Christmas cards for August...

I've had these cards done for a while, but I've been too busy to get them photographed and posted here.

I had a lot of fun coloring this image with ProMarkers and then using two non-traditional colors for my card bases.

These two were made as portrait-style cards with the fold at the top. I made two more with regular card bases that folded on the left. I'd show you a photo of them, but I accidentally deleted it! They look just like these two, except the top right and bottom right corners are the ones that are rounded.

This is a bad photo - taken at an angle and hard to look at - but I was trying to capture some of the sparkle in the sentiment on the front of the card.  It is so pretty IRL. I have some embossing powder that is a silver sparkle, and I often use it on  Christmas cards.

I only used two shades of turquoise and two shades of purple to color the bird. The bird and the leafy branch are actually two different stamps.  I stamped the bird first, then masked its top beak and stamped the branch. This way it looks as though the bird is holding the branch in its beak.

The inside was very simple. I may go back and stamp the leafy branch somewhere on the inside. Do you think that would be a good idea? If so, where would be the best place to put it?

Here's another one of those bad, angled photos where I'm trying to show you the sparkle of the embossing powder.

These cards were quick and fairly easy, and I actually like the way they turned out. If I get down to the wire and need more cards, this is one I could replicate in short order.

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

It's been a bloomin' long time since my last post...

I've been so, so busy with company, birthday celebrations, helping with grandchildren, etc.  I know most of you understand how family matters can preempt posting on your blog. I've still been sneaking in a little time in my craft area to make cards, but I haven't had time to take photos and write posts about them.

Today's card is one I made a while ago. I've seen the sentiment "Happy Blooming Birthday" on many sites. I believe it's from Stampin' Up. Please correct me in a comment if I'm wrong.

I like that sentiment, but I didn't want to use exactly the same thing since I don't actually have the stamp. I changed mine just a bit, as you can see in the photo below.

The flower was stamped with Versamark ink onto yellow vellum and fussy cut twice, once for each layer.

The background embossing folder is from We R Memory Keepers and the scroll border is a Provocraft die.

Here's a little closer look at that flower. It's an old stamp that I've had for ages, and I'm not sure who made it.

I just happened to have a gold pearl that was the same color as the yellow vellum, so it made a nice center for my flower.

The sentiment is on a Spellbinders Fancy Labels die cut. I really like this set of labels and use them fairly often.

I used the embossing folder on the inside, too, and finished off with some crochet thread across each embossed section. I also just happened to have this perfectly matched crochet thread.

I've always loved the drama of black and intense yellow together. Or black and red. Or black and turquoise. Or black and pink. Yup - love black with other colors, so I'm sure you'll see more of it here.

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

Game on!

Today, I have another masculine birthday card to share. It was made for one of my grandsons who just turned 11 years old. I was happy to find this image on the Father's Day cartridge, because I thought it would be perfect for a boy who loves playing electronic games.

To start, I took two of the base images for this game controller and welded them together to form my card base. I then cut the layers and adhered them. Easy peasy!  The left button (is this the directional button?) is several of the same cut stacked and glued together to give a little added dimension. It actually protrudes--almost like a real button! The pieces that are embossed on either side were actually supposed to be taken out to show the gray cardstock underneath, but I liked this look when I embossed them and adhered them back into the cutouts.

To give some dimension to the colored "buttons," I added some glitter to the cutout circles and then coated the glitter with Glossy Accents. I love that I can add a little bling, even to a boy's card!

I left the inside plain except for the sentiment.

I wasn't able to be with this grandson for his birthday, but I do hope he liked his card and had a fantastic day.

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

Happy birthday to my favorite 5-year-old...

Today is my youngest grandchild's 5th birthday. He's a handsome young man who is always on the go, so I thought that a Batman card would make him smile.

I cut the oval card base and the yellow oval with my Cricut. I think I probably used the Art Philosophy cartridge, but there are oval shaped cardbases on several Cricut cartridges.  I found the Batman logo online and sized it to fit my card base. I just printed it on regular text-weight white paper, then cut it out and traced it onto black cardstock. Then I fussy-cut that out, and adhered it to my card.

Here's a peek at the inside of the card...

...and a look at the birthday boy with his card and his new Batman cap. Doesn't he look fabulous?

















I also decorated a container of Tic Tacs for him. I know that the younger kids like the orange Tic Tacs, so I decided to decorate his using the fox from Create a Critter.

I wrapped the Tic Tac box with some orange cardstock in which I had punched a circle so that you could see the Tic Tacs. I glued the layers of the head together and adhered that to the front. I also glued together the layers for the tail and adhered that to the back, making the top of the tail stand out from the box a bit with some foam adhesive.

I added a little Glossy Accents to the fox's nose and eyes.

