Tic Tac holder and easy, peasy basket...

It seems that whenever I am getting ready for a holiday, I just keeping making stuff until the family is here and there is no more time. Here are two last minute items I created for our Easter celebration.

The first were some fun Tic Tac holders to put into the grandkids' baskets:

Aren't these little guys cute? They were fun and quick to make. Here's how I did it:

Cut a piece of cardstock 4 1/4" by 3 1/2".  From the top of the long side, score at 1", 1 5/8", 3 3/8" and at 4".  Looks like I forgot to write the 4" on the diagram, but that's where that last score line falls.

Now turn the paper so the short side is at the top and score at 5/8". This will form the bottom of this little open-topped box that the Tic Tacs will sit in.

Snip the short score lines at the bottom up to the 5/8" score line.

Punch a 1 1/4" hole (or thereabouts) into the center panel where indicated in the photo.

Pre-fold all your score lines, then wrap the "box" around your Tic Tacs with the short end overlapping the longer end. This will put your back seam closer to the center.

On the bottom, tuck the two short ends in, then the back flap, and lastly glue the front flap down over that.

I cut the bunny face from Doodlecharms at 2 1/2" which made it just the right size. There are other really cute faces in that cartridge that would look PERFECT for this purpose. I plan to make some Santa ones with red Tic Tacs for Christmas.

For the feet, I used an oval Spellbinder's tag die, but you could also use other small oval dies as I've indicated on the graph paper.

I adhered a little white pompom to the back for the bunny tail and also tied a ribbon around the "neck" area to make a simple faux bow in the front.

The faces, or course, were stamped with the largest stamp from Peachy Keen's Cute and Cuddly stamp set.

This is a view from the top, which was left open to make it easier to get the Tic Tacs out.










One last quick project that I did, was to make my brother a little Easter Basket. He's a single guy, and I know he likes chocolate, so I thought I should give him a treat, too.

I learned how to make this basket on "Stamp and Scrap with Frenchie." You'll find her directions in this post. She has a terrific blog. I'm a follower of hers and I've learned all manner of things from Frenchie.

The basket is made from just one 8 1/2" by 11" piece of cardstock. And you use the whole thing - no waste!  I embossed this one, too, but you wouldn't have to do that. I've used a couple of flower brads that I've had forever to hold it all together. No gluing at all!!!

I think it is so cute and I plan to add this 3D project to my graph paper notebook for future reference.

Well, that's it for me today. Don't think I'll post again until after Easter, so I hope yours is spectacular!

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

Patchwork Easter card...

Another quick post today. I made this card with some more of my patterned paper scraps.

To make this card, I first drew out my "quilt" design on some graph paper. I punched out the appropriate number of one-inch squares from each patterned paper and cut some in half diagonally. I then cut out another piece of clean graph paper the appropriate size and began adhering the squares of patterned paper.

Once I had all the squares adhered, I embossed the entire piece with my Cuttlebug and an embossing folder to give a quilted appearance.

I trimmed my "quilted" rectangle to fit the front of my card, matted it with some pink paper and added some Petaloo flowers with button centers in the middle.

I also punched out a few leaves and tucked those underneath the flowers.

Just a simple pink mat and Easter message on the inside.
















I decided to make another card using this technique, but this time I inked each of the little squares around the edges. Here's what that looked like:

I decided that I liked my first card best because it looked softer and more like fabric. When I inked around the edges, I thought it looked like tiles. What do you think?

This is another great way to use up some of those pretty paper scraps, and you'll find lots of simple quilt designs online. This card style could be used for any occasion and is fun to put together. Wouldn't it be perfect for a new baby card?

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

An Easter card from paper scraps...

This will be a quick post. I just wanted to share with you an Easter card I made from several of my paper scraps. I really liked how it turned out, and it was such a good way to use of some of the patterned papers in my scrap pile.

I simply cut some angled pieces of different papers, sewed them onto a plain piece of white cardstock, trimmed it to the right size and then adhered it to my card base.

