Let's Hang Out

Hey, let's hang out!

Thanks for giving me a bit of your time today. :-) I'm sharing a card I made for a Paper Crafts Magazine publication call eons ago, but it didn't make the cut. I believe the category was 'framed,' or something of the sort.

I stamped three different frames from Glitz Designs' Fancy Frames set, and cut out the centers. Then I used an atlas transparency that I bought at a Tuesday Morning in Nags Head, North Carolina a while back. I lined the back of it with white cardstock, so it's more visible. On top of those two layers, I added clear acetate. And finally, I sandwiched all those layers together -- frame, acetate, atlas, and white cardstock -- and mounted the frames on foam dimensional stickers (3M). 

The 'picture hangers' are made with bits of black twine and bronze brads. The sentiment from The Craft's Meow goes really well, I think.

This card is larger than the typical A2 (4.25" x 5.5") size, to accommodate the three picture frames. I actually found an envelope in my stash that fits it, as it's an odd size. Yay, it can be mailed!

Stamps: Fancy Frames - Glitz Designs; sentiment - Sending You Sunshine - The Craft's Meow Paper: kraft - Papertrey Ink; Whisper White - Stampin' Up!; atlas transparency - Tim Holtz?; clear acetate - repurposed from packaging Ink: Walnut Stain - Ranger; Memento Tuxedo Black - Tsukineko Fibers: black twine Accessories & Tools: bronze brads - SU; corner rounder punch - Fiskars

Braided Sympathy

Hello, friends. :-)

Raise your hand if you own a big collection of patterned papers, and yet, you rarely use them.  {I'm raising my hand}  I'm making an effort to use more of these pretty papers, which I just HAD to have, naturally. ;-) 

These papers from Stampin' Up! weren't from the same collection, but I think they make good mates for each other.

The braided jute ribbon is making its debut here. It was a Christmas gift - one of my favorites! On top of it, I added some loops of twine, and then a paper gardenia flower. Have you heard of iamroses.com? That's where the flower came from. They're located far away from me, but shipping was pretty quick and VERY cheap. Their flowers are a great deal, if you're on a crafty budget.

Thanks a bunch for your visit today!

Stamps: Keep It Simple: Sympathy - Papertrey Ink Paper: patterns, River Rock - Stampin' Up!; Vintage Cream - Papertrey Ink Ink: Walnut Stain - Ranger; Memento Tuxedo Black - Tsukineko Fibers: braided jute ribbon - TJ Maxx; twine - Creative Impressions Accessories & Tools: paper gardenia flower - iamroses.com; pearls; Punched Scallop border punch - SU

Clean and bright for Mom

Welcome!

Here is another card from my 2015 Mother's Day Collection. I CASE'd myself, using THIS card as inspiration. This time 'round, I added a bigger K & Co. flower sticker, and some pretty Marshmallow sequins from Pretty Pink Posh (I admit to having an addiction to this little embellishment). 

I used a Cuttlebug Roses embossing folder on the bottom half of the card, to tie in nicely with the rose stickers.  Can you see the white sequins sprinkled below the flowers?

Thanks so much for coming by today! 

Stamps: Blooming With Love - Stampin' Up! Paper: white - Papertrey Ink Fibers: Tangerine Tango pom pom trim - SU Accessories & Tools: Marshmallow sequins - Pretty Pink Posh; flower die cut stickers - K & Co.; Roses embossing folder - Cuttlebug; corner rounder punch - Fiskars

An iris for a birthday

Hey there!

Can you tell I was pinched for time the day I made this birthday card? It is prettttty simple. A stamp, a die cut sentiment, a sprinkling of sequins and an iris sticker (K & Co.), and that's it. It began with me, staring at a large stack of mostly-unused blue cardstock in my craft studio.



I thought I'd better start using some of those blues up. Then, rifling through my sticker collection, I found the iris. The 'happy' die cut was already on my desk, so it made its way onto the card. And I think sequins dress up almost anything, and added a few here as well.

I know this is not an 'exciting' card, or one of my best, but I think it's got a happy look, and wanted to share. Thanks for taking a peek!

Stamps: Happy Occasions - Inspired By Stamping Paper: Ballet Blue - Stampin' Up!; white - Papertrey Ink Accessories & Tools: Happy die - Avery Elle; iris die cut sticker - K & Co.; Sparkling Clear sequins - Pretty Pink Posh

Love & Roses

Hi! So glad you dropped by.

My 2015 Mother's Day Collection was pretty big. {insert grin} Here is yet another card to share from that collection.

The chocolate panel -- already embossed -- was in a $1.00 Scrap Bag from my Stampin' Up! demonstrator. I added some sponged-on white craft ink, and splotches of gold paint / Smooch Ink.

