Happy Birthday Tammy!!!

Oh my, where do I start with this card....it was SO much fun to make!  OK, let's start with the scored panel behind the white die cut panel.  I used a technique that I learned from Laura Sterckx, a very talented young card designer from Belgium, while taking an online Watercolor Class (K. Werner/Jennifer McGuire), wherein you make a scored design on watercolor paper, swipe your craft mat with different colors of Distress Inks (I used different shades of green), spray with a fine mist of water and then lay your piece of watercolor paper face down on the mat.  I love the watercolor effect that you get from this technique!  If you would like to check out Laura's YouTube channel, you can find it here.  You can let the inked panel dry on it's own or use your heat gun.  Now, for the magic....once it was dried I sprayed it with some of Heidi Swapp's "Gold Color Shine" and the panel really became quite stunning....love that "Color Shine"!  Unfortunately, my photo skills did not allow me to capture the true beauty of the panel.  On the top panel I used a Tim Holtz die and then decided to make me a stencil using the circular die from the same set using contact paper that I cut using my Cameo.  I swiped some of the "Forest Moss" Distressed Ink on a ceramic tile and then added some modeling paste, mixed it up using a pallet knife, adhered the "stencil" to my panel and added the paste.  Because I used contact paper to make the stencil, it just makes a thin layer of texture.  Here is an image of that die set which includes four dies and I really like it!

And here is how my card front looked when completed.

To finish off the card front, I made some white daisies using a Sizzix "Mini Daisy" die set and then added one of my "ladybugs" that I made using red liquid pearls, black stickles and a black fine tip Sharpie.  I sprayed some of the gold color shine unto some green card stock to make the green panel and cut the "happy" die.  I also sprayed some black cardstock and then cut the butterflies and dragonfly using my cameo.  Here are some close-up photos:

For the inside of the card, I used a layer of white cardstock on top of a layer of green, both sprayed with the gold color shine.  I used my same stencil  and some of the "Forest Moss" Distress Ink and a stencil brush to embellish this panel.  Prior to gluing them together I printed my message using my Canon printer.  OK y'all, now I have to make a confession.........my printer caused some black spots on the white panel. so I cut some little circles of the green sprayed cardstock, used my stylus to shape them and glued them to my panel to hide my boo-boo.  It worked like a charm and I topped it off with a butterfly with some more of the green sprayed cardstock! 

My friend Tammy loved her birthday card!!!

Finished Card Size:  5 1/2" Square

Supplies List

Papers:  Neenah 65# "White" & "Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White 80# Cover 8.5"x11", Recollections 65# & "Black  & "Green" from the "Spice Market" Collection ", 110# Recollections "White" (card base), DCWV "Silver Glitter Paper", Canson 140# "Cold Press Watercolor" paper

Stamps:  "Birthday" is a portion of a "Happy Birthday" stamp by Studio G

Inks:  Tsukineko "Versafine Onyx Black", Tim Holtz "Distress Inks"

Cut Files:  "Butterflies & Dragonfly" on card front made by me from images found online & cut on my Cameo.

Dies:  Spellbinders "6x6 Matting Basics A & B", Tim Holz Sizzix "Mixed Media", Susan's Garden Sizzix "Mini Daisy", Avery Elle "Simply Said Happy"

Fonts: 'DK Carte Blanche", "Dani's Handwriting"

Tools: Silhouette "Cameo",  Sizzix "Big Shot", Martha Stewart "Score Board", Susan's Garden "Tool Kit", Milwaukee "Heat Gun"

Accessories:  Susan's Garden "PanPastel Flower Coloring Kit 1", Woodland Scenic's "Yellow Paper Flower Pollen", Hiedi Swapp "Gold Color Shine", Teresa Collins "Modeling Paste", Ranger "Black Stickles", Martha Stewart "Classic Butterfly" punch.

