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

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

Italian Christmas V

 Hello everyone,

Today's post is the last of the Christmas cards using the reproduction Italian paper.

The card base is Recollections Vanilla.  The printed paper is Grafiche Tassotti Italian paper layered on a vanilla of unknown origin and Stampin' Up Bravo Burgundy.  The sentiment is Flonz 807 stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on more unknown vanilla and layered on a strip of Bravo Burgundy and Offray ribbon.  The snowflake embellishment were punched with two different paper punches from scrap pieces of vanilla and gold and were highlighted with Cranberry Stickles.

This is not my most favourite piece of the Italian reproduction paper.  I find it a bit of a challenge to find coordinate colours and red is just weird for snowflakes.  The dark dots are actually jewel images which is also strange.  All that said, this isn't a terrible card.  I think the layered snowflake embellishments work pretty well as does the burgundy and gold strip.  

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

Gisèle

A Musical Birthday

Hello everyone,

Today's post is a card that I crafted for a girlfriend a couple of months back.

The printed paper is Forever In Time layered on Paper Accents Glossy Gold and Stampin' Up Early Espresso.  The sentiment is Crafter's Companion Happy Birthday Die'sire cut from more gold and layered on a Bazzill Vanilla that was textured with Crafts-Too Musical Notes embossing folder.  The ribbon is Offray.  The '50' is a Making Memories Sticker.

My girlfriend wanted a special 50th birthday card for a musical friend.  I love making musical cards!  The colours in this printed paper offer wonderful coordinating options.  Having a chance to use this musical notes embossing folder just makes me happy!  She loved the results as much as I did!

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

Gisèle

Christmas Wishes

Hello everyone,

Today's Christmas card post is an extremely traditional card.

The card base is Recollections Vanilla.  The printed paper is is of unknown origin.  The vertical border element is a gold of unknown origin cut with Martha Stewart's Gothic Arches border punch and highlighted with Golden Rod Stickles.  The sentiment is Cornish Heritage Farms Vintage Christmas Expressions stamped in Close To My Heart Ponderosa Pine on Stampin' Up Very Vanilla.  The ribbons are American Crafts and Offray.

I found this stamped sentiment in the stash of leftovers and it seemed only logical to use it for this series of Christmas card.  I thought the points on the border punch mimicked the points on the poinsettias.  I couldn't choose a ribbon so experimented with layering two different one and love the results.  A little splash of gold is perfect for a traditional card.

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

Gisèle

Simple Ornaments

Hello everyone,

Today's post is a simple sentiment-less Christmas card.

The card base is Stampin' Up Blackberry Bliss.  The image is Stampin' Up Merry & Type stamped in Blackberry Bliss on a white of unknown origin and layered on Paper Accents Glossy Mirrored Silver.  The ribbon is Offray.  The pearlized snowflake embellishment is of unknown origin.

This is a favourite image that turns out beautifully no matter what ink is used.  It also heat embosses wonderfully.  This layout is particularly simple with one layer.  I left a fairly large reveal and adhered the image panel to the very top of the card which, I think, adds interest.  I added the ribbon by weaving it through two holes, an application which is quickly becoming a favourite.

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

Gisèle

Delightful Dijon Duo

Hello everyone,

Today's post is a lovely sentiment-less pair which uses a favourite colouring/stamping technique.

The card base is Stampin' Up Delightful Dijon.  The image is Hero Arts Tall Flower stamped on Recollections Vanilla after being coloured with Stampin' Up Garden Green, Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, More Mustard and Rich Razzleberry watercolour crayons.  The image panel is layered on Bravo Burgundy.  The ribbon is Offray. The embellishment is of unknown origin.

The card base is Stampin' Up Delightful Dijon.  The image is Hero Arts Exotic Bloom stamped on Recollections Vanilla after being coloured with Stampin' Up Always Artichoke, Old Olive, Garden Green, More Mustard and Cherry Cobbler watercolour crayons.  The image panel is layered on Stampin' Up Really Rust.  The vanilla mini banners are embellished with Close To My Heart Mocha Opaques.

This pair of cards uses a favourite technique with a couple of favourite stamps.  I coloured the stamps (it only really works on red rubber) with the crayons, spritzed them with a little bit of water, then stamped on the paper.  You can't use too much water or the images will smudge and blur.  The final results are wonderful.

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

Gisèle

Rockin' Thanks VI

Hello everyone,

Today's post is part of a thank you card commission that one of my girlfriend's requested for her son's teachers in the spring.  I blogged the first five cards in April but then she needed two more.

The card base is Stampin' Up Going Grey.  The printed paper is DCWV Rock Star Stack layered on Stampin' Up Melon Mambo.  The sentiment is Stampin' Up Another Thank You stamped in Altenew Pure Graphite on a white of unknown origin.  The ribbon is Offray.

By the time my girlfriend realized she needed a couple more teacher thank you cards, I had to go back to the blog posts from April to make sure I didn't duplicate the printed papers.  This was a really fun commission and I hope the teachers were pleased to get them at the end of the school year.

