Sweet Sixteen .....

.... Good Morning! It's Kat's 16th birthday today. By some strange miracle Kat was up early this morning :) We wished her a Happy Birthday, she spoke to her Nanny in Leicester and she's opened her card. She loved it!!! Yea. To celebrate we're having a birthday brunch at Fox Hill Golf Club - they do a wonderful spread. Kat started her birthday weekend with dinner on Friday night with her best friend Alyx at The Cheesecake Factory in Novi (we dined there too, but at a different table). The girls spent yesterday together at The Heritage Festival in Northville and then at home - I think they spent the day chatting, laughing, listening to music and just enjoying being together. Last night I finally made Kat's card:

Stamps: Visible Image - Sing, Tomorrow Doesn't Exist, Rays of Light; Uniko - Simply Said Birthday; Winnie & Walter - Moonlight; Your Next Stamp - Whatnot Sentiments One; Stampin' Up! - 25 Days
Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black; Gina K - Cherry Red, Black Onyx; Distress - Black Soot
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Basic Black; Clear Embossing Powder; Wink of Stella - Clear; Lindy's Starburst Spray - Rudolf's Nose Red; Dylusions Stencil - Cobweb Lg

I got the idea for this card from Kat, she sings all the time, she loves all things Goth and Halloween, and she's very fond of black and red. I spritzed Lindy's red spray over the cobweb stencil. Once dry, and after cleaning the stencil, I lightly sponged over the edges of the stencil with black distress ink. I rubbed over the surface with an antistatic bag and then stamped the number and singer in black and heat embossed with clear powder. I positioned the musical notes to come from the microphone, stamped and embossed that image. Then I stamped the star burst and word 'birthday' in cherry red ink. I finished the front by stamping the word 'happy' and adding just a touch of sparkle to the dress with a clear wink of stella brush. I used a sponge to define the edges of the card. On the inside I cut a mat layer of black card. On the white panel I stamped some cobwebs, some pumpkins, added a greeting and finished with some stars.

I'm submitting this card to Inkspirational - INK#143, where they have a photo for inspiration. My take on the photo is to use a silhouette image of a singer (another of the arts), the musical notes floating in the air, and to create an overall background that suits my daughter. I'm also playing along with Love to Craft Challenge Blog - LTCCB#14 where it's Anything Goes!

Before I go, I have to share few photos of my gorgeous girl:

Our Goth Girl - it's actually a handbag she's holding! Taken by Alyx.

Kat - photo taken by Alyx, her best friend.

And this one is Kat, Pluto and Alyx - taken in April when we went to Disney. They're still little girls at heart!!!

That's all for now. Have a great day.

Birthday Girl ....

...... Good morning! Half-way through December - time is going by so fast! Only a week until Christmas. But, before that my niece, Georgia, is celebrating her 16th birthday today. She's grown into a beautiful young woman, and this is the card that I made for her:

Stamps: Visible Image - Tomorrow Doesn't Exist, Rays of Light; Uniko - Simply Said Birthday; CAS-ual Friday Stamps - Whole Shebang; Stampin' Up! - 25 Days
Inks: SU - Rose Red, Sweet Sugar Plum, Pink Pirouette; Versafine - Onyx Black
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Sweet Sugar Plum; Clear Embossing Powder

I decided to make a one-layer card as it's so much easier to post. I know that teenagers today are so much more "with-it" than when I was 16, but they still get excited by turning 16. I used this wonderful girl jumping for joy as the main image. I stamped her and the word Happy in Versafine onyx black and heat embossed them with clear powder. I cut a mask to protect the girl and then stamped the fireworks. I stamped the number 16 over the palest of the firework burst and added the word birthday to finish the front of the card. Fairly clean and simple. On the inside I cut a mat layer of pale plum card and on the white panel added a fun greeting along with a few more firework bursts.
I'm submitting this card to Love to Craft Challenge Blog - LTCCB#5 where this month is ANYTHING GOES.

Hopefully this card will have arrived in Plymouth and Georgia has it on display along with the rest of her cards from family and friends. That's all for today.