Feminine Graduation Card

My sweet niece is graduating this year.  I held her the day she was born, and it just doesn't feel like very long ago.  But somehow it is.  I wanted to make a card just for her.  She truly is something special!

Pretty Pink Posh's May Release is full of fun graduation themed products, and the timing could not have been more perfect.  The first thing I used was the Layered Graduation Stencils.  I knew that my card was going to be busy, so I blended the ink colors (Cheeky & Salmon from The Stamp Market) very lightly to create a subtle background.

Next up were the mugs.  I pulled out my trusty Winter Mug dies and got to work.  Not just any mug would do for this artsy niece of mine, so I created dip dyed mugs.  I used The Stamp Market's Cheeky ink and blended with a progressively heavier hand for each masked section.  I added a touch of TSM's Salmon ink to the mug with "yay!" on it. 

Then I die cut several pieces from the Graduation Mug Additions (diploma, shooting star, numbers, graduation cap), Valentine Mug Additions (rose), and Birthday Mug Additions (balloons) to fill and surround the mugs.  I blended Cheeky and Salmon ink on some of the pieces to add a little color. 

The sentiment also came from the Graduation Mug Additions Dies.

Finally, I adhered my whole panel to the card base.  This card is large in size (closer to a 5x7), but it is so perfectly my niece.  I'm excited to give it to her. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Two-Story Birdhouse

Hello!  Hearing the birds happily sing this morning reminded me of a card I made a few weeks ago.  The end of the school year is a pretty crazy time around here, and I have several cards that I have made that I haven't had a chance yet to share.  

Pretty Pink Posh's May release included several bird and birdhouse products.  My mom loves birds, so creating with these was extra enjoyable.  One of my favorite products was the Decorative Birdhouses Dies.  I love the different shapes of houses and mix and match options.  As I was playing around, I thought "Why not do a double decker/two story birdhouse?"  And the more I thought about it, the more I loved the idea. 

I'm not a shabby chic cardmaker, but I did try to channel a bit of my inner Melissa Phillips while creating this card because shabby chic/folk art just seemed the right direction to go.  After all, I was creating a fancy birdhouse.  I started by lightly blending Pigment's Eucalyptus ink on my card base, making the card edges darker.  Then I blended Pretty Pink Posh's new Swiss Dots Stencil on top with Concord and 9th's Wheat ink. 

To create my birdhouse, I die cute the medium and large birdhouses from the Decorative Birdhouses Dies in white and kraft.  I blended Eucalyptus ink lightly onto the birdhouses to accentuate the scalloped white trim.  I also layered the rooftops and base pieces a few times, so there would be added dimension.  I added one of the doors from the Decorative Birdhouses Dies to the bottom house and opted for small circle (from the Spring Foliage Dies) for the upper level.  The stitched circle matched the stitched details in the birdhouses splendidly.  

On the bottom birdhouse I added a little flower and leaves (from the Spring Foliage and Nature Essentials Dies) to up the folk art feel.  I decided not to add a bird on my card to further highlight the "Missing You" sentiment (from the Spring Birdhouses Stamp Set).  I may be the only one who notices that little detail, but it makes me smile nonetheless.  

The last step to the card was to create a place for my birdhouse to hang.  I embossed and die cut the little circle loop in the Spring Birdhouses Stamp Set and hung it from some branches from the Spring Foliage Dies.  I mirrored the same look at the bottom of the birdhouse, but instead placed a heart in the center.  The final touch was adding a few Marshmallow pearls on the branches. 

Thanks so much for visiting!  I hope that you are having a lovely day!

Pretty Pink Posh May Blog Hop

Good morning!  Welcome to Day 2 of the Pretty Pink Posh May Release Blog Hop.  There are three $30 gift certificates up for grabs (one winner each day), and I'm so happy you are joining us!  

Graduation season is upon us, and it also happens to be a super busy time for most families (including mine) as there are many end-of-school-year activities and productions happening.  I wanted to come up with a card design that would be fun, but also quick and easily reproducible.

Graduation is certainly a cause to cue the confetti, so naturally I made a shaker card.  This simple shaker design is accomplished with the frame from the Fancy Cake Dies.  I layered the frame several times and then filled it with the new Blue Shimmer Confetti Mix.  I LOVE the new shimmer confettis!  They are so much fun!

The best thing is that this design is easily customizable to the school colors of your recipient.  Blue and gold happen to be the school colors here, which is why I chose this particular combination.  

After my shaker was filled, I die cut several graduation caps from the Graduation Mug Additions.  I adhered them on top of my shaker in alternating directions to mimic caps being tossed in the air.

Finally, I die cut the Congrats Shadow dies with gold glitter cardstock and popped it up with dimensional foam onto my card.  

Thanks so much for visiting today!  This release has a fun variety of products, so make sure that you keep hopping and commenting along the way. (Comments for the giveaway must be left by 11:59 PM PST on 5/8/2023.  Winners will be announced on the PPP blog.) I am joined by the most incredible designers today, so you won't want to miss a single stop!  Happy hopping, friends! 

PPP Blog Hop Day 2

Pretty Pink Posh blog 
Rachel Alvarado
Lindsey Larsen (you are here)
Mindy Eggen
Jeanne Jachna
Amy Rysavy
Kristie Marcotte