Children's Book Inspired

This month's guest designer challenge at Gina K Designs was book based, so I couldn't resist participating. The challenge was to create a card based on a favorite children's book. Since I taught kindergarten for a long time, I have an extensive collection of children's books--which actually compete for space with my crafting stuff. I made two cards based on favorite books, one for the guest designer challenge and one for one of this week's StampTV challenges.

The first card I created is based on the book Mrs. Spitzer's Garden by Edith Pattou. It wasn't a favorite book from my childhood, but it is a book that was a favorite of mine as a teacher.

It uses a garden metaphor to describe the work done by Mrs. Spitzer over the school year. The book starts with the planting of seeds, then describes how they grow and change as Mrs. Spitzer nurtures them over the course of the school year. It makes a great thank you gift for a special teacher!

My card has a pretty pair of flowers made from images in the Fairy Tales stamp set. I stamped the flowers on white cardstock and colored them with Copic markers. The centers are covered with clear page pebbles for a glossy, raised look. I cut the flowers out and set them on a cloud patterned paper background, cut with SU!'s Top Note die. I made grass using a Martha Stewart border punch. For some dimension, I used two punched strips and layered them, using foam tape to attach the layers. I added a vellum butterfly, colored pink with a Copic marker, fluttering among the pair of flowers.

The rest of the layout is very simple. I attached the scene to a pink card base. A piece of green satin ribbon is knotted around the card. I stamped the set's "you shine" sentiment on the grass in black ink to complete the card.

Materials Used:
Fairy Tales stamp set, Green Apple, Bubblegum Pink, and white cardstock (Gina K Designs); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); vellum (The Paper Company); Top Note die, butterfly Embosslit (Stampin' Up!); designer paper (October Afternoon); green satin ribbon (Michaels); page pebbles (EK Success); grass border punch (Martha Stewart)

My second card, for this week's blast from the past challenge to use glitter, is also made with the Fairy Tales set and is inspired by a more classic, familiar children's book, Corduroy by Don Freeman. I read this one many times in my kindergarten classroom!

In the story, Corduroy the stuffed bear lives in a department store and wishes for a child to take him home. After quite an adventure, his wish comes true and a little girl named Lisa buys him and brings him home.

I took my inspiration from Corduroy's wish for a home and went from there. I stamped the star wand image three times in black ink on three different shades of pink cardstock. The star portion of the image was filled in with my fine-tip glue pen, then covered with super sparkly glitter. I lined the images up on a shimmery white card base, end to end, then knotted a piece of pink ribbon around the cardfront.

I used a border punch to punch a row of stars along the bottom of a pink panel. The set's "make a wish" sentiment is stamped in deep pink ink on the strip. It's slipped underneath the bottom edge of the ribbon strip to complete the clean and simple card.

Materials Used:
Fairy Tales stamp set, Innocent Pink cardstock (Gina K Designs); Melon Mambo Classic ink, Melon Mambo and Pink Passion, and Shimmery White cardstock, Dazzling Diamonds (Stampin' Up!); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); pink grosgrain ribbon (Michaels); Classic Stars border punch (Martha Stewart)