April Fools Birthday

Inspiration The card is for the team to give our  boss who celebrates his birthday on April Fool’s Day.  I’m sure he doesn’t read my blog, so I’m going to post it early.  Hopefully it will make him smile (and you too)!

Ingredients

CARDSTOCK (All SU!): Real Red, Ballet Blue, Garden Green, Whisper White
STAMPS: Card Games (SU!), In the Cards wheel (SU!), Sentiment (Paper Garden)
INK: Basic Black(SU!), Real Red (SU!)
ACCESSORIES: SU Markers (Real Red, Ballet Blue, Garden Green, Summer Sun, Blush Blossom); Sheer yellow ribbon (Michaels); Scor-Pal; Foam tape; Adhesive Transfer Gun 714 (Scotch); Corner Rounder punch (SU!); Rotary trimmer with straight and Pinking blades (Fiskars)

Instructions

BASE CARD:  Cut a 12” x 12” sheet of red cardstock in half using the straight blade, and score one piece in the middle at 6”.  Fold the card on the score, and then trim the edge opposite the fold with the pinking blade.

Ink the wheel with red ink, and roll the wheel along the pinked edge of the front of the card.

IMAGE:  Using the pinking blade, cut a 4” x 4” square from the blue paper. Tie the yellow ribbon close around the square, close to one edge.

Stamp the Jack card image in black ink 3 times on white paper.  Color all three with markers. Trim all three very closely.

Mount the card images to the blue square, fanning them like a deck of cards.

SENTIMENT: Stamp the sentiment in black in on a rectangle of white paper measuring 1 1/2” x 4”.  Clip the corners with the corner rounder punch.

Using the pinking blade, cut a 1 3/4” x 4 1/4” rectangle from the green paper.

Mount the sentiment on the green mat.

ASSEMBLE:  Mount the blue square first to the red, then add the green matted sentiment.

Enjoy your April Fool’s Day!

Thanks for stopping by.

Shopping Sites

I enjoyed a class this weekend on using Copic Markers, taught by Jen Del Muro (www.iheart2stamp.com), and got to meet a group of very nice women.  We all traded our favorite craft shopping websites, and decided the info should be posted so we all have the info.  I’ll add to the list and repost occasionally as I find more great sites.

Hope you find it useful!

Website	Products Purchased
www.ellenhutson.com	a) COPIC Markers and Accessories b) Memory Box rubber stamps c) Cornish Heritage Farms rubber stamps
www.carpediemstore.com	COPIC Markers
www.papertreyink.com	Cardstock - Stamper’s Select White
www.cropandstick.com	a) 3M Scotch ATG 714 Adhesive Applicator b) 3M Scotch® 924 ATG 1/4" X 36 yd 12 Rolls
www.7kidscollegefund.com	a) COPIC Markers b) Cardstock – Neenah Solar White Ultrasmooth Classic Crest c) Cardstock – Core’dinations d) Spellbinders Nestabilities e) FlowerSoft
www.ohmycrafts.com	a) Silhouette digital cutter b) Cuttlebug dies/embossing folders/storage c) Embellishments d) Spellbinders Nestabilities
www.copicmarkers.com	COPIC Markers
shop.ginakdesigns.com	Cardstock – Pure Luxury
www.createforless.com	Fiskars paper cutters and special blades
www.paperangel.com	Personalized Rubber Stamps – get your own “Hallmark” !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Easter Daffodils

Inspiration

Daffodils are one of my favorite spring flowers – they bloom early here in Dallas.  When I travel home to Tennessee in a couple of weeks, I’m hoping I’ll get to enjoy them all over again!

This is the first of my Easter cards for you to see – I’ve made quite a few, so I’m hoping to post more than once this weekend.  Hope you’ll come back to check out the various cards.

This card is a simple one, and uses one the very first stamps I ever bought (the flowers) – a classic quality wood mounted stamp, and one from my newest set from Verve – a sentiment in clear un-mounted acrylic.  I love the chance to use stamps that continue to provide such beauty.

Ingredients

CARDSTOCK: Old Olive (SU!), light yellow handmade paper (unknown), Whisper White (SU!)

STAMPS: Narcissus (PSX), sentiment (Verve)

INK: Adirondack Pitch Black (Ranger), Old Olive (SU!)

ACCESSORIES: COPIC markers; Scor-Pal; Adhesive Transfer Gun 714 (Scotch), Rotary trimmer with straight blade (Fiskars)

Instructions

BASE CARD:  Cut a green sheet of cardstock measuring 11” x 4 1/4”, and score in the middle at 5 1/2”. 

