blue & gray

Happy 2022 crafty friends! Hope all is well.  I can just say that it's "been a week" and therefore I'm a couple of days behind on my Seize the Birthday post. Apologies!

There were many iterations of a blue and gray card before I came up with this one.  Should always just stick with CAS if I am struggling!

Be sure to pop on over to the blog to check out the colourful creations from the design team and welcome our new Surprise Party Guest, Vicky Hayes!

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend.
Glenda

Card details:
Happy Birthday - 6.25"x4.5"
Stamps: Ellen Hutson/Julie Ebersole Organic Elements & Totally Random Sayings Vol. 3
Inks: Altenew Sea Glass & SU! Smoky Slate
Paper: gray & white cardstock
Accessories: vellum, pearl, ScorPal, MFT Stitched Rectangle die cut

Case me a Christmas Card with Michelle Lupton

Happy holiday season crafty friends! I am thrilled once again to be joining the super talented Michelle Lupton in her Case me a Christmas Card series this year. I'm always honored to join her as I know she has some very high profile card makers playing along. I haven't made a lot of Christmas cards over the past few years (I have shifted to sending New Year cards) so playing along with Michelle always challenges me to get in the Christmas card making spirit.

A little bit from Michelle bit about the series:
"From October to December, I will link to a series of guest cardmakers on my blog. I will CASE one of their cards, and they will CASE one of mine! CASE stands for either Copy And Share Everything, or Copy And Selectively Edit. It's about getting inspiration from cardmaking friends, but making a new card that is our own. And, of course, the card we each make has to be a Christmas card!"

This is the card from Michelle that I CASEd so my card ended up being very non-traditional Christmas colours and patterns.

This is the card I CASEd:

Be sure to head over to Michelle's blog to see her fabulous creation and to find out all about the background of this very fun series.

All the best to you and your loved ones for 2022.  Here's hoping it's brighter!

Take care & thanks for stopping by,

Glenda

Card details:

Have a beautiful Christmas - 5.75"x4"

Stamp: Retired A Muse

Inks: Catherine Pooler Paradise Found inks & Versafine black

Paper: white card stock

Accessories: TCW Cosmic Swirl stencil, SU! gems

happy hobbies

Hard to believe it's the end of November and it is our last Seize the Birthday challenge of the year (we take December off). Have to admit I expected the end of 2021 to look a little different than it does but oh well... here's hoping for a bigger, brighter 2022. I'd also like to say goodbye to one my amazing team mates - TaeEun Yoo.  Thank you for all your amazing creations - you will be missed!  All the best to you.

Lindsey picked the theme of hobbies & pastimes. I picked the obvious... crafts!

Be sure to pop on over to the blog to check out the fun creations from the design team and our Surprise Party Guest, Carol McFarland. Thanks for all of your creations!

Hope you have a terrific day and a wonderful weekend! See you soon.

Thanks for stopping by,

Glenda

Card details:

Oh Happy Day

Stamps: Studio Katia (image), Avery Elle (sentiment)

Ink: Versafine black, Mr Huey Misters, Versafine Clair Nocturne

Paper: SU! Old Olive & Black Glossy paper, 

Accessories: Copics, White Enamel Accents, clear embossing powder

a bunch of beverages

Over at Seize the Birthday, Jules has picked a beverages theme this week! No surprise... when it comes to a beverage theme, I picked cocktails! I used vellum for the martini glass and then some silver paper for the drink part - I've seen some shimmery drinks online lately but never actually consumed one.

Be sure to pop on over to the blog to check out the delicious creations from the design team and our Surprise Party Guest, Carol McFarland. 

Hope you have a terrific day and a wonderful weekend!

Thanks for stopping by,

Glenda

Card details:

Happy Birthday

Stamps: Trinity Stamps (martini glass and sentiment), Ellen Hutson/Julie Ebersole (shapes & lines)

Ink: Versafine Black, Versafine Claire Nocturne, Caroline Poole Daydream, Green Tea & Sauna

Paper: white card stock, MFT patterned paper, Yupo silver sparkle paper 

Accessories: Tim Holtz tiny attacher, washi tape, Trinity Stamps dew drops, vellum, clear embossing powder

sunset scene

Welcome to another challenge over at Seize the Birthday. Colleen has chosen sunset scene this week. This was not my original card. I had done a simple blended card with sunset colours but it wasn't really a scene. So I decided to pull out my Gelli plate and use some paints. I used my fingers to adjust a few things but I'm generally happy with it. It was supposed to be an ocean scene but it kind of looks like mountains.

Be sure to pop on over to the blog to check out the stunning creations from the design team and our Surprise Party Guest, Carol McFarland. 

Hope you have a terrific day and a wonderful weekend!