Deer & Fawn Christmas Card

This is the only new Christmas card design that I completed this year (hope to do better next year!), due to so many doctor appointments for my husband and myself!  I've been wanting to do a design using birch trees and this is what I came up with.

I made a background panel using Distress and Hero Arts Shadow Inks and then stamped some trees and foliage to go behind the birch tree oval that I cut using my Cameo and then I cut and inked the edges of the deer to go in front of the birch trees.  I also put some little spots on the fawn using my white Signo pen.  I cut two ovals...on the bottom one I used some microfine glitter and I cut the top one using some silver glitter paper, glued them together and popped them up with an oval die cut piece of fun foam.  I designed the sentiment and the mat layer below it...I cut the "Merry Christmas" using some more of the silver glitter paper and then cut a couple of layers of the mat to pop it up.  I kept this pretty simple and uncluttered as I wanted the "deer scene" to be the focal point.  Here is a close-up.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope y'all liked this one!!!

Finished Card Size:  A7 (5"x7")

Supplies List

Papers:  Neenah 65# "White" & "Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White 80# Cover 8.5"x11", Recollections 65# "Brown" from the "Strawberry Cream" Collection, 110# Recollections "White" (card base), DCWV "Silver Glitter Paper"

Stamps:  Pine Trees from "Winter Holiday Stamp Set" Plaid "All Night Media" [#2438R], "E-88 Stick Weed" by Judith, "Blades of Grass" CC Rubber Stamps 1996, "Clump of Grass" Annette Allen Watkins A899

Inks:  Hero Arts "Shadow Inks", Tim Holtz "Distress Inks"

Dies:  Spellbinders "Ovals"

Cut Files:  Miss Kate Cuttables "Birch Trees with Deer" (altered by me to remove the deer and grass clumps), "Deer Family" by Tatum Clark from the Pazzles Craft Room, "Merry Christmas" [by me using Mightyheart Font Duo purchased from Mighty Deals]

Fonts: "Mightyheart Font Duo"

Tools: Silhouette "Cameo",  Sizzix "Big Shot", Martha Stewart "Score Board"

Accessories:  "White Uni-Ball Signo broad" pen, Elizabeth Crafts Designs "Cool Diamond" Microfine Glitter 

You are incredible!!!

Unfortunately, this year, I've only made a couple of Christmas cards because I've had a lot of problems with back pain and can only sit at my desk for short periods of time.  I have a wonderful friend that I wanted to make a card for......saying the she is incredible and I added a "Merry Christmas" to the inside of the card.  I used my new Altenew stamp set, "Persion Motifs" and here is a photo of the card front.

Here is a photo of the inside of the card, minus my personal message.

I used that same stamp set to decorate the inside of the card as well as the envelope.

I used a scan of my stamp to made a shape to use for my "signature label".

My friend loved her card!  Thank you for stopping by!

Finished Card Size:  5" square

Supplies List

Papers:  Neenah 65# "White" & "Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White 80# Cover 8.5"x11", Recollections 65# Purple Passion" and "Soda Pop" Collections, 110# Recollections "White" (card base)

Stamps:  Altenew "Persion Motifs"

Ink:  Tsukineko "Versafine Onyx Black" 7 Memento Dew Drops "Sweet Plum"

Cut Files:  Signature Label 

Dies:  Lil Inker "Stitched Mats Square"

Fonts: "Corinthia", "Christmas Debbie" dingbat font (deer images)

Tools: Silhouette "Cameo" (signature tag and some panels),  Sizzix "Vagabond", WeR Memory Keepers "Envelope Punch Board", Martha Stewart "Score Board"

Accessories:  Clear "Wink of Stella", Ranger "Glossy Accents", Copic "Sketch Markers", "Purple Bling”

"Thinking of You!"

