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.

Thomas the Train Happy Birthday

My grandson celebrated his third birthday today.  His parents planned a "Thomas the Train" party, and I found the perfect chipboard designs with which to make a card.  Even though we had a lot of snow (see photo of our house below), we had a great birthday celebration.

It started snowing around 7:00 p.m. on Christmas and snowed all night and part of the next morning.  We had not had snow on Christmas in North Carolina since 1947!  According to our trusty measuring gauge (a ruler), we had about six inches of snow at our house, enough to cover the lawn, shrubs, trees, and house!

One Last Card!

My daughter bought me some Fancy Pants Christmas paper (which I used for an anniversary card).  I've  finished all of my cards and finally used the Fancy Pants paper to make a Christmas card for my daughter and her husband!  Merry Christmas!
I entered this card in the Wee Memories Challenge #36, Colors of the Season.

Last Minute Christmas Cards

This year I made several different cards for my family and friends.  I used a variety of Christmas papers, stamps, dies, and of course, bling! 

Red and White Christmas

Update:  My card was chosen as one of the winners of Craft Your Passion Challenge Blog Challenge #37!

The challenge this week at The Shabby Tea Room was to create a Scandinavian Christmas card.  I have a huge stash of Christmas papers, stamps, and ribbons and two new toys--a Cricuit cartridge that cuts snowflakes and a Spellbinders poinsettia die.  I decided to make a criss-cross card using a variety of red and white papers, a lot of glitter, rhinestones, and yards of lace and ribbons!  I also found a SU brad in my Valentine's stash that was a perfect topper for my snowflakes.  I then hand delivered the card to a special paper-crafting friend in my neighborhood.  Enjoy!

I also entered this card in the following Christmas challenges:  Craft Your Passion Challenge #37,  Paper Playtime Challenge #30,  Sugar Sweet Paper Treats,  Christmas Card Challenges #3,  Creative Inspirations Challenge Blog #49, and Critter Sketch Challenge #45.

Birthday Blitz

From November 21 to November 28, four of my family members have birthdays; in addition to getting ready for Thanksgiving, I also had to find time to make four cards.
                   For my sister and my daughter, I cased a card from Sandi MacIver.

      For my sister's card,  I used SU's retired DSP Razzleberry Lemonade and accented it with SU's Crushed Curry and Melon Mambo paper.

My daughter graduated from Duke, so I thought a blue and white card would be perfect for her birthday.  I used SU's retired Brilliant Blue DSP and accented it with Brilliant Blue and Whisper White.  I also used a Cuttlebug embossing folder because I thought it complemented the design on the DSP.

I entered both of these cards in Top Tip Tuesday's "Layer upon Layer" challenge.

I also had to make two masculine birthday cards--very hard for me because I can't add lots of ribbon, glitter, or bling!
       For my brother-in-law, I continued my series of map cards.  At our library's recent book sale, I was able to add another atlas to my card-making collection, and I found the perfect map of Illinois.  I cut out one of the cars, added some Crystal Effects, and popped it up with some dimensionals. 

For my son-in-law, I purchased Graphic 45's A Perfect Gentleman papercrafting paper.  It is an absolutely fantastic collection of antique cars, watches,  golf scenes, and patterns that match perfectly!  However, for my background paper, I used SU's Autumn Spice DSP!  I added some buttons and printed out "Happy Birthday" on my computer, cutting it out with Marvy Uchida's scalloped oval punch.

Now that I'm done with these birthday cards, I'm getting ready to begin making Christmas cards!

Pick A Cause--American Heart Association

Update:  My card received an "Honorable Mention Cup of Tea" for The Shabby Tea Room's Challenge #37!

The Shabby Tea Room's Challenge #37 is "Pick A Cause," and I have chosen the American Heart Association for several reasons.  My son-in-law is a cardiologist, and because of his advice, my husband and I are trying to lead a more "heart-healthy" life.  In addition, several of my family members have had heart procedures that have improved their quality of life.  I made this card for a family member who will undergo a heart procedure in early December and plan to give it to her before her operation.  I've also entered this card in Top Tip Tuesday's  "Layer upon Layer" challenge.

The card is a variation on a bi-fold card, and it opens up to reveal the message inside.

Paper:  SU's Sending Love DSP (retired), SU's Real Red, Pretty in Pink, Very Vanilla; Stamp:  SU's Three Little Words; Punches:  Martha Stewart sunburst and lace scalloped heart; Spellbinders Labels 4 and hearts; Ink:  SU's Real Red; Accessories:  Doodlebug boutique brad, ribbon and flowers from AC Moore.