COUNTRY BIRDHOUSE HELLO

 

It was past time to send a hello to a family friend, so I spent some time this morning stamping and coloring.  I used one little (retired) bundle . . . Country Birdhouse . . . to create this card, along with that pretty gold foil layer.  My cardstock colors are Coastal Cabana, Poppy Parade, Calypso Coral, Mossy Meadow, and Crushed Curry.  

Aren't the colors gorgeous?  While this product bundle has dies to cut all of the pieces to build the birdhouse, it also includes a stamp (and coordinating die) that gave me the option to color which is exactly what I wanted to do today.  Unfortunately, Stampin' Up! has already retired this bundle, but I knew that it was a keeper!

In the center of the flowers, I used Holiday Rhinestone Basic Jewels, and I used a Wink of Stella glitter brush on the die-cut bird so he, too, would sparkle.

Above is another close-up of some of the details.

This was such a fun project to work on!  I think it also serves to remind us that when there are products that we really enjoy--products that seem to have thought of everything--we must be sure to hold onto them.  Below is one more look at the card:

ANOTHER "JUST A NOTE"

 

Many years ago--before the computer and internet age--there was an office supply store in Charlotte, NC . . . Bush Stationers.  I was a young, single, fresh-from-college-to-my-first-real-job-living-in-the-big-city girl who really didn't have the extra $$$ to spend on frivolous office supplies and stationery, and yet my '72 Camaro (BTW, it was several years old but not yet considered vintage) would just pull into the parking lot of Bush Stationers because it somehow knew that I needed a unique looking pen that was filled with an unprofessional color of ink.  I don't remember anything about my favorite pens other than their shape and fun colors, but I loved those pens that I could only find at Bush Stationers!  Would love to be able to buy them now, but they have truly become a part of history.  I wasn't fully aware at the time that not everyone had a great fondness for unique papers, pens, and other fun office-related gadgets, and I'm not ashamed to admit that I have always had more ink pens (piles and piles of them) than many people own in a lifetime.  Give me all the office and stationery supplies!  Fast-forward to 2025 with the USPS always releasing new postage stamp designs, and I can say with certainty that my fascination has only expanded.  And now Stampin' Up! brings us the "Just a Note" bundle, which I used to design the cheery and colorful card that I'm sharing today:

My card features Lemon Lime Twist cardstock and a piece of Full of Life designer paper.  The front of the card was stamped with images from Just a Note stamp set.  The postage shape was cut and detailed with Perennial Postage dies and stamped with a sentiment from the Perennial Postage stamp set.  A scrap of Silver Foil was used to cut the paper clip, which held the postage shape onto the "file folder" pocket.  Inside the pocket was a piece of cardstock that was decorated on the front with space on the back for writing a message.

Just a few strips of cardstock made the front of this piece colorful, and I used a die-cut heart to let the recipient know to pull this layer out of the pocket.  Don't you love how sparkly the Adhesive-Backed Shiny Sequins look on the front of the file folder?

The Just a Note dies include a heart-shaped clip, which I cut from Pool Party cardstock and placed in the corner.  Notice how it decorates a corner on the front and back of this layer?

The die-cut arrow was left from a previous project and seemed like a perfect addition to my card, as did the Pool Party Pompom Ribbon across the front of the file folder.  This project seemed to have it all . . . texture, dimension, surprises, sparkle and, of course, CHEER!  

"JUST A NOTE" BUNDLE

 

I recently purchased Stampin' Up!'s "Just a Note" bundle, mainly for the adorable accessory dies.  I mean . . . what's not to love about the clipboard clip, the paper clip, and the paper edge that looks like it's been freshly torn from a notebook?  The dies in this bundle also build a binder clip and include two sizes of arrows, a small heart and star, and an adorable heart-shaped corner clip, which you will see on the inside of my card.  The only other thing that you might want with this bundle is some shiny foil cardstock.  Here's a photo of the front of my card:

This bundle has a stamp for lines (for the look of notebook paper), but I decided to use the torn edge die on a pretty piece of designer paper.  You'll notice that I also die-cut the tiny hearts from that same piece of paper.  For the clipboard, I used a piece from the "Need for Tweed" collection and, of course, silver foil was used to cut the clipboard clip and the paper clip.

