birthday

Bombs Away Birthday!

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Well, I must admit, I think Call of Duty visited my craft table this morning.  My plan began differently, honestly.  But then things got a little interesting.

Bombs Away Birthday!

I started out with the fun birthday bomb stamp and made background paper.  I knew I wanted to add my husbands name, but wasn’t sure on the color.  Since the black is so strong, I knew I needed to heat emboss the lettering.

Bombs Away Birthday!

Of course all of my colors are not quite masculine, and I wanted bright color.  I guess I could have done silver, but too late for that.  I had a couple of tiny spots that didn’t get powder to stick, so I thought I would just sponge a little ink here and there to fill them in.

Bombs Away Birthday!

I went out of the lettering a bit on the second B, so I gave in and sponged away. Then I giggled as I imagined how much cherry cobbler looked like dried blood, especially next to a bunch of bombs.  Maybe this is a bit tacky or even offensive, but my husband will get a kick out of it, and it is totally for him.  Happy Birthday my love!

Have a creative day!

Moana

All About Sugar and No Bones About It

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When you get asked for a birthday card for a little boy, don’t you just think of dinosaurs?  This fun card could be for folks of all ages.  You know, the cards that tease you about being older than a dinosaur, or a fossil in this case.

All About Sugar and No Bones About It

I gave warning that I would be into this set like crazy, and I love every chance I get to use it.  I have a few more children’s birthday cards to make and I think they will all have a dinosaur on them.  Tee hee.

All About Sugar and No Bones About It

The card itself is very simple.  Narrow borders layered together with some very simple stamping.  I only used three stamps for this card.  I think it looks like this dinosaur is smiling.  I digress…

All About Sugar and No Bones About It

Simple stamping, basic color pallet, sponging on the edges and a touch of ribbon.  Keeping open spaces on a project isn’t my strength, but when I manage it, I realize that I really do like it.  I just forget.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Ray of Sunshine and Pretty Petals

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How about another one of those crazy mornings, that absolutely ran away from me.  To be honest, I was helping out everyone else and didn’t get my own goodies done.  Everything came together and worked out so, no worries!

Ray of Sunshine and Pretty Petals

Is this designer paper adorable or what!  This particular print reminded me of a recently retired stamp that has the most beautiful poppies in it.  I do love it when everything goes together so nicely.

Ray of Sunshine and Pretty Petals

A simple layering of designer paper, with coordinating paper and a length of ribbon to bring it all together.  I did a double layer of tags and squeezed in this sunshine sentiment keeping everything in calypso coral.  Love that color.  Six pretty little flowers all sponged and centered with basic rhinestones and I am in love with this card.

Ray of Sunshine and Pretty Petals

 

Have a creative day!

Moana

No Bones About It

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No, I don’t have little children, and yes, I did have to have this set.  I actually pegged it for a favorite when the new catalog first came out.  It really isn’t the speed of my card group I teach, but I wanted it for myself.  How cute is it?

No Bones About It

There are four different dinosaurs in the set, all with matching skeletons, some fossil plant looking stamps, some splats and these awesome footprints.  As well as a few super cool sentiments to go along.

No Bones About It

This card was done in mossy meadow and whisper white with no frills.  I embossed the base with the chevron folder and made my layered tag from the tags & labels framelits set.  Plenty of dimensionals for everyone and there you go.  I did accent it a bit with some linen thread using the 1/16″ hand held punch for the knot to show through.

No Bones About It

 

I am going to really enjoy this set a lot, and I mean a lot.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Bombs Away Birthday

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Did you ever buy something just loving it and being so excited to use it?  That would be the inspiration for this card today.  When Stampin’Up! first started coming out with their own photopolymer stamp sets I was so excited.

Bombs Away Birthday

I would buy them and have an absolute blast.  But, as you get more, some get neglected.  This particular set was so funny to me that it was a must.  I pulled it out and remembered why I hadn’t used it yet.  I loved the sentiments but was stumped on what to pair them with.

 Bombs Away Birthday

Enter the super awesome brick wall embossing folder.  I used my brayer to roll some cajun craze on one side of the folder, embossed a piece of the heavy weight whisper white cardstock and knew I had found the perfect pairing.  The way the ink beads up a bit on the folder actually gave the bricks a porous look.  Unexpected and very welcome indeed.

