Sometimes handmade cards just need a little boost...

Because I volunteer at a local thrift store and also donate hundreds of cards to them each year, they ask me to sort, price and display a lot of the craft supplies they receive from others. When a cutting machine, such as a Cricut Expression comes in, I test it to make sure it works before pricing it and putting it out for sale.

Sometimes we get partially made crafts--even cards--that I try to finish or enhance before putting them for sale in the store. Here are a few of the cards the store received recently that I finished or embellished.

I added the chipboard snowman and sentiment to the card on the left, the two chipboard poinsettias to the card in the center and all the gems to the card on the right.

I added the snowflake, sentiment and felt snowman to the card on the left, the sentiment and felt snowman to the center card and the chipboard snowman to the card on the right.

I added the thin red strips and the die-cut poinsettias to the two green cards and the trees and sentiment to the top card. I embellished the trees with some glittery snow to make them a bit more festive. I also added some sparkle to the star.

Each card also got a stamped sentiment on the inside. The one on the left is just an example, as they weren't all the same.

I really enjoy taking a partially made card and finishing it. Some of these cards had very chunky, plastic embellishments, which I removed because they make cards so expensive to mail. I always try to keep the cards at the thrift store not only affordable to buy, but also affordable to mail.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.

Cheryl

A simple masculine card...

I have some tri-fold blank brochure bases. They are made from heavy, textured cardstock that is 8 1/2" x 11", scored to create three equal sections with rounded corners. I cut off one of the sections to create a slimline card base with rounded corners.

After prepping the card base, I cut a piece of copy paper that was 1/4" narrower. I added some double-sided adhesive to the paper and then started adding strips of paper at an angle. The earth tone paper strips all had metallic threads in them that had a bit of a shine, but they weren't sparkly. I thought they'd work well for a masculine card.

The sentiment was cut from black cardstock and glued to the top of the card. I added some silver drops with a Viva Decor pen into the little holes created by the die.

This is the sentiment I stamped on the inside. I added a leftover piece of the angled strips at the bottom. It helped to fill up the inside a bit.

I made a couple of these, trying to add to my stash of masculine cards. 

*****

We had a nice Thanksgiving meal at my daughter's house. We didn't have to travel far--just 10 blocks. It was fun to spend some time with our grandkids there. They are all in their late teens or twenties and are becoming beautiful adults. We love watching them grow and mature.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.

Cheryl

Beautiful roses...

A few weeks ago I began the process of making a birthday card for my youngest sister. I happened to have some beautiful images of roses that were actually stickers, so I decided to use one of them. Here's the card I made for her:

The bee and the ladybug were also part of the sticker set. I curved my "Happy Birthday" stamp as much as I could to match the curve of the circle.

The circle was popped up with foam squares.

I added a stamped sentiment and another small rose sticker to the inside.

After getting this card made and ready to send, I forgot to actually get it in the mail until the day of her birthday! Sheesh! I wish I had a good excuse, but I don't. I just forgot. It isn't the first time, and I'm sure it won't be the last.

There was another large image of roses in the sticker set, and I thought it would make a beautiful wedding card. 

I first applied the sticker to a white panel, and then I embossed the panel. With the embossing, it's really hard to see that it's a sticker.

The strip sentiment was popped up with some thin foam strips, and I just "had" to add one little gem. I felt this card deserved at least a tiny bit of sparkle.

A stamped sentiment and a small rose sticker finished off the inside.

I love it when I come across such pretty stickers to use in my cardmaking. There are a few more stickers left in this set, so you may see more cards made with them in the future.

I want to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you are able to spend the day with loved ones, be they family or friends.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.

Cheryl

A different sort of Thanksgiving card...

I had a piece of beautiful vellum in my stash that was printed with leaves in shades of gray and black. At first I didn't know how I would use it, but then I thought, "Why not make some Thanksgiving cards with it?" 

I started with a light gray A2 card base and cut a piece of the vellum that was 4" X 5 1/4". I was able to apply double-sided tape to the back of it without it showing through to the front. I think the dramatic print of the leaves hid it well.

