We have two expectant mothers in the lab where I work and many of my coworkers are asking for baby cards. Since this activity is all contained within the same circle of friends all the cards will need to be different. I love baby cards so I’m happy to oblige, but I’m thinking this will be quite a challenge. Were I to accomodate everyone, I’d be looking at making 40 cards. I’ll do the best I can without turning it into an ordeal. At this point the challenge sounds like fun, but when the fun wears thin I’ll simply stop. It’s first come, first served!
One mom to be knows she’s having a boy, the other has chosen to be surprised. That eliminates pink from my color choices (boo hoo) but there are no holds barred when it comes to bulk and weight because all cards will be hand delivered (hooray!). So, gee, why is this card so lightweight and non-bulky? Well, it just felt like the right thing at the time.
There’s a baby shower in January for the mom who’s having a boy. I’ve been wanting to stamp with my new Love Nest set from Flourishes and the more I thought about this image the more perfect it seemed. After all, she hasn’t had the baby yet…she’s just waiting…interminably it seems to her, I’m sure. I know in my final month I had nothing to do but wait. The baby’s room was ready, my bag was packed, his first little outfit he’d wear home from the hospital tucked inside — so tiny, soft and sweet, a little sack gown I’d sewn myself. I’d sit in his room and just look around, picturing him on his changing table or tucked into the cradle his dad made for him. Oh, dear…I’m choking myself up. My goodness, that baby was loved. He still is. It sure seems like yesterday.
My expectant bird mom is made up of four different images. I stamped the bird first, then masked her (very easy because of the simple line drawing), and stamped the cage and nest (one stamp) in place. The eggs were stamped next, no masking required. The bow was stamped separately in Blue Bayou, cut out and glued on. The coloring was done with a combination of markers, chalks and blender pen. I love chalks best for a very soft, blended look. The bird was done with Not Quite Navy, gray and black chalks. Once I put my color in the general area I smoothed it out with a light touch of the blender pen. I don’t always use a blender pen with chalks, but with such a small image its fine brush tip was helpful. The sentiment I used is from Stampin’ Up!’s Love Matters (retired). There are several great sentiments with the Love Nest set, including “We’re Expecting”, but for my purposes this one was ideal. You can never have too many sentiments.
Just a note: I started to stamp the eggs in Soft Sky and turn the bird into a Robin when I suddenly thought, “what would a Robin be doing in a birdcage?”. I think this bird looks more finch-like but I was thinking “parakeet” so…I looked up a blue parakeet and its eggs on the internet and found that the eggs are a rather dull beige color. Not much fun. I stamped them in So Saffron. I know it’s a little over the top to bother with all that realism but, hey, I’m on vacation.
I made a special trip to the scrapbook store for boy and gender neutral baby papers. I needed them like a hole in the head, I’m sure, but, gosh, it was fun. Of course, you know I picked up a few other things while I was there, too. Hmmmmm…where are those baby papers? They certainly aren’t on this card. You know how it is when you get a picture in your head… When I decided upon this image I pictured it with a lot of white around it — white with maybe just a soft petite pattern. Naturally, that led me directly to my retired Stampin’ Up! Petite Patterns. I’ve always loved these delicate tiny leaves and they seemed perfect for what I had in mind. I stamped them in one of the softest colors I know — River Rock.
Well, time to wrap up this long post. I’m going to go read now. I’m not sure what I’ll stamp next. I know I need to do a lot more baby cards but I’ve got some other cards that need making, too. We’ll see. I enjoyed our visit today. Gosh, I love being on vacation! I could so get used to this! See you soon!
Stamps: Love Nest by Flourishes, Love Matters and Petite Patterns by Stampin’ Up! (both retired)
Paper: Soft Sky, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black, River Rock, Blue Bayou, So Saffron, markers: Creamy Caramel, Not Quite Navy
Accessories: Soft chalks (Stampin’ Pastels by SU!), Fiskars scallop scissors, eyelets, ticket corner punch. Notice there’s no ribbon? Yikes! Since I had a paper bow, I didn’t feel right about using cloth ribbon…just one of those little things…
While I was at it I decided to make a second baby card as well. This one is all baby boy with with the help of DaisyD’s designer papers. It looks like the blue gingham piece is cut crooked, but it’s just the way the pattern lies.
