Birthday Card

I'm on a roll using my Embossing Folder Stamping Technique papers. Glad I made a bunch of background papers. Easy to whip up cards now! This birthday card is for our neighbor.

Edge punched  a white scrap with my new Martha Stewart Daisy Fan punch, (found on clearance). Applied shabby shutters distress ink to the edges. The layer on top of that was a scrap of printed paper that had been punched with the EK Success medallion punch. The flower and butterfly are punches. The "tag" is a Pinterest idea. originating from Sylvia on SMD Paper Arts. --border punch a piece of cardstock. Then cut between the designs to get cute little tags.

I cut a strip of tulle using it in place of ribbon. Used pearls on butterfly and a gemstone on flower. Applied pumice stone to the edges of both. Used Peeled Paint marker to add lines on the flower. Folded the flower along the petals and used dimensional foam to attach it to the card.

Jubilee Card for Sr. Pat

Sr. Pat is also celebrating her 60th Jubilee. Both my Aunt Laura and Sr. Pat are Joliet Franciscans, a wonderful group of women who have spent their lives in the service of others. I just love this order of sisters.

My card background was made with the Embossing Folder Stamping Technique. After it was dry, I distressed the edges, added a flower, leaves and a paper banner for the St. Francis sentiment, inking the edges.

Here is a photo of the backgrounds. I used the Embossing Folder Stamping tutorial on Heidi Wegman's The Reluctant Blogger who also referenced Splitcoaststampers Audrie Magno-Gordon's tutorial.

My Ranger Adirondack acrylic paint dabbers, Lettuce and Pool, had dried out. However I was able to remove a glob of paint and smear it on the embossing folder. Then I spritzed it with water, inserted white card stock and ran it through my cuttlebug. I repeated the process and made a bunch of backgrounds. Though this technique is a bit messy, you can make lots of backgrounds. Just clean up right away with water, being sure you don't let the paint dry in the embossing folder. I used a Sizzix honeycomb folder.

Meet My Australian Friends

On a wonderful trip to Australia a few months ago, my husband and I met with three of my online stamping friends: Carole, Lola, and Eileen. Here are photos of our time together.

CAROLE

Carole and I are enjoying a cuppa at the cafe in the Museum of Contemporary Art.

We were served this lovely Flat White.

Cafe balcony with Harbour Bridge in the background

Outside of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney

 

Carole, Don and I spent the beautiful day walking in Sydney. 

LOLA

Robbie and Lola took us sightseeing in the Snowy Mountains.

 This is Thredbo, the ski resort. Kids were taking their bicycles up the ski lift then riding down the paths.

Lola and me

That's Lake Jindabyne in the background

which is part of the Snowy Mountain Scheme-

a system of dams and tunnels to create hydroelectric power.

Robbie & the resident bird at the lobby of our hotel.

What a tame and beautiful bird.

Later that day we had a delicious dinner at the Alpine Hotel Restaurant.

Then we were invited back to their house for coffee. A beautiful day from beginning to end.

EILEEN

Eileen and Michael took us sight seeing in the Perth area.

Here we are waiting for our Fish and Chips at Cicerellos

on the Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour.

Eileen and me

Michael drove us to Kings Park that evening. Amazing view of Perth.

Eileen drove us to Perth the next day. Here we are at the Western Australian Museum.

...and the beautiful old Post Office in Perth.

Eileen and Michael had appetizers and champagne at their house before they took us to the Commodore Chinese Restaurant in their town of Forrestfield. So nice to meet Meredith and Bill. Meredith is also a member of the yahoo stamping group Enjoy Michael Strong Stamps.

Our trip to Australia and New Zealand was the trip of a lifetime. 

Being able to meet online friends, made it extra special!

Benjamin's Name Frame

Made a name frame for our newest member of the family, Don's nephew's son, Benjamin.

 

Without the frame.

In an 8 x 10 inch frame.

Here is the baby card. Started this at Lynette's house earlier this month.

3D Card Stampfest with Linda

May has been a great Stampfest Month!

On May 6th, Linda invited me to her house to visit and stamp.
We used the following Sizzix dies to make cards:

  Pop N Cuts XL Card Horizontal A2 w Circle Label (first 2 cards)
and Mug & Heart (3rd one in pic below)
plus
Fancy Frame Flip-its #2 (scroll down)

Whew, what a mouthful!  Long names on those dies!

