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

Happy 60th Birthday, Get Well, and a Wedding Card Too

The last of our Table 7 gang celebrated her 60th birthday the end of October.  This was the envelope for the card I made.

Once again, the seasonal theme for our group.  Each of these seasons is a separate die but I chose to keep them together in a square format, backing each season with an appropriate color.  You can't tell from the picture, but the sentiment "Celebrate" is die cut from a wood veneer sheet and painted with bronze glimmer paint.

A co-worker of HWNSNBP's recently had some neck surgery.  I thought this sentiment was appropriate and stuck with the fall theme.  

Inside.

And lastly, another wedding card for Rachel using the colors of the Philadelphia Eagles - favorites of the bride and groom.

Second Wedding Card

The second wedding card that I made for Rachel.  I usually ask her for any ideas like colors, themes, etc.  She said her friends were fans of the Philadelphia Eagles, so maybe something in green and silver.  

Easy peasy with those die cuts.  I would have preferred a die that said the complete word "congratulations" though.  At least I had this one.  I'm adding it to my shopping list.  

If I can find a little time I think I'm going to put together a few of these just to have for the future. I think it would be pretty for other occasions too and with any color.  Hmmmm, there's an anniversary coming up.........

Wedding Card #1

Rachel recently asked me to make her some cards.  She has 3 weddings and a shower to attend in the next couple of months.  This is the first of the wedding cards that I made for her.  I got my inspiration from a card that I saw on Pinterest made by Melodie Viljoen.  Hers was so pretty in pink, but I went the white and silver way for the occasion.

And inside I simply added................

Cardmakers, do you ever wonder about the amount of work that you put into a card for certain occasions?  I was going to make 3 of the same card for her, but she said they knew each other and I wondered that anyone else ever sees the cards that people get for weddings and would it matter.  I plan on trying 3 different ones but the question still sits in my mind.  

When you make or buy a sympathy card for someone, do they display it?  Weddings and showers - do people leave them out where others can see or are they tucked back into envelopes or bundled in ribbon and stashed away?

I'm not going to stop making cards because of the thought of someone tossing it away, but I'm rethinking simplicity.  I can make something simple and beautiful or elaborate and beautiful and maybe some occasions should be more on the simple side.  

What do you think?  

A Little Bit of This and That

A baby goat came to visit at school last week.  He is part of one of our students' 4-H projects.  The week before, the students' mom came to get him early because there was an emergency with the mama goat.  Mama goat had been sick toward the end of her pregnancy and she was delivering a little prematurely.  She delivered 3 kids but the two females died leaving just this little boy kid.  And then, sadly the mama goat died so the family is hand-raising this little guy.  Isn't it cute!

Below are some not-so-bad attempts at capturing the sunset by HWNSNBP whilst he was at the condo late last week.  He had to meet up with a handyman to go over some work we're having done there and take care of a few errands in the area.  

The night he went down there I was working upstairs on a card we needed for the weekend.  The stamp cave is getting there - things are moved back in, but I haven't been able to organize them so it's taking me longer to find the things that I need.  Anyhoo....... while I was upstairs Kirby decided to have an adventure of his own downstairs.  I had left his door open and usually he just climbs to the top and sits there.  Well something must have spooked him because when I came down, the stinker was nowhere to be found.........and not making any noise.  Despite my calling his name and whistling, he didn't respond.  After about 10 minutes of looking for him I noticed some movement - it was him sitting on this trug that HWNSNBP made for me all the way across the room from his cage. I think he knew he was in trouble which is why he didn't make any noise.  But there's no punishment, just a little lecture.

And here is what I was working on.  We had a wedding to go to in Philadelphia Saturday.  I knew the bridesmaids were wearing this mossy green color and the guys were wearing grey.  The flower looks pinkish in the picture but there was no pink in it, I just highlighted it with some of the mossy green and then over that with some clear Wink of Stella.  The flower is from Hero Arts and came with dies perfect for layering it to look like paper tole.  The sentiment was die cut from some white glitter paper.  The background was scored and looked like the design on the invitations.  I thought I had a close-up of the flower, but I guess not.  

The poor bride badly sprained her ankle the night before the wedding and had to wear a boot but she was a trooper.  The ceremony was cute with the infant niece of the bride and the infant niece of the groom as flower girl and ringbearer - they were rolled down the aisle in a wagon by another groomsman assigned the job of wagonmaster.  The food was out of this world and I overdid the dancing just a smidge, but loved it nonetheless.  The groom is the son of one of our Table 7 compatriots and that's where we all sat - with our family of friends.

Purple Wedding, Robins, and Oranges

Rachel was recently in the wedding party of a college friend.  She asked me to create a wedding card and told me that the bride's colors were purple and ivory.  I had a this card by Anja Curvers pinned on my Pinterest card board and added my own touches to it. 

I used my SU hearts embossing folder, added a lace band with a purple twine bow, and the little heart that says "Mr. & Mrs.".  And there are two layers of purple cardstock. 

