Let's Craft and Create Challenge #222: Anything Goes or Polka Dots and/or Stripes...

 

Happy August, everyone! Summer is sliding by so quickly that I am certain we are going downhill and picking up speed as we head towards Fall. I don't know why I am always surprised by how quickly Summer comes to a close. I do look forward to seeing the Fall colors on the trees, though.

So, as you enjoy these last weeks of warm weather, vacation trips, beach outings, fairs and fairways, I hope you'll also spend a little time making something to share for our next challenge at Let's Craft and Create. You can enter under the all-encompassing "Anything Goes" or choose to make something using polka dots and/or stripes. I have decided on the latter for my make.

I have been to a number of weddings where the bridesmaids and groomsmen were dressed in black and just one other accent color was used for the flowers, the cake and other decor. 

Even though I've never made a predominately black and white wedding card before, I decided to make one for this challenge using some striped and polka dot papers. I felt like the striped design was representative of the men in the wedding party and the polka dots were definitely more female.

For this "bookbinder" card, I added a score line 1 1/4" to the right of the center score line. I then added the striped paper to this narrow section and tied a ribbon around it before gluing it down. 

The stamped and die-cut sentiment was popped up with a narrow foam strip.

I chose a deep red cardstock with a nice sheen on it for die-cutting the three layers of my flower.

The layers were each curled slightly with a bone folder and then glued together at the center before being adhered to the card.

The flower center was cut from some black cardstock and glued in place.

Since this flower die set didn't come with any leaf dies, I searched through my dies to find a couple that would work.

Since this is a "bookbinder" card, the space on the inside measures 4 1/4" X 4 1/4". I cut a piece of white cardstock that was 4" X 4" on which to stamp my sentiment. This was then adhered to the inside.

I hope you'll join us at Let's Craft and Create for this fun challenge. We all have some sort of striped or polka dot papers in our stash, don't we? And if you have something else in mind, there is always the "Anything Goes" option.

Be sure to check out all the inspiration from the Design Team here.

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

Cheryl

Simple "new baby" card...

 

I had a scrap of the striped paper in my stash, and, when looking at it, I thought it would be perfect for a baby card--especially since there was also a happy yellow stripe in the pattern. I covered the seam where the stripe and yellow papers meet with a strip of the same navy blue cardstock that the cardbase is cut from.

I used two die sets for this card: one for the banner and the other for the baby buggy. The banner die set includes the solid banner and then a number of words that can be cut from it, like thank you, happy birthday, congratulations, etc. 

I glued some navy blue cardstock behind the cutout word and then popped the banner up with foam tape.

The buggy is glued directly to the card front, and I thought it was more interesting to make it from the navy blue cardstock, rather than one of the pastel colors I usually use. I also liked the contrast of the white ruffle against the navy blue.

I used matte metallic silver cardstock for the wheels and frame and added Nuvo Drops to the centers of the wheels.

I stamped the inside sentiment with navy blue ink.

I am currently very low on baby cards to donate to the thrift store, so I will be making some more of this card design and others. This is no chore, though, because I love making baby cards!

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

Cheryl

Rest, relax, recover...

 

To make this card, I started with an A2 aqua card base and a panel of white cardstock that measured 4" X 5 1/4". I made two marks on the left hand side of the white panel--one that was 3/4" down from the upper left-hand corner and one that was 1 1/2" down from that same corner.

Then I also made a mark on the right hand side that was 3" up from the lower right-hand corner.

Using my small guillotine cutter, I cut from the 3/4" mark on the left to the 3" mark on the right. Then I cut from the 1 1/2" mark on the left to the bottom right-hand corner.

I glued a strip of the aqua cardstock along each cut so that a little less than 1/8" was visible from the front.

I adhered some DSP onto the card front before gluing down my two white pieces with the aqua trim.

Once the white was in place, I stamped my sentiment.

I had the palm trees, shell and coral in my in my stash. They were leftover pieces from a partial kit that the thrift store had given me.

I glued the first palm tree directly to the card front and popped up the top of the second one. Then I added the coral and the sand dollar.

