PRESCHOOL TEACHERS THANK-YOU'S

The teachers at our Church's preschool are in need of thank-you notes as the school year comes to an end.  When they asked me to make some, I wasn't sure what I could come up with since I have very few child-related stamps.

This card is the solution I came up with, keeping it simple and to the point.  By using my alphabet dies and pasting them on primary color squares, I stacked the squares like blocks.  The sentiment is from an old SU! set, "Outlined For Fun."  After stamping "thanks" on the lower right and coloring it with markers in the same colors as the blocks, it was done.

Once again, CAS saves the day!

FOR A DYING FRIEND

What do you write to someone who has been battling Pancreatic cancer for two years and is now facing the reality of her final weeks?  As a believer, I could only think of words encouraging her to look to the hope she has in our Savior.

As the hymn goes, "Because He lives, I can face tomorrow...," whatever tomorrow may hold.  He is the One Who numbers our days and prepares a place for us in His presence to enjoy Him forever.  Death has indeed lost its victory and its sting for all those who look to Jesus Christ as their Savior.

  

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

The sun is finally shining here in NW NJ after many days of cold and rainy weather.  While truly grateful for the much-needed rain, the sunshine is a welcome relief.

Mothers Day was celebrated last night at my daughter's house with my son and DIL, all 4 grandchildren and a lovely dinner.  Both families now live just 20 minutes away which is a great joy.

I hope you are all having a wonderful day!

PAPER PUMPKIN ALTERNATE FOR APRIL 2016

After completing the wreath project that arrived in the April kit, I used one of the leftover labels for this card.

The card front is from the calendar kit in the December Paper Pumpkin, so I guess that makes it a double alternate.  After removing the calendar and salvaging what could be reused, I put them together as shown.

The wreath from this month's Paper Pumpkin is now hanging on the door to my Tower and is a perfect color match, too!

THREE OF A KIND--Split Card Front

It's butterfly season again (soon!)  Have you seen any yet in your yard?
At least we can enjoy them on cards.

These three started with the one on the top left.  I started with dry embossing on the front, then cut the diagonal.  The trick here is to trim the 1/2" off the  bottom instead of the angle (much easier.)

Next, I stamped the message, cut it into two pieces and mounted them with tape as shown.  The dsp panel was then mounted on the back of the top flap and the smaller piece was mounted on the bottom of the dsp, leaving the 1/2" gap.  Finally, the butterfly was die cut from the same dsp and attached with glue dots.

On the second card, I started out with sponging on a triangle stencil using blue and green dye inks.  The greeting was stamped on a scrap of the dsp underlay with the butterfly attached last.

Finally, the third card was done by mounting the dsp on top of the cardfront, using a scrap of cardstock in a matching color for the butterfly.  The greeting was stamped on a scrap of dsp with a small metallic butterfly.

The dsp for all three cards were from the Lil Inkers pack of Tribal Chic patterns.

FOR A BLOGGER FRIEND

I have a stamp that says "I love my computer.cause all my friends live in there."  How true!  I'm glad I also have many other friends on this side of the screen, however. 

This card will be going to one of my computer friends who has some health issues and hasn't left a comment or corresponded lately.  The stamps, two of them, are from a new set that recently arrived in the mail (how did that happen???)  It will be going out tomorrow (Monday) with a note of encouragement.

The flower is from the SU Botanical Blooms die set.  The dsp is from Lil Inker and coordinates with their triangle dies and this stamp set.

Spring is finally here.  The leaves are popping on all the trees and bushes, and the Spring flowers are bursting forth in their pastel colors.  The flower beds have all been mulched and hostas are poking through.  When anyone asks how I have such a beautiful yard, I just tell them it's because I sleep with the gardener LOL...

VELLUM FLOWERS

Online Card Classes this week was all about using vellum and acetate.  One of the things I learned was to use vellum as a way to soften bright dsp.  These little flowers are layered over flowers die cut from scraps of the dsp, more to provide contrast than softening in this case.  However, before taking this class I would never have thought of using the vellum as I did here.

The dsp, triangle and green leaves are from Lil Inker, and the flowers are from the SU Botanical Blooms dies.

PASTOR CARD

What a wonderful Psalm of encouragement!  When the Lord is on our side, we have the best help of all.

Here's an example:

The other night as we traveled home on Rte. 80 the tire pressure light went on just before the exit.  Since I was already in the right-hand lane (I have poor night vision) I was able to exit almost immediately.  By the time we got to the end of the exit ramp, the tire was flatter than a pancake!  I was able to pull well off the road a few feet ahead, thankfully.  As we waited for AAA to arrive and mount our spare, I could only think of how much worse it might have been!  The Lord was truly gracious in getting us safely home.

