Love You, Happy Birthday

Today, I am sharing the card I made for my daughter's 15th birthday. I was inspired by a card I had seen online which featured chunky, glitter covered letters. (Sadly I can't find the inspiration to link to.) Anyway, as soon as I saw the inspiration piece, I immediately thought of these Prima letters which I just had to have... several years ago. I loved them so much that I bought them in two colors and then...I never used them. So, somewhat ashamed that I had been hoarding a package of letters (or two four), I reached further into my stash and found patterned paper, ribbon, blossom and letter stickers that matched perfectly. Maybe I wasn't hoarding the stickers after all. Maybe I was just waiting to have the perfect assortment of matching supplies: Anyway, I reached for to the stamp set from the Simon Says Stamp March card kit which was already out on my table and the next thing you know, Melissa's card was done. Here's it is:

 To start, I used white ink to stamped the leaf pattern on the kraft cardstock that came in the kit. I love the dot stamp that enables you to go back and fill in the gaps. Next, I cut the various mats and banners, distressed the edges and adhered them to my card.I. (I tied the bow before adding my top layer.) Next, I added the letters, popping the "o" on foam adhesive and overlapping it on the other letters for a better fit. Finally, I added a wooden heart that came with the Simon Says Stamp February card kit. Here's a closer look:

So, what supplies are you hoarding...I mean saving?
Supplies:
Cardstock, Stamp (leaf and three-dot pattern): Simon Says Stamp March card kit;
Ink: Colorbox, Tim Holtz Distress Ink;
Patterned Paper: My Mind's Eye;
Dies: Nestabilties (labels), Papertrey Ink (banner);
Letters: Prima, Making Memories (Tiny Alphas);
Embellishments: Girl's Paperie (blossom), Simon Says Stamp February card kit (wooden heart), ribbon from my stash;
Tools: Cuttlebug, EK Success corner rounder punch

Thank You So Much -- Simon Says Stamp March Card Kit

I have a quick card share today because, frankly, this was a quick card to make.  I needed to make six thank you cards for Melissa and they all had to be mailed so an easy, one-layer design was key.  Here's whatIi came up with:

The left side of the card is a pattern paper strip layered over yellow-striped washi tape. It's so easy to mass produce with washi tape since no measuring or cutting is involved: For the sentiment, I started by stamping the yellow scallop border. I layered the sentiment on top of that and then added the flowers and dots. i added a twine bow to the left. Finally, just because I had to add a little something extra, I filled in the center of the flowers with Liquid Pearls.  And, because my collection of washi tape is growing, I thought I would use some to decorate the flap of the envelopes. Here's a closer look: 

Once I designed the card and cut the card stock and patterned paper, I spent five minutes making each card. Once again, the card kit totally simplified my choices.

Supplies:
Simon Says Card Kit (March 2013) plus ink (Papertrey Ink); Ranger Liquid Pearls; and My Mind's Eye twine.

Just Because You Are Amazing -- SSS March Card Kit

Today I am excited to share a card that I made entirely with the Simon Says Stamp March card kit  for their April Showers and/or Spring Flowers Challenge. Before I share it, let me give you a little background. Back in December, I decided to sign up for this subscription program. I loved the offering for that month (although by the time I decided to commit, my Christmas cards were made) and the price seemed reasonable for all the goodies that came in the kit. What I found most attractive was the fact that you can opt-out for a month with no penalty. Granted, every sneak peak has left me anxiously anticipating my kit but the option is there if I need it.

The January kit came and I made a few cards. I was busy in February and put the kit aside. Then came March and my need for 30 cards. Well let me tell you how easy it is to create with all of the supplies picked out for you. In my quest for a few unique cards, I wound up pulling out the January and February kits too. I have been making numerous cards with each kit with only a few additions of cardstock or twine. Love it!

Anyway, here is the card I made for a friend's birthday:

Notice...no patterned paper which is a bit of a departure for me. 

