A 20th birthday card...

 

One of my grandsons turned 20 years old this month, and this is the birthday card I made for him.

The "Happy" and "Birthday" were heat embossed and popped up on foam tape. The "20th" was cut out with dies a few times and layered up to give it a bit of dimension.

This is called a double Z-fold card, and you can watch a tutorial on how to make it here. In the picture above, you can see what I added to the inside panels of the card. The sentiments were printed out with my computer.

Here's another view that shows how nicely the card can be displayed.

And finally, a birdseye view that may help you see how it is put together.

This card was fun to make, and I loved adding the little joke about his being "halfway to 40." LOL

Well, my DH's broken elbow saga continues. We were able to get him in to the Orthopedic surgeon yesterday. The doctor doesn't think that surgery is warranted (yay!) and that he can just keep it in a sling, as well as wear a wrist brace to keep him from using the arm muscles too much as it heals. He will have to do physical therapy to get strength and range of motion back in that arm. Hopefully it will heal well and no other problems will develop. That does mean, however, that all the yard work and most of the inside work is up to me for the time being.  :(

Oh well, the exercise will do me good. I actually trimmed our hedges a couple of days ago and also mowed the lawn. Now I need to get some watering done and deadhead the flowers. I just hope I still have time to do some crafting!

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

Cheryl

Ribbit, ribbit...

 

I finally purchased a little frog die set and used it on these cards.

The card bases and rounded-corner panels came from a card kit that my friend gave me. 

The frog is a pretty cute one--I love his little front feet--but I did feel he needed some googly eyes to give him a little more life.

The sentiment panel and the frog are popped up on dimensionals.

The largest rounded-corner panels were actually large tags, so I added a baker's twine bow over the hole at the top.

On the inside of each card I added a computer-generated sentiment.

These were both donated to the thrift store. My grandkids are all in their teens and twenties now. I think they'd think I was a little strange if I gave them a birthday card with a silly little frog on it. LOL

My DH had a minor disaster yesterday. He was walking our dog in the morning and tripped over a big tree root and fell, breaking his elbow. I had just gotten to the thrift store for my weekly shift when he called and asked me to come back and give him a ride to urgent care. I drove back (about a 15 min. drive) while he sat on some grass a few blocks from our house waiting for me. At urgent care they took X-rays, gave him a sling and told him to see an Orthopedic surgeon as soon as possible. We couldn't get an appointment until the end of next week, so today we're going to try to pressure them to see him sooner. They didn't give him any pain killers. He is only taking some Tylenol, so the elbow is still painful if he moves his arm at all. We're keeping our fingers crossed that we can work something out soon!

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

Cheryl

A couple of sympathy cards...

I had a couple of floral-patterned card bases in my stash for...well...years! I had started out with at least six of them, so I must have used four of them at some point. I didn't really care for the floral pattern, so for these last two I tried to think of a way to put the focus on something else. This is what I came up with:

I had recently gotten a set of vase dies. I decided to use two of the dies for these cards.

The pale pink panel on each card was die-cut and popped up on foam tape. 

I love the detail on the above vase. I cut it out of white cardstock and then used a finger dauber to add some ink to it. 

The flowers were also cut from white cardstock and colored with metallic paints.

This vase die also has some pretty detail. You can't see it, but after inking the vase, I ran a glitter pen along the arched lines to emphasize them. The sentiments on these cards were stamped and popped up on foam tape. The one on the card above was just a little crooked, and I wish I had restamped and recut it. 

I cut a few tiny, random flowers out of white cardstock and colored them with markers, using the colors in the card base. I glued the stems behind my vase before attaching it to the pink panel. 

I stamped a little flourish and a sentiment on the inside of each card. 

Sadly, I need to make sympathy cards every week for the thrift store. They always seem to sell quickly (even with crooked sentiments).

We have started a few projects in our house. We have painted trim in several areas and we are repainting some of it. We're also working on our stairs to the second floor. My DH is removing the carpet from them. Once that is done, we'll refinish them and possibly add a runner. It's a lot of putsy work, and neither one of us enjoys it much. I'd rather be making cards!

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

Cheryl

Cards from a kit...

A friend of mine, who attends the same church I do, brought a box of card kits to me a couple of Sundays ago. She said she would not be using them and asked if I would like to have them. There were more than 20 unopened card kits in the box along with some miscellaneous cardmaking supplies. I could hardly wait to get them home so I could get started!!

The card kits were all from Annie's Crafts. I have made quite a few cards from a couple of the kits, but I still have barely scratched the surface. 

