Pearled Happy Birthday

Hello everyone,

My sister's birthday is coming up so I've crafted her this soft and sweet card especially for her.

The background paper is Stampin' Up Mellow Moss textured with Sizzix Pattern 1, highlighted with Simmerz Angel Wings and layered on Pink Pirouette. The patterned paper is BasicGrey Porcelain layered on more Pink Pirouette. The sentiment is Penny Black Special Time stamped in Nick Bantock Charcoal Grey on Pink Priouette. The embellishments are Recollections Adhesive Faux Pearl and Kaisercraft Pearls.

My sister isn't necessarily a frilly, frou frou woman but she does have a soft romantic side every once in a while. This card is meant to speak to that side of her. I just love this card and I'm pretty sure she will too.

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

Gisèle

Hello everyone,

Today's card is for a colleague who has just finished cancer treatment. Apparently the hospital has a bell for patients to ring when their treatment is over. My colleague is too shy to ring the bell so we brought the bell to her.

The background paper is Stampin' Up Rich Razzleberry Designer Series Paper. The image, from IClipart.com is coloured with Ranger Adirondack Raisin marker, painted with burgundy Shimmerz and highlighted with Sakura Clear Star Gelly Roll pen. The sentiment is Gina K Block Greetings layered Night of Navy which textured with Creative Expressions Flourish dry embossing folder. The embellishments are Multicrafts Keepsake Memories.

I have to say this is not exactly my favourite card ever. This is the first time I've used a coloured a digital image and it took me four tries before I was satisfied. I obviously need to practise. My colleague's friend, who commissioned this card, is absolutely thrilled. I also know that these colours, with some additional sparkle, is a favourite of my colleague.

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

Gisèle

Birthday Greetings

Hello everyone

Today's card takes advantage of another of my flubs from this past weekend. I used Saturday's I {heart} 2 Stamp sketch as a jumping off point and last week's Fussy and Fancy Friday challenge was embossing which was the entire focus of the flub.

The paper is all BasicGrey Lemonade and vanilla Recollections. The image is embossed with Cuttlebug's With Love and painted with Shimmerz Blingz Gold Glimmer. The butterflies are Ranger Adirondack Watermelon and Shell Pink alcohol ink and Gold Mixative, applied to velum and cut with Sizzix Beautiful wings Embosslits. The sentiment is Annabelle Stamps Sentimental Bluebells stamped in Stampin' Up Melon Mambo. The flowers and butterflies are highlighted with Fruit Punch and Star Dust Stickles respectively.

I just love this girly, girly card. It has a vintage vibe which comes from combining the great BasicGrey patterns. If only men cards were so easy to craft. I still have a couple of flubs but I'm not certain how I could incorporate them into cards. I'll have to do some experimenting over the weekend.

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

Gisèle

Birthday Wishes

Hello everyone,

Today's card uses one of the flubs from my weekend of card making frustration. I've used Sunday's Card Positioning Systems sketch and today's My Time To Craft 'jewels' challenge when crafting this card.

The patterned paper is DCWV Pocket Full of Posies. The green layer is Stampin' Up Certainly Celery which was dry embossed with Sizzix Floral Expression texture plate. The lavender layer is Bazzill Bling. The image, Cuttlebug's With Love, was dry embossed on a Recollections card base and painted with Shimmerz Angel Wings. The sentiment is Lizzie Anne Say It In Script. The embellishments are Kiwi Oregon Raindrops.

This was one of my test pieces for last week's One Layer Wednesday shimmer challenge. I didn't want to just through it out so I repurposed it into, what I think is, a really beautiful card. I love pink and green together. It was also great to find paper and texture to match the image.

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

Gisèle

Lovin' It

Hello everyone,

I truly do love card making. It is my bliss. Unless it frustrates me. I've spent all weekend working on cards for this week's One Layer Wednesday Challenge which was to use shimmer, not glitter or bling. Well, I don't have any Shimmering H2Os, so I used Shimmerz and Shimmerz Blingz. It took me a couple of days just to figure out how to craft such a card. I eventually decided to dry emboss a card base and paint it with the Shimmerz, hoping to get the proper effect. The idea was sound, but the execution really was a challenge. I did have to add some bling as the cards just didn't work without it. Forgive me Susan. I'm posting the three best results of many, many attempts.

The card base is Stampin' Up Perfect Plum. The border is Cuttlebug's Frill dry embossing folder which was painted with Shimmerz Angel Wings. The top and bottom of the border was scored with a Scor-Pal tool. The sentiment is Stampin' Up Wonderful Words, stamped in white and heat embossed with Stampin' Up Clear embossing powder. The embellishments are Close To My Heart Pearl Opaques.

