Flower Box

This card is straightforward, but here's a quick rundown of the layers. The flower box die cut is white, with a polka dot background behind it, mounted on a solid teal square. The same polka dot paper (sorry, I don't remember the source) is layered on top of a white note card, with a square cut out -- inside which the flower box layers were centered. The sentiment banner was folded so that it stands up from the card for a little added depth. It might sound more complicated than it was!

Enjoy your week!

Supplies:

Stamps - sentiment from Hero Arts "Everyday Sayings"

Ink - Memento "Teal Zeal"

Dies - Pinkfresh Studio "Floral Squares"; Spellbinders square

Steadfast Spirit

I don't have much to say about this card, other than the fact that I liked cutting in the curved shape to make room for the sentiment. The blues in this one didn't photograph well, so they don't appear to match too well, when in fact the blue of the flower and lace perfectly coordinates with the blues in the paper, in real life.

Sometimes I get a little too literal with these card ministry cards, and worry that I might be offending the recipient. Take this card, for instance: am I (me the card maker) asking God for a pure heart, or is it the implication that the recipient needs a pure heart? (I mean, we ALL do, but I think that's a conclusion for each of us to reach for ourselves, rather than me suggest that someone else clean up their act.) Sometimes it's best that I just get out of my own head and not worry about it. Does this happen to anyone else?

Mentally unbalanced or not, I'm glad you stopped by today! Have a great weekend!


Supplies:

Stamps - Verve Scripture Medley 1

Paper - Pebbles "Garden Party"

Ink -  Memento "Love Letter"

Dies - unbranded edge border dies; unbranded lacy flower die

Bird Confetti

I have used "watercolor" paper before that was labeled as such, but then when you start applying water, the paper curls up, or the brush messes up the tooth of the paper. That's why I LOVE Tim Holtz's watercolor paper, because it holds up to all kinds of watercolor abuse! You can get the paper really soaked, but it will dry up nicely. And the paper is 2-sided, with good texture on one side, and smoother on the other. In my card above, you can see that I used the textured side.

The confetti-cake look of the background was achieved by squirting Ken Oliver's Color Burst powders onto the paper, and then misting them with water. I used a combination of yellow ochre, burnt orange, and sepia; however, each of these colors contains granules of other colors (for example green, mixed in with the yellow), which accounts for the spots of blues, purples and reds that you see.

I was so late to jump on the bandwagon of stamp platforms, that I ended up just kind of running along behind it. But when I finally got one -- the Tim Holtz/Tonic platform - I can see what all the fuss is about! Although I haven't had it long, I know it has saved some cards. In the case of this card, since I was stamping on texture, the first take, though pretty good, didn't come out as dark as I liked, so I just inked up the stamp and hit it again. Nice, rich color was my result.

I like the pairing of this verse with the birds, because they are showing us how it's done: to be still, and know that God is there -- the perfect example of trust!

Thanks for looking! Have a great Wednesday. :)

Supplies:

Stamps - Verve scripture stamp

Paper - Tim Holtz watercolor paper

Ink - Versafine onyx black

Dies - unbranded birds on a wire die
Accessories - Ken Oliver Color Burst powders

Split Personality

I have two cards to share today that use the same basic layout.

This first one features a two-part butterfly (or moth?) die, which I like because you can use the solid die alone, or the detailed one, or you can combine the two as I did here. {Time out: I just Googled it, and one physical difference between a butterfly and moth deals with the antennae. A moth has feathery or comb-like antennae, and a butterfly's antennae are thin with club-like tips. So there you have it. Although it's hard to see, on the print there are tiny club-like tips, so those are butterflies. But I don't see any clubs on the die cut, so that one must be a moth. Which means despite the similar shape of the wings, I've apparently mismatched my insects, and now I feel stupid. So let's move on quickly...}

And my second card:

The "Forget Me Nots" seed pack image on this card was a rectangle I cut out of the designer paper. One sheet in the pad had different colored, coordinating seed pack images including this one, plus one for daffodils, pansies, lilies, daisies and peonies. These images along with the coordinating colors and patterns of paper made for some easy-to-design cards. I wanted to make an "I Miss You" card, and thought the sentiment paired well with these flowers, because both connote distance to me.

