TUXEDO CAT CARD

This will be going to a special friend who also happens to like our two cats, and this card features one of them.  The cat is a die cut, and I used a cloud die to accent the purring.

Inside, I signed it from our family, "both human and feline."  He will definitely laugh when he reads that.  Our cats befriended him when he was here doing some work for us.  If you know anything about cats, it is not common for them to be so friendly toward a "stranger" but for this person they made a delightful exception.

MONOCHROMATIC DESIGN

For this card, I started with a scrap of fern dsp.  This gave me the color, stamp and die cut I would use.

First I stamped the fern twice from a set by Papertrey Ink, then cut them with the matching die.  The greeting was also part of the same set.

The light colored panel is green parchment paper from my stash, and the card base is SU! Always Artichoke.  After mounting the ferns with dimensionals, I stamped the greeting with Versafine Olympia Green ink and added some tiny white pearls for a soft finishing touch.

It really is a challenge to stick to one color family!

THREE OF A KIND--DANISH HEARTS

These (Simon Says Stamp) Danish Hearts were fun to die cut and weave two different ways.  Each Danish Heart was mounted on an embossed hearts cardfront with dimensionals.

After using the Love die, I glued the message to the heart and added some smaller hearts and gems to finish.

Although they look clean and simple, there were many steps involved.  The weaving took the most time, but I think it was worth it for such a special card.

THREE OF A KIND--ORGANIC GRACE

I'm making up for lost time with this old SU! set.  There are four wooden stamps in the set, but this one seems to be working best for me lately.

I think I'll  just let the cards speak for themselves.

MORE PASTOR CARDS

The sentiments on these two cards are from the SU! set, "Trust God" which has some really nice sayings.

While waiting for my SU! order to arrive, I've been going back to some of my old sets and using them in new ways.  This first one uses the fern from Organic Grace, stamped three times without re-inking, and the splotches from French Foliage which is still one of my all-time favorite sets.  I also still enjoy the Butterflies Sizzlit, especially the tiny butterflies.


The second card started with a retro design panel mounted to a light blue card.  Because of the glitter already imbedded in the dsp, no further embellishments were needed.

The envelope of flowers is one of the stamps from "Send a Celebration," and I colored them with my colored pencils set.

I just hope these aren't too feminine for our pastor.

ARE YOU A CHEESE?

If not, then don't let your age bother you!

With my warped sense of humor, I thought the dotted swiss strip was the perfect accent for a swiss cheese image ;)  The plaid background was in my drawer of 12x12 dsp sheets, and very Spring-y.  This card will go to an Irish lady this month.


NOTE:  If you haven't taken advantage of the Sale-a-Bration promotion going on at Stampin'Up, take a look at what they have to offer.  I was a hostess last week with 10 guests.  Not only did we have a good time (lots of laughs!) but I also received over $100 worth of free products plus one free set from the Sale-a-Bration catalog.  When the shipment comes in, I'll photograph what I got so you can see.  The new Occasions catalog is the best they've come out with in awhile, so be sure to check it out.  (BTW, I'm not a demonstrator--just a happy customer!)

FROM THE SCRAP DRAWER--#43

I can't believe how many cards have been made just from leftover pieces from other projects!

This one started with a strip of dsp applied to the left side of the card and trimmed to fit.  Next I added the embossing on the right side.  The fern was already water colored on a piece of watercolor paper, so I fussy-cut it and used it as a background for the flower I stamped on vellum.  After stamping the flower and heat embossing it with clear ep, I colored the back to coordinate with the colors in the dsp.  Then I mounted it to the fern with a glue dot.

I stamped the sentiment on white cs and taped it across the top at the same angle as the printing in the dsp.  Finally, I added some Stickles to the flower and put it on display on my window sill...another easy card!

ANOTHER SPRING FLORAL CARD

I discovered this strip of leftover dsp and the coordinated flowers in my stash and made use of both on this one card.

After attaching the strip down the middle, I embossed the borders and added the embroidery floss on the left.  The flowers had been pre-stamped in purple (not a match!) so I went over the image with colored pencils to change the shade.  The oval was then mounted with dimensionals.

With this card, I discovered that I could stamp something in a soft shade of ink and then add deeper shades with colored pencils later for a nice combination.

IT MAY NOT BE SPRING OUTSIDE, BUT...

...IT'S BEGINNING TO FEEL LIKE SPRING IN THE TOWER!

