Card - Puffin Birthday

A Puffin is the featured accent on this card.  A maritime bird who lives along the rocky shores.

I found it in my stash of ready to go elements.   Trying to use up what I have.

I trimmed it and then added a burgundy layer.  Found a deep blue card base for it.  It still needed something so along came the strip of yellow for behind the accent.

A greeting from the stash of printed ones. Addition of a bit of black grosgrain ribbon below the greeting.

The Puffin is mounted with 3D foam tape.

Card Club - Sept - Bright Balloons

I created a bright card with balloons.  The balloons are punchies done with the Martha Stewart punch. The balloons were punched from designer paper scraps in my drawer. I chose papers that coordinated.  In this case the patterned and solid solids. I created a greeting layer and chose the colors according to the colors in the balloons.  The greeting layer is glued to the card front.  The balloons are then adhered to the greeting layer at the end of the balloon strings.

Sympathy - WC & Tree

A simple sympathy card for a dear friend Bev who lost her Dad this week.  It`s such a hard thing to lose a parent even when we ourselves are not so young.

I found this great piece of watercolor paper in my stash.  I decided to use it and created a frame for it.  I felt it needed something else besides the sentiment so I added this great old tree graphic from CKLER.  I changed the color to Wild Wasabi to coordinate with the colors at the bottom of the watercolor piece. I think this works well.

I need to make more of this paper. It`s such fun and a great resource for all kinds of cards.

Be Present for Christmas - Lesson 7 - God in the Manger

Today, we focus of the babe in the manger.  Jesus is born. 

The suggestion was made that we make thank you cards.  Some are still working on advent calendars so I changed my plans and made simple thank you cards.  I used the cards available at the local arts and crafts store.  I then selected some Christmas and non Christmas frame images to surround the greeting at the center of the card.  I made 2 of each design.  The images were selected from Clker and Graphics Fairy.  

We started with gratitude and we end with gratitude.  God comes quiet... The victory is won.  All of conquered heaven and grateful earth echo and throb tonight with the heart cry of the God-Child. I did it for love.

The greatest Gift laid into our empty hands...  Grace is weightless.

We have had a very good class.  I have learned a lot and I believe the ladies enjoyed it as well.

Have a stress free Christmas season.  Today was the first snow for us so it's starting to look a lot like Christmas.

I'm selecting my lessons from The Greatest Gift by Ann Voskamp.  The book provides 24 lessons for each day of Advent of which I have chosen 7 for this class.  We will have readings, questions, discussion, and an activity each week.  I handed out this freebie from Ann's website.  You don't have to work for Christmas.

Gift Card Holders - Trifold

I made some Gift Card Holders for my sale tomorrow.  It's based on the design of this one.  It's a tri-fold made with 5.x5 x12 inch double sided card stock.  They are held closed with ribbon.  They have an envelope to hold the card or coupons or cash.

Christmas Stack - Joy Background

I love this card.  When I saw this card stock background I just had to buy it.  I was not sure how I was going to use it but I just love the way this simple card turned out.  I color printed several images I designed onto vellum.  The strip is 2.75" wide.  Cut the white/kraft background to 3.75 x 5.00 inches.  I placed the vellum on the front of the background and folded over the top and bottom to the back.  I added several wraps of crochet cotton around this layer and tied a knot and trimmed the ends. This layer was then adhered to the front of a white card.





I included an ornament, an angel, a tree and a wreath in the set of cards.

You can find my Ready 2 Go Christmas kits here.

Card - Watercolor Ornament

This card is a single layered embellished card.  I created the branch digitally from a photo a took a while ago.  I drew the ornament and filled it with a digital scan of some watercolors I did a couple of years ago in a turquoise and teal color scheme. I left the centre open so I could highlight this silver sequin with stars in the centre.  It is held in place with 2 tiny silver brads.  I color printed the greeting on the front and the sentiment on the insert.  Here's a similar set of cards.

Here's the box I put together for a silent auction later this month.  I thought it looked quite professional.

Cards - Nifty Notes

I made some note cards over the weekend.  I had some smaller envelopes I wanted to fill so I decided to work up some cards which would fit.  They are too small to mail so they would work great for notes you can give to the person personally or include in a parcel or gift.  I chose 4 areas of subject matter - Birds, masculine, sewing and encouragement.  The ones pictured here are birds and masculine.  The vintage images are from the Graphics Fairy.  Karen has some great images from very old books. I'm calling them Nifty Notes and you can find them on my Ready 2 Give tab.

Cards - Photo

I created these cards from photos I've taken.  The left one is found the leaf background on line at  http://fotobg.ru/.  I cropped it to an oval and added yellow layer as well as the sentiment in the same color.  The right one I added a lavender frame and used the same color for the sentiment.  I love taking flower pictures.

All Occasion Stack Class - Book Birthday

I started with the BoBunny Weekend Market Study designer paper with the great books on it.  With the great colors in this paper I selected brown, blue, green and burgundy card stock for this set of cards in the stack.  I have shown the brown one here.  I selected a taupe gross grain ribbon which I placed across the DP and taped the end to the back.  This layer was then glued to the card front. The greeting was color printed on taupe card stock and punched out with the SU Decorative Label punch.  I then punched another label in the same color as the card which I split in two lengthwise from one point to the other.  It could be split widthwise as well.  I trimmed the points I cut through off so they don't show when I offset them.  I then glued the solid colored label halves offset to the top and bottom of the greeting label.  I placed 3D foam tape piece at either end and placed it over the ribbon.

