Relay for Life Luminaries 2012

For several years now, my sister, a melanoma survivor, participates in Relay for Life to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Each year I purchase and decorate luminaries in memoriam of two very special women whom our family lost to this terrible disease:  my grandmother, Clara, and my aunt and godmother, Lucy. We lost them within a few months of each other, many years ago. This year I decorated a third luminary to honor my sister's victory.

This year, I decided that I wanted to decorate the luminaries using thinner paper so that when lit, you would still be able to read the names. I used some beautiful frames from The Graphics Fairy, printing my final designs onto standard white office paper. I trimmed to the size of the design and rounded the corners with a punch to be sure they wouldn't lift or dog-ear and then used spray adhesive for a nice, even application.

Do you participate in Relay luminaries?  It's such a beautiful way to honor those who have battled cancer...those who have lost, those who have won, and those who still battle...

Linking up to The Graphics Fairy Brag Monday #142.

Howdy, Birthday Boy

Card A Day Blog's theme this week is "Teens" which just happened to work perfectly with the family birthday calendar...one of my nephews turns 18 in a few days.  (Ugh, these kids are making me feel old!)  I found this printed cowboy image in my stash and thought it would make a casual "boy card" that's not too young, not too old.

The Details:

• As usual, I used Kraft cardstock as the base...it just always seems to be the perfect choice for masculine cards.
• Journeyman tissue tape borders the left edge with some twine wrapped around a couple of times and a "lasso" tied neared the top. 

• Metal accent not exactly the right color?  Never fear, alcohol inks are here!  These brads started out BRIGHT copper.  Not good for my rustic cowboy.  I dipped them in Latte and Gold Mixative AI and now they're perfectly patina-ed.

• As a final touch, I colored a portion of a Kraft paper star border with Vintage Photo Distress Stickles.  The old penny copper color is perfect and the stars remind me of spurs.

Challenge:

CCEE Stampers: CCEE 1225 - Masculine Cards

Forever Friends Challenge Blog: #39 - Inspired by the USA (wild west)

Cooking It Up With Katie: #97 - Texture a Metal Man!

Crafts and Me Challenges: #89 - Anything Goes

My Mum's Craft Shop Challenges: #62 - About Boys

Supplies:

InLinkz.com

Cardstock:	Papertrey Ink ‘Kraft’
Patterned Paper:	My Mind’s Eye Lost & Found ‘Portobello Road’ 6x6
Image:	Unknown
Inks:	Alcohol Ink ‘Latte’, ‘Gold Mixative’
Embellishments:	Tim Holtz tissue tape ‘Journeyman’; Stampin’ Up! brads; PTI rustic button twine; Distress Stickles ‘Vintage Photo’;
Tools:	TH paper distresser

Siren of the Sea

We have a really fun challenge for you over at Scrapalicious USA blog for the next two weeks..."Summertime"!  Think vacations, picnics, going to the beach, swimming..etc.  Whatever makes you think of summer.  Join in the fun and you could win a $10 gift certificate to the Scrapalicious USA store!  Also, be sure to sign up for the newsletter so you can receive sale and giveaway information.

When I think of summer, I think of water (hard not to here in the Great Lakes state!). This funky mermaid tag is ocean-themed, not lake-themed however... As kids my BFF and I would cross our ankles while swimming to pretend we were mermaids. I LOVE to swim and always thought it would be cool to be part fish...think how much faster you could go!

Some Details:

• The key element in this tag is that I just had a lot of fun with it!  I mixed cartoony fish with a vintage mermaid and bold patterns.
• The Cosmo Cricket fish stickers are highlighted with Stickles and are blowing Liquid Pearls bubbles.

• I should say that EVERYTHING is highlighted / accented with Stickles.  I went Stickles-happy and love the funky fun of it!  Our mermaid princess has Icicle on her tail, Fruit Punch on her...um...starfish..., and Platinum on her crown.  Even the tulle netting is speckled with a little Patina.  I think it's all the the glitter that pulls all these random elements together.

Other Challenges:

Digital Tuesday Challenge: #165 - Tag It

Hooked on Crafts: Challenge #21 - All that Glitters

Simon Says Stamp and Show: A Bit of Brown

The Squirrel and the Fox: Challenge #20 - Make It Sparkle

So Artful Challenges: Ocean

Simon Says Stamp Challenge: Simon Says...Anything BUT a Card

Supplies:

InLinkz.com

Cardstock:	Manila tag, Papertrey Ink ‘Aqua Mist’
Patterned Paper:	My Mind’s Eye Lost & Found “Market Street” 6x6
Image:	The Sum of All Crafts
Inks:	StazOn ‘Timber Brown’
Embellishments:	Liquid Pearls ‘White Opal’; ribbon; Celebrate It tulle ribbon
Tools:	Scallop scissors; tweezers

Happy Father's Day!

Giving a "shout out" to dads today and sharing the card that I'll be giving my own dad.

