Handmade card: Love every moment

As I have mentioned before, I love challenging occasion for cards. In this case a friend wanted a special card for her fiancé for, in her own words, putting up with her. Her fiancé loves riding his motorcycle in his free time, but yet he has a soft cuddly side watching movies with her. I handed this card to her this morning and look forward to hearing what his reaction was to receiving it.

Handmade card: Urban traveler's birthday

Friday I found out I had just a few days to create a super special card for a friend. She loves to travel to exciting destinations and vivid colors. She has an incredible sense of style and I wanted to ensure that came across in her birthday card. Since her birthday was yesterday, she took the day off so she could enjoy her day (away from the craziness that is our job). 

First thing this morning I answered my phone at work to hear my friend excitedly thanking me for her card. She explained it captured her spirit to a "T" and she would be encasing it in a frame so she can enjoy it every day. Ms Winn totally made an otherwise dull Tuesday, terrific!

Handmade card: A Marine hero!

As promised this is the complete view of a commissioned card for a coworker's daughter. She safely returned home from Afghanistan recently, and with a promotion to Sergeant to boot. I was honored to be able to give back to one of our women in uniform, proud Marine and beloved daughter. Her mother was so impressed with the card!

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Handmade card: Voyage to wellness

I welcomed the challenge of creating a get well card for a dear friend with relish. She had undergone a complete knee replacement and was going through a painful stage in her recovery. She is an avid world traveler and adventurer. I wanted to make sure she received it before I posted it. Thankfully she loved the card. I trust you (my bloggers) will feel the same way.

Handmade card: Momma Gloria's birthday card

In my last post I referenced a crystal inspiration card. This is the complete picture now that the recipient (Momma Gloria) has received it. I treasure the reaction to my heirloom creations and I was told  she purchased a frame to proudly display the card and envelope. She was stunned that someone had created such an ornate card.

Sneak peek: crystalline inspiration

In this wondrous creative process, I sometimes get flashes of inspiration in the unlikeliest sections of the craft store. This sneak peek is evidence of that. The one certainty I had was that it had to be colorful with a stained glass design. I believe this is my vision come to life.

Handmade card: The King sang it BEST

As a child I remember my grandmother watching Elvis Presley movies. At the time of course I had no idea what I was watching or hearing, but looking back now I am extremely thankful. The card below is an anniversary card for our Chaplain's wife. Once he told me of their favorite Elvis song I was transported back to those musicals where he went from action to a dance number. Most of those movies were full of vivid colors, textures, and people having fun. That is what I hope you see in this card.

Sneak Peek: Magical Journey

In today's sneak peek I want to share a topic I feel very strongly about. Love is a very sacred pact between two people. This is just a small detail prior to unveiling a bigger picture. This blog, like myself, is in a process of constant evolution and growth. Please accept my invitation to take this magical journey!

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Handmade card: Taken 2 soon

To be totally truthful sympathy cards are my biggest weakness when it comes to creating a quick card. The one I just finished was for the family of someone I work with since his daughter tragically passed away. 

 

I knew I wanted the card to be feminine and have butterflies, so off I went head first into my stash. I pulled out a new butterfly stencil, started coloring it in with inks, then step back....YUCK, I said that is not what I wanted at all....think! Think! think! Took out another stencil with frilly lace cut outs ....tap, tap with dark watered down Faber Castell gelatos, step back!..... Oh NO not again. I refused to start over with a new card blank though. I took a dark brown, almost Kraft colored gelato while resting the paper on a paper towel. I got that a-ha moment feeling inside. 

Added a little bit of water to spread the ink, then dabbed it with the paper towel. This helped just enough of the background to come through. In the end it looks like a walk through a garden with a full moon illuminating the feathery hydrangea I added. These flowers are from a favorite floral sticker line by PSX studio. The butterflies are from the same line, you know I had to get butterflies in there somehow, LOL!

Finishing it up had to include pearls (on the flowers and the title). To me pearls signify femininity and all things delicate. Some canvas ribbon from my latest Michaels trip, and I called it a night.

The funeral is being held today and I had a close friend from work deliver it for me. I hope my friend, Warden Moran, and his family will think it a fitting tribute during this difficult time.

Baby album: Precious jewel

A precious jewel has been added to our family, my niece Zoe. This is the cover of her baby album complete with pearls, crystals and gems. Welcome to the world baby girl!

