A couple of St. Patrick's Day cards...

 

This card used up some scraps--yay! I took out my hexagon punch, grabbed some green and orange scraps and punched about 10 of them. 

I started gluing down my the hexagons in the upper right-hand corner, angling them down to the lower left-hand side. This left just enough room for the heat-embossed sentiment at the bottom.

I have a die set for a leprechaun with a great hat. The leprechaun is quite large, so I only die-cut his hat for this card. And--yay, again!--I used a few more scraps to cut out each of its parts.

This photo seems a little skewed (I took it an an angle), but I wanted to give you a closer look at that great hat. It's been popped up on dimensionals and I added a gem to the middle of the shamrock.

I used my computer to print out this sentiment for the inside.

For this card, I used a new (NBUS) wreath stencil. I used a couple of different ink colors to get some shading on the leaves. The wreath is quite large so only a little over half of it fit onto my card front.

Because I used an NBUS stencil, I'm entering this card in this month's challenge on the NBUS Challenge Blog site.

I heat embossed the sentiment and then added gold Nuvo Drops to each of the dots in the wreath design.

Once again, I printed out a sentiment for the inside. 

I've looked for some interesting St. Patrick's Day stamps, but there really isn't much out there. I make a number of these cards for the thrift store--they seem to sell well--and I send one myself, so I wish there were more choices when it comes to the sentiments. Thank goodness for computers!

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

Cheryl

More art deco flower cards...

I just love the flower die that I've used to make these cards. I've used some purple papers and inks, as well, so I was in my happy place! For those of you who don't know, purple is my favorite color.

I covered the card front with some pretty paper that was sprinkled with purple flowers. Then I cut my art deco flower outline from purple cardstock and the petal pieces from white cardstock. I did some ink blending on the petal pieces.

I popped the flower heads up with foam squares, but glued the stem directly to the card front.

The sentiment was printed with my computer. It had been laying on my desk, so I die-cut it and popped it up with foam squares. I added a lilac ribbon, tied in a knot, and three gems near the sentiment for a little sparkle.

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

I used three layers of different DSPs on the front of this card. The top layer was done in strips. If I remember right, they were each 3/4" X 3". 

I attached the art deco flower the same way as I did on the first card--stem glued to the card front and blossoms popped up.

The sentiment was stamped, matted with purple cardstock and popped up with foam tape.

The inside sentiment was also stamped. 

I have been loving our warm weather and sunshine of late. Temperatures in the 50s in February are a pure delight here in Minnesota. We will definitely have our outdoor Tai Chi class today and my fingers and toes won't be numb by the end of it. lol

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

Cheryl 

A couple of upcycled cards...

 

This actually was the front of a card we received during the holidays from some friends. The graphic design had some metallic gold mixed in, so I decided to highlight it. 

Since there was no sentiment on it and it was notecard size, I cut off the front, matted it with gold metallic cardstock and adhered it to a blue cardbase. 

When that was done, I cut "thanks" out of the gold cardstock and a shadow out of blue and adhered that to the front.

I stamped a sentiment with blue ink on the inside.

This was a birthday card I received. It was quite a large card, so I cut down the front and then added it to a turquoise card base. I think the card size ended up at 4" X 7". 

I added glitter to the candle flames and cut a new cake platter out of silver metallic cardstock.

I glued the bottom part of the cake platter directly to the card front. The platter part was popped up with thin foam strips.

Finally, I added some dimension to the candles by covering them with Glossy Accents.

I added a panel to the inside with a stamped sentiment, party hat and stars.

I really enjoy upcycling cards when I can. I enjoy the challenge of figuring out how I can change them, personalize them, embellish them, etc. I feel like I'm giving them another chance to brighten someone's life. 

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

Cheryl

The storm will pass...

 

This was an AI image offered free online by its creator. When I saw it, I felt a deep emotion of struggling through a storm, so I thought it would be great for a card of encouragement.

I didn't add any embellishment at all to it. The sentiment was computer-generated and popped up on foam tape.

This is the sentiment I printed out for the inside of the card.

I liked this card so much, I made two of them. I can think of all kinds of reasons to send someone a card like this. I bet you can, too.

This image came from a 6" X 6" stack of DSP. I thought it was so pretty and would be perfect for a wedding card. The sentiment was stamped, die-cut and popped up on thin foam strips. 

I added glitter to the blossoms (I just wish you could see the pretty sparkle in the photos!) and a single gem to the middle of the bow.

I took an angled photo hoping the glitter would show, but it really doesn't.

I stamped a sentiment on the inside. Looking at the plainness of it, I wish I had added something--maybe a stamped image, a die-cut flourish or a strip of DSP. Oh well. I have another sheet of this pattern, so I'll try to remember to do that when I use it.

I am now planning some St. Patrick's Day cards and Easter cards for myself, as well as some to donate. It will be fun to use lots of Spring colors.

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

Cheryl

A few masculine cards...

 

I had a few bits and pieces left in a masculine card kit. For this card, the DSP and the dimensional gear stickers came from that kit. I chose to use a blue card base because of the way it highlights the blue areas in the DSP.

I heat-embossed the sentiment and cut it out with a die. Then I popped it up in the center of the card front.

There were only a few gear stickers left so I used them sparingly on this card. In fact, I even cut the largest one in half, so that I could use the other half on a different card.

I added a strip of the blue cardstock on the inside along with a stamped sentiment.

This card features an "arrow" fold. It's achieved by scoring a line from each upper corner of the card front to the bottom center (2 3/4") of the front.  Then also score a line from the center point (2 1/8") of each side of the front to the same point on the card front bottom.

