Plum Sweet Card

The plum is from Preserves cartridge and I computer printed the sentiment.  It's based on a card I saw online a long time ago and saved in my "Ideas" folder.

Once I saw my photo, I added some white pen stitching onto the leaves and the cut out of the plum and now it has much more dimension.

Simple Cards

Made multiples of these during my project to use up some of the papers I have on hand.

Still Making Cards, Just No Pictures

The box of cards for Operation Write Home is going to be filled with simple cards this time.  I mailed the last box just a few days ago and now have over 60 cards finished and in the box.  I'm trying to use up some single sheets of cardstock I have on hand.

There's a ton of cardstock in my JetMax cubes but not very many multiple sheets of the same color.  It drives me nuts when I pull out one of the Cropper Hoppers to search for a color and discover there's only one sheet!

Today I made a mad dash to Oklahoma City searching for papers to use for a recipe album I have in my mind.  While I was there, I stopped into Michael's and found the had 12 x 12 cardstock on sale, 5 sheets for $1.00.  They had emailed a 25% off your total purchase coupon so I took advantage of the sale.  I think I brought home at least 300 sheets.  Now I have 25 sheets of each color, which gives me plenty to work with when I'm making multiples of the same card.

None of the cards I've finished this week is very elaborate.  Most are duplicates of cards I've made in the past and posted photos on here, so, I'm still making cards, just not posting photos!

Multiple Papers Card

I used seven different papers on these.  That may be a new record for me!  I"m trying to use up the Latte mat stack and get it out of my storage space.

The sentiment was printed in Hallmark card software and punched with a 1 3/4" punch.

As I was assembling the card fronts, I really wondered if it was going to just be so "busy" that it would turn out awful, but I like it now that it's completed.

30 Minute Color Block Cards

This one is so fast to assemble that it probably should be called a 3 minute card.  I had a dozen of them completed in under an hour and that included the time it took to select the papers and sentiment stamp!

I like the way they turned out.  Quick, simple and pretty! They'll be great stationary for OWH soldiers.

All the papers came from a DCWV Latte matstack of 4.5 x 6.5" papers.

The base is A2 size, the mat is 4.5 x 3.25" and the individual rectangles are 2 x 1.375".

A Dozen Butterfly Cards

Well things certainly didn't go the way I had planned this afternoon!  I've been working so hard on OWH cards that I decided to take a break from card making and tackle some other type of project after I got home from the post office where I mailed my box of 274 cards.

I've had a book in my mind for over a week.  I know what I want to do and today was the day to start.  No, not today!  I don't have enough chipboard for the pages.  And, I discovered that after I'd spent about an hour looking for papers to use.  This did NOT make me happy!

So, I grabbed the first paper stack at hand and made myself pick a random paper to use.  In every stack of paper I buy, it seems there's always three or four huge prints that are obviously intended for scapbook pages.  Most of the time I can do a fussy cut and use them.  That's what I did today.  I liked the colors in the paper and used some scraps to punch the butterflies.

The sentiment is a CTMH stamp that coordinates with the Artiste cartridge.  I used Design Studio to cut an oval to fit the stamp.  The stamp itself is a word balloon with a tail shaped part and I didn't want to use the sentiment that way.

Here are the dozen cards I finished this afternoon. ***there are actually only ten in the photo, but, trust me, I made a dozen!***     Guess it's time to tape up another priority mail box and see how long it will take me to fill it up!

Coffee Cup Card

I stamped the coffee beans onto the base paper and printed the sentiment with Hallmark card software.  The coffee cup is from Savory cartridge and the steam is from Graphically Speaking.

Pocket Birthday Card

Close to My Heart sells the stamp I used for the stitching on the pocket.  The Artiste cartridge has a pocket shape on it and I used Design Studio to size it to fit the stamp.

The sentiment was printed using my card making software.  Inside it reads, "For the best birthday ever!"

More 30 Minute Cards

Sometimes your paper will do 90% of the work for you!  These sheets came from a stack that my friend, Anita White gave me as a gift last holiday season.  The sentiment makes it a perfect card for the winter.

I just printed the sentiment in my card making software, punched the scalloped circles and used some pop dots to mount them on the card face.  The smallest circle has perforations on the edge for dimension.

 Using a free clip art Santa, I placed a holly leafed background underneath and printed it in my card making software along with the sentiment. 

I added some white dots on the corners around the Santa and some tiny red dots around the sentiment.

Very Merry Tags was the source for the tag on this one. I also cut the white shape using my Expression and then stamped the sentiment onto the shape.


None of these cards are elaborate or complicated, so, I consider them in the 30 Minute Card category.

Vellum Overlay Christmas Cards

A Facebook friend posted a Christmas card using this technique.  I like the silhouette underneath the vellum.

A Child's Year was used for the silhouette as well as the holly leaves.  I cut the leaves from white cardstock and colored them with Promarkers.

After doing three of these, I decided the background paper should be brighter and made this one using a snowflake from Accent Essentials.

