STAINED GLASS WINDOW-SHAPED EASTER CARD

Happy Easter if you're reading this on April 12, 2020!  Today I'm sharing a card that turned into a more time-consuming project than what it started out to be, and it is also one of my most favorite cards in the history of ever.  

My plan was to design a shaped card that would look like a stained glass church window, and I was going to sponge assorted colors of ink onto the cardstock that would be behind the black frame.  The card was designed in Cricut Design Space and, when I attempted to cut two cards at one time, only one of them cut perfectly.  This was before it occurred to me to change the blade.  Anyway . . . after looking at the shaped card and the black frame, I thought it just looked like it was going to be too plain.

Being kind of sure that I wouldn't be sending this card to anyone, I decided to use markers to color the "panes" by holding the black frame in place on the front of the card.  Keeping the frame lined up was tricky as I changed from marker to marker but the more I colored, the more I loved the look.  Just seeing that white cross emerge from the colored panes inspired me to keep going.  Of course, the more I colored and the more I fell in love with this card, I began to see areas that I would like to have colored differently, but remember . . . I was just coloring to see if I liked the look.  

My finishing touch was going over each colored pane with a glitter brush.  I wanted to add a sentiment, but I didn't want to cover up any area of the window.  I also wanted to add ribbon, but I decided that the only glory that this card needed was the attention to the cross.  And so I signed the card, and mailed it to my parents.  I miss that we can't celebrate Easter as a family, but I'm glad that I was able to at least mail cards to my family members.

Easter blessings to you and yours!

SIMPLE EASTER CARDS

It's Easter weekend, so today I'm sharing photos of the cards I made.  I didn't make too many of them, and the design was kept really simple.  I  used my Cricut machine to cut the cross from designer paper and the word "Easter" from cardstock.  Stampin' Up!'s Pool Party ink was sponged on the white layer, and then the word "Blessings" was stamped with Soft Suede ink onto Pool Party cardstock.  Which stamp set did the word "Blessings" come from?  Well . . . it's from the 2006 Country Blessings set that is just too pretty to let go.

On a couple of the cards, I roughed up the edges and really liked the look!

Check back tomorrow for the card that I sent to my parents.  It's one of my favorites that I've made lately!

And . . . have a blessed Easter!

"VINTAGE TYPEWRITER" CHALK COUTURE PROJECT

My April 2020 Club Couture transfer (Vintage Typewriter) arrived yesterday, and what's not to love about a vintage typewriter?  

Today I took some time to decorate one of my framed Greyson chalkboards with the new transfer and an old one as well.  You are Enough was the February 2019 Club Couture transfer, and I love its floral images!

The paste colors that I used are Bright White, Daffodil, Sage, Orchid, and Storm.  If the video below will play like I hope it will, you can get an idea of the process of placing the transfers and smoothing the paste over the silkscreen designs:

DID YOU KNOW . . . Club Couture subscribers pay $19.99 per month (initially a 3-month commitment) and receive an EXCLUSIVE transfer + 3 paste packets (see first photo above), video and written project instructions, and FREE shipping?  AND . . . subscribers also get extra discounts (private sales, special deals) such as the "Make It a Banner Day" April 2020 promotion.  Through April, select textile surfaces are 50% off for Club Couture subscribers:

~ Hanging Banners

~ Banner Refills

~ Lumbar Pillow Cover

~ Square Pillow Cover

~ Pennant Banners

Click HERE to shop Chalk Couture products.  Click HERE to like/follow my Facebook page.

DADDY'S BIRTHDAY CARD

One of the reasons that I wanted my Cricut Explore to be back in business was so I could cut this card for my daddy's birthday.

The machine struggled a bit to cut the silver foil pieces, and it wasn't until the next night that it occurred to me that the blade could need changing.  Duh!  I wish I had thought about that before I put this card in the mail because the new blade was cuttin' like butter!

In the above photo, you can see how the card opens and get a glimpse at the sentiment.  It is so easy  and fun to take an image and turn it into a shaped card, and I think I could make shaped cards for days!

I didn't get a really good photo of the sentiment, but I love that the machine has the capability of writing inside the card!  That is quite awesome.  

Daddy's birthday is on April 10th, and this is the first time that I know of that his celebration will be delayed since we can't get together.  He'll have to wait for the gifts, but at least he already has the card.

FLOWER BOUQUET SHAPED SYMPATHY CARD

I had big plans this past week since I wasn't working (at my part-time job).  Most of those plans included projects in the home that needed attention, such as straightening up the pantry, working in my closet to move cool-weather clothes to the back and warm-weather clothes to the front, and shredding (which takes a HUGE block of time and creates a much larger mess than the stack of papers that needed shredding), etc.  I also worked in my craft room but didn't generate as much trash as I had hoped.  One of my goals was to get my Cricut Explore up to date with Design Space, which finally worked, and I even (with the help of my son) got the bluetooth working.  That was especially exciting because it hasn't worked in a couple of YEARS!  Of course, now that everything was ready to go, I got busy creating some Cricut cards.  The one that I'm sharing today is a copycat of this one that I made way back in 2013!  I needed a sympathy card to send to one of my childhood/early teenhood (not really a word, I know) friends and, while this isn't a typical design that I create for sympathy, I thought it was fitting for my friend.