With record cold temps outside, I've been pulling out lots of floral stamps to brighten the days.  This one is from a hostess set I earned a while back.  I think the secret of making cards that look "together" is to resist the temptation to over-embellish.  A few coordinated sequins was all this card needed for a little sparkle.

After coloring in the leaves and flowers with colored pencils, I fussy-cut the image and mounted it on the die cut panel with foam tape.  The sentiment was stamped on a scrap of the same paper as the card base and applied to the front with ds tape.

Easy!

SOME THINGS OLD ARE NEW AGAIN

Now that Christmas card-making is over, the tree punch has become a flag punch just by cutting off the trunk.  This gate card made use of some of the many scraps in my collection.

When open, the dark blue cs inside provides contrast for all the white on the front.  Below the greeting, I added "Just think, you're not as old as you will be next year!"  This card will go to someone with a good sense of humor.

Next time you want to make a banner, just pull out your tree punch!

A HAPPY RAINBOW

When I saw the resist paper in the SU Sale-a-bration catalog, I had to try the same technique on some similar dsp in my stash--and it worked!  (SU will not be happy about that...)

I kept the card simple to let the colors take center stage.

SIMPLE SATURDAY #38

(A little early!)

STAIR STEP BIRTHDAY CARD

Today is my son's birthday, and I made this card using some argyle dsp, a Greenhouse Society stamp of winter branches and 2 sentiment stamps.  Since I colored the berries orange, I carried the same color through in the cs, gems and ink for a masculine look.

The base is white cs cut at 4 1/4" x 11" and scored at 1&1/4", 2&1/2", 4&1/4", 8&1/4" and 10&1/2" to form the steps and a half inch piece at the back to keep it upright.  For mailing,  I used my enveloper to make a 5" square envelope.  (To fit into a standard A2 envie, just trim the top square slightly.)

Star Dust Stickles was added for the "snow" on the branches and also on the bee's wings.

ANOTHER BUTTERFLY

This card was made with the large butterfly die in the SU! Sale-a-bration catalog.  The paper used is a dsp also featured in the catalog and some lightweight vellum. The wings "flutter" as you move the card, a nice effect.

The blue background and gems are from my stash.  It's always great when colors match, especially when from different sources.

This was so easy to make, it could have been a "simple Saturday" card!

IS IT SPRING YET?

Using a scrap piece of dsp and a die cut butterfly, I put together this Spring-like card for a winter birthday.  The die used is one of a set featured in the new SU! Sale-a-bration catalog.  The greeting is stamped with Mowed Lawn Distress Ink.  Inside will read "Always maintain a kind of summer even in the middle of winter."

As I post this, it is 15 degrees and snowing, so I guess it's not Spring yet :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Best wishes for all good things in 2015!

WINTER BIRTHDAY

This card was made with last year's Greenhouse Society stamp for January, one of my favorite winter stamps.  It's so simple--all I did was stamp it on white with Versafine Smokey Gray ink, color the berries with an orange marker, and sponge the edges.  After mounting it on the card, I added some Stickles Diamond for the snow on the branches.

The greeting is from a new Verve Stamps set that has 9 additional sayings to finish the wish.  This one has "a very happy birthday" on the inside.

I'M BACK!

I hope you all had as wonderful a Christmas as I did!   It was great having the whole family here to exchange gifts and sit around the extended table for a ham dinner--13 of us, including my 96-year-old Dad and our 4 grandchildren.  Everything got done in plenty of time:  the shopping, cleaning, gift wrapping, decorating, cooking and mailing out of the 100+ cards I made!

Now that my stamping break is over, here's the card I made today for the first birthday of the year on January 2.  The dsp and glitter star were on my table (so why not use them) along with Cornflower Blue Archival Ink which matches the dsp perfectly.  To keep the silver twine in place, I first made a tiny notch at the top and bottom of the card front, something I plan to continue from now on.

Have you seen the Sale-a-bration catalog from SU! yet?  It's fabulous!  I'm looking forward to spending the gift certificate I got for Christmas at my upcoming SU! party!

OUT SHOPPING...

INCHIES!

 I've enjoyed using this color scheme, especially for a snowy image.  I white-embossed it on navy cs, then cut it to size.  The squares used here are 2" each, mounted on a navy panel        2 1/4" x 4 1/2", then a larger gray rectangle and a creamy textured base.  The white and navy embroidery floss finishes the look while keeping it simple.

The stamp is a large Penny Black scenery stamp (Heaven on Earth) which I've used many times before, but not for an inchie card.  (Click on the photo for a closer look.)

