birthday

It’s Your Birthday

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Do you broadcast your birthday or not?  Well, I think birthdays should always be celebrated, even if you like it small, celebrate.  This is the kind of card that can certainly draw attention and that is totally what I had in mind.

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The stamp set has the marquee image by itself and has different sentiments you can put inside the middle as well as the bottom arrow box.  It doesn’t have to be about a birthday, but that is how I chose to use it for the first time.  I kind of muddled through this project since I only knew I wanted to use embossing powder and a black card base.  Leaves a lot of steps to be followed, even if a bit off.

Most if the projects I have seen with this particular stamp set include stamping the image on different colored card stock papers, cutting the different parts out and then layering them to give a little diversity.  I wasn’t in the mood for that, so I went with my trusty water coloring.  I am not used to coloring around an image so specifically, but it all worked out pretty good in the end.

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Touches of wink of stella helped make it the rest of the way, even though it is hard to see in the photo here.  Projects always look better in real life rather than photos, but what else can you do, right?

Have a creative day!

Moana

Fiesta Like There’s No Manana

~ moanaj ~ 1 Comment

Here is one of the projects I made with my club ladies last Saturday.  Such a fun and interesting birthday card.  Plenty of color and who doesn’t just love an adorable llama?  Finally though, a project where I love the brightness of cucumber crush.  It is just one gregarious green there.

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Framelit cutting made pretty darn quick work of the elements for this project.  A little stamping before and after doing the cutting.  The llama was really fun, but I felt he was a little on the whimsy side to worry about painting and making him look too real.  Besides, his teeth really aren’t accurate, they come from the bottom not the top like a bunny.  Still totally adorable though.  The banners were stamped afterwards though.  Since you can see through the photopolymer stamps there is not a worry to be found.  Fun and easy to do.

Everything was put on tipped one way or the other to add to the silly look.  Nothing about this card says slow down, just have a bunch of fun!  And my club ladies sure did.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

It’s Your Day!

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

How about a simple gift box for today?  This one doesn’t feel just about a birthday, but could be to celebrate any special occasion.  I do love to make a project that has several uses.  That way, when you need a quick gift box it is flexible enough to fit the need.

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One whole sheet of designer series paper went into this big box.  Simple scoring, nothing new or creative here.  Actually, kind of my go to measurements.  The tag was a bit more simple, but looked much better after it was embossed.  And with an adorable little bow paper clip to hold it in place, it was finished up just right.  I like how the clip and the ribbon go so well together.  I think I will have my group make a smaller version of this for workshop this weekend.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Birthday Bouquet Duo

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Another adorable gift set just ready for a fun birthday event.  This is my version of a one sheet wonder.  I enjoy a matching gift set just as much if not more than making several cards from that same sheet.  What can I say, more isn’t always better to me.

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The card is actually quite simple.  Only one piece of designer series paper was used.  A ribbon wrapped around the front and a double tag slid under the bow.  A collection of tiny flowers scattered around and centered with basic rhinestones.  Most of the items were sponged with watermelon wonder, including the inside whisper white piece.

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This adorable tall bag was made from the large remainder of the designer series paper.  The other side was just as fun for a birthday theme, don’t you think?  It was topped with a huge ribbon which was used to hang the cute birthday tag with silver cording trim.  Bitty flowers were also stamped and punched in whisper white centered with basic rhinestones again. What a great companion to an adorable simple card.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Sea Street Pop-Up Party

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A super happy birthday would be coming your way with this adorable gift set.  I suppose it might be more inclined towards a child, but I have a great appreciation for cuteness, and this is definitely cute.

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I started out with the idea of this octopus holding eight balloons.  I suppose I should have used the bitty balloon punch, but I stayed with it.  Perhaps I will make it again to see how it would look.  I thought the small balloons would get lost in the fun background paper.

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The inside framelit action really makes a statement.  Even though it is in the middle, there is still plenty of room to write a personal message.  I do love the motion of the popup.  I had a large piece of paper left from the card background and went with a matching gift bag. If you are giving a birthday card, odds are you are giving a gift too.  Making a set is always my favorite thing.  It also helps me be brave and use up my designer series paper.  You can’t hang onto that too long you know.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Make a Wish

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How about making a wish for a hard to find masculine birthday card?  Done.  I caught myself looking at a new pack of night of navy card stock that needed to be filed.  That is where I began.  I flipped through my designer series paper looking for one that had the same color in it.  Didn’t take too long.

