Just a Happy Card

Boy did I have fun making this card.  I bought this wonderful 8x8 paper pack Sasparilla from October Afternoon at the last craft show I attended.  It's all cowboy/cowgirl themed paper and I thought it would be great for kid cards.  Well surprise, surprise so far all the cards I've made are for adults. 
While I was making this card (and it was so simple, just cut along the lines and glue to the card base) the song kept singing in my head and it really made me smile.
A day or so after making the card I talked to my sister and she was having a down day so I said to myself; self I said send this girl a happy card, so I did.  On top of that I didn't sign it I just enclosed a note and an extra envelope so she could pass it on to someone else who needs a happy card.  This could start a whole new trend.
Anyway I hope you like it and thanks for stopping by.  I will be posting the other cards I made from this set over the next few days.

This is the card I made for my nephew Dylan on the completion of his training at barber school.  We are so proud of him, he's very good.
I made this card some time ago so I don't remember all the details except that I wanted it to be relatively simple and manly.  The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink and the stars are also from Papertrey dies.
The paper is this lovely shiny stuff that is so pretty.
Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by.

Tara's Card

I really haven't forgotten about posting my cards, I've been so busy that I didn't have much time to make cards, but things have settled down and I'm baaaack!

One card that I had to make was for a special girl, our granddaughter who is starting college this year and I wanted to make something special for her.  I had this gorgeous DP from the Paper Studio called Multi-colored Damask, such gorgeous colors.  The card stock is Jelly Bean Green and Passionate Pink from Gina K.  The Lily is from the Stampin Up set Long Stemmed.  I just stamped it with Memento Tuxedo Black and lightly edged the inside with Copic marker YG03.  I added the border (from an EK Success punch) backing it with more of the green.  When I had it taped down I realized that I had not punched it quite right do I added the flat back pearls to cover it up.   Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by.                                                       

Another Crayon Experiment

I really had a great color pallette for this card.  The card base is a deep dark brown and the plaid is from my scrap drawer.  I still had some of the ovals left and that worked as a background for my flower.  I colored with the oranges from my box of Crayola crayons and cut it out.  I shaped the petals a bit so that it sits up a bit, using glue dots only in the center.
Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by.

At my last Card Ministry meeting we had a discussion about holding some craft retreats again in the fall.  We discussed several options of topics to play around with and this is one that I came up with.  I thought it would be fun to see what a card would look like when colored with plain old crayons.  So the other day I pulled out a couple of old favorite stamps that are of the line art type and went back to kindergarten and had a whole bunch of fun.  My first task was to set up my card base and find a DP that would work, I found this piece in my scrap drawer and it provided a good color pallette for me to work with.  Then I dumped out my Crayola box of 24 colors and used the red/violet hues along with the yellow/green colors.  It really is so much fun to play with colors and crayons are just as much fun as ever.  After I had the flower colored I took a grey crayon and outlined the petals for a little bit of shading.  I mounted the image onto a piece of burgundy card stock and then stamped the sentiment on a double ended strip of card stock.  I did one more card with crayons and I'll post that one tomorrow.  Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by.

Double Stamping

Double stamping seems to be a popular technique lately.  Several of the card making videos I've watched lately have used this technique (which of course has been around forever) and it is very effective.  This particular stamp from Inkadinkado works well with double stamping. I used a kraft card base, rounding off the edges and then matted a chocalate brown card stock, also rounded.  To add some interest I layered some of my Simply Jane DP from Papertrey Ink on top of that after I rounded the edge and swiped some Chamomile ink arond the edges.  After I stamped my images I stamped the sentiment over it with Memento Rich Cocoa, matted it with a softer brown and assembled the card.  I love making Thinking of You cards, they can be used for any occasion.
Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by. 

The Lone Fisherman

This card shows off some of the other translucent DP from The Paper Comapny called Swirly White that I found in my supplies.  I wanted to use some of my stamps that have been sitting idle for way to long and I needed a masculine card so I combined the three thoughts and came up with this card.  The card base is a very deep purple from Gina K (I think).  The stamps are from two different comapanies, Seagulls from Stampendous, Fisherman and Sunrise/Sunset are from Northwoods Rubber Stamps.  Once again I used a leftover oval die cut to make my focal point.  I just lightly colored the birds, the clouds and some of the water and made the sun pop out brightly.  Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by.