I stamped a sentiment on the inside to finish the card.

I really liked this card design, and I think it could be used for all kinds of occasions with lots of different die-cuts, stamped images or ephemera. I'd like to try making one where I emboss the panels on the front, too.

If you try making one, I'd love to see it.

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

Cheryl

Sweet wishes...

 

I had a partial sheet of cardstock printed with some lovely, glittery strawberries on one side and a solid, deep pink on the other side. I decided it was time to use up the rest of the sheet, so I made these two cards.

I die-cut two of the strawberry images, using a stitched circle die, and then cut a doily as a mat for each of of them.

I also die-cut the "sweet wishes" sentiment for each of the cards. I used the deep pink side of the cardstock for this.

The background was created by cutting panels of a matching blue cardstock and then using a striped embossing folder to add some interest and dimension.

If you look closely at this angled photo, you can actually see the glitter of the strawberries.

The circles and their doily mats were popped up with foam squares.

I stamped a sentiment on the inside of each card. I also fussy-cut a strawberry and a flower and added them, as well.

Now that I've used this paper up, I wish I had another sheet of it. The glittery strawberries are so pretty, and I think someone will enjoy giving these (they've been donated to the thrift store) to a friend or family member. 

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

Cheryl

Cattail frame on a masculine card...

I needed to place an order for envelopes from Amazon, so while I was at it, I added this cattail frame die to the order. I thought it would work well to create some masculine cards.

I started by blending some pink, yellow and orange inks onto a white piece of cardstock to create the background. When that was done, I die-cut the frame and glued it to the slightly larger piece of inked background. 

To keep the proper shape of the frame, I left it in the die as I applied some liquid glue to all parts of the backside. Then I laid it glue-side down onto the background and used a piercing tool to poke through the holes to dislodge the die-cut and adhere it to the background.

After the glue had a couple of minutes to dry, I trimmed off any excess background that extended beyond the frame. I also added two tiny flying insect die cuts (from another die set).

I added foam tape to the background to pop it up on the kraft cardbase.

Finally, a stamped sentiment on the inside finished the card.

I plan to make more cards like this and try some other color combos for the sky, like yellow, purple and dark blue. What colors do you like to use? 

Speaking of skies, we had some stormy ones here last night. They produced a hard rain for a short period of time. More storms are predicted for tonight, but then we can look forward to some cooler weather. It has felt like a sauna outside lately, so temps in the low 80s will be a nice change.

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

Cheryl

Floral birthday card...

I needed a card recently for a lovely lady celebrating her 80th birthday. I chose to use some flowery DSP to make a card similar to the one demonstrated in this video.

It was actually a very quick and easy card to make and I was pleased with how it turned out.

The flowers on the white, arched rectangle are a vellum sticker with metallic gold highlights, so I heat-embossed my sentiments with gold EP, too.

When we arrived at the birthday party, I saw that the decorations (including the balloons) were in gold and white. My card coordinated nicely!

This view shows how the card looks when opened. One change I made from the video was to adhere the front flap--with the arched rectangle--to the second scored section. This gave the front of the card more strength and stability.

I have lots of older, discontinued designer papers, and this is a great way to use some of it up. Besides that, this funfold makes a very pretty card.

I stopped by a farmer's market on my way home from volunteering yesterday and picked up some fresh sweet corn. It is the first we have had this season, and it was SO GOOD! Minnesota farmers grow some incredible sweet corn, and I look forward to it every summer. The local crop becomes available in the markets around the middle of July. We will be enjoying it regularly for as long as the season lasts.

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

Cheryl

Dramatic card in red, white and black...

 

I had a scrap of deep red, textured cardstock left, and I wanted to use it on a card. I decided to combine it with a black and white pattern for a dramatic look.

This card is a bookbinder card with the left 1 1/4"  glued down to the card back. There is, of course, a score line 1 1/4" from the left edge of the front so that the card can be opened.

I had the "Thinking of you" sentiment in my card parts. I simple matted it and popped it up with foam tape.