Inside, since the card base was a dark one, I die cut a heart a little larger that the one on the front from the Very Vanilla cs for the message.

I haven't been spending as much time in the stamp cave and I would like.  Still doing therapy for my neck and arm twice a week.  I've mostly been catching up on my Zentangle calendar and working on a couple of upcoming projects.  My neck is starting to feel a little better so I should be getting back in the creative swing soon.  (Keep your fingers crossed. I would, but then with my luck I might hurt myself!)

Our custodian confirmed something that I thought was going on in our holly bush outside the front of the school.  There is a bird nest in there.  And there are babies!  These are robin babies determined by several clues.  1) A blue eggshell half was found in front of the other secretaries car parked not too far from this bush.  2) We watched a robin searching for bugs in the grass and stepped back far enough and waited long enough to see the robin fly into the chirping bush.  Yes, they are loud when they are hungry.  And it looks like they don't mind having their picture taken even though they are very well hidden in that bush.  (Just look at those spiny leaves!)

And one last photo for today.  I was thinking of taking up juggling. No, well yes, I would someday like to learn to juggle, but these oranges were brought to me by one of our cafeteria aides this afternoon.  She had at least a dozen in a basket.  Oranges and other things like cheese sticks, cartons of milk, other fruit that she rescued from going in the trash at lunch time.  She and the other cafeteria aides had seen, for many years now, the amount of food - good food - untouched food - that the students THROW AWAY every day after lunch.  So she started putting a basket out and tried to encourage the students to add to the basket instead of the garbage can.  You should see how much she saves from the landfill.

I'm waning fast this evening so I'll be on my merry way.  Please come back to visit soon.

It Was a Wedding Weekend

Our daughter-in-law Michelle's sister married her beau this weekend.  They had a gorgeous day for an outdoor wedding.  The card above was ours to them, and the one below Rachel used.  

And since I couldn't go, Rachel took her dad as her date.

Congratulations Julie and Matt!

Someone's Getting Married Today

The youngest daughter of friends of ours is getting married this afternoon.  I'm posting this early because we'll be getting ready to join the festivities at our traditional Table 7.  You might think that the card is a little different for a wedding card, but if you look at the invitation below you'll see why I put it together this way.  

You see the tractor there amongst the flowers, but it is not a farm wedding.  The groom happens to like tractors and I was lucky enough to have a tractor stamp that I got from PictureShow Stamps a while back.  I colored it green and yellow and I do know that it's not exactly a John Deere like the one on the invitation, but I think it'll do.  I first stamped some wheat in the background with Hero Arts Tall Wheat.  The sentiment is from SU's Word Play.  The daisy was die cut and I added the MS micro beads to the center.  I also added a sticky rhinestone for the ring.  The doily is an SU die cut and the embossed panels in the background are SU also.  (If you need to know the names, drop me an e-mail and I'll get back to you on it.)

On the inside I added a sentiment from another SU set and the silhouetted flowers from Upsy Daisy.  I used the window frames die for that - die cut the white and traced the outer side for the black frame.  

Did you see what I wrote on the tractor?   I'm pretty pleased with this as my creativity has been at a low ebb lately and I do like the way this came out.  Hope they do!

Now, I'm off to get beautiful ----- well, presentable will do.  It's going to be a hot, but fun afternoon and evening.

Wedding - Part 4

These are the table decorations that I made for the rehearsal dinner.  I wanted to personalize it a little for Chris and Michelle and took some of their engagement photos and few of the favorite pictures my son provided and printed them out to fit these 3.5 x 5 frames.  I found out the hard way that although you can readily buy 3.5 x 5 frames in most places that print photos, you cannot print photos that size.   Luckily I was able to print them out from my computer.  Each of the glass blocks held two photos back-to-back.  I replaced the back easel part with plain cardboard and glued them together at the sides and the top, leaving the bottom open.

In the bottom of the glass block (the opening is on the top hidden by the decos) I put a layer of sand.  I then took a tongue depressor that I snapped in half and pushed that into the sand so I could  slide the frames onto it so they would wobble around.  The hardest part was adding the shells afterwards.  It took a variety of "tools" to get them placed just the way I wanted them.  My intention was to keep it simple on the inside with the decorations so you would be drawn to the pictures.

I used the paper that I had leftover from making the invitations to decorate the outside.  You can barely see it in the photo, but there was a band of Bermuda Bay completely around the outside of the block.  I had used the same shell embossing plate to emboss that.  On the top I added two of the Apothecary Accents framelits as a base for the Pool Party flower that I created using dies and punches with a crystal brad center on each.  Then I hot glued the tulle ribbon in layers like a bow.  Die cut leaves in Sahara Sand and a few shells on the top finished them off.  

The real challenge was transporting them without having the pictures fall over, but thankfully it worked out fine.  I only made 4 of these and they went relatively fast once I figured out the picture problem.   (Side note:  the best price for these glass blocks was definitely AC Moore).

