Another floral wreath card...

I have so much fun making these wreath cards that I just can't help myself!! I created another stencil with my Silhouette that works for squares that are 3 3/4". The first stencil I made was for squares that are 4". You can see a picture of it here. The reason I wanted the smaller stencil is it will be easier to use for A2 size cards.

Most of the cards I make measure 4 1/2" X 6". The reason I make them that size is because I have hundreds (yes, hundreds!) of envelopes that fit that size of card. When I make cards for the thrift store, however, I like to make the A2 size so that I can get two card bases out of one piece of 8 1/2" X 11" cardstock.

While this card is my usual 4 1/2" X 6" card, I still used my stencil for 3 3/4" squares (I needed to test it out). Because it's a little smaller, I was able to mat it with a little turquoise cardstock to bring it to 4".

It's fun to search through my stamps and find small flowers, leaves, twigs, etc., that can be used to build these wreaths.

As you can see this wreath became a very full wreath...too full, as a matter of fact. I guess I got a little carried away! That is why I cut a scalloped circle and another white circle for my sentiment and popped it up in the middle. I like the way this looks, though, and I'm sure I'll be doing this again.

Here, you can see how I've popped up my matted panel and my center circle. My little butterflies (a Fiskars punch) also add some dimension with their free-flying wings and a gem on each one.

The inside of my card was dressed up a tiny bit with another butterfly and a scalloped edge along the bottom.

I have some other ideas on how to use my wreath stencils, and I'll be sharing those with you, too. I even made a set of the stencils for my sister, so I hope she shares some of her makes with me. If she does, I will (with her permission) share them here on the blog.

We have a beautiful, sunny day here today. I just wish it was a bit warmer. Mother Nature has quarantined Spring for a while and won't let her come out and play. Perhaps she's contracted something contagious like Spring Fever!!!

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

Let's Craft and Create Challenge #136: Through a Window or Anything Goes...

April is here and its time for another challenge at Let's Craft and Create. This month we've been asked to create a project based on the theme "Through a Window" (or you can always take advantage of the "Anything Goes" option).


I created a window-themed card, and because we have had a couple of April snowstorms already, I decided to go with a Christmas theme.

I did not have a window die, so I created this window and curtain with my Silhouette Cameo. It is so nice to be able to go to the Silhouette software and create what I don't have.

The sentiment on the front is a Hero Arts stamp. I stamped it with Versamark, then heat-embossed it in white.

I also didn't have any wood-patterned cardstock, so I used an unbranded stamp to create my own. My snowman is a Fiskars stamp and the trees are a Deep Red cling stamp. You can't see it, but I've added some sparkle to my trees with a glitter pen. I also used some white craft paint, diluted with a little water, to spatter on my "snow."

The inside of my card is pretty plain. There is a wee bit of embossing at the bottom, but my camera couldn't pick it up. Or maybe it's the lack of skills on the part of the photographer!

The inside sentiment is a Recollections stamp. I believe it was one of a set that I picked up at Michael's after the holidays. I try to get a few new stamps each year for use on the following year's cards.

Here's what it looked like outside as I was creating my card--and we've had more than half a foot of new snow since this picture was taken!! Sheesh! Mother Nature is sleeping on the job of bringing Spring to Minnesota.

I hope you'll all join in the fun of taking part in our latest challenge at Let's Craft and Create.  Remember that you can always choose the "Anything Goes" option.

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

Our Easter celebration...

We had a quiet Easter Sunday--for most of the day. We went to church in the morning and then came home to prepare an evening meal for family. Here are a few photos to let you know how we celebrated.

I like to make things look a bit festive. You can see the bunny centerpiece in this photo, as well as the paper bunny napkin rings I made for each place setting.

Here's a little closer look at my bunny napkin ring. The bunny is cut with a Darice die. The bow die is unbranded. The bunny was adhered to a 6" X 1" strip of cardstock that was adhered in a circle.

