Whoo's Having a Birthday?

My nephews Ethan and Kristoff had their birthday party yesterday.  Kristoff was 4 last month and Ethan will be 7 later this month.  My niece always has their party together because their birthdays are so close.  And she always asks me to make their invitations.  I, of course, always oblige!  Here's what I came up with this year.

I used Critters with Heart digital stamp set from My Time Made Easy.  I colored them in GIMP to match the dp from Cosmo Cricket called Boardwalk.  If you look close, you can see I added their ages on the wings of the owls....love that!  The top of the real red cardstock was punched with the birthday candle punch.  Love the sentiment too...perfect for a birthday invitation, don't you think? 

Now for their birthday cards.  I just used the same owls, but took off the numbers on their wings because I wanted bigger numbers on the front.  I used PTI By the Numbers dies for the numbers.

This one is Kristoff's. I used Real Red and Marina Mist cardstock here with the same dp used on the invitation. I just inked up the word "Whoo's" and stamped it next to the image. I used a circles embossing folder and the birthday candles punch again.

This is Ethan's card. Same theme, except different colors. Here I used Lucky Limeade and Tangerine Tango cardstocks. I think these are just too cute!

I couldn't let the inside just be plain!  I used PTI's Alpha Blocks for the first initial, then Fresh Alphabet for the rest of the letters in his name.   The owl was stamped in that spot because of a smudge!  Hate when that happens!  The sentiment and owl are from PTI's Wise Owl, and this was all stamped in Tangerine Tango.  (The green base looks different, but it's really the same Lucky Limeade).

The inside of Kristoff's was done the same way.  I used Real Red ink.

That's it!  Everyone loved the invitations and I think the boys liked their cards!  However, I think they loved what was in the gift bag more!  LOL!! 

Thanks for sticking with me on this long post!  I'd love to hear what you think about these!  Thanks for stopping by!

A Communion Invitation

Hi everyone! My girlfriend's son is making his communion in a few weeks, and she asked me to make the invitations. Saturday I was at a stamping event here in Buffalo and got this layout idea from one of the stampers there.I thought it was an interesting and different way to do an invitation. The cross is from Everyday Blessings from Papertrey Ink. It was stamped in Versamark, then embossed with silver embossing powder. I added a silver pearl to the center of the cross.
The inside of the middle panel is where the information for the event is revealed. Super simple card...just some heat and dry embossing. I added the Bashful Blue panel for some color.

Thanks for stopping in today! Have a great week.

A Monster of an Invitation!

Our friends' daughter, Roxanne, called me the other day to ask me to make birthday invitations for her kindergarten son. She is taking the boys from his class to the Science Museum for a Mad Science birthday party. Sounds like a fun time for the boys! I tried to find something "mad science" related and settled on this monster image, Dreck, from Paper Makeup Stamps.

I used this paper from Cosmo Cricket as my starting point. I think it's great for boy cards...I've used it several times for that and I still have a bunch of it! I colored Dreck with copics, swirled some Baja Breeze ink around the image while it was still in the die, and added some stickles for some sparkle. The Soft Sky piece was run through a Cuttlebug folder and I used a Martha Stewart border punch for the red piece. The sentiment is from a Stampin' Up set (can't remember which one) and the stars were a last minute addition because that corner looked so bare.

Roxanne loved them and I enjoyed making them for her son! Thanks for stopping in today!

Recipe

Stamps: Dreck (PMS), sentiment (SU)

Paper: X-press white, real red, soft sky, Cosmo Cricket

Ink: Memento tuxedo black, baja breeze

Copic Markers: G23, 40, BG72; R17; YG31

Accessories: Nesties, Martha Stewart border punch, SU star punch, circle punches, cuttlebug folder, star dust stickles

Communion Invitations

I'm called upon often by my friends and family to make invitations for various events. My friend, Tracy, approached me to make communion invitations for her son in May. (I forgot to post this back then!) So this is what I came up with.
I did these so long ago, so I'll try to remember what I used! The image is from Paper Inspirations and I stamped it in Faded Jeans distress ink. I added star dust stickles for some sparkle. I needed to add something to fancy this up a bit more, but since it was for a boy I was a little restricted. So I went with the piece of white ribbon and added the silver pearls. I liked the look. I used a script stamp I had and stamped the blue background for more interest. I remember trying different Cuttlebug folders, but in the end this is what looked best. We had a christening to go to yesterday, and I made this card for that occasion as well.

