Boots & Hats

Hello everyone,

Today's post is one of the most unusual wedding cards I've ever had the pleasure to craft.

The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on a grey also of unknown origin.  The images are Rusty Pickle Git R' Dun and TPC Studio Hugs & Kisses stamped in Close To My Heart Dutch Blue on vellum and a white of unknown origin and highlighted with Sakura Clear Star Gelly Roll pen.  The sentiment is Fiskars Just Married Quotes also stamped in Dutch Blue.  The embellishments is Recollections.

This wedding was all cowboy boots and hats but still having a fair bit of formal flourish.  I replicated their wedding invitation in regards to the elements but added a few bits to make it an I SPI card.  The invitation came in a vellum envelop and I really wanted to incorporate it.  I love the result but it didn't photograph worth beans.

The wedding was the most beautiful I've ever had the honor to attend.  They loved the card too!

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

Gisèle

Fabulous Floral

Hello everyone,

Today's post is the card I crafted for my eldest sister who celebrated her birthday last week.

The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on a rust red of unknown origin (likely Bazzill) and Stampin' Up Wisteria Wonder.  The image is Memory Box Tissue Flower stamped in StazOn Olive Green on Recollections White and layered on more rust red and Close To My Heart New England Ivy.  The image was painted with LuminArte Dreamsicle, Olive Vine and Rose Gold Twinkling H2Os.  The sentiment is Stampin' Up Perfect Punches also stamped in Olive Green on Recollections White.  The embellishments are Recollections Circus Epoxy Stickers.

My daughter boards with my sister during the university school year and we are so grateful.  I wanted to craft a special card that would really show our appreciation.  Whenever I'm crafting a card for my sister, I look at poppy images because she has a poppy print that is utterly gorgeous in her home.  This flower reminds me of a poppy.  I attempted to paint it while keeping the 'tissue' aspect intact.  I think I succeeded fairly well.  I wouldn't normally pair purple and rust together but it worked in the printed paper so I felt it would be a pretty safe colour combination.  I could have layered with more purple instead of green but I wanted the image to pop and the green does that.

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

Gisèle

Happy Hubby

Hello everyone,

Last week we celebrated hubby's birthday.  I think this card is one the my favourites.

The image is a Sandylion Essentials Golfing sticker affixed to Stampin' Up Whisper White and layered on a silver of unknown origin and Basic Black.  The sentiment is Rubbernecker Best Wishes stamped in Versafine Onyx Black.  The banners were punched from a variety of scrap pieces of various, unknown origin.

I think I love this card so much because it's very simple with just little hints of colour that coordinate with the image.  It came together pretty easily once I'd figured out the elements.  The hardest part was selecting a sentiment that fit because I, rather dumbly, placed the sticker before stamping the sentiment.  It's a good thing I've a number of 'happy birthday' sentiments to choose from.  This sentiment not only fit the space but the angle of the font is speaks remarkably well to the angle of the golf club.  The type of happy accident that I love.

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

Gisèle

PS - Hubby loved the card!

Retirement Wishes

Hello everyone,

One of my colleagues is retiring in a few weeks and I crafted this special card for him.

The printed paper is TaDa Creative Studios Moscow layered on Stampin' Up Lucky Limeade and Tempting Turquoise.  The images are TaDa Creative Studios Moscow Domes stamped in Close To My Heart Outdoor Denim on Whisper White and layered on more Tempting Turquoise.  The sentiment is Stampin' Up Wild About Flowers stamped in Outdoor Denim on Whisper White and layered on Lucky Limeade.  The embellishments are Kiwi and Sea Blue Oregon Raindrops.

I absolutely love this TaDa paper.  The colours and the shapes are so utterly appealing.  All that said, it isn't very easy to use as I'm utterly loathe to cover up any more of the graphic than I have to.  I also love that there are small and simple coordinating stamps.  As this card is for a male colleague, I wanted to make it a little on the masculine side.  There is no glitter, the layout is pretty simple and the embellishments act as little magnifiers.  I think this works just fine.

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

Gisèle

Flourished Foil Holly

Hello everyone,

Finally, the last card in the holly paper one sheet wonder.  I'm still amazed by the number of cards wrought from this one sheet of 12 X 12 paper.

The printed paper is Stampin' Up Home For Christmas layered on Bazzill Cardinal red, Very Vanilla and Mossy Meadow.  The images are Creative Expression Filigree Holly die cut from Fancy Pants Red Foiled paper and DCWV Foiled cardstock.  The berries are highlighted with a red Sakura Gelly Roll pen.  The sentiment is Recollections Christmas stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Very Vanilla and layered on more Bazzill Cardinal red.

Another square piece of printed paper and another challenge to, interestingly, craft it into a card.  I decided to add some interest by sandwiching a piece of Very Vanilla in the layers.  It adds another bit of interest and I can't believe I waited until the final card to do it.  I had so much success with yesterday's filigree bell that I wanted to try another die.  It took me three tries to actually get these holly leaves to work.  As the foiled cardstock is quite thick, it needed a shim, the precision plate, and a couple of passes through the Big Shot to fully cut.  I didn't do that the first time.  The second time, I placed the paper the wrong way down and the leaves came out weird looking.  It was worth the effort and frustration.

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

Gisèle

Cheerful Bell

Hello everyone,

Only a couple of more cards to post in this recent holly one sheet wonder series.

The printed paper is Stampin' Up Home For Christmas layered on Bazzill Cardinal red and Mossy Meadow.  The sentiment is Penny Black Christmas Cheer stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Very Vanilla and layered on more Mossy Meadow.  The image is Cottage Cutz Filigree Ornament Trio die cut from a gold of unknown origin.  The embellishment is BoBunny Elf Magic Jewels.

I found the holly flourish die cut from a few days back so appealing I decided to try another one.  This time I used a bell image that has a little piece of holly at the bottom.  This image is one of three in the package and while I love them, it is a real pain to use.  It doesn't always cut all the way through when I run it through my Big Shot, even with the precision cutting plate.  Given this scrap of gold paper is not particularly heavy, I decided to add a shim, just in case.  It was a smart move because it made removing the image and all the little pieces from the die so very easy.  I'm rather glad I didn't give up on this die.  This is a fabulous card!

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

Gisèle

Tied Up With A Bow

Hello everyone,

Today's post is another striking, yet simple card.

The printed paper is Stampin' Up Home For Christmas layered on Bazzill Cardinal red and Mossy Meadow.  The sentiment is Hero Arts Clear Stamps stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Very Vanilla.  The embellishment is Recollections Stickers.

By happenstance, bottom piece of Mossy Meadow was the perfect size for these two layered rectangles.  It didn't take me long to find the perfect sized sentiment to fit the remaining third of this strip.  It did take me a while to find an embellishment that I felt would work.  The three rectangles reminded me of a door so the bow seemed fitting.

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

Gisèle