Our gathering is very casual, so I don't usually pull out the cloth napkins, but opt for a pretty package of paper napkins. We had four children at our Easter meal, and I think they like that it is rather casual.

Here's a look at the table, long before the meal was ready.  If you look closely, you can see that there is a tiny Easter basket at each place. I got these tiny baskets years ago and decorated them with some cardstock and a very tiny butterfly on each handle. They each hold 3 little candy Easter eggs. I use them each year, but they're getting a little worn. I think I might need to think about making some new ones. There are so many cute little basket designs out there that can be made from cardstock.

The grandchildren get some small gifts and candy from us. I put them in bags that I decorate with stickers (the felt bunnies) and die-cuts. The "Happy Easter" was cut with a Cheery Lynn die, the grass with a Fiskars border punch, and the names with an unbranded alphabet die set.

More Easter bags.

Please excuse the blurriness of this pic. I didn't realize it was so bad until I began to work on this post. By then it was too late to take another photo. I made these milk carton type treat bags for the adults and filled them with some candies they would like.

Finally, I want to share the pretty card that my sister made and sent to me. Isn't it gorgeous? She is a wonderful card maker and we have so much fun sharing ideas, supplies and tools. I only wish she was closer so that we could get together on a regular basis to make cards.

Here is the inside of her pretty card.

I hope you enjoyed your Easter, Passover or Spring celebration. We had a lovely day, even though it was quite cold--barely reaching the freezing point for a high. At least the sun was shining!

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

My last Easter cards...for a while, anyway...

I'm glad it's Friday today, although I'd be a bit happier if my DH's car hadn't broken down last night. Actually, his "check engine" light came on when we were returning home from an event and the engine started running very roughly. We managed to make it to our house, but it would not start this morning. He has taken my car to work and I am waiting for the tow truck to come and tow his car to the repair shop.

Vehicles are great when they work properly and a real pain when they don't!

But enough of that, and on to my cards for today. I actually have two Easter cards to share with you.

 This was actually a very simple card to make. I had this pretty scrap of lace-patterned paper (it actually came from a selection of Christmas papers that I got with a magazine), and I wanted to use it because I liked it so much. I thought the delicate pattern really worked for a springtime card.

 

I used a couple of unbranded dies to cut the lacy borders from white CS and the sentiment from some glitter cardstock.

On the inside of my card I cut some more lacy borders and backed them with the deep pink CS that I had used on the front.

For this card, I used a Cheery Lynn die for the sentiment and unbranded dies for the basket and the lacy strip with ribbons woven into it. I used my Silhouette to cut the eggs out of white CS (which I colored with ProMarkers) and a Martha Stewart punch to create the "grass" in the basket. I inked up the edges of my front panel and the basket and applied some Wink of Stella to "Happy Easter."

On the inside of my card I adhered another blue panel and cut the sentiment panel with a Spellbinders Labels 8 die.

I think we're all ready to move on to cards for other occasions now. I know I am! I still have a few Easter cards that I haven't shared on the blog, but to keep from boring everyone to death, I think I'll skip those. At least for a while.

I hope you all have a wonderful Easter. It is going to be cold in Minneapolis--reaching around the freezing point for a high. The best we can hope for is a dry, sunny day with no snow!!

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

Homemade wreath builder stencil...

I've seen so many pretty cards created by using something called a wreath builder stencil. It didn't look very complicated, so I decided to use my Silhouette Cameo to create my own.

This is what my wreath builder stencil looked like after I cut it out and laminated it. I actually used it before I laminated it, just to make sure it would actually work. You can see in this photo that I haven't trimmed away the excess laminate yet, but I'll do that before I use it again.

To create it, I used my Cameo to draw two 4-inch squares. I overlapped them with one of them turned at a 45 degree angle and welded them together to create a single image. Then I drew a 6-inch box around them. Once I had everything centered, I cut out both the 6-inch box and the 8-point image, which left me with the stencil you see above.

