Belated Thank You

After Christmas, I had a visit from a family whose middle school child I had been tutoring for just about a year. We stopped about a month ago since when it became apparent the child was not really invested.  Seemed to me one of us was working a lot harder than the other. After weeks of not doing the reading or even trying to get it started I decided to cancel our time together. I have never been good at enabling!

They surprised me with a lovely dish garden with an orchid, poinsettia and various greens.  I have been remiss in not sending a card. Here is the one I decided on...

It is stamped on SU natural white and the base is also the same. It has flecks of color in the paper, which is different. White snowflakes and greeting were stamped in Versamark and embossed with seafoam white. Using SU inks with Perfect Pearls  mixed in, sponged with Certainly Celery, Summer Sun and Ballet Blue. The ribbon added just the right touch for the base.

The volunteering was good for me, but I need to feel that the work is not only appreciated, but makes a difference. I am hopeful that I can find a way to give back to someone that really could use the reading help. I do think I can make a difference, but the child has to want it too!

February Birthday 3

The third February birthday is our grandson, Carter Thomas! What a special boy he is... and not just because I am his grandmother! He will be 8 on February 16th and has just this year fallen in love with baseball! His favorite team is the Red Sox, and he is fortunate to have gotten to a few games this year with his Dad!

Here's my card for him....

The base of the card is SU crumb cake with a patterned baseball card paper on a partial layer. PTI's Seventh Inning Stretch stamp set and matching dies were just perfect for this card! The sentiment was heat embossed on red cardstock. The baseball cap was stamped in SU Not Quite Navy with a die cut "B" in red for the Red Sox.

It was a fun card to make and went pretty fast... I even added some Post-it tape to the bat for an authentic bat look!  Happy 8th birthday, Carter Thomas!

February Birthdays 2

So here are the last two February birthdays for our family... 

Our son, John,  will be 37 this year on February 11th.  I always tell him the story of how cold it was 37 years ago.  We had a keep a faucet dripping to be sure the water pipes didn't freeze in town. Much like the weather we are having now I think!

This year, John and his wife are taking us to Turks and Caicos Islands with their family for a week in February... What a treat! 

Here's the inspiration for the card I will be sending ...

My inspiration was Sankaty Light on Nantucket. We took a day trip from the Cape last summer to Nantucket with John and his family. His wife Erica, found all kinds of things for us to do there. We had a fabulous day and it brings a smile just thinking about the kids and what a great time we all had!  Sankaty also has a special meaning to John career-wise, so it was perfect!

The lighthouse was from WPlus9 Guiding Light with a few adjustments to look more authentic. The black section is actually added again with foam squares to give it more dimension, the light actually in Silver Stickles. 

The base of the card is Neenah 110# solar white with Distress inks sponged for the sky (Broken China) and  for the grasses  with Wild Honey, Mowed Lawn. 

SU Pocket Silhouettes and Herb Expressions with SU crumb cake, soft suede, and Always Artichoke make up the grasses. At the last minute I added the birds from SU Up and Away in black ink.  The greeting is from SU Curly Cute.  

Happy, happy birthday John!  We love you and are so very proud of you!

Valentine's Day

Getting ready for making valentines- I have always loved this holiday... a chance to tell folks how much you love them! What's not to like??

Here's my new one for John....

I just love that floating valentine! I do not have the SU thinlit die but really wanted to make this fold! So I patterned it after the birthday card for Gracie...

Love how it came out, even though it doesn't come out in the photo.

The cardstock is white 110 lb, cut to 5 x 11"- folded in half, 5x 5.5".  I cut the smallest framelit through the middle of the folded card. Now working with only the front of the card, I marked the halfway point, cut another framelit (2 up in size from the original) through only half using a shim. 

Then fold that section back to make the front cut stick out! Soooo cool! Tricky business... I again used a lot of paper getting this right. Now I've got it though!

Then I made some frames by doubling up the framelits with black to edge the opening and hold the baker's twine on the hearts! There are three hearts adhered together hanging on the twine. I love how it worked out! Next using Recollections paper: All Seasons Collection, I cut the sizes to just fit the card.

Now I need to make valentines for the grandkids... FUN!

