Zany Birthday FMS#628

Well another week has flown by and there's a promise of Spring between the rain drops.  I'm thrilled to see all the cherry trees starting to add some colour and the daffodils in full bloom. It helps to shake the doldrums off.  

I've been trying to build my stash of birthday cards as I have so many friends and family with birthdays in March and April it's hard to keep on top of them.  Almost one or two per day this past two weeks.  I'm trying to use as much of my supplies purchased during the year and using up designer papers from this year's is at the top of my list.  For today's birthday card I used the Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #628 as my base.   

Here's My Card:

I get such a giggle out of the animal characters in the Zoo Crew Designer paper featured on page 132 of the Annual Catalogue.  Click here to see another sweet little ballerina I did for a challenge a week or so ago.  She makes me smile too! 

For today's card I fussy cut the chubby little hippo ballerina and have her as the main star of  my focal.  She's dancing her little feet off on stage.   

Let me know if you enjoyed today's card.  I really enjoy getting comments on my cards.  I'd like to know if you like designer papers that feature cuttable figures such as the little hippo or the elephants on the inside of the card.   

HAPPY STAMPING!

PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT

Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Demo since 2006

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Cards From Friends and Family

Earlier this month I celebrated my birthday and I was very blessed to receive the following awesome cards from friends and family. I thought I'd share these wonderful works of "heart" along with a few valentines beauties. Enjoy!



This card was made by one of my fabulous downline members, Ethel De Temple.   Ethel features one of my favourite stamps this season, Tea Shoppe see page 19 of the Mini Occasions catalogue.  I love how she centered the large teacup on the scallop square so it looks like a placemat or napkin, and then added the tiny basic pearls and satin ribbon  for adornment.  The lines from the "Stripes" Embossing Folder also add some visual appeal.  Great card Ethel!

Isn't this a gorgeous card? Brenda Rigby Riehle a SU Demo and fellow Late Night Stamper (LNS) sent me these birthday wishes all the way from Belmont, NY. Check out Brenda's blog, she has some awesome cards and projects. http://brendariehle.stampingup.net

Another fabulous stamp set from the Occasions Mini is the Apothecary Art set on pages 24 and 25.  It features 6 stamps that can be layered using the Labels Collection Framelits.  Isn't this a great card design?  I wish you could see it in real life as it's stunning.  This card was made and sent to me by Helen Cummins from Louisburg, Kansas.  Helen is a member of Late Night Stampers.

This lovely card was made by Jody Townsend of Colorado Springs, Colorado.  What a surprise when I received this card.  Jody is a member of Late Night Stampers too. 

Here's a birthday card fom Stampin' Up!.  Yep that's right Stampin' Up! sends birthday cards to all their demonstrators.  That's just one of the great perks, and note the message on the inside of the card below.  You can't beat that for a great birthday present.  I submitted my order this week and got my rewards! 

Betty Lee Moore of Vernon, BC sent me this gorgeous Valentine's Day card.  I loved all the little layered hearts  on this card and the way she layered her ribbon.  Beautiful card Betty Lee and much appreciated!

Here's a great Valentine's Day card sent by my awesome sister Heather.  Those little House Mouse characters are so sweet and so is this card!  Thanks Heather, loved it!

And finally here's the card I made my husband for Valentine's Day. 

Hope you enjoyed this selection of cards and come back to visit again

Penny

Stampin 411: Saturday Sketch Challenge #237 (SSC237)

It's been a while since I participated in a Saturday Sketch Challenge over at Stampin 411.  Don't ask me why.  I've been hit and miss with this group.  I don't understand it because I absolutely love checking out their blog and all the beautiful cards made by the Design Team and other stampers, plus all the helpful suggestions, tutorials and colour challenges. 

Maybe it's because I'm always too busy with family on Saturdays to pay attention.  But that's going to change.  Starting now, I'm going to be adding more of their challenges to my New Year " Must Try" "Must Do" lists.

