Anniversary Card--Seven Years!

My daughter and her husband recently celebrated their seventh wedding anniversary.  Using Love Letters, a retired DSP from Stampin' Up, I created a card for them by altering a card sketch that I found on Splitcoaststampers.  I made the flower using SU's Blossom Petals punch and McGill's Starburst punch.  The sentiment is from SU's A Word For You set.  I added some black "pearls" that I found at AC Moore.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is just around the corner! For my two-year-old granddaughter, I made a criss-cross card and painted the image with Stickles to give it an extra bit of sparkle. I entered the card in  My Time Made Easy Pretty Palate #32 challenge and in the TSG127 Theme Challenge,

which was to make a Halloween card or project.

Paper:  Echo Park; Ink: SU Old Olive; Punches/Dies:  SU Round Tab, Spellbinders Scalloped Ovals; Stamp: SU Greeting Card Kids (enlarged after stamping), SU All Year Cheer III; Accessories:  Stickles, Making Memories brad, ribbon from Michael's.

Halloween Heyday!

I recently finished making Halloween cards for my grandchildren.  Using a lot of supplies,

including two spiders that formerly were perched on top of a Halloween headband, 

 I created cards to give just the right amount of spooky delight!

My eight-year-old grandson will get this card. I got the spider web free at a local craft store

because it had fallen off of the display!  I entered this card in Paper Issues "31 Days of Halloween."

This card is for my four-year-old grandson.

My ten-year-old granddaughter, who loves anything purple and turquoise, will get this card.

I used one of the headband spiders for this card for my six-year-old grandson. 

 I cut the branch out on my Cricut.

Quilled Flower Birthday Card

My friend and I recently made the 80 mile round trip to Archiver's to check out the new Halloween and Christmas products.  While we were there, we made a free card using quilling.  Needless to say, we just had to buy some quilling supplies and spend a day trying to master the technique.

For my friend's birthday, I made a card for her and "quilled" a flower and some vines that mimicked

the flowers on SU's retired DSP, Cottage Wall.  The diamond fold card stands up for displaying.

Chevrons

UPDATE: My card won an "Honorable Mention Cup of Tea" for

The Shabby Tea Room's Challenge #81.

When I saw that this week's challenge at The Shabby Tea Room was to design a card incorporating chevrons, I knew I had to enter because I had just purchased some Echo Park Paper that had a chevron design!  What luck!  I was able to use most of the selected colors (blue, green, orange, cream, and brown) in my card, but I had to substitute purple for blue.

Using a tutorial from Splitcoaststampers, I created a criss-cross card.  I found some green ribbon in my stash, and using a permanent orange marker, I colored the white dashes on the ribbon orange so it would coordinate with the paper.  I also made some "not found in nature" flowers from some flowers I had, and then I painted the petals with Stickles.  I finished by mounting the card on a piece of brown cardstock to make the card "pop."

Happy Second Birthday!

          My granddaughter is celebrating her second birthday, and she loves cupcakes.  I used SU's The More the Merrier (retired hostess set) to stamp a row of cupcakes.  I then used SU's Word Window punch to make an awning in order to make the cupcakes look like they were on display in a window.  Using a Fiskars border punch, I made a window sill for the cupcakes. 

The InkyAntics Cupcake Birdy HoneyPop stamp set provided me with a template for a cupcake.  By cutting it out of InkyAntics Honeycomb paper, the cupcake pops out when the card is opened!

Birthday Boys!

Two of my grandsons, who are brothers, celebrate their birthdays on the same day.

For my grandson who is turning four, I made a card using InkyAntics Birthday Elephant HoneyPOP stamp set.  The stamp set has a template for a balloon using InkyAntics Honeycomb paper.  When the card is opened, the balloon opens up.

For my grandson who is turning six, I made a pinwheel using SU's Celebrations DSP (retired). 

I found that a six inch lollipop stick from AC Moore made a great handle for the pinwheel.

Welcome Baby! (Times Two!)

          Two of my nieces recently had baby girls.   For one card, I made a patchwork pinwheel, and for the other card, I made a flower using the petals from SU's Blossom Petals Builder punch. 

Thinking of You

A friend and I went to Archiver's recently, and while we were there, we made a card using McGill punches.  I already had SU's Build a Blossom punch that I knew I could use for the petals.  I did buy the McGill Starburst and Giant Pine punches for the center of the flower and for some fern-like leaves.  I used SU Garden Wall DSP (retired) for the card.  The sentiment, which was stamped in a pale lilac and which is hard to see in the photo, is "Thinking of You."

Lattice Anniversary Card

My sister and her husband recently celebrated their 47th wedding anniversary.  I decided to use SU's Botanical Gazette DSP to make a lattice card.  I added Crystal Effects to the berries so that they would stand out on the card.

Celebration Card

My son-in-law finished his cardiology fellowship and is now on the faculty at a local medical center.  We invited his family over for a celebration dinner, and I made a card for him and included a gift card for iTunes!  I thought that A Perfect Gentleman papers from Graphic 45 were ideal for this card, especially since it was time to celebrate his eight years of training!

