Fabulously Feathered

Hello everyone,

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

The card base is The Paper Studio.  The printed paper is Kaisercraft “Elegance Collection” Boho layered on Stampin’ Up Tranquil Tide.  The sentiment is Stampin’ Up Birthday Blossoms stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White and layered on more Tranquil Tide.  The card is highlighted with Star Dust Stickles.

This is a piece of printed paper I've had in my stash for a long time.  I just couldn't resist these beautiful feathers!  I love the images against the gold background.  I've used this sentiment many panel and have often coloured the banner but in this case, I liked it well enough without any colour.  The feathers are so beautiful that I just had to use it with the 'beautiful' birthday sentiment.

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

Gisèle

Pretty Pink Wishes

Hello everyone,

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

The card base is Recollections Vanilla Linen Texture.  The printed paper is g.c.d. Studios “Rose Colored Glasses” Tinted Flowers layered on Stampin’ Up Powder Pink.  The sentiment is Altenew Tulip stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections Vanilla and layered on more Powder Pink.  The ribbon is Close To My Heart Cranberry Organza.  The flower embellishment is of unknown origin and is highlighted with Fruit Punch Stickles.

I think this is such a lovely 'birthday' card.  All that pink is so very feminine.  It's always fun to craft a monochromatic card!  I think the font of the sentiment works really well with the images and the black ink really makes it stand out.  The ribbon and gem flower are the perfect anchor for the sentiment panel.  It's a wonderful result!

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

Gisèle

Fancy Feathers

Hello everyone,

Today's post is a really sparkly 'birthday' card.

The card base is The Paper Studio.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Worldwin Silver Ore.  The sentiment is Flonz stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White and layered on a purple Bazzill.  The card is highlighted with Lime Green Stickles.

This is an awesome card! The pattern is wonderful with the rows of feathers being the perfect scale for a card.  There are tons of sparkly bits to catch your eye and send you to a happy place!  The purple/green colour combination is just wonderful.  I decided to layer with some burnished silver which was a great choice with the white of the feathers.  It's a great result.

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

Gisèle

The Gift of You II

Hello everyone,

Today's post is the second 'Gift of You' 'birthday' card in this series.

The card base is Recollections White Linen Texture.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Stampin’ Up Rich Razzleberry.  The sentiment is Verses Gift of You stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White and layered on more Rich Razzleberry.  The flower embellishment is of unknown origin and is highlighted with Sequins Stickles.

This is another sheet of printed paper with images that are the perfect scale for cards.  It pairs perfectly with Stampin' Up's Rich Razzleberry!  The blank space in the bottom left of the sentiment was perfect for adding this rhinestone flower! It's a great result!

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

Gisèle

Lots of Prezzies

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 Bermuda Bay.  The sentiment is Papercrafts General Sentiments stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections Vanilla and layered on more Bermuda Bay.  The flower embellishments are of unknown origin and are highlighted with Raspberry Tart Stickles.

This is another no-brainer printed paper for birthday cards but like the party hat paper, I'm not entirely fussy about it.  The colours are rather muted and the various shapes are kind of boring.  There were lots of coordinating colour options. All that said, the images are a good scale for a card and because they're not perfectly aligned, the trimming wasn't so vital for the overall results.  I used a sentiment with a fun font and once I added the shiny flowers with a bit of Stickle, I was very pleased with the results.

I hope you enjoy this card 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

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

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 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

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

Butterfly Birthdays

 Hello everyone,

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

The card bases are Craft Smith and Recollections Vanilla Linen Texture.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on a purple Recollections and a bright blue of unknown origin and, a moss green a dark tan both of unknown origin.  The sentiments are Stampin’ Up Here’s a Card stamped in Altenew Pure Graphite on Recollections Vanilla and, Close To My Heart Happy Birthday stamped in Stampin’ Up Early Espresso on an ivory of unknown origin.  The sentiments are layered on more purple, bright blue, moss green and dark tan.  The embellishments are Starry Night, Diamond and Waterfall Stickles and purple brads of unknown origin.

I just love butterfly paper but this isn't my favourite.  I find the beige background rather blah though the colours of the butterflies are fine.  I hadn't even realized I'd chosen this paper twice when I was preparing the basic elements.  Both vertical cards are very similar but using different coordinating solids selected from the printed paper.  These are both very simple and standard layouts with the final results coming together quite quickly.

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

Gisèle

Sweet Thoughts

 Hello everyone,

Today's post is a sweet 'thinking of you' card.

The card base is The Paper Studio.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Stampin' Up Wild Wasabi and a white of unknown origin.  The sentiment is Hero Arts Everyday Sayings stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White and layered on more Wild Wasabi.  The card is highlighted with Patina Stickles.