Just a Couple Details:

• I found this dapper dad stamp on a girls' craft weekend last fall and have been patiently waiting to create something with it. I really love the effect of stamping it onto ledger print paper...very vintagey! I added just a touch of Crushed Olive Distress Ink to accent the image here and there. 
• All the patterned papers are from My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Two "Breeze" 6x6 paper pad. The colors and patterns are perfect for masculine cards. I especially like the ruler paper for my dad...he's a crafty guy too and works with sheet metal and wood...things that definitely require the old adage "measure twice and cut once"!

Challenges:
Blessings Ink:  Amusing Challenges - Father's Day / Masculine
Scrappy Frogs Challenge: Celebrate Men
Ink on My Fingers:  Sunday Stamper Week #220 - This Boy
My Sheri Crafts: Challenge #87 - Father's Day

Supplies:
Cardstock:	Papertrey Ink ‘Ripe Avocado’
Patterned Paper:	My Mind’s Eye Lost & Found Two ‘Breeze’ 6x6
Stamps:	Inkadinkadoo ‘Happy Father’s Day’
Inks:	StazOn ‘Timber Brown’; Distress Stain ‘Crushed Olive’; Distress Ink ‘Old Paper’
Embellishments:	Stampin’ Up! brads; Echo Park Paper Co. sticker ‘For the Record’
Tools:	Tim Holtz paper distresser; 3M foam tape; Zig 2-way glue pen

Celebrate Someone Special

Happy Birthday to my dear boyfriend. J  He is a big car guy, so I dug out an "oldie but goodie" stamp set for his card...Stampin' Up!'s "Classic Convertibles".  I'm pretty sure he won't rest now until he knows what make and model car it's supposed to be (so if you know...please comment so that I can put his mind at ease!)...LOL!  Boys.

A Couple Details:

• I've seen many people incorporate calendars into their cards to commemorate the day/date, so when I flipped to this My Mind's Eye paper, I was inspired.  I circled the 13th for a personalized touch.  I also added some brads and Frayed Burlap Distress Stickles to accent the design.

• Everything is stamped in Timber Brown StazOn. This is important because I used Distress Stains to color the car (no smearing with StazOn!). I also used a white Glaze pen on the car to add highlights to chrome and glass areas. More MME papers form some "racing stripes". I accented the HB square with Glossy Accents.

• When the car and racing stripes were in place, the layout needed a little something at the top right, so I fussy cut this banner element from MME paper, added a little color with Distress stains, added some twine to one side, and Frayed Burlap Distress Stickle dots between each pennant. I like the "car lot" affect that the banner adds.

Challenges:

Going Grey with Scrap-Creations: Celebrations

Oldie But a Goodie Challenge: Banners or Bunting

Craft Your Passion Challenges: #114 Anything Goes

Make It Monday with Kraft Outlet: "Cards for Him"

Simon Says Stamp and Show: Anything Goes

Dream Valley Challenges: #34 For That Special Guy

Supplies:
Cardstock:	Papertrey Ink ‘Kraft’; Stampin’ Up! ‘Confetti Ivory’
Patterned Paper:	My Mind’s Eye Lost & Found ‘Portobello Road’ 6x6
Stamps:	SU! ‘Classic Convertibles’, ‘It’s Your Birthday’
Inks:	StazOn ‘Timber Brown’; Distress Stain ‘Old Paper’, ‘Tumble Glass’, ‘Pumice Stone’
Embellishments:	SU! brads; PTI rustic button twine; Distress Stickles ‘Frayed Burlap’; Glossy Accents
Tools:	Tim Holtz paper distresser; 3M foam tape; Zig 2-way glue pen; Making Memories ribbon glue

Certificate of Graduation

My nephews and niece have grown so fast.  I can barely believe two of them are now high school graduations...eesh.  Scrapalicious USA's "Graduation" challenge theme is perfectly timed for my niece's recent graduation party.  You probably have some cards to make for this graduation season, so play along with us!  Someone will win a $10 gift certificate to the Scrapalicious USA store...and it can only be you if you join in the fun.  Also, be sure to sign up for the newsletter so you can receive sale and giveaway information.

Some Details:

• I love that you can personalize this "diploma" sticker from Me & My Big Ideas.  I used typography stickers to add my niece's name and then wrote the month and year in grey pen.  For just a hint of sparkle, I added an outline of Platinum Stickles around the edge of the diploma.  It's "hanging" from some gorgeous My Mind's Eye seam binding.

• The hot air balloon is symbolic of taking flight and exploring new worlds.  It's stamped directly onto the MME's background paper in sand ink.

• Two of my favorite embellishments...tissue tape and pom pom trim...working together here to finish off the bottom of the card.

Challenges:

Make It Monday # 92

Quirky Crafts: Challenge #12 2012 - Up, Up, and Away (or the Sky's the Limit)

Supplies InLinkz.com

Cardstock:	Stampin’ Up! ‘Sahara Sand’
Patterned Paper:	My Mind’s Eye Lost & Found ‘Portobello Road’
Inks:	SU! classic ‘Sahara Sand’; Distress Ink ‘Frayed Burlap’, Le Pen ‘Dark Grey’
Embellishments:	Tim Holtz tissue tape ‘Symphony’
Tools:	Wondertape; TH paper distresser; Zots