The vellum square has an embossed line around the outer edge so it doesn't look completely flat on the card.
 

Metallic Cross Card

I used Indie Art for the cross and resized a scalloped square from Elegant Edges using Design Studio to fit onto the card front.  The cross is cut from metallic gold paper and embossed.

The inside is blank.  I'm including it in my box of Christmas themed cards for OWH, but with no sentiment inside, it could be used for other purposes.  I seldom send a sympathy card and this would be a good one for that purpose.

Printing on Cricut Cuts

I wanted to use this sentiment on the card front and didn't have a punch that was large enough so I printed the sentiment eight times onto a piece of cardstock using my card making software.

Then, I measured the sentiment and chose a cut from Art Philosophy that is large enough that the sentiment would fit onto it nicely.  I cut the shapes out of white cardstock (I used a piece of blue in the photo so it would show up better) and put some repositionable adhesive on it and placed it over the printed sentiment.

The adhesive holds the piece of cardstock in place well enough to just run the cardstock back through the printer. 

Another 30 Minute Christmas Card

CTMH Art Philosophy cartridge has the Christmas tree image on it.  I cut mine at 1 1/8" to fit onto an A2 sized card, tied some tiny bows and added gold Stickles for ornaments.

30 Minute Christmas Card

Cursive 101 was used for the "Joy".  I just added some heat set stars onto the printed trees, gel pen dots onto the letters and inked the outside edges.

30 Minute Card for Kids

Just using some clip art images found on Pinterest, I made this card in less than 10 minutes.  Super simple and perfect for a little Star Wars fan!

Discovery Kids  is where I found the clip art images.

CASED Snowman Card

This card could definitely fall into the 30 Minute Card series since all the pieces are so quick to make and assemble.

I used Savory cartridge, since I have it, to cut the carrot nose and the Stampin' Up owl punch for the eyes and mouth pieces.  The snowflakes are also punches.  I hand cut the blue for the hat and red for the scarf.

Total credit for this card goes to Krafting with Karen.  It was posted on Pinterest.

A favorite layout

I use this same layout once or twice a year.  It's one that I can do multiples of in a short period of time, and, I like the sentiment on it.  Since the cards are sent to different units each time I know they'll not have been seen previously.

The calendar was printed in Hallmark card software.  I put a "faux" red mat along the edges with a Promarker and used some gold brads to attach it to the black base.

For Valentine's Day, I replace the black "X's" with little red hearts.

Warm Winter Wishes Card

The only thing I used my Expression for on this one was to cut the steam above the mug from Graphically Speaking.  The cup on that cartridge didn't have the sturdy mug shape I wanted so I printed some clip art mugs onto printed paper and cut them out by hand.

The snowflake is a Martha Stewart punch and the border is an EK Success punch.  I computer printed the sentiment.

These will go into the box of Christmas cards for Operation Write Home and can be used throughout the winter season.

Whew! Managed to meet my challenge!

With the four of these cards that I completed this afternoon, I managed to meet my personal challenge to make 80 Christmas cards for Operation Write Home from a 4 1/2 x 6 1/2" stack I found at Hobby Lobby.

In fact, I got 81 completed and still have 8 sheets left in the stack.  I saved those for last because they have newsprint and music printed on them and can be used for another purpose.

The sentiment was embossed so that it would stand out on the textured paper.  The boxes as well as the scalloped border pieceare made from paper scraps.   I tied some bows and attached them with mounting foam pieces.

Just when I thought I had used the Christmas paper I have on hand, I found an entire Cropper Hopper full in one of the bottom Jet Max cubes.  ***sigh*** Guess I'm not through with holiday cards after all!

Almost Finished! 8 more 30 Minute Cards

With these eight cards, I only need to do eight more for OWH!  Woo-Hoo!  I'll be glad to get this project completed and move on to other types of cards for a while.

The stocking is from Art Philosophy.  I punched a scalloped square and cut it in half for the corner pieces. 

The pen stitching breaks up the flat surface on the stocking and adds some dimension.

Eight More Christmas Cards

I made 4 each of these.  Now I only need sixteen more Christmas cards to meet my personal challenge for Operation Write Home!  Here it is, just September, and I'm already tired of Christmas! LOL!

30 Minute Christmas Card

The sentiment was computer printed and punched with an EK Success punch.  The scalloped border was cut using Cindy Loo cartridge and Design Studio to resize it.  The snowflakes are a small EK Success punch.

I added some pen work and inked the outside edges of the cards.

Triple Layered Snowflake Card

Using Accent Essentials cartridge, I cut snowflakes at 1 3/4", 2 1/8" and 2 1/2" from some light weight iridescent paper.  I layered them with pop dots for dimension.

Since not everyone celebrates Christmas, I decided not to put any sentiment on these.  They'll make great winter cards for Operation Write Home.

