Happy Birthday to a VERY special lady!!!

Hey y'all!!!  My very good friend Teri had a birthday yesterday and I designed a very special card just for her.....this is the kind of card that I LOVE to design!!!  Everything on this card was made by me except for the sequins.  I made the border from an online image that I found at all-free-download.com and I made a paper piecing file from an online birthday coloring page that I found online.  I designed the "Happy Birthday Teri" title using the LD Dainty Font (can be purchased at Lettering Delights).  For the background, I used a new embossing folder that I purchased from Joann's last week by Darice, called "Diagonal Stripe", on a piece of Tim Holtz watercolor paper.  I inked up a ceramic tile with some "Black Soot" and "Spun Sugar" Distress inks and threw in some of my homemade metallic silver paint, sprayed it good with water and then kept laying my embossed background on it and heat setting until I got the look that I wanted and then to top it off I used some Heidi Swapp "White Color Shine", which I really am getting addicted to!  At any rate, I love the look that I got from all that....looks a lot better IRL than it does in the photos I took!  Here are a couple of views of the front.

For the paper pieced cake, I used a layer of the pink glitter paper on top of the cake and cut the icing pieces using some Silhouette double-stick adhesive and then some white flocking and since the layer I adhered it to was pink, the white flocking made the "icing" a color that matched the card perfectly!  I designed the "51" candle and the "candle flames" to finish off the cake and then added some sequins...it's got to where I just cannot make a card without using those gorgeous Pretty Pink Posh "Sparkling Clear" sequins!  I also added some pearls made using my Viva Decor "Ice" Pearl Pen.  Here are a couple of close-up photos of the card front.

I made a "print and cut" for the inside of the card and made a matching border and used some more "Ice" pearls and some "Clear Wink of Stella".

I used a design of Teri's to make the signature label that I placed on the back of the card....love her design and have been using it a lot!!!

I used some Recollections designer paper to make the envelope using my Envelope Punch Board.  I decided it would look really cool to make a border for the inside of the envelope flap instead of a liner and I love the way it turned out!

I hope I've not worn y'all out with all of these photos!!!  I just want add that Teri loved her card and I've loved making it for her!!!  Thanks for stopping by and hurry back.....oh yes, don't forget to leave your comments below as I love reading them!!!

Finished Card Size:  A2 (4.25"x5.5")

Supplies List

Papers:  Recollections "White 110 LB" Cardstock (card base), Tim Holtz "Distress Watercolor Cardstock" (front panel), Recollections "Garden Florals" Paper (envelope), DCWV "Pink & Gold Glitter Paper"

Stamps:  "Happy Birthday" Soloz Hampton Art "Studio G"

Ink:  Tsukineko VersaMark, Tim Holtz "Black Soot" & "Spun Sugar" Distress Inks 

Tools:  Silhouette "Cameo", Ranger "Heat-It", Martha Stewart "Score Board", Stamp-a-ma-jig, WeR "Envelope Punch Board
Accessories:  "Sparkling Clear" Pretty Pink Posh sequins, Spellbinders Dies, Stamp-n-Stuff "Clear Transparent" embossing powder, Viva Decor "Ice Pearl Pen", "Clear" Wink of Stella Brush Tip Marker, Heidi Swapp "White Color Shine"

A special "thanks" card for a very special online friend!!!

There is a very talented lady at Splitcoast Stampers and I feel very honored to call her "friend".  Just recently I was admiring and inquiring about a butterfly die that she used on a card and the next thing I know she was asking me for my mailing address so that she could cut some and send them to me!!! Peggy is known as "jasonw1" at Splitcoast and if you want to see some "drop dead" gorgeous cards, go take a gander at her Gallery here and here is a photo of the card and butterfly that I was admiring!

Please note:  The next two card creations are by Peggy (aka/jasonw1)....not by me!!!

 Well, she not only sent me a whole "swarm" of those gorgeous butterflies, she sent me one of her gorgeous card creations and I will treasure it forever!!!  Here is a photo of it:

In return I came up with a sailboat cutting file for her as well as some other goodies that I sent and I designed this card for her.

Please note:  This one is by me & I think it pales in comparison!!!

That absolutely gorgeous label inlaid into the front of the card was designed by my good friend Teri Frank, using a flourish file from Silhouette America....isn't it lovely!!!  I used some sparkling clear sequins that I colored to match my project using a Bic Mark it and added a tiny black pearl to the center.

I used my printer to do the text on the inside of the card......the ink stays just wet just long enough to use some clear embossing powder and heat set for embossed text and then I cut a little strip of the designer cardstock to make a matching border. 

I used the "label" that I cut from the designer patterned paper for the card front to make a "signature" label for the back of the card.  

I will soon be creating some cards to use those gorgeous butterflies that Peggy cut for me...once again, thank you so much Peggy!!!

