Lawn Fawn Love

Dear Reader,

Do you remember my mentioning a couple weeks ago two birthday cards I made for friends back in July using Lawn Fawn stamps?  No?  I understand.  I barely remember what happened 5 minutes ago.

I bought Admit One and Cruising Through Life stamp sets specifically for these cards.  I sketched the cards before I bought the stamp sets in fact.  Now, don't mind the awful pictures that follow.  I have been experimenting with places to take pictures and have yet to find a good one.  The cards are actually quite a bit cuter than they appear and it's all due to Lawn Fawn. 

I pulled out my Copic markers for both of these cards.  At the time I only had a handful of Copic markers (especially greens) to pull off the coloring of the bicycle on Card No. 1.  In fact the majority of the bike is actually a pale blue-green (BG10 Cool Shadow) in order to obtain a minty green with the few colors I had (I believe it was G17 Forest Green & G28 Ocean Green).  The grass is a shimmery green patterned paper I cut with Martha Stewart Crafts trim scissors that I then cut at different lengths.  Paper piecing the flags and pinwheels is an excellent way to use up scraps of paper without losing its impact. 

Card No. 1:

Detail of the flags and pinwheels along with the grass:

Detail of the bike, although it is quite a bit bluer than in real life:

Better picture of the matching envelope (I had a lot of fun with sprays):

One of my favorite things to do ever is make background paper and the ticket from Admit One is a blast to use as not only can you stamp the tickets in lines easily, but in the stamp set are words and a star you can add to the ticket.  For Card No. 2, on the ticket paper I also sprayed it with some shimmery spray as my friend loves sparkle.  I also like to alter items if necessary to fit a given project.  The aqua flower was actually a pretty powder blue from sassafras which I colored in with a Copic marker to match the aqua found in this card.  And the middle of the flower was a bit too busy so I placed a circle of vellum over it so that some of the pattern is visible without taking away from the carousel in front of it.  As to cutting out that carousel, just take your time, but it is well worth it and you can always use a dark marker to cover up the raw edges from cutting.

Card No. 2:

Card No. 2 with the matching envelope (See the texture on the envelope?  That's from paper towels when I was dabbing up the excess...I happen to really like the pattern):

Close up:

Thanks for stopping by and come back soon!

Happy creating,

Shay.

Bicycle Birthday Card

Stamps: cruising through life and sophie's sentiments, Lawn Fawn

Ink: tuxedo black, Momento

Cardstock: stamper's select white, Papertrey Ink; Welsh blue, Neenah Papers

Patterned Paper: GCD Studios; Scarlet Lime and Crate Paper

Markers: Copic

Sprays: Glimmer Mists by Tattered Angels

Other: fringe scissors, Martha Stewart Crafts; jewels

Carousel Birthday Card

Stamps: admit one and sophie's sentiments, Lawn Fawn

Ink: tuxedo black, Memento; chili pepper, Jenni Bowlin Ink by Ranger; black soot, Tim Holtz Distress Inks by Ranger

Cardstock: white, Georgia-Pacific; aqua mist, Papertrey Ink

Patterned Paper: K&Company

Punch: postal border punch, EK Success

Markers: Copic

Sprays: Glimmer Mists by Tattered Angels and Lindy's Stamp Gang

Other: paper whimsies (flower), sassafras; jewels from Michael's; vellum

Envelopes

Stamp: Label Basics, Papertrey Ink

Sprays: Glimmer Mists by Tattered Angels; Lindy's Stamp Gang; Mister Huey's Color Mists by Studio Calico

Streamlined: Male Hybrid Birthday Cards

Dear Reader,
I find myself often needing birthday cards for male relatives and being at a loss of what to make the night before I need to send one out.  Sound familiar? 

Perhaps you are much better than I and are a planner.  I aspire to be you.

So, I followed your example and made all the male relative birthday cards up until April in January.  I felt proud of myself and then promptly forgot to send the first 2 January birthday cards out in time for my uncle and cousin to receive them on (or before) their birthday.
 
Lesson learned: make the cards AND send them out on time.

I decided on doing a graphic streamlined design with a few alterations to personalize the card.  Personalization: the birth date of the birthday guy + the stamp used. 

