Six Petal Flower Card

The white base was embossed with a Darice folder.

Make The Cut was used to size and cut the six petal flowers.

I added a dot of Pearl Pen for the centers and pop dotted them for dimension.

The sentiment was computer printed and also pop dotted onto the card front.

30 Minute Cards

The watermelon is made from three concentric half circles.  I drew the seeds with a marker.  The flower is punched; the sentiment computer printed.

The cup is made of two clip art images, layered with pop dots for dimension.  The heart is punched; the sentiment computer printed.  I added some pearl pen dots for the "steam".

Mother's Day Sweater Card

This card was inspired by one I found while doing a Google search for Mother's Day card ideas.

I cut a piece of copy paper the same size as the card front and drew a "V" shape in it to determine the angle and size for the neck opening.  This was used as a template to mark the back side of the floral cardstock and cut it out.

The lacy collar was done with a Stampin' Up border punch and cut to 1/2" wide.  The placket is also 1/2' wide.  I embossed the blue cardstock to give it a more lacy look for the collar and placket.

Looking back at the papers I chose makes me wish I'd chosen something other than mini-dots for the bottom layer.  Once the card front was assembled, I decided the large open "V" was too plain and added a Pearl Pen dot necklace.  Dots on dots!

The flower shaped buttons are from the Dollar Tree.  I was wandering around the store and discovered them on the aisle with the automotive stuff!  They were no where near their craft supply area.

This template is really handy to have around.  It gets used a lot to decide what size circle punch to use for a particular stamp or to draw an arc.  It was found at Hobby Lobby in the area with drafting and art supplies.  I have two of these.  Once has circles from 3 1/2" down to 1 1/2" and this one has 2 1.4" down to 1/16".

I used it to create the arc shape for the Pearl Pen dots in the necklace.

 There was a comment left on Facebook after I posted this card in a card making group with the suggestion to add thread to the buttons.

They had already been adhered to the card so, instead, I used a Pearl Pen and just added a faux thread across from side to side.  It does improve the appearance of the buttons and I didn't have to fight to get thread looped though them!

Cutout Heart Card

Seems like forever since I've made a card!  It's been over a month since I've had either the time or energy to work in my craft room.

This card was inspired by one seen online.  Using my Cameo, I cut the heart opening in the dotted cardstock. The heart shapes were embossed with the Brocade Cuttlebug folder.   Then I added a shadow layer to the heart out of the darker pink cardstock, a couple of flowers and a bow.

After adding the pink and off white cardstock underneath the cutout I decided it was too plain so I added some pen work and Pearl Pen dots.

Blue Card With Red Flowers

The overlay  is vellum embossed with a Cuttlebug folder.  I added some white gel pen dots and used Pearl Pens for the flower centers.

Just A Note Card

I designed the notebook paper image using Excel and used a notebook punch across the top.  The edges were inked with Chestnut Roan ink.  The flower centers are Pearl Pen dots and I added an adhesive pearl on the oval.

Red Rose Card

With some help from members on the Silhouette Facebook page, I traced the rose, did a print and cut, then colored them with Promarkers.

The leaves were cut using Stampin' Up's digital image of their Little Leaves Sizzlet and Make The Cut software.

I stamped a 3" square of red cardstock with Stampin' Up's En Francias stamp and Whisper White ink.

After I pop dotted the rose onto the red square, I added some Pearl Pen dots on the corners.

Inspired by a card seen online.

Rose Wreath Card

I'm particularly pleased with the way this turned out.  I used Make The Cut software to cut a 2.2218 x 2.0312 inch oval from white card stock and then embossed it with a Stampin' Up folder.  A pink shadow layer was added.

The rose wreath stamp is from an old set of Stampin' Up stamps.  It was colored with Pale Pink and Meadow Green Promarkers.

The small pink flowers were done with a Bitty Punch, the greenery is a Martha Stewart  branch punch; the flower centers are Pearl Pen dots.

The card base was embossed with a Cuttlebug folder.  The layered ovals are pop dotted for dimension.  The bow is done with Baby Pink ribbon.

Vintage Butterflies Card

It takes me forever to pick colors and elements for a card.  The butterflies were what I started with and it took a couple of tries to get a background I liked.  Since I wanted flowers in the corners I tried every flower punch I had with different patterns and colors of cardstock before I gave up and just added some paper flowers with Pearl Pen dots for centers.

So, this would be a 30 Minute Card times four since it took me two hours to complete one.

Part of that time was spent messing with my Cameo to print and cut the butterflies.  Never did get it to work so I cut the first ones by hand.  I contacted customer support and the representative walked me through the process step by step and isolated what I was doing wrong.  It works just fine as long as you do it correctly!  lol!

CASED this card from one seen online.

Teal Blue flowers Card

The  flower stamped with Color Box teal blue ink.  It's a Stampin' Up stamp and punch.  The sentiment is also from Stampin' Up.  I added some Pearl Pen dots for accents.

Had to take a detour on this one...

This is not the cross I wanted to use on the card I had planned out in my head.  But, I took a slight detour and this is what I wound up with.

The original idea involved an intricate filigreed cross.  Using MTC software, I had six of them on a single mat and when I sent them to the Cameo to cut I got the "blue screen of death" from Windows.  It contained some scary information about having to shut down Windows in order not to damage my computer and I think it made me promise never, ever to do whatever I'd done to invoke the wrath of Windows again!

***I should have paid more attention yesterday when it threatened me with the same consequences when I tried to cut six other intricate shapes at a time.***

Once I'd calmed Windows down and got fewer of the filigreed crosses sent to be cut, I realized that you just can't cut Coordinations sand and tear cardstock that intricately and scrapped that whole idea.  By that time it was 11:30 p.m., my patience was worn thin, and I found this cross on Indie Art and just used it!

