Have a blast...

 

A short while ago I purchased a rocket ship die set. I thought it would be perfect for making some children's cards--boys, especially, would like this image, I think.

I started with some starry sky DSP (I definitely have to order more--it's been SO useful) as a background on my card front.

I really like the die set because it doesn't involve too many pieces. I cut the main part of the rocket ship out of metallic blue cardstock. The fins, nose cone, window frame and grill across the bottom were all cut from silver metallic cardstock. The window itself was cut from glossy white cardstock.

For the fire, I used orange, deep yellow and light yellow cardstock.

The clouds and and the sentiment were cut from white cardstock. I did some ink blending on the clouds before gluing them onto the card front.

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

I wish I would have had this die set when my five grandsons were little. I think they would have loved it. Now they are a lot more interested in cars than they are in rocket ships.

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

Cheryl

Quilted Christmas cards...

 

Not long ago, I was inspired to make some quilted Christmas cards. I made the very simplest designs (just two of them) and used pre-printed sentiments that came from a partial cardmaking kit that had been given to me.

I cut 2" squares from red and green printed papers. I cut each of the squares in half diagonally. I also cut a 4" square of a light patterned paper and then began adhering the red and green triangles in a pinwheel design as you see above. Once I had them glued down, I dry-embossed the 4" square, using an argyle-patterned embossing folder. This "quilted" square was then glued to my book-fold card base.

I glued a 1" X 4" piece of DSP to the spine and topped it with a 3/4" X 3 3/4" piece of embossed metallic gold cardstock

The sentiment was popped up with foam squares. I also added a small, metallic gold die-cut bow.

This is the second design I made. It used the same supplies, but this time the red and green triangles were glued into the corners of the 4" square.

Once again, the sentiment was popped up on dimensionals. A bow from gold and white twine was added and a bit of Nuvo Drops for the holly berries.

Here are close-ups of the other two cards...

And this is the inside.

The pre-printed sentiments made these cards quick to put together. I actually made a total of eight cards. The other four were a repeat of the ones I shared here.

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

Cheryl

Happy birthday and get well soon...

I made these two cards recently, using a wavy sentiment die that covers the seam of the two patterns of DSP. This time, however, I chose not to put a sentiment on the wavy die-cut, but to add it on a separate die-cut, instead.

The leafy sprigs were die-cut, glued directly to the card front and embellished with a twine bow.

The sentiments were stamped, die-cut, matted and popped up with foam squares.

This picture shows the sentiment I stamped on the inside with a leafy sprig embelishment.

You've probably noticed that these two cards have the opposite patterns at the top and bottom. That's because I cut a 4" X 5 1/4" panel of each pattern, stacked them, and then cut them together, having traced the wavy line onto the back of one of them. Then I did a little switcheroo so that each card had one piece of each pattern. And they fit together perfectly!

I stamped my favorite "get well" sentiment on the inside of this card. We all want restful recoveries, don't we?

Another tiny sprig was used as an embellishment.

This particular layout would be great for Christmas cards, too. I can see using a die-cut poinsettia or jingle bells or greenery with a pinecone in place of the leafy sprigs.

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

Cheryl

Let's Craft and Create Challenge #224: Anything Goes or Things with Wings...

 

Happy October, Happy Fall and Happy Halloween! I hope your autumn weather has been as beautiful as ours has been in Minnesota. The warm sunshine, gentle breezes and beautifully changing trees make it hard to stay inside and craft. But I have still managed to create a card for this month's challenge at Let's Craft and Create.

I started this card by cutting an angled card base that was 11" long by 3" on the left side and 5 1/2" on the right side. I marked these two points and then cut the cardstock at an angle between them. This actually results in two card bases the same size.

With the straight side against the top of my scoreboard and the narrow end on the left, I scored my cardbase at 3" and 6 3/4". Then I turned the piece so that the straight long edge was at the bottom, and I burnished a mountain fold at the first score and a valley fold at the second score. That finished my card base.

I had a wonderful sheet of masculine 12" X 12" DSP that I thought would work perfectly for this card. I began by cutting a 2 3/4" piece with the mallard duck on it. I angle-cut this piece to fit the first panel. I continued by cutting pieces for the back of the middle panel (because it shows when the card is closed) and also for the two other inside panels.

The sentiment was stamped and die-cut with a stitched oval die. Only the bottom half was glued to the small, front panel.

This is how the card looks when opened:

For my center panel, I cut a white angled panel to fit, stamped the sentiment, and then fussy cut part of the lake scene and glued it onto the bottom. I really liked how it looked when I was done.

As you can see in the left and right panels above, I have two "things with wings" that make this card appropriate for this month's option. 

I hope you'll join in our challenge. You certainly don't have to make a project with wings; you can enter under the "anything goes" banner. And if you decide to play along, just add a photo of your project here at the end of the post. Be sure to link your photo so we can leave a comment.

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

Cheryl

Using an AI Halloween image...