A dear friend of mine is going to be receiving this card in the next couple of days....but I won't name her because she does not know it yet!  I water colored the background, and then used stamps from Altenew's "Peony Scrolls" set to stamp the flower, leaves and scrolls with VersaMark, added some white embossing powder, heat set and then water colored them using my Gansai Tambi watercolor set that I love.  I decided to do two more of the flowers which I cut with my Pazzles Vue and popped them up on foam tape for dimension and added some Wink of Stella.  I cut the butterfly with my Silhouette Cameo and added some Wink of Stella as well.  For my sentiment, I made a "fishtail banner" using my Cameo, colored it black and made the text white using the "Corinthia" font.  I had to make it a print and cut file in order to get the text to be white and I have to say that I love the look.  I have several stamps that I could have used but they would not have fit on my banner and of course, I just had to add some sequins....I am addicted!!!  

For the inside I used a panel of Champagne shimmed cardstock and used the same stamps with VersaMark and white embossing powder and heat set and I found a poem online that said what I wanted to say.  I used the "Flair Roman" font, printed with my Canon printer and I used the "photo matte" setting so that it would lay down more ink and then heat embossed it using clear embossing powder.

For my "signature label" on the back, I made a cutting file of one of the peony shapes with a mat and cut on my Cameo.  Once again, I used the "Corinthia" font.

I used some 24# Georgia-Pacific paper to make the envelope and added a panel of parchment paper to the front and used the same stamps to decorate it.

Thanks for stopping by and come back soon!

Finished Card Size:  A2 (4.25"x5.5")

Supplies List

Papers:  Strathmore 140# Cold Press Watercolor Paper, 65# Recollections "white, black & pink, 110# Recollections "ivory" cardstock (card base), Southworth 24# "Ivory" parchment paper

Stamps:  Altenew "Peony Scrolls"

Ink:  Tsukineko "VersaMark Watermark"

Cut Files:  Fishtail Banner, Butterfly & Signature Label (all by me)

Fonts: "Corinthia", "Flair Roman"

Tools: Pazzles "Vue", Silhouette "Cameo", Ranger "Heat It", Sizzix "Vagabond", WeR Memory Keepers "Envelope Punch Board"

Accessories:  "Clear" Wink of Stella Brush Tip Marker, Pretty Pink Posh "Sparkling Clear" sequins, Zing "White" embossing powder, Spellbinders  "Card Creator A-2 Matting Basics A, "Gansai Tambi" 36 Color Watercolor Set.  

Baby Love!

Our oldest grandson and his girlfriend are going to have a baby shortly and this is the card that I made for them.

I designed the "Baby Love" to cut on my Cameo using the "Vanessa Handscript" font.  The gorgeous baby buggy is a file from the Silhouette store called "Flourish Baby Buggy by Megan Hardy Designs [Design ID #77351]" and I have to say that it cut beautifully on my Cameo.  The adorable parasol is a Marianne Design Creatables Die "Anja's Vintage Parasol" that I had to scan and make smaller to fit on my card.....isn't it beautiful!!!  The hearts were cut from Simon Says Stamp "Holiday Shapes".  I used some Wink of Stella on the heart I used on "Love" and cut three of them and glued them together.  I cut some little circles, shaped them like beads and then glittered to adhere to top of the parasol, the handle and each of the wheels.

Here is a close-up of my "Baby Love" design.

And here is a photo of the signature label that I made using the top portion of the parasol.

I hope you like this design and I would love to hear your comments!!!

