Another find at a thrift shop...

One of my favorite thrift shops in my area has been getting lots of crafting and cardmaking supplies lately. I love getting a great deal on some new and gently used items.

Two Stampin' Up stamps I picked up recently were perfect for quick-to-make wedding cards.

The first stamp was the image you see here. I stamped it onto my pretty, embossed paper, and then I stamped it again on plain white cardstock.

It's a line drawing with no solid areas, so I used a black marker to fill in the slacks and the hair on the groom.

While it's not visible in the photo, I added a coating of clear glitter to the bride's veil and the train on the wedding dress. It's SO pretty IRL! If you click on the photo to enlarge it, you might just be able to see a little of it.

I fussy-cut the image and then popped it up on some double-sided foam tape. The little dots you see around the image are dots of glitter. When looking at the card IRL, all you really see of the dots is the sparkle.

On the inside of my card, I used a large Lifestyle Crafts label die to frame the Stampin' Up sentiment and create a black mat. I was a little concerned that my sentiment would not stamp well onto this embossed paper, but it turned out fine! I was relieved, because I had only a little strip of this paper left. Whew!

I have now built up quite a selection of wedding cards. Not sure why...there are no weddings in sight. I guess it's because weddings are such happy occasions, so the cards are fun to make.

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

Today is your day to shine...

I had an idea for a CAS card using these tools:

The border punch is Birds on a Wire by Martha Stewart.

The dies are the two smallest dies that come with the My Creative Time Stitched Starburst dies. As it so happens, these are the only two dies in the set that are not stitched. I had not cut them apart yet (they're connected by a couple of thin wires), but for this card, keeping them perfectly aligned was exactly what I wanted.







I started my card with a top-fold blue card base.

I punched several borders of birds on a wire. Like a true border punch, they were all still connected to the paper by their tails. It's easy enough, however to snip their tails away from the sheet of paper. It was also easy to curve them as I adhered them to my card base. The wire is thin enough to allow that.

As you can see I also punched a small section from a red piece of paper so that I could use one of the little red birds on my card front.

For my "shine" around my red bird, I used the two starburst dies to cut a circle from some blue glitter paper. The glitter paper is really close in color to my cardstock, even though it doesn't look that way in the photo.

I cut my starburst circle in half and put half on top of the wire and half below it.

The blue CS looks grayish/greenish in this photo. Not sure why!

On the inside of my card I added another length of birds on a wire. My sentiments here and on the front are computer-generated.

I decided to use another little red bird and the center from my original starburst die-cut to further embellish the inside.

I think this card would work for both males and females, don't you?

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

Masculine thank you ...

A very quick post today. This card has some strong elements, and I think it's perfect as a masculine thank you card.

I cut the "thanks" with an old Cuttlebug die and adhered it to my rust-colored piece of cardstock. Once it was adhered, I dry-embossed the cardstock with a Darice 5" X 7" embossing folder called Striped Background. I rather liked how the die-cut was embossed right along with the CS.

I created a black button with an Impression Obsession button die. When I make these buttons, I always adhere at least four of them together to give them the dimension of a real button.

Then I cut a piece of burlap and sprayed it with some ink (not sure of the brand at the moment - could be Dylusions) and adhered it to the embossed CS with some red-line tape. Once that was done, I wrapped the CS with some black twine and tied it after running the ends through the button holes.

The inside of my card was left plain - just a matted piece of white cardstock so the sender can write a personal note.

I really liked the strong elements of this card - the stripes, the burlap, the black twine and button. I think the simple design also adds to its masculinity.

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

A star is born...

You may be wondering what kind of an occasion this card is designed to celebrate. Care to take a guess?

It's a new baby boy card!

I cut a star shape with my Cricut, then I printed my sentiment onto the star with my computer. Once that was done, I sprayed the star with adhesive and added some clear glitter all over the surface. The sentiment was still very readable, and the star looked great with its new sparkle!

I adhered it to a circle shape that had been dry-embossed, using some dimensional foam tape.