THREE OF A KIND--Winter Fenceline

This stamp set from Serendipity Stamps has been a pleasure to use, either for winter cards as shown here, or Autumn cards.  I can imagine it in summer mode with green sponging over the branches and green grass below.



This first card was stamped on Night of Navy with a blend of white ep and glitter that I mixed myself.  After die cutting it, I glued it to a white panel and added strips of leftover Night of Navy on the top and bottom.  The greeting is from a SU set.

The second and third cards were stamped with Versafine  warm gray and sponged with Distress inks for the sky.  All I had to do next was hand write "peace" and fill in the fence with two shades of brown markers.  A little bit of Stickles Ice on the hill line and bottom of the fence posts finished it off.

For this last one, I die cut a gray tree, then added some brown marker "bark" and glued it to the side of the card.  This time I stamped "peace" and sponged the oval before mounting it to the card with a dimensional.

To give it some depth, I mounted the fenceline scene to the back of the opening with dimensionals.

These three are extras that I added to the Christmas cards I plan to mail next week--over 100 of them!

THIRD THURSDAY TECHNIQUE CLASS

I've been attending a technique class at Cyndy's house, my SU demonstrator, (for several years now) on the third Thursday of the month.  This card was a way to use the Festival of Trees set and coordinating punch featuring 3 different trees on one card.  Nothing tricky this time, just a nice quick card in a mod color combo.  I've been seeing a lot of these colors online this year, and they're a refreshing change from the traditional red and green.

TIP:  To make a tree smaller (as shown here in the glimmer paper) using the tree punch, simply punch the tree out, reinsert it partway and punch again.  Thanks for showing us that, Cyndy!

I'm continually amazed at how versatile this set has been.  I've used it exclusively for the past 11 weeks at Mothers Class without repeating a design.  Plus, I've made a few more at home.

I was NOT dreaming of a white...

...THANKSGIVING!  (Without power, especially.)


Let the melting begin...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Time to celebrate our blessings and give thanks for having so many of them.  Stay safe in stormy weather and don't eat too much!

MOTHERS CLASS CARDS

 Last week in class, Jackie brought materials to make these cute mitten cards with the fold at the top.  It was fun being a student for a change!

For my card, after adding the dsp, thumb tip and cuff to the plain white card provided, I ran the top piece through the cuttlebug with a snowflake ef.  The bow was a die that I ran through the cb and attached with a glue dot.  The snowflake and gem gave it that final touch.  Every card was different, thanks to all the choices we had in dsp; and all were adorable.



For the second card, I brought one that was quick and easy for the class to do after finishing their mitten cards.  First, we laid the stamp upright on the table, inked it with Versafine Smokey Gray, and pressed the white cs on it. 

After trimming down the image (I purposely cut the white cs larger than needed to make it easier) we used colored pencils on the evergreen tree and the deer. We mounted the image on the green cs, and dimensionals were used to pop it up on the kraft cardfront.  Once the snowflake and gem were added, the cards were done in less than 15 minutes!

We decided afterward to cancel today's class since it would be the day before Thanksgiving.  Now that it's snowing (5 inches already!) it seems we made the right decision.  Next week's class will be our last for 2014, a stamp-a-stack of  5 Christmas cards.

TWO OUT OF THREE

NOTE:  Although it doesn't look it here, both these cards were done with the same colored pencils and match their red backgrounds perfectly.

I originally started out to make three cards with this new image from the Greenhouse Society (Technique Tuesday.)  However, one of the images came out blank in the middle and would have been unusable had I not layered it with the other.

The red petals were done with three shades of red.  The leaves were done with three shades of green and a brownish red.  Several months ago, I  took a class on colored pencils during which I learned to add the red (or maroon) to leaves and stems for shading.  I never would have thought that would work, but I really like how it makes the leaves more realistic.

The second card is the layered one, popped up with dimensionals.  The gold twine was wrapped around the panel three times and taped down on the back.  The bow was added with a glue dot on the front, a "sneaky" way to make it much easier.

Using colored pencils is a relaxing form of coloring images.  It's also very transportable, either when going on vacation or just out to the deck on warm, sunny days.  I love to stamp images on white cs and take them with my colored pencil tin to a quiet spot!

CHRISTMAS STAMP-A-STACK

 
This is the card I designed for our last Mothers Class the first week in December.  It's easy to assemble and should make a nice finale for our Fall sessions.

The top-fold card base is Always Artichoke, the die cut window is white cs, and the tree is stamped on light green cs and punched out.  The bottom corners are rounded.