You will see the inside of the "mug" card at the end.  Linda sent me a thank you using it.

Here's a close up of Linda's card.

and my card.

Here are those darling Framelits Fancy Frames Flip-its #2

 And another view.

Here's a pic of Linda's stamp room!

Look at the nice dinner Chez Paul made for us! He's Linda's husband.

Linda's daughter, Lauren stopped by-what a treat to see her!

Here is the front of the Mug & Heart Pop up card that Linda mailed me. Isn't she sweet to send ME a thank you! She was the one who hosted our stampfest!

The inside of the Mug & Heart Pop up card.

Aunt Laura's 60th Jubilee

My dear Aunt Laura celebrated her 60th Jubilee of being a sister (nun). She belongs to the order of sisters called
The Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate (Joliet Franciscans).
The card I made for her is a 4-1/8 x 5-1/2 inch booklet. I cut purple cardstock in half (lengthwise) for the cover. I added 2 sheets of white cardstock for the inside to make more pages. I trimmed them down slightly so they would not show "through" the cover. I bound the booklet with fun fur yarn by punching 3 holes on the center fold with my 1/8 inch punch. Stitching directions and diagram are below.

Cover

page 1

page 2

page 3

page 4

last page.

Here are stitching directions for binding the booklet. You can use twine, floss, ribbon, yarn--use your imagination! Hetty Sanders' tutorial for her card sized booklet is my inspiration! The paper size is different in the Jubilee card above, but the stitching is the same.

You can see my Aunt Laura and me at her OLA Jubilee celebration on May 15, 2014.

Stampscapes, Etc. Stampfest with Lynette

On May 5th, Lynette and I spent the day at her house making cards. 

We worked as a team on the Pin-inspired cat card called Banner Kitties, found on Diane Roberts' Score at Four and a Quarter blog.

The spring design on our ATC (scant 3-3/4 x 2-3/4 inch) was inspired by the Tim Holtz' March 2014 tag. This size fits in one of the 12 spaces of the 7 Gypsies Shadowbox tray that Lynette has on her wall in her stamping room! Maybe I'll copy her idea and get one of those shadowboxes too. We found many websites to inspire us on the stampscapes cards.

Here we are after a fun day of stamping!

Butterfly and Dragonfly

In addition to being a birthday card, this card will be submitted to the Enjoy Michael Strong Stamps Yahoo Group for the May Challenge and it will also be shared on Hetty Sanders' Craft Chaos blog. Hetty is offering a chance to win Michael Strong's new Cloisonne Pony stamp to those who submit an entry with at least one Michael Strong Stamp. Check out the details on her blog.

Here is my "interpretation" of it. I did not follow the sketch exactly.

I used Mike's Cloisonne Mosaic Frame, Mini Cloissone Wings. 

...and the flower from Mini Cloisonne Shapes on the inside.

Materials Used:

Distress, Stampin' Up! and Versafine Inks

Hero Arts, Michael Strong and PrintWorks Stamps

Clear embossing powder on the butterfly and dragonfly.

Stampscapes Stamping Fun

I treated myself to some new Stampscapes stamps. These are the cards I made.

 

 

Materials Used: 

Stampscapes stamps: Waterside Bluff Left-148F, Crooked Limb-097E, Crane in Water-163A, and Ducks in Formation-027A, Oak Branch-203G, Lakeside Cabin-147F, Lady on Horse-168A, Tree Duo-085A, Reeds Lg.-068D, Gulls-302A, Canoe-010A,Cattails-016B, Rocky Peaks-188F, Hot Sun-285E, Plate B Scenic Sentiments Sheet #4
 Plus a Rubber Stampede-Hilltop Z-251-E

Ranger Matte coated cardstock

 Used Distress inks applied with foam applicators first, then stamped the images with Marvy #1 Black dye ink.

Pentel Sunburst white gel pen for accents on the 1st card

Name Frame for Baby Elise

Made this name frame for our friend's new baby.

 

I used to make these in long, narrow frames, but they are difficult to find. So I adapted my design to fit the frames that are easy to find. I think this is an 8 x 10 inch frame.

Below is the baby card.