Coworker Commissions

Last year one of my supervisors had requested some cards from me for his wife, for Valentine's and her birthday (there's only 5 days difference between the two). Well this year I was pre-emptive and brought some for him to choose from beforehand. He was very appreciative and this is what he chose:

For his wife's birthday:
I love, love, LOVE punny things, so I had to get this set. I'm also digging this new DSP called Razzleberry Lemonade -- the color combinations are so perfect. It's probably the fastest pack I've gone through... I'm about to have to order more!

For this card I used:
Card stock - Kraft (base), Melon Mambo, Razzleberry Lemonade DSP and White
Stamps - Comfort Food (SU!)

And for Valentine's Day:
I learned a great watercolor technique from Kim at Stamp-a-rama during stamp club and that's how I made the rose. I had been on the fence about getting that stamp set but making this definitely convinced me to spring for it.

For this card I used:
Card stock - Kraft (base), Razzleberry Lemonade DSP and White (photopaper)
Stamps - Yummy (SU!) and Fifth Avenue Floral (SU!)

Card Catch-up!

Ok I've done a cruddy job of being up to date in the new year. I hardly remember November and December at all -- it's a big blur! It was super busy... it makes me think of the the John Lennon quote "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."

Regardless of how hectic it was, it has been an extremely happy time. (But I'm also glad for a little breather to pay attention to the blog.)

So today I'll spend some time catching up slowly until I get up to present day stuff. But first -- here's a look at some November birthday celebrations.

My older sister had a birthday (I'll refrain from posting her age, as a courtesy). I thought this Thoreau quote was perfect for her. She has lots of great ideas, so we bought her a book on entrepreneur/business type stuff. I think she'll do really well with whatever she chooses to pursue.

For this card I used:
Cardstock: Kraft (base), Chocolate Chip, Sweets Pack DSP and White
Stamps: Live Your Dreams (SU!)

This next card is for my younger niece's birthday. Her birthday was actually in September (on the same day as my brother's birthday), but I wasn't able to come out until November because of my work schedule. She likes sweets alot, so I thought this was a cute theme.

For this card I used:
Card stock - Kraft (base), Chocolate Chip, and Sweets Pack DSP and White
Stamps: Bitty Birthday (SU!)

This last one was for my older niece. She plays the viola so I chose a music background. It's neat seeing my nieces grow up and really become their own people.

For this card I used:
Card stock - Kraft (base), Soft Suede, Melon Mambo, Sweets Pack DSP and White
Stamp: Animal Crackers (SU!)

Sympathy Card

I made a sympathy card for a dear friend of mine. Unfortunately his grandfather passed away. But I told him that it sounded like his grandfather lived a long, full life and that he should be happy that he got to see him recently. I know that doesn't always make it easier to deal with, but I hope it brings even just a little comfort that his granddad was happy in life.

I always find sympathy cards difficult for many reasons. I never know if it's appropriate to even make anything that serves as a reminder, but at the same time I feel if properly expressed I would hope that there is a larger message to be understood... that even during a difficult time people want to be there to listen and to help with healing.

Death is a difficult thing though. I have known people who have died, but no one who has been extremely close to me. I am sure it would be absolutely devastating though if it were to happen. And I guess the sadder part is not so much the if it happens... but the when it happens. My father has always been preoccupied with death, I think it was largely in part due to him fighting in the Vietnam war. He's been saying for the last 20 years that he doesn't think he'll live much longer, but as I get older the words become scarier and scarier.

Making the card for my friend really forced me to be a bit more reflective about what is going on around me. Things like would I know what to do if something happened to the people I care about most, or even if I were to go, did I feel that I did my best? I find that the more you count your blessings, the more blessed you'll realize you are. So with this uber comtemplative mood I've been in, I have been choosing to make more thank you cards. I urge you today or any ol' day, to let people know they mean alot to you.


For this card I used:
Card stock - Kraft (base), Bermuda Bay, White
Stamps - Thoughts & Prayers (SU!)

Graduation Card

I made this card for one of my best friends. She is graduating from her Physical Therapist Assistant program, so we are all super happy for her. (Congratulations Nicole!) I forgot to take a picture of the inside, but there is a cute little stamped image of a graduation hat. I can't get over kraft paper, I have trouble picturing cards on any other base! But I especially love the color combination here. I also used a new embossing powder, it's supposed to have a distressed look. I kind of like it, but I don't know that I will use it very often. Anyway, the ceremony is tomorrow so hopefully she likes it. :)

For this card I used:

Card stock - Kraft (base), Baha Breeze, Walk in the Park DSP and White

Stamp - Say it With Scallops (SU!)

More Belated Birthday Fun

So it just seems like I'm always behind with birthday wishes, but that's not quite the case! A little thing called 'Life' gets in the way and sometimes all parties involved just get so busy. So our friend asked for a delayed celebration of his birthday, so we celebrated yesterday. I'm really liking the Animal Crackers set, I've used it plenty of times since I've had it. So with that, happy belated birthday, Ahmed!

For this card I used:

Card stock - Kraft (base), Walk in the Park DSP (SU!), Sweets Print Pack (from JoAnn's Fabrics) and white

Stamp - Animal Crackers (SU!), Bitty Birthday (SU!)

