Cards Galor!

TIME TO MAKE THE CARDS!

Mother's Day Card Variety 2016

My project:  Make 100 Mother's Day Cards    Why?:  It's a secret!    

I spent lots of time up front planning and thinking about card  designs.  I wanted to streamline as many steps as possible without compromising the quality of my end product.  

 I totally enjoyed the creative process here.

After lots of trial and error, I came up with four designs that I was happy with. 

I pulled out some Sizzix dies, various brand paper punches, paper trimmer, and adhesives and got busy... 

Card #1

 I used the Sizzix  Bigz Card In  A Box Die designed by Lori Whitlock #660296....  This die cuts/scores  the card box as well as side liners and detailed elements to fill the card...   I decided to cut only the main card portion from the die and cut all the other elements that I would need using a paper trimmer and various paper punches. Due to the volume of cards I was making it would take way too much time to cut the required number of elements for each card using the die itself as it would require me to make many passes through the Sizzix machine.

I made a variety of color combinations and was really pleased with how they turned out....

Card #2

I used the Sizzix Bigz Center Step Card by Lori Whitlock # 659724 

I created two similar designs and changed things up a bit by adding punched paper flowers to one and silk flowers to the other.   All sentiments are computer printed.

                                 Card #3                                      

I used the Sizzix Bigz Pop N Cut  Card by Karen Burniston # 657802.

I created a variety here using the same basic design but changing colors/types of paper and adding some coordinated elements.  Some have a more vintage look while others more whimsical.  

   The Stamp'in Up bird punch is used to add a sweet embellishment.

All sentiments are computer printed.

Card #4

And last but not least....  an Easel Card - I used my paper trimmer to cut these out along with  

lacey rectangle dies from Lifestyle Crafts, a  Darice embossing folder, and a Fiskars punch element. 

All sentiments are computer printed.

The Craziness Continues ..

No post since February 2015!   What is going on here? .... I just can not seem to get everything together...  Priorities are always changing and most  of the time my love for crafting and sharing has to take a back seat ...  I find myself being pulled in so many directions.   I am not complaining... this is my current state of life and it is just fine......   The past month has reminded me once again to take a big deep breath and  "CHILL" .... remember how powerful prayer is, and how VERY LUCKY I AM no matter what small or larger bump in the road  comes my way!  

That being said... here is my share!

Once October comes around the crazies begin.....   This year, a birthday milestone... 

Sweet 16!   Wow...  I still continue to be in denial... How can my daughter be 16???   She is growing so quickly...  No longer a sweet little girl but a sweet wonderful young lady that we are so very proud of!   Looking ahead now to driving.... college.... Mmmmmm....Unbelievable!

My take on Sweet 16....    The inspiration comes from something I have saved from my own Sweet 16... 38 years ago!  It's a Sweet 16 sugar bouquet... One would think that sugar would disintegrate after this long,  but I am here to tell you that it has held up pretty well and the photo below is proof of that!

Way back then, Sweet 16 brought along with it a sugar bouquet made by my Auntie with 16 sugar cubes for good luck.....    Pink and white were the traditional Sweet 16 colors...

That was then....

This is now......

My daughter's favorite color orange replaces the pink and tiny sugar cubes replace the larger ones(my search was unsuccessful ..maybe they do not make them any more?).

I used the bouquet as a focal point by propping it up in  a crystal vase ...

                      Sugar bouquet complete...  On to the invitations...

 Years ago I had seen a YouTube video of a crafter (sorry I do not remember which one) utilizing Dollar Tree bridal favor  boxes.  She covered the pre-printed bridal dress design by adding scrapbook  papers/laces etc.. in order to be able to use the dress design boxes for more general gift giving.  

 So more inspiration came from this....
                                                 
 I used the bridal dress box shape as a base pattern with a few adjustments...  I traced the pattern onto various colors pf scrapbook paper,  fussy cut them, and then added coordinating sheer ribbon ties and a few sparkle gems...

The white invitations bases were purchased on clearance at Target a few years ago and                 worked out great... They are basically an embossed pouch design with a card insert.                        I added a few more touches with stamped images, stickles glitter glue, and a Sweet 16 tag.

        Invitations galor!

                               The insert below carries the theme of 16 sugar cubes - just some computer clip

                               art accented with stickles glitter glue.......

