Happy Birthday Alyssa

Hey there. I did it again. I copied myself.  I made this card for a girl young lady turning 13.  I had a card already made that I liked for her, but Darien told me it was too young of a card for her.  Well, that kinda stuff usually leaves me stumped.  I can't get around the idea already stuck in my head.  So I just copied the layout and used a different image and different colors.  I think it worked.  The scrolly image, fancy pants font and use of black is older, but my latest favorite go-to background (polky dots!) and Aqua Mist keeps it young and fresh.  Ok, maybe the polky dots are not fresh since I use them all the time, but definitely young.  It's a fine line between old fogey and toddler.  K, maybe that would be a really wide line, but the point is teenagers are difficult to make cards for. Too young and they could be offended.  Too old and their mom is glaring at you.  Why yes, I do have an overactive imagination.  Thank you for noticing. But I like to cover all my bases with my worrying...making sure no one is left out.  I think for this one, I'm good. 

Stamps: Vintage Labels, Polka Dot Basics & Damask Designs (PTI), Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Aqua Mist (PTI), Paper: black, white & Aqua Mist (PTI)

Darien's Sweet 16

So, I was looking at my stamps, and yes, I have a lot of them.  I was trying to find just the right image to use on Darien's birthday card.  I like Damask Designs, but thought it might be too fancy for such a fashion forward but laid back girl.  Piece of Cake...Friends 'Til The End...ugh, I just don't know.  Would you believe I did not have just the right image anywhere in aaallll the stuff I have?  (hey, gotta justify new stuff anyway i can!) So I remembered that I had been somewhere online that has different stuff.  When I finally remembered just where that was -ah! Mo's Digital Pencil - I went & had a look-see.  Hmm, I almost used this image, but it was more fairy than dancer, and that would've been perfect.  Then I came across her teen drawings and this one made me laugh.  Yep, that's Darien.  If she doesn't straighten her hair, it would be big & puffy. Ok, curly, so she doesn't completely hate me.  Plus, on the phone, eating, shopping and wearing a cute outfit...that is my baby!  And the really good thing was that it's a digital image, so I didn't have to wait for it to ship to me.  I just downloaded it, resized it and printed it right away.  Of course, it took me an hour to color it in, but it's my baby, so it was worth it!  I have to thank Darien herself for being the inspiration for the card.  The day I made it, she was wearing almost the exact same outfit.  Only her shirt was hot pink and I wasn't quite that brave, but basically the same thing. Oh, yeah.  She'd probably like me to point out that she would not be caught dead wearing Uggs.  K, moving on...

How much do you love this box?  It's actually the 2nd one I've made, but I never really got a good shot of the first one that I gave to a teacher at the elementary school (it was slightly bigger and filled with chocolates!) for her birthday.  This one, however, is not filled with chocolate.  Darien is 16.  She wants a car, way less rules and money.  That's about it.  Well, how about 1 outta 3?  She just likes to have stuff to open, so I made this so she would have the card and a fancy box.  How about that? Mother of the Year, I can feel it coming my way!

So here they are together, so you can get a better idea of how big the box is.  Tiny.  But just the right size for some cash!  So that's it.  My baby is 16 years old.  No, she's not driving yet, but it's coming soon.  And she should be lucky she has her dad to teach her, cuz I may be fabulous at a lot of things *snort* but I do not possess the nerves of steel it takes to be sitting there the first 100 couple of times my daughter is behind the wheel. Anyway...

Happy Birthday Darien!

Supplies: Image from Mo's Digital Pencil, Stamps: Piece of Cake & Wedding Day (PTI), Circular Sayings (Verve), You Say It's Your Birthday (The Cat's Pajamas), Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Pink Pirouette (SU!), Paper: Pink Pirouette (SU!), white & Smokey Shadow (PTI), Accessories: Pink Pirouette ribbon (SU!), flat back pearls, punches, Nestabilities, eyelets, Copics (yeah, i used ALOT this time):

Spread Those Wings

Ok, I just made this card and have already thought of a couple of ways I would change it.  But I'm short on time, so I'm leaving this one as is.  I have been busy struggling to make a card for Darien's birthday (Sunday!) and I think I finally have it done.  I think.  Well, if I leave it alone and don't decide to completely start over, I'm done.  Anyway, I thought I'd throw together a little eye candy for ya until I put up her birthday shtuff.  I know I usually have a hard time with certain cards (cards for guys, all 3 of the girls...), but this year's birthday card was different. She'll be 16 and I'm sure she has high expectations.  I think where I go wrong every time is I'll make a card for someone else, and one of the girls will go, "ooh! i love that. i want a card like that."  And do I ever make a note of that & write it down?  Nah, that would be too easy.  Let's just wait until days before their birthday & sweat it out like a nervous wreck and then hope for the best that whatever I've made doesn't make them puke.  K, so maaaybe  I'm exaggerating. But only a teensy bit. I do try to outdo myself and sometimes I feel like I've succeeded.  So, we'll see this year. 