Thanks for stopping by,

Glenda

Card details:

Best Wishes

Stamps: Fun Stampers Journey

Ink: Versafine black

Paper: white & black cardstock

Accessories: Artist Loft paints, Gelli plates, jewels

stunning stencils

Welcome to another challenge over at Seize the Birthday. Cathy has chosen stencils this week.  I definitely have a bit of a stencil habit so the hard part was picking one.  I went with something simple to let the flower pop. Really like how this turned out. One embarrassing thing about this card? I've mailed it already so I can't remember what I used to watercolour the flower - Distress Inks or pencils. I suspect it was inks unless I was particularly thorough at blending out my pencil marks. Oops!

Be sure to pop on over to the blog to check out the delicious creations from the design team and welcome our new Surprise Party Guest, Carol McFarland. Great to have you join us Carol!

Hope you have a terrific day and a wonderful weekend!

Thanks for stopping by,

Glenda

Card details:

Happy Birthday

Stamps: PTI (sentiment), Taylored Expressions (flower)

Ink: Versafile Black, Versafine Clair Nocturne, Distress Ink Broken China

Paper: white cardstock, watercolour paper

Accessories: Tim Holtz stencil, washi tape, pearls, fine Copic (for doodle border)

piece of cake

Happy Thursday crafty friends.  Can't believe it's October tomorrow!  Months just seem to fly by right now. Autumn is firmly entrenched here.... even though it's not my favourite season, I'm still enjoying the fresh air and the beautiful colours.

Shirley has picked our Seize the Birthday challenge this week - cakes!  I recently got this new cake set from Reverse Confetti and decided to make a bit of a whacky cake.

Be sure to pop on over to the blog to check out the delicious creations from the design team and our Surprise Party Guest, Jenny.

Hope you have a terrific day and a wonderful weekend!

Thanks for stopping by,

Glenda

Card details:

Happy Birthday

Stamps: Reverse Confetti (cake), A Muse (sentiment - retired)

Ink: Versafine Black, Ranger Alcohol Ink

Paper: Yupo, white card stock

Accessories: Martha Stewart Glitter, Glossy Accents, SU! Word Window punch

stellar stitching

Happy Thursday crafty friends! Hope you are doing well.  I have to admit I have not the been the most cheerful person lately with the state of the world... but I am making time to be kind to myself and keep busy with fun things.  Including being crafty of course :).

Barbara came up with our Seize the Birthday challenge this week - stitching.  I happily used my sewing machine to add a stitched border to the card. Last year I was able to reorganize my craft room so my sewing machine can stay set up all the time (which was also handy when I was sewing masks - lol) - so I love any excuse to use it. Kept this card CAS with some bright colours - quite like how this turned out.

Be sure to pop on over to the blog to check out the stunning creations from the design team and our Surprise Party Guest, Jenny.

Hope you have a terrific day and a wonderful weekend!

Thanks for stopping by,

Glenda

Card details:

Celebrate the day - 4.25" x 5.5"

Stamps: CAS-ual Fridays (flower), A Muse (sentiment - retired)

Ink: Versafine Black, Versafine Clair Nocturne

Paper: SU! Mango Melody, watercolour paper, white card stock

Accessories: Derwent watercolour pencils, A Muse white pearls, Tim Holtz water brush, SU! window punch, clear embossing powder, sewing machine & black thread

pretty in pastels

Just a reminder... in the Northern Hemisphere there is still officially three weeks of summer left and fall has not arrived, even though the calendar says September! I'm a summer lover so am holding on as long as I can!

Our challenge at Seize the Birthday this week is pastel colours! Thanks to JoAnn for this challenge... I default to bright colours so this was a good challenge to get me out of my comfort zone.  That said, I stayed firmly in my CAS comfort zone for this card.  I quite like coral coloured poppies so that was my inspiration for this card. Please ignore my misaligned enamel dots.  I tried to fix one but the adhesive on those suckers is pretty aggressive.  I could have fixed it in Photoshop but then I decided not to... embrace the imperfection. ;) It may be hard to see but I stamped the birthday on light green.

Be sure to pop on over to the blog to check out the beautiful creations from the design team and our Surprise Party Guest, Jenny.

Hope you have a terrific day and a wonderful weekend!

Thanks for stopping by,

Glenda

Card details:

Celebrate the day - 4.25" x 5.5"

Stamps: SU! poppy, Avery Elle sentiment, Taylored Expressions grid

Ink: Versafine Black, Versamark, Versafine Clair Nocturne

Paper: kraft, white, green

Accessories: Derwent watercolour pencils, enamel dots, clear embossing powder, Tim Holtz water brush

by the sea

Great news! We have a new Seize the Birthday team remember - the fabulously talented Jules Peddicord! Really excited to have her on the team. Welcome Jules!

My darling friend Nancy has picked 'by the sea' for our Seize the Birthday challenge this week.  I love all things ocean so I was delighted with this challenge.  The original inspiration for this card is this one from my friend Jenn. She was the person who first got me into watercolouring and then gave me a mini lesson on how to get this effect. I've made a few cards like this and always have fun. I've tried doing a shaker with this card but I prefer 'shaker-less'. 

Be sure to swim on over to the blog to check out the spectacular creations from the design team and our Surprise Party Guest, Jenny.

Hope you have a terrific day and a wonderful weekend!

