All On The Vertical

Hello everyone,

Today's birthday card is a little more on the masculine side.

The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Close To My Heart Glacier.  The images are Stampin' Up Mosaic Madness stamped in Old Olive, Really Rust and Creamy Caramel on Recollections Vanilla.  The sentiment is Rubbernecker Happy Birthday stamped in Old Olive on Recollections Vanilla.  The embellishments are from Fabricland.

I really love all the vertical things happening on today's card.  They were, of course, all inspired by this great printed paper.  It's one of my favourite masculine scraps.  I love all the colours because it's so easy to find coordinating paper and inks.  The embellishments, which I use often on masculine cards, are clean and simple.  I didn't really need to add these shiny metal dots but I do like they emulate studs on furniture.  They add a bit of shine without any femininity.

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

Gisèle

Sweetly Simple

Hello everyone,

A very retro birthday card today.

The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Close To My Heart Pomegranate and Recollections Grey.  The sentiment is Rubbernecker Happy Birthday stamped in Pomegranate on Recollections Vanilla and layered on more Pomegranate.  The printed paper is highlighted with Diamond Stickles.

In all the leftovers I've got squirreled away, I've found a ton of great printed paper pieces that are perfect for these smaller sized cards.  This is one of those pieces.  I don't particularly know why this paper appeals but the colours and simple floral images just work.  The colours allowed for some pretty easy coordinating and the images were made for Stickles.  Like many of these leftovers, the biggest challenge is trimming to size so I don't lose too much of the printed images.  I don't often choose grey to layer but it worked perfectly with the dotted background and the Pomegranate.

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

Gisèle

Feathers Three

Hello everyone,

Today's birthday card is a serene and neutral beauty.

The printed paper is Studio Calico Hashtagged layered on Stampin' Up Whisper White and Close To My Heart Heavenly Blue.  The images are Stampin' Up Four Feather stamped in Close To My Heart Juniper and Stampin' Up Pool Party and Lost Lagoon on Whisper White.  The images are die cut with Sizzix Feathers Framelits.  The sentiment is Stampin' Up Perfect Punches stamped in Juniper on Whisper White.

I love using these feather stamps and die cuts.  When they work, they are so beautiful.  When they don't work, it's just an exercise in frustration.  The MISTI was suppose to ensure the frustration levels would be eased but it didn't work as planned.  The problem is that the stamps are red rubber, not clear polymer.  It's easy to line up the stamp with the die cut when you can see through the stamp to ensure proper alignment.  Not so easy with red rubber.  I had one feather that worked well but the other two, I went old school by stamping then running through the Big Shot.  Lesson learnt.

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

Gisèle

Little Black Birds

Hello everyone,

As dark and dusty as yesterday card was, today's post is much lighter and utterly inspired by nature.

The printed paper is of unknown origin.  The background image is Stampin' Up You've Got This stamped in Nick Bantock Chartreuse Leaf on Whisper White.  The image is Memory Box Thicket Birds stamped in Versafine Onyx Black.  The sentiment is Creative Expression Amazing Sentiments also stamped in Versafine Onyx Black.  The embellishments are from Fabricland.

I've taken advantage of crafting such a large number of cards to use some stamps that I don't get to all that often.  This is a very minimalist stamp but it really packs an image punch.  I don't know why I don't use it more often.  The background image is a 'second impression' technique as the green ink would have been a little too strong otherwise.  I chose this background image because it really mirrors the printed background paper.  I debated adding a black ribbon instead of the silver dots.  I thought without the ribbon, the card really is quite neutral and I do this these mirrored silver dots work either way.

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

Gisèle

Old World Wishes

Hello everyone,

Today's birthday card post evokes an era long past.

The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on a brown also of unknown origin and Stampin' Up Bravo Burgundy.  The sentiment is cut with Crafters Companion Die'Sire Happy Birthday die from a gold of unknown origin.  The sentiment is layered on Stampin' Up Bravo Burgundy and more gold.  The banners are also punched from a gold of unknown origin.  The embellishments are of unknown origin.

I love this vintage style paper.  The books really make me think of a library is an old mansion.  I used the gold, brown and burgundy not only because they worked perfectly with the paper but also because it helped reinforce that old world feeling I was getting from the books. This is a masculine card - smoking jackets, cognac, pipes, and all that you'd get from an old movie.  Who knew you could get all that from a simple birthday card.

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

Gisèle

More Pretty Purple

Hello everyone,

Today's post is another study in coordinating patterns.

The printed papers are of unknown origin.  The sentiment is Rubbernecker Happy Birthday stamped in Close To My Heart Smokey Plum on Recollections Vanilla.  The ribbon is American Crafts.  The embellishments are Lavender Stickles.

The only reason I chose these patterns is because they are the flip sides of each other and I was pretty confident they were meant to work together.  These violets and plaid are really quite vintage but I didn't want this card to be old fashioned so I used a more modern vertical sentiment.  It also goes with all of the other vertical elements.  The vertical application of the Stickles was done for the same reason.  I love these Rubbernecker stamps but they are not the easiest to use as I find because they are not all that substantial, they can be challenging to get a decent impression.  This particular one took multiple attempts.

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

Gisèle

Beautifully Bold

Hello everyone,

Today's birthday card is not necessarily for everyone.

The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Close To My Heart Clover Meadow and Honey.  The sentiment is Stampabilities Happy Birthday 10 stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections Vanilla and layered on more Honey.  The butterfly embellishment was punched from a piece of watercolour paper smooshed with LuminArte Coral Berry, Deep Coral, Dreamsicle and Ginger Peach Twinkling H2Os.  The embellishment is EK Success Harvest Dots.

This commission didn't specify anything more than birthday cards so I've just given my creativity free reign.  It's been rather liberating.  I find a piece of paper that I like and just run with it.  This is one of those cards that I didn't think about all that much but just let is come.  This paper is bold and loud and, for some reason, I find it really appealing.  I chose this simply scripted sentiment because I liked the contrast against the busy background.  I found this watercolour paper in my stash and couldn't believe that it actually worked so perfectly with the background paper.  It was probably done years ago so that it works is very much a happy accident.

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

Gisèle