Seaside scenes for masculine birthday cards...

 

I had two lighthouse stickers in my stash, and it took me a long time to finally use them. I decided to take one of my 6" X 6" sea scene papers, cut it in half and use the two 3" wide pieces to make two masculine birthay cards.

The stickers had clear borders which helps them blend into the scene seamlessly. They also included a rocky base, which worked well for this sea scene.

I added a purple edge along the right side of the scenic paper and also embossed a 1" strip of colored cardstock for each card. I chose colors from the scene for the embossed strips.

I added a couple of die-cut seagulls to each scene and cut out a circle tag and a sentiment. After gluing the sentiment onto the circle, I popped it up with foam tape and added a small piece of purple twine, tied in a knot, to the hole in the tag.

I stamped a sentiment on the inside of each card to finish them.

Sometimes I wish I lived near the sea where I could hear the waves lapping the shore. I think it's a soothing sound that calms me and helps me sleep. But then, when I read about the destructive forces of tsunamis and hurricanes, I'm rather glad I live far inland.

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

Cheryl

Get well soon on the garden fence...

 

This fence and flowers die set (available on Amazon) was sitting unused for a while on my desk. I finally decided I needed to give it a try, so I'll be entering this card into Darnell's latest post on her NBUS (Never Before Used Schtuff) blog.

I chose some mottled green cardstock (it's very pale) for my cardbase. It gave just a hint of something green behind the fence without being distracting. Then I die-cut 11 pickets and a couple of crossbars, along with numerous flowers, leaves and a layered sentiment.

Some of the flowers have two layers. You can tell which ones they are because they each have two shades of pink, purple or yellow. They were all glued directly to the pickets. The sentiment (a separate die set) was popped up with foam tape.

I cut a couple of the crossbars to frame the stamped sentiment on the inside. Now that I see the photo, I wish I had added a few of the flowers, too.

I think I'm going to be able to use the dies in this set in lots of other ways. The pickets could always be cut shorter, if I wish to do that, or the fence could be made to look more like a fence around a pasture. They could even be adhered tightly together to create a board-like structure, possibly for a sign. If you have other ideas, I'd love for you to share them.

It was 99ᵒ here yesterday, and it's supposed to be that hot again today. I really need to take a break from cardmaking and give my poor outdoor plants a big drink!

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

Cheryl

Get well soon with flowers, butterflies and a bookmark...

 

I started with a pink A2 cardbase where the front was 1" shorter in width than the back. I used a border punch to create the open scallop edge on the front.

Then I covered the front with a floral scene DSP, leaving the pretty scalloped edge peeking out. It was easy to add adhesive and then just place my 6" X 6" piece of DSP on the card front and cut off any extra that hung over the edges.

The little butterflies are actually stickers that I had in my stash. The sentiment was stamped with purple ink directly onto the DSP.

There was enough of the DSP left to add a 1 1/4" wide piece on the right side of the inside and to make a coordinating bookmark. I used a die (it's actually for making long tags) to cut out the bookmark. I stamped a sentiment on it and then I used a self-laminating sheet to laminate it, fussy-cutting the excess from around the edges. I used a hole punch to punch through the laminating sheet at the top and then added some twine.

The inside sentiment was stamped with purple ink on a white panel to finish the card.

It's fun to add a little something extra, like this bookmark, to the cards I donate to the thrift store. I'm pretty sure the customers appreciate it!

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

Cheryl

Christmas in July...

 

I have lots of Christmas paper scraps, so I decided to use some of them to make some Diamond Flap Fun Fold cards. This card design is a great way to use up small scraps, and you can mix and match coordinating pieces, as I have done.

I picked several glittery patterns that featured the same color combinations. The only die-cut I added was the little holly cluster, which was left over from last year. The sentiment was also one from last year, and it was popped up with a bit of foam tape.

This is how the card looks when it is fully opened. You can see that I even used some narrow strips to decorate the space to the left of the sentiment panel. You wouldn't have to add DSP to that section, but I liked the idea of adding it to every section but the backside.

I plan to make more of these to use up even more scraps. 

If you'd like to try making this card, there are quite a few tutorials online, including this one. You can click on the link or you can search for Diamond Flap Fun Fold tutorial.

We have finally cooled off here in Minnesota and the smoke from the wild fires up north has drifted elsewhere. Mickey, the wonder dog, was delighted and spent the better part of the day lounging in the back yard. The 90+ degree heat will be back this weekend, but until then, we're going to enjoy open windows and sweaters after sundown!

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

Cheryl

Using more elegant paper...

If you read my blog regularly, you may remember the elegant paper I used on a couple of fan fold cards in this post. It was the red, black and gold design on a neutral background. It was still laying on my work desk, so I decided to make a few more cards with it.

These cards are all very simple layouts. I decided to let the paper be the star of the show.

The sentiment on this first card was a rub-on.

The only stamping I did was on the inside. 

The sentiment on the second card was stamped, die-cut, matted, and popped up with dimensionals.

And, of course, I stamped another sentiment on the inside.

I used another rub-on sentiment on this card and added a sheer ribbon, tied in a double bow.

A stamped sentiment on the inside finished the card.

These pretty papers had a linen-like texture to them, so it was hard to cut them up. I felt like maybe I should be sewing drapes with them instead of making cards.

These cards have all been donated, so I hope whoever buys them at the thrift store enjoys the rich patterned papers as much as I do.

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

Cheryl

Using up a couple more of those stickers...

Honestly, I almost NEVER buy stickers. All the ones I've been using lately have been given to me, mostly by the thrift store. They know I will do my best to turn them into cards to donate back to them.

Here are a couple of baby cards I made with two cute animal stickers:

I thought the zebra and giraffe were cute all by themselves, but even cuter when I added a little die-cut bow to each of them.

I used a border die to cut the pretty border on the right. Then I measured how much space I had left on the card front for the DSP and mat.

The sentiment was stamped, die-cut and popped up. Three tiny foam hearts were colored to match and adhered around the sentiment.

On this card, I didn't want the sentiment directly across from the giraffe's head, so I placed it on the bottom right. Again, it was popped up and three tiny hearts, colored with a marker, were glued above it.

This is what the cards look like on the inside. They each have a 3/4" strip of the mat cardstock glued to the right side, a stamped sentiment and some stamped booties.

I don't mind using stickers on cards if they are good quality ones. Of course there are some that I just have to toss, but I still feel wasteful doing it. If my grandkids were still small, I would give them those stickers to play with. 

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

Cheryl

Pretty modern oval dies...

Have you seen all the card examples online where they've used the "modern oval" dies? I've been coveting them for a while and finally caved in and bought some. Most of the die manufacturers make them and you can even find them on Amazon.

Because this is the first card I've made with them, I'm adding this card to Darnell's July NBUS Challenge #88.

I cut two sizes of the dies. The white one is glued directly to the DSP panel and the second pale blue one is popped up with foam tape.

The irises are stickers that I had in my stash. I also added three sparkly gems and a strip sentiment, which was also popped up.

On the inside, I stamped a sentiment on a pale blue panel instead of a white one, making this an anniversary card. Since I had a little strip of the DSP left over, I used a border punch to give it a scalloped edge and glued it to the bottom.

Even though it seems I have a gazillion dies, they always come out with something new that calls out, "Buy me, buy me!" 

So, while I certainly didn't need these dies, I think I will enjoy using them.

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

Cheryl