ROSE JUST FOR YOU

This is one of the cards I made with the borrowed set and the repurposed envelope liner featured in a previous post.

After embossing the image with clear ep, I fussy cut around the blooms to fit the corner.  It was then layered over the dsp and watermelon wonder cs.  I added green embroidery floss and embellished with a sequin and some pink (gasp!) gems.

SPRING TULIPS

This little stamp set from My Favorite Things goes a long way, and worked perfectly with this dsp.

After stamping and watercoloring the tulips on a large scrap of white cs, I stamped the greeting and mounted the panel on black.  Then I attached the tulip dsp from SU! to a card base of watermelon wonder and added the stamped panel with dimensionals.

I've used this stamp set several times, and really like how it turns out so well every time.

SKETCH CHALLENGE--PP292

Although the Paper Players sketch shows a circle in place of the triangle I used, I just couldn't resist using the new triangle dies from Lil Inkers again.

After cutting down a scrap of ldsp from a previous card, I chose the other colors and triangle pattern from that piece.  To brighten the card up a bit, I used some metallic silver embroidery thread and some Wink of Stella on the gray triangles.

This was a fun sketch to use!

FOR THE GRADUATE

Our assignment today at Online Card Class was to make a card using vellum.  Since I also needed a graduation card, this is what I came up with.  The trick with using vellum is in hiding the adhesives used.

First I glued the dsp to the card front.  Then I white embossed the saying on the vellum.  Next, I used the triangle dies I just got in the mail the other day from Lil Inker, choosing cardstock colors used in the designer paper.  No subtle colors here!

After adhering the triangles and sequins to the vellum, I turned it over and placed mini glue dots behind them.  Then I turned it over and pressed it onto the card.

For a final touch, I added some tiny red gems that matched the red in the dsp.

CALENDAR REDO--MARCH

This card was inspired by the dsp and gold medallion from the 2016 Paper Pumpkin calendar set.  Combined with the Botanical Blooms dies, this card was created.

For additional contrast, I  used an envelope liner that was in a card I received recently.  After removing it carefully from the inside of the envelope, I cut it down to use on two different cards.  For this one, there was only a narrow strip left, so I used an edge punch, then cut it down for the strip on each side.

Not all of my scraps come from the Scrap Drawer!

EMBOSSED POPPIES

Ever since I saw fields of wild poppies growing in Tuscany, I've loved stamping and coloring them.  Their bright red petals and black centers make them seem so dramatic.

These poppies were first dry embossed, then colored with chalks.  After mounting the white panel on black cs, I used dimensionals to attach them to a watermelon wonder cardbase.  For embellishment I added the black twine and black gems.

Poppies always bring back fond memories of our trip to Tuscany many years ago.

FROM THE SCRAP DRAWER

This card started out with two strips of dsp and no idea of how to use them.  After gathering some additional scraps in the same color family, I mounted the two strips side by side as shown.

Using my SU! bird punch for the leaves and stem. I used them to "connect" the two dsp strips.  Using the flower punch, I lined up the dsp so that the flower image would be in the center.  I curled the petals back and mounted it to the card front with a dimensional.  The butterfly was punched from a scrap of silver paper and mounted with a glue dot.

To fill in the space below the left strip I added a small greeting.   Next, I added a pearl in the center of the flower and two smaller ones on the butterfly.

For the final touch, I tore the right side of the cardfront and sponged it with warm gray ink.  I love how this card just evolved from a few scraps!

PASTOR CARD

This card started out with stamping the bird image, cutting it out and coloring the bird.  I set that aside and then proceeded to "build" a background for the Bible quote.

After die cutting the light blue piece with a rectangular stitched die, I cut it again with a smaller die to create a frame.  Then I glued it over the  darker blue and added the verse at the top and mounted the bird with dimensionals.

For a final touch, I tied a silver cord around the bottom right of the frame and made a knot.

QUICK PASTOR CARD

All I had to do for this one was adhere the strip of scalloped cs to the bottom of a piece of dsp from my stash.  The bird design was already printed on the paper which I cut so that it would be on the lower right corner. 

Once the background was glued down to the card front, all I had to do was stamp the word "Blessings" on a scrap of white cs, punch it out and glue it to the scallop punched scrap.  After mounting it on on the card with dimensionals, the card was ready to use.

