Oh, no! I'm late in remembering a family birthday...

In early September I looked at my calendar and realized I had totally missed my brother-in-law Leigh's birthday which was August 29th. I felt SO BAD!! So I quickly made him a card to let him know I was still thinking of him.

My card had to be a simple one, because I NEEDED to get it into the mail immediately. I chose to print some text and have it be the focal point on the front of my card.

I stamped the row of dots (it's an old border stamp - no idea anymore who the manufacturer is) and added a double fishtail banner for embellishment. The pattern on the banner is actually the other side of the deep turquoise mat on my card front (paper from Stampin' Up).

On the inside of my card, I printed a simple sentiment and stamped another row of those dots. This card was made and mailed on the same day.

I just hate when I miss someone's birthday. It doesn't happen too often, but I'm always embarrassed when it does. I never mean to forget people.

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

Bright flowers on a dark background...

I have a large flower die that I thought might be fun to use multiple times on a card. As you can see, I cut it out of some very bright colored scraps of cardstock. Then, I simply adhered them to a black mat with some spray adhesive. Once they were adhered, I cut off the overhanging flower edges before I glued the mat to my card front.

I also cut out a banner from a very, very old set of stamps (not sure anymore of the brand) and added a stamped sentiment to it. Then I fussy-cut it out and popped it up on foam tape.

To finish off my card I pulled out some Nuvo Drops that matched my flower colors and added the flower centers and a few scattered dots. Easy, peasy! And I actually really liked it.

My inside was very simple. I added a black cardstock edge to just two sides of my white mat to define it a little better. And if I really confess the absolute truth, my leftover piece of black cardstock was only big enough to do this with it!! I kind of like it, though. What do you think?

This simple card was so quick and easy, but I think it makes a big visual impact.

I hope all is well in your world. Thank you so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.
Cheryl

Anniversary card...

It was our wedding anniversary on October 16, and here's the card I made for my DH:

Since we are traveling on our anniversary, this card had to be made ahead of time. In fact, I had a lot of cards that I had to have done ahead of time, so I didn't make complicated ones. Simple designs were the norm!

This one required a little bit of time to do the coloring. I stamped my image with Memento ink and then used Promarkers to color it. The raindrops were added by just flicking a light blue marker on the paper. Not sure I like the result, but there's no going back now. And it looked strange with no rain at all, since the couple is bundled in their coats and huddled under an umbrella.

The dots in the upper right corner are actually blue, not black, and were made with Nuvo Crystal Drops.

The inside of my card is very simple, but I will write a personal note, so it really won't look so bare.

I'm not sure where we'll be or what we'll be doing to celebrate our anniversary, as this post has been written and scheduled ahead of time. Whatever it is, I'm sure we'll have a good time. We always do!

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

Cheryl

Big, bloodshot eyes...

This card just makes me laugh.  I got the eyeball dies (unbranded) because I thought my grandsons would get a kick out of them. The spider web and the word "Spooky" are also unbranded.

The eyebrows are bats, of course, and the dangling spider is a stamp from a very old Halloween stamp set. You can see in this photo that I've used a couple of black enamel dots for the pupils of my eyeballs.

Another computer-generated sentiment (Chiller font) on the inside of my card.

Well, that is it for me today.

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

Thanksgiving card using a sketch...

I've really begun to enjoy using sketches when creating a card. This is a sketch I used recently to make a few Thanksgiving cards. The sketch comes from the Cardz TV blog. Mary, the card goddess of Cardz TV, generously shares her sketches with all the dimensions included for A2 cards.

I stamped and heat embossed my pretty leaf with gold embossing powder. This leaf stamp is a wooden stamp that I got from the thrift store where I volunteer. I used the same gold embossing powder for my sentiment (another old wooden stamp). The two squares on either side of my leaf are actually cut from gold cardstock that has a nice sheen to it. It just doesn't show up in the photo. The dots on either side of my sentiment were made with a Viva Décor Pen.

My inside sentiment was computer-generated. In looking at this photo, I feel like maybe I should have lightly stamped a leaf somewhere on my mat. Maybe even a watermark type stamp behind my text. I guess it's a little late for that, but maybe I'll give that a try on the next card.

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

Creepy jar of spiders...

How would you like to come across a jar full of big, black spiders? I thought the idea was creepy (but fun) enough for a couple of Halloween cards.

The jar is a Sizzix die that I've had for ages and not used nearly enough. I cut the jars from vellum because of its translucent quality. I found the best way to adhere the vellum to my card front was to use some 1/8" double-sided tape along the edges. You can see it a tiny bit, but it's not too bad.

The spiders were cut with an unbranded die, and the "Eek" was made with some old Cuttlebug letter dies. The trims I used on each card were left over from last year. I think I got them in the after-Halloween sales.

I used my computer to print the inside sentiment (Chiller font). I thought it was perfect for my jar of spiders.

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

Let's Craft and Create Challenge #142: PAPER STRIPS INSTEAD OF RIBBON or Anything Goes Option...

I can't believe we've already started a new month and Autumn is in full swing! That means it's time for another challenge over on the Let's Craft and Create Challenge blog.

Here's my card for this challenge:

I often use paper strips in lieu of ribbon, so this was an easy challenge for me.  Here you can see that I've put a couple of strips of black paper under my focal image.

To create my fall-colored wreath, I've used my home-made wreath builder stencil. If you want to learn more about how I made this stencil, you can check out this post.

I popped my square up on foam tape (see photo at right) and then popped up my little banner, too. The sentiment on the banner was heat embossed with white embossing powder.

On the inside of my card I added a couple of mats and another black strip of paper. My sentiment was a clear stamp, but I'm not sure of the brand.

Do you often use strips of paper instead of ribbon on your cards? It certainly is more convenient to do so and offers lots more options. I hope you'll join in on this latest challenge at Let's Craft and Create. I think you'll find it's a fun and easy exercise.

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

Front and back Jack-o-lantern...

A while ago I purchased an unbranded stamp set that was a "front and back" set. Two of the stamps were for this cute jack-o-lantern. I colored them up and suspended them in a circular opening on my card front.

In the photo at left, you can see the back of the pumpkin.

I felt like I wanted something behind my jack-o-lantern other than white cardstock, so I used a spider EF and then highlighted the spiders a bit with some gray chalk. It just doesn't show up much in the photos.

I didn't emboss the entire mat on the inside of my card so that I could still stamp a sentiment (really old wooden stamp) and sign the card.

I have so much fun making Halloween cards. Sadly, I didn't have as much time to spend on them this year, since they had to all be done by September 15. That's when we left on our trip to visit several states in the Southeast.

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