To make the tree sparkle, I brushed it with a light coating of TomBow mono glue and sprinkled it with Sugar Coating glitter.  You can see how much it glistens in the sunlight in the photo below.  The star is punched from silver glitter paper and attached with a glue dot.  The tree is mounted with SU dimensionals, and three rhinestones were added for balance. 

 The inside greeting will be stamped on printer paper with Versafine Olympia Green ink.  After rounding the bottom corners, it will be attached with snail.

This year's class has been a lot of fun, and I look forward to reconvening in February.  Hopefully, the worst of winter will be drawing to a close by then!

TISSUE BOX CHRISTMAS TREE

(See previous post first.)


One last scrap becomes a tree!  This one was decorated with red gems and a glittering gold star.  A little gold twine and some shiny sequins give this card a bright finish.

What will the next tissue box bring???

TISSUE BOX CHRISTMAS CARD

If you shop at Weis Markets, you might recognize the floral design from their tissue boxes.  After pulling up the last tissue in the box, I thought it would be a waste to throw it away (the box, that is!); so I used the side panel for the die cut on this card.

After stamping the poinsettia twice and cutting down one of them to pop up on the top, I painted the flower with Twinkling H2O's.  Then I layered the red one over the green with SU dimensionals, added yellow Stickles in the center and attached it to the card with dimennsionals.

Recycling at its best!

ORNAMENTAL PINE BACKGROUND

I've made a lot of cards featuring the Ornamental Pine set, but this time I wanted to try using it for a background.  The chickadee from Our Daily Bread Designs came with a coordinating die, which makes it easy use in a variety of ways.

First I stamped the pine bough a few times along the side of the panel, then ran it through my Cuttlebug with the stitched rectangle die.  After stamping the bird and coloring it with colored pencils, I used the matching die.  I cut away some unwanted branches before mounting it to the panel with dimensionals.  I added the greeting and used TomBow glue to attach both panels to the gray card.

Very easy to do!

PINECONE WREATH

When I saw this design (in more than one place) I knew I had to give it a try!

Using Colorbox Chestnut Roan ink, I stamped the pine cone at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock.  Then I went around again in between the first four after stamping off on a piece of scrap paper.  For more of a color variation, I switched inks to an Adirondack Rainbow pad, Woodlands.  Keeping to the left side of the pad (the browns) I continued around the wreath, stamping twice without re-inking each time.

I'm amazed at how easy this was the first time around!  I finished by adding the jute bow and greeting.  Finally, I used Diamond Stickles on the pine cones to give it some sparkle.

For the Klass-y wreath which inspired me most, click HERE.
Thanks, Bonnie!

JUST A REMINDER!

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!

TEXTURED WISHES

Ever finish a card and feel like it needs "something" for a final touch?  That's what happened here.

After stamping the pine branches and fussy cutting the two pinecones, I added the bow and greeting; but there was too much dead space at the bottom.  At first, I added the thin strip of dsp which had the same color red as the bow.  It still needed "something" however, but what???

Then I spied a piece of embossed cs that someone sent me ages ago (Bonnie, I think) and added it to the bottom.  As Frenchie would say (on YouTube) "voila!"  It was done!

TIP:  Sometimes, all a card needs is a little texture to give it interest without distracting from the simplicity of the card.

SIMPLE SATURDAY #37

ONE OF A KIND

This card was a lot of work, but worth the effort.  I started with the background trees dsp which covers the entire card front.  Next, I stamped the pine branches from SU Ornamental Pine on a piece of vellum and set it aside to dry.

The greeting was done using a vertical stamp with an ornament at the bottom which I cut off.  (Sorry, I don't remember the company.)  I cut it down to a banner and used it horizontally.  After stamping two pine cones and fussy cutting them, I assembled the card.

First, I glued the vellum panel down and added a strip of dsp across the top of it.  Then I added the pine cones, jute and greeting as shown.  Finally, I added the SU brad on the bottom corner.

This card took about an hour from start to finish, hence the "one of a kind" label.  The time spent includes the design idea and all the changes I made along the way.  A second one would probably take about 15 minutes, but I'm not up for that with all the cards I still need to make.  So far, I have 75 out of 100 done!

CHRISTMAS GREENS

Funny, but I almost scrapped this one.  When I started, the white panel was larger--too large for the effect I was going for.  When I cut it down, there was too much white space even after I mounted it on the dark green cs.

To fix it, I sponged heavily along the card edges and lightly on the panel edges.  Surprisingly, it worked!