Bombs Away Birthday

Simple layering, sponging to make me happy, and a touch of gold metallic thread and this project is ready to be mailed!  Would you believe I have three different guys in my life that this would be perfect for?  Yes, they are all very much alike.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Happy Age Awareness Day

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This birthday stamp set never gets old for me.  I think some of the phrases are just too funny.  I must have migrated here today because I am a little tired and have a bit of the giggles.  Maybe that is why my photos are all wonky.  Oh well…

Happy Age Awareness Day

I went with just lost lagoon for my color scheme.  Sometimes using one color is all that is needed. It helps to enjoy other parts of the project, like embossing or even just the sentiment.

 Happy Age Awareness Day

I put the banner triple punch to work today and really am pleased how they layer so nicely together.  Super simple to make without all of the frustration of trying to make a banner just right.  Thank you for that awesome punch!

Happy Age Awareness Day

Finishing it off with some of the new metallic silver thread also made me very happy.  It is like using ribbon without any of the distractions you sometimes want to avoid.  How fun is that!

Have a creative day!

Moana

Boho Chic Gift Bag

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The UPS man brought this lovely little box yesterday that had some really fun things inside.  One of which was the new striped cotton ribbon.  I held off for a bit, but went for it when they went on sale.

Boho Chic Gift Bag

I wasn’t disappointed, let me tell you.  So, I wanted to make something that really put the ribbon out front.  No stamping today, how odd.  Some embossing though, had to have something.  The boho chic embossing folder is really too cool.

Boho Chic Gift Bag

That was also a new product I wasn’t very sure about.  As you can see, the pattern is great and will be tons of fun.  I haven’t gotten the designer series paper it coordinates with, but I will soon enough.  Can’t have it all, at once that is.

Boho Chic Gift Bag

 

This is one whole sheet of tangelo twist and two pieces of very vanilla.  With my trusty score board by my side, I can make all kinds of fun boxes and bags.  Such a great go to tool.  Highly recommended.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Timeless Elegance Birthday

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Well, this was to be yesterday’s post.  Talk about an adventure.  I think I killed my laptop.  Apparently it isn’t a good idea to drop your full cup of drink and have it spill all over the keyboard and stuff.  Who knew.  Either way, moving forward.

Timeless Elegance Birthday

Could this paper be any more beautiful?  I could probably open a pack and just project away until it was empty.  It truly is my favorite.  Elegant and so simple.

Timeless Elegance Birthday

Just some simple layering, one stamp, five punched flowers with tiny pearls at each center, dotted the “i” with a pearl, and laid down a string of pearls under ‘birthday’.  There you go.

Timeless Elegance Birthday

 

I did make a project for today, but I will be saving that for tomorrow.  Wait til you see what I did with a tiny cup die cut from my paper pumpkin kit.  Oh My Goodness, just amazing!

Have a creative day!

Moana

Larger Than Life!

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Turning 18 can be exciting, scary, or even uneventful.  As a parent it is definitely exciting and scary, but it would be nice if it was calm and even a bit subtle.  With my oldest daughter turning 18 next week, subtle is more likely the theme.  She is at university now, and I won’t be there to celebrate with her.  A care package is in order for sure.

Larger Than Life!

The new designer series paper packs are awesome.  I love that they measure 6×6.  You aren’t limited by the direction of the pattern because you have a larger area to work with.  Makes me so happy.

Larger Than Life!

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to work with this huge letter and alphabet set, but I went for it.  It is so huge!  But I think I will have a ton of fun with it.  I honestly think it would be so funny if I turned the period after the number abbreviation to a red exclamation point.  Could I deny her the birthday?  Stop my daughter from growin up any more?  Not likely.

Larger Than Life!

A clean and simple card is the theme here.  Celebrating birthdays doesn’t mean everything is to be all flashy, it could, but it doesn’t have to be.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Happy Birthday to Me!

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I thought I would do something a little different for today.  Two of my card club ladies sent me these lovely birthday cards and I decided to share them with you.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Donna sent the first one, and aren’t the flowers just lovely?  I just love her color choices, don’t you?  One of the great things about a photopolymer stamp is being able to manipulate it as needed.  Like taking this great sentiment and curling it around the flowers.

Happy Birthday to Me!

This second card was so fun to open.  June is one not to shy away from a challenging project.  She has no problem sitting down and fussy cutting to her hearts content.  I am so not that patient.

Happy Birthday to Me!

This card is so fun to open and close.  It is just chuck full cute little things.  I love all of the new paper she used.  As well as a wonderful quote tucked into the middle.

Happy Birthday to Me!

I am so fortunate to be able to work with such great ladies.  Lucky me!

Have a creative day!

Moana

Birthdays are Big News!

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This is definitely a bit of a crazy card.  I wanted a little more order to the stamping on the background, but didn’t have the patience.  Blogging ahead like I am, Utah trip and pioneer trek remember, has made me run a little short on patience.  I just went with it and decided I liked it after all.

