It's a Dinosaur Birthday!

My second youngest grandson's birthday is the day after Christmas, so we try to make it as non-Christmas-like as possible!  This year he chose a dinosaur theme, and my husband carved out a dinosaur cake for him which I then decorated to resemble 

Arnie Argetinosaurus from the Dinosaur Train!

I made a dinosaur card for him using some stickers I found at Hobby Lobby.  Needless to say, his dinosaur-themed birthday was a big success!

It's a Box Card Christmas!

This year I decided to make box cards for my grandchildren so I could include a Christmas surprise!  I found that I could easily fit two gift cards in the box card and still get the "belly band" 

to fit around the card.

     My oldest granddaughter's favorite color is purple, and I found some striped paper in one of my Christmas paper stashes that had purple in it.  I punched out some light purple snowflakes to decorate the front of the card and added some faux rhinestones for sparkle!

For my oldest grandson, I thought these snowmen were appropriate!  I added glitter to the snowflakes and a simple "Merry Christmas" on the belly band.

My seven-year-old grandson also got a snowman card.  It was a good thing I had two sheets of this paper because I had a very hard time getting the snowmen to look right on each panel.

Since I was on a roll, I also made a box card for my sister and her husband's gift cards.  I found some retired SU Christmas paper and embossed the tree before adding a red star to the top.

The only problem with box cards is that they are too "fat" for the post office's sorting machines, so I had to mail them in bubble envelopes to make sure they arrived in one piece!

Paper Sweeties Christmas Sentiment

I recently purchased a stamp set with Christmas Sentiments from Paper Sweeties because I wanted to make a change from my usual stamped sentiment which is "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year."  I chose "Christmas is a Time for Wonder" from the set, and using the sketch from the Paper Sweeties challenge, created this card for Christmas 2012.

I used SU's Whisper White and Cherry Cobbler card stock as well as SU's Snow Flurry die and Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder.  I also used the Madera Corner die from Memory Box.  Although it's hard to see in the photo, I glittered the snowflakes with SU's Dazzling Diamonds glitter.  The ribbon and faux pearls are from AC Moore.

I entered this design in:
     Paper Sweeties Design Challenge:  Sketch #2

     Sarah Hurley Challenge Blog:  #75 Christmas
     ABC Christmas Challenge:  Favorite Die  (Madera Corner die)
     Creative Belli Blog:  Christmas
     Sweet Stampin' Challenge Blog:  Seeing Double (actually four of the Madera Corners)

It's 12/12/12 and Time for Christmas Cards!

It is 12-12-12 and I am finally starting on my Christmas cards.  I have to make seven cards, one for each grandchild, plus cards for neighbors, relatives, and friends!

Here is my "box" card for one of my grandchildren.  I am going to put a surprise inside!

November Birthdays, Part II

My daughter and my son-in-law (who are not married to each other) have birthdays on the same day.  They are both strong supporters of the colleges they attended, so I decided to use the college colors to make birthday cards for them.

My daughter went to Duke, so a blue and white card was in store for her.  I found a Spellbinders die that, when the various cuts in the design were folded, made an interesting design.  I also watched a YouTube video on how to use the word window punch on a longer sentiment!

My son-in-law went to Notre Dame, and I used dark blue and gold for his card.  He said to my daughter when he opened the card that he thought I was getting "pretty good at this card making business!"  I stamped a sentiment in green on one of the pull out tags and 

attached a gift card to the other.

And now it's December 1, and I have to start on my Christmas cards!

November Birthdays, Part I

In November, five of my friends and relatives have birthdays.  Needless to say, I am busy making birthday cards while trying to think of ideas for a Christmas card!

My sister's birthday is the day before Thanksgiving.  I usually make her a floral card, but this year I saw a toile patterned paper and thought that it would make a perfect pyramid card.  Besides, I loved the pastoral scene as it reminded me of growing up in an idyllic setting.  I chose a gray background and sponged the papers in basic black.

My brother-in-law loves to fish, and I was absolutely delighted to find this "fishy" paper.  Instead of adding lots of additional embellishments, I kept this card rather simple and just used

 some twine and a button to decorate the card.

For a Friend Who Loves Floral Patterns

I have a good friend who loves floral patterns in fabric.  I found a floral paper that I thought would make a great birthday card.  I found directions for making a pyramid card on Splitcoaststampers, and I thought the main detail of roses would be perfect for this card.

Eighth Anniversary

My daughter and her husband recently celebrated their eighth wedding anniversary. I used an idea from Card Maker magazine to create this folded card with a band.  I chose a two-sided paper with one side featuring sayings about relationships and memories and the other side being an abstract pattern.

Hooray for Halloween!

     This year I made seven Halloween cards for my grandchildren.  It is fun to design cards for holidays as there is always a huge assortment of embellishments and colorful card stock to use!

For my newest grandson, who will be seven weeks old on Halloween, I thought a cute scarecrow would be the best card.  Hopefully his mother will keep it so he can enjoy it when he is older!

For my three-year-old granddaughter, a card with "cute" ghosts and monsters will be perfect.  The two pull out tabs have Halloween messages on them with additional embellishments!

For my grandson who will be five on the day after Christmas, I thought he 

would enjoy a folded card with lots of pumpkins with googly eyes.   

