Happy birthday to a pre-teen...

Yesterday my granddaughter turned 12 years old. She is a beautiful young girl and is definitely a preteen, loving all the things that girls this age love.

This is the card I made to send along with her gift:

This is one of the twist and pop cards. I love making these cards, and I think they're a lot of fun for the recipient to open.

Since I also had my Valentine-making supplies out, I decided to use some of the conversation heart dies. They fit perfectly in the windows of my frame die and added three small sentiments to my card front.






 

 

Then I picked out an assortment of dies and sentiments to add to the top of the card (Happy Birthday) and to each of the four panels that pop out when you open the card.  I knew I wanted to use a butterfly on at least one of the panels in keeping with the pattern on the front, but after that I just looked for something celebratory that would work. For my die-cuts, I used the colors of the butterflies on the front of the card.

Using die-cuts on these panels is a fun way to use up some scraps, too.

When making these pop-out cards, I have found that rounding all the corners on the four panels makes them pop out and fold back in so much better.

The gift was made by die-cutting a square, then adding a strip of gold CS and a die-cut bow for the ribbon. Super easy!

The balloons were extra dies that came with a frame die. They're quite small, but the perfect size for one of these panels.

I spoke with my granddaughter yesterday and she was having a great day. She said she'd be celebrating with friends and family into the weekend.

They just grow up too fast, don't they?

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

Valentine's for kids...

I love this little sloth! It has such a sweet face, so I just had to use this die set for a Valentine card.

I cut all the pieces, and then I colored the brown parts of his body with a gray alcohol marker. Once that was done, I put a little rubbing alcohol on some terry cloth and dabbed it over those pieces. That created a somewhat textured look to his "fur." I simply did a little inking around the edges of the lighter piece on his face, and I added some Nuvo Drops for his eyes.

On the inside of my card, I decided to add another piece of the DSP and then a die-cut rectangle on which I had printed my sentiment. It was the same rectangle die I had used on the front of the card. The two little hearts here and on the front were negative cuts from another Valentine die.

For this card, I took a die that originally had four owls on a branch and I cut two of them off and sort of "rearranged" the other two. If you want to see what this die looked like originally, click here.

Once again, I used some negative cuts from other dies for my hearts, and the printed sentiment was computer-generated.

For the inside of my owl card, I used a die-cut rectangle and die-cut sentiment.

Making Valentines for kids is really fun, especially with some cute animal dies to work with. I don't have many animal dies, but I try to make the most of the ones I do have.







Yesterday was my birthday, so I had a lovely day with lots of phone calls and a couple of floral deliveries. My daughter and her family treated me to a wonderful dinner last evening. All in all, it was a very nice day (and I even managed to still do the laundry!).

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

Twofer Card Challenge: Hearts...

I could not resist joining in the latest challenge over on the Twofer Card Challenge Blog. I was already working on some Valentines, so this month's "Hearts" theme fit right into my cardmaking activities.

Here are the two cards I made for this challenge:

I had a little heart stencil that was NBUS, so I decided to break it in on these two cards.

 For my first card, I simply taped my stencil over top of a pale blue piece of cardstock, and then I began applying some blue ink with a blending brush.

Once that was done, and before I removed the stencil, I spritzed the inked hearts with some Tattered Angels blue Glimmer Mist.  It added a subtle, but really pretty glimmer to the hearts. I only wish I could capture it on camera so that you could see it, too.
 

The "Thank You" was cut from an upcycled piece of glossy black cardboard packaging. It's quite thick, so it has some nice dimension. 

My sentiment was computer-generated, matted with black CS and adhered with foam tape.







 


 

I tried taking an angled photo to capture some of the sparkle from the Glimmer Mist, but it really doesn't show.

 

 For my second card, I selected one of the heart shapes in the stencil to ink a row of multi-colored hearts down the front of my card.  To do this, I had to use some Post-It tape to block off the other hearts around it and to keep me from getting ink where it shouldn't be on my white card. I just kept moving my stencil down the card front and inking each heart with a different color of ink. 

I happen to have some sparkly silver hearts in my card parts, so I glued them on for a little fun dimension. I also added a strip of silver metallic tape on black cardstock, with just a tiny bit of the black showing.

