The little things that make me happy here on Bliss Road~~Emily Keaton

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Some Musical Thank-You Notes

My sister came to visit me back in October, and while she was here I helped her make 15 note card sets to give as Christmas gifts to her staff, co-workers, and kids' teachers. She tailored each set to the recipient, trying to make cards that reflect each person's interests. While hunting for appropriate stamps in my collection, she noticed that I had practically no music-related stamps, so for Christmas she remedied that situation by giving me the lovely music stamps I used in today's thank-you cards! Wasn't that sweet of her? I used them for the first time today. I sit on the Worship and Music committee at our church, and one of my tasks is thanking guest musicians who share their talents with our congregation. I was in need of two thank you notes, one for a male musician and one for a female musician, and my sister's gifts were perfect for the job! Here's the first:

The angel image is from Hampton Art, and the "thank you" sentiment is from Tradefish Designs. I loved the colors for the new Play Date Cafe Challenge (robin egg, lavender, bisque), and they immediately reminded me of my long-neglected Kioshi papers from BasicGrey. The angel's dress just screamed for some paper-piecing, so I'm playing along with the Paper Piecing challenge over at Ribbon Carousel Challenge #38. Plus, I had the perfect May Arts two-toned sheer ribbon from Jessi (thanks, my friend!), which I knotted around the top of the card base to keep this somewhat flat-ish for mailing.

Now, my more masculine card:

The music comes from an old hymnal, and I did a bunch of ink distressing on it to darken it up. The musical stamps used to create the vertical strip come from an old set from Inkadinkado (my sister found it on eBay), and the "Thanks" sentiment comes from the Everyday Greetings stamp set from DeNami Design.

Now, I just need to write my notes inside these cards and pop them in the mail!!

Hope you found a little bit of happy in your corner of the world today! Thanks for stopping by :).
Emily

20 comments:

Bonnie said...

What wonderful cards for thanking musicians or anyone who loves music!

Lisa Elton said...

How sweet of her to give you this pretty image Emily! Love her dress...gown...robe! Just what does an angel wear?! And your second card is wonderful! Have a great day ;)

Debbie Carriere said...

Fantastic cards, Emily!!! What a thoughtful sister you have, too'

Auntie Em said...

Your cards are so pretty! The paper piecing is so pretty on your feminine card (sweet image) and the inking on the masculine card is awesome! You are so talented!
You have a very sweet sister to send you such pretty stamps. :)

Pam said...

Two perfect thank you cards! Love the masculine one, with it's aged look!

Sarah said...

These are stunning Emily! You always leave me so inspired!

Denise said...

I love both of these! The angel image is beautiful! Thanks for playing along with us this week in the Play Date Cafe - so glad to have you join us!

yyam said...

These are soooo lovely Emily! I love the play with the musical notes! :)

Marybeth said...

Love this card with the music notes it would be so perfect for my son who loves music. This is a wonderful guy card. Love that it is real. Your angel card is beautiful too! Love the notes she seems to be holding.

Anita said...

These are both fabulous Emily. I especially love the male card. How sweet of your sister to give you such a perfect gift!

~Tammy~ said...

How sweet of your sister! These are beyond beautiful Emily and will be so appreciated!

I have been on the search for an old hymnal for years now. Beautiful layouts and design!

~amy~ said...

Both of your cards are super fantastic!!!

Jessi Fogan said...

Kioshi is perfect - especially with that ribbon :) What a gorgeous image, and how perfect for the folks you'll be giving them too. How awesome is your sister for realizing what you needed stamp-wise?
I love the fun wavy stitching on the first card, especially with the shorter scalloped strip, and the score lines (hah! does that count as a pun? lol) on the second card suit the musical notes so well :) Have a great weekend!

Benzi said...

Perfect cards for your cause, Emily. And, your sister sounds like a dear. Now, she is seeing just how much you appreciate her thoughtfulness.

lisa arana said...

What an amazing and sweet sister. Just beautiful cards.

Patrice said...

So cute! I'd love for you to link up with me at 52 Card Pickup, a cardmaking celebration...

http://www.oldbackporch.com/2012/02/52-card-pickup-week-5.html

Colleen Dietrich said...

Emily, it's so good to see you playing with us at The Cafe. :)

Well, wasn't that nice and extremely thoughtful of your sister, giving you that music-themed set for Christmas?? The angel is sweet, and I like that you paperpieced her.

I LOVE the aged look of that hymnal page. It's got such a gorgeous patina.

Thanks so much for playing with us at The Play Date CAfe! :) Big hugs!

Tan's Hobbies said...

Love the masculine - musical card so much!!! Perfectly done, love the tone color. Simple and elegant!! Love it, Emily =)

Jinny Newlin said...

These are absolutely perfect for the cause, Emily! I LOVE it! And the movement of that musical angel in our take is beyond gorgeous! Thanks so much for playing along with us this week at The Play Date Cafe!

Ruby said...

How lovely that you got to create with your sister and that she was so thoughtful with her gifts too! These are both lovely Emily, the paper piecing works so well for your first card and I love the stitching on your second card too, it makes the whole design just pop, really great!! Thanks for joining in the fun with us over at The Play Date Cafe!