Sixth Street Sundries

This is the first post of three today (I was able to make all three today waiting for my darling, annoying, ever-helpful husband to come home from chopping wood at his parent’s house.), so I hope you’ll bear with me. My dishes may not have gotten done, but I surely have three cards to enter into this contest!! It’s the little things in life that make me happy. 🙂

The first card I created was using the dies that I was most excited to receive: Movers and Shakers: Sliders. They’re just cool. I paired it with my Movers and Shakers Sentiments set, Celebrations set, and my Mat Stack 5 set to create this card:

This color combination is not one of my favorites… I found it on Pinterest (again) and it was pretty in theory. I also messed up on this one: I put the Celebrations die cut panel down too low on the Slider, so when you pull on the ribbon, the bottom of the panel drags. Boo. Ah well, there’s always next time.

I shall return again soon!!

Supplies (all PTI unless otherwise noted):
Melon Berry, Dark Chocolate, Kraft, Aqua Mist cardstock
Movers and Shakers sentiments
Celebrations
Mat Stack 5
Think Big Birthday
Movers and Shaker: Sliders dies
Sorbet ink (CTMH)
Kraft, Dark Chocolate, Hawaiian Shores ink
1/4 inch white silk ribbon

Today’s post has a somber beginning.

A friend of mine contacted me a couple of weeks ago. She had had the most awful thing happen to her: she’d had an early-term miscarriage.

After initially dealing with this awful disappointment, she decided that it would make her feel better to have the baby’s short life remembered in some way, so that she would still feel close to her. She asked me if I would be willing to make a shadow box for her and to include a few items that were unique to her baby: the sonogram photo, a small crocheted blankie, the meaning of the baby’s name, and a beautiful poem that described the feelings one might experience after having such a loss. She didn’t want it to be depressing; she wanted it to be very baby-girl-ish and cheerful. I did the best I could to create a respectful, not-too-somber shadow box.

The shadow box itself is a 12×16 inch shadow box, leaving plenty of room for the various items that she wanted to be included.

(I have blocked out the last name of the family to maintain their privacy.)

The poem that she asked me to include is from Susan Erling.

I challenged myself to create something totally unique, something that I’d never done before. I utilized my Cricut and my home printer in addition to my stamping techniques, and I think the combination of all three really creates something distinctive. I can’t imagine the tragic and sudden loss a mother must inevitably go through during a time like this, but I hope this cheerful piece helps her to deal with the awful loss, and to remember that God has a reason for everything He does.

The only reason that I even am sharing this story is that, while tragic, this is something that occurs frequently. I myself have had three friends go through this horror, so I know it is something that, unfortunately, can be quite common. It occurs to me that someone else might want to have something like this done, maybe not to commemorate a miscarriage, but to celebrate a life in a respectful, meaningful, and unique way.

Definitely not my normal style. But I like the color combo. I found a necklace in these colors the other night and thought, hey, that’d make a pretty card!! Thanks, Pinterest!!

My next card is a “shaker” card. It’s got a little compartment full of something… sprinkles, microbeads, confetti… in this case, glitter, that the recipient is supposed to “shake” and enjoy the little beads rattling around in there. Again, I’ve never understood the point of having a card that you have to shake to enjoy… I usually just enjoy looking at the beautiful design and the lovely message. But, I suppose these cards are geared more towards kids. I made mine a “Get Well Soon” card, because I figured the pretty glitter getting all shaken up with cheer up someone who’s not feeling well. Yeah, right.

Again, not really my style, but I like the color combination (another Pinterest find) and the pretty floral feel to it. It almost looks like a little wreath that has a sparkly background, huh?

I won’t say it was necessarily FUN to branch out of my usual style, as I was slightly stressed over how these cards were going to come out, but it definitely taught me to appreciate those who do these types of things well. And if you are the recipient of one of these cards…. well, you are probably a man or are ill, so in either case, I apologize for the poorly-constructed card you have just received. 🙂


Supplies: (all PTI unless otherwise noted)

for the Pocket Card:
Smokey Shadow, Melon Berry, Aqua Mist, SS White cardstock
Lace Bouquet
Aqua Mist ink
Melon Berry felt
Aqua Mist button
Rustic Jute twine
Aqua Mist ribbon
Flower die
Martha Stewart eyelet lace punch

For the Shaker Card:
Plum Pudding, Autumn Rose, Simply Chartreuse, Sweet Blush, Vintage Cream cardstock
Rosie Posie
Mat Stack 2
Fresh Snow, Autumn Rose, New Leaf inks
Olive CTMH ink
Acetate
Spellbinders Nestabilities Scalloped Circles and Circles
Spellbinders Lacey Pennant dies
Chipboard
Martha Stewart glitter
Martha Stewart Hydrangea punch
Martha Stewart Rose Leaf punch
Yellow Stickles
Patina Stickles

I doubled the butterfly punches and bent the wings slightly because it kinda looked to me like they were taking flight that way. I inked the edge of the butterflies’ wings with Chai tea from the Tea Dye Duo, just to give some contrast and make them stand out.

So there you have it. My grand revelations for the day.

On a side note: I have kind of a cute story. My little sister (who was probably the cutest, sweetest little girl while also occasionally acting the part of a devil) has the nickname “Ladybug.” She’s been called that since… I don’t know when. She’s 20, so we’ll say for 19 years. Anyway, she decided that since she was “Ladybug,” I had to be “Butterfly.” I’m not sure how she came to that conclusion… I’m not graceful or flutter-y…. but she stuck to it. I still get butterfly-themed Christmas gifts from her occasionally, and I still give her ladybugs.

Thanks for stopping by!! 🙂

Supplies: (All PTI unless otherwise noted)
Berry Sorbet, Raspberry Fizz, Hibiscus Burst, Ripe Avocado cardstock
Rosie Posie
Think Big Favorites
Tea Dye Duo
Rosebud Memento dye ink
Olive CTMH ink
Martha Stewart Butterfly punch

When I started, I was just going to have the cute little scalloped square within the cute little red frame on a 5 x 5 inch square card. Then I realized that I wanted to put some ribbon on it (I know, not the most masculine of additions), and I thought…. a frame hanging from a wall might have a bow on the top of it, which in real life nobody would question, so why not make the card background look like wallpaper?

Well, my Background Basics skills tend to leave something to be desired, particularly on large backgrounds. I wanted to use my BB: Botanicals, which I think have a very wallpaper-y feel to them, but I know they would become wonky, and I didn’t want my darling hubby to have a wonky Valentine’s card.

Soooo… BB: Polka Dots came to the rescue.

I know, it doesn’t look very wallpaper-y, but it’s cute, and I think it kinda coordinates with the little dots around the edge of the heart with the cute silhouettes in it.

A little embellishment with some images from Mat Stack 5 (man, I love that set), a little Sakura Stardust pen, a mushy note inside… (I’ll leave that particular aspect to your imagination 😉 ) and voila! Valentine’s card for hubs.

Now all I have to do is get the gift… I should really get on that, huh? At least I know I have dinner planned for V day: lasagna. I’ve never made it before, BUT hubs is confident that I will be just fine. It’s just a bunch of layers… how hard could it be?

Thanks for dropping by!!! 🙂

Supplies: (all PTI unless otherwise noted)

Pure Poppy, Aqua Mist, SS White cardstock
Love and Marriage
Mat Stack 5
BB: Polka Dots
Heart Prints dies
Hawaiian Shores, Aqua Mist ink
Lacey Squares Spellbinders Nestabilities
Tulip CTMH ink
Red/White ribbon from my stash
Sakura Stardust Gelly Roll Pen
Ranger Liquid Pearls: Opal