Elegant Birthday Wishes

~ photo heavy post ~

I am having a GREAT weekend!  I have had time to craft, and my husband and I went out on a date last night {smile}.  I am working on getting my crafts completed for the holiday arts and crafts fairs that I am participating in, this year.  So, I have been making Holiday and non-holiday crafts.  

One of the non holiday crafts that seem to sell fairly well, are Birthday cards.  So, I have created another one!

To help give me some guidance, I stopped by a new favorite challenge, and an old favorite challenge {smile}.

To give me a starting point, I stopped by Retro Sketches to see what they have this week.  And I LOVE it!

This will be a sketch I use more than once this week!  You can replace the 'tag' piece with a gift card holder, or add a small envelope holding confetti, or faux snow - just ALOT of possibilities!  And I am a sucker for sweet banners. {smile}

But I also wanted more direction.  A color combination.  An embellishment requirement.  Something.    I went searching the web for something, and I stumbled upon a color challenge I haven't seen before. The challenge blog is Creative Colors.  They provide an inspirational photo and some requirements.  Sounds fun!  Here is this weeks inspirational photo:

use pink, blue, and green.  include a pink banner/bow.

Oh my goodness!  The colors are just so shabby pretty! {smile}  I think I can do this!  So, here is what I created with the retro sketch and the creative color challenges:

For starters, I switched the tag for a thread card.  I added my bow to the bottom of my 'tag' shape.  I also added one more banner piece.  (So I have three banners instead of two.)  As for the colors, they are in the floral pattern paper.  The card base is blue.  The seam binding is pink, with a pink bow!
Recipe:  The card base is Rain by Paper Trey Ink.  The pattern paper is Camilla Collection by Anna Griffin.  Gorgeous, huh?
I used a scallop floral lace trim from Stampin' Up!.  It's retired for a few years now.  But I still had 6 inches.  I used pink pirouette seam binding (stampin' up!).  I machine stitched the seam binding and the lace trim to the front of the card.  I tied a white vintage button (paper trey ink) to the center of the bow with gold bakers twine (stampin up).  The bow is attached to the card front with hot glue.
For my banners I used a pink pattern paper and a gray pattern paper from the AG collection.   The gold/vellum stripe paper is from Stampin' Up!.  I used a photo corner punch to create my flag ends.
The sentiment is stamped in basic black classic ink by Stampin' Up!.  And the stamp set is Occasional Quotes stamp set.  It was a hostess stamp set, but has also been retired for a few years.
The thread card is an embellishment from Tilda, the Happiness is Homemade collection.   I added a white paper blossom from my stash, and added some glitter to the petal tips.  I cut 2 leaf branches from green card stock.  I sponged kraft ink to the tips of the leaves and then added glitter.
I added a single plastic bead to the white paper blossom/leaves cluster, to add a sparkley surprise {smile}.  I have some gold sequins, but they aren't faceted, they are flat.  (ugh).  So I adhered 5 gold sequins to the card front randomly.  Then added a faceted clear sequin on top of the flat gold sequins.

This card won't fit in an A2 envelope.  So, I decorated a large glassine bag.  I folded a white paper doily in half.  I cut three different lengths and widths of the pattern paper I used for the card.  I flagged the ends.  Adhered them together in a staggered pattern.  I cut two banner pieces: one pink and one gold/vellum.  I stamped the same sentiment on the pink pattern paper.  I stapled the banners into their position.  I glittered the tips of another white paper blossom, and adhered it to the collection with my glue gun.  I wanted to add a little more sparkle, so I wrapped a generous length of gold bakers twine around the glassine bag.
Thank you for stopping by!  I hope you get a chance to play along with your favorite challenge, or try a new one {wink}!

Wedding Music

The weekend is upon us, and it's a beautiful day, today! The sun is shining and there are snow clouds in the sky.  It's a good day, to sit in my craft room, with the blinds open and view is beautiful.  I'm not sure how you craft, but me, I listen to music.  All kinds of music, everything from Van Morrison, Poco, to Creed.  And we all know how music changes your mood.  A nice simple beat of regae can turn an otherwise 'rough' day, into something 'happy'.  And the fast beat of metal can cause you to drive faster, and a bit more aggressive.  Well, for me, the same is true with how music can influence my crafting.  I tend to listen to 'old' music to create a calmer mood in my craft room.  It allows me to think clearer and not rushed.  

The reason I rambled on about music, is because Holly over @ Our Creative Corner, has asked us to: "take inspiration from a song and work it into any papercraft project you'd like. Just make sure your post includes the song title (and if possible the artist) that inspired you!"  What a creative idea!

Here is my card:

Angel from Montgomery by Bonnie Raitt

I wanted to make something 'pretty' and I wanted to use this fabulous sketch @ Sasya-Sketch, here:

I know, I wasn't very creative with this sketch.  But, it was just so beautiful, that I wanted to use it, in its original state.  No flipping, no changes, just keep it as is.

This card is also another one of my collaborations of a 'million' products.  No restrictions, just create.  So, here we go.  

I used pattern paper from Cosmo Cricket.  I used solid card stock from Paper Trey Ink and Stampin' Up!.  I used ink from Paper Trey Ink and CTMH.  I used crochet trim from Paper Studios.  My main flower is a collaboration from several.  The yellow one is from a company that is no longer around.  The white one, is a 'naked' flower mean for 'coloring'.  The next white flower below that one is one I cut from waffle paper and then adding dazzling diamond glitter to the tips.  The two white leaves came from a wedding floral sprig.  The tiny yellow flower comes from Webster's Pages.  The tag comes from Melissa Frances.  The buttons are a collection of Amuse Studios, Paper Trey Ink, and CTMH.  The stamps are from Stampin' Up! and Amuse Studios.  The label is from Amuse Studios.  I used a distress paint on the edges of the pattern paper pieces.  I made a cluster of various rhinestones at the top of the main flower.  The large half faux pearl was added at the end of this creation.  I added a string of half faux pearls to the bottom of the sentiment, and wanted to continue that elegance, that softness.  I think the scrap piece of crochet trim helped.

Thank you for stopping by.  Leave me a comment, I'd love to know what types of music help you create!

Thank You Nichole

One my friends l o v e s flowers. So much so, that she has been know to hang out in flower shops and flower districts to get her fill of those beauties. Well, she is also creative and talented. So, when I mentioned that my daughter was getting married and she needed me to do her wedding bouquet, Nichole that me know she was available to help me, if I needed it. Well, we all know where this is heading right? Nichole helped, and she did a fabulous job! I really don't believe I could have done a better job! I want to Thank her, not only for her creativity, but for her generosity in offering to help, and her friendship. I made this card for Nichole.

For this card, all products used are from Stampin' Up! I used the Notably Ornate stamp set, and the Occasional Quotes hostess stamp set. I used the new vintage wallpaper embossing folder on the real red cardstock. I added some crochet ribbon, and made my flower out of cherry cobbler and real red card stock. I added one of the tiny half pearls to the flower's center. I strayed the whole card with Champagne shimmer mist, and the left edge of the card with Log Cabin smooch. I did stray just the flower with the vanilla smooch.

thank you for looking!