Thank you cards from pretty paper...

 

This paper had such a big beautiful print, that I couldn't bear to cover it up.  

After adhering it to my card front, I added some gold Nuvo Drops to the stamens of the flowers.

The sentiment was die-cut and assembled, then popped up at the top of my card.

I stamped the sentiment on the inside with dark green ink to finish the card.

This paper is so pretty with its different shades of turquoise scallops, accentuated with thin gold outlines. I added a gold mat to highlight the gold in the design.

I cut the sentiment once from gold metallic cardstock and several more times from white cardstock. I stacked the layers to give it some dimension and glued it to the cardfront.

I had a scrap of gold cardstock left over, so I added it to the inside of the card, along with a stamped sentiment.

These cards both have simple designs, but I think the pretty papers make them special. 

Our snow is nearly gone because of the string of warm days we've had lately. They are predicting more snow later this week, though, so we're not done shoveling yet! I'm just glad my DH still likes to take care of it, because I sure don't.

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

Cheryl

Happy Birthday twice over...

 

I made these very simple birthday cards recently as I was beginning to clean the mess on my desk from making Valentines. I'm easily distracted by a scrap of paper here and a die left laying there. I think to myself, "I'll just quickly turn that into a card...," and two hours later I've made several cards and the desk is still a mess!

This first card came about when I spied a strip of pretty pink, dotted paper that was 12" long and slightly less than 2" wide. I saw that two lengths of it would nicely fill an A2 card front with a little space inbetween them.

I cut the balloon sentiment from pink cardstock and inked the edges. Then I add some thin foam strips to the backside of the letters to pop them up on the card front. 

The point where all the strings come together was glued directly to the card front. I added a faux enamel dot at the very end of the strings with Nuvo Drops.

The stamped sentiment was die-cut from white cardstock with a two-part die that included the frame and the inner sentiment section. I cut it again from pink cardstock and used the pink frame around the white section. 

This is the sentiment I stamped on the inside.

I started with a blue A2 cardbase for this card and added some DSP matted with white cardstock.

I cut the balloon image out of glossy white cardstock and popped it up.

The point where all the strings come together was again glued directly to the cardfront, with a holographic star glued to the very end.

I also added a scattering of those stars around the rest of the cardfront.

This is the sentiment I stamped on the inside of this card.

This balloon die is great to have in my crafting tools for some quick-to-make birthday cards. Popping up the letters adds some nice dimension and makes the cards a bit more special.

We had a wonderful weekend, weather-wise. It truly felt like spring, with temps in the 50s. I know it's going to get cold again with snow in the forecast for this week, but that glimpse of spring has definitely lifted my spirits.

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

Cheryl

You are o-fish-ally awesome...

 

Sometimes you need a Valentine that isn't all hearts and flowers or hugs and kisses. I think eleven-year-old boys, in particular, rarely want a lovey-dovey Valentine, so I made a couple that might suit them.

I started with some DSP that featured an ocean scene with a crab, a starfish and two jellyfish. 

I added the dimensional fish sticker and three bubbles made from Glossy Accents.

I printed the sentiment, cut it out and popped it up with foam tape.

This was another piece of the DSP. It didn't have the sandy bottom. The only other images included on the paper were the three small pink fish.

I added the seaweed sticker and the two larger dimensional fish stickers.

Once again, I had printed the sentiment with my computer, cut it out, and popped it up with foam tape.

I punched a small heart from corrugated cardstock to place above the printed sentiment on the inside of each card.

These cards were both donated to the thrift store, and they sold quickly, which tells me I need to make more non-lovey-dovey Valentines for next year. LOL

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone visiting my blog today. I hope you feel loved by family and friends on Valentine's Day and all year through!

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

Cheryl

A couple of fun Valentines...

 

These cards were definitely fun to make, and they look a lot more complicated than they really are.

Each card has an A2 cardbase. I used one of my lacey-edged rectangle dies to cut a panel for each front. I centered a delicate, interlocking hearts die-cut onto each one before adhering them to the card fronts.

I added some spray adhesive to the backs of the delicate die-cuts to adhere them to the lacey panel. Because the heart outlines are so thin, I still had to add a bit of glue under parts of it. I do that by putting a little puddle of glue on a scrap of cardstock and then sliding that underneath the die-cut wherever a little more glue is needed.

The sentiments were stamped onto strips of white cardstock. I fish-tailed the ends and then matted each one with the same cardstock that had been used for the cardbase. Finally, they were popped up with foam tape onto the center of each card front.

Next, I added some accordion folded DSP to the inside. The DSP was cut to 5 1/4" X 12" and scored on the long side at 3", 4", 5", 6", 7", 8", and 9". 

