You're Special Card For A Grandson

Monday August 9th is our grandson Easton's You're Special day. This is my own family tradition, began about 6 years ago when Tim & I decided to no longer celebrate Christmas. You're Special days happen six months from a person's birthday, sort of like a half-birthday, but in our case, a day to say You Are Special to us. A few years back our oldest grandson Kyler decided would be nicer to spend the day with Grandma than to get another gift and since then that has been the plan on the grandchildren's You're Special days. I still make cards for our children and their spouses to honor their You're Special days. I regret to admit that I'd let my busy schedule, particularly when I was in school over the past year, interfere with making cards for my grandchildren on their You're Special days. I'm trying to rectify that situation, beginning with this card for Easton.

I began with the background I had initially intended to use with the lighthouse image in my previous post, but once I added the zigzag faux stitching, it just wasn't working, so I set it aside and started over with the background you see on that card. However, THIS background said to me that it would work just right with the leopard print I digitized from a calendar image. I mounted the image on a dark brown piece of cardstock. I also added straight faux stitching to the center strip of background paper (recognize the two prints from the lighthouse card? yep, it's the same paper), then adhered the leopard print to the center. I like it a lot! I hope Easton does, too. I think he will; he loves animals. And I know we are going to have fun together tomorrow!

Til my next post, happy cardmaking! Take care and may the grace of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah be with you!

Lighthouse Challenge Birthday

As a general rule, I don't make cards without having a person in mind to receive that card. This card was no exception. I needed to make a birthday card for our sister-in-law Ingrid who lives in Georgia, while at the same time over at Paper Craft Planet in the group Anything But Cute to which I belong, there's a challenge going on to make a card using lighthouse images. I don't own any stamps with lighthouses, so I had to turn to other options.

For this card, I used a digitized adaptation of a wallpaper border from my stash of wallpaper samples (the border is too big to use on a card as is). I mounted the lighthouse image on a dark green piece of cardstock from my scrap bag, then onto a piece of medium blue cardstock, also from the scrap bag. I used a Bic marker to add faux stitching on the blue piece and cut a scalloped edge with shape scissors. The background paper is a digital print from a tile by Kitty Wompus. The three other pieces of circle print papers are from a ScrapbookScrapbook digital print. I ink-distressed the edges of those three papers with Baby Blue VersaColor ink. To complete the card, I added layered buttons, cream & shades of blue, tied with brown embroidery floss, and mounted the matted image with foam tape. I was really pleased with the way this card turned out and hope our sister-in-law likes it.

Til my next post, happy cardmaking! Take care and may the grace of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah be with you!

Belated Birthday Turtle

I wanted to make a birthday card for a friend who moved away, but I didn't get around to it in time, so on her actual birthday I was busy making this card. The stamp is an Inkadinkadoo design. I colored it with Sharpie markers and colored pencil, also going over the stamped sentiment with Sharpie marker. The background paper is a digital print from DAISIE Company, (I'm liking their digital clipart a lot). I added ribbons and sequin "bubbles." I hope she likes it. I didn't do a lot with this card because the background paper is so pretty that I didn't want to detract from it.

And there you have it! Til my next post, happy cardmaking! Take care and may the grace of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah be with you!

Going Green Card

I like this card! Green is probably my second favorite color, after blue, and this card is so soothing to look at. I made it for a Going Green swap challenge in my Crazy Card Makers group. I began with a printed cardstock base. Then I cut a square of solid green and cut slots on all four sides to thread strips of green print through. I also cut squares of printed papers to put on top of the solid square, using pinking shears on the edges. The two papers on the right are prints of digital papers, while those on the left are from DCWV. I added brads, a 3-D floral sticker, and a stamped sentiment. The two little butterflies are brads, too.

Til my next post, happy cardmaking! Take care and may the grace of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah be with you!

One Last June Cards Post

This pocket card is one of my very favorites. I love the colors and the design. The background paper comes from a DCWV stack pack, their Flower Shower Spring Stack to be exact. The floral paper is giftwrap paper. I added a border punched strip of white cardstock to the top of the pocket, trimmed with ribbon and a ribbon bow.

This pic shows the little card that goes inside the pocket of the main card. The stamped image is part of a set from Stampin' Up, I believe (I got it second-hand as a gift). I colored it with my Bic markers, then inked the edges.