I wanted to keep the card that I made for them simple but a little elegant.  I stuck with the Sahara Sand, White, and Very Vanilla color scheme.  I was driving myself crazy trying to find my diagonal scoring plate and gave up on that and used one of the texture plates instead.  The texture was much more visible IRL.  I added sticky pearls where there were little circles in the texture plus a few more.  There's a Delicate Doily sizzlet there and a Very Vanilla flower made from various punches. 

I embossed the sentiment with pewter EB and framed it with one of the frames in the SU Holiday Mini.  Since I popped it up with dimensionals, I covered the holes on the sides with sticky pearls and added a sticky rhinestone above the sentiment. 

Luckily I still have a partial box of off-white envelopes that were a bit larger than this card so the flower did not get crushed. 

These are a few of the cupcakes that were leftover from the reception.  Instead of a cake, they had a cupcake tower with a small cake topper.  These were delicious - red velvet with edible chocolate shells, starfish, and sand dollars.  Yum!  All the food was delicious from the cocktail hour appetizers to the expansive buffet dinner.  Besides the cupcakes they also had an assortment of desserts and a coffee bar.  

And here we are with our gang at Ship Bottom AKA Table 7.  A bit fuzzy, sorry it must have been the photographer!  That's us on the right side.  I loved my dress and thank my daughter for shopping with me and picking it out.  HWNSNBP looked very hot smart in his navy blue suit.  

My hip posed little problem while I danced that night and dance I did.  It might have just been the high of the evening keeping me going although it did take me quite a long time to find a comfortable position to get to sleep that evening.  It was all well worth it though.  

And lastly, some pictures from the Photo Booth.  (The Looking Glass is Michelle's sister Julie's business.)  Keep in mind that we were meaning to "ham it up" a bit!  

Thanks for bearing with my absence in posting this last month or so.  Things should get back to normal soon.  Actually it will be a new normal now that we have a new family member.  My son is very lucky to have found such a beautiful, kind, caring, creative, thoughtful, bride.  And we are so proud to have her join our family.  

It's a Wedding Day

We're off to a wedding today.  This is cased from Cindee Wilkinson.  I just thought it would be perfect for a wedding card and I wanted to try the embossing technique that she used.  If you click on her name she gives the source of directions to get these embossing folders to work together so well.  

Congratulations to Bobby and Rachel!

Wedding Wishes

I attended the wedding of a colleague last Sunday.  It was a gorgeous day and they made a gorgeous couple.  The girls in the bridal party wore dresses in burnt orange.  This is the card that I made for them.

Catching Up

I know I haven't posted much lately. It's the busy time of year at school, believe it or not, and I've had some personal projects to attend to at home. Mostly I've been trying to take advantage of the cooler weather on dry days to catch up with the weeding! We have had so much rain lately that it's been hard to find those days, so when they come, I really feel I need to take advantage of them.

But, I have been stamping and trying to keep up with my challenges and weekly posts. I just haven't had time to post them all. School will be done in two days and, although I do work through the summer in the office, I should be able to share more in the near future. So thank you for your patience.

Psst. Wanna see something new? Look here. This card I made for my co-workers b'day has all new SU product. The card base is one of the new In Colors - Rich Razzleberry. I hope your computer screen does it justice because it is the purple that I know I've been waiting for. Not too blue and not too red - just right Goldilocks!

The little scallop edge you see is another In Color - Melon Mambo with some punched dots of Crushed Curry. Two more colors that you'll be seeing a lot of in the future.

The patterned paper is called Razzleberry Lemonade and I noticed with this patter particularly that it almost looks 3-D when you stare at it with 350 magnifiers! Of course not everyone does that - just sayin it's pretty.

And the stamped image itself is from the new set called Razzle Dazzle. And the coolest part of this is it's colored with markers - new IN COLOR MARKERS!!!! (Except for the green which is Old Olive). This is something that SU demos have been asking for since they introduced the In Color business a few years ago. They come as a set!

Oh, and don't let me forget the ribbon - new In Color Polka-dotted ribbon to boot!

Now this card was quickly done last weekend for my daughter who needed a wedding card to send to a friend's wedding. The base is Pink Pirouette and the vellum was imbossed with the Manhattan Flower embossing template. I stamped the sentiment from Happily Every After on top of the vellum and then adhered the vellum to the background with red line tape at the top. I added the MS scallop heart punch at the top to hide the view of the tape through the vellum. The ribbon also has red line tape on the back to help stabilize the vellum piece.

This embossing folder is great for quick elegant cards.

We're Going to a Wedding

Well, I started this post long before we left earlier today - Saturday. Jess, the daughter of our friends B&K got married today. She is the younger of two daughters. She married her college
sweetheart, Brian.

In a nutshell, because it is so late - They are a lovely couple. The wedding was beautiful. It was a gorgeous day. The reception rocked. I danced my ass off at the reception, but unfortunately it followed me home!

This is the card I made for them. The little silver heart charm says "Love". You can't see from the picture, but the center of the flowers have a bubble of dazzling diamonds.