Simple sympathy card...

 I've been inspired by crafting friends who have been working hard to use their accumulated card parts (I'm talking about you, Lynette!). I recently went through some of mine and found a pretty dragonfly that my sister had cut for me (ahem) years ago. Since I always like to have sympathy cards on hand, I decided to use it on one.

I had this pre-colored panel (that's a card part, too, right?) and decided to use it as my background. First, I heat-embossed my sentiment with gold embossing powder. Then I added my panel to a green mat, which was taped to a white card base. I adhered the dragonfly and a few gold-colored flat-backed gems.

If I remember right, my sister cut this dragonfly out of some packaging material. I hope she'll correct me in the comments if I am wrong. Isn't it pretty? I don't know why it took me so long to use it.

I kept the inside of my card as simple as the outside. I stamped a tiny dragonfly and a sentiment with gold metallic ink. This ink is not the best--can any of you suggest a metallic ink brand that you really like?

I haven't bought any new card-making supplies, other than a few dies and double-sided tape, in ages. The thrift store gives me a lot of stuff which I use to make cards for them to sell. There is enough that I can also use it to make cards for my own use, too.

Have you been buying supplies online since the pandemic hit, or do you still go to the craft stores?  Are you making more cards now that you're staying home more? Inquiring minds want to know! lol

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

Cheryl

Emboss and deboss...

I received a new Christmas embossing folder called Christmas Decor Pendant from In Love Art Shop and decided to make a couple of Christmas cards with it. This folder is available in their online store, and don't forget to use this 15% off coupon if you decide to purchase it:

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I don't usually use the debossed side when I make an impression with an embossing folder. After all, they don't call it an "embossing" folder for nothing! But sometimes its fun to do something a little different.

Here's a photo of both cards. For the first card I embossed a piece of watercolor paper, but flipped it over to use the debossed side. The second card features the usual embossed image.

After removing my panel from the embossing folder, I used a brayer to apply some aqua ink to the debossed side. The brayer insures that the ink does not fill the the debossed areas. 

Because this is a heavily textured watercolor paper, the texture shows through the inked areas. I was okay with that, though. I thought it gave it a bit of a rustic look.

My panel is backed with a black mat, aqua gems were added to the centers of each ornament, and my sentiment was stamped with Versafine ink.

The last thing I did was to add Wink of Stella to each ornament. I think if you look closely at this image, you can see a bit of the sparkle.

On the inside of my card, I did some light ink blending with teal ink around the outside edges and added a stamped sentiment.

This card features the embossed image on smooth, mixed-media cardstock. To make the image stand out a bit more, I used a glitter pen to add some sparkle to the raised design.

It was actually pretty quick to do this, and really made a difference. I can see that this would be something I could do on a number of embossed panels while watching TV at night. And it's so pretty IRL!

I know that my mat and die-cut sentiment look black in the photo, but they're actually a dark purple. The gems in the centers of my ornaments are purple, too.

In this photo you can see the sparkle from the glitter pen and the purple gem a little better.

On the inside of this card I stamped the same sentiment with purple ink and ran my ink pad around the edge of my sentiment panel to add a little definition.

These were super quick cards to make, and I may make a few more. I only need 10 more Christmas cards, so I should soon have them done and can start on some for 2021. That will be a first for me!!

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

Cheryl

Christmas, congrats and grapes...

In my latest order of products from In Love Art shop I received a pretty Vintage Frame stamp. It really adds a nice finishing touch to a card front. If you're interested in it, you will find it here, and you can use this 15% discount code:

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 Here's the card I made:

I know it's hard to see, but the colored cardstock I used for my focal panel has some shades of green in it. It's actually an upcycled piece from a large purchased Christmas card that I received in years past. The sentiment was cut from some gold foil packaging material. I'm definitely frugal when it comes to crafting!

I cut my poinsettia from colored cardstock, did a little shading (although it's hard to see) and added some gold drops to the center using a Viva Decor pen.

The inside of my card has a stamped sentiment and small holly image, which I colored with alcohol markers.

Another product that I had ordered from In Love Art shop was this Congratulations die.

It's a lovely die and cuts well, but be aware that the "Co" cuts separately from the rest of the word.

I glued together several layers of the word to give it some nice dimension. I also added some tiny blue gems to the "berries" on the sprigs that decorate the die-cut.

I think the leafy sprigs are really pretty, but they could definitely be cut off if you didn't want them there.

I left this card blank inside and it is now at the thrift store in my "rack of cards."

I got busy last week and picked some grapes off our grape vines.

They're small grapes but they have wonderful flavor and make excellent jelly.

I'm hoping to get a few more jars yet this summer. More grapes are ripening on the vine, and I will pick them soon.

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

Cheryl

It's Twofer time...

 The Twofer Card Challenge blog is wrapping up another of their monthly challenges, so I needed to get my entry in. It's always fun to try to create two very different cards using the same image.

This time, I decided to use my sun die. Since time was running short and my mojo was being very lackadaisical, it seemed a sun image was my best bet for coming up with two card ideas.

These cards were fun to make--especially since they both required some stenciling (one of my favorite card-making techniques).

