LARGE DIE CUT SUNFLOWER

When looking through Pinterest for ideas, I found a wonderful card made by Debbie Mageed.  She had made a 6" square card using this die set.  I rarely make square cards so I made it "my own" by changing to a standard A2 card.  I used the same papers but made some alterations. I would have never thought to use the pretty blue print from the SU Hydrangea Hill with the sunflower but I really love the color combination.

Tomorrow will be September 1st!  School has started and I'm afraid we will soon be seeing the signs of Autumn.........and you know what come next after Autumn!!!   Thank you for stopping by today!

 

SUNFLOWER DESIGNER PAPER - 2 CARDS

 

When you find a great designer paper, you don't need much else to make a CAS card.  This sunflower design came from a 6 x 6 paper pad.  Thankfully there were several sheets of it.  I can't remember excactly, but I think the two strips of the paper I used above were 2" x 4".  I stamped the sentiment between them with SU Cajun Craze ink.

For the second card I cut a piece 4" x 4" and then cut it diagonally. One piece was placed at the top and the other at the bottom leaving the white space between.  The sentiment is from Hero Arts.  I lined both envelopes with the matching sunflower paper.

Come back tomorrow for another Sunflower card............but one that is really beautiful.

TRI-FOLD CARD WITH VELLUM

This is the final card we made at our second get together.  I had some trifold cards that I had purchased in Des Moines and thought that my friends might like to see what pretty cards can be made using colored vellum behind the pre-cut "window." We added the vellum inside to the middle of the three sections.  The white flowers are from a Cuttlebug die.  I die cut the little blue flower twice and layered them.  Leaves were also die cut.  "Wishing You" was heat embossed with gold powder.

All together I had made up 11 kits for us to work on.  There is a total of 15 cards from those 11 kits.  One card has not been posted in this series because it was one that I had shown previously.

Thank you for coming by today!

 

ONE MORE HAND-PENNED CARD

For this card we matted the designer paper first before adding it to the card base.  The front of my card is a little different because I had only cut two Rocco Rose pieces to mount the die cut piece which was attached to the white rectangle.  I had a scrap of the Rocco Rose handy so I just "flagged" the end of it and put it under the die cut section.

Thank you for coming by today!

HAND-PENNED DESIGNER PAPER

Today's card turned into an unplanned "fancy fold" of my own "design".   The card base is SU Seaside Spray.  I added a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of the Hand-Penned dsp.  A white piece of card stock was cut with one of my dies and then sponged lightly around the edges with the Seaside Spray ink.  the die cut is from the Hand-Penned bundle.  The rest of the story is below.............

It was my intention to just place a white 4" x 5 1/4" piece of white card stock on the inside.  I usually keep a supply of pieces that size ready available to grab so I pulled one out. After I adhered it, I discovered that it was actually 2 pieces and they were attached at the top.  So I made the most of it.  I stamped the design on the front of it with the cute little butterfly and then stamped my sentiment on the inside of the unplanned fun fold.  

It turned out to be a great save and my friends really liked the card because I had the kits made up to do the same thing.

Thank you for stopping by today!

 

CRUSHING ON CARD STOCK - Day 4

Although I haven't made cards from the Day 2 and Day 3 classes, today was using stencils and I haven't pulled mine out in a very long time.  This was great incentive to do just that.  

The stencil I used for this project is "Dancing Sprigs" from "A Colorful Life Designs".  I started with  a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" piece of light celery piece of card stock.  After I taped the stencil of the top, I used a blending brush to swirl Garden Green ink over the entire piece.   There was an area near the edge that had smudged when the stencil moved slightly so I trimmed it down to 3 3/4" x 5".  The stenciled piece was added to a 4" x 5 1/4" Garden Green mat.  The entire piece was added to the card base with foam squares.

When I stenciled the piece I had no idea what I was going to use it for but once the pieces were put together, I thought it had a rather calming feeling so I decided to add the sentiment, matted and added with foam dimensions.

This is another stenciled design I made this morning. When I did the inking through the stencil, I didn't realize that the paper I had under the green card stock was on a damp area on my table so the ink did bleed a little.  The bottom area was the worst, so I used another technique that I hadn't used in a long time.  I tore the piece diagonally.  I will add it to a celery card base but still have no idea what is going to go into the "blank" area.  ANY SUGGESTIONS?

