Colorful daisies for Mother's Day...

 

This is such a simple idea for a card, but I think it results in a real eye-catcher.

I had some green, wood-grain-embossed card blanks, which made a great background for my flowers. I cut two layers of each flower (you could certainly do more layers!) and then did some ink-blending at their centers before glueing the layers together.

I used a leaf die to cut out three leaves for each card. I did a little ink-blending on them, too. I also cut some flower centers from gold metallic cardstock.

The sentiment was stamped, cut out and popped up with foam tape.

I love the look of the ink blending. It really adds some nice dimension to the petals.

On the inside, I added thin strips of the same colors of cardstock that I had used to create the flowers. The stamped sentiment was centered between the strips on the left and the right side of the white panel.

This card design could easily be used for a thank you, birthday, anniversary, get well, or thinking of you card. It's so versatile and fun to make. Different flower dies could be used--you just may want to make sure they're big enough to span the width of the card.

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

Cheryl

Telescoping technique for cards...

I had a sheet of punch-out images in my stash that were meant to be used for the telescoping technique. Because the images were so pretty, I decided to use them for Mother's Day cards. My only issue with the images was that there was only a 1/8" margin around all four sides when the images were stacked on top of each other. I really wanted a wider margin, so I split them up.

First, I added some lavender polka-dot DSP to each card front.

Then, as you can see, I used just two (of four) layers of the image on each card. All the images for each card are exactly the same, with one cropped smaller than the other. 

It wasn't advised on the sheet of images to mat them, but that is what I decided to do. It gives the layers a nice finished look.

I popped up each matted image with foam tape. I'm glad I only used two of the layers. Can you imagine how thick this card would have become had I put all four layers on one card? I know I could have put all the layers on without using foam tape, but I love a little dimension!

Here's a little closer look at those pretty hydrangeas. The sentiment was stamped, die-cut and added to the top layer.

A simple sentiment was stamped on the inside.

This card was made in the same way, but this time the sentiment was stamped, die-cut and matted before popping it up with foam tape towards the bottom of the card front.

It was a little trickier to cut the mats for these images because of their shape, but my small guillotine paper cutter did an admirable job.

I stamped a sentiment on the inside to finish.

These cards were surprisingly quick to make, and it can be done with a single hand-stamped image, too. Back in 2012, I made a card doing just that. You can see it here.

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

Cheryl

Leafy sympathy cards with vellum backgrounds...

 

This was a quick card to make. I die-cut a black frame to fit over a piece of embossed vellum. I was able to adhere the framed vellum to the card front with double-sided tape. The tape didn't show through the vellum because of the embossing (I think).

I die-cut a leafy branch and added it inside the black frame, letting a couple of the leaves peek over the edge of the frame.

The sentiment was stamped, cut out and popped up with foam tape.

I stamped a sentiment on the inside and added a small piece of another leafy die-cut.

For this card, I added a piece of the vellum directly to the card front, with no frame to box it in. Then I stamped and die-cut the framed leafy sprigs and adhered this to a navy blue rectangle.

The blue rectangle was adhered to a slightly larger white one, which was popped up on the card front.

The sentiment was stamped, die-cut, matted with the blue cardstock and popped up with foam tape.

Once again, I stamped a sentiment on the inside and added a small stamped and die-cut sprig.

It was very chilly here today. We even had a light dusting of snow on the ground this morning. Luckily, it was all gone by midday. I'm still holding fast to the weatherman's assurance that Spring is really here!

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

Cheryl

Butterflies for Mother's Day...

I don't know anyone who doesn't like pretty butterflies. I think maybe motherss like them most of all, because they are indicative of transformation. Mothers see their own children transform from babies into productive adults before their eyes. I know I am always amazed at the wonderful adults my children have become and the terrific work they do every day.

Here are a couple of simple Mother's Day cards I made using some colorful butterflies:

I used scraps for the butterflies and a couple of stamped and punched sentiments that were in my stash. The borders across the bottom were some old rub-on borders that were in my stash.

What I haven't done recently--and I need to do--is to die-cut many, many more butterflies and keep them handy for other cards. I had done that more than a year ago, but I've since used almost all of them, so it's time for a refill!

The wiings of each butterfly were lifted a bit by applying a short piece of a thin foam strip beneath each one. It gives such nice dimension to the card. The sentiments were also popped up.

You can see another rub-on border at the bottom of this card front. I actually used the colors of the butterflies in this border to create the die-cut ones.

Of course, I had to add a bit of sparkle with some gems, too!

