Modern Medley and Scalloped Tag Topper Punch Birthday Cards

A friend recently asked me to make some birthday cards for her with the following specifications:

• both in black and white only
• one must include musical notes 
• one must have a bird  or two

 I designed the following cards to meet her criteria and I'm very pleased with the outcome.  Sometimes it really helps to have specifics, they work like a great sketch to plant the seed for creativity. 

Here are my cards: 

I really enjoy making cards with the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch.  They always have that little "wow" factor going for them.  These cards were no exception.  Sadly, I didn't have any designer paper in black and white so I had to fall back on "winter white" by using Very Vanilla cardstock matched up with Modern Medley DSP.   

For the bird card I used Basic Black for the card base and Very Vanilla for the layers and then I reversed out for the second card using Very Vanilla for the base and basic black for the layers.  The designer paper is from Modern Medley* one of this year's very popular designer paper series. 

The little bird and leaf on this card were punched out of basic black cardstock with the Bird Builder Punch.  I added an extra wing and feathered both with my small scissors, just along the wing edge.  A basic rhinestone was used for the bird's eye.  The closure is made with 3/8" Very Vanilla Taffeta ribbon, one of my absolute all time favourites.  It ties so beautifully, holds it shape and rarely frays.  The "happy BIG day" label is from the Chalk Talk stamp set and was die cut with the coordinating Chalk Talk framelit dies.  I popped it up on the face of the card with dimensionals. 

For the inside of the card I chose the sentiment "Warmest Wishes on your birthday" from the Blooming With Kindness stamp set.  I love this script, it's so beautiful. The three flowers image is from the Punch Potpourri stamp set (a retired hostess set). 

For the Musical Notes card I used Very Vanilla for the card base and then added a piece of designer series paper from the Modern Medley series. 

When I was finished this very quick to assemble card, it took my breath away.  It's clean, simple and yet very elegant and has a definite "wow" factor. 

I stamped the sentiment from the Chalk Talk set in Momento Black on Very Vanilla cardstock.  I used the next size up framelit in the Chalk Talk set to die cut a piece from basic black cardstock to mount the sentiment on.  To tie in the musical notes and take away the plainness of the card front I added three small basic pearls on either side of the label.  It's mounted to the card front with dimensionals.  

I just love the inside of this card.   It's clean and simple.  The basic black layer adds a rich look.   To make sure that the sentiment was hidden behind the ribbon when the ribbon is tied in a bow, I used my Stamp-a-ma-jig to position the sentiment between the two tag punch pieces.   It worked beautifully!

Supplies:
Stamp Sets:  Chalk Talk, Blooming with Kindness, and Punch Potpourri
Ink:  Momento Basic Black, 
Card stock:  Basic Black, Very Vanilla
Designer Series Paper:  Modern Medley* DSP
Accessories:  a 10" piece of Very Vanilla 3/8" Taffeta Ribbon, a 10" piece of Gros Grain Black ribbon, basic pearls, basic rhinestones, Bird Builder Punch, Chalk Talk Framelits, Tag Topper Punch

*The Modern Medley DSP is retiring and will no longer be available past May 31st, 2014.  It is currently reduced in price, so if you want it you'll have to order it today or tomorrow.  Don't be disappointed.  


Measurements can be found in my tutorial here:

I hope you enjoyed today's post and will leave me a comment as to which card you like the best.  I love hearing from you, it simply makes my day and encourages me to keep creating.  

Penny
Happy Stamping!

Happy Valentines Day!!!



Happy Valentines Day Everyone!  Hope you had a wonderful day filled with Love!


I spent some wonderful creative time with my friend Margo this week and introduced her to my world of card making and Stampin' Up!  Margo was on a mission to make her man Harvey a beautiful "something", for Valentine's Day, and I want to share her accomplishment. 


Margo had written a very special poem for her husband that reflected not only on her Valentine's Day wishes, but also was a celebration of their recent wedding anniversary and some of her husband's personal and work related milestones. 

Let me tell you, working with Margo on this project was fantastic.  The creative process involved in first deciding what to make and then running with her concept and ideas was a real rush and something I truly enjoyed.  Margo is one of those self-assured, dynamic, "think on your feet women" who came in knowing where she wanted to go with this project but wanting me to show her the way to make it a super "WOW!  I think we both accomplished those goals.

The hardest part of the creative process for me, is deciding what you want to make, and let me tell you, this project was certainly no exception.  

Once I'd shown Margo samples of various card styles she decided to create a Top Note Flip Album.  This was an ideal style for her project because the accordian pages would better show-case her four paragraph poem and love messages. She wanted a very clean masculine look so we chose to use Riding Hood Red, Basic Black and Very Vanilla cardstocks.  To accent the pages and compliment the cardstock we added Stampin' Up!s beautiful Love Letter designer series paper (page 173 of the Idea Book and Catalogue).  Most of the sentiments and the poem were computer generated.

Here is the cover of the Top Note Flip Album.  The Heart is from the Hostess Set Punch Potpourri (page 10 IB&C).  Basic Rhinestones were used to add bling to the heart. 



This is the interior view of her Top Note album showcasing personal messages and her poem.



Here is a view of the back of her album.  The XO symbols were generated on the computer.

This is a view of the back of the album when it's closed.  Riding Hood Red Seam binding was used instead of ribbon  to close the album. 

Okay, so I hope you enjoyed looking at this project.  As a side note Margo's husband was "WOWED" and very appreciative of the work she had put into making their celebration so special. 

Quick and Simple Treat Holders

Today I thought I'd share my directions for these cute little Valentine Treat Holders made with some of the gorgeous "Love Patterns" Designer Series Paper.  These treat holders are quick and easy to make and are suitable for any occasion simply by changing the DSP and the embellishment on the front of the holder.

Directions:

• Cut one 3 1/2" x 10 1/2" piece of  Pretty In Pink DSP from Love Patterns paper pack*.
• Score at  3 1/2 and 7" (see diagram).  Once scored fold piece C over B and A over C to form a little package.     

A

B

C


Measure down 1 1/2" on the outside of the C panel and cut on an angle to the center line.  Once you've removed the cut piece add sticky strip to the inside bottom and middle of this panel and adhere to B panel.   You now have a little pocket for enclosing a treat (Ghirardelli squares or Dove chocolate pieces).

Decorate the outside of the treat holder by gluing a 1 1/2" x 3 1/2" strip of coordinating DSP about 1" from the bottom of the holder. I ran a 1" by 3" strip of Real Red card stock through the Big Shot Vintage Wallpaper textured embossing folder, and glued this to the center of the DSP strip. For the embellishment, I stamped the heart from the Punch Potpourri stamp set onto a piece of Pretty in Pink DSP, and punched out the heart using the Heart Punch.  To give a bit of depth and stability, I glued this heart onto a piece of real red cardstock and then cut round the outside of the card stock to create a border for the heart. Dimensionals were used to mount the heart to the card stock strip. The "for you" sentiment from the Elements of Style, stamp set was stamped on Pretty in Pink DSP and then punched out with a 1 1/4" circle punch.  This circle was glued onto red cardstock and punched out with the 1 3/8" circle punch and then mounted with dimensionals to the center of the heart.  Three basic rhinestones were added to the bottom right corner for a touch of bling.  Voila all done!  Told you it was quick and easy. 

Note:  The exclusive Love Patterns Designer Series Paper Pack is only available during the "Filled With Love" Promotion which ends on January 24th, 2010.