Happiness Always

The background was embossed using a Swiss Dot folder.  I used two different Stampin Up stamps for the rectangles.  The flowers were done with the Boho Blossoms punch.

Now And Forever Card

A combination of punches, an embossing folder,  and a die were used for the embellishments.

Fall Themed Card

My card was inspired by Georgeann Manning and seen on Pinterest.  I used the large oval Stampin' Up punch for the pumpkin and inked the edges of each oval for dimension.  The flower is from their Boho Blossom punch; the greenery is an EK Success punch.  Palotino Linotype font was used for the lettering.  I created a shadow layer with Make The Cut software.

It's a cute card, but it has 25 pieces!

Doily In A Circle Card

This card was CASED from a Dutch speaking Stampin' Up demonstrator's blog.  It took me quite a while to determine what cuts and what size cuts I'd need to complete my version!

The butterfly was cut out twice with a Sizzix die, once in vellum and once in a bright pink cardstock.  I used copper wire to wrap those pieces together and make the antennas.

The doily is from Elegant Edges cartridge, modified and cut with Make The Cut software on my Cameo.

The pink patterned paper was cut at 3 1/4 x 4 3/4" with a 2 1/2" circle cut on one side for the doily's opening.

The flowers were done with Petite Petal and Boho Blossoms punches from Stampin' Up.  The center is a stick on pearl.

The pink patterned paper didn't photograph well.  It has iridescent lines going throughout the design and they don't show up.  Robin Goens supplied the paper from Stampin' Up.

Forever Card

I named this one "Forever Card" because it took me FOREVER to get the cuts done and assembled!  It was seen on Pinterest and I tracked it back to Claire Creates Cards.  Had I read all of her description, I'd have saved myself a lot of time and effort.  She has a link to a video for making the star burst behind the flowers which is super simple.  I used a quilt block clip art image, traced and cut it with Make The Cut.  Each of the rays had to be numbered so they'd fit back together properly. 

Would you believe this card, including the base, has 22 pieces?   Since there are six different papers in the star burst pieces, I completed six of these.

The top border is from the Elegant Edges cartridge and was embossed with a Cuttlebug folder.  I used a Flower Shop stamp and Pansy Punch for the large flowers.  The centers were done with a Boho Blossom punch and secured with brads.

Boho Blossoms Card

The flowers were done with the Boho Blossoms stamp and punch from Stampin' Up.  I printed the sentiment on my computer.

Cards from the Swarm

Going to a swarm without some card kits means I get nothing done except visit and snack!  For the one last Saturday I made up kits for four different cards.  They didn't all get completed at the swarm because I was too busy eating the cheese dip that Shawna Maxwell brought!  My project this afternoon was to complete them.  Now I have another 46 cards for Operation Write Home!

The popsicle was cut by hand.  I used an 1 1/2" scalloped circle punch to take the bite out of the corner.

This is a repeat of a layout I've done before.  I wanted some quick, simple cards to assemble at the swarm.

Here's the inside sentiment.

This one used the Bitty Punch and the Boho Blossoms punches from Stampin' Up.  I layered the flowers and added some Pearl Pen centers.

 The flower shape is a negative cutout.  It went together so easily that I made it in two colors.  The yellow ones really do look like springtime!

Box Top Fold Card

Dawn Griffith featured a card like this on her blog recently.  The one she designed was square.  Since I do only A2 (5 1/2 x 4 1/4) cards to send to Operation Write Home, I had to do some "higher math" to convert the measurements.  Boy, I knew I should have paid more attention in math class!

You can click on the link above to see how Dawn assembled her square card and get all her measurements.  If you want to make it an A2 size card, here's what you'll need to cut.

Base cardstock:       cut 1 piece 11 x 4 /14"     score this piece at 2 3/4" across the
                                                                       narrow width
                               cut 1 piece 8 1/2 x 5 1/2"   score this piece at 2 1/8" across the
                                                                         narrow width

Fold the scored piece to the center of the card stock.  Then, fold the opposite end in to meet the edge of the scored section..  You need to use a bone folder to get a crisp edge so the card will lay flat when assembled and the front sections are tucked inside.