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

Gisèle

Celebrating Vertically

Hello everyone,

Today's post is a lovely Christmas card as part of my girlfriend's commission.

The printed paper is Flonz Vintage Papers Happy Merry Christmas layered on Close To My Heart Pomegranate and a white of unknown origin.  The sentiment is Frog's Whiskers stamped in Stampin' Up Mossy Meadow on more white of unknown origin.  The ribbon is Offray.  The embellishment is of unknown origin.  The card is highlighted with Diamond Stickles and Sakura Clear Star Gelly Roll pen.

I'm really quite impressed with these Flonz papers.  Not only are the printed wonderful but the quality.  I think these vertical trees are cute and they were the perfect excuse to use a vertical sentiment.  The hardest part of this card was finding a red with which to coordinate.  I'm thankful for my obscene stash of paper!

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

Gisèle

Holly On Black

Hello everyone,

Today's Christmas card uses another beautiful scrap of holly paper.

The printed paper is Anna Griffin layered on Stampin' Up Basic Black and Bazzill green.  The sentiment is Stampin' Up Embellished Ornaments stamped in Altenew Jet Black on an unknown ivory and layered on more Basic Black.  The ribbon is Offray.

I have a number of sheets of this paper and always planned to craft a one sheet wonder but just haven't gotten around to it.  After today's card however, I'm itching to give it a go.  I so liked the black that I used on this past Wednesday's card I thought I try it again here.  The black really makes this lime green colour pop and there is enough black in the print, that it doesn't look off.  I really wanted to use some ribbon (I have tons) and decided on this black and white plaid even though the base of the paper is more of an ivory as opposed to white.  Unless you look really closely and critically, I don't think it matters over much.  I really love this card so expect a one sheet wonder soon.

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

Gisèle

A Little Shimmer

Hello everyone,

I know it's Spring but I thought I'd try a Christmas card to see if I can't keep the crafting mojo moving forward.

The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on a shimmery grey and ivory also of unknown origin and Close To My Heart Outdoor Denim.  The image is Stampin' Up Nature's Secret stamped in Outdoor Denim on Whisper White and layered on more Outdoor Denim.  The ribbon is Offray.  The embellishment is Crafts.

It didn't seem all that bizarre to craft this non-traditional Christmas card.  I love the ikat chevron pattern and the colours are really wonderful.  The ikat pattern also worked really well with the vintage style of the stamp.  I didn't originally intend to add ribbon but this particular layout works especially well for a great piece of knotted ribbon.  This ribbon is has an iridescent shimmer that worked perfectly with the purple, navy and teal.  A pretty good final result that didn't require hours of agonizing decisions.

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

Gisèle

Glittered Snowflake Trio

Hello everyone,

Today's post is another glittered ornament Christmas card from the series I've been crafting for the Fall charity card sale at work.

The card base is a shimmery green of unknown origin.  The ornaments are die cut with Memory Box Classic Ornament from Glossy white paper of unknown origin and Sizzix Delicate Ornaments Thinlets from glossy paper smooshed with Red Pepper, Meadow, Clover and Snow Cap Ranger Alcohol ink, then covered with DecoArt Glamour Dust.  The ribbon is Offray Sheerly Yours.  The embellishments are Crafts.

I hadn't intended to craft another trio ornament card but some of the leftover glittered scraps were just big enough for this snowflake die.  I managed to squeeze three snowflakes from various pieces and I love that they're all different colours.  The glossy bottom layers were die cut pieces that I used a few days ago.  I'm glad I thought to cut some extras because this card is just wonderful!

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

Gisèle

Sweeping Sweetness

Hello everyone,

It's been a busy and exhausting couple of days so I decided to take a bit of a blog break.  I'm back however with the final few charity Christmas ornament cards.

The card base is a shimmery green of unknown origin.  The ornament is die cut with Sizzix Delicate Ornaments Thinlets from glossy paper smooshed with Red Pepper, Meadow, Clover and Snow Cap Ranger Alcohol ink, then covered with DecoArt Glamour Dust.  The ornament base is a shimmery ivory of unknown origin.  The ribbon is Offray Sheerly Yours.  The embellishments are Recollections.

When I first started this series, I smooshed and glittered a full 8 1/2 X 11 sheet thinking I didn't have so many ornament dies and I'd be able to use the leftover for something else.  Well, I've finished using up all the bits and I've still got ornament dies I've not used.  That's rather scary.  I particularly love this layered ornament.  The sweeping lines are particularly lovely.  I added the snowflake/flower as an after thought and quite liked the results.  More ornament cards to follow!

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

Gisèle

Wedding Wonderful

Hello everyone,

I'm slowly working on the list of cards for my stash.

The printed paper is BasicGrey Cappella layered on Stampin' Up Always Artichoke and River Rock.  The sentiment is Inkadinkado stamped in Always Artichoke on Recollections Vanilla and layered on more Always Artichoke.  The ribbon is Offray.  The embellishments are Mark Richards 3mm gold metals.

