Cards for all occasions...

Happy Tuesday, friends! I thought I'd post some cards that I've made recently. There has been a lot going on here lately, with friends finding out the sex of their baby, dogs crossing over to the other side and family totally spoiling my girls. :) Here are the cards I made for those occasions.

The first card I made for my aunt, who came in town for my daughter's 5th birthday and spoiled the heck out of her (not necessarily a bad thing). :)

I used Authentique's Free Bird Series in Delight because the colors are vibrant and pretty. I also used a little twine to add a little more dimension to the card. I thought this would be the perfect card to say thank you to my auntie, who has managed to have a presence in my girls' lives even though she lives 2,000 miles away. I love her for that.

This next card I made for my brother, who had to put his German Shepard down this morning.

His dog, Divitt, is the only thing he's been loyal to for the past 7 years. Unfortunately, Divitt developed cancer in his leg and the tumor has been growing rapidly for the past few months. We had to put our dog down - who just happened to be my brother's as well, but we gained custody of him when we got married - a few years ago, so I know the pain of losing a pet.

This last card is for my bestie and her husband and has a double meaning. They recently found out the sex of their baby and the husband just got his first job after law school (after looking for a job forEVER).

They found out they're having a boy so I used predominantly masculine colors, but also used papers with mixed colors to liven it up a bit. I'm excited for my friend and her hubby as they venture into this new world of babies and new jobs.

Don't forget about my giveaway!! Until next time...

It's time for the Authentique Paper/Unity Stamp Co. Blog Hop!!

Welcome everyone!! I am so thrilled to be a part of this fun blog hop! If this is the first you're hearing of it, head back to Authentique Paper's blog to get started! Here is the line up in case you get lost along the way:

Authentique Paper
Tifany DeGough
Maria Gurnsey
Misty Buck
Lisa Arana
Cristine Redmond <-- You are here!!
Christi Snow
Brenda Smith
Eva Dobilas
Jeannie DeGruccio
Lisa Henke
Natalie Dever
Unity Stamp Company

Don't forget to leave a comment because there will be some FABULOUS prizes!! Authentique is giving away two collection packs (one each for two winners), including a sampling of papers from EACH of the first 6 Authentique Paper collections AND a sampling of the amazing Free Bird Series. Unity Stamp Co. is also giving away two prize packs (one each for two winners), including the COMPLETE SET of Unity/Authentique co-brand stamps!! Holy fantastic prizes!!

Let's get this party started, shall we?! I had the opportunity to work with a couple versatile stamp sets to make these two cards. I love that the Unity/Authentique stamps come in sets that can be used together or separately.

For my first card, I used the Family is FOREVER set:

I loved the cute little line of birds in this set. It could be used for anything...from a get well card to a sympathy card. This card is a birthday card for someone special (don't want to say who in case she's reading this!) and I stamped the sentiment on the inside. The papers I used are from the Free Bird Series - Warmth collection.

For my next card, I used the Born an Original stamps:

I love this beautiful rose stamp. I decided to use an apple-colored ink to go with the Free Bird Delight papers I chose for the card, to make it bright and cheery. (Side note: If you don't have any of the Free Bird Series and you are a card maker, you NEED to go get some! What I love about these papers is that they are 6x6 sheets of paper either sold loose or in pads. And the paper is TEXTURED!! So not only do you not have to cut into a gorgeous sheet of 12x12 paper to make a card, you still get the same quality paper as if you were!)

Thank you for stopping by! As I mentioned before, be sure to leave a comment to be in the running for some amazing prizes! Leave a comment on each blog along the hop as winners will be randomly chosen from all of the blogs involved in the hop. Blog comments close Monday, October 10th at 11:59pm (Pacific) and winners will be announced Wednesday, October 12th on the Authentique Paper and Unity Stamp Co. blogs. {Winner MUST have a US or Canadian address to win.}

Next stop on the hop is Christi Snow!








Supplies:

Authentique: Free Bird Series - Warmth and Delight

Unity Stamp Co.: Authentique Paper - Born an Original and Family is FOREVER stamp sets

Other: twine - The Twinery ribbon

Authentique Sketch Challenge

Hello everyone! Today over on the Authentique blog, October's sketch challenge has been posted! Since I created a layout for September's challenge, I decided to tackle the card sketch this month.

Here is the sketch:


And here is the card I created:


When I saw this month's card sketch, I knew it would work perfectly for a card I needed to make for one of our nephew's upcoming 3rd birthday. I used papers from the Endless line, a part of Authentique's new Free Bird Series. This line is filled with gorgeous oranges, teals, dark blues and browns. PERFECT for a card for a little boy!


I thought it would be cute to highlight our nephew's upcoming age on the numbered paper with a couple shapes I cut out with my Silhouette (on "b" sides of Endless papers). I also accented the area with a cute little star, cut out of another paper from the Endless line.


I thought I'd grunge up the banner, to make it a little more like our rough and tumble nephew. I think it turned out pretty cute. :)

Be sure to check out the Authentique blog and play along with this month's challenge! You have until Wednesday, October 12th to link your projects to the blog post. {Rules are on the blog post.}

Have fun!!

Supplies:

Authentique:
Patterned Paper: Free Bird Series- Endless

Other:
Ribbon - My Mind's Eye: Fine and Dandy
Tools - Paper distresser: Tim Holtz for Tonic Studios