Of course, I did not completely down tools (mostly for fear my hubby might sell off all my crafting goodies if I did that!), I just took some time out from the blog and showing my creations for a while and crafted for pleasure when I had a birthday card or gift to craft.
So today I am sharing with you a very special card for a very special birthday - and it's a biggy! This is the card and gifting for my Father for his 70th birthday. I have used nearly entirely all retired products for this one and then added some new elements. I had been saving these lovely designer papers for a special occasion and this one certainly was! The papers, if you were wondering, were called World Spectacular and I just thought the wording on them was perfectly fitting.
As we were wishing from both of us and our little boy I used a large folded card template to play on the words so that folded the card said 'Grandad' and then when opened up the wording expanded to 'Grandad' and 'Dad', saving me making a second card! I had some chipboard lettering leftover from previous stock so sponged this with daubers and crumb cake for the large lettering. The great thing about the designer papers was that with some selection the rest of the wording I wanted on the card was already on there!
I added some additional stamping with the stamp sets of Four Your Party and Four You on the centre folded section. The numbers and '&' were from the Perfect Printed Numbers Die. The 'TH' comes from the Project Life stamp set, Day to Day which really does come in handy for numbering and dating projects. The background card is Early Expresso and for the mat layer and accents I added Island Indigo which is in the DSP colours.
I made a rosette using two strips of DSP glued together and scoring at intervals using the Simply Scored Tool. I punched a circle of card ready to hold the rosette and then folded the rosette strip alternatively each way to create the concertina folding needed. Once folded, I stuck the ends together with Sticky Strip for a firm hold. I then put some hot glue in the centre of the card circle and formed the rosette sitting it on top of the circle, holding it in place until it was secured. My rosette ribbons were then easily created using the Banner framelits and some more of the DSP.
The back of the card, did not get forgotten. As it was so large I cut the card from two pieces and joined it so to cover the join I used another great sheet of the DSP with the heading 'Latest and Greatest' which I then used to write our personal message. On the side panel though I had a great idea, creating a pocket the perfect size for the gift card we were gifting for the occasion.
A extra special card of this size needed an envelope so I quickly made a box envelope for it with a decorated belly band with a Chalk Talk die. Also as my son had a little special gift too I made a quick scallop tag top gift bag to co-ordinate.
After all that design and crafting, we had a lovely family celebration meal at the Swan Hotel in Alresford. For those of you visiting that are not local, Alresford is a beautiful Georgian town near to where my father lives and the Swan Hotel there did a fantastic job with the food and service too. It really was great to see all the family together and I know it was a special day to remember for everyone there.
Now I am back, I hope you are all enjoying the new Spring Summer Catalogue. Don't forget it is that Special Sale-a-Bration time for extra Hostess rewards and Free Product for all orders (Free product earnt for every £45 spend).
Suzanne
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To place an order, book a workshop in your home or come to a class, just drop me an email at craftyinkbuds@sky.com. Remember you can now order online at anytime too.
