Custom Birthday Card and Quick Recovery Card

I was asked to make a personalized card for someone's daughter who is just turning nine this month.  I was instructed to use pinks and purples and come up with something girly with lots of shimmer and shine.  Here's what I settled on:

and inside:

I spritzed the front with several layers of pearl Smooch Spritz, so in real life it truly shimmers.  I created the sentiment and flowers in the oval on the front as well as the inside flower using Stampin' Up!'s My Digital Studio 2 (MDS2).  I love love love that stamped images can be colored, resized, and rotated; and I found so many other features in the newly released version that I can't wait to try!!  

This card will not, of course, fit in a regular envelope.  I have clear acetate boxes that are held closed with gold elastic cord, and I think this will help Riley understand her mother's intention to present her with a keepsake.  I do hope Riley likes it!

----------------------------------------------

On another note, the husband of a dear friend of mine went through heart surgery recently, and I wanted to create a card to let both of them know they're on my mind.  The trick was to come up with something masculine, but not TOO masculine so that my friend would enjoy the card, too.  I decided to try my hand at papier tole, and created the medallion/flower on this card:

For those not familiar with papier tole, it involves layering increasingly smaller pieces using thin foam to create a multi-dimensional object.  I cheated and used a kit for my first attempt, but I did add another layer at the bottom to create contrast between the medallion and the background designer paper.  I sponged everything with Early Espresso ink to give it a somewhat vintage look.  The brads are antiqued, and the button is crisscrossed with linen thread.  The gorgeous ribbon is wonderfully textured and in person adds so much to the card.

The inside:

The ribbon on the main inside sentiment is held on with a small antiqued paperclip.  All the sentiments in this card were sized and printed in MDS2.

I just got a new order of Stampin' Up! goodies and am sorting through it all trying to decide what I want to use first.  Decisions, decisions!!

Smiles,
Joyce Spear (a.k.a. StamperJoyce)