MAT LAYER:  Tear a mat layer from the handmade paper just smaller than the card, approximately  5” x  3 3/4”.  If the paper is hard to tear, use a paintbrush and dampen the lines you will tear.

Mount the mat on the front of the card, and stamp the sentiment in the lower right corner using green ink.

IMAGE:  Stamp the flowers on the white cardstock.  When the ink dries, color the image with the markers, and trim it closely.

Mount the image onto the yellow mat, and you’re all done!

Thanks for stopping by!

First Bird Of Spring

Inspiration

More spring fever here in Dallas – this week we hit our best weather of the year – warm days and cool nights and everything is turning green.  I’m into Easter card mode this weekend, so next week I’ll post a couple of cards for that special time.  Here’s a spring card that could be used for any occasion – I used a birthday greeting inside for a March birthday.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

CARDSTOCK: Green Gable (SU!), Whisper White (SU!), Lavender Lace (SU!), Blue Posies Glitter Print paper (DCWV)

STAMPS: Serene Spring (SU!), Petals jumbo wheel (SU!)

INK: Memento Rich Cocoa (Tsukineko), Green Gable (SU!)

ACCESSORIES: SU! Markers (Green Gable); COPICs (V01, RV34, Y21, E33, Y38, R11, B41, E09, E55, C1, W1, Colorless Blender); Pastel purple ribbon (Paper Studio); light blue brads (unknown); Crop-A-Dile (We Are Memory Keepers); Scor-Pal; Adhesive Transfer Gun 714 (Scotch), Rotary trimmer with straight and scalloped blades (Fiskars)

Instructions

BASE CARD:  Cut a green sheet of cardstock measuring 11” x 4 1/4”, and score in the middle at 5 1/2”. 

LAYERS:  Using white paper and the scalloped blade, a strip 5 1/2” x 3”.  Then switch to the straight blade and cut a patterned strip measuring 5 1/2” x 2 3/4”.  Mount the patterned paper on the scalloped white strip.

Cut a white strip measuring 4 1/4” x 1 1/2”.  In the petals wheel stamp using the green ink, and roll the images onto the white strip.  Use the Crop-A-Dile to mount the brads in 2 corners of the strip.  The ribbon is added in 2 pieces: Cut a short piece (3”) and lay it horizontally on the white strip.  Mount a 4 1/2” piece of ribbon ribbon across the middle of the white strip horizontally, across the small piece of ribbon, forming a cross.  Tape the ends down on the back of the mat.  Then tie the small piece in a knot and pull it tight.

Mount this layer about 3/4” down from the scored edge of the card.

IMAGE:  Cut a white rectangle measuring 2 1/2” x 3” and a purple rectangle measures 2 3/4” x 3 1/4”.  Stamp the image in brown ink in the center of the white piece and color the image with markers.  Mount the image onto the purple mat, then add it to your card.

Welcome to spring & thanks for stopping by!

A Spring Card From the Dead of Winter

Inspiration

Well, I’ve made quite a few cards this weekend, but I got a request for a “how-to” for a card from my SCS gallery this morning and when I looked it up I found it to be a very “Spring-y” card that I made in December, so I thought it would be a good post for this weekend. 

The larger picture is the card standing open, and the inset gives you a view of the card when it is closed.

I started with a basic Gate Fold pattern.  Instruction for a basic gate fold card can be found on SCS here.  This one is modified from the basic card by adding an extra fold.  The Scor-Pal makes it pretty simple.

This design starts with a 12” x 5 1/2” piece of paper.  Do a score line at 2”, 4”, 8”, and 10”.  Fold inward on the 4” and 8” lines to the middle, the outward on the 2” and 10” lines.  Then it’s ready to decorate however you’d like!  The card ends up being 5 1/2” x 4” – a little smaller than a standard A2 card, but this way you can get 2 cards out of a single 12” x 12” sheet of cardstock.

I used a quick method (Shapeabilities from Spellbinders) to create a bouquet and layered the flowers so that it would look like 3 flowers when closed, and still be balanced when open.

Ingredients

CARDSTOCK: Apricot Appeal, Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery (DSP); Striped paper (unknown); Orange cardstock (unknown)

STAMPS: birthday sentiment (Rubber Cottage)

INK: Certainly Celery (SU!)

