Best wishes...

I love cards with 3D elements, and I really went to town with that concept on this one. The first step was to stamp the basket image (just an empty basket with nothing in it) and color it up with my ProMarkers.

I also cut a rectangle of pretty designer paper and adhered it to a white scalloped rectangle that I had cut with a Sizzix die.  Once I had that in place, I adhered the basket with dimensionals and started to add my 3D elements. The first item was a pretty triangular doily scarf.  I stamped the doily image onto vellum wit Versamark, heat embossed it and cut it out. Doesn't it look like real lace?

Then I began to add the flowers and pearls.  The flowers were all cut with a MS hydrangea punch - it's one of my favorites.

The card base was made from some gorgeous paper that has a subtle design with glitter to make it sparkle.

I wanted this card to work for a few different occasions, so I used a simple "best wishes" for the sentiment. I used a small tag cut with a Spellbinders die and applied the sentiment (it's actually gold self-stick words that come on a sheet - I've had them for years). 

A white triple bow at the bottom finishes it off.

I've left the inside blank until I know how I'm going to use this card.

Thanks for stopping by and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day! 

Cheryl

 

How are "ewe"...

This sweet little card was so much fun to make. Don't you love this "sheepish" little lamb (pun intended)?

The lamb was stamped three times. The first image was cut out as a complete lamb. I cut out only the head of the second image and just the front curly wool topnotch of the final image. These were layered with dimensionals as you can see in the photo below. The only part I actually colored in (with water a watercolor pencil) was the face.

 

You can't tell in thes pictures, but I adhered white flock to the body, ears and topnotch. I used my Xyron sticker maker to apply adhesive and then applied the flock. He's nice and fuzzy - so cute!

 

The card base is one of those pre-cut aperture cards. I found a scrap of the grass-with-flowers paper in my stash and used it to cover the window. I placed the lamb on top of that.  Some liquid pearls around all four sides of the aperture framed it nicely.

 

The sentiment was computer-generated and then cut out with a Spellbinders fancy tags die. I chalked the raised portion of the die and adhered it with dimensionals.  A little pink bow by the lamb's ear, along with a couple of square buttons and some baker's twine, finished it off.  

This card was sent to my husband's dear aunt. I sure hope she enjoyed it!   

 

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

Cheryl

 

 

All occasion card...

We all need a few undesignated all occasion cards in our stash. This is one of those cards:

I used the scalloped rectangle dies from Sizzix for the purple and white die cuts. The image was colored with ProMarkers. It's one of those stamps I bought at our local "ArtScraps" store, which resells used stamps that people donate. This is one of those timeless images that can be used for decades.

My mother always grew irises in our yard, so when I look at this image, I always remember that. She loved the them for their color, as do I. Purple is absolutely my favorite color - all shades of it.

Here's a little closer look at the image and the corner detail - which was cut and embossed using a Spellbinder's die. On these, I rubbed on a little bit of pearly chalk and added some liquid pearls for detail.







I think this card could be used for so many occasions - even Easter!  I've left the inside blank - for now.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day!
Cheryl

Halloween is for adults, too...

I love making kids' Halloween cards, but I needed to make one that could also be sent to an adult.  Here's my somewhat more "mature" creation:

The pumpkin/bat stamp was one in a set that my sister gave to me. She bought it at a store like TJ Maxx or Marshall's. I can't remember which. She said they were very inexpensive. Since then I've always checked in stores like that (also Tuesday Morning stores) for papercrafting products. I actually got the Marther Stewart "goo" border punch at TJ Maxx for about $4.00.  A great deal!



Sorry about the shadows and glare on these photos. I need that photography class sooooo badly! Both the pumpkin/bat image and the circle sentiment were stamped with Versamark ink and heat embossed with black embossing powder. The pumpkin image was matted with the rust-colored cardstock and adhered flat to the card so that I could then add the gooey border. Only the circle sentiment was popped up on dimensionals.

 

That stained glass piece you see in the photo on the left is actually a little lamp. I thought the colors and the design made it look very Halloween-y, so I didn't crop it out.

 

I stamped the inside with a simple sentiment, "Happy Halloween." Now, how easy and fun was that?

 

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

Cheryl

 

Halloween cards for kids...

 Halloween cards are one of my favorites to make - on par with children's birthday cards. There are so many ways to have fun with them. I'm a follower of Dawn Griffith at Dawn's Stamping Studio. She has so many fun ideas and lots of video tutorials. A couple of months ago, I watched her video for a Halloween pop-up slider card and made note of it because I wanted to give it a try.  Here's the result of my efforts:

 

I cut the little mouse at 3.5" using Happy Hauntings and added a "goo" border made with a Martha Steward punch.
When you pull on the ribbon at the top, the message on the card is exposed and a window opens up where you can add another message or image.  I chose to stamp a spider (enhanced with a glitter pen) and the word "Boo" with a googly eye for each o.  The "Frightful" sticker is one I had in my stash. 


Check out Dawn's tutorial. It's easy to follow and fun to make. I'm going to make some more of these cards for the grandkids with different characters on the front.



