September Coffee Talk cards

Once a month I go to a Coffee Talk where a group of us make some cards that my friend Karina has designed & prepped for us.  It is for just a couple of hours but it is always fun.  These are the cards that I made at this event…

I think that the second card is my favourite. It uses the Nordic Noel DSP

August Coffee Talk

These are the cards that we made at August Coffee talk...

August Swaps

Here are some cards that I made for August Swaps.

The first is a punch art card that I made for my August Secret Happy Mail Swap. I based the design on Carolyn Bennie (carolynbennieink.wordpress.com).

This card was my swap card for our August Coffee Talk.  I used the hostess stamp set Flamingo Lingo, On Film Framelits to make the polaroid frame, The Itty Bitty Banners Framelits to make the banners, Confetti Celebrations DSP, Petite Petals punch, Strawberry Slush, Island Indigo & Daffodil Delight ink.

Our August

July was busy but things didn't slow down much in August either.  Here is a quick recap of our activities for the month...

We took Brennan to the zoo and he loved…the golf cart

We celebrated Duane's birthday with family & friends - wish I had taken a picture of the guests!

More time with Brennan in the backyard

Natalie attended Edmonton School of Ballet Summer Dance Intensive

We went to visit the Maroneys in Minnesota

They took us camping to Lake Itasca - headwaters of the Mississippi

My sister Lorrene & I went to a Art Pub night & I painted this picture

They took us to the shores of Lake Superior to search for agates

We went Back to School shopping at the MOA and had lunch at Chipotle

Dana finds her dream car at MOA - its a Barbie car

We went camping with the Middletons & Weders in Banff for September long weekend

Whew! It really was busy month. Now back to routine here in September...

July Challenges

Here are the cards that I made for the July Challenges:

More July Cards

One day I got on a roll & decided to make some notecards for my brother Dave & my SIL's company, Spotlight Photography.  They mainly take wedding, family & baby photos so I thought it would be nice for them to have a stack of cards to send out as a thank-you for the business after they have completed a session with their clients.  I also decided to make some anniversary cards that they can send out to their clients on their wedding anniversary.  You know just a friendly little reminder about their company & that they are available to photograph their next occasion (baby, family etc.).  I made sure to decorate the  envelopes for that added touch.  It was one of those things that I did without asking first so I was not entirely sure how they would be received but Jen thought that they would be very useful. She had struggled to find something to send to their client when they completed the photo editing & mailed their photo album. These should fit the bill.

There are 2 versions of the thank-you cards using Epic Day DSP, On Film Framelit dies, Another Thank-you & Peachy Keen stamp sets...

The anniversary card uses Naturals Ivory cardstock, Linen thread, Woodgrain embossing folder, Heart punch & an old Hostess stamp set called Congrats...

July Birthdays

First up in July is my nephew Wyatt's 6th Birthday.  I ended up using a a swap card that I received for his birthday so I won't post it here since it wasn't my work.

My hubby turned 50 on the 16th.  I needed a card with some serious wow.  He is used to getting cards from me so I wanted this one to stand out.  This is what I came up with…

My friend Karina also celebrated her birthday in July.  I felt great pressure to make her a great card because she is a demonstrator who I stamp with frequently. I water coloured the paper by misting my clear blocks after laying down some ink with markers (Pool Party, Pear Pizzaz & Wisteria Wonder). I then stitched that paper (mounted on Pool Party card stock) onto a Window Sheet card base with my sewing machine. I stamped the flower from Blooming Wishes on the water coloured paper & the butterfly on scrap card stock from Papillion Potpourri stamp set, coloured it with marker (So Saffron) & attached to the front of the card.  I then stamped the sentiments from Petite Pairs on the Window Sheet & embossed with black.  The large clothespin has my friends Website banner modpodged on to the front to hold the card.  It is a small gift that she can use to display cards at her events.

MIA

I have been missing in action on my blog this summer.  I guess you could say that life got in the way but I am now back on track & so I will have a bit of catch up to do.  I did some crafting over the summer so I will try to post everyday until I am up to date.  This is what kept us busy this July….

Camping in Jasper for Canada Day

Spending time at friends' cabin on Brightsand Lake, SK

Dana getting her Driver's License

Celebrating Duane's 50th birthday

Natalie redecorating her room - she went to Ikea while Dana went to Sweden

A lot of time in the backyard hanging out with Brennan - our weather was fantastic!

Other cards in July

I made this card for the girls' soccer coaches.  The card is pretty simple but I used gold and black embossing to make the images really pop.

I made this card for Secret Happy Mail Swap for July.  I think that we only have one more month to go until our reveal party.  For this one, I used the Snapshot stamp & sentiment from Really Good Greetings.  To embellish I used linen thread, crochet trim, & candy dots in Very Vanilla.  The card base is Naturals Ivory, Basic Black mat & Pool Party & Epic Day DSP.

Sympathy

My Uncle John passed away at the age of 80 a few weeks ago.  He is actually my Mom's uncle but we both shared a love of horses so he has a special place in my heart.  He sold my girls their horse, Ciara, for $100. He also owned the stallion that I bred my mare to to produce their other horse, Sandy.  John was a kind & gentle man who had a soft spot for animals. He often checked back to see how we were making out with these horses.  Now I will think of him when I see them & know that he shared the love of horses with my girls too. I made this card for my Auntie Linda, son Wayne & daughter Karen. He is a man that will be deeply missed.

Hello summer

I sent some packages to celebrate the start of summer to my niece & nephews (hand delivered Brennan's).  For the packages I mailed, these are the cards that I sent…

For Jon..

For Sarah…

For Wyatt…

June Birthdays & Father's Day

June is a relatively slow month for Birthdays with my Father-in-law's on the 9th & my nephew Jonathan's on the 13th.

This is the card that I made for Jon. He loves his Legos.

I used a swap card that I had for my Father-in-law's birthday (gasp!). I have to use them up somehow.  This is the card that I made for my Father-in-law for Father's Day though. I used the May Paper Pumpkin.

Here is the card that I made for my Dad for Father's Day…

Here is the card for my hubby….

 I also made this cute box that I used for his Starbucks gift card. I found the design on & adapted it slightly.

Other cards in June

Here is a card that I made for a challenge in June.  It uses Whisper White, Strawberry Slush, & Pistachio Pudding card stock.  I used Work of Art stamp set for the chevron background & For the Birds stamp set to make a cute birthday card to have around.

This is a card that I made when I was up late stamping one night.  It is inspired by a card on nicoleheady.typepad.com.  I thought that I would use it for my June Secret Happy Mail Swap but then changed my mind.  It use the Perfect Pennants stamp set with Marina Mist & Pear Pizzaz ink.  I think that it will work well for a masculine birthday.

This is a set of cards I made while at a card class.  They all use the new In Colors of which my new favourites are Blackberry Bliss & Lost Lagoon.

June is anniversary month for both my sister & her husband & my brother & his wife.  This is the card that I made for them (or a version thereof).

This is another card that I made for a Stamp It Three Ways Challenge.  I used the Dictionary Stamp for the background & Regarding Dahlias for the focal point & sentiment. I coloured the flower using the Daffodil Delight Blendabilities…