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8/16/2014

Happy Birthday to #2 Brother

Happy Saturday! Finishing up some housework around here, taking a little break. DH took the recycle off, so it's easier to do chores when he's not here. Not sure why that is, except perhaps that I see him kicked back in the recliner and it's not very motivating. Plus I can't run the vacuum or suchlike if he's resting. To keep this statement in perspective, do remember that for all of our working lives, we primarily worked different shifts - so retirement & constant togetherness takes a lot of adjustment- still!

Last week the Dick Blick order of Polychromos pencils arrived. I had called Blick, got one of their art tech reps and asked him "what makes these different from the Prismas, Derwents, etc. that I already have?" According to him, these are oil based pencils and will blend easier. I have blending issues. Tried them out the other night, and I think I am going to like these better. Prisma is fine, but I have a hard time blending if I don't use gamsol.

Anyhoo...#2 brother will be 84 on August 20th. He was born 30 minutes before our Dad's 23rd birthday...some birthday present, yes? As he's aging, he is beginning to look so much like Dad, even though he's blond, blue eyed. Dad was dark brown hair - dark brown eyes...like the other 5 of us. Our Granddad had blue eyes, dark hair and a red mustache, or so I've heard. I've also always heard that 2 brown eyed parents won't have a blue eyed child. Wrong. (and we know there was no MILKMAN either!). It's interesting to me to see that out of 6 siblings, 3 look very strongly like Dad, and 3 of us look like our Mom or people on her side of the family.

Here's the card I made for him.



- Hero Arts Palm die started off cut from the same white card stock it's been embedded back into. The leaf was sprayed with some of the new Lindy's Starburst sprays. I love these sprays, but they spray out in bursts of color, which I don't find easily controlled. You just have to go with the flow - not a bad thing for somebody like me. I do think the results look pretty...very sparkly although you can't really see that in the photo.  This die is tricky to place back properly in the negative space..there is double stick tape (Sookwang) behind it so the positive image will re-adhere.

- green mat is another sprayed piece. This one had combined Lindy's, some acrylic paint mixed with water and some tattered angels. Remember mention of a clogged nozzle from using the acrylic paint mixtures? I've found that removing the nozzle apparatus when the color spraying is done, plunging it into a bottle of plain water, and spraying until the spray is clear, seems to be helping with the clogging problem. Just FYI..if you want to try this with mixing your acrylic paints to make a spray.

- White card base scored and then die cut Elizabeth Craft sentiment from a snippet of the green mat.
Just need to do an insert, and this one's done & ready for Wednesday.

Tomorrow I will be working on my post for The Creative Blog Hop which will be posted on Monday. I do hope you'll find time to look in, maybe learn something about who I am (that you didn't already know!) and meet some bloggers that I admire and have tagged. Looking forward to seeing you then.

Have a wonderful weekend. God Bless.

39 comments:

  1. This is gorgeous Mary, I love it, superb colours and a gorgeous leaf die.

    Kath x

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  2. Mary, your card is stunning, I love the leaves and that butterfly is just gorgeous!! I am sure your Brother will love it too. Hugs, Anne x

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  3. This is lovely Mary and I'm sure your brother will just love it. The spraying is gorgeous, I like that quite random look on the palm, and the background spraying is pretty too. The butterfly and the sentiment are lovely dies. I need a nice medium sized butterfly, trouble is my list of wants grows by the day and I do have trouble prioritising. I love that little bit of brown in the butterfly's wings and the sentiment is a lovely size. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. x

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  4. Your palm die is gorgeous with that pretty spray and I love that you put the cut piece back into the negative. And, what a beautiful butterfly.

    Since, I got blobs of spray, I put mine in a box for spraying and just sprayed straight ahead onto the box and let the spray fall. That alleviated the blobbing. Of course, I have to use more spray to get coverage that way. But, I decided I'd rather to do than it spray in blobs. It is just what works for me. I haven't sprayed anything in quite a while..need to get it out.
    I haven't tried spraying acrylic paints, yet, so I'll keep your tip in mind.