Here's a sketch of those score lines.

The two longer scores are folded back and the shorter scores are folded forward. I then glued the fold in place.

The screw heads and the gear were all stickers from the card kit.

The sentiment was stamped, die-cut and then popped up on foam squares.

I stamped a sentiment on the inside, making sure the "arrow" covered it when the card was closed.

This card is similar to other cards I've made with the classy guy die-cut. I really like that die and have been using it quite a bit.

The sentiment was sstamped, cut out and matted before popping it up on foam tape.

A stamped sentiment (or two) finished the card.

I am on dog-sitting duty again, starting tomorrow. My daughter has four dogs and is currently fostering another one, so I'll be caring for those five dogs while they travel to Iowa to watch my granddaughter swim in her very last college meet. Hopefully, we get some warmer temps so that the dogs are willing to spend more time outside. Right now we have below zero temps with even colder wind chills. Ugh!

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

Cheryl

Such a pretty image...

 

While browsing online, I came across this beautiful (and free!) image of a young girl picking apples. I thought it would be perfect for a young girl's birthday card.

After printing it out, I cut it to size and added it to the dark green panel on my coral-colored card base.  The coral was the same shade as the apples in the picture. 

The sentiment was die-cut and glued on. I also die-cut an apple and popped it up on the right.

I loved the delicate features of the little girl and the limited palate of the picture. 

In fact, I liked it so much, I made two of these to donate.

I added a stamped sentiment on the inside and another die-cut apple. I shaded the apples just a bit with some red ink. I think you can see it better in the pic at right.

We had a wonderful time at dinner and at the theater with friends on February 14. "A Midsummer Night's Dream" was fantastic. I've seen it before, but this production was the best ever. We were roaring with laughter!

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

Cheryl

Happy Valentine's Day...

 

This background die-cut has been popping up everywhere online lately, so I had to join in the fun. And it was definitely fun to use!

I cut out the panel and then used some 1/4" low-tack tape to tape off the dotty seams. Then I used a blending brush to add a little color to each rectangle. When that was done, I pulled out some stamps and dies and began to embellish each small area.

The stamps you see are from a Dollar Tree set. They were the perfect size, and I think they were just right for this card. The intertwined hearts were two negative cuts from a die I had used on a different card. The heart flowers had been lying on my desk and their vase is the inside of a small soda glass die. 

On the inside, I stamped a simple sentiment.

This card came about because of the scraps that were scattered on my desk. I cut three of them to fit the card front and then added the leafy heart die-cut.

I scattered a few gems among the leaves for some sparkle.

The inside sentiment was the same as the previous card.

This Valentine was a bit different than the rest. It featured an art deco flower, which is a new die for me. Each flower on the sprig has a separate backing piece, so you can color and/or ink blend the backing before adhering it behind the flower outline.

The sentiment was popped up on foam tape and is embellished with three tiny enamel hearts. I also swiped its edges with a pink ink pad to define it just a bit more.

I added a stamped sentiment and another tiny heart to the inside.

Tonight, we have a Valentine's date with another couple. We're meeting at a Thai restaurant where we'll have dinner and then we'll all go to a local theater to see a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. It should be fun!

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

Cheryl

Masculine Valentine...

 

I made a couple of these Valentine's to donate. I thought they would work well for those masculine types who don't want frilly hearts and lovey-dovey sentiments.

I have a world die, so I cut it out of some green cardstock. I backed the die-cut with some blue cardstock to represent the oceans.

I printed the words on the white panel with my computer. I measured my world die-cut first so that I would know how much space to leave between "You mean the" and "to me." This left a little bit of room for a string of die-cut hearts across the bottom.

The heart in the center of my world was covered with Glossy Accents to give it some dimension and shine.

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

Today I went online to a government site to renew my passport, which had expired last August. I was a little concerned how it would go because of all the current turmoil in D.C. I am happy to say, it seemed to go well. 

I really appreciate being able to do it online, and I already received confirmation that it is in process. If you've been thinking about getting a new passport or renewing an old one, I recommend checking out the online process.

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

Cheryl

Valentines for the grands...

 I made several of these Valentines for my grandsons. Almost all of them have dogs as pets, so I thought they'd appreciate them.

I have a die that cuts four little dogs all in a row. In order to make this card, I had to cut the dogs apart and place them separately in the aperture on the front.

I put a foam square behind each dog's head to pop them up just a bit and add some dimension.

I added some Nuvo Drops for the eyes and some tiny enamel hearts above their heads.

The front panels on these cards were also popped up with foam tape, as was the sentiment.

The sentiment on the front and the inside sentiment were created with my computer.

I get regular emails from a site called Creative Fabrica. A while ago, they offered a free Valentine gnome SVG bundle which I can cut with my Silhouette. I took advantage of the offer to use five of the six gnome SVGs on some Valentines for my granddaughters. Each one was a little different, but all of them had hearts on them somewhere.

I added a bit of shading to the different pieces to give them some dimension. The sentiment was computer-generated and popped up on foam strips.

I thought they were all so cute, and I loved the way they turned out.

This is a very blurry picture, but if you canb stand to look at it, you'll see that each gnome was attached to the card front with an action wobbler. Just a little flick would get it jiggling back and forth.

I stamped "Happy Valentine's Day" on the inside of each card and added a little embellishment like the strip of hearts you see in the picture at right.

These were all so much fun to make, and I think my grandchildren will like them.

I used any leftover puppy and gnome images on Valentines for the thrift store. 

I'm happy that all my Valentines have been mailed; some have even been received already. Now I can move on to St. Patrick's Day and Easter.

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

Cheryl