I'm subbing in a 1st and 2nd grade classroom today, so maybe I can teach the students about butterflies and moths, and they'll grow up smarter than I did. 

Have a great week!

Supplies - Card 1

Stamps - Hampton Art "Hope & Faith"

Paper - "Garden Party" by Pebbles

Ink - Versafine onyx black

Dies - unbranded butterfly

Supplies - Card 2

Stamps - from Hero Arts "Everyday Sayings"

Paper - "Garden Party" by Pebbles

Ink - Versafine onyx black

Butterfly Doily

This designer paper is different in that it seems to change color depending on what colors it's around. When I saw it in the pad, it looked like a grayish hue. My husband saw it and thought it had some green in it. But I liked the look of it paired with this chocolate brown paper, which makes the print sort of a mocha color. I thought the little doily resembled the flowers, so that's how the card came together. The butterfly just happened to be something small enough to fit on the doily. I wish you could see the shimmer on the butterfly's wings though -- that's my favorite part of the card.

Have a great weekend!

Supplies:

Stamps - sentiment by Hero Arts "Everyday Sayings"; Butterfly from Penny Black "Enamor" clear set

Paper - from Love Nicole "Delicate Floret" 6x6 pad

Ink - Versamark for sentiment; Ranger Adirondack "Espresso"

Dies - unbranded doily

Accessories - White embossing powder

Dragonfly Prayers

Here's another card where the pretty paper does all the work. All I had to do was add a nice sentiment, in this case, something from Hero Arts "Prayers" Stamp & Cut set. The word "prayers" is die cut, but the rest of the sentiment is stamped.

The hardest part of all of this was the dragonfly's wings; I usually use vellum when I make a dragonfly's wings, but the vellum just kind of disappeared on top of the paper design. White paper stood out as too bold. I finally settled on adding glitter spray to the white wings, which toned them down a bit and added a nice shimmer as well.

I've entered this card into Splitcoast's Clean & Simple challenge for the week - to make something with wings. There are some great entries there if you want to take a peek.

Enjoy your Wednesday!

Supplies:

Stamps - Hero Arts "Prayers" Stamp & Cut set

Paper - From Love Nicole "Aquarelle" pad

Ink - Memento "Sweet Plum"

Dies - Hero Arts "Prayers"; Memory Box "Dazzling Dragonfly"

Accessories - Tattered Angels "Iridescent Gold" Glimmer Mist

Cheater, Cheater

I don't know if this card should count for anything, because I did very little to make it. The main image comes from the front of a pack of very small note cards, one that is sent in the mail by an organization in hopes that you send a donation. I think there were 6 tiny cards in the pack, but the paper was very thin in addition to the small size. But the picture and verse on the front is beautiful, and perfect for card ministry, so I just "paid it forward" by jazzing up the cards a little and donating them to the card ministry of my church. I cut off the front panel and matted it with a coordinating color, and then attached it to a A2 size note card. I did all six of the cards this way, using different colors to mat, and I think each one was lovely. I wish I could give credit to the original artist, but even if it was included with the original packaging, these were received so many years ago, I no longer have that packaging.  I am glad, however, that I held on to the cards, and that they were finally able to be used.

Have a great week!

White on White

I've always thought cards with multiple white layers look very elegant -- especially when there is texture included, such as embossing. I've long admired others' cards, and finally took a stab at it myself.

I started by embossing the top layer, only I used a Darice embossing diffuser, in this case, a plate which has an oval cut out of the center. Used with the regular embossing folder, it keeps the area in the oval from being embossed, so it stays flat. After embossing the design, I then used an oval die over the flat oval to cut out the flat part, and also leave a nice border to the cut edge.

