Sympathy Triptych

Hello everyone,

Today's post is another lovely sympathy card.

The card base is Stampin' Up Brocade Blue.  The images are Stampin' Up Faith in Nature stamped in Brocade Blue on Recollections White.  The sentiment is Stampin' Up Teeny Tiny Wishes stamped in Brocade Blue on more Recollections White and layered on Brocade Blue and Recollections White.  The embellishments are Prima Say It With Pearls.

This is another favourite stamp set.  It find it especially versatile and I think I've used for just about every occasion of card (except Christmas).  I don't always use all three images at once but they do work well together.  I've had these pearls in my stash for goodness knows how long and I thought they worked particularly well for the colour and the occasion.

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

Gisèle

Warmly Feminine

Hello everyone,

Today's post is another beautifully warm birthday card.

The printed paper is Prima "Fairy Flora" Sunlight Daisies layered on Close To My Heart Smoothie.  The sentiment is cut with Crafter's Companion Die'sire Happy Birthday die from Close To My Heart Citrus Leaf.  The ribbon is American Crafts.  The card is highlighted with Diamond Stickles.

This printed paper incorporates some beautiful colours.  It's also got some great abstract floral images but as they're quite large, they don't show up on smaller cards.  It's doesn't really matter because it's such a beautiful piece of paper that it still works great.  The die cut sentiment is a little on the bright side but I was trying to coordinate with the brighter yellow-green colours in the upper right corner.  I thought the rick rack ribbon added a bit of a vintage touch and of course, you can never go wrong with sparkly Stickles.

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

Gisèle

Another For The Boys

Hello everyone,

I so enjoyed crafting yesterday's boy card that I decided to use another sheet of paper from the Prima Forever Young pad.

The printed paper is Prima Forever Young layered on Bazzill Bitter Chocolate and Close To My Heart Crystal Blue.  The sentiment is Avery Elle Brushed stamped in Close To My Heart Sunset on a piece of vanilla of unknown origin and layered on more Crystal Blue.  The middle layer was stamped with an alphabet/number stamp set of unknown origin with Stampin' Up Close To Cocoa, Creamy Caramel,  More Mustard and Really Rust, and Close To My Heart Ruby and Sunset on a vanilla of unknown origin and layered on more Bitter Chocolate.  The ribbon is Multicrafts.  The embellishment is a button of unknown origin, likely Dress It Up.

I bought this paper a while ago to craft cards for a girlfriend who has three boys.  With two in school and one going into daycare next spring, she's going to need appropriate boy cards and I'm thinking ahead.  I also really like that these papers are great for young or old with many being quite gender neutral.  The versatility obviously appealed!

I mimicked the background using an alphabet/number set that I've no idea how it ended up in my stash.  I hesitated over the ribbon as it's not something I'd normally add to a boy card but it's not too bad in the whole scheme of things. The helicopter embellishment remains a little off theme-wise but I didn't want to replicate another punch art animal so I settled.

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

Gisèle

One For The Boys

Hello everyone,

After all the girly cards of the past few days, I figured it was only fair to see what kinds of cards I could craft for the boys.

The printed paper is Prima Forever Young layered on a vanilla of unknown origin, Close To My Heart Crystal Blue and Bazzill Bitter Chocolate.  The sentiment is Stampin' Up Wacky Wishes stamped in Early Espresso on vanilla and layered on more Crystal Blue.  The punch art lion was crafted from a variety of scrap brown pieces.

I'm going to craft a few cards from this stack of Prima papers as there is quite a variety for both young and older.  Obviously, this particular card is meant for a younger boy and I think it works rather well.  I really love the whimsical characters.  It inspired the punch art lion (with the weird whiskers!).  I always seem to turn to this sentiment set when I'm working on kid cards because it just works so darn well.

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

Gisèle

Big, Bold & Beautiful

Hello everyone,

Today's thank you card uses one of the beautiful butterflies that I've had laying around my desk for months.

The printed paper is Prima "Reflections" Kashana layered on Stampin' Up Bravo Burgundy.  The image is Stampin' Up Watercolor Wings stamped in StazOn Metallic Gold, Versafine Onyx Black, Blackberry Bliss and Midnight Muse on Recollections Vanilla.  The butterfly was die cut with Sizzix Bold Butterfly Framelits and layered on Bravo Burgundy and Recollections Vanilla banners die cut from Sizzix Banners Framelits. The sentiment is Stampin' Up Teeny Tiny Wishes stamped in Bravo Burgundy on Recollections Vanilla and layered on more Bravo Burgundy.

