More Birthdays a Comin'

So because we leave for Florida and none of my card making supplies are there, I needed to get all the cards I send completed before we left. So here are the March/April cards...

Using the same basic idea.. Tim Holtz watercolor paper cut to A2 size, die cut the lighthouse and then paint the background with Distress inks. I used the rough side and LOVE the dimension... Then mark where the building should be stamped in the card base.

Because it is more than one stamp, I needed to actually trace the cut. And it is not perfect! The red roof is some what off center, but really do you notice that? I just love this card...

Attaching the whole piece with foam tape gives an amazing dimension- look at the letters from the PTI Swoosh die just kind of floating! The word "HAPPY" is stamped on the paper. 

Using the same premise for this card, I am partial to that added look!

This is definitely my favorite go to stamp and die set so far... Now I need to make some cards with other sentiments to have on hand. Also while in Florida, I am planning to try my hand at painting some of my own freehand cards... we'll see how that goes! Birds.. fruit... the ocean, maybe?

Happy birthday Chris and Steve!

More March Birthdays: Friends

Two of my friends have birthdays in early March, so this year I made cards with PTI WInter Woods. Usually at this time we still in winter and snow, although spring is just around the corner!

Here's the cards...

As you can see, it is a partial die cut stitched circle with PTI Peaceful Pinecones die cut on the edge and then stamped in- so it is all one piece. Then I added the bird, cardinal or chickadee to fit. 

The birches are added inside the card to show through the window. I didn't add plastic on the window, rather left it open.

The greeting on the front is embossed in silver, and then I felt it needed just a little more, so I added snowflakes, either embossed or diecut from glitter paper.

My favorite is the chickadee, seems more appropriate to the scene. When I found some white birch patterned paper, I tried it as a backer for the window.  I think I like the window open better.

The birthday swoosh from PTI is glued on with scor-tape, and "Happy" is stamped in black. The pattern for the card worked up pretty fast after the initial die cut. That was the hardest part!

Happy birthday, Jo and Judy!

March Birthdays: Jessica

Our firstborn is turning 41 this year! She has had an incredible year of ups and downs but through it all she maintains a positive outlook with a smile on her face! I just love that about her! She has been and always will be so special in my life... I am so proud of her!

Here's my card for Jessica:

Using the new PTI Guiding Lights I got this idea from one that I saw on Pinterest. Jessica has always loved the Cape Henry Lighthouse from her days of living in Virginia. SO I made the die and stamp set match what it looks like. 

The die is cut on Tim Holtz Watercolor paper after it is painted with Distress inks to give the background color. Then I marked the card base where the die matched and stamped the image to line up. The watercolor paper is attached to the base with foam tape to give the added dimension. 

The PTI birthday swoosh die was cut in black and glued to the watercolor paper... "HAPPY" was stamped in black. Loved how it came out so much that I made several others with different lighthouses to have on hand!

Happy birthday Jessica!

March Birthdays: Erica

Our daughter-in-law Erica, is the first March birthday. I almost consider her to be a February date because February is such a short month and they have 3 other birthdays at their house!

Erica loves sunflowers... so the new PTI Sunflower Cover plate was just perfect for her card!

This didn't come out as well as I wanted, but it was a good start. The die cut was on watercolor paper, which made it very difficult to cut cleanly. I ran it through the Big Shot several times to get a good cut. 

The I painted the die with Distress Inks and set it aside to dry. Using the same inks, I watercolored the card base, which would have worked better with watercolor paper. As it was it, did some warping, requiring me to use weights to flatten it. 

The card sentiment says, "Here's to celebrating you... Happy Birthday!"

Valentine's Day

This year for Valentine's Day we'll be in Florida, without my cardmaking supplies... so I'll be sending all of the cards to the grandkids from there. I made the matchbox valentines that were described on MIM by Laurie Willison.

Here are my cards-

The design worked up pretty quickly, although I wish they were a bit more "pretty!" Before I send them I may need to add washi tape or something to give it more of a holiday feel if I find some before Monday. The stamp set is from Newton's Nook, a new purchase for me. They did not have a matching die set- too bad because I feel like it would make it more versatile.

Happy Valentine's Day!

February Family Birthday: Carter

Our first grandson, Carter will be ten on February 16th! Ten already! My how time flies...

Carter is such a blessing... a real joy to watch him grow and develop. His love of baseball is infectious, but mostly it is his love of life! He so reminds me of his dad when he was his age... kind of like going back in time for me sometimes.

Here's my card for him...

I knew as soon as I saw this stamp set what I wanted to make for Carter- His language and his love of fun made me think of this! He's starting to really want to grow up and become even more cool than he is! Just love him so!

PTI Give Me a Hand stamp and die set pulled this together fast. Everyone in their family has Fitbits so I added some on the wrists. The hands are stamped directly on the card base, but the quotation bubbles are added with foam tape to give that dimension. I really wish the dialog die cut also went the other way, so I turned it around. Then using the ink pads around every cut to make them stand out from the white card.

Kids love getting to double digits, which is where most of us spend the rest of our ages! So I cut the digits out of black adhesive fun foam...  Happy birthday Carter! See you in Florida on your birthday!

February Family Birthdays: John

Our son John, is just so amazing! He's the BEST son ever, always thinking of ways to make our lives better. He helps us to plan our finances, our retirement, and is a constant source of pride and... just ... joy! And what a remarkable father!

For his birthday, I wanted to make a card to help show how much we love and appreciate him. I know Sankaty lighthouse on Nantucket is a very special place for him, so I used PTI Guiding Lights for my card...

Using an idea from Pinterest, I watercolored Tim Holtz Watercolor Distress paper with Distress inks after cutting the lighthouse die out. Then I marked on a white card base where the image needed to be stamped to show through the cut.

The image inks with two different stamps, and I changed the image to match the lighthouse that I needed, as you can see below. 

Using the birthday swoosh die, it is attached on the watercolor paper. Although it is hard to see in this picture, the watercolor paper is attached to the card front with fun foam and foam tape, giving a real depth to the lighthouse. The top of the letters on "birthday" are actually floating free. The word "happy" is stamped directly on the watercolor paper. 

This picture shows a little better the dimension it gave... In real life it is amazing!

One of my all time favorite designs, and I made several for other birthdays. The sentiment inside says "Here's to celebrating you!"

What a blessing he is!