 

More 30 Minute Christmas Cards

The snowflake is from the Artiste cartridge and cut from mica paper.  I was able to complete twelve of these cards this afternoon in between some housework and making two loaves of bread for our dinner!

Let the paper do the work--30 Minute Christmas Cards

Here are some examples of how I let the paper do the work on some simple Christmas cards.  With so much going on in the background, all I added was a stamped image, a little ribbon and some pen work.

Another Christmas Card

This layout was seen on Pinterest, done by Melissa Phillips, and I did some variations on her design.

The tree is from Doodlecharms; the button was done with a Stampin' Up die and I punched the red heart.

It looked too flat and plain so I added some doodling with a white gel pen.

 

30 Minute Christmas Card

Friday I purchased a 4.5 x 6.5 pad of Christmas cardstock.  I never buy small paper pads but the patterns in this one really caught my eye.  The scale of the designs is perfect for A2 sized cards.

Here are the first cards I've made from the stack.  I used the Artiste cartridge to cut the sentiment and then did some pen stitching on it with a white Signo gel pen.

The inside is blank so that it can be used as stationary.

Ice Cream Card

As soon as I saw this paper at Tuesday Morning, I thought about a circus or a carnival.  Since I chose a childlike sentiment and font, I had to put something that I felt was carnival/kid related with it.

The green mat was cut from Cindy Loo and the ice cream cone from Indie Art.  I embossed the chocolate ice cream with a Cuttlebug folder and added some score lines onto the cone portion using my Scor-Pal.  Then I inked the edges of the cone.  There's some pen stitiching on the green mat done with a white Signo gel pen.

The inside sentiment is, "How was YOUR day?".

Double Sided Cardstock

When I began making cards, I'd never buy double sided cardstock.  I told Shirley it was too hard for me to decide which side to use.  I'd get it out, look at it, be undecided and just put it back into the paper holder.

Once I realized that double sided cardstock is "automatically" color coordinated for you, I've learned to use it!  It speeds up my paper selection process when I'm trying to do some quick cards like today.  My Operation Write Home box needs about fifty more cards to be completely full.  By using double sided cardstock I made 15 cards in just under 1 1/2 hours.  Now, 35 more and I can tape up the box and get it on its way.

The paper I used has stripes on one side and a floral design on the other. I liked both sides so I used them both.

The sentiment is from a set of  TPC Studio stamps that I found at Tuesday Morning.  I used my Artiste cartridge and cut the light turquoise shape at 2" and the shadow at 2 1/4".  You can find the shape on page 33 in the Artiste handbook.

The butterflies were done using an EK Success and Martha Stewart punch and I added some dots of white pearl pen and Tulip Slick paint on them.

A Sweet Surprise at the End of a Long Day!

DH and I spent about 10 hours on the road today.  We took our wonderful little grandson, Cooper, home after he spent a few days with us.  Upon checking the mailbox, I found a sweet surprise at the end of this very long day!  There was a package from a Cricut message board friend who lives in Texas.  We met a couple of years ago when a group of us from the message board decided to meet up in Tulsa for some face-to-face fun!

Thank you so very much Michelle P. (I won't put your whole name on here since I don't know if you'd want it divulged!)  The items you sent to me will get put to good use.  How the heck did you know that I always use mechanical pencils and needed some new ones?

I especially want to thank you for the lovely note that you included.  Your kind remarks are very much appreciated.

Nuts About You Card

Inspired by a card done by Laura Williams I used Art Philosophy to cut the acorns and added some cross hatching onto the acorn caps with a pen.   Three of the acorns are glued onto the card front and two are pop dotted to add some dimension.

The oak leaves were cut from Micky and Friends. I added pen dots along the outer edges of the leaves.

The sentiment was printed in Hallmark card software.

Fall Leaves Card

Another card with a fall theme that was inspired by one seen on Pinterest.

Three different cartridges were used to cut the leaves: Accent Essentials, A Child's Year and Mickey and Friends. They were embossed with my Cuttlebug.   The button was done with a Martha Stewart punch and accented with baker's twine.

Fall Leaf Card

Wow!  It's September 1st already!  Before you know it, the weather will be turning cool and our leaves will start to change colors.  But, today, it's still 104° at my house!

The inspiration for this card came from one done by Rochelle Gould that I saw on Pinterest.  ***I sure hope they never shut Pinterest down and card makers continue to post their cards.  Otherwise, I'm going to be without inspiration!***

The background was embossed with a folder from Hobby Lobby and I cut the leaf with a Cuttlebug die.  I used my Scor-Pal to make the border on the square, added a little inking, some brads and pop dotted the square onto the card front.

Super Simple Tulip Card

This was seen on Pinterest and I tracked the source to Karen.     Bloom cartridge was used to cut the tulip and I punched the leaves, circles, and the scalloped border.  The black dots were done with a Pearl Pen and I used a brad to attach the bow portion on the ribbon.

Since the design is so simple, I made a total of sixteen cards.  They're all blank inside and can be used as stationery by the OWH soldiers.