After I first stamped this butterfly I wasn't sure how I'd end up using it, so I just set it aside.  When it came to crafting all these thank you cards, I was determined to use up some of these elements that I'd had laying around.  I couldn't believe it when I found this printed paper that worked so perfectly with the colours in this butterfly.  The style of the butter and paper work as well together as the colours.  It's so nice when surprises like that happen and the results are so beautiful.

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

Gisèle

Horsing Around

Hello everyone,

Today's post is another commissioned Mother's Day card.

The printed paper is Prima Forever Young layered on Stampin' Up Ruby Red.  The images are EK Success Horses affixed to Recollections Vanilla and layered on Early Espresso, Ruby Red and Recollections Vanilla.  The sentiment is Avery Elle So Happy stamped in Early Espresso on Recollections Vanilla.  The printed paper is highlighted with Cinnamon Stickles.

This special mother has a hobby farm and received this card from her son.  It's not particularly frou frou or feminine, notwithstanding the lovely Stickles.  The colours in the stickers dictated the rest of the colours used.  This card turned out so much better than I expected.  Stickers, though a great alternative to stamped images, can be tricky because they can look extremely odd.  What is great about this particular pair is that there is a left and right horse and they are facing each other.  Much more interesting!

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

Gisèle

Fall Sympathy

Hello everyone,

This is the last of this particular coloured DCWV card base that I've crafted for the charity card sale at the office this Fall.

The textured card base is DCWV.  The printed paper is Prima Forever Young layered on Recollections Kraft. The images is Stampin' Up Faith In Nature stamped in Really Rust on Recollections Vanilla and layered on More Mustard and Really Rust.  The sentiment is Stampin' Up Teeny Tiny Wishes stamped in Early Espresso on Recollections Vanilla and layered on More Mustard.

I couldn't do a Fall card without using this great Stampin' Up image.  I originally stamped this sentiment for yesterday's card but just couldn't make it work with the mosaic punched piece.  If I had crafted a more 'female' card, I would have added Stickles to the printed paper because all those dots are just perfect for Stickles.  I used a Pinterest post to get inspiration for the layered punch for the sentiment.  I raised it on a dimensional to give it interest and found I love how the image seems to flow right from the sentiment element.

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

Gisèle

Punched Perfectly

Hello everyone,

Today's charity card had a number of false starts before I got on track.

The textured card base is DCWV.  The printed paper is Prima Forever Young layered on Recollections Kraft.  The mosaic shapes were punched from textured Stampin' Up More Mustard, Creamy Caramel and Really Rust.  The sentiment is Annabelle Stamps Square Posies stamped in Early Espresso on Recollections Vanilla.  The embellishments are from Fabricland.

I first attempted to stamp images which worked really well with the great printed paper layer.  That was a frustrated endeavor and utter failure.  Given my frustration, I decided to step back into my comfort zone and leave the images in their cases.  It was a good call because these punched pieces against the patterned paper works great!  I popped up the sentiment piece to make it even more of a focal point.  Another great masculine card for the sale has been crafted.

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

Gisèle

Fall Leaves

Hello everyone,

Another Fall-ish charity card today.

The textured card base is DCWV. The printed paper is Prima Forever Young layered on Recollections Kraft.  The images are Stampin' Up Kinda Eclectic stamped in Creamy Caramel, More Mustard and Really Rust on Recollections Vanilla and layered on more Kraft.  The sentiment is BoBunny Sentiments stamped in Early Espresso.

While I was in an autumn mood, I thought using this marvelous leaf stamp would be ideal.  I'm not at all disappointed.  Using three different colours and doing multiple impressions with a single inking really worked wonderfully.  The colours are great and the leaves are perfect.  Considering the annual card sale usually happens in October, this card will be perfect!

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

Gisèle

Tones Of Autumn

Hello everyone,

Today's post starts using up the gold/orange-ish card bases from the box in my stash.

The textured card base is DCWV.  The printed paper is Prima Forever Young layered on Recollections Kraft.  The image is Stampin' Up Mother's Love stamped in Early Espresso and More Mustard, and Close To My Heart Sunset, on Recollections Vanilla and layered on more Sunset.  The sentiment is Rubbernecker Best Wishes stamped in Early Espresso.

