Artful Avocations

Lily's Name Frame ; )

Here is my last post for today and my favorite of the three I posted today.  I made this for our church organist and most awesomely talented/gifted pianist ever!!!  It was her last day with us as our regular accompanist yesterday, so I wanted to give her something that was especially just for her.

I used an assortment of 12x12 papers that were in black/off white and gold hues.  The chipboard letters are from Memory Makers and are covered with background papers and sanded (I used Basic Grey's Precision File Set from Eclectic Paperie.) (By the way, my favorite method of gluing the paper to the chipboard is to use Stampin' Up!'s Anywhere Glue Stick...it works great for this!)  Snippets of ribbons and trims in black and gold and Primas with pearl centers in white and black, were added for embellishments.  I made the verses by printing them in different fonts onto Very Vanilla cs and then tearing them out, wrinkling them, and aging them by sponging with Close to Cocoa classic ink.  The verses and other elements of the sign are accented with Aged Copper brads and other findings from SU! Hodgepodge Hardware.  The frame is from Target and I lightly swiped my Close to Cocoa classic ink pad over the white mat to tone down the white and help it to blend in with the other papers.  I love the way this came out and I hope you do too!  Happy stamping!

Sweet Baby Jane

I made this for a baby shower gift.  Nowadays it's easy to make personalized gifts like this before the baby is born since just about everyone knows if they are having a boy or girl and has named their little bundle of joy prior to giving birth.  I remember back when we didn't know the sex and we'd make personalized gifts only to have to take them back to complete them with the name, birth date, weight, and length after the baby was born....and they were usually yellow or some other "boy/girl neutral color" and embroidered, not crafted from paper (which is so much easier and so much more fun!!).  I do get so much enjoyment out of making these personalized signs.  They are just fun, fun, fun!!  If you haven't made one yet, you should give it a try.  They are really easy and...have I said how much fun they are to make?  ; )  They look like they take hours, but really only take about one or less, depending on how much you put into it.

Okay, so for this sign I cut "Sweet" and "Baby" with the Cricut New Arrival cartridge.  I used Memory Makers chipboard letters for "Jane" and covered them with assorted pink papers and sanded the edges with the super cool Precision File Set by Basic Grey that I acquired from  Eclectic Paperie.   The papers and ribbons used are just from my stash, and the flowers are Primas with little pearls, etc. stuck in the centers for a little added bling.  ; )  The little pink buttons are from Stampin' Up!  The frame and mat are from Michael's.  Thanks for looking!

Grad Card w/Gift Card-Money-Check holder pocket

I haven't had time to post anything for several days, but that doesn't mean I haven't been stamping!  I've had several projects going on but no time to post.  This graduation card was for some friends' daughter that graduated from high school a couple of weeks ago.  I wanted to come up with a simply designed card that would hold either money, a check, or a gift card and this is what I came up with.  I think this idea will lend itself well to any occasion where you might want to gift the recipient with a gift card, check, or cash.  So...if any of you reading this would like to make a card like this and include a gift card, check, or cash....I would be happy to receive it!!  (hehehe)  All supplies and papers are Stampin' Up! except the Celebrate sentiment which is from Studio G and came in one of those clear acrylic dollar sets from either Michael's or JoAnn.  The card stocks used are Brushed Silver, Whisper White, and Basic Black. 

The silver card stock for the card base is 4-1/4 x 5-1/2.  The white cs is 8-1/2x 5-1/4 scored at 1-1/2" and 5-1/2" along the 8-1/2" length.

I used the 1-1/4" square punch to punch out a black square  and the 1-3/8" punch to punch out a silver square for the mortarboard.  I made the tassel with silver cord and attached it to the hat with a silver mini brad.

Another piece of silver cs was cut to  1-3/4" x  5-1/4" and  adhered to the sides only on the back of the bottom  section of white cs with  Sticky Strip.  Tip:   Apply the  Sticky Strip to the  white card stock and  slightly fold up the  white cs along the  fold line,  place silver piece  down into the fold  and then  press to adhere the  silver to the white.  I then cut a Velcro dot in half and  used one half to close the card.  Thanks for stopping by!

Friendship

Here's another card for some friends at work that are leaving us to attend graduate school.  (Insert more crying and sobbing noises here.)  The card base is SU! Whisper White cs. The SU! Basic Black cs layer has been embossed with the Cuttlebug Swirl folder.  The larger flowers are die cut with Sizzix and the small flower are punched with a retired SU! punch.  The balck and clear pearl centers are from K & Company (Target).  The Friendship stamp is from SU!  The black dotted ribbon is from either Walmart or Michael's.  Thanks for looking!