The Happy Easter sentiment was stamped onto a circle which was then adhered to a scalloped circle. A few rhinestones added the requisite bling.

The scalloped circle covers the point where all the papers and stitch lines meet. It reminds me of a sun with the rays of sunshine extending outward.

The inside was kept simple with a stamped sun to reinforce the whole sun/sunshine idea.
















I actually got all my Easter cards in the mail today.  Hooray! It always feels good to get a batch of cards on their way. I'm really looking forward to a 3-day weekend and having family over for brunch on Saturday. Hope you have some fun plans, too.

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

Easter cards with flower power...

Today, I'm sharing a couple cards that were quick to make but bright and colorful for Easter.

This card came together quickly with my Swiss Dots embossing folder, some pretty floral paper, ribbon, a few Petaloo flowers and a button.

I used a little embroidery thread to tie a tiny bow on the button. I never feel comfortable leaving buttons "naked" on my cards. I always feel they need a little thread, ribbon or twine so they look like they are actually attached.

"Happy Easter" was stamped on the top half of a label die-cut and tucked behind the DSP. I stitched across the paper to add a little more embellishment to this fairly straight forward card.

I am entering this card into Creative Inspirations' Challenge #206: Spring Colours.

This card is very bright with its combination of pink and yellow.  I just went along with the colors of the DSP, and I thought the end result was a very springlike card. Oh yes, and the glow you see on the right hand side of this photo is SUNSHINE! We've had so many cloudy days and snow this month, that I wanted to capture a little of today's sun in my photo.

The flowers are, once again, from Petaloo. I was lucky enough to win quite an assortment, and are they ever great to have on hand. I don't think I'll ever let myself get to a point of "no flowers" again. I now consider them an essential embellishment for quick cards.

Here you can see how I popped the sentiment label up on some foam tape for l little dimension.  I also added a little bit of pink chalk to the front of the sentiment label, which is more visible in the first photo.

The pretty pink flat-backed pearls were another giveaway that I was lucky enough to win. I love having several colors of pearls on hand. If I need a color other than what is in my stash, I just color white pearls with an alcohol-based marker. I have a few ProMarkers that I often use for this purpose.

I'm entering this card into Cute Card Thursday's Challenge 261: Easter Parade.





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

More Easter cards from my sister...



My sister has been very busy making Easter cards. I'm just so glad she shared some photos with me so I can share them with you. Don't you love these little sticker chicks?  Sounds like a country music group doesn't it - "Give a big hand for The Sticker Chicks!"

The inside of this card is adorable! I love the cracked shell laying at the chick's feet. And the scalloped border is so pretty and adds so much color to the inside.

A little different chick on this bright yellow card, but it's way cute, too. What is it about chicks that makes them so adorable? I don't think grown chickens are cute AT ALL, but I do like to look at all the different kinds of chickens at the State Fair each year. It's honestly amazing to see all the different colors and types of feathers.

One more "chick" card. Isn't this one cute? Not sure which cartridge she cut it from, but I'm thinking it could be Create a Critter.

This card is simple but very sweet. I think that little basket is a dimensional sticker. Hopefully, my sister will leave a comment and correct me if I am wrong.  Cute stickers like this can really speed up the card-making process when you've got a lot of cards to make. I also love the soft colors of the plaid card base.

These next two cards are made with such pretty colors of cardstock. I love the yellow/blue combination on this one.

I also like the soft green on this card. It really sets off the pink she used for the "Happy Easter" sentiment.















Thanks to my sister for sharing her cards with me. I only wish she wasn't so darn far away (500 miles). We're both getting to an age when we could spend more time together (making cards, of course) if we didn't live so far apart.  Sending virtual hugs your way, Michelle!

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

My own version of Easter basket cards...

