May Sketch For You To Try

This is the First Saturday of May so the new SFYTT was posted this morning.  I decided to also try the free digi stamp from Paper Smooches by Kim Hughes ... I think I'll be buying me some of these stamps.  They are absolutely adorable.

Both the bee and the sentiment were free downloads (Kim does a free digi download every month)

I went with a bit of a floral theme since the bee goes for the flowers.  I cut the sentiment up so it fit in the flower center then tried to stitch around it.  Its a lot harder to sew in a circle than I imagined it would be :)

I sponged some sky and grass in the bee's circle and also painted his little wings with some shimmer mist.  In real life, they sparkle

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MIM - Impression Plate and Die Cut Tricks

I love this week's Make It Monday - how to use dies to mask out a part of an impression plate.  It makes a great product that much more awesome!

The card Erin Lincoln made was stunning!  I so wanted to copy but I need a more masculine card for my brother's birthday

I used the Argyle Impression Plate and Fillable Frames #9 die to make the card front from Basic Gray card stock.  I sponged some Fresh Snow ink on the edges to set them off a little bit, then die cut and stamped the cupcakes and candles too.

The sentiment is also from the Cupcake Collection set.

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Another Graduation Card

I've got another graduation card for you today (in Hawkeye gold and black)

{ Meagan don't look any further or you will ruin your surprise :) }




I used the CPS sketch again for this one.  I really like that little sentiment banner

I decorated up the envelope too.  I used true black, summer sunrise, and vintage cream for colors.  I colored the a la mode grad in with my Copics and also found a new use for them.  Coloring in the pattern on the patterned paper. 

The dotted paper is supposed to be black and white, but I really wanted Hawkeye gold, so I used my Y35 and Y38 Copics and colored it in.  I just colored over the whole paper (not each individual dot) because the black is dark enough that you can't tell.

Inside the card I decorated it up a little too.

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Britty's Grad Card

My daughter and her best friend (and several other of their friends) love Japanese culture.  They grew  up on anime' and are learning to speak the language as well.  I know a goal of theirs is to someday go to Japan.  They have been working hard selling T-shirts and making paper cranes for Japanese Earthquake relief fundraising as well.  They are such good kids.

Colie and Britt have been friends since 2nd grade so I wanted to make a special graduation card for her.

The stamps are from Kimono Kids (SU!) and For The Graduate (PTI).  I colored the faces and flowers in using Copic Sketch markers and paper pieced the kimonos.  I stamped the image onto Spring Moss and Lemon Tart Bitty Boxes patterned paper, added some shadow with matching Copic  and colored the flowers in with a white gel pen to make them pop.

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CPS Grad Card

I used this week's CPS sketch for another graduation card.  Since Jenny's school colors are blue and white I decided to go with that color scheme even though its not my norm, but it went really well with the layout, so I made a concession n this one card :)

I love the row of feet stamp form Go Graduate, SU! set from last year.

I colored most everything with Copics, except the girlie shoes (used Marina Mist marker) and the high tops (used a sharpie)

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The start of graduation season

I started making my grad cards last week ... when I started I thought I only had 3 or 4, but the list is up to a dozen right now, with my daughter's friends and some kids who are graduating form college (I thought they just graduated from high school :)

So here is a start to the grad card parade :

 I like making fairly non-traditional cards.  I used to go with school colors, but now its more fun to go with something unique about the person getting it.

So one is for Katie-bird - she is a girl through and through and loves pink intensely

 and another for Tia who single-handedly organized Japanese earthquake relief fundraisers

and this is for the boys - Josh and Jake - made them the same card.  Don't think they'll mind and I'm pretty sure their mom's will like them :) (this one is a CASE from Heather Nichols, and one of the reasons I bought the Chevron stamp set)

I'll post more grad cards as the week goes on.  I've got a bunch more to go :)

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Baby Shower Invites and Birth Announcements

No not for me ... I'm WAY past that stage of life :)

But remember this card that I made based on one by Debbie Olson?  A gal I work with saw it and wants me to make Baby Shower invitations for a good friend of hers based on that card.

The theme of the shower is going to be something like "How does your garden grow" and each of the 50 invites will be slightly different.  Some will have 2 blossoms, some just one.  And there are 5 colors, all gardeny and floral-like :)

Here's a close up of the central images:

When my friend told me the story of her friend it was truly amazing and  miraculous that she is even pregnant (and so far everything is going superb).  I was so touched by the story that I am offering to make her birth announcements too if she wants me to.  They will be similar to the invitations, but all pink (because they know they are having a girl)

 That oval is just leaving space for a baby picture.  I put in a piece of card stock for sizing purposes.

Inside will be all the vital statistics printed on vellum.  I attached the vellum behind the picture so the adhesive doesn't show (I'll put in real info once I have it :)

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