Using up more scraps and stickers...

 

I have a die that cuts the white frame you see in the photo above. It also cuts a stitched rectangle for each of the open spaces in the frame. I thought it would be fun to cut the frame and then select a few scraps of DSP--a different one for each opening--and cut them out to adhere back into the frame.

I glued the white frame to a card base and then glued the appropriate DSP rectangle into each open space. Once that was done, I started adding some stickers to embellish these spaces.

The sentiment was stamped onto a white scrap of cardstock and cut to fit over the DSP in the tallest rectangle, leaving a narrow border of the green patterned paper beneath it.

I had a few of the tiny flower stickers left over so I used them near my stamped sentiment on the inside.

I really like how this card turned out. I think this idea could work well for Christmas cards, too. I could use some of the holiday ephemera in my stash, or maybe even some small die-cuts. I'm definitely going to give that idea a try!

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

Cheryl

Sunburst technique on a masculine card...

I have an entire bag of strips of metallic colored papers. Most of them are about an inch wide, but some are wider, some are narrower. They have a layer of fibrous metallic threads embedded in them, giving them a unique metallic luster. They are all in masculine colors, so I thought I'd use some of them to make a masculine card. I cut a 6-inch length of each strip and then cut them diagonally from a top left corner to the bottom right corner, creating elongated triangular shapes.

I glued the bottom piece of striped DSP in place and made a small pencil mark at the center of its top. Then I started with my triangular pieces, placing the point of each at the pencil mark and gluing them tightly against each other.

When I reached the DSP on both the left and the right, I stopped and added a 1/4" piece across the card to hide the seam. Then I trimmed all the extra paper off the edges of the card base with a scissor.                                   

The sentiment was die-cut and glued to a die-cut circle. The circle was then glued to a die-cut starburst which had been cut from some copper glitter cardstock.

I added some very thin (1 ml) foam tape to the back of the starburst and added it to the center of the radiating strips.

I stamped a sentiment on the inside and added a narrow strip of the glitter cardstock.

This was such a fun technique. It can be made to look feminine or masculine and is a great way to use paper scraps. I also want to try it for a child's card. I have a "superboy" stamp and a fairy stamp, and I think they'd be perfect to stamp on the circle.

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

Cheryl

Using up some scraps and stickers on masculine cards...

 

I had two adirondack chair stickers and some scraps of DSP that badly needed to be used. 

Since I had decided to make masculine cards, and the woodgrain paper was laying on my desk, it was almost imperative that I use it. At first I thought about using it on the bottom half of this card, but that didn't seem to work well. Then I thought, "Why not use it as the background to the upper portion of the card?"

The green stripe paper was also a scrap in my "green" folder, and it was just the right size for the bottom half of my card front. 

The two dots on the upper right were originally a lighter shade of green, so I colored them with an alcohol marker.

The sentiments for both cards were printed with my computer, cut out, and popped up with foam tape.

This card was made much the same way as the first one with a blue polka-dot scrap of DSP

I die-cut two clouds and popped them up with foam squares, and the grass was created for both cards with an old Fiskars border punch. I've had that punch for years and years and still use it whenever I need some grass!

The chair stickers were actually put in place on the card fronts before I added the grass. I wanted them to look as though they were sitting in the grass, not on top of it.

I printed the inside sentiments with my computer.

Since there were a couple narrow strips of the green stripe paper left over, I added them to the insides.

These are really simple, straightforward cards, but I think guys will appreciate them.                             

We had our AC turned off last week and really enjoyed opening the windows and letting the fresh air waft in. The heat and humidity returned yesterday, however, and we're back to mechanically cooling the house. I do appreciate the convenience, though, and often think back to my growing up years--living in an old, poorly insulated home with no AC, only gravity heating for the upstairs, no dishwasher (other than six kids!) and one bathroom (just a tub, no shower) for eight people. Kids today might wonder how we survived! lol

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

Cheryl

Cards with lots of sparkle...

I had a sheet of very sparkly, dimensional flower stickers, given to me by the thrift store. I decided to use as many of them as I could on a couple of birthday cards.