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I love the floral patterns in the english garden set, but decided to look to the ‘b sides’ of the papers.  That is where this beauty was hiding.  I had seen it when I first opened it, but was distracted into the others and forgot about it.  Today was a good day to use it.

A simple design was all I wanted today.  So I layered paper leaving just a 1/8″ border and picked a stamp that would fit inside the note tag punch.  Pretty quick and easy.  There are times when I could just sit for hours on a project, and other times I have to get up and go. Today is a go day, as I look at the clock one more time.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Happy 29th Birthday {Again}

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And the third workshop project has arrived.  Good thing too, since tomorrow is workshop! I often know further in advance what I want to do, but not this time.  I have been doing a lot of detailed water coloring and that doesn’t go well for large group instruction.  Folks need their own tools and materials for that kind of work.  We are doing one water color and that is stressful enough.

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Isn’t this one so adorable?  The paper, matching stamps, and the ease of stamping and die cutting the numbers really make this one fantastic.  It isn’t too difficult to make, but sure brings a smile. Believe it or not, I tried several times to add die cut flowers for a fun layered look, but had to leave them off.  Sometimes that happens.

I took the background dsp and put it through the bigshot  with an oval framelit centered.  I then took that piece and turned it over to fill that same oval hole.  The two sides coordinate so nicely I could resist.  I used the next smaller framelit to make an oval from whisper white.  The numbers were stamped in blushing bride, cut with their coordinating framelits and centered on the oval.  I did raise them up on dimensionals.  Then the sentiment was stamped centered over the top and bottom of the numbers.  The tiny ‘th’ was die cut first, then stamped.  The framelit for that tiny one doesn’t have a window to look through, so I had to.  But with photopolymer stamps you can see exactly where you are placing your image.

I stamped inside with the largest flower from the Birthday Blooms set in each corner using a different portion of the stamp to make it look different.  The center phrase ‘again’ was the last thing added.  How fun is that?

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Have a creative day!

Moana

They Say It’s Your Birthday

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Fun, fun and fun. That is what this birthday card says to me.  When you have a fun paper that isn’t just masculine or feminine, you are fortunate.  This card can be for just about anyone, regardless of age too.  I call that a super win!  The series I started is nearly to an end.  I can’t wait to share the cute box I made to hold the whole dozen cards for the gift set.

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The tag was made using the triple banner punch.  Dang, I sure do love that tool.  When it first came out I thought it was a bit excessive, but I gave it a try.  I use it so much.  It makes layered banner tags so easy.  This one was whipped together super fast, layered up on dimensionals, given a tiny ribbon accent and slapped in place.  Honestly, this was one super fast card.  Again, the paper is a win.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

They Say It’s Your Birthday

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

How about a simple birthday card!  I think this one could be for just about anyone, don’t you? Keeping projects simple allows for a lot of options, more than you would think.  And how awesome is this balloon bouquet punch?  I am absolutely in love with it.  I hope it carries over.  I am keeping it no matter what.

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I had to hold myself back to not put strings and all kinds of fun stuff here.  But, that would defeat the purpose of of a clean and simple cards after all.  This way I think it would even work for a masculine card.  Gotta love those!

I punched two large and three small balloons.  The large ones were attached flat to the paper and the smaller ones were raised up on dimensionals.  Of course everything is sponged.  The balloons were sponged in hello honey to coordinate as well as the tag.  I thought the color was too strong on the tag, so I sponged with silver encore ink as well to soften it.  It turned out great.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

 

Balloon Bouquet Celebration

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I finally got my back ordered balloon bouquet punch and I am totally celebrating!  This punch is just the coolest thing and totally worth the wait.  This will be getting tons of use, just tons.

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I may have gone a bit overboard with the balloons, and the cording, but I love how pretty it is.  One special person will get this card, and I think I know who it is.  Not everyone appreciates how much time can go into a hand made card, but those that do deserve every one they get.

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I used a leftover kit from Saturday’s workshop to make this project.  I stamped several balloons on the background paper.  To get the tone I wanted I stamped off once before I applied it to the card.  Then on my other paper, that I would be punching, I stamped off twice.  Both sets of balloons were also stamped with the dotted accents in mint macaron and gold encore ink.  I added gold to everything and sponged away.  Too cute!

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Have a creative day!

Moana

It’s Your Day!

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Yesterday was one of my TA’s birthdays.  Boys turning 14 don’t want a lot of fluff, just cut to the good stuff.  I stopped on the way to school and picked up a large chocolate bar and wrapped in this awesome, retired, water color patterned dsp.  He is also an artist, so I knew he would appreciate the water color theme going on.