This is the inside of the main card, as you lift the front flap. You get two sentiments for the price of one with this card.

This card is another of my favorites. I've had a lot of those lately, haven't I? This card started with the image of the bird's nest, which I copied from a book of bird nest illustrations available on the Smithsonian Libraries Digital Libraries website. I apologize for not making note of the artist's name. I LOVE the vintage seed & nursery catalog covers you can find there as well. I haven't had time to explore all the digital stuff archived there, but it looks like a treasure trove. The background paper seemed to fit the image so well, that all I needed to add was the bundle of twigs, from one of our trees, wrapped with a hemp string tied in a bow.

I write to a serviceman in our Armed Forces, the Army to be precise, serving overseas. I got his name and address from this organization: Adopt A US Soldier.org. This year I thought it would be appropriate to make a special card to send to him for our nation's Independence Day. I've never made a card for that holiday before so this was a bit of a challenge. I found this cute digi stamp image offered on the Stars & Stripes Operation Write Home blog, shared by The Stamping Boutique. The image is colored with Bic markers and given some heat embossed accents. I had to ask my sweetheart what colors to use for the little man's uniform as I didn't know what branch of the military this uniform most closely resembled; my sweetheart, who was himself in the Marines and who comes from a military family (Army & Marines), said that it looked the most like the Marines dress blues, so that is how I tried to color it. I used another wooden stamp that I have to do the fireworks on the sentiment tag; I colored the stamp with Crayola markers to get this effect. The round red seal is another stamped image, this time with one of those $1 wooden stamps from JoAnn's or Michaels. The gold button came from my button stash in the sewing room--it looks a lot like the seal of our country, which was too perfect not to use, even though I still think I should have hot-glued the thing down flat instead of just sewing it on where the ribbon is attached. The red shaped mat under the image is cut by hand, using my own template. A couple of star-shaped brads added a nice touch. The diagonal striped paper in the background is from a DCWV stack pack.

My last card for June is a birthday card for my sweetheart's brother Terry. I used clipart from DAISIE Company, which I recently purchased. The papers are from the same graphics pack. I added a mat of brown textured cardstock behind the central image, distressing the edges. I also added a strip of cork on which I mounted the sentiment, edges inked, and 2 bronze dragonflies. The card edges and the smaller printed paper are inked for effect as well.

Well, that does it for my June cardmaking. July is just getting started and I have a card on the work table now. I signed up for 3 swaps in the Crazy Card Maker group for the first half of the month and have a LONG list of other cards for family that I need to make. It feels good to be creative and make cards, though. Those months when I was busy with schoolwork it was very hard to find time to make cards. Cardmaking, along with other creative pursuits, is stress-relieving for me so I'm going to have to find ways to keep it in my schedule, no matter how much other stuff I have to do. Hopefully, it works the same for you.

Til my next post, happy cardmaking! Take care and may the grace of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah be with you!

June Cards Pt. 1

Summer weather is settling in with the beginning of July. We are expecting temps in the 80's today & tomorrow, then up to 90 or so on Saturday, with high humidity. The weatherman said to expect heat & humidity for about the next week. I know the crops like it, but I tend to wilt in the sunshine, heat & humidity, so I am re-arranging my work schedule a little today. This afternoon I am staying indoors, working on the computer and at cardmaking. I will spend a while at my sewing machine, too. Then this evening I will head outdoors to do more weeding and planting in our garden spaces. Yes, I am very late with my planting this year, but didn't get started until June, then we've had lots of rainy days & other activities to keep us out of the garden. It is what it is. You make the best of it and keep going.

Enough about all that...on to the cards I made in June. There were quite a few so I am going to share them in a couple of posts. Here goes...

I bought this stamp at a little scrapbooking shop in Hayward, Wisconsin, the last week of May. It was in their clearance basket and I just couldn't resist it. It turned out to be rather difficult to use, as I had a hard time getting a completely clear impression, but I still like it a lot. I colored the image with Bic markers and watercolor pencils, adding Stickles glitter accents on the flowers. The image is matted on light green cardstock and outlined with a Sharpie marker. That is layered over a "diecut" shaped mat, which I cut by hand from a template I made, then drew in wood-grain lines with a Sharpie marker. I added flower brads and the bee brad. The floral background paper is a scrap from my stash, originally a 12"x12" sheet purchased at JoAnn's. The "crimped" strip with the border punching is a scrap of a digital print from ScrapbookScrapbook.com. I wrote the sentiment by hand and inked the edges of the card, to complete it. The card has been mailed off to a friend for her birthday.