This is an AI image that was available on one of the AI Facebook sites. I don't recall exactly which one, but it could have been "Free Printables + AI Art Sharing" or "Free Printables."

Because it's more the type of card an adult would enjoy, it will be sent to one of my aunts. I have also made a few to donate to the thrift store.

The only additional elements I added to the image were the die-cut bat (I used a white gel pen for his eyes), whose wings were raised by double-sided foam tape, the twine, and the stamped and die-cut sentiment, also popped up with foam tape.

Because this card was so easy to make, I decided to put a little extra effort into writing a poem that would serve as a sentiment on the inside. It has a punctuation error and a capitalization error (which I have corrected for future cards), but it was fun to work on. I like writing simple poetry for my cards when I have the time. Please feel free to use this poem, if you wish.

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

Cheryl

Sweet flower birthday card...

Sometimes all it takes to make a birthday card is a sweet flower die, a scrap of pretty paper and a bit of ink.

I had this scrap of DSP in my stash and wanted to use it, so I matted it and then prepped a card base.

I went through my flower dies to find one I thought would work nicely for the card. My usual instinct is to cut a flower out of green first and then to cut just the flower head out of colored cardstock. Luckily, I looked carefully at my DSP and thought, "Why not cut the stem out of the soft tan color?" I'm so glad I did, because I really like the result.

"Happy Birthday" was stamped with a copper colored metallic ink. I think it reflected both the tans and the pinks in the DSP.

I cut the flower head out of the same pink cardstock as the mat and then added a little ink blending to the center of it.

The flower head was popped up with dimensionals, but the stem and leaves were glued directly to the DSP. When that was done, I tied a sheer ribbon around the matted piece, making a bow over the flower stem. Then I glued the whole shebang to the card base.

For the inside, I stamped a sentiment in the same copper metallic ink. I also added a strip of the pink cardstock and another small, die-cut flower head.

My life is still a little crazy right now, caring for my grandson and the family's five dogs and two cats. I run back and forth between our houses several times a day, but I do spend my nights at my daughter's house. Luckily, they are only about one mile away. I even "get" to get up at 4:45 a.m. twice a week to make sure my grandson gets off to his 5:30 a.m. swim practice on time, and I make dinner for all of us each night. Like I said, it's a little crazy.

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

Cheryl 

Ghostly greetings...

 

I had these dimensional stickers (potions and witches kettle) left over from last year's Halloween card-making frenzy, so it was time to use them. The spider web border was also in my stash, and looked like a lacy tablecloth--the perfect thing to serve as a base for the stickers.

The only die-cuts I made for this card were the hanging spider and the stamped sentiment.

Even the computer-printed sentiment on the inside was left over from last year. 

This was a super quick card to make. that's for sure!

For this card, I started with a pre-made white card base that had the three circle apertures on the right side. I covered the front with some Halloween DSP. Then I used a circle die that was the same size as the holes in the cardbase to cut the holes in the DSP.

The cat is actually an old rub-on from my stash. It didn't have an eye, so I added some green Nuvo Drops and then used a craft pick to bring the drop to a point, so that it looked more like a cat's eye.

This is how the card looks on the inside. The two spiders were glued in place and the spider web was glued behind the middle aperture.

The sentiment was stamped, and I should definitely have done a better job of stamping it straight!

This card was made with some printed cardstock that featured the clouds, moon and stars across the top. It was a 12" X 12" piece, so I cut it to 5 1/2" X 8 1/2" and scored it at 4 1/4".

I added all the bats and the branch. The two larger flying bats have their wings lifted up with tiny pieces of double-sided foam tape.

The sentiment is also popped up with foam tape.

This is how I stamped the inside.

And now my bat story:

Years ago, we had a bat in our attic. I was home alone for the weekend and decided to clean some stuff out of the attic. Unbeknownst to me, the bat was in one of the boxes that I carried out. All of a sudden it flew out and scared me out of my wits! 

I didn't see exactly where it went, so I searched the entire house for it--and didn't find it. It was getting very late, so I decided to just go to bed and resume my search the next day. I really didn't think it would bother me in the night.

The next morning, I woke up and quietly walked downstairs and began looking for places a bat might roost. Sure enough, I spied it in our living room, hanging from the wide crown moulding that went around the entire ceiling. The moulding has a picture rail incorporated into it (we have a 98-year-old-house), and it was the perfect place for the bat to hang.

I didn't want to hurt the bat, but I definitely wanted it out of the house! I went to the kitchen and got a large, long-handled strainer and an old ice cream pail cover. I snuck up on the bat, quickly covered it with the strainer and then carefully slid the strainer over the cover, keeping the bat enclosed. It wasn't happy, but it didn't protest too much. I carried it outside and let it go. 

We have since had work done on our roof that has eliminated the possibility for any more bats to get inside, thank goodness! They are valuable animals, eating millions of mosquitoes, but they don't make very good house pets.

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

Cheryl