A card for a 99-year-old...

Not long ago, on one of the Facebook cardmaking sites, there wa a request for cards for someone soon to turn 99. They were hoping to get 99 cardmakers to each send a handmade card, and I was more than happy to help out. It is now in the mail, and here is what I made:

I thought someone turning 99 might enjoy looking at some old-fashioned clocks. I think they all look like Cuckoo clocks. 

I actually bought a couple of Cuckoo clocks in Bavaria when I went to school in Germany many decades ago. I believe I paid the equivalent of $20 for both of them! Times--and prices--sure have changed. I asked Google's AI program what the average cost of a Cuckoo clock is in Bavaria right now, and it said you should expect to pay $300 - $1,000.

The sentiment was stamped, backed with a dark brown shadow piece and popped up with foam tape.

One of the clocks on the front of the card has been fussy-cut and popped up. Can you tell which one it is?

The popped up clock is the one with the gold pearls as weights at the end of the chains.

I stamped a sentiment on the inside and added some lines around the 99 with a gold glitter pen.

I also made a tiny smudge on the paper, so I added a narrow strip of gold metallic paper to cover it up.

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

Cheryl

A 21st birthday card...

 

This is the card I made for our grandson who recently turned 21 years old. It's a fun card to make, and I think it looks impressive when done.

The red cardbase was cut at 4 1/4" X 8 1/4", scored at 5 1/2" on the long side. Once folded, the shorter side is the card front.

The white rectangle that has the stamped sentiment and the die-cut 21 measures 2 1/4" X 3 3/4". The red mat is 2 1/2" X 4". Put this together, but don't glue it onto the front just yet.

When the top flap is lifted up, this is what you see--another small card!

The blue card base is cut at 3 1/4" X 9 1/2", scored at 4 3/4" (i.e., folded in half).

After adding a white mat to the inside of the red cardbase, this smaller blue card was adhered to its center. Once this card is glued down, you can go back and add the rectangle (with "cheers to you 21" on it), making sure it is centered over the blue card.

The red DSP on the blue card was cut at 3" X 4 1/2".

I don't remember what the measurements were for the white cardstock with the sentiment, but I would guess it is 2 1/4" X 3 3/4". You could make it whatever size you want, as long as it doesn't show when the red card is closed. You could even put a die-cut or other image here, rather than a sentiment, if you preferred.

This is how the inside of the blue card looks. I added another sentiment and created a little pocket where I could put some cash.

I hope you'll give this card a try.

We had a lovely Father's Day. We attended church in the morning, then went to lunch with a cousin and daughter and son-in-law. Then we went to our daughter's home for a delicious dinner.

My DH even had time to take Mickey to the dog park.

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

Cheryl

A double-flap Father's Day card...

 

I have this wonderfully large "Happy Father's Day" die. It's big enough to be the focal point of any card. I decided to use it on a double flap card. 

I started with a cardbase from a 4 1/4" X 9 3/4" piece of blue cardstock, scored at 5 1/2". I turned the cardbase 90 degrees so that the fold was on the left and the shorter side was the front. Then I cut another cardbase from a 3 1/4" X 9" piece of dark blue cardstock, scored at 4 1/2". 

After adding a white embossed mat to the inside of the larger cardbase, I glued the back of the smaller card to the center of the mat. I made sure the fold of the smaller card was on the right so that I could put the front of the larger card inside the smaller card.

This is how the card looks when you open the smaller flap to the right.

You could put a sentiment here, but I chose not to.

I added a white mat, stamped with a sentiment, to the inside of the dark blue card.

I tried to keep this card CAS, but with strong colors. That's what men like, isn't it?

I really enjoy making these double-flap cards. They're quick and easy--but they look a little complicated.

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

Cheryl

Happy retirement...

A couple of months ago, one of the pastors at our church retired. During coffee hour after the service some cupcakes were served. Each one had a glittery "Happy Retirement" topper on a toothpick that was stuck into the top. As any crafter worth her salt would do, I grabbed a few of them that people had left laying on tables. I just knew they'd come in handy one day.

Here's a card I made with one of them:

The dark brown banner was made with a scrap of cardstock on my work table. The embossed white rectangle was cut from a store-bought card I received long ago and the leaves were punched from another scrap of white card. I guess the only "fresh" pieces of cardstock used were the background DSP and the cardbase.

