THREE OF A KIND--Psalm 145:18

I finally got a chance to use a new die which I purchased from Papertrey Ink.

These are pastor cards which I will deliver today.  I did them assembly line style in no time!

THREE OF A KIND--Global Design Project #080

 I made these three cards for a CASE challenge, but couldn't decide

which one to use; so I decided to display all three in one photo.

I think I like the one on the right best (even though it has a lot of pink

in it!)  The bottom butterfly was cut from a piece of black cs

and coated with gold Wink-of-Stella. 

The brown card features leftovers from a previous card.

The blue card will make a nice all-purpose card

for future use.  The larger butterfly was punched from a scrap

of the light blue cs and sponged with a darker blue so it would stand out.

If you'd like to join in the challenge, just click HERE.

INTERLOCKING GATE CARD

The main thing to remember about any gate card is to put your adhesive on one side only.  With an interlocking one, you need to add adhesive on the opposite side of each piece.

The chocolate bon-bon here is used to keep the card closed.  I made it with the fox punch and trimmed the bottom--otherwise, it looks like a hat.  If you don't have brown glitter paper, it also looks chocolate-y with gold Wink-of-Stella on brown cs.

Of course, you have to be careful not to leave chocolate finger prints on this card while you're putting it together!

MARCH PAPER PUMPKIN

After reading about this month's Paper Pumpkin on YouTube, I was not expecting much.  There were numerous complaints about the colors and patterns of the paper.  However, once I came up with some of my own ideas for using this kit, it turned out to be delightful.  Here's what I did:

First, I followed the instructions for the bunny bags, except that I also stamped the whiskers on the back to highlight the bunny tail.  The bags (empty for now) are adorable!  I decided to use them as place cards at the dinner table.

That gave me an idea for the adults at the table.  Instead of making a tiny card, I cut off the dsp side of the card to die cut as flowers at a later date.  After wrapping the bakers twine around the square, I attached the square to the envelope front with Fast Fuse.  I added the bunny tail on the back of the envelope which will be used to hold a Ghiradelli chocolate square.  As you can see here, I plan to write each adult name on the front and place them on the appropriate dinner plate.

I'm looking forward to using these for a festive Easter dinner table!

DISTRESS OXIDE INKS--first try

Yesterday, my order of Distress Oxide inks arrived--finally!  I purchased these over a month ago, but had to wait until they became available for shipping.  Today, I felt well enough to play with them.

First I used the smooshing technique on watercolor paper for the butterflies using the 3 colors shown.  For the front of the card, I inked up a background stamp with Broken China (blue) and spritzed it with water for a vivid effect on the kraft panel.  I then mounted the panel on a Very Vanilla card base.

Since I had one more butterfly left, I used it for an Easter card shown here:

Thanks for all your well wishes.  I'm starting to feel better today, so I guess the antibiotic is working.  Just two days ago I thought the cat was meowing next to me, but it turned out to be me wheezing--ugh!  The wheezing is gone, and I'm beginning to have more energy.  So glad to be back in the Tower, even if only for 2 cards!

Thank you for your comments.  I truly cherish every one of them.

BIRTHDAY OWL

Yesterday I found this card in my camera from some time ago.  Since I've been very sick (with bronchitis) and haven't had the energy to stamp for almost a week, I decided to post this for now.

This was for my grandson who turned 8 last month.  He wore an owl costume in his last school play, so it seems appropriate.

I managed to make some cards yesterday using leftovers from last year's April Paper Pumpkin.  It was nice to get a bunch done with little effort.  They're all addressed and ready to go for the April birthdays on my list.

One positive thing from being this sick:  Rick made dinner for us last night!  (Marie Callendars Chili Pot Pie--yummy comfort food.)

FLORAL DIE CUT

I've seen many cards with a die cut that was stacked and reinserted into the cut space and finally got a chance to try one myself.

Here's a TIP for gluing delicate pieces:

Squirt some TomBow Mono glue onto a silicone craft mat.  Place the die cut image or word upside down on the mat and dab with a craft sponge to apply the glue.  Adhere to card-- no more oozing!

BIRTHDAY BLOOM

Since I had the gold foil dsp out already, I made this quick card.

Sometimes I use my dies so much, I forget that I also have handy punches.  Since I have all three sizes of flowers, I used them to make this coordinated blossom, held together by a gold brad in the center.  After adding the gold and melon twines, I mounted the dsp panel to a scalloped panel and foam taped it to a colored cs base.  The greeting was stamped in green Versafine ink and attached just above the twines.

Quick and easy!

GREEN CHALLENGE

As soon as I saw this challenge my first thought was to use the Vertical Greetings set.with its topiaries.  It also gave me the chance to use a piece of printed vellum that's been sitting on my table for weeks.

Starting with the top fold card base, I used Versamark to stamp around the edges with a background stamp.  Next, I added the vellum.

For the topiary and greeting I used various green inks.  The tree pot was stamped on green cs, fussy cut and mounted to the panel with foam tape.

The embroidery floss and sequins fit the color scheme perfectly. For the final touch, I spattered some green ink with a brush and mounted the panel with foam tape.

This was a fun Curtain Call Inspiration challenge!

A CAT TAKE-OVER...

...AND JUST HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO MAKE THIS BED???

ROSE BLOCK

I came across this in my stash the other day, hidden behind something else on my table.  It's from Papertrey Ink, and I don't even remember ordering it.  Does that mean I have too much???......nah....

I colored the image with pencils and mounted it on a piece of gray dsp and then on top of a very narrow piece of Garden Green cs.  Putting it aside for a moment, I used a 3D ef for a basket weave panel, then mounted everything on the card front.

Easy card!  (I added a few tiny green sequins after the photo was taken.)

EASEL BACK FOR A TOP FOLD CARD

 
 By popular demand, I am doing a card class next Tuesday for 2 of my friends at Bible Study.  This is the card I came up with; but with its ragged edge at the bottom, it won't stand up on its own.  So I came up with an easel for the back of the card.  Problem solved!

The side view shows how the easel keeps the card on display. (I used white here so you can see it better.)

To make the easel, I started with a piece of cs cut at 3" x 4 1/2" and folded it at 3/4" on the long side.  With the short side at the bottom, I cut from the lower right corner to the top of the fold.  I then marked a spot 3/4" from the bottom on the edge I just cut.  The final cut is made from the bottom of the fold to the 3/4" mark on the right side.

To attach the easel, using a strong adhesive between the fold and the outer edge, mount the easel so that the narrow part is flush with the bottom of the card.  Open the flap to a 90 degree angle to make the card stand up.

I hope this easel construction makes sense!

PAPER PLAYERS 333--Sets of Three

 If you'd never seen this stamp set, I doubt you would ever guess what this whole chicken looks like, especially since I jumbled the parts!

Making this card was much easier than it looks.  First, I stamped the chicken wire, cut it down to a strip, and then mounted it on a slightly larger yellow strip.  Next, I punched through the double strip for the 3 holes that would show the chicken parts.  Then I stamped the chicken parts on squares, taped each one on the back and mounted the finished strip onto the card front with dimensionals.

After stamping the rooster on the front and coloring him in, I added his "call" on a tiny strip of yellow.

For the inside, I stamped the whole bird, colored him in and added the greeting.

Thanks, LeAnne, for making this a fun challenge.  Actually, I didn't even realize this fit the challenge until I looked at it again and saw the three elements:  the circles, the chicken parts and the "reveal"  inside!