I started with a ivory piece of card stock and stenciled the Taylored Expressions design with Crumb Cake ink.  Then I decided it would be fun to heat emboss it so I lined up the stencil again and added Versa Mark ink over the entire design and heat embossed with clear powder. Not sure how I will use the piece as yet.

 This is such a pretty stencil from Memory Box.  Since it is such a large design it fills the entire 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" piece of card stock.  I will have to mat it and then use a larger card for the base.  I love the design, but it's my least favorite piece that I did today.

Thank you for coming by today!

STAMPIN' UP! - Mosaic Mood designer paper

There was no stamping needed for this card.  We used a strip of the paper with the mosaic leaves.  I fussy cut some of the flowers and butterflies from another sheet.  This card went together very quickly!

Thank you for coming by today!

 

CRUSHING ON CARD STOCK - 2nd Card for Day 1

I didn't know if I could come up with a combination of colors for this design, but then decided to carry through with the "rainbow" strips like I did on yesterday's card.  It's not a really hard card to make, but once the strips are cut, it takes a little time to get the stripes lined up.  I mounted the strips on a piece of grid paper and then mounted them on the black card stock to really set off the colors.  

The "Smile" piece was cut three times and stacked to make it a little more sturdy and to give it some dimension.  After I was finished I was pretty happy with the results.  

Thanks for stopping back again today!

 

STAMPIN' UP! - Berry Delightful designer paper

This fun pack of 12 x 12 paper was free with a $50 order during the Spring Sale-A-Bration.  I had the stamp set so I "had to have it."  There are also designs for blue berries and raspberries.

I had the pieces all cut in a kit for the three of us to make together.  Each of our cards turned out a little different from each others.  That's what makes this fun!  I am always happy when Carol and Joanne want to make the cards their own instead of the way my sample or the one I make with them is done.

 Thank you for coming by today!

STAMPIN' UP! - True Love designer series paper

Continuing on with showing cards that my friends and I made at our second get together............

This designer series paper package contains different designs that are all black and white.  This paper pack is so beautiful that I actually purchased a second package!  I fussy cut the flowers for each of us to use on the card and left them black and white.  I let my friends decide if they wanted to leave them as is or color them with a choice of SU Blenders.  One of the colors I personally like to use with black and white cards is RED.  I placed the flowers off to the side so I could stamp a sentiment off to the left.

Sometimes when we are making these cards, we don't add the piece for the sentiment or the flowers at the time we are together.  They are given an envelope for the cards so we just tuck the unfinished card and pieces into the envelope to finish when we're ready so that we can add any further stamping without the worry of ruining the card.  Not a bad idea.

Thank you for stopping by today!

 

CRUSHING ON CARD STOCK - Day 1

Today is the beginning of this fun card class.  Three different videos were presented and each had more than one idea for using up pieces of card stock.  This is the only one I have made so far.  To make it my own I used "rainbow colors" and used my own sentiment.

The colored strips are added with foam strips onto a 3 3/4" x 5" piece of white card stock.   I cut the white "birthday" three times and stacked them for dimension.  I haven't done that in a very long time.  The "Happy" was heat embossed onto the black card stock.  The entire piece was then added directly to the white card base.  (On the video they added the entire piece with foam strips.)

A  simpler version of this could be made by not using the foam strips on the smaller white piece.  The idea has lots of possibilities.  Not sure if I'll use all of the ideas I saw today but they were really fun!

Thank you for coming back for a second card today!

 

FIVE CARDS FROM ONE KIT

These five cards were all made from a piece of designer paper I bought at Scrapmania in Cedar Rapids.  It is such a pretty piece with soft colors and I had a hard time making myself actually start cutting it up.  All of these pieces came from a 6 x 6 piece that was cut from the 12 x 12 sheet.  That gave me 4 pieces that were 6 x 6 and my friends each got one.  The idea is to use a paper that is complimentary on both sides.  (Some 12 x 12 or 6 x 6 pieces don't work well that way.)

For the card above I stamped a design from the Stampin' Up! "Forever Fern" set. Without inking it again, I stamped it a second time for a bit of a shadow.

Sometimes when we are making cards together, we don't add a sentiment.  This is one I decided to leave blank until I'm ready to use it.

