An October Wedding - The Bride Wore Black

Hey there, 

What?  You think this doesn't look like a typical wedding card...even bordering on inappropriate? Well, please allow me to explain.  My daughter's best friend since high school recently got married to the man of her dreams.  My daughter was extremely honored to be her Maid of Honor.  The wedding dress was chosen months ahead of time under a shroud of secrecy.   I heard from a dependable source that the dress was BLACK.  I know...scandalous!!!  Well, not really.  Not to anyone who knows the stunning bride. She and my daughter were roommates for many years and the two of them were all about anything spooky, mysterious or a little gothie.  Scary movies were regular fare for them.  They've both matured into beautiful women and contributing members of society..my daughter is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Therapist and the bride is a college history professor.   But their obsession with all things eerie still persists.  An October wedding is the perfect time to add some magical flair to the wedding festivities.

So, just because I could, I decided to make a very customized card for my beloved friend to show her I love her unique, adventurous personality. My daughter kept me appraised of her reception decor and I knew it would be fabulous! I'm obsessed with sugar skulls so it wasn't much of s stretch for me to add a glamorous cranium to my card.  The card base is a cascade card svg from Dreaming Tree and the personalized label was printed in Cricut Design Studio. My daughter informed me that this card was one of two the bride chose to display on her mantel after the wedding.  That's the joy of card making! 

This stunning dress lived in hiding at my
 house for a week before the wedding.

The cake was so gorgeous, and just look at the cute skulls
guarding it from munchers.

Formal and dignified.  No children allowed. 

Welcome, indeed. 

 I couldn't resist posting this picture of my lovely daughter to show the wedding was elegant and sophisticated, just like her.

Thanks for visiting.

Go forth and show people your unique, lovable self.  

Nancy

Playing along with:
         Crafting By Designs October Challenge
         Crafty Creations Challenge #400
         Creative Moments Challenge #178
         Little Red Wagon Challenge #518
         Watercooler Challenge #242
         Words 2 Craft By Challenge #70
         Arty Divas Challenge #6
         Through the Craft Room Door October 8 Challenge
         Steampunk Challenge
 

Anna Griffin Layered Cake - Jacket Card Die

One cannot have too large a party.

 Jane Austen - Emma

Anna Griffin die cut, designer paper, die cut flowers, pearls, rhinestones, beads.
gold leafing pen (candles)

Hey friends, 

If you asked me,  I would swear I never watch HSN, but if I'm honest, I do take a peak at their Craft Event days if I get a chance.  I can't resist checking out the new dies and stamps from Crafter's Companion and Anna Griffin.  The past couple of times I've watched, some really impressive large Anna Griffin dies have caught my eye.  I saw these Cake and Damask Jacket Card Dies and they called to me.  Well, we can't have too many birthday cards in our stash, can we?

The clever thing about this cake die is it cuts a scored wrap-around 5 x 7  base.  The insert card looks beautiful  loosely attached with a fancy ribbon, but I chose to glue the edge to my card panel to make it more secure. Wouldn't this die make some very fancy and elegant wedding invitations?

Since I was using a 12 x 12 paper pad to cut my cake layers, I decided to go for it and make several assorted cards for my stash.  I adorned my dazzling cakes with coordinating small handmade flowers, rhinestones, pearls and beads. I added one small gold layered die cut flower near the top of my cake.  I resisted the urge to add flowers everywhere like an old fashioned wedding cake because I wanted this cake to be more modern.  Okay, it's still a little fussy, but it's my brand of clean and simple. 

I had to use my Big Shot Pro die cutting machine to accommodate the large die, but it was worth it to get an A7 size card. 

I experimented with creating a shaped card by cutting the inside panel to match the cake.  It turned out to be a lot of work and didn't look as clean and precise as I like.  It's a fun option for those who don't mind some tedious fussy cutting. There must be a simpler way to do it, but I'll save that for my next set of cards. 

Thanks for visiting.

Go forth and sneak a peak at HSN when no one's looking.

Nancy 

Playing along with:

        Through the Craft Room Door - Challenge 20th August

        Get Creativve Challenge #83

        Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Challenge 112

        The Corrosive Challenge #8

        The Crafter's Castle - Challenge #20

        Creative Fingers Challenge 169

        Just Add Ink Challenge #470

        QKR Stampede - Challenge #359

        A Bit More Time to Craft - Challenge #98

        Crafts Galore Encore Challenge #66

Bridal Shower Card - Tattered Lace Bella Paper Doll

As young girls, my friend and I spent many blissful hours drawing and coloring paper dolls and  dressing them with fabulous wardrobes of our own creation. And I was over the moon when my mom twisted and pulled my hair around tiny perm rods using a stinky Tonette perm because I knew I would get to play with the Betsy McCall paper dolls that were tucked inside the box  Who would have dreamed that decades later I would still be thrilled to play with paper dolls. 

One recent Christmas I added some Tattered Lace accessory dies to my wish list and was surprised when I opened my gift to find the dies were very small. I was delighted to discover they belonged to Bella, this adorable Tattered Lace  paper doll.  Of course, I had to order beautiful Bella and her stylish wardrobe immediately.  I love dressing her up for cards of any theme. 

When I needed a bridal shower card for one of the sweetest young ladies I know, a vision of a Bella bride who looked like the bride came to mind.  I went to work creating her likeness using my copics for her dark hair and pieces from Bella's fabulous wardrobe for the wedding ensemble.  I knew the bride would choose an elegantly modest wedding dress for her church wedding  No problem there...I just borrowed a cute lacy top from another outfit and layered it under her strapless gown.  I love the way it turned out! And look at that tiara, The die is only as big as my pinky fingernail, but well worth keeping track of on my messy desk. 

For the trellis and bushes in my backdrop, I modified images from this Anna Griffin  pop up card cartridge in Design Space.   I found the vines in the Design Space image library.  The little blossoms were in my flower stash.

This cute pop up banner is from the same Anna Griffin pop up cartridge.  I used the writing feature in  Design Space for the sentiment. 

Here's a card I did for my girlie friend a while ago after we went on a camping trip together.  See? Fun!  

Sometimes the best things, like paper dolls, live on forever!

Thanks for visiting.

Go forth and create something fabulous.

Nancy

Playing along with:

        Cards in Envy

        Dream Valley Challenges

        PIP Challenge

        Fussy and Fancy Challenge

        Simply Create Too

        Crafty Friends Challenge

  

Celebrate - Elizabeth Crafts Die Cut Wedding Card

Spring is all about new beginnings...and weddings. I have been especially busy this year making cards for some of my very favorite couples.  My go to wedding gift is a gift card because I think a beautiful handmade card is the perfect "wrapping."  

I love that these gorgeous Elizabeth Crafts rose die cuts have both a base and a detail layer. I cut the base and leaves with iridescent shimmer sheets and the detail layer for the roses with metallic silver card stock.  I like using die cut sentiments because they can be placed anywhere on the card and they add beautiful dimension.  I layered two Spellbinders 5 x 7 Card Creator dies on the base card and couldn't stop myself from adding rhinestones around one of the frames. Ever have one of those moments when you just keep adding detail because you can?  Then I seriously started to rethink all the "fluff.".  Too shmancy?  Hey, it's a wedding card.  It's supposed to match the wedding dress!

Adding my card to the Stamp Ink Paper Challenge.

Thanks for visiting.
Go forth and be fabulous.
Nancy