I really liked the colors in the stickers so I went with the lilac and aqua for the card base. I also added a 1/8" strip of double-sided tape down each side of the lilace paper on this card and rubbed some clear glitter into it. I figured a little more sparkle wouldn't hurt!

The sentiment was die-cut from the same cardstock as the card base and glued to the card front.

You can really see the dimension of the stickers in the photo at left. Each flower had a gem at its center, too.

Because this flower was so large, I decided it could stand alone as a focal point. I used up some scraps of aqua and lavendar paper to frame it, along with a short length of die-cut lace edging.

Again, the sentiment was die-cut and glued to the card front.

See all that dimension? I hope, if these are mailed, that the sender realizes they will need extra postage because of it.

I stamped a sentiment on the inside of each card and added another flower. I removed most of the dimension (another layer and some double-sided foam squares) from these inside stickers, so that the cards would close nicely.

It's fun to use the supplies given to me. I don't feel it stifles creativity at all, and may even heighten it. Stickers like these set the color palette and suggest a general approach (lots of sparkle!), but the rest has to be figured out.

Do you like using pre-made items like this, or would you rather start everything from scratch?

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

Cheryl

Let's Craft and Create Challenge #234: Anything Goes or Distressed Paper...

 

August has breezed into our lives with a new challenge for you at Let's Craft and Create. As usual, "Anything Goes" is a possible choice, but I opted for "Distressed Paper."

I haven't distressed any paper in a long time. I admit that I accidentally cause some distress to my craft papers on a regular basis, but this time I purposely caused some severe distress!

I began by selecting an 8 1/2" X 11" piece of cardstock and cutting it in half, as though I were going to make two A2 card bases. I grabbed my spray bottle and spritzed both halves with water on both sides. Then I wadded up each piece of paper into as small a ball as I could, pressing them down onto the desktop to be sure they were well-creased.

I then carefully unfolded each wad until it was a rectangle once again, but not completely flattened. There were still creases, ridges and bumps across the surface. I walked away and let them dry--this will take a little time.

After my paper was dry, I took a gray ink pad and swiped it across all those creases, ridges and bumps, making sure I got ink on as many of them as possible. When that was done, I ran each piece through my embossing machine underneath two cutting plates. This step flattened them nicely so that they could be die-cut and used on a card.

With the first piece of distressed cardstock, I used a large tattered plank cutting die to cut two pieces, one for each card as you see in the above photo. I inked the edges with black ink before gluing them to my card bases.

I added some die-cut bats and a layered "Spooky" with eyes that had red pupils made with Nuvo Drops.

I still had half a sheet of distressed paper, so I cut it into two 4 1/4" X 5 1/2" pieces. Then I tore a narrow piece off each side before inking the edges and gluing them to two more card bases.

This time I die-cut "Spooky" in three different colors and added the eyes with the red pupils.

More die-cut bats finished the card fronts.

The inside of each card featured a stamped sentiment and a few more bats on the same gray (but not distressed) cardstock.

I have found that distressing paper relieves my own stress! Go figure!

I hope you'll give this technique a try. Maybe it will relieve some of your stress, too.

Be sure to check out the fabulous Design Team projects here for more inspiration.

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

Cheryl

Birdhouses are always fun...

I had a sheet of birdhouse stickers, and one of them was quite large. I was a little perplexed as to how to use it, but I finally came up with an idea.

Believe it or not, those birdhouses are all ONE sticker. I stuck them down onto a 4" X 5 1/4" white panel on which I had lightly brushed some blue ink along each edge. Then, because the sticker was comprised of only the houses and no actual birds, I chose one of the single bird stickers from the sheet and put it on the house with the weather vane.

Once I had my stickers placed, I put the panel into an embossing folder and ran it through my Big Shot Plus. This gave the panel some nice texture and helped make the birdhouses look as though they were printed onto the cardstock.

The sentiment was stamped and cut out. Before I popped it up on the card front, I ran a blue ink pad along its edges to better define it. If you enlarge the photo and look closely, you'll see it. 

I stamped a couple of sentiments on the inside and added one more bird sticker.