I love this fresh and simple floral card.  The different shades of green are lovely as is all the white space.  I love the sentiment placed on the angle!  The Patina Stickles works wonderfully with the different greens.  This is a layout I could easily and often repeat. It's a great result.

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

Gisèle

A Colorful Snowfall

 Hello everyone,

Today's post is the last of the French Christmas cards I crafted for a colleague.

The card base is Stampin' Up Cherry Cobbler.  The printed paper is Echo Park Celebrate Christmas layered on a white of unknown origin.  The sentiment is Bonnidee C'est Noël stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White and layered on more Cherry Cobbler.  The card is highlighted with Star Dust Stickles.

This is another wonderful card.  I love having an opportunity to use a vertical sentiment and having a French one is fantastic.  Again, the layout is very simple.  The snowflakes on the printed paper are the perfect scale for a card and facilitate the easy placement of the sentiment.  I debated using a kraft coloured card base but it likely would have been just too much brown.  This is so much more jolly!

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

Gisèle 

It's Christmas

 Hello everyone,

Today's post is another lovely French Christmas card.

The card base is Recollections Vanilla.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Stampin' Up Bravo Burgundy.  The sentiment is Bonnidee C'est Noël stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on a vanilla of unknown origin and layered on more Bravo Burgundy.  The card is highlighted with Gold Stickles.

This is a very simple, simple card thanks to the great printed paper.  I love the folk art style of the paper which really allows for crafting a straightforward card.  I trimmed the paper carefully in order to keep the scene aspect intact.  I love have the oval of the sentiment trimmed to align on the right side.  It works well in the design 'sweet spot' without detracting from the scene.  It's a great result!

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

Gisèle

Merry Christmas!

 Merry Christmas everyone!

Today's post is yet another lovely Christmas card.

The card base is Recollections White.  The printed papers are American Crafts layered on a green of unknown origin and a red Core'dinations.  The sentiment is from Wish stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White and layered on more green and red.  The card is highlighted with Holly Stickles.

Yet another striped card!  I couldn't help it!  These are awesome papers and I couldn't just choose one.  I love these vehicles!  The sentiment is perfect in the design 'sweet spot'.  The Stickles adds just that little bit of sparkle which just makes a Christmas card as far as I'm concerned.

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

Gisèle

Blue Plaid Christmas

 Hello everyone,

Today's post is another great Christmas card.

The card base is Recollections White.  The printed papers are Echo Park Celebrate Winter layered on Stampin' Up Night of Navy.  The sentiment is Echo Park Merry Christmas die set cut from more Night of Navy.  The card is highlighted with Waterfall, Diamond and Silver Stickles.

I just love a blue Christmas card!  This plaid makes it even more perfect!  I layered the sentiment with some scrap white card stock to add a little more depth.  This was a very easy layout though I could have placed the 'Merry' a little straighter.  The little dots of Stickles are great, adding a little bit of glitter without going overboard.  It's a great result.

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

Gisèle

Christmas Joy

 Hello everyone,

Today's post is a very joyful Christmas card.

The card base is Recollections White.  The printed papers are Bazzill Countdown to Christmas layered on Recollections Black.  The sentiment is from Wish stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White.  The card is highlighted with Xmas Red Stickles.

I had a bit of thing for stripes happening when I crafted these last few Christmas cards.  I was playing with this set of Wish stamps which are really quite wonderful.  This card was given to our neighbors who both retired this year and got a new grandchild.  It is going to be a very joyous year for them!

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

Gisèle

More Christmas Gifts

 Hello everyone,

Today's post is another great Christmas card.

The card base is Recollections White.  The printed papers are American Crafts Deck the Halls layered on Stampin' Up Basic Grey and a red of unknown origin.  The image/sentiment is from Wish stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White and layered on more red.  The card is highlighted with Xmas Red Stickles.

I'm really impressed with this card.  I wasn't sure about the grey at first but it just came together beautifully.  My neighbor twisted my arm to pick up this set of Wish stamps and I'm rather impressed with this one.  They are very detailed so I think Versafine is a must to get a good impression.  The pops of red are just awesome!  It's a fantastic result!

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

Gisèle

Christmas Critters

 Hello everyone,

Today's post is another really fun Christmas card.

The card base is Recollections White.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Darice Great White and a dark pink Recollections.  The sentiment is Flonz 808 stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on more Darice Great White and layered on more dark pink.  The card is highlighted with Sakura Clear Star Gelly Roll pen and Silver Stickles.

I couldn't resist the critters on this printed paper! I trimmed it carefully and used this particular layout so as not to cover either the dog or the bear.  The holly wreaths just added to my joy!  I also like the pink accents which lead me to choose the solid pink for layering.  It's an even better result than I'd imagined!

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

Gisèle