Happy Birthday Kristi

This is a card that I made for my cousin Kristi,  She's a beautiful girl and so terrific as an artist that I try very hard to come up with a cool card for her.  Well this one was almost a no brainer for me.  I wanted to do something pretty and feminine for her and to me that means pink.  The Swirly White translucent card stock from The Paper Comapny over the pink card base was my jumping off point.  Then I chose this Gina K butterfly for my focal point.  I stamped it with Memento Tuxedo Black and went over it with a black Copic Spica pen, it has a touch of gold shine to it that you can't see without tilting the card.  I colored the butterfly with various pink Copic markers, added a couple of pink gems and was done.  Hope she likes it and that you do also.  Thanks for stopping by.

Bach on Black

While going through my boxes of stamps I came across some old favorites and decided to ink them up.  I've used this stamp from Inkadinkado several times years ago, it was one of my first stamp buys, but I always struggled with the layout for the card.  This card just fell together.  I stamped the image on white with Memento Tuxedo Black and then just layered it on black, white and black then onto a white card base.  The sentiment on white then black and the card was done.  I'm not sure just who this pianist is but for my card I call him Bach.  It works for my post title.  Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by. 

Pretty in Pink

Did you ever have what you thought was a really good idea, start it and then have it fizzle on you???  This card is the result of that process.  While going through my DP's I found this gorgeous translucent DP from the Paper Comapny called Floral Dainty that I had forgotten about ( I also found some others that I'll show in the future) and had to come up with a way to use it.  I went ahead and set up the DP with card stock that showed it off the best, then I had no idea about what to do from there.  Luckily while I was sleeping it came to me.  I remebered the cards I made using DP's as wall paper and thought of this twist on that idea.  I had been going through my boxes of stamps and came across so many that had not been used in a long time and needed some loving.  This flower is one I'm very fond of and it is from Stamps by Judith.  I had some of these ovals left over from other cards I made so I stamped it in Memento Rich Cocoa, colored it with Copics and edged it with Papertrey Ink's Chamomile.  A brad and some ribbon finished it off.    Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by.

Starting Christmas Early

I mentioned in a previous post that I wanted to start making my Christmas cards early, so here's the first one.  I pulled out Papertrey Ink set Nativity to start with.  Lucky me I found some die cuts in with the set so this card went together fast.  I used Memento Cantaloupe and Morocco for the sun and the star and Rich Cocoa for the rest, took me all of maybe 5 minutes.  Love this kraft card stock from Ellen Hutson.
Hope you like it and thanks fro stopping by.

A Comfy Robe

When you're not feeling well a comfy robe feels so good while laying on the couch sipping hot tea and trying to rest.  Not too long ago I saw this kraft card stock on Ellen Hutson's web site and thought it looked like a really good thing to try.  Well let me tell you it's gorgeous, so smooth and just the right color.  While trying to fall asleep the other night I got to thinking about it and the left over card parts I had sitting around and came up with this card.  The robe is a Lockhart stamp from ellenhutson.com as is the sentiment (there's a tissue box that goes with it also).  Inside I stamped another sentiment  that says 'get comfy,rest and get better'.  I stamped the robe on the front of the translucent card stock and clored from behind using RV69 Peony, it has kind of a cashmere look.
Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by.

Christmas Tags

When I was done making the wedding rehearsal invitations I had 36 of these cut outs left, so I had to come up with a way to use them.  The obvious way was to use them on the front of cards but there are just so many ways to go with that idea and I wanted something different.  While talking to my sister Ann I mentioned that I was going to get started making Christmas cards (her response was 'great I get first dibs') and that got me thinking about gift tags.  I hauled out my Christmas stamps,all from Papertrey Ink, and whipped these out in no time at all, I just have to find my TO and FROM stamps and I'll be all set.  Hope you like them and thanks for stopping by.

Long Stemmed Flowers

When I had finished making the wedding rehearsal invitations I was left with some card parts so I decided to use some of them up.  My 6 card ministry cards were due so that's what I decided to work on.
The Stampin Up set had the iris and paperwhite flowers in it along with the calla lily and one other (I can't think of what it is at the moment) but I only wanted to use these three flowers.  I used the same format of translucent card stock for the flowers and then Cryogen white for the card base and the overlay.  The overlay was cut with the oval Nestabilitie then embossed with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder.  The flowers were stamped on the front and colored from the back using Copics.
I'm happy with how they turned out and I hope the ladies I send them to will enjoy them.  Hope you like them and thanks for stopping by.

Rehearsal Dinner Invite

Four years ago I had the pleasure of making the rehearsal dinner invitations for my nephew Steve's wedding, this summer his brother is getting married and I asked my sister if I could do the same thing for Greg.  She was more than happy to let me.  The process of designing the card was easy this time because I wanted to do the same basic idea but with a twist.  The bride (Erin) chose Calla Lilies in eggplant for her flowers and I took that and ran (after getting her ok of course).  Let me tell you it was hard finding a calla lily that I liked, but I finally found a Stampin Up set on ebay that had this calla lily in it (the set is called Long Stemmed and has 4 different flowers so it was a real bargain).  I wanted to use Cryogen white card stock since it is a somewhat creamy white and has a shimmer to it, beautiful.  I knew that I wanted to use clear translucent card stock to stamp my image on so I found some Core'dinations packs on sale and I was all set.

I stamped the image on the front and colored from the back for a softer effect.  The stems are done with YG03 and G99, the flowers Have YG03 then RV95 with RV69 along the edges then blended with RV95. Whew.  To mount them I cut a 4x5 1/4 piece of Cryogen white and cut out the center with Nestabilities Label 4, which I then ran thru my Cuttlebug with a Sizzix embossing folder, I'm not sure what the correct name is but I call it Hearts & Flowers.
For the inside I typed up the details and printed onto more of the clear translucent card stock and mounted it to another piece of Cryogen white that I cut out with a Papertrey Ink die Card Base-ICS #1.  I used score tape to attach it to the back top of the that.   After adding a snapshot of the happy couple I packaged them all up and shipped them off to my sister to be mailed out to the lucky invitees.
I am so looking forward to this wedding.
Hope you like these and thanks for stopping by.

Wedding Shower Favor bag

The cards that I made for the wedding shower favors had to be in a fun packaging.  I remembered one of the Papertrey Ink design team members making similar (ok exactly like)bags.  I used the Front and Center #1 die to make the front and back parts and cut down some small white lunch bags that I picked up at Michael's for the center.  To embellish I used a Nestabilities Heart die and added the bride & grooms initials with a stamped heart (Stamps by Judith) in between.  After punching a small hole in the corner of the heart it was easy to attach it to the bag with a piece of ribbon.  I was really happy the way they turned out and they made a festive addition to the table decorations.  BTW the guests loved the cards but I think they loved the cookies (made by one of the other aunts) that were another part of the party favors more, at least I did.
Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by.

House Cards

 One day many months ago I had too much time on my hand and I started to make card bases.  For some unknown reason I made several of these gatefold cards.  Then I just had no inspiration to make anything with them.  That is until one night when I was trying to fall asleep (and having no luck) I remebered an idea I had when going thruough my stash of DP.  Several of the DCVW paper pads had the look of wallpaper.  Thus this card was born.  I actually made 6 of these cards to send out to my card ministry people.  I used two sets, one is from Art Impressions, Doorways.  The main set is a doorway, then there are sets for every two months with different themes.  I used elements from the April/May set and the Feb./March set to decorate the front of the card.
Then going inside I used Papertrey Inks Chair-ished and On My Couch setsfor the furniture and wall art.  I had so much fun making these cards and best of all I used up all the gatefold cards.  One more part of my stash gone.

Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by.

A Lighthouse

I have always loved Art Impression stamps and was thrilled to find this stamp at the Scrapbooking convention last month.  It's funny, since I already have the different elements as individual stamps and have used them in different configurations but this stamp just wowed me.  I wanted to keep my card somewhat subdued so that if someone wanted to they could use it as a sympathy card or a masculine birthday card.  I kept the coloring very monochromatic and the matting and card base carried that on.  I hope you like it and thanks for stopping by.

Another Wedding Card

Making 50 wedding cards was one of the tougher projects for me.  There are just so many ways to be creative and this was one of them.  I had this gorgeous DP that has been in my supplies for a very long time and just had to find a way to use it.  Of course I didn't want to cover it up so I went looking for my bridal flowers and stacked them used a Copic marker to add a little color and anchored them with a heart brad.  I love the way it turned out and I hope you do also.  Thanks for stopping by.

Trendy Trees

One of the newer sets from Papertrey Ink is Trendy Trees and it has matching dies (of course).  What fun it was to make this card and so easy.  The card base is Smokey Shadow and is also from Papaertrey Ink.  I rubbed a little Vintage Cream ink along the edges to soften it up a bit.  I cut the trees from brown and tan card stock and the circles from yellow and tan.  On the one yellow circle I stamped one of the images from the set and popped the little bird from the middle tree onto one of it's branches. ( Hate to waste a birdie.) The DP is just a piece of scrap from my stash and the same goes for the piece I used for the sentiment.  The sentiment is from the same set, I just love the font.
Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by.

Wainsot Technique

This weeks technique demo at StampTV was how to make wainscoting by Gina K.  What a really neat idea.  I was in the process of finishing up the last of the cards for the wedding shower and needed some masculine cards and these worked out perfectly. 
You can see the video here, and believe me it is so simple.
I chose to make two cards and use images from JustRite's By the Sea set for my focal point.
My card base is Kraft, then a layer of Chocolate Brown and the technique was done on another layer of Kraft, all from Gina K.  I used Memento Desert Sand for the distressing and for the card on the left I used the mountain side of the card stock.  The card on the right is the same format but I used the valley side of the card stock.
I like how they turned out what do you think?  Thanks for stopping by.

Dash Dalton Rides Again

When I went to the scrabooking convention with my friend Sandy I picked up the Sasparilla paper pad from October Afternoon.  What a fun set.
I always think that boys just have to love cowboys and this sparked an idea for a card.  It's an 8 x 8 pad and I'm sure it's meant for a scrapbook but I had to make a card with this sheet.

I chose to cut the strip up into segments and make a comic book card out of it.  I couldn't fit it all onto the inside so the last panels had to go on the back.  I hope you like it and thanks for stopping by.

Questionable

I don't know if I like this card or not, very ambivelent about it.
Part of the project for making the party favors for the weeding shower was the packaging.  These oval purple things were leftovers from the cutting out.  I had them laying on the table and started playing around with them and thought they looked like a flower so I stuck them together and layered them onto this card.  Then added the rhinestones and set it aside.  I decided to post it and see if any one else had a thought about it.  Let me know.

Flowered Vellum

I went with my friend Sandy to a scrap booking show a week or so ago and of course the amount of gorgeous paper there was astounding.  This vellum was one of the many that caught my eye and just had to buy.  I attached it to a card base from Memory Box called Squash, a very pretty yellow.  Since it is the focal point of this card I just added the sentiment (another of the bits and pieces I've had laying around) and attached it with some ribbon from Gina K.  Sometimes when I make these cards I just want to keep them but of course this is going into the favor packets.
Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by.

Wedding Silhouette

Part of my project for the wedding shower favors is wedding cards.  For this card I had this pin striped DP that reminds me of a man's suit.  I thought it would be great as a background for a more masculine card.  I realize that's kind of silly in this case since all of these cards are going to women, but who knows, maybe a husband or boyfriend might swipe this card to send to a buddy hmmm?
Anyways, this photo doesn't really show the color combo correctly, since the first layer is not quite as coppery as it looks in the picture.  the silhouette of the couple on the heart is from the Papertrey Ink set Simply Jane and is embossed in Old Gold embossing powder (some I've had in my drawer for years).  One of the things I've enjoyed most about this project is using products and items that have been sitting around for a looooong time in my desk and on my shelves.  I've really gotten the bug to dig out stamps not inked in awhile and create.
Hope you like this card and thanks for stopping by.

Beautiful Embossed Butterfly

I had used some of this DP for a birthday card for my friend Karen last month and had to finish up using the rest of it.  This card was a result.  With paper this pretty I really didn't want to cover it up too much so I just cut out a butterfly using the Papertrey Ink die from Beautiful Butterflies and then ran it through my Cuttlebug with and embossing folder.  After adding some small flat back pearls and the sentiment it was done.  A very simple, easy card to make and went into the pile of cards for the shower favors (or maybe I can keep it for myself ????
Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by.

Blue Clouds

This was a really fun card to make.  I just used Papertrey Ink dies for all the elements on this card.  So easy since I used my new Vagabond.  I used the dies from In the Meadows for the hills, the trees from Trendy Trees and the clouds from Up, Up and Away.  I didn't wand to waste the little bird form the tree so I set him on the hill to hunt for worms and since the sky was white I had to go with blue clouds.  I used Memento Sky Blue to edge the clouds and Memento Bamboo Leaves to edge the lower hill.
Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by.