I belong to this cool cardmaking group, Crazy Card Makers, a Yahoo group (the link is in the sidebar). Every month there are swaps. A year or so ago I had received a card from Judith in Israel using this technique of stamping on tissue paper. I wanted to try it. While going through a box of papers & stuff, I came across this turquiose-colored tissue paper and thought it would work well for this. I stamped it with an acrylic stamp from a new set I'd gotten, Flower Sentiments by Inkadinkadoo. I mounted it behind a frame I made from cardstock, which is stamped and heat embossed. The other printed papers & cardstock used in the design are from DCWV stack packs. I used this card for the Anything Goes June swap in Crazy Card Makers.

This card was made for my stepdaughter Paige's birthday. Her favorite color is purple. I had seen a stamp with butterflies similar to my stamped image on this card and loved it, but wasn't able to buy it--and besides, I already had these individual butterfly stamps so decided to imitate the stamp with my own stamps. I colored them in with Bic markers, then used Glossy Accents on the butterflies' wings. Iused gel pens on the butterfly bodies. I drew lines on the edges of the cardstock to frame the image, then inked the cardstock. This was mounted on a scrap of plum colored cardstock, layered over a background comprised of three different paper scraps. To finish, I added two rows of trim and a pearl brad. Oh yes, I added lines to the background paper in the corner as it was just a little too plain otherwise. And the butterfly image is mounted with foam tape to pop it out.

This card makes me happy to look at it. I used two wallpaper samples for the background papers. The image is from PC Crafter.com. The sentiment is computer-printed and mounted on a cardstock tab, embellished with two brads. My favorite Martha Stewart border punch made the while doily trim.

I've been on a roll with wallpaper samples in June. This card uses two more wallpaper samples for the background papers. Again, there's the doily edging made with the Martha Stewart border punch. The blue wooden embellishment is a recycled popsicle stick (please tell me you don't throw those away!) colored with a Sharpie marker. It matched the blue wallpaper sample almost perfectly! The image is another from PC Crafter.com. The bee brads seemed to go with it quite well. All in all, this card went to Robyn in South Africa for the Crazy Card Makers June "letter B" swap. The B's in this card include blue, bees, bloom, and beautiful (in the sentiment).

Now on to the next set of cards from June...Happy cardmaking! Take care and may the grace of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah be with you!

My May Cards

I made this card for my mom for Mother's Day. Her favorite color is blue, too. The background paper is a print of a piece of fabric I scanned into my computer, then printed out. A paper print of fabric is easier to work with than the fabric itself and if you look closely, the individual threads are still visible so it looks like fabric, too. I used a corner punch on the corners, then added a small brad in one of the holes of the punched design. The floral image is stamped, heat embossed and colored with Bic markers, then cut out and adhered on top of part of a silver doily atop the background paper. The sentiment is stamped and heat embossed with Seafoam White embossing powder. I really liked how that turned out so I'm sure I'll do that again.

Here's another Thank You card, along the lines of the three that I made back in January. For my Curriculum & Instruction class I was assigned to work with Mrs. Wendi King in her 1st grade classroom. The children were so sweet and it was REALLY hard to say goodbye. Wendi is such a good teacher and I learned a thing or two watching her & helping in her class. The background paper for this card comes from a DCWV stack pack (probably my favorite papers and easily obtainable at JoAnn's). The apple comes from a DCWV cardstock pack and has glitter accents. The blossoms and hat pieces were cut from another piece of DCWV paper. I made the yellow shaped "diecut" myself. I don't own a diecutting machine; I make a paper template, trace it, and cut my own "diecuts" by hand. The blue scalloped circle is punched, then hand lettered. All the stitching is hand faux stitched. The blue hand cutout is a bulletin board shape purchased at Dollar Tree. The finishing touches were the star brads and the wooden bead circles.

My one and only son, Isaac, my youngest child, had his 24th birthday in May. This is the birthday card I made for him. It is a Z-fold. The lined background paper is the front of the card, then it folds back inside, and the back of the card had the polka-dotted paper on it. The sentiment is printed on a piece of paper shaped just like the matt under the image on the front, then adhered to the back of the card so it is right under the front image matt. The image on the front comes from a piece of giftwrap that is in my old suitcase stash. The giftwrap had all of these old tavern signs printed on it; they work really well on masculine cards. Brads added an extra touch.

