Funky Floral Wishes

Hello everyone,

Today's post is a great funky floral 'birthday' card.

The card base is The Paper Studio.  The printed paper is PhotoPlay Be Loyal layered on a green Bazzill and Close To My Heart Blush.  The sentiment is Close To My Heart Happy Birthday stamped in Altenew Industrial Diamond on an ivory of unknown origin and layered on more green Bazzill and Blush.  The embellishments are The Paper Company Flowers and Frills Jewels and Queen & Company Snowflake Rhinestones.

This is not the type of floral paper to which I'm normally drawn but it is such a fun piece of paper I just couldn't resist using it for a card.  It was pretty easy to find coordinating solid colours and I didn't have to worry about trimming.  The flowers were great for adding a variety of gems, allowing me to use up some leftover packages of embellishments.

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

Gisèle

Sweet Birdie Wishes

Hello everyone,

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

The card base is Recollections Black.  The printed paper is Trinity Paper Arts Sincerely layered on a white and a deep red both of unknown origin.  The sentiment is Stampin’ Up stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White and layered on more deep red.  The embellishments are Queen & Company Marble Rox.

I'm dating myself but these birds remind me of the 'Partridge Family'!  I love how there are smaller birds nestled into the tails of the larger birds!  This paper was actually a sheet of 12X12 but I trimmed it to showcase the birds.  I love the colours which are perfect for this neutral card and really pop against the black card base.  Whenever I use a dark card base, I add a white panel on the inside for writing space because I don't assume the residence will have a white or silver pen.  I think it also make it easier for the residents to read.  It's a fantastic result!

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

Gisèle

Bravo Burgundy Duo

Hello everyone,

Today's sentiment-less duo card post focuses on two lovely sweet images.

The card base is Stampin' Up Bravo Burgundy.  The image is Hero Arts Native Grass stamped on Recollections Vanilla after being coloured with Tombow 098, 837 and 933.  The image panel is layered on a piece of Ranger Alcohol inked glossy paper and more Recollections Vanilla.  The embellishments are Queen & Co Chocolate Delight Ice Rox

The card base is Stampin' Up Bravo Burgundy.  The image is Hero Arts Delicate Rose Stems stamped in Altenew Permanent Black and painted with LuminArte Sweet Alfalfa and Jasper Red Twinkling H2Os.  The image panel is layered on a gold of unknown origin.  The embellishments are Stampin' Up Metallic Pearls.

I love the simple images on both of these cards.  They are on the smaller size so they really pop on these card bases.  I didn't even try to fill in the blank space but decided to let the images be the primary focus.  A few simple embellishments was all the extra needed for great results.

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

Gisèle

Autumn Birthday

Hello everyone,

Today's post is one of a series of 70 commissioned birthday cards that I'll be posting over the next few weeks/months.  I was going to post them all much later in order to take a bit of a blog holiday but I've nothing else to post at the moment.

The printed papers are of unknown origin.  The sentiment is Stampin' Up Curly Cute stamped in Altenew Firebrick on Recollections Vanilla and layered on a dark glittering brown of unknown origin.  The butterfly, die cut from more dark glittering brown, is Joy Crafts Floral Flourishes 6003/0006.  The embellishments are Queen & Co Chocolate Delight Rox.

Seventy birthday cards is probably the maximum I could handle in one commission.  It's a lot of cards.  I'm going to take advantage to use some I've the multitude of scraps pieces that I've got in my paper stash.  These are the smaller sized card bases which I find are great for scraps.  This project also gave me the excuse to go through all the scraps of white and vanilla that I always set aside for sentiments but then never seem to get around to using.

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

Gisèle

Finely Feathered

Hello everyone,

Today's card is the last of the cards I've crafted for my aunt and cousins.

The background paper is Ranger alcohol inked glossy paper layered on Recollections White and Close To My Heart Peacock.  The images are Stampin' Up Four Feathers stamped in Tsukineko Brilliance Pearlescent Starlite Black on Recollections White and die cut with Sizzix Feathers Framelits.  The sentiment is Gina K Framed Greetings also stamped in Starlite Black on Recollections White and layered on Recollections Mercury Glass.  The embellishment is Queen & Company Mermaid Marble Rox.

I knew I would use these feathers stamps when I started this series of cards.  Though I had a design in mind, it's rarely as easy to implement as I think it will be.  This is actually my second attempt.  The first try was pretty much a disaster when I tried to stamp the background with the feathers but it ended up terrible.  The ink smooshed and it looked like an afterthought.  I think leaving the background alone was a much better choice.  I had not originally planned to layer the sentiment but the Mercury Glass paper provides some heft not only to the sentiment but also the feathers hanging down.  A tough card to craft but not a bad result in the end.