A Sweet 16 wreath inspired by YouTuber:   MayMay Made It Crafts...
Using a Dollar Tree Wire wreath, some orange netting and more sweet  
dresses....

A Sweet 16 banner which I decorated using a pre-made Target  $1
spot banner as the base adornss our fireplace....  

And no party would be complete without a  cartouche "Crown" this one was made using a Sizzix die which was designed by Brenda Walton and then I embellished with Bravissimo elements and a few other things I had on hand.... 

Last but not least ... Party Favors...  Dollar Tree bridal favor boxes camouflaged to look like little dress boxes covered front and back and tied with a sheer coordinating ribbon...

Side View .... Not too large but able to accommodate a small purse size hand lotion.. Just perfect!

2014 ..... A YEAR IN RETROSPECT ???..

When I tell you I can not believe it is February 2015, I do not lie!

The past year has totally blown by, having a few bumps in the road that I would have prefered to do without, but I really can not and will not complain...

Once that month of October hits it seems time speeds and I end up here!    School activities and sports rev up ...  Birthdays and holiday preparations and so many get togethers all within the same few weeks...

It seems my best attemps to be consistent with this blog have failed terribly ..  All I can keep telling myslf is to forge ahead and do my best.... So that I will...    Let's see where 2015 brings us?

Today's share.. Some Valentine projects...

A sweet card for a sweet 10 month old Great Nephew (yes I did say GREAT!) and a small Christmas  tree turned into a Valentine tree....

Sweet and Simple Hedghog ...

Valentine for Baby's First!

Using some cardstock (think some of it was K&Co) and a Valentine hedgehog rubber stamp I found at Michael's Craft store I came up with a very simple design.  

The hedgehog was stamped and colored with Spectrum Noir markers. I used some flower soft, and glossy accents to give the little critter some texture.  I punched and layered three sets of paper hearts and added computer printed "Baby's"  "First"   "Valentine's"......   A strip of Dollar Tree tape and some puffy sticker hearts pull everything together.



The inside ....   Some sweet sentiments all from a pack of Target dollar spot stickers...

 O... Valentine Tree....O... Valentine Tree...

I've mentioned many times in my blog that I love the winter season and Christmas...  I tend to keep decorations up until February.... and this idea gave me an excuse  to keep a tree up a little bit longer!

This tree is one of the smaller Christmas trees that I put up.  I normally decorate it with birds, pinecones, ribbons, and floral holly picks...   It sits on top of an old crate in a corner of my dining room...  Transformation into a Valentine tree was simple  and I loved the way it turned out!

I added a paper tag (from a K & Co Valentine paper pack) which I bordered with lace, some heart garland, and a few handmade LOVE banners that I stamped and colored....

Find Your Inner Mermaid!

Summer Celebration Mermaid Theme Party Favors

What is a party without favors?  

As my mother would say..."That will never do".....

My mission was to create at least 20 mermaid party favors with supplies I had on hand.

At the forefront is Julie Nutting's Sea Sally stamp and Tim Holtz's Starfish and Seahorse cutting die... Other supplies:  Tim Holtz distress inks, Spectrum Noir markers,  scrapbook papers:  solid cardstock and lighter weight printed papers, Glossy Accents, Lindy's Stamp Gang sprays, miscellaneous embellishments, and adhesive... 

I stamped the full mermaid image on light colored card stock and then stamped the tail/fin section on printed, light weight, scrapbook paper.  I cut the images by hand in order to complete the paper piecing.  

I colored the mermaids' hair and bandeau with Spectrum Noir markers..I am not an expert at shading but I was happy with my results.  Once the marker dried, I covered the bandeau with glossy accents and added a jewel to get a bit more texture and sparkle.

I used different colors of  Tim Holtz distress inks to soften around the edges as well as to add some shading to the mermaids' upper body and face...

My finished mermaids... Love Em!  next step... add them to the SEA!        

I had some smaller white chipboard albums in my stash (got them on clearance - yah!!) so I cut them to the appropriate size.  I liked having the punched holes to the side.  I used Lindy's Stamp Gang sprays to create my "SEA"....   No two cards would look quite the same with the color variations and a bit of metallic which added lots more interest........

