Wishing you all the best on your retirement...

 

I have a stamp set of "wavy" sentiments with a coordinating die to cut them out. I used one of those sentiments on these cards. 

I used the die to trace a wavy cut line for each of the papers. That makes it easy to fit them together on the front of the card. The seam between the two papers doesn't have to be perfect because it's covered up by the sentiment.

I used papers from a mat stack of coordinating designs, and the only embellishing elements were the two leafy die-cuts. I decided I liked the simplicity of this design, though.

Each of the scalloped sentiment strips have been popped up with foam tape.

This is such a handy stamp and die set to have, and I don't use it nearly enough. I think sometimes I inspire myself by writing these posts and sharing my cards with you. lol

I'm not sure why, but I did not take a picture of the sentiment I stamped inside these cards, but it said, "The best is yet to come."

I heard a local weatherman on the radio saying that all signs point to a warmer and lengthier Autumn in my neck of the woods. I am hoping he is right, because it is a beautiful time of year. I love seeing the trees change color. The warm, brilliant reds and golds just make me happy!

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

Cheryl

If you regularly visit my blog, you may remember the flower die I used on a card in this post. I love the dimension you can achieve with it so much that I decided to die-cut three of the flower heads in pastel colors and use them all on a single card.

Each of the flowers has half the petals raised by putting short lengths of double-sided foam strips beneath them. This adds so much dimension and life.

The confetti stickers were some random ones I had in my stash and the sentiment was stamped and popped up with foam tape.

I used markers to color the flower centers and then added some sparkle with a Wink of Stella pen. I know you can't see it in the photos, but it's there!

What you can see in this photo is the way the petals are lifted up with the foam strips.

I stamped a sentiment on the inside. I wish I would have had more confetti stickers to put on the inside, but I had used them all on the front.

I thought at first I would have to make a special envelope for this card, but it fit well in a business size one. Now I'm going to look at my other flower dies and see if I can come up with ideas for using die-cuts of just the flower heads to make a card.

Last night we had a gathering of a few neighbors at a friend's house just two doors down from us. We have the nicest neighbors, so it was a lot of fun. These kinds of gatherings are extra special when you're no longer going to a job each day and socializing with your co-workers. So the motto of this story is: get together with your neighbors whenever you can!

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

Cheryl

Masculine cards using lots of DSP...

Last week, in this post, I said I was going to look for some 12" X 12" sheets of DSP that would work for masculine cards. Well, I found some and quickly made some cards. Here are two of them:

The measurements, scoring and general instructions for making these cards is in the post linked to above. 

I used black quilling strips on either side of the center panel. If you ever have a chance to get some quilling strips, they come in VERY handy when you need a narrow strip to finish off an edge. I have a package of assorted colors and use them a lot.

I used a couple of arched rectangle dies for the sentiment panel and its black mat. After stamping the sentiment, I added some holographic stars to fill in the space a bit.

I added a matted panel to the inside with another stamped sentiment and a few more stars.

This card has only the sentiment stamped onto the matted hexagon. Instead of stars, I added some black Nuvo Drops to the upper left and bottom right sides.

This card had a couple of different sentiments stamped on the inside. I realized, after stamping, that two exclamation marks was a bit much, but I figured anyone who receives this card will probably not even notice. Sometimes I over-think things.

I have several more sheets of this DSP in different colors. I will definitely make more of these cards to donate to the thrift store. I think the customers appreciate masculine cards, as they always seem to sell quickly.

I hope you all have a grand weekend. The temps are expected to be cooler here. I am excited to turn off the AC and open the windows. We have had our AC running continuously for a longer period of time than we ever have in the 27 years we've lived in this house. It's been a very warm summer.

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

Cheryl

Kittycats sitting on some basket weave embossing...