I mounted that panel on a plum card base, and added more golden touches:  a framed sentiment from Papertrey Ink's Boutique Borders: Love, done up with gold embossing, and a small punched heart using gold metallic cardstock.  I've mentioned before how slow I am to try trends, and this is one of the few times I've added some loose thread on a card. Even after adding a pale lavender die cut (K & Co.) border, it needed something: enter that loosely-looped vintage thread. I like it!  You'll probably see that trend again here on my blog. :-)

Stamps: Boutique Borders: Love - Papertrey Ink Paper: Chocolate Chip, Perfect Plum - Stampin' Up!; gold metallic - WorldWin; white - Papertrey Ink Ink: Versamark, Memento Tuxedo Black - Tsukineko Fibers: vintage thread Accessories & Tools: heart punch, rose embossing folder, gold embossing powder - SU; pale lavender die cut border - K & Co.; gold paint - Smooch Ink; matching die - Boutique Borders: Love - Papertrey Ink

Soothing Sympathy

Hello there.

This is a pretty simple sympathy card.  In fact, I CASE'd myself using THIS card as the basis.  For the updated version, I changed the stamp and the ribbon choices.  I like this one better, because the bow is so much bigger. =D

Thank you SO much for your visit today!

Stamps: Tag-Its #5 - Papertrey Ink Paper: white - PTI; patterns - Whisper - Colorbok Fibers: Metal Green - Hug Snug - The Zipper Stop 

Luxe Mr. & Mrs.

Hello, so glad you came by today!

I'm sharing a wedding card I made using scraps.  The patterned papers (I just left them as-is, in rectangular panels, but I did distress the edges of the scrollwork piece with ink) were layered in a skewed way, atop a damask-embossed card base.  Bits of a golden Christmas tree die-cut (Memory Box Flowering Christmas Tree) were tucked behind the panels.

And a small piece of that gold Christmas tree was added to a tiny die cut tag, along with pearl-topped pins, and a bit of white twine. Scattered sequins in a variety of colors (matte white, shiny gold, matte gold) were added below the sentiment tag.

I think that'll do it for me this week. It's Sunday night as I type this post, and it is almost my bedtime. So very grateful you came by to say hello. I wish you a beautiful rest of the week, and weekend!


P.S. So glad you all like the larger font on my posts.  Me too!

Stamps: All Holidays - Stampin' Up! Paper: shiny gold - WorldWin; black flocked, tan scroll - Stampin' Up!; Vintage Cream - Papertrey Ink Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black - Tsukineko; Frayed Burlap - Ranger Fibers: white twine - Stampin' Up!; black seam binding - Hug Snug / The Zipper Stop Accessories & Tools: Flowering Christmas Tree die - Memory Box; gold, Marshmallow sequins - Pretty Pink Posh; matte gold sequin - MJ Trimming; Textile embossing folder - Cuttlebug; Tiny Tags die - Papertrey Ink; pearl-topped pins - Dritz

Dress-form For You

Hello!

You're going to be sick of seeing my Mother's Day 2015 Collection cards!  Here is yet another, and I had oh-so-much fun putting this one together.  It began with a gray doily die cut from a $1.00 Scrap Bag from my Stampin' Up! demonstrator.  Took me a while to poke out all the little pieces, and I decided to even keep some in there because my hand was getting tired.  :-)

I had the dress form panel in a drawer, which was from a friend. With a tiny bit of fancy lace and a paper flower around the waistline, it looked even more beautiful.

The die-cut spool was from another friend (she used cardboard), and a while back, I had painted it with Ranger's Crackle Paint in Picket Fence.  When it was dry, I used Distress inks to rub gorgeous 'vintage' color into the cracks and along the edges.  For this card, I dressed it up by winding actual vintage thread around it and tape on the back, then glue on some pearl-topped pins from the notions section of the sewing store.  As a final touch, I added a junk bow made from a snippet of seam binding, and some netting from my daughter's prom dress.  

What do you think of the larger font I'm using in this post? I'm just experimenting. My eyesight ain't what it used to be, and perhaps some of you may be feeling the same way. Thoughts?

Thank you for coming by today!

Stamps: sentiment - Elements of Style - Stampin' Up! Paper: Smoky Slate - Stampin' Up!; Vintage Cream - Papertrey Ink Ink: Basic Gray - SU; Frayed Burlap, Walnut Stain - Ranger Fibers: netting, seam binding, lace snippets, vintage thread Accessories & Tools: Picket Fence Crackle Paint - Ranger; spool die cut, dressform panel - crafty friends :-) ; Marshmallow sequins - Pretty Pink Posh; pearl-topped pins - Dritz; circle punch, Large Paper Doily Sizzlit die - Stampin' Up!; white flower - iamroses.com

Avian Love

Welcome and Happy Monday!

