A gift set of notecards!

Good morning!

This week was my SIL birthday so I made her a card with a fall theme! 

I have to admit I played with a few designs and some pattern papers and I just wasn't happy....so I die cut leaves using the MFT  falling Leaves die and just used white cardstock! Well, I fell in love with the white leaves and the detail on the dies is beautiful.  Then I cut a rectangle with stitched edges from the SSS Bundle Of Stitched Shapes and I put the white leaves on the white panel and fell in love! That was the start of the birthday card!  I new I wanted to add some color so I cut a piece to fit the A2 card front and then a strip across. I white embossed the sentiment and gold embossed a leaf! 

Well, I fell in love with the birthday card, so I decided to make her a set of note cards too!  Once I had the birthday card design down...the notecards were easy...some die cutting and embossing and boom a set of note cards!  I made a matching envelope box to put them in...I got 5 note cards and envelopes in the box!  I tied the box with some natural twine and....instant gift!

Thanks for stopping by today!  I would love to know what you think of the cards!

Happy Halloween!!!

Good morning and happy Halloween!

My kiddies went to school in their costumes today and I put a special treat in their lunch boxes (what I posted yesterday!) and they are super excited to go tick or treating tonight!

(Picture taken at parade last weekend)

Here is the spook-tacular card that I made for them this year!  I had a blast using my cricut and cutting the different elements....but I am not good with keeping the details! Sorry!  I believe I used Happy Haunting cartridge. I did use the cricut for all of the elements on the card but to make it a pop up I used an Elizabeth Craft Designs pop up label die...super easy to create cute pop up cards and you can pretty much make any image pop up. Here I made the gravestone scene pop up! 

I used papers from my stash and cut the pieces for the scene depending on where I wanted them! I had fun cutting and assembling this spooky card!  The larger pumpkin on the front of the card is on an action wobble. I used the "critters in costume" stamp set from Lawn Fawn on the front of the card for the sentiment. I also used the "more spooky sayings" stamp set from Cardztv stamps for the sentiments inside the card. I had to alter some of the sentiments to make them fit on the gravestones.

Have a fun and safe Halloween!

I entered this spooky scene card in the SSS Wednesday "anything goes" challenge and the Cardztv "create a spooky scene" challenge. Go check them out!!

I was all set to post and then I forgot I had one more treat to share!  I made these treat boxes for the kids in my Religious Ed class! Cut them using Tags Bags and boxes 2 at the recommended size (getting 2 boxes per 12" sheet of paper) and the little stamped images are from a cheap set of stamps from Michaels many moons ago! I just stamped and cut them out but I needed something quick and easy!

Halloween treats!

Good morning!

I was busy creating some treats for the kiddos for tomorrow!  

I made some Halloween straws for the mini spooky cans of grape soda...I couldn't resist buying these at Target!  I used the Simon Says Stamp "bundle if stitched shapes" for the banners and then traced around it to make a larger banner for the back of the straw.   I stamped some treats and critters on white cardstock using the Lawn Fawn "critters in costume" stamps and colored them with Spectrum noir markers.  The colors I used are OR1, GB5, CT2, CT4, BP6, BT4, BT7, CR10, TB9, PL4, PL5, EB2 and EB5. I am not very good at coloring with shading but I did my best...some I just didn't even shade and just colored, but it's all about having fun! 

I used the coordinating lawn Fawn dies and cut the images out! I adhered the tags to the straw using hot glue!

I made some goody boxes using some paper from my stash and the We R Memory Keepers Candy box Punch Board! Super easy to use and these were created in no time!  I filled with a few if their favorite candies...chocolates!  

I made some small rosettes for the candy boxes using hot glue and then made some embellishments with the same SSS die set.  I used the stitched circle and the stitched star! Super simple and they look super cute on the boxes!

I had fun creating these little goodies for my kids! I am so glad that they are still "into" Halloween! The older they get the more I worry that it will be the last year that they want to participate or dress up! But they are just as excited as when they were little!
I am entering this in the SSS Wednesday Challenge.....anything goes and featuring Spectrum Noir Markers....this project fit the bill!

I will be back tomorrow with a card that I made for the kids and a picture of their costumes!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great afternoon!

Shimmering angels!

Hi there!

I had started this post this morning and then my mom came over and we went out for the day and then the kids got home from school and well you know the drill...dinner, homework etc. So, just getting to it now!

Here is the shimmering angel Christmas card that I made...I made 4 of them. 