Here are a couple more Tic Tac holders that I made for two more birthdays this month. The little piglet came from Create a Critter 2 and was made in the same way that the fox was made, with the addition of two of it's feet just below the circle cut-out.

Here you can see the tails in the back. The piglet's tail is simply a strip of cardstock that I've curled around the handle of a paintbrush.

I'll be sharing another grandchild's birthday card here on my blog in the next day or two. So many August birthdays in our family!!

ETA:  I am adding my little fox Tic Tac holder to the Moxie Fab World Foxy Foxes Challenge. Why not make your own foxy creation and play along?

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

Happy Birthday to Little Miss Awesome...

My granddaughter turned 9 yesterday (August 10), and this is the card I made for this awesome little girl:

I used an image from Cuddlebug Cuties called Patchwork Kit. She has such a sweet expression on her face and reminds me of my lovely granddaughter.

Here's a little closer look at this sweet image. I embellished it with two of the Precious Hearts die cuts by Memory Box. I really love these dies and need to use them more often.

The banner was hand cut and the flower was made with the MS Hydrangea punch.

I decorated the inside a bit with a few more of the flowers and white leaves, which were die cut using the Cheery Lynn Fanciful Flourish. That dark purple mat shows through the MS Doily Lace border on the right side of the card front. So pretty! I should have taken a picture of the card lying flat so you could see it.

I wasn't able to celebrate my granddaughter's birthday with her, as I was out of town at a family wedding, but I hope she had a fabulous day. I just got home and haven't even seen her yet, but when I do she's going to get a big birthday hug!

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

Wedding gift decoration...

As I mentioned in my previous post, I am attending a wedding this weekend. When all I had on hand to wrap the wedding gift was this pink (Very, very pink! And some red!) wrapping paper, I thought I should do something a little different from the usual ribbon bow to decorate the package. Here's what I made:

I cut the flower and leaves using my Flower Shoppe cartridge. I inked all the edges of each layer of petals with Tim Holtz Barn Door Distress Ink and added a red dot (melted pony bead) to the center.

Here's what it looks like on the package:

The pinks actually match better IRL. They're still not exactly the same, but I think they look okay.

It's always fun to experiment with paper flowers this size. I think the biggest layer was 4.5", and each additional layer was a little smaller.

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

Wedding card in black and white...

My great niece is getting married this coming Saturday, and I am excited to travel to North Dakota for the wedding. I will see family members I haven't seen in a while, and that is always fun.

When I asked my sister (grandmother of the bride) what the wedding colors were, she said that the bridesmaid dresses were black. I'm not sure if another color will be incorporated into the overall scheme, so I thought I'd better stick with black and white for their card.

I decided to make a gate-fold card with interlocking hearts that would help keep it closed.  The inside edge of each side of the "gate" was punched with a scallop border punch and then folded back over the embossed section on each side. These decorative flaps are held in place with some double-sided adhesive that is about 1/16" thick.

I used the Martha Stewart double link punch for the black trim, and I thought it worked really well on this card.

The bride's heart is embossed with a Cuttlebug embossing folder, and the large dots on the card base were embossed with a Darice folder.

Each heart is attached on only one side--the bride's heart is attached on the left and the groom's heart is attached on the right.  I used some Liquid Pearls for the pearls on the two hearts, and the little bow tie was hand cut.

To achieve the look of a tuxedo, I simply cut a heart out of black cardstock, made a cut from the inside point down through about half the heart and folded each side back to form the lapels.

I kept the black and white theme going on the inside. The sentiment was stamped with an old stamp that I got at my local "used craft materials" store.

I went back and forth on how to do the flowers, but decided to keep them all white in the end. I really like the result!

Here's a little closer look at those flowers.

Weddings are so much fun. I haven't been to one in quite a while, so this will be a treat for me. Getting to see my daughter and my sisters and spend some time with each of them will also be special.

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

Happy Silver Anniversary...

A lovely couple whom we count as friends celebrated their 25th anniversary a short time ago. This is the card I made for them:

I used a Spellbinder's die and some mirror cardstock to create the poppy focal image. I framed it with a scalloped oval cut with a Lifestyle Crafts die. I don't recall the name of the embossing folder that I used for the background, but I really love the detail of this embossed pattern for cards like this. Keeping everything silver and white, I added the little bow made from some silver cord meant for tying little gifts.

I used the same mirror CS and a couple of Cuttlebug dies to cut the 25 and the silver layer behind the white circle.

The inside of the card was pretty simple. I used a border embossing folder to add some detail. I set the pattern off with a couple of scored lines.

I also added two silver hearts to the sentiment.

That's it for me today. Even though I've been busy with summer birthday cards and wedding/anniversary cards, I'm beginning to think about Halloween cards. They are my favorite cards to make!

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