I seem to be on a role with Birthday cards this month, so I thought I would adapt this sketch for one that's coming up in mid-January.   I'm featuring stamps and accessories from both the Occasions Mini Catalogue as well as a sneak peak at some neat things from the Sale-A-Bration cattie. 

Bordering on Romance #125480(w) or #125482 (cm) pg. 11 Occasions Mini Catalogue

Edgelits Dies - Adorning Accents #125595 pg. 7 Occasions Mini Catalogue

Isn't this a cheery and colourful card?  Just the thing to brighten a wet and dreary January day!  The 5 1/2 by 4 1/4"  card base is cut from Lucky Limade cardstock. The small floral image from the Bordering on Romance Stamp Set was stamped in Versa Mark Ink to create some background interest. 

To create the decorative edge, I used the brand new Edgelits  Adorning Accents Scalloped Edge Die. What fun!  These new dies are a little tricky to work with but they're not as fragile as they look.  To keep the edge straight while running it through the Big Shot I attached the die with mini glue dots over the card stock edge to the plate and then rolled it through the machine.  Voila a beautiful neat scalloped edge!  

Now the scallop looked really good as it was, but I decided it needed just a little more pop.  To achieve this raised image of the scallop, I embossed about 1/16" behind the scalloped edge using the Adorning Accents Embossing Folder Scalloped Edge.  It's one of three awesome embossing folders made specifically for edges.

Adorning Accents Embossing Folders #125601 pg. 7 Occasions Mini Catalogue.

I hand cut the pointed ends of the banner from Poppy Parade cardstock and then layered it with the same beautiful Designer Series Paper used along the inner edge of the card.  It's called Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper and will be available after January 24th when Sale-A-Bration begins. 

I changed my take on this sketch by moving the layered square to the right hand side of the card face, instead of centering it.  Poppy Parade, Lucky Limade and Very Vanilla cardstocks were layered for the square element.  Using Versa Mark Ink and Black Embossing Powders I heat set the larger floral image from Bordering on Romance to the Very Vanilla piece.  Poppy Parade, Calypso Coral and Lucky Limeade inks were added to the floral image with an aqua painter. 

A 3/8" Ruffled Ribbon in Lucky Limade (122977 pg. 194 IB&C) was placed in the corner of the square.  A printed designer brad was added to the center of the bow.  Isn't it cute?  It's from the Everyday Enchantment Ribbon and Brad Pack in the Sale-A-Bration catalogue.  These amazing 3/8" printed designer brads come in 5 different designs and there are 5 of each type in the package.............can you say "Great Deal!!!".   I

And finally, here's the inside of my card.  As you can see I added a 1" strip of the DSP to the right hand side of the card.  The Happy Birthday Sentiment is from a set called Perfect Punches.   I've also restamped the floral image in Poppy Parade ink to the left hand side of the card. 

Perfect Punches (#117022(w) or #120516(cm) paged 140 IB&C) is an inexpensive and must-have stamp set simply for how easy it makes creating accents and focal pieces for your projects. Each image coordinates with a different punch, making stamped creations easy as 1-2-3—stamp, punch, adhere. And with a variety of sentiments, you’ll be set no matter what the occasion.   

Well there you have it.  Hope you enjoyed this card and will come back and visit again. 

Celebrate Dec/Jan Birthdays with Monkey87: Birthdays + Sketch

This week's sketch challenge at A La Card Monkey is about making a 10 minute birthday card. Even though the sketch picture says Monkey86 it really, really is Monkey87.  So after I got over that hurdle, I thought okay the sketch is there and this shouldn't be difficult, but when your Mojo isn't working it's not working.  LOL!  Anyway about 2 hours later in the wee hours of the night I came up with this card. I'll be sending it to a good friend whose birthday is January 3. 

One of the absolutely best perks about being a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator is being able to pre-order and play with the new products.  Since my friend's birthday is so close to the launch of the new "Occasions and Sale-A-Bration" catties, I thought perfect timing to include some of the new products on it and a chance to play. I think that's why it took me so long to make this card.  Everything's so awesome I couldn't decide what I wanted to use.  Well anyway here's my finished card and I hope you like it