Monday, May 1, 2017

One for Grandma and One for Baby

Hi, friends!  I have two cards today.  I was going to do two posts, but they're related and similar, so I combined them.  Quite a few photos, but photos are fun, aren't they?

My grandma-to-be friend asked for an elephant baby card for her mom-to-be daughter.  I have a few elephant stamps and digis, but only a couple of them work for baby cards.  The cutest of my ellies are from Wild Rose Studio.  They aren't actually for baby cards, but I couldn't resist coloring up one of them, anyway.  So, the first card here is just for my friend to tell her daughter how happy she is about the news.

Bella with Posy:




The sentiment is from an older MFT set -- Because You're Special.

I colored with Copics on X-Press It Blending Card using gender-neutral colors.  Added glitter to the flowers because my friend would have a fit if there was no glitter.




These are the Copics I used:




Next is the actual baby card.  It's relatively clean and simple, but it has some fun elements.  I like how the embossed card base and the little punched flowers match.




The elephant is from an old Our Craft Lounge (out of business) set called Circus Circus, and the sentiment is an even older A Muse stamp.




True story:  I spent all afternoon making a whole other baby card that had a lot more bells and whistles on it.  I was forcing myself to do something I wasn't really feeling and it was disastrous.  I undid and redid more than once and eventually scrapped the whole thing.  After dinner I sat down and made both of these cards in record time.  They're cleaner and simpler and they just felt right to me.  My comfort zone changes from one stamping interlude to the next, so it's best to just go with the flow.  My friend loved them, thankfully.

I have two challenges I'm linking to today.  Both cards work for both challenges, but I can only link one to each so here goes:

The Sisterhood of Crafters "The Letter B" (first card).  Use anything that starts with the letter B.  I have a baby Bella elephant, buttons, a bow, and a little bit of blue in the designer paper.

Retro Rubber "Button It!" (second card).  Use buttons and any stamp more than a year old.  The ellie stamp goes back to 2011 and the sentiment is even older.  Love using the old stuff!



   


Whew, long post!  I'll leave you to it now.  Have a happy day!


Card #1.  Stamps:  Wild Rose Studio "Bella with Posy", MFT "Because You're Special"  Paper:  X-Press It Blending Card, Apricot Bazzill, Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid designer paper  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics as pictured above  Accessories:  Buttons, linen thread, Stickles Stardust glitter glue, Taylored Expressions Rectangle Stacklets, TE Ric Rac Borders

Card#2.  Stamps:  Our Craft Lounge "Circus Circus", A Muse sentiment  Paper:  Neenah 110 lb white, SU Apricot Appeal, Green Galore, Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid designer paper  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics for coloring  Accessories:  Buttons, linen thread, Stickles Stardust glitter glue, pearls, flower punch, Sizzix Flowers embossing folder, MFT Die-namics Stitched Rectangle Frames, La-La Land Random Flags Banner, Impression Obsession Leaf Cluster, Scotch brand foam mounting tape (elephant)

36 comments:

Hannelie said...

Patel perfection!
Love your amazing coloring and attention to detail Leslie!

Ros Crawford said...

Did you hear me squeal! Oh my I LOVE these beauties and I'm sure your friends will too ... Beautifully done and soooo pretty!

Glenda said...

Amazing little pieces of art! I love them both and your coloring ,as always, is wonderful! I love the little darlings! So stinking cute!

Lynette said...

Wow, Leslie! Love them both, and how could she NOT be thrilled with them? :) I am always amazed at what you can do with so few colors when you color. I know what you mean about trying to "force" yourself in a direction that just doesn't seem right. Personally, I always find it easier to just sit down and make something with nothing in mind, than to try to "have" to make something specific.

Darlene said...

Awwwww these are both just precious Leslie! And actually they both fit our challenge since you have a banner and buttons on the 2nd card! How cute are these little Ellie's! LOL I'm sure your friend just adored what you've created!!! I know I do!!
Thanks so much for joining us at The Sisterhood’s ‘The Letter B’ challenge and please come back again soon!
Darlene
one of the 'Sistahs'
The Sisterhood of Crafters
DAR’S CRAFTY CREATIONS Please come for a visit!

Yogi said...

cute. have a great day

pam said...

Two adorable cards Leslie, love these cute elephants on both cards, your colouring is just amazing and how beautiful to Finnish off with buttons,thats something I do not use! yet the look fantastic.
Know what you mean!!! always feels better to go with how you feel, I`m the same with die cuts..some do not feel right! so in the bit box..lol
Hugs Pam x

laurie said...

These are way too cute!I love that fun banner..and the elephants are adorable:)

Evelyn S. said...

Such darling cards, Leslie! How creative to adapt images for these uses. The elephants are so darned cute...and the sentiments are perfect. (As always, the cards are so crisp and clean!)

nancy littrell said...

Both your cards are so sweet and colorful with your baby colors. I love your more CAS designs with such pretty embellishments and textures. TFS my friend. Hugs....

Margaret said...

Oh my goodness! And they are - goodness! They are both just too cute for words. I love them both. They really made my heart happy, so I'm sure your friend was over the moon with them both. Thanks for stopping by my blog. Your comments always make my day a little brighter.

Maria Rodriguez. said...

