Birthday Tags

Instead of sending a card for a Birthday Greeting how about a Birthday TAG! Or if you choose to stick with tradition, you can tie a Birthday TAG onto the gift. Yes I've been playing with TAGS again...this time for Birthdays

I found the black and white photograph at an antique store of a 1950's Birthday party with kids holding balloons. With a bit of photo editing I added an "old photo" frame. The manila shipping tag was covered with colorful birthday balloon tissue paper...I embellished it with a big glitter balloon and a few gold stars.

 This "Birthday Fairy" image is one that Suzee Que shared on a Flickr group I belong to...thanks Suzee Que! The blue Fairy Wings are for sale at my Etsy store. 

 A designer from Switzerland (I think it was Switzerland...I can't remember how I found it!) had a tag on her blog using this great technique of applying  a bit of glue to one side of the tag and laying a page from an old book on top of the glue, when the glue dries you mist it with water and remove the old page. I embellished the tag with die cut flowers, a reduced image of a vintage birthday post cart and a lot of distress ink.

I've been creating!

I have been hiding out in my "wizard's room" playing with distress ink, vintage images and glue. 

It's the time of year that I have family and friends birthdays, one after another for the next 3 1/2 months. Once I get the creativity going I don't dare stop for fear of loosing the "mojo".

When it comes to cards for "guys" I get a total design block...for some reason it's just harder to come up with ideas for the men in my life. 

I was pretty happy with the San Francisco card for my DS, could I get that lucky again for my DB?

YUP...I pulled together some "ice cream" ephemera to go along with this old photo of my uncle,as a young boy, licking  ice cream off a dasher that had just come out of a hand crank ice cream freezer. The wording in red reads "RESERVED for personal use only".

San Francisco, Birthday Cards and incense...

"I've been high...I've been low...I've been yes and I've been oh hell no...I've been rock 'n' roll and disco...Won't you save me San Francisco?"

Yes I'm singing it out loud...you might want to put your hands over your ears. 

I love this song by Train...beside being such a fun song, it' reminds me of what a fantastic place San Francisco is to visit. 

I have been trying to come up with an idea for a birthday card for my DS...who lives in SF, and here is where all these rambling thoughts come together...

 A vintage San Francisco image birthday card.

The image was printed on a transparency and burned around  the edges with incense. I layered patterned paper, printed transparency, tissue tape, distress ink, some cool braid.

So San Francisco did save me...because as we all know it's tough to come up with  guy cards. 

Baby Tags

I've been playing with TAGS again...this time it's all about the BABY.

 This cute baby boy image is from a vintage woman's magazine cover. Bits of lace, blue checked patterned paper, some Stickles (blinging up the bath water), distress ink and a blue butterfly charm

For a baby girl it's all about the PINK ... vintage baby girl card image, ribbon, Stickles, pink patterned paper, a doilie, distress ink and a pink ribbon flower.

I put the cap on the Stickles for this antique looking tag... vintage baby photo and buggy ad, ecru lace, distress ink, tissue tape, and 3 three old buttons from a button box.

Grand Opening!

It's time to make if official...

For the last 2 months I have been working on creating a Etsy store ( I know... you were wondering where I had been.)

I have the shop stocked with cards, mini albums, fairy wings, shadow box and other fancy stuff.

One of the items is a Santa Claus album...

 you did know that it's 131 days until Christmas didn't you?

Click on the Etsy shop button to see some more treasures.

Happiness is an empty cardboard box

Kitty Kitty Kitty Kitty Kitty...

 Kitty Kitty Kitty Cat...

Kitty Kitty Kitty Kitty Cat...

Kitty Kitty Kitty...Has anybody seen my Cat?

In my spare time...

Last Christmas season I gave my darling daughter a banner I had made for a design team project...you remember the one. I designed it using the
Cavallini & Co. vintage postcard wrap.

She liked it so much she still has it up. In June I decided it was time to make her a new banner she could keep up all year. My plan was to do this in my spare time...which I don't have.

DD has black and white accents in her home, I started collecting black and white patterned paper, embellishments and a bit of bling.
Sweet Wendy over at Leaky Shed Studio had given me some of their chip board die cut banner letters to spell out: H O M E. The letters have holes at the top to run a ribbon through to created the banner. I covered the letters with the black and white patterned paper, leaving the holes covered. I placed them on chip board die cut pennant shapes that I had my DD cover in the back and white patterned paper ( The only was to get this done was to make it a team effort). I had great plans to layer each pennant and letter  with tons of embellishments... in my spare time.

In the end I kept the embellishments simple...doilies, silk flowers, ribbon, gems and Stickles. 

I don't plan on going in to the banner making business, but it was fun to  work on a different kind of project with and for my DD.