Showing posts with label birthday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label birthday. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 5, 2021

Every Child Should Be Celebrated On Their Birthday: Box of Balloons

 


April was a blur for me with getting my mom back to full health. So with doctors appointments and follow-ups ( many, many, MANY follow-ups) I didn't have a lot of time and even less energy for creating. But on a stop at my regular Starbucks, I got the jolt I needed and not just from the mobile order I was picking up. 

This location that has become my go to during the pandemic (shout out to the Hayden & Thompson Peak store in Scottsdale) and is partnering with an organization called Box of Balloons which works to provide Birthday Boxes to kids who might otherwise not have a birthday celebration. That hits my heart.

I LOVED my birthdays as a child because my Mom and Dad always made sure they were special. This was back in the day when parties weren't events planned like the D-Day invasion. Home, friends, family, but always special. Always a theme with matching invites, decorations, cake etc. I tried to make my son's special because that's what I knew and my husband, whose experience was different, was initially confused but loved making our son's birthdays special too. 

So when I saw this drive for decorations, favors etc. I knew I could put my skills and my tools like my Cricut Explore to good use for a good cause! There's a reason why I grabbed up the "Happy Cake Day" Hot Buy paper stack at Michaels! 


Supplies: 

  • Happy Cake Day Paper Stack ( Michaels )
  • Jewel Glitter Paper Stack ( Michaels  )
  • Paper Scraps
  • Cardstock 


This Happy Cake Day stack is SO much fun. You really need to get it if you see it and no I don't get a commission! It's just a great stack. Foiled and plain papers that all coordinate with each other and so much fun. 


There are a few pages with panels like this that you can cut for multiple cards etc. LOVE these in all of the paper stacks I buy. So I trimmed some from this sheet and another similar one to use as the focal for each card. 

Using cardstock I had on hand ( this was also a great way to use up existing supplies) I cut all the cards 5x7 and kept things fairly simple cutting the coordinating paper panels for the card to 4.75x6.75 and 4x6. I had fun just picking coordinating papers from these stacks and my stash. 




Everything's better with glitter right? So I grabbed my paper scraps which were the perfect size to use to mat the focal panels I'd cut. They really make the cards look festive and fun. I was having so much fun, I ended up making about 3 dozen cards!

But wait! The other thing perfect for birthdays are tags and what's a better way to use up paper scraps than making tags? 


I grabbed a bunch of coordinating scraps and from the larger pieces, I cut some Balloons and Stars using my Cricut Explore and just had fun mixing and matching all of the paper scraps and cutouts. I layered the diecuts and attachd with foam dots to give the tags some dimension and then added bright ribbons. 



I couldn't forget the great team at my go to store. I LOVE the Starbucks Mobile App which allows me to order ahead, pop in and pickup my drink and I must go there enough because different baristas recognize me by name and know if my drink is ready, being worked on, that I want a straw etc. So I also made a long overdue Thank You card for them!


I had this cut file in my collection and used the Slice function in Cricut Design Space to add some coffee beans. I added a couple of the balloons left over from making tags since they're doing the Balloon Box drive, and  used a sheet from another favorite Recollections Stack, "Let's Wander" along with light green glitter paper and white cardstock. 

Being able to do what I love and give back to kids to hopefully make their day just a little brighter was EXACTLY the infusion of inspiration I needed. We're all in this world together. 


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Monday, April 25, 2016

Lavender and Gold Birthday


The  Mumster's birthday was last week and before knowing that we were losing The Purple One, Prince, I'd made some things for the other Purple One, my mom. She truly could have given Prince a run for his money with her love of purple. 

I'd picked up the lavender beads at Michaels without really having a plan. The plan came together when I found the lavender, gold, and silver handmade paper which gave me the inspiration for the necklace and bracelet I made. 


The bracelet and necklace combine the lavender beads with antique gold. For the pendants, I used antique gold bezels (Darice, avail at JoAnn's) , gold glitter paper (Michaels) and glass domes (CraftFantastic.com).  



The necklace is gold chain with sections of lavender and gold beads. 


I used the handmade paper to make some altered candles ( plain candles, Dollar Tree) and finished them with strips cut from rhinestone sheets ( DCWV) ribbon, and charms.  I used a leftover scrap of paper to cover the box for the jewelry. 

What's a birthday without a card? 


