Elves have been sighted ;- )

     Elves have been getting busy. One is working on the tree and the college elf has been spraying glitter for the Christmas cards and has learned to use a corner rounder ;- ) Amazing growth, that college brings, ha ha. However, today's item, is still not our Christmas card. Instead, it is a square tag that I made using the image from the Freebie Challenge at The Outlaws due, surprise, today!

     The image is from Anne's Digital Design by Anne Fenton. You can find her blog here, where she often offers some great freebies. I colored it digitally in PhotoShop. The red cardstock is from Core'dinattions and the pattern paper is from DCWV Holiday Christmas Stack. I just happened to pick up the ribbon this week from Michael's this week, on sale. The sentiment is from Inkadinkado and I embossed it with Kaleidoscope embossing powder.  I went over the sign with a glitter gel pen and added Diamond Glaze to the berries (it appears it's not dry >.<) A nice, very simple tag, where you can put the To: and From: info on the back.

     I'd like to go back to cutting down our tree next year. Just shopping for it, as we have the past couple of years (partly due to the surgeries) causes us to go out for it later and the pickings are slimmer and I don't get to enjoy looking at it as much.  Hope your holiday preparations are coming along on schedule. Thanks for taking the time to stop by. Please leave a comment before you dash off. I really appreciate them. Have a holly, jolly weekend ;- )

Sweet Birthday.

     This card is made for my Aunt. I used one of the images from the Crafter's Digital Art Center's (CDAC) Progressive Challenge. We're in the 5th round and this image is by SSBS Design.  This post is going to be short, because I have to be up at 4am to get my husband to the hospital for his surgery and I just got back from driving my sone back to college. I colored the image in PhotoShop using a few patterns on the basket, the gingerbread men and her dress and headband. You really can only see the one on her headband after the image was sized to fit my card, though the gingerbread men look a bit more cookie-like ;- ) I mixed and swirled colors to make her hair. There is Diamond Glaze on her shoe to make it look like patent leather and glitter gel pen on the gingerbread men. I used Broken China Distress Ink. The papers are DCWV Holiday Collection Christmas Stack from last year. The gems are from Hero Arts as is the sentiment and the flower from Archiver. If I had more time, I probably would have cut out more gingerbread men and popped them up (I may still her birthday is in December, but the challenge is due today ;- ) There is no inside sentiment yet, so when that is done, we'll probably review this card, LOL.
Maybe I'll remember it.

     Thanks for stopping by and please leave a comment. Thank-you so much to those of you who do. they really are much appreciated ;- )

Two quick cards

     Well, I was down to the wire on two cards. It was a busy week and then I hadn't been feeling well, causing me not to get these two cards done earlier. So, here I was needing to get them done, before the mail carrier got here. Fortunately, I had a few tricks up my sleeve. I had picked up some note cards from Studio g in the Dollar Bin at Michaels', that had pre-cut windows. I'd also had on hand an assortment of embellishments that I've picked up over time, when there have been sales at Michaels' and JoAnn's. These are from JoAnn's Craft Essential 's line.  The front is embossed with Divine Swirls. The stamp, showing through the window of the anniversary card, is from Stampabilities. It was stamped with Big and Bossy and embossed with gold metallic embossing powder. Hint: Use a dryer sheet to wipe the area where you are going to emboss before you stamp to reduce the amount of powder that clings to unwanted areas. I wish I would remember this the ahead of time, every time ;- ) I colored it with both yellow gel and yellow glitter pens to make a champaign look and went over the glasses with Diamond Glaze.  Used my heat tool to speed drying.

  
     The inside sentiment is from Inkadinkadoo.

     The birthday card follows the same formula, only the stamps are from Hero Arts, made for Archiver. I embossed it with Swiss Dots.  Hint: I had to run it through twice and doing this would cause a section of the dots to de-boss, so I lined it up, to be the area where I would put my sentiment/embellishment. Always plan ahead - an interesting concept for me ;- ) OK, it was a happy accident the first time, but my pickiness, made me do this one a second time and I did it intentionally that time, so there!

It's really more red and maroon than pink.

     For quickie cards, I think they turned out pretty good. Kind of like the less expensive line of cards, but still with that homemade touch. We all have those times when we are out of time. The anniversary couple's daughter has a birthday this week and I need to make a unicorn card for her. So, they will get the full custom treatment then ;- ) As it turned out, it was good they were fast. I didn't just have to beat the mail carrier, but get to the post office before it closed, because I was out of stamps and traffic was horrendous because of a parade. Some days nothing is easy ;- )

     Thanks for stopping by, during your busy summer (if your north of the equator, like me.) Please leave a comment because the fuel me. Have a Blessed Sunday!

It's a heat wave.

     Sorry, I should have had this posted on Monday, but it's been way too hot to touch a computer. I called friends, watered flowers and  read a book instead ;- ) I finally relented, late last night and put the air conditioning on, so we could sleep. The poor puppy was very thankful, being a Norwegian Elkhound and all.

     Todays card is for a little boy who is turning 2. I used the Imagine and Nursery Tails to make this one. I used the image from Nursery Tales in layers, changing the first layer from pink print to green print, since it was for a boy and popped up the layers. I added gel pen details and Diamond Glaze to add more interest. I also added a mat layer, using the rectangles (8 1/2:11 ratio) from the images resident on the machine and filled it with a pattern from the Nursery Tales cart. Sentiment is from Hero Arts.

  Click to enlarge

     The inside sentiment was created digitally using Print Shop. The font is SNF Jester Play from Scrap n Fonts. You can find them here if you are interested. The number 2 was cut 2x at 2 inches from the Birthday Bash cart. One time I filled it with yellow on the Imagine and one time with the pattern I used on the background mat. I stacked and popped them, inking the edges to cover the white.  I added the birds I had left from the front (I had cut and 2 sets of birds and clouds).

     What would I have done differently? I might have worked more on details on the front, but again it was  (and is) HOT and I was afraid I wouldn't do a very neat job. I felt that the image looked a bit flat, that's why I added the gel pen details, that I did and might have added more. I also needed it to dry, so that I could mail it the next morning. If it were for a girl, I definitely would have added more glittery bling ;- )

     Well, I hope if you are in this heat too, that you are enjoying refreshing drinks and staying cool. I plan on enjoying the air conditioning at the CHA SuperShow later in the week, since this heat wave is expected to last past the weekend. I know it won' be the same as in the past, but I hope to have some fun anyway. Maybe the movie theater too. Thanks for stopping by and please leave a comment, it will make me feel cooler ;- )

Ladybug, little girl card.

     Today's card is from Cricut's Birthday Bash cart. I made this card for the daughter of a friend and ex-colleague of my husband. I cut the ladybug, base and the number 5, (which comes from the next page of the handbook) on 3 1/4 inches. The pink and green cardstock is Bazzill and the pattern paper is Paper Studio from Hobby Lobby. The ladybug is embossed with swiss dots. I used frosted lace stickles on the black spots and diamond glaze on the antenna tips.

     For the inside, I used the sentiment from the same page as the ladybug. I doodled on it with a green glitter gel pen, to give it some interest and added a gem, from Hero Arts, to one of the i's.

     What would I do differently? I might have made the ladybug smaller. I thought about faux stitching the pink layer, but wasn't sure if I could do it neat enough. Should try that before I glue it down. Maybe texture emboss the inside pink layer, but I don't know.

     I don't know why I think I'm further along than I am after I pick the image I'm going to use and maybe the sentiment. Sometimes, I even have a basic layout in mind, but I seem to forget how long it takes to pick the papers for the pieces, if I'm cutting the image out, decide on embellishments, decide the total color scheme, choose how the sentiment will be displayed and all the other "little"decisions like that (embossing, pens, glitter, ribbon.........).  Fortunately, this card isn't needed until the end of the month, but I have others I put aside because I thought I knew what I was doing with this one, it would be quick, ha. It always takes longer than I thought. I need to hunt for supplies for 2 of the others, for the basic idea rattling around in my head, that will of course take 10X longer than I anticipate ;- )

     Thanks for checking out my card and my random thoughts. Please, leave me a comment if you've got a moment. I really appreciate them. Have a blessed day!

Little girl card with Imagine

     Well, here is the card I promised. Finally, I get to do a card for a girl, with pink and everything ;- ) I decided to go with Nursery Tales. It came with my Imagine and has very cute images. I don't have a lot of use for them because, I don't make many cards for little ones, so I wanted to take advantage of this chance. (Wow, that was a long sentence.) I realize with some creativity, I can come up with things for others from this cartridge, but sometimes, it's just nice to get to use things without too much switching around.

     The font is from Storybook and uses the pattern from the Nursery Tales Imagine cart. The Imagine did a nice job cutting such a thin font. The number 4 is from Birthday Bash, because I wanted a boxier font there. I split the Imagine image into layers and popped things up and added  glitter gel pen to add sparkle. The scalloped circle shape is one of the pre-loaded shapes that comes on the Imagine. I used Judi-kins Diamond Glaze on the mushroom caps, unfortunately one cracked :- (

Click on photos to see them larger.

     I tried something new on the inside. I did the message digitally using Imprint MT Shadow. To get it to print on the mat that the Imagine printed, I printed it first on regular printer paper and had the Imagine just cut the mat without printing to make sure the printing would fit. Then, I used a repositionable tape runner to attach the Imagine printed and cut piece to a piece of printer paper in the place where it printed the sentiment the last time. Knowing which way to put the paper in your printer is essential. Put the paper in the printer and print it again and it should print on the card stock. I made some extra layers from the image I used on the front to embellish the inside and sparkled them as well.

     What would I do differently? Well, I had meant to round the corners, but forgot until after I had put the layers on the front. I think that would be a much nicer look. I should have placed the word turning straight >.<  I was thinking that a rosette might look nice under the 4, but then I really would have had to get the word turning straight >.<  Good things 4 y.o. aren't that critical. What do you think?