The card base is Stampin' Up Really Rust. The image is Cuttlebug's With Love dry embossing folder which was painted with Shimmerz Blingz Gold Glimmer. The sentiment is Impression Obsession Vertical Greetings, stamped in Stampin' Up Early Espresso and heat embossed with clear embossing powder. The embellishments are Multicrafts Keepsakes Memories.

The card base is Recollections. The image is Cuttlebug's With Love dry embossing folder which was painted with Shimmerz Angel Wings. The sentiment is Papertrey Ink Signature Greetings stamped in Nick Bantock Prussian Blue. The embellishments are Close To My Heart Bitty Sparkles.

These are certainly not my most favourite cards ever crafted but I don't totally hate them either. I will chalk them up as experiments that I won't necessarily try to replicate. It was interesting to see the difference between the coloured card bases and the white card base. I quite like the monochromatic-ness of the cards but I'm not convinced the Shimmerz was the best option even though it was the only one I had.

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

Gisèle

Vintage Greetings

Hello everyone,

I'm slowly moving into Christmas card mode. Today's card is based on Mercy's Tuesday Sketch. It also meets today's Creative Inspirations challenge which is Christmas in September.

The background paper is Creative Imaginations Tinsel Town. The red layer is QuicKutz Quick Stripz Garden. The green layer is Close To My Heart Ponderosa Pine textured with Sizzix Holly plate and highlighted with Shimmerz Candle Light. The sentiment is Expression In Ink 4-in-1 Holidays stamped on Close To My Heart Colonial White.

I picked up the Creative Inspirations paper pad at Michael's at the end of the season last year because I was really inspired by the vintage feel of the paper. I'm not really one to craft super vintage cards but the paper was really irresistible. I had not originally planned to highlight the holly on the green layers but I really like the effect of the painted Shimmerz. I think it works well with the vintage feeling I tried to create.

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

Gisèle

Embellished Label

Hello everyone,

Today's card is based on the most recent Embellish Magazine challenge which is to use the colours yellow, brown and coral as well as a label on your card. Now, this is not a colour combination I would normally gravitate towards but, I was inspired by a BasicGrey paper pad that recently arrived.

The background paper is Stampin' Up Chocolate Chip, textured with the Sizzix Flourish plate and highlighted with Candle Light Shimmerz. The middle layer is Stampin' Up Cameo Coral and BasicGrey Porcelain. The BasicGrey layer is also textured with the Sizzix Flourish plate and highlighted with Candle Light Shimmerz. The focal layer is Waltzingmouse Vintage Labels No. 1 and Say It With Style, stamped on Barely Banana, cut with the Spellbinders Label 1 die and layered on a piece of Chocolate Chip. The embellishments are Hero Arts Pearls.

I really love this card. Once I found that piece of BasicGrey Porcelain paper, the card came together easily. I don't think I've come across a piece of BasicGrey paper that I don't love. I also love the subtlety of the Shimmerz as it adds some depth and sophistication to a card that could easily have been rather flat. I will admit that I may have gone a tad overboard on the pearls but they are so wonderful and easy to use that once I started, it was hard to stop.

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

Gisèle

Stamptacular Pearls & Swirls

Hello everyone,

I couldn't resist Sunday's Stamptacular Sunday Challenge, which was to make any type of card incorporating pearl and swirls. I'm so glad I just had to take up this challenge.

The background paper is BasicGrey Lilykate. The remaining paper is Stampin' Up Shimmery White and Brocade Blue. The Brocade Blue layer is textured with Sizzix Pattern I. The textured swirls are highlighted with Shimmerz Angel Wings. The sentiment is Stampin' Up Whimsical Words and is embossed with Close To My Heart Silver Pearl. The pearls are Crafts Gem Chic from the dollar store.

I love this card. It is so delicate and beautiful. Perfect for a wedding or anniversary. I wish all my cards came together so easily. The BasicGrey paper is fast becoming a favourite go to paper.

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

Gisèle

Valentine 411

Hello everyone,

The sketch for today's card is from the Stamping 411 blog. I picked up some new Valentine paper that I wanted to use and this sketch inspired a great valentine card.


The patterned paper is Making Memories Glitter Bird Love Struck. There is also a scrap of Stampin' Up Rose Red that was textured with Sizzix Pattern 1 and highlighted with Shimmerz Blingz Gold Glimmer. The heart is Inkadinkado Hearts. The senitment is from Waltzingmouse.