  

I adhered a sand dollar and seahorse die (added distress ink to these as well)  to each of the cards, added a completed mermaid and a stamped sentiment banner ... "The Voice of the Sea Speaks to the Soul" (I don't know the brand), embellished with a few punched flowers and greens and added glass fish beads.The final step was to attach a bunch of colorful fibers and a tiny dangling heart charm through the top hole punch...

Hope this helps you find your Inner Mermaid! 

Dorthy Shoes!

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME.... 
             THERE"S NO PLACE LIKE HOME.....

 "Mom,  I need some Dorthy shoes ... You know Ruby Slippers... We've got the costume, just need the shoes..." 

  Small requests like this are quite the norm at my house... If you have kids in school that are involved in activities and special clubs you know what I'm talking about...

I don't mind... I like a bit of a creative challenge and I have learned over the years nothing has to be perfect..  

The only real challange here... No heels ...  These shoes would be doing lots of walking and the wearer Dorthy (my daughter) can not walk in heels!

My creation....    My version of  Dorthy's Ruby Slippers.....

$5 white canvas sneakers covered with red fabric paint and red glitter with fancy ribbon glitter ties 

there you have it!    

What's next?    I'm ready!

Happy Birthday Mom! (A year later!)

Well, my intentions for posting monthly are good, however.....   what can I say...  I have no excuses so I will forge ahead and share another cute idea for a Birthday bouquet that I created for my Mom's birthday last year (Yes, I said last year... Please do not judge me!).  
There are so many clever ideas on You Tube and Pinterest. 
Here is my take..

With just a tiny bit of elbow grease and use of lots of STUFF I had on hand...  Voila!  So cute!  

The base is made from a tag sale find - candle stick (probably 25 or 50 cents) and a large recycled jar.   

The candle stick gets attached to the bottom of the jar.  
I like E-6000 adhesive.

Once you've gotten the base constructed, the creative fun begins. This is my favorite part!         

You can keep it simple or go crazy.  There are so many options.

My idea was focused on creating paper flowers and incorporating some small gifts...  

I created all the flowers with EK Success flower punches and used a variety of printed and solid papers(some Tim Holtz), as well as vintage buttons.  I used floral wire lengths for the flower stems to allow me to manipulate the placement of the flowers in the bouquet..  

I had some small bags probably 1"x2" that I hot glued to wooden skewers.  I used some stickers to embellish the bags and then filled the bags with wrapped pieces of candy. 

I had a couple of small items with cute packaging that I hot glued to the skewers as well (sorry, you can not really see all from this photo) .... There was a decorative scissor, tissue pack, etc...
        
I stuffed some decorative clear cellophane(with a small printed design) in the jar, letting the edges hang over the sides of the jar.  The cellophane helps support all the stems which get placed in the jar without having to use styrofoam. 
        
I stamped and cut a few word embellishments (I think the stamps were from an old Inkadinkado set that I have).
I printed and cut the center "Birthday Girl"  for the Bravissimo embellishment that I included...

The final touch.... a fluffy ribbon/bow made from white tulle.  

          There you have it!

   
   

FUN WITHOUT THINKING TOO MUCH!

I am in overload mode with my stamp collection...  It has become just that a collection as I forget what I have and tend to be very lazy when it comes to actually using what I have.   I need to sort and come up with an organizational method that will work for me...  There are so many videos on You Tube and I have come across many great ideas, however, I really need to figure out what will work out best for me in the space that I have so I have a better idea what I have and where I can find it.....

I needed a birthday card for my niece and I had some time so I decided I would take the plunge! and use
a stamp that was in my stash...

This was so much fun... not so quick, but fun...

I used an old  INKADINKADO stamp that I had, a  Lifestyle Craft oval die, some floral/leaf trim, paper, ribbon, and silver cord...  I made a tag and a pocket for it...  I embellished the pocket and adhered a punched heart with a happy birthday stamped sentiment...  I was very happy with the end result.. and
just by chance the image face popped out just where I had punched a notch in the pocket...  so looks like she is peeking out....

Here is the tag...  I added some glossy accents and stickles for added shine and sparkle...

 I took a piece of card stock and covered the tag with a printed paper and added ribbon and some silver cord at the top...

After stamping the image I cut it out using the lace die..... and adhered it to the tag...