     Thanks for stopping by today. Please leave a comment if you have time. It's wonderful knowing you were here. Have a blessed rest of the week and may your days be inspired!

     

Birds are singing and I made a masculine birthday card.

     Have you ever gone into your craft room and thought, I'll use a Cricut cartridge that will make my card easy? Well, that was my plan. Only, I ended up choosing an image that had a number of cuts and it was also a  masculine card ;- ) Well, it wasn't that hard only a bit time consuming. The weather was nice enough to have the window open, so I could hear the robins singing. The Cubs were on TV. I could almost believe it was summer. So, it was a nice time crafting.
    
     I decided to use Basic Grey's Granola pack because it's one of my favorite for men. I decided to make the bird on the pennant banner, from Birthday Bash, for the front. To work out the colors, I numbered the cuts on the handbook and numbered the corresponding colors of paper in the paper pack. This made it easy to remember, what I'd decided to cut out in which color. I figured I needed to see it, to decide if I liked it. I'm not good at visualizing colors together. So here it is.

     I wrote on the pennants with a Sargent Liquid Metals marker. It matched the Distress Tumbled Glass Ink, I used with the Hero Arts sentiment, pretty well. I used Judikins  diamond glaze on the birds beak. The legs were so small, I decided to draw them on, but not much shows up well on black. Long ago, I had purchased some puffy fabric markers, that you heat to make them puff up. These worked very well, I will need to use this effect on more cards. Here is the bird detail.

     Someone had mentioned them on a blog, but it was over a year ago and I can't remember whom. I was never able to find them in a store. I finally found these on the internet. Here they are, if you are interested.

     The inside came from the same cart (Birthday Bash), but was the phrase from the image with 2 birds holding a ribbon type banner. The yellow paper was some pattern paper I had in scraps. I believe it's from Hobby Lobby. It's the same as the bird's beak on the front. I popped up this sentiment. All it needs is a signature. This is going to a male in his late teens.

     What would I do differently? I don't know. Right now, I'm pretty happy with it. What do you think? Now I just have to be sure to mail it on time. He has an April 1st birthday and I always miss the birthdays at the beginning of the month. Even when I've got the cards done. The new month just sneak up on me. Kind of like the weekends ;- ) Have a great one. Comments are very appreciated!

Imagine card for 2 year old boy

     Well, I thought I wouldn't get today's card finished, phew ;- ) Right in the middle of it, DH and I had to finish up the taxes, in order to finish the forms for next years college financial aid. At least this time DH, started out in my guest chair and I was able to do two things at once, but about 1/2 way through, he took over my desk and that caused card making to grind to a halt. We eventually finished the taxes, but then the cranky printer needed some coaxing to print out the inside sentiment, before I could call the card finished and take it's lovely photo.
     Here are the directions for today's card. I used the Imagine and Nursery Tales. The background is one of the patterns from the cart, cut in a 5 1/4 inch square, that I then  cut to to 5 1/4 X 4 on the paper cutter (I sure wish Provo Craft had realized that this was an important ratio and included it).  I used the bunny on the mushroom image cut in layers at 4 1/2 inches.  I cut a Nursery Tales pattern circle at 1 inch and one at .8 inches, as well as a number "2" from the Birthday Blast cart that I filled with the pattern from Nursery Tales that I used in the background paper, cutting it at .8 inches.  I added 1/16 in. high dimensionals to the second layer of mushrooms and the number "2." I used 1/8 in. high dimensionals to the bunny and the flower.  I added the butterfly from the layer of the bunny image and attached to the number "2." I also cut out a sentiment from Birthday Bash, which was on page 25, (the main image is a birthday cake) and was the shifted sentiment on that page. I filled it with a light green color from Nursery Tales. I used glitter pens to add accents, as well as adding Judi Kins Diamond Glaze, on the large mushroom and Perfect Pearls on most of the images to give them some sparkle (hard to see in the photos, but very nice in person). I used Martha Stewart brown flocking on the cattail.

 This photo kind of shows the Perfect Pearls. Click on photos for a larger view.

This photo shows a close-up of some of the details.

     The inside, is matted with the dark patten, cut on the Imagine at 5 1/4 square inches and recut to 5/14 X 4 inches and a light green pattern cut on the Imagine at 5 inches square and recut to 5 x 3 3/4 inches (both from Nursery Tales). I made a digital sentiment in PrintShop, using the font SNF Jester Curls and cut it to 4 3/4 x 3 1/2 inches, adding images of the bunny, flower and butterfly all cut at 4 inches relative.

     What would I do different? I should have rounded the corners, at least the two, right ones. I don't like how the pens looked on the flower and I should have just added the Perfect Pearls and used a Viva Decor Pearl Pen for the center or a gem. Well, I'm glad you were able to stop by and am always excited when you leave comments. Thanks for sharing your valuable time with me. Have a great week!