Bohemian Birthday

This turned out to be a simple masculine birthday card.  I used my MISTI to line up the diamond stamps on the left.  I kept the stamps on the cover, but moved the paper each time so that everything came out straight up and down.

To line up the birthday greeting on the acrylic block, I first lined it up (smooth side up) on my grid paper.  Then I pressed the block, which has grid lines etched on one side, onto the stamp so that I could keep it straight along the diamond strip.  To finish off the card, I mounted the panel with dimensionals on a light green card (looks white here) and added the sequins.

I've added a few new tools in the Tower lately that have really been a help.  My faves are the MISTI, the magnetic platform for the Big Shot, and the mint-colored B plates which I no longer have to hunt for on my table.

PASTOR CARD SET

This is the card I designed for our pastor to use as a follow-up outreach for VBS.  He sends a little note to the non-church families who bring their children to our VBS program.

To make this card, I first stamped the verse and ran it through the Big Shot with the rectangular die.  The dsp strips were then cut at 1 1/2" wide to completely fit underneath the curved opening.  (To find the width you need, measure from the top of the curve to the lowest point.  Otherwise, as I learned from experience, you'll have a gap.)

After cutting the SU Pear Pizazz cs 4 1/4" x     4 3/4", I die cut the curve and attached all the pieces to the card front as shown.  The leaf was cut with a die I bought at Hobby Lobby last year which has an outline die and another insert that embosses the veins in the leaf at the same time.  (Sorry, I don't know the company name.) I sponged the leaf with Distress ink and attached it to the card with a SU dimensional.  The pearls were added in one strip and curved to match the opening. 

Although time consuming with so many steps, this was an easy card to make.

WAY TO GO, KRISTEN!

This card is for my granddaughter's graduation party tomorrow.  I used the sentiment from Cheerful Critters and made the flower from scraps on my table.  I'll be enclosing a gift card, of course.

All 4 of our grandchildren excelled in school this year, and we are proud of them all.  (Insert grandma brag here...)  Kristen will start High School next year.  Elliot also "graduated" from Kindergarten, Owen goes up to 5th grade, and Freddy will be a Senior looking at colleges.  WOW!  Where did all those years go?

We are truly thankful for all the Lord has been doing in our family, Christian schools and churches.  It is a wonderful blessing to watch your children and grandchildren grow in the Lord, especially now that they all live close by.

ANOTHER SHAKER CARD

I can't get over how much I've enjoyed using the Paper Pumpkin kit.  This card uses some dsp (not included in the kit) with lots of yellow--perfect for butterflies!

The triangles on the bottom and the sponging along the edges are to cover smudges that just appeared out of nowhere...true confession...  I also added a strip of the yellow dsp to highlight more of the yellow.

Matching envelopes are a fun way to complete a theme.  For this one, I pierced a butterfly image by using a vellum butterfly as a template, piercing through it.  Easy!

NEGATIVE HELLO

This is the fourth card I made after the three shown in the previous post.  I kept it really simple, using the negative space from the self-stick greetings supplied in the Paper Pumpkin I used.

The dsp is from a pad of SU 4 1/2 x 6 1/2" paper stack which I also found at the yard sale mentioned below.  The ticket corners were created with a circle punch to add a little interest without embellishment.  I'm amazed at how the dsp perfectly matched the paper from the Paper Pumpkin kit!

THREE OF A KIND

I recently took advantage of a SU yard sale to pick up a few retired items.  In addition to some paper packets and a few stamp sets, I also found a Paper Pumpkin that had never been opened.  Since it was half price, I thought it would be interesting to try it out.  The one I purchased was from Dec. 2014 labeled "Shaker Cards."

The first thing I noticed was that it was beautifully wrapped in tissue paper inside.  There was also a surprise gift of a paper piercing set which I plan to give to a friend since I already have one.

Next was a packet of pre-cut window sheets and frames for the shakers, the coordinating embellishments, the card bases for 9 cards and the matching envelopes.  They even included narrow strips of dimensional foam adhesive as well as 6 stamps and an ink pad square.  Actually, I was quite impressed with all that it contained.