The cross was so plain that I added rows of dots using a Pearl Pen. The dots look white in the photo but they're actually a cream color.

The border is paper lace that I found in the Dollar Tree several years ago.  On the inside cover, I printed the Twenty-third Psalm.

The finished card is nothing like I had planned, but, sometimes, like on a road trip with a friend, we find some great things when we get lost and take a detour.  I'm satisfied with the way it turned out and hope that one of the soldiers will be pleased to send it home to someone they care about.

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.

Retro Eyeglasses Card

Anyone remember the "cat eye" glasses from the 50's?  

This idea was seen today on Facebook.  Here's a link to the original image.   The eyeglasses on the orginal were cut using a Silhouette machine, but I think the ones I used from the Paisley cartridge work quite well.

The mat was cut from the CTMH Art Philosophy cartridge.  I printed the sentiment and then fed it into a Stampin' Up punch from the back side to shape the ends and added a little ink.  The two black dots in the corner were done with a Pearl Pen.

Unfortunately, the gems on the corners of the glasses frame look dull in the photo; they're actually quite sparkly.

30 Minute Card

This embossed oval card really only takes about 30 minutes to assemble. 

I used the Sizzix oval embossing folder from Stampin' Up and their large oval punch for the center.  Measuring the outer edge of the oval, I cut an oval with my George cartridge to 2 x 2 5/8".  That's a perfect size to fit onto the embossing folder.  The center oval measures 1 3/8 x 2" in case you don't have the large oval punch.

The sentiment is from the CTMH Art Philosophy bundle stamps.
I added some drops of Pearl Pen to the lower corner just to break up the solid blue paper and added a ribbon to conceal the seam between the two papers. 
The edges of the embossed oval were inked with ColorBox chalk ink.

Vintage Six

My Mind's Eye Happy Days "Petticoat" Paper inspired these six vintage cards.  I found it and the vintage labels by K & Company at Scraptopia in Ada.  The images were inked with both Color Box chalk inks and Tim Holtz Distress Inks.  There are some adhesive pearls and Pearl Pen dots added for dimension.

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?

Very Versatile Card

The idea for this comes from Splitcoast Stampers.  It's a very versatile card and easy to do.  I can see changing the sentiments and colors for a variety of occasions.

It's an A2 card so you only need a 2" wide strip of paper to do the bars.  That's a great use for scraps that you just can't seem to throw away.

The sentiment is from an old set of SU stamps and the butterfly was punched with an EK Success three step punch.  I added some Pearl Pen dots and rounded the corners to finish.

Negative Space Butterfly Card

This card was inspired by one seen on Two Peas in a Bucket.  The creator, Julie Campbell said,
" Sometimes I like to make several die cuts of the same image and am left with a sheet of patterned paper full of the remaining negative space.  Instead of throwing this paper out....I'll show you how to create a fun card using these remnants.

If you don't have a die cutter, you could also use this same technique with a hand-held punch."

This card appealed to me and gave me an opportunity to try a new technique but it took a long time to make! Since the butterflies are 1", there were 54 of them on the page so that took over 5 minutes just to cut. 

 I had to go out into the garage and (1) find a sewing machine, (2)  clean the dust off the case, (3) service the machine and test it before I could even start to use it.  That machine's been in the garage over a year, just gathering dust so I had to get it to room temperature before it could be used. Last night out temperatures dropped to the lowest we've had this winter and that poor machine was like a block of ice.  So, the quickest way to warm it up was with a blow dryer! Once it was serviced I had no problems stitching on the paper.  Guess I'll leave the machine handy so I can incorporate stitching on more cards.

I used Design Studio and the Indie Art cartridge to lay out a sheet full of butterflies.  Then mounted one of the butterflies on the scalloped ovals.  There's stitching around the outer edges of the card front and I embellished the oval with a Pearl Pen. 

 

I do like the way it turned out, but I'm reserving this technique until I have a need for another entire sheet of butterflies.  There are now fifty-one, one inch high, blue butterflies on my cutting mat.  Hmmm....now I need to go find a project for these too!

Lime Green Valentine

What an unusual color combination on this card!  And, for once, I came up with it on my own!  Shocking, I know, since I'm color challenged.

I used an EK Success border punch, cut the heart using my George cartridge and then embossed it with a Cuttlebug folder, inked the edges and added some simple embellishments.  The flower centers and the tiny pearls on the edge of the heart were done with a Pearl Pen.  The sentiment was computer printed and the edges of the background were shaded with olive ink.

My card was based on one by Laura O'Donnell that I saw on Pinterest.

Snow Globe Card

This card was inspired by one seen on Splitcoast Stampers.  I tried to go back on that site today to get the name of the person who posted it on there and the photo has been removed.

I used George, Doodlecharms and Bloom to cut the shapes.  The card front was embossed with a Cuttlebug folder.  The bird is from an old set of SU stamps; I colored it with Promarkers.  The snowflakes were made using a Pearl Pen.

Thanks to Okieladybug, aka Shirley, for giving me some photography tips and explaining how to use a homemade light box.  The photos I made of this card really turned out better than the ones I made before she explained how to place a lamp to illuminate the object!

I'm going to have to work a little more on the line work on the snow globe base. The Promarker bled into the cut so I need to smooth it out with some shading so it looks straighter.  

The inking on the card would have looked a lot better if my Color Box chalk inks weren't so dry.  I have several colors of these inks and use them a lot but every one of the blue ink pads I've purchased is dried up when I get them!  There are six blue ink pads on my work table right now and they're all that way---and they're new!  I sure need to find some other brand of blue ink to buy!