Those little hearts are too cute, right?

Of course, I had to include some sparkly gems.  The sentiment is from the Perennial Post stamp set.

See the inside of the card--and that cute heart clip on the corner--in the above photo.  

I think this is such a useful bundle--especially the dies!  My plan is to cut a bunch of the assorted clips so they'll be ready to use.  Want to see what the bundle looks like:

Want to order?  Click HERE

BIRTHDAY CARD FOR MOTHER

 

My mother celebrated a birthday about two weeks ago, and it's taken me this long to share the card that I made for her.  I used my Cricut Maker 3 for all of the detailed cuts, and the pretty plaid texture was created with Stampin' Up!'s Forever Plaid embossing folder.  It's a beautiful plaid!  

I think the flowers are bluebells, and aren't they just so pretty?  This was a quick and simple card to make--and it's a little one--but I love its sweet design.  It's just so precious.

While transferring all of the cut pieces from my countertop to my desk, I lost one of the tiny buds.  Ugh!  I searched and searched, but it was nowhere to be found.  I decided to use colored gems for the buds and, quite honestly, they turned out to be a much better choice and added a perfect amount of sparkle and shimmer.

And what does every cardmaker want?  A card that folds flat for mailing, and this one did!

Have a beautiful day!!! 

"CONEFLOWER CELEBRATIONS"

 

Coneflower Celebrations . . . what a gorgeous product bundle from Stampin' Up!  None of the photos that I'm sharing in this post do justice to the colors, texture, dimension, and beauty of this project.  Let's start with a photo of the whole card:

My cardstock colors are Soft Sea Foam, Early Espresso, Garden Green, and Azure Afternoon. The embossed white layer features the Forever Plaid 3D embossing folder.  I'm so happy to have this embossing folder and wish my photos showed just how pretty it really is.  The designer paper is from a retired 6x6 collection, and the light blue gems are from a card kit--most likely a previous Paper Pumpkin kit.  

Alcohol markers were used to color the die-cut butterfly, and I also used an alcohol marker to color the Rhinestone Jewels that I placed on the flower center.  The butterfly and the center of the coneflower were brushed with Wink of Stella.  It's hard to tell from the photos, but blending brushes were used to deepen the color of the die-cut vein detail on the leaves, the top portion of the flower petals, and the edges of the flower center.   

The dies in this bundle seem to be very well thought out.  Just look at the detail on the flower center!  I used the four dies to cut my leaves, but the stamp set also includes leaf images that coordinate with the dies so they could have even more detail and depth--and either (stamps or dies) could be used one without the other.  Something else that I love about this bundle is that one (maybe two) coneflowers on a card would be just about all that is really needed to complete a gorgeous card for someone special.  There are times when I don't feel very creative and/or just don't have time to play around with ideas that I might end up not liking.  This gorgeous coneflower could take a project from start to finish in no time!  

In closing, here's the finished card one more time . . .

"FLORAL IMPRESSIONS" FAN CARD

Sunflowers and "Floral Impressions" designer paper make it easy for this card to deliver sunshine, don't you think?  The sentiments that I chose for this card are "Good Feelings" and "Hope You Know" (both retired, sadly), but they were just too perfect.

While the inside of the card has an angled piece of white cardstock, the angles were enhanced by the designer paper strip on the right side, which is behind the white cardstock, the floral designer paper at the bottom of the white layer, and the piece of dotted ribbon.  Did you notice the sequins?

Pictured above are the clear sequins.

In the photos above and below, you can better see the green sequins.  They didn't begin as green sequins, though.  They were actually clear, but I didn't like how prominent they were on the green designer paper after I had placed them.  The more I looked at them, the less I liked them.  And then it occurred to me that I could color them with a green alcohol marker.  They turned out great, huh?