I didn't really follow the suggestions given for making the cards, but did my own thing and often added some embellishments and sentiments from my own stash. Here are a few of the cards I made from one kit:

These cards had layered images. I loved the extra dimension the layers added. The sentiments on these two cards were included in the kit.

Here's a closer look at the layers on the first card. The silver accents add a nice touch of elegance.

I added an extra butterfly and some ribbon to this card.

I added the sentiments to these cards (they didn't come in the kit). Once again, the layered images added a lot of dimension.

Sometimes I left the images the original size (as in the larger card on the left), and sometimes I cut them down to fit an A2 card size.

I added the butterfly and sentiment to the image on this sympathy card.

I popped up the circle image on this card and then added some ribbon and sparkly embellishments, as well as the sentiment.

For these cards, I popped the image panels up on foam tape and added either butterflies or dragonflies along with some sentiments.

All of these cards were made from the same kit, and I still have supplies left to make some more. The cards were all donated to the thrift store and sold quickly, which tells me that the customers like the "kit cards." 

There are two or three Christmas card kits in the box, and I think I will use them to make some cards for my own use. 

I will definitely be sharing some more of the "kit cards" I make here on my blog.

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

Cheryl

Leafy vellum cards...

My DH and I were in North Dakota a couple of weeks ago for a family wedding. We stayed with my sister who is also a cardmaker. She and I share supplies with each other when we have duplicates or way too much to use. She gave me some pretty leaf-patterned vellum. It's a really good grade of vellum, not flimsy at all. When I got home, I immediately set to work to make a few cards with it.

This is the first card I made. It's a thank you card that I sent to my sister and her husband. 

I first cut some narrow frames. I have an A2 size die that cuts a bunch of 1/8" nesting frames at one time. They are so useful! 

I glued one of the frames to a piece of vellum, making sure that I had a nice leaf image in the center of it. Once the glue was dry, I simply cut around it.

To apply my framed vellum to the card base, I added adhesive along the edge where the frame would hide it.

I stamped and matted my sentiment and popped it up on foam tape. Just a fe    w gems finished off my card front.

I added another stamped sentiment on the inside. I also cut out one of the vellum leaves and adhered it to the inside as an embellishment.

Here's another card using two of the frames I had die-cut. One for the larger piece and one for the stamped sentiment. Once again, I fussy-cut a couple of the leaves and added them as embellishements.

This smaller framed rectangle was popped up on foam squares.

I did not add anything but a couple of stamped sentiments on the inside of this card.

I think this softly patterned vellum is perfect for sympathy cards, too. Once again I used two of the frames I had cut from the dark green cardstock.

The framed sentiment is popped up on foam squares.

The inside has a stamped sentiment and a fussy-cut leafy sprig for embellishment.

All three of these cards are very simple in design, but the richness of the vellum paper makes them special. I really like how they turned out and plan to make some more.

Thanks, Michelle, for sharing your stash of vellum with me!!!

And thank you for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.

Cheryl

Sympathy card in soft colors...

 

I almost always use soft colors when I make sympathy cards, and this one is no exception. The DSP was a piece I had in my stash. The soft green pattern made a nice background.

I die-cut my flower layers and then used the softest shade of pink ink that I had and applied it lightly to the centers. I chose to die-cut some skeleton leaves in soft green to continue the look, letting them cascade down from the bottom of the oval.

I used a brad in the center to hold the flower together. It's been ages since I've used a brad, and I have quite a few of them in my stash!

My sentiment was printed on the computer and then die-cut with a stitched oval die and popped up with foam squares.

The sentiment on the inside was stamped, and I've embellished it with one of my skeleton leaves.

Our sweet dog, Mickey, is nearly done with a second round of training. He has learned a lot and is becoming a very well-behaved pup. We are going to take him to one more type of training where he will learn to heel and walk beside us without a leash. I hope that goes well. We'd love to be able to walk him off-leash from time to time.

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

Cheryl

Seas the day...

 I made a couple of mini-slimline cards recently with an ocean theme.

These cards were made quickly and simply with a couple of die sets and some leftover scraps of DSP. It turns out they are perfect for entering Challenge # 54 (National Beach Day + National Lighthouse Day) at Day of the Month Card Club Blog.

This lighthouse is a new NBUS (Never Before Used Schtuff) die set, so I'm also entering this card into NBUS Challenge #53.

In fact, the die-cut sentiment, Seas the Day, is also NBUS.

The lighthouse was cut in two layers (red and white) and backed with yellow vellum to look like light shining from the windows.