After making the accordion folds, I adhered the 3" wide righthand section to the right side of the cardbase and the 3" wide lefthand section to the left side of the cardbase, making sure I had a 1/8" border around the sides. When that was done, I stamped a sentiment on a piece of white cardstock that measured 2 3/4" X 5" and centered it on the right hand section of DSP that was glued to the cardbase.

I die-cut some "conversation hearts" and glued a few of them to the folds and one in the center of the left section.

When you close the card for the first time, you may have to press it down firmly with your hand. This helps to adjust the folds slightly so that they fold together neatly inside.

Note: the DSP that I used is printed on just one side and is the weight of copy paper. That way it doesn't make the card too bulky for mailing.

This is a great way to use up some of the light-weight DSP we all seem to collect over time.

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

Cheryl

Valentines for the grands...

I have mailed or hand-delivered Valentines to all our grandkids, so I thought I would share them with you here. For these card designs, I followed Cheryl Dorsey's video tutorial, which you will find here.

These are the cards I made for our five granddaughters.

For this card, I actually used some corrugated cardstock for the heart. I've had it in my stash for a few years and really couldn't decide how to use it. I finally decided to try die-cutting it, thinking if the machine flattened it too much, I could just toss it and use something else.

As you can see, it really didn't flatten it at all! I added a stamped sentiment to finish the front.

I didn't have any "layering" heart dies when I made these cards, so when I did layer the hearts, I ended up having to fussy-cut the smaller ones. I have since ordered and received some layering heart dies!

This is how each card is finished on the inside. As you can see, it has a pop-out feature and the heart is pulled to the inside so that it is a visible part of the layout.

"Happy Valentine's Day" was stamped and a punched heart was glued above it.

These are the cards I made for our five grandsons.

They were made using the same tutorial, but switching out the heart for a couple of circle dies.

The sentiment was printed with my computer, and I added a few hearts that were left over from using other Valentine dies.

Here's a close-up of the layered circles. Thank goodness I didn't have to try to fussy-cut those smaller ones!

The inside was completed in the same way as the others.

These were actually quite quick to make, once I knew the dimensions and the process. The next time I make this card design, I may add some DSP to the panel behind the circles and hearts. It would dress up the inside just a bit more.

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

Cheryl

Let's Craft and Create Challenge #228: Anything Goes or (Option) From the Heart...

Hello and welcome to the February challenge at Let's Craft and Create. To enter, you can choose between Anything Goes or From the Heart. 

This challenge is just in time to inspire you as you create your Valentines and other cards this month. And I am truly looking forward to being inspired by YOU!

I started with a piece of black cardstock, cut to 4 1/4" X 5 1/2". This would serve as the base for my card. Then I cut a piece of double-sided DSP that measured 5 1/4" X 12". If you are using DSP that has a directional pattern on it, you will need to pay attention to that when cutting it. Make sure the pattern goes in the direction you want!

I scored the 12" long panel at 2", 4", 8" and 10". The first score was a mountain fold, the second and third scores were both valley folds and the fourth and final score was another mountain fold. Once I had reinforced all my folds with a bone folder, I folded the card together and adhered the back of the middle section of this panel to the black piece of cardstock, centering it as best I could.

On each side of this scored panel, the outer corners were folded towards the center so that they aligned with the second fold line. Do this on each side to achieve the result you see in the photo above. Once they are folded, glue them in place.

I cut two squares of black cardstock that measured 2 3/4" on each side. I also cut two white squares that measured 2 1/2" and centered these on the black squares, gluing them in place.

You can decorate and embellish these squares as you wish. You can see in the photo that I added a scalloped heart in a coordinating pattern and a die-cut sentiment.

The left half of one square was adhered to the left side, lining up the points of the square with the edge of the second fold. The right half of the other square was adhered to the right side in the same way. Just make sure that you are adhering the right square so that it fits directly beneath the left one when the card is folded shut.

Finally, I cut a white sentiment panel that measured 3 3/4" X 5", stamped it with "Happy Valentine's Day," and adhered it to the inside of my card.

This is actually a fun card to make--and it doesn't take much time at all--so I hope you'll give it a try. For more inspiration from our wonderful Design Team, check out all their creations here.

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

Cheryl

Sending you a truckload of love...

 

Just a quick post today. I thought I would share this masculine Valentine with you. Starting with an A2 black cardbase, I added a panel of masculine-looking DSP. I printed the sentiment with my computer, matted it with black cardstock and popped it up on the card front.

The pickup was die-cut from a shimmery silver cardstock. The wheels were cut from black CS and their centers from a light gray CS.

The pickup has vellum windows. I adhered the vellum to the back before adding the truck to my card front.

The hearts were some that were laying on my work desk or die-cut fom scraps.

I stamped the inside sentiment on a panel of white CS and adhered that to the inside.

If you can create the image of a pickup truck--with stamps, dies, or an electronic cutting machine--you can easily create a Valentine like this. I think it's a good one for teenage boys.

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

Cheryl