Golden Oldies 50th Birthday Card

A good friend of mine turned the big 5-0 recently and I made her this card. The colors actually turned out a little different than I planned based on the supplies I found when I went to make the card. Does that ever happen to you? Please tell me I'm not the only one!

 I knew I wanted to use Golden Oldies. It might be retired, but it's perfect for these milestone birthdays. And I wanted the lady wearing purple, with a red hat, based on the poem "Warning" by Jenny Joseph. But when I went to find Designer Series Paper (DSP) with numbers, this was all I could find. I thought I had some number DSP with purple in it, but guess not. I thought it was cute to have the old lady saying, "You're how old?" It's from the stamp set, Just Sayin', and was cut with the Word Bubbles Framelits. The 50 was punched out of the DSP with a circle punch and layered on another circle.

Here's a photo of the inside, which says, "We're too young to look this old!" (from Golden Oldies). Then, I used the stamp, "Live, Laugh & Love. Happy Birthday" from On Your Birthday.

I entered this card in the Late Night Stampers Challenge 250. The theme is Celebrations. I'd say a 50th birthday is definitely a celebration!

Here's the poem "Warning" by Jenny Joseph, in case you aren't familiar with it.

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick flowers in other people's gardens
And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

TSSC 286 - Hangin' With My Gnomies

REMINDER:  Today is the last day for the 25% off 25 Stamps sale and this week's Weekly Deals.  You can get them through my Online Store.  Use hostess code: FGKJYX2E for your chance to win!!  Thank you!

I pulled out some oldies, but some goodies, for this week's Techno Stamper Sketch Challenge - Gnome Sweet Gnome and Gnomenclature.  That's because this quirky combo is perfect for the birthday card I needed.

Colors:  Pacific Point, Real Red, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, and Whisper White

Here's the inside of the card.  The message stamps are from On Your Birthday, which sadly, is also retired.  But, fortunately, Stampin' Up! has lots of great, new birthday sayings.

Here is this week's sketch.  Hope you'll use it for inspiration and then link your project to the TSSC site so we all can enjoy it.

Sketch Team Members:

Sue Root  (me)
Nicole Tugrul
Robbie Rubala
Ellen LeFevre
Tanya Bell
Carolyn Bennett
Jonia Smith
Mary Brown
Mary Jo Price-Williams (host)

 Happy Stampin', Sue

TSSC 266 Patterned Party

Here is this week's Techno Stamper Sketch Challenge Card.  It uses the retiring Stampin' Up! set, Patterned Party.  The Designer Series Paper (DSP) is Patio Party (retiring, 25% off).  Both are available through today, June 3rd, and then they'll be gone.

 Here is the inside of the card.

 Here is this week's sketch.  Why not head on over to the TSSC site and enter your project?  You can also see the samples by the other design team members.

Here's a little bonus using the same DSP and stamps as my challenge card (and also the retired set, On Your Birthday).  It's the first stair step card I've ever made.  The view is from the top so you can see each section better.  Now that I know how it goes, I think next time I'll add some more to it.

Best of...Flowers (Hydrangea)

Edit 3/12/13 - I have found out that the images in Best of Flowers are smaller than the original images.  This is good for stampers who already own the originals, because now you can have two sizes of some great flowers.  It also explains how SU can offer the set for only $14.95.  This post uses the original flower from Because I Care.  The hydrangea in Best of Flowers is smaller, but you can still see how beautiful it is.  Guess I should have waited for my set to arrive, but I was just so excited to use it :)

The other day I shared that this month's Stampin' Up anniversary set is Best of...Flowers.  This hydrangea has always been one of my favorites and I'm glad to see it return.

I colored the hydrangea with Stampin' Write markers.  The background was embossed with my Big Shot and the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder.  The corners around the flower were punched with the Scallop Trim corner punch.  And I punched out the phrase from On Your Birthday with the Modern Label punch.

Here are all three of the Best of Sets so far:

Best of Love  132987

Best of Birthdays  132929

Best of Flowers  133342

    

You can get these sets from my Online Store.  Plus, save your Proofs of Purchase because with 6 of them you can get a free stamp set.  Contact me if you want details.

Yesterday I posted my design team sample for the Late Night Stampers Challenge.  Since this week's theme is: Spring is in the air - use some of your flower stamps,  I linked this to the challenge, too.

Everyday Elegance Simply Sent Kit (several samples)

Edit 6/9/12:  I am offering a special on this kit:  get the Everyday Elegance Simply Sent Kit and felt style ink pad (choose from colors I have on hand) for only $15.95.  These items would have cost $22.19 to order.  Recommended colors for this kit:  Chocolate Chip or Soft Suede (both of which I have).

This kit is a great way to make elegant looking cards in a hurry because the base is already done for you.  It comes with 8 printed, embossed, die-cut cards, 16 self-adhesive tags, and 8 white envelopes.

 

 Here is an example of the Baja Breeze card with only one additional stamp (from the hostess set Perfect Words).  The ink is Chocolate Chip.

 This Cherry Cobbler card also has just one stamp added to the front (from the retiring set On Your Birthday).  The ink is Chocolate Chip.

 I added another stamp from On Your Birthday on the inside.  The inside of both color cards have a strip of color along the bottom (so it shows through the die cut).

 This card has only one stamp (from Teeny Tiny Wishes), but it is layered inside the Word Window and Modern Label punches.  Ink color is Baja Breeze.

 Here you can see what the stamp from Teeny Tiny Wishes looks like without being layered.  I also added a stamp from Mixed Bunch and punched it and the Pear Pizzazz behind it with the Blossom Punch.  Ink color is Baja Breeze.

 On this card I stamped the grass from the retiring set Inspired By Nature directly on the card.  Then I stamped a phrase from the same set on one of the self-adhesive tags.  I also tied Whisper White 1/4" grosgrain ribbon (retiring) around it.  Ink color is Always Artichoke.

 As you can see, stamps from many different sets will fit in the included self-adhesive tags.  So, if you are a beginning stamper, all you need is the Simply Sent kit, a stamp set and ink to make elegant looking cards.  If you are a more advanced stamper, you can kick them up a notch by adding ribbon, embellishments, more stamps, or punches.

See details about other specials on the Promotions page.