Birthdays are Big News!

There may be lace and a bit of bling here, but I thought it could work for a guy as well, maybe.  This new color delightful dijon is starting to grow on me.  It took a while for summer starfruit to get anywhere with me, but I ended up being so sad when it retired and find myself missing it.  This is much darker, but I am starting to get there.

Birthdays are Big News!

This project was a real quick put together.  Just a couple of square framelits, some simple stamping, a bit of sponging and it was done.  Then I wanted to put a bit of bling on and even underlined with rhinestones one of the ‘enjoy the fuss’ sentiments.  Good stuff for sure.

Birthdays are Big News!

 

I have added another birthday card to the stash.  There never seems to be an end to the need for birthday cards.  Especially when you know so many wonderful people!  A great thing to be able to do.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Age Awareness Vintage Style

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By now, I should have made it back from Utah, survived running all over the place, crying several times, and collapsing after a long drive.

Age Awareness Vintage Style

I am writing this ahead, because this morning I should be up to my eyeballs in getting the last things together for our pioneer trek experience!  I put everything together I could before we went to Utah, but there are always last minute things ready to get in the way.

 Age Awareness Vintage Style

I haven’t used soft suede for a really long time and thought it would go with the theme here.  I also just got the oval framelits and put them to work for the first time.  These stamp sets go together quite nicely, don’t you think?  I used the banner punch for the very vanilla strips and finished up the soft suede layered banner with the side of the hexagon punch.  It makes great banner ends.  Who knew!

Age Awareness Vintage Style

Here I go again making my own background paper.  It is a fun challenge that keeps my brain fresh and lets me use more of my fun stamps!  We have a special birthday coming up next month for someone getting up there in years.  He has a great sense of humor and will just love this!

Have a creative day!

Moana

Happy Birthday My Friend

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Making my own background paper is one of my favorite things to do.  Part of it comes from not having all of the new paper, and the other more important part is customizing it to exactly how I want my project to feel.  I loved these tiny little flowers, so that is what I went with.

Happy Birthday My Friend

I didn’t have patience to use my stamp-a-majig, so I just did my best.  It didn’t turn out too bad and the secondary pattern looks great.  Hexagons can look a little more strict by their shape, but using the floral one gave it a much softer look.  And of course I love a layered tag.  Go ornate tag topper punch!  I love a great set of tools.

Happy Birthday My Friend

I have some work to get done today for use.  I will be gone all next week between taking my daughter to university and participating in a pioneer trek.  I will blog ahead like I did during girls camp, that seemed to work out just fine.  I think July will be a little more kind to my schedule, I hope.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Butterfly Basics

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Simple elegance is one of my favorite things in a card.  This color combination surely does lend itself in that direction.  I even think it is neutral enough to be masculine, what do you think?

Butterfly Basics

I used the Butterfly Basics set for this project for the element and sentiment.  I put the fern stamp to work with three different inks.  I started with black stazon, layered with silver encore, and finished up with elegant eggplant.  I continued stamping inside with just the elegant eggplant.

Butterfly Basics

I added some silver satin ribbon to keep those ferns together but kept it in a knot instead of a bow.  The ribbon kind of took over when it was tied in a bow, but just right in a knot.

Butterfly Basics

I kept the boarders narrow and popped the front up on dimensionals.  A nice clean look for an elegant card.  I think I have just the person to send it to.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Something to Say with Flowering Flourishes

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I honestly sat down to my very messy desk and couldn’t think of what to do.  There are many reasons to stay organized, and that is one of them.  I looked to my paper for inspiration, as I usually do when I get stumped.  But I haven’t purchased any of the new paper yet, so that threw me another loop.  I really had to look for a little extra creativity, so I kept looking.  The foil velum carried over and I had some of that.  For the win!

Something to Say with Flowering Flourishes

I started out with the idea of making a purse style gift bag, but thought it was looking to be too bulky and wide.  So, I cut it in half and went for two of these little beauties.  I stamped my wisteria wonder card stock with the medium stamp from flowering flourishes to go under the velum.  I love the soft layering it gives.

Something to Say with Flowering Flourishes

I used a whole 12 x 12 sheet of velum to start with.  When I trimmed it to match the 8.5 x 11 I had a nice strip left over.  I cut that in two and made two mini envelopes for the tiny gift cards.  The cards are large enough for a tiny note and also house a gift card.  Nice, right?

