Nate's Graduation

I finally got around to making our grandson's graduation card.  He's out of high school and headed to college in the fall.
He's headed to classes to become a Master Mechanic (did you know there was a college degree in that?)  So of course his card has to have cars on it.  The little truck is one of my favorite stamps so that was one of the first ones I went looking for, then I chose to use this antique car also.  I colored the truck with Copics but left the antique car just stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa.  The card base has a layer of dotted textured card stock with plaid from DVWV Natural over that.  After I mounted the cars I stamped a strip of kraft with the sentiment and was done.
I know he'll like the check enclosed more than the card, but I liked how it turned out.  What do you think?
Thanks for stopping by.

Ed's Retirement

We have a retirement party to go to tonight for a friend of Bruce's.  Ed has finally decided that 45 years is long enough to work for anyone. He is so right, waaaay to long.  He's still a young guy so he'll have lots of fun enjoying his favorite hobbies.
We know that he loves his beer (asked what kind of beer he likes he just said 'cold') and fishing and enjoying the world around him.  So that gave me the idea for this card.  I pulled out this beer stamp from Custer's Last Stamp, the little truck with the fishing pole from Great Impressions and this wonderful summer chair from Lockhart stamps.  I colored them up with Copics, trimmed out the beer mug, and cut out the chair and car with Nestabilities.  I was trying to decide what to use for the background when I remembered this DP that has been sitting in my stash for several years.  I knew one day it would be useful.  All that was left was to stamp the sentiment onto some kraft paper and tear the edges and put it all together.  I know Ed will have a great time in retirement but I worry about Julie (his wife) still working while Ed is at home.  I had 12 years of that with Bruce, I may have to give her some tips. lol
Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by.

An Ice Cream Birthday

My Echo Park Summer Days paper pad has so many fun designs that I just kept going back to look at it and smile.  The colors on all the different sheets are just so bright and cheerful that you just have to smile when looking at them.
I decided to use the ice cream cone paper to make several birthday cards and this is one of them.  I first selected the diagonal stripe for the background, such yummy colors, then trimmed off two rows of cones and a strip of yellow card stock from Memory Box.  I stamped the sentiment from Papertrey's Simple Sentiments onto the yellow and then had some fun.  I pulled out my Quickie glue pen and some glitter and 'iced' some of the cones.  You can just see a little of the glitter here, but in person it really pops.  I didn't glitter all of the cones so there would be some contrast and besides my hands were getting tired.
I'm really tickled with how it turned out.  What do you think?  Thanks for stopping by.  

Sympathy for Erin

When I had a chance to make some cards the other day I knew I needed to add to my sympathy card stash.  Unfortunately I just learned that my nephew Greg's fiance just lost her Grandfather so I chose this one to send her.
I had just a few sheets left in my Basic Grey Cappella paper pad so I decided to use them up.  I had my Papertrey Botanical Silhouettes set handy and I thought I could use up some of my kraft scraps and keep my pledge to use up existing supplies.
The DP is a little formal and the kraft is a little rustic and I think it turned out very nicely.  I stamped the image in several Memento colors and used a Copic to draw in the stems.  To ground the image I used a Papertrey Text stamp in Versamark.  The sentiment is from the Sending You set also from Papertrey.  (I really do have stamps from other companies and I'm going to get them out to play as soon as the kitchen is done, I just don't have room to spread out right now.)  
Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by. 

A Happy Accident

I goofed up cutting some card stock for card bases and found that I had scored the fold at the wrong place on one of them.  I set it aside and went on to make the other cards and then picked up this card base and came up with this design.
I had just picked up two new DCWV paper pads at JoAnn's and thought I could use DP's from one of the pads and make a card.  I had to trim off a half an inch from the long end to make a 5.5 by 4.25 card and then trim the DP to fit.
I chose to use The Natural matstack for this card.  I just love the foil roses on this sheet and the a subtly textured paper for the inside.  It's really neat since the top folds down for a little different design (hard to stand up on the shelf for display) but still very pretty.
Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by.

A Remade Christmas

One of the nice things about our church members is their donations to the various ministry's.  For our Card Ministry group people donate cards or card fronts for us to remake.
This is one of the card fronts that were in the stack pulled out at our last meeting.  I loved the water color design of the manger scene and decided to go with a more rustic theme.  I trimmed the card front close to the embossed edge and then went looking for a mat that picked up on one of the colors.  Since there was so much blue I decided to pick up the green instead for a very narrow border and then mounted it to a kraft card base.
One of the lessons I've learned is that as much as I like to create my own designs, having a great picture to start off with still leaves a great deal of creativity to play with.
Thanks for stopping by.

Stars and Stripes

 Here are a some more of the 4th of July cards I made for the summer food baskets.  Using the est. 1776 set from Papertrey and the Star dies (also Papertrey) I went with a stars and stripes theme for these.  Please note the grouping of stamped stars on the card to the right.  I accidentally smudged some ink and this is how I covered it up.  Love it.  I used a white pen to decorate the stars for a little pizazz.
I went with a little bit of a rustic look on these cards with a kraft card base.