Though this card could be used for a variety of occasions, it was part of my Mother's Day 2015 Collection.  It had an appropriate sentiment inside.  I relied heavily on the Kaisercraft Lady Rose suite to put this together.  The patterned papers, bird and bird cage come from it.  I wiped a white craft ink pad along the edges of the card to distress it a bit.  And for the die cuts, I inked those edges with a kraft-colored Distress ink.  The sentiment and tiny little pal-pink heart border (on sentiment tag) are from Papertrey Ink's Tag-Its #11.

I gave the bird some leafy branches to nestle in, and added a bit of lace underneath.  This must be a lady-bird. ;-)

Did you have a good weekend?  What did you do?

I packed a lot into mine, and yet still had time to unwind and relax.  Love it when you can strike that combination.  :-)  I exercised, weeded, mulched, did laundry, went to church, helped the Vacation Bible School crew with a few things, enjoyed an impromptu visit from my sister-in-law, went out to dinner, cleaned the bathroom, changed bedsheets in two bedrooms, took photos of cards, made two cards (!), and -- favorite part -- swam in the pool with hubby and one of my girls.  My husband and I even had Happy Hour in the pool with a couple of martinis.  That was well-earned!

Stamps: hearts, sentiment - Tag-Its #11 - Papertrey Ink Paper: Vintage Cream - Papertrey Ink; Always Artichoke - Stampin' Up!; patterns - Lady Rose - Kaisercraft Ink: Frayed Burlap, Crystal pigment - Ranger; Memento Tuxedo Black - Tsukineko; Pink Pirhouette - Stampin' Up! Fibers: crochet lace - Hero Arts; vintage thread Accessories & Tools: Branch with Leaves Sizzlit die - Stampin' Up!; bird and bird cage die cuts  - Lady Rose - Kaisercraft;  Tiny Tags die - Papertrey Ink

Rooster Retirement

Hello!

Some very AMAZING teachers in my girls' lives all retired at the end of this past school year.  It was my absolute pleasure to create special cards to celebrate their new chapters in life.

I had bought a pack of this fabulous French Country rooster paper by Graphic 45 at Tuesday Morning.  From there, I worked the color palette around the designs.

A smattering of sequins and a topaz gem were sprinkled on the top half of the card.  Oh, and you see that coppery glittered strip by the ribbon?  It's trimmed from a store-bought card.  Sure do hate for anything pretty to go to waste!

Honestly, the three teachers, who each received one of these cards, are so very cherished.  They've each touched our lives in profound ways, and are such giving souls.  It feels good just to be around these ladies.  They impacted so many childrens' lives, and we are incredibly blessed to have had them all together in our tightly-knit little elementary school.  Thank the Lord our girls were instructed by them.  Our family wishes N., D. and O. all the best in their retirement!

Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes - Stampin' Up! Paper: rooster patterned paper - Graphic 45; Crumb Cake, Not Quite Navy, Naturals Ivory - Stampin' Up!; cinnabar/copper strip (by bow) - store-bought greeting card Fibers: Mottle Brown seam binding - Hug Snug - The Zipper Stop Accessories & Tools: Metallic Gold sequins - MJ Trimming; Bronze sequins - Pretty Pink Posh; topaz rhinestone; Modern Label punch, Scalloped Oval punch - Stampin' Up!; corner rounder punch - Fiskars; Labels 13 die - Spellbinders 

Paris in Spring for Mother's Day

This Mother's Day card does remind me of Paris in the spring, with the butterfly, subtle fleur-de-lis and Eiffel Tower.  It was my inspiration the day I made this.

There are golden highlights on the Leafy Vine background by Hero Arts, hard to capture in the photo above, but better appreciated below.

If this pink and gold panel looks familiar, you may remember this card of mine.  I had made a few panels like this in 2014, and the last one worked nicely here.  The butterfly is textured with white raised dots, and I hand-trimmed it from a store-bought greeting card.

There is a subtly-stamped fleur-de-lis on this little die cut tag below.  I used a marker to add faux stitching along the top, added a bow made of vintage thread, and stamped a sentiment.

As I type this post, we're having a heatwave.  It's a high of 96 degrees F today and tomorrow, and very humid.  Feels like over 100 degrees.  Sheesh!  I'm more of a cooler weather person, so I hope this heat wave doesn't last too long.