I love birdhouses, as does my DH. For his 70th birthday, I asked each of our six kids to make him a birdhouse. They were all so unique and interesting. I recall one had a metal Oregon license plate for a roof, one was made from a wooden shoe, and another was made to resemble a Frank Lloyd Wright prairie-style home. They were all so thoughtfully made and such a nice birthday surprise.

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

Cheryl

a handmade gift from my sister...

Recently, my youngest sister sent me an adorable foam tape dispenser that she made, using a die set from KS Craft. She said she found the die set on Amazon. I don't know if the one she bought is still available, but I did find a similar set here on Amazon. 

Isn't it so cute? You can see the foam tape squares being held in place on the left side.

Here's a little better look at how the squares are dispensed, and also how they're held in place when not in use. This dispenser is perfect for the foam tape squares (rectangles, acutally) that I get at Dollar Tree in their automotive section. I use them all the time when making cards.

The box is just the right size to hold an entire roll!

In this photo you can see how the roll of foam squares slips into the top of the box. There is a little Velcro closing, too, to keep everything in place.

It's just so cute, and I love it! Thank you, Michelle!!!

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

Cheryl

Pretty tulips for two cards...

 I love tulips; they're such elegant flowers and come in so many wonderful colors. We have quite a lot of them planted in our yard, and it's always exciting to watch them bloom in the spring.

I recently purchased a die set that cuts a bouquet of tulips, and it is quickly becoming a favorite--especially when I need a quick card.

I had a scrap of cardstock on my desk that had been stamped with a lace design. It was a pretty scrap that had been given to me, so I decided to use it. I layered it onto some dark purple cardstock, and glued them both to a white card base on which I had adhered a panel of DSP in several shades of purple.

The sentiment was in my stash and was popped up with a thin foam strip.

I first cut the entire tulip image out of green cardstock and then did a bit of shading on the leaves and stems with some darker green ink.

Then the tulip blossoms and the bow were cut from lilac cardstock. I gave them a little dimension using a small blending brush and purple ink before gluing them to the green stem background.

I glued the bow and stems directly to the lacy-looking cardstock, but popped each tulip head up with a small dimensional.

On the inside I added a leftover strip of the purple DSP and stamped an open-font "Thank You." I used light and dark purple Prismacolor pencils to color the letters and give them an ombré look.

This card features the same tulips, but in blue. The front of the green-patterned card base was 1/2" narrower than the card back, so I added a strip of blue cardstock to the inner right side.

I cut a scalloped edge rectangle to frame my tulips, which were cut and colored using the same process as was used on the first card. This time, however, I didn't pop up the flower heads; I simply glued the entire bouquet to the white rectangle.

The "thank you" was stamped before I glued the tulips down.

I plan to make a multi-colored tulip bouquet in the near future. It will be a great way to use up some scraps of colored cardstock.

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

Both of these cards were put in my own personal card stash, as I had run out of thank you cards. I get so caught up in making sure I have enough cards to donate to the thrift store that I forget to make sure I have enough cards for me, too!

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

Cheryl

Seaside scenes for masculine birthday cards...

 

I had two lighthouse stickers in my stash, and it took me a long time to finally use them. I decided to take one of my 6" X 6" sea scene papers, cut it in half and use the two 3" wide pieces to make two masculine birthay cards.

The stickers had clear borders which helps them blend into the scene seamlessly. They also included a rocky base, which worked well for this sea scene.

I added a purple edge along the right side of the scenic paper and also embossed a 1" strip of colored cardstock for each card. I chose colors from the scene for the embossed strips.

I added a couple of die-cut seagulls to each scene and cut out a circle tag and a sentiment. After gluing the sentiment onto the circle, I popped it up with foam tape and added a small piece of purple twine, tied in a knot, to the hole in the tag.

I stamped a sentiment on the inside of each card to finish them.

Sometimes I wish I lived near the sea where I could hear the waves lapping the shore. I think it's a soothing sound that calms me and helps me sleep. But then, when I read about the destructive forces of tsunamis and hurricanes, I'm rather glad I live far inland.

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

Cheryl

Get well soon on the garden fence...

 

This fence and flowers die set (available on Amazon) was sitting unused for a while on my desk. I finally decided I needed to give it a try, so I'll be entering this card into Darnell's latest post on her NBUS (Never Before Used Schtuff) blog.

