Happy Birthday Ciprian - This Coupon is Redeemable . . .

Happy Birthday Ciprian! Who the heck is that?  My little sister's boyfriend.  She texted me (I feel so cool saying that) on Friday night and asked if she could come over on Saturday to make Ciprian's birthday card and a coupon book of some sort.  My sister and her boyfriend are college students, perpetually broke, so things like this go a long way.  I get it, it's been quite some time since I was there, but I am willing to help out!!  Plus,  I love it when my sister visits and so do my kids so my answer was a resounding YES!  Last year, in honor of Cipriain's birthday, she and I spent a week constructing the massive haunted house from Happy Hauntings.  Given the bar was set so high, I wasn't sure two evening was going to be enough time to top last year's creation. Despite my trepidation we jumped into it.  My sister wanted to create a coupon book for him to cash in  for things she would never normally do - like watch a movie of Ciprian's choosing. I know, that sounds crazy, until she started to tell me the type of movies Ciprian' likes - think Lifetime movies circa 1988 and you'll get the picture.  So, with that painful picture in my head and a clear understanding in my heart I pushed forward.  Creating a coupon book is a first for me.  I thought it was a fab idea and I was thrilled when I found the PERFECT image  on a Cricut cartridge.  Scratch that - unfortunately the one I wanted wasn't on a cartridge I own!  Don't worry, it's Make The Cut to the rescue.  I was able to find a ticket image in the Make The Cut gallery and with about ten minutes worth of modifications we were in business.  I am in love with this coupon book.  Ruh roh.  That means you guys might be seeing more of these in the future.  Somebody stop me!  Without further adieu, here it is:

Who is Spanky?  Well apparently Cirprian has an alias, and Spanky it is.  Don't question it, just go with it.  The front and back of the Coupon book were cut using cereal box chipboard and then covered with houndstooth paper on both sides from one of the DCWV Halloween packs.  I wish I could tell you which one but my sister was in charge of most of the paper selections.  I used my Chomas' gel pen holder to print everything on the coupon, and before unloading my mat from my machine, I changed the gel pen back to the cutting blade to cut out the tickets.  We added a mat, and then adhered it to the ticket.  Pretty cute isn't it?

My favorite part of the coupon book is the front and the back. Believe it or not I did not use any adhesive to hold it together, just Bazzil yarn that I've had from a Stitch It Up set that's been sitting around for quite some time. I also tied a few 7 Gypsies gears to the front because Ciprian is an engineering student and my sister thought he would appreciate the reference.  The tags on the front of the book were cut from Spellbinders Four and the flourishes are from Waltzingmouse's Vintage Banners.  Spanky's name was spelled out using Making Memories Alphabet Charms.  I'm almost at the end of this pack and it making me sad.  I don't think they sell these anymore!

Don't you love the yarn?  I love the yarn.

Next up is the birthday card.  After flipping through the Happy Hauntings book for a while my sister decided she liked the gate and tombstones.  I sprayed black paper with Marshmellow Glimmer Mist and then cut it out three times.  Once adhered together it was thick enough to resemble chipboard.  I cut the tombstomes out of DCWV silver shimmer paper several times to add some dimension.  The bats are Spellbinders dies (Nested Bats) and they were inked with Basic Grey (Stampin' Up) to accent their embossing.  I also pop dotted the bats for dimension.

The sentiment and the tags behind it I love but I really can't take credit for.  Many of you know that I am head over heels in love with Waltzingmouse Stamps.  This past week, one of the Top Mouse's used these spellbinder tags and accents to create the most awesome focal point.  I totally scraplifted those from her card which you can see here.  Jeanne is an incredible crafter with many awards to her credit.  One day I can hope to create with ease the masterpieces she turns out week after week. 

Here is the inside of the card.  The sentiment at the top was cut using Wild card, and I used a Stampin' Up image from the Happiest Birthday Wishes set on the bottom.

And that's all folks.  I really have to say I loved this project.  I received some invaluable tips and ideas from my crafting buddies about the coupon book and it made all the difference in the world. I really like being stretched outside of my comfort zone and I hope to get to create something like this again soon.  In the meantime I am planning on entering it in the latest Cricut Circle Weekly Challenge.  I think this is a gift just about anyone would want to receive!

Recipe:

Paper:  K & Company Spooktacular; DCWV Ghouls & Ghosts; DVWV Midnight Spell

Cartridges:  Happy Hauntings, Wild Card

Make The Cut:  Coupon book and tags;  Fonts: Stencil & Batang

Spellbinders:  Fancy Tags, Ornate Artisian Tags & Accents, Nested Bats, Labels Four

Stamps:  Waltzingmouse - Cameo Maker (oval stamp) & Vintage Banners (flourish); Papertrey Ink Happy Birthday; Stampin' Up - Happiest Birthday Wishes

Embellishments:  Bazzil yarn; 7 Gypsies Gears; Making Memories Alphabet Charms

 Thanks for stopping by!  I hope to have something to show you again real soon!!