For this next card I used some more of the Postmarks DP from Papertrey and scraps for the rest of the layers and stars.  Using a white card base completes the red white and blue color scheme.  The only stamping on this card is the sentiment for est. 1776 set.  Very simple, very patriotic and a wonderful use of scraps.
Hope you like these and thanks for stopping by.

Happy B'day Kristi

I made this card for my cousin's daughter.  Kristi is an artist and an art teacher and has decided to get back into creating works of art in addition to teaching children.
One of the things she has been wanting are Copic markers, so her mother is starting her out with some sets.  I decided to stretch her Copic horizons by getting her the air brush system (not the compressor just the cans, I love Kristi, but not that much).
Well this leads me to this card, I took out my Copics and air brush system (yes I have the compressor) and had a go at creating a background.  It's not the greatest, but then I haven't had time to play with it in a while.  After I had created the background I went looking for some stamps to use and found these felt flowers that I had cut out with Flower Fusion #4 die from Papertrey, perfect.  I went through my stash of brads and used them for centers and stamped the stem and leaves from Flower Fusion #5.  The sentiment is also from Papertrey the Simple Sentiments set.
Now for the confession.  When I went to stamp the stem and leaves I started with the center flower and goofed it up, luckily since it is a clear stamp I could re stamp and fix it (sort of).  The flower to the left I had to add some extra leaves and the flower to the right I drew in the stem and added leaves.  As a lady I used to work with so long ago would say "I'll never be noticed from a galloping horse"
Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by.

Enjoying the 4th

 I made these cards for the food baskets our church gives out for the 4th of July (as my Pastor says "It's a long way from Easter to Thanksgiving".
So when I started to make my cards the first set I reached for was Papertrey's est. 1776. Then I went looking for DP and remembered Papertrey's Postmarks set of patterned paper that I had been wanting to use.  I used kraft card stock for the base and layered the different papers over that and stamped the Eagle and the sentiment.



Not wanting to waste any of the DP I used the leftovers in a different layout.  I really like how these two turned out and I will post the others I made over the next few days.

Birthday Balloons

I'm making headway on replenishing my stash of cards.  I have been able to take time to get into my 'toys' and play while my kitchen reno is going on and it makes me very happy.  I was down to just a few birthday cards and when I saw this DP from Echo Parks Summer Days paper pad I immediately thought of Papertrey's Up, Up and Away set.
I used another of the sheets from the same set for the balloons that I die cut and then stamped onto the card base.  So easy.  The sentiment is from Papertrey's Sending You set. 
Hope you like them and thanks for stopping by.

Charmed Cards

I found these Vintaj charms at Hobby Lobby in the jewelry supply aisle and thought they would be 'charming' on a card.  I hear all those groans.
All puns aside when I started to make these cards I really was pleased that I had found them, they are sturdy enough to stand up to mailing but delicate enough not add a lot of bulk to the cards.  I kept the cards really simple to highlight them and as you can see I used the same DP on both of them and for the life of me I'm not sure if it's Basic Grey or not.
The sentiment is from Papertrey's Sending You set.
Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by.

An Adventure In Color

Each month I make 5 cards to send to church members who are no longer able to get out as much as they would like.  This is such a fun way to use my passion for card making.
This month I am so enjoying our good weather that color was the inspiration for the cards.  Well that and the fact that I had a bunch of scraps I wanted to use up.
Most of the DP is from the Echo Park Summer Days paper pad that I had gotten in an order from All That Scraps, the butterfly scrap was laying on my desk and worked well for the one card.
I had used the Button dies and the Flower Fusion die to cut out some felt (also from Papertrey) pieces.
So then I started putting them all together and hey presto I had two of the five cards I needed done in no time at all.  So glad my mojo is back. 

Gold and Black, Hmmm!

I'm sorry that this photo doesn't show how really pretty this card is.  The gold on the card base is really shiney and of course the gold embossing is also.
I've said before and I'll say it again it never is a good idea to by pass the jewelry supplies in the craft stores, such a treasure trove of inspiration.
While I was making cards the other day I moved some papers and found a stack of card bases and design elements ready to be assembled.  This card base didn't have anything to go on it but I had been to Hobby Lobby and picked up some medallions (again) and thought this one would work well on it.
I used the die and the stamp from Papertrey's Sending You set as a background for the medallion.  I used a sentiment from the same set and embossed in in gold.  This is a card that went together so easily.  Don't you love it when that happens.
Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by.  

A One O'Clock in the AM card

Well it was really 1:06 AM when Eddie (my dog) woke me up to go outside.  I'm glad he wakes me up (NOT) because it means he's well trained, but if only I could train him to wake up my husband instead, oh well.
At least this time it was productive.  I had been working on cards all day and had left all my stuff out since I knew that I would be able to play again today.  So while I was waiting for Eddie to do his business I fiddled around with some scraps and this is what I came up with.
The card base and sentiment DP are from Cosmo Cricket's Garden Variety Mini Deck.  While I was reading the various blogs of the Papertrey Ink's Design Teams I was inspired to use their dies to cut out some felt.  I chose the die from Delightful Dalia then stamped the image on it.  I used the Limitless Layers dies for the plain and scalloped circles, on the scalloped circle I rubbed Scattered Straw Distress Ink around the edge for some distressing. Then I stamped the sentiment from Botanical Silhouettes and was done.
Not bad for a middle of the night card huh?
Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by.

