Some of you will remember that last January on my wedding anniversary, Ardyth Percy-Robb of Maskerade, surprised Mister and me by throwing us an anniversary party on her blog where everyone could link up anniversary cards for us. It was wonderful!! If you'd like to see it, please visit here.
I thought it would be too predictable if I were to return the flavor and throw Ardyth and Michael an anniversary party on their anniversary, so I am hoping instead to really surprise her today with a BIRTHDAY PARTY!
Ardyth started her blog just shortly after I started mine and we have been ardent supporters of each other from the first. I admire her so much. She has become well-known in our card-making community. She has a very distinct and amazing card style showcasing her love of color and graphics and stained glass and oh, so many other wonderful characteristics. When I issued the hush-hush invitation, I suggested that peeps CASE (copy and share everything) one of Ardyth's fabulous cards.
For my card, I did not choose one specific card, but rather I chose to CASE Ardyth's love of rainbows and graphics/spirographs:
Although I have made a card in the past using the actual Spirograph art set from the molden days, for this card I simply used the circle stamp from a modern Avery Elle stamp set called Fanfare:
Using a rainbow of inks, I carefully stamped several circles to make a larger circle "flower" and then I used my Prismacolor pencils to color the image details. I cut strips of paper in rainbow colors for a background mat, which I attached to a white card base. The flower center is a silver sequin that I turned to gold with a gold marker, anchored with a gold brad.
Ardyth also loves sparkle and glitter, so I've added both to my card, which you might be able to better see here. It is so hard to capture it in a photo.
Ardyth also loves sparkle and glitter, so I've added both to my card, which you might be able to better see here. It is so hard to capture it in a photo.
I have two online friends to thank for helping me launch this party:
I would like to thank Jackie Rockwell (Jackie Rockwell Designs) for riding in on her white horse and helping me get the InLinkz tool added at the last minute! (Turns out I have technophobia and I couldn't encipher how to do it because InLinkz decided to change their interface and neglected to change their outerface instructions.) I would also like to very much thank the sweet Geri Greening of Manitoba Stamper for helping me obtain email addresses and being a great cocoa spiriter!
If some of you did not receive the email invitation, please join in now by making Ardyth a birthday card and linking up below! That way, Ardyth can have a collection of all of our cards in one spot! I am keeping the collection open until June 15th, so that even more people can join in after the word gets out.
Thank you to everyone who joins in the fun! Happy Birthday, Ardyth, my friend, and many, many more!!
Life Is Too Short!
53 comments:
How beautiful card.
stunning,
hugs
Tamara
This is such a great idea, Darnell!!! I hope Ardyth gets a ton of birthday wishes today! I didn't CASE a specific card either, but attempted to CASE her style! :)
Darnell, you did it! Way to go! Now you can relax : )
And, you totally nailed Ardyth's style! I can see her doing this one. The colors, the design, the sparkle, even the square card, you got it all! Thanks for being such a great hostess : )
What a fabulous colourful card to start off the celebrations, Darnell ... you're a star! My card was more of a style CASE too, rather than one card! Anita :)
You are awesome Darnell, what a wonderful Surprise and I'm sooo happy to be a part of it, Ardyth is such an inspiration! Yaaaay for Jackie, she often rides that white horse... lol.
I'm sure Ardyth will be bowled over by this Darnell... it's a brilliant idea and I'm happy to be part of it!!
You're a Saint... oh and love your Ardyth inspired card too :0)
Jenny x
So happy to be a part of this celebration for Ardyth! Your card is totally Ardyth--love the colors!
What a great card. Love the colours. Happy Birthday Ardyth.
Happy Birthday to Ardyth.
Such a wonderful and thoughtful surprise for your friend.
Your card is wonderful. I really love the clever design and beautiful rainbow colours. The touches of sparkle add that special finishing touch.
Sue xx
A lovely happy bright card and such a nice idea to do the link up for our friend. Going to hop across now and have a looksee at her blog. Hugs Mrs A.
What a great thing to do Darnell :) I love Ardyth's style and seeing everyone's take on it.
Kate x
What a fun way to help Ardyth celebrate her special day! Your card is so much like Ardyth's style, and I know she's going to love it! WTG! You pulled this off so well :)
Well done Darnell for pulling the surprise off! Sit back and drink a BIG glass of wine!
You're a star, Darnell, for organising this birthday bash for Ardyth. Glad to be part of it.
You've definitely captured Ardyth's love of rainbows in your card, she'll love it!
Lovely idea Darnell, and fab colourful card x
Ardyth is so lucky to have a great friend like you Darnell!
Thanks for giving us the opportunity to celebrate the day with her!
Beautiful card Darnell. Happy Birthday Ardyth!
Your Ardyth-inspired card is gorgeous, Darnell! The spirograph-esqe flower is so freakin' cool! Congrats on pulling off a fantabulous party! :D
When I first saw this card I thought you masked around the circles to get the scallops in there. Glad to see that the stamp did that for you! Love the bright colors and sparkle. Suits Ardyth to a tee! Thanks for the party. I'm off looking for the drink trolley!
How thoughtful of you to do this for Ardyth!! Your spirograph card is SO MUCH FUN!!
Darnell - this is such a wonderfully thoughtful thing to do for Ardyth - the gallery looks amazing!! Love your bold, sparkly rainbow flower - absolutely perfect for Ardyth!
This is so thoughtful of you Darnell. Ardyth is an inspiration to us all and what a great way to honor her on her birthday. Your card is true Ardyth style! I LOVE it!
Gorgeous card, Darnell! Thanks for organising this! It's lots of fun!
