Hello 50th Birthday

Hello there!

Another recent card make to share today, this time for a friend who turns 50 this year (and for once, I'm not late with this card - whoot!).

Technically this is a scrap-lift of a card design a did a few years ago but I loved the way it worked out so just went with it.  I used up some older October Afternoon Cakewalk papers and paired them with some Pebbles chipboards and stickers from the From Me to You and a Valentine's collections.  How adorable is that little bird?  And of course a 50th birthday needs a little gold bling, so the glittery gold Thickers made a reappearance.

All Star Dad Card

Hello, hello!

If you follow my blog, you may recall that I've been behind in my card-making a lot this year, such as when I finally made my mum's Mother's Day card not in May but in July (and confession time - I've only just posted it end of October - eek!).  So, not to disappoint my step-father but his Father's Day card has similarly been enormously delayed but it was totally worth it because I'm thrilled with the design!

All Start Dad

You'll never believe this but the inspiration for this card came to me while I was out for a morning jog.  I'd been struggling with what sort of theme to use for this year's Father's Day card and then remembered that I'd bought some of October Afternoon's gorgeous Apple Cider line and the colours would work nicely for a masculine card.

I also picked up the puffy stickers for the line (which, btw, are absolutely gorgeous) - except that several of them are American football-themed and not something I would ever use.  But they would be perfect for a Father's Day card...  Now if only there was an awesome retro TV set included somewhere in the line and as luck would have it, there was the perfect TV card in the do-dads pack.  Score!  I even used up a bit of scrap OA Woodland Park paper with a retro picture story design on it in the layering.

Finally, I got to the sentiment, which I hadn't thought about at all by this point.  I knew I wanted something sports-themed and eventually landed on the obvious: all star dad.  This mix of Bella Blvd. letter stickers and Amy Tan Thickers layered up worked perfectly.  There are just some cards that come together so easily and are a joy to create and this was without a doubt one of them.

Vintage Bliss Cards II

Before going on holiday, I shared with you two cards I made using an older Simple Stories Vintage Bliss sticker sheet.  I actually made an additional two cards using those stickers, which I'm happy to share with you today.

Having shared with you previously my extremely belated Mother's Day card for my mum, I'm sure you won't be surprised to hear that I also had an equally belated Mother's Day card for my granny.

Happy (Mother's) Day

Again, I went unconventional on the sentiment; I quite liked the quirkiness of it.  My gran has always been into gardens and loves flowers so I knew I wanted to work in this seed chart journaling card from OA's Woodland Park line.  I pulled out the matching 12x12 patterned pattern and fussy-cut matching flowers as additional embellishments, then used the little phrase banners to fill the empty space on the card.

Next I made a birthday card for a friend who's had a really difficult go of it the last six months.

SMILE Birthday Card

I really wanted this card to brighten her day so I kept things clean and simple and focused on that message of hope and encouragement.  And of course nothing makes me smile quite like beautiful, glittery gold sequins.  A simple doodled border added to the light and airiness while keeping everything grounded.

And in case you're wondering, my to-do list of cards hasn't shortened any recently...

Closing Out 2013

Hello, everyone and welcome back for my final post of 2013.  Tomorrow I will be winging my way back to Canada to spend the holidays with family and friends there and sadly, I won't have much in the way of an Internet connection (did I mention that my family live out in the middle of no where - literally, cattle field and my parents' house...) so we'll all have to wait for my return to Sweden come January before hearing from me.

So while I have you here I'd like to take a moment to thank you for having visited, commented and just generally supported this little blog of mine for the last six months.  As I may have mentioned in one of my first posts, running a blog was something that I'd long been considering and I'm so glad that I finally took the plunge.  Needless to say, I'm looking forward to continuing into 2014 and I hope that you will join me.

Now I have one final project for 2013 to share with you all.  This is a little birthday card that I made for a friend whose birthday just happens to be on St. Lucia day (December 13 for those of you not familiar with this Sweden tradition).  I loved the combination of OA's Cakewalk papers with Pebbles' From Me to You accents so much from my last birthday card (Hello 50th) that I decided to repeat the combination.

Lucia Birthday Card

Now you have to understand that I absolutely adore these OA papers and while I believe I have a bit more of that polka dot paper left, this was my last scrap of the star paper and the urge to hoard and admire it forever was very tempting!  But the fact that this last piece was the exact size for an A6 card was clearly a sign that it was destined for something greater than sitting in my scraps pile, don't you think?

