Welcome to my blog.
So close now to Christmas and the New Year! Where did 2014 go?
I think one of my New Year resolutions might be to try and make this blog a little more exciting-looking!
Some of the blogs I visit are fabulous ... filled with colour ... yes, this definitely must go on The List!!
I wanted to share a couple of cards that I've done recently, the first one back in October for a friend's birthday, the second, a Christmas card for a friend in England.
The third, another birthday card for my son's best friend who has spent a lot of time with us over the years. He's an apprentice electrician, so his 21st birthday card was designed around that.
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This first card was for a friend who enjoys making cards and is very skilled at this. She is also a quilter ... arranges the music for her church ... and is a midwife at a large local hospital. She has a German Shepherd, and is a generally all-round, lovely person, so I wanted to make something a bit special.
I used Flat Fabio sprays from Lindy's Stamp Gang, and Dylusion Sprays by Ranger, for the background panels. This card was huge ... about 8" x 8" ... but I wanted to fit a lot on it, as she is such a busy person and has so many interests..
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| Fourteen quilter's hexagons, each one a word especially for her, cut from a Dictionary [copy], and 'stitched' onto the card. |
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| This was the first time I'd used my new Arianna Blooms die and Stamp set from Heartfelt Creations, and I was pleased with the flowers. |
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| Each word a personal reflection of her life. |
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| I love this musical die cut ... I wish I had more opportunities to use it! The background script stamp is En Francais, from Stampin'Up. |
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| The insert ... a little stamping and using the sections left from die-cutting the flowers as a stencil. I should have gone over those a second time with a smaller flower. Never mind... next time. The fan edging is a Martha Stewart punch called Deco Shells. |
I knew what I wanted to do for this card, but the 'doing of it' was a bit tricky for me, so in the end, even as I was putting it together, much better ways sprang to mind.
I was pleased with the result though.
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The second card is for a friend who lives in Durham. His online name has the word 'Scotty' in it, so this gave me the ideas for this card. He also loves the beach and is a seaglass collector.
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| I've never used sequins before, but am finding they do a great job in 'lifting' an area and adding a bit of bling and sparkle, especially on Christmas cards. |
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| This in the back of the insert [right side] ... when I added the insert, the left side panel was bare ... not for long. |
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| A little Scottie dog heading for the beach through the snow ... yep! Perfect! |
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And this last card was the one I made for my son's best friend. An apprentice electrician, and a thoroughly nice person! This took hours, but was worth every minute!
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| I hand-cut every single one of those windows with my Craft knife! I didn't have the stamp set then, but bought it soon afterwards. This is the My Hero set from Paper Smooches. A terrific set, their buildings stamp is way better than my cut-and-paste job, but I was glad to have been able to do it! There are also dies of city skylines, and these are DEFINITELY on my list. |
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| 'E' words for an 'epprentice' electrician! ... a bit of creative license. |
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| Twenty-one light bulbs, hand drawn and glittered with Wink of Stella pen. |
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I really like personalising the cards I make. You have to know someone either really well, or at least a few things about what they like etc before you can do this, but it's worth the effort, and pretty much guarantees that your card will be kept, at least for a little while, and that's always nice too.
I hope the lead up to your Christmas celebrations is going well.
Sending happy thoughts your way!
Virginia
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