Stamps: Beautiful Kindness (Verve), Ink: Elegant Eggplant (SU!), Paper: Vintage Cream & Plum Pudding (PTI), Elegant Eggplant & Rich Razzleberry (SU!), Accessories: butterfly punches, scalloped edge punch, flat back pearls

Happy Birthday Angie

This is technically my second card for her.  The first one was that lovely basket one down below.  Last week, her awesome husband e-mailed me and asked me to make a card for her that he & the kids could give her.  He said she'd like that better than one he bought.  Awwww. It was sooo sweet. So, of course I said yes.  And I was so excited and honored.  Then came the panic.  Two cards?  For the same person?  Two completely different cards?  Breathe. Breathe.  Ok, so I finished the first one.  And I liked it.  Yay, me!  And I was feeling pretty good about myself.  Then I got stuck.  It was like I had never made a card.  Like the last card was all I had in me.  No more ideas.  All dried up.  Great.  I gave him the good one!  I didn't even know where to start.  It was like I had no stamp sets that were worthy.  And, hahahaha, that's really funny, cuz if you could only see how many stamps I have...Anyway, as you can see, I got both cards done.  And I like this one for her.  It's (almost) her favorite color. And it's whimsical - and who doesn't need more of that in their lives?  Happy Birthday, girl!

 

Stamps: Charlotte & Kenya Kettos (Stamping Bella), Friends til the End & Polka Dot Basics (PTI), Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Onyx Black, Fresh Snow (PTI), Paper: Groovy Guava (SU!), white & Berry Sorbet (PTI), Accessories: corner punch, white satin ribbon (PTI), Stickles, Copics:

Birthday Basket

K, so I totally copied myself here.  I needed a card in a hurry, so I thought I'd just skip the whole 'let's be creative' part of my routine and instead went with 'I need a hip card that was previously well received'.  Going thru my mental gallery, I came across this card.  I still love this card, which is saying a lot.  Usually after about a week of looking at something, it loses its appeal.  (oh, i should clarify that this just applies to my cards. after 17 years, i must say my husband is still pretty stinkin' cute!)  *Ahem* Back to the card. Of course I had to change it up a little.  While I was making it, I realized that the white base just wasn't as nice as using the Aqua Mist.  And the Aqua Mist itself just made the whole card softer, which is what I was going for.  Huh, I guess working under pressure is good for me.  Maybe I should tell myself there's a deadline for winning the lottery! 

Stamps: Vintage Picnic (PTI), Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Onyx Black, Paper: black, white, Aqua Mist & Everyday Blessings Patterned Paper (PTI), Accessories: Aqua Mist grosgrain ribbon (PTI), Copics:

The Sweet Life

Well, that was it. That was the last weekend of the summer. Hope you enjoyed it. It was nice for me as far as the weather is concerned. It finally cooled down. I just cannot hang with those temperatures in the 100's. It's just so unnecessary. Blecchh! And while the official start of fall will be nice when it gets here, my season is winter. Most people think I'm nuts for that, but living in California, we don't really get 'winter'. Sure, it gets cold, but man, winter in Michigan...now that's cold. I've done that and I'll take a California winter over that any day. Besides, you can always layer clothes when it gets cold. When it's hot, taking off all your clothes still doesn't cool you down. Not that I would ever subject anyone to that sight. I'm just sayin'. So bring on the cooler weather. Jeans & cute sweaters & boots. I love it. Sunshine paired with cool, crisp weather. But I also love the rain and the holidays. Our traditional Christmas 49er game at the 'Stick. Not to mention the bamillion Christmas cards & gifts that I do every year. Ok, let me quit fantasizing. After all, it's still early September and it's probably going to be 90 degrees today.

Stamps: Cupcakes (Hampton Art), Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Paper: white & Hibiscus Burst (PTI), Accessories: corner punch, Copics:

Big Ol' Candles

I know. You probably thought that I'd surely follow up what seems to be a popular card (for me, anyway) with something amazing. I mean isn't that why it's been sitting up at the top of my blog for days & days? Well, it's been sitting there cuz I haven't been able to make anything since that chair-ish one (ha, still funny). Not that I haven't had time, just nothing has been coming to me. I did make this one card (but not this card) that I thought was ok. It sat on my desk for a bit and then when I went to photograph it, I noticed that the ink had smudged. I totally blame my kids. I have no idea what happened, so I thought I'd just spread the blame around evenly. No one has fessed up, so what's a girl to do? I just figure it was an accident or maybe they didn't know (suckerrr)...they're always sitting at my desk, looking through my projects, writing on my scrap pad. And I wasn't in love with the card. If it were something I spent hours on, torturing myself to get just right, there would have been an investigation. An inquisition. Bloodhounds. Rolling heads. All that. But no, it was just a card. Anyway, I needed a couple of cards, so I whipped up a few simple ones to get my mojo flowing, cuz I've got some big birthdays coming up. Somebody's turning sweet 16. No, no pressure...

Stamps: Birthday Brackets (Stampendous), Cupcakes (Hampton Art), Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Onyx Black, Paper: white & Plum Pudding (PTI), Accessories: Crystal effects on the flames (SU!), Copics: