THREE Clean and Simple CARDS

These are my final cards for January.  I found a sheet of these K&Company dimensional stickers one time and knew I could make use of them.  The sheet includes flowers, birds and butterflies.  On a CAS card they make a quick and easy embellishment.  I don't think the cards need any further explanation, but if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. 

Thank you for stopping by!

FLUTTER BY using MEMORY BOX "Minuet"

The papers in the Memory Box "Minuet" 6 x 6 paper pad are just so pretty.  This card didn't take long to make because the paper itself made the card.  I cut the dp to 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 to fit the front of my card base.  Then I added a butterfly using a Martha Stewart punch.  The sentiment layers were cut with Spellbinders "Blossom Tags and Accents" dies.  Sentiment is from a Hero Arts stamp that is no longer available.

I thought I was finished but decided to add the accents on the butterfly with a Cream Viva Paper Pen.  Now it was finished.

If you are ever interested in the Pearl Pens or Paper Pens, I would be happy to order them for you at a discount.  They come in a nice variety of colors.

Thank you for stopping by!  Your comments are always welcome................I love hearing from you.

PENNY BLACK "Spring Charm" Sticker

This sticker was the last one on a sheet of Penny Black "Spring Charm" stickers which had been on my craft table looking to be used.  I wasn't sure if I liked it but then realized that I had some dimensional stickers that blended well with the colors.  

The card base was embossed using the Cuttlebug D'Vine Swirl embossing folder.  The sticker was adhered to a piece of the same card stock as the base to give it more "body".  I trimmed down the piece behind the sticker so that it was even with the edge of the sticker and then attached it to the front of the card with pop dots.  A little bee and dragonfly were popped on and the card was finished.  You may need to click on the picture to see the little bee.

The sheets have a variety of stickers on them and make really pretty cards that are quick and easy especially when you find yourself needing a card on short notice.  I have a supply of Penny Black stickers.  There is a link to them on the right side of my blog.  The sheets are $2.00 each and can be sent very inexpensively.

Thank you for stopping by!  Your comments are always welcome..................I love hearing from you!

PINK PAISLEE "Queen Bee"

Using the same layout as I did yesterday I made a new card with paper from a Pink Paislee "Queen Bee" 6x6 paper pad.  I love buying the 6x6 pads because when laying on cards the papers coordinate so nicely together.  The flowers were colored with a Y13 Copic Sketch marker to blend with the yellow in the papers.  A striped piece was added horizontally this time. It was my intention to do that on yesterday's card but I forgot.  I really like the added detail.

This time I happened to place the embellishments a little further apart and was able to add a little "Hi!" stamp.

Thank you for stopping by!  Your comments are always welcome................I love hearing from you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JENNIFER

I know our daughter Jennifer doesn't check out my blog, but I just want to acknowledge her birthday here and say that I wish her a very special day!  She's a very busy mother of four and when she isn't working full time she is running her two oldest children to activities..........a real SUPER MOM! We're very proud of her!

USING FLOURISHES

I don't remember if I have ever used flourish die cuts but I saw an idea in a 2009 CardMaker magazine that showed a card I knew I could make using some delicate dies. 

The designer papers are from the Memory Box Minuet 6 x 6 paper pad.  The flowers are some I purchased at Michael's a couple of years ago in the Wedding Department.  I'm not sure how many were in the package but there are a lot and were well worth the money. 

I really like this layout and the way this card came out.  And the PLUS is that all of the materials used are some that I have had for a long time............another very small dent in my "stash". 

Thank you for stopping by!  Your comments are always welcome................I love hearing from you!

MORE SNOW

We have had such a mild winter here until last week that I hadn't been thinking about making cards with snowflakes. Now all of a sudden we've had two snow days here for our school district.  Monday's was more because of icy roads.  With the weather changing to more seasonal temperatures and snow on the ground I made yesterday's and today's cards.

The background paper that I used on this card came from the same Little Yellow Bicycle pad that I had used yesterday.  I also used the same Fleur de Lis Spellbinders die for the white layer.  The other white piece was cut using one of the Fleur de Lis Motif dies.  The snowflake was cut with the Cuttlebug snowflake die using white card stock but then the turquoise glitter was added.  The white flourish at the bottom looked a little plain so I added a turquoise gem to the center of it.