Oh Leslie, I'm melting with delight!!! Absolutely sweet and adorable cards, beautifully colored and the layout and design is amazing.
Love this cards, both the grandma and mommy to be will treasure this wonderful works of art, the details on both cards is perfection.
Thank you so much for playing along with us at RETRO RUBBER, hope you join us again next time.
Hugs,
Maria Rodriguez.DT

Jan Clothier said...

Both cards are fabulous! Love your attention to little details. The background embossing, the stitching details, the wee hearts punched out of the banner, the pearls and touches of glitter - wonderful. Detailed and clever but still clean and fresh. Lovely work. Thanks for joining us at Retro Rubber.

Debbie Mageed said...

Wonderful baby cards!! I got so much inspiration from your adorable cards. No wonder you got them done so fast! They truly came from the heart. Thank you so much for playing with our button challenge at Retro Rubber and hope to see you in our gallery again soon.

Conniecrafter said...

Oh my goodness, they are just totally adorable, I can only imagine that she was thrilled with them!!! Your coloring is fantastic, right down to the shadows the flowers on the ground left :) Like the ric rac border of paper tying everything together. Love the heart banner on the second card too with the cute buttons, very sweet!

Linda said...

Both of these cards are darling, Leslie! I think your simpler design really lets your beautifully colored images shine! I love the embossed background on the second card. So happy your friend loved them!

Terri's Cards N More said...

Two beautiful creations. Great job coloring the images and love the banner on the baby card. Thanks for joining the Sisterhood's "The Letter B" Challenge.

Kathy Krug said...

These cards make my heart happy. I love that coochie coo sentiment and your sweet elephants.

Donna Ellis said...

Aw, these are terribly Ellie-sweet! Leslie, your friend's request must truly have touched your heart- it's such a special occasion. Both ellies are sweet, and your beautiful coloring makes them even dearer. Your designs are fantastic! What I wouldn't do to create cards like these. The shading in your first card especially melts my heart, and both sentiments make me feel deeply blessed, just reading them. But then I always feel special upon visiting your blogs. It's fun using goodies from our stash, isn't it? Do you have all your stamps indexed? Utterly deeee-lightful! Best wishes to the grandma-to-be and the mom-to-be. Hugs, de

Pauline said...

Oh my, both are so adorable! Both are coloured so wonderfully. I love the colour combination you used. Another reason why I love your cards, you have such a eye for detail - like the ric rac strip & buttons on the first and the banner, flowers and buttons on the second. Love the embossed background and the sentiment on the 2nd card as well. I have had many times like your afternoon, and have trashed it as well. I find sometimes the more I try the worst it gets, I put too much pressure on myself to do it just so! I guess we have all been there before! Such sweet adorable cards Leslie, a nice surprise to see 2 cards from you today.

Susan aka rainy said...

Oh they are both so beautiful and sweet. Love the little touches of patterned paper with the zig zag and those adorable banners. Love the little heart punched out of the banners. What a wonderful idea to CASE! :)

Diane said...

Well, you have to know you had me with the cute little 'Ellie"...I adore Wild Rose Studio and I adore your cards! Both are so darn CUTE!!

Claire Grantham said...

OMG these are so cute, you have me wiggling with delight!! I love the embossing on the second one, gorgeous. I love the placement of the buttons. Thanks for playing with us at Retro Rubber this time. Claire DT

Christine Traversa said...

Wow outstanding coloring! I need that elephant stamp! Your card is so inspiring, thanks for joining the RR challenge!

creative lady said...

Love your card! The colors are so much fun, the image and your coloring is adorable. No love everything about your card! Thanks for joining Retro Rubber.

Neva Cole said...

We love using old stuff too! Your card is very pretty, you are great at coloring! Thank you for playing along with Retro Rubber!

Vickie Y said...

Both cards are super sweet and adorable! Thank you for sharing with us at The Sisterhood of Crafters.

Pretty Paper Junkie said...

These are the sweetest elephants ever! Love that coochi coochi coo! So darn cute. Love them to pieces!1

Lisa Lara said...

Oh my gosh this Ellie is so sweet Leslie. I LOVE the colors you used. LOVE these sweet cards. That grouping of buttons is so charming!

KimCreate said...

Leslie, both of these cards are so cute! Wonderful baby cards.

Nanny's Pansy Patch said...

What adorable cards!! I love the little elephant and the colors are so soft and I love the buttons as well. I always look to add buttons as I love the look!

Darnell said...

I'm not going to criticize you for a long post, lol! I loved it, Lesley, and love your two darling ellie cards!! I'm sorry that you don't have enough Bs for the Sisterhood challenge, however, since six are required. Stop it! I'm just kidding, you have rocked the Bs!!! And the buttons!! Hugs, Darnell

Susie said...

I loved them both, Leslie! It would be cute to spin off the baby shower decorations based on your card design. The touch of glitter on the flowers photographed so nicely - a sweet touch. And yes, I agree, the little flowers holding up the banner was a nice compliment to the embossed card base - the little plaid heart was another sweet addition. Additionally, repeating the design elements (color combo, plaid, buttons) on both cards really makes them special for both grandma and mom - they'll be cherished keepsakes I'm sure. Wonderful cards and photographs!

Michele Kovack said...

Such sweet cards! Love them! Happy Mother's Day!!

Stacy Morgan said...

These are both adorable and I like that they both sorta match. I agree this Ellie is adorable, the plaid paper with the ric rak and banner is darling. So stinkin cute, she is gonna love them both!

Dandi93 said...

Adorable cards Leslie, love the color combo and cute Ellies