Happy Mother's Day - Times 3!

Yes, here in the U.S., Mother's Day is this weekend! Even though it's on Sunday, my brother, sister-in-law, & I are celebrating with our mom Saturday, so my brother & his wife can spend Sunday with her parents & grandmother. I made three cards total to give to our mother: one from me, one from my brother & sister-in-law, and one from our 3 cats (I call Mama their Grandma! LOL). This first one is from me.

I got my inspiration from this card that Jennifer McGuire had on her YouTube channel & blog. Debby Hughes' lesson in Online Card Classes' "Sparkle & Shine" class also provided inspiration for the background. I used Simon Says Stamp's "Leaves Background" stamp, Versamark, & Perfect Pearls to stamp the background, then stamped over it with My Favorite Things' "Romantic Script" background stamp. It's very subtle, & doesn't show up well in the photo, but it has a nice shimmer.

I used a Nellie's Choice "Straight Hearts" die to cut the window, and Simon Says Stamp's "Happy" die & Lawn Fawn's "Smitty's ABCs" for the greeting. I also stamped the "Frangipani" from Our Daily Bread Designs on watercolor paper, heat embossed with Ranger Silver Pearl powder, and watercolored the flowers with my Inktense pencils. I fussy cut the image, cutting off the leaves, then inked those with Twisted Citron & Mowed Lawn Distress inks, sprayed them with Perfect Pearls solution, and let them dry. Finally, I glued the leaves to the flower cluster, cut a piece of white cardstock the same shape, glued the flower cluster to the card front, & backed it with the white cardstock piece. I stamped "Mother's Day" in Hero Arts Ultra Pink ink, to play off the flowers, and assembled my tulle shaker card, following Jennifer's instructions.

For my second card, I took the design idea from this post that I found via Pinterest. I stamped multiple flowers & leaves on a piece of white cardstock, using Paper Smooches' "Botanicals 2" stamps & Hero Arts Lemon Yellow, Cornflower, Lime Green & Bubble Gum; and Lawn Fawn Wild Rose & Fresh Lavender inks. I used Colorbox Putty ink to stamp some of the flowers & leaves, just as a "placeholder." After cutting the first part of my greeting with Winnie & Walter's "Happy" die, I applied adhesive with my Zig 2-way glue pen to the Putty-colored images. I let that dry so it was tacky, then foiled them with various colors of Heidi Swapp foil. Again, the photo doesn't do it justice, but it has a nice shine in real life!

After die cutting a frame from an A2 size white cardstock panel with a Taylored Expressions' "Frame in Frame" die, I used my laser printer to print "Mother's Day" on the center portion. I then foiled that with Rose Gold Heidi Swapp foil & my mini Minc machine. I added white craft foam to the back of the "happy" & the frame, then adhered everything to my A2 card base.

This third card is from our cats. I thought the bird patterned paper, from Crate Paper's "Bloom" 6x6" pad was particularly cute for a cat card! I used these instructions to guide me in completing this card. I used 2 of the "Straight Hearts" dies for the window. For the heart on the belly band, I die cut one that was a little smaller than the window, printed "Happy Mother's Day" on it with my laser printer, and foiled it with Heidi Swapp Mint foil & my Minc. I adhered that to a piece of teal cardstock, & used my scissors to cut a small border.

For the card base, I inked a piece of Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper with Cracked Pistachio, Evergreen Bough, & Pine Needles Distress inks to create an ombre. Then I stamped My Favorite Things' "Romantic Script" background stamp in Hero Arts Soft Granite ink over both sides. I don't know really why I chose that particular stamp, since this is a not-so-elegant cat card, but I just wanted a little extra visual texture & interest.

I stamped Rubbernecker Stamps' "Cat on Yarn Basket" image onto another panel of bristol paper. I colored it with my Tombow markers, using a water brush to blend the color on the cat & basket. We actually don't currently have a black cat, but I thought that would be a nice compromise, rather than trying to decide which of our cats would be featured. I did go over the eyes & mouth with a black marker, and added white gel pen detailing for the whiskers, just to make them pop more. Then I adhered that inside my card. Finally, I printed my greeting (created in Photoshop) onto a piece of pink cardstock, & adhered it to the bristol panel, so it would be below the window in the card front.

I'm entering my cards in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Work It Wednesday: "April Showers Bring May Flowers" (first card only)
Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes" (cat card only)
Pile It On #130: "Animal" (cat card only)
Die Cut Divas: "May Flowers" (first 2 cards only)