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

Gisèle

Thinking of Butterflies

Hello everyone,

Today's card is for a colleague whose life is in a bit of a tangle at the moment.  I'm hoping these cards will keep her spirits from sagging.

The card base is Studio G.  The background is Impression Obsession Cover-A-Card Butterflies stamped in Close To My Heart Blush.  The butterfly is Marianne Design Collectables COL1317 die cut from glossy paper that was smooshed with a variety of Ranger alcohol ink and spritzed with Tattered Angels Dazzling Diamonds.  The image was stamped in StazOn Olive Green.  The sentiment is Rubbernecker Best Wishes stamped in Stampin' Up Early Espresso.  The embellishments are Queen & Company Irridescent Rhinestones.

This is one heck of a butterfly card!  I was playing with my stash of alcohol inks a few weeks back with some very interesting results.  I couldn't resist using these papers to  die cut some of the butterflies I also have in my stash.  In crafting this particular card, I decided to pull out one of the Cover-A-Card stamps.  I knew it would work well on this smaller, squarish card.  It's a little busier than I'd envisioned but knowing my colleague, it will be perfect for lifting her spirits.

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

Gisèle

Experimenting

Hello everyone,

Having a few extra days off during the holidays allowed me to play with a few things that I've recently added to my stash.

The background is DCWV All Chalked Up Neutrals stamped with Impression Obsession Cover-A-Card Small Paisley with Stampin' Up Illuminate ink and heat embossed with Close To My Heart Cocoa embossing powder.  The sentiment is Stampin' Up Another Thank You stamped in Soft Suede on Recollections Vanilla.  The ribbon is Michael's Special Value.  The embellishments are Queen & Co Chocolate Delight Ice Rox.

This cards experiments with so many different things I'm rather shocked I'm even publishing it.  I picked up this DCWV card stack without totally realizing it was 'chalk' paper.  I love the colours and thought it might be rather fun to see how well it worked.  I don't have chalk ink but there have to be other options - right?  I decided to give the Illuminate ink yet another try, thinking it may just pop nicely against chalked paper - not so much really.  I'm so very disappointed in the Illuminate ink.  I had hoped it would be a great way to add some awesome shimmer to my cards.  As I wasn't at all satisfied with the stamped background, I decided to heat emboss in the hopes of saving the image.  I wasn't quite fast enough so the embossing didn't take all that well.  I'm calling it 'vintage'.  It could have been so very much worse!

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

Gisèle

Happy Houses

Hello everyone,

I wasn't quite finished with fun Christmas cards.

The printed paper is Echo Park Paper Company Holly Jolly Christmas "Up On The Housetop" layered on Stampin' Up Chocolate Chip.  The sentiment is Stampendous Retro Christmas Script stamped in Chocolate Chip on Whisper White, highlighted with Sakura Clear Star Gelly Roll pen, and layered on more Chocolate Chip.  The embellishments are Recollections Stickers and Queen & Co Classy Red Rhinestones.

Sometimes, funky just can't be resisted with a case in point being these funky rows of houses.  They remind me very much of Whoville in the Grinch.  I looked through my stash of embellishments and was utterly delighted to find these great snowman stickers which work so perfectly with this paper.  I even had just the right number for each of the ladies cards.  The embellishments don't show up great in this photo but they really are a great coordinating red.

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

Gisèle

Hints of Holly

Hello everyone,

Today's Christmas In July card is all about layers.

The printed papers are Lawn Fawn Peace Joy Love.  The image is Inkadinkado coloured with Tombow 158 and 856.  The berries are highlighted with Wink of Stella Clear 999.  The embellishments are Eyelet Outlet and Queen & Co Shamrock Green pearls.

This pad of printed paper is the only Lawn Fawn product I have and I decided to use multiple layers of printed papers on this card.  I particularly liked that the white printed paper worked so well with the image I'd chosen.  I didn't have Tombow markers that coordinated really well with the colours in the papers but I felt overall, these colours were the best of the option I'd tried.  I notices that some of my markers, especially the nibs, are really starting to wear so it looks like I'm going to have to go shopping.

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

Gisèle

Sunburst of Butterflies

Hello everyone,

Today's charity card is somewhat outside of my comfort zone.

