In Just 10 Years...

In looking over my blog, I realize that I have been posting lots of cards lately and not too many scrapbook pages. In reality, I scrapbook far more than I spend time making cards, unless I am in a card-making frenzy like I have been this last month. So, why do I spend more time on my blog talking about the cards I make than the pages I scrap. The answer is rather simple. Cards are easier to photograph. So, with that said, I have a lot of catching up to do on my blog. First up, a layout I made last January to mark the new decade. Surprisingly, I like this layout as much now as I did when I made it!

For this layout, I wanted to tell the story about what Mark and Melissa had each accomplished in the first decade of this century. To accomplish that I created a separate journaling blocks for each of them and used pictures from the 2000 and 2010 holiday seasons. For added emphasis on how much they grew, I had them hold a tile that they had made with their hand prints on January 1, 2000 in the December 2010 picture.

The journaling reads:

How time flies! Mark, in just 10 years, you went from kindergarten to 9th grade. You went from learning to read to reading Dickens, Poe and Homer. You learned to ride a bike, ski, in-line skate and skateboard. You can play the trumpet, dive off the high board, and run a 5k race. You lost your baby teeth and had your braces on and off. You went from playing with Legos to playing the XBox. You went from being a little boy to shaving.

Melissa, in just 10 years, you went from playing with dolls to helping with your baby cousins. You learned to ride a bike, ice skate, swim, ski and play the clarinet. You can dance ballet, tap, jazz and modern. you got your first pair of high-heel shoes and your first Coach pocketbook. You went from singing nursery rhymes to singing every song on the radio. You went from being a toddler to being a young lady.

One detail I would like to point out is the Glossy Accents and jeweled eyes I added to several of the birds. This just gave the page added texture and dimension.

Supplies:

Cardstock: American Crafts:

Patterned Paper: Cosmo Cricket (Earth Love);

Letters: American Craft Thickers; Making Memories Tiny Alphas;

Embellishments: Chatter Box (Chipboard bird); Prima (flocked bird); Pink Paislee (rub-on); Cosmo Cricket (ribbon); Recollection jewels;

Tools: EK Success Border Punch (embossed Curve Edger Punch);

Misc.: Twine and buttons from stash.

Nifty at 50!

I have no recollection of my parents turning 50. No recollection at all! In fact, the first person I can remember turning 50 was a woman, Elaine, who sat at the next desk over at my first real job nearly 25 years ago. And, although 50 seemed "old" to me then, Elaine was in no way "old." What I do remember most vividly about Elaine turning 50 was that she purposefully stuttered every time she said ffffff-fifty. It became quite a joke around the office. Fast forward 24 years (and I do mean fast forward) and now I have a husband who is fffffffff-fifty! Yes, Sal celebrated his 50th birthday earlier this week and here's the card I made for him:

To make this card, I covered a standard size base with pattern paper. I cut the blue paper 1/4 inch smaller and stamped it with the new Hero Arts Happy Definition cling stamp. Next I inked up the Technique Tuesday tile and stamped that with the wood grain pattern. I distressed all of the edges in keeping with the 50 theme. LOL! I stamped a sentiment from a travel set on the red strip and finished off the edges with a postage stamp punch.

For the inside of the card, I cut a square mask. After inking the center of the square with blue, I stamped lightly with the Happy Definition stamp. I stamped the sentiment in Versamark and used clear embossing powder. Here's a look at the inside of the card.

Finally, here's a picture of the birthday boy with 51 (fffff-fifty plus one for good luck!) candles all aglow!

Happy birthday, Sal!

Supplies:

Cardstock: Papertrey Ink (White);

Patterned Paper: Cosmo Cricket (Cogsmo);

Stamps: Hero Arts (Happy Definition, Designer Woodgrain, Travel Journal;

Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Weathered Wood, Pumice Stone, Vintage Photo); Ranger (Coffee); Versamark;

Chipboard: Technique Tuesday Technique Tiles (Postage Frames); American Crafts Thickers (Jewelry Box);

Tools: EK Success border punch (Postage Stamp);

Misc.: Twine from my stash

Lucy's Cards: Button Challenge

If you are like me, sometimes you need a little challenge to jump start your creativity. So, while I had the basic idea for this card in my head, when I saw this...

I knew just what I had to do to jazz up this masculine card: add a few buttons. Here's my card:

I started with a 4.75" square card. Using my square punch, I punched out squares from a Mini Deck of Cosmo Crickets' The Boyfriend collection. (I love these papers for teen or masculine cards. ) I also cut out a square of scrap paper and, using removable adhesive, I adhered it to the exact spot where I wanted to place my window. Then, all I had to do to cut my window was align the punch with the pre-cut square. Easy Peasy! Next, i affixed my four patterned paper squares - three to the outside and one to the inside of the card. To attach the ribbon, I knotted the ribbon on the left-hand side and attached a button on top of the knot. For the small piece on the right, I used Glossy Accents to hold down the ends on the inside of the card. I also used Glossy Accents to glue down my buttons. Here's a a better look at the window and ribbon:

Finally, I stamped my two sentiments -- the one you can see through the window as well as the one on the inside of the card. Give or take a few minutes, this was easily a ten minute card -- if you don't count the time I spent designing it in my head. LOL!

To see other cards created for this challenge, visit Lucy's Cards at http://hedgehogsandladybirds.blogspot.com/2010/07/lucys-cards-challenge-12-and-challenge.html

Supplies:
Card Stock: Stampin' Up! (Naturals Ivory)
Patterned Paper: Cosmo Cricket (The Boyfriend)
Stamps: Hero Arts (Trees, Birds & Messages; Happiness Messages)
Ink: Ranger (Jet Black)
Ribbon: American Crafts
Tools: Marvy Uchida punch (Giga Square)
Buttons: from my stash