Masculine birthday card...

 

I've had this retro car die for quite a long time and haven't used it nearly enough. I like it because it's a very simple die to cut out--only the headlights are cut separately and added to it.

I created the two tone look by first placing my die (with the cut shape still inside it) on an embossing pad, adjusting my sandwich and running it through my Big Shot again. Once that was done, I swiped  a white ink pad over the parts of the car that were exposed in the open areas of the die.

After the ink had dried, I glued on the headlights (cut from silver metallic CS) and added a silver center to each wheel with a Viva Decor pen.

To embellish my card, I added a colorful banner and three small, silver, self-adhesive metal squares to my upper righthand corner. Each flag on the banner is popped up with a foam square.

The inside was pretty plain with just a stamped sentiment. I may go back and add another of those banners to spice it up a bit.

Did you celebrate National Night Out on August 3? We closed off our block to traffic and asked families to bring their own drinks and a treat to share. We set up a table and lawn chairs in the street so that neighbors could visit. I brought a big jug of lemonade for the kids. They loved having the street blocked off so they could play games and ride their bikes and scooters with no vehicles driving through.

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

Cheryl

Let's Craft and Create Challenge #174: Anything Goes with an option of Polka Dots and/or Stripes...

It's the beginning of August...can you believe it? The summer seems to be whizzing by, and before we know it, the leaves will turn their beautiful reds and golds and the air will be crisp and cool.

The beginning of a new month means it's time for a new challenge at Let's Craft and Create. This month, the option is Polka Dots and/or Stripes. I happen to love polka dots, so that's what I chose to use.

My first card features gold metallic polka dots--so pretty! I couldn't resist using a "fabulous flamingo" on a lacy rectangle to coordinate with the glitzy polka dots.

My flamingo was cut from pink cardstock. I added some black marker to his beak, along with some white gel pen above it. His eye was created with a Viva Decor pen.

To make the legs a lighter pink, I added a light layer of white ink with a blending brush.

The sentiment was computer-generated, using the Impact Label font. I've popped it up on foam tape. I also added three dots with a gold Viva Decor pen.

The sentiment on the inside was also computer-generated.

This was another fun card to make. The flowers were meant to have a single layer of petals, but I decided to make them double layers. There are three graduated sizes of flowers in the die set. I layered the medium petals over the large ones for my biggest flower and the small petals over the medium ones for my smaller flower. Then I added the yellow centers. The stems came from another flower die, and my sentiment was die-cut from some glitter cardstock. Three yellow enamel dots anchor my upper right hand corner.

Here you can get a little closer look at my layered petals. I really love how they turned out, and I think I'll do them this way from now on.

There is another computer-generated sentiment on the inside of this card. Sorry for the blurry photo. I must have jiggled my camera when I took the picture. I would retake it, but this card has already been donated!

I hope you'll come join the fun at Let's Craft and Create. If you're not into either stripes or polka dots, you can always create something with the "Anything Goes" option.

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

Cheryl

A couple more crazy birds...

 

I had fun creating this card using a "Crazy Bird" stamp and die. The birds are so easy to color, die-cut and then pop onto your card front with a dimensional or two. Whenever I decide to use them, I usually stamp and color them all so that I can make several cards.

I created my clouds with a piece of torn cardstock, some ink and a blending brush. It looks like there's a big storm brewing!

Here's the inside of my card. The sentiment (found somewhere online) just made me laugh, so I had to use it on a card.

Looking at my card now, though, I wish I had created a little jump rope out of baker's twine for my bird. Maybe next time...

Here's my second card with a more conventional sentiment, which was also computer-generated.

This time I used an embossing folder on the top half of my white layer and added a score line to give it a finished look where it ended.

Here's the inside sentiment for this card.

Both of these cards were donated to the thrift store. It will be interesting to see how quickly they sell. I rather like using sales of my cards to see which ones appeal to people. It seems there's a buyer out there for all of them, but some take longer than others to sell. 

One day, a customer came into the store and bought every single card on display. That was a bit of a shocker. I guess she was stocking up on her own stash of cards by purchasing the ones I had made.

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

Cheryl

Bountiful butterflies...

 

This is a super quick, fun card to make. I recently purchased a slimline butterfold die, so I had to give it a try. The pink butterfly panel cut beautifully, and I used an old punch to create some flowers. 

I used some Nuvo Drops for the butterfly bodies and for the flower centers.

I also cut some tiny pieces of foam squares to put under the butterfly wings, close to their bodies, to lift them up and give them some dimension.

The "Happy Birthday" was stamped, cut out with a small rectangle die and added with some foam tape underneath it.

The inside sentiment was stamped with an old Fiskars stamp. 

I made this card for the thrift store and it sold very quickly, so I think I'll have to make a few more.  I think the butterfly panel can be used for a few different occasions, too.

Our temps have dropped a few degrees here, but the humidity is still high. Worse than the temps and humidity, though, is the bad air quality because of the fires north of us. Minnesota borders Canada and smoke seems to pouring down from the fires there. Yesterday, as I drove home from volunteering at the thrift store, there was a sign above the highway that warned of poor air quality and asked everyone to limit their vehicle trips because of it.

