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.