ONE MORE EASTER CARD

 

Pop-up cross cards seemed to be all the rage in card-making land this past Easter, and I know why.  Not only is this THE perfect design for Easter, it's also an easy card to make.  I actually made several of these using assorted designer paper, but the actual cross was embossed cardstock on each of my cards because . . . well . . . I thought the cross really needed to stand out.

All of the cross cards that I saw online were adhered to a single layer of cardstock, but it bugged me that the card wouldn't stand on display and certainly wouldn't balance as nicely as I thought it could.  I worked with it for a little while and decided that a top fold card base would work beautifully and, as you can see in the photos, it really did work beautifully.  "He is risen" was a sentiment that I found online and printed since I didn't seem to have the perfect stamp for this card.

And YES . . . this card folded (nearly) flat for mailing.  You can see in the above photo that the pop-up column folds over to either side and, since the card base is slimmer than a regular A2 card, this flat card fits perfectly inside an A2 envelope.  My cards had considerable bulk, so I used extra postage to make sure there wasn't an issue with them getting delivered on time.

I guess I've made a little comeback with my blog posts this month.  I'd love to say that this is the new norm but, if I'm honest, it probably won't be.  Thanks for visiting and come back soon!

"STORYBOOK" EASTER CARD

 

The Storybook Moments Specialty Designer Series Paper is quite a unique product.  Not only are the papers too cute--some with images that can be cut with the coordinating Storybook Friends dies--but the paper collection includes two sheets of die cut images that can be used to enhance a project, create a scene, etc.  Simply adorable!  The card that I'm sharing today features quite a few of the products from Stampin' Up!'s Storybook Moments Suite.  I had every intention of creating a whole set of Easter cards similar to this one, but I never got around to doing that.  

Isn't the card adorable?  I liked it so much and regretted not having time to make more.  From the pictures you've seen so far, you can't even tell just how stinkin' cute and fun this card really is so take a look at it from the side:

It's a pop-up!  And it's just a piece of cardstock (layered with designer paper and ribbon) and a decorated Window Sheet held together with that little pop-up mechanism in between.  I don't know the name of this pop-up design, but my friend, Laura, sent a Valentine's card to me that was made like this.  I liked it so much that I had to make one.  It wasn't at all difficult to figure out.  Of course, I don't know her exact measurements, but my pop-up mechanism is 1.5" x 8.5" and scored at .5, 1.5, 2.5, 4.5, 5.5, and 6.5 inches.

In the above photo, you can see the Window Sheet a little better.  After adhering the Window Sheet to the pop-up mechanism, I was able to place all of the design elements in a way that hid the mechanism.  

Of course, this fun card lays flat for mailing, but it's difficult to get a photo of that.  These two layers could be adhered to an actual card base, but I just adhered a white cardstock panel to the back of my card where I could write a message and sign the card.

It's a really fun card, huh?

NAUTICAL MASCULINE BIRTHDAY CARD

 

My dad celebrated a birthday this month, so I pulled a few nautical goodies from the shelves and drawers to create this neat masculine card.  All of the products that I used are from Stampin' Up!; however, most (if not all) of them have been retired.  Here's a better look at the card:

I believe this card perfectly demonstrates how the use and placement of simple products can create texture, dimension, and visual interest . . . the kind of interest that makes someone pause to take in all of the design elements before opening the card to see what's inside.  And speaking of the inside, it was decorated, too:

If you ask most card makers what's the hardest kind of card to make, they'll probably say "anything masculine".  It's the truth!  But . . . the next time you need to make a masculine card, just reach for coordinating products (not flowers, of course) and add ribbon, embellishments, punched shapes, etc. to pull it all together.