February - First Birthday

There are three February birthdays, Valentine's Day and Erica on March 1st! I have a lot to do before our trip to Turks and Caicos...

Here's my first card ... Mason will be six years old! So hard to believe...

 

Funky Monkey from Avery Elle is just perfect for him! I used SU Close to Cocoa as the base with Cranberry Crisp as the next layer. The two layers of white are sponged with Distress Broken China before adding the banana tree and leaves. I added a few leaves from PTI MIghty Oak to add dimension on the front. Wish Big is from Paper Smooches. 

PTI Movers and Shakers Zipper die added the tear off zipper strip, which hides the sentiment "Wishing you a wonderful birthday." You can see the pull here arrow direction. 

The monkey is stamped once and then added again with foam squares. Love those shades which are colored with Wink of Stella black! And here's the envelope...

Next birthday is our son John, who will be 37 years old- Mason's Dad! He just recently got his number to run in the Boston Marathon for the YMCA.. and a big, well deserved promotion at work! So proud of him! Need to show all of that in my card...

More January Birthdays

Our neighbor's sister in England will be 94 on the 28th! Definitely rates a card...

This is the closed card with a snowflake brad holding it on the left. The idea came from Julie's video here, I started with a 4.25 x 8.5" paper. I pretty much followed the directions on the video although my border punch is different and I used 2 scallop punched papers to adhere to the added paper. 

The snowman is from SU Cold Play stamp set. The glitter snowflakes are from a small punch.  The sentiments are from different sets that I had on hand. I colored the snowman's black hat with Black Wink of Stella. Silver Stickles added a little dimension to the white around the snowman. Happy Birthday is embossed in white on the front.

The inside of the card is left for a note to Gracie. The color is Pretty in Pink with DSP for the first scallop. Here's what the opened back looks like...

We also have a niece that has a January birthday. She will be 34 this year. This card was very difficult to photograph because of its fold. I tried my best but really doesn't show how cool it is for real!

When the card is closed it looks a little crazy... but here it is! The window is open all the way through it. I do not have the SU Thinlit die to cut this design, but I was determined to make the opening! 

I started with a 4.25 x 8.5" 110 lb white cardstock. I folded in half and cut the smallest size through both sides. Then I partially cut through the front of the card with the two sizes bigger SU Label Collection Framelits Die using a shim. After folding it back you can see what I got. I made the other size frames with black and dotted yellow. I don't want to tell how many pieces of cardstock I went through to get this to work!! But I was determined...

As you can the see the front sectional has an embossed happy birthday layer, and the inside has a cupcake embossed layer. I diecut happy and birthday as well as three hearts to add some dimension to the card. The cupcake (from SU Create a Cupcake punch and stamp set) is held in place with bakers twine and appears to be floating. I cut the frosting from glitter paper as well as the light on the candle. The Hearts-A-Flutter, happy and birthday die cuts are attached with glue.

Not sure if I'd choose this again... although I can really see a heart floating for Valentine's Day, can't you?

A Whole New Year

Hard to believe... 2014! The year starts off with our youngest daughter's birthday...  She has always loved the mountains and the snow and coming home for the holidays. This year when she came with her family, she really needed to feel us wrap around her, and we did... It was wonderful! 

Here's my card for her-

The swing card is a favorite of mine, although I wanted to make it bigger than the last one. This card is about 5" square when it is closed up. The paper measures 5 x 9 at the onset.  The card base is Neenah solar white 110 lb. The next layer is a cloud pattern paper that has been around forever.

The trees are PTI's  Evergreens die- cut in SU's Always Artichoke and Old Olive, Dazzling Details is added to the tops of the trees to add some shine. The Lil' Inker snowflakes are cut from glitter paper.  There are actually three - four layers of trees on the front of the card. Then there is one on the two sections of the bottom. I was afraid it looked to bare, but in reflection I think it helped to emphasize the sentiment! 

The sentiment is embossed in white. In the picture it is difficult to read but says... " Sending Warm Wishes of Happiness and Cheer"  and on the inside... 

..."and everything you need for another amazing year!" I decided to add three hearts from SU's Hearts A Flutter embosslits.

Happy birthday, Stephanie... Truly blessed, we are!