Love of a Lifetime

I made a pile of this design during the last snow storm to put in my box for anniversaries, and I'm just now getting around to posting it. I wanted quick and easy, and this certainly was. Again, I took the lazy route and let the patterned paper do most of the work for me. You could, of course, adapt this card by changing the patterned paper and color scheme, and changing the words. This layout might even look nice with a monogram instead of a sentiment!
PAPERS: So Saffron, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Bella Birds DSP. INK: Chocolate Chip. PUNCHES: Curly Label, Modern Label, Word Window. OTHER: Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon, Button (I purchased these at Walmart. They were on the button rack, and there were several different color packs available. Many of the colors coordinated with Stampin' Up!'s colors quite well, so I sorted them by color and put each color in a snack-sized zip-loc bag. Then I put them in the package with whichever color card stock they matched best.)

Bella Birds/Asian Artistry Women's Birthday Card

Being snowed in for a couple days has given me the opportunity to increase my card stash! It also made me want to use some pretty spring-like colors, so I turned to SU!'s pretty DSP, Bella Birds. I'm not a big fan of the whole 'In Color' idea, primarily because I'm not into spending money on something that will be obsolete in just one year. So . . . I will frequently make do with a color that I already own if it is close enough to suit me. This card is an example of that. The Bella Birds DSP uses Pink Pirouette, which I believe was an In Color last year. Here I have used Blush Blossom card stock because it is close enough, at least for this application. I took my cues from the paper and decided to choose an Asian stamp. In keeping with the Asian theme, I kept the card very simple. The layout is inspired by FTL 70 on the Clean & Simple Stamping blog (http://cleanandsimplestamping.blogspot.com/2009/11/ftl-70.html). The only change I made was turning it vertically instead of horizontally.
PAPER: Blush Blossom, Whisper White, Bordering Blue, Bella Birds DSP. INK: Bordering Blue, Night of Navy. STAMPS: Asian Artistry, Well Scripted. OTHER: Navy Sheer Creations Ribbon (from Michael's).

In a pinch . . .

OK, so I'm usually pretty good about making cards before I run out of something . . . usually. Well, this week I needed 3 men's birthday cards, but only had 2 on hand. What to do? Alter something already in the box! If you adhere the sentiment to the outside of a card and leave the inside blank, it's pretty easy to do this. This year I had a few extra Thanksgiving cards and stuck "Thank You" on the outside to use up the extra cards. Well, Monday I popped off "Thank You" and stuck on "Happy Birthday", and voila! A men's birthday card in a pinch!

Manchester Men's Birthday Card

This was pretty quick to put together since I just modified a layout from the catty and let the DP and some punches do most of the work here! The layout is taken from page 139 of the SU! 2009-2010 IB&C. Since I needed a card for men, I toned down the "foof factor" by using masculine paper and leaving out some scallop edges. Instead of the scallop edges I just turned down the edge of the DP so you can see the coordinating pattern on the other side. I also thought the paper clip would add a little something, and went nicely with the spiral edge. Kinda gives it an "office" theme. Anyway, here's what I used: CARD STOCK/DP: Ivory (not SU!), Always Artichoke, Manchester DSP, Mellow Moss. INK: Always Artichoke. STAMPS: Sincere Salutations. PUNCHES: Spiral , Wide Oval, Scallop Oval, Large Oval. OTHER: Paper Piercer, Paper Clip (not SU!), Always Artichoke Grosgrain Ribbon, 3M Foam Mounting Tape (not SU!).

Happy Valentine's Day!

I just mailed my 2010 Valentine's Day cards, and I thought I'd share the design with you. I used the color combination from a card my demonstrator, Kristin, showed us how to make at our January Stamp Club Meeting. In shades of pink with a pop of red, it is a very "traditional" color combination for Valentine's Day. The layout is Mojo Monday Week 77, and was posted March 9, 2009. I really liked this layout because it gave me an opportunity to use some new toys . . . my Nestabilities! I've had my eye on these for some time, and am in the process of collecting the ones that I want. The cost of these turned me off at first, but I found a wonderful website, cutathome.com, that offers the basic shapes (circles, squares, ovals, rectangles) in discounted sets of four sets, AND they also offer a once-monthly 40% off coupon that is delivered to your e-mail inbox! When you combine the special price for a set of four sets with the 40% coupon, it cuts the price almost in half, making them an affordable addition to my growing collection of tools. CARD STOCK: Whisper White, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Real Red. INK: Real Red. STAMPS: Love You Much, Well Scripted. OTHER: Sponge Dauber, Full Heart Punch, Heart to Heart Punch, Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon, Classic Circle Nestabilities (not SU!), Classic Scallop Circle Nestabilities (not SU!), Swiss Dots Cuttlebug Embossing Folder (not SU!).