Happy Birthday!

 Of all the kinds of cards I create, I love making Birthday cards the most! 

I realized I haven't made a nice, bold card with colors that POP! I wanted a card that just said summer, using some of my favorite "tart" vivid shades that invoke those summer vibes. 

So I created this card for my daughter's birthday last week, and she LOVED it.

I stamped out half of my (large!) image from Colorado Craft Company, called "Sweet Friend Cupcake" and colored it in with Copics, using some strong colors that would Pop off the card. Then I stamped my sentiment with a stamp set from Spellbinders called "Birthday Pennants". Then I matted my image using Doodle Bug Company's "Pistachio" cardstock, layering that over some really vivid patterned paper (no designer given on it). I placed the PP over some "Buttercup" yellow cardstock from Simple Stories and added some white cardstock under that that I punched out a "lace" edge using Fiskars "Swiss Dots" edger. I placed more Pistachio cardstock under the white Swiss Dot punched edge paper, but I popped that off the Pistachio using PopDots to offer depth and keep it from feeling "flat". I then added the image over the PP using more PopDots so there'd be some "lift" and life to the image.

This has to be one of my favorite cards I have made of recent. I love all the bright, bold and sassy colors! They just make me squeal with delight! I could make a hundred cards using these colors and they'd still make me smile. I don't know about you, but I'm just not ready for summer to end!

Delight in the Unexpected

 I'm back with a new card and a happy surprise.

This month's card is inspired by Power Poppy's challenge this month : Going Sentimental.

I've been playing around with an idea to make a black and gold card for quite sometime, and after I saw this month's challenge, I knew I had to try to combine my idea with it. 

Speaking of Power Poppy, I'm both stunned and thrilled to find out that I won last month's Blossom Challenge on their blog! I sincerely can't believe it, they have such beautiful stamps!

I stamped out my card and watercolored it, then matted it with Tim Holtz's Metal Cardstock. I placed some Popdots under the gold cardstock to pop it off the black and gold patterned paper background and give it depth. I added some lace and back striped paper from Simple Stories called "Vintage Lakeside" to the black and gold patterned paper. I matted it all in more black and gold cardstock and placed three small black pearls on the card to complete the look.

Every card is a fantastic journey into learning something new or creating a unique look, and I love the process! There are days I get stuck, but I refuse to re-invent the wheel. Rather, I like to find the beauty in an image and enhance it as best as I can while still making sense. I think many of us feel pressured to create something amazing every time, but there's no need because every card is beautiful.

I hope you all have a great day and I'll see you all next week with another card!

Have A Sweet Day

 I've been sick for the past week, but I finally felt well enough to sit down and create a card last night. Fascinatingly, it came together in about an hour. I don't know about you, but cards usually take a day or two for me to create from start to finish. But this one was just so easy breasy.

I stamped out the image in Versafine and heat set it, then colored it in with Copics. I very, very lightly sponged the background behind the girl with Broken Glass and Speckled Egg Distress Inks and matted the image over some Bazzil polka dotted blue paper. After that I cut the back of the card using MFT's Stitched Rectangle Scallop Edge Frames Die-namics, then added the sentiment stamped on an old Spellbinders pennant die.

I'd decided to break out the stamp set and practice coloring skin and hair while I recovered and suddenly a card was spontaneously created. Sometimes you just never know when things will gel and just come together with little to no effort!

Kindness Is The Way

 Kindness. Hard to find these days, at times. I like to remind myself it's a long sought after but rarely found gift. I believe in being as kind as you can to everyone as best as you can.

That's why I love this image.

I used Power Poppy's "Kindness Is The Way" free digital stamp to create this card. I used a lighter paper to print it out on, almost vellum like, and colored it in with Copic markers. I paired it with a very light blue gingham checked paper that just added to the intense POP of color I colored the flowers in with that didn't distract from them. After that, I added a simple border of stitching around the image to keep it looking simple and cheery, like I wanted it to be.

Gerbera Daisies are some of the most colorful and cheerful flowers I have ever seen. I mean, who wouldn't want to be given a beautiful bouquet of them?! If you can't give real flowers, this card could certainly take their place, it's so bold. I could walk in a garden of these for hours, they bring such a smile to my face and heart!