I inked my background with a pale blue ink and then added some stenciled raindrops. The grass was cut with a border punch and inked around its bottom edge. I used various dies to cut out my sun, clouds and umbrella. The frog is from a fun Craftin' Desert Divas stamp set. He was stamped, colored and fussy cut, and I applied some Glossy Accents to his eyes. The frog, umbrella canopy and one of the clouds are all popped up on foam tape.

The stamped sentiment is from the same stamp set as the frog.

On the inside of my card, I added another cloud and stamped my sentiment onto it. I'm debating as to whether I should add a sun in the corner, too.

This card uses an NBUS leaf stencil, so I'm also entering this one into challenge #17 on the NBUS blog.

My flower is four sun die-cuts layered up so that the "petals" are in alternate positions. I've added some dark brown fun flock to the center of my flower, hoping it will look a little like those centers on coneflowers. The sentiment is also a die-cut, and I've added a few iridescent sequins.

Here's a little closer look at all the dimension of my flower. 

On the inside of this card, I have stamped a sentiment that I like, but have rarely used. It usually doesn't seem to fit the occasion, but I thought it worked out fine for this card.

That's it for me today. We'll have a quiet weekend, I'm sure. The one thing I miss a lot during this time of social distancing is going to the movies. We used to go almost every weekend. Watching movies at home just isn't the same!

I hope you have a good weekend wherever you are. Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.

Cheryl

Pretty frames...

 The In Love Art shop sent me the prettiest set of Wavy Square Frame dies. I really love them! If you like them, too, you can get them here. And don't forget to use the 15% discount code:

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Here are the cards I made with this set.

As delicate as these frames are, they cut beautifully. I took a little extra care getting them out of the die, but it really wasn't hard at all.

I wanted to add a little variation in color to my die-cut flower. I decided to use a white colored pencil and add some white to the center of my flower, bringing it out at least half way towards the edge of each petal. I loved the results.

On the inside of my card I added a die-cut flourish that was cut from the same cardstock I had used for my flower. I also added a stamped sentiment using purple ink.

This is the second card I made. It's not as long as one of the popular slimline cards, but it is longer (nearly 8 inches) than a normal card. 

Each of my squares is popped up on foam tape to add some dimension. I used spray adhesive to glue down each of my wavy frames on both these cards.

The inside is pretty plain--just a pale pink mat with a stamped birthday greeting.

The stars of these cards are those delicate frames. I'm looking forward to using them...a lot!

Today I finished filling my card rack for the thrift store. I got most of the cards priced, until I ran out of pricing stickers. I will finish them up after I take the entire rack to the store tomorrow. I haven't told them that I'm bringing them an entire rack of cards. I am hoping they will be pleased. In the past I have taken only 6-10 cards in at a time. 

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

Cheryl

Sweet little heart die...

 I received a few more dies from In Love Arts and one that I really enjoyed using was a sweet little hearts die. You can find it here on their site. They are once again allowing me to offer my readers a 15% discount using this code:

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I am continuing to make cards for my "rack of cards" to sell at the thrift store and noticed that I didn't have hardly any baby cards for it. This little hearts die inspired me to make this simple card.

I stamped the word "Precious" onto my stitched oval before I embossed it with one of those 3D embossing folders. Then I added my little hearts image and a popped up, heat-embossed sentiment, "little one." A few gems finished off my card front.

On the inside of my card, I used a couple more stamped sentiments from a really old baby-themed set of stamps I have in my stash. 

I also made a little tag to go with the card using my hearts die. This time I simply punched a 1/8" hole in it and added it with some twine.  "For You" was stamped on some coordinating cardstock, cut out with a small circle die and popped up on my tag.

The next card that I made was a Valentine. This card was simple and quick to make, but the little hearts, cut from glitter cardstock, added the right amount of glitz to make it special. 

On the inside, I stamped "Happy Valentine's Day" and added three small punched hearts, cut from the same DP as was used on the front.

I'll have a few more cards made with In Love Arts stamps and dies that I'll share with you later this week. My stash of cards is building up pretty quickly now!

It's going to be a beautiful day here today, so I really need to get outside and enjoy the weather. Heaven knows, we will have piles of snow and icy sidewalks soon enough. There's never a dull moment when it comes to Minnesota weather!

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

Cheryl

Gear up for a great day...

 I've been working on filling a rack with cards to sell at the thrift store. I will price them really low--most will be $2.00 or less, in order to make them really affordable. After all, a thrift store is supposed to be affordable, right? And it makes me happy to think that someone can get a handmade card for a low price.

Here is one of the cards I have made for my rack:

I've been making mostly flowery, feminine cards, but I figured I had better get my act together and make a few masculine cards, too.

I had the gear die set, so decided to make that the focal point. My sentiments (both front and inside) were computer-generated.

The cardstock that I used for the gear frame and extra gears is copper-colored with a metallic sheen.

Here's my interior sentiment. I was pretty proud of myself for coming up with this one! he he

I think it will work well for an older boy, particularly one who drives, or a grown man.

That's all I've got in the card department today.