My sister inspired me to try to make an Easter card using an Easter basket as the focal image. I opted not to try weaving my little baskets out of narrow strips of paper the way she did. Instead, I cut the basket from the Doodlecharms cartridge at 3" and ran the bowl part of the basket through my Cuttlebug in the Cuttlebug Argyle embossing folder.

I also cut the eggs from the Doodlecharms cartridge. The doily was cut using a Lifestyle Crafts die.  The mat behind the doily is made of two papers--the white paper was border punched, adhered to the lavendar polka dot paper and then I inked around them both.

 I wanted to add a little "grass" to the basket. I tried cutting out a couple of different grass images with my Cricut, but I wasn't satisfied with either of them.

Then I remembered that I had the Martha Stewart pine branch punch. I punched out several little branches, arranged them in different directions behind the basket and--voila!--I had grass!

I really love this punch. It punches out a very fine little branch. One of these days I'm going to try making a wreath with these little branches.  If you have used this punch in other ways, I'd love to hear about it. I always want to get the most use possible from the tools I have on hand.














The basket is popped up on foam tape. This photo shows the tiny pieces of foam tape behind the handle of the basket.

I kept the inside of the card simple. I added a punched border at the bottom,  inked around the edges and adhered a self-adhesive flower like the one on the basket.

I'm entering this card in three challenges:
1.) Bitten by the Bug2: Egg-ceptional Easter Eggs

2.) Craftin Desert Divas: Easter Eggstravaganza

3.) Celebrate the Occasion: #104 Happy Easter


This card was so much fun to make that I made two of them!

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

Woven basket Easter cards...

My sister has been very busy getting her Easter cards ready to send to family and friends. I always ask her to send me pictures of her cards so that I can share them on Paper Panacea. Well, she sent me a nice bunch of photos of her Easter cards, and I'm so happy to be able to show them to you today.

Here's one of the cards she made with a little woven Easter basket on it. She actually cut the strips of paper, embossed them (using, I think, a wood grain embossing folder) and wove them together to form this sweet little basket. After forming the basket, she added a little ink to the "high" spots for some added dimension.

She attached the handle with a small brad. The trim around the top of the basket is the same ribbon that you see at the bottom of the card.

The lace at the bottom of her card was made with a lifestyle crafts border die.




She made a few of these little basket cards, and here are a couple more:

Don't you love the little flowers she put in this one? The cute little brad framed in a pink diamond on the right is an Easter egg tied up in a ribbon.

I hope you enjoyed my sister's woven basket cards. I think I'll have to give this technique a try soon! I'll be sharing more of my sister's Easter cards in a couple of future blog posts.

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

Super easy Easter gift tags...

These little bunny gift tags took about 5 minutes to make. This photo shows the front and the back, and I think they turned out so cute.

The front of the tag is a bunny image cut at 3 inches from the Doodlecharms cartridge.  The back is a round "charm" cut from the same cartridge and sized to match the bunny head as closely as possible. I used the layers feature on my Gypsy, putting the bunny on one layer and the charm on the other layer so I could see them both at the same time, while sizing just the charm. I also used "hide contours" to remove all the cuts for the bunny face.

Once both pieces were cut out, I adhered the charm to the back side of the bunny (making sure the eyelet was between the ears) and then trimmed it to exactly match the size of the bunny face, which is not an exact circle. Once that was done I used my Peachy Keen Cute and Cuddly stamps, using the largest one to stamp the face with Memento Rich Cocal ink.  I also stamped the "to" and "from" on the back side of the tag.

I used a pastel pink Promarker to color in the nose and mouth, added a few pink "freckles" and also added some pink to the bunny ears.

I doubt there's ever been a real bunny with pink freckles, but I sure think they look so cute!

The finishing touch was a piece of spring green and white baker's twine.






I'm going to make a ton more of these for my Easter gifts. I may add a tiny flower or a little bow by one of the ears for those that will go on gifts for girls.

Give this quick and easy tag a try. You'll have fun, I guarantee it!

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

In your Easter bonnet, with all the frills upon it...