The leaves are another design from the Forever Fern stamp set and stamped twice without reinking.  There is still room at the bottom to add a sentiment when I want to use it.

I used the reverse side of the card stock for the smaller piece here.  It picks up the pretty tiny blue flowers in the paper.  With the leaves stamped off to the side, it would be a possibility that I could stamp a sentiment over the top with black ink.  I think that is what I will do when I decide to use the card.

This is the final of the five cards we made using this paper.  As you can see I have lots of room for a sentiment or maybe even a border stamp at the bottom.  I'll have to think on how I want to finish it off.

Thank you for coming by today!

 

STAMPIN' UP! - Mosaic Mood designer series papers

I know it's very unusual for me to post something on Sundays, but like I said a few days ago, I have so many cards lined up to show that I decided to post more than just on Monday through Friday.

When I showed my friends a card I had made with these vases and cut from the Mosaic Mood paper, we decided that this was a card we could make together.  The trickiest part is getting the "flowers" lined up properly for the vases but they all turned out just fine  This paper is perfect for making beautiful vases

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend.  Thank you for coming by today!.  

CASING SHARON ARMSTRONG'S MYSTERY MONDAY

When I have time I like to check out the cards that Sharon Armstrong does on her Mystery Monday posts.  I have done a few with the live video, but truthfully I mostly click to the end to see what was made and then decide if I want to make one too.  This was one of them.

My friends, Carol and Joanne, also got to make one of these when we got together for the second time several weeks ago.  Beginning today and over the next few days, I will be posting the cards that we made at that get together.  There will actually be a card tomorrow too.

This card used papers from the SU "Fine Art Floral" designer series paper and So Saffron card stock.

Thank you for coming by today!

 

COLOR AND CONTOUR

Right up front, I'm going to admit that this is not my favorite card.  i had the piece of dotted designer paper on my table and in an effort to use up pieces, this is what I came up with.  The color isn't my favorite and I would have been happier if the flower had been a little more upright.

Thank you for coming by today!  

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EMMA!

We have three granddaughters who have birthdays within 10 days of each other......the oldest is now 23, her 14 year old sister is the youngest and now today their cousinmma is turning 20 years old.  Having granddaughter in their 20's is beginning to make feel really old!  Tonight we will be joining her for her favorite ice cream cake from the Dairy Queen.  

This card was made using papers from the Stampin' Up! "Sea and Sand" series of designer papers and  Seaside Spray card stock The butterfly was cut with a Memory Box die.

Emma had her tonsils out last Friday and is doing well.  So glad that is over!  Thank you for coming by today!

FUN WAY TO USE SCRAPS

 I'm still on a mission to use up retired designer papers.  This one is from Stampin' Up!.  I used the SU "Postage Stamp" punch to cut the three pieces of designer paper and spaced them across the top portion of the white layer.  The stamped design was then added and colored with SU Blenders.  One quick Christmas card done.

A lot going on right now and I almost forgot to post.  Thank you for coming by today! 

SYMPATHY FOR LOSS OF A PET

For those of us who have had furry companions, it is never easy to say good-bye to them.  My friend, Georgia, recently lost her friend and I wanted her to know how sorry I was.  

 Thank you for coming by today!

THOUGHTS & PRAYERS FOR A FRIEND

 My friend, Kris, had hip surgery recently and this is the card I made to send to her.  The die set has several great designs to combine and I really like the "silhouette" against the masked off area that was sponged with ink.

Thank you for coming by today!

CUTE COCKTAILS BIRTHDAY CARD

A few days ago I was asked to make birthday cards for three different people.  This is one I made.  I'll be posting another one soon.  I love the look of the two-step stamping and this set is really easy to use.  Inside I stamped one of the cocktails and colored it as well.

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!  Thank you for stopping by today!

 

STAMPIN' UP! - Hand-Penned dsp and stamp set

As you probably can tell already from my posts, I LOVE the Hand-Penned stamp and papers.  This was a fun way to use some of the papers.

Our 19 year old granddaughter is having her tonsils out today.  I feel so sorry for her having to do that at this age.  She was told she'll be on soft food for 2-3 weeks!  I'll be making some pudding and Jell-O for her during that time.  It's a way for me to show her love.  Unfortunately her 20th birthday is during that time so she will have to delay any celebrating with birthday cake.

Thank you for coming by today!

