A Special Book

I was asked by a client of our IT business (after receiving one of my Christmas cards!), to make a very special birthday card.

The gentleman is turning 90 and just recently had to put his beloved wife into a nursing home. Not a really good week for him, his friends decide to throw him a birthday bash to be held this evening! This gentleman is apparently a favorite within his club, so I knew this had to be special. The person that commissioned me to make it asked that it have space for about 50 people to sign. They suggested maybe A4 (8 1/2 x 11...kinda). As I thought about it, I really couldn't bring myself to make something that size because I knew from experience it would just look a bit tacky.

So off to my local favorite scrapbook shop to see what inspiration I could glean. On one of their shelves someone had created this fabulous mini scrapbook for display, and the inspiration began to take shape. I didn't have any pictures, that probably would have been so good, but didn't have any... Then it hit me, they need places for 50 people to sign. TAGS! What a great idea, and hey, I could make each page a different colour combination, and, and, and... It all got a bit exciting! So below is what I came up with...

If you have looked through my entire blog, you may have recognized the design for the 90. I did a "50" like this on a card in the past. It's just foam core with Japanese paper put on with Jac paper. I cut it all out, stuck it together, then filed the edges with a fingernail file, to age them a bit.

















When I saw the mini scrapbook, the person that created it had used this wonderful stamp that said all kinds of nice things, and they had clear embossed it onto the cover, I loved it and decided to borrow the idea. The "celebrate" is a clear plastic thing I thought would work. I used my ever present favourite Dimentional Magic to glue it on, but because I didn't know exactly how to do it, it looks a bit daggy, but A LOT better than the first one I tried, which will continue to rest comfortably in the bottom of the garbage can...













They suggested this for the inside greeting thing. The leaves and branches are done in Versa Mark, as a watermark.

This is the blue page, the first page. Because this is supposed to be a greeting type card/booklet, I decided that the less I embellish the better. I wanted the words that are written to the birthday boy to be the embellishment. I tried to make the tags little handle things different, although I did digress later in the book, it was getting late.












This is the green page. I think I liked this one best, just because its green and it has leaves on it, two of my favorite design things. The tags on the left just have a leaf punch on the top of them, and of course I had to use my Fiskars leaf border punch.












The yellow page

This page was supposed to be brown, well, one side looks brown. They actually look a lot brown-er in person.












The proverbial purple page.

I know, I know... "orange?" I really love the background paper I used on the left side and when I tested it together with this tangerine-ish colour, I really liked it, and I had to make the facing page match a bit. The words say "You are Brilliant, Marvelous, Awesome, Amazing and a Wonderful Friend" and apparently this is the exact sentiment they wanted to communicate. I stamped it in black, then used a positioner to stamp over it with Versa Mark to clear emboss it, so the letters are raised.

When I delivered this little book, the clients were so pleased, and almost speechless. They hadn't expected something quite so elaborate. I also went and found a box to put it in, but it was a very plain box, so I stamped some leaves on that as well. I also included some archival pens for the party attendees to use.

I'm pretty sure I'll be getting a phone call tomorrow!

Two weddings and a funeral

Last week, my next door neighbour came over and asked if I could make her some wedding cards... she'd gladly pay me... When I asked when they needed to be done, her reply was "well, I need one in two days" ACCKKK! Two days?!

I know she has a little background in card making, so I thought I would pull her into it. I asked her to come over to my place the next day and we'd do some together, since I too needed some cards. I asked her if she could just bring her tools over and I'd supply the cardstock. Good excuse to go cardstock shopping! She asked me "what tools?" Hmmm, better pick up some tools for her as well.

This is the first one we tried

It's done on cream ribbed cardstock, with the decorative paper taped on. To cover the join, we used some cream colored grosgrain ribbon. And don't even ask who the stamp is by, I don't know. I thought it looked a bit plain so we added little heart brads to the corner.

This was the second

Again, I used ribbed cardstock, but in light pink. The paper we taped on was interesting because where the silver looking hearts were, it was actually foiled. We distressed the edges after using a pink chalk pad on them. We used a rose colored grosgrain ribbon and the same congratulations stamp except we layered it on a bit of black cardstock and foam tape.

The final card I did that day wasn't for a wedding, but for a card everyone hates to do, a sympathy card. I did this for a special family that lost their dad last month to cancer. I made 6 of them and sent them to all the kids and their mom. He was a very special man who will be missed immensely. Fortunately we all know where he's spending his eternity and that wipes some of the pain away and replaces it with jealousy.

Tis the Season!

The following are cards that I made two years ago for Christmas. Have I started Christmas 2007 yet? HA! Not quite, maybe mid December... its that whole "deadline" thing. It has to be. I wanted to put these in my blog for, uhm, posterity, or maybe to have a record of actually doing them!















With this one, I started with dark blue bazzill basics, folded over and cut with decorative scissors. I then used the Bethlehem rubber stamp on plain white cardstock, then overlaid that with a piece of vellum with the word Peace stamped on it. Next came the silver eyelets and silver cord. Of course I finished it off with a plain white paper insert for the greeting.


This one, is again, on dark blue bazzill basics (I think I was having a dark blue year!) The dove was embossed with gold pearl embossing power, then I embossed, in black, the word "Peace" over that. The whole thing was matted on shiny silver paper, then the same blue. The proverbial silver eyelets and silver cord, then the plain white copy paper insert.















This last one is the same sort of design as the first one, except I used gold foil paper, gold eyelets, gold edged white ribbon. The card stock I used was cream colored and I embossed the tree, in pearl gold, on cream colored shimmer paper.

I might have to dig those stamps out again this year!

Tote bag

This is a tote bag that I've just finished for my good friend Beth, for her birthday. The "front" picture I had to scan from the front of the pattern since I obviously can't hold the camera still enough to get a decent picture! Sheesh. The back and card pictures aren't that great either, but the front one I took was REALLY bad!

I was able to get this project finished in about 2 1/2 days, and although I know it wasn't as perfect as the teachers, I thought I did well for my first one. The inside lining was a bit wonky in that it was a bit too big and floppy, so I had to put some stitches in the corners and the bottom front and back.

Beth said she liked it and had some ideas on how to use it... something about a "baby bag"?! When pressed, she said not yet, but she's hopeful. She's a wonderful mother to her 2, or maybe he's 3 now, year old son, Jacob.

I've also attached the card I made for her.

Front

On the front is a pocket that's been embroidered. I really don't like to embroider, but the pattern called for it.

The two pictures of the tote look like they are different colors, but the actual color is closer to the "front" image. I love the fabrics Jenelle has in her shop at Pieces to Treasure, they're so rich and they yell at you to make something beautiful with them... well, maybe they don't "yell" at you... but they suggest strongly! ;-)

Back

The flower has Dimensional Magic on it to give it, uhm,
"dimension" and shine. I kinda like this card, but I know I'd do a couple things different next time.