Let's Craft and Create Challenge #205: Anything Goes or Polka Dots and/or Stripes...

 

It's time for another challenge at Let's Craft and Create. It seems to me that the quality of the cards entered into the challenge keeps getting better and better. There are just so many beautiful and innovative cards entered that we have a very hard time choosing a winner!

This month's challenge option is Polka Dots and/or Stripes, so I have chosen to make a card with polka dots. This card was for my granddaughter's 16th birthday. I can't believe she is now old enough to drive!! She took her driver's test the day after her birthday and passed with flying colors.

I wanted the card to be a little extra special so I made a four-panel card. The lace was some self-adhesive paper lace that I had in my stash. I cut the 16 with my largest set of number dies.

When the first flap is opened this is what is revealed. I love the pink and black combination, and I hope my granddaughter liked it, too. She lives 1,000 miles away, so we are unable to celebrate with her in person.

The next two panels are shown above. I had fun placing the little die-cut flowers and buds on each page.

If you open the card completely, this is what it looks like. With four panels, it was a little bulky to mail, so some extra postage was required--but it was worth every penny!

I hope you've been inspired enough to create your own project and enter it into our challenge at Let's Craft and Create. The Design Team has posted their projects for the challenge, so be sure to take a look here. And don't forget, there is always a prize awarded to the winner.

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

Cheryl

Get well soon and a birthday card for a "sweet thing"...

 

I know that I have shared some of these die-cut vases before (I really love them!), but this card also features some new rectangle dies that I purchased recently. My sister had used one of these dies on a card she sent to me, and I loved it so much I ordered them.

I used two of the dies on this card to create/extend the front flap of this top-fold card.  The graduated corners make them look very Art Deco, and the edge stitching adds a nice finishing touch.

I selected a couple of my leafy sprig dies and cut them out of different shades of green cardstock to put in my vase.

The vase was cut from white cardstock and then lightly inked with gray ink to emphasize the embossed lines.

The sentiment was popped up on foam tape.

Since this is the first time I used these retangular dies, I thought I'd enter this card into the NBUS challenge. 

I added some more of the striped DSP on the inside of the card along with a stamped sentiment. I loved how this card turned out, and I need to make some more of them!

For this card I used a new strawberry stamp and die set. The images have a couple of layering stamps each for some added depth and dimension. The sentiment was also included in the stamp set.

The crate was one I had cut with another die ages ago but hadn't used. It was definitely time for it to be adhered to a card. I backed the openings between the slats with red cardstock to give the impression that it was filled with strawberries.

I had a strawberry and a flower left over, so I used them on the inside. I think that little bit of decoration dressed it up nicely.

We have had Spring-like weather here the last couple of days. I'm sure it will get cold again, but boy have we enjoyed the warmth and sunshine. And Mickey (our dog) absolutely LOVES being outside.

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

Cheryl

Making more cards with AI images...

There are so many images available online from others who have been experimenting with AI programs. I have also tried my hand at creating a few images, so I thought I'd share some cards using some of those images.

These are both bookbinder style cards, using a free image that someone shared online, offering it up for others to use on their projects.

The yellow paper beneath the ribbon is actually DSP.  I added some gems to the centers of the flowers and popped up the sentiment.

This card was made exactly the same way, but with a different sentiment stamped on the inside.

These two cards were made with an image that I created on Bing.com/Create, an image-generating program.  The sentiment was printed with my computer and popped up on foam tape.

After I printed the pictures onto white cardstock, I cut them out with a wonky-stitched square die.

I punched out a couple of the balloons for each image (my punch just happened to be the right size), and popped them up on foam squares.

In this photo, you can see that the blue sparkly balloon and the gold balloon are both popped up.

If you look closely, you can also see that I've added some Glossy Accents to the eyes.

I added a couple of punched balloons on the inside, too, with another computer-generated sentiment.

Finally, I made these two cards out of a single image that was offered online to anyone who wanted to use it. I simply cut it down the middle and added each half to the front of a card.

The sentiment was stamped and cut out with a die. It was then attached to the front of the card.

I also dry-embossed a couple pieces of pale pink cardstock and added them to the inside of each card.

This is how the inside of the card looks, with its stamped sentiment, when it is opened.

While AI is fun to use to create images like these, I understand that it is also being used for nefarious purposes. I hope the powers that be figure out a set of controls to keep it from being used for ill.

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

Cheryl

Notes of thanks...

 

I had a couple of 8" X 8" papers that had this pretty design on one side. Although you can't really see it in the photo, it has some glitter in the design. I cut off the patterned area so that it would fit on a slimline card.

The sentiment is heat embossed and popped up on foam tape with a little adhesive-backed gem on each side.

The only other embellishments I added were a couple of little butterflies. This angled photo shows how I prop up their wings with a little piece of foam tape.

The other side of the 8" X 8" paper was plain, so I cut it to fit the inside of the card where I stamped a thank you sentiment.

I don't remember where I saw this layout, but I liked it, and it was a great way to use up some scraps left over from making Christmas cards. The scripty, die-cut sentiment went really well across the center panel.

And here is the sentiment I stamped on the inside.

While I can't send each of you a thank you card, I still want you to know how much I appreciate it when you visit my blog. And a special thanks to those who leave a comment. I always look forward to reading them.