To use my stencil, I cut a 4-inch square of cardstock, grabbed some stamps and my stamp positioner, and went to town stamping as I turned the 4-inch square, fitting it into the points of the stencil.

Here's the result:

It was fun to watch the wreath come together. What took the longest was searching through my stamps to find enough tiny ones that would work. I added the dots with a Promarker to fill in any spaces that seemed to need a little something more.

Here's a little closer look at my wreath. Not all my stamps were quality stamps. Some were on the soft side and didn't stamp a clear image, but I was ok with a little "fuzziness" here and there.

On the inside of my card, I used a few of the stamps to create a little bouquet in the corner.

This was so much fun to make. If you search for "wreath builder stamping" on YouTube, you'll find several videos that show just how it's done. I think there are even some videos that show how to make your own stencil.

We were supposed to have a snowstorm the other night, but the cold front stopped just short of the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. We didn't get so much as a flake! Yay! I am so OVER the snow and cold.

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

Fun with Twofer Card Challenge #3...

I am just under the wire in joining this month's Twofer Card Challenge. I really like this challenge. I usually make just one card at a time, and this challenge gets me to think about making two cards using the same stamp or die.

Here are my cards for the challenge:

I chose to use an unbranded flower die on both cards.

For my first card, I colored the die-cut with a shade darker Promarker and then backed it with the same cardstock (but I didn't color this piece). I cut out a few leaves that were as close as I could come to the leaves in my DSP. I also colored the stamens white to echo the colors of the larger flower in the DSP.

I had trouble coming up with a sentiment for the front of my card. I wanted this to be a Mother's Day card, but none of my "Happy Mother's Day" stamps seemed right. Since the only person I would send this to is one of my aunts, I decided that a "Thinking of You" stamp was appropriate. Then I put a Mother's Day greeting on the inside.

I dressed up the inside with a strip of my DSP and a scalloped piece of my deep pink cardstock.

For my second card, I cut the same flower out of three colorful scraps of cardstock. I also cut a tiny scalloped edge to finish off my white strip. 

Do you think I should add some enamel dots or flat-backed gems? I couldn't make up my mind about that, so I left it plain.

I left the inside of this card plain, too, except for the stamped sentiment.

If you'd like to join in the fun over at the Twofer Card Challenge Blog, you've got just a couple of days. But we all work better under a little pressure, don't we?

For the next 10 days, I am taking care of my daughter's dog and three cats while she and her family are on vacation in Costa Rica. As I type this, Willie (the dog) is sitting on the arm of the sofa (he's a Chihuahua) and watching me. I think he wants me to finish up soon so I can pay more attention to him!

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

Cheryl

Easy, quick Easter cards...

When I'm making cards to be sold at the thrift store where I volunteer, I need the designs to be easy and quick. I usually end up making them the day before I have to take them to the store, so I'm always crunched for time. I only make 6-10 of them each week, but they still take some time. Especially when I'm also trying to get Easter cards made for my own personal use.

Here are a few of the latest ones:

For this card, I pulled a flower from my stash, cut a couple of leaves and added an enamel dot to its center. The sentiment was heat embossed using an old wood block stamp (from Stampin' Up, I think).

This card features another flower from my stash, embellished the same way as the one above. The butterflies were cut using a couple of my Ellentina butterfly dies, and I added some Nuvo drops. As you can see, I'm still perfecting the application of those!

All of the papers I have been using for these cards were given to me by the thrift store for this purpose, so that is why you keep seeing them over and over.

The cards have been selling well. Only once so far was there a single card left unsold at the end of the week.

For this card, I used my little chick die (unbranded). They kind of look like they're marching in their own Easter parade, don't they? The sentiment was stamped and then cut out with a La La Land folding banner die.

I've truly had a lot of fun making these cards--made even more fun by the fact that people are actually purchasing them!

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