Christmas Cards That Worked

I think these may have been 4 of the cards from my workshop but they're great so I'll post them and probably use the templates again!  Thanks Sandi!

And A Few Random Occasions Cards!

One Mother's Day card from last year, I think.  I love the bold print and colors of the flowered paper but find it tough to actually integrate into most cards.  This attempt worked okay but I still think there is something babyish about it.  Maybe if I'd lost that additional flower?  I do like the paper tearing effect, though.

This was very simple for a bridal shower. 

One attempt at making a wedding card using the often-seen mismatch of papers, textures, and colors that many card makers use.  However, my creations don't seem to ever turn out as functional and put-together as theirs! 

Another mash-up of colors and textures.  I'm a big fan of purple and grey's together so I think I like this card a but more than the previous one.

I can't remember what this was for, but I think the window effect is very nice if done right.  Not sure this card works but the colors are lively and cheery!

I buy way too many Valentine's stamp sets and paper and really only have one person to give these cards to.  So, in general, Bryan usually gets 3-4 but I only managed one for him this year.  It's okay, a little babyish again, I think. Next year I will do better (and will begin in January).

This was for Bryan for our anniversary. Working off a template for a young boy's birthday card and with minimal stamp sets to choose from, this ended up looking like another boy's card, so I'll keep the template and change the sentiment!

Again, I buy these stamp sets (in this case a Thanksgiving one) and never use them.  So, I decided to make Thanksgiving cards for both my parents and Bryan's Mom this year and this was the card (they both get the same one).  I think it turned out relatively well. 

A Collection of Recent Birthday Cards

Card-making has not been at the top of my list of things to do over the past year as I have been focused on completing my Holistic Nutrition program.  However, I have been able to complete a few cards for friends' and family members' birthdays and still want to keep a reminder of those that I deemed alright to wonderful!

A birthday card for my Mom (2014?)

Birthday card for my Dad, I think! (2014)

For my friend Shari!

For my future sister-in-law!

Another Dad card (2015).

I think these were for my friend's daughters.

No idea who for, but I thought this one turned out pretty well.

The gears card went over very well with Bryan (even though it wasn't for him).  Another birthday card for my Mom, too.

Inside of the above cards.

Again, no idea who this was for, but I like the simple look and the white ink on the darker paper - it really stands out!

A custom creation using a friend's design, but instead I played with my new seashells stamp set!

I love this card!  The first attempt did not go so well - I had a momentary relapse into my kindergarten creativity days with that one!  However, after sleeping on it and playing around a bit more, I think this one turned out really well. 

More Xmas Cards

Inspired by my recent card workshop, I awoke at 6:30AM on a Sunday (who does that???) eager to pull out my card stuff. I haven't seen my stash since August, with my busy work, school, fitness and recently acquired writing schedules so it was nice find time to work on a few new ideas. It does help to have an occasion to focus on as well, so that's one good thing about the season.

 

My accomplishments in the wee hours of the day:

 

 

 

Picture the right one rotated to the left 90 degrees.

 

I especially like the Santa Card!!

 

 

 

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Christmas Card Workshop

Yesterday afternoon, my good friend Sandi hosted a Christmas Card-making Workshop at her house. She is a talented Close To My Heart consultant who graciously took the time to design eight beautiful cards for the attendees to make. In addition to the design, she also spent hours cutting out all the paper and card stock in various sizes to ensure we didn't have to do this step. Many thanks and appreciation goes out to Sandi for taking this on and inviting us into her home.

It was a fun afternoon spent with friends, some of whom I hadn't seen in quite some time. We chatted and told stories, catching up on each others' lives.

I made seven cards in total using four of the designs. I'm proud of my work this time as I made fewer mistakes and the cards all ended up looking quite nice!

 

Two cards, front.

 

And their respective insides...

 

The next two.

 

The inside.

 

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Two Weddings and a Shower

Weddings are such magical times for everyone, but especially for those getting married that day. I love to see the joy and exhilaration of both parties as they vow to be there for each other forever. Trying to create wedding cards that exude some of that amazement and thrill was tough. I hope these are appreciated but I would like to work on more to get things more romantic and wonderful.

