VALENTINE POPPIES

 When I opened up my poppy die set, out fell these pieces from last year.  So I sponged the petals with black ink and assembled them on a couple of strips of double stick tape.  After adding the gold and black stamens, I mounted the flower on the card.  Then I added the stem and leaf.  The verse is from the same $5 Papertrey Ink set used on the previous post, except that it is on the front instead of inside.

The stamp I used inside is "Happy Valentine's Day" from a SU! set of  "Wacky Wishes."  This is also a pop-up card with various sizes of hearts that pop up when the card is opened.

LOVE IS IN THE AIR!

   
 I've been working on pop-up cards for Valentines.  This is a very easy way to do it, and it gives the card an element of surprise.

I hope to move on to another kind of pop-up soon.  For this one, I used a half sheet of typing paper, folded it to make the mechanism, and mounted the butterfly and hearts on it.  You can find dozens of videos for this and many others on YouTube.

The inside greeting is from a new $5 set I ordered from Papertrey Ink, plus the matching die.

After posting this, I added some hearts on the front and inside.

A TROPICAL THEME

Some tropical frogs can be venomous, while they are disarmingly colorful.  These were fun to watercolor, as was the jungle foliage.  I used some Wink of Stella clear to add a little sparkle.

Not shown is the added piece of watercolored foliage on the lower left triangle of the inside.  This year, I plan to pay more attention to the inside of my cards, as well as the envelope.

Just a note that when I came back to my stamping table where I left this card overnight, a stink bug had the nerve to be sitting on it.  Needless to say, he is history!

WATERCOLOR BACKGROUND

I'm still not sure what I want to do with this card.  It most likely turn out to be a birthday card in February.  I don't know whether to leave it as is or add a sentiment somewhere.  What do you think???

BIRTHDAY CARD FOR A FLORIDA FRIEND

This tropical drink is from a coloring book.  After coloring with Distress inks, I cut it out and mounted it on fun foam.  I then added some Wink of Stella on the flower and some bubbles rising from the glass.

Inside, I hand wrote "Have a tropi-cool birthday!"

JANUARY BIRTHDAY

Winter has begun here with some light snow and ice, so I figured I'd get out some floral stamp sets for the winter months.  I have a birthday stamp that says, "Always maintain a kind of summer even in the middle of winter." by Henry David Thoreau.  This year, I'm taking that seriously!

This card was done with the Stampin'Up set, "Painted Petals."  After stamping the flowers and sentiment, I splattered some green ink on the panel and mounted it as shown.

One positive thought about winter:  now that the leaves have fallen off the trees, the sun shines through even brighter.  I truly enjoy spending afternoons by the window in my "tower" which is on the west side of the house.

ENCOURAGEMENT CARD

This is one of the most encouraging verses to send to someone going through difficult times, along with a personal note inside.  I think that's what card making is all about, don't you?

FIRST CARD OF THE NEW YEAR

Is it Spring yet?

Well, at least I can enjoy some flowers in the Stamping Tower, starting with these from an older Stampin' Up set.  After stamping the blooms and leaves with Distress inks, I brushed them with water to spread the color around.  Then I cut them out and mounted them as shown over an embossed oval.  For embellishment, I used some sequins and added yellow Stickles to the flower centers.

Once the Christmas tree and other decorations are put away, I'll start bringing home fresh cut flowers from the supermarket.  My favorite are the tulips!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It's been a busy holiday season, shopping, decorating, leading my de-cluttering class and having some fun with friends.  I look forward to getting back to card making after taking the month of December off to do other things.

For starters, I just ordered a book on Amazon that has ideas and instructions for making all kinds of  simple to intricate pop-up cards.  There are also YouTube videos by the same author to help visualize the process.  It should be interesting and challenging.

 Meanwhile, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.