When the card is opened, there is a "Happy Halloween" message inside.

I found a Halloween scrapbook kit at Archiver's, so I used the paper to make a Halloween card for my 11-year-old granddaughter.  It opens up like a wallet, so I put a Halloween message 

and some money inside for her to enjoy!

Two glittery ravens guard the card I made for my nine-year-old grandson.  I found some great embellishments at Hobby Lobby, and the large "BOO" made the perfect focal point for the card.

I saw the directions for making a pyramid card on Splitcoaststampers, so I used a spooky house as the main design.  My seven-year-old grandson will get a surprise when he opens the card

 as there is a large ghost that pops up and says, "Boo!"

My five-year-old grandson will like all of the spiders and bats on his card.  I painted Stickles on all of the pumpkins to make them sparkle.

A Bunch of Birthdays

     Since my latest grandson was born on September 11, I now have four grandchildren who have birthdays in September.  After making 50 birth announcements for my grandson, I made birthday cards for three of my grandchildren.

     My granddaughter's favorite color is pink with purple being a close second.  She also loves cupcakes, and for her birthday we made pink cupcakes together.

The card slides up, and the inside reveals the birthday message.

I got a bit carried away with slider cards!  For my grandson who just turned seven, I found a birthday riddle for his card.  I found a font that was similar to the stamped "Happy Birthday" and then printed out the riddle on card stock.

When the center of the card was pulled up, the answer was revealed!

For my grandson who just turned five, I added a bit of sparkle to the front of his card with some Stickles that I painted on!  

Everyone had a great time celebrating his/her birthday! 

 Now it's on to Halloween cards for all seven grandchildren

Floral Happy Birthday

   

     The person who introduced me to card making recently celebrated her birthday, so I made her a card in the "shabby chic" style, which she adores!

Butterfly Thank You

     My daughter and her family recently returned from a trip to the North Carolina mountains.  She brought back some pottery for her father and a beautiful hand knit scarf for me.  I created a summery thank you card for her.

Sliding Up for a Happy Birthday



     My brother-in-law loves to golf, so I chose a golf motif for his birthday card.  I love to make cards that have interesting folds or movement to them, so I chose a slider card.  I got the idea for the card from Dawn Griffith's blog.

     When the tab at the top is pulled, a message is revealed!  On the inside of the card I left a space for a personal message.  Both my brother-in-law and his wife commented on the uniqueness of the card!



Through the Window

    

    I wanted to use some new dies that I recently bought, so I created a "window" design for this sympathy card. 
    I attached a background pattern, covered it with  a "window," and then popped up a flower and butterfly.  I covered the bottom of the flower stems with the sentiment.

A "Flip" Birthday Card for My Grandson

I love to make unusual cards, and when I was looking at Dawn Griffith's blog, I noticed that she made a flip card using SU's Framelits.  Following her video was easy, and the result is this flip birthday card that I made for my grandson's ninth birthday celebration.

When closed, the happy birthday greeting is front and center.

When opened, the "wish big" greeting flips out.  There is enough space on the card

to add a personal message to the birthday boy!

Anniversary Easel Card

My friend and I often get together to make cards.  When I was at her house, she showed me an easel card that she found in the March 2012 issue of Card Maker Magazine.  Since I had to make an anniversary card for my sister and her husband, who have been married for 48 years, I thought I'd use this design.

When the card is opened, the front can be propped up on the yellow rhinestones.

Celebrating My Daughters on Mother's Day

    I always give my two daughters something for Mother's Day, because without them, I certainly could not celebrate the day myself!

  For my daughter who likes yellow, I used SU Blossom Builders to make a card.

For my daughter who went to Duke, I chose blue and white for the card.  I die cut the butterfly from SU's Paper Doily Die and then backed it with some blue paper.



Easter in June!

     Hmmmm....I think I am a little late in posting these Easter cards!  I made one for each of my six grandchildren and included them with their Easter gifts!  Can't help but remember how good those chocolate bunnies are!

Map Card Thank You

     I enjoy using maps on my cards, and I recently returned from a visit to Sullivan's Island near Charleston, SC.  I found a map that had Sullivan's Island on it, so I used it for the thank you card.  I thought the fish background was appropriate for time spent at the beach.  The design came from a Splitcoaststampers card sketch, and it's now my favorite "go to" card sketch to use.

Anniversary Celebrations

     My daughter and her husband and my brother-in-law and his wife recently celebrated wedding anniversaries.  I found the card sketches on Splitcoaststampers, and I used them for the two anniversary cards. 

My brother-in-law and his wife love music, so I thought a musical score

would be appropriate for their card.

We celebrated my daughter and her husband's anniversary at the beach, and the yellow polka dot paper reminded me of the sun!  We had a great time!

Time for Birthdays

     My daughter, my son-in-law, and my granddaughter recently celebrated their birthdays.  My daughter loves the color yellow, and my granddaughter's favorite color of the moment is purple.  How easy to make cards when I know what colors to use!  Of course, making a masculine card is a bit difficult, but I found some Graphic 45 papers that were perfect!

Lightning McQueen Birthday Card

My grandson's birthday is the day after Christmas, so we try to make it a separate, special occasion.  I made him a card featuring Lightning McQueen, one of his favorite characters from Cars.