Kate's ABCs cartridge has the cutest little hats in it. I couldn't resist using them to make an Easter card.

I did not cut all the layers for the hat on the left. This did mean that I had to use the "hide contours" feature on my Gypsy to eliminate some of the cut lines, however.  I also reversed the direction of the dark purple hat on the right so that all three hats were facing the same way.

I didn't cut any of the flowers that were included with each hat image. Instead, I used some tiny Petaloo flowers that I had on hand. I think they worked perfectly.  When you're cutting images this small, it can be difficult to cut the layers for tiny flowers and glue them together without getting glue everywhere. At least it's difficult for ME!

 

The sentiment was stamped with Versamark and heat embossed with deep purple embossing powder.  I added a double-sided punched border (Martha Stewart Doily Lace) with some purple patterned ribbon across the center.  The bottom patterned paper is actually a light lilac color with white dots. It looks very blue in the photo but not IRL! This paper was printed from my computer and generously provided by Jak Heath on her blog jakheath.com. She has a number of papers that she designs and offers to her readers to download. Check her out - she's a fantastic artist and paper crafter.

 

 This card contains some of my favorite colors - any and all shades of purple and a nice rich yellow. I only wish I had even more of those colors in my own wardrobe!

The hats were popped up on foam tape for a little added dimension. This photo gives just a peek of the inside which was fairly plain, set off by only a yellow mat just like the one on the front of the card. I also added some Easter wishes printed with the help of my computer.

 

 I am entering this card in the following challenges:

* Paper Playtime - Challenge #5 Anything Goes

* Celebrate the Occasion - Challenge #103 Spring is in the Air

* Cardz TV - Challenge #26 It's So You!

 

I hope you enjoyed today's card. Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day!

Cheryl

Heat embossed bunnies...

Today's card is another one for Easter that was quick and fun to make. Gray isn't the usual Easter color, but I think it works nicely with a soft pink and white.

First I embossed the top half of the card with a Lifestyle Crafts embossing folder and my Cuttlebug. 

Then I added those sweet little pink bunnies on a strip of white cardstock. They were heat embossed using a dollar stamp from Michael's, VersaMark ink and some lovely pale pink embossing powder. I did have to stamp the bunnies twice in a straight line to get enough to go across the front of the card. Since the stamp was one of the wooden ones, and I wanted to easily see where I was stamping, I simply peeled it off the wood block and stuck it onto my Fiskars stamp press. I've gotten so used to using the stamp press that I don't seem to stamp straight without it anymore!  When I was done, I simply stuck the stamp back onto its wooden block.

The lace is self-adhesive trim from the Reflections line, also from Michael's.  I cut the sentiment label and pink frame from the Art Philosphy cartridge.  To get the gray to appear in each corner of the frame, I simply used a gray ProMarker to color the white card beneath the petal-like openings in the frame.

I kept the inside simple with nothing more than a pink mat and an Easter sentiment that I printed from my computer.

 

I'm entering this card in the Make My Monday Challenge - Heat Embossing.

I'm slowly getting my Easter cards completed. I've also finished most of my shopping for our TEN grandchildren. I like to get them each a little something for Easter to celebrate spring and to let them know they are loved beyond description.  I hope to find some time to make some cute Easter tags for those little gifts.  We'll see if I actually accomplish that!

Have you seen all the buzz on the internet about the new We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board?  I've heard good things about it but have never tried it. If you're interested in it, I wanted to alert you to the best price that I found on the internet. Pumpkin Spice has it for $12.59! I've seen it for as high as $25.00 on other sites. I don't plan on investing in it any time soon--I'm trying to keep a handle on my craft spending--but if I was going to buy it, I'd give Pumpkin Spice a try.

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

A special gatefold Easter card...

Today's card is a special gatefold card in that the two halves of the "gate" don't just meet in the middle, they overlap.

