Happy Birthday Mom, You're My Inspiration!!!!!

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Hey y'all. Happy Tuesday! I hope you're having a great day. :)

Today's a special day because it's my momma's birthday. Each year since I became a Stampin' Up Demonstrator and started having fun with cards and Papercrafting, I've been making my momma special cards for her special day. They don't usually make it to her in time for her special day, at least not by snail mail, but she always gets to see them on here and she kinda gets a kick out of that. This year is no different, but this year she's doing some traveling, so at least I feel like I had a little bit of an excuse. But only just a little.

For most of my childhood, my momma raised me by herself. She was a single mom and she did a great job! She started her own business, which was so amazing it started a trend and soon there were other businesses just like hers. She was also the one that let me know that there was nothing I couldn't do if I just set my mind to it and wanted it bad enough and worked for it hard enough. That still holds true today. She's an Amazing woman and I am so honored that God chose her to be my momma. I hope most days she feels the same about me. I really hope that she likes this card when she sees it here and when she gets it in person. Here's today's card-

Birthday Card featuring Feel Goods Stamp set and Print Poetry DSP

I used the sentiment from the Feel Goods Stamp set because it just fit how I feel about my mom, and how she make me feel about myself.

I used this sketch for the inspiration-

As you can see I flipped it, from it's original layout. Other than that, I kept very true to it. As many of you know, I'm very visual, so this is how I had to see it on my phone to work from it. :) 

Another thing many of you know about me is that I have a hard time mixing and matching patterns. Well, today was no different in that respect either. However, I'm gonna write how I chose it as much for you as for my sweet momma. (She's really more sassy, well maybe equal parts, than she is sweet) She likes pretty things, and lots of flash, boy I guess that apple didn't fall far from that tree, huh!?!  But, like most southern women she's got a steel backbone that's as hard and strong and cold as that little sharpshooter she likes to keep tucked next to it. (Like I said, The apple didn't fall far, 'ceptin I like mine a '45 with a magazine instead of a little 6-shooter pistol) Any-whoo I digress but you expect that from me by now, so when I went to pick the patterns I wanted something pretty and floral but I also wanted something a little stronger too, hence the florals with the paisley. 

I think it ended up being a nice mix and something that my momma will appreciate not only the look of but the significance of. Now if she could just figure out how to leave a message she'd probably even say so. :)

Here's a look at the inside-

 I kept it pretty simple but with just a touch of symbolism. A few years back momma came up to visit and we all (momma, me and my daughter 3 generations of us, why yes in case you're wondering that is a dangerous combination) went for a little family bonding at the tattoo parlor. Grandma wanted a little yellow rose on her ankle and she wanted us all to get matching tattoos. Well we did and so I thought I would put that pretty little flower in there to remind her of that.

Well, that's all I have for you today. I hope you like you card momma and I hope you have an Amazing birthday!  I hope y'all like it too! If you like today's card or have questions about it, I hope you'll take a moment to leave me a comment in the space below. If you'd like to +1 or Pin it, I've put the buttons on my blog for your convenience. Friends and Followers are always welcome too! :)

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of the world. you are so appreciated! Till Next Time!

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, it's about Learning to Dance in the Rain.

Be Safe,

Shan

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Believe & Peace on Earth on Freedom Day / End of the Week Technique #47 Making a Wavy Border / RHSSC #53

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Hey y'all. Happy Tuesday. I don't know about you, but I'd really like a Do-Over for the whole week so far. Major accident on the road this morning turned my 30 minute ride into a 1 1/2 hr ride.

On top of that, I think today should be a National Holiday of Remembrance anyways. Remembrance for the way our lives were forever changed and of Thankfulness, not just for the many who gave their lives but for those that continue to put their lives at risk for our continued Freedoms. And yes even a small amount of Thankfulness for the cowards who planned and carried out the horrific events of that day. Not because of the lives lost since that tragic day or the families that have been irrevocably changed. But because of them, those small, weak and cowardly few, that caused us as country to remember who we were, a country united, and created a need in us to band together in ways many had never witnessed and God Willing will never have to witness again. We are a stronger country because a few let hate into their lives and because many let their love show.