I stamped a sentiment, along with a couple of leaves that were similar to the ones on the vellum. I cut it out with a stitched oval and popped it up with some foam squares.

I added a little bow of silver cord and three dots made with a silver Viva Decor pen.

The sentiment on the inside of my card was printed with my computer, but the leaves at the top were stamped.

 *****

On a personal note, we had some sad news last Saturday. My brother-in-law passed away after struggling for months against an aggressive cancer. My sister was an incredible caretaker, and he was able to stay at home throughout his illness. I only wish the distance between us had been substantially less than 500 miles so that I could have been there to help.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--even on those sad days when it seems there's nothing to smile about.

Cheryl

Birthday card for a 19-year-old...

 

My granddaughter turned 19 yesterday and this is the card I made for her. Actually, I made two cards for her, but I didn't like the first one, so it ended up in the bin.

This is a fun-fold card, which is why it looks a little cockeyed. I promise you, it's not! The center piece with the mushrooms is a tri-fold that is adhered to the 4 1/4" X 5 1/2" panel (with its 4" X 5 1/4" piece of DSP). 

When I decided to use some cute pink mushrooms and tiny heart flowers for my main image, I didn't know if they would appeal to my granddaughter. She texted me, however, to say how much she liked it.

Of course, I also added a circle with her age, cutting the numbers from some glitter cardstock.

Because I didn't think that was enough bling, I added a tiny gem to each of the heart flowers.

This photo shows how the center card folds out. The pocket in the middle is where I added some cash for her.

The center tri-fold started as a piece of white cardstock that measured 4 1/2" X 9 3/4", scored on the long side at 3 1/4" and 6 1/2". Each panel can then be decorated and embellished as you wish.

I really enjoy making funfolds like this one. They're so much more satisfying than the usual side- or top-fold card. I need to make a few of these to donate. I think the customers at the thrift store would really like them.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.

Cheryl

Using pre-printed, punch-out sentiments...

You know how you sometimes get punch-out pages in card kits or paper stacks? They usually consist of images and/or sentiments to help with your cardmaking. I don't often use them, but when I wanted to make a couple of quick cards recently, I did.

The framed rectangle sentiment is a punch-out. I always carefully trim off the tiny connecting stubs that hold them in place on the page.

I die-cut the fancy rectangle with the pinpoint border and adhered it to the card front. Then I popped up the pre-printed sentiment with some foam squares.

To finish the front, I added a little bling.

I stamped a sentiment on the inside and added a strip of the DSP as a small embellishment.

This card features another punch-out sentiment.

This time I glued some gold and white glitter foliage die-cuts to the card front before adding the sentiment with foam squares.

Do you see the gold pearls I added as an embellishment?

I stamped the same sentiment inside this card and added a scalloped strip on the bottom. I wanted to mimic the scallops around the punched-out sentiment.

It felt so good to get all my Thanksgiving cards in the mail on Monday. And I was even able to send some early Christmas gifts to our kids. 

Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.

Cheryl

Grateful and thankful...

 

When making these two cards, I tried to use up more of that busy DSP that has lines of printed words related to Autumn and Thanksgiving.

For this card I die-cut a large sentiment and adhered it to a piece of vellum. The vellum was then adhered to the DSP on my card front by adding double-sided tape behind the words. I thought the vellum obscured some of the busyness of the printed words.

On this one, I decided to use some simple images. I die-cut three pumpkins from different shades of orange cardstock and added some ink blending to give them more depth. The pumpkins on the left and right were popped up with foam squares.

Because the sentiment oval looked as though it might get lost on the DSP, I added an orange banner to help distinguish it.

This is the sentiment I put on the inside of each card.

While I have finished making Thanksgiving cards for personal use and for the thrift store, I haven't shared all of them with you yet, so expect to see a few more here on my blog.

As for my crafting, I will definitely be focusing on finishing my Christmas cards!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.

Cheryl