This is for the SSS Wednesday  challenge and the caring hearts card drive. You can read about it HERE!  The cards are distributed to the elderly in nursing homes. My kids and I have participated in this before and we just felt so good about it! We actually took a moment on Christmas to think of the elderly folks who received our cards!

So, I started with an A2 white card base and cut a piece of kraft (Neenah desert storm) and used an old wood mount stamp that I had in my stash. I used the stamp a majig to position it on the bottom right and then heat embossed it in white. Then I used the Martha Stewart score board and turned it to the back side and just followed the score lines at a slight diagonal.  I love the subtle texture!  I made a test run on desperate paper to make sure that the embossed lines didn't interfere with the embossed sentiment. It worked perfectly! 

I cut the angels on my cricut using the "joys of the season" cartridge cut at 3 inches. The hair and horn didn't cut nice so I just skipped it and cut the shadow in white and the dress and wings in blue. To add dimension to those pieces, I inked some tumbled glass distress ink on the edges. I used the clear wink of stella pen to add shimmer to the dress and wings. I cut some red hearts using a momma elephant confetti die and coated the hearts with glossy accents. 

I tied some red and white bakers twine and tied it in a bow and used foam tape to adhere the angel. 

There you have it! A card with kraft...which is not my go to for Christmas cards....but I love how this turned out!  This is definately going to be my Christmas card that I send out this year (although these 4 are going to the card drive). My gram passed away this July and she loved angels and I believe that she is my angel and that is why I decided to add the heart, because she will always be in my heart! I thought this was a very fitting card for this year!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great night!

Trick or Treat!

Good morning!

 

I have a fun Halloween card to share this morning!  I just love Lawn Fawn stamps and dies and this "Critters in Costume" set is one of my favorites!  I used a bunch of lawn Fawn products for this card!

I created the background using the "argyle backdrops" stamp,  I used SSS Sunshine ink and black...what a great stamp set and it's so easy to line up to keep creating larger backgrounds.  I added a piece of vellum to just make the tags pop and to mute out the background just a bit. I used the "tag, you're it" dies to cut the tags using two patterned papers. I added some Sunshine twine and tied in a bow. I stamped and colored the cute doggie dressed as a bumble bee and his treat bag with spectrum noir markers and used the coordinating dies to cut them out. I felt like he needed some grass so I used the Lawn Fawn "grassy border" die. Then added some green sequins (I believe) from the "into the woods" collection!  

I am entering this card in the Lawnscaping challenge...this week is to create a Halloween card!

 

 

 

I think this is super cute, not scary, and was a  super fun card to create!

Thanks for coming by today!  Have a great day!

Smart is the new PRETTY!!

Hi there and Happy World Card Making Day!  

It is a dark, rainy, windy day here so we have been inside! The kids made a tent in the living room and I got to make a card with some new My Favorite Things goodies! 

I used some new product as well as some older products (not really that old...only a few months!) 

I started with this weeks MFT sketch

And for the background I used the just released "Proof Positive" die and cut it in white and just layed a piece of teal card stock behind it. (It is showing blue in the pic but it is a beautiful teal color).  Then I cut some scallop circles using a dark pink and an orange (showing yellow in the pic) (sorry it is a dark day here lol!) anyway, I then cut some flowers using the "gerbera daisy" dies. I cut a stitched panel for the back of the sentiment piece using the horizontal stitched strips dies (one of my favs) and then used the technique of partial die cutting to make the piece shorter but still getting the stitched effect all the way around! (Yes, I was very proud of myself for that!) 

I embossed the glasses and the sentiment using versatile and clear embossing powder. The stamps are MFT "Geek is Chic" set, so cute!  My daughter just got glasses this year and she loves them so I thought this set was perfect! I cut around the glasses leaving a small white border and used glossy accents in the lens. I adhered the glasses and the sentiment using foam tape. 

And that sums up that card!  I am working on a few more cards, but it's dinner time here, so gotta run!

Have a great day!

Masculine cards using metallic paper!

Hi there!

I have two masculine birthday cards to share today! They are the same styles but different colors.  I was sorting through paper stacks yesterday and although I managed to get rid of a two foot high pile, I kept this stack of metallic card stock.  I decided to use it on my cards today.

I used  the sailboat die from MFT and some metallic gold, silver, blue and green with some cream card stock as the base. The birthday sentiment is a favorite if mine for masculine cards because it is not scripty and swirly!  I embossed it with gold and silver embossing powders. (The first  card is the silver and the second card is the gold) 

I think they came out great and look quite masculine! What do you think?

