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