Finished Card Size:  A2 (4.25"x5.5")

Supply List

Papers:  Recollections "Love Letters Stack". Gina K "Pure Luxury Black"

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

Accessories:  Stamp-n-Stuff "Detail Clear Transparent" Embossing Powder,  Pretty Pink Post "Sparkling Clear Sequins", Recollections "Black Pearls"

Two for the price of one!!!

My brother's birthday is the 19th and Kristina Werner is having people send in cards having to do with "circles" for the month of July and Splitcoast Stampers had a color challenge for June 10 called "Kaleidoscope of Colors" that I thought were pretty cool, so I decided to use them for my cards.  You can find all of the details for the challenge here.  I did not have those paper colors, so I found the RGB codes online and made own to print using Photoshop.  I found a really cool "card cover" cutting file to use with my cutters at Birds Cards, which you can download for free here, to use for my cards.  When doing the cutting some of what I needed was duplicated, so it made sense to use the same "card cover" for both cards and better utilize my supplies.  In my own handwriting I designed  "Happy Birthday" and "hello" sentiment dies to cut with my electronic cutters.  For these projects I used both my Silhouette "Cameo" and my Sizzix "eclips" electronic cutters.

Here is the card that I made for my brother, which will be going in the mail in the next few days!  I chose this one for him because the majority of it is black and  I thought it looked more masculine and after all those are the hardest cards for most of us to make!!!

Here is a close-up:

And for the inside I designed a border with circles and I used the Silhouette "double-sided adhesive sheets" to cut it so that I could use some of my Sparkle N Sprinkle "Black Suede Velvet Microfine Glitter " on it....love that stuff, it really feels like velvet!!!  Here is a photo:

I chose this one to send to Kristina because I thought it looked more feminine.  One thing I want to point  out is the "enamel" dots that I made by putting "Perler Beads" in the oven and baking them...they look pretty cool, don't they!  After I cut out the "hello", I used clear embossing powder and then heat set it to give it a dimensional look...I did this about three times.

For the inside I used my Silhouette double-stick adhesive and the black suede glitter again to make the partial black line border.  I used some contact paper to cut a stencil to make the circle border on the bottom....I matched up Distress Inks to match the colors on my card.

How do you like my word dies that I made using my own handwriting....let me know what you think!!!

Finished Card Size:  A7 (5"x7")

Supplies List

Papers:  Recollections "White" 110 LB, DCWC "Black Glitter Paper"

Ink:  Tsukineko Versafine "Watermark"

Tools:  Silhouette "Cameo",  Sizzix "eclips"
Accessories:  "Sparkling Clear" Pretty Pink Posh sequins, Recollections "Extra Fine White Glitter" and "Gem Stones", Sparkle N Sprinkle "Black Suede Velvet Microfine Glittter", "Clear" Wink of Stella 

Let's play "Try a New Technique"!!!

Nope.....I did NOT drop off the face of the planet....LOL!!!  I have actually been quite busy and have not had time to post to my blog lately....but I can promise I will be posting a number of cards in the next day to two!!!

This weeks Splitcoast Stampers "Try a New Technique" Challenge was called "Color the Texture" and we were to dry emboss a piece of light colored cardstock with an embossing folder and then color the embossed portion using markers, Copics, watercolors, Gelatos, pencils or any other medium we chose. If you would like to check it out, you can find the post here.  Well, this card really is not my style, but I've been trying to step out of my "creative comfort zone", so I went for it.  Just recently I watched a video by the Frugal Crafter where she showed us how to make our own metallic paints using dollar store eye shadow and I went to the Dollar Tree and found five different colors of cheap eye shadow and made some...they are just like Twinkling H2O's, which I do not own any of.  If you would like to check out Lindsay's video, you can find it here!  Last week I had bought a couple of new Darice Embossing folders at Joann's on sale, so I decided to use one of them to take on this challenge.  The one I decided to use is called "Dandelions" and I embossed it on a piece of water color paper.  Three of my "diy" metallic paint colors are a lovely deep pink, a bronze type color and a gold.  I used those three colors to color the dandelions and I used my "Bundled Sage" and "Crushed Olive" Distress Markers to color the grass and stems.  I also faintly watercolored the background using my "Tumbled Glass" and "Broken China" Distress Markers.  I threw in just a little "Clear" Wink of Stella and then I made a mask to cover the dandelions and used a little white "Heidi Swapp Color Shine".  In the mail today I received the July kit for Simon Says Stamp which I bought because I love the "Sending Happy Thoughts" stamp set and I decided to use the "Sending" and "Happy Thoughts" stamps on my card embossed in silver.  The finishing touch is clear sequins.........which I swear I have become addicted to....LOL  Here is a photo of my finished product........hope you like it!

Thanks for stopping by and come back tomorrow as I will be posting a few more projects!