I'm quite pleased with this card. It is simple and sweet.

Please enjoy and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Sympathy

Hello everyone,

I finally got the better part of my craft area organized and I'm exhausted. I still have some organizing to do but I have enough space to put a card together. I've prepared another sympathy card which feels rather proper as we repatriate five Canadians back from Afghanistan.

I used a Halcraft card base. The Spellbinder Lattice pendant and corner pieces were cut from a piece of Stampin' Up glossy paper to which the Ranger Adirondack alcohol ink technique was applied. The center medallion was cut from Whisper White and was highlighted with Shimmerz Pixie Dust. The sentiment is Stampin' Up Warmest Regards.
This is another clean and simple sympathy card and is, I think, very suitable.
Please come back to SPI again soon.
Gisèle

2009 Favourites

Hello everyone,

Today's card is inspired by the current Crafty Cardmakers challenge which was to use a favourite from 2009. I thought this would be soooo easy but actually finding a favourite was really difficult. I've come across so many fantastic cardmaking things this year that it was hard to choose something.

Again, I started with the standard Halcraft card base. I used the Stampin' Up Medallion stamp in Bermuda Bay. The medallion was highlighted with Start Dust Stickles. The sentiment is Gina K Designs Tags Lines.
This is the first time since I started with Stampin' Up in 2006 that I absolutely fell in love with each and every In Colour. I couldn't wait to get my hands on each and every one. I also fell in love with this stamp. I find it indescribably striking. It is one of the first things I bought out of the new Stampin' Up catalogue. Another 2009 favourite is Stickles. I love Stickles and am hard-pressed not to use it on each and every card. The other thing I fell in love with this year was clean and simple cards. It has taken me a while to be able to craft a clean and simple card confidently. I've said it before but I am utterly inspired by Susan Raihala's Simplicity blog and look forward to each and every email update. Finally my most favourite thing in 2009 has to be blogging!
There are a ton of other favourite things in 2009 but I just couldn't fit them into one card. I love anything Glamour Dusted what a spectacular technique. I love Shimmerz especially when combined with a nice textured piece of cardstock. I also love the effect created by Ranger Adirondack Alcohol inks. When combined with Glamour Dust, nothing beats it. I absolutely fell in love with white organza ribbon. I stretched that recycled piece forever and am utterly thankful I found a new roll of it. I found some pretty awesome stamp sets and ribbon this year as well - far too many to name, let alone put onto a card. There is probably a whole lot more favourites from this year I just can't think of it off the top of my head.
I hope you enjoy this card and my list of favourites, may it inspire you to take out your own favourites and get crafty!
Gisèle

Not A Card

Hello everyone,

Today's post is not a card but ornaments and is inpired by this past Thursday's Three Clovers Designs Challenge. Next to anything holly, I just love ornaments and have been making them for years. My entire tree is decorated with either handmade ornaments or one of kind ornaments from from my travels. Sometimes I'll buy an ornaments simply because it appeals to me.

Both of these ornaments are made with paper from my scrap box. I know there is some Stampin' Up Real Red, Very Vanilla and Whisper White in there but the rest, could be from anywhere. The two shapes are Spellbinders Nestabilities which I've been dying to try. Each layer is textured with a Sizzix texture plate - Holly and Berries, Flourish, Pattern 1 and Small Dots. I highlighted with both Stickles and Shimmerz. The silver ribbon is Holiday Ribbon Bow-tique from Michael's and a scrap from who knows where. I used dimensionals to attach the three layers. The star brad is from Multicrafts.

I really like these ornaments. At first, using the Nestabilities seemed a cop-out, but I really liked the idea of multi-layered ornaments. I really liked the way these cards came together and as usual, I see so many possibilities for other ornaments and cards. To be fair thought, I did need something quick and easy as I've still a million things on my plate this week.

Please enjoy these ornaments and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Sweet Romance

Hello everyone,

I've taken advantage of Karen Giron's Sweet Sunday Sketch to create the third of three cards that I was commissioned to make for a colleague. He is proposing this Christmas and will use each of the cards below in his proposal. The holidays are a very special time for them and this proposal is to be a complete and utter surprise. He asked for three holiday cards that offered just a little extra-special sentiment. How romantic is that!

For this first card, I turned Karen's sketch sideways. The paper is from Fiskars and Recollections. The images are both Gina K Vintage Borders embossed with Close To My Heart Silver Pearl. I found the placement of the images on Selma's card at Splitcoast. The sentiment is Stampabilities and it gives me the chills every time I use it. The ribbon is American Crafts.