Thank you for stopping by!  Your comments are always welcome...............I love hearing from you!

IT'S SNOWING.......

Today's card used two Spellbinders die sets and glitter that I had never used.  I rarely make square cards but decided that the Fleur de Lis die would look great on a square card.  I cut a 4 1/4 inch square from some paper in a Little Yellow Bicycle paper pad and adhered it to the front of the 4 1/4 inch card front.  The paper pad has a great selection of papers in it.

The Fleur de Lis was cut using PapertreyInk white card stock. I had cut several different snowflakes from various dies but settled on these two from Spellbinders Create A Flake One die set.  The bottom one was from white card stock.  I ran it through my Xyron and wanted the right side of it to be sticky.  Then I sprinkled it with turquoise glitter.  It didn't cover quite well enough so I pressed the flake into the glitter with my finger and was able to get a little more color.  I think the color turned out very well and matches the lighter color in the dp.  The smaller flake was cut using another piece of card stock from the paper pad.

The paper pad is 11 3/4 inches x 5 3/4 inches and is actually made to work with the chipboard albums. I don't do albums but love this paper.  I am able to purchase Spellbinders dies, the Little Yellow Bicycle paper pad and glitter in case you are interested.  Neither of these die sets is available through my distributor but I can get most of the current sets.  And remember you always get a discount of at least 20% off retail prices.

Thank you for stopping by!  Your comments are always welcome..........I love hearing from you!

BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLIES

OK, this card does still use stickers, but I think these make a beautiful card.  The butterflies are from a package of Jolee's vellum stickers and the color on them went perfectly with the SU Soft Sky and Baja Breeze card stock.  The stamp is from Stampabilities.  The stamp actually has two butterflies on it in the same place where I have placed these vellum pieces...........I just don't ink that portion of the stamp.

The sentiment was stamped with VersaMark and then embossed using Egyptian Gold embossing powder.

Thank you for stopping by!  Your comments are always welcome..............I love hearing from you!

SPARKLING BUTTERFLIES

 The butterflies on these two cards were rubbed onto white card stock and then cut out to mount on these cards.  I wanted more of the dp to show.

I believe all of the cards I do with these butterflies are going to be donated to the Independent Living Center where my mother lives.  Some of the tenants there don't have family close by and probably rarely get out to buy cards to send.

Thank you for checking out these super simple cards.  I'll be moving on to something more tomorrow.

WAY TOO SIMPLE

I almost feel like I need to apologize for posting a card that is beyond CAS.  :)  I saw a package of Butterfly Rub-On Stickers one time when I was shopping and they were just too pretty to pass up.  I hope if you click on the picture that you can see the sparkle.  I won't post all of the cards I make with these stickers, but I will post one or two more just to show how pretty they are.

This butterfly was so big that I really didn't know what else to put with it so I just added it to a piece of white  card stock and then layered it onto the dp which had been adhered to the front of the card.

Thank you for stopping by!  Your comments are always welcome...........I love hearing from you!

ONE MORE CARD WITH THE VIOLETS

This is the last card I made using the Violet Rub-On Stickers.  I really like this one.  Using a Cuttlebug embossing folder, I embossed just a portion of the front of the card.  I used the Spellbinders Grand Calibur to do the embossing since I had to lay it side ways and it was too wide to go through the Cuttlebug.  Then two score lines were added just below the embossed area.

I attached the stickers to the white cardstock and then cut out the white layer.  The rectangles were cut with the Spellbinders Lattice Rectangles.  A strip of smaller violets was added to the bottom of the card.

You may have seen all of the new Spellbinders dies that are being previewed on various blogs.  If you see something you would like to order - current or new  to come - just email me at the contact on this page.  I will offer a 25% discount on all Spellbinders items that have been and are now being previewed over the next few days.

Tomorrow's card or cards will be using a different set of sparkly rub-on stickers.  Stop back again. Thank you for stopping by today!  Your comments are always welcome..........I love hearing from you!

BEAUTIFUL RUB-ON VIOLET STICKERS

These are more items I found on my craft table.  I bought this sheet of rub-on stickers several years ago and had used some of them..........but now that is another product that is gone from my table.