The crackled paper is from Oriental Trading company. I'll have a post later in the week featuring more OTC goodies. The flower is suede paper I picked up when I found the handmade papers. I used a Tim Holtz die to cut the flowers. 

I had some beads and charms left over from the candles so I used them to make a few ribbon bookmarks. One for my mom and a couple extra as gifts. 


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Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Birthday Cards in Black and White and Gold


DCWV Decor Noir Stack Cards

It’s no secret to anyone who’s read my blog that I LOVE black and white. Clothes, decor, photography…pretty much everything. So when I stumbled across this paper stack from DCWV while at Michaels recently, there was no doubt about whether to get it. It’s appropriately entitled “Decor Noir”. I couldn’t wait to get started with it and luckily I had three birthday cards to make for whom this color palette was perfect.

DCWV Decor Noir Stack

The black and white alone was enough for me but they added gold foil to many of the pages ! GOLD FOIL and black and white. Could I get any happier? Only if the pages were chocolate. I chose two papers to start. One with white mums that’s featured on the stack cover and has flecks of gold foil ramdomly placed and the other a distressed black background with gold foil dots.

For the first card I cut out a sentiment from a page of well, sentiments, trimmed and matted with black and gold papers. The papers in this stack are so elegant that I resisted my natural urge to embellish and went with less is more letting the papers speak for themselves.

DCWV Decor Noir Beautiful Card

The only embellishment I added was the piece of ribbon at the corner to which I added some gold glitter glue.

DCWV Decor Noir Black and Gold

The black and gold dotted paper has the sentiment “Count your blessings each and every day” on the page in the lower right corner. I cut that out and matted with gold and black papers. I used a scrap from another stack to make the striped ribbon and layered it with a piece of the polka dot paper.

DCWV Decor Noir Mums and Dots

For the last card, I combined both sheets of paper from the stack and stamped the sentiment on black paper and heat embossed with gold powder.

DCWV Decor Noir Cards

I love them in color or in black and white photos!

DCWV Decor Noir Stack Cards

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Monday, September 30, 2013

Birthday Present Idea: Card Kit In An Altered Box


Not only am I luck enough to share a birthday month with two of my oldest and bestest friends, as fate would have it, they share the same date! They both get to remind me that I am in one case, a few days older and in another, a year older, but September is our month. They also share the date with another friend of mine from work. 

Like me, one of my besties also celebrated her 32nd birthday for the 18th time. Every year when we get together to celebrate, she tells me that she re-purposes many of the cards I send her throughout the year into her own ( fabulous) cards. So I decided last year, I would make her a "card kit in a box" to include all kinds of goodies she could use to make her own cards, re-purpose mine etc. 

I started with a cigar box and for no reason other than I did, went over all of the edges with silver tape before I Mod Podged on the paper. Michaels recently had paper stacks on sale for $5 and I picked up a great one by Crate Paper in pinks, oranges, neutrals and browns. 


Since all of the papers coordinated, I just randomly chose patterns and tore pieces, used scraps did whatever felt right. Then I added some black and clear stickers in a vintage theme. 


To finish it off, I cut layers of flowers using a Tim Holtz die, and then used a scrap of the paper along with a Tim Holtz "Ornate Plate" and Glossy Accents to make a faux closure for the box. 



I filled the box with blank cards, embellishments, baker's twine and papers so she can play. I made her birthday card using some of the same papers and some KandCo 3D birthday stickers:





She and I celebrated on Saturday by going to one of my favorite places, Shipwreck Beads.  which is a creative person's candy store. Since we were celebrating a milestone birthday. I picked up these mini glittered top hats for us to wear ( and yes, we did wear them and no, I'm not showing you!) 


I used the same colors and papers to make birthday cards for my two other special birthday buddies.











Wednesday, April 3, 2013

April Seems To Be Birthday Month: Rose and Gold Birthday Card

Rose and Gold Birthday

I didn't realize exactly how many April birthdays were in my life until I did the logical thing and wrote them all down in one place.

This card has to travel across the ocean so to keep myself from having to take out a loan for postage, I tried to keep it pretty flat and light. A challenge for me since I love dimension and embellishments.

Rose Birthday

I gathered up the things I planned to use in my card, starting with computer generating the focal image and sentiment using my My Memories digital scrapbooking software.  Printed on white cardstock and trimmed to size.  My card was guided by the colors in this image so I chose papers from my stash to match.