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It was so easy to assemble.  I placed tear n’ tape along three sides and wrapped the large candy up.  First I wrapped the paper around fairly tight and sealed it like a flat tube.  Then, I just removed the other strips of tape to flat seal the ends.

I took the scraps of my linen thread and wrapped them around and tied a knot.  I just took my hand painted, and stamped of course, gift tag and looped it through one of the extra strands.  Another simple knot and this lovely package was ready to go.  Sorry I didn’t get a photo of the finished product, but I wasn’t sure just what candy I would be able to get. Stores out in the country don’t always have a large selection.  The way the paper was prepared I could have turned it into a large sour cream container styled  box and been just fine as well.  For the win!

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Dear Heart, Sweet Boy

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This project was all about giving myself a challenge.  I grabbed a piece of dsp, decided on three colors, picked a stamp set I hadn’t used a long time and went for it.  This was definitely not my usual style, but it felt good.

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The card itself wasn’t too complicated, just one layer for the background.  I stamped my little boys on water color paper with black stazon and opened the ink pads.  Their faces were done with a very diluted wash of pink pirouette with the hair in tip top taupe.  I wanted them to look like the same boy just doing different things.

Each boy face was accented with one color only.  For the darker areas I kept the ink fairly strong.  When I accented I diluted it a bit more and even more for the outlined areas in the background.  I left it simple because I wasn’t really going for perfection, just soft coloring. I punched their faces out with the 1 3/4″ circle punch and a background of black with the 2″ circle punch.  They were arranged on the front and layered with a bit of dimensionals.

The banner was stamped from the same set and a light wash of each color was put on its own section.  Then each end was punched with the bitty banner punch.  I also put that up on dimensionals.  I repeated the pattern of paper inside with more dsp and a smaller piece of very vanilla to write my message on.  Such a sweet card, for a very sweet boy indeed.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Balloon Celebration

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Experimenting with water coloring has become one of my new favorite things to do.  I am so young in this medium that it is a constant adventure.  I do try not to do it all of the time, but it might just be my favorite.  Hard to put that off.

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I did stamp off the balloons twice before they got to the card front.  I wanted dark color, but still opaque.  It worked nicely.  The second layer stamping was done only stamped off once to make sure it was seen well.  Also a good fit.  I did go over the balloons again with the aqua painter to smooth things out.  A bit of dabbing with a paper towel helped to create better highlight spots.  Fun and fun. I am still waiting for the back-ordered balloon punch, so I had to layer the balloons with just ink.  That is why I had them opaque.  To allow the layering to show the balloons behind, just like it would with a real bouquet of balloons.  I do think this card is good for just about anyone’s birthday, masculine too.  A really great project that was satisfying on so many levels.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Flowering Fields with Botanicals for You

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

I did start out with a St. Patrick’s Day card set in mind.  Hence the green and gold. However, it quickly changed into something more elegant and much more useful.  I do know several people that truly do love to celebrate this holiday and this would work wonderfully for them as well.  What fun, right?

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This Flowering Fields stamp set will be gone soon.  I do love the fun free products available during Sale-a-bration, but always are sad to see them go.  I do know that there are always new things on the horizon that I will love equally well, but I do have my favorites that stick around year after year.

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I ended up using a full sheet of very vanilla, part for the card front and inside, and used the rest to make a gift bag.  I prefer to have paper used up with as little waste as possible.  I even used the snipping left from cutting the front and inside to be my sentiment tag.  Very little waste today indeed.

This glitter tape is so much fun.  I admit I have stashed it a bit too long, I thought I had learned my lesson.  Guess not.  So, I broke it out and put it to work.  Just a little bit does so much.  And it is so tidy, no glitter messes to be found.  A win for everyone for sure. I do think I will use some tape to close the bag when it gets filled with a treat or two.  Yeah!

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Hello and Bonjour!

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Can  Sale-a-bration be any more fun?  How about getting another free stamp set just so you can have it in french?  I saw another awesome demonstrator, Mary Fish, use this set with the bonjour stamp and I knew I wanted it as well.  Isn’t that just how we work?  Well, it was worth it.  I love it!

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The dsp I am using here is also from a free Sale-a-bration set.  Most of the patterns are floral, hence the wildflower fields title, but not all of them.  These simple stripes are adorable.  I thought I would create two color choices and a gift bag that could go with either one.  It worked out great.