I was in the mood for something very traditional for this wedding card.  This is one of my favourite wedding sentiments and always a 'go to' when I'm thinking wedding.  I also used a favourite and very traditional ribbon and some simple gold embellishments.  I also kept to a straightforward and traditional layout.

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

Gisèle

Painted Floral

Hello everyone,

The birthday of one of my girlfriends is coming up and I crafted this special card for her.

The printed papers are Silverthorne Designs layered on Penny Black Green/Blue Canvas and Close To My Heart Petal.  The image is Memory Box Tissue Flower stamped in Stampin' Up River Rock on Recollections Vanilla and painted with LuminArte Blue Ice, Chiffon Pink, Icy Iris, and Sage Twinkling H2Os.  The sentiment is Close To My Heart Happy Birthday stamped in Mossy Meadow and highlighted with Sakura Clear Star Gelly Roll pen.  The ribbon is Offray.

I love this printed paper.  It is actually wrapping paper that I found in a specialty stationary store.  I couldn't resist.  I chose this Memory Box image because I felt it it worked incredibly well with the paper.  Once I finished painting the image, I couldn't have been more pleased.  I suspect I'll use this image every time I use this paper.

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

Gisèle

Blue Heureuse Retraite

Hello everyone,

Today's charity sale card is a French retirement card.

The printed and solid papers are Generations Pretty Simple Primary Color Collection.  The sentiment is Bonnidee French Wording #1 stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White.  The ribbon is Dashes, Dots & Checks and Offray.  The printed paper is highlighted with Silver Stickles.

Like all the earlier cards in this series, it's a pretty simple and straightforward card.  I figured it would work well for either a female or male retirement.  It strikes me as rather impersonal for a retirement as I usually like to creative something more custom but I think this would do as a last minute, in a pinch card.

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

Gisèle

A Special Day

Hello everyone,

The next couple of cards were commissioned by a colleague whose brother is getting married.  One is for her and tomorrow's card is for her mother.

The paper is Stampin' Up Rich Razzleberry and Very Vanilla, and a brushed gold of unknown origin.  The Very Vanilla layer was textured with Sizzix Damask texture plate.  The sentiment is Stampendous Special Messages stamped in Rich Razzleberry on Very Vanilla and layered on more Rich Razzleberry.  The embellishments are Want 2 Scrap White Say It With Pearls.  The ribbon is Offray.

When my colleague asked me to craft these cards, she loaned me the wedding invitation which I used for inspiration by way of colour and texture.  I actually love the simplicity of this card even though it still seems very formal.  She was so pleased with the results.

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

Gisèle

Starburst Baby Boy

Hello everyone,

Every since my first starburst card I've wanted to try this technique on a baby card.

The printed papers are Echo Park Bundle Of Joy It's A Boy, BasicGrey Lauderdale, and Stampin' Up Comfort Cafe.  The solid papers are Bazzill, Recollections, and textured Early Espresso.  The sentiment is Stampin' Up Curvy Verses stamped on Recollections White in Early Espresso.  The ribbon is Offray.  The embellishments are My Mind's Eye Notable "Cute" enamel dots.

This card turned out better that I imagined.  Who would have thought that the BasicGrey would work so well with such traditional baby paper!  The colours are perfect and the busy pattern adds some wonderful interest.  I don't have a ton of baby stamps but this is one of my favourites.

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

Gisèle

Special Delivery

Hello everyone,

Back to the grey and yellow scheme.

The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Recollections yellow.  The chevrons are more Recollections yellow and grey and are layered on Recollections grey.  The sentiment is Heidi Grace Baby stamped in Stampin' Up Basic Grey on Whisper White.  The ribbons are Offray and Sheer Creations.  The embellishment is an Artemio sticker.

I'm much happier with this attempt.  I love the silver buggy sticker!  It works really well with the colour scheme.  The printed polka dot paper is part of a stack that I've had forever but don't remember where it came from.  I chose it because the yellow really had a grey tone and it coordinates very well with the Recollections papers.  I love polka dots for baby cards too.

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

Gisèle

Welcome Baby

Hello everyone,

I've finished the redesign series now it's time to replenish the stash and I'm determined to stick with my list.  I'm starting with baby cards because a colleague commissioned a card for her cousin.

The papers are white, grey and yellow Recollections.  The images are Inkadinkado Baby Animals stamped in Versafine Onyx Black.  The sentiment is Stampin' Up Short and Sweet also stamped in Versafine Onyx Black.  The ribbon is Offray.  The embellishments are TPC Studio Class Act mini jewels.

When we were discussing her card, she said her cousin had a grey and yellow colour scheme.  Not a favourite.  She also mentioned chevrons. Also not a favourite.  What to do?  Run with it!  I decided to play with the colours and chevrons and I'm not entirely unhappy with the results.  I'm really thankful for Pinterest as I found a number of options when it comes to chevron.  This particular one was rather labour intensive and the results are just OK.  I hadn't intended to add images but I had no other brilliant ideas.  In the end, I'm glad for them as it really does make the non-traditional colours and pattern an actual baby card.

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

Gisèle