So, THANK YOU for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.

Cheryl

Flowers and butterflies...

It's always nice to think about flowers and butterflies when the temperature is below 0 degrees outside. We're warming up a bit now, but last week was a bonified Minnesota cold spell. To get my mind off of it, I made a few cards with flowers and butterflies.

This slimline card was made with a special slimline frame die. After cutting it out in a green patterned DSP, I also cut the flowers from pink and blue CS. 

The sentiment was stamped directly onto the card base. I made sure it fit perfectly between the two flowers.

I adhered each flower around the center and then popped up each petal with a piece of double-sided foam tape.

I have a few very nice thank you stamps now, and this is one of them.

This card features another slimline frame die with butterflies. This card is a little bigger than the first one because I already had the card base cut and folded and I didn't want to cut it down anymore.

To add color to my butterflies, I slipped a piece of copy paper underneath each wing and used my blending brushes to add color.

Each butterfly did have an attached body, but I cut off the top (head) and bottom (tail) and then adhered a separate body cut from silver metallic CS. This also helped secure the butterflies in place.

Once again, just a simple stamped sentiment on the inside.

For this card, I stamped, colored and die-cut a cluster of flowers. I first used the coordinating stencils to color the flowers, but I wasn't satisfied with the result, so I used my watercolor pencils to add more depth and detail.

The embossed panel underneath the flowers is vellum. I love the look of embossed vellum! I have some 1" wide double-sided tape, and I used that to adhere the vellum. I just made sure that I not only covered the entire back side of the vellum with the tape, but that I also overlapped the pieces. That way it doesn't show at all.

The sentiment was popped up on foam tape.

Here is the stamped sentiment I added to the inside.

I made this card because I was tired of seeing the striped piece of DSP laying on my desk. I used an angled scalloped border die for the bottom. I cut the edge again out of white and glued it on top of the striped edge and finished it off with a couple narrow stitched strips of yellow CS.

The "thank you" sentiment was stamped with Versamark and heat embossed with blue EP.

These butterfly dies are some of my favorites. I love the stitched detail on them.

I added some double-sided foam tape underneath their wings and an enamel dot in the center of each.

Keepting with the blue and yellow theme, I stamped the inside sentiment with blue ink.

*****

This weekend is shaping up to be a busy one. We're going to a dance performance at the University of Minnesota on Thursday and out for a special dinner on Saturday. Then, of course, we'll go to church on Sunday.

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

Cheryl

Using some rub-ons and a masculine card...

 I was given some rub-ons and thought I'd put them to good use on some cards to donate to the thrift store.

The flowers and butterflies on this card are all rub-ons. They were so colorful and really dressed up the front of the card. I added the die-cut sentiment, which was cut multiple times and stacked for dimension. I also added some gems to the centers of the flowers.

On the inside of this card I stamped a simple sentiment (I added the ellipsis with a pen) at the top so that the sender had lots of room to write a lengthy note.

I used some floral DSP for this card that coordinated nicely with another rub-on butterfly. "Hello" and its shadow were die-cut and adhered directly onto the card front.

The little "stars" were also rub-ons. I added a gem to the center of each.

On the inside of this card I added a stamped sentiment and one more tiny rub-on.

I recently bought some vertical sentiment dies. I used one of them on this masculine card and really like them for applications like this. 

All the printed papers on this card came from the same (very old) paper stack. The center panel on the card front was a small piece that I cut from one of the sheets, matted and popped up on foam tape. 

A sentiment was stamped on the inside. I did my best to center it under the front of the card, which was about an inch narrower than the back.

*****

The intensely cold weather that we have had lately prompted me to buy a new winter jacket. My old one was really getting worn looking and had a missing button and a hole in one of the pockets. I certainly could have sewn a button on and mended the pocket, but the wool was wearing so thin in areas that a couple of little holes had developed. It was time for a new one! I received it in the mail this week and wore it for the first time yesterday.

It's a down-filled 3/4 length jacket that has both snaps and a zipper closure. It is so warm and I really love it. But now, of course, the weather is warming up and is supposed to be above freezing next week. Go figure! Oh well, I'm certain there is more cold weather yet to come.

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

Cheryl

Pretty Gingko leaves on a card...

 

This die that cuts a cluster of Gingko leaves is one of my favorites, especially for making sympathy and get well cards. I've showcased it here in a couple of different ways.

This card is quite simply designed. I glued the die-cut to a textured piece of paper, which was glued to a card base.

I stamped a sentiment, cut it out and popped it up on some foam tape. The only embellishement was a few turquoise gems.

This second card used up a scrap of striped paper that was sitting in my stash, begging to be used.

The sentiment was stamped with Versamark and heat embossed with white embossing powder.

Once again, I added some gems for embellishment.

I stamped a sentiment on the inside of both cards.

I did a little research on Gingko leaves, as I knew there was a history of their use in medicine. I found that the medicinal uses of Gingko can be traced back to the Chinese herbal database known as the Materia Medica, which was written about 2800 B.C. The leaves were used for brain disorders, circulatory disorders and respiratory diseases. 

They must have a pretty powerful effect on the human body. I only want the sight of them on my get well cards to help someone feel better!

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

Cheryl