I am entering this card in the SSS "transportation" challenge in the SSS Wednesday challenge blog! 

Thanks for stopping by today!

Shimmer and shine!

Good morning!

I have a card to share that I made for my niece's  birthday!  She is the big "double digit"...yup, that's right 10 years old!!!!! 

So, this is her birthday card this year!

Here is a better picture of the true colors and all of that shimmer! 

The image is from Stamping Bella "uptown girl Bianca loves her big cake".  I think this stamp is great and was simple to color using spectrum noir markers. I really don't shade very well with them so other than her dress and her hair there is no shading, just straight coloring. But either way I think it came out great. 

The image is large, so I made the card tall to accommodate the sentiment and ribbon. The card is 4 1/4 x 7.  I wanted matching strips of paper in the sides, so I used the same color marker as the frosting and just colored a white strip of paper then added some wink of stella shimmer. I tied the bow and used foam tape to pop the center panel. Then added some gold shimmer enamel dots! Super fun shimmer card complete!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Home is where your HEART is....

Another post for today! Yay!  I had some time yesterday to create a bit and some more time today while I am doing laundry! Doesn't take much to make me happy lol...even if it entails folding the laundry!!

I have been subscribed to Catherine Poolers you tube channel for quite a few months now.  She is always so cheerful and clearly loves to play...as it shows in her final cards.  She also has a simplicity to her style, which is another great feature.  So , she redesigned her website catherine pooler.com and is hosting a housewarming party on her blog!  There is a challenge and some really great prizes!  You can check out the party and challenge HERE!

Here is the card I made using none other than a house...lol, what's a housewarming party without a house. Right??!!

I used the SSS "where your heart is" stamp set and matching dies.  I used some crate paper and the BG is a Heidi Swapp Sugar Chic.  I used the die for the house and used 3 pink patterns and then used the matching stamp and stamped it in versafine onyx black ink. I also used the cloud die in the set and some grey paper with hearts and then stamped the outline in black.  I added some punched hearts. I used a cream strip and made  banner ends on each end. For the sentiment, I needed it to fit across the banner but it was a stacked sentiment, so I masked off parts and stamped it out. 

The finished card size is 5x7.

Happy colors

Good morning!

Today's card just makes me happy...I love the pink and orange color combo! (not sure why there is so much blue showing....there is no blue on the card, it is on a white card base...and I took the picture outside...so hmmm!
 

 I used 3 different gelatos (guava, bubblegum and tangerine) for the background and just smeared them on a 4x5 1/4 piece of Tim Holtz watercolor cardstock (using the textured side) and spritzed it with water and used my finger to blend the colors and smooth them out!   While it was still wet, I put a stencil (circles by clear scraps) on top and wiped away some of the color...this leaves a faint pattern and I love the look.  I let it all dry and then using a mini triangle stencil (Heidi Swapp minis) with some white embossing paste I applied a thin smooth layer.   When that was dry I added some wink of stella clear glitter on top of the triangles. Now the white embossing paste did pick up some of the color from the gelatos, but I am ok with that. 

The "happy" banner is from the SSS Father's Day set...I masked the rest of the sentiment, used versamark ink on doll pink cardstock and white heat embossed it, then I just cut around leaving a small pink border. The birthday script sentiment is a die from the SSS happy birthday set.  I cut it out of white cardstock 4 times and adhered them together for more dimension.  I used some pink thread and made a best then adhered the sentiments. For a girly touch (and because it makes me happy) I added some clear rhinestones. 

I made this card for the SSS Wednesday challenge....create a background using stencils and they are  featuring Faber Castel Gelatos! 
 

Thanks for stopping by today! 

I love fall critters!

Good morning!

I feel like I am always starting my blog posts with "I have been MIA because..." But it seems to happen that way anyway.  We had a great start back to school and are still adjusting to our new schedule now that both kiddos go to the middle school!  They have done great so far, although I have to admit that I HATE making lunches at 6:30 am....ack!   My son has been in miserable pain with his elbow for weeks now and seems to have been misdiagnosed...he has two growth plate fracture (finally found after a 3rd opinion with a surgeon) and is getting an MRI done this week...pretty stinky!

Ok, so enough about life happenings around here....here is a quick and cute card that I made for the Lawnscaping challenge that is currently going on!  I haven't participated in quite a while so I was happy to be able to join in the fun!

The challenge is to create a one layer card....no dimension, no added 3D effects! Fun right!  I knew I wanted to use some masking paper for this challenge...I've never used it before lol! 