WHERE I'VE BEEN (AND A PRETTY CARD)

 

Remember when I said that I was going to try to breathe more life into blogging?  I was doing pretty good, and then we bought a house and moved.  Funny thing . . . my son is the one who was looking for a house and planning to eventually move, but his search found a house that he wanted my husband and I to look at.  My first reaction was that it was really pretty but too big and quite a bit above budget.  Several days later, we looked at the photos and specs and decided to do a walk-through.  Long story short, the house was perfect, we bought it, we've been slow-moving for about six weeks now, and my craft room is still in limbo.  I don't think I've stamped or created anything with paper since early December, and I can hardly wait until the rest of my craft room gets moved to the new house.  It's the big storage items (countertop, cabinets, drawers, etc.) that I'm waiting on.  Today I needed to make a sympathy card, and the February Paper Pumpkin kit was the only set of readily available products. It was quite nice to use a little of this and a little of that to create just the card that I needed.

The sentiment is from Stampin' Up!'s retired "Heal Your Heart" stamp set, which I always keep close at hand.  

As much as I enjoy how quick the Paper Pumpkin kit projects are to make and the fact that 99% of what you need can be found in that one little box, I sometimes feel that more layers and embellishments are needed for the projects.  So I added a few snippets and layers to give my card some texture and dimension.  

You know that I like to make sympathy cards as needed because, during the process, I think about the person who will receive the card and the person who has passed.  I won't mail a sympathy card unless I'm pleased with it, and I was quite pleased with this one.

Hopefully, it won't be too long before my craft room is in perfect order and ready to fully enjoy!

Have a stampin' good day!

MASCULINE BIRTHDAY CARD - SIMPLE TO MAKE, WOW TO RECEIVE

 

Need a masculine birthday card but have no idea what to make?  This one is for you!

It just so happened that it was (a little past) time for me to mail a masculine card, and I saw something similar on Pinterest that I really liked.  Although the design is simple, I think it has an understated elegance and LOTS of texture!

Just look at all of the texture!  There's a rustic brick embossed background, linen texture to the black cardstock, a sleek smoothness to the gold die-cut foil, and the elevated banner (with upward-curved ends) that the "happy" rests upon.  And, of course, those two shiny gold rhinestones.  BUT . . . the texture didn't stop with the front of the card.

The inside of the card features another banner with a black heat-embossed sentiment.  Thinking of stamping the sentiment on that stark white liner seemed so "blah", and I was quite pleased with the small banner.  It will be a pleasant little surprise for the recipient, too.

So there you have it . . . a short and sweet idea for a masculine birthday card.

Have a stampin' good day!

"MORE THAN AUTUMN"

It's been a while since I've shared a project, and it's also been a while since I've had a block of time to devote to a fun creative session with stamps, ink, and cardstock.  Today's post is a rather shameless CASE of a gorgeous project that Wendy Weixler shared recently.  When I saw her card, I was so glad that my very own "More Than Autumn" bundle was en route to me.  I loved the way that Wendy used the Perennial Postage dies to create sections on her card. 

The "More Than Autumn" bundle is most certainly a keeper!  Isn't it fun how the dies in this bundle make it easy to create a two-colored leaf???  That is just genius!  

As you can see in the photos, I added glittery accents to some of the images, which were all colored with alcohol markers.

Hopefully, you can see that the word "pumpkin" was cut from a strip of gold foil and then adhered to a snippet of ribbon.  In the above photo, you can see some of the glitter, the two-color leaves, and the sponged die-cut postage shapes.  Although my play time is limited and sometimes too scarce, this is not the last you will see of the "More Than Autumn" product bundle from me.

Shhhhhhh.  Don't tell my sister, but this is going to be her birthday card.  

I hope you have a stampin' good day!

WELCOME BABY SIDE-STEP CARD

What's more exciting than a new baby?  

Well . . . I suppose there are lots of exciting times over the course of one's life, but we can all probably agree that new babies are among them.

One of my son's friends recently welcomed a new baby, so I used my Cricut to make this card for him and his wife.  I think the card is just so adorable!  Beth Carmichael is the one to credit for this sweet design, and I only added the custom welcome sign on the front.  

In real life, the cardstock baby didn't look quite as green-grey, but I realize that I probably should have chosen a different color.  Still, I was quite pleased with how this card came together.  There were quite a few pieces to assemble, but that's what adds to the details.

Thanks for visiting my blog!  Hopefully, it won't be long before the next post.  :-)

PROJECTS FOR NATIONAL GOOD NEIGHBOR DAY

 

I have the pleasure of working at a club in a 55+ community, and today I get to teach a paper craft class featuring the above projects.  They were designed with National Good Neighbor Day in mind, which is September 28th.  