I added a bit of shading to the rock and to the grassy area beneath the rock before adhering them to my card.

This is the inside of my card.  The sentiment was created on my computer.

I love this little sailboat die set and have used it many times on cards.

It's great for a quick, masculine card. 

I've added gold dots with a Viva Decor pen to the side of the boat. 

Once again, I used my computer to create a sentiment for the inside.

Each of these cards measured 3 1/2" X 6". That meant that I had to cut down an envelope to properly fit each card. That's not hard though, and I do it often. I save all plain envelopes that I receive and use them for occasions like this. 

Of course, I also order 1,000 A2 envelopes at a time. I make a ton of cards that size which are mainly donated to the thrift store to sell. The store uses the proceeds to support their community programs, such as a food shelf.

I used to make a lot of envelopes (I have an envelope punch board), but that was when I made far fewer cards. Now I only make them when I have an odd sized card or if I want to more closely coordinate the envelope with the card.

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

Cheryl

Let's Craft and Create Challenge #198: Polka Dots and/or Stripes or Anything Goes...

 

It's time, once again, for a new monthly challenge at Let's Craft and Create. As you can tell from the title of this post, this month's option is Polka Dots and/or Stripes. 

I actually love mixing and matching polka dots and stripes, so I decided to make a couple of cards using both.

I have a die set that makes it SO easy to make baby cards like this. I love using lots of different colors rather than the usual pink or blue. 

I added a little flagged sentiment that says "welcome" and one or two tiny gold hearts to each card. I also tied a narrow ribbon around the second "B" as an additional embellishment.

This card was done the same way as the first one--I simply mixed up the order of the papers I used. 

And I actually cut all the letters out of each patterned paper, so I can still make two more cards with the letters that are left.

After cutting a second white shadow, I added a simple, stamped sentiment to the inside of each card.

I think what I like most about this die set is that it is gender neutral. However, it can still make cards that are clearly for boys or for girls. Imagine a dark blue card base, a white shadow, and four different patterned blue papers for the letters. You could add some stars or a little baseball cap for embellishments. Wouldn't that be cute?

Now it's your turn. I hope you'll join us at Let's Craft and Create and post your card that feaatures polka dots, stripes or both! You can always enter a card completely different, using the "Anything Goes" option.

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

Cheryl

Have a blooming good day...

 I recently purchased a die set that cuts a mix of tiny flowers. I thought they would be perfect for adding to wreaths on cards, for filling in little spaces or adding some color to the inside of a card. They're also great for filling up a pocket...

I cut all the flowers in the set from a variety of colored cardstock scraps. It's a great way to use up some of the paper pieces we all have in our stash. Then as I watched TV one night, I glued a bunch of them together and added Nuvo Drops to their centers. It was so relaxing to do that, especially since I didn't care what colors I glued together.

Once I had my flowers put together, it was short work to die-cut a pocket and a few leafy branches for greenery.

I added a stamped sentiment below my pocket to finish off the card front.

On the inside, I added one of the left-over flowers as an embellishment.

But now, since I used so many flowers on this card, I need to make some more.

It has been so hot (90+ degrees) here that my flowers outside have really been suffering. We got a sprinkle of rain last night, but I think I will still have to do some watering today.

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

Cheryl

A big leaf thank you card...

When I was at my friend Lynette's home for a crafty play day, she let me use one of her 3D embossing folders that featured BIG leaves. After I had embossed my panel and taken it home, I wasn't sure what to do with it. The panel looked a little plain in all white, so I decided to add some color.

I used some finger daubers and two different shades of green ink. I carefully (and lightly) sponged each of the green inks over the raised leaves. I absolutely love how it turned out. Just look at how those raised leaf designs took the ink--even along the edges! These pictures really don't do this card justice.

I cut my panel down to size and added a sheer ribbon tied in a simple knot.

Finally, I cut a white scalloped circle and a pierced circle for the sentiment. The scalloped circle was added with two strips of double-sided foam adhesive placed on the top and bottom to hold the ribbon in place. The pierced circle was also popped up on foam squares.

The inside was finished off with a stamped sentiment. 

Thank you again, Lynette (My Stamping Addiction), for letting me use your embossing folder. It makes an impressive background!

As I type this, my grandson Patrick is at the Speedo Junior National Swimming Championships in Irvine, California. He will be one of the select few 15-year-olds there (the age limit is 18). He qualified to compete in 4 events--2 relays and 2 individual races. He doesn't expect to win anything--the competition is really fierce at the national level--but he is grateful for the experience and hopes to learn a lot. We wish him the best of luck!

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

Cheryl