Cards for My Sister

   

     Dick and I recently visited my sister Juli and her family in NW Wisconsin.  Her birthday was last month, so brought along a set of cards I made for her.  She has always been very supportive of my "artistic" efforts.  Part of my inspiration was some paper given to me by my friend Kathy as part of an art "Play Day" with our mutual friend Chrissy.  Kathy brought some lovely papers for us to play with - no special design in mind, just play and come up with something.  Talk about intimidating!!!!  I did manage to make two cards, but each needed "something else."  I used those two to get started for inspiration.  The cards below are the two I had started and decided to add the moth embellishments from some Tim Holtz materials.

Torn Paper with Tim Holtz Embellishments

     These cards again used some of Kathy's paper and items from my "stash" - a vellum bird embellishment and an image cut from Graphic 45 paper.

    
 Another purchased element - the car - was found in a drawer of long ago purchased embellishments - there are a few more of those to use.  The butterfly is German Scrap, always a nice addition.

      The sentiment on this card is a stamp my sister gave to me - it was fun to use it as part of the gift for her.

     While I was visiting, we did have to visit the local scrap/stamp store.  They have changed ownership and now carry some wonderful stamps and supplies - we spent time looking at all the goodies, and I purchased a few things including a new Hero Arts collage stamp and some individual Distress Ink markers.  When I returned home, I created two cards using Distress Inks for the background inspired by a Tim Holtz video, the new stamp, and the new markers to color in some areas of the stamped image.  I sent one of the cards to her, thanking the family for the wonderful time we had in the North Woods.

Playing with Carole and Ardi

   My friends Carole and Ardi and I meet about once a month to make cards, chat, and generally have fun.  This month we met twice as Ardi will be out of town for two weeks.    Besides making cards, we have already started our second annual collaborative calendar.  This will be a separate post once we have completed all twelve months for 2013 - should be done in August as long we have the calendars to add to the finished pages.

Ardi's Giraffe Card

     Ardi's giraffe card is made with a dollar stamp, the festive giraffe.  It was a great card to send to my grandson for his 6th BD.

Carole's Get Well Card

     Carole found an idea for this card on Pinterest and, yes, those are real band aids!  What a clever idea!!! 

My Beach Card

     I first learned how to make this card from the owners of Seaside Stampin, Ocean City, MD.  They have come to Madison and also Waukesha (once) for stamp shows.  Kathy and Joe are really nice people and their stamps are fabulous.  The paper is a specialty paper which has a wavy appearance.  We sponged on ink to create the sand and sky, then stamped the two beach grass stamps a couple of times.  This design is a special favorite of mine.

The Following Week

Carole's BD or Anniversary Card

     I love the sophisticated look of this card - simple and elegant.  The flowers are accented with Flower Soft, and I added gold embossing to the torn edge.  I have a set of gold sticker phrases and use the anniversary one for a final touch.

Ardi's BD Card

     One of the best things about working with friends (besides just having fun together) is bringing a project that you need help with.  Ardi had some nice paper, great embellishments and a layout using the multiple BD candles, but wasn't altogether happy with it.  The three of us "fooled around" moving the paper around (it is double sided) and rearranging the pieces.  We finally decided to use just one side of the paper and to sponge the white card with the new lavender Distress Ink.    We also stamped the candles using black rather than the paler DI.  When all was said and done, we really liked our collaborative effort!

Ardi's Bonus Card

     Ardi and I had gone to the scrapbook store to see if there was anything either of us needed (I'm sure you've done that!), and she found a wonderful piece of scrapbook paper with a series of "flash cards" printed on it.  She came up with this idea - and each of us made a different card with the same layout.

Maggi's Friendship Card

     I enjoy using many of the Stmpin' Up products, and this is made entirely with things I purchased from SU.  It's a simple layered card, but I like the summery colors which make it special.

     That's all for now - hope to catch up on a few other projects in the next day or two.