Wedding and Retirement Cards

Wow!  It's been awhile since I got to post here.  I've been extremely busy, but having fun along the way.  Hubby got bit by a spider, and since we do not have any health insurance (unaffordable), I was forced to become a doctor/surgeon.  I was really worried about his toe, but it's on the mend and almost all better now.  It has been a long time since I was Dr. Mom, but I still have it.  :-)

I was recently asked to make a retirement card and a wedding card.  Now, I don't make a lot of these type cards, so I was kind of at a loss.  The wedding card was to be whimsical, so that took a little bit of the pressure off.  I'll share what I came up with.

I recently got this House Mouse stamp, and by adding a hat to the mouse on the right, I was able to turn it into a groom helping his bride to get ready for their wedding.  I think I might need to add a veil or something to the bride.  I'll figure it out.  There is glitter around the edge of the card.

Then I remembered I had the HalfPint Hero and Heroine stamps sets (Gina K. Design), and decided I could put the bride and groom in a car.  Perhaps honeymoon bound?  I wanted it to be bright and cheery.  I think I achieved that.

On to the retirement card.  I love this Stampin' Up set called Sitting Here.  It's available here. What better way to start retirement than to be able to relax on the swing with nothing to do?  That would surely be heaven to me.

I made a few more cards that would be appropriate for retirement, so my friend will have to choose.

Happy to share my creations.  Till next time....

Do something crafty.

With Sympathy...

Good morning, friends. Still waiting for cooler weather.

Nobody likes to have to send sympathy cards, but occasionally it's necessary.  I found myself in that position this week.  A friend from a card swapping group I'm in lost her husband, and so I found myself having to make a sympathy card.  Since this card is going overseas, I didn't want a lot of bulk.

I grabbed some spray inks and spritzed white cardstock.  Then, when dry, I ran it through an embossing folder.  I liked the texture it gave.  I added some silver pen highlights to some of the embossed flower centers.

Next I got out some Stampin Up!™ flower stamps (Flower Shop #130942 and Petite Petals - retired) and stamped them in a light blue on white cardstock, punched them out and adhered together.  Added some Nuvo Crystal Drops in the center. 

I needed some leaves, so I got out my Gina K. Designs Stitched Leaves stamps, and die cut and stamped the leaved. 

The With Sympathy stamp is also Gina K. Designs, but I can't find the name of it, so it may be discontinued.  There is a beautiful sentiment for the inside that goes along with it.

Happy with the results, but sad for the circumstances.

Inky hugs,

Cards for Little Hearts Card Drive

Although I was unable to participate in the Blog Hop due to other obligations, I still want to share information about this wonderful event.

The purpose of Cards for Little Hearts is to collect handmade cards for the Heart Center staff at Nationwide Children’s Hospital to distribute to children with congenital heart disease and to help lift their spirits while they are hospitalized and need major heart surgery or are having a particularly tough time.

The current 2017 card drive runs from July 1st - August 25th with Winter Wishes or Holiday Wishes cards collection.  And there are sponsors and prizes.

You can find all the information you need about the the guidelines and packaging your cards on Christina's blog at http://www.christinahordesigns.com.

You can contact Christina at info@christinahordesigns.com for any questions you may have regarding the card drive.

Here are the cards I made for the drive:

Dearie Dolls digital image

Dearie Dolls digital image

Dearie Dolls digital image

Dearie Dolls digital image

Stamps from Gina K Designs

I used the Stampin' Up owl punch to make these cute penguins.

Sparkle N Sprinkle stamp and die cut trees

Gina K Designs stamps

Some used digital images and some were stamped, but all were handmade with love. I will be mailing these to Christina at   CHRISTINA HOR, P.O. Box 517, Dublin, Ohio 43017  U.S.A.

Won't you make some cards to share?

Another colorful card.

Here is another colorful card I made for the Mod Squad Challenge.  I hope you like it.

This card uses Stampin' Up! set Blooms and Wishes (#141784) and multiple colors of  colorful dye inks.  I forgot to write down the colors I used, but any bright, colorful inks would do.  It's so bright and cheerful and it makes me happy.  :-)

Thanks for looking,

Life Is A Beautiful Thing.

I wanted to make a colorful card so I could join the Mod Squad Challenge this week.  I think I've succeeded, what do you think?

Here is the card I made:

The background paper is some DSP from Stampin' Up, which I colored with Spectrum Noir markers. I added a little glossy accents to the bees wings (he's peeking out from under the butterfly).  I stamped the sentiment, also from Stampin' Up, onto vellum with black pigment ink and heat embossed with clear embossing powder.  The butterfly is a Cheery Lynn Designs die, which has been cut and then glittered.  A few sequins and I was done. And happy.

Thanks for looking,

Edited:  6/28/17 - I won the Mod Squad Challenge with this card!  So excited!

Get Well Card Using Transfer Gel

Good afternoon!

We finally got some rain. Yay! We have really needed it, and so I'm happy that it finally rained here.  Now we should have a nice weekend ahead of us.

I wanted to share a card with you today that I made for a friend.  She had surgery, and is on the mend, so I made her this little card to cheer her up.

First I used a Tim Holtz stencil on a piece of 5-1/2 x 4-1/4 white cardstock, and applied green ink. After I removed the stencil, I sponged Lemon Lime Twist (Stampin' Up new In Color color) all over the cardstock.  Then I reapplied the stencil over where I had sponged the original green and applied a thin coat of ThermoWeb Transfer Gel.  I let it almost dry and then sprinkled some Gina K Prismatic glitter over it.  The gel grabs the glitter and keeps it firmly attached to the card.  But it needs a little bit to dry, so I went on to making the flowers.  I think a nice variegated purple would look nice with the green vines.

To start off, I used some Distress Oxide Inks on another sheet of white cardstock in a variety of colors to get a variegated look.  I applied them to an acrylic block, spritzed them with water, and smooched them onto the cardstock.  I let them dry between colors.  When I was happy with the results, I stamped little flowers (Petite Petals Stampin' Up # 133155) and punched them out (Stampin' Up #133322).  I pushed down on the flower centers with my pencil to give them a little texture.  I adhered them to my background panel.  Now they need centers, so I used Nuvo Crystal drops to give them a center, and let dry.  By the way, the Petite Petals and the Punch are both on the retiring list, so if you like them and want them, you need to order by May 31st.  You can order at www.beckypartan.stampinup.net.

I adhered the background panel to a dark green cardstock, stamped "Get Well Soon" on the inside and it's done.

By letting the transfer gel amost dry before applying the glitter, it didn't get overwhelmed by the glitter.  You can see from the picture that it's got some glittery shine, but not a lot.  I could have left the glitter off, and when the transfer gel dried it would have just been shiny, but not glittery.

Anyway, I'm happy with the card, and I'm pretty sure my friend will like it, too.

Inky hugs,