 

 

And, of course, when every good girlfriend is anticipating their wedding day, there is a bridal shower thrown in her honor. My good friend Kelsey has anxiously and, at times, not so patiently awaited her wedding day and I know that she and Matt will endure and prosper, growing old together with each loving, passing day. They truly were meant for each other.

 

 

 

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A Thank You For Great Friends

With our 3 week vacation to Italy, we were very fortunate to have our great friends Dale and Jocelyn volunteer to look after our house and the cats. While it's just a card, I'm hoping that this helps to express just how very thankful we are that they were able to help out. I hope one day we can return the favor for them!

 

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For My Dad

Because we're leaving for Italy on June 7th, I will not be around to mail my Dad Father's Day or birthday cards to reach him closer to the date.  I will be mailing them early so he at least has them, so I had to work last weekend to create something special just for him.  He's the best Dad ever - supportive, calming, and I love how he's so down to earth.  He taught me a lot growing up and always took time out of his busy farming schedule to help me with ball and other things I needed him to.

My Dad's Father's Day card:

And his birthday card:

When You Least Expect It...

Last weekend my friend Sandi (a Close to my Heart independent consultant) hosted my friend and I for an afternoon of card-making in her very first workshop.  She came up with 8 different designs and cut the paper out for us, and we came to assemble these.  My friend proved to be more creative than I did during the workshop as she had the insight to switch up the design's colours or stamps to try something new, all to work out really well.

Listening to Sandi talk about her creations and how she imagines up her designs, I was intrigued by her just going ahead and trying out new stamps and papers.  One of the things I struggle with is what to do with some of the stamps I buy?  I really like them, and I love the idea of what these stamps could be, but I never am quite sure how to use them.  So, I came home from the workshop and decided to just go ahead and not over think the use of my Aspire Stamp from Close To My Heart.

Below is the creation I came up with, and something about this card really got to me - I love it and simply can't stop staring at it now!  I have no idea what to do with it, so maybe this will remain in my own personal collection!  To remind me of what can happen when I least expect it to...

Mother's Day

There were so many different inspiring cards and images available that I spent hours trying to figure out what I wanted to do for Mother's Day cards.  After many different attempts with patterns and colours, and working through my stamps to come up with appropriate sentiments and stamp collaborations, I developed 3 different cards for this day.

My boyfriend chose this one to give to his Mom.

For my Mom, I created this card, which I, personally, really liked.  The ripped paper effect added a nice embellishment to the card, and complimented the background nicely.  I'll have to try this again sometime!

And this one I will save for another year!

For my Mother

My Mom has been there for me for all my life, supporting me, cheering me on, and always giving me the encouragement and freedom to go after any dream or idea that I may seek out.  As tough as it was for her to see me move to Calgary from Manitoba, she has continued to be there to talk about or through all types of topics and I always know that she is there when I need her.  For my Mom, I created this beautiful card to express how much I love her.  I hope it also gave me more points for using orange, her favourite colour!

Birthday Cards To Date

Working from inspirations from a friend's designs and images found in various Google searches, I have been trying to experiment and grow my creative side with birthday cards over the past five months.  


My friend's blog is here: http://stamped-by-hand.blogspot.ca/


Looking through her blog and her creations, I am always inspired by her creativity and the way she looks at different stamps and card stock, not to mention her ingenious ability to add those little touches that add so much - pearls, glitter, a partially hidden stamped design!   


This card was for a good friend, and I went for an earthy yet feminine look for her, as she has an ambitious and active streak that has pushed her to train and enter triathlons, as well join in various different fitness activities.

My nieces have birthdays about 2 weeks apart so each year I try to get together with the girls to spend some time with them and give them their gifts.  For two little girls with such different interests and activities, not to mention who seem to have everything, this year I decided the time spent playing in the park and some hand made cards would be nice gifts for them.  This went over well - the park was a blast and I even managed to help the youngest girl overcome her fear of the slide.  

For my wonderful best friend, I wanted to create something meaningful and express the sentiments I feel towards her, how much I appreciate her and cherish our friendship.  

And a card for my boyfriend's Aunt on her birthday recently.