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Saturday, January 25, 2014

A is for ... At Last ...

Things at work have settled down and I am finally getting around to completing some projects that I started ... and stopped ... and started again.  And that explains the "At Last" part of the title of this post.  At last, I'm finally finishing one of my unfinished projects.  It's about time!  You see ... this is a birthday card for my sister-in-law.  Her birthday was in mid-December.  Sigh!  Better late than never.


Once again, I've been playing with my Distress Markers, a detail water brush, and some watercolor paper.  I love Tim's blueprint stamps.  I used some glitter paint pens to add some hand painted borders around each stamped image.  I then used a square Die from Sizzix to cut out the images (ok ... the "present" image is a little off-center, but at least I didn't have to cut the squares by hand).  The fun part came when I started searching for some coordinating paper from my stash to put in the background of my card.  I found paper that I don't remember buying (sigh ... confessions of a hoarder!)  After that, I went through my stash and found some ribbon, gems and other embellishments.  I completed the card with some punched stars from extra paper (outlined with Distress Markers and adhered with foam dots and squares to add more dimension to the card) and a fussy cut stamped "party" that I colored with Distress Markers.  Voila!  A birthday card.

So, to celebrate the completion of this project, I am entering it in the "A is for ..." Challenge at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge (since 'At Last' I finished this card) and Claudia's "No More Shopping Sins" Challenge at Our Creative Corner (since I managed to finish the card using forgotten paper along with many other items from my stash and without committing another shopping sin).  Thanks to all the wonderful challenges and their Design Team members who continue to inspire us to create :)

And now if I can just finish my sister-in-law's birthday gift.  Alas, that must be the topic of a later post.  Happy creating to you all and thanks for stopping by.  --  Mary Elizabeth

8 comments:

Words and Pictures said...

Jeepers, Mary Elizabeth, that really was a marathon catch up over at mine!! It was an absolute delight reading all your comments, thank you... I feel so honoured.

And what a delightful card for your sister-in-law - I'm thinking she'll forgive you for the wait! Such pretty colours, and great shading on the blueprint images to make them so dimensional. Love the little piles of stars too! Thank you so much for joining in with us at Our Creative Corner.

Hope this is a sign that things have settled down a bit again health-wise, and that you'll get to finish the gift too - as well as have some crafty time for yourself very soon.
Alison xx

Claudia N. said...

This is a lovely, lovely card, Mary Elizabeth!

I am sure your sister will love it anyway as it is full of your outstanding creativity. And sometimes there's just not the right time to create... I always feel that good things have their very own pace and just take you along on their journey...not the other way round ;)

Thank you for sharing this beautiful make with us at OurCreativeCorner!

Claudia x

Suzanne C said...

Yummy colors! Love how you have mixed the bright colors into your images and the background page is perfect setting for these fun embellishments and images! Thanks for joining us this week at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge!

Anna-Karin said...

Stunning card Mary Elizabeth!! Love the happy colours and how you coloured the blueprints. Thank you for the sweet comments you left on my blog the other day! And, thank you so much for sharing with us at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog!

Meihsia Liu said...

This is such a sweet card! I love the beautiful colors and all those fabulous embellishments. Wonderful design :)

Anita Houston The Artful Maven said...

Love these blueprint images, and you've colored them perfectly! This birthday card would make any body have an extra special day!

Andrea Ockey Parr said...

Well if you ask me, this card must've been well worth the wait for your sister-in-law! One of my favorite things about you is your amazing versatility! You can do so many "styles" so brilliantly. I absolutely adore the bright colors and "fun vibe" that this card brings to the table. You totally nailed it!

Marci said...

Such delicious, fun, happy colors. Love it.