My oldest daughter's husband, Brent, celebrated his birthday in May also. I wanted to try using little flags in a swag. I'd seen a card made with these on someone's blog and loved the effect. That person stamped the flags, then cut them out. I made a little template first, cut out the flags, then stamped each with the letters in Brent's name, using a little alphabet set I have. The flags were punched with my small hand punch, then strung on a piece of colored hemp, purchased at WalMart and intended for beading. I bought a bunch in different colors when it was on clearance. I'm glad I did because WalMart doesn't carry it in the stores by us any more and I like the stuff for cards. The sentiment is yet another example of the Two You acrylic set from Stampendous, heat embossed, colored with Bic markers, mounted on a circle of white cardstock, and jazzed up with a bit of ribbon. The background paper is a piece from a DCWV stack pack, matted on matching plain cardstocks. I liked how this card turned out! The little flags are definitely going to show up on another card in the future!

That is all of my May cards. It's going to take a couple of posts to get all of my June cards posted; I've been working on cards when it rains, which has been often this month, or when I haven't felt like working outside even if the sun was shining. So til my next post, happy cardmaking! Take care and may the grace of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah be with you!

April's Cards

This card was made for our granddaughter McKayden's 5th birthday in April. I used a couple pieces of cardstock--one a print with glitter accents (the diamonds--from DCWV), the other a piece of textured cardstock. I cut the piece with the little princesses from a piece of scrapbooking paper. The edges were inked and the stamped sentiment was heat embossed.

My youngest daughter was married in February and this card went to her husband. I had missed his You're Special day--too much schoolwork & other things and I just plain forgot!--so when she & I were talking about it, she told me how his mom had said to tell me that a small bag of $20's would make it right. I couldn't resist making this card with that "small bag of $20's" inside of it. The next pic is of the inside of this card...

The small bag is an actual small plastic bag that I got when I still had a job. I have about a 1000 of them, I think, as the company I worked for was throwing them away, brand new, never been used, because they weren't the right size. I HATE waste like that so I ended up with a bunch of them. The $20's are photocopies on green copy paper of a child's play $20 bill. My daughter said my son-in-law got a good laugh out of it. That was the whole point, after all.

This is the wedding card I made for that same daughter and her new husband. As you can tell, since I said they were married in February, I was rather late with this one, too. Orange is my daughter's color and I had purchased the 2 big buttons (came in a set of 3 buttons) specifically for her wedding card, then picked papers and other embellishments to complement the two big buttons that I used.

Again with the orange: this card was for my youngest daughter's You're Special day. I stamped the image, heat embossed it, and colored it in with Bic markers. I added faux stitching, done by hand, and flower brads on the stamped image. The papers are from a DCWV stack pack.

By the time I made this card, I was starting to get caught up on the family birthdays and You're Special days. This pretty in purple birthday card was for my daughter-in-law Amber. I used a paint chip card for the background, cutting the edge with scalloped scissors and adding a white border-punched edging. The two potted hyacinth images are cut from a facial tissue box. They were too pretty to throw away! The sentiment is stamped and heat embossed.

My daughter Megan loves yellow roses so for her You're Special day I cut a picture of yellow roses out of an old rose catalog--save those flower catalogs!--and made the card around that image. The stylized flowers are cut from a sheet of printed, glittery DCWV cardstock. The yellow dotted background is cardstock also and again, I inked the edges. That's an effect I am liking a lot! The sentiment is stamped and (I think) heat embossed. It's hard to remember after the fact and I don't make notes on my pics.

One of the neighbors had a daughter graduating from high school this year. This card is for her. The two small stamps are from those dollar stamps you can get at JoAnn's or Michaels. The sentiment is another dollar stamp. All are heat-embossed. I really liked the way this card turned out! But then, blue is my favorite color. The papers are from a DCWV stack pack.

My daughter Holly's birthday was in April and this card was for her. She also loves the color blue. As you can see, I used more of the same paper prints I used on the graduation card above. I seldom cut into a new piece of paper until after I've looked through all of my scraps to see if I can make use of them first.