I am lucky enough to have three sisters and additionally lucky that one of them is a cardmaker. She and I trade supplies from time to time and share some of our stash with each other. Recently, she gave me a stack of panels she had embossed with a new (to her) embossing folder. It features a 3D basket weave pattern. I used most of one of the panels to make these two cards:

I love these cat die-cuts.  Their cartoonish shapes and expressions just make me smile. The basket weave embossing made me think of a basket that a cat might enjoy curling up in. Besides that, it nicely matched the piece of DSP I wanted to use.

The base card is actually a very pale lilac, and I used a little darker shade for the strip that covers the seam between the plaid and embossed pieces.

I die-cut the whiskers from the same dotted DSP as the cat bodies. After gluing them on, they weren't very visible, so I used a fine point felt pen to draw a line across the top of them. That did the trick!

I used some Nuvo drops for the noses and drew in the pupils of the cats' eyes, rather than try to glue down a miniscule piece of black CS.

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

The stamped sentiment on the front of each card was popped up with foam tape. I could have popped up the cats, too, but I thought they looked pretty cute glued directly to the card front.

This is the sentiment I stamped on the inside of this card.

Since I've used some of my sister's beautiful embossing on these cards, I'm adding this to Darnell's (DJKardKreations) weekly I.D.E.A.S. inspiration post. 

In honor of Darnell's love of words, I thought I'd share a few cat idioms with you today. It's amazing how many there are: let the cat out of the bag, like a cat on a hot tin roof, like herding cats, it's a cat-and-mouse game, curiosity killed the cat, cat got your tongue? These are only a few of them. There are many more. It seems every culture has an array of cat idioms. 

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

Cheryl

Happy Birthday to a very special someone...

 One of my granddaughters turned 20 years old this month, and this is the card I made for her:

The floral cardstock had lots of glitter on it, so it was perfect for a young lady's birthday. I had just a small portion of a 12" X 12" sheet left--just enough for this card.

The word "Spectacular" was heat-embossed onto the green panel, which was popped up on foam tape.

Of course, I had to add a few pink gems. Every birthday girl deserves some extra sparkle on her card!

This is how the card looks when opened. It's a great design if you want to display it. It's called a Concertina Card, and you can find a tutorial on how to make it here.

When we joined our granddaughter and her family to celebrate her birthday, she was sporting some pretty pink hair! Perfectly coordinated with her card. lol

I've always told my daughters--and now my granddaughters--if they want to express their individuality, they should do it with their hair. It's easy to change your whole look with a different hair color or style, and it doesn't last forever. When your preferences change, your hair can change with them. 

There is a lady, close to my age, who attends our church. She often colors her hair in pastel colors, like pink and purple. I often compliment her and champion her sense of fun and freedom to express her individual style!

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

Cheryl

An interesting card fold using double-sided paper...

 

If you're like me, you have lots of 12" X 12" designer series paper with patterns on both sides. Because I have so much of it, I love finding card designs where I can use a lot of it on each card. This is one of those folds.

I started by cutting a piece that was 5 1/2" X 12", scoring it at 2 1/4", 5 1/2", and 9 3/4". The first score was folded back, and the second and third scores were folded toward the center. I adhered the first flap down to the front of the card. You don't have to do this, but it makes the front sturdier. 

I also cut two thin strips of teal cardstock and added them to each side of the folded back portion. I thought this gave a nice finished edge to it.

Finally, I used an arched rectangle die to cut a piece of off-white cardstock and a slightly larger die to cut a piece of teal cardstock for a mat. After stamping a sentiment, I glued down a flower die-cut and a couple tiny butterflies with tiny gems at their centers.

This matted panel was then adhered to the center of the card front.

You could use any shape for this center panel--a rectangle, oval, circle, you name it! In fact, I could have just glued my flower die-cut and butterflies directly to the center section of the card front if I had wanted to.

This is what the card looks like when it's opened. I cut a 3 3/4" X 5" off-white panel for my stamped sentiment (and three tiny butterflies) and a teal mat that was 4" X 5 1/4".