That being said it is Freedom Day. I'm sure all of us, old enough to remember where we were that fateful morning 11 years ago, will never forget the tragic events of that day and they many days to follow. I actually don't have a "Freedom Day" themed card for today but I think the sentiment still applies.

Here's today's card-

Holiday Card featuring
Snowflake Soiree Stamp Set and Candlelight Christmas DSP and
Snow Flurries Bigz Die

Another Clean and Simple card for me. O.K., lets call it fairly simple. The layout is C&S I just bumped it up a little. I started with a base of Very Vanilla c/s. I topped it with a piece of DSP from the Candlelight Christmas DSP. My sentiment is from the Snowflake Soiree set and is stamped in Early Espresso. Next came some snowflakes I cut out with my Snow Flurries Bigz Die (I was so happy to finally be using this!) and the border I'm going to show you how to make in just a moment. Everything is adhered with Tombow except for my snowflakes. They are Tombowed together but adhered to the card with a Dimensional. Of course I used my SAMJ to position my sentiment .

*Tip*- I'm pretty sure I said this yesterday (if not, it was fairly recent) Stamp your sentiment before deciding on your other measurements. Luckily, I didn't have any problems but I could have. Especially since all of my other elements were already adhered. *SMH*

Here's the sketch I used for my inspiration.

 I'm not 100% sure, but I think this is the first time I've played along with the Red Hot Stampers (sadly there are only so many challenges you can enter in a given week) even though they have great sketches. Check them out, but finish here first, kay? I think I stuck pretty close to the sketch. When I first saw the sketch, I thought of the Tasteful Trim Die. Unfortunately, I don't own that die so I had to come up with something else. Even though my solution doesn't have the same wide, wavy, curves I think it follows the essence of the sketch. I hope you'll let me know what you think. :)

Here's the inside-

Inside of Holiday Card featuring Seasons Greetings
and Snow Flurries Big Die

The greeting is stamped in Early Espresso. I think the sentiments of Believe and Peace on earth are well suited to today. Of course I don't think snow or the flakes they come from are too suited for any day, unless of course my pantry is stocked and I have no where to go for the next week or so and someone to magically appear and shovel my walkway and of course my sweetie is snuggled next to me. Somehow though, those things never seem to happen together so the only time I really like snowflakes is when they're on a card. :) The snowflakes were sponged using Soft Suede Classic Ink and the negatives from my snowflakes on the front of the card-

Today's End of the Week Technique is Quick and Easy. I'm not sure where I first saw it. I think it was either on Tammy Fite or Selene Kempton's blog. I tried it with different sized strips of paper and you can make this as wide or as narrow as you choose.

Here's what you need- Scalloped Border Punch and Cardstock

Here's what you do-
1- Cut your c/s to your desired length. Punch your strip of c/s as you normally would. This will give you a scalloped border on one side.
2- Flip your punched c/s over and slide it back into the punch making sure that your old scallops are in between the scallops printed on the bottom of your punch.

See how the top "bump" is between the scallops on the bottom? Don't punch your strip with the c/s up like this.
I moved it up so you could see the guides. Make sure to seat your c/s against the bottom just like you normally would.

3- Punch the entire length of your c/s You will now have a nice little "double scalloped border" that looks a lot like the rik-rak found in embroidery/sewing shops.

4- Apply to your project and smile when you see your completed work of art. Smile even more when you think about the smile it will bring to its recipients face. ( I always love that part the most!)

Well, what do you think about today's technique? Simple but effective, or at least I think so. I hope you liked today's card and this week's technique and I hope it inspires you to try something new today. If you liked today's card or have questions or comments, I hope you'll take a moment and leave me a message below. I read all my messages and they really do make my day! If you'd like to +1 or Pin today's card, I've put the buttons on my blog for your convenience. Friends and Followers are always welcome too! :)

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of the world. You are very appreciated! I hope you find time to drop back in soon or better yet sign up for my RSS feed or have my posts delivered directly to your inbox.

