Anniversaries and a Special Request With a Glimmer

There are two couples that celebrate their wedding anniversaries back-to-back in September and sometimes I cheat a little and make the same card for them both but usually in different colors.  In this case I knew that the first couple had green as their wedding color (only because we were in that wedding party) so I went with the green background.  I only wish I'd used a darker shade for the sentiment so it showed up better.  But I stamped and embossed the heart motif on the background paper first just using clear embossing powder. 

I'm not sure what color the bridal party wore at the other wedding but I know the bride's favorite color is pink and I usually go with that color for them.  Again, I used clear EP on the background.  I liked using this die with the two birds as a couple.

Two birds as a couple showed up in this card also.  Our former school superintendent reached out to me in late July to make a personalized wedding card for her nephew who was getting married in NY in September.  I don't usually do requests outside of the family but in this case I did as a pay-it-forward (or backward) for something she had done for me before she moved out of state.  She had given me a whole bunch of craft punches, stickers, and a few other miscellaneous items she no longer wanted from her craft stash.  She makes pottery and was going to mainly focus on that in her retirement so I was the beneficiary of some nice things she was getting rid of and she wanted no reimbursement for them at the time, so I used that as an agreement to make the card for her in repayment.  

I've made wedding cards for Rachel to give to her friends in the past, and even with those that I make that I need I usually take into consideration the colors if they're known, the design of the invitation (theme), or their hobbies or collections.  The info I got on this couple was that they lived in Queens NY and loved NYC, had a corgi that they loved, and her name is Raven and his Steve.  I had this tree die that I hadn't used yet with the birds on the branch and the heart carved into it.  I watercolored it and added their initials to the heart.  I also found a stamp I had of a crown which is the symbol of Queens.  I stamped it and embossed it in gold EP.  I was able to trim down the stamp to get a crown the size that I needed to fit on the heart.  I found a stamp of a corgi with a heart on the chest which I thought would be perfect.  That was fussy cut out and popped up in front of the tree. For the background I cut some rectangular strips of cardstock in grays and blues and lightly drew in hints of windows with colored pencil which are supposed to represent the NYC skyline.  The sentiment was embossed in gold and die cut with a word bubble die that resembles a cloud.  I framed the tree and background with an embossed piece of cardstock.

I e-mailed her a picture and she liked it so I mailed it off to her in North Carolina.  I was pleased to see that the wedding was this weekend and she messaged me to tell me that the "card was a HUGE hit and they are planning to frame it to hang in their home".  That was certainly a "glimmer" in my day.

If you haven't heard about glimmers, this is something that has been going around lately -  

A Little Guide to Glimmers

~ Glimmers are the opposite of triggers

~They are tiny moments of awe

~ They spark joy and evoke inner calm

~ They have a positive effect on our mental health

~ They are micro-moments causing tiny mood shifts

~ They send cues of safety to our nervous system

~ They bring feelings of ease and contentment

~ Our body responds with positive energy

~ They allow us to feel hope when lost

~ Our nervous system is strengthened by them

~ They can help increase our well-being

~ Once we start embracing them it can be a beautiful way to see the world around you