Susan's Anything Goes Festive Birthday Bash Blog Hop!!!

Hello!

A very happy birthday to Susan!  And welcome to her Anything Goes Festive Birthday Bash Blog Hop!  In case you would like to know where you are coming from and where you should go from here, the revised order is as follows:

Day 1:
1. Lynne: http://slasewcraftiness.blogspot.com/
2. Amber: http://pixiperfectcreations.blogspot.com/
3. Angie: http://atuttletime.blogspot.com/
4. Becky: http://squirlygirlcreations.blogspot.com/
5. Berenice: http://karbersweetescape.blogspot.com/
6. Brenda: http://createbyburffrau.blogspot.com/
7. Christel: http://onescrappinsista.blogspot.com/
8. Cindy: http://www.cindys-greencricut.blogspot.com/
9. Deborah: http://www.scrappingmamma.net/
10. Erin: http://comfyonmycloud.blogspot.com/ ~ YOU ARE HERE!
11. Gina: http://californiascrappin-gcinderella21.blogspot.com/
12. Kari: http://purplefuntastickcreations.blogspot.com/
13. Staci: http://preciousmem.blogspot.com/

I hope you are finding lots of creativity and inspiration in everyone's projects.  Don't forget that there is a second day of projects taking place tomorrow, Sept 4th.  Go to Susan's blog for more details.

It's time to think outside the box.  Gifts do not always have to be accompanied by a traditional card.  And not every occasion must be celebrated with one.  There are plenty of other paper-crafts that will make the occasion more memorable.  And your friends and family will want to keep them, long after a traditional card would have been put aside or thrown away.

A RECIPE FOR YOU
My birthday card is actually a recipe card.  On the front, a small note.  On the back, a very special recipe for my friend.  I won't show the back, since I do not want to ruin the surprise.

I used paper from a Creative Memories paper pack.  The yellow flowers are from Oriental Trading - I got a larger batch than I thought, and now I have tons!

My favorite part of this project was experimenting with embossing powder.  I came across another blog recently, with a video on how to emboss buttons.  I applied the same technique to my own buttons and flowers.

It's very simple - just Versamark the stamp you wish to use, then stamp the object you wish to emboss.  Sprinkle on the powder (I used black) and heat with the embossing gun.

Pay close attention to what materials you are working with.  I tried this technique on ribbon, and the heat melted some of the fibers.  Also, the flowers absorbed the embossing powder after heating, giving it the effect of an ink, rather than the glossiness usually produced by embossing powder.

The effect, however, is simply divine when applied to buttons! :)

Speaking of buttons...
Since this is my first blog hop, I have decided to REALLY get into the spirit of things.  What I mean is, I will be giving away BLOG CANDY!

The beautiful bag of beautiful buttons found below can be yours if you follow two simple steps:
1) follow this blog
2) post a comment, include your email address (to contact you if you win)
The winner will be chosen at random on Monday.  Good luck!



PS) Did I mention I LOVE buttons?????

Happy Labor Day!