Niece's Orchestra Performance

I just got back from my 13 year old niece's performance today. She got to participate in an intensive orchestra camp this week and today we got to see the results of all her hard work - all the kids did great! :)

I don't have kids of my own, but I'm quite happy being a fun aunt, and I am definitely very proud of her -- so I made her a card.

Another reason to get a new camera (the colors actually look way more washed out than they actually were.)

For this card I used:

Card stock - Kraft (base), Not Quite Navy, random paper from Hobby Lobby and White

Stamp - SU! Animal Crackers
Inks - Basic Black, Tango Tangerine, So Saffron and Chocolate Chip

Gift box and card combo

Today is my best friend's birthday (Happy Birthday Nicole!)
I got her a really cute, sparkly headband and I needed a box for it, so I decided to make a mini-pizza box for it. I based it off of a template I found on SplitcoastStampers, but I had to adapt it in order to fit the headband.


For this box I used:
Card stock - Kraft (base), Real Red, Black and White
Stamps - SU! Yummy, SU! Pocket Silhouettes and SU! Flowers in Silhouette

Anniversary Commission

One of my bosses is celebrating his one year anniversary with his wife this weekend, so he asked me for a card.

These were the two I came up with for him to choose from:


I'm surprised at how much Cameo Coral struck me. At first it reminded me of Groovy Guava which I hated, but paired with River Rock it is kind of nice. I also embossed the sentiment to give it extra oomph.

For this card I used:
Card stock - Kraft (base), River Rock, Cameo Coral, Ginger Blossoms DSP and White
Stamps - SU! Flowers in Silhouette, SU! Pocket Silhouettes and random sentiment from Hobby Lobby
Other - River Rock ribbon

This is the one he decided on:

For this card I used:
Cardstock - Pretty in Pink (base) and white
Stamp - SU! Short and Sweet
Other - $1 bin ribbon, Hodge Podge hardware

This is probably my favorite folder for the Cuttlebug. I'm glad I got it - it's so pretty! I can't wait, I am saving up for the Sizzix Big Shot with all the money I make from my cards. (That's the deal, since we are socking away money for our house. So I've been really good and haven't splurged on alot.)

So congratulations to David and Becky for their one year wedding anniversary!

Mother's Day Cards

I hope everyone was able to thank that special mother, mother-in-law, stepmother, godmother and/or person who is like a mother to you. :)
My mother came here from Vietnam in the 60's as a refugee during the war. She and my father worked anywhere that would take them, and at night they would take classes to learn English. They worked very hard, and were able to eventually get great jobs working for AMD (not sure if everyone is familiar, but AMD makes computer chips and processors and other technological things like that). They were able to put a nice roof over our heads, as well as get 3 kids through college and trade schools. This is the absolute American Dream, and I know it was still a difficult road full of many sacrifices. So for that I am so grateful to such an amazing woman. (And my father, too - we'll revisit that closer to Father's Day hehe)

I made a few Mother's Day cards, mainly just 2 styles and then slight variations to them to give away and to sell (different colors, etc)

For this card I used:
Cardstock - Kraft (base), Certainly Celery and White
Stamps - Pocket Silhouettes (SU!) and a random sentiment one I got at Hobby Lobby
Inks - So Saffron, Certainly Celery and Pretty in Pink

For this card I used:
Cardstock - Kraft (base), Almost Amethyst, Tea Time DSP and Very Vanilla
Stamps - Flowers in Silhouette (SU!) and a random sentiment one I got at Hobby Lobby
Inks - Almost Amethyst

More Birthday Commissions

My supervisor needed a birthday card for her mom, so I made a couple of different styles.
Her mom likes the color blue, flowers and is a quilter so here I made these two:


For this card I used:
Card Stock - Chocolate Chip (base), [I will fill this name in later, I can't remember!] DSP, Baja Breeze and White
Stamps - SU! Botanical Blooms

This one is the one she ended up deciding on, which I like, too. I chose the saying because she got her mom a gift card, so I thought she could slide it in there.


For this card I used:
Card Stock - Kraft (base), tons of DSP [will input names later]
Stamps - SU! Yummy

Mini Valentine Cards

I made a couple of mini cards to help Nicole out with her fundraiser. They came out pretty cute and as a result, one of my coworkers wants to buy 10 of them, so yay! The craft paper has been pretty popular lately, so I wanted to play around with it. I really like it!


For these cards I used:
Card Stock - Kraft (base), Pirouette Pink, Candy Lane DSP and White
Stamps - Priceless (left) and Happy Heart Day (Right)

For the right card I used:
Card Stock - Kraft (base), Pirouette Pink, Candy Lane DSP and White
Stamps - SU! Love You Much, SU! Together Forever

Crafty commissions

As I mentioned in a previous post, one of my bosses needs a birthday card and Valentine's card for his wife, so here are a couple of little things I cooked up. I think they are cute, and hopefully they aren't too "simple". Although in some cases "simple" is a much better way to go, I still haven't determined when to say when - I imagine it will come to me as I make more cards and get better. It was fun making these cards, and I will probably make a few more to see if anyone else wants to get in the Valentine's spirit.

For this card I used:
Card Stock - Kraft, Candy Lane DSP, Red Riding Hood and White
Stamps - SU! Love You Much, SU! Short & Sweet

For this card I used:
Card Stock - Baja Breeze (base), Prints Pack DSP (retired, SU!), Indulgent DSP (retired, Sassafras) and White
Stamp - SU! For a Friend