    Hope you're having a good Saturday.

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  5. Wonderful card Mary, I love the look you've created with those sprays, so effective. This design looks perfect for a male.

    I have some good quality craft glue in an old kindy glitz bottle(with a fine tip) that I use to put into the negative space when re positioning my die cuts back in their spots. I use a toothpick if the space is too small, it seems to work ok. I just use tweezers to position the diecut slowly into place. I use double sided tape for attaching panels or strips of ribbon too.

    Hope your brother has a wonderful birthday :) Cathy x

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  6. This is a great card Mary. Really beautiful. Love it. Hugs Veerle xxxx

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  7. Wow, these ferns are so pretty with the sprayed pattern! Such lovely colors and patterns! Love that it extends to the butterfly and mat! I find that cleaning goes much faster when DH isn't around. No interruptions!

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  8. Fabulous card Mary, I like the leaves and the butterfly
    Kevin xx

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  9. This is so gorgeous, Mary!! The palm fronds are beautiful!! I love the sprayed look!! And the butterfly is so pretty!! This is just fabulous!! Happy birthday to your brother!! Have a great weekend :)

    Lisa
    A Mermaid's Crafts

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  10. Stunning card, Mary. Your brother is going to love it!

    I like the colours you acheived with the spraying...well worth the effort!

    Bet the sparkle is pretty IRL!

    Looking forward to your special post...

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  11. This is gorgeous Mary. I just love the colours in the leaves.
    Glad you haven't done your homework yet...me neither. Better get typing tomorrow huh!
    Hugs
    xx

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  12. THis is just beautiful Mary! I've never heard of those pencils you used, but I'm glad you're happy with them! The green ferns are so pretty and graceful along with that butterfly! Very pretty card!

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  13. The sprayed palm is very striking, Mary. The variations of color are beautiful. I love that it's inlaid. Your butterfly is gorgeous - again, wonderful colors. I'm sure your brother will be happy with it. Keep us posted on your new pencils.

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  14. Brilliant card Mary loving that "sprayed" look.
    I am sure your brother loved it as well......Happy Birthday to him.
    Have a great day
    Hugs

    Patricia xx

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  15. Good morning Mary, at least I can say that as it is a beautiful one here, how long will it last goodness knows as stormy weather is on the cards for us here in the north east of Scotland . Your card is simple and lovely, and seeing how your brother is a Leo birthday sign he will really love it. Daughter and Anna whom I nanny for are Leo's and they do love simple and colour, Hazel x

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  16. Lovely card Mary.

    As my brother get's older he looks like dad. As I've got older I look like mum:)

    I hope you are having a good weekend.

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  17. Wow! So gorgeous Mary, lovely designed card!
    Hugs, Hazel xx

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  18. Hi there Mary, thank you so much for your lovely comment on my blog, it's much appreciated, I'm following you now so I will be popping in to see more of your creations, what I've looked at sp far is fab, such lovely work, I know I will enjoy my visits.
    Take Care, Hugs Jacee
    Simply Paper Card Design

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  19. Love what you did here Mary, I find this technique very striking, thanks for the reminder! Lovely color achieved with the spray. Super idea with the butterfly too. Beautiful card - I'm sure your brother will love it!

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  20. I love the pretty spayed pattern you achieved on the palm and I really like the inlaid effect too, I must get round to giving that a try. The butterfly looks very pretty as well.
    As to family likenesses I am one of eight and we are split more or less 50/50 in colouring between our mum and dad. Although those of us who looked very much alike in childhood photos do not always look so alike now.
    I also have a problem with trying to clean up around a stationary hubby.
    Jean x

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  21. This is so pretty Mary. It's a great male card and I'm sure your brother will love it, especially since you made it for him. Hope his birthday is great. I love the inlaid look of the fern and love that butterfly die.