The textured card base is DCWV.  The printed paper is Momenta Patty Young Designs layered on Close To My Heart Smoothie.  The images are Stampin' Up Kinda Eclectic stamped in Barely Banana and Blush Blossom on Recollections Vanilla and layered on more Smoothie.  The butterflies were highlighted with Illuminate ink.  The sentiment is Stampin' Up Express Yourself stamped in Pear Pizzazz and highlighted with Sakura Clear Star Gelly Roll pen.  The embellishments are Doodlebug mini pearls and Queen & Company Shamrock Green pearls.

A girlfriend recently remarked that I don't often use images on my cards.  She's right, I really favour printed papers, layers and great sentiments.  I decided it was time to see what I could do with some of the images I have in my stash.  This particular Stampin' Up set was recently acquired because I loved the rows of dots.  I thought it worked exceptionally well with this printed paper.  The butterflies were a pretty easy pick as I've loads of butterfly stamps.  The sunburst though made me wonder what the heck I was thinking!  I'm not particularly fond of yellow as I find it so very hard to work with and have very limited yellow inks available.  In this particular case I'm very grateful for the retired ink pads I've not unloaded.  I love the results!

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

Gisèle

Swallowtail Sympathy En Français

Hello everyone,

I was so very thrilled with yesterday's card that I just had to experiment a little more with a french version.

The image is Stampin' Up Swallowtail stamped in Blackberry Bliss on Recollections White and layered on Ranger alcohol inked glossy paper and Blackberry Bliss.  The sentiment is Bonnidee French Wording #1 stamped in Versafine Onyx Black.  The embellishments are Queen & Co Marble Hypnotic Rox.

I have to say, this card is as awesome as yesterday's.  This stamp is almost indescribably impressive.  I don't think I have crafted a card with this stamp that I haven't just loved.  I decided to make this card vertical instead of horizontal just to see what it would be like.  As lovely as all the other Swallowtail cards.

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

Gisèle

Swallowtail Sympathy

Hello everyone,

I love this image and am having such a wonderful time with the alcohol inked paper that I thought I'd see what happens when I combine the two.  Not one iota of disappointment.

The images is Stampin' Up Swallowtail stamped in Blackberry Bliss on Recollections White.  The background is Ranger alcohol inked glossy paper layered on Blackberry Bliss.  The sentiment is Gina K Garden Silhouettes stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on more Recollections White.  The embellishments are Queen & Company Marble Hypnotic Rox.

Even though there are lots of blues and silvers in this paper, there is also a titch of purple and it works amazingly with the Blackberry Bliss.  Like so many of my recent cards, what I originally planned, didn't work out.  I was cleaning the stamp and accidentally sprayed the image, making the rest of the layer useless.  As I didn't want the image to be wasted, I decided to cut it out and place it over the edges of the card.  I'm so in love with this card, I don't want to put it in my stash.  That being said, I can always craft another.

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

Gisèle

Another Simple CASE

Hello everyone,

This is the second card that I CASED from Pinterest almost exactly.

The background images are Stampin' Up Gorgeous Grunge stamped in Rich Razzleberry on Recollections White and layered on more Rich Razzleberry.  The butterfly is Sizzix Bigz Beautiful Butterflies die cut from Rich Razzleberry.  The sentiment is Verve Amazing Wishes stamped in Versafine Onyx Black and highlighted with Sakura Clear Star Gelly Roll pen.  The embellishments are Queen & Company Iridescent Rhinestones.

My card base is bigger than the Pinterest card so I had to adapt for size but the results are just as wonderful as the original.  I placed the sentiment a little too high, as its hard to see against the background images.  I debate redoing the base or attempting a cover up but decided in the end this would do just fine.  I used my Sakura pen to try to make the sentiment more visible but it didn't make it pop as much as I would have liked.  Ironically, this is another monochromatic card.  I thought I was done but obviously not.

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

Gisèle

Birds, Balls and Boughs

Hello everyone,

After a short distraction, I'm back to posting the Christmas card series that was commissioned by colleague.

The printed paper is Kaisercraft Santa's List 'BonBon' layered on Close To My Heart Tulip and a textured green Bazzill.  The images are Stampendous Christmas Holly Set stamped in Sweet Leaf ink on Recollections White and layered on more Tulip and Bazzill.  The sentiment is Stampavie Holiday Wishes stamped in Tulip.  Both the images and sentiment are highlighted with Sakura Clear Star and Green Gelly Roll pens,  The embellishments are Queen & Company Shamrock Green pearls.

My colleague wanted only one more traditional card with a sentiment (all the rest were winter-themed, sentimentless) so I went to town with this one.  I love the multicoloured Kaisercraft paper as it allows for a multitude of layering options.  The images are all a great scale for a card and also offer a whole lot of options for the addition of stamped images.

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

Gisèle

Poinsettia Collection IV

Hello everyone,

Today's card is the fourth in the latest poinsettia collection I've been crafting for a friend.

