Tuesday, November 20, 2012

In Praise of Stepmothers

I lost my mom to breast cancer when I was 23 years old.  As difficult as this was, there was more pain ahead.  As the eldest, I felt a burden to hold the family together, when my mom was the real glue of the family.  I watched helplessly as my dad tried to cope with his suddenly lonely, solitary life, and my two younger sisters were suddenly cut adrift, much too young.  I was incredibly relieved when my dad met and married Edna, my stepmom!  Edna was so good for my dad, full of life and joy.  She was just what Dad needed at that time in his life.  And Edna worked so hard to bring the two sides of our families together to be a unit again.  This was not an easy job and not always successful, but I will always be grateful to Edna for trying and for being there for us.  I wanted a way to say thank you to her as her birthday approaches.

Edna was born in England and for some reason, the Everything Eleanor stamp set makes me think of the British Isles and all that the English countryside embodies.

Here's the card I created just for Edna:


Marina Mist isn't the blue I usually choose for my cards, but I love it when combined with Basic Black and Whisper White.  This is the combination chosen this week for the Dynamic Duos challenge #29.  This is Black Tie Week and the challenge is to use Marina Mist and Basic Black with a dessert option of a Snowman Theme, although that wasn't mandatory.

 
I think the reason I like Everything Eleanor so much is the variety of beautiful elements it has.  The
flowers are exquisitely represented, but not difficult to fussy cut and curl with a bone folder. The flourish is so...well, flourishing!  And I love the treatment of the label!  And pearls work so well with it!  It was such a welcoming break from designing Christmas cards! (I never thought I would hear myself saying THAT!) 


 The card is fairly self-explanatory.  The blue panel in the background is embossed with the Fancy Fan embossing folder and the Big Shot.  To get the black shape shadowing the Happy Birthday label, I stamped the label on Basic Black with the Marina Mist and then traced around the border with a silver Stampin' Dazzle marker so I could see to cut it out.  Stampin' Up:  We need a framelit to fit this shape!  We have a smaller version in Apothecary Accents framelits, but not this size!  It's just begging for one!  (There!  Do you think they heard me? I'm sure you'll see one introduced in the next few days! lol)
I hand cut it and positioned it so it was off-set to the sentiment label. Speaking of the sentiment, it is one of the new single stamps from the Perfectly Penned stamp set - just perfect for this card!

Well, that's all my secrets revealed here....regarding this card I mean!  Let me know what you think of Everything Eleanor!  And do any of you have a special stepmom in your life?  I love to read your comments and get to know you a bit better.

Stamps:  Everything Eleanor (w124162; c124164); Perfectly Penned Happy Birthday (single stamp) (c132309)
Paper:  Marina Mist (119682), Basic Black (121045) and Whisper White (100730) card stock
Ink:  Classic Stampin' Pad in Marina Mist (126962); StazOn Jet Black (101406)
Accessories: 3/8" Taffeta Ribbon in Whisper White (109070); Pearl Basic Jewels (119247); Large Pearl Basic Jewels (125577)
Tools:  Fancy Fan embossing folder (127751); Paper Snips (103579); Stampin' Dimensionals (104430); Glue Dots (103683)


5 comments :

  1. I really like the stamp set you chose for Grandma and I like the colour combo!

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  2. What a sweet tribute to your Step-mom, Heather. I'm sure she'll love this amazing card! I hear you loud and clear about the die to match the Eleanor label. I'm right there with you making just as much noise!!!! Lol! Thanks for sharing the story behind this card and thanks for joining in on Dynamic Duos this week!

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  3. Beautiful card - love this stamp and the way you've used the flowers and swirl looks so pretty. Love all those pearls! Thanks for playing along with Dynamic Duos this week!

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  4. Beautiful...and such a lovely tribute. Thanks for playing with the Dynamic Duos this week.

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I love to read your comments and get to know you better! Thanks for adding one!