Saying Goodbye Again

We've had a rash of retirements at my workplace.  This isn't because the place is so hard to work at- although we are growing greatly.  It is largely because there is a group of individuals who have been employed for decades and they now see that they can have a life outside of the workplace.  Once I made the first few cards, I was cornered as the card maker.  Darn!  (healthy sarcasm, if you can't hear it)

Here's the details on this lovely:

• The flowers were made using my Heartfelt Creations Arianna Blooms die on white cardstock.  I colored the flowers with Worn Lipstick and Scattered Straw Distress Ink and then spritzed with water to create this cool look.  The centers are Heart of Gold prills.  
• The leaves were cut using my Heartfelt Creations Classic Leaf die and colored with Peeled Paint Distress Ink spritzed with water as well.  
• The lace was cut out of white cardstock which I had colored with Worn Lipstick Distress Ink (also spritzed with water to blend the color) using my Our Daily Bread Designs Beautiful Borders die.  
• I printed the sentiment out on the computer and cut with my Timeless Rectangles die.  While the cut was still in the die, I used a dauber to color the edges of the frame with Worn Lipstick Distress Ink.
• A corner punch and some foam squares finish out the card front nicely.

Inside I couldn't resist the opportunity to place one final flower.  They are too precious.

I will hope that Flory enjoys her well-deserved retirement.  We'll miss her cheerful willingness, but know this is the next, best thing for her.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Monday Challenge: Pastels

Word Art Wednesday's Challenge #177: Family Friendly Challenge

Shabby Tea Room's Week #248: Beautiful Blooms

Come join the fun or just stop by to view some pretty inspiring projects!

Card Gift Box

I'm going to admit to really loving how this turned out.  I used up a bunch of paper that has been in the stash for a decade (that red and blue flower is AT LEAST 10 years old).. I think the container a perfect match to my chalkboard card set.  I used a similar concept to the folios that Brandy has been making- layering paper over chipboard and made the card holding envelope using portions of the technique described here.

The lace was cut using my Our Daily Bread Designs Beautiful Borders die.  It really works well on the project.












I don't own the Heartfelt Creations Majestic Blooms stamp and die but got these from working their booth last year.  I colored them with Faded Jeans and Fired Brick Distress inks with a little Good Earth Elements in the center.  The medallion die cut is an old Spellbinders die, stamped sentiment tag and a little twine to finish is off.

I'm saving this for a gift to give I think it is a quite a nice package- no wrapping on this one.  Overall, I had a lot of fun with my Our Daily Bread Designs chalkboard stamps and really liked using up some of those papers that have been around a while.