That's it for today! I think I'm all caught up on projects I haven't posted! I'll have more this week though! Enjoy your Monday!

Just Us Girls Challenge - New!!

Hi everyone! It seems everybody loves a challenge these days! Since the My Time to Create Challenges have come to an end, some of the girls on the team wanted to stay together and create a new team. So we came up with the Just Us Girls Challenge. We have a new blog and we hope that you are going to love the new look of it and the fun challenges! Each week we will choose a "Chic of the Week" whose card will be featured on the blog each Friday. You'll receive a blinkie to proudly display on your blog.

Pam is hosting our challenge this week, and she has chosen a technique I use quite often...paper piecing. And since this is Breast Cancer Month, we've thrown in the option to use pink on your card.

Isn't that a cool graphic? The girls have really rocked the graphics for the blog, let me tell you! I was so excited when I heard that paper piecing was our challenge because I had just finished making 20 baby shower invitations for my nephew and his wife last weekend that I paper pieced. Here's my take on the challenge.This photo is somewhat washed out...it's much more colorful IRL. I used SU's new dp from their Holiday Mini catalog called Pawsitively Prints. The white mat was run through the cuttlebug using a Quick Kutz folder (I think!). I added star dust stickles to the carriage, too!

A tip for you when paper piecing: use your Xyron machine. Remember that sticker making machine that you HAD to have? Well dust it off and use it for paper piecing! I always use mine for this technique because I usually have small pieces cut out and putting glue or tape on them is so difficult. Running it through the Xyron makes it much easier!

So do you think you'd like to enter our challenge? We do have blog candy for you...a $25 gift certificate to either Gina K Designs or Papertrey Ink! Wow! I wish I could enter! LOL! All you have to do is post a direct link to your card to Mr. Linky on the

Just Us Girls blog by Thursday, October 15 for your chance to win! If you post to an online gallery, please use the keyword JUGS2. It might be nice to stop by the JUGs DT to leave them some love. Here are the links to the girls' blogs.

Alicia Weiman
Dana Gustafson
Kristin Bueter
Maria Levine
Mona Pendleton
Pam Imholz
Tracey Cuccia

Thanks for stopping in today, and I hope you enjoy our new challenge! Have a great Columbus Day weekend to my US friends and a Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends! Enjoy it with friends and family!
Recipe
Stamps: Bitty Baby Blessings (PTI), sentiment (SU retired)
Paper: Neenah white, almost amethyst, Pawsitively Prints dp (SU)
Ink: Memento tuxedo black
Accessories: Quick Kutz folder, Xyron machine, star dust stickles, satin ribbon (Target)

My Cute Nephews

My nephews, Ethan and Kristoff, had birthdays in July and August and my niece is having their party tomorrow at a park. She asked me to make the invitations. She sent me a picture of the boys giving each other a bear hug when they were at Disney World a few months ago. So cute!I used the numbers cuttlebug folder and found that if I placed my photo in just the right spot, the 2 and 5, their ages, was visible. So I took a dauber and sponged some blue ink on the numbers to highlight them. Super easy! The information on the inside was just computer generated, and I stamped a fun confetti image on it as well.

Well, that's it for today. I'm on vacation at our cabin and not able to stamp, but I made sure I had a couple of things to post while I was gone. Make sure you come back tomorrow for my first Artful Inkables blog hop. There are three new sets to be released and win! So I hope to see you tomorrow!

Also, today is Freebie Friday at Paper Makeup Stamps! Katie has a great free wordart for you (yes, I said FREE!)! It's another great one and will be available for one week only! Make sure you stop by the PMS blog for that one! Thanks for stopping by today! Have a great weekend!