FLOWERY ENCOURAGEMENT CARD

This is a sunny card to send to anyone going through a difficult time.  The verse helps to remind us that we are not alone during our struggles here in this life.

SIMPLE PASTOR CARD

This card features a silver banner, although it looks like a print here.  The dsp I used was light enough to stamp the verse over it.

The strip across the bottom of the banner is a piece of scrap from my scrap bin.  After gluing it down, I popped the banner up with dimensionals.

Another easy card that will be put to good use!

BIRTHDAY LATCH CARD

This is always a fun card to make and to send!  It looks difficult to make (to the non-cardmaker) but really is quite simple.

First I chose some coordinating dsp for the different sections and cut them to size.  After adhering them in place, I stamped the saying and the greeting and attached them to the front pieces as shown.  The latch piece was taped down to the inside of the card before the dsp was glued over it.

To position the white piece on the inside, I first used temporary tape to hold it in place on the back of the front rectangle.  Then I added tape to the back and pressed it down onto the inside of the card so that it would be hidden from the front of the card.  Once secured to the inside, I separated it from the front piece and rubbed off  the temporary adhesive.

For a better idea of just how this was all done, check out one of the many videos on YouTube

Here's a peek at the card as it is opened.

MARCH 2016 PAPER PUMPKIN ALTERNATE

This card was so easy to make.  I didn't time it, but I'm sure it was under 10 minutes because everything is pre-cut and/or folded in the SU! Paper Pumpkin kits.

First I folded the envelope together for mailing.  Next, I used the card base provided for the card.  Instead of using it for a gift card, I stamped the flowers across the middle using the stamp set and ink spot included.

Next, I stamped the sentiment on the floral square, stapled the two fish tales to the corner and mounted it over the floral square.  After adding the sequins and bakers twine bow, it was ready to mail.  In fact, it already went out as a birthday card!

One-of-a-kind Hexagon Card

This card is for my son's MIL who shares the same birthday as our eldest grandson.  Since I'll be hand delivering it tomorrow, I was able to add the center flower knowing that it wouldn't be smushed in the mail.

This didn't take long to do.  I just chose 3 designs from the Bohemian dsp pack and punched out the hexagons.  After gluing them down on a piece of Blackberry Bliss cs, I mounted the panel on the cardfront and stamped the greeting below.

Done!

RUBBERNECKER STAMP SET

Last Saturday was the Allentown Stamp Show where I found this fun 3-step stamp set.  It took a little getting used to since it is not as precise an image like I would ordinarily use.

First I stamped the leaves in Distress ink, then the stems in a darker green, spritzing with water each time before stamping on the watercolor paper.  Then I stamped the flowers.  To get the darker colors on the blooms, I used Distress markers, stroking upward from the base of each blossom.  I think the trick is to not overdo it.

It was interesting to stamp a little out of my comfort zone.  I didn't like the look at first; but after adding the greetings and embellishments, and also the mats, I'm happy with it.

As for the stamp show itself, I found it disappointing.  For some unknown reason, they grouped all the booths in just a portion of the large room.  Had they spread the booths out into the unused space, it would have been a lot less crowded.  However, I probably spent a lot less!

Big sister to the little rose in the previous post from the SU! "Birthday Blooms" set.

I stamped this on watercolor paper with Versamark and clear embossed it.  Then I used my  Peerless set to color in the rose and leaves. When it came time to mount it to a card, I first added the dsp and white glitter ribbon for the backdrop.  Then I mounted the finished image to a slightly larger piece of black cs. 

For the final touches, I applied some Crystal Stickles to the flower center and a small embroidery floss bow.  The panel was then attached with dimensionals.

I can see why this is such a popular set!


TIP:  To add some new images to your collection, try swapping sets with a friend for a week at a time!

FEELING KINDA SAD

This little rose is often overlooked in favor of the larger rose blossom in the SU! :"Birthday Bloom" set.  It does make a nice card, however.

HAPPY EASTER

HE IS RISEN!

He is risen, indeed!

Just as I like to keep Christ in Christmas, I also like to keep His resurrection central to Easter when making cards.  We'll be celebrating with a family meal and an Easter egg hunt for the grand kids on Easter Eve, just before our daughter and her family leave for WDW the next morning.  This trip was their Christmas gift to their two boys and has been much anticipated.

The stamp I used is one from SU! that I've had for years.  I like to add a black dot for the eye and some green gel pen on the olive leaves.  With the dsp I used and the die cut blossoms, this card was a quick one to make.

I wish you all a Happy Easter!

