A card for Tuesday Morning Sketches...

My cardmaking friend Donna (DesignByDonna) is a member of the Design Team for Tuesday Morning Sketches, and she inspired me to take part in the current challenge #760. Here's my interpretation of the challenge sketch:

I actually pulled just two pieces of double-sided DSP from my scrap pile, both having come from the same 6" X 6" paper stack. I cut them to the sizes I wanted and then flipped two of them over so thaat I used all four paper patterns on this card. 

I wanted to add something to the center of my card, so I looked in my box of stickers and other bits and found this quilled butterfly.

The colors of the butterfly went so well with the scraps of papers I had used, so it was the perfect choice.

Finally, I looked in my pile of pre-stamped, pre-cut sentiments and found the one you see on my card. I popped it up on a thin strip of foam.

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

I do like following sketches, so this was a fun exercise. Thank, Donna, for inspiring me!

*****

Our dog, Mickey, has been enrolled in another training class. This time, he is being trained to heel. I told my DH that I wanted to opt out of this training, so I'd let him take Mickey by himself. He thought it would be fine if just the "boys" went. LOL

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

Cheryl

Wedding wishes...

 

I have some dimensional wedding cake stickers and I try to use one every once n a while to make a wedding card. Most of the stickers are made from silver and white card, so that is what I chose to make this card. The card base was a matte gray and the top die-cut panel was a textured metallic gray.

I also had a few store-bought daisies to use up, and I thought they were perfect for this card.

The swirly paper behind the oval is actually a patterned vellum. I liked the contrast of the swirls to the more geometric design in the top panel.

The "Congratulations" was heat embossed with silver embossing powder and then die-cut and popped up on the card front.

The stamped sentiment on the inside was also heat embossed with the same silver embossing powder.

It always feels great to use up a bit of my stash. Many of the stickers I have (including the wedding cake stickers) were given to me, so I didn't have a plan for them when I received them. But I'm so glad I have them for a quick wedding card when I need one.

We are getting ready for many upcoming family birthdays, reunions (both family and school) and other gatherings. It's going to be a busy summer!

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

Cheryl

More Father's Day cards...

 

I have an old 12" X 12" paper stack that has masculine, outdoorsy patterned papers. It also has a few punch-outs.  Both the papers and the punch-out letters used on this card front are from that stack. I popped the letters up on dimensionals, but everything else was glued flat to the kraft card base.

On the inside, I used a computer-generated sentiment. I left enough room in my sentiment to add a die-cut fish that I ink-blended to resemble some of the fish on the card front.

This card happened when I noticed some bits and pieces laying around on my work surface--the chair die-cut, the small piece of striped paper and the tiny tags. I simply picked out a coordinating paper, die-cut the letters for DAD a few times so I could stack them, and punched a narrow border. I found a piece of twine in my stash to add to the tags, too

Once again, I turned to my computer to print out a sentiment that reflected my card front.

This card used a new die set that included the grill, utensils and a bag of briquettes. Since this is the first time I've used it, I'm entering this card into this month's NBUS challenge #63. 

After selecting my blue card base, I added a panel cut from a really old 6" X 6" stack that had all kinds of positive adjectives on it in differrent colors. I thought it was just perfect for a Father's Day card. 

I printed the sentiment onto white CS and cut it out to fit across the front of my panel. Before gluing it down, I inked the edges to give it a more finished look and to match the inking I had done around the edges of the DSP.

I didn't pop anything up on this card front, so it's very mailable.

I used an alcohol marker to add a little bit of orange to the flame. I also did a bit of inking on the gray parts of the grate and grill stand.

I used my computer to print the sentiment on the inside and added the die-cut sack of briquettes above it.

On Saturday night we had 15 family members at our house for a backyard barbecue. My husband did all the grilling, so I'm going to make him one of these cards for Father's Day.

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

Cheryl

Silhouette graduation cards...

 I made a few graduation cards using my Silhouette Cameo.

I used the Silhouette to cut the mortarboards (with tassels), the year and the white shadow. It was a freebie SVG file from Printable Cuttable Creatables.

The tassel was cut from gold metallic cardstock. I punched a few stars from it, as well.

I stamped the same sentiment on the inside of each card.

The SVG file for this card was also a freebie from Printable Cuttable Creatables.  I have purchased files from them, too, but they are very generous with their giveaways. If you have a cutting machine that cuts SVGs, it would be worth checking them out.

The tassel and the numbers 0 and 4 were cut from gold metallic cardstock. I cut a light grey shadow so that it would show up better against the white embossed background.

I used the really old Cuttlebug "Argyle"  embossing folder. I chose it because it has a repeating pattern. Since this is a slimline card, it would take two passes to emboss the entire panel, and the pattern allowed me to easily line it up for a continuous design..