The Prima Forever Young paper pad has some really wonderful kid/school graphics which is why I decided to make the purchase.  It also has some pretty generic patterns which are not specific to kids.  I decided to use some of the generic pages because they have those autumn tones that work beautifully with these particular card bases.  As I was putting together this card I was thinking it would be a good card to give to a man or for a man to give.  I didn't use any embellishments or glitter for that very same reason.

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

Gisèle

So Sorry

Hello everyone,

I go through more sympathy cards than any other so this card was crafted to augment my stash.

The printed paper is K&Co Brenda Walton layered on Stampin' Up Going Grey that was trimmed with a Stampin' Up Edgelits die.  The image is Hero Arts French Writing with Butterfly stamped in Close To My Heart Slate ink on Very Vanilla and highlighted with Sakura Clear Star Gelly Roll pen.  The sentiment is Gina K Fanciful Tage also stamped in Slate on Very Vanilla.  The ribbon is Michael's Special Value.  The embellishments are Prima Say It With Pearls.

This card took forever to come together.  I didn't have a clear idea of what I wanted to do so it seemed haphazard from the get go.  I'm not certain if I did the right thing with all the embellishments.  I feel I should have kept going by adding them to all the curves on the edge.  This pearls are actually a shape that I've cut apart in order to use the individual pearls.  They are very, very tiny, making them hard to use but work so well with the colours in the card, it was worth the effort.

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

Gisèle

Tulip Bouquet

Hello everyone,

Spring feels like it has finally arrived!

The printed paper is Prima Sew Cute layered on textured Stampin' Up Old Olive and Bermuda Bay.  The images are Stampin' Up Blessed Easter stamped in Close To My Heart Whisper ink on Very Vanilla and painted with LuminArte Sea Glass, Lemongrass, Fuzzy Peach, Persimmon and Mango Mamba Twinkling H2Os.  The sentiment is Stampin' Up Express Yourself stamped in StazOn Olive Green.  The embellishments are Doodlebug Boy Assortment mini pearls.

This Prima paper is really lovely but a bit of a challenge to incorporate into a card.  The stitching has a tendency to unravel where the paper is cut.  That said, it works perfectly with these beautiful painted tulips.  I am so ready to see my tulips blooming!

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

Gisèle

New York, New York

Hello everyone,

Today's card is suppose to invoke the impression of New York City.

The printed paper is atd Black Tie layered on DCWV Silky Smooth Neutrals.  The sentiment is Stampin' Up Curly Cute stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Whisper White.  The butterfly is Memory Box Vivienne Butterfly die cut from DCWV Glitter card stock.  The embellishments are TPC Studio Wedding Silhouette pearlized brads and Prima Say It In Pearls.

This is a marvelous paper with which to craft.  It has a lovely sheen and is smooth as silk, making it lovely to cut.  I wasn't super certain about adding the butterfly, which is not evocative of New York, but it is really glittery and the intricate design works great with the background paper.  A great card.

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

Gisèle

Little Bits of Pretty

Hello everyone,

This is the final card in this series for my girlfriend.  I didn't use every last bit of paper but I came close!

The printed paper is Stampin' Up Spring Fling layered on Stampin' Up Tall Tales.  The embellishments are chip board shapes of unknown origin, a Prima fabric flower and a butterfly that was stamped with Stampin' Up Flight of the Butterfly in Pretty In Pink on vellum.  The sentiment is Hero Arts Say It all stamped in Close To My Heart Juniper ink.  The embellishments are Dollarama Glittering Stickers.  The card is highlighted with Sakura Clear Star Gelly Roll pen.

For leftovers, I think this card is wonderful!  I love the yellow and pink together.  I just realized now, as I post this card, that there is a single yellow flower on the Spring Fling paper that just pops!  What a happy accident!

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

Gisèle

Beautiful Birthday

Hello everyone,

Today's card is for another colleague whose birthday is next week.  I wanted something really pretty for her.

The printed paper is Prima Fairy Flora "Sunlight Daisies" layered on Stampin' Up Orchid Opulence.  The focal element is So Saffron textured with Craft Concepts Flutterby embossing folder, highlighted with Mango Mamba LuminArte Twinkling H2Os and layered on more Orchid Opulence.  The sentiment is Stampin' Up Beautiful Birthday stamped in Orchid Opulence on Whisper White and layered on more Orchid Opulence.  The embellishments are from Dollarama.

This is my favourite paper ever!  I love the watercolour effect and the colours are so very, very beautiful.  This photo really doesn't do the card justice as it really is a lovely card.  Between the muted background paper and the lovely yellow shimmer of the embossing, it all works together so well.  I'm confident my colleague will love her card.