This was my first fan card, and I don't know that I will make any (or many) more.  I'm not even sure this one turned out correct, but I felt that I was slicing too much designer paper and cardstock for one little card.  And that's another thing . . . this isn't a little card--it's 5x7.  It's kind of nice to have a larger card but, as someone who is used to making A2 cards, it just seems like a cardstock/paper hog.

All things considered . . . I think it turned out quite pretty, and that makes it a winner!

Have a stampin' good day!

 

DRAWSTRING BOX-BOTTOM BAGS FOR MOTHER'S DAY

 

Today's post is not about stamping or paper crafts.  I want to share the box-bottom bags that I made for my mother and sister for Mother's Day.  While I enjoy sewing and will tackle a reasonable challenge, what concerned me the most about making these bags was the drawstring.  I've never had to insert a drawstring in a project before, but I ordered a little doohickey from Amazon that made the task oh so quick and easy.  I can remember my mother using a safety pin, but I was afraid I'd mess that up and get the pin stuck halfway through.  Below is a photo of the bags without the drawstring (while I was waiting for the tool to arrive):

Since the widest measurement was 10" for the cut pieces to create a bag, this was a perfect project for a Layer Cake.  The one I used is Fleurs Tiles by Northcott.  The prints are just so pretty!  

I sewed a heart-shaped button to the front of my mother's bag, and a "handmade" leather tag to the front of my sister's bag since she doesn't like hearts.  I don't understand that.

The instructions that I used didn't call for a lining, and I didn't put one in the first bag that I made--the trial--but I lined the bags that I made for my mother and sister.  And guess what?  This project even has a pocket inside--actually, there are three little pockets!

Isn't this such a cool little project?  I was so anxious for my mother and sister to get their gifts, but I had to wait a whole week since I didn't get to see them on Mother's Day.  

I'll get back to sharing paper crafts soon! 

SIMPLE "FLORALS IN BLOOM" NOTE CARDS

The three cards that I'm sharing today--all made exactly alike--were created with just one sheet of "Florals in Bloom" designer paper.  I didn't even use the whole piece of paper--there's plenty left to decorate the flaps of three envelopes.

All three cards are 4.25" square and feature Blackberry Bliss layers, silver trim, and shiny pink sequins.

The center square layers were embossed with the Coastal Weave (retired) embossing folder, which you can see a bit better in the photo below.

Aren't the flowers so very pretty?  This paper collection is simply gorgeous and, as you can see, quite easily makes beautiful note cards.

"FLORALS IN BLOOM" MOTHER'S DAY GIFT

 

I had to work today and, since it's Mother's Day weekend, I wanted to take a little something for my "bestie".  I've only got three pictures to share of the adorable little box and the way the envelope was decorated--both featuring Stampin' Up!'s gorgeous "Florals in Bloom" designer paper and pink gems.  Below is a better picture:

It's such a feminine ensemble, right?  I can't even find the best words to describe how pretty this designer paper collection really is.

Of course, the envelope flap had to be decorated, too.  And just look at those pretty gems on the box! 

I haven't processed the photos of this year's Mother's Day cards, so I'll share them in a separate post.  

Happy Mother's Day to you (if appropriate) and to all the mothers who are special to you.

SIMPLE (ROUGH CUT) CIRCLE FLOWERS

Sharing a really simple card today.  I found this gatefold card base in the file with my cardstock and decided to put it to use.  It wasn't actually meant to be a gatefold card.  Last Fall, I taught a paper crafts class at the club where I work, and the white card base was left over from a slide-up gift card project.  Moving right along . . . some time ago, I saw a card similar to the one I'm sharing today and loved how colorful it was and its truly simple design.  Scissors were used to cut the flower layers and leaves, and I used a paper trimmer to cut the stems.  

The colors really pop, don't they?  My cardstock colors are Garden Green, Daffodil Delight, Lemon Lolly, Pool Party, Coastal Cabana, Poppy Parade, and Calypso Coral.  The sentiment is from "Go To Greetings" (Stampin' Up!, retired).

In the above photo, you can see how pretty Stampin' Up!'s brand new Holographic Resin Dots are but, of course, they're much prettier in person.

Whenever your scrap cardstock is piling up, this might be a good way to use some of it.  :-)