Embossed Sympathy

A friend requested some sympathy cards, so this is one I made for her. The card base and main panel are ivory. The matting is Old Olive cardstock from Stampin' Up! I stamped the sentiment from Kaisercraft with Versafine Black Onyx ink. I scored the accent lines with my Scor-Pal, then I embossed the top with a Swiss Dots folder from Cuttlebug and the bottom with a Cuttlebug border folder. After embossing, I re-scored the lines to make sure they were nice and sharp.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Double-Fold Card - Again

Someone asked how to make the cards that I posted on Tuesday, so I thought I would do another one and give the dimensions. So "anonymous," this is for you!

Cut your cardstock to 11 x 5.5 inches. Score at 4.25 and 8.5 inches. Emboss the portion of your card that is 2.5 inches wide - this is the front. 

 For this card, I added a yellow piece behind the front of the card and I punched it with a Martha Stewart border punch. I added patterned paper (from a Die Cuts With a View stack I got at Archiver's) to the middle section and stamped the sentiment from Papertrey Ink.

I added a greeting to the inside of the card. So, there you have it! And I dedicate this card to Sheri. It seems like a very spring-y card to me, and Sheri's already waiting for spring! 

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Flutter By Wednesday #216

Today starts a new challenge from the Flutter By Wednesday challenge blog. This week's challenge is to use punches or dies. And of course - include a butterfly or fairy!

I used a Spellbinders die to cut out the image panel. I actually started with a "fancy" border die for the image, but I just couldn't get my layers to look good, so I went "clean and simple." That's my favorite, anyway! The image is a free digi from Sweet Coloring Pages. I colored her with Copics, then cut her out with my Spellbinders rectangle die. Before removing her from the die, I sponged with a soft yellow ink. The sentiment is from Stampin' Up! Her wings needed Star Dust Stickles, of course! She went to my friend, Lucy, whose birthday was the 13th of this month:)

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Four Cards - Same Card Base

These four cards are all done with the same type of card base. There are three panels to them - the front panel is actually only half the width of the card. (Thanks for showing them to us in Des Moines, Andrea!)

Sorry for this blurry picture. I need to adjust my picture-taking area and figure out how to do it better. I had it set up fairly well until I got my new shelf. Anyway, I believe the embossing on the left side was done with a Stampin' Up! folder. The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink. The butterfly is done with a Martha Stewart punch, with added black gems and hand-drawn antennae. The black trim was punched with a Fiskars punch. This card is ivory.

The embossing on this one was done with the same folder. You can barely see the sentiment on the patterned paper (which covers the entire middle panel) but you really can see it "in real life." I added black gems on each side of the sentiment. This card is also an ivory card base.

Again, same embossing folder, on white this time. The sentiment, from Papertrey Ink, is stamped on white and matted with black.

Totally simple on this one. Another white base, embossed with a different folder. It may also be Stampin' Up!, but I'm not sure. The sentiment is from a Papertrey Ink set.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Blog Candy Winnings - Memory Box Dies

Lucky me - I won a $20 gift certificate to the on-line store of my choice from Dawn at My Stamping Thyme. Thanks so much, Dawn! I thought about it a bit, and went with Crop Stop. I ordered three dies from Memory Box. I have used two of them on my cards for today. (I had a great weekend and got twelve cards done. It was so much fun!)

This first card uses a die called Country Landscape. I cut it out using a textured black cardstock. I embossed the piece of red with a LifeStyle Crafts embossing folder. The sentiment is two stamps from a Technique Tuesday set. The card base is ivory.

This second card uses a die called Dancing Tulips. I cut it from green and also from the patterned purple paper from Recollections. I glued them on white and matted with black. Then I covered the card front with the same purple patterned paper. The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Thanks, Donna!

 I have a blog reader who I was lucky enough to meet in person the summer before last. She sends me the most wonderful cards for many holidays. Since she doesn't have a blog to share her cards on, I thought I would share some of them here. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. I'm trying to convince her to start her own blog:) She has been published many times, though!

 Thanks, Donna, for all of these beautiful cards.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Happy Birthday, Harriet!

Happy Birthday to my great friend, Harriet! I hope your day is awesome!

I stamped the pretty flower (from The Paper Studio) with Memento ink and colored with Copics. The sentiment is from Serendipity Stamps. (Thanks, Sheri!) I matted with Garden Green from Stampin' Up and punched the bottom with a Martha Stewart border punch. I mounted the image panel on foam squares. The background is embossed with a Lifestyle Crafts embossing folder and matted with Garden Green. Thanks, Harriet, for letting me use the picture you took!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

To all those who celebrate Thanksgiving, I wish you a very happy one. I hope your day is filled with family, friends and great food. Safe travels, too!

I hope everyone has a wonderful day, whether today is your day of thanks or not:)

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Flutter By Wednesday #215 - A Sketch

This week's Flutter By Wednesday challenge is another wonderful sketch by Kathy. We'd love to have you join us! Check out the details on the blog and start creating!

I started with a sticker that I got at JoAnn's a couple weeks ago. I thought kraft would be a good choice for it, so I went with black and kraft. The main image panel is mounted on foam squares. The sentiment is from an Inkadinkado set.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Happy Anniversary, Annie and Ray!

Today is my friend Annie's anniversary. Happy Anniversary, Annie and Ray!

I made their card using another piece I did with my Letterpress a few weeks ago. I used the plate with no ink to give a nice white letterpressed background. I scored the lines on the front side to continue the "debossed" theme. I matted with red cardstock. The sentiment is from an Inkadinkado set. The butterfly was punched out of shimmery white with a Martha Stewart punch and I added three black gems to the body.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Anniversary Rose

This card is for our next-door neighbors. Their anniversary is today.