I started with white card stock...if I had to do it again I would have used kraft.  I cut a label shape with a spellbinders die and used a t ruler to get the mask centered and straight.  I used hero arts 'cup o joe' brown ink and lightly inked the card front. Then I used the wood grain stencil from clear scraps and the same ink just a heavier hand. Removed the mask and voila...came out so cute. Then I added the mask to the front and stamped the critters from 'into the woods' by Lawn Fawn in brown staz on ink. Oh and the sentiment is from the set also.  I colored the critters using spectrum noir markers and used a black gel pen for the eyes and noses. 

And there you have a quick, fun, one layer card!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Hi there...cute critters!

Hi!  Here is a cute card that I made for the "Stretch Your Stamps 2" card class.  We were learning about outline stamps and u thought these cute images from Lawn Fawn "critters in the burbs" would be fun.

 To stretch my stamps, I decided to stamp them on pattern paper and fussy cut them. I very rarely if ever stamp onto pattern paper so this was fun.  I used Lawn Fawn Hello Sunshine and let's Polka papers for all the pieces and stamped on them and fussy cut each one.  When I laid the card out some of the images needed to be stamped and then paper pieced, like the butterfly, dog head and tire, only because the antennae, the rope and the dog hair would be hard to cut out!  I know the card is busy, but I wanted to add colors and critters and some dimension. The cute stitched sun and clouds are from the Spring Showers dies. The grass was cut using the "grass border" die and the speach bubble was stamped and cut using the "chit chat" stamp and dies!

A super cute way to use those cute critter stamps and Lawn Fawn has the cutest ever critters!!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great afternoon! 

Happy Birthday...word art!

Good morning! 

Here I have two cards to share.  I made these a few days ago but the kids have had me too busy to post!  We are getting our last lucks in before school starts in a few weeks. 

For the first card, I stamped some SSS doll pink, Audrey blue and then a green from my stash using SSS matching inks...for the green cardstock u used SSS Apple green ink.  I used SSS birthday stamps and just stamped in the paper being careful not to leave too many gaps.  Then I used the SSS balloons die to die cut some balloons (I had enough for the two cards)!   For the background, I stamped the happy birthday sentiment using stays on black ink repetitively.  I thought it was too dark for the BG so I cut a piece of vellum and muted it.  I added some black bakers twine and added some sequins.  I think the bold colors with the black and white looks cool. 

For the second card here...I used the same balloon die cuts. For the BG I used a die cut cloud and used it as a template and added some tumbled glass distress ink. I kept moving the cloud die cut creating a soft cloud background. It was such a fun technique to try and I love how it turned out.  I die cut a sun from a Lawn Fawn set.  I embossed the sentiment and added a scallop border frame from vellum.  I used coordinating bakers twine in the balloons and added some wink of stella glitter to the sun and the pink balloon. 

 The consensus from the family was that they all liked the second card the best! 

I made these for the "Stretch your Stamps 2" in line card class!  We are learning fun ways to use our stamps in different ways!  Using the different birthday sentiments on a die cut was one of the fun techniques we learned! 

Thanks for stopping by today! 

It is. Dreary day here so the kiddos are going to do some baking and make a card for the SSS kids challenge!  Hopefully I will be back later with their creations! 

Xoxo

Hi again!  Here is a quick card that I made today while I was making lunch!  I have a 10 y/o daughter and a 12 y/o son and all I hear all day is "mom I'm hungry" or "mom what can you make me to eat"...I am always in the kitchen!  So, I decided to whip up a card while I was once again in the kitchen lol!

This is for the "stretch your stamps 2" class that I'm taking.  

 I started with a piece of white card stock and I white embossed a Hero Arts stamp.  I used a few shades of pink and orange distress inks and blended them to be an ombré effect!  I love the look and the colors! I die cut a scallop heart out of vellum and a white heart using a PTI die. I used the same color inks and blended them. I tried to be light so it would blend like the background but my hand was too heavy. Then I accidentally crinkled the paper so I crumbled it and sprayed with water and added some perfect pearls on top. I zapped it with the heat gun and assembled the card.  The xo die was in my stash (cut from the cricut) so I left it white and cut tiny strips of foam tape to add it to the card front.  Super simple but a cute card!

How sweet it is............