Before attaching the panel to the card, I added the gold twine and gold-embossed pine cone.  Then I used SU dimensionals to add it to the card front and another dimensional behind the pine cone.

Whew!

ANOTHER FESTIVAL OF TREES CARD

First I stamped the trees with Versafine Smokey Gray, three times without re-inking.  Next I stamped the greeting in Memento Paris Dusk and added the various sizes of snowflakes with the same blue ink.  Once the stamping was done, I tore a narrow strip of white cs and added it to the bottom of the white panel and sponged the edges on the top and two sides.  Then I glued it to the dark blue panel and mounted it on the gray card front.

The Mothers Class will be making this one on Wed.

THREE OF A KIND--Holiday Knit

Another 3-of-a-kind card within the week!  This one was inspired by a Tim Holtz stencil.

The stencil reminds me of a Scandinavian sweater, which gives the cards a warm, cozy feel.  The easiest to work with was the round one done with Versamark and white embossing powder.  The top right was done with white pigment ink and clear embossed to keep it from smearing.  The bottom right was done with Versamark and clear embossing powder.

I think the first one is my favorite!

THREE OF A KIND--Festival of Trees

The SU Festival of Trees set is so versatile with many possibilities!

This first one features stars at the bottom of the tree--imagine that!  (Just my warped sense of humor at play here.)  After punching out the tree and running it through the Cuttlebug for the stitched rectangle, we mounted the panel with dimensionals over the dsp so that it showed through and also formed a border.



The second card is a shaker design I came up with for my own
Christmas card stash.  The tag is sandwiched with thin strips  of
foam tape to form the shaker and mounted over the large dots dsp.

Finally, the three trees were stamped on green cardstock and punched out over the snowy background along a piece of torn white cs.  Glitter was added for the snow.

These were all fun --and simple-- to make!


Do you know the story of  The Three Trees?  To make it short, one tree wanted to grow up and be a treasure chest.  Another wanted to be a big ship, and the last wanted to grow tall and point to the sky.  When it was time for them to be harvested, the first one became the manger for the baby Jesus.  The second one was a fishing boat that held the fishermen and their Master who calmed the sea.  Finally, the last was formed into a cross upon which the Final Sacrifice was made to take away our sins.  What a beautiful Christmas story!

CHRISTMAS BLESSINGS

This is one of those cards that looks better in real life!

However, I do like how it came out.  The twine bow is on the stem of a popped up pine cone from the Ornamental Pine set.  The greeting is from a Simon Says Stamp die cut set of "Christmas Blessings."

The plaid dsp is a deeper red than it appears here, giving it a richer look.

FESTIVAL OF TREES

This was an easy card for Mothers Class featuring another way to use this SU set and matching punch!

After stamping the tree, punching it out and adding rhinestones, we mounted it with dimensionals over a narrow strip of red foil paper.  Then we attached the first half of the greeting on the front, and the second half inside with a gold star holding it down.

Simple but elegant...

Z-FOLD HALLOWEEN CARD

The second card we made last week was this one for Halloween.  It couldn't have been easier!

First we folded back the front to form the Z.  Next, we used the Candy Corn die cut from Simon Says Stamp by attaching it to a white panel with rounded corners, coloring in the candy corn with markers and adding tiny black gems in the spaces.  After attaching the Halloween dsp to the front and inside panels, being careful to put adhesive on the left side only, we stamped the greeting on the inside over stars stamped in lilac.  For the final touch, we added the black twine bow.  It was a fun class!

MY COMPUTER IS BACK!

...AND SO AM I!


Even though I haven't been able to post photos, I have been busy stamping.  I now have 40 Christmas cards done (60 more to go..)  YAY!

This Z-fold card was for Mothers Class last week.  Although easy enough to do, it was time consuming because of all the steps and fussy cutting of the packages.  The dsp is from a 12 x 12 pad from Hobby Lobby that I had left over from last year.  The same Festival of Trees stamp set and punch has been (and will continue to be) used.  They had fun sanding the Swiss Dots embossing.  We added Stickles on all the red ornaments for extra shine.

It's been fun coming up with so many different ideas from the same stamp set.  Stay tuned for more...

STILL NO COMPUTER

Hope you all had a fun World Cardmaking Day! I made some neat cards and had a relaxing rainy day in the Tower. Since my computer is ten years old, I may have to get a new one...we'll see... Waiting for the repairman to get back to us, probably tomorrow.

GREETINGS FROM MY IPAD

My computer has died after having frozen up for weeks.  I hope to get blogging again soon!