I glued the "Happy Retirement" to the white rectangle and popped it up over the dark brown banner, adding the leaves at opposite corners.

I used another scrap piece for my stamped sentiment, matted it with some more dark brown cardstock and adhered it to the inside.

I always feel good using up some scraps and discarded items, don't you? Making this card with so many bits and pieces really brightened my day!

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

Cheryl

Best Dad Ever...

 

These were two cards I made to donate to the thrift store. Lots of dads cook on Weber grills, so I thought these would sell quickly.

The large sentiment was stamped and die-cut, then popped up with foam strips. "Especially when you cook" was printed with my computer, die-cut, and then adhered directly to the DSP.

The wooden handles on the gill cover and base were not separate die pieces. I simply used the larger die to cut those areas out of some light brown cardstock. I trimmed them to fit and glued them on where appropriate.

I liked this red gingham paper the best. It looks like a picnic table cloth to me.

I die-cut a hotdog for each grill to add a little something extra.

This die set included some grilling tools, so I used a couple of them on the inside above a computer-printed sentiment.

These were fun to make. I hope the dads who receive them enjoy them, as well.

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

Cheryl

Two more graduation cards...

I made a lot of graduation cards this year. We had two grandchildren and a great niece graduating from high school and several of our friends had graduates in their families, too. Of course, I also made quite a few cards to donate to the thrift store.

These were the last two cards I made:

To make this card, I started with a medium blue card base that was 4 1/4" X 9 3/4", scored at 5 1/2". The fold is on the left, and the front of the card is 1 1/4" shorter than the back.

I adhered a 5 1/4" X 4" piece of white cardstock to the inside. I cut another piece of white cardstock that was 4" X 4", embossed it and adhered it to the front.

Then I cut a second, smaller card from dark blue cardstock. This card was cut at 9" X 3 1/4", scored on the long side at 4 1/2". Once folded, this card was turned so that the fold is on the right. I added adhesive to the back, centered it and glued it to the inside of the first card.

2026 was cut from some corrugated,  holographic cardstock and adhered, along with some small holographic stars, to the front of the smaller card.

In this photo you can see the embossing on the larger card front.

You can also see how the smaller, dark blue card opens to the left.

I added a 4 1/4" X 3" piece of white cardstock to the inside of the smaller card and stamped it with a sentiment.

This card was much more straightforward. It's a 4" X 6" topfolding card base. I die-cut the line of graduates and glued them in place. Then I cut the numbers from the same corrugated, holographic cardstock I used for 2026 on the first card. I also added some of the same holographic stars.

I added a white panel to the inside that was stamped with a sentiment.

We have a ton of family birthdays during the summer months, so I am working diligently to get those cards made. I hope to share some of them with you in the coming weeks.

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

Cheryl

Another flip up, flip out fun fold card...

I made a lot of Mother's Day cards and didn't share them all with you back in May, so I thought I'd share another one now. This was a fun card to make. If you want the details on how it's put together, check out this post.

The smaller, top-fold center card flips up and the polka dot triangular flap flips out. Hence, the name of the fold.

The flip-flops were some dimensional stickers that had been in my stash a very long time.  In fact, they had been laying around so long that all the stickiness had gone from the backside. A little glue took care of that problem, and I added a tiny gem to the flower on each one for a little sparkle.

The sentiment was stamped, punched out and popped up with foam squares.

The pretty scalloped border was cut with a die and glued in place on the front of the blue card.

This is how the card looks when the front of the blue card is lifted up.

And this is how the card looks when the triangular flap is flipped out. On the inside, I added a little scalloped border to the top and stamped a sentiment.

We have just returned from a 5,000+ mile RV trip, so I will be playing catch-up for a while. We traveled to Scottsdale, AZ, to visit friends, then to southern Utah to visit the National Parks there (Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef and Arches). From Utah we traveled to Portland, OR, and Vancouver, WA, to visit our kids there and to attend our granddaughter's high school graduation. On the way back to Minneapolis, we stopped in West Fargo, ND, to visit our daughter and grandkids there.

It was a fun trip, but after 3 1/2 weeks away, I was ready to get back to our usual routine at home. I tried to keep up with my blog-reading and commenting while I was away, but internet service was sometimes sketchy or non-existent. If I missed any of your posts, I apologize!

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

Cheryl