Birthdays

Hi!  I know I'm a little behind in posting.  I've been VERY busy since about Sept. 23rd with making cards, having a birthday myself and going to a shop hop for 2 days, plus working full-time!  So here I am to post what I have been doing in the last 3 weeks.

This card is for a friend whose birthday was on the 25th.  The stamp is a Sweet N Sassy stamp I've had for a while and didn't use yet.  Now I've used it on this card and another birthday card which I'll show you next.  I colored the butterflies in with Grape Jelly Memento ink and Bamboo Leaves Memento for the vines.  The paper is generic, the sentiment is on a SB die and is a SU stamp, and the ribbon is something that my mother gave me from her stash of goodies.

The next card is for another friend who is a pen pal in England.  We've been writing to each other since about 1976.  It started out as an assignment in English class.  I had picked a girl from Ireland, a boy from India and Loren from England.  I've lost touch with the others, but Loren and I try to call at least once a year.  Her birthday is also on the 25th.

Here is the same stamp from SNS, also done in the same colors.  I cut it out with my Creative Memories oval cutter and did a frame the same way.  The layout is a sketch challenge from Splitcoaststampers.  Here are other samples of the challenges -

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=all&si=SC374&what=keywords 

I used the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder, the happy birthday is a sticker and the flowers are gems I picked up at a craft show this year.  The leaves, I guess, are called sequins that I've had for years.  I just love using up old stashes!  LOL 

Next was my a challenge for Teapot Tuesday at Splitcoaststampers for a woman fighting breast cancer.  Her birthday was on the 26th and her daughter wanted some wonderful birthday cards sent to cheer her up.  It just so happens that is also my birthday, so I felt compelled to do the challenge.  You can see all the beautiful cards done for Dorothea here: 

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=all&si=MMTPT217&what=keywords 

This was another sketch challenge -

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=all&si=SC403&what=keywords

The flower is from the SU stamp set called Bloomin' Beautiful and I colored it in with SU watercolored pencils.  Again the paper is generic, the background is the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder (one of my favorites) and the happy birthday stamp is from Stamps by Impression.  It's actually more centered than it looks.  I also used a SB scallop to go behind the flower.  It's all very soft pastels, so it's difficult to see the way the colors blend together.  The picture does it no justice.

This card was made for me by my dear friend, Jill.  Her blog can be found here -

http://ribbonchallenged.blogspot.com/

Her husband colored the image and she made the card.  I have 3 cats and one is gray.  She loves to sit at the window and watch the birdies.  Thank you Jim and Jill for the beautiful card.

This card is from a new friend, Kathleen.  She is the daughter of Dorothea, whom I made the special birthday card for above.  This technique is call Borgello.  You take strips of paper, glue them down in alternating sequences, then cut them the opposite way into strips.  Now you glue them back down in a pattern you like, staggering the colors.  It's very easy, but a big wow factor.  Thank you Kathleen.  Great job!


Lots more to come later.  TFL