We had a long line of strong storms work their way through Minnesota tonight. The tornado sirens went off just before the storm came through. We tend to sit up and take notice when that happens! Some funnel clouds were sighted outside the city, but there was no real damage other than a few downed trees and a loss of electricity for a few thousand residents. Thank goodness.

I hope you are all staying safe and healthy. Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.

Cheryl

Happy birthday with a concertina step card...

 Yesterday was my lovely granddaughter Polly's 15th birthday. She is such a sweet girl, and I wanted to make her a special card. After roaming around Pinterest for a while, I came across this post featuring a concertina step card. I decided to give it a try.

The front of the card doesn't make a big impact. I just layered a couple of patterned papers onto mats and cut one of my larger tag dies for decoration. I stamped the word "Enjoy" on the tag and lightly inked around the edges. Finally, I popped up a little strip on which I had stamped "today," tied a small bow and adhered a few gems.

When you open the card, this is what you see. It really makes quite a statement. Polly's response was: "Wow, this is an elaborate card!" The die-cut words on each step were actually all connected when I first die-cut them. I simply cut them apart and adhered them as you see in the photo. I think I may have had to die-cut them a couple of times, because in cutting them apart, I sometimes had to cut into connected words.

Here's what it looks like from the side. You can see the concertina effect and how it all folds together when the card is closed.

I used the bottom panel to write a brief message and sign our names. Even though it has a pattern, there was enough white space to make writing on it perfectly legible.

This card took a little extra time but was a lot of fun to make. You may want to give it a try, too!

It is a beautiful summer day in Minnesota today. We had some terrible storms on Sunday night with lots of lightening and rain. Some areas even had large hail--up to baseball size--and 75-100 mph winds, but thankfully not where I live.

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

Cheryl

Two very different cards...

Today I want to share two very different cards with you. I made them at essentially the same time, so I'm not sure what that says about how my mind works.

My first card features a pretty hibiscus die-cut. The die is from In Love Arts. I cut it out of mixed media cardstock and then colored it with alcohol markers. I love the exotic look of the hibiscus flower, so I think I'll use this one quite a lot.

My background panel was dry embossed, and I used a deckle-edged rectangle die to cut the small white panel that my flower is on.

I cut a folded banner from pink vellum and heat-embossed my sentiment on it.

While they're hard to see, I did adhere a few translucent sequins to my embossed panel. I didn't want them to detract from my focal image, but I did want the added sparkle.

If you want to order this die, you'll find it here, and you can get a 15% discount by using this code:

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I really LOVED making my second card. The gorgeous snowflake corner die is also from In Love Arts. You'll find it here.

I started making this card by cutting a medium blue square panel and inking around the edges with navy blue ink so that the center of my panel remained lighter in color. Then I cut four of the snowflake corners and adhered them. Finally, I die-cut my sentiment, applied some spray adhesive to it and then put it face-down in ultra fine glitter. It sparkles beautifully IRL. To finish off my card front, I added a few flat-backed gems.

I just love the effect of inking around the edges with a darker ink. 

Now I know that square cards cost more to mail if they're sent in a square envelope. I avoid the extra cost by making rectangular envelopes for my square cards.

On the inside of my card I added a navy blue mat and a stamped sentiment.  

After I had finished taking my photos, I realized that my card didn't say "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays" anywhere, so I added it beneath this sentiment.

Once again, you can order this die here, and receive a 15% discount by using this code:

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I'll have some more projects featuring In Love Arts products in the future. I hope you enjoy seeing them as much as I enjoy making them!

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

Cheryl

Let's Craft and Create Challenge #162: Lots of Layers...

It's amazing that we are nearly through the first week of August. It seems to me that summer whips by faster and faster every year.  I am happy, though, that this means it is time for another challenge at Let's Craft and Create. 

Our August challenge is "Lots of Layers." I don't usually put a lot of layers on my cards so this was definitely a stretch for me. To try to get more comfortable with the concept of "Lots of Layers," I decided to make two cards--both of them for Thanksgiving.

I found some Stampin' Up papers in my stash that were in fall colors; one of them was printed with leaves and acorns. I decided to use those elements as accents on my topmost layers.

For this card I pulled out my acorn dies and cut them from some kraft paper. I colored the tops a darker brown with an alcohol marker.

The stamped sentiment and enamel dots finished my card front nicely.

Here's a peek at my acorns. You can see that I've popped one of them up on some double-sided foam.

For the inside of my card, I used my computer to create a sentiment. I matted it and added a gold strip of cardstock at the bottom.

For my second card, I found a layout online that I liked and, using the same papers as the first card, I created my card front.

I printed my front sentiment with my computer and then stamped a single leaf below it. I fussy-cut the mat behind my sentiment panel, added some enamel dots and popped it up on foam squares.

This card also has a computer-generated sentiment on the inside. I think I may still add a colored strip of CS across the bottom like I did on the first card, just to add a little color to the inside.

I see in the photo there is a tiny piece of white paper at the bottom of my sentiment panel. I'll remove that, too!

I hope you'll join in this month's fun and create a card with Lots of Layers. The Design Team has provided lots of inspiration for you over on the Let's Craft and Create blog. There will be a crafty prize to be won, so it's well worth your time.

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