Our youngest grandchild, little Alan, turned a year old in March. I don't get to see him--a situation with my son which I won't go into--but I still made him a card, albeit a month late. Some day I hope that my son will let me deliver the cards I make for him, his wife, and their son. Again, the cardstocks are a piece from a DCWV stack pack. I added hand faux stitching. The sentiment is stamped, heat embossed, and colored with those Bic markers. The sentiment is from the Two You set by Stampendous. It's one of my favorite sets; you'll see it show up lots on my cards. The little number 1 square at the top right is from a 12x12" sheet of scrapbook paper.

When my youngest daughter married in February, we not only gained a son-in-law, we gained two more grandsons. We have 13 grandchildren now--5 girls and 8 boys. This card was for our grandson Ryan who celebrated his 12th birthday. I used the same DCWV cardstock on this card as I used on the previous card. This stamped sentiment is another image from that Stampendous Two You set, heat embossed and colored with the Bic markers. The letters spelling out Ryan's name are cut from another sheet of 12x12" scrapbooking paper.

Our "new" grandson, Larry Jr, received this card for his You're Special day. His favorite color is purple. I couldn't resist using the little hermit crab, another dollar stamp purchased at JoAnn's. The crab and the sentiment are heat embossed and the crab is colored with Bic markers. The background paper is a digital print that I made from a teabag tile. Unfortunately, I didn't keep track of which website I found the teabag tile on.

That's all the cards from April. I only have May and June to go and then I will be all caught up! Hurrah! I should be back tomorrow with more. Til then, happy cardmaking! Take care and may the grace of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah be with you!

Cards from Jan-Feb-March 2010

This card was made for my sweet granddaughter Samantha who turned 8 years old in January. The background paper is a scan of a piece of fabric, then printed out onto paper. When I print out digital papers I use 24# paper, as it is heavier and gives a better result than regular 20# copy paper. It does cost a little more, but the extra price is worth it. The card also features a circle cut from embossed & glittery cardstock, punched butterflies with gel pen accents & their wings bent upwards, and a flower brad.

This card was made for my son-in-law Levi's birthday in January. As you can see, my printer was acting up when I printed out the balloon image and the "crimped" paper, but I thought the lines in the balloon image actually added to the effect so I used it anyway. I also liked the color variation in the "crimped" paper. The circle paper (sorry, I don't have the maker of the paper handy) mimics the hot-air balloons. The background paper is a digital print, I think from ScrapbookScrapbook.com, which I border punched. The sentiment is hand-written.

I made this card for my sister Annette's birthday in February. The image is a Thomas Kinkade print recycled from a page-a-day calendar. Those little page-a-day calendars are a wonderful source of images to use on cards--and a very frugal re-use! The other papers are digital prints from ScrapbookScrapbook.com (the "crimped" designs & the circles). The floral print is a purchased scrapbook paper whose maker I don't have handy. I added a bit of ribbon to accent the card and printed the sentiment by hand.

This card was made for my sweetheart's Aunt Grace. I used scraps of two different purchased patterned papers and inked the edges. I stamped the sentiment, twice actually unintentionally, then heat-embossed it. I punched the corners of the plaid paper, added a bit of trim, and flower & butterfly brads.

It's getting late and I need to head to bed so I'll have to post the rest of the cards I've made since April a bit later. Til then, happy cardmaking! Take care and may the grace of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah be with you!

2007 Cards Once Again

For this card, I cut the front off an old card I'd received from someone and saved. I always save the cards I get. Old cards can be used for so many things! There are always art or craft projects with the children. They can be cut into gift tags or postcards or bookmarks. Or they can be recycled into new cards, as I did here. The three solid colored squares at the top of the card are cut from paint chips you get when deciding on new paint colors. Just as a FYI, at the Blain's Farm & Fleet store we shop at in Chippewa Falls, WI, they now carry paint chips that are about the size of a sheet of poster board. Each one costs about $3 but think of how many cards you could make with pieces from that! No, I haven't bought any, mostly because I have oodles of the freebie paint chip strips & cards saved already. You can punch paint chips or cut them into whatever shape & size you want. You can find some interesting projects using them at GoMakeSomething.com, which is a really cool website with a lot of neat projects and free printables.

This card also makes use of paint chips, in the small colored squares that frame the outside edges. The background paper is computer-printed, using an email background I had saved. The pumpkin is clipart from the good folks at pccrafter.com; I love their stuff and the prices are really good! I used my own calligraphy on the sentiment tag and colored the edges with crayon.