I don't know if you can see it even if you click on the picture, but the stickers sparkle and are just gorgeous.
  

I spritzed the card on the left with Tattered Angels "Pomegranate" Glimmer Mist.  The color is a not quite the same as the violets but when the card was finished I thought it looked OK. 

Let me know if you have any questions.  There are still more of these projects to come.  Have I got you thinking about all those supplies you haven't used in a while?  I hope so!  

Thank you for stopping by!  Your comments are always welcome...........I love hearing from you!

MORE SUPPLIES ARE USED

These two cards were made with more vellum flowers that I had on my table.  The package had enough stickers for three cards.  I will show the third card tomorrow.

I embossed a portion of the front of each card with a Cuttlebug embossing folder and then attached the vellum stickers.  I stamped each of the sentiments and then cut them out with a Spellbinders Labels 11 die.  I tried cutting and embossing the next larger Labels 11 die to layer them but it was just too plain.  Luckily I had some green vellum in a pad that was close to the same color as the stems of the flowers and used the vellum instead. 

Thank you for stopping by!  Your comments are always welcome...............I love hearing from you.

USING UP SUPPLIES

 

I know I'm not the only one who does this, but I have this "tendency" to see something and think I just have to have it but then I get it home and it stays in my supplies without being touched.   Well, today's card and over the next couple of days, I will be posting cards that I am making with supplies that have been laying on my craft table for too long!  This one is nothing special but since winter weather finally hit here a few days ago, I thought I would post this card with the vellum snowflakes first.  

Cardstock is Baja Breeze from Stampin' Up and the embossing on the bottom of the card was done with a folder from Stampin' Up!  There is a little blue on a couple of the snowflakes which matched nicely with the paper.  The package of snowflakes was one I got probably two years ago and was unopened.  I made more than one card with the supplies and now that package is empty.  One project down.......many more to go. 

I think I will take some of these cards to the extended living facility where my mother is so that the residents can use the cards as they choose.  They seemed to enjoy the Christmas cards I left there.

Thank you for stopping by!  Your comments are always welcome.................I love hearing from you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TERRI!

I love Penny Black stamps!!!  I was buying nothing but the flowers and "pretty" stamps but at one point fell in love with the many cute little hedgehogs images that are available.

My friend, Terri, who belongs to a Yahoo Group along with myself and others celebrated her birthday yesterday.  This is a card I made and sent to her.  I embossed the front of the card using a Cuttlebug embossing folder.  The Penny Black image was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored with Copic CIAO markers.  The image was cut with a Spellbinders Classic Circle and mounted on a slightly larger Classic Circle with SU Yo Yo Yellow card stock.  These were mounted onto an SU Real Red layer which was cut with the Spellbinders Lacey Circle.

Since I sell Penny Black stamps, you can let me know if you ever wish to purchase something - and I sell them at a discount of 20% off retail prices at all times.

Thank you for stopping!  Your comments are always appreciated..............I love hearing from you.

VALENTINE FOR JOAN'S GARDENS CHALLENGE JG112

This will be a second card for today.  I read about a challenge on Joan's Gardens Blog and I thought I would try doing a card for it. 

Here is what you need to do for Joan's Gardens #2 Weekly Challenge | Joan's Gardens

• Create a Valentine in "non-traditional" colors
• Use some kind of lace
• Use a flower - rose if possible
• Use a key - optional

You will have until next Thursday (January 19) morning 6:00 AM EST to link your project.

Before I even started the card I knew I wanted the focal point of the card to be this beautiful heart die cut from Cheery Lynn Designs which I had purchased from Joan's Gardens.

I don't think of "black" as being a traditional color so my aim was to make a card primarily using black and white but I did add a touch of red because of the rose I wanted to use.  After I added the layer with the red rose there was an open area above the stem that just seemed so empty so I added the strip of red gems and another strip off set under the image.

Originally I had punched an edge the same as the hearts that run along each side of the card with white card stock but then realized I had not "lace" on the card.  So, I removed that edge of hearts and replaced it with some delicate white lace.  I didn't have any type of key which was optional.

I hope this meets the requirements for the challenge, but it was still a fun card to make.

