stunning stencils

Happy Thursday crafters!  Hope you're having a great week.  Winter weather is hitting us here on the west coast but I can't really complain.  We still have the best weather in the country!

At Seize the Birthday this week, we are having some fun with stencils.  I decided to get out my Gelli Arts plate and some paints for this challenge.  I played around with a bunch of different stencils and colour combos (see my Instagram) so it was hard to pick which one to make a card with.  (Note: don't be surprised if you see more of these panels on upcoming cards!) I finally decided to make two cards, one using the positive and the other using the negative. Plus, I love purple but don't use it nearly enough. The backgrounds are 'so much' that I kept everything else fairly simple. I have to give a shout out to my friend Cheiron for teaching me this technique!

Do you have a favourite? I really like how they both turned out but think it's so cool that the colours show up so well on the black.

Be sure to head over to the blog to see what the rest of the team and our Surprise Party Guest Joyce have created with their stencils.

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

Card details:
happy birthday to you & happy birthday
Stamps: Unity
Ink: SU! Elegant Eggplant
Paper: white and black cardstock
Accessories: Tim Holtz Splashes stencil, Gelli Arts plate, Art Loft paints, SU! hardware, Amuse ribbon and gems

lovely layers

Happy 2020 crafty friends! Welcome to a new decade... or not... depending on your point of view. ;) Wishing you all the best for the upcoming year... hope you had an enjoyable holiday season.

Exciting times at Seize the Birthday with a new look for the new year!  I just love how fun and colourful it is... a big shout out to team mate Ashwini who created it.  Thank you so much!

Our topping this week is layers.  I don't do a lot of layers most of the time so it was fun to get creative with layer implementation. I cut out and popped up the flowers and leaf. This was also about using up scraps.  I've been hoarding this patterned paper and striped vellum forever! I'm also trying my phone camera for the first time for my card picture (as opposed to my DSLR).  What do you think?

I'd like to welcome the super talented Joyce Mehrber as our Surprise Party Guest for the next couple of months.  Welcome Joyce! Be sure to check out the blog for all of lovely layered cards from the Design Team!

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

Glenda

Card details:

Happy Birthday - 4.25"x5.5"

Stamps: Paper Smooches

Paper: SU! Soft Sky card base, white card stock, Jillibean Soup patterned paper, striped vellum

Ink: Versafine Black

Accessories: Copic markers, EK Success corner rounder punch, SU! white enamel dot

splash of red

Hey crafters! It's our last Seize the Birthday challenge of the year (what!?!?!?) and I got to pick the topping/theme this week.  Not surprisingly, it involves red!  Just a splash though.  I went fairly CAS on this card... and no stamping!

I wanted to give a big thank you to Annie for all of her fabulous guest creations over the last few months! Also a thanks to the rest of our Surprise Party guests in 2019.  Last, but not least, a huge shout out to the rest of the fabulously talented STB design team. Thanks for being a fabulous team.

We now have a Seize the Birthday Instagram account so be sure to check it out! We'll be back with more birthday challenges in 2020 (what?!?!?).

Thanks so much for stopping by and all the best for the rest of 2019. Maybe I'll pop by in December with some holiday creations (we'll see how inspired/energetic I get!).

Glenda

Card details:

celebrate you - 4.25"x5.5"

Paper: white card stock, SU! red sparkle paper and black glossy paper

Accessories: Lifestyle Crafts embossing folder, SU! die cuts

off the edge

I might be a little 'off the edge' this week because it's November!  So hard to believe... but I'm looking out the window to sunshine so can't complain at all. Hope all of you crafty people are enjoying your November so far too.

At Seize the Birthday this week the topping is off the edge. Thanks to JoAnn for this fun challenge.  I always enjoy doing this but don't do it often. Pulled out some scrap paper, some ribbon and my Copics for this bright and cheerful card.  Hope you like it.

Be sure to head over to the blog to give our Surprise Party Guest Annie and the rest of the design team some love for their edgy creations!

Thanks so much for popping by. Always appreciate it!

Have a terrific day and a wonderful weekend.

Glenda

Card details:

Happy Birthday - 4.25"x5.5"

Stamps: Studio Katia Potted Plants

Paper: white card stock and scrap patterned paper

Ink: Versafine Black

Accessories: Copic markers, SU! Ribbon, MS circle cutter

Challenge Me a Christmas Card with Michelle Lupton

Hey crafty friends... I know it's far too early to be talking Christmas but not when it comes to Christmas card making! I'm playing along with the fabulous crafter and fellow science nerd Michelle Lupton again this year. Thanks so much for having me again Michelle!

I challenged Michelle to do some watercolouring with Distress Inks.  This is what I came up with on my end.  The Distress Inks used are Candied Apple, Twisted Citron and Shabby Shutters. I don't have poinsettias around my house at Christmas but this stamp from Avery Elle just shouts watercolour to me.  The sentiment is from my days on the Skipping Stones Design design team.  Using a French sentiment reminds me that I need to practice my French more... hoping to go to Quebec next year and 6 years of high school French won't get me far since it was so long ago! Added a bit of sparkle just for fun. Hope you like it!