This card uses different shades of lavender cardstock, cut in diamond shapes. The floral design is cut from giftwrap paper. The sentiment tag was computer-printed and torn to size.

I hope you'll forgive me for not taking the time to edit this image. It's been a long day already and I'm tired. This card is another of my personal favorites. The background is a floral wallpaper sample. I machine-stitched the ric-rac to the card to simulate a stem, as well as using it as a frame around the flowers. The silk flowers are hand-stitched to the card, using embroidery floss, and button centers. I really should make another card like this!

The Last Two To Date

This card was for Tim's cousin, one of the daughters of his Aunt Rose who recently passed away. I know this is going to be a difficult birthday for her, having just lost her mom, so I didn't want to get too bright with this card. I started with a white cardstock base, covering the front with the rose-patterned paper and the digital faux-corrugated paper at the bottom. The bottom digital print comes from ScrapbookScrapbook.com. I added a sticker ribbon strip across the card, added two little ribbon bows and a button, then stamped the sentiment in the lower corner. Then I inked the card edges--all rather simple, but still attractive, I think.

My daughter Holly's next-door neighbor generously offered to let me come dig up perennial flowers in her back yard. Pam is going to re-do her yard and wanted the extra perennials to go to someone who could use them. I never say no to free perennials, so I was more than happy to go dig up a bunch of them. I came home with daylilies, peonies, siberian iris, shasta daisies, and more. Now I just need to take the time to replant them in my yard! Guess what's on tomorrow's agenda?

Anyway, I wanted to send Pam a thank-you card. To make it, I started with a white cardstock base, covered the front with that green print I like so well (DCWV), then added an orange circle of cardstock, actually half of a circular card blank I got in one of those monthly cardmaking kits from the folks at Annie's Attic. On top of that is a white cardstock circle cut out with paper-edger scissors so I could get the scalloped effect. Then you have a floral print circle cut from giftwrap paper. I cut individual flowers out of that same giftwrap paper, mounted them on old index card and then adhered them along the edge of the circle, with the largest one having foam tape under it to "pop" it out. I stamped the sentiment down in the corner and just like that, there you have it...

Three More July Cards

This lovely card was made for my oldest daughter, Venetta. I had tried something a little different with this one. I started with a white cardstock base, then adhered a piece of scrapbook paper to cover the front. This paper comes from DCWV; the flourish and dragonfly are printed right on the paper. Then I cut out, very carefully with my X-Acto knife, a window around the flourish and dragonfly. Behind the window, I adhered a piece of floral giftwrap paper. To complete the front of the card, I stamped a sentiment in the lower right corner and added two mini-brads to the bottom of the flourish. On the inside, I adhered a liner of blue flecked paper. On the right side, I used a Martha Stewart edge punch to punch a border design. Under it, I adhered a strip of the floral giftwrap I used on the front. Usually I don't decorate the inside of my cards, as I print the sentiment right onto my cardstock base using the computer printer.

This card went to an online friend for her birthday. I started with a white cardstock base again, covering the front with a dark green cardstock. The background paper is a digital print I made on the computer using a background tile from KittyWompus.com. I added a strip of reddish print scrapbook paper from my scrap bag. Behind it I added a lattice-punched strip of white cardstock to mimic the gate in the painting. I used a print from a Thomas Kinkade page-a-day calendar (a gift from one of my daughters and you can be sure I saved every page!) for the design motif, matted on a reddish brown cardstock. To complete the card, I stamped the sentiment and added 3 white flower brads and a bronze dragonfly brad.

This bright, bold card went to an online friend who is laid up in the hospital, going through a rough time. I started with a white cardstock base, covering the front with the bright pinkish striped paper. Then I cut rectangles from two complimentary patterned prints--all 3 papers from DCWV, matting them on dark blue cardstock. I attached a strip of pink ribbon using staples and added a silk flower with a bright brad center to the ribbon. To finish, I stamped a sentiment in the bottom right corner.

And there you have it.

Catching Up On July's Cards

It's amazing, isn't it, how quickly time can get away from us? July has been busy with gardening. In between planting and weeding (of which I still have more to do), I have managed to make some cards. So let me bring you up to date on the cards I've made...