A Birthday Elephant

I've been so busy making cards for the wedding shower favors that I haven't taken the time to post about them.  things have calmed down a bit now so I can catch up on my posting.
I have had this card base sitting on my desk for over a year now and just made time to use it.  I loved this DP and I can't even begin to remember where it came from.  It reminds of the children's books about Babar, so when Papertrey Ink came out with the Tremendous Treats: Birthday set I just had to use it for this card.  It's a charming set and so fun for children's birthday cards.  I stamped the image a colored with Copics and then stamped the curly q underneath to imply grass.  Since I didn't want to cover up the DP too much I kept the mats small and just added the sentiment.
Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by.

Paige's Graduation

I made this card for a granddaughters high school graduation.  The invitation is a very sophisticated black, red and silver so I tried to use it as my inspiration.  I went to my card stock supply and pulled out some black, red and cream card stock.  I didn't have a silver that I liked so I chose a sparkly cream instead, the red is also sparkly.
I used Papertrey Ink sets Congrats All Ways and For the Grad.  Using the Papertrey dies Mat Stack 1 and Layerz Mat Stack 1 I cut out a black layer and a cream layer and embossed the sentiment and the graduation hat in black.   I used some dimensionals to attach it to the card base over some ribbon from Gina K.
Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by.

Pop Up Cards

Oh is this fun. This is what is inside the cards I posted yesterday.  The geniuses at Papertrey Ink came up with dies to make the inside (and outside) of cards such fun.  They have a series of dies from their Feb. release that you can use for all kinds of fun things.  The Movers and Shakers Poppers die collection had this spring die as one of the three in the set.  I cut the spring out of matching card stock and then used four of the Flower Fusion dies and stamps to add to it.  I can't wait to make some similar cards for kids.
I hope that the ladies I sent these cards to enjoyed them and I hope you enjoy them also.
Thanks for stopping by.
P.S. the Papertrey blog site has videos on how to use these dies if you are curious.  It's a little hard to find but if you want just email me and I'll send you the link.

Sunflower Cards

In my quest to use up existing supplies I made these cards.  All the bases are from Ellen Hutson in various colors and all the DP is Memory Box also from various paper pads.  I used Papertrey Ink's Simple Sunflower Mini stamp set and it's matching die.  I just love how these cards came together.  The bases and DP's were some of the ones I put together and set aside for future use (great how that works out).  I used the dies to cut out the flowers and leaves (there are two sizes of flowers and leaves in this set and I used the smaller of them) then stamped them in colors to coordinate with the DP's.  I placed them on the card bases and needed something else to finish off the fronts.  Again I looked at my cluttered desk and found some Double Ended Banners (Papertrey die)that I had left over from a previous card making frenzy.  So I pulled out my Papertrey Ribbon Tails stamp set and colored them and added sentiments.  I made these cards for my Card Ministry mailings.  the really fun thing is what inside.  I'll show you that tomorrow.
Hope you like these and thanks for stopping by.

Year of Flowers

While I was in Sarasota I ordered Melanie Muenchinger's Year of Flowers book/magazine from Annie's Attic and was fascinated with the designs and cards created with this stamp set from Gina K.  I had the Year of Flowers line art set but not the Pressed Flowers set that is designed to match.  I'm not sure just what this flower is but I really had fun using it.
First off is the card base, Pool from Ellen Hutson and the DP is from Memory Box Minuet.
I stamped the flower first with Memento Blue Sky then used a Memento marker Bahama Blue to highlight around the center after I used the Memento marker in Cantaloupe to color it.
I then used Nestabilities circle to cut it out and a Scalloped circle to cut out the mat in Memory Box Granny Smith (really close match to the tiny leaves in the DP).
Side note: when you order Memory Box paper packs from Ellen Hutson they give a list of the Memory Box card stock colors that match the DP's, very helpful.
I happened to glance at the top of my very cluttered desk and saw this ribbon laying there (not sure where it's from, I think it was a freebie) and noticed that it was a good match for my card, so I ran it down the front and pleated it a bit at the bottom.E
Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by.