This is the inside of this card. I also made a card with the same front but with pop-out fireworks on the inside. I just forgot to take a photo of it before I sealed it in the envelope for my granddaughter!

This is a picture of my granddaughter's high school graduating class at their ceremony. It was held in an arena on the campus of the University of Minnesota. You can probably guess from the photo that there were thousands of friends and family members there to cheer them on.

The class is so large (680+ students) that it took over 1 1/2 hours for them to read the names and let them walk across the stage to receive their diplomas. Of course, there were speeches and musical numbers, too, so the entire ceremony was about 3 hours long! The good part about having it in an arena this size is that each student can be clearly seen on the Jumbotron as they walk onto the stage for their diploma. 

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

Cheryl

Let's Craft and Create Challenge #208: Anything Goes or Add Ribbon...

 

It's the first week of June and time for another challenge at Let's Craft and Create. I hope you'll all join in with your wonderful creations. We LOVE seeing them! I know I get so much inspiration from the entries each month.

The option for June is to "add ribbon" to your project. I decided to make a thank you card.

I first used a pretty embossing folder on some pink cardstock. Then I swiped my white ink pad across the embossing to highlight the design.

I've used white ink on lots of embossed designs and it always looks great. It is particularly effective on dark colors like navy blue or forest green. I think it looks great on this medium pink, though, too.

After stamping my sentiment, I added the white cardstock beneath the pink and adhered both of them to a black mat.

I have some sheer black ribbon in my stash, so for a little drama, I added it just beneath my embossed design.

My brother made me a tool for creating perfect bows, and I used it to make a double bow for this card.

On the inside of the card, I stamped another sentiment and added a couple of punched hearts.

This was such an easy csrd to make, and I love how it turned out.

Now it's your turn. Take a look here at what the other Design Team members have made to inspire you, and then link your project for a chance to win the prize.

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

Cheryl

 

Father's Day cards...

I have made a few Father's Day cards to donate. They are actually quite relaxing to make because I keep them pretty simple.

This card was made with a never-before-used die of a classy-looking guy leaning against a wall, so I'm entering this into this month's challenge on the NBUS Challenge Blog.

The "wall" was created by using a portion of an adhesive-backed faux wall tile that I found at Dollar Tree. I added a black strip of cardstock down the right side of it.

I made a couple of these cards, and I have enough of the wall tile left to make several more.

The inside was very CAS with a computer-generated sentiment.

This card was made with an NBUS die set, too, so I'm also posting it on the NBUS Challenge Blog. I used bits and pieces from my scraps to die-cut the hat, bats and ball. I think it's a fun set and will be great for making masculne birthday cards, too.

I added another computer-generated sentiment on the inside.

This card has a tailored-shirt look to it. I used the folded corner design that I've used for lots of feminine cards. I measured 1 1/2" down from the upper right corner of my card front and scored from that point up to the start of the center fold. Then I folded this piece down. After adding some DSP to the main part of the front and the folded flap, I adhered the flap in place. You could hold it down with a dimensional, but I just used double-sided tape.

Then I pulled out an old button die, cutting it several times and stacking it for dimension.

I added a little thread (actually, it's embroidery floss) to my button before gluing it to the corner of my folded flap.

Finally, I die-cut the big sentiment and glued it in place. I had to be extra careful not to lose track of the apostrophe!

I added a stamped sentiment to the inside of this card. 

*****

We will be attending my granddaughter's high school graduation this week. Also, during this month and the first part of July we have her party and two reunions to attend. I also have to usher at my church a couple of times and help out with an ice cream social, so it's a busy time...but fun!

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

Cheryl

An upcycled card...

 

I received a card from my stepdaughter that had such a beautiful image on it, that I wanted someone else to enjoy it, too. Isn't this image amazing? And to think it was made by gluing down little pieces of thin, brightly colored paper! 

I carefully cut the decoupaged image from the card front.

The black thin/thick frame was part of it. I just cut a little outside of that and then matted it on some black cardstock and adhered it to a new card base. I chose a light aqua card base because that same color was included in the image.

The "Happy Birthday" sentiment was stamped, die-cut, matted and popped up on dimensionals.

This is the sentiment that I stamped inside the card.

Do you ever recycle cards or parts of cards? As much as I love the cards I receive, I don't believe in stowing them away in a box. I often want others to enjoy them, too, so I try to recycle what I can. And since I photograph all the cards I make, I can still enjoy them forever.

*****

Today was a lovely day here in Minneapolis, but I spent most of it volunteering at the thrift store. It was gratifying to see the empty card basket when I arrived. Of course, I refilled it with a slew of newly made cards. I've begun making Father's Day cards and am nearly done making graduation cards for the store to sell. I realized, though, that I didn't have a single sympathy card left, so as soon as I got home, I prepped five card bases and top layers. Hopefully, I'll get them finished up tomorrow.

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

Cheryl