More Invitations!

I have another nephew that I'm making invitations for! This one is for a graduation. Mark is graduating from High School next month! He was born just after my husband and I started dating, so it just doesn't seem possible that he is graduating already (or that I have managed to stay with this man for this long...here I am fainting ...LOL )! I'm only joking, because I do have a wonderful husband! Anyway, my SIL asked me to make invitations. She just asked for the kind you print out and fold in fourths. GASP!! I couldn't do that! She wanted the HS logo on it, the bulldog, so I copied it from their website and used Word Art in Microsoft word to do the rest. Here are the pics of the front and inside.














I used Lovely Lilac, but it looks blue in the picture. (***ETA: I found an editing software on my computer, so I lightened this pic up a bit. It looks much better than the original!***) I stamped a paw print (which is something else my SIL wanted on there) on that piece and mounted it on black. The main image was cut and embossed with the Cuttlebug. The stamps on the inside (diploma and grad cap) are $1 Studio G stamps I picked up at AC Moore. They look so much better in person. The purple and black look so rich. I hope they like them! Thanks for stopping by!

Wedding Invitation

Hi! Well, here are the wedding invitations that I made for my nephew's wedding. Making something so formal was a first for me! I used SU's Shimmery White, and I think the picture picks up on the shimmer. The girls are wearing red and the guys black, so that's where the color scheme originated. I was inspired by this card.

The shimmery white was backed with real red and black cardstock, and I used the Baroque Motifs stamp in real red. I stamped the back flap of the envelope with a stamp from PTI's Sweet Love set. The envelopes looked really plain, and this dressed them up! I topped the invitation off with a satin red bow. (If you are looking to purchase envelopes for this purpose, I purchased them at LCI Paper Company. I found them to be very affordable and I received them quickly.)

A little while back, MJ Albright had done invitations for someone and packaged them really nicely. You can see that post here. I did the same. I bought the box at AC Moore, used the red satin ribbon to tie up the envelopes, reception cards, and RSVP cards so they wouldn't slide around in the box. I took two pieces of retired SU's swirly vellum to protect the invitations. Here are the pictures.

Tanya is coming to pick them up tomorrow. She's seen the final product, but doesn't know I packaged them like this. This is part of their wedding gift, so I hope she is surprised! Thanks for stopping by!

Recipe

Stamps: Baroque Motifs, PTI Sweet Love

Paper: Shimmery White, black, real red

Ink: Real red

Accessories: red satin ribbon, glue dots, stamp-a-ma-jig

Shower Invitations

My nephew is getting married in June and the shower is in April. I offered to do the invitations. Here's the one I'm thinking of for the shower. Nice and very simple!

I used all Papertrey Ink products for this card. The cardstock is theirs (Stamper's Select White cardstock) and is the only white I'll use for the base of a card. I love SU's whisper white, but not for a base because it is too thin. PTI's is very sturdy. The rectangular nestability die and Cuttlebug were used to emboss the scalloped frame. I then stamped the cake in pretty in pink, the flowers in rose red, and the leaves in certainly celery. The sentiment was also stamped in rose red. Once I stamped the sentiment, I turned the paper over and determined (with a small pencil mark) where the sentiment was. Then I used the Scor-pal to *draw* the embossed lines. I gave it a nice finishing touch. I got that idea from Nichole's blog here. I put diamond stickles on the middle of the flowers, and that's it! As they say *easy peasy*! I'm not sure how I'm doing the information on the inside yet. That will probably be computer generated on vellum or maybe pink cardstock. This literally took me 5 minutes to do! I also want to make the Thank You cards for her as a gift! Let's see, 5 minutes times 45 invitations and about 50 thank you cards.....wow! I better get started! Thanks for stopping by and have a great week (I have to go back to teaching after a week-long vacation...bummer, not much time for stamping!)!

Recipe

Stamps: PTI Piece of Cake

Paper: PTI Stamper's Select white

Ink: Pretty in pink, rose red, certainly celery

Accessories: nestability die, diamond stickles, Scor-Pal, Cuttlebug