Happy Birthday Party Card

Hello, hello!

I'm sure you won't be surprised to hear this but I've been pretty rubbish lately when it comes to getting cards made on time.  However, when one's gran turns 85, you get your act into gear!  This still didn't quite make it to her on the right day but it wasn't far off - at least it got made before her actual birthday and then it was just down to international mail delivery times.

I used the new Simple Stories SNAP! birthday collection kits - since first trying them out on my Barcelona album, I have to say that I really enjoy using them both for scrapbooking traditional or mini album layouts and also for quick cards.  I loved the bright, cheery colours and the clean, white backgrounds.

My original plan was to use the die cuts from the embellishment pack for the sentiment, as there was a cute little 'happy birthday' in a swagging banner shape but sadly, it wasn't big enough for the white space on the card and it just didn't look right.  But I liked the style of the blocky lettering and stamped effect, which is what inspired me to dig out my Amy Tan Yes, Please transparent sticker letters, which I layered haphazardly to create a similar effect.

Some orange and pink spray mist, star sequins and layered up die cut hearts added to the jovial, party-like feeling.

A Great Love Story - 1st Valentine

We interrupt this regularly scheduled blog update for a special post-Valentine layout!

Perhaps this sounds shocking but I've never made a Valentine's LO before; I've never really had reason to.  Until now.  You see, over the Christmas holidays while I was visiting my parents and the ice storms hit, we spent part of an evening without hydro.  We lit candles and huddled down under blankets in the living room and just talked; and my Mum shared with me the most touching story about my grandfather buying me my first Valentine card just weeks after I was born.  In fact, that whole first year of my life, he bought me a card for every celebration.  Cue sappy nostalgia and I knew I had to record this precious story.

1st Valentine

My original inspiration for this LO actually came from some Dear Lizzy patterned paper of colourful little envelopes sealed with hearts.  I had every intention of using it on this LO but it was just too busy and detracting from the other elements but it sparked the inspiration to use the mini envelopes with hearts in lieu of a photo or the card itself.

I'm totally in love with this collage of elements; there are so many little bits and bobs I've been holding onto for just the 'right' LO - the Maggie Holmes fabric frames (especially this polka dot one with 'loved' stitched onto it), the Amy Tan ticket, the resin cameo from Marianne's lovely Stash Busters prize parcel, the little yellow bow - the list goes on.

I loved the vintage watercolour slide frame of the original Crate Paper patterned paper I used for the background.  Then I did some mixed media work on it; creating a gold sunburst coming out of the envelopes with some Heidi Swapp gold lame mist, some texture paste hearts between the rays and then an explosion of some truly awesome puffy stickers I found at my local grocery store of all places!  Some fairly generous Heidi Swapp primrose spatters, too.

Incidentally, I've since asked my Mum about that old Valentine card and if there's any chance she may still have it.  It may be buried in a baby album or an old photo album; I'll have to see when I return for Christmas again this year but either way, the story is now recorded and when I've finally found the right words, they'll find a home in that little pink envelope.  Love you, Grandpa.

Christmas Cards 2013

Ho ho ho!

So every year I make my own Christmas cards; any where between 30-50 cards.  Normally I start this process in November but if I'm absolutely honest, I didn't get around to starting mine this year until just last week - eek!  Thankfully, I already knew exactly (okay, roughly) what I wanted to do.

You see, I had some inspiration much earlier in the year during the CHA-S previews.  I saw these adorable cameos by Webster's Pages and the Santa moustache totally stole my heart.  I thought to myself, "That's my Christmas card this year."

Totally cute, right?

But I wanted to kick it up a notch and really, what's a moustache without some tickle to it?  So the hunt was on to find just the right 'stach fixins' and after a lot of pain-staking clipping, here's what I came up with:

Yup, Santa Claus is comin' to town!

Crinkly white faux fur for the moustache!  The sentiment is heat embossed in white.  Then to add some magic sparkle, I splattered some white mist, sprinkled some silver star sequins and added some Stickles glitter glue in silver along the diagonal.  The edges are also rubbed with white stamp ink to help ground the design and give the impression of a frosted window.

I have to say, I don't think I've ever come up with a quicker design in previous years and although cutting out the moustaches was tedious and time-consuming, the rest of the card came along quite quickly thereafter - I reckon three days total, plus some time tonight to paste in the interior plaque and DONE!

And incidentally, ever since a friend told me last year that her family rates the Christmas cards they receive and mine is always the winner, it's been a bit intimidating deciding on a design - heh.  I'm feeling pretty confident with this 'entry', as it were.  Fingers crossed!