Thank you, Teacher...

I was a teacher for a few years, so I know just how important a little thanks and encouragement can be.  Just out of college, I taught Algebra in a Grand Forks, ND, high school.  I had the students who were struggling and needed extra help.  Even though math was difficult for most of them, we had a great year. It has been decades since I taught there, but I still have some of the notes of thanks and encouragement that I received. 

When my twin daughters asked if I would make some teacher thank you cards for their children to give to their teachers, I jumped at the chance.

 

 This is the first card I made, using some alphabet paper that I printed from a CD onto cream colored cardstock, inked along the edges and then matted on black CS.  The stems for the Petaloo flowers were cut from the "Walk in My Garden" cartridge. I inked and bent the leaves a little for more dimension, and the two largest blossoms are popped up on dimensionals.  The sentiment has been cut out with a Lifestyle Crafts label die, matted on black cardstock and adhered with dimensionals.  Can you see that the design of this label looks like an open book?

 This card uses some paper and cardstock from my stash that I've had for eons.  I was so glad to find a card to use it on.  The strawberries were cut from the "Preserves" cartridge, embossed with the Swiss Dots folder and popped up on dimensionals.  I hand-embossed some lines in the leaves and inked them for extra dimension.  A little twine around the sentiment and it's done!  By the way, all the sentiments on these cards were computer-generated. 

My third card also used the "Preserves" cart for the apple and "Nate's ABCs" for the lettering.  I'm not sure why 'teacher' cut a little funkily, but I thought it still looked okay.  The inside sentiment for this card uses the same label die and matting as the flower card, but says, "Thank you for a great year!"

A final look at the cards as a group.  They were fun to make, and one of each will be in the mail to my daughters today.

Remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day!

Cheryl



Card for a soldier...

Happy Memorial Day, everyone!

I thought today I would share a card that I made to send to a soldier serving our country in Afghanistan.  I can only imagine how difficult it is to be separated from family and friends and live in a dangerous place.  I think it is the least we can do to send them some encouragement and gratitude from time to time.  My own father was in the Army, Navy and Air Force (I know--it's hard to believe) and both of my brothers also served-- one of them for 23 years!

There are organizations that use this sentiment, but it just was so perfect that I had to use it, too.  Sure hope it's not trademarked!!

For the mat, I scored a piece of medium blue cardstock every 1/4" and then ran an ink pad directly over the side with the raised scores to give a weathered appearance.  I really love how that turned out and I'll be using that technique again.  I cut the "because" on my Cricut after I had welded it with the Gypsy.  The letters are from Nate's ABCs cart.  The stars are from a Sizzix die with nested starsall on one die.  The center star comes out solid and the rest come out as star-shaped frames.  I like the combination of the two on this card.OnOn the inside of the card I added a couple of the stars on the top panel and left the bottom blank to write a note.

Maybe there's someone you know, or know of, that is serving our country here or abroad and could use a little encouragement.

Thanks for stopping by.  Remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.

Cheryl

Yet another card by my sister...

Look at this lovely card my younger sister made for my older sister's birthday, which was May 3rd.  There are four girls and two boys in my family, and I am the second oldest of the girls. 

Our oldest sister who received this card is a tremendous seamstress, even making her only daughter's wedding dress - which was flat out gorgeous, I might add.  Anyway, this card was perfect for her with all the sewing details.

Don't you love the buttons with the gems in the center?  The dressform panel is popped up on dimensionals.  I'm not sure where the papers are from--my sister lives 500 miles from me and emailed me this pic.  Now that we both have fun making cards, I wish there weren't any zeroes on that number of miles!

 Thanks for stopping by.  Remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.
Cheryl

Feathers are so much fun...

Here is a fun card that came together very quickly, once I figured out what I wanted to do.  The little bird is cut at 3" from the Nate's ABCs cart.  I opted not to use the layers and instead inked his breast with some orange-gold chalk ink and used a feather from Petaloo for his wing and little top feathers.  For the placement of the wing, I looked to see where the wing was supposed to start in the handbook, poked a little hole and inserted the quill of the feather through the hole, securing it to the back with a little tape.

The flowers are also from Petaloo and the leafy branches were punched out with a Sizzix die.  For the centers of the flowers, I took some pale green/beige brads from my stash and dotted them with a paint marker.  I really liked how they looked with a few polka dots on them.  The pink gems were some I had in my stash and added just the right touch of "bling."  The butterfly is one from a K&Co. set that my grandson gave me for my birthday.  He's only 6 and picked out some crafting supplies for me all by himself. You have great taste, Max!