I chose some mottled green cardstock (it's very pale) for my cardbase. It gave just a hint of something green behind the fence without being distracting. Then I die-cut 11 pickets and a couple of crossbars, along with numerous flowers, leaves and a layered sentiment.

Some of the flowers have two layers. You can tell which ones they are because they each have two shades of pink, purple or yellow. They were all glued directly to the pickets. The sentiment (a separate die set) was popped up with foam tape.

I cut a couple of the crossbars to frame the stamped sentiment on the inside. Now that I see the photo, I wish I had added a few of the flowers, too.

I think I'm going to be able to use the dies in this set in lots of other ways. The pickets could always be cut shorter, if I wish to do that, or the fence could be made to look more like a fence around a pasture. They could even be adhered tightly together to create a board-like structure, possibly for a sign. If you have other ideas, I'd love for you to share them.

It was 99ᵒ here yesterday, and it's supposed to be that hot again today. I really need to take a break from cardmaking and give my poor outdoor plants a big drink!

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

Cheryl

Get well soon with flowers, butterflies and a bookmark...

 

I started with a pink A2 cardbase where the front was 1" shorter in width than the back. I used a border punch to create the open scallop edge on the front.

Then I covered the front with a floral scene DSP, leaving the pretty scalloped edge peeking out. It was easy to add adhesive and then just place my 6" X 6" piece of DSP on the card front and cut off any extra that hung over the edges.

The little butterflies are actually stickers that I had in my stash. The sentiment was stamped with purple ink directly onto the DSP.

There was enough of the DSP left to add a 1 1/4" wide piece on the right side of the inside and to make a coordinating bookmark. I used a die (it's actually for making long tags) to cut out the bookmark. I stamped a sentiment on it and then I used a self-laminating sheet to laminate it, fussy-cutting the excess from around the edges. I used a hole punch to punch through the laminating sheet at the top and then added some twine.

The inside sentiment was stamped with purple ink on a white panel to finish the card.

It's fun to add a little something extra, like this bookmark, to the cards I donate to the thrift store. I'm pretty sure the customers appreciate it!

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

Cheryl

Christmas in July...

 

I have lots of Christmas paper scraps, so I decided to use some of them to make some Diamond Flap Fun Fold cards. This card design is a great way to use up small scraps, and you can mix and match coordinating pieces, as I have done.

I picked several glittery patterns that featured the same color combinations. The only die-cut I added was the little holly cluster, which was left over from last year. The sentiment was also one from last year, and it was popped up with a bit of foam tape.

This is how the card looks when it is fully opened. You can see that I even used some narrow strips to decorate the space to the left of the sentiment panel. You wouldn't have to add DSP to that section, but I liked the idea of adding it to every section but the backside.

I plan to make more of these to use up even more scraps. 

If you'd like to try making this card, there are quite a few tutorials online, including this one. You can click on the link or you can search for Diamond Flap Fun Fold tutorial.

We have finally cooled off here in Minnesota and the smoke from the wild fires up north has drifted elsewhere. Mickey, the wonder dog, was delighted and spent the better part of the day lounging in the back yard. The 90+ degree heat will be back this weekend, but until then, we're going to enjoy open windows and sweaters after sundown!

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

Cheryl

Using more elegant paper...

If you read my blog regularly, you may remember the elegant paper I used on a couple of fan fold cards in this post. It was the red, black and gold design on a neutral background. It was still laying on my work desk, so I decided to make a few more cards with it.

These cards are all very simple layouts. I decided to let the paper be the star of the show.

The sentiment on this first card was a rub-on.

The only stamping I did was on the inside. 

The sentiment on the second card was stamped, die-cut, matted, and popped up with dimensionals.

And, of course, I stamped another sentiment on the inside.

I used another rub-on sentiment on this card and added a sheer ribbon, tied in a double bow.

A stamped sentiment on the inside finished the card.

These pretty papers had a linen-like texture to them, so it was hard to cut them up. I felt like maybe I should be sewing drapes with them instead of making cards.

These cards have all been donated, so I hope whoever buys them at the thrift store enjoys the rich patterned papers as much as I do.

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

Cheryl