Make a Wish: A Birthday Card

 

I’ve been on sort of a hiatus, spending most of my spare time with various Spring cleaning projects, starting with my scraproom – still a work in progress, I’m afraid. I did take a few breaks to make some birthday cards. I made and mailed the first one just in the nick of time, but I managed to give myself a few extra days to create and photograph one for my sister.

It’s a quick and simple design, but thanks to 49 and Market’s new Art Options Avesta line, I managed to give it some details and dimension.

I cut two of the papers from the 6 x 8 Collection down to 4”x6” and trimmed 1/2” around the piece that would go on top. I inked the edges and glued them together.

Next, I selected several butterflies and a long floral image from the Laser Cut Elements. I carefully cut the latter into three pieces. Using a ball tool, I went over the larger parts of the images to make the surfaces pop up a bit. I also ran the tool down the center of each butterfly.

The floral pieces were glued one on top of the other and adhered to the floral images on the patterned paper and the butterflies were glued to the matching images.

And that was it: a very quick and easy card that doesn’t look slapped together.

Here are a few closeups to show how much of a difference a few moments with a ball tool can make…

 

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 *****Supplies*****

 ***Paper***

49 and Market – Art Options – Avesta – 6 x 6 Collection Pack #AOA-35960

 ***Embellishments***

49 and Market – Art Options – Avesta – Laser Cut Elements #AOA-35977

 ***Mediums***

Ranger – Distress – Archival Ink – Hickory Smoke

***Other***

Nuvo – Deluxe Adhesive

***Tools***

Ranger – Letter It – Clear Stamps – Party #LEC65807

 

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As always, I want to thank you for peeking into my blog; your visits mean a lot to me.

A Bit of Alchemy

Does everyone have as much trouble with “masculine” cards as I do? With three sons, birthdays can be a struggle! I came up with a solution for my youngest, thanks to Stamperia’s Alchemy collection.

I started with a cut-apart journaling card that I wanted to use as a pocket. I adhered it on three sides to a 6” square piece cut from a darker pattern featuring script and mechanical images. Next, I cut out some numerals and adhered them with dimensional tape, tucking a few metal gears into the sides.

More cut-aparts: a tag and another journaling card (with messages on the back) were tucked into the pocket to complete the card.

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*****Supplies*****

***Paper***

Stamperia – Alchemy Collection #SBBL34

***Embellishments***

MitFORM – Cogs and Gears – Set One

Really Reasonable Ribbon – Metallic String Gold Spool #60430

***Mediums***

Ranger Ink – Tim Holtz – Distress Ink Pads – Mini – Ground Espresso #RI-TDP47353

***Tools***

Ranger Ink – Tim Holtz – Mini Ink Blending Tool – Round #PP-RIIBT40965

***Other***

Scrapbook Adhesives – 3D Foam Squares – Black #01611

Aleen’s Original Tacky Glue

Scotch – Advanced Tape Glider

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As always, I want to thank you for peeking into my blog; your visits mean a lot to me.

Smash Cake for the Swirlydoos April Round Robin

I'm up for Team 2, Week 1 in the April Round Robin at Swirlydoos. The theme is "Clean and Simple", not so simple for the Swirly Savages, who love, love, love to pile on the mixed mediums and embellishments. This month, except for a bit of color on our chipboards, we're to be medium free. Of course, we need to add a bit of interest in the way of pretties, but the aim is to leave a lot of white (negative) space.

There are some twists, of course, and the first is - in honor of Spring - to use some fun photos. No grunge this time; we're to submit a true Swirly style page. The last twist is to dig into our embellishments - chipboards, metals, flowers, etc. - but lightly. In Kim's words, "Embellish, but don't over embellish."

I was going through my photos a few weeks ago, looking for images to include in a mini album, when these caught my eye and I copied them into my "To Do" folder, determined to use them as soon as possible. I'm going to confess that they are NOT Spring pictures (they are part of a series of a First Birthday photo shoot, taken in September 2014), but the colors are perfect and they certainly are fun!

I've used a sheet of pattern paper that was included in the July 2014 Celestial Summer Kit from Swirlydoos, that came with the entire Ombré Dreams Collection from Blue Fern Studios. Fortunately, I had ordered the Pattern Paper Add-On, so I actually had a few sheets left, including this one - Susan's Dream. I dusted off a Martha Stewart punch set (Double Arches) and created a border on all four sides. I took a piece of cardstock and cut a 10" square out of the middle and adhered the pattern paper to the "outside" piece. (Tip: it's a good idea to adhere a piece of thin packaging to the back of this to stabilize the page.)

I cut some matting from the remaining cardstock and lightly distressed the pieces and the photos before gluing them together with a bit of packaging in between to give some dimension. Once I had the photos placed as I wanted them, I added another layer of packaging underneath to allow room for some embellishments.

I found these chipboard pieces by Blue Fern Studios in my stash; they were given a very light coating of gesso and then embossed with Imagine Ink powder, also from BFS. More from this company - the tags were die cut from packaging that came with a set of flowers.

My favorite part of this layout? Aside from the photos of The Twins, it has to be the pair of Studio Calico icons that came with the March Embellishment Add-On; I am totally in love with these little critters!!!!!

Supplies

*Swirlydoos March 2017 Embellishments Add-On*

Pink Paislee - C'est La Vie Collection - Cork Stickers with Glitter Accents - Hearts

American Crafts - Hemp Twine - Ocean

American Crafts - Studio Calico - Noted Collection - Wood Veneer Icons - Potty People

*Swirlydoos July 2014 Kit - Celestial Summer*

Blue Fern Studios – Ombré Dreams Collection - Susan’s Dream

*Swirlydoos August 2016 Kit - Tranquility*

Websters Pages - Painted Passport Collection - Cardstock Stickers - Alphabet - Aqua

*Swirlydoos August 2016 Mediums Add-On Kit*

Blue Fern Studios - Imagine Ink - Embossing Powder - In the Navy

Other Supplies

Bazzill - Textured Cardstock - Vibrant Blue

Martha Stewart - Punch Around the Page - Double Arches

Sizzix - Thinlits Dies - Tag Creations

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If you’re ready to start getting perfectly coordinated, top of the line scrapbook kits delivered to your door, please visit us at www.swirlydoos.com. Mention my name (Peggy) when you subscribe and you’ll receive 10% off your first kit, AND a coupon good for 30% off your entire purchase in the Swirlydoos.com store!