Birthday in Razzleberry

Good Morning!  I am finally able to post this birthday card I made for Stephen's mom (my soon-to-be mother-in-law!) that I created Sunday.  I sent out this card with her gift for her birthday yesterday which should arrive at her house today.  This is pretty amazing because I am always late sending gifts/cards out, and her birthday is actually on Thursday!  I really had fun with this card, not only because it is for a special person, but also because I got to use so much of my new stuff!

The base of this card is Soft Suede card stock, an 8 1/2" by 11" piece of card stock cut in half width wise.  I used River Rock card stock as my second layer or matte for my main card area cut 1/8" shorter on each side.  My third layer is Rich Razzleberry cut 1/8" smaller than my second layer of River Rock card stock.  I used International Bazaar DSP for the fourth layer (more like half layer) cut to the same length and half of the width of the Razzleberry layer.  I used my Big Shot and Labels Collection Framelits to cut the frame design out of River Rock card stock.  I stamped the sentiment using Elementary Elegance (a stamp set from Sale-A-Bration 2012) and Rich Razzleberry Classic Ink, then used one of the circle stamps from the Mixed Bunch stamp set in VersaMark ink all over the frame.  Next, I used a sponge and more Rich Razzleberry Classic Ink to accentuate the edge of the frame.  Before attaching the frame to the card, I used 5/8" Crochet Trim (the lace-looking ribbon) to cover the seam and 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon in Rich Razzleberry (a now retired ribbon).  I attached the frame using Stampin' Dimensionals and also used them to attach the butterflies.  For both butterflies, I used the Papillon Potpourri stamp set.  The top butterfly was stamped with Rich Razzleberry ink, punched out with the new Elegant Butterfly punch (an immediate must-have for me), and I added three rhinestones down the middle.  The bottom butterfly was stamped with VersaMark ink and I put gold embossing powder, then applied heat using a heat gun to get the pretty gold shiny (which you can't really see from the photo) effect.  I added some ribbon to this butterfly to pull it into the scheme and added a rhinestone just for some extra oompf. 

Thank you for visiting my blog today!  I hope you have an excellent rest of your day, and wish you a fun and creative day!

Hard to say good bye.

Okay! I know, as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator I am supposed to let go of the old and move onto the new. But I am having such a hard time this year since so many of my favorites got put on the retired list :( One of my absolute favorites, because I am such an animal lover, was the D is for Dog stamp set. This was a great stamp set because so many people I know have beloved animals, especially dogs, and it was versatile since you could use it for many occasions including sympathy. This card I designed for a friend who recently lost her beloved Baloo. He was a beautiful Rhodesian Ridgeback who had cancer. He was 10 years old! The card base is Crumb Cake, which I stamped the paws and bones onto using Versamark ink. I used a piece of DSP from Comfort Café that used Cajun Craze and Soft Suede, and used Crumb Cake seam binding and crumpled it before tying it around the DSP, and finishing it with a poor man's bow. The dog image was stamped in Cajun Craze, not just because it matched, but also because Rhodesian Ridgebacks are reddish brown. I used a sponge with Cajun Craze to make a border around the image then attached it to the card. I punched a heart then sponged it with All-Purpose Ink in Champagne Mist to give it a "heart of gold" which is what Baloo had :) and attached it with a safety pin. I hope you have a wonderful day! And get to enjoy it with your loved ones!

Class of 2012

My nephews are graduating from high school tomorrow!!! I can not believe they are graduating already! Since they are twins and absolutely nothing alike, I made them each grad cards that are similar but a little different. I am so very proud of both of them! Caden joined the Army and will be headed out to boot camp in a week. Brennan will be attending a community college. I wish them both the BEST of luck! Each card base is Crumb Cake card stock with Summer Starfruit and Gumball Green layered and torn onto the base. I stamped an image of a graduation cap in Soft Suede and the year numbers are from Memorable Moments stamped in the same color. Inside the card, I used "Happy Graduation" from the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set in Soft Suede. I realize that these are very simple and don't have much pazazz, but they are supposed to be masculine. I know, I know. I am working on getting better with the masculine style. Just bear with me ;)