A Card for Grandma's 90th

It's not often that you get to extend birthday wishes to someone who turns 90. My maternal grandmother had this milestone birthday Dec. 22, and we traveled from GA to IN the weekend before Christmas so that we could be there to celebrate with her and my extended family.

I knew I wanted to make her a card, but I don't have much experience making cards for these kinds of very special birthdays. I know she likes flowers, so I started with an image I've had on my desk for awhile, saving for a what I knew I wanted to be a special card.

It was the hydrangea image from Because I Care, the Level 1 Hostess set. I wove the strips of Whisper White card stock like I did for this card but I made a smaller square this time. I matted this on Baja Breeze card stock and added some 1/8" Old Olive taffeta ribbon. Then I mounted this with Stampin' Dimensionals on a Top Note Bigz die that I embossed with the Vintage Wallpaper Textured Impressions Folder for the Big Shot, and I made it shimmer using our new Frost White Shimmer Paint. It's a bit hard to detect in the picture, but it created nice visual interest and highlighted the dry embossing.

Because I know my grandma likes texture--she quilted and crocheted for years--I decided to emboss the Old OIive card base with the Square Lattice TI Folder. Love it!

On the inside, I decided to make use of the frame that remains after diecutting the Top Note shape. I stamped the sentiment from Fifth Avenue Florals and added the simplest Happy Birthday I could find in my stash--from It's Your Birthday (retired)--along with some numbers from a non-SU! set, and the card was complete.

Here's a picture of my grandma with all her grandchildren. I'm the oldest one, so that's why I'm sitting by her! For those of you who have heard me mention my sister, she's the blonde on the left. I'm so glad we made the 12-hour drive to be at this event. It kicked off our Christmas celebrations in memorable fashion.

Gone, but not Forgotten

Yes, it has been quite a busy time since I last posted. Hope you've been crafting on your own in my absence. I've

Today's card is one we made at the Ronald McDonald House where I volunteer with a team of Stampin' Up! demonstrators monthly. It was my turn to make the card, and I saw a really cute one on Rosemarie Diehl's blog. Hers used our Snowflake Punch to make a Christmas tree, and I thought it would be something the families would enjoy.

Since I don't own that punch, I borrowed a similar sized diecut from a friend. I used some retired Handsome Hunter card stock, a perfect color for an evergreen, and provided each card maker with 2 snowflakes.

One was cut in half and created the bottom branches of the tree. The second snowflake was cut in half and then the second half was cut so that there was 1 section of 2 "branches" and 1 individual section that made the treetop.

I used up some Chocolate Chip scraps for the trunk. I think they measured .5" x 4". The star was formed using Summer Sun card stock (retired) and our smallest Star Punch.

It was so fun to see the reactions of the crafters when I showed them the card. At first they thought it was going to be hard, but as soon as I deconstructed the tree branches, they were gung-ho! Although this card's picture shows red ornaments decorating the tree, I changed my mind at the last minute and took my Regals Designer Button Collection and advised each person to choose 5 buttons to use. They added great dimension and visual interest to the final project.

It is such a blessing to craft with these families each month. Since many of them have been there for many months, we are familiar to each other now and they are eager to stamp as soon as they see us arrive. We said goodbye to 2 families this month and that was exciting. The progress the kids have made in the months we've seen them is a great testimony to the dedicated professionals at our area children's hospitals who have worked so hard to help them be rehabilitated.

I can't believe we're only 11 days away from Christmas! I had a surge of creativity hit me over the weekend, and I made some more of the ornaments I originally posted about here. I'm excited to give them to my friends and family when we travel home Friday.

I'll be back tomorrow to share a wall hanging I made using the Northern Frost Decorative Strip die for the Big Shot. Thanks for hanging with me during this busy month!

Test New Post

Hey everyone - just testing my posting system.