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I thought for sure the bonjour card would be my favorite, but the birthday boy is also very adorable.  I think the party hat stamp really made it.  You can never have enough birthday cards, especially when I get to share most of them with my mother-in-law.  She is so good about remembering literally everyone’s birthdays.  And she loves sending out special ones much more than a store bought card.  Who wouldn’t?

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Shine On Birthday Gift

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It seems like I have gift bags and boxes on the brain lately.  Nothing to be done about that but enjoy the ride.  This one was a touch different than my usual, but only because I wanted to show both sides of this awesome craft card stock.

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I created a tall slender gift bag using the entire sheet of paper.  I gave additional score lines along the center of the side panels for a much easier fold when the bag was shut.  The tops of the sides were removed which left me with these pretty top flaps, which when folded over showed the foil patterned side.  So very pretty.  The pack has several prints and the paper is very hearty.  You could really put heavy items in these and they will be quite secure.

I hadn’t had out my trusty petite petals punch for quite some time.  Kind of like a long lost friend.  It sits on its shelf, along with the others, but other toys were getting more use.  When I was at a bit of a loss as to how I wanted to finish off the embellishments, there it was.  Worked like a charm and made me very happy with the results.  Now I will have to make a card to match it instead of the other way around.  Something different for a change is nice.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Birthdays should always be this exciting and colorful, don’t you think?  When I started this project I only had the base with the striped dsp setting on top.  I wasn’t sure at all what was going to come next.

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I didn’t know how I was going to tie these bold colors together, and I wasn’t even sure they went together.  But as always, I stuck with it.  I decided to do a simple water color background with the two ink colors.  Sounds simple enough, right?  I stamped in  versamark ink and then brushed my paper with plenty of clean water.  I started with melon mambo in one corner and added a bunch of tempting turquoise in the other.  As I went back and forth some fun things started to happen.  I liked some of the mixing, but decided it was enough.  I dripped some clean water here and there to push color around and give a different look and ended up with quite a bit of water pooling.

Instead of dabbing it off with some paper towels I let it stay.  I took the heat tool to it and began to heat set the color.  The extra water and color around the edges started to activate and mix the inks even more.  I chased the ink around the edges of the image until it had all soaked in or dried up.  I was left with a really fun look that I don’t know if I could duplicate it again if I tried.  I will have to try though, because I love the look of it!  How fun!

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Celebrate Today

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

My computer went on a two day holiday, without permission I might add.  This little treasure has been waiting for you to see for three days now.  Oh well, here it is.

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This pop-up framelit is just the best.  I do love the balloons, but opening and closing this card is just too fun.  Nothing says happy like a traditional birthday card.  You can actually see a bit of the shimmer cardstock below, it really is so sparkly.

Since I have had some computer frustration lately, I am really not in the mood to sit here and explain all of the details in this particular project.  Sorry, but there you go.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

It’s My Party Gift Box

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Instead of a large bag, which is what I had planned, I went with a gift box.  I had cut a strip of the dsp for two card fronts and thought to use the remainder of the sheet for the bag now turned box.  I love using a whole sheet up for several projects, especially when I get to make a coordinating set.  Two more cards for this little grouping.

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I think my scoring tool has to be one of my most used tools.  I do enjoy making gift bags and boxes though, so it is a great fit.  This one is two inches deep and plenty large enough to hold plenty of treats, small gifts, or even some home made soaps.  Sometimes I make a box for a specific gift, but I often go shopping through my stash for one just the right size. When you blog as much as I do, there are always plenty of choices.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Party Pop-Up Greetings

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How fun is it to get a birthday card in the mail, right?  Well, when one as bright and festive as this one shows up, it is bound to bring a smile to your face.  And that is why people like me enjoy making cards, to share smiles.

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This particular birthday suite is full of fun product and it can be difficult to decide just what to include.  I haven’t used this embossing folder yet, so that is what I really wanted to show off.  Shimmer white cardstock really helps show off the detail of this fun folder.  The photos don’t do the paper justice, but it has the most delicate shimmer, I love it.

I used the framelit for a center image instead of the pop-up feature it has.  I will be sharing that one shortly.  I have several cards and a coordinating gift bag in the works, so, one day at a time for this tiny series.  I ‘painted’ the candles with the wink of stella pens, white and gold both.  I also added four tiny bands of gold along the stem of the stand.  The brush is so precise I didn’t even get angry at my lines.  Nice, right?

I added an extra layer inside to use some of the pretty paper stack.  It all goes together so nicely I couldn’t help myself.  I do think that melon mambo is my favorite color choice in this particular product suite.  Such a bright and cheery color.

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Have a creative day!

Moana