Card - Texture

One of the girls I know asked if I could make a card for the mother of a friend.  The lady is in her 90's and is visually challenged.  She wanted a big, bright card with some texture.
I made this card 5.5x8.5 inches and chose a very bright magenta pink card stock for the base. I printed the greeting on a bright green layer which was trimmed to leave a small border.  I then added a white layer embossed with a large Cuttlebug Large Polka Dots folder.  The white layer was trimmed to create a background for the great pink silk flower. I added a silk leaf in the bottom right hand corner.  I added a yellow felt center. The large white brad holds the center, flower, and other layers together.

Note Cards - Simple Daisy

Another set of quick Thank You note cards for a friend who lost her sister this week. The daisy graphic comes from Reusable Art.
It came in handy that I bought a few of these sets a while back.  It allowed me to quickly create a small gift for some one in need.

Card - Butterfly - Sympathy

Another sympathy card for Lillian who lost her husband. I will miss you Norm.
I chose the butterfly for it's reminder about rebirth.  Again, this large greeting and digital images are coming to my rescue. The butterfly is from a Dover CD.  I layered the color printed layer onto a deep burnt orange then a pea green colored card.  I coordinated the sentiment with the burnt orange layer.

Notecards - Black Flourishes & Butterflies

Another set of note cards for my friends who lost a loved one.

This set is printed from Stampin Up! digital stamps. The greeting is printed in black.  I chose flourishes and butterflies.


Top left: Flourish is from 2012 Fresh Vintage Set
Top right: Flourish is from 2011 SAB Bliss Set
Bottom left: Butterfly is from 2011 Bliss Set
Bottom right: Butterfly with trail is from 2011 SAB So Happy for You set.

Card - Sympathy - Florals

Here's a couple more cards for the family of the friend who died last week. The flowers are from Graphics Fairy Vintage. I added greetings in coordinated colors.  I added a layer of card stock then this was mounted on the card.

Card - Sympathy - Leaves

I created a few sympathy cards for the family of a friend who passed away suddenly on Feb 23rd. I will miss you Nelson.
Left: The leaf images are from Graphics Fairy.  They are printed in 4 autumn colors. I added a square frame in a similar color to the greeting. The greeting was printed in the dark green color.  I mounted this layer onto a piece of mustard card stock.  The cherry red card has these layers added to it's front.



Right: This card has the large greeting printed on card stock aligned to accommodate the leaves on the embossing folder.  I used the Cuttlebug - Elegant Branch Leaf & Stems Corners.

Card Club - Jan - Gatefold with Square Accent

The girls at card club have asked for cards for specific occasions. I included baby, wedding, and heart cards in this kit. I started with a purple card and scored at 2 1/8 from either side which will create a gate-fold card where two side flaps fold to the center.  I added pieces of designer paper on each flap.  I color printed the square accents which were layered onto a 2.5x2.5 inch piece of white card stock.  The insert is placed on the center panel and was cut to 4" x 5.25"

Christmas Card Challenge - Jan - Folds

Here's my first Christmas Card of 2013.  I am hosting a blog challenge again this year. 
January's theme is Folds.  You can try gate folds, Z folds, Joy Folds, iris folding and twisted card to mention a few.
I chose a Joy Fold card.  It is quite easy to make.  I chose double sided designer paper so that the colors would coordinate well.  The paper is by Basic Grey named Eskimo Kisses - rooftop. I chose a light blue card base cut 4.25 x 8.5 scored at 3". I laid the large piece of DP with the houses showing then turned a smaller piece over to show the blue and white swirls which I put on the small flap of the blue base.  I cut my second piece of card stock from pink 3x8 folded in half.  I added a 1.5x2.875 piece of the house paper on the left side and added a color printed greeting in coordinating colors.  I added a small pink Sizzix heart embossed with Cuttlebug Swiss Dots on the left hand side to keep the flap closed.   Check out this pic giving you a top view.

Cards - Herald Angels

I made a bunch of these cards for a customer. I designed the card front with a heralding angel from Dover. I was fortunate that I could change the color of these images, so I coordinated the angel color with the strip of paper I added on the left hand side.  I selected foil paper in all cases.  I had the request not to have sticking out from the card front so brads, 3D foam, rhinestones were eliminated. It was a bit challenging but the design works.

Card - Invitation Samples

I had a couple approach me to design some invitations for their 60th wedding anniversary which is the diamond anniversary.
Here's the samples they did not select. Check back later for their selection.
I selected a black card.  I embossed a white layer with the SU Elegant Bouquet folder.  I printed a 60 on to bottom right hand corner.  I glued the white layer to the card front then applied several crystal rhinestones.

This card was a white on white concept.  I started with a white card and added a layer embossed with the Cuttlebug Devine Swirl folder. The next layer was cut with one of the SU Apothecary Framelits onto which I layered 2 die cut hearts which were embossed with Cuttlebug Swiss Dots on left and Craft Concepts In Bloom on the right.  I added a crystal rhinestone on the left heart.  The framelit die cut and the hearts were raised with 3D foam tape.

I chose ivory card stock for this one.  I printed some SU! Designer Paper from the Beau Chateau series. I slipped a Cuttlebug ribbon slider in Marina Mist onto the ivory organza ribbon and wrapped it around this layer and taped the ends to the back. I added a crystal rhinestone heart onto the centre of the ribbon slider.  I color printed the "invitation" on ivory card stock and cut it with another SU! Apothecary Framelit.  It was mounted to the card front with 3D foam tape.

Here's the one they selected.

I started with a dusty lavender card.  I embossed a white layer with the Cuttlebug Rebecca embossing folder and trimmed it to leave a tiny border.  I cut a lavendar scalloped oval with a Spellbinder nestabilities.  I color printed the information in lavendar onto white card stock then cut it with the corresponding smooth ovals in the SB nestabilities. These were adhered to each other then the element was mounted to the card front with 3D foam tape.