On the inside of my card I used another computer-generated sentiment and a couple more glittered stars.

This card could easily be adapted for a girl with some feminine papers.

Well, that's it for me today. Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.
Cheryl

A sunburst thanks...

A while ago I won a set of stitched starburst dies from My Creative Time. I wanted to send a thank you card to Emma, the owner of MCT, using the dies she had so generously sent to me. Here's what I came up with:

These dies have the special feature of cutting the stitch lines on but sides of the die. Isn't that great?

I made the die-cut in the center of the yellow mat for the front of my card. Then I took another piece of the same CS that was slightly larger than my die and inked it as you see in the photo with some distress inks.

Once the inking was all done to my satisfaction, I used the same die to cut out my starburst. I adhered the inked one into the negative space, but left the points of the starburst free so that I could lift them up for some added dimension.

Here's a little closer look that clearly shows how the points have been lifted up. The black cardstock underneath adds to the definition of the starburst shape.

The "thanks" die-cut is from an old Cuttlebug die, but it's one of my favorites. I really love the font.

The inside of my card is simple with a computer-generated sentiment. I left lots of room so that I could write a personal note of thanks to Emma.

I really want to use these dies a lot more. Any ideas?

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

Envelopes from calendar pages...

Do you ever get too many calendars? Or feel badly throwing out an old picture calendar because the artwork in it is just too good?

I sometimes get calendars from charitable organizations that we support, but because my husband and I make our own family photo calendar every year, I really don't have a use for them. A while ago, I decided to use some of the full-page photographs in a  calendar I received to make some envelopes.

Here are some of the envelopes I made from calendar pages. Aren't they interesting? I like to use these for masculine cards that are hand-delivered. Then I can write the name on a part of the envelope that doesn't interfere too much with the picture or artwork.

If I do mail these envelopes, I use a plain address label on the front.

This is the back of the clown fish envelope. Isn't it great? Some of these are great for kids' cards, too. They sometimes like the envelope just as well--or even better--than the card!

Isn't this envelope spectacular?

Here's a peek at the backside (and also the inside).

The quality of the paper is excellent, but it's not too heavy to mail. I used my WRMK envelope punch board to make these.

I've also made envelopes out of wrapping paper, typing paper and from the paper in a child's drawing pad. I am always looking for papers that will work for envelopes - just one more way to keep my cardmaking more affordable.

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

Another card with a partial die-cut border...

I recently had so much fun using the partial die-cut border technique (see my Sept. 5 post)  that I decided to try it again with another die. This time I used a Christmas holly flourish die by Cheery Lynn:

Using this die and the technique taught by Jennifer McGuire in this video, I made this card:

After I had completed my partial die-cut border, I also die-cut the Merry Christmas (Dee's Distinctively) from the white card as well as from some red cardstock. I wanted to be able to inlay the red sentiment. Before I did that, however, I embossed the plain portion (not the partial die-cut border) in my Cuttlebug using the Swiss Dots embossing folder.

Here's a little closer look at the partial die-cut border. I dressed it up with some tiny red pearls, and that was it! I think it looks so pretty as a border and I'm definitely going to make some more Christmas cards using this die this way.

For the inside of my card, I cut a couple of holly leaves (also a Cheery Lynn die) out of the same green cardstock that I used on the rest of the card. I used my 1/8" hole punch to create three little berries.

My sentiment stamp is from Hero Arts.

If you've never tried this partial die-cutting technique, I highly recommend it. It gives you a whole new way to use your dies.

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

Let's Craft & Create Challenge #105: Use Dies or Punches...

Welcome to another challenge from Let's Craft & Create. This month (Challenge #105) we're asking all of you to create something using your dies and/or punches. I have a bit of an addiction to dies, so I was really looking forward to this one.

I decided to take the opportunity to create a Christmas card using a "partial die-cutting" technique. For a fabulous video tutorial on this technique by the talented Jennifer McGuire, just click here.