Finished Card Size:  A2 (4.25"x5.5")

Papers:  Strathmore 140 lb. cold press Watercolor Paper,  Bazzill 

Stamps:  Simon Says Stamps "Sending Happy Thoughts" 

Ink:  Tsukineko "VersaMark Watermark"

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

Accessories:  Stamp-n-Stuff "Detail Silver" embossing powder, Pretty Pink Posh "Sparkling Clear" Sequins, Tim Holtz "Distress Markers". Darice "Dandelions" embossing folder, "Clear" Wink of Stella, Heidi Swapp "White Color Shine"

"shout out" for FISKARS!!!!

Y'all, I just want to publicly thank Fiskars for their excellent Customer Service.  I broke my Fiskars ProCision Paper Trimmer on May 10th while trying to cut a piece of mat board.  I was sure I'd seen a lady that does product reviews do it, so I thought I could....wrong!!!  At any rate, I immediately contacted Fiskars online and included a photo, as this happened on a Saturday night.  They notified me that they would be replacing my trimmer and I received it this past Wednesday.  I am SO happy, as I've come to really love this trimmer....I think it's the only one I've ever owned that really cuts straight!!!

For those of you that are wondering just which Fiskars trimmer that I am so in love with, it is this one:

So.................thank you SO much Fiskars!!!!!!!!!!!!

70th Birthday card for a friend!!!

I used two Splitcoast Challenges for this card for a friend's 70th birthday.  They are both "Free for All" challenges.............."Gaga over Sequins" (F4A210) and "Use that Stash" (F4A223)!!!  For the "Use that Stash", I used papers from the DCWV "Cotton Bloom Stack" that I've had for ages and not used and of course, for the "Gaga over Sequins" I used some more of my Pretty Pink Posh "Sparkling Clear" sequins that I colored with my Bics and Copics to match my papers!!!  The "happy birthday" was done using my Silhouette Studio software and the Corinthia font, the "70' is the Cordial UPC font and I can't recall which font I used for the "th".  The"happy birthday" is done using the "inlaid" technique.  My friend really liked her card and I hope you like it too!!!

For the inside I designed a border using 70 and a little flower and cut it using my Cameo.  Here is a photo.

For those of you with an electronic cutter, you really need to try the "inlaid die" technique using your cutters....it's a lot of fun!

Finished Card Size:  A2 (4.25"x5.5")

Supplies List

Papers:  DCWC "Cotton Bloom Stack", Recollections "White" 110 LB, DCWC "Glitzy Glitter"

Stamps:  IHampton Art "Studio G"

Ink:  Tsukineko Versafine "Onyx Black",

Tools:  Silhouette "Cameo",  Pazzles "Inspiration", Martha Stewart "Score Board", WRMK "Envelope Punch Board"
Accessories:  "Sparkling Clear" Pretty Pink Posh sequins, Copic & Bic Markers

Thank You Card for Ann!!!

Hello y'all!  On Memorial Day weekend my oldest brother and his lovely lady friend visited Florida and come by to visit with us that Saturday and since it was during the day, I invited them for lunch and served a green salad, chicken salad with strawberries and cream for desert.  My brother's wife passed away around five years ago and I'm so glad he has found someone.  Ann is a lovely lady and I so enjoyed meeting her.  When they arrived she had a little gift for me that was a lovely candle and I just wanted to make her a thank you card and also let her know how much I enjoyed meeting her.  I used a couple of the Splitcoast Challenges to create this card.  One was the "Sketch Challenge 490" and the other was the "Ways to Use It 481", which was to use a feather or feathers.  Some time back, I had found some feather images I liked on Google and I turned them into cutting files for my Cameo, Pazzles and eClips and then I designed an "inkwell" to go with them.  For my card I used one of the feathers like a feather pen with the inkwell.  Here is the card sketch layout:

For my card I used some designer papers from a Recollections stack that I've had for some time, along with a stamp from the Michael's $1 bin that I've also had for a long time and never used, so really this card can be used for the Splitcoast  "Free For All 233"..."Use That Stash"!!!  I did not have any sequins to match wine colored cardstock that I used, so I just colored some Pretty Pink Posh "Sparkling Clear" sequins with my "Prairie Berry" Bic MarkIt and it matched up just great!  Love me some sequins!!!  Here are some photos!

And a close-up.

Here is a view of the inside, which I printed with my Canon printer and the ink was still a little wet, so I used some clear embossing powder on it and heat set it!

I decided to enlarge the "inkwell" to make a "signature tag" to place on the back....I always sign the back of my cards!

Thanks and stopping by and hurry back as I am getting ready to post another card!!!

Finished Card Size:  A2 (4.25"x5.5")

Supplies List

Papers:  Recollections "Love Letters" Stack, Gina K. Pure Luxury

Stamps:  Hampton Art "Studio G"

Ink:  Tsukineko Versafine "Onyx Black",

Tools:  Silhouette "Cameo",  Pazzles "Inspiration", Range "Heat-It", Sizzix "Big Shot", Martha Stewart "Score Board", Stamp-a-ma-jig
Accessories:  "Sparkling Clear" Pretty Pink Posh sequins, Spellbinders Dies, Stamp-n-Stuff "Clear Transparent" embossing powder