Thursday, June 7, 2012

Enjoy the Things that Really Matter

Hello everyone!

I want to extend a big welcome and thank you to my latest followers!  I'm so very grateful for each and every one of you!  I hope everyone is having a great week so far...almost the weekend :o).  Hope you get to spend it doing something you love.

Every once in a while, I get asked to make a custom card for someone, and today I have one of these cards to share.  This is a retirement card for a lady that my MIL worked with and all the gals in her office wanted a special card for the occasion.  Here is what I came up with:
Now, I know this isn't a typical retirement card, but this lady has a little grandson and a little dog who are the centre of her universe, so I think it works really well for her.  I used my absolute favourite Edwin - Edwin with airplane from the Magnolia Princes and Princesses collection and masked it together with the log.  Since she has a small dog, I opted to mask the dog from 'Fishing Fun' by Gillian Roberts for Stampavie into the little scene.  If you are not familiar with this image, it is of a little boy fishing and the dog is snuggled up beside him.  Not the easiest of tasks, but thank goodness for my stamp-a-ma-jig!  I am very happy with how it turned out and I think the two styles work nicely together.  The images were stamped with black Stazon on 300g hot pressed watercolour paper and coloured with distress inks (frayed burlap, weathered wood, stormy sky, black soot, antique linen, pumice stone, fired brick, walnut stain, scattered straw, and peeled paint) and watercolour pencil for skin.
I decorated the inside to match the cover, but used a lighter paper for writing on.
The tag is made from Magnolia's vintage tag Doohickey and pulls out to reveal the sentiment, which I made in Word since I didn't have one that was appropriate for the occasion.  It is made using a bunch of text boxes crammed in together :).  If you click on the image, you can see the puppy's tag is very sparkly, courtesy of my clear atyou Spica pen.  I absolutely love this pen!

Other supplies:
The card and papers are all Stampin' Up, except for the striped one which was in my stash and I'm not sure from which manufacturer.   All the edges were distressed and inked with frayed burlap.
White lace and blue ribbon from my stash.  The lace on the tag is from Kaiser - it started out white, but I died it blue.  The Doily is from Little Yellow Bicycle and the flowers were all white flowers from Pretty Petals.  The rose was coloured blue with Tattered Angels glimmer mist in bubbles and then the edges were inked with DI weathered wood.  The other two were inked with weathered wood and frayed burlap.  The leaves are a Magnolia Doohickey.

I would like to enter this card in the following fun challenges:

Crafting Life's Pieces for the beautiful sketch, which I rotated and flipped
TOMIC - anything goes (and it's their first anniversary celebration!  Congratulations!!)
Magnolia Down Under - seeing double (I've doubled up on the lace, the ribbon, the leaf Doohickeys and the little blossoms)
Midweek Magnolias - anything goes

Thanks for stopping by today and thank you for taking the time to leave a comment!  I love reading them and love the chance to visit you too!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Hugs,

Dawn

20 comments:

Neline said...

What a beautiful card! I love this Edwin. Beautiful colours!
Thanks for joining us at TOMIC!
Good luck!
Neline

Jessi Fogan said...

So super cute! And from the sounds of it, perfect for the recipient :) I have a feeling you'll hear that this ends up on display for a long time at her house!

Sarah said...

A stunning card Dawn. Have a lovely weekend!

Sarah x

Craftdee said...

Oohh, this is gorgeous! Love the image combination, and all your details. Great sentiment too, I make a lot of my sentiments in Word too (once you discover the text box thing, there's no looking back, lol) and I think yours is perfect for the occasion and beautifully designed. TFS, Donna ☺

Suzi Mac said...

Wow!! Dawn, I am loving this to bits, what a fabulous male card you have created, your masking is stunning and your layout and Dp's are perfect. Thank you for joining us over at Midweek Magnolias this week with your fabulous work.
Hugs
Suzi x

Lori said...

Gorgeous card, thanks for the inspiration think I need this stamp now, thanks so much for joining our seeing double challenge this week at Magnolia Down Under!

Liz Miller said...

This is a beautiful card. I would like to pass on the Liebster Blog award to you. Details of the award can be found here.
http://craftylizscreations.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/liebster-blog.html
Liz xx

Lisa Minckler said...

It's the perfect idea for a retirement card; a reminder of what is to come...I LOVE IT!!!

Cor* said...

I love love love this stamp. I am surely going to have to buy it! OMG! how cute. The recipient will love it to pieces! Thanks for joining us at Midweek Magnolias! Best of luck to you!

Debbie Pamment said...

Oh WOW this is fabulous! LOVE your colour palette and gorgeous layout!
Thanx so much for playing with us at MDUC for our seeing double challenge!
xXx

Eulanda said...

Awww wow your coloring is just gorgeous! Nice to see Edwin being used and I love the whole scene. Also love what you did with the sketch and thanks so much for joining us this month at CLP! Hugs!

Pop's Cards said...

Hi sweetie this is really pretty great colours too, thanks for joining us at CLP Challenge this time huggles Pops x x x

Sheryl said...

Hi Dawn! It's been a real pleasure for me to browse through your lovely blog! Your work is beautiful and I'm excited about being your newest follower!
I hope that you have a great weekend!
warmest hugs, Sheryl

Pam Sparks said...

so precious! Adorable Edwin coloring and creating! lovely!

Unknown said...

Hi Dawn thank you so much for your lovely comments whilst I was away ,and again today.
What fabulous creations you have been making, since my last visit .
I love the Lantern and watering can and that fab calender with the house mouse image, super work and your cards are as stunning as ever. This card is just beautiful , I love the expression on the little dogs face . Fantastic work
Well done Hugs Elaine

Janette said...

Hi Dawn, Sorry not been round much, life gets in the way and not enough hours in the days...as I'm sure you know....
This is so gorgeous and your colouring is as fab as ever....

Do hope your keeping well and the family too, take care.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sparkly Pink Star said...

beautiful beautiful card!

Only By His Grace said...

Hi Dawn!
your card is gorgeous. I love the design and your coloring is lovely.
hugs maz

Pam Sparks said...

Your coloring is gorgeous Dawn! Just sitting here looking at it... so glad I can click and get larger! Beautiful work!

Debbie said...

What a fabulous card Dawn. Love this image...beautiful colouring.
Debbie x