I stamped the sentiment on the bottom layer (the folded cardstock) and then adhered the embossed piece over it. Easy to do, and I like the results. If I wanted to make it more elegant -- such as for an invitation, a nice white satin ribbon would be pretty -- but I'm keeping this one flat so it's easier to mail.

Enjoy your weekend!

Supplies:

Stamps - Penny Black "All Great Things" clear set

Paper - plain white cardstock

Ink - Versafine onyx black

Dies - Spellbinder "Ovals"

Accessories - Darice embossing diffuser, Sizzix embossing folder

Signing Off

TIP: I want the cards we send out for our card ministry to reflect back to the church, so I always include a sticker on the back of each card that is hand made. 

Here is a close-up:

I use a clear matte sticker so it blends right in with any color cardstock that I use. The sticker paper that I use is by Maco, and I get the solid sheet sticker (ML 4005) so that I can fit as much as possible on each sheet. Here is a picture of the front of the box if you're interested.

I figure out what I want the signature to say, and then layout as many as I can on a sheet, which can be printed with a laser printer. You can also do your own return address labels the same way, which I have also done in the past. Below is an example of my signature label sheet that I print each time I need more:

I think I counted 70 labels on this one sheet. I cut them apart and store them in a little clam shell box, and each time I need one, I just peel the paper off the back and the sticker is ready to go on the back of the card.

I hope this is helpful to someone who makes/sends cards in bulk! 

Golden Faith

I bought a variety pack of pre-scored cardstock from Tuesday Morning. Besides having different colors, there were also different textures of paper in the pack. But it wasn't until I got it home and opened the pack that I realized the colors are just a little "off" from colors I would normally use. What, at a glance, looked like a nice salmon color, ended up being neon, for example.

The card base above was from that pack, and is textured. I doubt it would have been one of the first colors I would have chosen to use, except that I had this printed paper lying on my table, and it struck me that they coordinated. And that's all it took for this card to develop. The printed paper had already been cut with the curve, so I framed it in purple to add a little pop. The sentiment then fit nicely in the curved space. Again, not a card I would have set out to make -- rather one that just "happened" -- but I don't mind it. In fact, I kind of like it!

I'm off to take my son to his first soccer practice of the season. The team will have its first game before school even starts! Where did summer go?

Have a great week!

Supplies:

Stamps - Hampton Art clear "Hope & Faith" set

Paper - Cardstock Warehouse (base); Lawn Fawn "Bright Side" pad

Ink - Versafine onyx black

Dies - unbranded leaf & curved border

Tropical Dream

This printed paper featured a big red flower right in the middle of the sheet.

It was a little "much" to deal with, so I cut a narrow strip off the side of the page to avoid the red, and this gave me softer colors.

If I had to name this card layout, I'd call it "The Hug," because it looks like the printed strips are reaching around the paper in a big hug. And then I would remind myself of what I tell my kids: sometimes it's okay to think things without saying them out loud. LOL

Enjoy your weekend!

Supplies:

Stamps - "New Dream" by Verve

Paper - Love Nicole "Bouquet of Color" pad

Ink - Memento "Teal Zeal"

Cactus Joy

This one was fun to make! I'd like to say it's a one-layer card, but I suppose it's not technically one-layer when you use a die cut? The potted cacti are all one die which I then colored with copic markers.  Rather than have the plants "float" at the bottom of the card, I used a solid elliptical stamp to help anchor them. I had planned to mask the bottom of the pots so that the "rug" would stamp around them, but on my practice sheet, the masked version looked weird, so I just went ahead and let the rug show through. My daughter preferred the see-through version too, so maybe it's better not to overthink it.

Thanks for looking, and Happy August!!

Supplies:

Stamps - sentiment from Hampton Art clear "Hope & Faith" set; A Muse "Skinny Oval"

Ink - Memento "Northern Pine" for sentiment; Memento "Toffee Crunch" for oval

Dies - unbranded potted cacti