LITTLE BLUE BIRD

A few days ago I purchased this cute little bird stamp for only $.99 from A Cherry On Top's web site. For that price I figured I could make some quick cards.

The card on the right is actually the one I did first and my original idea did NOT work so I spent far more time getting something put together than I had planned.  Eventually this is what I got made.  

The card on the left is much simpler and really did go together quickly.  The embossed tree was made with a Crafts Too embossing folder which I have had for a long time but had never used.

On both cards I stamped the image with Tuxedo Black Memento Ink and colored them with a set of BIC permanent markers which I purchased at a good price a while ago.  The color of the darker blue ink matched very well to SU's Ballet Blue paper and ink  The frame around the bird was cut and embossed with one of the Spellbinders "Classic Frame" die set.  The sentiment was stamped onto a piece that had been cut with the Spellbinders Fancy Tags die set.  (I can no longer get the "Classic Frame" set but if you are interested in the Fancy Tags or any other Spellbinders just let me know.)

Thank you for stopping by!  Your comments are always appreciated................I love hearing from you!

LaBlanche Stamp

The design on this card is from a LaBlanche Stamp which I purchased from Joan's Gardens.  I had never heard of LaBlanche stamps and assumed it was going to be a wood mounted stamp.  I was wrong.......it is white and made of silicone.  I didn't have a lot of success with the first two tries, but I was able to get just the right help I needed after I contacted Joan at Joan's Gardens and also Selma from Selma's Stamping Corner.  I believe Joan's sale on LaBlanche stamps is still going on if you want to check them out.

To use this stamp I used Memento Tuxedo Black Ink on Glossy Paper and then colored with Copic markers and got good results.  I had tried stamping the image on a smooth card stock but the detail of the stamp was not nearly as good.  I just noticed that the picture makes it look as though I didn't center the image on the dark green layer very well.  Actually I believe it is the angle which gives that appearance since I was very careful when I put it together.

You can see a beautiful card that Selma made with this same image on her web site.  I pretty much stick to the 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 inch cards so I wasn't able to accomplish the same presentation but I hope the recipient will enjoy it.  One of my husband's card-playing partners is in the hospital so we are sending it to him.

(NOTE:  The price of Copic markers is going up again so if you are needing any contact me soon before I need to increase my price as well.)

Thank you for stopping by!  Your comments are always welcome..................I love hearing from you!

ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE - The Paper Players #77

When I saw what The Paper Players Challenge was for this week, I knew I had a perfect card for it.  The theme is "All You Need is Love".  The card could be for a variety of occasions but I needed an Anniversary card and had just purchased this Marianne Design die.  The sentiment is from My Sentiments Exactly.

Be sure to check out the the entries at:  The Paper Players

Thank you for stopping by!  Your comments are always welcome..............I love hearing from you! 

WHEN BIRDS SING - Third set of cards

These two cards once again have the same sticker but two different looks.  I saved these for last since they have a little more detail to them.

Thank you for stopping by!  Your comments are always welcome..............I love hearing from you!

WHEN BIRDS SING - Second set of cards

 

Two cards made with the same stickers but two different looks.

I LOVE PENNY BLACK

I love using Penny Black stickers to make cards that are quick but still very "pretty".  Today I am posting two cards that were made using stickers from the "When Birds Sing" sticker set.  You can see a picture of the complete set at the bottom of this post. 

The first thing I did was to use a product that I've never used before.  The front of the card was spritzed with Tattered Angels "Autumn Nights".  If you double click on the picture, I believe you will be able to get a closer look.  I have always liked using vertical stamps.  "Thinking of You" can be used for so many occasions.   The sentiment on the right is one I haven't used in a long time but can be used just to cheer someone up or would make a great birthday card.  The sentiments were stamped in SU Night of Navy.

Check back tomorrow and Sunday for two more examples of cards made with stickers from this great set.  If you like what you see, I have more of these stickers on hand and you can purchase them for $2.00 each plus a small amount to send them.  This is my favorite set but I do have other Penny Black sticker sets on hand.  These other sets may be seen on the store link you will find on the right hand of my blog.

Thank you for stopping by!  Your comments are always welcome..............I love hearing from you.