Sunday, January 30, 2011

Dr. Seuss Themed Baby Shower!

**Edited to add update - February 8, 2012 ** It has been brought to my attention that the website referenced below where I found the clip art used for these invitations no longer has it posted.   


I'm so excited to be able to share these with you!  It has taken me a couple of weekends to get these right but I am finally happy with them.  This is a first for me - a Dr. Seuss themed baby shower!

Thanks to the Sacred Heart School website, I was able to get the perfect clipart image.  After a little photo-shopping, the Cat in the Hat was the perfect size for the 5 x 7 cards (cut from Bazzill card stock - Blue Calypso).  Using Cricut Design Studio, I welded "a baby shower" using the Mickey Font cartridge.  The red circles are also Bazzill cardstock (Painted Desert)  cut with SB circle nestie and I popped up the centers (which are computer-generated). The shower details are also computer-generated and I used home publishing software to match the colors, font, polka dot background, to the rest of the invitation. 

The Mommy-to-be wanted each shower guest to bring a book for the baby so I wrote the following poem to convey her request:

"There is lots of excitement as time grows near;
  for soon baby Liam will be here!
There has been a lot of preparation and things to ready,
  from painting the nursery to fluffing the teddy.
But there is something specific Mommy wants for her son;
  a library, you see, made up of books from everyone!
Yes, books are what is requested.
 There is no particular one.
Books for baby Liam!  Oh! What Fun!
Books about animals and creatures from other lands;
  books about adventures and kingdoms so grand.
Books about sailing or about the sun, moon, and stars! 
Books about pirates or wizards or czars!
The choices are endless and possibilities abound! 
There are books about all kinds of things and wonders to be found.
So please choose a book with baby Liam in mind, 
and join in the celebration on this day and at this time:
February 19, 2011 at 2 o'clock pm!
And to Mommy-to-be we will give books with pleasure. 
She will place them in a library for baby to treasure!"

I made address labels and seals for each envelope also.  All-in-all I made 50 invitations.  Each Cat in the Hat had to be hand-cut and this was the most time-consuming thing about these.  But once I saw how cute it loooked, I knew I wouldn't be happy with anything less.  I also made a little card for the Mommy-to-be to include in the box of invites:
This is a Whippersnappers rubber stamp, JY806 Bella (with the bow masked off) colored with copics and topped with the hat cut from one the of seals.  He's mounted on a circle of the same cardstock used in the invites.  The "congratulations" is a Clearly Wordsworth acrylic stamp.

Finally, I wanted to crank in a pic of my work table during the making of these.  I actually pulled an all-nighter to get them finished.  A fully-stocked Keurig combined with the Saturday night line up of programming on the Bio channel, Celebrity Ghost Stories and My Ghost Story -- lots and lots of ghost stories-- I hardly missed sleep - ha! ha! :)


Hope you all have a wonderful week! <3 Lisa

Friday, January 28, 2011

*Custom Digital Stamps from A Day For Daisies*

I am so excited to share this post with you today!   The ADFD design team was given a very unique opportunity -- to have a custom image created from a personal photo.  I chose this one of my daughter, Jenna.  She is all dolled up and ready for her senior prom.  She was just sitting back, waiting for her date, and I snapped this pic.  I sent a scanned copy of it to Tammy, the artist behind A Day For Daisies,  and from there, she created the digital image, "Roses are Red," featured on the card below.  How amazing is that!?
I printed the image three times.  Using one of the copies, I colored the dress with copics (R20, R21, and R22) and cut it out.  When the ink dried, I used an acrylic stamp with a damask print (a $1 Studio G one!), Boss Gloss and Ranger embossing powder to create the look of the beading that was on the original gown.  I colored the background and Jenna from another image and layered on the dress.  Then, using the last copy, I colored and cut out the roses on the dress and layered them as well.  The background is a CB embossing folder.

Jenna was so surprised and delighted when she saw her card!  Tammy captured the essence of the dress and how Jenna felt in it - such a precious and unique keepsake for both Jen and I!  Plus, I'm going to use the image when I scrapbook the rest of the prom pictures.

So here is the exciting part! The Custom Photo Stamp service will be offered starting today at A Day For Daisies!  There is a special promotion going on also.  If you purchase a custom photo stamp, you will receive a $5 coupon to use in the store!  My niece is graduating high school this June and I am already looking through her photos to do this for her.  

Have a lovely Friday!  <3 Lisa

Friday, January 21, 2011

New Releases and a New Challenge at A Day For Daisies!

Oh my goodness am I glad it's Friday! I am working on baby shower invitations and Whew!  there's a lot of them.  They seem to be taking a lot more time than I thought.  *BUT* hopefully I will be able to share them with you soon :)

I have a couple of cards for you today.  Friday means new releases at A Day For Daisies and this week a new challenge begins as well.   The new images are absolutely darling!  They are all different little fairies. EEEeee!  I love fairies :)   I used "Dandelion Delivery" for my card.  I got these wonderful printed papers (by Memory Box) for Christmas and I *love* the patterns.  I used some to paper-piece my little fairy's dress, her butterfly, and the edge of the card.  The rest of the image is colored with copics.  I printed the sentiment from my computer onto (pinkini) Bazzill cardstock and the card is Bazzill also.