Finished Card Size:  5 1/2" Square

Supplies List

Papers:  110#  "white" cardstock (card base}, 65# Recollections "white cardstock", 65# "light pink" from the "Dreamy" collection

Dies:  Lil Inker "Stitched Mats:  Squares", Marianne Design Creatables Die "Anja's Vintage Parasol", Simon Says Stamp "Holiday Shapes"

Cut Files:  :  Silhouette "Flourish Baby Buggy by Megan Hardy Designs [Design ID #77351", "Baby Love" by me 

Fonts: "Vanessa Handscript"

Tools:  Silhouette "Cameo" - "berry trees",  Pazzles "Vue" -"hello",  Sizzix "Vagabond", WeR Memory Keepers "Envelope Punch Board", Martha Stewart "Score Board"

Accessories:  "Clear" Wink of Stella Brush Tip Marker

Hello my friend!!!

whom I've never met in person, but I feel like I've known her forever!  The other day she sent me to the "desert diva's blog" and from it I wound up at another blog where I saw this card (scroll down to the bottom card with the three hearts & berry sprigs ) and it was my inspiration.  This is not the type of card that I usually design......but I really like the cleaner, simpler look and will start making more of them.  I had seen another card where the creator had used three inked blocks for her background and I really liked that concept and decided to use it in my design.  I found the "berry sprigs" doing a google search, modified them and made a file to cut using my Cameo.  The "hello" is a Miss Kate Cuttables file and you can find it here....I love it!!!  I scored the top layer on all four sides.  There are two berry sprigs, one on top of the other and I used "Glossy Accents" on the berries, "Wink of Stella" on the leaves and I popped up some of the berries.

Thanks for stopping by.......let me know what you think of this card!

Finished Card Size:  A2 (4.25"x5.5")

Supplies List

Papers:  Canson 140# Watercolor, 65# Recollections "white" & "black", 65# "yellow" from the "Spice Market" collection, 110# Black Recollections (card base) and  Southworth 24# "Ivory Parchment Paper, Recollections "Garden Forals" Paper Pad for envelope

Cut Files:  :  "Autumn Berry Tree", "hello" from Miss Kate Cuttables "Card Phases Set 5-11-2015

Ink:  Altenew "Frayed Leaf" & "Warm Sunshine" and Hero Arts "Soft Pool"

Fonts: "Adios Script Pro" and  "Allura" for the envelope

Tools:  Silhouette "Cameo" - "berry trees",  Pazzles "Vue" -"hello",  Sizzix "Vagabond", WeR Memory Keepers "Envelope Punch Board", Martha Stewart "Score Board"

Accessories: Clear "Wink of Stella", Ranger "Glossy Accents", Spellbinders "Fancy Tags One" & "Card Creator A-2 MattingBasics A

Sympathy Card

One of our son-in-laws co-workers lost her husband and they asked me to make a card to send to the widow and this what I came up with.

With the exception of the flowers, the card is made up of dies and a stamped image....you can see all of the supplies listed below.

Thanks for stopping by!!!

Finished Card Size:  A7 (5"x7")

Supplies List

Papers:  65# Recollections "cream" cardstock, 110# Recollections "ivory" cardstock (card base)

Dies :  "Spellbinders Nestabilities "Elegant Ovals", Marianne Designs "Creatables Anja's Vintage Swirls"

Cut Files:  "Flowers for Scallop Tri-Fold Card" by Doris the Crafter @ UKS

Stamps:  "studio g" by Katie Hall, Hampton Arts

Ink:  Tsukineko Versafine "Onyx Black"

Tools:  Sizzix "Vagabond", "MISTI"

Accessories: Recollections "Pearls"

Birthday Card for Brady!

Hey y'all!!!  So sorry that I have been MIA for so long, but my DH has been having some health issues that required quite a round of testing procedures, so it seems like all I do is go to medical appointments.  The results were good and right now they are just trying changes is his medications...God is good!  One thing came out through the MRI......he has a mass on one of his adrenal glands, but we saw an endocrinologist and he said those types of masses are not usually malignant and he ordered some lab work and if that comes back good then he will go back in six months for a recheck, as they will be keeping an eye on it.

At any rate, I am way behind on crafting and posting to my blog....so I am going to add a few cards that I created during that time, which is not many.  Please forgive me if I forgot to list some of the steps or materials used.  From now on when I create a card I will be making a "notes" sheet that will go in the folder for that particular card along with the photos....that way if I have to come back later to post to my blog, I will have it to "refresh" my memory....lol!!!