Almost Fourth of July Birthday

My grandson will be celebrating his eighth birthday on July 3, so I used some SU DSP that I thought was perfect for birthdays and the Fourth of July! I cut out the number eight on my Cricut. I combine two SU stamps on my acrylic block and stamped the message inside.

I love to make gatefold cards because the outside and inside coordinate beautifully.



I entered this card in Wee Memories Challenge #60 "Party Time."

Birthday Cards

I recently made birthday cards for my son-in-law, my granddaughter, and a friend.

I used some retired SU DSP for this gatefold card.  I have made a lot of gatefold cards recently as I like the fact that when they are open, the outside and inside of the card coordinate beautifully.

I find it is difficult to make masculine cards, so I bought some coordinating masculine papers.  I like this paper in particular because of the watches--passing time equals birthdays!

My granddaughter is a gymnast, and for her birthday card, I made a step card and used a photo of her that I took at one of her gymnastics meets.  Her favorite color is purple, so I added

a purple butterfly and a purple flower.

Sympathy Cards

I recently made two sympathy cards for friends who had suffered the loss of a parent.  I made two different cards; one was a step card and the other was a type of gatefold card. 

My sympathy step card was done in purples and greens with a yellow flower and brad for an accent.

My sympathy gatefold card used some designer papers with creams and greens.  I created a flower and accented it with an antique brad.

I decorated the inside of the card, leaving room to write a personal note.

Easter Cards, Part III

I am making a quilt for my youngest grandchild, and I thought that I would use the border fabric for the background of her Easter card. The quilt is pink and green, so I decided to use those colors for the card.



Paper:  SU Regal Rose, Old Olive, Very Vanilla; Stamp:  SU Easter Blossoms; Punches/Dies:  EK Success oval punch; Spellbinders Labels 8 Dies, SU Beautiful Wings Embosslits; Ink:  SU Old Olive, Regal Rose

Easter Cards, Part II

I must be the only person in blogland who has posted a dinosaur Easter card.  One of my grandsons loves dinosaurs with triceratops being his favorite.  I found a triceratops in a package of K&Company stickers, and thought I would add a border of Easter eggs on the bottom of the card to try and add a touch of Easter!

Paper:  SU Green Galore, Whisper White, Bashful Blue; Stamps:  ACMoore; Ink:  SU Brilliant Blue; Punches:  Martha Stewart grass punch and sunburst punch; Embellishments:  Dinosaur from K&Company

2011 Easter Cards, Part I

I always make Easter cards for my grandchildren, and since I only bought one new Easter stamp set, I had to get creative for my grandsons' card.  I found a placecard holder online, and I thought it would make a great card for them.  A lot of Q-tips and sticky fingers later, I finished the lamb and had to use my glue gun in order to make it stay on the card!  I used my Martha Stewart grass punch and some flowers I punched out to add a bit of dimension since the lamb really "pops" out from the card.

I entered this card in The Shabby Tea Room's Challenge #58.  I used a lot of pastel colors, and my grass is in a striped pattern!

Paper:  SU Bashful Blue, Green Galore, YoYo Yellow, pink paper from my stash; Stamp:  AC Moore;  Ink:  SU Green Galore; Punches:  Martha Stewart grass punch, SU Boho Blossoms; Accessories:  SU clear embossing powder, glitter, ribbon and white "lollypop" sticks from my stash.

My granddaughter's favorite color is purple, so I used SU  Orchid Opulence and Whisper White to create a card for her. I embossed the background and then sponged it with Orchid Opulence.   The only Easter stamp set I bought this year was SU Easter Blossoms, and I was able to combine the branches and

silhouette of the girl for my focal point. 

Stamp:  SU Easter Blossoms; Paper:  SU Orchid Opulence, Whisper White; Ink:  SU Orchid Opulence, Kiwi Kiss; Accessories:  Spellbinders Oval Scallop die, Marvy Uchida Oval Scallop punch, Prima flower, SU Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, ribbon from my stash.

Floral March Birthday

My daughter's birthday was March 1, and since her favorite color is yellow, I cased a card that we made in our neighborhood card club.  I changed the embossing folder, ribbon, and colors.

Stamp:  SU Build A Blossom; Punches:  SU Build A Blossom, Martha Steward Sunburst; Paper:  SU Crushed Curry, Whisper White, Concord Crush, Certainly Celery; Ribbon:  SU Crushed Curry; Embellishments:  Green brad from my stash.

Never Too Late to Celebrate!

I do not have any excuses as to why I did not get these Valentine's Day cards that I made for my grandchildren posted.  This card was for one of my granddaughters who displays all of the cards that I have made for her in her room!

One of my grandsons loves Thomas the Train, so I thought this Thomas chipboard would make a great card for him.  (Note:  He is now on a dinosaur kick!)

I made this card for my other granddaughter.  I used my Cricut to cut out the scalloped shape for the card.  I also found that my Cricut does not like to cut metallic paper!