PASTOR CARD FOR TEEN BOY

I thought this verse would be encouraging for a young man  heading off to college or out to the working world.  We could all use this reminder from the Psalms, don't you think?

The only embellishment here are the three color-coordinated sequins and the matching embroidery floss at the bottom.

FOR MY BLOG FRIENDS

(Click to enlarge.)

MASCULINE PASTOR CARDS, PART II

Using blocks of color or patterns helps in making a card more masculine--as long as there are no flowers.

I saw a version of the card on the left with the punched square, but I can't remember where I saw it.  My apologies to the designer.  The card on the right was a pretty standard design.  It really is easy when you use a pad of coordinated dsp since all the colors will match.

MASCULINE PASTOR CARDS

Our pastor recently requested some masculine cards, so this is one of the images I used.  Black and white certainly works for more manly cards.  Notice the absence of flowers.

To add just a hint of color, I added some beige and brown chalks on the geese.

These were simple to make once I came up with the design!

FLOWERY BIRTHDAY CARD

I must say, Stampin' Up was gotten better than ever lately.  This English Garden dsp is just perfect for Spring and early summer.  I also enjoy the bundles they've started offering in their catalogs.  (Not a sales pitch here, just praise for a job well done from a happy customer!)

Inside the card  reads "the best."  This set from Our Daily Bread Designs has a bunch of other greetings to follow "Wishing,"  which makes the set quite versatile.

SUPER SIMPLE EASTER CARD!

This is one of my favorite Easter cards this year.  All it took was a panel of the beautiful English Garden dsp from SU!

After stamping the verse on the dsp and mounting the panel to the cardfront, I added the embroidery floss on the side.  For embellishment, I kept it simple with crystals in the center of the blue flowers and some tiny black "seeds" in the Hollyhock blossoms.

EASY EASTER CARD!

This dsp makes the perfect backdrop for these daffodils.  All I had to do was stamp the image twice, once for the main image and another to pop out the blossoms with dimensionals.

A little Wink of Stella and some gray pencil to ground the flowers, and it was done!

SPRING IS ALMOST HERE!

This card was inspired by a tri-panel painting in my husband's eye doctor office.  This is a simplified version, but what inspired me was the colors used against the foreground of the white bare trees.

The inside stamp shown here is one I use often in winter cards as encouragement that Spring will always follow Winter, which is never too soon for me!

ALL PURPOSE BOTANICAL BLOOMS

I still need a few more Easter cards, so that's what I'll most likely use this one for.

These Botanicals and matching dies are amazingly versatile!

SIMPLE SATURDAY #43

I enjoyed a whole day of stamping

in the tower on Saturday, but never got to post this

because I came down with the flu bug

that's been going around.

After 36 hours of symptoms, I finally

started feeling better this afternoon and managed to

get some of the warm sunshine and mild temps.

Hope to have my energy back soon!

PAPER PLAYERS #284

Paper Players this week is a sketch, and I also plan to give this card  to our pastor for his use..

I got the color scheme from a SU! pad of dsp I bought at a garage sale last summer.  I like the brightness of the colors, tempered with the gray.

As you can see, I'm still thrilled to use the Botanical Blooms dies.  The flower sequins have been in my stash for ages, and there were some purple ones that matched--amazing!

Check out the other entries HERE.

HELLO, FRIEND

I thought it best to show the inside as well as the outside for this card.  To start, I covered the front with a piece of dsp.  Next, I added a strip of the coordinating dsp from the Boho collection.  Then I punched out the middle square and three dsp squares with the 1 1/4" punch.  Two dsp squares were glued to the purple strip, and the third was mounted on the inside of the card so that it shows through the punched square.





After adding the embellishments and the white embroidery floss  on the front, I stamped the inside and added some sequins. 

SCHOOL COLORS

Our granddaughter, a Freshman at the same school as her brother, also made High Honors this year.  Her card is done in school colors using some SU! dsp for the gold and cardstock for the blue.

The pattern is taken from the same book used in yesterday's post.  In addition to the die cut Botanical Blooms, I added some gems and gold thread for embellishment.  Flower petals were also enhanced with some clear Wink of Stella.

We are so proud of all four of our grandchildren--can you tell?.  They are all  doing well academically and in their sports and/or music interests.  Must be genetic! *wink*

MASCULINE CONGRATS CARD

This is the card I made for my grandson who made high honors and will be going to the awards banquet next month.

The rabbit is the basis of some private jokes between him and my husband, so I included it here.  I'm sure he'll get a chuckle out of it!