My sentiment was computer-generated and is popped up on foam tape.
 

On the inside of my card I have another computer-generated sentiment. Here I used the stencil to ink up a smaller version of the heart shape I had used on the front.

I really do love working with stencils. They are so quick and easy and can result in some really pretty cards.

There are only a couple of days left in the January Twofer Card Challenge, but I hope you'll join in the fun, if you haven't already.

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

Pretty 3-D embossing folder...

Before I tell you about my card, let me first apologize for the rubbish photos I took of it. We've had so many dark and gloomy days of late, and it's been so hard to get decent photos. Going outside to take photos has not been an option, either, with all of the sub-zero temps and snowy days.

Anyway, I recently ordered a Sizzix 3-D embossing folder on Amazon. The pattern is called "Woven" and it has a wonderful texture that is deeply embossed, but it didn't crack or damage the cardstock. I find that often happens with other embossing folders, even with the same cardstock I've used here.

I used a scrap piece of very pale blue cardstock as my first test piece. After I had run it through the Big Shot Plus, I was so impressed with it, that I couldn't throw it away, so I decided to make a Valentine in non-traditional colors.

I tied a sheer pale blue ribbon around the top and then adhered the panel to my card front.

Then I cut a lacy heart from a piece of heavy vellum. After heat-embossing the word "you" on my heart with silver EP, I added a rhinestone sticker word, "love." I had picked up a couple sheets of these rhinestone sticker words last year at Michael's right after Valentine's Day.



To adhere my vellum heart, I put some strong, double-sided adhesive tape under the two words so it wouldn't show.

On the inside of my card, I heat embossed the sentiment with silver EP and then ran a silver metallic marker around the edge of my panel.

Today is bright and sunny (at last!), but I hope to spend most of the day in my craft space, which is in the basement. I have a birthday card and some more Valentines in the works, and I need to get them done, so I'll enjoy that sunshine another day.

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

Using up a lonely sticker...

I had this lonely "Forever" sticker in my stash and it kept floating to the top, begging (in its own way) to be used on a card. So as I set about making Valentines for the thrift store to sell, I decided to put it on a card.

The die-cut white background was also hanging out in my card parts box, waiting to be used, so the first thing I did was line the back of it with some double-sided tape.  I have a big roll of 1 1/4" wide double-sided tape that I got at a surplus store for a small amount of money. It's great for covering large pieces, especially rectangular pieces like this one.

After covering the back with adhesive, I rubbed some fine red glitter into the scalloped pattern of little holes where it stuck to the adhesive, adding a nice little sparkle. I took this angled photo, hoping that the sparkle would be visible--but it really isn't.

Finally, I cut out the letters for "You & Me" and adhered them to my card front. After taking this photo, I went back and coated my letters with Glossy Accents to give them a bit more dimension. Photos often give me a new perspective on cards and help me decide on some further changes.

The inside of my card is quite plain. Maybe I'll go back and add a heart or three after I'm done writing this post! :)

It is snowing like crazy here this afternoon. They are predicting that we will get up to a foot of snow with possible blizzard conditions as the wind picks up. That means there will be plenty of shoveling to do tomorrow.

I hope you are safe and warm and dry, wherever you are spending your weekend.

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

You make my heart go beep...

These two sweet little robots were in my card parts. They are print and cuts from the Silhouette Design Store, and I think I cut them out a couple years ago. It was definitely time to use them!

I gave my little girl Robot a lacy heart die-cut as a backdrop. I've added some Glossy Accents to her heart balloon and eyes. I also added some to the little pink heart in my computer-generated sentiment.

My little boy robot got just a plain red heart as his backdrop. But to add a little shine, I also gave his balloon, eyes and tiny red heart in the sentiment the Glossy Accents treatment.

What would we do without Glossy Accents? I actually tried using some clear Nuvo Drops on this robot's balloon at first, but they got all lumpy and bumpy on such a large object, so I switched to Glossy Accents which pools more easily into a nice, smooth surface.

The inside is very simple--another computer-generated sentiment.