This is one of those folds that I think I will make many times. It's quick and easy, but looks pretty impressive. I'm hoping to find some more masculine-looking DSP in my stash so I can make some masculine cards using this fold. They deserve a fancy fold now and again, don't you think?

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

Cheryl

Fun with sealing wax...

 

I received a sealing wax kit from my daughter for Christmas. I've used the wax to seal some envelopes (when they're hand-delivered) but hadn't used any on a card until now.

I didn't like the result the first time I melted the wax, poured it onto my card front, and pressed in the design. It was a different design than you see here and it just didn't show up very well. It may have been user error--I'm still learning how to use this tool.

At first I thought I should try to peel the wax off and just start over, but then it occurred to me that I could use my heat gun to carefully melt the wax again right on the card. 

I made sure I didn't scorch the paper while doing this, and it worked perfectly! I was able to melt enough of the wax so that I could re-press a design into it. I think this makes a fun and unique embellishment.

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

Have you ever used sealing wax? If so, I'd love to know how you used it. 

I found a few ideas on Pinterest for using it on cards, but I'm hoping to find more. I have an idea for using it on a few Thanksgiving cards, and I'd like to come up with a way to use it on some Christmas cards, too. 

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

Cheryl

Beautiful baby...

 

I had a white card base with three pre-punched holes on the right side of the card front. I covered the front with a panel of DSP, then used a 1 1/4" circle punch to create the holes you see above. My punch was just a bit larger than the existing holes so I had to punch through the cardstock, too, but it worked fine. I could have used a circle die that was closer in size to the existing holes, but using the punch was so much quicker!

I had the die-cut and inked teddy bear in my stash, and I thought he'd look cute on this card. He's popped up on some foam squares.

ETA: Since my bear was die-cut, I am adding this card to Darnell's weekly I.D.E.A.S. calendar post here. This week, the prompt is to use dies or fussy-cutting in making your card.

The stamped words are also popped up with foam tape.

I punched out three yellow hearts and popped them up in the center of each punched circle.

When the card is opened, the three hearts are visible on the inside. I also stamped a sentiment there, centering it between the fold and the three hearts.

Yesterday I decided to spend some time cleaning up my crafting area, but I kept getting distracted by all the stuff in there. In fact, while I've was "cleaning," I put together five cards! It's probably safe to say that I got more cardmaking done than cleaning.

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

Cheryl

Using adhesive-backed vinyl on cards...

I recently purchased a sheet of adhesive-backed vinyl at the Dollar Tree. I liked the colors and design of it, so for $1.25, I thought I'd give it a try.

The vinyl cut easily with my guillotine cutter. I simply cut it to size and then, after peeling the backing off, I added it to two navy blue cardstock panels.

The background of the vinyl doesn't look as white as the cardbase in these photos, but it's a much better match in real life.

I embossed a strip of vellum and wrapped it around my panel before I adhered the panel to the card front. I popped the stamped sentiment up on top of this strip and added a die-cut butterfly with an enamel dot at its center.

On this card, I added a strip of navy blue cardstock across the front and popped my sentiment up on that.

Once again, I added a butterfly, popping its wings up with tiny foam dots.

I stamped a sentiment on the inside and added a smaller butterfly for embellishment.

This card was made a little differently. It's a top-fold card with a decorative die-cut front edge. I added the vinyl directly to the card front and finished the bottom edge of it with a strip of navy blue cardstock.

I cut two small tags--one in white and one in navy blue. I stamped the white one with a sentiment and connected them with navy blue twine, tied in a bow.

I popped them both up on a narrow strip of foam tape.

I added a strip of navy blue cardstock to the bottom of the inside because it would show through the decorative edge on the front. I also rounded the two bottom corners to better fit with the card front.

I still have some vinyl left to make two or three more cards. It's surprisingly easy to work with.

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

Cheryl

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