About Advent

Hello everyone,

I've been working on Christmas cards for the past few weeks.  These are cards that I don't generally post because I sell them at a local Christmas store 'Tinseltown Christmas Emporium'.  That being said, sometimes I don't like the results or I have to 'cover up'.  My next couple of cards are reworked cards that I'll put in the Fall charity card sale at work.

The image and sentiment are Penny Black Christmas Wishes stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Stampin' Up Whisper White and layered on Lovely Lilac.  The image is painted with LuminArte Buttercup, Ice, Douglas Fir, Poppy Red, Wisteria, Mango Mama and Golden Opal Twinkling H2Os.  The embellishments are Eyelet Outlet Purple Enamel Dots and EK Success Shimmering Silver Dots.

It's not that I don't like this Christmas card, it's just that it's too purple.  I was thinking Advent when I painted the candle and I'm just not feeling the purple.  I also think the sentiment in no way evokes advent.  Though I tried to coordinate everything 'purple', it didn't seem to help at all.  We'll just have to see what happens at the card sale.

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

Gisèle

Best With Books

Hello everyone,

Today's card is another commission.

The printed paper is BasicGrey Oxford layered on DCWV Silky Smooth Stack.  The sentiment is Rubbernecker Best Wishes stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Stampin' Up Very Vanilla and layered on more DCWV Silky Smooth.  The embellishment/brad is of unknown origin.

The Chief Librarian at work is moving on to another position and I was asked to craft her a special card.  Nothing could work better for this card than this piece of BasicGrey!  All those books!  I knew I'd use this piece of paper from the moment I was asked to make this card.  Given how busy the rows of books are, I decided to keep the rest of the card on the simple side.  I offset the sentiment and the embellishment so they wouldn't get lost against the paper.  I originally added a ribbon to this card but it was actually too much.  Sometimes, less is more, a mantra I'm always telling myself and when I actually listen to myself, I'm generally quite pleased with the results.

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

Gisèle

Oh Oscar Baby!

Hello everyone,

Today's card was commissioned by a colleague and it's just fun!

The printed paper is BoBunny Hip Hip Hooray Primary Stripe layered on a piece of My Mind's Eye from an unknown collection.  Oscar was built from a variety of punched scraps of unknown origin.  The garbage can was crafted from a shimmery grey of unknown origin and textured with a Quickutz Stripes Label embossing folder.  The sentiment is Stampin' Up Teeny Tiny Wishes stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Whisper White.

My colleague commissioned this card for a friend who is having a baby boy who will be named Oscar.  The name is prompting an overall Oscar theme for this yet-to-be born baby boy.  My colleague asked if there was a way to craft a card along the Oscar theme and I found this post via Pinterest, which was exactly what I had in mind.  It is extremely rare for me to craft this type of card but I couldn't think of any other way to craft Oscar!  This was so much fun, I think I'd like to try some of the other Sesame Street punched characters and other ideas shared by Patti Lee.  I love this unusual baby card!

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

Gisèle

A Conundrum

Hello everyone,

A few weeks ago, a friend of ours turned 50.  Her husband organized a surprise birthday party and got her, but good!  Today's post is the card I crafted for her milestone birthday.

The printed paper is Close To My Heart Miracle layered on Sweet Leaf and Crystal Blue.  The images are Stampin' Up Sweet Summer stamped in Sweet Leaf and Baja Breeze on Recollections Vanilla.  The sentiment is Close To My Heart Joyful Birthday stamped in Nick Bantock Charcoal Grey and highlighted with Sakura Clear Star Gelly Roll pen.  The ribbon is of unknown origin.  The embellishments are Kaisercraft Denim pearls.

This particular friend doesn't ever come across as particularly girly but I've never met someone who was as engaging, loyal or supportive.  She makes me smile every time I see her.  I thought this card was a great mix of soft and sweet but strong and solid all at the same time.  A bit of a conundrum, much like our friend.

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

Gisèle

Happy Birthday Girlfriend!

Hello everyone,

My best friend's birthday was in early September and though I got her card to her on time, I wasn't able to post it until now.  It was carefully crafted with her in mind!

The printed paper is Glick W205 layered on a atd green and a shimmery Bazzill lilac.  The butterfly is Marianne Collectables COL1318 stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Stampin' Up Whisper White and painted with LuminArte Blushing Rose, Moonbeams, Sea Grass and Wisteria Twinkling H2Os.  The sentiment is Close To My Heart Joyful Birthday.

Every part of this card was specially crafted with my girlfriend in mind.  From the elements to the colours, all of it speaks to something about this special lady!  She is an amazing woman and a great friend and I really wanted to honor her with something unique and heartfelt.  I'm lucky to have her in my corner!

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

Gisèle

Happy Birthday Sister!

Hello everyone,

Today's post is for the birthday card I crafted for my sister whose birthday is actually today!

The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on a red, also of unknown origin, and Gina K Sweet Corn.  The images are Close To My Heart You Are Beautiful stamped in Stampin' Up Crumb Cake, River Rock and Ruby Red on Very Vanilla.  The sentiment is Woodware Going To Seed.

My sister has a beautiful print of poppies in her home.  This paper and the stamped images reminded me of that print.  I knew when I saw this paper that I would use it for one of her cards.  This stamp is a two-step image which I'm so fond of at the moment.  To add some additional interest to the stamped image, I decide to try multiple impressions after only one inking.  Except for the flower in the top left, I think it was a very effective technique.  Even though that top left image is really dark, it still works great!

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

Gisèle

Circles And Banners

Hello everyone,

This is a card leftover from the French series I just finished. I'd planned to craft a neutral French anniversary card but that was yesterday's card and frankly, I have had enough of the Bonnidee sentiments and wanted to use something from this set I'd bought a few months back.

The printed paper is Cloud 9 Design Sparkle Celebration Dots - Cocoa Mist layered on DCWV Silky Smooth Stack.  The sentiment is Just Rite Large Fancy Sentiments stamped in Stampin' Up Chocolate Chip on Whisper White and layered on textured Bazzill and more DCWV Silky Smooth Stack.  The brad is of unknown origin, likely Multicrafts.

This Cloud 9 paper has a touch of glitter so I thought it rather inspired to pair it with some very smooth and some very textured paper.  It makes for some rather interesting contrasts.  I made these banners using a square punch.  I wish I'd made the bottom layers longer, instead of shorter, than the sentiment layer as the overlap hides too much of the bottom banners.  This is still a lovely card that I'll add to the card sale stock.

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

Gisèle