In the above photo, the card is laying flat so you can more easily see the electronically-cut shapes and how they were layered.  Below is how the card looked while standing on display:

Didn't it turn out pretty?  I think it will be well-received by my friend--I certainly hope so!

MORE "POPPY MOMENTS"

I hope you aren't tired of seeing the Poppy Moments dies, but I'm just a little addicted to using them.  I promise that I'll move on to something else soon.

It seemed like I hadn't sent a card to "the elders" in a while, so I thought this little dilly would be a cheery design for them.  Aunt Betty, who used to enjoy tending to her many plants and flowers, told my mother that she got "the prettiest card with a big poppy!"  Maybe that shouldn't have excited me to know that she readily identified the flower; after all, whoever designed this product suite at Stampin' Up! must surely have done so with the intent of creating gorgeous poppies.  If "poppy" wasn't in the name of this product suite, I would never know that it wasn't just a pretty design that resembles a real flower.

Of course, my parents needed a pretty card, too, so I made this one just for them:

I'll tell you something . . .  it's not easy placing that gorgeous designer paper on the trimmer!  To most of the world, it's *just* paper but, for those of us who love our pretty paper, it's hard to talk ourselves into cutting it.  

Are you loving the poppies as much as me?  I know I've shared a lot of them, but I'll challenge myself to share something different in my next post.  😉

MORE "POPPY MOMENTS"

Not too different from the other Poppy Moments creations I've shared . . .

I just love these dies and, of course, the Peaceful Poppies designer paper!

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU"

My favorite Sale-a-Bration product from Stampin' Up! this year is the Happy Birthday to You stamp set and, of course, the coordinating Birthday dies from the Coordination Product Release promotion.  Unfortunately, the dies are sold out, but there's still time to earn the FREE stamp set!

I needed a birthday card for a really sweet lady, and this is what I made:

My inspiration for this card came from one created by Stesha Bloodhart.  I stamped the cake image with VersaMark ink and then heat-embossed with white embossing powder.  Prior to die-cutting the image, an aqua painter was used to add color with Sahara Sand, Pear Pizzazz, Soft Suede, and Blueberry Bushel ink.  The sentiment was also heat-embossed with white embossing powder onto a scrap of Vellum cardstock, which I tore and wrapped around the Balmy Blue cardstock layer.  The card didn't really "need" sequins, but I think they made it a little more festive.

Even though the dies aren't available, I recommend taking another look at the stamp set because it's a very useful one!  Just look at how large the cake image is!  The cake and sentiment can stand alone on the front of a card.

JUST A LITTLE WOOLY (VINTAGE BUG) DESK DECORATION

Last November, my guys gave me the wooden pedestal shadowbox shown in the photo.  I loved it and thought there must be a lot of ways I could use and/or decorate it, but it ended up sitting on a shelf in my craft room.  A couple of weeks ago, I decided that it would be a perfect decoration for my desk at work, and my idea is to change the item on display each month.  In celebration of St. Patrick's Day, I created this cute little vintage bug all decked out with a shamrock and leprechaun's hat.  Isn't it a cute design?  You can find the pattern for it HERE.  I've already got the decorations for April and May ready to go and look forward to making something for all of the other months this year.  BTW, this project features wool, flannel, felt, DMC floss/thread and buttons.  And, of course, my Cricut BrightPad that makes tracing patterns easy peasy!

Have a great day!  Go make something!

POPPIES FOR MALENA'S 18TH BIRTHDAY

It's so hard to believe that my great-niece, Malena, will be 18 years old this Friday!  It's even harder to believe that I'm old enough to have a great-niece who is 18!!!  When she was a little girl, she loved the few opportunities that she had to stamp with me.  For years, I kept stamps and ink pads in my stamp room that were only for her.  If anyone can appreciate a hand-crafted birthday card, it is Malena; therefore, it was imperative that I make something special.  My friend, Laura, actually made it easy for me to decide what to make because she had sent me a "fun fold" card recently that I was eager to try.  I hope you aren't tired of poppies just yet because I'm still enjoying the designer paper and Poppy Moments dies. 

This is what the front of Malena's card looked like . . . a gatefold held closed with a decorative band:

See how the card opens with the band removed . . .

Isn't the designer paper just gorgeous?  And once the gatefold flaps start opening, it's easy to see that there's even more beauty on the inside . . . 

Since I was going to send money in this card, I created a diagonal pocket on the left panel.  I used a piece of vellum cardstock as a signature layer that I adhered to the panel on the far right.  Doesn't this look like a really fun card?  

The scalloped rectangles on the center pop-out section were cut with Stitched So Sweetly dies.  If you haven't purchased them yet, you really should because that set has a fantastic shape selection!!!

Happy Birthday, Malena!!!