Thanks for stopping by. Remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day!
Cheryl

The Christmas card prototyping begins...

Each year I make a few different prototypes for Christmas cards and then decide which one I will mass produce.  I make about 85-90 cards for the holidays so this process has to begin early so that I have time to get the necessary supplies and work out the kinks before I set up my "factory line."

Enfys, over on Going Buggy, has a September challenge to make a Christmas card using non-traditional colors - no red, no green. Her challenge was the perfect impetus to get me started.

Here's the first prototpe I've come up with:

I've used some lovely dark purple cardstock for the base. It's very heavy but still folds nicely when scored.  The white mat has been embossed with a 5" X 7" embossing folder. I believe it's called "Holly and Ribbons."  The pattern doesn't show up so well in the photo but it adds a lot of texture and interest to the card. It's only embossed as far down as the ribbon.

I cut the tree using the CTMH Art Philosophy cartridge and then stamped it with the coordinating CTMH stamp using purple chalk ink.  I've matted the stamped tree with another one cut slightly larger out of the dark purple cardstock. I think I actually had to cut it 1/2" larger to get it to mat properly. I don't recall if there was a shadow option, but that would have been a better choice if it's available. The tree is popped up on dimensionals.

 

To coordinate with the glittery ribbon, I added stickles to each little dot on the tree and drew over the the loopy line with a glitter pen. I wish it showed up in the photos, because it looks very pretty IRL.

 

The NOEL stamp is an old one I've had for quite a while and I'm not at all sure of the manufacturer.

 

I think I really like the simplicity of this card. I could definitely make a bunch of them in a very short time.

I've also kept the inside clean and simple with a sentiment stamped with purple ink. I think I will choose to heat emboss it, if I use this prototype for all my cards.


Thanks for stopping by. Remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.
Cheryl



Gypsy Wanderings and Hearfelt Sympathy...

I have a Gypsy - which I love, love, love - but I had never used the Gypsy Wanderings or Gypsy Font images that came with it. I decided it was high time to give some of them a try. Here's a card on which I used one of the pretty butterflies cut from Gypsy Wanderings:

I used an embossing folder on the front panel. It's from Darice and is called "Floral Border." I highlighted the embossed flowers with a little chalk and stamped on the sentiment. The mat underneath is some design paper in shades of brown that worked well  with the rest of the card.

 

I cut the butterfly from some sparkly cardstock at 2" ( I think) and the body of the butterfly from a darker metallic cardstock. Only the dragonfly body is glued to the card to allow the wings to raise up for a little dimension.

On the inside I decided to emboss just one-half of the border and turn it the other way around. This can be accomplished by careful positioning of the folder at the end of the B plates on my Cuttlebug so that just one half of the folder is actually embossed.

This folder is so perfect for this because the border is made up of two parts. I need to remember this so I can use it again in the future. I hate when I forget my own good ideas! LOL

Once again, I highlighted the flowers with a little chalk and used some brown chalk ink for the sentiment.

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

One of my favorite cards...

This card is SO SIMPLE in both design and difficulty to make, and yet it is one of my favorite cards.

The deep pink paper is actually one-half of a ready-made card base made from this metallic pink jewel-toned cardstock. I love it when it is contrasted with the black.

I've had the cone flower stamp for many years. I think it's from a company that doesn't even exist any more. I went to a stamping party at least a dozen years ago and bought a few stamps, thinking that I'd like to try making my own cards. For some reason, I didnt stick with it then. But fast forward 6 or 8 years and I began making every single card I use. Once in a while, I even get to make cards for my daughters to give away. I love it when they actually use and appreciate the cards I make!

I colored the image with ProMarkers and added a little glitter to the tiny dragonfly's wings. I cut it out with a Spellbinders die and hand cut a black mat to frame it.

 The only other embellishments are the single black ribbon down the center and the scored lines on either side. It has a bit of an Oriental look, don't you think? I've lined the inside of the card with white paper but left it blank so I can use this for the next occasion--whatever it may be.

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

Just for fun...

I wanted to make a card just for fun, and this was the result. Sometimes it's fun to just make a card for no particular reason other than to play with paper, color, fabric and other fun elements.  I had just a small piece of the aqua-colored dotted cardstock that I've used for the background on this card. I'm not sure what brand it is as the remaining piece was quite small. Surprisingly, this is actually a Christmas paper. The other side of it is a holiday pattern with Santas and other Christmas images.

I can remember as a young girl loving the colors aqua and yellow. You can see from this card that I still love those colors.  The petals of the flower are from a single stamp that I stamped 5 times using Memento black tuxedo ink. I colored them in using both ProMarkers and watercolor pencils to end up with some very intense colors. Then I cut them out by hand and adhered them with some of my homemade gluedots. The little lady bug was cut from the Walk in My Garden cartridge.  I stamped the "Hello" and matted it with a small piece of yellow cardstock and added 3 pieces of Card Candi at the top. I have only white Card Candi, but they can easily be colored with my ProMarkers to match perfectly!

I curved the petals upward a bit for some dimension and adhered both the ladybug and the sentiment rectangle with foam adhesive.  The yellow rickrack is from my sewing supplies - some of which I inherited from my mother. No telling how old it is - could be decades!

