Card of the Day - Sending Sunshine

Hello and welcome back! The next stamp set up in my personal unloved stamps challenge is Sending Sunshine. The timing is perfect for this one because I need a birthday card for my sister-in-law, who just happens to love the beach!

I used the recipe from the Annual Catalog to design the focal point of the card. I stamped the water and the sun, and then masked it to brayer the sand. I then masked the bottom of the card and the sun to brayer the sky. After I added the grasses, rocks, and clouds, I felt like it needed something else. Then I remembered the birds in the My Meadow stamp set. Perfect!

To make the frame, I cut 1-1/4" wide strips from the retired Wood Textures DSP. I cut two of them to 5-1/2" and glued them to a 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" piece of scrap cardstock. I then cut two more to 4-1/4" long and mitered the ends at 45 degrees and glued them to the other two sides of the frame. Once I decided how large my stamped piece needed to be, I used my Stampin' Trimmer to cut out the center of the frame. I used my Bronze Stampin' Blends marker to enhance the miters. The stamped panel and the frame were adhered to a Crumb Cake card base. The sentiment is stamped onto Crumb Cake cardstock with Soft Suede ink, then fussy cut and added to the frame with Mini Dimensionals.

I added a bit of Clear Wink of Stella to the sun, just to add a little shimmer. You might be able to see it in this photo. 

This design was inspired by the "Frame It" challenge at Inkspirational Challenges.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

--Cindi

Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamp sets - Sending Sunshine, My Meadow

Paper - Whisper White and Crumb Cake Cardstock, Wood Textures DSP Stack

Ink/Coloring Tools - Balmy Blue, Daffodil Delight, Soft Suede, Basic Gray, Old Olive, Crumb Cake; Stampin' Blends: Bronze

Accessories - Clear Wink of Stella

Tools - Sponge Brayers, Paper Snips, Stampin' Trimmer, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals

This week's cards

Hello and welcome back! This week started out happy, with news that my niece gave birth to a darling baby boy, but quickly turned sad when I learned of the passing of two friends' parents and a long-time member of my church. The new baby card will wait until I finish the framed art piece I'm making, but I'm sharing the sympathy cards today, along with a birthday card I made for my husband's aunt.

First, the birthday card:

This particular aunt has been a prolific artist in her own right, creating oil paintings for just about everyone in the family. She has moved on to watercolors and does beautiful work. I wanted to make something that honors her artistic talent, and the My Meadow stamp set allowed me to created something that looks like watercolor without all the work!

I even decorated the envelope.

Yesterday, I spent the afternoon making sympathy cards. Not my favorite way to spend the day, but unfortunately necessary.

This card was inspired by a sample in the January - June 2020 Catalog. The sample is a treat bag, but I used a retired background stamp as a substitute for the bag. It's stamped with Versamark and embossed in copper, but it's hard to see in the photo. I did a watercolor wash on Shimmery White cardstock before die cutting the pieces for the flower (except for the poppy outline and the flower center).

This card was inspired by a sample in the 2018-2019 Annual Catalog. The catalog sample was a small square card, but I used the entire panel of retired Graceful Glass Vellum to create the card front. It's colored with Stampin' Blends. I also added the die cut on the side and wove retired Certainly Celery Grosgrain ribbon through it for an added accent. The butterfly on the envelope was also colored with Stampin' Blends. I put a piece of cardstock inside the envelope before coloring to prevent bleed-through from the markers.

That's it for today. I'm getting ready to start on my March birthday and anniversary cards after sending the last of my February cards this morning. Total for the month includes 22 birthday cards, 3 anniversary, 3 get well, 4 sympathy, and 20 Valentines for my co-workers. March will be even busier!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

--Cindi



Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):

Birthday card --
Stamp set - My Meadow
Paper - Whisper White, Basic Gray, Pool Party, and Crumb Cake cardstock
Ink - Early Espresso, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Granny Apple Green, Basic Gray, Real Red, and Pool Party
Tools - Stampin' Dimensionals, SNAIL

Poppy sympathy card --
Stamp set - Peaceful Moments, Pretty Pattern (retired)
Paper - Whisper White Thick Cardstock; Whisper White, Shimmery White, Crushed Curry, Basic Black, and Poppy Parade cardstock
Ink - Poppy Parade and Old Olive
Tools - Big Shot, Poppy Moments dies, Stitched So Sweetly dies, Aqua Painter, 3/8" Circle Punch, Heat Tool, Copper Embossing Powder, Multi-purpose Liquid Glue, SNAIL, Stampin' Dimensionals, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals

Stained glass sympathy card --
Stamp set - Painted Glass
Paper - So Saffron, Basic Black, and Whisper White cardstock, Graceful Glass Designer Vellum (retired)
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black
Coloring Tools - Stampin' Blends: Pumpkin Pie Light and Dark, Night of Navy Light and Dark, Balmy Blue Light and Dark, Flirty Flamingo Light and Dark, Old Olive Light and Dark, Daffodil Delight Light
Accessories - Certainly Celery 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon (retired)
Tools - Big Shot, Stained Glass dies, SNAIL, Stampin' Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots