Another Thank You Card Idea

Hi everyone.  I certainly hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are all ready for a visit from St. Nick.  I have been so busy myself with decorating and baking that I have not seen my craft room for weeks.  Of course, it is also covered in Christmas decor.  My tables are filled with snowy villages or presents that are wrapped and waiting to go under the tree.  Usually I place them under it as I go but since I keep little Jackson, now 15 months, I cannot do that unless I want to re-wrap the gifts over and over.  He is talented at tearing the paper off!  I have so much fun with him.  It is really nice to have a little one around to see all the decorations.  His eyes light up and a big smile comes upon his face.  Too cute!!!

I did realize that I never shared the thank you cards I made for my husband's charity sponsors.  I mailed these out after taking lots of photographs but forgot to do the blog about them.  For today, I wanted to post the photo of the card so you can see what it looks like.

Many of the techniques used on this card are ones I really enjoy using.  The fireman and girl were made with the owl punch.  I have to tell you I punched so many of them as well as all the owl figures that I made before that my punch wore out.  It sticks now when I use it.  While I am going to continue to use it some and work it on some wax paper to help, I went ahead and ordered another one so that I would be ready for the next owl card.  

I chose to make the people for this one but about half way through I decided I was absolutely out of my mind.  There were so many little pieces to be put together I thought I would never finish.  I also decided it just took way too long to complete the 85 I had to do.  Next year I will have to start the thank you's prior to the event, especially if I want to do such a detailed one.  

I want to wish you all a very happy holiday season.  I am going to try to get my craft room organized and back in order for the new year.  That's my hope.  I have a really cool card to share with you in January that I made for my youngest daughter's boyfriend for his birthday.  I think you will really like it.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  See you on January 6, 2014!

Easy Thanksgiving Card

Well here we are into the 3rd day of September.  Fall is coming and I for one and ready for the temperatures to go down a bit here in Phoenix.  The summer was actually pretty mild compared to some we have had but it still had its moments.

I started this past weekend with high hopes of getting a lot done.  Well in a way I did as I was cleaning some and doing laundry.  However, the weekend went downhill on Sunday.  I was so looking forward to attending the birthday party for Jackson but it was not to be.  I woke up that morning with a sore throat, congestion and a low grade fever.  Well there was no way I was going to expose everyone to my cold so I cancelled.  I do hope he had a wonderful time.  I will get to give him his present tomorrow so I still get to celebrate with him. 

I did manage to get into my craft room to make a relatively simple Thanksgiving card.  I kept it simple this time.  I have lots of ideas running around in my head but need to decided which to do first!!  So here we go with a turkey-day card.

 

The base card is a 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" Old Olive card stock scored at 4 1/4".  I added a layer of Cajun Craze to this.  It was cut at 4 1/8" x 5 3/8".  The final layer on top started as a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of Whisper White.

 

Prior to attaching the piece of Cajun Craze, I stamped some leaves along the top and bottom of the card stock.  The stamp comes from the retired set A Season of Friendship.  They are stamped on using VersaMark ink and heat embossed using clear embossing powder.  Before I go any farther I wanted to tell you that after the tree and leaves were stamped on the card I used the retired eyelet border punch to punch along the top and bottom edges of the white.  You can see it here in the photo.  I added a pearl to the top dot in each scallop.

 

The greeting on the front comes from another retired stamp set called Full of Blessings.  I stamped it using Cajun Craze ink onto Whisper White card stock.  I then punched it out using the small oval punch and inked the edges using a sponge and Cajun Craze ink.  It is attached to a piece of Old Olive 1/4" grosgrain ribbon (retired) using a dimensional.  I attached the ribbon to the card with runner adhesive.  Again you can see the eyelet border and the pearls along the bottom edge.   

 

The main image on the front is the tree.  The trunk and leaves stamps are from the retired Season of Friendship stamp set.  I started by stamping the tree trunk using Early Espresso ink onto the Whisper White cards stock.  I wanted to give my leaves fall colors so instead of using ink pads to stamp them, I used my Stampin' Up! markers.  I used the brush tip end and colored each petal on the stamp on of three colors:  Old Olive, Cajun Craze and Pumpkin Pie.  I used my stamp-a-ma-jig to help me place the leaves exactly where I wanted them.  I like the look of the tree.  I feel it represents fall and harvest time.

Well that's it for today.  I will be back again with another card to share with you soon.  Tomorrow is my day to keep Jackson and it is also my birthday so no promises to post tomorrow or Thursday.  I will see what plans my family have for me.  I do hope to have some crafting time again soon so check back each day to see if I have been creative!!  See you all later. 

Almost Finished!!!!

Hi everybody.  I am so happy to announce that as I am typing this, the invitations to my husband's charity banquet are almost finished!!!!  I only have 2 steps left to complete and am positive I will have them finished this evening!!!!  I am so happy!!!!

 

Here you can see the pieces just waiting to be put together.  I just need to attach the vellum to the red piece with brads.  Once that is done, I will attach the red to the navy.   Some of the invitations are just one panel while others are a little fancier.

 

This is a closer look at one panel of the fancier ones.  I used the retired Wedding Sweet stamp set.  I stamped the image on the side panels using VersaMark ink and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder.

 

This is a close up of the logo of the charity which I faded onto white card stock.  The corner images were stamped onto the white and the entire piece is attached to the red.

 

Now I know your must be thinking that this looks a bit blurry.  Well, you are right.  I promise they are not blurred.  Since this is printed on vellum, you can see the piece underneath and since it is not lined up perfectly it looks blurred.  

Once I have the finished ones, I will take a photo of them to share with you.  I want you to be able to see them completed.  I have made wedding invitations using these ideas also.

If you have been looking for the Pay Now buttons on my cards, I have to confess that I ran into a snag and have not been adding them yet.  I am trying to work out the problem and as soon as I do, I will put them on.  Until then, if you are interested in purchasing a card just email me.  

I also sell invitations for weddings, birthdays, etc.  Those you would need to email me about as you would need to give me more information about them.  

Well I am off to finish these cards and will then start work on some new material.  I also get to play with little Jackson today!!!!!!  Fun, fun, fun!!!  I will see you all later.  Thanks for visiting.

Time For A Big Bang!

Here we are at Wednesday!!!  I feel like I have not had a lot of time with my hubby this week.  He worked and then went camping.  He was home for a day and is now at work once again.  I miss him and hope we get some much needed together time soon.

Today's card is a very simple card.  I thought it was time to share just a basic card again and remind all of us that we do not always have to go so big on a card for it to look good.  This is a 4th of July card.  I guess you could say my hubby inspired it.  He use to shoot off fireworks for a firework company.  Now I love to watch fireworks but we usually do not go anywhere to see them.  We just watch from our home.  Neither one of us is big on crowds and snuggling at home is a lot more fun anyway.  So let's get going on today's share.

 

Ta Da!!!!!  This was an easy card to make and put together.  I started with a base card of Real Red cut at 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4".  I added a layer to this of Whisper White measuring 4 1/8" x 5 3/8".  The final layer is Night of Navy which was cut at 4" x 5 1/4".  Prior to attaching it with runner adhesive to the other layers, I pulled out a retired stamp set called July Fourth and using VersaMark ink, I stamped the fireworks images onto the navy and then heat embossed them using red and white embossing powder.  

 

The greeting is from the same stamp set.  This time I stamped it using VersaMark ink onto white.  I heat embossed it with an embossing powder actually named Fireworks.  I punched it out using my 1 3/4" scallop circle punch.  I then layered it using runner adhesive on top of a Read Red scallop circle that was punched using my 2 3/8" scallop circle punch.  It  was attached to the card using dimensionals.  I then added the small pearls to the red scallops to give a little more decoration to the card.

That's all I have for today.  I will return with another cute card for you to see tomorrow.  Thanks for stopping by today!!

How About A Day At The Beach?!!

Hi everybody!!!  It's another hot and sunny day here in Arizona.  I cannot tell you how grateful I am that we bought our small inflatable pool to lounge in.  It really does help you deal with the heat better.  I don't know why but the older I get the less I enjoy the extreme heat.  I guess it is just another thing about getting older.

Just the other day I was thinking about how much fun it is to go to the beach.  Now personally, I am not a huge person on swimming in the ocean but I enjoy the waves, the breeze and the smell of salt water.  I guess thinking of all that is the inspiration I used for today's card.  So let us just get started.

 

Do those owls rock those bikinis or what?!!!  I started with a base card of Tangerine Tango cut at 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4".  I added only one layer to this card.  It is a piece of Whisper White measuring 4" x 5 1/4". 

 To design my background, I turned to one of my favorite mediums - chalk.  I don't know why it appeals to me so much but it does.  I have several sets of chalks to use as well as stencils that were designed to work with the chalk also.  That is where all the textures come from on my background.  I made a blue sky full of puffy clouds using one stencil.  I then pulled out another one and made the ocean waves (you cannot really see them - sorry).  I used a simple circle for the sun and a sandcastle stencil for the castle.  The sand I just did by hand.   

 

The greeting I used for this card is from a retired set called Sunny Fun (I think that's the name).  I stamped it using Pacific Point ink onto Whisper White.  I cut it out using the bitty banners framelits and my big shot.  I edged the banner with a sponge and Pacific Point ink.  It is attached to the card using dimensionals.

 

This is bathing beauty owl number one.  She has lovely Wild Wasabi eyes.  Her body is from Soft Suede.  I am sure you can see the Basic Black and white used in the eyes.  Her swim suit is from some designer series paper I had left over.  

 

Here is bathing beauty owl number two.  She has Soft Sky eyes.  Her body is from Chocolate Chip card stock.  Again, I also used black and white and her bikini is from left over dsp.

All pieces of the owls are from the owl builder punch.  That's all you need.  The pieces are put together using a 2 way glue pen and the finished owls are attached to the card with dimensionals.

Tomorrow marks the middle of the week already.  I can't believe it.  I am so glad you chose to stop by today.  I will be back tomorrow with another share for you so please visit again.  Thanks for stopping by today.

It's Birthday Card Day - Finally!!!!

We have once again made it to Friday.  I can not believe the week is already gone.  I am looking forward to craft time this weekend and playing with a few ideas that are running around in my head.  Some days all the ideas overwhelm me but I am hoping I will sort through them this weekend and be able to focus on just a few a them. 

Today as promised I am going to share the card I made for my daughter with you.  Now you may think this is a strange card to make for a girl because it is based on a super hero.  However, my daughter and her boyfriend are both into toy collecting and comics and they go see all the super hero movies that come out about characters they like.  For me, this was a natural one to make.  A couple of weeks ago I made a super hero card using owls.  I focused on the Hulk, Batman, Superman, and Spiderman.  When I showed it to my daughter, she said "Mom, you should have made Ironman too".  Now I know she was referring to an owl Ironman but I thought I would take it a step further and make an Ironman.  I had no idea how hard this was going to be, and I will be the first to tell you that it probably needs more work and could look better.  So without further ado, I will share this card with you.

 

Well what do you think?  Be honest.  It took a lot of trial and error for me to even get him to look like this.  This card is a fancy fold card called a Tri-fold Shutter card.  I will explain how to make it a little bit later.  For now we will focus on the man himself.