Next is a card I made for the new challenge.  The theme is, "Organic Soul."  You are asked to create a card using something organic.  Pressed leaves on trees, dried flowers in flowing hair, a sandy beach or homemade paper, anything that inspires you!  I am sure you will not find it hard to be inspired by the beautiful world around us.  I used A Day For Daisies image, "Wild Bird."  It is colored with copics but the background was done with chalks.  I found the dried flowers and twigs at the craft store.  This was a fun challenge!  I hope you will give it a try. For more ideas and inspiration for this challenge, please check out the other design team members projects (their links are on the side of my blog).  Have a lovely weekend!!  <3 Lisa

Friday, January 14, 2011

I Do Believe In Fairies

Hi Friends!  Yippee for Friday :)  I wanted to share this wall hanging I made using some of the new release images from A Day For Daisies (available here.)  I used Fairy Dress images 4, 5, and 7 and paper pieced vellum and other special papers and some paper flowers and lots of fairy dust (Stickles star dust!).  The frame is an acrylic box frame from Michaels ($1.99!).  I've included a pic of it hanging on the wall too :)  Have a lovely weekend! <3 Lisa

Friday, January 7, 2011

Tiny Music Box Dancer

*This is the second post for today so if you are looking for info about the new challenge at A Day For Daisies, please scroll down.*
The new releases from A Day For Daisies this week are all ballerinas and they are gorgeous! I used "jewelry box ballerina" for my card. I couldn't get Frank Mills' Music Box Dancer (listen here) out of my head so that's what I decided to call her.

I colored the image with copics. The ballet slippers got a layer of Liquid Pearls in petal pink. To give her tutu dimension, I layered vellum beneath. I used Bazzill cardstock in Tutu Pink to create 5" x 7" card but cut an additional 3" off the card front to add the pleated vellum skirting. Of course I couldn't imagine making a ballerina card without pink ribbon ;) so I finished it off with two big satin bows.

A Day For Daisies Challenge #9 - A Fresh Coat of Paint!

It's time for a new challenge at A Day for Daisies!  The theme is "A Fresh Coat of Paint!"  A new year and a clean slate, let’s give our cards  a fresh coat of paint!  Get away from last year’s colored pencils and markers and dip our brushes into wet, fabulous paint!  Try something new!  When I first read the challenge rules, the words that struck the deepest chord was "try something new." 
I decided to try a different type of craft along with the paint! I used A Day For Daisies curly poppy images A, B, and C. Find them HERE! I used poly shrink plastic for the charms and Marvy Uchida acrylic paint pens.  I loved the pens but the nibs were too broad for my little charms so I used a script/liner paint brush to trace and paint the images onto the shrink plastic.  This bracelet is special to me.  I chose poppy images because my craft room is decorated with them.  The small red seed beads came from my Grandma.  She was going through her things and found a stash of beads, ribbon, and other crafty items so she boxed them up and sent them to me.  It was a wonderful surprise and it was so fun to look through those little treasures!  The green beads are Jolee's crystals and green is the accent color in my craft room.

I will be back in a little bit with a new release image from A Day For Daisies!

Monday, January 3, 2011

New Beginning!

Hello Everyone and Wow! 2011! Happy New Year!  I'm hoping that how one brings in the new year has no bearing on how the year will go!  Please tell me that's an old wives' tale! ;)  My husband and I  kicked it off with bad colds :(  On NYE, we toasted each other with NightQuil and groggily woke at midnight in our cold medicine-induced stupors when the neighbors set off their fireworks *giggle*!  Oh well, at least there were fireworks - Ha!  :D

So, I thought this card was perfect for beginning a fresh new year!  The precious image is a new release from Doodle Pantry - You can find it here:  Baby Horse.  I colored it with copics and I used some flower soft (adhered to wire) to pop some of the flowers behind the little foal.  I made the card myself from Bazzill cardstock and although I try to be so careful to keep samples/color names of each Bazzill color I use, I did not keep one of this yellow.  Jenna's favorite color is yellow but this particular shade is too light for her liking and I guess that's how it slipped by me to keep the name!  I used an MS edge punch, along with my Scor It All on the yellow layer and then added a piece of CB embossed (polka dots) Bazzill white cardstock.  The gingham bows are from MS as are the lavender adhesive gems.  The sentiment is a rub-on from DCWV sentiments for cards stack.  It says, "a new baby is like the beginning of all things:  wonder, hope, and a dream of possibilities."  Oh I just love that!  How perfect is that for kicking off a new year!? 

Best wishes to you all for a happy (and healthy) New Year! <3 Lisa