Bright Birthday

Happy Birthday, Lenae! Love this graphic Kimberly picked for Lenae, as she spent the last month, and then some, in Hawaii. I lived vicariously through her gorgeous pictures, and can’t wait to finally catch up with this girl soon IRL, as it’s been far too long.

I hope today brings her some sun (after a rainy, cold PNW weekend so far) and fond reflections on her past year with an eye on all that is to come!

Won’t you join me in wishing a bright, creative, lovely lady a day that is just the same?!

Hop along with us for inspiration and fun!

I actually made this card for Lenae specifically back in April!!! Early for once! 😉

Digi 1″ flair made with epoxy clear sticker. Up cycled coffee bag cottage leaf die.

Tonya sent me some goodies from The Heart Desires shop, including the new Concord & 9th Cake Stamp. So I figured I’d do it up for our hop, tropical style, coloring it with Prismas and Gamsol.

She also has the fab We R Memory Keepers Next Level embossing folders, like this pillow design. She has Maggie Holmes’awesome Bloom paper too. 

Don’t you love how the little bird is popping up behind the cake? I deliberately cut and positioned the panel, and punched a hole on the banner, threading the sequin strand behind.

The sentiment is cut from Rose Gold metalic paper from Bazzill.

Hope you have lots of cake, Lenae, and enjoy your hop!

Hop Participants:

Amy

Kate: You’re here!

Katie

Kimberly

Laura

Lisa 

Toni 

Tonya

Vicki 
Birthday Girl! Lenae

PNW Birthday Hop: II

Hello everyone, happy Friday and happy birthday Ms. Kimberly Weiner of Weinerhoneymooners!

Now I won’t be able to give her the kind of awesome gift she presented me this year, but I hope she knows how happy I am to know her, to craft and laugh, and vent and chat, alongside her, and that I will miss celebrating in person with her this weekend!!

I know this will be a big year for her and with her spirit and creativity, she is going to rock it, boldly and beautifully!

Be your own kind of beautiful, girl!!

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The background paper says, “Hello Beautiful” working perfectly with the Hero Arts “Dare to Dream” set, available at The Heart Desires.

All papers are digital from Forever Joy at The Lilypad printed on photo paper.
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Love how the large Wild Garden flowers by Julie Ebersole work so well with the smaller Savvy Stamps floral dies. Also this large green flowers had its stem snipped and works well as a succulent!

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My new favorite background frame dies, MFT’s Diagonal stitched rectangles, combined with Lil’ Inkers and Mama Elephant stitched rectangles. The stitched lines play off of those in the flowers.

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Love incorporating dimension in my work. The arrangement of florals and branches jump off the page.

Hop along with us today and make sure to wish our friend a happy day!

You should have come from Lisa’s site.

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Please stop back for updated pictures as I am going to be a bit late to this party, but here’s a sneak peek!!

Off to your next stop:
LAURA

I am sending this over to Ellen Hutson’s Pinsights challenge as well!

My card features:
Wild Garden flower dies by Julie Ebersole; Essentials by Ellen Linen 100# cardstock

Hope your April was swell! Thanks for dropping by!

Hooray!

Hooray…

For returning to my site after a month, and seeing that I still have a few visitors popping in on a daily basis!

For the first day of fall!

And of course, for Tonya!!

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So, this is not the card I had planned for Tonya; I had two different ideas coming together last week, and while I was away in Portland for some much needed fun and R&R the past few days.  However, neither idea has had a chance to manifest just yet, so since I’ve such a backlog of work to blog, and this card seemed fitting, I will say “Hooray” for Tonya today, and surprise her on Saturday with her real birthday card (to be blogged sometime in the next year!).

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Tonya is a wonderful listener and creative spirit whom I always look forward to seeing at our crafty gatherings or other outings.  She is understanding and inspiring!  I only wish there were more time and fewer miles between us so we could see each other more often!  She and I share a deep love for cats, and an even deeper disdain for our migraines!  I can’t wait to see her this weekend so we can catch up and I can give her a big birthday hug in person!  Here’s to a most fabulous year, Tonya!  Hooray for you!

Check out what my other crafty friends have up their sleeves in celebration of Tonya!

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katie
toni
kimberly
laura
vicki
lisa lara
lenae

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope your week is one to celebrate!

*Materials: Studio Calico digital print “Hooray” journal card; Crate Paper floral paper and rose; Freckled Fawn metal wreath; love

Fiesta Forever: It’s Another Birthday Blog Hop!

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Happy Birthday, Katie!

I am always late to the party!  But I’m so glad you’ve stopped by because our PNW crafty group is celebrating a card maker you may know well from a variety of design teams, Ms. Katie Brooks!  Today is her birthday, so we have pulled together a little hop.  As usual, I’m flying by the seat of my pants here, but so happy to be included in the celebration!