Be sure to check out Michelle's blog for more Christmas inspiration!

Thanks for stopping by.

Glenda

Card details:

Joyeux Noel - 4.25"x5.5"

Stamps: Avery Elle Holiday Bouquet, Skipping Stones Design sentiment

Paper: SU! Real Red and Basic Black, Canton watercolour

Ink: Distress Inks - Candied Apple, Twisted Citron and Shabby Shutters; Versafine Black, Archival Black

Accessories: glitter, SU! ribbon

crafty candles

Happy Thursday crafty friends.  Hope you've had a great week. I'm having such a hard time believing it is almost the end of October! Even though autumn is not my favourite season, we have been enjoying a bit of sunshine this week. Plus I always like the colours & light of the season.

This week at Seize the Birthday, we are being very celebratory with candles! I don't have many candle stamps and zero candle dies so I used some patterned paper.  It feels like a bit of a cop-out compared to the stunners made by the rest of the team. I do like that it's tall and narrow though - always fun to do a different sized card.

Hope you can join us this week!  Be sure to check out all the great cards by our surprise party guest, Annie, and the fabulous design team.

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

Glenda

Card details:

party time

Stamps: Paper Smooches

Paper: black card stock, SU! patterned paper

Ink: Versafine black

Accessories: Rectangle punch, A Muse ribbon, EK Success corner rounder punch

crazy kids

Happy Thursday!  Hope you're having a good week.  Our theme at Seize the Birthday this week is kids... I admit I find this challenging so I just put some funky writing on some fun paper.  Does that count as a kids card?  I hope so.

Be sure to head over to the blog to give our Surprise Party Guest Annie and the rest of the design team some love for their adorable kidlet creations.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Appreciate your comments.  Have a terrific day and a wonderful weekend.

Glenda

Card details:

Happy Birthday - 4.25"x5.5"

Stamps: Paper Smooches

Ink: SU! & VersaMark

Paper:  white card stock, Basic Grey retired patterned paper

Accessories: May Arts twine

gorgeous geo

I'm just going to apologize off the start for this late post. Apparently I lost a week somewhere in September! No good excuse ... just forgetfulness.

We are playing with geometric shapes this week at Seize the Birthday. I pulled out my hexagon dies (which are sadly underused) for this one as well as some long retired paper.  I rarely make cards with a kraft card base ... even though I love them.  So this is a card full of things I rarely do/use.  Hope you like it!

Be sure to head over to the blog to give our Surprise Party Guest Annie and the rest of the design team some love for their numeric wonders.

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

Glenda

Card details:

birthday wishes

Stamps: Unity Stamp Co

Ink: Altenew Evening Grey

Paper:  kraft card base, My Mind's Eye retired patterned paper

Accessories: Lifestyle Crafts hexagon dies, Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher

happy anniversary to mail it monday!

Wishing Mail It Monday a very happy 2nd anniversary! If you aren't familiar with Mail it Monday, it's goal is to "grow a community of card-mailers, not just card-makers." Although I do have a large stash of cards, going back several years, I also mail a lot.  My hubby jokes that I keep the post office in business! One thing I do to help me to remember to mail birthday cards is put a calendar reminder for a week before peoples' birthdays.  It is somewhat successful... haha.

The card I made for today is inspired by this card of Kimberly's. I made it for a crafty friend who loves rainbows. (Confession - I have been hoarding this paper for a looooong time). She sent me a very sweet 'miss you' card recently... we live on different sides of the continent so don't see each other often. I miss her a lot too... hope she likes this card. Since the theme today is mailing cards, I made a matching envelope. I always want to do this but rarely get the chance since I am usually grabbing a card to mail at the last minute. ;)

To complete the Mail It Monday theme, I'll be popping this in the mail today. :)

Congrats to Kimberly! Check out the festivities all this week and maybe try to mail a card to friend this week... just because.

Thanks for stopping by.

Glenda

Card details:

You Add Color to my Life - 4.25"x4.25"

Stamps: Paper Smooches I Heart Art

Paper: Making Memories patterned paper (retired), white card stock, confetti paper (envelope)

Ink: Versafine Black, SU! Lucky Limeade

Accessories: sequins, We R Memory Keepers envelope punch board

it's just a number

Hey crafty friends... welcome to another Seize the Birthday challenge. We are playing around with numbers this week.  I always find numbers a bit of a challenge... not sure why. I almost find this a little too cute for me, haha. However, I am proud of myself for creating this little scene (not one of my strong suits). I ran some brown card through an embossing folder to create the tree texture, cut out the branches and then cut out a bunch of leaves for the top.