The step-by-step instructions were easy to follow with photos of each step.  The card on the lower right was the first one I did as I followed the instructions.  I added the butterfly embellishment from my own supplies.  The next card was the top right on which I added a butterfly from a pad of SU printed vellum and a scrap piece of glitter rick-rack.

The card on the left was super easy to do after completing the previous two.  I simply glued the dsp to the front of the card, added the shaker ingredients and mounted the shaker window over it.  The butterfly was punched from the same color glitter paper as the "hello" and mounted with a glue dot.

For more Paper Pumpkin ideas, check them out on YouTube!

CUTE CARE AND CONCERN CARD

My friend, Jan, gave me an old packet of lightweight paper that she came across while decluttering recently.  Since it tore very easily, I thought it would work perfectly for a peek-a-boo card.

After stamping and coloring the image in "From the Herd" (SU!), I cut an X with my craft knife and ripped the edges as shown.  I added the sentiments inside and out from the same set. 

For a final touch, I coated the eyes with Glossy Accents.  Hopefully, this will cheer someone who needs a pick-me-up.

NEED A QUICK CARD?

Colored cardstock and a generous piece of designer paper help get a card off to a good start.

After stamping this label frame, I colored the bird and brushed on  some Wink of Stella.  Next, I took the SU piercing template and used my paper piercer to outline the label.  Then I cut a rectangle around it and sponged the edges with blue ink, stamped the greeting, and mounted the image to the card with dimensionals.

For embellishment, I added a few shiny sequins.  I didn't time it, but I'm sure it was under 10 minutes to make this card.  Enjoy!

SIMPLE SATURDAY #39

(Click to view heart details.)

RAINBOW RESIST

It's fun making your own resist paper with clear embossing powder and Distress inks!

After clear embossing one of the flower images from the SU Mixed Bunch set, I sponged in a circular motion over each of them.  After adding the bakers twine, tiny tag and coordinating sequins, I mounted the panel to the white card front with dimensionals.

Another easy card!

ALL SEASON STAMP SET

When I saw this stamp set on line, I knew it could be used for any season.  The verse is perfect for our pastor to make use of, although the trees and fence (one stamp) can be used for many occasions.  I used it for some of my Christmas cards last year.

To make this a summer card, I simple took two shades of green Distress markers and pounced them around the trees and fence posts.  Then I used my water brush to fill in the color. 

For a winter scene, I left the trees bare and added glitter along the top of the hill and around the fence posts.  For Fall, I would use autumn colors for the leaves; and for Spring, more yellow with less blending.

This set is "Winter Fenceline" from Serendipity Stamps.

DESIGNER PAPER INSPIRATION

Sometimes it's fun to start out with a piece of dsp and work around it.  This one had the red arc on the left side, so I mimicked it with the label and vertical sentiment.  The red sequin tied in the color a bit.

After adding 3 pearls on the right side of the arc, I ran the card through the Big Shot.  When smooshed under pressure like that, they look like pearly flowers.  (Ask me how I knew that...)

I'm discovering lots of ways to make better use of my dsp collection.  Look at the patterns in your stash and see what you come up with for inspiration--you'd be surprised at what you can use!

I'M BACK!

I spent weeks of tearing the StampingTower apart looking for my camera battery and charger, and I finally resorted to prayer in order to find them.  After all, the Lord knew where they were, right?  (Why do we use prayer as a last resort instead of starting off there???)  Anyway, I no sooner said "Amen" when He graciously brought to mind that I had moved the charger to another room where I was taking photos of memorabilia for my Dad's album.

This photo was on the disk, and I barely remember making these cards for our pastor.  Enjoy!

MONOCHROMATIC CARD

After inking the flower with Versafine Imperial Purple and applying green marker for the stem, I stamped it three times without reinking.  Then I layered the panels as shown.

Very easy!

GIFT CARD SLIDER

(Sorry for the blurring--I've been having camera problems.)