This is another piece that I did with my Letterpress a couple weeks ago. The purple was done with the Letterpress. I scored the lines beside the debossing with my Scor-Pal. I cut out the inside of the oval. The sentiment is from Repeat Impressions. I mounted the main panel on foam squares. The rose is on the card base. It's a stamp from Inkadinkado and is colored with markers.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Baby Elephant

A cute little baby card I made with a new stamp, just for fun:)

The background was done with my Letterpress. (Just for the record, I'm not really very fond of the Letterpress, and don't want anyone rushing out to buy it because of something they've seen on my blog! It's kind of fun to play with once in a while, since I got it for free, but not something that I would buy after having tried it out.) The elephant stamp is from an Inkadinkado set. I paper pieced her with a patterned paper from Recollections, and matted with the same paper. I added a little coloring with Copic markers and mounted on foam squares. Not sure if I'll add a sentiment on the front, or if I'll just stamp something on the inside.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Flutter By Wednesday #214 - Thanks!

Today is the start of a new challenge from the Flutter By Wednesday challenge blog. The challenge for this week is to make a card with the theme "Thankful/Giving Thanks." Thanks for joining us last week, and we hope to have you join again this week!

I was playing around with my Letterpress a few weeks ago, and had this piece still laying on my table. The dashed wavy lines and the "thanks" were inked and pressed with the Letterpress on Letterpress paper. I cut it down to just less than the size of a card front and sponged some purple ink around the edges. The butterflies (gray and patterned purple) were punched with a Martha Stewart punch. I added clear gems to the butterfly bodies.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Happy 95th Birthday, Mom!

Today is my mother-in-law's 95th birthday!! She is still in great health and lives alone in her home. Awesome! We went to visit her for the weekend to celebrate with her.

This is the card I made for her. The papers I used are from a Recollections matstack. I cut the main panel with a Spellbinders die and mounted it on foam squares. I embossed it, also, and sponged some green ink on it before removing the die. The numbers were cut using a Cuttlebug alphabet set. The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink. The butterflies and heart border used Martha Stewart punches. You can cut your own cardstock for the base, or get it pre-cut from Repeat Impressions, on this page. (Called a Step Out card there.)

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Happy Anniversary to Me!

Today is our 38th Wedding Anniversary. Amazing! Thirty-eight wonderful years and still going strong!

This is the card I quickly put together for Jim this afternoon while Owen (our grandson) napped. The embossing was done with a new (to me) Lifestyle Crafts folder that I got at Archiver's last night. Jim likes white and embossing on his cards. :) The sentiment is from My Sentiments Exactly. I stamped it with Versafine Black Onyx on shimmery white paper and embossed with clear embossing powder. I matted with black cardstock and mounted on foam squares. I matted the embossed layer with black, also. Quick, but I think he'll be pleased.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Flutter By Wednesday #213

It's Wednesday, so that means it's time for a new challenge from the Flutter By Wednesday blog. This week's challenge is open - anything goes as long as you use a butterfly or a fairy. We're sponsored this week by A Day For Daisies. Edited to add: There is a $12 gift certificate available for one lucky winner winner of the challenge this week!

As a member of the FBW Design Team, I was allowed to choose a digital image. The image I chose is called "Christmas Light Fairy" and can be found here. Isn't she sweet? I colored her with Copic markers (nearly 30 of them!) and added Star Dust Stickles to her wings. The sentiment is from Rubber Stampede. I simply mounted the image panel on foam squares with no matting. Love the white on white:) (And now I guess I've got a start on next year's cards, since I was already done with my Christmas cards for this year!)

I'm also linking her up to the Christmas Card Challenge blog. The specific challenge this week is a recipe to follow, but the main challenge is to make a Christmas card.

Thanks for your comments on Monday's post.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

"From Owen to Mommy" and an Announcement of Sorts

Owen (my almost two-year old grandson) helped me make this card for his mom:) He likes playing with my stamping stuff and inking up stamps and pounding with them. He dug out this stamp and I asked if he wanted to make a card for his mom, whose birthday is next month. He happily agreed.

I'm not sure who made the stamps. They were part of a large box I purchased from someone. Owen chose the colors and we paper-pieced the cupcake and stamped the sentiment, which Owen also picked out. I like the way it turned out, and might just make a couple more!

My "sort-of" announcement is this: I'm going to continue blogging, however I'm going to be cutting back. I still love creating cards and I still love sharing them. After all, that's why I started the blog - to share what I create. However, I was finding out more and more that I was creating cards JUST for the blog. I was watching my subscribers and followers grow and hoping for more and was disappointed when they unsubscribed. (I had someone unsubscribe because I had "too many posts!") I was SO close to 400 and that was my goal. Silly me:) But, I'm going to create cards when I need them - for the Flutter By Wednesday challenge and for my friends and family. I will blog when I have cards to share. I will enjoy having more "free" time. We will (hopefully!) be moving in a few months and we'll have LOTS of stuff to go through, so I'll need time for that, too. I'll keep you posted on that, too. Like I said, I'm certainly NOT going to quit stamping. If we get the house we're hoping to, I will have my own stamping ROOM and not just a section of the family room!

Thanks for "listening."

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

November Calendar Page

I don't remember what site I got this image from, but it's a digital one. I still can't find my "ingredients" sheet for my calendar pages. At least I had it for most of the year:) I colored the cute turkey with Copics. The sentiment was computer-generated and printed at the same time as the image. I matted with a shimmery coppery paper.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!