Welcome to Annie, our new Surprise Party Guest! Be sure to head over to the blog to give her and the rest of the design team some love for their numeric wonders.

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

Glenda

Card details:

29 again?

Stamps: Paper Smooches

Ink: Versafine Black

Paper: white card stock, SU! Chocolate Chip & Soft Sky, scraps of orange and green patterned paper 

Accessories: Paper Smooches speech bubble die, SU! leaf die, Copic markers, Cuttlebug Distressed Stripes embossing folder

sassy square

Can someone explain to me how it got to be the end of August?!?!? I blinked and the past two months have disappeared... summer is my favourite season and I'm hopeful that September will be warm & sunny.

It was my turn to pick the topping at Seize the Birthday this week! I love square cards but don't make nearly enough of them. I also love martinis and usually make one or two on the weekends. ;) I was actually inspired by this scrap of patterned paper first ... the idea for the martini glass came after I picked the paper.

Be sure to jump on over to the blog to give Su, our Surprise Party Guest, and the rest of the design team some love for their sassy squares.

Wishing you a terrific Thursday and have a wonderful upcoming weekend (happy long weekend to my Canadian & American friends). Thanks for stopping by.

Glenda

Card details:

Happy Birthday - 3.75"x3.75"

Stamps: Concord & 9th Perfectly Penned

Ink: Versafine Black, SU! Lucky Limeade

Paper: white card stock, SU! glossy black paper, Jillibean Soup patterned paper (retired), vellum

Accessories: Hero Arts martini die, SU! gems, EK Success corner rounder punch

beautiful butterflies

Happy Thursday crafty friends! Over at Seize the Birthday we are fluttering around with butterflies. I love it when I have an idea and it works out exactly as I expected. That's what happened with this card - I knew what I wanted for a layout and it just worked.  Alas, things don't always work out quite so well - like when my mojo failed me last week.

Be sure to flutter on over to the blog to give Su, our Surprise Party Guest, and the rest of the design team some love for their butterfly beauties.

Wishing you a terrific Thursday and have a wonderful upcoming weekend. Thanks for stopping by.

Glenda

Card details:

Happy Birthday - 5.25"x4.75"

Stamps: Hero Arts

Ink: SU! Gorgeous Grape

Paper: white card stocks, Basic Grey patterned paper, vellum

Accessories: Concord & 9th butterfly die, A Muse pearls, Martha Stewart Circle cutter

fabulous flowers

Hey crafty friends... my only question this week is how the heck did it get to be August?  Feels like July just started!  Had a great July - it's my birthday month and I was able to do a lot of celebrating with friends. 

Over at Seize the Birthday, we are doing flowers this week.  I must admit, I was having a hard time with this card.  Flowers aren't usually a problem for me... but apparently when I have to do one, they are a problem. So I stuck with clean and simple for this card.  Let's hope my mojo returns for our next challenge. (There is some Wink of Stella on the flower but it's hard to see)

Be sure to head over to the blog to give Su, our Surprise Party Guest, and the rest of the design team some love for their fantastic floral creations.

Happy August and have a wonderful upcoming weekend. Thanks for stopping by.

Glenda

Card details:

You Are Magic - 3.75x4.75"

Stamps: Catherine Pooler Wild Garden, Cathy Zielske Simple and Saucy

Ink: Versafine Black, VersaMagic Grapefruit

Paper: white and black card stock

Accessories: May Arts twine, My Favorite Things stitched rectangle die, black gem, Wink of Stella

rainbow love

Hi lovely crafty friends! Hope all is well in your world. I'm having an enjoyable and busy (but good busy) summer ... still enjoying chill time though ... exercising, seeing friends, going to the farmers market.

I love the theme for Seize the Birthday this week... rainbows. I stayed fairly CAS with this but I love how it turned out. Hope you like it too.

Be sure to head over to the blog to give Su, our Surprise Party Guest, and the rest of the design team some love for their colourful creations.

Hope you can play along with our colourful challenge this week.  Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend.

Glenda

Card details:

happy birthday - 4.25"x5.5"

Stamps: A Muse (retired)

Paper: Black, red, orange, yellow, blue, green and purple card stock

let's have drinks

Happy July friends! It is definitely my favourite month... full-on summer and birthday celebrations. Our Seize the Birthday theme this week is goes hand-in-hand with those... our topping is sunshine! Not sure why I always have a hard time with this... maybe because I don't have a lot of sun stamps. I decided to go easy on myself and use sunny paper with some cool beverages.

I want to welcome our new Surprise Party Guest, Su Mohr! Be sure to head over to the blog to give Su and the rest of the design team some love for their sunny creations.

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

Glenda

Card details:

Let's Have Drinks - 4 7/8" x 4 7/8"

Stamps: Cathy Zielske (sentiments), Paper Smooches (drinks)

Paper: white & black card stock, SU! patterned paper

Ink:Versamark Black

Accessories: Copic markers