Happy 16th Birthday!

This morning I was able to get up and begin AND finish a card for my niece that has turned 16.
A couple of posts back I challenged you to stop hoarding and begin using what you have. I also challenged you to swap "stuff" with friends so that what was old to you was new to them and vice versa. Well, I did that. My friend bought this matstack from Target a while back. It already has adhesive on the back, so just peel and stick. Convenient, but scary if you are about to sneeze as you place this. This piece of paper already had the designs on it. I only stamped a flourish over the Cameo Coral cardstock piece that says "Happy 16th Birthday". I computer generated that sentiment because I did not have anything that seemed to work with how I wanted it to look. I used Cameo Coral and Tempting turquoise as the two layers and the base of the card. I sponged Chocolate Chip on the Cameo Coral square and card itself, and on the Tempting Turquoise square. I then stemped the flourish with Close to Cocoa - stamping off one time. I used Stampin' Dimensionals on the back of the Tempting Turquoise to stand it out some. Since I was going with the Shabby Chic look, I tood the Stampin' Up Cutter distressing tool and roughed up both the Cameo Coral and Tempting Turquoise squares. It is difficult to see in this picture. Yes, I picked this font color because it matched the card!


Here is the Stampin' Up! Cutter tool kit. I really like it.
It is all linked together by a ball chain so you don't have to worry about losing any of them. It has the distressing tool (that is the gray tool), a scoring blad, rotary cutter, and a perforating tool. I love how Stampin' Up! put pictures on the one side of the tool..for us visual people. Everything opens up like a pocket knife. You don't need to worry that your little one will "slide" forward the rotary blade. Very nice tool to have.

Off to get ready for a picnic/graduation party with my husband's family. Remember that Graduation Card I posted last week?? Well, it is being put into service today! I have a couple of weeks before my niece graduates to come up with another one. Hopefully, I will work ahead and not wait last minute.

If you are wondering...I am learning how to put text on my pictures so I can be in compliance with Stampin' Up! As you can see, I have not figured out how to make the text bigger so that it can be seen easily, but it is there.
I am also playing with my camera settings. I used natural light with no flash. I also played around with the ISO settings. You can see a shadow on the picture, but I think the card looks much better in natural light. I have not figured out what I am going to do about taking pictures if I am up early or late. Prime daylight time happens when I am in my Cinderbox at work!