Handmade card: thank you Tasha

The most amazing gift is the gift of life. In this case my brother's girlfriend is carrying my new niece until May. Creating this card was so much fun!

Handmade envelope: Home away from home

 

 The stitched brad I used on this envelope was almost tailor made. I don't think any other brad could echo the look of a hibiscus flower the same way. The jewel brad was my attempt at adding a little more decadence.

 

The recipient of this envelope considers Hawaii her home away from home so I wanted to allude to that. The alphabet letter I used is actually a combination of an "L" and an "I" to represent a Tiki motif. Again I used a Prima paper leaf cut up to look like a palm frond.

 

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Handmade envelope: Vintage blessings for Aunt Shirley

This envelope was created to celebrate our dear Aunt Shirley's birthday recently.

 

Even though we live miles apart each of these envelopes have the ability to bridge that gap and touch Aunt Shirley's heart. Each year we have known her has been celebrated in such a unique way. I can only hope the cards we send her are as valuable to her as she is to us.

 

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Handmade card: Hugs and Kisses

 

This is what resulted from my wanting to create a beautifully feminine card. I feel like people fail to send cards like this just to let someone know they are thinking of them. Heart cards are NOT just for Valentine's day. My goal  is to let my loved ones know I love them every day not just on holidays.

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Handmade envelope: Heaven sent

I have fun choosing the perfect stitched brad for every handmade envelope. It has to complement and enhance the overall look of the envelope.

 

The  front of the envelope was embellished with a felt flower, lace and smash tape ribbons, pinwheel button, bling and pearls. The paper is by Heidi Swapp's Color Magic line. I love working with this paper by coloring it with some Tim Holtz peacock feathers distress ink. The middle of the flower I embellished with a found object before placing the pearl into it.

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Handmade card: Heaven's embrace

 

This is a heavenly sympathy card for a good friend who lost her brother this month.

 

I know she worried about him and I wanted to create a card that reassured her he had been embraced by our Lord on his arrival.

 

The greeting was one I found online and it seemed perfect for the message I wanted for the card. 

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Handmade card: Guadalupe

 I was commissioned to create this sympathy card for a friend's family who had lost their son. They are pious people from Mexico, so I knew I wanted to incorporate Our Lady of Guadalupe. I was lucky enough to find this beautiful picture on the Internet and the card almost created itself after that.

 

When creating a sympathy card I always take into account who it's for and what a difficult time they are going through. It's an amazing feeling when I hear back on how the card touched the people I created it for.

 

My best reward is having helped someone through a difficult time or given them hope after their loss. Any death is a difficult time in anyone's life and words can only help lessen not remove the pain. I trust my card has done that for the Ruiz family.

 

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Canine card: Belgian beauty

 

Brussels Griffons are an intimidating little dog to me so it has taken me this long to find the perfect way to showcase her. I decided to start with a feminine card that could show off  her expressive eyes. Looking at her it is hard for me to believe that they were originally used as ratters by stablemen. They are one of the most adorable dogs in person in the toy group ring. They have an attitude that lets everyone know who's boss.

 

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Canine card: Ooo La La!

 

Bienvenue mon amis (Welcome my friends!) to my continuing canine card collection. Welcome to beauty and creativity. This bling took my breath away and I have been keeping myself from over using it. This was the perfect place for it. The sweetness of this French Bulldog screams out Paris.

 

When I think Paris I see masterpieces in the world's great museums, delicious chocolates, breathtaking sites (like the Eiffel tower) and beautiful cruises down the Seine. I know the ship pictured is a cruise ship, but that was the general idea.

 

This card would be the perfect gift for any French Bulldog lover. If you would like any card customized with your preferred breed, leave me a comment or drop me a message. 

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Handmade tag: Summer's fancy

 Yesterday I set out a challenge to think outside of the box, and believe it or not, this is what I came up with. I wanted the colors to POP. In my everyday I prefer working with kraft paper but in this case I wanted the most contrast possible. I achieved that by using this black tag I found in my stash by the incomparable Teresa Collins.

I thought of making the paint chips look like ribbons across the paper and reinforce that with real washi tape. In the past I focused so much on making everything perfect that I failed to see the beauty in the imperfections. In this case I did not worry about the ribbons being perfectly straight, since I was concentrating on an overall summery feel. I am very happy with the result and would love to see anything you guys/gals may have created in my challenge.

 

Again I thank you for indulging my fanciful creations. Thanks always for stopping by my blog!