Thanks Galore - November 2007

I made these cards based off a card I saw on SCS using the So Very set but since I wanted to make thank you cards and I didn't have a set that would go with the So Very that would say SO VERY GRATEFUL. I made 50 of these cards and kept 25 of them for myself and then sold the other 25 to a friend. We each got 5 of each of 5 colors. My very favorite ones were the Tempting Turquoise cards. Unforunately, I forgot to take a picture of all of them before I started using them. I really need to get better at taking pictures of the cards as soon as they're done, so this doesn't happen so much.

Card Recipe #1
Stamps: seeing spots
Paper: rose red designer series paper, whisper white, basic black
Ink: basic black, rose red
Accessories: black gingham ribbon, circle punches (1-1/4 & 1-3/8)

Card Recipe #2

Stamps: seeing spots

Paper: Certainly Celery designer series paper, whisper white, basic black

Ink: basic black, certainly celery

Accessories: black gingham ribbon, circle punches (1-1/4 & 1-3/8)

Card Recipe #3

Stamps: seeing spots

Paper: Lovely Lilac designer series paper, whisper white, basic black

Ink: basic black, Lovely Lilac

Accessories: black gingham ribbon, circle punches (1-1/4 & 1-3/8)


Card Recipe #4

Stamps: seeing spots

Paper: Cameo Coral designer series paper, whisper white, basic black

Ink: basic black, Cameo Coral

Accessories: black gingham ribbon, circle punches (1-1/4 & 1-3/8)

Card Recipe #5

Stamps: seeing spots

Paper: Tempting Turquoise designer series paper, whisper white, basic black

Ink: basic black, Tempting Turqouise

Accessories: black gingham ribbon, circle punches (1-1/4 & 1-3/8)

Sweet Scallops - January 2008

So I finally got around to posting a picture of my first Sale-a-bration card. I love the So Many Scallops set and am working on making some more cards with different layouts and such. So far this one is definitely my favorite though. Not only do I love this stamp set but I also love this berry bliss paper. It seems to coordinate perfectly with the stamp set.

The card is very easy to make and I'm working on trying to provide more details in my blogs with directions and such so forgive me if this gets wordy.

Card Recipe:
Stamps: So Many Scallops
Paper: Berry Bliss DP, Pretty in Pink, Purely Pomegranate
Ink: Purely Pomegranate
Accessories: Large Brass Eyelets, Soft Subtle Brads, Crop-a-dile, & Paper Piercer

To make the card I started out with a piece of 5 1/2 x 11 piece of pretty in pink paper. I then folded that in half and used the bone folder to smooth out the fold. For the next layer I cut a piece of purely pomegranate that was 5-1/4 x 4. I then cut the berry bliss designer paper which is (I'll have to look it up and let you know). Then I went onto the center pieces. I stamped the so many scallops image on whisper white and then used the SU Scallop Punch to punch out the image. Then you use the crop-o-dile to punch a large circle in the center of the stamped image & insert the eyelet. I didn't set the eyelet completely and then punched a hole in the pretty in pink square. I then attached the image to the pretty in pink square and set the eyelet the rest of the way. The crop-o-dile I have doesn’t quite have a long enough reach to do it all in one step. So the easiest way to do it would actually be to use the eyelet setter in the crafter's tool kit, which I ended up doing after the first card. The pretty in pink squares are both the same size and they are (I'll look it up and let you know) and the purely pomegranate square is just 1/8 smaller then the pretty in pink layer. I then poked wholes in the corners and inserted the brads.

I hope you enjoy the card and feel free to case it.

December's Challenge Prize

These are the cards I made for the winner of the December montly challenge. Colleen received 5 of the birthday cards and 5 of the thank you cards shown here. I think they turned out great and plan on making a bunch more of them. They're very elegant but really simple to make. I love the colors though the apricot appeal isn't a color I typically use. Although I've made birthday and thank you cards using here they could very easily be changed to another subject/theme.

Card #1 Recipe:

Stamps: Embrace Life, Spring Solitude Bundle Set
Paper: Bali Breeze, Apricot Appeal, Whisper White, pumpkin pie
Ink: basic black, certainly celery
Accessories: brads, dimensionals, white gel pen, wild wasbi double stitched ribbon, SU Markers, Three For You Punch

Card #2 Recipe:

Stamps: embrace life, it's your birthday
Paper: bali breeze DP, Certainly Celery DP, Taken with Teal, Whisper White
Ink: Certainly Celery, Basic Black
Accessories: Brads, Wild Wasbi Double Stitched Ribbon, Three for You punch, SU Markers, white gel pen, dimensionals

One Sheet of Petals - April 2007

This is my spin on a one sheet wonder card set. I didn't have a whole piece of white paper to make a one sheet wonder or very much time so I cased a design I saw on SCS and came up with the following 2 cards. I also didn't have any of the petals and paisley paper so I made my own strip of yellow paper with the white flowers on it. I'm very happy with the way the cards turned out considering all the difficulties with the limited amount of supplies I had.

