Sizzix Chair Die Birthday Cards

Good morning from Michigan where spring is trying to force winter into submission. Please cheer for her.

I bought a new Sizzix die last month, not realizing I needed the Horizontal A2 Card Die (# 657802) for this insert die to work. I have a Movers & Shakers Die that I thought would work. Wrong. My wallet's loss is Sizzix's gain as I really, really wanted to use my new purchase, Sizzix Pop 'n Cuts Magnetic Insert Die, # 658370 3-D Chair.

I've made two birthday cards so far with this die. I'm envisioning all sorts of embellishments that will make this chair perfect for various people in my life.

First, a card for a woman who is exactly 6 months younger than I am. We've declared ourselves twins. Wouldn't that have been a horrible delivery for one mother?

I kept the face of the card simple. On the inside, I used striped paper to make wallpaper. The framed photos on the wall are her dear grandson and the two of us at a birthday celebration years ago. Resizing and adding the frames were done with a free online graphics program, Online-image-editor.com .

The book on the chair and the margarita were both printed from online images. I considered adding some depth (thickness) the book but was afraid the chair wouldn't fold properly as the card closed. The margarita is attached to a clear piece of plastic that folds down as the card closes. I added a handwritten sentiment after taking pictures of the card.

Next was the same basic card, this time for my sewing buddy.

I didn't have photos to frame for the interior so I added the Happy Birthday (a Martha Stewart punch) to the inside of the card. The bow on the front was made from Sizzix die # 658541 with a piece of actual ribbon for the knot.

My sewing buddy is also a reader, so she got a book too. A Viking sewing machine may have been more appropriate for her, but a sewing basket looked cuter sitting on the floor. She got a cup of tea on the arm of her chair.

This view is a little more of an overhead shot. The basket and teacup are in place with small piece of folded card stock holding them upright but easy to fold down as the card folds to fit within an envelope.

Both cards made it through the mail without extra postage. For a card that I hand deliver I will probably add more items that personalize the interior for the recipient.

Three days of birthday celebrations

Three days of birthday celebrations can age a person!  The Prince of Sweetness (more commonly known as my grandson) turned 4 last Thursday. Daddy's birthday was the following day (he is almost my age now!) and Saturday was the Super Hero party that Mommy and Daddy hosted for the Prince's relatives and friends.

On his actual birthday, Papa and Gigi tagged along as his parents took him to Chuck E. Cheese's for lunch. Going there mid-day on a school day was wonderful. I think there were only three other families there. The Prince had fun and we left with our hearing intact.

The simple joys of being four...getting prize tickets is as much fun as playing the game!

Daddy's birthday was much more subdued, partly because Mommy and Daddy were so busy prepping for the party. Daddy did get a handmade card with his gift from us that day. I was itching to use my newest Sizzix die which is officially called Picture Wheel, but known by many as the View Master die.

I used an image found online of a View Master sleeve, added a birthday greeting, printed it and glued it to sleeve (jacket? pocket?) that I made. The picture wheel held 12 photos. I chose photos from my son's early years, with his buddies, his wedding and with his son. In case anyone is interested, I sized the photos and printed them from a Word document. Some printing quality is lost, but I don't expect this to be used as a printed photo would. After cropping photos to get faces as focal points, I sized the photos to be .6 inches wide.

Saturday was the party, a huge success due to my son and daughter-in-law's planning and hosting abilities.

I love the cardboard cupcake tower. Perfect backdrop for Super Heroes, especially Batman (on the cake) but I think this would look good at Halloween too, maybe with some spidery webbing going on.

Captain America with his mask on top of his head. 

I don't care what your hair stylist says, you simply cannot get this color out of a bottle. Meet my daughter-in-law, Wonder Woman. 

I don't have photos of Papa and Gigi in our Super attire yet, much to Papa's relief. I made these as over-sized bibs that button behind the neck. The felt is heavy weight craft felt, leftover from the play house project. We have two couches in our house, the one in the living room being "Papa's couch" according to our grandson. Same thing with the remote out there. If he comes over and I'm on that couch, he asks me why I am sitting on Papa's couch. That is how I determined the logo(s) for Super Papa. Super Gigi got a ball of yarn and some bling, because one can never have too much sparkle. 

Super Gigi Pucker Pickle Puss with a $1 tiara from a craft store and eyeglass adornment made from sparkly craft paper, held on with thin ribbon and a bit of two-way tape.

No offense HRH Queen Elizabeth, but I really rule!

Showering a bride with cash

I am going to a bridal shower this afternoon that is a little unusual for me. The invitation stated that this is a Gift Card Shower. The couple has an established home with all the usual items a bride often places on her registry. These two people are much loved and the host of the shower wanted to do something special for them and knew the guests would feel the same way.

Having said all that, the idea of the shower didn't bother me but how would I present the gift card creatively? Presentation means a lot to me. Two other guests and I pooled our resources and discussed which gift cards we should purchase. None of the usual gift cards were exciting us and we began thinking that cash is always good since it can obviously be used for anything from a utility bill to groceries or maybe an evening out.

With the decision of cash as a gift, we were back to presentation. A check in a card? No. Cash in a card? Nope, not that either. Well....it is a shower....why not an umbrella? Not an ordinary one, a special umbrella that opens up to rain cash!

I broke up the total amount into denominations of bills from ones to twenties. I tied ribbons to the spokes of the umbrella and experimented to find a length that would have the bills exposed when the umbrella was closed. Even with short ribbons, I had to tuck the money inside, but that was ok.

On the first bill I used a glue dot (scrapbookers and card makers will know what these are) but that was very sticky and I thought peeling the cash off might be a problem. Next I tried removable tape. Opening and closing the umbrella a few times showed that wasn't sticky enough. Just like Goldilocks, the third attempt was just right. I used Scotch tape.

Here is the finished umbrella, raining cash:

And closed, with a hang tag that says "Open Me!"

On the inside of a card, I used an old Sizzix umbrella die.

Christmas cards (and a cowboy vest)

I started card making too late in the season to make cards for everyone on my list this year, but hopefully that won't be the case this coming December. I did make a dozen or so of one card this year, and two of another style.

The first card used Tim Holtz Sizzix SNOW FLURRIES & SNOWMAN Texture Fades Embossing Folders 656944 for the white background (the snowflake folder) and the candy cane is from Sizzix Sizzlits Die Set 3PK - Christmas Set #6 (655522)

The candy canes were colored with Copic markers and embellished with a bit of Stickles glitter glue.

I really enjoy coloring, so the time spent on these was not a problem.

The other cards were made for my once-a-month dinner buddies. The Santa is Sizzix Die 380233.

The white glitter paper was from two different sources and weren't the same white, so Santa's beard and eyebrows were cut from one, the hat trim and his mustache from another.

Reversing the images wasn't planned...that was an oops when it came to cutting the glitter paper.

There isn't much to say about the cowboy vest I made for my grandson, so I am just tossing that in here with the cards. I used felt that I bought when making the play house which made the project super easy. No lining, no stabilizing, no hemming and no finishing seams!

The Prince of Sweetness showed no interest in it Christmas morning, but then again, what little boy cares about clothes when there are presents to open and one of them is a horse!



Time to saddle up my imaginary horse (it has short legs which is good since I am afraid of heights!) and get busy on a new craft.