Gold Embossed Panel

I cut white cardstock to 5x7 card size, trimmed the rose paper to 4.75x6.75 and a white gold cardstock to 4.5x6.5. Ran the gold paper through my Cuttlebug to emboss it.

Cuttlebug Embossing

Mounted the panels as shown and added a scrap of the rose paper across the middle with a coordinating self adhesive scrapbooking sticker by K&Co. I may or may not hoard these. Just sayin'.

Rose and Gold Embossed Card

Mounted the focal image and sentiment as shown and finished off by adding drops of  liquid pearls ( bisque) to the butterflies and flowers.

Rose Gold Birthday Closeup

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Monday, November 5, 2012

My Super Cool Magic Box Birthday Present

I mentioned last week that I had a chance to get together with one of my besties for a belated birthday celebration. This is the same friend who last year made the cutest gingerbread house Christmas “card”. Well she surprised me with this incredible magic box.The photos don't do it justice.

Magic Box 

I’ve seen this done on a smaller scale as a card but she went big and did three levels.

SUrprise Box

Knowing my love of black and white and grey, she picked some gorgeous papers and made it so the lid and the sides alternated patterns.

PB046758

Using more coordinating papers, she lined the inside of each layer and made a pocket for quotations that she printed in black and white and laminated. Each pocket contains a different quote.

PB046759

In the very center was a birthday crane with a Happy Birthday Wish. I love all of the fibers and embellishments she used.

PB046762

This is one of my favorites! My party pants are right next to my Big Girl Panties!

I will treasure this treasure forever!

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Happy Birthday Mumster

For those of you who are new readers, “The Mumster” is my mom. Today is her birthday ( don’t worry M, not gonna tell how young you are) but what’s the point of having a blog if you can’t use it to say:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
to your mom? Especially since she reads my blog faithfully. Thanks Mom. Not just for that, but for all the things you know I am thankful to you for. For being such a great mom and Grandmom and friend and confidante and supporter and , and and….

By now, she will have received her card, so I’ll share it here. Thank you KandCO for making these gorgeous 3D Iris stickers since the Mumster lurves irises and I love K&CO. Win Win! Knew these were going on her card the minute I saw them!
KandCo Iris Card
They’re  from Tim Coffey’s Cottage Garden series. Whenever I see irises I think of my mom. I’m not sure if she loves purple because she loves irises or if she loves irises because she loves purple. Did I mention she loves purple?
Kand Co Birthday Card
And while she’s not a member of the Red Hat Society, she could totally be the poster child for the poem they use:
WHEN I AM AN OLD WOMAN I SHALL WEAR PURPLE
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick the flowers in other people's gardens
And learn to spit
You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes
But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.
But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

Taken from the book
When I Am An Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple
Edited by Sandra Martz
Papier Mache Press--Watsonville, California 1987
By no means do I consider you an old woman Mumster…I wish I had some of your energy, but I’m glad you wear purple and do what you like and set a great example for me as a mom. Thank you for not spitting though!

Love,
YOPF ( which is and will remain an inside joke)

Sunday, April 17, 2011

English Moss and Cappuccino Card

How’s that for a combination? I fell in love with Colorbok’s “English Moss” collection when I was in JoAnn’s one day ( fortunately with a 25% entire purchase coupon since I might have bought several things from that collection). Then, when The Twinery was donating proceeds from their orders to Japan Relief, I ordered an assortment of twine (LOVE LOVE LOVE). One of the colors included is called “Cappuccino” and when I needed to make a birthday card for a friend recently, the two just clicked!
Colorbok English Moss
The 12x12 paper pack contains reversible paper so it’s like getting twice as much. OK in my head it is!  I chose this green floral that has a shabby brown on the other side.
Twinery Cappuccino
The cappuccino twine from my sampler pack. The English Moss collection also had these great wordy glitter stickers:
Colorbok Glitter Stickers
The great thing about this card is you don’t have to be a stamper to make a beautiful card. A package of paper, die cuts, stickers, and embellishments and you’re off!
Colorbok Twinery Card
I layered a couple of die cuts from the English Moss pack onto papers from the collection and mounted in the center of the card using foam dots. I wrapped the biggest die with the twine and then added a couple smaller dies as accent pieces and finished with the word “enjoy” in the center. Closeup:
Colorbok EM Closeup
IMG_5345And that was only one piece of my paper pack! Squee! ( OK I make up words) Lots more to play with.
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