Last night we had tickets for an outdoor, candlelit Vivaldi concert (string quartet). Because of the air quality, it had to be moved inside. It was still beautiful, but sad that we couldn't sit near the Mississippi River as planned, and listen to the gorgeous music under the stars.

I hope the air quality is much better where you are!

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

Cheryl

Happy, happy Bee-day...

 

Today is my daughter-in-law's birthday (happy birthday, Jenn!), and this is the waterfall card I made for her. My honeycomb background was created with a stencil and blending brush. I used a fancy square die to add a decorative edge to my waterfall pull tab. I also inked the edges a bit and printed the word "pull." I didn't want there to be any misunderstanding as to what to do with this interactive card!

I just love these little bees with their happy expressions and funny poses. They were colored with alcohol markers and some sparkle was added to their wings with a Wink of Stella brush.

I used a different bee on each square of the waterfall mechanism and found a sentiment among my stamps to go with each one.

The bee in this picture just cracks me up. He looks like he's rolling on the floor with laughter!

I stamped and heat-embossed a sentiment on the pull-out tab that coordinated with my bee theme. I only wish the BE had been spelled BEE.

On the inside of my card, I added a stamped sentiment and another bee.

I already have another card in the making with these cute little insects. They're super easy to color and come with matching dies. And now that I have my honeycomb stencil, I'm in "bee heaven."

If you'd like to try making a waterfall card, you can click here for Lisa Curcio's YouTube video that clearly explains how to do it. I tweaked her design a bit and made my card base 6" long so that I could fit a sentiment at the bottom. I also did not add a ribbon to my pull tab the way she does.

We're in for some more hot weather here over the next few days. Guess I'll just have to stay inside and craft! he he

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

Cheryl

A birthday card for my brother...

 I have a hard time coming up with card ideas for my brothers (I have two of them) and my brothers-in-law (I have four of them). Today's card features a couple of Tim Holtz's crazy birds and was made for my brother who is three years older than me.

I started by brayering one side of a 3D embossing folder with purple ink before placing my cardstock panel inside and running it through my Big Shot. It was a complete fail - the ink looked super blotchy on the paper. In order to save my embossed piece, I applied some blue Oxide Ink all over it with a blending brush. If you look closely, you can still see some of the purple ink peeking through, which I actually liked.

I cut my banner and the word "happy" out of silver metallic cardstock and adhered them to my embossed panel. To finish off the ends of my banner, I added some silver metallic dot stickers.

I stamped a couple of the crazy birds, colored them with ProMarkers and then cut them out with the coordinating dies. 

Although you can't see it in the photo, they both have Glossy Accents on their eyes, and they've been popped up on foam squares. I glued their feet to the embossed panel because they were too tiny to put any foam squares behind them.

My computer-generated sentiment on the inside says, "...from one old bird to another." I hope my brother gets a kick out of it. 

Tonight we had some locally grown sweet corn for dinner. It was our first of the season, and it was SO GOOD! When my twins were teens, they worked in a "corn stand" selling fruits and vegetables from a local farm during the summer. We city people flock to those corn stands to get our fresh corn fix.

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

Cheryl

Twofer challenge #40: Birds...

 I really love the Twofer Challenge Blog because it pushes me to make two cards at once that are for different occasions. Now that I am regularly donating cards to the thrift store (and having a hard time keeping up with demand), I need to make cards at a quicker pace. This challenge helps me do just that.

This month the Twofer theme is "birds," and here is what I created:

I had a NBUS die set that I wanted to use, so this was the perfect impetus to move me in that direction.

My first card is a mini-slimline, 6" X 3.5". I adhered my DSP to the front and then cut an aperture with an oval die.

My sentiment--thanks--was stamped on the inside of my card towards the top of the oval opening.

I used a brown colored pencil to add some feather lines to my bird, and I also inked its edges with distress ink. I tried to give it a reddish abdomen, like a robin. I used some Nuvo Drops for the eye and the flower centers.

Dies for the leafy branch and flowers were included in the set with the bird, so I cut those out of CS and adhered them across the opening.

The weatherperson is once again predicting that our daily high temperatures will be 90+ (32+ C) for the next few days. This heat wave made me think of an old Spanish idiom that originated in Chile and has to do with a certain bird: "Ducks are falling already roasted!" That means its really hot out!!!

I was inspired to make this second card by one I saw on Pinterest. I loved the idea of the woodgrained background, since we always think of birds in trees. 

This time I pulled out some leafy sprig dies and some different tiny flower dies.

The center white circle is popped up on dimensionals, as is the bird and the bird's wing. I used Nuvo Drops for the bird's eye and the flower centers.

While the clear sequins aren't too noticeable, I did add two of them to my white circle and one at the top of my card near the sentiment.

I stamped a sentiment on the inside and added a couple leafy sprigs that I had cut out, but didn't use on the front of the card. 

I hope you'll join in on the fun at the Twofer blog. You could probably use a couple more cards in your stash, couldn't you?

Finally, I thought I'd share one more idiom factoid with you. When we call someone a chicken in this country, we mean they are afraid. The Italians have another take on chicken name-calling. I guess they don't consider chickens to be very bright, because when an Italian says someone "is really a chicken," he means that person is easily fooled.

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

Cheryl