The Birds and the Bees (and Butterflies, too)

I was on the hunt. It was my husband's grandmother's 90th birthday, and I was going to make a very special card for her. So I was frantically searching for that "perfect" piece- something that would work great... for a woman who is totally sweet, but I have seen her three times in my life, and don't know much about her- except that she liked birds. 

 

No offense to you old ladies out there, but there's just something about glittery birds and butterflies that makes me think of some of the sweet older ladies I know. So I came across this set of water colored, glittery butterfly and bird sticker set (K & Company), and I thought, "hey, I can make a bunch of cards out of that" and so I did. 

I wish I would have photographed the card I made for grandmother- it was pretty-  bird with a sunflower in its beak, and I thought- sunflower, Kansas- perfect- score!

 

 This first one I liked because the metallic teal background really makes the butterfly pop off the front of the card, and I liked how the butterfly sort of invades the space of the sentiment- like it's resting there in approval of the greeting. 

Here are some others I made from the set:

This one is intentionally simple because I designed it for my dear, no nonsense friend, Edith, who is a bit of pioneer woman, yet elegant, so I think it suits her rather well. 

Ah yes, another butterfly. I like the simplicity of this one as well. The sticker itself is pretty flashy, so I thought a subtle pattern along the back, with just a little shine would work well. 

This one is for my aunt. She has red hair, and I can't seem to avoid using copper whenever I make cards for her. This gorgeous red copper embossed paper was the exact color of the wire on the butterfly, and I do like to match!

Side note: I put a tiny bumblebee sticker on this inside of the card,which tied the outside with the inside, and that is something I'd like to do more. I'm usually out of time working on the outside of the card to finish decorating the inside or the envelope, but I really enjoy decorating the whole thing when I can... I think I liked this one the best of the series...

I still have several more stickers left yet, and would like to make a card using each one! Have you ever made a series of cards using a sticker set or some other common element? I'd love to hear from you!

The Modern Birthday card- repurposed

My dear, sweet sister-in-law is the easiest person to make cards for. I know what colors she likes, and I know what her style is- kind of a uber chic anthropolgie-loving hipster. And so when I received a thank you card on this gorgeous floral letterpress paper, I knew exactly who to re-purpose it for!

But it was too small for what I had in mind, so I found this awesome plastic finished paper, it needed just a little texture, and since I've been seeing so many polka dots these days (fashion-wise, that is), it seemed like the perfect fit for my very fashionable S-I-L. But me, being the high maintenance girl that I am, I needed something shiny, and I came across this beautiful metallic taupe that worked great with the colors of the focal paper. And to top it all off, I took my trusty Martha Stewart Happy Birthday punch (which I use endlessly) and I cut the sentiment in half, and glued  the top line portion along the polka-dotted portion so that you only saw the words and made it seemingly float... It seemed more modern and didn't compete with the space of the card. I can't believe it, but I forgot to photograph the inside of the card, which contained the other half of the punch (which is "birthday" in case you are wondering).

At any rate, I had a lot of fun with this card, and I like re-purposing cards. I'd love to see what you're doing with re-purposing, or if you like constructing modern, simple cards!

Well, I am off to a stamp show here in Albuquerque, so I hope to return with tons of ideas and inspiration!