Aloha, all!
When it comes to celebratory events, I try to find out how one would send greetings using ‘Olelo Hawaiian, or the Hawaiian language. As I don’t speak the language, I have to rely on internet explanations of the meaning of words so I don’t commit a faux pas. And, when it comes to wishing, “Happy Easter,” I wasn’t certain what I should say without stumbling. So, “Happy Easter” it is!
My Favorite Easter Card
Being that I’m “staying at home” as everyone strongly suggests, I’m making and sending LOTS of cards to friends, family members, and even acquaintances. As much of my time making a card is in designing it, “lots of cards” equals “one design.” Or maybe two or three. But I have to tell you that I’m not sending out 50 or 60 cards in a week with each one being a different design. Even with the stay at home rules, there are not that many hours in a week!
This is the card that I made to send to almost everyone to whom I sent an Easter card. And they all made it into the mail this past Monday, so they should all have arrived on time.
How I Organize for Multiple Cards
The first thing I do, of course, is to figure out how many of the cards I’m going to send. If it’s up to 10 or 12, I let myself design the card as if it’s a one-of-a-kind. Die-cutting and coloring? No problem. If it gets much higher than that, then I’d like designs I that include more solid stamps and punching rather than die-cutting. For the higher number, I usually don’t add much in the way of ribbon or embellishments as I don’t keep large quantities of either in stock.
Once I have my parameters lined up, I make one card just to make sure it looks like what I think it should look like. After that, I cut papers that are going to be stamped and get all my stamping done. If it’s a small batch, I sit down and color in any line drawings. Finally, I cut the rest of the cardstock/papers, put them in little piles and start with the assembly line. Poof they’re done.
But About This Card…
With this card, my personal guidelines went out the window. At the time I was starting this project, Stampin’ Up! announced the demonstrator pre-order period for the new Ornate Garden suite of products. In that suite was the perfect ribbon for this bunny. So I ordered as much of the ribbon as I could given the pre-order limitations. After that, I just went crazy. Crazy as in there are 4 die-cuts (though I could do two at a time) and not only lots of ribbon but sequins, too. I should have stopped there, but, no. I had to use Stampin’ Blends to color and shade the bunny. 30 of these critters! I was definitely crazy. But I didn’t GO crazy because of the stay-at-home rules. I was busy.
The Rest of the Products
The stamp set that I used for both the bunny and the sentiment is Fable Friends, which is in the current annual Stampin’ Up! catalog and still available for purchase. The background paper is one of the designs in the now retired Pleased as Punch Designer Series Paper. For the bunny, I used the Crumb Cake Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers, along with the Color Lifter marker to help blend into the white areas of the bunny. There’s a little Petal Pink marker in the ears, and I used the Terracotta Tile Stampin’ Write Marker (from the 2019-2021 Marker Assortment).
I hope you’re keeping busy with some crafting, too! It’s just a great way to spend some time. You can do it by yourself or get the kids involved if you have youngsters at home. I’m amazed at how creative they are!
Happy Easter – and Happy Stamping!