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

Gisèle

Good Bye Ginetta

Hello everyone,

My oldest sister's mother-in-law, for whom I crafted this card, has passed away.  Ginetta was so much more than my sister's mother-in-law.  She was another mother to my husband and I, and another Grandmother to my daughter.  She was family and so special.  Today's card was crafted for my sister and brother-in-law, while the next two were crafted for her daughters.

The printed paper is Prima Fairy Floral "Sunlight Daisies" layered on Close To My Heart Juniper and a shimmery vanilla of unknown origin.  The sentiment is Verve Forever In Our Hearts stamped in Juniper ink on Stampin' Up Very Vanilla and layered on more Juniper and shimmery vanilla.  The ribbon is Sheer Creations.  The embellishments are Oregon Raindrops.

I didn't want to craft anything somber for Ginetta.  She was always bright and cheerful.  Just being around her was a joy and our family will miss her.

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

Gisèle

All Natural

Hello everyone,

I had some leftover textured copper from the card I crafted yesterday and decided to use it up right away or it would likely sit in the scrap stash for ages.

The printed paper is Prima Reflections Kashana layered on Stampin' Up Soft Suede. The focal element is a copper sheet textured with Craft Concepts Dandelion Whisper embossing folder. The copper was then smooshed with Red Pepper, Espresso, Ginger, Oregano and Gold Mixative Ranger Alcohol ink, then spritzed with Tattered Angels Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Mist. The sentiment is Serendipity stamped in Soft Suede on Very Vanilla and layered on more Soft Suede. The embellishments are Close To My Heart Round Durables.

I used Glimmer Mist on the copper sheet but it really had no results at all.  I just wanted to try it to see what would happen.  At least I didn't wreck it.  I love the Serendipity sentiment.  I have a few sentiments and find them great as they have a great font and are a really decent size.  This is another very natural card with the browns and metals.  It is not for everyone.  I wonder how long it will sit in my stash.

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

Gisèle

Coppered Wishes

Hello everyone,

One of my girlfriends has a big birthday coming up and I wanted to craft her a very special card.

The printed paper is Prima Reflections Kashana layered on Stampin' Up River Rock and Soft Suede.  The focal element is a copper sheet textured with Craft Concepts Dandelion Whisper embossing folder.  The copper was then smooshed with Red Pepper, Espresso, Ginger, Oregano and Gold Mixative Ranger Alcohol ink.  The sentiment is Verve Amazing Wishes stamped in Soft Suede on Very Vanilla.  The embellishments are from Multicrafts.

My girlfriend likes antiqued tin decorative pieces.  Using the copper sheet and the metal flowers were pretty much a no brainer for her card.  I also kept the rest of the card very natural as it speaks so well to the copper.  The copper and alcohol inks is one of my favourite techniques.  It never comes out the same way twice. 

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

Gisèle

Happy Birthday M

Hello everyone,

It is a girlfriend's birthday today.  She's on maternity leave right now, her hands full with two little boys.

The printed paper is Prima Sew Cute layered on Stampin' Up Blush Blossom and Always Artichoke.  The sentiment is Penny Black Special Time stamped in Always Artichoke on Very Vanilla and layered on more Blush Blossom and Always Artichoke.  The embellishments are Close To My Heart Mocha Opaques.

I wanted to craft a really special and girly birthday card for my girlfriend.  She's now surrounded by men and deserves as much pretty as we can give her.  This certainly fits that bill.  I love the pinks and greens and thank goodness I found this old Stampin' Up Blush Blossom paper because it coordinates perfectly!

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

Gisèle

Fairy Floral Finale

Hello everyone,

As I blogged yesterday, today's card uses the last scrap of my most favourite paper ever.

The printed paper is Prima Fairy Floral Collection "Garden Party" layered on a shimmery copper of unknown origin.  The image is Hero Arts French Writing With Butterfly stamped directly on the Recollections card base in Stampin' Up River Rock ink.  The sentiment is Gina K Block Greetings, stamped in Early Espresso on Very Vanilla and layered on more shimmery copper.  The embellishments are Kaisercraft December 25th Jewels.

As this is my last scrap of "Garden Party" paper, I really wanted to craft something special and I think this does the trick.  A super simple layout, a few embellishments and a great background stamp.  I've got a couple of these 'word' background stamps and don't use them all that often.  I thought this was an interesting application and it is a little different than my usual.  I actually like it so much, you're getting something similar tomorrow.

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

Gisèle