In Everything Give Thanks

Another thank-you card for one of my students.  This one uses SU! Mellow Moss cs for the base and designer paper from Simply Scrappin' set Today and Always.  I used both SU! 1-3/8" and 1-1/4" square punches to layer the sentiment.  The flowers are Primas.  The brads are from SU! and the decorative brad holding the twill together is from Creative Memories (JoAnn or Michael's??)  I free-hand cut the leaves from mellow moss cs and used the SU! slot punch to punch slots in the tag for the twill to thread through.  Thanks for looking!

Striped Gift Bag

The end of school also means giving thanks to those special people are who are such a great help throughout the year.  I made this bag to fit a stamp set that I was giving as a thank-you gift to my aide.  I used SU! paper and border stickers from the Simply Scrappin' set Today and Always.  The card pulls out and has a tab made with the SU!round tag punch and gold mini brads.  The handles are SU! twill tape adhered with sticky tape and anchored for durability with mini brads.  I love the fresh, summer look of this little bag!  Thanks for looking!

Wedding Shower

Here's a little number I made for a wedding shower.  I used a Cuttlebug embossing folder to emboss the card front and the vellum to make the umbrella.  The umbrella is half a circle, cut out with scalloped scissors.  The umbrella handle is cut free-hand from Whisper White cs.  The pearl on the top of the umbrella is from K & Company (Target) and the pink Twinkle Stickers are from Ellen's Store. The card stock used is SU! Whisper White.  The ribbon is from Ofrray (Walmart) and the pink tag and Cherish sentiment are from Stampin' Up!  Thanks for looking!

Embossed Thank-you

Here's another card for the end of the school year.  I always need several thank-you cards for my students who so graciously gift me with little delights.  This one uses a DCWV linen textured card in a peachy color.  I used the Thank You Cuttlebug embossing folder and lightly sanded the raised parts to remove the color and reveal the white underneath.  I used a Marvy Giga scalloped punch to punch the base for the flower from SU! Glossy cs and embossed it with another Cuttlebug folder.  The flower is actually two layered together from JoAnn.  The brad in the center is from SU!  The dotted ribbon is from Offray (Walmart).  Thanks for looking!

Warm Wishes

Last night I made a few cards for the end of the school year.  This one was for one of our teachers who is leaving.  (Insert crying and sobbing here.)  All of us will miss her so much!  Anyway, the card base is SU! Mello Moss cs and the designer paper layer is from SU! Simply Scrappin' set Today and Always.  The center element is SU! vellum cs that has been embossed with a Cuttlebug embossing folder, cut out, colored on the backside with a SU! Blush Blossom marker, highlighted on the front side with a Sakura clear Glaze pen, and then blinged with some Amuse Twinkle stickers.  I bought both the pen and stickers at Ellen's Store.  The flower vines on the mellow moss were stamped in clear Versamark using G-Studio stamps.  I used a Marvey  scalloped punch to punch out the mat for the focal piece.  The dotted ribbon is from Offray (Walmart).  I used both the large and small SU! oval punches for the sentiment which is from  Papertrey.  Thanks for looking!

Plumeria Engagement Card

As my son was off to work this morning, he said, "Oh Mom, do you think you can make an engagement card for my friend?  I'm going to his engagement party after work."  Ok....something to do while the laundry is washing itself....a few hours later and here it is!  This Plumeria is made from punching 5 circles with a 1" circle punch. I sponged a little SU! Lavender Lace on each circle for the center.  To assemble you just slightly pinched the edges together and stick to a glue dot.  I used a large glue dot for this flower.  After I attached it to the card, I put a little dab of yellow Stickles in the center.  The card base is SU! Whisper White.  The front is covered with a piece of the new SU! Prints Designer Paper.  The strip with the polka dots is the reverse of this swirl design.  I embossed the polka dot strip with a Cuttlebug embossing folder.  I thought the swirls went well together.  The strip of vellum paper has "Celebrate" from SU! Wonderful Words set stamped in SU! Lavender Lace - look close and you can see it!!  I ran the card base through my printer before attaching the front elements and printed the inside sentiment in a font color that matches Lavender Lace.  After I took this picture, I decided to add an Amuse yellow Twinkle sticker (from Ellen Hutson's store) to the center of the flower and I used the SU! small oval punch to punch one leaf in Green Galore and one in Gable Green and added them to the left side of the flower.  It gave it a little lift in color.  Thanks for looking!