To make the base card, I folded some heavy cardstock and then used a Lifestyle Crafts scalloped square die to cut the shape.  I had to run just half of the card through my Cuttlebug, reposition the die, and then run the other half through to get just the size I needed. The mat on the front of the card is from a DCWV matstack called "The Sweet Matstack."  I also used a Lifestyle Crafts scalloped  oval die for the sentiment.

I hope you liked my little bird/butterfly card.  I am sending this to a young woman who is married to a soldier serving in Afghanistan.  I hope it lets her know she is not alone as she waits and worries.

I am also entering this card in  the following challenges:

Going Buggy - Things with wings

Truly Scrumptious Challenge - Pretty in Pink

The Paper Shelter - Bling it on

Cute Card Thursday- Pink & Green

Cardz TV - #108 May Day

Thanks for visiting.  Remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day!

Cheryl

Ever hear of a Princess Train? Well...

Quite a while ago I picked up a Sizzix train die for a really good price.  At the time I thought it would be perfect for making cards for little boys.  However - little girls like trains, too.  Especially if they're glittery and filled with "jewels and fairy dust!"

Here's a card that I made for my granddaughter's third birthday.  With this great die, it was fun and came together very quickly:

I cut each car from a different color of glitter cardstock.  One of the little coal cars is filled with "jewels" (flatbacked gems) and the other is filled with "fairy dust" (a nice little pile of sparkly glitter).   I added gems in various places for more dimension.  I also cut just the wheels again from gray cardstock and did some extra embellishing on them with metallic gel pens (and gems, too!). I used a lacy ribbon for the track, cut some puffs of smoke from white felt and used another die to cut the letters for "choo choo."  Each "choo" was actually part of a phrase that I cut apart until I had what I wanted.  I used a decorative corner punch and a small flatbacked gem to finish off each of the corners

For the inside, I ran a decorative strip on the left.  I actually composed the verse inside and printed it onto the cardstock with my computer.  Please use it for your own cards, if you wish.  Just substitute the appropriate age and name.  In case it's hard to read, here is what it says:

A pretty little Princess Train

is heading straight your way.

It's filled with jewels and fairy dust

for a girl who's three today!

Happy Birthday, Hadley!

I hope you enjoyed this girly train card.  Remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.

Cheryl



Embellishment for a gift...

I love to decorate gifts with something I have made that is different from a ribbon tied in a bow or curled with a scissor blade.  My granddaughter recently celebrated her 9th birthday and I gave her the gift that I talked about in this post.  When I wrapped it, I wanted to use some very flowery paper and decorate it with something a little unique.  I remembered the beautiful butterfly that can be cut from the CTMH Art Philosophy cartridge.  I cut it out at 5" (I think).  Then I applied some spray adhesive and covered it with fine yellow glitter, burnishing by rubbing the glitter gently in circles with my fingers.  It's always a good day when I can play with some glitter!

I have some very fine gold wire that I used to fashion the antennae, which I adhered under one of the gold flat-backed gems that formed the head and body.  This butterfly was so quick to make and looked pretty impressive as it rested on the garden of flowers in the paper's design.  I also used a Spellbinder's Fancy Tags die on which I wrote my granddaughter's name. 

Just a word about the Art Philosophy cartridge - it is one of my very favorites! I love the images and the stamps that coordinate with them.  If you read my blog from time to time you will see me using it again and again.  If you'd like to purchase this cartridge, I recommend you talk to Lisa Stenz at Lisa's Creative Corner.  She's a wonderful CTMH consultant and I know you'll just love her!

Remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day!

Cheryl

Hydrangea Happy Birthday...

In my city we have a wonderful little store called "ArtScraps."  It is basically a second-hand craft store and sells all kinds of products for crafting.  I believe they get everything donated from individuals, organizations or businesses and resell it at much reduced prices.  I have purchased envelopes, cardstock and other papers, colored wires (great for butterfly antennae), ribbon, and quite a few wood-mounted rubber stamps.  Some of the stamps they sell have never been used and I have purchased them for as low as $.25!

The hydrangea stamp on this card is one of those stamps.  It isn't large but works perfectly for this quick-to-make birthday card.

I stamped the image on some heavy off-white card stock and colored it with ProMarkers.  I also stamped a couple of borders onto a subtley striped vellum, heat embossed with white embossing powder and cut them out, following the scalloped outlines.  I love that look and am now hoping to find some more lacy border stamps that I can stamp and cut out.  The doily and label dies were all from Lifestyle Crafts.  The little blue strip of CS was embossed with a Cuttlebug border folder. It added the perfect extra touch.  Three green flatbacked pearls finished it off!

Thanks for visiting.  Remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.
Cheryl