I had printed out a couple of sentiments for the inside of each card. I keep a template in my computer files so that I can print four full-panel sentiments at a time, and that really helps speed up my cardmaking.

The trees are beginning to leaf out here in Minneapolis. We live near a parkway that has many, many flowering crabapple trees along its boulevard. It is so beautiful to drive the parkway when they are in full bloom--a yearly reminder of the beauty all around us, if we just look for it.

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

Cheryl

A spring wreath for Mother's Day...

 

I was going to use one of my wreath dies for this card, but then I saw a curved leafy frond die laying on my work desk. I thought, "I wonder if I can create a wreath with that?" 

Before getting down to the business of forming my wreath, I added a panel of DSP, matted with navy blue cardstock, to the front of the card base.

Then I cut four of the fronds from a scrap of green cardstock and joined them together in a circle toward the top of the card.

I also die-cut some small pink flowers and a white bow. I made sure to add a flower over any area where two of the fronds were joined together.

I added pink Nuvo Drops to the flower centers and a white Nuvo Drop to the bow's knot area.

The sentiment was stamped with navy blue ink and cut out. I ran a blue ink pad along each edge to give it some definition before popping it up with foam squares.

I stamped a sentiment on the inside and added a portion of a leafy frond and a single flower for embellishment.

I am making soup today--split pea with ham. I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but we really like it. With some warm, crusty bread, it makes a hearty meal. 

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

Cheryl

A little birdie told me...

 ...to use that piece of patterned paper, rather than hoarding it!

For a long time, I had an 8" X 8" piece of DSP in my stash that was patterned with some pretty birds. Because each of the birds was quite large, I couldn't figure out how to use it for a very long time.

Finally, I decided to use a circle die and cut out as many of them as I could (four of them!) to use on cards. I came up with the card design you see above, where I have cut away a portion of the top of the card front.

I have some pastel pink, adhesive backed, polka dot fabric (yes, actual fabric) that I adhered to the front. I glued a piece of pale pink cardstock to the inside. It was important that the solid pink match the polka dot fabric because both would be visible from the front.

The die-cut circle with the bird was backed with a slightly larger circle of the same cardstock that was used to make the card base. It was then popped up with foam tape.

I added a pink vellum, two-layer, die-cut flower over one of the flowers in the paper's design, just for a bit more dimension. The flower center is a Nuvo Drop.

The sentiIment was stamped, die-cut and popped up with foam strips.

In this photo you can see how I cut the card base. I used the same circle die that I had used for the mat behind the bird image to partially die-cut the half-circle on the front.  This is called the "partial die-cutting technique," and there are many videos online showing how to do it. 

I used a ruler and a craft knife to cut to the left and right of the half-circle and then to cut along the score line up to the top of the card.

An arched rectangle die was used to cut the perfect size and shape for a stamped sentiment panel on the inside.

It was very satisfying to come up with a card design that showed off these pretty birds and to finally use up that piece of DSP. Do you ever get stuck for a while, not knowing how to use some of your supplies? I get a lot of bits and pieces from the thrift store, and I often have to leave them lay for weeks before I land on an idea for using them.

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

Cheryl

Paper-piecing fun...

 

I have a die that cuts this outline floral image from a larger piece of cardstock. I decided to make a couple of cards with it, but to paper-piece all the open areas in the flowers and leaves.

I used pink and purple cardstock for the flower pieces, along with a little bit of gold for the centers. I also used a dark green for the leaves. After seeing this color combination in the photo, I wished I had used all pastel colors.

The sentiment was stamped, punched out, matted and popped up on the card front.

I used a different die to cut a flower for the inside. I also stamped a sentiment to finish the card.

This time the colors were all pretty strong, except for the white. I didn't really like the plain white, so I added a tiny red dot to each "bud." I was much happier with it after doing that. 

Another difference with this card is that I applied the die-cut rectangle directly to the card front. If you look back at the first card, you can see that I applied it to a white rectangle first and then glued that to the card front.

I stamped and die-cut the sentiment and popped it up with a thin foam strip.

For the flower decoration on the inside of this card, I actually die-cut just a single flower portion of the entire die. I used a scissor to cut away the unnecessary parts, and then paper-pieced it the same as the flowers on the front.

I stamped the "Happy Birthday," and the card was done.

Paper-piecing is fun, but it definitely takes time and patience, especially when the pieces are tiny--like those that fill the leaves. I found it's helpful to leave the pieces in the die, add some glue to the back of each piece, lay the die over the die-cut and gently poke each piece into place.

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

Cheryl