Thanks for stopping by,

Glenda

Card details:

Celebrate the day - 4.25" x 5.5"

Stamp: My Favourite Things

Ink: Versafine Black, Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Inks & Distress Oxides

Paper: watercolour, white card stock, Yupo glitter paper

Accessories: Memory Box die, Trinity Stamps baubles

sassy stripes

We are playing with stripes at Seize the Birthday this week (courtesy of Vicki). I love stripes and normally I would use striped patterned paper (because I have a lot of it).  However, I had been wanting to try this technique from my friend Cheiron. Cheiron loves rainbows so decide to do rainbow alcohol inks in her honour. The stripes speak for themselves so kept the rest of the card clean and simple.

Hope you can join us! Please welcome our new Surprise Party Guest, Jenny!  Looking forward to see what Jenny creates during her time with us.  Be sure to give some love to her and the rest of the design team.

Hope you have a terrific day and a wonderful weekend!

Thanks for stopping by,

Glenda

Card details:

Happy birthday

Stamps: Ellen Hutson/Julie Ebersole

Ink: Versafine Black, Ranger/Tim Holtz Alcohol Inks

Paper: Yupo, white card stock

Accessories: Tim Holtz tiny attacher, MFT stitched rectangle die

yellow & pink

I'm thrilled that I'm able to play along with Color Hues Challenge!  It's not really a matter of time - it's a matter of me just getting organized to photograph the card and do the post. I seem to be very good at getting the card done but missing the deadline. I was so determined to get a card done for this challenge that I am doing one that involves pink (and you know how I feel about pink).

Hope you have a great week.  It's a holiday Monday for us so looking forward to some more down time.

Thanks for stopping by,

Glenda

Card details:

Hello there 

Stamps: Taylored Expressions / Lori Craig

Ink: Distress Oxides, Distress Ink, Versafine Black

Paper: Distress Heavy Stock

Accessories: Hero Arts stencil, A Muse yellow gems, Taylored Expressions blending brushes

take me away

Finding in hard to believe that is the third week of July! We don't have a lot of plans this summer but I am loving the warm weather and trying relax as much as I can.

It was my turn to pick the theme at Seize the Birthday this week and (no surprise) I chose travel! I am craving travel these days and hoping we can fly away later this year.  The stamp I used is a retired Hero Arts stamps that I've had forever but don't think I've ever used it! (not sure why).  I looked up a topographic map online and tried to roughly mimic the colours using some Distress Oxide inks. I received this set from My Favorite Things as a gift recently and it had the perfect sentiment (although I may have to wait until next year to give this card to someone - LOL!)

Be sure to check out the blog for the terrific travel creations from Surprise Party Guest Melanie and the rest of the DT.

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a terrific day and have a wonderful weekend.

Glenda

Card details:

Adventures 4¼" x 5½ "

Stamps: Hero Arts (map) and My Favorite Things (sentiment)

Ink: Distress Oxide Inks, Versafine Black, Versafine Clair Nocturne

Paper: white & kraft cardstock, watercolour paper

Accessories: Geolocation enamel embellishment, clear embossing powder

fabulous frames

Wishing you a belated happy Thursday (a little late getting my post together - sorry! No good excuse).

TaeEun has picked the theme of frames for Seize the Birthday this week.  In my ongoing efforts to improve my blending, I decided to use my new Hero Arts stamp (which I was jennabled to buy by my friend Jenn Shurkus) and create an ocean themed card.  For some reason I felt like a hexagon frame would work well so I pulled out my long neglected hexagon dies. I also used them to create the edges for the sentiment panel. I think my blending is slowly improving...but some days it works and some days it doesn't.

Be sure to check out the blog for the fabulous frame creations from Surprise Party Guest Melanie and the rest of the DT.

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend.

Glenda

Card details:

Happy Birthday to You -5¼" x 5¼"

Stamps: Hero Arts

Ink: Distress Oxide Inks, Versafine Black

Paper: white cardstock, Ranger Distress White Heavy Stock

Accessories: Taylored Expressions blending brushes, Trinity Stamps baubles, Lifestyle Crafts Hexagon dies 

elegant embossing

Happy Thursday friends! Our theme at Seize the Birthday this week, thanks to Ashwini, is using an embossing folder. Not sure if this worked exactly as I expected exactly as I hoped... however, I used one of my favourite sets, Sketchbook Florals, from Taylored Expressions/Lori Craig and that always makes me happy.

Be sure to check out the blog for our surprise party guest, Melanie, and the rest of the team's embossed beauties. Give the some crafty love!

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful day and terrific weekend.

Glenda

Card details:

birthday wishes

Stamps: Taylored Expressions Sketchbook Florals, Mama Elephant (sentiment)

Ink: Versafine Black, Versafine Clair Black

Paper: watercolour paper, A Muse retired Foolscap, coral and kraft card stock

Accessories: Tim Holtz/Sizzix embossing folder, tag punch, Derwent watercolour pencils, clear embossing powder, EK Success binding edge punch, washi tape, mini paper clip