Finally

I have been thinking of you,  I have been making cards over the last few months but just haven't posted any.  It's been strange since we got back from Florida.  First I got sick and than just haven't been able to catch up.  But I've decided to post what I've mad in the last few days and and also post some that I made while in Sarasota.  Ah Sarasota, what a wonderful time we had there.  (Shaking my head to get the memories out and get back to work).
First thing I thought of doing was using up some of the supplies I've had for awhile along with some new stuff I got.  While in Sarasota I placed an order from the Feb. release.  Part of that order was the Beautiful Butterflies Stamp set and the dies that go with it. 
My supplies that I had on hand to use were Memory Box card stock and patterned papers.  Looking at all the paper I have one would think I'm just a tad bit obsessive.  Not really I just love the colors and designs.  So I grabbed all I had and started cutting and layering card bases.  After I let them sit for a day or so I pulled out several stamp sets and dies and got to work.  For this one I used Memory Box Pixie DP and for the card base Ellen Hutson Wisteria, the DP is two sided so I used a trimmed off piece to stamp the sentiment and added a few pink rhinestones and was done.
Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by.

Happy Birthday Bea

Today is my sister's birthday and this is the card I sent to her.  While I was up on the Gina K or maybe it was the Stamp TV site I saw an ad for Hancock Fabrics having a sale in the Janome Sew Mini.  I've been wanting to try sewing on cards but my machine at home is a big one and just hate to drag it out for one card.  Well we were driving down the street a few days later and I saw the sign for Hancock Fabrics and talked Bruce into turning around and letting me see if they still had any.  They did so I bought one, then of course I had to buy thread and bobbins and needles.  This was my first attempt at sewing on a card and needless to say I am going to have to practice a lot more.  I used the Papertrey Ink's All Booked Up set for the card and Background Basic Text Style on the blue layer and on the book mark.
Hopefully I will be able to master the art of sewing on cards and future efforts will be better.
Thanks for stopping by.  (You'll notice I didn't ask if you like it or not, I'm not pushing it)

Silver and Black

When I packed up my card making stuff to bring to Florida I found this black and silver foil DP form Hot Off the Press.  It doesn't look like much in the photo but it is gorgeous in real life.  I had to find a way to use it with out covering it up.  So this is what I did.  First I embossed this image from Papertrey Ink's anniversary set Iconic Images with silver embossing powder on black card stock cut out with Nestabilities Labels 4.  Then cut out a silver mat and another black mat in larger sizes.  I had a narrow strip of the silver card stock (also from Hot Off the Press) that I ran across the card to sort of ground the image.  I placed the layers on the strip and was done.  I really wish I had a better photo imaging system so you could see just how beautiful this DP is but I don't, so you can't.  Some lucky person is going to get it in their favor package at the wedding shower in May.  Or maybe I'll just keep it, hmmm.
Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by.

Simply Jane

The Papertrey Ink release in January had this gorgeous set called Simply Jane that has a matching set of dies and also DP designed by Dawn McVey.  What fun to work with.  I didn't have a chance to work with it right away but when I got the chance I played hard.  This is one of my favorites.  I layered some of the DP onto my card base and then used the dies to cut out the frame and silhouette.  Of course it didn't look great against the patterned paper so I used a Nestabilities to cut out a dark brown oval to place under the images.  The frame and silhouette were stamped with Memento Desert Sand.  I realize it's very hard to see the sentiment but it is also stamped in Desert Sand.  I used a technique shown on a Papertrey Make It Monday video on January 31st.  The idea is to stamp the sentiment onto a banner and make it stand out by folding it back and forth.  I used the back side of the DP and think it turned out well.
Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by.

Crafting in Sarasota

Just thought I'd share the view from the area I'm using as my craft desk.  I actually have two tables set up in an L shape here (this photo taken before I got it set up).  I'm having fun doing my thing in this location, the window is really a sliding door (three sliders wide) and I open them up as far as I can and enjoy the breeze and warm air.  Often taking a break and sitting by the pool to think up a new design.  I've made 35 cards so far and need to make a lot more to reach my goal.  I want to have an average of 10 cards a week and I'm about 15 behind.  I'll try to post some of the cards I've made but they will be short on details since I haven't been keeping records.
Back to work now.  Thanks for stopping by.

Thank You to the Troops

I recently had the opportunity to help my cousin Mary with a wonderful project she started last year.  Mary puts together some care packages to send with troops being deployed.  Mostly it's coffee, but she includes tea and I think hot chocolate and some goodies for them to have on those infrequent down times when they can relax.  There were three sets of packages going over and everyone who contributed (I was only able to send money to cover some expenses since I'm out of town) had to give her three thank you cards to be enclosed with the goodies.  I wanted to keep it to a patriotic theme so of course I went with red, white and blue.  The flags are from Papertrey Ink's Friendship Jar Summer
Fillers set.  I embossed them with Martha Stewart Dove powder.  The sentiment is also Papertrey and was a freebie.  I rarely make any two cards alike and even though I used the same focal point I tried to vary the layout and how the sentiment was done.  It's hard to see the one on the left but I clear embossed it and rubbed Papertrey Fresh Snow around it to make it show up.  I was so happy to participate in this project and am so grateful to our troops and their families for all that they do.
Hope you like the cards and thanks for stopping by.
P.S.  I'm posting this from sunny Florida where I've been crafting away and enjoying wonderful weather.