The pretty lime green glitter tape I managed to find at the local TGR shop (Danish dollar store) so I snatched up a roll of that and broke into it right away.  The sentiment, label and flowers are all stickers and a chipboard from the Pebbles collection.  Nice and simple; especially important at this busy time of year.

So that's it from me for the year.  I won't have the opportunity to scrapbook while away for the holidays (although I will be loading up on whatever goodies I find there).  I will, however, be taking my embroidery with me so I may have another finished month's worth of blocks to share upon my return and as my mother is a (retired!) professional quilter, you never know what other sewn goodies I may come away with.

Wishing you all a very merry holiday season full of cheer and joy, rest and relaxation and safe travels.  See you in the New Year!

Hello 50 Birthday Card

So last week a friend at work turned the big 5-0.  Naturally a special card was in order.  I was excited to break into my new supplies and itching to use my new Pebbles From Me to You collection.  And since this was a special milestone card, gold was a must!

Hello 50 Birthday Card

October Afternoon's Cakewalk papers mixed really well with the Pebbles collection so I dug out some scraps to use up.  I just love how cheerful these OA papers are (and to be honest, I've been hoarding that star paper for some time now).

I used the Pebbles sticker and chipboard accents to embellish.  I also wrapped some gold metallic sewing thread around the green banner - it's very thin and subtle but just the right weight to balance out the design.  And the chunky gold glitter Thickers are the Maggie Holmes variety by Crate Paper - I just love them!

Melanie absolutely loved the card, I'm pleased to say.  She gave me a huge hug and kiss and said it was the nicest card she's ever received.  Awww!  Isn't it wonderful to give someone the perfect gift?  Totally made my day.  Heck, it made my week.

Who Knew

Whew!  Work week done - hello, weekend!  I'm looking forward to another crafty weekend but I still have one more LO from last Sunday to share with you.  Remember how a week ago I posted this photo?

A photo badge of my childhood self, my mum and my granny from the '80s.  Unsurprisingly, many people commented that I simply had to scrapbook this little treasure and I couldn't agree more.  So I pulled out my new Hello Again collection by Carta Bella and got to work and here is the final product:

I have to admit, I was channeling Glitter Girl's episode #85: It's All Hunky Dorey for this LO. Like Glitter Girl, I used the same background paper because it's my absolute favourite in the whole collection.  I liked the idea of using the pop of black and great typography for contrast.  I also added that lovely map print from Webster's Pages, which ties in with the journaling.  And I couldn't resist including a View Master slide reel to re-inforce the '80s timeline.

I've been steadily working my way through my bag of Basic Grey Knee Highs and Bow Ties chipboard pieces but hadn't yet used any of the circles.  I was so thrilled to find this largest one was orange with tiny pink dots and worked really well with the other papers.  The extra large scallop die cut is from OA's Woodland Park pack.

The journaling card was part of the Hello Again cut-apart sheet and the glasses with the 'looking back' is from my favourite KI Memories stamp set - just so perfect for this LO.  And I took great cheeky pleasure at throwing in the 'be awesome' chipboard.  I used my first puffy sticker geotag here and a 2Peas star-shaped paper clip.  I added my estimate for the date - 1984.  I'm really happy with this LO and now I really can't wait to get scans of more childhood photos.  I'll have to see about doing that when I'm back home visiting my parents over the winter holidays.

In other news, last night I stopped into the big craft chain store here in Sweden, Panduro Hobby, and was super excited to discover a bunch of new scrapbooking goodies on offer:

That's right - the Simple Stories Snap! line!  And it doesn't appear to just be bits and pieces this time, either but - dare I say? - full line!  The binders, inserts, page protectors, papers, envelopes, journaling cards, etc.  I just picked up the 6x6 paper pad and one of the 3x4 journaling card packs for now but then I realised that this will be perfect to make a special birthday gift for a friend so clearly I'm going to need to go back and get more supplies for that project.  So exciting!

And check out this phrase and date roller stamp - love it!  This is a Panduro Hobby own brand stamp and it's in English, which is awesome.  I really like the variety of phrases, from the simple 'date' to several that will be perfect for travel themes and some fun symbols and pictures (totally love the little cutlery set for Thursday dinner photos).

All right, that's all I've got for now.  Check back later this weekend for more.