Instead of a gift card, I made a tag to use as a book mark.

For directions on making these cards, take a look at Dawn Griffith's videos on YouTube.  She does a great job, and her other videos are great too!

FROM THE SCRAP DRAWER--Birthday Blossoms

This top-fold card was made using scraps that were still on my table from previous projects which actually never made it to the Scrap Drawer.  The yellow and white panels were glued together in case I needed an extra during the Tuesday beginners class.  The green strip was also a left over which I cut in half and glued to the card front as though it went all the way across.

The flowers*  were stamped on a larger scrap of white cs, fussy cut and mounted to the panel with dimensionals.  The greeting was stamped on a scrap of yellow, punched out and mounted below the image with dimensionals.

The final touch was the addition of 3 tiny self-stick blossoms and some yellow Stickles to the center of the rose.


*SU "So Very Grateful"

THREE OF A KIND--Sorta...

Usually, I do three of the same image.  These three are from the same SU set*, so I figured that was close enough.

The poppy was stamped with black ink and colored with Distress markers:  Fired Brick for the bloom and Frayed Burlap for the bud.  I added the red line on the side with just a ruler and the same marker used on the poppy.  The Bible verse and twine were added before mounting the panel to the card front with SU dimensionals.  The final touch was the Wink of Stella (pen) on the blossom.

The bird was stamped in Smokey Gray and colored with 2 shades of blue markers, one of which I used to highlight the verse.  The border was hand drawn with markers.  The twine was added before mounting the panel to the card front with dimensionals.

The berry branches were stamped with Smokey Gray and colored with markers.  I decided to make them blueberries, enhancing them with Wink of Stella and Glossy Accents.  Then I added a double line on the side and a few sequins above the verse.

Aside from being from the same set, these three cards also feature hand-drawn accents, Bible verses suitable for Pastor cards and a CAS* design.  Please click on the photo for a closer look.

*CAS--Clean and Simple
SU set is, appropriately, "Simply Sketched"

AUTHENTIC DOGWOOD STAMP

This stamp by Hero Arts is the only one I've seen (so far, anyway) that has Dogwood blooms with four petals instead of five.  There is a "Legend of the Dogwood" which is appropriate for Easter, but it requires an authentic 4-petal Dogwood blossom.

The leaves on this stamp are very dark, but I wanted the blossoms to be much lighter.  So I first stamped the image in Versafine Olympia Green and stamped a second image in Smokey Gray stamped off once.  I then colored both as shown with colored pencils.

Next, I cut the white cs close to the image on the sides, sponged the edges with Smokey Gray and glued it to the green dsp which I had already glued to the card front.  Then I added the lighter blossoms over the image with dimensionals.

The greeting, from the SU "Painted Petals" set, was stamped in the Olympia Green and mounted on the card with dimensionals.  The final touch of Diamond Stickles was applied to the centers of the blossoms.

This card is going to a Silver Stamper who is 88 and makes the most amazing cards!

BIRTHDAY TULIPS

This card was made using a set from My Favorite Things.
After stamping the tulips and greeting, mounting on a matching panel of pearlized purple cs, and adding it to the bottom left of the card front, the REAL fun began!

It was a challenge to add just enough sparkle with sequins, dots and gems without overpowering the simple image.  This took longer than all the previous steps, but I'm finally happy with how it turned out.

Enjoy!

FEMININE BIRTHDAY CARD

This was stamped three times across a top fold card using the floral stamp in the "So Very Grateful"  SU set.

After coloring in the images with markers, I glued on tiny flower embellishments I picked up at Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago.  Then I added the sentiment which is from an old SU set of wooden stamps, "Wonderful Words."  Since it will be a birthday card, I handwrote the word "you" underneath the "e" in "Celebrate," following the curve of the stamp.

To pull all the purple colors together, I used deckle-edged scissors along the bottom and added a 3/4" strip of purple pearlized cs on the inside and another narrow strip along the top of the card as a finishing touch.

The colors are a little bright; but after the winter we just had, I think it will be a welcome change!