Sweet September

I love this time of the year.  Cool, colorful fall days are ahead.  I spent quite a bit of time the last few days working on some cards for some of the special people in my life -- 3 of my grand girls! They have birthdays on September 11, 12, and 15th, so I have got to get going on their birthday cards!  I also have my Mom, one of my brothers and a couple of close friends who all celebrate birthdays in the early part of this month.

When your granddaughters' birthdays are so close together, often the gathering for cake and ice cream is on the same day at the same time.  I thought they might be comparing cards, so I wanted each one to be different.  I didn't photograph all of them, but I did take pictures of this one for you.

This was a really simple to do card and similar to one I did last weekend.  I originally tried to use a piece of actual silver wire for the balloon string, but that was not successful so I had to make a new balloon.  I'm not sure why I have 4 colors of wire in 4 different gauges each in my paper crafting supplies, but I did try to use it at least this once.  

I started with an ivory card base cut 4.25 x 11 inches scored and top folded at 5.5 inches.  Next I cut a Scalloped & Stitched Rectangle panel using the WPLUS9 Sunshine Layers Die set.  The bright pinky-coral color I used here was in my stash already, so I couldn't begin to tell you with any accuracy the name of the color.  It seems close to Bazzill Card Shoppe Candy Hearts, but I am not 100% sure.

This Unforgettable Clear Stamp & Die Set from WPLUS9 is getting to be one of my favorites to use for kids.  I also will use it for my daughter, Tiffany, as she loves elephants.  There's a sort of history with elephants in my family.  Giraffe's, too! Last year I let my daughter and both of my stepdaughters take home one of my treasures and of course, my daughter Tiffany chose my white onyx elephant that my grandfather brought home from India after World War II.  Her name is Ellie Mae.  Somehow in my way back when 5 year old mind, I had associated Ellie Mae with a trip to the zoo in San Antonio, TX where we rode an elephant and a visit to the Alamo during the same trip.  And so she became Ellie Mae.  She was used for several decades as a door stop in my grandparents house, so you can imagine the size of her.  Since I named her when I was little, I got to keep her after my grandparents were gone.

I used a 3rd generation stamp of Versafine Black Onyx Ink ,which is waterproof once it dries, to stamp my images before Copic Coloring them.   I used some DCVW Glitter Paper scraps to cut lots of gold hearts using this Simon Says Stamp Exclusive Hearts & Stars die.   I use this die so much!  I find it very handy to just have a few hearts and stars cut in shimmery or glittered paper as a quick touch to have on hand for general card making.  Anytime I have some scraps in gold I take a few minutes to make a few cuts.  The sentiment was stamped onto Stampin' Up Radiant White Vellum with Delicata Golden Glitz Pigment Ink and heat set with Simon Says Stamp Ultra Fine Clear Embossing Powder.   I cut swallow-tailed ends to make it a banner.  I added some Wink of Stella in Clear to the balloon and topped it off with Ranger Glossy Accents to give it that added dimension.  I let that dry overnight.  Mostly, I am only trying to convey that Papa and I are including lots of love in this birthday card!




So much of the fun with the cards this year is the fact that I have started making cards and also that little girls (and even bigger girls as the two older ones are teenagers) love shine and sparkle.  So it's been tons of fun making their cards.  I have more birthday cards to make this weekend, so I'll have another post up in a few days.

I'm wishing all of you a very happy Labor Day weekend!  It's the last long weekend of the summer, so enjoy!