The card pattern is from a book called "Originals" by Jeanette R. Lynton.  I bought it several years ago, and it's been sitting on the shelf in the Tower ever since. It has lots of ideas and layouts which I plan to try in the weeks ahead.  Then I plan to send it to one of my followers, so stay tuned!

PAPER PUMPKIN FEBRUARY 2016--Alternate Idea

After cutting down one of the card fronts, I mounted it on a piece of light blue cardstock.  I stamped Hello and "birthday girl" and added some of the flowers from the stamp set included in the paper pumpkin.

Using a white card base, I glued the floral dsp from Botanical Blooms to it and mounted the stamped piece to the front of the card. Then I stamped the party hat on a scrap of white cs, fussy cut it and mounted it over the "o" with a dimensional..

Finally, I used some Wink of Stella on the party hat and added some of the sequins from the kit.to give it some shine.

PAPER TREY INK CHALLENGE

This was a fun alphabet challenge where you used the letters in your name to make a new card.  Here's what my name required:
S for stitching
M for mixing of 2 stamp sets, one of which must be PTI
I for impression plate (Embossing folder)
T for twine
H for heat emboss

My card started out with a fern from the PTI Meadow Greens stamp and die set where I turned a fern into a fir tree!  How?  By using the negative space created by the fern die and then using the space as a stencil.  I sponged the "tree" with dark green ink, then clear embossed it.  The background was sponged with two shades of green ink and some blue for the sky.    After adding "snow" on the branches with a white gel pen, I used a stitched rectangle die.  Then I enhanced the stitched border with a black ink pen.

Next, I chose a pale green cardstock for the base and a dark green cs for the dry embossed border, even though the border shows only a tiny bit.  I wrapped some twine across the bottom of the rectangle and mounted it in the center of the frame with foam mounting tape.  Finally, I added the greeting from a SU! set.

Click HERE for the other entries.

VALENTINE FOR SOMEONE SPECIAL

...EXTRA SPECIAL, THAT IS!

This one is going to my husband.  Since the name of our property is "Fox Mountain" this image is very appropriate.

When my then boyfriend came to take me out on our first date, my dad told me "Don't let this one get away."  Egads! That was a half century ago!

My dad gave me good advice.

TROPICAL BLOOMS IN MID-WINTER!

I just spent a pleasant afternoon in the Tower where I decided to combine two sets which really go together nicely:  the bird from "A Happy Thing" and the new Botanical Blooms bundle.

The birds were stamped with Distress Pumice Stone and colored with markers.  The bottom left was fussy cut and placed on a more subdued pattern.  For the others were, I die cut them with an oval die so they'd show up more on the dsp.  After choosing cardstock that fit the colors used, I had fun embellishing with flowers, gems and sequins.

Can you tell that I enjoy this Botanical set?

NOT SO SIMPLE SATURDAY #42

 ...but not difficult--just time consuming.  Here is a tip for using numerous dies:

TIP:  Before starting to put together on the cards. first run multiple dies through the Big Shot at once to save time.  Just lay the small pieces of cardstock with the dies on top of the cutting plate and run all of them through at once.  Do it again with other colors as desired.  Be sure to put all the pieces in a small container so they don't get lost in the shuffle.


I had a pleasant day here in the tower with the sun streaming through the windows and all these beautiful Botanical Blooms to play with!

BTW, these two cards were made to fit #6 3/4 envelopes, which are cheaper than the usual invitation size.  The dimensions are 5 1/2 x 7", folded in half to form a card front that is 5 1/2 x 3 3/4.  You still get 2 cards per sheet of cardstock.  Since I send out 500 or so cards a year, the savings are quite a bit for me.

ANOTHER GOLD SOIREE VALENTINE

The metallic gold-lined dsp made the perfect backdrop for the two banners, two medium sized hearts, three smaller hearts and the sequins.  There are three more hearts inside with "Celebrate"  from the SU set, "Send a Celebration."  How appropriate!

HAPPY GROUND HOG DAY!

Let's hope Phil won't be bearing the bad news of.six more weeks of winter.  So far, we've had it easy here in NW New Jersey.  I, for one, would like to keep it that way!

PAPER PLAYERS TIC-TAC-TOE #PP280

As soon as I saw Flowers, Die Cuts and Yellow in the same row, I knew just what I wanted to do, thanks to the Botanical Blooms set!

TIP:  To keep the inner parts of the petals from flattening in the mail, I prop them up with tiny pieces of clear foam tape.


HERE is the link to the Paper Players web site.