Darlin' Birthday Card

"Sentiment Secured"

This card is one of five created from a Close To My Heart "Workshops On The Go" (WOTG) Bonus Project for Clementine.  My sister's birthday is in September and this card is just perfect for her.  Since the papers and stamps for Clementine are no longer offered, I suggest using Huntington paper (X7174B), In The Moment (C1565) and One Way Border (C1561) stamps or any of the appropriate stamps and papers in your stash.

Close To My Heart supplies needed:

Wishes Book (9041) pattern p. 78
WOTG for Clementine (not available - substitute current product)
Colonial White Card 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 (X1410) (link is to the 50 card value pack)
Colonial White Cardstock (1388)
Sparkles Brown and Tan Assortment (Z1753)
Burlap Ribbon (Z1760)
Inks - Creme Brulee (Z2167), Saddle (Z2171), Sorbet (Z2164), Topiary (Z2155)
Sanding Kit (Z1294)
Sponge Daubers (Z726)
3-D Foam Tape (Z1151)

Art Philosophy Cartridge (Z1686)
Artiste Cartridge (Z1790)
Liquid Glass (Z679) 
Acrylic Stamps and Blocks

Non-CTMH supplies needed:

ATG Tape Runner
Embossing Machine (Big Kick) and Folders ("Flowers")
Cricut machine (plus Gypsy, if desired)
Adhesives of choice

Using the base card, cut the pieces as described in the Wishes book pattern:

Pattern dimensions

Note:  An additional 1"x 3"  cut piece is needed for this card that is not listed in the book.  It is the distressed blue piece under the burlap ribbon below the piece with the flowers, above the piece with the sentiment statement.  Clear as mud, right?

Sponge all edges of card and pieces with saddle ink:

Distress the bottom (3") edge of the 1" x 3" piece (no picture).

If you have the sanding kit, use a tool from that to sand the sorbet colored piece (3" x 4") to obtain a distressed look over the entire surface of the piece.  A regular emery board will also work.

Stamp largest piece with straight border on all four sides:

In my stamp set this required using the edge of the stamp

The "look" desired is of a straight stitch on all four sides of the piece.  The next step I did was to emboss this piece as an extra bit of "fancy", because I knew my sister would love it!

If you look closely, you can see the "stitch" border stamp.

Stamp the medium flower in creme brulee on colonial white cardstock and cut it out.  I used my Cricut Artiste cartridge (Accent 1<s> R3, C6) to cut shapes approximating the flowers at 1" high for this card.  I still had to trim it for a final size.

Stamp the bitty flower in saddle ink on piece B.

Cut the zip strip of sentiments from the 12x12 paper and find the one that says "You're So Fun" - this will be used on the card front.  Sponge edges to give it a finished look.

Alternatively, you may decide on a stamped sentiment for the front of your card.

Assemble the card, attaching the medium flower using 3-D foam tape on piece B.  Also add a flower decoration from the WOTG package.

Assembling the card components

Trim two 2-3/4" strips from serged edges of burlap ribbon and secure them to the small distressed piece with liquid glass.

I've said it before - I really like liquid glass when securing "wiggly" or otherwise difficult materials such as ribbon, buttons or fabric to paper.  It holds securely and is reliable when mailing items.

The right side of the card didn't quite line up, so I sponged it with saddle ink to camouflage the opening.

 When closed, the card now has a nicer finished look.
   
Attach all pieces to the card and finish assembly by adding some brown and tan sparkles.

The bottom of this card looked a little plain to me, so I spiced it up by randomly adding as many of those itty-bitty (now I know what to use them for!) sparkles as I could fit on the bottom of the card next to the sentiment.

 The inside of the card uses "Hello Tweety" (B1420), 

a cute little stamp set, as well as the birthday greeting that comes with the Art Philosophy cartridge stamp set.

Here is the inside of the card:

Thanks for joining me on this project.  If you have any questions, send me a note.  Many blessings for a bountiful autumn.  Adrienne

"Down Time" Sweater, Blanket and Frustration

Being fundamentally lazy, faced with the prospect of yet ANOTHER step in an already seemingly daunting project was just about more than I wanted to deal with today.  The instructions?  "Spray the cut cardstock piece lightly (?) with water, crumple into a ball, then flatten out; repeat as desired.  Set aside to dry under heavy, flat surface."  Yeah, right.

Clearly these people are not dealing with humid climes on a routine basis (uh, no, they're in UTAH!).  So now I'm grumpy AND behind on this project.  All the spray bottles I own are downstairs, industrial size and likely don't work anyway - can I get an "amen"?!

Then, a chorus sang from Heaven, a light beamed brightly through the window and I gazed upon that most maligned of household appliances - the steam iron.  

Problem solved and I didn't even have to turn it on.  A few spritzes from the on-board "sprinkler", that baby was crumpled into a sodden mass, filleted like a trout, and stomped under 5 pounds (OK, well maybe it's only 2 - who cares?) of steam iron on a board with holes - built in convection air dry!  Genius (and laziness) comes through again.

In the meantime, here are a couple of projects I HAVE completed in the last few weeks.  The first is a baby blanket made from a pattern right off the yarn label:

Bernat Baby Sport 100% Acrylic

Lace Edging Detail

The second project is a lovely sweater made for a lucky lady for an upcoming holiday!  From Debbie Bliss Junior Knits book.

Crystal Palace Merino 5 100% Superwash Merino Wool in Guacamole

The color is really pretty and the yarn knits up very smooth and soft.  Next up will be the completed cards made with that paper wad mess drying under the iron - I promise!