Layers And Textures

Hello everyone,

I've really enjoyed the boy card but decided it was time to man it up a little.

The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on textured brown of unknown origin (likely Bazzill), and Stampin' Up Crushed Curry.  The sentiment is Impression Obsession Vertical Greeting stamped in Stampin' Up Wild Wasabi on Whisper White.  The remaining green elements are Wild Wasabi.  The embellishments are Recollections Cork Dots.

It can be rather challenging to craft masculine cards but I always have a few tricks to help the process just a bit.  I always try to find a great piece of printed paper.  I love to use layers and texture.  In this case the coloured papers coordinate well with the printed paper.  There are also multiple textures at play - the brown layer, the green strip which went through the crimper and the cork dots, which also speak to the trees in the printed paper.  I can't seem to help using the banners, especially in the sweet spot!

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

Gisèle

Another For The Boys

Hello everyone,

I so enjoyed crafting yesterday's boy card that I decided to use another sheet of paper from the Prima Forever Young pad.

The printed paper is Prima Forever Young layered on Bazzill Bitter Chocolate and Close To My Heart Crystal Blue.  The sentiment is Avery Elle Brushed stamped in Close To My Heart Sunset on a piece of vanilla of unknown origin and layered on more Crystal Blue.  The middle layer was stamped with an alphabet/number stamp set of unknown origin with Stampin' Up Close To Cocoa, Creamy Caramel,  More Mustard and Really Rust, and Close To My Heart Ruby and Sunset on a vanilla of unknown origin and layered on more Bitter Chocolate.  The ribbon is Multicrafts.  The embellishment is a button of unknown origin, likely Dress It Up.

I bought this paper a while ago to craft cards for a girlfriend who has three boys.  With two in school and one going into daycare next spring, she's going to need appropriate boy cards and I'm thinking ahead.  I also really like that these papers are great for young or old with many being quite gender neutral.  The versatility obviously appealed!

I mimicked the background using an alphabet/number set that I've no idea how it ended up in my stash.  I hesitated over the ribbon as it's not something I'd normally add to a boy card but it's not too bad in the whole scheme of things. The helicopter embellishment remains a little off theme-wise but I didn't want to replicate another punch art animal so I settled.

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

Gisèle

One For The Boys

Hello everyone,

After all the girly cards of the past few days, I figured it was only fair to see what kinds of cards I could craft for the boys.

The printed paper is Prima Forever Young layered on a vanilla of unknown origin, Close To My Heart Crystal Blue and Bazzill Bitter Chocolate.  The sentiment is Stampin' Up Wacky Wishes stamped in Early Espresso on vanilla and layered on more Crystal Blue.  The punch art lion was crafted from a variety of scrap brown pieces.

I'm going to craft a few cards from this stack of Prima papers as there is quite a variety for both young and older.  Obviously, this particular card is meant for a younger boy and I think it works rather well.  I really love the whimsical characters.  It inspired the punch art lion (with the weird whiskers!).  I always seem to turn to this sentiment set when I'm working on kid cards because it just works so darn well.

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

Gisèle

Butterflies And Bling

Hello everyone,

This is the last card using up the bright coloured card bases.  Overall, I think this set of cards turned out rather well.  I'd step out of my comfort zone and use them without hesitation.

The printed paper is Cosmo Cricket DeLovely layered on a white of unknown origin and Stampin' Up Mango Mambo.  The images are Close To My Heart Your Own Kind Of Wonderful stamped in Close To My Heart Sweet Leaf on more white of unknown origin and layered on more Melon Mambo.  The sentiment, also from the Your Own Kind Of Wonderful set, is stamped in Melon Mambo.  The embellishments are Crafts Rhinestone Strips.

I couldn't craft a set of cards without using butterflies somewhere and this is the one!  I decided that I'd double stamp some of the butterflies to get a somewhat mottled impression.  The actual card is better than the photo.  If you're going to acknowledge someones special day, a little bit of bling is in order.  These embellishments have an opalescent quality to them that is really lovely with the greens and pink.  The placement on the printed paper (a scrap) makes them appear to be exploding.  Just lovely!

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

Gisèle

Tree Of Thanks

Hello everyone,

I believe that any card set really should include a thank you card because you never know when you'll need one.

The printed paper is Cosmo Cricket layered on Recollections White.  The background image is Stampin' Up You've Got This stamped in Close To My Heart Sweet Leaf on Recollections White and layered on Close To My Heart Sweet Leaf.  The sentiment is Hero Arts Thank You Tree stamped in Close To My Heart Twilight.  The ribbons are of unknown origin.

This card didn't really come together easily as I was undecided over every element.  At first I thought I'd layer with Twilight paper and use a single large sentiment but I wasn't happy with the impression (it was rather blotchy and couldn't be 'fixed' with a Sakura pen) and the Twilight layer seemed too dark.  I finally walked away for a bit - that often works for me.  I love this background stamp - it's a favourite in virtually any colour.  As I looked for a image in my wooden stamp collection, I found this thank you tree that I hadn't used in ages but really love.  The tree needed to be anchored so I pawed through the bits and pieces of leftover ribbon.  When I couldn't choose between the thin or wide I just decided to use both.  It was worth walking away because I'm really happy with the results.

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

Gisèle

Pairing Pears

Hello everyone,

I've toned the colour combination down on today's card.

The printed paper is Cosmo Cricket DeLovely layered on Recollections White which was embossed with Cuttlebug's Victoria embossing folder.  The image is Stampin' Up Faith In Nature stamped to Close To My Heart Sweet Leaf on Recollections White and layered on Bazzill Basics "Two Scoops" Mint Chips.  The sentiment is also Stampin' Up Faith In Nature stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White and layered on more Mint Chips.  The embellishments are Kaisercraft black Pearl Strips.

What a different a day makes.  This card is so much more zen than the past couple.  Coordination is a beautiful thing - the embossing coordinates with the pattern in the printed strip, the pear image is paired (ha! ha!) with the printed paper, and the black embellishments coordinate with the ink in the sentiment.  I suppose I could have used black on the image but I rather like the green when all is said and done.  I can't explain why the different shades of green work together - I suspect it's because they've all got yellow tones (as opposed to grey or blue).  Regardless, I think this is a wonderful result.

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

Gisèle

On A Bed Of Roses

Hello everyone,

More cheerfulness!

The printed paper is Cosmo Cricket DeLovely layered on Bazzill Basics "Two Scoops" Mint Chip.  The image is Inkadinkado Garden Greetings stamped in Close To My Heart Topiary on Stampin' Up Whisper White and layered on Melon Mambo.  The image is highlighted with Raspberry Tart Stickles.  The string is of unknown origin.

It took me a while to find an image that I thought would work all right with the stylized rose graphics on the printed paper.  This one isn't perfect but it's not the worst either.  The simple line style isn't ideal with the uniformity of the background but I thought, because it isn't a really 'heavy' image, and there is lots of white space, it doesn't do too bad.  I probably could have just used a sentiment but, that just hindsight talking.

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

Gisèle