This second card is one that I used for the Just Christmas and Birthday Cards blog design challenge. My colleague was very taken with this card and asked for cards with this feel. I figured if he liked it that much, I would just change the sentiment and he could have it. I used Stampin' Up Warm Words for the new sentiment, backing it with a couple of punched bits from my scrap bin.

This third card has more of the look and feel of what my colleague is expecting. I textured my card base with the Stampin' Up Sizzix Pattern 1 then highlighted with Pixie Dust Shimmerz. The cards combine my two current favourite techniques - alcohol ink and glamour dust - which I used on the three ornaments and a snowflake. I layered each ornament with Martha Stewart punched snowflakes. The sentiment is Stampin' Up Short and Sweet. The ribbon is white organza from Offray.

I really like all three cards. I tried to keep in mind Christmas romance and I think all three cards really convey that feeling without being three of exactly the same card.

I'm hoping my colleague loves them. Better yet, I'm hoping his girlfriend loves them. I'll be sure to keep you posted on her answer.

Enjoy the cards, and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

365 Wedding Card

Hello everyone,

I'm just full of cards today. I had a request for a wedding card and decided to use today's 365 Cards challenge to see what I could come up with. I like making wedding cards. Like Christmas cards, you can add just that little extra sparkle without worrying about going over the top.

The background paper is DCWV Pocket Full of Posies Stack. The white strips are all Stampin' Up Shimmery White paper which were textured with Sizzix Stampin' Up Flourish then painted with Shimmerz Pixie Dust. The sentiment is Stampabilities Changes Everything which was cut from a Spellbinders die. The ribbon, my favourite organza, Sheer Creations from Michaels.

I hope my friend thinks this card is "wedding" enough. I quite like the relative simplicity of this card. The challenge was just great!

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

Gisèle

Design Challenge

Hello everyone,

I've decided to really put my card designs out there and try out for a position on a design team. One of my favourite blogs, Just Christmas and Birthday Cards, is looking for three designers and even though I've no formal design training, I'm going to submit a couple of cards. The design call asked for two photos of favourite cards. It was too hard to choose favourites as, unless I totally mess up, I love all of them, so I decided to design two cards from scratch and submit those. My preference is making Christmas cards not only because I love the season, but there is no such thing as too much when it comes to Christmas cards. Frankly though, birthday cards come a close second because you can be so very personal.

I think this just might be my most favourite Christmas card yet. It is so elegantly simple. The card base is from Halcraft. The image is Hero Arts Holly Flourish. I inked the flourish with VersaMark and used my Tombow markers to colour the holly before I stamped onto the card. The flourishes were then embossed with Close to my Heart Silver Pearl embossing powder. I used Shimmerz Evergreen and Burgundy to highlight the holly leaves and berries. The sentiment, on a piece of scrap, is Stampin' Up Short and Sweet, embossed with more Close to my Heart Silver Pearl and punched with the Modern Label punch. The ribbon is Offray Lovely Gold.

The paper for this birthday card is all Stampin' Up. I figure when making a favourite card, use a favourite paper and mine at the moment is Cottage Wall. I combined the Cottage Wall with some Whisper White, Old Olive and Orchid Opulence. The Old Olive was stamped with Stampin' Up's Cornelli Lace jumbo wheel in Old Olive ink. I used a Spellbinders Nestabilities Label to cut the two top elements. The ribbon strip is Stampin' Up Rich Razzleberry in which the dots are highlighted with Star Dust Stickles. I also used the Star Dust Stickles to highlight some of the flowers in the Cottage Wall paper. The bow is Offray Lovely Gold. The brads are from either Michaels or Multicraft, I can't remember which but know it is one of those two. Finally, the sentiment is Stampin' Up Yummy in Rich Razzleberry.

I just love both of these cards. They contain elements that I find especially pleasing which when combined, just come together beautifully. Would that all cards worked so well. I don't know that I have enough experience to make the design team, but I sure enjoyed putting these cards together. Cross your fingers for that the Just Christmas and Birthday Cards design team likes them as much as I do.

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

Gisèle

Happy Birthday

Hello everyone,

I started out really liking today's card but in the end, I wish I'd just left it alone. I think it's a case where I fussed with it too much and I should have stopped when I was ahead. I'm not all that happy with the numbers stamps I used but these are the only numbers I have - I have to start looking for a better option. This is a challenge card from Stampin' for the Weekend Challenge Blog which asked us to create a card for a landmark celebration. I chose to do a 29th Birthday because you can use this number over and over and over.