ACCESSORIES: SU! Markers (Only Orange, Apricot Appeal, Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery), misc light green ribbon (Michaels), Daisy Heads Shapeabilites (Spellbinders), Cuttlebug (ProvoCraft), Crop-A-Dile (We Are Memory Keepers); yellow eyelets (unknown); Scor-Pal; Adhesive Transfer Gun 714 (Scotch), Rotary trimmer with straight blades (Fiskars)

Instructions

BASE CARD:  Create the modified gate fold card described above, using the orange card stock.  Cut the striped paper into 3 pieces: 2 that measure 5 1/4” by 1 3/4”, and 1 that measures 5 1/4” x 3 3/4”, and mount them onto the base card panels.  Stamp the sentiment on the inside of the large panel.

FLOWERS:  Using the Cuttlebug, create the flowers and petals from the cardstock in spring colors. For each flower and leaf, run it through the die cut machine once to cut, then again to emboss.  Before you remove it from the die, use a marker and color the open areas to create the stenciled outlines.

FINAL CARD ASSEMBLY:  Finish out the card:

1. Punch holes for the eyelets near the outer edge of the front panels and mount the eyelets.
2. Cut a long length of ribbon (about 12”) and thread it through the eyelets.  Tie a knot in each end to keep the ends from slipping through the eyelets.
3. Mount three flowers and 2 leaves on the left front panel over top of the ribbon.  
4. To place the flower and leaves on the right panel, close the card, and lightly mark the position of the outermost flower with a pencil.  Then mount the flower on the right and place the leaves around it.

It’s raining in Dallas – has been for 3 solid days, plus the temperature has dropped back down into the 30’s.  Not typical March weather at all, but it may be just what’s needed to bring out the spring flowers in a couple of weeks.  Maybe this card will give you a preview of the beauty of spring that is just around the corner…

Thanks for stopping by!

A Saturday for Friendship

Inspiration

I am blessed with so many wonderful friends here in my Dallas hometown, and last weekend I had a leisurely brunch with two women I’ve formed a lasting bond with in my professional life.  We met each other at work, but found a deeper friendship based on affection and respect. So much fun to have time to catch up on each others’ lives.

So, this morning I’m posting a “girlfriend” card in honor of all my girlfriends I’ve known – the circle of friends I shared my childhood with from kindergarten through high school, the roommates at college who have shared the experience of becoming grown ups, my cousins and “in-law” sisters (I grew up with brothers), my crafty friends who inspire and encourage me, the Bunco girls who are at this moment in Las Vegas trying to win big bucks, and the professional women who are mentors and support when work is driving us all crazy.

This is a very basic card – some simple layers and ribbon trim.  I’m learning to use my COPIC markers to get a little more subtle shading (a bit of a challenge, but really a lot of fun).

If you’re interested in buying COPICs, I cannot recommend any vendor more highly than Ellen Hutson – she has matched COPIC markers very closely to the SU! shades, and her customer service is supreme!

Ingredients

CARDSTOCK: From SU!: Lavender Lace, So Saffron, Whisper White; Patterned paper from Paper PIzazz

STAMPS: Java Bellas (Stamping Bella), On Your Birthday (SU!)

INK (all SU!): Lavender Lace, Basic Black

ACCESSORIES: COPIC markers, stitched ribbon (Michaels), Adhesive Transfer Gun 714 (Scotch), Rotary trimmer with straight blades (Fiskars)

Instructions

BASE CARD:  Cut a piece of lavender cardstock to measure 11” x 4 1/4”, and score it in the middle at 5 1/2”.

LAYERS:  Cut these pieces cardstock:

• 1 yellow rectangle, 4” x 3 1/2”
• 1 patterned rectangle, 4” x 1 3/4”

IMAGE:  Cut these pieces cardstock:

• 1 lavender rectangle, 3 1/2” x 3 1/4”
• 1 white rectangle, 3 1/4” x 3”

Stamp the Java Bella image in black on the white rectangle, and color with markers.

FINAL CARD ASSEMBLY:  Put the card together in this order:

1. Mount the yellow layer on the base card, and stamp the sentiment in the upper right corner in lavender ink.
2. Mount patterned layer to the base card.
3. Add a strip of ribbon lengthwise across the card.
4. Mount the lavender image mat, followed by the image.

Enjoy your Saturday – Tell your friends you appreciate them!
(And don’t forget to set your clocks FORWARD 1 hour before you go to bed.)

Thanks for stopping by!