For my card, I selected a set of five snowflakes by Impression Obsession. I simply lined these up at the bottom of my white mat layer and then did a "partial die-cut" up to a specific line that I had penciled in about 1 1/4" from the end. Here's a look at my completed card:

I think this angled view shows the front of the card a little more clearly. You can even see the little rhinestones I added to the centers of the extending snowflakes and to the "i" in Christmas.

After finishing my "partial die-cutting," I cut away the excess cardstock from in between the snowflakes with a craft knife.

Then I used a Dee's Distinctively die to cut "Merry Christmas" from my white mat and also from some coordinating metallic green paper.

Once this die-cutting was done, I embossed my white mat with a Darice snowflake embossing folder and inlaid the metallic green Merry Christmas. I had to be careful to also inlay the white centers of the "a" and in the top part of each "s."

Here's a little closer look at those snowflakes and how they simply extend down from my cardstock panel.

The inside of my card is fairly simple. I stamped my sentiment (Inkadinkadoo) in gray ink.

Because my card has such soft colors, I also wanted a softly colored sentiment.

The one special thing I did on the inside was to arrange my snowflake dies around my sentiment and then use my rubber embossing mat to emboss the die shapes onto the sentiment mat. This is the first time I've ever tried that, and it worked pretty well. I may be doing more of this in the future.




Now, for some fabulous inspiration from my teammates, please click on the links below to see their amazing creations.

 

Eileen

Karen

Catherine

Cheryl – that’s me!

Gail

Ursula

Deborah

Maryvonne

Hazel

Mary

Sabina

Monika

For more information about the challenge and the prize, visit Let's Craft & Create and link your "Dies or Punches" projects soon.

 

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

Cheryl

Happy 50th Anniversary...

On September 5, my sister and her husband will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. Congratulations and big hugs to both of them! I remember their wedding day very well. I was a young teen who was VERY excited to be my sister's maid of honor. I just can't believe that 50 years have passed since that day!

A special celebration will take place later this month, but sadly we are unable to attend. We will actually be out of the country on that day. I definitely wanted them to know we will be thinking of them, however, so I made a special card, which they should have received by now.

I started with a white card base. I cut another piece of white card that was 1/4" smaller on each side and stamped "happy" and "anniversary" in the right hand corner with Versamark ink, leaving room for a die-cut "50th." I heat-embossed the two words with some gold embossing powder and then dry-embossed the entire piece of card using a Cuttlebug embossing folder called Kassie's Brocade. This panel was then matted with some gold metallic card stock.

I die-cut the "50th" out of the same gold metallic CS and adhered it between happy and anniversary.

I stamped this rose by Stampin' Up onto some vellum cardstock three times with Versamark ink. These images were all heat-embossed with my gold embossing powder and fussy-cut.

I wanted a multi-layer rose, so I cut the center section from one, the middle tier around the center section from another and, finally, the entire rose. I then layered one on top of the other, bending the petals up a bit to add some dimension.

I happened to have some gold leaves in my stash, so I added a couple of these to complete my rose.

For the inside of my card, I found this lovely verse online, which I printed onto vellum using my color printer. It took some experimentation to get the right shade of gold. I actually looked up the RGB numbers for metallic gold and then adjusted from there, printing out several attempts before I got the right color.

I used a flourish die by Sizzix to cut two small flourishes for the top. I was able to intersect the flourishes perfectly in the center. I put some double-sided adhesive tape on the vellum behind the flourishes to adhere my vellum panel to the inside of my card. You don't want to use liquid glue on vellum because it wrinkles the vellum as it dries. (Don't ask me how I know that!!)

This photo shows the gold envelope I made to mail my card in. I happened to have some very heavy metallic gold wrapping paper that worked great for an envelope. My envelope punch board makes it so easy to make envelopes in many, many sizes. Because of the shiny surface of the wrapping paper, I did use a white label on it, but I had a gold metallic marker to write the address.

Well, that's my card for today. Once again, I want to wish my sister and brother-in-law a

HAPPY GOLDEN WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!

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