Welcome Annalee

Hello Ai fans!  

Today I'm sharing a sort of unusual baby card.  Our band director at school who is also in a band is expecting his first baby.  I wanted to do a music themed card to represent his love of music and the name he and his wife picked out...Annalee like the song by Levon Helm.  Here's the link if you're interested.  It's a very pretty song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJMMUZOq3OU

I've used the adorable Little Sprout #4317.

I know it's not your typical baby girl card but that's one of the most wonderful thing about being a card maker.  You can customize your card ANY way you want to suit the recipient.  I defy you to find a more appropriate card for him in any store!

(Copic Colors: RV00, RV10, RV21, R81, E50, E51, E93, W3, W5)

She's here!!
Notice what daddy put in her crib for one of her first pictures...

InLinkz.com

Totally cool guitar card!!

 I can say it's totally cool and not be bragging because it wasn't my idea.  I fell in love with it when I saw Linda Bullard's guitar.  I just had to try it myself.  Dominick is in an after school guitar club that ends next Monday and I needed a thank you card for his teacher.  Is there anything that could be more perfect than this.  I know he'll love it.  I pretty much kept it the same as Linda's but I did change some things so that I could call it my own.  I used silver cording that stretches for my strings and the cool thing is they really make sounds when they're plucked.  I also used black brads.  I also didn't have the same color paper and ink that she had so I used Stampin' Up's So Saffron paper and Color Box fluid chalk ink in Bisque.  (the card base is SU Soft Suede) I also sponged a little Scattered Straw distress ink here and there. I actually made 2 cards since my nephew who is a big Wii Rock Band fan has a birthday in 3 weeks.  One is a little shorter and one is a little taller. I'm not sure which one I prefer.  Inside I mimicked the card front and then added a strip embossed with a Cuttlebug folder and a few music notes from a Hanna Stamps set. I totally love how they turned out. Inside of the band teachers I stamped thank you and inside my nephews says happy birthday.  I think both guys will enjoy them.

Happy Birthday Sergio

Last night Dominick had a birthday sleepover at his friend Sergio's house. His birthday is actually on Christmas Eve poor kid! They all had a blast. I know Sergio is in to music and such so I broke out my old stand-by Inkadinkado set. I just love that guitar. The peace signs and birthday candles are from 2 other clear sets. The piano keyboard is from Art Impressions. I stamped the image and then I went over the black keys with black glossy dimensional paint and it looks so good. I made a box to put some candies and his gift card in. The chocolate phrase is another one from AI. I even got to use glitter glue which isn't always doable on a boys card but the paper had glitter on it and it was still masculine so I went for it! The skull on the box is a Martha Stewart punch.

What a difference 4 years makes!

My niece Riley just had her ninth birthday. Four years ago for her 5th birthday I made one of my first cards. I'm not proud to show you this by any means. My sister had saved it and dug it out to show me. I thought it would be funny to show the difference between that card and this year's card. I think I've learned a little since then. I would have liked to have used the same stamp but I don't think I even owned a stamp at that point. Those were borrowed from a cousin. It was nice for me to see how far I've come. This years card was made with Inkadinkado stamps. (the guitar and rock star phrase as well as the giant bracket that trims the side of the card). The "9" was cut with a sizzix die. I brushed glue on the bracket and 9 and then glittered them. After that I sealed them with an acrylic sealer so that the glitter didn'ttar get all over their house... you're welcome Dawn! I used Marabou trim on the inside and it's held down with 3 Fastenator staples. I think every young girl right now wants to be a pop star so I thought she'd like this theme. Happy Birthday Riley!

Harley Davidson Skull Birthday

What better way to make a masculine birthday card than to use Harley Davidson paper and Inkadinkado skull stamps? My nephew has a birthday in a couple of weeks and he loves Harleys. I used two Inka stamp sets to make this card. One is a Halloween set and the other is the You Rock set. I think he's going to love this. I'm sure he's not expecting anything like it. I even did some sewing on it. There was more... as you can see I had sewn across the top of the skull border but the thread broke mid way through and there were strings flying everywhere so I ripped it out and left it as a paper pierced look. There's lots of metal hardware on this card. In the top corner of the frame is a metal photo corner. It looks black in the photo but it's really silver. There is metal mesh screen behind the image in the frame and I used some brads in various shapes as well. I just love the ones that look like screws. And... though I don't normally glitter up a guys card I did add some Stickles glitter glue. I cut the frame using my Colluzle square. Inside was decorated as well. A little more mesh held on by some orange staples and a Happy Birthday phrase from Stampin' Up. I can't wait to hear what he thinks of it.

Thanks again Nick

A few days ago I posted the thank you card that I made for a student at school. That one was for Christmas and this one is for the Valentine gift he and his mom gave me. I really like how it turned out. I used a set from Inkadinkado that is great for boys. (girls too but it's tougher for me to come up with new ideas for boys). I love the contrast of the light green and black. I wish the photo came out better. The photo corner is shimmery black sparkle paper and the 3 black circles are very shiny metallic black. I used stickles to add some sparkle to the guitar and a Cuttlebug die to make the silver bar across the bottom. This is the only Cuttlebug item that I have a complaint about. All of my dies cut great except this one. I also have to take my exacto knife and cut out the little squares and triangles when I'm done. They have never cut right. I have tried altering the sandwich layers, adding shims etc. but nothing has ever worked. I still love the die though so I do the extra work involved to be able to still use it. I thought it looked cool on this card. It reminds me off those metal tower things on the sides of stages at rock concerts. Inside I used more of the same stamps and a Stampin' Up Thanks phrase. The cute peace symbol and hand are from the Cuttlebug Alphabet set Hippie Chick. I think it's perfect for a 10 year old boy.

Damian's Thank You

This Christmas at school was quite touching for me. It was my first Christmas there since I started last March. The teachers, aides, parents and kids were quite generous to remember me. So much so that I joked that I'm going to have to spend my entire break making thank you cards. One boy gave me this angel. I took it home before his aide was able to see it and he wanted me to bring it back to school so she could see it. I figured posting it here and showing her my blog would be easier. Plus, now you all get to see how sweet he was. I used the Inkadinkado "You Rock" set. I think he'll really enjoy it. Merry Christmas and thank you Damian!