 

STAMPIN' UP! "Flowers for Every Season" dsp

Monday my friends Joanne and Carol came for one of our play dates.  I had a bunch of kits made up for us to work on.  This is one of the cards we made.  The card is pretty much identical to one that I watched on a YouTube video.  I really like it.  I'm not positive but I think the video was one from Sharon Armstrong.  She is definitely one of the demonstrators that I follow.

We agreed that our next get together we'll be getting Halloween cards made for the 2 nursing homes and where my mother used to live.  We're a little afraid that with the virus spiking again that we may not want to get together if it gets too bad.  We've all been vaccinated, but want to be extremely careful.  Having the virus once was enough for me!  I lost too much time!

Thank you for coming by today!

USING DESIGNER PAPER FOR THE CARD BASE

The designer paper I used for this card base was some I purchased at Scrapmania in Cedar Rapids, IA.  I bought it because I liked the pattern on the other side of what you see here but had never come up with a card until now.  It works best if you use a piece that is nice and firm.  

From a 12 x 12 piece of designer paper you will get two cards.  However as I learned from this one, when making the scor lines you need to be aware if there is a vertical design.  When I made this one I was interested in using the plaid for the outside and quickly scored it.  Then I realized it was opening in a different direction than planned.  I won't say "the wrong way" because this works too.  If I had the opening the way I intended the birds on the dp would have been upside down.

Below you will see this card open and then the second card with scoring to open the opposite direction.  I loved how the Stampin' Up! Blushing Bride card stock matched this designer paper from a craft store.

After making the two cards with the birds, I made up kits to make with my two friends who come for "play dates".  The card below is the one we made together using designer series paper from the Stampin' Up! Flowers and Field package.

 Thank you for coming by today!

MONDAY AND TUESDAY CARDS

YESTERDAY'S CARD

I really slipped up and forgot to schedule the card I had reserved for August 9..........our youngest grandchild's birthday!  At least I know she got it on time.  Taryn turned 14 yesterday and is now eligible to get a driver's permit!!!!!  YIKES.........where have the years gone?

Lisa Curcio gave a video making a card very similar to this using the ice cream designer paper from the current Stampin' Up! catalog.  The video was probably a couple of months ago but I made this up at that time and put it aside for Taryn since she has a summer birthday.  I'm trying really hard to make different style of cards for the grandkids.  She called us last night and said she loved it.  Of course I think she also loved the check inside just as much if not more.  

Closed

First opening

All the way open

Taryn told us she had a really good time at the swimming pool with friends and then a trip to the "Dairy Barn" afterwards so I guess the ice cream cones on here were very fitting.

TODAY'S CARD

This is a very simple card using a Penny Black sticker that has been on my craft table way too long.  It was time to either get it on a card or toss it.  

Thank you for coming by today!  I'll try to get the rest of the cards scheduled to pop up for the rest of the week.

STAMPIN' UP! - Berry Delightful DSP

Typically I don't post on the weekends.  Lately I have been doing that sometimes because I have so many cards made up right now that I have enough to schedule through September.

The card above and the four below were cards made after watching a video.  I'm pretty sure it was a video from Sharon Armstrong, a Stampin' Up! demonstrator.  On an earlier blog I posted cards that I made with my friends and were made using these same shapes but different papers.  The main idea was to use one piece of 6 x 6 designer paper that has a complimentary design on the reverse side.

For this one, I inked up the leaf, stamped it and then stamped it two more times without reinking it.

Once again I used the leaf outline but then filled it in with the solid stamp.  The same with the berries.

 Thank you for stopping by today!

STAMPIN' UP! - Fine Art Floral designer series paper

This is a CASE of a card that I saw but this time I believe it was on a video.  It's a really different layout for me to use but I kind of like it.  The thank you sentiment was my change to the card and maybe even the little twist of ribbon behind it.  

Thank you for stopping by today!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY FRIEND, SHERYL

Today I'm actually posting two cards.  The first one is one I sent to my friend, Sheryl.  We met when I was in Junior High at church camp.  We're many miles apart but still try to stay in touch.  I always remember that August 5th is her birthday.

Originally I had made this card and thought I'd send it to Sheryl, but I really like the one above better.  The one below is a CASE of one I spotted on Pinterest.   

Thank you for coming by today!