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  22. Love this card Mary ... and your brother will love it too! That palm fronds are so gorgeous ... love the sprayed colors. And the butterfly is icing on the cake. Loll xx

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  23. Totally gorgeous Mary I'm slowly catching up again with everyones blog its been a really hectic time here lol lots of huggles Sue xxx

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  24. Wonderful card, I'm sure it was warmly received!
    I really like the previous hayride one too!

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  25. This is wonderful Mary and I'm sure your Brother will think so too. I love the idea of creating your own backing and those die cut ferns look fab back in situ. We had a lovely time at Buckham Fair, although unfortunately it was a bit grey and drizzly. I caught sight of Martin Clunes which I was pleased about!! All proceeds go the Somerset and Dorset Air Ambulance and they did a "Fly past" which was a lovely gesture, we thought.xx

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  26. Hi Mary,

    Happy birthday to your brother! Imagine the odds of sharing your birthday with one of your parents. A friend of mine had her son on her birthday and she was so upset about it. I swear she was riding on the bumpiest roads the day before and then crossing her legs as tight as she could just to try to hold him in!

    The card you made for your brother is very sweet.

    I'll be back at some point to read your post about yourself. I was selected by Kim Young to participate. It's an honor and exciting to be a part of it all!

    I start my new job tomorrow. Can't say I'm looking forward to it but hopefully I have less than a year to go! Woo hoo.

    Hugs,
    Kay

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  27. A beautiful card Mary. I also loved reading your post. you sound so like me. I am fascinated by family likenesses, and especially the way children resemble one parent to start with and then the other as they grow older. Yet they still all manage to be individuals as well!
    Kate x

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  28. Oh my Momma Mary, this is a stunning card! I see you in-laid the die cuts, which looks so good. I also love the spray background you made to die cut from. Love, love the butterfly too. I also love that even though this card has a butterfly on it, it is still a great masculine card! Oh and by the way, Dwayne and I both have brown eyes and Bret has blue eyes. lol And he looks just like his daddy only he has blue eyes and red hair where as Dwayne has brown eyes and dark blonde hair. Our doctor told us Bret only had a 25% chance of keeping his blue eyes, well he did keep them! Sometimes they are vivid blue and other times they are a bluish/green. Hugs, Brenda

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  29. This is wonderful love the palm and how you have replaced another into the "hole".

    I have 2 brothers dark brown hair, one blond, one black, me mousy, my Dad had black hair and my Mother very dark brown hair, so where did the blonde come from, however he is so like Dad in his ways but looks like Mum otherwise, strange how the genes play tricks isn't it?

    PS read half the book, I LOVE it.

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  30. This is wonderful love the palm and how you have replaced another into the "hole".

    I have 2 brothers dark brown hair, one blond, one black, me mousy, my Dad had black hair and my Mother very dark brown hair, so where did the blonde come from, however he is so like Dad in his ways but looks like Mum otherwise, strange how the genes play tricks isn't it?

    PS read half the book, I LOVE it.

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  31. This is so perfect for a guy and I am sure your brother will be so happy that you took the time to make this for him.

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  32. Mary this is gorgeous - love the sprayed effect, and the glimmer can just be seen on the sprayed layer.
    Blessings
    Maxine

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  33. Very pretty Mary and so well done!
    Sandy xx

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  34. This is just the most gorgeous card and I just love those papers and your colour combo.xxxx
    ♥aNNie

    The Journey is the Start

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  35. I don't know what I like best - your leaves or that pretty butterfly. Happy Birthday brother #2,
    Sandy xx

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  36. This is a lovely card, Mary. The spray effect is very cool and the crisp white and green combo is nice and summery.
    Heather T

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  37. OMGosh, Mary, this is lovely. I know he loved it!! I really like how you did the image with the negative BG and the butterfly is out of sight gorgeous!!

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  38. Such beauty! I know he's going to love it too. I love that wonderful color too!
    I've never even heard of those pencils before. Let us know how you like them.
    Lynn

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