Sympathy Cards

A dear friend passed away this week.  She lived a good life and celebrated her 93rd birthday this summer. Her three daughters were with her before she passed.

I made sympathy cards for my friend who lost her mother and my other friend who lost her grandmother.

The designer paper comes from K&Company and the adhesive borders are by the same company.  I did not find name for the collection.  I chose one of the papers and cut it to 5.25x4.00 inches.  I ripped a piece from the top third and adhered the pieces to the top and bottom of the card base.  The adhesive borders matched quite well except that they had white backgrounds. I applied some Tim Holtz Antique Linen distress stain which did just what I needed.  The borders were 12 inches to I cut them to 4" each.  I adhered the border to the left then added a silk flower and handmade paper flower held in place with a deep rose brad. I added a deep rose ribbon behind the flower accent then trimmed the ends.  I color printed greetings on ivory card stock and rubbed the edges with the TH Antique Linen distress stain.  They are adhered to the card front with 3D foam tape.
The second card has a lighter handmade flower and a green brad.

Card Club - March - HB Initials

It's time for Card Club again.
This card features a set of large initials. The ivory panel already had the turquoise and grey vine pattern on the left. I repeated these colors with grey in the initials and turquoise in the greeting and printed it onto the right hand side. I adhered the panel to the front of a turquoise card. Then, I have added three handmade paper flowers with each having a turquoise sequin in the center held in place with a blue tiny brad.  I placed them somewhat randomly.

Guest Book

I was asked to design a guest book for an upcoming special 10th anniversary event.  She wanted something nicer than one you can purchase at a retail store, one where photos of the anniversary could be placed and one with a place for a photo on the cover.
After a bit of research I decided on a 8x8" scrapbook.  I found a black leather look one. She selected a black and white stripped ribbon which would add a bit of a focal point to the front cover. I diecut a red ribbon slider with a Spellbinder die.  To it, I added a white paper flower and a metal medallion and held it all in place with a tiny black brad. Once it was strung onto the ribbon I just knotted the ribbon onto the album placing the knot to the inside.
Then I went looking for paper for the pages.  I tested the weight of many sheets of paper.  I looked at drawing paper, watercolor paper, and sketch paper.  I needed 10 sheets for the actual signatures and greetings then a few pages in the front for "then and now" photos.  I settled on a pad of white 90lb watercolor paper with 15 pages.  I determined that the sheets should be 8"Tx9.25"W based on the page protectors I had removed from the album. I cut the paper down to 8.5 x 11 so I could put them through my printer.  Then I designed the pages on the computer and printed them in black.  The sheets were then was cut down to the correct size.  I punched the holes in the pages on the left hand side based on the spacer that came with the album. She had asked to have a bit of accent added to the pages.  Based on the red on the front I stamped a small flower on the left hand corner of the pages and added a small swirl on the bottom right hand side in Real Red.  The album has a sleeve at the back for a CD so that photos from the event can be stored for history's sake.  She will find a photo which is just right for the front cover.

Cards - Thank You - Stampin Up Party

I hosted a Stampin Up! Party the first week of February.  It's a great time to have a party because the rewards are so good during Sale-a-Bration!   I've ordered myself a few new goodies.  I made thank you cards for the girls who placed orders.

I started with Mellow Moss cardstock.  I stamped it with one of the Itty Bitty Backgrounds in Always Artichoke. I made it to fit a No. 6 3/4 envelope so I cut the cardstock 3.5"x 11.  Placed a fold at 6.25" which left my front flap a bit short.  I added a piece of parchment cardstock which had been trimmed with the Martha Stewart Daisy border punch.  I added a length of Spring Moss gross grain ribbon to hide the join on the inside of the card.  I stamped the greeting in Always Artichoke on the bottom right hand corner.  The paper flower is attached with a green crystal brad.

On the card on the right I used striped decorative paper by Anna Griffin which I placed over the whole length of the card front.  Again, I placed a length of Spring Moss to cover the join on the inside of the card.  I printed the greeting on white, punched it out with 1" circle punch and then rubbed the edges with Always Artichoke ink pad. The paper flower is attached with a green crystal brad.

On the bottom card I used the same cardstock with the additional piece of parchment cardstock.  I placed a square of Anna Griffin decorative paper on the left of the border punch and ribbon.