Happy Father's Day

I was running low on time and had seven cards that had to be made and mailed by Friday so I took the liberty of casing a clean and simple card designed by Ginger Williams. I made two variations. Here's the one I made for Sal:

With the exception of the card base, all of the papers used on these cards were scraps from a layout I was working on. Here's the design I made for Mark and Melissa to send to their godfathers:

Sometimes clean and simple is the way to go and this was certainly one of those times. I will have lots more cards to share with you this week. Like I said, I made seven cards on Friday and I need to make about ten more this week between birthdays, graduations and thank yous. Yikes! I better get stamping!

Supplies:

Cardstock: Stampin' Up! (kraft; Dusty Durango);

Patterned Paper: October Afternoon (Rocket Age); My Mind's Eye (Alphabet Soup);

Stamps: Inkadinkadoo (Happy Everything);

Ink: Stampin' Up! (Blue Bayou);

Tools: Spellbinders Nestabilities;

Stickers: American Crafts Thickers (Meadow);

Button: Walmart

Merry Christmas!

Just a quick post tonight to share my 2010 Christmas card.

This year, I was inspired to make a bi-fold card and I have to admit that the Martha Stewart Scoring Board made the job so much easier.

Here's another view of the card:

To make the trees, I first stamped the image on the cardstock. I then stamped the top of the tree three more times on patterned paper. After cutting out each tree top, I scored each triangle and folded it in half. Then I glued the bottom of the right side of one triangle to the bottom of the left side of another. I repeated this and then glued the resulting 3-D triangle down to the card.

For the ribbon treatment, I used EK Success' Vertical Slot Punch to cut a small slit in the fold of the card before feeding the ribbon through.

Merry Christmas!

P.S. Watch my blog next week for a surprise guest poster!

Supplies:

Cardstock: Papertrey Ink;

Patterned Paper: Basic Grey (Jovial);

Stamps: Hero Arts ( Merriest Christmas Trees);

Ink: Ranger (Coffee);

Ribbon: Papertrey Ink (Pure Poppy);

Tools: Martha Stewart Scoring Board; EK Success Vertical Slot punch; Spellbinders Nestabilities (Large Classic Scallop Rectangles); Fiskars Punch (Apron Lace).

Vive la France

Anyone who knows me knows that my sister, Diane, is a Francophile. Diane loves all things French and probably has more French stamps on her passport than I have pairs of shoes. That's why when, a week before her birthday, I saw this paper...

...I knew I had to buy it. Here's the card I created:

I used both the A and B side of the paper as well as a dot from another paper for the front of my card. To get the Eiffel Tower perfectly centered in my die, I taped the Spellbinder's Nestability to the paper before running it through the Cuttlebug. I used black embossing powder for an understated sentiment on my focal point image. I really wanted this card to be all about the patterned paper! After putting all of the garnet-colored gems onto the scalloped oval, I used foam dimensionals to adhere it to the card.

Here's a look at the inside of the card:

Happy birthday, Diane. Or should I say, "Joyeux Anniversaire!" Hope this glimpse of Paris holds you over until your next trip!

Supplies:

Cardstock : Papertrey Ink

Patterned Paper: Graphic 45

Stamps: Papertrey Ink (happy birthday sentiment from Delightful Dahlia); Hero Arts (Enjoy the Moments)

Ink: VersaMark

Embossing Powder: Ranger (black)

Tools: Fiskars punch (Scallop Sentiment); EK Success punch (Double Embossed Dotted Lace); Spellbinders Nestabilities (Petite Oval --Small, Petite Classic Oval -- Large)

Ribbon: EK Success Adornments (yellow)

Bling: Recollections

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

Happy First Birthday!

My Grand Nephew just celebrated his first birthday. As I prepared to make his card, I was coming up with zero inspiration. You see, I have another Grand Nephew who celebrated his first birthday in February. I didn't want to make the same card yet I'm a little lacking in the juvenile boy stamp department. Anyway, two days before the party, my niece called and told me she was making a puppy cake. A light bulb went on in my head and this is the card I created:

To start, I cut out one of the adorable pups from a scrap of Basic Grey June Bug I had left over from a layout I created in a class designed by Kelly Goree. (I'll share that layout later this week.) Next, I cut a dog house out on my Cricut and stamped it with the Hero Arts Woodgrain stamp. (I think that is one of my favorite stamps because it is so versatile!) I added the banner and Happy Birthday sentiment from Papertrey Ink's Fly Away set. The banner is actually inverted so I had to affix the sentiment stamp to my block accordingly. I love how you can "mold" an acrylic stamp to fit your needs! After finishing the dog house I stamped the clouds on white card stock. For the grass, I scalloped two strips of patterned paper plus a strip of green card stock that I stamped with stripes.

When I put all of the pieces together on a 4.25 x 5.5 card, my scene seemed too crowded so I opted for a 5x7-inch card instead. To ground my scene, I stamped a scrap of kraft card stock with the dots and scalloped the top edge. For a finishing touch, I used the sun from the Elements Stickers. Since it was hanging off the edge, I adhered it to scrap cardstock and cut it out before putting it on the card. The "1" is actually a white Thickers that I inked red to match my card. I used craft ink for the best results.

Hope you enjoyed your day, Paul!