I have been enthralled with dates lately.  Studio Calico had some awesome month and date of the week stamp sets which I foolishly missed out on and ever since I have been collecting date items to compensate.  I call it stamp envy.

So, I found a very cool digital kit by Ali Edwards at Designer Digitals with days of the week and also used some awesome digital elements I bought from Roben-Marie Smith before she retired from digital designing (big loss!  Good news: she still has her stamp company, Paperbag Studios).

I tried to use a border/background stamp that either symbolized an interest of the birthday guy or had a design aesthetic I thought they would appreciate.  I really love the look of a line of graphics that border stamps (or sometimes background stamps like those by Papertrey Ink or Glitz Designs) give you.

Another moment to praise Studio Calico: their stamps are wonderful (admittedly, the reason I subscribed many moons ago) and when possible I used some of the border stamps I had in my collection.  Like the books.  I have a cousin who reads voraciously so that stamp was perfect for him.

Here are the rest of the cards for your viewing pleasure:

 

Thanks for stopping by the Hall!

Happy creating,
Shay.

Date Birthday Cards
Supplies:
Digital:
{days of the week}Today Textured Word Art by Ali Edwards at Designer Digitals;
{month}{circled numbers} Dirty Vellum Daters by Roben-Marie Designs, retired
Physical:
Stamps: {books} {harper's ruler} {herringbone} {stars} Studio Calico
{newsprint} Glitz Designs
{hieroglyphics} Judi-Kins
{2 0 1 1} Martha Stewart
Ink: pumice stone, Tim Holtz's Distress Ink by Ranger Industries
Cardstock: white, Georgia-Pacific
Other: black & white baker's twine, Divine Twine by Whisker Graphics; Corner Chomper, We R Memory Keepers

Where Did All the White Space Go?

Dear Reader,

After playing around with some white paint in a card class my gifted friend, Liz Allen, taught a few weekends ago I knew I had to add some to a birthday card I was working on to highlight the embossed flourish the made up the base of the card.  Originally this card was going to be a lovely pure white with pops of color coming from the die cut butterflies and a little stamping in the corners, but this is me making a card and white space although beautiful withers in the face of my need for more.  So out came the Papertrey Ink background stamps and glimmer mist.  Then came the white paint to tone it down just a little bit.  How far I strayed from my dream of an elegantly subdued white embossed card!  I think my card may be the eccentric, arty cousin of the white card.

The happy birthday is from the sophie's sentiments set from Lawn Fawn.  I am sure I mentioned this...I began my Lawn Fawn experience by buying 3 stamp sets and I have been putting them to good use.  I made a couple of cards for friends in July and I hope to share those with you in the next few days.  In fact I designed their cards with these stamps in mind before I had even bought them.  Lawn Fawn = adorable!  I can't wait to buy more...now to choose which ones to buy next!?!

Anyway, here's the card:

And with the matching envelope:

Thank you for visiting the Hall!

Call again soon,
Shay.

Butterflies in Flight birthday card
Supplies:
Stamps: happy birthday from sophie's sentiments, Lawn Fawn
Background Basics: Newsprint, Background Basics: Woodgrain, Background Basics: Diamonds Background Basics: Sheet Music and Background Basics: Text Style, Papertrey Ink
corner damask from Parisian Anthology set, House of 3 by Pink Paislee
border from Butterfly Garden set, Pink Paislee
Inks: tuxedo black, Memento by Tsukineko
broken china and peeled paint, Tim Holtz Distress Ink by Ranger
Cardstock: white, Georgia-Pacific; blue from scraps
Patterned Paper: weather vane from Urban Prairie collection, Basic Grey
Mists: patina, jasper, meadow green and apple, Glimmer Mists by Tattered Angels
Dies: large butterfly from Butterflies combo set, Cuttlebug by Provo Craft
mini butterflies set, Tim Holtz Alterations by Sizzix
Embossing Folder:  flourish from Love is in the Air set, Cuttlebug by Provo Craft
Embellishment: rose die border, Sassafras
Other: gesso, Claudine Hellmuth Studio by Ranger