One Card, Two Looks

My monthly techniques group meets this week and one of the gals asked if we could do a baby congrats card.  I am always happy to oblige requests when I can and wanted to come up with something that didn't scream "baby" so that the other members of the group could alter the greeting in the event they weren't in need of a baby card.  So, here is what I came up with...one card, two looks:

Baby Card featuring the Baby Bundle and Sweet Essentials stamp sets and using the Faux Quilting technique.

Birthday card featuring the Pretty Postage and Sweet Essentials stamp sets.

I think both cards work!  I switched up the birthday card a little by using a different TIEF for the Faux Quilting and changing the ribbon colour.  Both are easy subsitutions in a class situation, so I think this design should work for everyone.  Sure hope they all like it!

Babies and more babies!

Today's card is another baby-themed one.  I received word today that a colleague from work just gave birth to twins!  She had a boy and a girl, so my card needed to be gender neutral (or at least a bit of both!).  I chose my colour scheme from the Nursery Nest DSP...it is another one of those new goodies that I've been dying to try out!  Check this out...

Card for twins using the Baby Bundle stamp set and Nursery Nest DSP.  The sentiment is from a retired set called By Ones and By Twos.

Inside of card...sentiments are again from the By Ones and By Twos set (retired)

Close up of the sentiment layering.

So...I REALLY struggled with this!  I had something completely different in mind that involved a whole lot of masking and watercolouring and in the end I just couldn't get it to work.  I decided to abandon my original idea and go with something much simpler.  I'm still not crazy about it but honestly, it was the best I could come up with tonight!  I've really noticed that when I am away from stamping for a while...it affects my creativity in a not-so-good way!  When I get to create everyday, the ideas just flow and it is so easy.  When I don't everything seems so much more difficult.  Here's hoping this is just a blip and not a sign of things to come!  Now on to how I put this card together:
Starting with a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of polka dot patterned DSP, I adhered a narrow strip of the rick-rack patterned paper along the left edge.  I then tied a piece of pear pizzazz seam binding ribbon around the length of it, again along the left side.  On a piece of 3" x 3" whisper white cardstock, I randomly stamped some of the images from the Baby Bundle stamp set in blushing bride and marina mist classic ink.  I then sponged the edges in marina mist and layered it on a mat of blushing bride and another of marina mist cardstock.  I adhered that to the DSP cardfront.  I then cut a banner out of pear pizzazz, using my modern label punch to shape the ends.  I scored each end twice, folding the scores in opposite directions so that it popped up.  I stamped the sentiment on a scrap of whisper white using pear pizzazz ink and then punched it out using my word window punch.  I adhered that to the banner and then adhered the whole thing to the cardfront.  I added two marina mist brads to either end of the banner and then adhered the entire cardfront to a pear pizzazz card base using Tombow liquid glue.
For the inside, I inked the "hurray for twins" sentiment using my pear pizzazz and marina mist markers on a scrap of whisper white cardstock.  I punched it out using my decorative label punch.  I layered that on marina mist and I then punched two scallop ovals from the polka dot patterned DSP and layered them behind the label (this is a trick I learned at convention...I likey!).  I adhered it to the card using dimensionals.  The rest is pretty straightforward...I'm sure you can figure it out.
Here's hoping the weekend brings some stamping time and some much-needed rain (we haven't had a drop in over a month!) as well as relief from this oppressive heat!

Baby Bling

Today's card is another twofer...I combined two challenges in one card.  The layout is based on the sketch challenge over at Mojo Monday and the second is the inspiration challenge over at Friday Mashup.  Here is the sketch and the inspiration photo:

  

The decided to do a card for a baby girl.  A colleague of mine at work just had a beautiful little girl after years of fertility treatments and failed attempts.  I wanted to make something special for her and thought this would fit the bill!

Bling Baby! Girl card for Mojo Monday 191 and MU7 using the Baby Bundle set as well as the sentiment from the retired Lovely Label set.