After what seems like centuries of sun and heat here in Seattle, the thunder is rolling and a sweet coastal breeze is floating through my windows as the clouds darken down on the beach, but that won’t dampen our spirits any!  Because “my friends, the time has come to raise the roof and have some fun; Throw away the work to be done. Let the music play on!”

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I’ve been working with a lot of pink lately, thanks to the Confetti collection from Maggie Holmes, and the Fancy collection from My Mind’s Eye.  I’ve lined up a graduation card and mini-album to post soon featuring both collections.

For this card, I’ve combined some Maggie Holmes and MME, using the Fancy collection pink and gold polka dot paper and some of the awesome flowers and leaves from the Open Book collection.

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The smile die cut is from PTI’s Wet Paint collection, and the Chochitlan Wreath from Poppystamps was a must-have after I saw it featured in one of Maria’s cards, of Riesling Mama.  The camera is from an awesome Spellbinders set by Donna Salazar, which I don’t think is available any more.

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I’ve got a little bit of a retro soft-palette reminiscent of the Eighties going on here, especially love this washi!  And the wet-paint style of the inside paper, which is from Studio Calico’s Lemon Lush.

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Lizzie McKay’s birthday stamp set “Let’s Party” from Studio Calico provides the sentiment, which I stamped in gold.

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Katie’s cards and personality always make me smile, so I thought this would be a fitting sentiment for her.  And while I don’t necessarily equate Katie with pink, as her style is bright and colorful, a bit quirky, and always smile-worthy, pink seems to be ruling the day over here at Pinned & Penned.

And I hope Katie’s day rules, that she was showered with love yesterday at the crafty gathering I was sorry to miss! Unfortunately, my teaching schedule and other obligations have prevented me from not only gathering with the ladies, but also posting anything since our last birthday hop!!  I have been creating though, and hope to get some of the backlogged work posted here soon!

And can you believe the celebratory month of June is nearly over?  Graduations, anniversaries, birthdays have filled these last few weeks, not to mention the celebration of the national decision to grant marriage equality to all.  We found ourselves celebrating friendship and our anniversary last night, a balmy evening, with friends over some lovely French food and champagne at Le Pichet, followed by dessert on the deck overlooking the Sound at The Pink Door, one of the loveliest spots in the Seattle summer, day or night.

Let’s keep the party rolling with your next stop on the hop, Ms. Kimberly Wiener!   Big thanks to Amy for pulling this all together, and really, what can’t she make happen in the blogosphere?  I mean have you seen what she’s done for coffee and paper crafting?  A force to be reckoned with, I tell ya!

Please leave some love for everyone along the way, and of course wish Katie a happy birthday and check out her fabulous work over at KB Stamps!  And if you comment here, I am going to choose a random winner (or 2!) for some blog candy because I’ve got a whole bunch of crafty wares that need to find a good home.  Stamps, straws, ephemera– who knows what will be awaiting you.  Leave me a comment to possibly find out! 🙂

Amy

Kate— You are here!

Kimberly

Laura

Lenae

Tonya

Vicki

Katie ← Birthday Girl!!!

A Card for the Seamstress

CAS(E) This Sketch Inspired Card

Good Evening!  As I write that, I am thinking (hoping) that it will indeed be one for me, as I powered through 8 hours of teaching today on about one hour of solid sleep last night.  Ahh, insomnia!  During our long weekend on the Olympic Peninsula, I slept well and was inspired by our walks in nature and exploration of new and familiar places.  How quickly all that rejuvenation can be undone by one sleepless-in-Seattle night!  I hope you will forgive my poor sentence fluency as I muddle through this entry–less will definitely be more tonight!

Here  the current sketch for CAS(E) This Sketch.

 Chrissy’s design reminded me of ric-rac, and since my mom’s birthday is coming up, I wanted to make a sewing-themed card because she is an amazing seamstress and has inspired me since I was small (and draped with patterns, poked with pins, encircled with measuring tape!)

So, pinking shears in hand, I played with paper, patterns and placement, and this is the result!

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Despite my haze (and haste), I am pretty pleased with how this card turned out!  Most of the sewing patterned paper is from Basic Grey; the rest are scraps from an Authentique collection.  The sentiment from Savvy is stamped in Color Box brown ink, embellished with a delicious enamel dot that matched the aqua paper perfectly.

It isn’t easy to see here since my photos are a bit washed-out, but the paper embellishment here is a ruler-calendar that says “November” on the bottom.  Instead of writing my mom’s birth date at the top of the card, I think I will circle the 19 on the ruler!

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I finally put my Technique Tuesday stamps to use for a simple embellishment on the back– LOVE these pins!!

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Head over to CAS(E) This Sketch to see some superbly styled cards.  This really was an inspiring sketch!  And, hey, if you can’t sleep tonight, you still have 8 hours to play along before the challenge closes!

A stitch in time saves nine…..

Have a wonderful night, fellow crafters!