Three layers of petals were cut from some deep red cardstock that had a bit of a sheen to it. I curled them a bit with a bone folder and stacked them, making sure to offset the petals. I also cut a few leaves and added some black Nuvo Drops to the center.

I added a stamped sentiment to the inside to finish the card.

I don't often make bookbinder cards with portrait card blanks. It results in a narrow sentiment panel on the inside, but I think that works well sometimes, expecially for sympathy cards. People are often at a loss for words when there is a death or feel that there simply are no words that will properly comfort the bereaved, so they don't have much to add to the stamped sentiment.

I need to make a few more sympathy cards to build up my stash and to have some to donate. I hope to be sharing more of them with you soon.

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

Cheryl

Tag cards with two tags each...

 

I saw a card similar to this online and decided to give it a try. I have a die set that includes the tag you see on these cards plus a much longer one that could be used as a bookmark. 

I picked a couple of distressed DSPs from a small stack I have in my stash. Normally, I have trouble using a print like the one with flipflops, but I thought it worked well for this card. It was cut at 2 3/4" X 5 1/4".

The front of the card was scored at 1 1/4" from the right side. This was then folded over to create a pocket on the inside for cash or a gift card. That left a space to glue a plain coordinating 1" X 5 1/4" strip on the right. 

One of the tags was also cut from the turquoise DSP. The top tag was stamped and then the two were glued together at an angle. I popped them both up with foam squares and added a string bow at the top.

In this photo you can see the pocket created on the left. I glued another 1" strip of the turquoise DSP to it.

The white CS was cut the same size as the flipflop DSP and stamped with a simple greeting.

This card was made exactly the same way as the first card.

And, once again, you can see the pocket on the backside of the card front.

These two cards were quick and fun to make. They are a great way to use up smaller pieces of DSP, too.

Yesterday was a beautiful summer day here in the Northland. We spent a large part of the afternoon at an art fair in a nearby park. We took Mickey along and were impressed by his good behavior, even though there were thousands of people and (probably) hundreds of other dogs. As a reward, he got a special treat (a hot dog) when we got home.

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

Cheryl

A fun new sunflower die...

Recently I was going through my book of flower dies and found one that I had not yet used. In fact, I couldn't even remember when and from where I got it!

The blossom part of this die is all one piece, but the first row of petals is cut so that you can lift them up and put a small foam dot behind each one to lift them up.

The sentiment was stamped and popped up with foam tape.

You may be able to see in this photo how the petals are lifted up.

I colored the center with a brown alcohol marker, and then I added a few brown gems for a little sparkle.

The stem and leaves were cut from green cardstock and glued to the card front. There was actually a fourth leaf extending from the stem, but I cut it off because it seemed a little too crowded with it on.

I stamped a simple "Happy Birthday" on the inside.

Since this is the first time I've used this die set, I am adding it to Darnell's NBUS (Never Before Used Schtuff) blog.

I'm also linking this post to Darnell's personal blog, DJKardKreations. Her inspiration this week is to use a die, so this card "fits the bill." 

That's another idiom for you, Darnell! I did a little searching and found that it originated in 19th century theater. The "bill" refers to a list of performances.

ETA: Per Darnell's advice, I am also linking this post to the Color Hues Challenge which is currently "yellow and green."

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

Cheryl

One for the books...

This card showcases the last of my Dollar Tree book stickers. How I wish they would get more of these in stock, but I check each time I go and I haven't seen them for months and months.

I used the arched rectangle dies to frame the sticker and stamped sentiment. The arched shape and its mat are popped up on foam squares (also from Dollar Tree).

The sticker is 3D, and I think it looks so realistic. I even love the colors of the books -- they're perfect for a masculine carad!

I stamped another sentiment on the inside and added a single book sticker.

I have been on a mission lately to make more masculine cards for the thrift store. I always run short of them because I simply don't make enough. It's just so much easier to make feminine cards. 

So now I'm off to check Pinterest for some more masculine card ideas.

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

Cheryl

Diamond Art birthday cards...