Here is a cute card that I created for the class that I'm currently taking called "stretch your stamps 2". it is an on line card class with great instructors. You can check it out here.

we learned a fun technique where you use alphabet stamps to create some word art on your die cuts. I thought this fun ice pop die from sizzix would be a fun one to try the technique on. I used Lawn Fawns "Clarks abc's" and started with a white die cut ice pop, then using some PTI inks and SSS sunshine ink, I stamped a word over and over on the image making one line the actual word and then scattering the other letters. You can see the words sun and fun were used.  I then inked over the whole image with the same ink and then added  the wooden popsicle sticks as an after thought.  I think it turned out super cute. 

Here is a close up of the popsicles. I added some wink of stella glitter to them as well.

I used SSS sea glass paper and then a SSS dot stencil and sea glass ink for the BG and then used versamark over the stencil and added some clear embossing powder....originally I wanted to use clear embossing paste but realized I didn't have any so this was a good substitute.  I die cut a frame using a PTI scallop frame and inked it with SSS orange ink. I white embossed the sentiment on vellum using the SSS 'filled with love' stamp set and then using the same stamp set and die I created a little tag and tied it with bakers twine on the popsicle.
I think it turned out super cute and I love the use of the alphabet stamp, such a clever idea to dress up a die cut.
Thanks for stopping by today!

Celebrate...masculine style!

Hi again! 

I'm back with another card that I made for the "stretch your stamps 2" class!  

This one is a masculine birthday card....

I started with the Hero Arts "square pattern" background stamp and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder.  I used broken china, tumbled glass, spiced marmalade and mustard seed distress inks. I went in a diagonal pattern and kind of faded it towards the top corner. Then I cut a strip out at a diagonal and used foam tape to adhere to the front of the card. I used a MFT "celebrate" stamp and stamped it with SSS orange peel ink directly to the card base.  I thought it needed an accent so I inked some paper using the blue inks and the SSS star parade die and cut some stars. I adhered them to the front using glossy accents. 

A super simple masculine birthday card!

Colorful Hugs!

Good morning!

I am enjoying the newest class at online classes.com called "stretch your stamps 2"!  There are great instructors and great techniques! 

Here are the two cards from the first days assignment....

Both of these cards were made from one watercolored background! How cool is that!  I love a two for card! 

I white heat embossed a Hero Arts stamp called "Square Pattern"....it's probably an older stamp as I got it a CKC for only $5! But I thought it was a great stamp to use.  I embossed it in white on watercolor paper. I didn't get a super crisp image but I think it turned out "useable".  I did it in rainbow order. Then I used a SSS large "hugs" die and cut it out near the bottom left corner...I got a little too close to the corner. I then trimmed the card base. 

For the first card I used the positive hugs cut and adhered it to black card stock with an extra strip at the bottom.  I used glossy accents on the sentiment and adhered the card to a yellow card base. 

For the second card I used the negative space and adhered that to a black background and then onto a white card base.  I thought it needed something else. I cut the speech bubble from a SSS die and cut it in black and white. I trmed a white frame and glued it to the black piece.  I embossed the sentiment in white  (from a SSS set) and used foam tape to adhere to the front of the card! 

I love how both cards turned out with the pop of black and the fact that I got two cards out of it was even better! 

Ok, so we are on day 3 of class and I only got the two cards done, but I'm spending the afternoon with the kids outside!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

#friends

Hi there!

Here is a card that my 10 year old daughter Samantha made yesterday. It was a rainy day and she wanted to get crafty.  I recently went to the CKC in Lancaster PA and bought a ton of Lawn Fawn stamps and dies and Art Impression stamps. I was so excited to see them IRL and actually have them in my hands.  I bought this one particular stamps because I knew my daughter would get a kick out of it....she's always taking selfies and laughs at me when I do. 

       Card created by Samantha age 10

She created this for the Simon Says Stamp Summer Vacation Kids Challenge!!!   Great idea SSS and thank you!!   You will need to check it out for details but what a great idea!  My daughter was super excited to enter a challenge and be entered to win a SSS goody bag! 



She was excited to stamp this fun image and color it using my spectrum noir markers....I tried to show her how to shade and add depth, but she didn't want to do that! LOL!  I think she did a great job...especially for not having any patience lol!  She did all of the inking and stamping herself and was happy to use the SSS inks and the stamp press to line the sentiments up!  She added some colorful paper (from my stash) to the background and added some sequins.....again having no patience for small details!  Overall, I think she did a fabulous job!  Although she had fun creating it, she was glad to be done and to get back on her I pad....she said, "phew mom, now I know what you go through!" I had to laugh!!


 

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