Here's a quick peek at the inside, dressed up just a little with a border at the top made from the remaining scrap of aqua polka-dot cardstock. don't you love it when you can use every single scrap of a 12" X 12" piece of paper?

 

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

Cheryl

 

 

Guitar happy...

My brother's birthday is in a few days but I've already celebrated with him and given him his card, so I can share it with you now, too. Not that he'd read my blog anyway - he says he really looks forward to receiving my cards, but I'm very certain he doesn't care to read about them. :)

My dad was a guitar player all the time I was growing up. He would often get out his guitar in the evening and tell my sisters and me to come and sit with him and sing. He loved country western music, so I learned the words to all the old country western standards that were popular in the '50s and '60s. I loved singing with my dad.

When dad passed away in 2000, my brother inherited one of his guitars. He decided to teach himself to play. Mybrother is nearly an exact clone of my dad - same stature, same voice and many of the same habits. He looks just like my dad did at his age. Occasionally, my brother will bring his guitar to my house,and we will sing the old country songs while he picks out an accompaniment. It always makes me feel nostalgic, and it reminds me how much I miss my dad and wish I could give him just one more hug.

This year, since I now have the Nifty Fifties cartridge that has a guitar image on it, I decided to make my brother this card:

 

The image from the cartridge didn't suggest the strings or create holes for them, so I just looked on the internet to determine just how a 6-string accoustic guitar is strung.  I used a needle to make the holes and some grey thread for the guitar strings.  I added a little gold-colored Liquid Pearls at both ends of each string to hold it in place.

 

Here's a close up where you can see how I've positioned the strings.  I also cut and added a darker piece of brown paper so that I could draw some frets across it under the strings on the neck of the guitar.  You can just barely see them in the photo, but my brother said, "I even see the frets!"

 

I really enjoyed making this card. It brought back some sweet memories of my dad.  Here's a couple final pix where you can see that I popped the guitar up on dimensionals and added a border of patterned paper on the inside, as well.

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

Cheryl

 

Family trees and get well soon...

My husband is working on our family trees - sometimes I think it's going to end up being an entire forest! In the course of reading through some of the information that's been passed to me, I found out some details about one of my great grandmothers (my maternal grandfather's mother). I remember her fairly well as I was 9 years old when she passed away at the age of 92. I read in her obituary that at the time of her death she had 49 grandchildren, 70 great grandchildren (I was one of the 70) and 5 great-great grandchildren. Can you imagine? All together she had 124 grandchildren. W.O.W. I have 10 grandkids, and I think that's a lot. I don't know what I'd do if I had 49. No wonder she always seemed a little cranky to me. :)

Today's card is a get well card for my stash. I like to have a couple of these on hand for when I need them.  I'm not a very fast paper crafter and the recipient would probably recover before I could get one made if I waited until they were needed.

I decided to try a little different color combination for me - mustard yellow, deep aqua and red. See what you think.

I stamped the image on paper that was specifically for acrylic paints - big mistake. It just doesn't color properly with ProMarkers, but I forged ahead anyway. It doesn't look terrible, but it doesn't look great, either. I used a Lifestyle Crafts die for the oval and a punch to make the aqua strips--I rather like the look of them across the bottom.  I also die cut a tiny tag using Spellbinders Labels and Tags. 

A few days ago I was at our local ArtScraps store that sells all kinds of odds and ends at very reduced prices.  They had some really nice balls of cotton floss for 50 cents a ball (saw them in Joann's today for $2.79 each). I bought four or five of them in different colors, and one of them was the red floss I used to tie on the tiny tag that says, "Get Well Soon." I love when I find great deals like that.

You may have noticed that I arched the top of the card. I actually used a circle die to do this, putting only the top of the card between the two plates before I ran it through my Cuttlebug.

Some red flat-backed gems added a little sparkle that I thought made the card a bit cheerier.

Thanks for stopping by today.  Remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.
Cheryl

Delicate, embossed lace...

I recently bought this set of stamps from Hot Off The Press (HOTP).  I was really drawn to the delicate lace images and was hoping they would be as lovely after they were stamped.

I wasn't disappointed! I tried the longest lace stamp first, stamping with Versamark and then embossing with white detail embossing powder.  Can  you see the wonderful detail of the lace that came through?  I carefully cut along the scalloped edge to make it look like the lace was attached at the very bottom of the card front.

Next I stamped the round doily and added a flower, cut from the CTMH Art Philosophy cartridge. I love this doily image, too. And I liked the way the pink in the flower contrasted with the rest of the card.  I inked the outer edges of the flower petals with some blue ink for a little added dimension and to coordinate it with the blue of the card base. Finally, I added a little pearl cluster to the flower center and used some white seem binding to tie a bow.  I cut a slit just above the bottom lace edge and in the folded crease at the top, slid the seam binding through these slits and tied the bow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are a couple more views of this card. I've left it blank inside and added no sentiment to the front. I think this card would work for many different occasions so I want to keep my options open.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Labor Day weekend. I know I am!  Remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.
Cheryl