Mr. & Mrs.

This is the last card I'll be posting for awhile.  We are off to Florida soon and I am taking a good bit of my card making stuff with me, in fact it's all packed up and ready to go.  Have I packed any clothes-no, have I packed any personal care items-no, but I have my fun stuff packed.  Priorities, priorities.
Enough about that, this card is one that can be a wedding or anniversary card.  The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink's Big & Bold Wishes set.  I wanted a subtle card and I think I got it with this design.  I started with a Cryogen White card base A2 size, then a 5 1/4 x 4 layer run thru the Cuttlebug with the Swiss Dots embossing folder.  I took a scrap of Martha Stewart self adhesive ribbon and wrapped it around the center.  I stamped the sentiment  with Memento New Sprout and cut it out with a Nestabilities die.  Leaving it in the die I ran it thru the Cuttlebug a gain to emboss the edge and then rubbed some New Sprout around the edge.  I then mounted it with pop dots and was all done.
Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by. 

Embossed Birthday

This is another of the embossed cards I made last week.  I've always loved the technique of using two (or more) embossing folders on a single layer.  The Happy Birthday folder is a great one to use with many of the others.  For this card I paired it with the Swiss Dots folder leaving a space between the two designs.  I scored two lines and ran a bit of ribbon between them.  A very easy card to make and it looks like it takes a lot of work (let's let that be our little secret).
I've done this on colored card stock also and it can be really festive.  Looking at this has given me some ideas for other cards.  I think I might try it with two different colors of card stock and cover the seam with a third????
Hope you like this one and thanks for stopping by.

An Embossed Heart

Lately I've been seeing a lot of very beautiful embossed cards.  I've had a yen for getting out my embossing folders and having some fun but life has gotten in the way.  However I needed to pack card making supplies to take south with me and while I had my Cuttlebug and folders out I got busy and made a few cards.  I'm posting the first one today and I'll post the others over the next few days.
This card is one I've been wanting to make for awhile.
I have always thought that an all white or cream card for a wedding card is just perfect.  I used what I call Hearts and Flowers ( I call it that since I can't remember the name of it and it's packed away so I can't pull it out and check) on the first layer.  I then cut out the hearts with Nestabilities and embossed the top heart with Swiss Dots.  The ribbon and pearl were added and I was all done. 
I also had a chance to use my new Christmas gift of a Photo Cube, way cool for taking photos and when I really get to know how to use it the photos should be even better.
Hope you like the card and thanks for stopping by.

A Birthday Picnic

Back in June of 2009 Papertrey Ink released a darling set, Vintage Picnic.  It included 5 different picnic baskets, an assortment of toppers and some phrases.  Well just recently Papertrey added a matching die for the basket and a picnic cloth and I snapped up those babies as fast as I could.  It sure beats trimming out those baskets (I really don't like fussy cutting).  So when I went on my card making binge I pulled out the set and die and made this card.  I cut the basket out of scrap of brown textured card stock and the picnic cloth out of the DP.  I placed the basket on the blue oval to judge where to stamp the topper and then fixed the basket and cloth on it.  I stamped the sentiment from the same set and assembled the card.  So easy with the dies.
Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by.

A Watering Can of Flowers

I've had Papertrey Ink's Garden Variety set since it was released last May.  I got it thinking it would be a great set to use for my 'gardening' friends.  Well that was the idea, but like all good intentions, it got put on the back shelf and forgotten. (does that mean I have too many stamps????  No!).  When I embarked on my card making frenzy a few weeks ago I started pulling out sets that needed some loving and this was one of them.  Such a simple design but so fun.  I stamped the watering can with Memento Grape Jelly, the stems with Memento Pear Tart, and the flowers with Memento Tangelo.  I think the colors worked well with the DP I found buried on my desk.  I rounded off two corners of both the white layer and the matting (thanks Sandy for this design idea) and added a couple of purple rhinestones and was done.
Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by.