This will make perfect sense to you after you watch her video!

Lining:    cut 1 piece of cardstock 5 1/4 x 4"
              cut 1 piece of cardstock 5 x 3 3/4"    this will be your area for your
                                                                       sentiment

Lay the two pieces of base cardstock across each other in the shape of a + sign and attach them using adhesive.  Then just layer the lining pieces and attach them to the inside.

Fold the outer pieces just like you would if you were closing up a cardboard box.

Embellish the front however you choose and add your sentiment.

For my card I used:  Stampin' Up stamp sets-Define Your Life (retired), Language
                                of Friendship and Cottage Garden
                             
                                Boho Blossom punch

                                Coredinations Color Core cardstock

                                Sizzix Decorative Flourish Die

                                Pearl Pen and Signo White Pen

My written instructions make it seem pretty complicated but it really does go together easily.  The hardest part, other than figuring out the dimensions to cut the cardstock, is folding the top closed.  I folded mine closed and then did the embellishments so I wouldn't have to determine which piece to fold in first!  You can ask Fred how many tries it takes me to close a cardboard box this way!

It was fun to challenge myself to make this style of card.  I make so many A2 sized ones that I tend to think only in terms of what will fit onto that size.  This isn't a card that I'd make tons of to send to OWH, but it was a nice change of pace this afternoon.  Wouldn't it make a fun Easter card for a child with something special inside?

Spring Flower Card

Today's card was inspired by one seen on Splitcoast Stampers by Cindy McGurk using her Boho Blossom Punch from SU.  Wish I had the stamp set that goes with this punch!

The sentiment was done at stamp club last week.  I often stamp off a page of a single image that I like.  Then, I can either use those or make a copy at home and cut the copy up to use.

Thanks, Robin Bogle, for telling me which cartridge had a photo corner on it!  I had looked and couldn't find one, even using the cricutsearch.com website.

I like the way these turned out but it took quite a while to assemble the flowers for six cards.  Lots of little pieces to line up and punch for the brad to go through.

Some of the cards have photo corners that I embossed with a Cuttlebug folder, and I made a cut file in George for a photo corner and used that on a couple too.

Valentine Card #2

Another Cards for Soldiers Valentine.

Last June, Okieladybug, her friend Karen, and I went to Arlington, TX to a scrapbook convention.  There was a booth there selling Little Yellow Bicycle paper by the box.  The sheets were stacked in wire racks and you could fill your box with any of the sheets you wanted and pay a single price for the entire box.

As the racks would sell out, the people that had the booth would refill the racks with different patterns and types of paper, including some paper stacks.

I found a great stack called Love Letters and knew it would work great for CFS Valentines and I put as much of it in my box as I could find.  Then I asked the lady in the booth if there was any chance she had any more of it in her backstock.  She did find more of it, although it was loose sheets rather than packs.

During my conversation with her, I told her the paper would be used for CFS and gave her a brief explanation about what we do for our active military.  She thanked me, told me that she thought that was a really great project and then she gave me a large stack of paper at no charge.  I wish I had gotten her contact information so I could have sent her a thank you for her generosity.

This is the first card I've made with the Little Yellow Bicycle paper.  It's not traditional Valentine red, it's more of a deep rose color.  The card is based on one from an old issue of Cards magazine.

Cartridges used:

Accent Essentials for black and white background
Plantin Schoolbook for the letters- cut at 1 1/8"
Jasmine for the photo corners
George for the heart

Boho Blossoms punch for the little flower
SU scallop border punch for the black strips

Brocade embossing folder used on little flower

I added some black Stickles to the center of the flower and used a white Signo pen for the doodledots.  In the photo it looks like the letters have been embossed with the Swiss Dot folder instead of having black doodledots.