I made this card for one of my other grandsons.  I printed the message on my computer and then trimmed it to fit.  I used some Christmas paper for the card; after all, red is just not for Christmas!

Happy Birthday with Music

My sister-in-law is an accomplished pianist, and music is a big part of her family's life.  For her birthday, I knew the music from SU Newsprint DSP would be the perfect background for her card.  Since I love the combination of black and red, I used SU Riding Hood Red for the flower and the lattice accents.  I sponged the edges of the flower that I made with some gold paint from my stash.

Stamp:  SU Curly Cute; Paper:  SU Newsprint, Riding Hood Red, Basic Black, Very Vanilla; Ink:  SU Riding Hood Red; Accessories:  Martha Stewart Lattice punch, Spellbinders Peony die, gold paint and brad from my stash.

Super Bowl Thank You

Although we now live in North Carolina, my husband and I grew up in Wisconsin.  We watched the Super Bowl with some friends who are also from Wisconsin, and we were all ecstatic that the Green Bay Packers won!
I made our friends a thank you card using the Packers colors and some of my favorite Cosmo Cricket designer paper.  Let's hope we can celebrate again next year!

Funky Fold Butterfly Birthday

UPDATE:  My card won an "Honorable Mention Cup of Tea" for The Shabby Tea Room's Challenge #44.

I had to make a birthday card for someone in our card club, so I thought I'd use my latest favorite DP, Mariposa by DCWV.  Since I love to find different folds for cards,  I used a "funky fold" video to make this card.  I am entering this card in two challenges, The Shabby Tea Room's Sketch This, and JustRite's Friday Challenge 046.

Stamp:  JustRite Just A Note;  Paper:  DCWV Mariposa, SU Marina Mist and Ruby Red;  Punches:  Paper Shapers 1-3/4" circle and 2" scalloped circle; Ink: Tsukineko Rocket Red Gold; Accessories:  Prima flowers, ribbon and green pearls from my stash.

Think Spring "Thinking of You"

     JustRite Friday Challenge 046 involved scoring, so I decided to make a step card, using the directions I found on Dawn Griffith's blog.  Since we are having a terrible winter (three snow and ice storms so far), I decided to use springtime colors.   I used a piece of DCWV's Mariposa designer paper for the background and cut out some butterflies from the same paper.  Not only did I have to score four separate times in order to make the steps, I also decided to score the green side panels to add a bit of texture.

Stamp:  JustRite Just A Note embossed with SU silver emboss powder; Paper:  Wausau Textures CS, DCWV Mariposa; Punches:  SU Scallop Trim, Paper Shapers 2" scallop and 1-3/4" circle; Accessories:  Flowers from ACMoore.



What a Great Way to End 2010!

Can you imagine how thrilled I was to open an email from Pals Paper Arts and find out that my card was selected as one of the Best of the Best for 2010!  Wow!  What a honor to be chosen from over 2,913 participants in the PPA challenges!  Check out the PPA blog, scrolling down to May. I'd like to thank Gina Shaw and all of the PPA DT members whose blogs are a constant source of new, creative ideas!

Lush-cious Thank You Cards

For Christmas, my daughter gave me some designer paper and other goodies from the Lush collection by My Mind's Eye.  The papers are in my absolute favorite colors of red and black--although judging from the cards I've made, you would think that pink would be my favorite color!  I decided to use the papers to create thank you cards for all of the Christmas gifts I received.

UPDATE:  My card was a Top Three Pick for Stampin' Celebration Inspiration Challenge #33!

Stampin' Celebration Inspiration Challenge #33 was to create a card with black, white, silver, and sparkle!  The inspirational photos also featured touches of red, so I chose one of the flocked Lush papers as my background and then added some bling.

Paper:  Lush by My Mind's Eye, SU Basic Black, red paper from stash; Stamp:  SU Elegant Thank You embossed with Ranger Silver Embossing Tinsel; Punches:  Spellbinders Nestabilities Classic Scalloped Circles; Accessories:  Me and My Big Ideas Rhinestone bling, Lush rhinestones, Reflections silver flowers, and Wilton silver foil doily.

I made several of these thank you cards to send to family and friends, including my daughter who gave me the paper. 

Paper: Lush by My Mind's Eye; Stamp:  SU Curly Cute; Ink:  SU Cajun Craze; Punch:  SU Decorative Label (love that punch); Accessories:  Ribbon and button from Michael's.

I decided to look through my stamp sets to find a stamp that I had not used in quite awhile.  SU Cause for Celebration not only had a clever thank you stamp but also a butterfly stamp.  I sponged SU Very Vanilla with Stazon Red ink in order to separate all of the different patterns.
Paper:  Lush by My Mind's Eye, SU Very Vanilla; Stamps:  SU Cause for Celebration; Ink:  Stazon Red;  Punches: Marvy Uchida scallop ovals; Accessories:  ribbon and glitter (on butterflies) from Michael's.