Masculine Birthday Trio

I think masculine birthday cards are the most difficult to make. Unless I am adding an image that has to do with sports or a male hobby, it's a bit tricky for me. And I kind of steer away from those images unless I know for a fact the intended recipient is really into that sport/theme.

So when coming up with a general card with a masculine feel, I'm still not great with the options. Most of the time, I pick a design and recreate it in different colors. That's exactly what I did here. I made the same card three times, only changing the colors.

The stamp is by Stampin' Up! from the Alphabet Soup set (which I don't believe is available any longer) The other materials are various from my stash.

Here's one final picture of the three together. 

The only problem here...I'm not sure which one I like the most. Which one is your favorite?

Sweet Birthday Wishes

Today I have two cards to share. I often pick a stamp or a card layout and make more than one similar card with variations. In this case, though I was using the same stamp, the cards look completely different. 

Both cards use the large cupcake stamp by Inkadinkado. The sentiment for the first card is by Studio G. The patterned paper is by DCWV and was the inspiration for the color scheme. The ribbon and jewel were in my stash, so I'm not sure where they came from, but the ribbon most likely came from Michael's. The little flower is Heidi Grace Designs with a small brad added to the center. I used the Polka Dots embossing folder for the background.  

I don't have any of the fancy Copic Markers...just haven't made the investment yet. So I color with other markers and colored pencils. The problem with colored pencils is that you can see the pencil strokes. But I saw a great tip on Pinterest where you take a cotton swab dipped in some rubbing alcohol and rub it over your colored image. I gave it a try and I am very pleased with the results! It really did blend my pencil strokes for the most part and it's not so obvious I used colored pencils! I'll be using this technique a lot...until one day I make that investment for the "good" markers! :)

For the second card the sentiment is also from Inkadinkado. No clue who the paper is by...like most of the paper in my stash! And again, the ribbon is probably from Michael's. On this cupcake, I used Studio G glitter glue to highlight the sprinkles, and a small gem for the "cherry" on top. 

There is a similar card buried deep in my files that I saved forever ago where I drew my inspiration. I wish I knew who the original card belonged to so I could give credit, but I saved it long before I knew to keep up with that sort of thing. But to whoever designed the original card...thank you for your inspiration!

Thank You Monkey

I made this set of thank you cards for my same friend I mentioned yesterday. This was just a small part of her gift. I always try to include a set of handmade thank you cards when I buy a gift for a baby or bridal shower. What's more practical than that? And I love it when I know the recipient actually uses them, because they send one to me! (Then I have one I get to keep!)

I kept these SUPER simple using a stamp from the same set by Stampabilities. When I was making these, my daughter pointed out that this little guy was the same one that was used on the background paper of the invitation to the shower that we had received. Bonus!

Welcome Little One

This was a fun card to make. I have a sweet friend who is expecting her first baby - a boy. The nursery is so adorable decked out in monkeys, including an awesome mural painted by her sister. Her shower had a monkey theme as well, so the card I made her HAD to include a monkey.

I think this little guy is so adorable. The stamp is by Stampabilities. The sentiment is by Studio G and is foam mounted for a little lift.

Your Germs are Irresistable!

If that made you sing a certain Robert Palmer song, then great minds think alike! :)

I love this get well card. This Dudley Dragon image is too cute. It is a pre-colored digital stamp from Dustin Pike. He has quite a few Dudley designs, and I think the are all adorable! I can't remember where I found the sentiment though. I THINK it came from Ginger's House, but I'm not sure. (She has LOTS of awesome word art!) I have searched and searched my files and can't find it, so again, if anyone sees this who knows where it came from, let me know so I can give proper credit!

The inside of this card says "Get Well Soon."

I'm Sorry

No, I didn't forget I had a blog, even though it would seem that way. I've always struggled a little with balancing all the pieces of my busy life. Unfortunately, my creative side is what gets put on the back burner more often than not so I can take care of everything else! That's something I plan to work on this year.

I've recently "acquired" a new craft room. We have a storage building out back which housed my husband's office. He is no longer using that office and told me quite some time ago that I could have the space. I didn't think I wanted it at first...I liked the convenience of having everything inside my house so I could create whenever the urge hit. The problem with that was, with it being in the middle of everything (it was my dining area space), that I had a difficult time keeping it organized and there were always other things going on in the same space. This made it difficult to walk away from a project that wasn't completed yet. Leaving things out meant things were going to get messed up.

So, I finally decided to accept his offer and move all my craft supplies. I cleaned out the office, repainted it and moved all my things in. It isn't a large room, but it's a great work space. I will eventually post pictures, but I still have several details to take care of in there first.

Now that I have this space, my daughter and I make time to go out and "play" as often as possible. Turns out, it isn't all that inconvenient going out there after all! I'll actually be "scheduling" time to go out and "work" now. Hopefully I'll get better about blogging my creations as well. Maybe this will be the year my business gets closer to the direction I want it to go!

Anyway, here's a cute little card I made. Perfect way to say I'm sorry for just about anything. I had forgetting a birthday in mind when I made this, but really it could be an apology card for any reason at all.

I think this little guy is so cute with his big sad eyes.

I'm aggravated that I can't find who to give credit to for this digital stamp. I keep all my digital stamps in folders with the owner's name, but I can't find this one now! I printed it out a while back, so I think the image is actually stored on my external hard drive and that's why I can't find it on this computer. I also can't figure out what I did with my hard drive during my massive cleaning/organizing project. I know it must be somewhere in my house, but I haven't found it yet. As soon as I do, I will look this image up so I can credit it properly. Meanwhile, if someone reads this who knows who this image belongs to, PLEASE let me know! I found my hard drive! The stamp came from Beccy's Place and you can get him free here!

UPDATED: I am entering this card in the January challenge over at Beccy's here. This is the first challenge of any kind I've participated in a VERY long time! I figured it was a great way to start out the new year!!!