Using up some scraps and a pretty blue bouquet...

 

I have a box in which I throw my strips of DSP that are left over from other projects. The strips that make up the background panel for this card all came from that box. I think they make a nice background for my focal image, which is pretty simple.

I die-cut my aqua panel, inked around its edges, and adhered it to the center of my card front.

My little potted cactus was also die-cut, backed with a darker green CS and inked around its edges. It was popped up with foam squares.

The sentiment was stamped onto another scrap of gold-patterned CS and also adhered with foam squares.

Since this card, other than the card base, is made from snippets in my stash, I am entering it into Challenge #490 at the Snippets Playground blog.

The sentiment on the inside was printed with my computer. 

For this card, I used a die that cuts a pretty floral design into the edge of a card front.  Once that was done, I backed the front of my card with some pale plue paper so that it showed through the openings. Then, I added my die-cut bouquet.

I love having this set of flower dies so that I can create any number of different flower combinations for bouquets on my cards. I used a couple different shades of blue cardstock for these flowers and also added some blue ink for shading and defining the petals.

The sentiment was stamped and popped up with some foam tape.

The die set that was used to create the fancy edge on the front of my card also has a pretty corner die and a linear accent die, which I used on the inside of my card.

After stamping my white panel, I backed it with a blue panel to better show off the die-cut designs. Don't you think the inside of this card will be a nice surprise for the recipient?

I have been very busy lately making Halloween cards to donate. I'll be sharing more of them with you soon, so I hope you'll come back and visit again.

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

Cheryl

It's your day, let's party...

I have a large plastic envelope that is filled with borders that I have either made or collected from here, there and everywhere. The cocktail border that you see on this card was pulled from that envelope. I've had it for a very, very long time and have long wondered what to do with it. Finally, I decided to use it on a slimline card.

I embossed a cream-colored panel with my Swiss Dots embossing folder and added it to my pink card base. Then, I popped the border up on dimensionals and adhered it to the card front. It was made of sturdy cardstock, so that worked great.

As a last step, I die-cut two birthday word banners and glued them to the front, finishing off their ends with enamel dots.

I stamped a fun sentiment on the inside, and my card was done.

Now that I've used this border, I wish I had a few more of them! I don't know why it took me so long to figure out how to incorporate it onto a card front, but I love the final result. And it was so quick and easy!

Hopefully, I'm not the only one who gets stymied now and again by the odd crafting supply.

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

Cheryl

"Best if used by" date...

I saw this sentiment somewhere online and thought it would be fun to make a few cards with it. 

First, I added a scrap of woodgrain patterned DSP to my card front and finished off the sides of it with two narrow strips of black cardstock. These were actually quilling strips. After trying to quill a couple of cards, I decided that it really wasn't for me, so I've been using these strips on my cards.

After printing the sentiment with my computer, I die-cut it and popped it up on my card front. Then I added a "crazy bird" that had been stamped, colored with pencils and mineral spirits and die-cut. His eyes are shiny with Glossy Accents but it doesn't show up in the pictures.

The balloons were also die-cut. I inked around their edges a bit to add some dimension and then popped them up on foam squares. The strings were drawn in with a fine-point black marker.

The final embellishment was to add a couple of enamel dots to each top corner of the DSP.

The simple sentiment on the inside was computer-printed.

I think these sentiments could be used with lots of different characters or images on the front of the card. Or even just by themselves. I think it makes a fun card that could be used for ages in several different decades.

I am currently staying with my 17-year-old grandson and taking care of his family's five dogs and two cats while my daughter and her husband are on an overseas trip. They'll be gone for nine days, so I'll be ready to hand back the "pet reins" by the time they get back.

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

Cheryl

More fun making Halloween cards...

I've been making 6-10 Halloween cards a week and donating them to the thrift store. They seem to sell really well, which makes it all the more fun.

This cute little ghost was in my leftover pile of die-cut images from last year, so he definitely had to be used on a card this time around. 

I die-cut an orange spider web and glued it to a pale green with white polka dots card base. Then I added the ghost with some foam tape.

Finally, I added the little die-cut spider and popped up my computer-generated sentiment. The font I used for the sentiment is called "Adios Amigos," but I like it for Halloween cards because of the way the letters are shaded.