I used My Mind's Eye Wild Asparagus paper for the background. The image is Stampin' Up Birthday Whimsy in Rich Razzleberry on Whisper White. The corners of this element was punched with the Fiskars Lace corner punch. The sentiment is Sweet 'n Sassy Birthday Greetings. The number is from an old set of my daughter's and I've no idea of the brand. The ribbon is So-Facile which I believe was a Dollar Store find. I used Shimmerz Burgundy and Gold Glimmer to highlight QuickKutz Embossing Frame which is also sponged with Rich Razzleberry and Soft Suede. I also used a bit of Platinum Stickles to highlight the image.

Not the worst card I've ever made (those will never be published) but not the best either. Sometimes you should just leave well enough alone!

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

Gisèle

Colour Challenge With a Cosmo Twist

Hello everyone,

Surprise! I found another irresistible challenge for tonight's card. It is from the 365 Cards blog which challenged us to use our two favourite colours. This is the second challenge that has involved favourites - I have so very, very many...

This season, more than any other, I absolutely fell in love with Stampin' Up's In Colours. From the moment I saw them, I knew I couldn't live without Soft Suede, Dusty Durango, Crushed Currey, Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry and Bermuda Bay. As I've only managed to acquire three of the six In Colours so far, I used eeney, meeney, miny, mo to decide which colour I'd use in this challenge.

The final choice was the Rich Razzleberry and white combination; but I like this card so much, I'm planning to make one with each In Colour. I used Sizzix Stampin' Up Pattern 1 to add texture to each rectangle which I further highlighted with Shimmerz Burgundy. Of course, I couldn't do a Rich Razzleberry card without using the coordinating ribbon. I used Spellbinders Pendants - Renaissance Hearts and Fleur de Lis in Stampin' Up Whisper White, highlighted by daubing with Rich Razzleberry ink and Shimmerz Burgundy, for the remaining elements.

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

Gisèle

PS - This is all the more pleasurable when combined with a cosmopolitan cocktail. LOL!

Copper Fleur de Lis II

Hello everyone,

I've another copper card for you today. I really liked yesterday's card as a first effort, but I think this is another beauty.

I used the leftover Spellbinders Fleur de Lis pendant pieces from yesterday's card. It was cut in copper that was 'smooched' in cranberry, denim and clover Adirondack alcohol ink. The background paper is Stampin' Up Perfect Plum that was textured with Sizzix Stampin' Up Pattern 1 which was then highlighted with Shimmerz Blingz Pixie Dust. The ribbon, which I'm not sure I even needed, is Offray Lovely Gold.

I truly love this card and I hope the colours show well in the photo. It is pretty striking and I want to thank Heather's Stamping Haven (http://www.heathersstamping.com) for sharing this technique at the Creative Festival.

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

Gisèle

Favourite Things

Hello everyone,

I have a really fun challenge card today. It is from the Daring Cardmakers blog(http://daringcardmakers.blogspot.com/). This blog was a new find for me but it looks like a real winner. The challenge was to use between five and ten of your favourite things in a card - I actually had to scale back! Ten of my favourite things in this card: Christmas, holly, ovals, the ribbon, the paper, embossing - heat and dry, gold, Shimmerz and Stickles. Oh and the card itself is representative of a gift and who doesn't love a gift!

The background paper is atd Holiday Cheer. All other paper is leftover Stampin' Up and Michaels. The ribbon is Ribbon Bowtique from Michaels. The sentiment is Penny Black's Banner of Joy, which I picked up so I could participate in the Penny Black Saturday Challenge (http://pennybfriendssaturdaychallenge.blogspot.com). I embossed the sentiment with Stampendous Tinsel Green. I used my Spellbinders Nestabilities to cut out the ovals which were textured with the Sizzix Holly and Berries plate and highlighted with Shimmerz Pixie Dust Blingz. The bottom oval is attached to the card but the other two ovals are attached with only the brad, making it more like a gift tag. I highlighted the berries on the background paper with Xmas Red Stickles. I also used a Close To My Heart Twinkle Brad.

I love everything about this card! I hope you enjoy it as well and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

And Sometimes It Just Works

Hi everyone,

I love, love, love this card. This photo doesn't do this card justice and I took a half dozen photos before choosing this one.

The paper on this card is all Stampin' Up - Cottage Wall (gorgeous) and Pale Plum. I used the Spellbinder Lattice Pendant. The ribbon is from Offray, Cosette with Gold. The background is textured with Stampin' Up Pattern 1. I highlighted both the pendant and the background with with Shimmerz Pixie Dust.

This is one of those cards that just kept coming together as I went along. I love it when it works that way.

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

Gisèle