Card 1 Recipe:
Stamps: Polka Dots & Petals, Warmest Regards
Paper: Cool Caribbean, Whisper White, Taken With Teal, So Saffron
Ink: Whisper White (Craft), Pretty in Pink, Marigold Morning, Cool Caribbean, Old Olive
Accessories: Pink Ribbon (non-SU), Pink Eyelets, Craft Tool Kit
Difficulty (1-Easy 5-Advanced): 2





Card 2 Recipe:
Stamps: Polka Dots & Petals, Polka Dots & Paisley
Paper: Cool Caribbean, Whisper White, Taken With Teal, So Saffron
Ink: Whisper White (Craft), Pretty in Pink, Marigold Morning, Cool Caribbean, Old Olive
Accessories: Pink Ribbon (non-SU), Pink Eyelets, Craft Tool Kit
Difficulty (1-Easy 5-Advanced): 2

Graduation Thanks - May 2007

I made several of this card for my brother to send out after graduation to say thanks for all the gifts. According to my mom they were a big hit. I hope that because they were such a big hit that maybe some of the people will ask me to make some cards for them in the future. It would be nice to be able to at least make a little bit of what I spend on the craft. If it doesn't generate any future business, oh well, because it's just for fun and as much as I'd like to be able to quit my real job and just stay home and craft I don't see that happening anytime soon.

CARD RECIPE:

Stamps: All Around Argyle, Sincere Saluations
Paper: Garden Green, Brilliant Blue, Whisper White
Ink: Brillant Blue, Garden Green
Accessories: Oval Hole Punch, Brads

April Technique Class - 2007

I made these cards at my upline's April technique class.

I had seen tons of talk about embossing a pop tab but was a bit afraid to try it myself at home so I asked her if we could do it during class and she said yes and came up with this beautiful card design. It's really too bad this stamp set is retired now. I know she's going to miss it and I was finally warming up to it myself. Oh well there are plenty of other stamp sets out there.

We also did another card using hole punches which is very fun. I wasn't so sure about the frog when we started but it turned out really cute and am glad I gave him a chance. I think with some slightly different colors that this card could be used very easily for a boy's birthday.

My favorite card project of the night though was the triangle fold card we made. I have already cased this card design several times. I love how complicated it looks and yet it is very simple. That is if you get the measurements right and fold on the score lines in the correct direction. All things you learn fairly quickly if you've messed up.

CARD RECIPE #1:

Stamps: Petal Prints, Warmest Regards
Paper: brocade blue, more mustard, whisper white
Ink: brocade blue, chocolate chip
Accessories: pop tab, paper piercer, chocolate ribbon
Techniques: embossed pop tab
Difficulty (1-Easy 5-Advanced): 3-4

CARD RECIPE #2:

Stamps: Unfrogettable, Daisy Wheel
Paper: Certainly Celery, Whisper White, Coral
Ink: Basic Black, Whisper White, Certainly Celery
Accessories: Punches
Techniques: Punches
Difficulty (1-Easy 5-Advanced): 3

TRIANGLE FOLD CARD RECIPE:

Stamps: Polka Dots & Paisley, That's Nice
Paper: Petals & Paisley, Old Olive, Regal Rose
Ink: Bashful Blue, Pixie Pink, Old Olive
Accessories: Ribbon, Glue Dot
Techniques: Triangle Fold

Sell-a-bration Open House - February 2007

I made these cards to use a newly acquired set & to stock up on some different cards. I actually won this stamp set as a door prize at my upline's Sell-a-bration Open House. I had been admiring her card that resembles the first card I made here and decided that I really wanted the stamp set that was used to make it. Only problem is the stamp set was no longer available. I thought to myself I could go to eBay and get it but I really didn't know if I wanted it that badly. Well it wasn't long before the door prizes were drawn and when my name was called and I got a chance to look through the basket of prizes much to my surprise this stamp set was in there so of course I picked it out. I didn't have the word punch when I made these cards so I just had to wing the little round tabs, as I'm sure you can tell they are a bit loop-sided, but that's okay because they still look nice.

CARD RECIPE #1:

Stamps: Gently Falling
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Cool Caribbean, Whisper White
Ink: Cool Caribbean, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Large Oval Eyelets

CARD RECIPE #2:

Stamps: Gently Falling
Paper: Lovely Lilac, Old Olive, Whisper White
Ink: Old Olive, Lovely Lilac
Accessories: Large Oval Eyelets

Stripes & Flowers Series - Jan 2007

I was playing around with different card designs one night and came up with the following designs. I thought they were sort of pretty and definitely made with some different color combos then I would normally choose on my own. I guess having to coordinate the colors with the print paper played a part in that, but they still turned out really nice. Some of the cards are for birthdays and others just say Thanks.

Floral Thanks - Feb 2007

A long time friend of mine bought me a really pretty pair of earrings while on her honeymoon in Alaska, so I made this card to say thanks. Once again I started out casing another card design but as usual I didn't have the exact items to make it look the same as the card I was going off of so it looks really very different, but it turned out pretty good. It's pretty simple. Though it isn't as elegant as the paisley design series cards, it still doesn't look cheap in my eyes. The only thing I would change would be to make it a little smaller. I made it a 1/2 sheet. Basically, I took a full piece of card stock and folded it in half to get a 1/2 sheet. I'm not sure what made me make it so big but I did and since then I have thought I should have just stuck with the 1/4 sheet size cards. Those seem to look better to me for some reason. I'll just use the bigger envelopes I bought for the mini catalogs that I send to my good friends to look through and drool on. LOL.