These two Valentines will be sold at the thrift store.  Children's Valentines usually sell quickly, so I think these will go pretty fast. What's not to love about an adorable robot, right?

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

Another card with coordinating box...

As I mentioned in a previous post, I've been busy making Valentine's and little boxes for the thrift store where I volunteer. I used an assortment of dies for both of the items in the picture above, but I have to say, I LOVE that little treat box die. It's so perfect for Valentine's Day.

The nice thing about this die is that it has all four sides on the die. Oftentimes, a treat box die will have only two sides, and you need to cut it twice and then glue them together.This die cuts the whole shebang out in one pass. Love that!

Once I had cut out the box shape, I cut four red squares to back the heart designs on each side. You wouldn't have to do this if you didn't mind being able to see whatever it was you put inside. I just thought that customers at the thrift store might like to have the contents in the box hidden until the box was opened. Also, I like the contrast of the white against the red.

I don't recall where I got my pretty heart and "Love" dies. My die collection is getting so big that I have given up trying to keep track of where they come from.

I used some of the little hearts from the center of the big heart to also decorate the card.

On the inside of my card I stamped a simple sentiment for the occasion.

This sentiment originally came all in a single line of type. With a little surgery, I cut it apart to make two lines--and to make a better fit for the inside panels of my cards.

Well, another weekend is upon us. I hope to get a few more Valentines made and finish up a project I've been working on for my husband--editing five manuals for companies who want to begin exporting their products. Editing those manuals is a bit out of my comfort zone, so it's been somewhat of a struggle for me. I've done a lot of editing in my professional life, but nothing like these manuals!

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

You mean the world to me...

I am definitely into the Valentine-making mode now! I've made 10 Valentines in the past two days, and this is one of them:

I've had this globe die for a while now and have been thinking about how I might use it. Then it occurred to me it might work as the focal point of a Valentine for the males in our lives who don't like mushy-gushy cards.

I first measured my globe (it's about 3") so that I could leave an appropriate space between the two lines of my computer-generated sentiment. Then I cut my globe out of green cardstock, glued it to a bigger piece of pale blue cardstock and trimmed off the excess.

My card was looking awfully plain (although I know most men like them that way), so I added some embossing at the bottom with a Swiss Dots EF and scored a line at the top of it.

As a final touch, I added a fuzzy red heart brad that I had in my stash.

Continuing to keep things simple, I stamped "Happy Valentine's Day" on the inside, and that was it! Card done.

This one came together so quickly that I made two of them. I'll be taking them to the thrift store to sell, and if they are sold before February, I may make a couple more.

I'll be sharing the rest of the Valentines I've made, and a few coordinating boxes, in the near future.

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

Let's Craft and Create Challenge #155: Love is in the Air (or Anything Goes)...

It's a new year, a new decade and a new challenge at Let's Craft and Create. We'd love to have you join in and make something that reflects our theme of "Love is in the Air" or, if you like, you can enter per our "Anything Goes" option.

I decided to create my first Valentine of the year. I make a lot of Valentines, as I not only give them to grandchildren and other family members, but I also donate a good number of them to be sold at a local thrift shop to support its community food shelf and other social programs.

I saw a card on Pinterest that featured a twig wreath with a few hearts on the side. I liked it so much, that I decided to turn it into a Valentine.

The embossing folder is an old one from Cuttlebug. I haven't used it in a long time so it was fun to see it on a card again. The dies I used were all unbranded (except for the scalloped heart die which is from Darice).

I searched my sentiment stamps for ones that were the right size and said "happy" and "day."  I found them embedded in other sentiments, but I was able to cut them apart and use just the words I needed. I think you can see that I have popped them up on some tiny foam squares.

The scalloped heart is popped up on a foam square. I added the teeny, tiny hearts to my wreath as an afterthought, but I rather like them there.

The inside of my card was done very, very simply with just a die-cut "I {heart} You."

Now it's your turn to breathe in some of that love in the air and make a card for our challenge. Two other occasions that would work for this theme are engagement and wedding.

The Design Team has some excellent ideas to get your creative juices flowing. Just visit Let's Craft and Create to see what they've been up to.

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