Ahoy Matey Birthday Card

I can't believe my oldest grandson is turning 10 this month. I made this card to celebrate the great kid he is. Just a couple of years ago he got an outdoor play set with swings, etc., that had a pirate's tower. He also wanted to watch pirate movies when he came to my house. He definitely got his youngest brother into dressing up like a pirate. This has definitely been a hobby of his, so this card is also for Here Come the Boys Challenge #26, Hobbies. I also wanted to scissor distress the edges, making them rough and more masculine. Craft Your Passion Challenge #109 is for torn or distressed edges.

I chose the colors for this card with the great masculine palette at The Play Date Cafe, Challenge #131: Seaweed, Algae, Goldfish, and a touch of Black.

The sketch came from My Favorite Things Wednesday Stamp Club #71. The main image was made with a clear stamp that is also from My Favorite Things, Claire Keay's Ahoy Matey.

I added some additional sandpaper distressing on the lighter green piece that was embossed with the woodgrain pattern. The Kraft corrugated shapes are neutral and don't interfere with the intended color scheme. All three pieces were connected, but I punched them apart. Cut the one on the upper right in half and mounted the stamped sentiment under it. The ones on the bottom right came from inside that frame. I turned the inner circle upside down so I could stamp the number 10 then reinserted it and pop dotted both pieces over the arrow using two layers of pop dots on the bottom. It's hard to see in this photo but the black strip has the word "ha ha" over and over again. I tied 2 pieces of black hemp around it and tied two more pieces into knots on the right side and trimmed.

I enjoyed making this card using these challenges. That part was fun. But the number 10 makes me a little sad knowing he's just growing up too fast. I'm so glad he's a Christian and goes to a great Christian school, Sunday School, church, and Awanas. Being the oldest of four kids, he's very nurturing of the younger ones. At least I know he'll grow up to be a sweet pirate, but please, Lord, not too soon!

6.5" x 5" Masculine Birthday Card:
Paper - Basic Grey Sultry; Close To My Heart "Hooligans" (black),  "Olivia" (sunset dotted), White Daisy and old retired green cardstock
Stamps - My Favorite Things Claire Keay's "Ahoy Matey;" CTMH numbers "Friendship Alphabet" and sentiment retired
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black
Other - Copic markers; CTMH sanding block, black hemp, Milepost Shapes; Sizzix woodgrain embossing folder

Two of the pirate brothers. Dressing up as pirates or super heroes is definitely a big thing at their house!

Apple for the Best Mom Ever

I love the images from Heather Ellis, both the Pure Innocence and The Boy and The Dog. I used to be a Reading Recovery teacher (before retirement) and really enjoyed teaching the more innocent kids in first and second grade. I think her images portray a lot of the kids I had. Here's one of her images where the boy is holding an apple, in this card, for his mom. I paired it with the colourQ Challenge 135 and the sketch from My Favorite Things Wednesday Stamp Club #69. My Favorite Things offers so many of her great designs in acrylic stamps, including some that were just introduced yesterday.

5" x 5" Mother's Day Card Recipe:
Paper - October Afternoon (plaid), Close To My Heart "Grace," White Daisy and Cranberry cardstock
Stamps - My Favorite Things (Clearly Sentimental About Mothers), Heather Ellis digital image
Ink - CTMH Cocoa
Other - CTMH buttons, waxy flax; Copic markers, white twill, Cuttlebug embossing folder (Bloom dots, I think)

My Favorite Things Mother's Day Card

Once again, the color palette at ColourQ inspired my next card for Mother's Day for Send a Smile 4 Kids. It was similar to a striped piece of Basic Grey's Sugared. I left off the pink strip and it reminded me of the latest sketch from My Favorite Things Wednesday Stamp Club. I knew I had a sweet little Pure Innocence "Sunflower Girl" stamp just screaming to be used.

Here are the colors and sketch that inspired this card.

I decided to use two different border punches. Also, instead of having my border strip on top pointing away from the wide paper strip, I thought I'd have it over the green part for a change. The red stripe in that strip was a little dark, so I covered it with red velvet ribbon about the same size. Also, I ran an Autumn Terracotta marker over the nearly Pumpkin colored stripe to make the color more what it should be (artistic license!). The original sketch has two small circles arrayed vertically for maybe buttons, brads, or other elements. I chose to put black pearls over the white dots in the pattern. Here's a photo of the white dots being covered by the black half pearls.

This adorable girl image was colored with Copics, but I didn't have one that was even close to the pumpkin color. My remedy was to mix two colors. First, I colored a small area with E33 Sand, then I colored over it with YR68 Orange. The only thing that didn't show up well was the sunflower. If I was to do it over, I'd leave the petals white and make the center orange.

If you'd like to send Mother's Day or Father's Day cards to Send a Smile 4 Kids so that kids in the hospital can give them to their parents on that special day, you can find details on their blog.

May God bless you in your crafty pursuits!

My Favorite Things Wednesday Stamp Club Sketch #62

I just got some of the Pure Innocence stamps made by My Favorite Things with a gift certificate and thought the sketch this week was perfect for this  Boy and His Dog. Since I have five grandsons I chose some really bright papers. The red background paper from Glitz even had the faint impression of kids and dogs/dog toys on the right side.

When I chose the woodgrain for the three panels, I was thinking of a place on the other side of our farm where the grandchildren like to ride in an old wagon. Here's one of the many pictures I've taken back there. (For my friends, this is Nadia, our youngest granddaughter, one of Christine's twins.)

5" x 6.5" Card Recipe:

Paper - Basic Grey "Life of the Party (stripe, woodgrain); Glitz "Laced with Grace," CTMH Buttercup, Colonial White, Topiary cardstock

Stamps - My Favorite Things - "Dog Gone Cute;" CTMH (grass)

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Close To My Heart Clover Meadow

Other - Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder; k-i "Heartfelt" flowers

Happy New Year with The Shabby Tea Room!

Last night I celebrated New Year's Eve with my hubby and today I celebrate the New Year with my scrapbooking friends! I made this card with my friend Karen in mind, hoping God will bless her and her husband in this coming new year. She likes frilly, lacy, and especially PINK anything. So this inspiration from The Shabby Tea Room Week #94 challenge was perfect! I'm using their color suggestions of pink, blue, green, and yellow.

I liked the spotted paper from Basic Grey's "Out of Print" because it reminded me of balloons, confetti, etc., so I'm entering this card in Basic Grey Challenge #59. I used this great sketch from My Favorite Things Wednesday Stamp Club Getting SketchySketch #52.

I colored the balloons with CTMH Watercolor Pencils and Blender Pen. The black line outlining the balloons seemed too dark for this card, so I outlined them with a Sakura Gelly Roll glitter pen. I love that shine. It's much more festive!

May God bless you and yours in this coming year!