The printed paper is BasicGrey Jovial layered on textured Bazzill.  The image is Penny Black Joyous stamped in Towbow and Faber-Castell markers on Recollections Vanilla and layered on Stampin' Up Basic Black and more textured Bazzill.  The sentiment is Hero Arts Holiday Sayings stamped in Versafine and highlighted with Sakura Clear Star Gelly Roll pen.  The ribbon is Crafts and Multicrafts.  The embellishments are Queen & Company Marble Wizard Rox.

I was so happy with the last card which I crafted with this image that when my friend asked for poinsettia cards I knew I would use this stamp again.  This time I decided to use a number of different colours on the flowers.  The unfortunate thing with this stamp set is that it's an acrylic and even though I've repeatedly conditioned it, I'm still not fussy with the stamped image.  I've even tried previous inking with VersaMark and it's still not great.  I'm not sure if the problem is mine or the stamp.  I'll have to keep playing with it and see.  I'll keep you posted.

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

Gisèle

Cute Congratulations

Hello everyone,

After all the neutrals of the last few cards, I was looking to craft something pretty!

The printed papers are Stampin' Up Cutie Pie.  The sentiment is Bonnidee French Wording #1 stamped in Rose Red on Whisper White.  The embellishments are Dollarama Glittering Stickers, Queen and Company Snowflake Rhinestones and Close To My Heart Bitty Sparkles.

This card couldn't have been any easier.  I found a scrap large enough for the background layer, added the sentiment and some sparkle and it was done!  I probably could have added a solid layer beneath the printed paper but the white on white works.  I love how the sentiment really pops in the Rose Red.  I could have used blue, yellow or green but it wouldn't have had near the same impact.

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

Gisèle

A Merry Little Christmas

Hello everyone,

Today's Christmas in July card is ultra traditional.

The printed paper is Echo Park 'Tis The Season layered on Stampin' Up Ridinghood Red.  The sentiment is Taylored Expressions Big Bold Christmas stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Whisper White and layered on Ridinghood Red and Lucky Limeade.  The embellishments are Queen & Co Shamrock Green pearls.

This was a really quick and easy card.  The background paper includes every possible Christmas image and is in a perfect scale for cards.  It was only a matter of choosing ink, paper and embellishments then finding a pleasing layout.  Easy, easy, easy.

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

Gisèle

Bold Butterflies

Hello everyone,

Today's card is another case from Pinterest that I've been dying to try.  It didn't quite work as intended but I'm very pleased with the results none-the-less.

The printed paper is Stampin' Up Cheerful Treat whose bottom edge was punched with a Retro Flower border punch.  The butterflies were cut from Pink Pirouette, Concord Crush and Lucky Limeade with an EK Success Butterfly punch.  The sentiment is Hero Arts Thoughtful Messages stamped in Elegant Eggplant on Whisper White.  The embellishments are Queen & Co Iridescent Rhinestones.

This card is so very bright and cheerful that I just can't help but be pleased with it even though the results are not exactly what I intended.  The top of the butterflies are suppose to form a border with the punched piece affixed separately to the bottom of the card.  I'll have to try again.  I almost used a birthday greeting but I've so many female birthday cards in my stash I really didn't need another.

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

Gisèle

Christmas Challenge

Hello everyone,

One of the things I love about my girlfriend's crop is that she always puts forward a really great challenge.  This is the card I crafted for the challenge.

 

The card base is Bazzill.  The printed paper is BoBunny Silver & Gold Collection.  The sentiment is Annabelle Stamps Ornamental Christmas.  The ribbon is of unknown origin.  The embellishments are Queen & Co Classy Red pearls.

I really loved the layout for this card challenge.  I had only brought Christmas paper to the crop so it was pretty easy to pull all the elements together.  I just love the results!

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

Gisèle

More Girly Thanks

Hello everyone,

I had one little strip of shoe paper that I just had to use!

The printed papers are DCWV Girl Stack layered on Stampin' Up Tempting Turquoise and a green of unknown origin (likely My Mind's Eye). The sentiment is Serendipity stamped in Tempting Turquoise on Whisper White, layered on Tempting Turquoise, and highlighted with Sakura Clear Star Gelly Roll pen. The embellishments are Queen & Co Iridescent Rhinestones.

I really could call this a 'candy striper' card with these pink and white stripes.  I love how the stripes make the shoe paper pop.  I looked at a number of different options but they didn't work as well as this one.  I've used a tried and true layout that I favour with a really bold sentiment.  Gotta love this girlishness.

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

Gisèle