Cookie Box

First up is the adorable Cookie Box.  I love the generous size of this box, which will hold a LOT of cookies, but it's large enough to hold other gifts/treats, too.  It's 6" wide and 3" tall!

Like the other projects planned for this class, I tried to keep things simple because I don't know what anyone's experience with paper crafting might be.  The box has a sweet little label and a scrunched flower decorating the top.

Slide-Up Gift Card Holder

We all love a project that has a little hidden wow, and this one seemed perfect for my class because it's so super easy to make!  Again, the design was kept very simple.

As you can see in the below photo, a little pocket slides up from the bottom when the card is opened.  The pocket can easily hold a gift card, cash, check, etc.

Square Column Card

If you follow my blog, you know how much I 💗 Square Column cards!  I still have several pieces of cardstock cut and scored--just ready to decorate and mail.  Because they're so easy and quick to make, I had to include one for this class.  In the below photo, it's folded flat and ready to mail:

Below you can see it on display:

The sentiment is from Stampin' Up!'s retired "Sidekick Sayings" stamp set.  I thought it was very fitting for National Good Neighbor Day.

I thought the attendees would need something they could put their completed projects in to carry home, so they each will get one of these bags:  

Although the decoration for the bag isn't one of the class projects, I couldn't resist the opportunity to provide an idea for how to make a bag pretty.  I like this way of holding a card so it doesn't get lost or overlooked.  The card and flower were designed in Cricut Design Space and cut with my machine.  The Cricut even did the writing on the card holder!

I'm excited about the class today and quite pleased with the projects!

PACK YOUR BAGS, SUMMER! | SUITCASE SHAPED CARD

 

It was so nice to enjoy a few low humidity and cooler temperature days recently.  Actually, it just made me that much more ready for Fall, and that's what gave me the idea for this suitcase card.  At first glance, you might have thought I was ready to pack a suitcase and run off to some warm, sunny, tropical place but, no . . . I'm just inviting Summer to pack her bags and move on out.  Anyone who has visited my blog for a long time already knows how much I adore shaped cards.  I designed this one using Cricut Design Space and then cut all of the pieces (it was a handful).  For the first time, I used six print-then-cut images, which is more than I've ever used at one time.  Since I made about six of these cards, the process involved a lot of cutting and assembly.

The above photo shows the inside, which was the main card base.  The front of the card had a Crumb Cake layer, and the inside had a white cardstock layer.  The two images on the inside were print-then-cut images.  They look quite nice, huh?

I'm not even gonna lie . . . I fall in love with my Cricut machine all over again each time that I use it.  Designing cards is easy, and it seems that there is always a huge abundance of shapes and images to use.  Being able to press a button and have everything cut while I do something else is quite enjoyable.  In the above photo, you can see the tag, which the Cricut not only cut but also did the writing.  Notice the texture on the Crumb Cake cardstock layer?  I inked the inside of the embossing folder with ink, and it really made the texture stand out!

Above is a view of the card from the top.

And below is the front of the card again:

So where do you stand on the Summer/Fall debate?  Want more Summer or ready for Fall?

"WHAT'S COOKIN'" SLIMLINE CARD

The other day, I was looking for a stamp set and enjoyed re-visiting the baking/food stamp sets that I had grouped together.  It was "What's Cookin'" that really called to me and, when I opened the stamp case, I found a card similar to the one that I'm sharing today.  It looked so fun and easy that I felt compelled to make another one.  The background for my card was a scrap of paper that was laying on my desk, and the only new product that I used was that gorgeous copper-colored twine (from the upcoming mini catalog) that was also on my desk.

The images were stamped with Crumb Cake ink, although it looks a bit gray in the photos.

The utensils were die-cut from Silver Foil, of course, and looked so much nicer in person.  For some reason, I struggled with taking photos of this card.

It's unfortunate when fun stamp and die bundles (like this one) seem to retire too soon, but I'm glad I held on to this one.  

Have a stampin' good day!