A month of male birthdays

September has lots of male birthdays for me.  Don't know why I let it fluster me so....you know...just substitute the bright pretty colors and flowers and ribbons for dull colors, anything but flowers, and twine.    Simple enough, but, I guess I just prefer the feminine versions.

Here are two cards I've sent out for male birthdays that have already come and gone.  The idea had been floating around in my head for close to a month.  Saw something similar in a magazine I recently flipped through.  Since I've been trying to organize my craft room, I've been looking through old idea magazines, so I can't say if I saw what inspired me in a new magazine or an old one.   Sorry I can't give proper credit for the inspiration.

Both of these were made with SU Kraft and Night of Navy paper, Night of Navy ink,  & Star punches.  I embossed the large navy stars on the second card with a Cuttlebug embossing folder.  The text is the Happy Birthday definition by Hero Arts and the sentiment is by Impress Rubber stamps.  Twine is from May Arts.

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Happy Birthday, Pauline!

Yes, I know today is not your birthday, but, if I wait to post it on your actual birthday, you won't see it for over a week.   I know you've received the card by now....I mailed it a week ago.   Sooooo................
A HAPPY BIG ___  BIRTHDAY TO YOU!   I'll never reveal your age!  But, I do know it is a big one!

Paper is by SU! and Cosmo Cricket.  Sentiment by Make an Impression and Viva Las Vegas Stamps.  The peonies are from Memory Box and that gorgeous wreath is a die cut....the brand new grapevine wreath by Memory Box.  Ribbon from my stash and image colored with Copics.

Pauline, I hope you have a wonderful, fun and relaxing birthday trip!

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Good Luck!

My plan was to post this yesterday.  Then John and I got started on THE closet.  The one that had all sorts of things piled in it and we flipped coins to see who would dare go in there to find anything.   We pulled everything out and sorted it, took down old shelves, patched, sanded, painted and put in new shelves.  It's gorgeous!  And, we're really glad it's done.

So, that's why the card is a day late.  I sent it off earlier this week as motivation for Colleen who was attacking a similar home project....a garage sale that occurred Friday evening and yesterday.   Yes, we moan and groan our way through these tasks, but we always feel so good when they are done.

On to the card:

I used Stampin' Up!'s Right at Home set, and typed up the sentiment on my computer.  Paper is from an old DCWV Fun in the Sun Summer Matstack from 2009 and SU! Night of Navy.   Stripes, dots and bright colors are timeless!  Used nesties dies to frame the image and Martha Stewart's small tag punch. Ribbon and twine from my stash.  Colored with copics.

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Boy oh Boy!

Colleen and Randy's kids have been busy!

Yes, another grandchild arrived a couple weeks ago, this time a grandson.
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And, after my horrible delay at getting a card to them on the arrival of their granddaughter, I wasn't going to miss a beat on this grandchild.   Even though I was on vacation at the time, I knew ahead of time it was going to be a boy, so I had the card made, the envelope addressed and stamped.  The moment I knew of the baby's arrival, the card went in the mail!

Without further ado, here it is:

Aren't those shoes cute??

It's a very old stamp from Stampabilities.   I used to stamp these on white paper that had a leather-ish look to it.  But, I can't find it anymore, so I bought some 'pleather' (vinyl fake leather) from JoAnn's and stamped the image with StazOn, cut out and popped them up on a Nesties diecut.   I like the pleather better than the cardstock because it provides a soft texture to the card.  Can't remember where the sentiment is from (sorry!), but the scallop border is a Fiskars punch and the button is made from a PTI button die.  The tag is a punch from Martha Stewart.   Patterned paper from my stash, cardstock from PTI also.

Congrats Colleen and Randy on grandchild #8!

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My very own pelican!

Since moving to Florida earlier this year, I have really enjoyed seeing all the different types of birds that are here.  Especially the pelicans!  Everytime I see one, I say to whomever is with me, or to myself,  "ooooohh, look at the pelican!"  Love to watch them dive into the water for fish.

When we moved here, I mentioned to John that I really wanted our home to reflect a seashore-y, nautical feel.  I thought it would be neat to have a fun mailbox made of dock pilings.   We had an opportunity to pick up some pilings this past weekend and this is what we came up with.

And, here's a closeup of my pelican!  Isn't he just adorable???

Ok, so this is what I've been doing instead of making cards.
Gotta get back to the cards.   Will share some soon.  Promise.
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Happy Birthday, Colleen!

Today is Colleen's birthday!
I hope you have a wonderful day, girlfriend!

The stems/leaves are from PTI's Everyday Button Bits and the sentiment is from Morningstar.  Both are stamped in Memento Bamboo (love that color!)  A few punched flowers (eksuccess), gems, ribbon and paper from the stash along with my new favorite MS border punch finishes it off.

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OLW 60: Quick Layers of Ink

Yeah!  I made the Simplicity challenge this past Wednesday!  And, it was a fun one!

This week's OLW challenge is to make quick and easy cards with nothing but layers of ink by overlapping the stamped images and/or sentiment. The idea here is to practice whipping up a quick card or even an easy card set at the last minute with just ink and cardstock!

I really needed a few quick thank you cards and this challenge fit the bill.  I dug through my stamp drawers and pulled out a mess of stamps and memento ink colors and went to town. 

First up:

Love, love, love this polka dotted scallop stamp from Memory Box.  This is the first time it's seen ink...so glad to finally use it!  Flowers and sentiment are from Savvy Stamps.

Second:

Another GREAT round script stamp from Memory Box.  Flower stamp by Just For Fun and sentiment by Printworks.

Next:

 Same Memory Box script, Hero Arts leaves and AMuse sentiment.

Fourth:

 Memory Box script again, Judikins cattails, Hero Arts sentiment.

Fifth:

 Hero  Arts script and blocks, Lockhart sentiment.

And, last but not least:

Bline Designs polka dot stamp (use this one ALL the time!), Just For Fun flowers and AMuse sentiment.

Thanks, Susan, for pushing me to get these done!  It feels good!

Thanks for peeking!