Stamps: sentiment - Tag-Its #5 - Papertrey Ink; Leafy Vine background - Hero Arts; Fleur-de-lis - Classic Icons - TPC Studio; Eiffel Tower - Mon Ami Paris - Technique Tuesday Paper: Regal Rose - Stampin' Up!; Vintage Cream - Papertrey Ink Ink: Antique Linen, Frayed Burlap - Ranger; Memento Tuxedo Black - Tsukineko; Crumb Cake - Stampin' Up! Fibers: vintage thread Accessories & Tools: gold embossing powder - SU; marker; butterfly from store-bought card; Mix-and-Match Banners die - My Favorite Things/Die-namics

Burlap-and-lace Inspired Bridal Shower

Hey there!  I believe that burlap-and-lace is still a popular theme for weddings.  Hoping so! I made this card for some special bride-to-be.

Doilies make me happy, so I stamped them in white on a kraft card base.

I made a Colleen Bow, and added some Venise lace along the bottom edge of the ribbon (that lace was an eBay find a few years back).  The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink's Happily Ever After.

Thanks for coming by today; I really appreciate your visit!

Stamps: Delicate Doilies II - Inspired By Stamping; Happily Ever After - Papertrey Ink Paper: kraft, white - Papertrey Ink Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black - Tsukineko; Crystal white pigment ink - Ranger Fibers: white seam binding - Hug Snug - The Zipper Stop; Venise lace - eBay Accessories & Tools: tag punch - Martha Stewart; pearls; heart punch - Stampin' Up!

Chair-ishing Mom

Hello!

Still sharing Mother's Day cards here on my blog.  It's taking me a while to get them all photo-edited and ready for posting.  After working on a computer for 40 hours a week, being on my laptop at home is not high on my list of exciting things to do. ;-)  I'd MUCH rather be in the craft room, and that's where you'll find me most of the time.

I am very fond of this Stampendous Damask Chair stamp.  I used it on a card in 2013, too.  It's elegant, and fancy, and don't all moms deserve something like that?  This Mother's Day card design was the only one that did not sell at the shop.  Oh, well.  I enjoy it!

Thank you so much for dropping in today.  Have a blessed day!

Stamps: Damask Chair - Stampendous; sentiment - Strawberries - Flourishes Paper: Soft Stone, white - Papertrey Ink; chair pattern - Recollections Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black - Tsukineko; Antique Linen - Ranger Fibers: black seam binding - Hug Snug - The Zipper Stop Accessories & Tools: Gunmetal sequin - MJ Trimming; Silver sequin - Pretty Pink Posh; Copic markers; Lots of Tags Sizzlit die - Sizzix/Stampin' Up!

Wonderful Friend

Hello there!  

I made this card for a sweet friend's birthday earlier this year.  It was the first time I used a Labels 27 die from Spellbinders, which I bought on clearance at a local craft store. Doesn't it look pretty with this 'vintage' Anna Griffin sentiment?  That script font tugs at my heart.

The papers are from DCWV's Garden Party, and the pale blue houndstooth's flowers are shiny-embossed, just the way that they came.  I added some sequins and two little die-cut butterflies from Stampin' Up!'s Beautiful Wings Embosslit, and colored them delicately with a Copic marker from the W family (maybe it was W00 or W01?).

Wishing you a beautiful day!

Stamps: sentiment - Anna Griffin Paper: Vintage Cream - Papertrey Ink; patterns - Garden Party - DCWV Accessories & Tools: Sparkly Clear sequins - Pretty Pink Posh; Labels 27 die - Spellbinders; Beautiful Wings Embosslit butterflies die - Stampin' Up!; pearls - Queen & Co.; Copic marker

Baby Blossoms Revisited

Welcome!

If you've been a visitor to my blog a long time, you may remember this very card from 2011.  I created it for a Play Date Cafe challenge, and these were the colors we needed to use.  I've saved this card, for I love the sweetness of it.  When I look at it, I also think about all the work that went into it. The stamps are from Baby Blossoms / Stampin' Up!, and they're rubber.  Which means, I needed to use a Stamp-a-majig to line everything up.  And I mean everything!  Those flowers each involved two-step stamping, in two different colors each.  And then all the hand-trimming....oh, my hand cramped a bit when I was finished!  It was worth it, though.

While I've got plenty of newer creations to share, I just wanted to give this "oldie" one last hurrah. Thanks for taking a look today!

Stamps: Baby Blossoms - Stampin' Up! Paper: white - Papertrey Ink Ink: Bashful Blue, Tempting Turquoise, Pixie Pink, Pink Passion, Mellow Moss, Pumpkin Pie, Really Rust - SU Accessories & Tools: pearls - Recollections