This pretty card was made for an online friend. I used two different blue cardstocks. The dotted background paper and the plaid background paper are from ScrapbookScrapbook.com. I used my Martha Stewart border punch to make the white doily edging. The "hello Firiend" floral image is stamped and colored with markers; I'm liking the BIC Mark-It permanent markers a lot and just got a new set of 36 of them for less than $16 at Shopko. I rounded the corners of the layered stamped image and inked the edges. Floral brads add the finishing touch.


This card was also made for an online friend and is one of those cards that's a favorite of mine. I started with a light blue cardstock, added a layer of faux corrugated paper from ScrapbookScrapbook.com, then a layer of a digital paper I printed out using a background tile, with the edge torn and inked, a shaped layer of cardstock with edges inked, a shaped layer of scrapbooking paper from DCWV with edges inked, and in the center a butterfly print from a page of German decoupage designs. I added two square mini-brads set on point and a stamped sentiment in the lower right hand corner, then inked the card edges.


I like this card a lot, too, even though it was really quick and easy to make. I started with a brown cardstock, added a layer of scrapbooking paper, a Creating Keepsakes design from Sandy Lion, and a mauve shaped bit of cardstock matted behind a simple stamped sentiment plus the flower, both of which have inked edges. I rounded the corners with my corner-rounder punch and I colored the stamped flower with a colored pencil. I also lightly colored the sentiment piece with the side of a colored pencil to make it match the pink stripe in the background paper. This card went to another online friend.

And there you have it...

Two Thinking of You Cards

This pretty card was made for an online friend in my Yahoo group, The Potter's Garden. I started with white cardstock, added a layer of a pretty pastel stripe print called Wedding Stripes by SandyLion, then layers of colored cardstocks to match. I used a new punch I'd gotten at Jo-Ann's to punch the lattice corners on the light green cardstock. I rather like the look that punch gives. I also rounded the opposite corners with my corner-rounder punch. I added two pearlized mini-brads in the corners of the light green cardstock and a matted computer-printed sentiment tag, which I lightly colored with colored pencils to match the background paper. Not too difficult, but attractive, I thought.


This card was hard to part with, being made with my favorite color, blue. I started with a white cardstock base, but covered it completely with my other papers. The blue & green dotted paper at the bottom came from the big Summer Stack by DCWV that I got on sale recently at Jo-Ann's; I've picked up two different Stacks by DCWV now--love their papers! And sales help! (Right now Jo-Ann's has all the Stacks priced at 40% off through tomorrow, but I've determined to be good and NOT make the hour trip to town to pick up any more; my sweetheart thinks I already have WAY more than enough paper as it is, but those sales are really hard to resist and no one can ever have TOO much paper, can she?) The blue/green/white splattered print at the top is a digital background tile from EverydayIcons, another of my favorite prints. Then there's a strip of white cardstock border-punched with the Martha Stewart doily pattern punch and with blue gel pen dots. The solid blue layer is another digital print from ScrapbookScrapbook.com to which I added faux stitching with the gel pen. I stamped the "thinking of you" sentiment on a piece of matching blue cardstock (from my scrap bag), rounded off the two opposite corners with my corner-rounder punch and added some gel pen highlights to the image. And there you have it...

Birthday card for Lin F

This lovely card is winging its way to an online friend, Lin. One of her favorite colors is turquoise. I hope she likes this card; I know I do.

To make Lin's card, I started with a white cardstock base, with rounded corners and inked edges. The background paper with the circles is from ScrapbookScrapbook.com, a printed digital paper. The "corrugated" paper on the left side of the card is from there also. I added a punched white border using my newest Martha Steward border punch. On the corrugated paper, I stamped a design from one of my new stamp sets, Inkadinkados' Ornate Flourish/Arabesque Fine, and then I heat embossed it with the embossing iron my oldest daughter gave me for my birthday back in February. I still haven't perfected the heat embossing technique; try as hard as I can, even using a little paintbrush to sweep away the excess embossing powder, I still get "crumbs" here and there. This one didn't turn out too bad, though, so I went ahead and used it anyway. On top of the circle background, I layered a rectangle of Deep Terrific Teal ColorMates cardstock from World Win and on top of that is a rectangle of a printed digital background paper. Again, I rounded the corners. The flower is made from vellum flower parts, a kit from Cloud 9 Design by Fiskars, another gift from my oldest daughter (this time for Mother's Day). I used white brads to finish off the card.

And there you have it...