I've seen a lot of Diamond Art projects online, so I decided that I had to give it a try. I ordered a set of six Diamond Art cards from Temu. It came with the card blanks (a numbered design on the front of each), the flat-backed gems in numbered packets by color, and the envelopes. The kit also included a tool with wax filler, with which you pick up the gems, and a little tray to hold the gems while you work.

The design on each card is covered with an adhesive, so you don't have to add that. You simply remove the acetate sheet from the front of the card and place the gems on the numbers. It's a bit like "paint by number." 

After I had completed placing the gems on all the designs, I painted on a coating of ModPodge as a sealer. You can purchase a special sealer on Temu, but I already had the ModPodge, and a little online research told me it would work well (it did!).

Here are the 6" X 6" cards, one at a time.

I didn't add any sentiments to the fronts, but I created a different verse on my computer for the inside of each one. I am giving all of these to my daughters and daughters-in-law, so I wanted to personalize each one. Here's an example of what I put inside:

Five of these were, or will be, handed to the recipient in person. The sixth one will be mailed next month, so I'm not sure how it will do. I will make sure it is marked "hand cancel" so that it doesn't go through the machines. I will also put a piece of cardstock over the design in the envelope to add a bit more protection.

These were fun to make. They definitely take more time than most cards, but I could work on them while watching TV, which was a plus. 

Since this kit was NBUS (Never Before Used Schtuff), I'm entering these into Darnells latest challenge on the NBUS blog.

Have you tried Diamond Art yet? If so, I'd LOVE to see what you have made.

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

Cheryl

Cheers to you...

I was looking through my masculine die sets the other day and came across some fancy drink and small hibiscus dies that were part of a man's shirt die set. I decided to use them to create a couple of feminine birthday cards.

The leaf die was not part of the set, but I thought it looked like a tropical leaf, so I used it. I colored the drink in with a pink alcohol marker.

The orange flower was popped up with a small pop dot. All the other die-cuts were glued directly to the arched rectangle, which was popped up with foam squares.

I stamped a sentiment on the inside to finish the card, but as sometimes happens, I smudged it! To fix it, I cut a large, arched rectangle and stamped the sentiment on it. Then, I glued the rectangle down above the strip of DSP, which I had added previously.

I decided it looked okay since the arched rectangle mimiced the one on the front of the card.

This is the second card I made using the same small dies, along with a couple of circle dies.

The larger circle was glued directly to the card front, and the smaller circle was popped up.

The pink hibiscus was also popped up.

The sentiment on the inside was the same as the previous card, so I opted not to share a photo of it. 

We have finally gotten our cleaned and pressed drapes back from the cleaners. I hung them right away in the living room and dining room. 

Today, the new dining room rug will be delivered and I'm looking forward to seeing how it looks. I have a photo of it on my phone, but I really want to see it under our table! Once that is in place, we will have to work on wall decor. Everything had to be removed before the floors were refinished because of all the sanding dust. Of course, now I want to change things a bit, so that may take awhile.

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

Cheryl

Using vellum stickers...

A short time ago, I saw a card on Heartwarmers by Vicki that inspired me to make a couple of cards. I simply guessed at the measurements to use, and I think they turned out to be quite nice cards.

This design enabled me to use up a scrap of the striped DSP. I think it was 3" wide, and the navy blue mat under it was 3 1/4" wide. I made each matted piece just long enough to fit under the diagonal strip.

The flower is a vellum-like sticker that has some metallic gold highlights. The colors in it went perfectly with the DSP and navy card base.

The sticker is rather delicate, so I applied it to some white cardstock first and then die-cut the circle. This worked really well because it helped to embed the image into the white paper.

Each circle was then popped up on foam squares.

I made the diagonal strip of navy blue CS 1" wide, and the white mat under it is 1 1/4" wide.

I used Night of Navy ink to stamp the sentiments on the front and inside.

I have a lot of the floral stickers in different colors, so I think I'll be making more cards like this to donate to the thrift store and to have in my own stash of cards.

Our new sofa and one of our new end tables has been delivered. The second end table should arrive today. New furniture is so much fun!

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

Cheryl