This is the card that I made for my youngest grandson's 11th birthday.  I blatantly cased this card as I did not have a lot of time to come up with my own design....thank you Kerry!

I made very few changes to her design, 11 instead of 10, "faux" screws instead of buttons, three layers for the banner, some sequins, moved the scoring to a different layer and I "spattered" some green, red & blue "Gansai Tambi" watercolor paint.  

Please check out the next three posts for more new creations and thanks for stopping by and sticking with me through my times of being MIA!!!

Finished Card Size:  A2 (4.25"x5.5")

Supplies List

Papers:  Recollections 110 lb. White cardstock (card base), 65# White, Red, Green & Blue Recollections cardstock, Greem & White polkadot patterned paper from Recollections "Garden Florals" paper stack

Ink:  Tsukineko "VersaMarkWatermark"

Fonts: " AR Bonnie" & "Isabella Script"

Tools:  Silhouette "Cameo", Martha Stewart "Score Board"
Accessories:   Pretty Pink Posh "Sparkling Clear" sequins, Kuretake "Gansai Tambi Watercolors"

Thank you card for Tammy from my DH!

My DH wanted to send a "thank you" card to Tammy for making the card that he gave me for my birthday and, of course, he asked me to make it...LOL

Here is what I came up with.  The patterned panel was made by me using Hero Arts "Large Flower Background" stamp.  I stamped it on a piece of water color paper using VersaMark and then heat embossed it using gold embossing powder   Then I colored the flowers and leaves using Copics.  I used a piece of white heavy weight cardstock and I die cut each side using one of my Spellbinders dies and then cut another piece in green to layer beneath it.  I gold embossed a gold strip of cardstock to adhere to each side of the patterned panel.  I used "ripe persimmon" and "crushed olive" Distress Inks to color the butterfly.  I designed the "Thank You & mat" and added  the "Dragonfly" which I gold embossed .  The finishing touch is the "faux" lady bug!

Here is a close-up photo.

Thank you so much for stopping by to take a look.  I would love to hear your comments on this design!!!

Finished Card Size:  6" Square

Supplies List

Papers:  Canson 140# Watercolor, 110# Recollections "white", 65# Recollections "white" and "green" from the "Spice Market" collection

Dies:  Spellbinders "A2 Brackets Borders One", Sue Wilson "Magical Butterfly Set "

Cut File: "Dragonfly", "Thank You & Mat [using altered Chopin Script Font]_PAC"

Ink:  Tsukineko "VersaMarkWatermark", "ripe persimmon" and "crushed olive" Distress Inks

Fonts: "Chopin Script Font"

Tools:  Silhouette "Cameo",  Sizzix "Vagabond", Ranger "Heat It" 

Accessories: Copics, Ranger "Gold Super Fine" embossing powder

Check out the gorgeous birthday cards that I received the end of September!!!

My DH really pulled one on me this year..........he called my dear friend Tammy in SC and asked her if she would make a birthday card for him to give to me because he knew he could not buy a card that was that pretty and original.  Well, she sure did it....look at this!!!

In the box view

Card front view

WOW....she even decorated the inside of the box lid!!!

Needless to say he was thrilled and so was I!!!  Tammy, thank you SO much!

Well, as that card was from Cecil, Tammy made a second card that was from her to me.

Just look at the beautiful coloring she did on the butterflies and the panel beneath them.  The "Wishing you" was die cut from some gorgeous glitter paper (I think DCWV) and unfortunately my photo did not capture the beautiful sparkle!  Thank you Tammy!!!

And here is the card my dear friend Peggy in CA made to me!

Isn't this absolutely stunning?  Thank you so much Peggy!!! 

 And last, but not least is a beautiful card from my friend Teri in TX.

Ladies, thank all of you SO much..........you made my birthday so special!!!!!!!!!!!