Here you can see the two overlapping halves. When the card is closed, it is held in place by one wing of the blue butterfly on the right. The butterflies were made with a Martha Stewart butterfly punch. I doubled the butterfly on the right to make it stronger - punched two butterflies, ran one through the Xyron sticker maker and adhered them together.

The three pearls down the center of each butterfly were made with Liquid Pearls.

I scored the left side of the card and punched the edge with the Doily Lace Martha Stewart punch.  I also ran the right side through my Cuttlebug with the Swiss Dots folder.




The image was colored with ProMarkers. I absolutely love coloring with these alcohol markers. I have purchased most of mine from www.carpediemstore.com. They have very affordable prices and great service. To get all the detailed information about these markers and others made by the Letraset company, visit www.letraset.com.

As you can see the colors can be soft and muted, or vibrant.  When I color an image like this, I like to use a soft color to outline the image, creating a muted shadow. As I am still an alcohol marker novice, I decided to try two different colors for the shadow to see which I liked better. Here are the results:

This first image was outlined with a soft beige-tone marker. It could have been ivory or satin. I honestly don't recall.

BTW, I have no idea who made this stamp--it's an old one that I bought at our local crafts "second-hand" store called ArtScraps.

This second image was outlined with a pastel green, which is very much like a very light aqua color.  I think I like this outline color better than the beige color. It adds a brightness to the image and a nice contrast to all the yellow. 

I only used two different colors for each kind of flower and greenery. I used three different markers on each of the baskets--again, experimenting with what I thought might work and trying to learn from that. I wanted the baskets to be different in tone to better distinguish each one.

If you haven't yet tried coloring with alcohol markers, I highly recommend trying ProMarkers. They are affordable and great fun!

 

The inside of the card is a bit of a surprise when you open it. I like to think it's like opening a closet door and seeing that the inside of the closet has been nicely wall-papered.

Another doily and butterfly made a nice spot for a sentiment and for adding a personal note and signature. I lined this doily up exactly with the one on the front of the card.

 

I was able to line up the doilies by adding adhesive to the back of the inside doily, matching the front of it to the backside of the front doily and then closing just that half of the card to adhere the doily to the inside. Does that make sense?

I hope you enjoyed today's Easter card. It was great fun to make, and I hope the recipient enjoys it, too.

 

I am entering this card in the I ♥ ProMarkers challenge "Anything but square."

 

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

Cheryl

Happy birthday card...

I have a granddaughter who turns 17 this month. I was going to use some sort of "fashion" theme for her birthday card, but then decided I'd do something completely different. She's a softy when it comes to animals, and I had stamped this cute image from Penny Black's Critter Party stamp set. It was begging to be colored, so I decided to use it for her card.

I had some pretty plaid paper that I think I had printed from either a cd I have of assorted papers or from an online site. I've had it so long, I just can't remember. Anyway, I used this paper for the background on the front of my card.

I made the little banner by carefully gluing some twine onto the front of the card and then adhering the hand cut flags with pop dots. The flagss were also run through my Cuttlebug in my Swiss Dots folder.

I cut the 17 with my Cricut - once from green cardstock and once from the magenta cardstock. I offset the magenta numbers just slightly to add a bit of a shadow. 

The Card Candi dots on either side were white, so I colored them to match with my ProMarkers. I love being able to do this - it means I've already got Card Candi to match all my papers. I have purchased most of my ProMarkers from carpediemstore.com. I think they have good prices and their service is great.



I kept the inside of the card simple, using a Fiskars sentiment stamp from their "Make a Wish" set. I added a little pink cupcake in the corner for some added interest.

 

Well, we had 10" of snow today. I got to help shovel our walks and driveway twice! It's good exercise, but my arms are a little sore right now. The snow seemed to get heavier and heavier with each shovelful. Oh, the joys of living in the upper Midwest!

 

I am entering this card in the Ladybug Crafts TLT Challenge for this week:  Add a number

 

Thanks for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day. Even if it snows 10" where you are!

Cheryl