THANK YOU NOTE

The nice thing about making your own cards is that when you need something special, you just get out your supplies and go for it. 

This is a thank-you note for a friend, made and mailed in one afternoon.  The tags were Very Vanilla cs, so the card wasn't as washed out as it looks here.

SQUIRRELY PASTOR CARD

I recently put together a SU catalog party and earned this adorable Hostess Set.  This tree can be used for Spring, Summer or Fall, depending on the color used for the leaves.

To get the two different colors, I first stamped the tree with Colorbox Chestnut Roan.  Then I used a green marker over the leaves.  I wasn't sure that would work; but as you can see here, it turned out just fine.

The squirrel is stamped in Versafine Smoky Gray.  I colored the acorn with a light green marker, keeping the whole image simple.  The scripture verse is from Verve Stamps, Scripture Medley 2.

CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT CHALLENGE

After doing very few challenges, this is the second one in ten days!  Could it be that reorganizing my "tower" so that I have more space on my table really helps my creativity???

Although I'm not too happy with cardinals lately (more on that at the end of this post) I got out my peg stamps for this ornament.  Adding the cardinal and music note was just the right finishing touch, as well as the green sponging around the circle.

The greeting was stamped on a white strip cut to size, but it looked too "heavy" for this card.  So I cut around the words to soften it.    The top of the ornament was made from a scrap of silver paper.  I cut a longer piece and put one end into the middle of the scalloped oval punch, punched it, then trimmed it down to fit the ornament.  Then I added a silver sequin and bow and mounted the finished ornament to the dsp with SU dimensionals.

The link for the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Challenge is HERE.

My Crazy Cardinal story:  Every morning at sunrise, one lone cardinal starts chirping (loudly!) and banging our windows.  This began in May and has been going nonstop every day until sundown.  Now  he seems to be eating berries--ask me how I know!  The only thing that stops him is to let one cat out on the back deck and the other in the front, except on rainy days when he stays put in a tree somewhere.  Unfortunately, our cats don't like to stay put on the decks all day...

SUNNY MEDALLION

This was the first card I made for the Papertrey Ink challenge last week.  Then I realized it wouldn't count because I didn't use a stamp from their company--duh...  So I made another one using their fern stamp which is posted below.

The leaf stamp for this card is from the SU set, "French Foliage" which is one of my all time faves.  I really liked this challenge because it made me use some brighter colors than usual.  Since it was stamped on white, I chose a navy blue panel to create the border over a white cs base.

I hope you like it as much as I liked making it!

SIMPLE SATURDAY #36

MAKE IT MONDAY--MEDALLIONS

Using one of the ferns from the Papertrey Ink set, "Meadow Greens", I made this Rainbow Medallion card for the challenge.  By the way, this set also has coordinating dies which I also love to use.

For a look at all the other submissions, click HERE.

PEG STAMP BOUQUETS

Someone who loves purple will be receiving this birthday card in a day or two.

The vase was re-discovered during my last cleanup, and it works best with my collection of peg stamps.  It came in a packet of several designs with a foam dot attached to each one.  Just another reason to re-organize my stash every now and then!  After stamping the flowers and leaves, I attached the vase and added the jute bow.  A little gray shading and a tiny flower gem, (purple, of course) and the card was done.

Later, I made two more pastor cards with another vase for one and a basket stamp for the other.

(Click on cards to enlarge.)


Love those peg stamps!

NEW TECHNIQUE

This card was a real challenge!  I tried a technique using the Herring Bone embossing folder, chalks, and dye inks for a background effect.  It was featured on the Papertrey Ink blog as "Combining Chalk and Stamps" with a video HERE.  I discovered that it works best with dye ink.  The top piece looks a bit plain, so I may have to add some sort of a border later.

The stamp set I used is Petal Power from Penny Black.

FOLLOW-UP TO JUNE 30TH POST

When my blotter and stamping table finally reached this much of a mess...

You can hardly see the blotter under the Cuttlebug.  Where was I to stamp or even imagine a card with all this "stuff" in the way??  It was definitely time...

(again!)




Two days later, the left side of my table looked like this...

...and the right side looked like this!



I now have room to spread things out (and FIND them!)  My creative juices are flowing once more, perhaps even better than ever.  I've done 25 new cards since this photo was taken on June 28th:  18 for our pastor, 3 Christmas cards and 4 birthday cards.  It's amazing how having a clean, inviting work space makes such a difference!

FROM THE SCRAP DRAWER #40

First, I stamped the verse on a narrow scrap of dsp.  Then I reached into the white/off-white drawer and pulled a scrap piece of heavy, pearlized card stock for the die cut. (Leaf Column Outline from Simon Says Stamp)

When I ran the leaf die cut through the Xyron label maker, there was a lot of glue left on it, especially in the loops.  After trying unsuccessfully to get it off, I just attached it to the green panel and sprinkled on some pale daffodil glitter over it.  Problem solved!

This will make another simple Pastor Card.

I JUST HAD TO SPLURGE...

...honest, I HAD to!

After all, Christmas is coming; and ampersands have been on my wish list for a long time!  The stamp set and matching dies are from Papertrey Ink.  They will get a lot of use--now & forever *wink*...

Once again, I raided my scrap box.  The dots dsp is from Stampin' Up and is the perfect backdrop for the sequins, making a festive card.  The more subdued pine tree dsp provides for a softer side-fold card.

Enjoy!

BLACK, WHITE AND SILVER

These Scripture cards are a little "louder" than I usually make, so I hope our  pastor can still use them.  They are definitely more modern than my usual style.

I have an old pad of glitter dsp that I hardly used, so I decided to give it a try.  These are the designs I came up with, inspired by the glittery dsp.

(Click to enlarge.)

HAPPY 4TH TO YOU!

FROM HOBBY LOBBY

I'VE BEEN BUSY!

With VBS coming next month, I thought it might be a good idea to supply our pastor with some cards to send to visiting families.  There are ten cards, all using the same verse and card recipe, but different borders and dsp.  The verse, Proverbs 30:5, encourages us to trust in the word of God and take refuge in Him--an appropriate evangelistic tone, don't you think?  (Click to enlarge.)

These cards were easy to do assembly-line-style.  All the dsp used were from scraps in my scrap box.  The verse was stamped on white, cut to size and sponged on the edges.  The stamped borders were from the SU set, "Bordering Blooms."

Quick, easy and fun!

BASIC BLACK CARDS

I don't usually go for black cardstock, except for Halloween cards; but these two fit the scraps I had perfectly.

First is a gray top-fold card.  The black panel is textured, and I wrapped some washi tape around the lower part.  The red frame and silver butterfly were in my stash, so I decided to use them here.  Since the butterfly was too plain, I stamped a butterfly swirl on its wing and embossed it.  I attached it to the card front as shown with a SU dimensional.  The verse was stamped in black and clear embossed, then cut down to the size I wanted.

TIP:  For the curve on the left, I held a circle on the top and cut around it.

For the second card in black, I used two pieces of musical dsp cut down from a larger piece that had the words included.  Since the lyrics were to "Strike Up the Band,"  I didn't think it would be appropriate for a pastor card!  With the fold on the left, I tied some jute around it and added the music note I found in my stash from ages ago.