So sweet of you to get this up and running! I think I'm enjoying this nearly as much as Ardyth is!! All those CASED cards are amazing and I'll be checking back during the day to see them all. You, girl, are the bomb! Oh!, and your card is tres Ardythesque!!! She will love it, it's gorgeous. Thanks for doing this. Truly. Bev
Darnell, your card is a beautiful 'case' of Ardyth's! I'm just so delighted to be part of this celebration (card/post coming later) - thank you! As for you - what an amazing, incredible, special, kind and awesome friend you are! Stunning cards, brilliant posts, and a heart of gold; it's no wonder you have such a loyal following of friends! I'm honour to count myself in that mix (if I may!). Have a fantastic day; you've made everyone's Wednesday - especially Ardyth's - mighty special!
c
Such a wonderful "party" to hold! So nice of you.
Your card is a shining example of all the Ardyth loves - well done!
Darnell, So glad you put this birthday party together.
Your card is so colorful, and so Ardyth! Awesome!
Ardyth is my sister and she has such an amazing group of online friends! Darnell, this is such a fun idea and I love seeing cards that are other people's versions of Ardyth's. Like others, I tried to go for a card in her style, rather than trying to CASE a particular one. This is the card I actually sent her and I hope she likes it.
wow you did such a great job...this card is stunning.. Happy Birthday to Ardyth..
Well, I've taken the long way round and seen many of the cards before I finally arrived at the origination point! What can I say? I am absolutely overwhelmed by all your creativity and kind words and thoughts on my birthday. I am thrilled to see so many of my friends here in one place (even my sister, #29, Meredyth G (yes, we rhyme), who rarely posts the beautiful cards she makes. I feel so fortunate to be in this wonderful community and I'm proud and happy to call you all friends! Thank you so very, very much!
WOW!!! You are such a sweet friend to host a wonderful art sharing!! :) :) :) It's just amazing! :) :) Your card is so bright and cheery, I love it!! I own that stamp set so I can CASE your card later~~ LOL!! Have a FAB day!! Sounds like you are due a rest from your hard work setting up for this lovely occasion!! :) :)
What a lovely idea Darnell - thanks so much for organising. I've loved trying to capture Ardyth's beautiful style and your card is an absolute stunner. Totally nailed it!
Love this idea, and Happy Birthday to Ardyth! I'm going to go look through those and your anniversary cards now since I missed it!
Happy Birthday Ardyth! Way to go Darnell for organizing this birthday party and Jackie for her technical assistance!
You did it sistah!! What a wonderful birthday tribute you and Geri have organized for Ardyth. No doubt she feels loved beyond measure on her special day. I love the sweet spirit of support and friendship that you all share with each other. So inspiring!! Thanks for organizing this, Darnell!! You are a gem!!
Darnell your card is simply amazing, i love the colors and the idea :) and thank you so much for giving the opportunity to case Ardyth's card :)
This is one super awesome blog hop for Ardyth! Your card is FABULOUS and I have so much fun looking through the cards created for this birthday celebration! You are a sweetie, Darnell!
What a wonderful idea and a beautiful card you have created for Ardyth's Bday! Thank You for the inspiration Darnell!
What an amazing birthday party. So many wonderful cards for Ardyth. Darnell, thank you so much for taking the time to get this organized. As always, your card is stunning. I love that look of the spirograph and you nailed it with the Avery Elle set. Thank you again!
Yay for Ardyth and thank you so much Darnell for setting up a party for her!! Your card is true Ardyth style!! Hugs, Harriet
Awww, what a sweet, kind, thoughtful way to celebrate Ardyth's birthday! I just love what you did with the rainbow effect on your creation for her! It's just gorgeous!
What a fun idea, Darnell, and I'm so happy to participate!
I'm seeing this late so I''m glad you're leaving it open. It is such a sweet thing for you to do and I want to be part of it. Your card is a great tribute to Ardyth's style.
Darnell Ardyth's surprise party has been such a fantastic success!! So man gorgeous card, and CASEing Ardyth is a fantastic idea. Love your card and I need to use that stamp to try this out.
What a great idea Darnelle, and now I have found out about it, I will certainly add a card before you take the link down. I love your bright card and all the special touches you added to it to make it so right for Ardyth.
Awww Darnell-What a lovely thing to have organised-no wonder Ardyth was so pleased :)What a gorgeous collection of Birthday cards-including yours,such a lovely colourful card and i believe right up Ardyth's street :)
Thank you for such lovely words about my masculine card effort this week tee hee !
Hugs,Nessa xx
Finally making my way to all the beautiful cards that I missed over the past few days!
Now this is one heck of an example of absolute precision stamping (Ardyth is going to love that!)
Stunning colors, AWESOME design, gorgeous rainbow background - you totally channeled the birthday girl with this stunner!
WOW!!!
Darnell, love your card ~ clearly a classic Ardyth style with the rainbow, sparkle and graphic nature. What a fantastic idea to do this for Ardyth! Thank you!
Hi Darnell - I love how you organized this suprise for Ardyth - what a beautiful person and friend you are:) Your card is also fabulous - hugs xx
What a neat stamp & wonderful way to use it, Darnell! Missed Ardyth's birthday, so thanks for the link here & time to add one.
Oops, just turned up, out of breath and with my shirt buttons done up all askew (a la Mister!) Sorry to be late Darnell but how lovely of you to have organised this party for Ardyth. Your sparkly rainbow card is gorgeous and I'm sure she'll love it! Vicky x
I just received your lovely card in the mail - it's even more beautiful in real life! Thank you, once again, my friend - this birthday has been so very, very special!
Hi Darnell ~
This is the nicest Birthday Party ever, and I know how much Ardyth appreciates all that you've done! Your card is AMAZING, too...you really nailed her style and love of bright, fun colors!
Also, thanks so much for letting me know that I should post my card here...you are so kind!!!
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