Documenting Your Friendships

Hello!

We have lots of friendships throughout our lives.  Some are made when young and last only a school year or a Summer.  Some are specific to clubs, organizations, gym or church, while others may be specific to the workplace.  If we are very lucky we may form a friendship (or two) at a young age that lasts throughout our lives.  I know that I have experienced many of these types of friendships and enjoy some truly wonderful memories of their special significance and impact upon my life.  I think that was why I was so drawn to the Language of Friendship stamp set when I first saw it.  The wonderful quote from Henry David Thoreau so clearly expresses my feelings about the special friendships I've been privileged to share:  The language of Friendship is not words but meanings.

So it only made sense that I would want to document a few of these truly special friendships.

(click on scrapbook pages to see larger image)

These 6" x 6" pages begin with a base of Very Vanilla Textured cardstock.  The three-flower stamp image was randomly stamped across both pages using Pool Party ink.  The edges of strips of Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper were sponged with Soft Suede ink and adhered to the bottom edge of the left page and the top edge of the right page.  Pieces of Calypso Coral 3/8" Ruffled ribbon were placed at the top edge of the Designer Series Paper strip on the left page and the bottom edge of the Designer Series Paper strip on the right page.  The ribbon was anchored in place at the right and left edges of the base pages with cute butterfly brads from the Everyday Enchantment Ribbon & Brad Pack.

For the left page, the "F" image from the Vintage Vogue stamp set was inked with Soft Suede ink and stamped on a piece of Pool Party cardstock.  The image was cut out with Paper Snips and the edges of the cardstock sponged with Soft Suede ink.  A piece of Lucky Limeade 1/8" Organdy ribbon from the Everyday Enchantment Ribbon & Brad Pack was wrapped around the vertical leg of the "F" and knotted.  The "F" was adhered near the left side of the left page border treatment using Stampin' Dimensionals.  The remaining letters of the word "Friends" were created with the Big Shot and lower case letters from the Timeless Type Junior Alphabet Medium Sizzlits dies and pieces of Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper.  The edges of the letters were sponged with Soft Suede ink and adhered to the border treatment with SNAIL.  A Lucky LImeade patterned brad from the Everyday Enchantment Ribbon & Brad Pack was used to create the dot for the "i". 

For the right page, the Thoreau quote was stamped on a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock using Calypso Coral ink, punched out with the Decorative Label punch, and the edges of the cardstock sponged with Soft Suede ink.  The punched quote was matted with Pool Party cardstock punched twice with the Decorative Label punch, cut apart, sponged with Soft Suede ink, and adhered behind the Very Vanilla punched cardstock.  The quote was adhered near the left side of the border treatment using Stampin' Dimensionals.  The bird image was stamped on a piece of Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper using Soft Suede ink, punched out with the Bird Builder punch, and the edges of the body and wing sponged with Soft Suede ink.  The body of the bird was adhered to the border treatment just above the ribbon border with Stampin' Dimensionals; the wing of the bird was adhered to the bird body with SNAIL.  A "nest" for the bird was created by wrapping Lucky Limeade 1/8" Organdy ribbon around three fingers 10 times and cinching the ribbon at the middle with a small piece of the ribbon.  The loops at each end were clipped with Paper Snips and the bundle attached below the bird body with Mini Glue Dots.

(click on cards to see larger images)

For the non-scrapbookers among us, the border treatment for the right scrapbook page translates easily into 3" x 6" greeting cards.  The first card mirrors the right scrapbook page.  The inside of the card was lined with a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock; the edges sponged with Soft Suede ink.  The three-flower image was stamped along the left side of the liner using Pool Party ink.

(click on cards to see larger images)

The second card is a variation of the left page border treatment.  The three-flower image was stamped on Very Vanilla cardstock using Pool Party, Calypso Coral, and Island Indigo inks and punched out with the Boho Blossoms punch.  The small and large flowers were combined with Gold Brads and Gold Brads were placed at the center of the medium flowers.  The flowers were placed at the lower right corner of the border treatment.  The matted quote straddles the ribbon border near the upper left side of the card.  The inside of the card was lined with a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock; the edges sponged with Soft Suede ink.  The branch image was stamped near the lower right corner of the liner with Lucky Limeade ink.  The bird body and wing were stamped on a piece of Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper using Soft Suede ink.  The bird legs were stamped just above the branch using Soft Suede ink.  The bird body and wing were punched out using the Bird Builder punch.  The body and wing were adhered to the liner using SNAIL.

(click on envelopes to see larger images)

A piece of Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper was adhered to the envelope flap of the Small Open-End Envelope and trimmed to match the edge of the flap with Paper Snips.  The edges of the flap were sponged with Soft Suede ink.  The front left side of the envelope was stamped with the three-flower image using Calypso Coral ink.

Now that you're thinking about Friendship, I hope you take the time to recognize the importance of the friendships in your life; both past and present.  They are a reflection of the best parts of yourself.

Stamps:  Language of Friendship, Vintage Vogue; Inks:  Calypso Coral, Island Indigo, Lucky Limeade, Pool Party, Soft Suede; Cardstock:  Pool Party, Very Vanilla, Very Vanilla Textured; Designer Series Paper:  Everyday Enchantment; Embellishments:  Calypso Coral 3/8" Ruffled ribbon, Everyday Enchantment Ribbon & Brad Pack, Gold Brads; Adhesives:  SNAIL, Stampin' Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots; Tools:  Paper Cutter/Scorer, Paper Snips, Bone Folder, Sponge, Paper Piercing Tool, Mat Pack, Decorative Label punch, Bird Builder punch, Boho Blossoms punch, Big Shot w/Standard Cutting Plates, Multi-Purpose Platform, Timeless Type Junior Alphabet Medium Sizzlits dies; Other:  Page Protectors, Small Open-End Envelope

Comments

[Sara Mattson-Blume]

Very beautiful! I love the cards that match the page! So lovely!

[Yapha]

Such beautiful scrapbook pages AND card alternatives!! I love the bird, and how you used that thin, thin ribbon!!

[Paula aka Scrapshappen]

Just beautiful Mickey! I also am fortunate to have some wonderful friends since childhood. And you are right, that quote is perfect.

[Katherine]

I love the sponging on the envelope flaps - the pages are beautiful!

[Adriana]

Gorgeous, gorgeous work. The recipient of these is going to cry buckets of happiness and gratitude! :)

[Tanya Boser]

Beautiful ensemble! And you are so right! WE really do need to document our friendships. In this day and age, there are so many friends that you make and then one of you moves on to another town or another job, and only keep in minimal contact anymore because of the frantic pace of our lives.

[Shelley Z.]

Lovely set of pages and cards! Friendships are so important in our lives. Great way to document them!

[Carmen]

Ok these are *just* awesome!!

[Holly/Rubber Redneck]

I really love all of these they are so pretty!