30th Birthday Card

A week ago we celebrated a 30th birthday and Marquee Messages was my stamp of choice. This son is a challenging one to create for as his interests are not ones that are accommodated by the Stampin' Up!® range of stamps. He is a Parkour teacher, spends a lot of time glued to his computer, loves our cat and is a good son. Pretty Kitty is a bit too cute for a man, so as I said, Marquee Messages it was.

 It is a big dramatic stamp, easy to colour and cut out with a perfect spot to rest those Large Numbers. I wanted to use some of the Foil Frenzy Specialty Designer Series paper on page 77 of the Annual catalogue, because it seems so festive. I used the Stampin' Blend alcohol marker to colour the background of the birthday panel. It has come out really smooth, quite a thrill when something works out the way you want it to.

Originally I was making a standard size card, and only had Bermuda Bay and Lemon-Lime Twist picked out. You'll see I ended up using that last weekend to make a card with the sweet sunflower from Painted Harvest. After I'd decided I needed a larger card, it seemed a good idea to add another colour. With the photopolymer stamps, it is easy to place them just where you want and use different phrases to personalise the card.

Below is the card he received for his 29th birthday, similar but different! I hope I can come up with something DIFFERENT next year.

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When you shop in my online shop, remember to use the host code, as I love to send you something from the current catalogues as a thank you gift. At the end of October there will be a special draw from all September/October online orders (minimum $50 before shipping) to win a special Christmas stamp set.

60th Birthday Cards - Handmade With Love

My husband celebrated a big birthday last week, which gave me excuses to make special cards and do some crafting with the grandkids.We kept the party low-key as we are a large family and rather noisy when we all get together. Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures with all the grandkids and their cards, some had also made a card at home.One d-i-l had put together an enormous card with a photo board inside of many significant family times featuring my husband. Our family definitely love the handcrafted cards!

 I really enjoyed making this Double-Z card using Marquee Messages, stamped on different coloured card, then cut and pieced. It isn't particularly difficult to do and makes an easier way of adding some colour. I have a class making this card on Friday 18th November, at my studio in South Morang, Victoria.

 This version of the Double-Z has an extra piece added to the front to accommodate the larger size of the stamp from Marquee Messages. The patterned paper is two different types of black & white spots, just for fun.

When a stamp retires, I don't neccesarily sell it, if the sentiment is significant to me. Going Global was in a mini catalogue in the last year or so, but didn't make the cut into the Annual catalogue. It still sits on my shelves, because of the sweet sentiments included.




Our sons bought a massive state of the art barbecue for my husband, and just because I was feeling creative, and really wanted to use the Sliding Star Framelit to cut the track around for a star from Superstar, I made them a group card too. The boys are mainly tradesmen, an electrician, plumber and carpenter, while my husband has worked in many trades over the years. Guy Greetings has some marvellous sentiments, very suitable for those tradie types.

In This World and Ghoulish Grunge helped to ink up the inside of the card too, with all sorts of architectural stamps. Both sides on the inside of the card were layered, which gave the 5 sons plenty of room to write messages to their dad.

 We used props for some funny photos and the youngsters really got on board with it, as did a couple of the adults. We always do this at Christmas, but we've had an early practice run this year. Below is our little group of grandies, ranging in age from 2½ - 8 years.

We know how blessed we are to have these wonderful people in our lives, and I treasure gatherings like this celebration.

Cheers everyone,
Rachel

Birthday Foxes

Another birthday celebrated this past weekend and I just had to use some foxes on this one. The one on the left is from the Foxy Friends stamp set in the Annual Catalogue, and the other is from a hostess set at the front of the Holiday catalogue, Cozy Critters. That also has the branch I've inked with Stampin' Write Markers and the owl with enormous eyes.

The tree stump is from Foxy Friends too, just hand cut, whereas there is an owl punch and a fox punch if you don't much fancy hand cutting.
I used a tutorial from Bronwyn Eastley (addinktivedesigns.com) for the basic dimensions of this card, and it fits beautifully into a Stampin' Up! envelope.




Mine is a much simpler card, Bronwyn's are absolute works of art.
Kirsten was thrilled with her card when she opened it, and I have to admit, it gave me a lot of pleasure making this Z-Fold card. I'm wondering if anyone wants to come and do a class for this card - let me know if you do.

Have a productive week
Cheers, Rachel

CTC #98 Warmth And Cheer

Welcome back to the CASE-ing The Catty Bloghop. You may have started here with me, Rachel Palmieri, or hopped from the marvelous Monique. Either way, do make sure you do a complete circuit of the hop, we're all dying to share something with you.


I have a very full calendar at the moment with no. 2 son having a birthday last Wednesday and no. 4  son celebrating his this Thursday. I'm way behind on their cards, let alone buying them gifts, so the only way I could take part in this weeks CTC challenge was by using it to make a birthday card. I'm demonstrating that the Warmth & Cheer Designer Series Paper Stack papers don't have to be "just for Christmas", they're rather good for masculine cards too. I tried using one of the plaid patterns but there didn't seem to be any "warmth " in that card, and I went with the stars on crumb cake which could be warmed up with some Cajun Craze.

 The stamp set is Marquee Messages, it's quite flamboyant in a way, especially with all these rhinestones added!!! That was a fun excercise, just as well I had my paper piercing tool to apply them precisely where I wanted them.





I've had one of my five grandsons staying for three days, and while I made his uncle's card, he has crafted one for my husband's upcoming BIG birthday. I love the way he chose stamps to suit his Poppy's hobbies, in this case, gardening. It really is a lot of fun to have an opportunity to stamp with a child who loves to create. He has spent a lot of time, cutting pasting and drawing in a big scrapbook as well.

These paper stacks are great value, with a terrific range of papers in them. As well, Stampin' Up!® have a fantastic promotion for October. Buy three packs of Designer Series Paper, get a fourth free. If you think four packs are too many for you, do as I do, and buddy up with a friend (or three) and divide the savings between you.






We love it when you join our challenges and share what you have made. Here is the link to do that.

Now you are off to see what the delightful  Kathryn has presented this week.

If you happen to get lost along the way or a link is broken, here is a full list of participants.

Kathryn Mangelsdorf - http://klm55.blogspot.com/2016/10/case-ing-catty-merry-mice-ctc98.html

Deb Speijers - http://www.atimetostamp.com/2016/10/ctc-98-warmth-cheer.html

Elizabeth Gross - http://lillylovespaper.blogspot.com/2016/09/ctc98-warmth-cherr.html

Judy May - http://judymay.typepad.com/just_judy_designs/2016/10/ctc98-warmth-cheer.html

Julia Quinn - http://handmadebyjuliaquinn.blogspot.com/2016/10/stampin-up-holly-berry-happiness-for.html

Kelly Kent - http://mypapercraftjourney.com/2016/10/02/caseing-the-catty-98-warmth-cheer/

Jackie Noble - http://www.creativejax.co.nz/2016/10/stampin-up-ctc98-warmth-and-cheer/

Monique Fielder - http://stamping-with-moni-q.blogspot.com.au/

Rachel Palmieri - http://stampinpals.blogspot.com/2016/10/ctc-98-warmth-and-cheer.html

Cheers, Rachel