I added a portion of an orange web on the inside along with another spider. The inside sentiment was also printed with my computer.

This card was super quick to make. I die-cut the black frame, which was NBUS (never-before-used-schtuff), glued it to my card base, and then heat-embossed the sentiment, using Versafine black ink and clear embossing powder.

In looking at the photo, I feel like I should have put a little yellow or gold cardstock behind the pumpkin faces to give the illusion of a candle glowing inside.

On the inside I stamped the sentiment and then added a strip of spider web DSP (it had been laying on my work table) and two candy corn stickers.

Easy peasy.

The two card bases I used for these cards were made with some nice, heavy cardstock that the thrift store gave me. It consisted of quite a few different background colors with white polka dots and all the sheets were 8 1/2" X 11". I've had fun using them for cardmaking, and now I wish I had more, as I've run out of some of the colors.

We just got back from a quick trip to Wyoming to scatter my brother-in-law's ashes, per his request, in a lake and stream where he used to fish. We spent a little bit of time in Grand Teton National Park while we were there since we flew in and out of Jackson Hole.

While my DH and I were on a short hike, I took this photo of one of the Teton Mountains. The day was perfect--warm (but not too warm) and sunny. There were a lot of visitors in the park (we had a terrible time finding a place to park our vehicle!), but it still didn't seem crowded. It's such a beautiful place to visit, so if you haven't been there yet, you really should go!

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

Cheryl

Ghouls just wanna have fun...

 

This is a pretty simple card, but it was fun to make. My sister used this girly ghost die last year, and I just had to have it for some girly Halloween cards--so I bought one. This is the first card I have made with it.

I used some dimensional stickers on this card--the little orange bat and the "BOO" speech bubble. The sentiment was printed with my computer and then popped up on foam tape.

I backed the face part of the ghost with a piece of black cardstock. I think that looks better than leaving open holes where the eyes and mouth are.

I also used a paint pen to add a dot of white to each eye.

Finally, I added a tiny little bow to her head for some extra femininity.

I don't have a picture to share of the inside, but I stamped "Happy Halloween" and added a couple more bat stickers.

Halloween cards seem to sell well at the thrift store, so I've been making quite a few to donate. They're my favorite cards to make!

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

Cheryl

Sometimes rub-on images are handy...

 

The images on this card were taken from a sheet of various rub-ons that had been given to me. They were fairly small images, so I thought they'd work well in a frame like the one you see in the picture. 

I cut the frame a few times and stacked it so that it had a little dimension. I stamped "Hello Friend" to fill out the largest space.

Here you can see the dimension of the frame.

I added more rub-ons to the inside. The cluster of flowers rub-on had been damaged, but I was still able to use a big piece of it in the corner.

This card is bigger (4 1/2" X 6", I think), so I used some of the bigger images on it. The "get well" was stamped inside the biggest rectangle. "Soon" was also stamped onto a piece of white CS and then popped up with dimensionals.

You may have noticed that I didn't add any dimension to this frame. I think it still looks ok.

I stamped a sentiment on the inside and added a couple more of the rub-on images.

It was actually fun to pick the images for each section of the frames for these cards. They were all color coordinated, so that made it extra easy.

Do you ever use rub-ons? I have found that if you let them sit too long, they dry up and don't adhere very well when you try to rub them on. So if you've got them, you should use them!

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

Cheryl

An old-fashioned Santa...

 

This image was offered for personal use on one of the Facebook AI sites that I frequent. I thought it was such a nice depiction of an old-fashioned Santa, that I decided to print it out to use for a few Christmas cards. I cut it out with one of my favorite fancy corner rectangle dies and glued it directly to my red card base.

The image included some pink poinsettias, which you can see in the bottom righthand corner. As an extra embellishment, I cut one out of pale pink cardstock, inked the center of each layer of petals and added it to my card.

I also die-cut some white boughs to extend from each side of the flower and added a red gem to the center.

I stamped two sentiments on the inside and added a strip of red cardstock for a little embellishment.

I think I will be making a few more of these, as I really like how it turned out.

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

Cheryl