Something to Say with Flowering Flourishes

I plan on putting a couple of gourmet cookies in a cellophane bag to tuck inside the gift bags.  It should make a lovely set.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Welcome Cucumber Crush

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Let me introduce you to Cucumber Crush.  Now you have seen all of the five new In-Colors that will be with us for the next two years.  I can’t believe we have had the other set for a year already.  But this bright, perky green, we don’t have a color like it.  And it is bright.

Welcome Cucumber Crush

My family assured me this wasn’t too much and they really liked it.  I kind of didn’t, at all.  I thought it looked like a leprechaun got into a fight with Valentine’s Day.  But, I went with it anyway.  Everyone makes mistakes and I don’t mind that at all.  I do think that this particular combo won’t happen again.  Cucumber Crush needs to have another color or two to balance it out.  Just my thoughts though.

Welcome Cucumber Crush

This is also another sneak peek at the Happy Birthday, Everyone host set.  I touched on it yesterday, but went further today.  The ‘Happy Birthday’ sentiment is the large main one and it comes with several support phrases.  Too fun.

Either way, a new set of fun In-Colors combined with a great new catalog looks to make another great year.  So much creativity in store.  I hope you find yours.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Birthday Bundle Paper Pumpkin

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I normally keep my Paper Pumpkin to myself and just have my own party.  But oh my goodness, this set was so huge and just had to share!

Birthday Bundle Paper Pumpkin

Imagine this set, but multiplied.  The kit comes with enough supplies to make six cards, with envelopes, and four of these huge bags.  Wowsers.  The bags are huge and super sturdy.  These kits just keep getting better and better.

Birthday Bundle Paper Pumpkin

I just got mine yesterday.  I normally wait til the weekend to play, but I thought I would share instead of making something else new.  I put these two together so quickly my husband was surprised.  “You are done already?”  He is such the patient husband of a craft blogger.

Birthday Bundle Paper Pumpkin

Well, there you go.  I used two little strips of adhesive from my fast fuse, the rest of everything came in the kit.  I love this stuff.  I should mention, just because it is nice to share, that if you sign up by June 10th you get your first two months half price.  Nice.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Corner Garden Gift Bag

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Sometimes I design a bag around a gift or to match some cards I have made.  This time I wanted to work around a specific stamp.  I wanted to do a tone on tone with the Corner Garden stamp set.  The detail is fine and subtle, just the look I was going for.

Corner Garden Gift Bag

The bag is large enough to hold plenty.  It could hold a large set of cards and envelopes, or any number of things.  It is sturdy too.  A nice heavy cardstock bag with my favorite chevron ribbon.  Bring on the heavy gift, I am totally ready.

Corner Garden Gift Bag

At workshop Saturday my ladies teased me about my need to sponge the edges of everything.  I was able to say that I had controlled myself and we only sponged one of our three projects.  So I was feeling the need and definitely got busy on this bag. I just love the look it gives.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Hello There Farewell

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I have been trying to stay focused on this years catalog and finish it through, but the new product keeps on sneaking into my thoughts.  I thought this would be a fitting solution to all that is going on.

Hello There Farewell

I like to make samples using the new in-colors for the season and send them along with the new catalog to my club ladies.  They love getting to see, and touch, some of the new product along with the catalog.

Hello There Farewell

Last year I made a card in this format using tangelo twist as one of the five samples included.  I thought it fitting to make another with a companion gift bag, since I love that these days, with an in-color that is retiring.  Farewell to strawberry slush, and your four other friends.  I have loved using you!

Hello There Farewell

I have begun planning my new samples with the wonderful new in-colors.  I also got to pre-purchase some of the new host sets, perks of being a demonstrator, and they are lovely!  They will make some great gifts for my ladies.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Sweet Taffy Gift Bag

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How about a huge bag made from awesome paper?  Sounds like the perfect thing to me.  It wasn’t hard to decide which paper to use, but which stamp would go best on the tag.

Sweet Taffy Gift Bag

I knew it had to be bold and long.  But I didn’t want the reader to turn sideways to read it.  So I had to dig into my sale-a-bration stash and use this beauty.  I have used this one like crazy.

Sweet Taffy Gift Bag

I used the dotted hexagon stamp from the six-sided sampler set to coordinate with the paper.  I thought it paired wonderfully.  The bow does make it a bit more feminine, but if had put it in a knot it would be great for a guy as well.  Good stuff there.

Just how big is the bag?  I used a whole 12 x 12 sheet to make this one.  I measures nearly 3 x 3 at the base and goes up to 9″ to the top.  Plenty of space to put in a light gift or two, maybe even a stash of taffy?

Have a creative day!

Moana