite like it.  I drew on the dark purple depths of the purple iris and while it's not a perfect match, it does make all the other elements pop.  I'm not too fussy on the ribbon, which I've also had for eons, but it is glittery and works with the glitter on the printed paper.

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

Gisèle

Floral Birthday

Hello everyone,

Today's post is a very pretty floral 'birthday' card.

The card base is The Paper Studio.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Close To My Heart Baby Pink and a white of unknown origin.  The sentiment is Stampin’ Up Happy Thoughts stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White.  The embellishments are Crafts Rhinestone Stickers.

This is such a pretty card!  The printed paper is wonderful with the images a perfect scale for a card.  The layout, as with all the cards in this commission, is quite simple.  I've had these embellishments for a while.  I found them at the Dollar Store and was thrilled that there are tons in each package so just great value.  It's a great result.

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

Gisèle

Cheerful Birthdays

Hello everyone,

Today's post is a pair of very cheerful 'birthday' cards.

The card bases are Darice White and Recollections White.  The printed papers are of unknown origin layered on Recollections Black and a white of unknown origin.  The sentiments are Stampin’ Up Happy Thoughts and Delightful Dozen stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White ad layered on more Recollections Black.  The ribbons are both of unknown origin.

I love this yellow/white/black colour combination.  I suspect the printed paper is from the same source because the yellows match so closely.  I wasn't sure the striped and dotted ribbons would work with the checks but both cards turned out just fine.  Both layouts are very simple and the results are great.

I hope you enjoy these cards and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

More Birthday Stripes

Hello everyone,

Today's post is a great neutral 'birthday' card.

The card base is The Paper Studio.  The printed paper is from Stampin’ Up layered on Stampin’ Up Sahara Sand.  The sentiment is Stampin’ Up Happy Thoughts stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White and layered on more Sahara Sand and Not Quite Navy.  The embellishments are Close To My Heart Artisan Studs Durables.

This is a great neutral 'birthday' card.  I love these stripes!  The colours are perfect for a neutral card and there are a lot of options for coordinating solids.  The stud embellishments are on the large size for mailing but just fine for hand delivery.  The layout is fairly straightforward and one I've used many times before.

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

Gisèle