Sentiment from Lovely Labels (retired)

Inside sentiment from Baby Bundle set

When I was deciding what DSP to use for my background, I immediately thought of the retired Sending Love DSP from last year's Occasions Mini.  This paper has such pretty, girlie patterns as well as some bling, so I thought it would work well for the challenge.  The focal image involved a whole lot of masking and watercolouring, using my ink pads and aquapainter.  I added the tiniest little pearls to the carriage (this little one is a princess in training) as well as to the sentiment.  I also added a little extra lace to make it even girlier.  I really hope my colleague likes this...it took a LONG time to put together! 

Getting there...

Well, we're making progress.  My son is pretty much back to normal (why do kids bounce back so much faster than the adults in their lives?), and my hubby and I are at least able to sit up for longer than 5 minutes at a time!  Whew!  This one was a doozy!!  I'm off work again today in the hope of being able to return tomorrow.  Lousy timing for all of this...I had to cancel a workshop last night and am missing an important meeting today.  Ah well, I'm sure the others who were at both events would have rather I didn't bring my germs to contaminate them all!
Now, enough whining...here is a cute card I made last week for my sister-in-law who is expecting her first baby in September.  The design for this card is not my own...I CASED it from Ellen Kemper's blog.  You really need to check her out if you haven't already!  I made a couple of changes to the arm and hand, which I'll explain below.

Punch Art Mommy-to-be

Ah...I remember those days well...days of huge bellies and swollen feet.  Not anything I miss, let me tell you!  The how-to assemble this preggo lady is on Ellen's blog here.  I made just a couple of changes to the arm and hand.  For the arm, I used my photo corner punch by punching once and then repunching around the first hole.  I then trimmed the corner, rounding it slightly so it looked a bit more like an elbow.  For the hand, I punched the little flower from the Itty Bitty punch pack and trimmed it so that only three petals were left.  The rest is a complete CASE from Ellen...she is a genius!!

The assembly of the actual card is pretty straightforward.  The DSP is from the Nursery Suite pack.  The "o Baby" sentiment is from the Teeny Tiny wishes set (Hello Baby stamp) and I just coloured the part of the stamp I wanted with my pear pizzazz marker.

On the inside of the card (no photo...sorry!) I stamped a bunch of baby gear from the Baby Bundle set around the outer edge of the card in pear pizzazz ink and then stamped the "So Happy for you" sentiment from the SAB set of the same name.

My SIL loved it.  It was the first baby-related card she had received.  I gave it to her with a couple of books that I found really helpful during my pregnancy.  Can't wait to spoil this little one silly!

Oh Babies!

Next weekend I am invited to a shower for a friend who is having twin girls.  Unfortunately I won't be able to attend because I will be at the Hamilton Regional Seminar for Stampin' Up!.  Since my mom and sister-in-law are both attending I am going to send a gift along with them.  This is the card I made to go with it.

Twin girls card using images from the Baby Bundle stamp set

Close up of the the sentiment from a retired set called By Ones and Twos

Inside of the card.  Sentiment is again from the By Ones and Twos set

I just love the Nursery Suite specialty paper pack.  I especially love that there are self-adhesive die-cut accents that go with it!  Here is what I did to make this card.
I began by stamping the images on watercolour paper using brown Staz-On ink.  This ink will not run when it gets wet, which makes it perfect for watercolouring.  I coloured the images using my blender pen and ink pads and then wrapped a piece of Pear Pizzazz ribbon around the bottom of the image. I matted the images on a piece of DSP from the Nursery Suite pack.  (Just love this print!) I then matted that on a piece of Pear Pizzazz cardstock.  The scalloped corner details are from the Nursery Suite accents pack.  I took one of the scalloped strips and cut it to size to create photo corners.  For the sentiment, I stamped it in Regal Rose ink and then punched it out using my large oval punch.  I punched a scalloped oval in Regal Rose cardstock and glued the sentiment to it.  I then added the smallest pearls from the basic jewels around the scallops.  I mounted it to the ribbon using dimensionals.  The entire card front is mounted on a Regal Rose card base.  I carried the same theme to the inside of the card using the same DSP and scalloped photo corners as well as framing the sentiment in the same way.  I had so much fun making this card I think I may make another one to keep for myself!  I sure hope my friend likes it as much as I do!