Friday, November 30, 2018

Birds and Balloons

Surprise, I do not have a Christmas card today.  I gathered up my recently purchased and printed All Dressed Up digis, intending to color the two Christmas images, and then did this one instead.  It's called Follow Your Dream and is about as far from Christmas as you can get.

I do have a reason for it.  Every year I make anniversary cards for my friend's four sons and daughters-in-law.  Now I've learned she also sends them to nieces, nephews, grandkids, and just about everyone else and she'd love to have a lot more than four.  Considering the variety of personalities and ages she sends them to, and the fact that I do this year after year, I need to think outside the box if I'm to come up with anything new.




So... I bought this digi for me just because I think it's cute, but I suddenly saw its possibilities as an anniversary card for the young at heart and wanted to make it up before I changed my mind.

It's colored with Copics and "happiness" from an old SU set was added.  Also, feeling lazy, perhaps, I opted not to shade the background, but stamped a super ancient sun from my large collection of southwest stamps that I haven't used in ages.




The stitched and scalloped mats are a combination of two unrelated die sets that work perfectly together and enable dozens of combinations:  Lawn Fawn Outside In Stitched Scalloped Rectangle Stackables and Taylored Expressions Stitched Rectangle Stacklets.  These two sets fit so perfectly together that they can even be nested at the time of cutting.  For this combo I did a variety of cutting, fitting, and layering -- all easy stuff.

The finished card is 5 3/4" x 4 1/2", essentially A6.  By making it just 1/4" shorter it allows centering of the A2 dies without the leftover space in the length.

Inside is a Power Poppy sentiment from the Sweet Simple Things digital stamp set.  My friend can write her own "happy anniversary".  I know she can make it work.  As I mentioned, thinking outside the box.




There is a full list of supplies below my signature.  Back to the Christmas cards now, but I will say this was fun for a change.  Speaking of Christmas cards, I received my first of the season earlier this week.  Happy holidays!



Stamps:  All Dressed UP digi "Follow Your Dream", SU Warm Words "happiness", Power Poppy digital Sweet Simple Things quote for inside, old wood block sun motif  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, SU Pool Party, Taken with Teal, and Marigold Morning  Ink:  Printer, Memento Tuxedo Black, SU Pool Party stamped off once for lighter color  Accessories:  Doodlebug Sprinkles glitter enamel dot  Dies:  Lawn Fawn Outside In Stitched Scalloped Rectangle Stackables, Taylored Expressions Stitched Rectangle Stacklets, Poppystamps Stitched Bloom Trio

21 comments:

Glenda said...

Well you have done it once again! I love your card with the sweet hot air balloons and those little birds just tug at my heart strings! The die cut mats are to die for and the lovely little flower brings a burst of sunshine! Well done you!

Sherri said...

This is stunning!! I'll have to check their stamps out now! Love, love, love this card! Gorgeous coloring and adorable image! Love your frame too! Everything about this beautiful card is perfect !!

Yogi said...

cute. Yes very far from Christmas and a welcome change... The flower is pretty as well. Have a great day

Verna Angerhofer said...

Well done! This is a fabulous design and so perfect for the occasion too.

nancy littrell said...

Such a beautifully colored "happy" Anniversary card, Leslie. It must have been a fun relaxing time of coloring and creating for you. Your friend will Love her card. TFS Hugs..Nancy

Donna Ellis said...

Hi, Leslie! What a delightful card! So glad you colored this sweet digi - it's beautifully encouraging and carries such sweetness throughout with the happy colors and cute little hugging birds. It especially was fitting after seeing the sentiment on the inside. Loving the little sun-like shapes on your background, and the sweet scallops to work with the scallops on the hot air balloon! oh so beautiful! xx

Nanny's Pansy Patch said...

I love it when you can use a stamp for more than one occasion and this definitely does that! This is so adorable - I love the hot air balloons with the little birds flying along! The layers just add to the sweetness of this card! I love it! And I'm sure the recipients will as well. Have a great weekend.

aussie aNNie said...

BRILLIANT AND BEAUTIFUL lovely colouring Leslie...you should enter in our All Dressed Up challenges, it's always Anything goes with an ADU image...got to be in to win....hugs.x

Margaret said...

Wow! This is so beautiful. Love the image and your coloring of course is spectacular! You are just so creative in pulling all the elements together.

Lynette said...

So pretty and so beautifully colored, Leslie. Love the stamped background! I'm glad you pointed it out, because I missed it. You mentioned the sun and I looked around for a while before I noticed!

Christine Alexander said...

Sometimes we have to take a break from Christmas cards. Leslie, I love your use of the balloons for an anniversary card, the more we get out of a stamp the better :)

Conniecrafter said...

She is so blessed to have you making cards for her family, this is beautiful, I love the color choices you have, and love your stamp idea for the background, I will have to remember that. Lovely inside also! Do you put sentiments on the inside of all the cards you make for others? I am working on getting my birthday cards done for early December and then I can catch back up on Christmas cards, wow I can't believe you have already received your first card.

Ros Crawford said...

Who could not fall head over heels for this one! It's so pretty and vibrant... Just makes me swoon...

crafty-stamper said...

WOW fabulous card and stamp brilliant colouring and the sun background is perfect-makes a beautiful anniversary card -would look beautiful embossed too--you certainly have a task set there lol
Carol x

laurie said...

Oh how I love this! The sentiment is awesome...loved Laura books....and that image is so fun for an anny!

Cindy Beach said...

This is just the best kind of card that you make and I love to hear how you selected and worked the elements to create It! You are SO good at seeing how different images and dies can work together. I think the sun for the background is so clever! Bright and so beautiful!

Darlene said...

WOW! Where have I been??? This is fabulous and I love the happy colors! FABULOUS!

Maria Rodriguez. said...

The gorgeous pastel coloring of this sweet images truly puts a huge smile on my face Leslie, love how you framed this card with all of these layers of happy colors.
The inside of the card is beautiful and that sentiment says it all.
Thank you for sharing.
XO
Maria.

Pam Sparks said...

I LOVE everything about this delightful card! I'm gonna have to go look at All Dressed up digis again! We have so much to choose from anymore! You have me wondering what their Christmas images are! :D Beautiful coloring and designing Leslie!

Diane said...

Happy happy colors and a nice break from Christmas, we all need that once in awhile. Fabulous image too and of course colored so beautifully and a wonderfully fabulous design!!

Stacy Morgan said...

I bet she would like more of these from you, its thoughtful of her to send anniversary cards to everyone. Now just make sure you don't commit to too many more each year. Hee hee This is super fun and cute. I like the colorful nature of the balloons and the design.