Supplies:

Card Stock: Stampi'n Up! (Kraft, Wild Wasabi); Papertrey Ink (Stamper's Select White, Pure Poppy, Enchanted Evening)

Stamps: Hero Arts (Clouds, Designer Woodgrain, Stripes; Technique Tuesday (Swiss Dot)

Ink: Versa Mark; Stampin' Up! (Brilliant Blue, Real Red); Ranger (Jet Black)

Patterned Paper: Basic Grey (June Bug)

Stickers: American Crafts (Thickers); Basic Grey (June Bug Elements)

Tools: Cricut (Puppy Love), Fiskars Border Punch (Scallop); EK Success (Corner Rounder)

WCMD

Happy belated World Card Making Day. A couple of personal things kept my creative juices from flowing over the weekend but this morning, I was inspired to make a Halloween card based on Carla Peicheff's sketch which you can find here http://moralia.wordpress.com/2009/10/03/its-here-world-card-making-day/. Here it is:

This is one time when it paid off to have all of my Halloween goodies stored together because, other than the sketch, I had no plan. I just kept digging through my stash as I went, looking for the next layer.

So, It's October 5th and I've actually made a Halloween card! If only I can mail it on time then it will be a real treat for the special person who is going to receive it!

Ingredients: American Crafts card stock; Making Memories patterned paper (Halloween); Little Yellow Bicycle laser paper (Halloween Words); Queen & Company felt fusion; Creative Imaginations epoxy sticker; Bazzill paper flower; Technique Tuesday stamp (Swiss Dots); Tim Holtz distressed ink (Spice Marmelade), Ranger ink (Jet Black); Stampin' Up! punch (Scallop); ribbon from my stash.

Oh Baby!

Just a quick post tonight to share a baby card and matching gift bag. This set was very special because it was made to welcome my new great nephew into the world.

Here's a close-up of the card. Notice the zigzag stitch at the top of the orange layer. That was made with my new Janome Sew Mini that my mother gave me for my birthday.

As much as I wanted a sewing machine, I have to admit that I was a little intimidated about taking it out of the box. As I was reading the directions, Sal came into the room and pretty much took over threading it. Apparently he knows how to use a sewing machine from years of watching his grandmother do so. Who knew that after 21 years of marriage, I would uncover this hidden talent!

This card was cased from the fabulous Carla Peicheff. You can see her fabulous original here: http://moralia.wordpress.com/2009/05/29/a-few-baby-cards/. While you're on Carla's blog, take a look at some of her other projects. Her work is stunning and a constant source of inspiration to me.

Card Ingredients: Stampin' Up! card stock; DCWV patterned paper (Nan's Nursery Baby Boy); Making Memories ribbon (Passport); Stampin' Up! border punch (Scallop Edge); Making Memories stickers (Tiny Alphas); Signo pen (white); Cricut (Graphically Speaking).

Bag Ingredients: Michael's gift bag; DCWV patterned paper (Nana's Nursery Baby Boy); Fiskars border punch (Threading Water); Inkadinkadoo stamps (Baby Boy); Versa Mark ink; Stamp 'n Stuff embossing powder (detail white).

Independence Day!

It's that time of year again. Time to celebrate the 4th of July with our dear friends, Lissette and Richard. No one knows how to throw a July 4th bash like them! And since Lissette is a dear scrapbooking, cardmaking, stamping friend, I had to make her a card and a gift bag for the hostess gift I got for her. Here's my latest stamping creations:

When I was looking through my stash for patterned paper for the card, the only patriotic paper I found was the star pattern which I used on the bag. That, however, was not the look I was going for on the card. Then I came across this paper from Making Memories Passport line. Even though it had some green in it, I knew it would work. I simply covered the green with the red striped ribbon from my stash and voila, the travel paper became patriotic!

To make the star, I followed the techniques outlined in Jennifer McGuire's Thinking Inking class over at Two Peas in a Bucket. First, I created a mask for my circle and star with the Cricut Graphically Speaking cartridge. Then I filled in the empty space with Ranger's Acrylic Paint Dabbers. I've always hesitated about painting on my craft projects but the Paint Dabbers offer a no mess solution. I also inked my small star stamp with the Paint Dabbers.

Since I used dark card stock, I added cream card stock to the inside of the card.

For the gift bag, I recycled a Hollister shopping bag by using my Leave it to Weaver border punch on patterned paper from my stash and adding ribbon.This gift bag was good for the environment and good for my pocketbook!

Now, if you want to see how much my style has developed and changed, here is a link to the July 4th card I made for Lissette last year: http://eterno-lyyours.blogspot.com/2008/07/4th-and-5th-of-july.html.

Card Ingredients: Stampin' Up! card stock (Night of Navy and Very Vanilla) and DCWV card stock (red); Making Memories patterned paper (Passport); Cricut cartridge (Graphically Speaking); Stampin' Up! ink (Night of Navy); Ranger Acrylic Paint Dabber (Silver); Studio G stamp (Series 12); Making Memories button (Noteworthy) ribbon and twine from my stash.

Bag Ingredients: Hollister shopping bag; paper scrap and ribbon from my stash; Fiskars border punch (Leave It to Weaver).

Pomp and Circumstance

Pomp and Circumstance is the song of the day as Mark graduates middle school and Melissa graduates elementary school. In addition, my niece, Lisa, graduated high school earlier this month and my other niece, Sarah, graduated elementary school. So, in their honor, I have a graduation card to share.

I made this card for my niece, Lisa, so I personalized it by using her school colors. I can't take credit for the design. That goes to the fabulous Carla Percheff. Here's her card which I totally cased: http://moralia.wordpress.com/2009/05/19/good-morning-ladies-cps-116-a-couple-grad-cards/. I hope Carla believes in the old adage that imitation is a sincere form of flattery. If you have time, browse her blog. You will be totally inspired by all of the eye candy! You can also find a tutorial for the Spring Card at Splitcoaststampers.com. Here's the link: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/spring_card/.

Congratulations to all of my graduates! I am so proud of each and every one of you.

Ingredients: Bazzill card stock, Basic Grey (Boxer) patterned paper; Making Memories tiny alphas; Cricut Graphically Speaking and Doodlecharms cartridges; Bazzill Polished Pebbles brad; Jolee's By You graduation tassel.