I hope you make time today to tell those that are important to you, just how much you love them. We never know if we are going to have another day or even another breath to tell them this. Also if you happen to see an Armed Service member, a Police Officer or Firefighter/Emergency Medical Technician think about taking just a moment to tell them how much their service is appreciated not just today, but everyday. Till next time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,
Shan

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End of The Week Technique #25 Color Wash / RHSSC #28 / My Challenge #15

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Hey y'all. Happy Thursday! Just one more day till the weekend.Woo-Hoo!

3 more days till my best friend arrives from Yuma for 2 weeks of class. I can't wait to see him! I have been a busy little bee in my stampin studio, getting lots of new cards and projects ready to go for you, because I don't imagine I'm going to have much time to stamp after Saturday.

Today's card is not the one I had originally planned to do for this weeks EWT. I was going to do my team swap card that I'm swapping tonight. However, I still needed to do a challenge card and when I saw this challenge over at Red Hot Stampers, I knew the technique I wanted to do.....Best Laid Plans and all that. So, next week you will get my swap card for the EWT. But, for today you get a Two-Fer. LOL! :)

Here's today's card-

This is way outside of my comfort zone, and it took quite a few tries to get a card I was happy with, But I have no doubt that was more me than technique driven.

Here's the sketch I was going by-

As you can see I stuck pretty close to the basic sketch. I simply moved the ribbon section over and added a stamped image. I think the concept with the sketch's "flags" was to use DSP and there would have been no need for an image, but as I used straight color instead, I felt I needed to put something else there.

I really struggle with Clean & Simple cards. No, wait, let's try that again...

I really Struggle with Clean & Simple cards!


In fact, I posted my first one layer card, just last week. This one has two layers, so I could wrap my Bakers Twine. I'm trying to do these a little more often especially since they are so hard for me.

*I'm not sure what this technique is really called, I'm calling it Color Wash, for obvious reasons. I saw it one day when I was trolling the blogs on my reader feed and thought "that's pretty cool!" I think it worked out well with this sketch. I don't remember who's blog I saw it on, but if it was yours or you know who's it is, please let me know so I can give credit.

I used Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade, and Wisteria Wonder for my colors and sponged them onto my Whisper White c/s. I first masked off the edge with 2 sticky-notes using my grid paper to make sure it was straight. This gave me a crisp border. Then starting on the sticky-notes and sponging towards the other side, I sponged back and forth until I got the desired depth of color. I think this would probably be a little easier to control with daubers and you could control the lines a little bit easier too. I guess I could have used some sticky-notes to make clean edges in-between the 3 colors and make them all the same width, and maybe I will try that on another card, but I have to say that I actually kind of like the "raw" feel to this look. I wish I had bigger image to stamp so it fit more in all three colors...oh, well maybe next time.

I stamped the image from Bordering on Romance in Black Stayz-On because I wanted a crisper, cleaner image and I think that turned out to be a good move. I stamped the image a second time on one of my "Ooops" attempts to use as my little punched flower.

I "fussy-cut" it out, punched a hole with my Crop-A-Dile and then let Tink have at it. I secured it to my card with some Calypso Coral Bakers Twine that I wrapped a couple of times around my card and knotted off. I frayed the ends (something I never do) to give the look of more fullness to the ribbon layer, since I didn't add a bow.

Here's the inside-

 I used the greeting from Everyday Elegance, one of our Sale-A-Bration sets. I love the font, so elegant! Don't forget to get your set while you can. SAB ends in just 9 days so don't delay!

The border of flowers along the bottom is also from Bordering on Romance. I used my Stampin Write Markers to color it, in the same colors I used on the front.

Well, that's my card for today.  I hope you liked both the card and the technique, I know I sure enjoyed making it, once I got over my usual it has to be perfect and the oops I forgot the challenge "flags" weren't all the same length...DUUUUUHHHHH! *headdesk*

I hope I've inspired you to try something new today. As always if you do I would love to see what you create. If you liked today's card, I would love it if you left me a comment. It's great when I get to hear from you! Also, if you liked it, please feel free to +1 or Pin it. I've added the buttons to my side-bar for your convenience. Friends and Followers are also welcome. :)

Till next time-

Remember- Life isn't about Waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,
Shan Pin It