To create the stamped focal point, I reached for some water color paper and went to town stamping the flowers with distress inks. In the case of the small flowers, I stamped off for a layered look. After layering the stamps until I got the look I wanted, I spritzed the piece with a little water to get a more distressed feel. Next, I went around the edges with distress ink, stamped the sentiment in Memento ink and added a few jewels. Finally, I adhered this to the card base using  foam adhesive.  Here's a closer look at the stamped image:

My April kit just arrived and I can't wait to start creating with it! In the meantime, I will have a few more cards from past kits to share.

Supplies: 

Paper, Stamps: Simon Says Stamp March Card Kit; Stampin' Up! water color paper

Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Inks; Memento Tuxedo Black

Embelishments: Recollections Jewels

Misc.: EK Success Foam Adhesive

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

Oh if only this was true, my followers would be VERY fond of me! Ha! Once again, my apologies for a long absence. Busy work and family schedules have left little time for blogging. Notice, I didn't say anything about not being able to find time to be creative. In fact, it's been quite the contrary. In the middle of March, I made a list of the 30+ cards and gift tags I would need in the next 30 days and have been slowly checking them off my list. So, I do have lots to share. And, I am committed to finding the time to do it!

Let's start today with Easter cards. I needed 4 cards and two tags. To streamline the process, I used the same Papertrey Ink stamp on all. Let's start with the card I made for each of my great nephews. Here it is:

Simple was the key word here from the design to the paper (which was all from my Simon Says Stamp March Card Kit). To make this card, I die cut the bunny and tail from white card stock and then stamped the bunny. (I knew I would need four so I did all the die cutting and stamping at once.) Next, I stamped the word "BUNNY" onto kraft card stock and, using a square punch, made the banner. To add texture, I ran the banner through my sewing machine. I did this before adhering the strip to the card so that the stitching would not show through to the inside of the card. After adhering the pennant and bunny to the bottom of the card, I stamped the rest of the sentiment, added the strips of patterned paper along the top and tied some twine. This design was easy to duplicate and is one I know I will use again and again.

Next up, a general Easter card for my mother and a duplicate for a friend. This card was inspired by the creative genius of Danielle Flanders. You can see her original card here.  When I saw her card, I immediately thought of the Pebbles collection I had won last year. What better way to use up some of the papers and stickers.  Here's my card:

To make the sentiment pop, I outlined the letters with a white gel pen.

While the Pebbles papers were out, I mixed them with card stock from the February and March Simon Stamps card kits to create these tags:

I die cut the base for the tags using pattern paper and the bottom section of Papertrey Ink's wine bottle tag. (Note that the blue dot pattern at the bottom of the tag is actually the branding strip from the plaid print.) After rounding the top corners, I adhered to cardstock and trimmed by hand. Next, I stamped with VersaMark ink right onto the patterned paper and heat embossed with white Zing. I used the Martha Stewart fringe scissor to cut the grass and a Papertrey ink die for the sentiment and adhered. Easy peasy! As for the bunny tails on all the cards and tags, I used a piece of pom-pom ribbon that I had picked up on clearance at Target's post-holiday sale in 2011. Here's a closer look at the tail.

Supplies:

Some Bunny Loves You:

Cardstock and paper: Simon Says Stamp March 2013 Card Kit

Stamp and Dies: Papertrey Ink

Inks: Stampin' Up! (Soft Sky); Colorbox (Frost White; Chocolate)

Misc.: My Mind's Eye (twine); Target (pompom); Walmart (thread)

Tools: Cuttle Bug, Janome Sew Easy, Fiskars Square Punch

Happy Easter Cards: 

Cardstock: Simon Says Stamp March 2013 Card Kit

Patterned Paper and Stickers: Pebbles

Stamp and Dies: Papertrey Ink

Ink: White Signo Gel Pen

Tools: Cuttle Bug, EK Success corner rounder

Misc.: Target (pompom)

Happy Easter Tags:

Cardstock: Simon Says Stamp March 2013 Card Kit

Patterned Paper and Stickers: Pebbles

Stamp and Dies: Papertrey Ink

Inks: VersaMark, Colorbox (Chocolate)

Tools: Cuttle Bug, Martha Stewart fringe scissors

Misc.: Zing embossing powder (white); Target (pompom); Michael's (ribbon), jute twine from my stash