Joy and Smiles

ETA:  Thank you so much to the lovely Friday Mashup crew, who made me a "Glamette" with this card entered into their weekly challenge last week!

It's another gray and kind of gloomy day here in Sherwood but I have something to brighten things up - a card I made for Mojo Monday (http://mojomonday.blogspot.com/) and Friday Mashup (http://www.fridaymashup.com/).

The moment I saw this sketch last Monday I knew I wanted to use the chalkboard technique.  I know it's all over the Internet these days but I've only made one other card with it.

Before I had a chance to finish my card, which was put together over snippets of time in the evening after work, I saw that the Friday Mashup challenge this week was to use the chalkboard technique and mash it up by using two different stamp sets.  Perfect!

A Papertrey Ink Stylish Sentiments-Birthday stamp was exactly what I wanted for this space and technique.  Rather than heat emboss, it was just inked up with Fresh Snow Hybrid ink and stamped on the black card stock.  The embellishments on the other side are from Kindness Matters.  A sponge dauber was used to add the "chalk dust".

Isn't that the sweetest sentiment?  I'm sure I will be using it and all the other sentiments in this set frequently for my birthday cards.  Several are "stacked" like this one, plus they have fun and varied fonts.

The Print Poetry butterfly was made with the Bitty Butterfly punch, then placed on top of the larger butterfly made of Primrose Petals Coordinations card stock, punched with the Elegant Butterfly punch, then sanded to give it a bit of a distress look.

The Raspberry Ripple Stitched Satin ribbon is a marvel to work with.  It ties so nicely, doesn't seem to ravel too easily and is to soft to the touch.

The other reason today is rather gloomy for me (on top of our typical rainy winter/spring weather) is that my only sister is moving back to Southern Oregon, where she lived for a long time before moving up to Portland a few years ago.  It was so nice to be able to pop by her house on a moments notice or meet up frequently at Stampin' Up card parties.  Now she'll be a few hours south.  But it is a happy thing for her, with most of the rest of her family, plus her huge circle of friends, living there.  I'll just have to start putting more miles on my car and go visit!

Thank you so much for dropping by today.  I love to hear from you, so if you have time, please leave a comment.

Hugs,

Stef


All Products are from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted:
Stamps:  Stylish Sentiments - Birthday (PTI), Kindness Matters
Paper:  Basic Black, Whisper White, Raspberry Ripple, Primrose Petals Coordinations, Print Poetry dp
Ink:  Fresh Snow Hybrid (PTI)
Accessories:  Elegant and Bitty Butterfly punches, 1 1/4" and 7/8" Scallop Circle punches, Wallpaper ef, Raspberry Stitched Satin Ribbon, Basic Pearls.