Watercolor Fun

While on that previously mentioned vacation in Tennessee I used my laptop (yes I know it's crazy to take a laptop on vacation, but I wanted to keep up with my email) and received an email from Art Impressions with the new watercolor stamp sets and Project Series 8  info.  I violated the rule of spending money for things other than vacation fun and immediately and I do mean immediately ordering the sets and the Project guide.  Boy was I excited when I got home and found them waiting for me.  I didn't have a chance to play with them for a few days but then Bruce went to play golf and I had the whole day to play.  I made several cards and these are two of them.  Three houses a fence, a lamp post, a sign post and the hanging flowers.
I had so much fun that when I had to put my stuff away I just dumped it all into the box thinking I'd play again the next day.  Well here it is a month and a half later and it is still waiting.  Kitchen reno starts today so I'm not sure when I will be able to play again.  Wish me luck please?
Hope you like my card and thanks for stopping by.  

Birthday Flowers

Way back when on a shopping safari at Hobby Lobby with my friend Sandy I found this DP.  It has, of course, been sitting on my desk waiting to be used.  I just love this DP, all the colors and shapes just make me happy to look at it.  I did, however, have to really think about how to make a card with it.  Since I like the paper so much I didn't want to cover it up too much.  While going through my 'stuff' I came across my Peony Nestabilities, they don't exactly match the DP, but their close.  I cut each of them out and then just rubbed some Memento Rhubarb on them and added a sticker for the center. 
Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by.  

Happy B'day Sean

When it came time to make this card I was really stumped. How to design a card for a boy turning 13. It really had me going until the other night just as I was falling asleep. I remembered this blog post and hey presto my inspiration struck. The good news was that I remembered it the next morning.

So I pulled out my Memory Box card stock and chose a sheet of Pool as my card base. Then I pulled out my PaperTrey 'Dot Spots' and Birthday Basics sets and got to work. I used Memento Tear Drop pads in Bahama Blue and Tangelo for the dots and centers (but I really have to work on applying pressure on all of the stamp). The missing dots are because I violated my own rule of having some padding under the paper (it helps make sure you get even pressure).

I do like how it came out (this was my second attempt and I was too tired to start over again).

I'm sure Sean will like it and the check I enclosed lol.


Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by.

Happy Anniversary Mary & Mike

I may have posted this card before but I sent it to my cousin Mary and her husband Mike for their 38th anniversary (btw I'm way to young to have a cousin celebrating 38 years of wedded bliss).

I've always loved this card and saved it for someone special. It is kind of a different spin on an anniversary card with the colors and all but I did have fun making it.

I used a Sizzix folder (I think it's Hearts & Flowers) to emboss the white card stock then used my finger to rub on the colors, added the sentiment then mounted it to a black card base.

Another elegantly simple card.

Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by.

Thank You Notes

One of the fun things we did on our vacation was to go out to dinner at a 'Fine Dining' restaurant courtesy of my family. We were celebrating our 25th anniversary and my sisters, bro-in-laws nieces and nephews all chipped in to give us a gift certificate for a fun night out. Dinner was great.

When we returned I set about making these thank you cards. All of the card stock is from Memory Box and the images are PaperTrey Ink Year of Flowers. I saw this idea on a blog somewhere and I didn't write it down, my bad, but just loved the cards so I copied. I embossed the flowers and sentiment in Martha Stewart's white (I think it's Dove) and it makes a elegantly simple card. (My sister said at first she wondered why I went out and bought cards, then notice my stamp on the back, compliment???)

Anyway I love how they truned out, what do you think? Thanks for stopping by.

Why I've Been AWOL

First we went on vacation to Tenn. the first weekend in April with friends. This photo was taken from our balcony, you can't see it from this photo but beyond the woods is a golf course, which made the guys happy/miserable. Happy because they could play golf, miserable because it was a tough course and it had been raining.

After we returned home some renovations were scheduled. First was all new windows. Wow what a difference, the old windows were original to the house (built in 1954) and the new ones really made a change in noise level and the amount of air coming through (from lots to zero). Also the front one is the only one I have to go outside to clean.yahoo!!!

Then I through an open house to celebrate Bruce's B'day ( he doesn't like me to say the # (3/4 of a century) so don't say anything). The guys sat down stairs and watched some of the Indy 500.

Now we are dealing with a kitchen reno and this is where we are at now. New cabinets are here, old cabinets empty and all the stuff scattered all over the house. Waiting for a call to say when they will start (pray soon). Every day is an adventure since I've already sold the stove, keeping the refrigerator as long as possible, but that will go as soon as demo starts.

Next on the agenda is getting trim work done around the new windows, just waiting for the estimate to come in. Hopefully we will survive all of this. Wish us luck.

Thanks for stopping by. I do have cards to post and they will start tomorrow.