 

The color scheme for Ironman himself is Real Red and Brushed Gold.  Basically the entire body of this hero uses oval punches.  I used the wide oval for the body and the chest plate.  The plate is trimmed and repunched on one side with the large oval.  I used the large oval on the arms and the center of the body.  The arms are trimmed down a bit.  The current small oval was used for the neck and head area.  The retired small oval was used as part of the center of the body.  The hands come from the boho blossom punch.  There are scrap pieces of gold that I used to make the gold patches on the arms and at the neck area.  The center triangle is a piece of Shimmer Silver card stock that I cut and it is sponged with Tempting Turquoise ink.  The lines were drawn on using the Real Red marker.  For eyes, I used small scraps of the silver and outlined them with black marker. 

 

Again for the legs, I used the large ovals.  The gold thighs are large ovals that I have trimmed down and scrap pieces of gold.  This is one area I would like to work on to improve.  The feet are the wide heart from the heart to heart punch.  Again I trimmed pieces to achieve the look I wanted and added lines with the red marker.  The finished Ironman was attached to the card using dimensionals.  I do apologize for the hair in the photo.  I did not realize it was there until I sat down to do the blog.   Of course I do not have the card anymore so I could not take another photo for you.  Oh well.  

I also realize the instructions for him are fairly cryptic.  I think I made him too difficult and need to figure out how to simplify him.  I will work on that and if I am successful, I will certainly share it with you.  Now on to the card.

 

Here you can see the card lying "flat" on the counter.  This was a card that once it was all put together, I actually weighted it down so it would collapse and fit in the envelope.  To start this card, you will need a 5 1/2" x 12" piece of card stock.  You will need to score it from top to bottom at 2", 4", 8" and 10".  Then you will turn it lengthwise.  You will measure 1 1/2" from each side and mark it on the 2" score line and the 10" score line.  Using a ruler to help you, take your craft knife an cut from the 2" to the 10" line.  This is what creates the panels for you to fold.  I did add Basic Black and Brushed Gold layers to each panel.  I measure the panels one by one and then cut my card stock.  Panels are added with runner adhesive.  

I added a label to the center panel using the labels framelits.  I cut one in black and the next size down out of white.  I ran the white one through the big shot using the fancy fan impression folder.  I layered these together and attached them to the panel using runner adhesive.   I cut out the numbers with the retired billboard decorative strip and the big shot.  I cut them out of black and champagne shimmer.  The ones on the center panel are layered together with the two way glue pen and attached to the panel using dimensionals.  All other numbers are attached using the two way glue pen.  

The greeting on the back panel is a DeNami stamp.  The top center comes from the Create A Cupcake stamp set and the bottom center is from the retired Word Play stamp set.  The side panel greeting is from Express Yourself.  All of these were stamped originally in VersaMark ink and then heat embossed using black embossing powder.  I added rhinestones all over the card for glitz.

 

This is the card when it is standing up.  As you can see it gets a lot of dimension.  I like the way you can decorate it and it will just look cool instead of too busy.  

 

This is the top view of the card.  You can really see all the open panels and how the tri-fold works.  I love this card.  It is really fairly easy to make and the finished look is amazing!!!!!

So now you have seen the infamous card.  I hope you enjoyed it as much as my daughter.  I will be back on Monday to share another card with all of you.  Until then I wish you all a wonderful weekend.  Stay cool and be safe.  See you next week and thanks for visiting today!

Back To Babies

Hi everyone.  It's Tuesday and it is hot hot hot here in Phoenix.  We have definitely reach summer temperatures meaning we are over 100 degrees every day.  It will only get hotter as the summer days go by.  While I do enjoy swimming and the lazy days, I will be ready for the autumn season with the holidays, busy days and cooler temperatures. 

Today I decided to make a baby card.  No idea why I chose this.  I do not know anyone who is pregnant right now but since I seemed inspired to do this I thought why not!!!  Let's just jump in and get started.

 

I started with a base card of Tempting Turquoise cut at 4 1/4" x 11", scored at 5 1/2".  I then added a layer of 4 1/8 x 5 3/8" Whisper White.  I ran this through my big shot using the perfect polka dots impression folder.  Once impressed, I used sponges and Pumpkin Pie and Tempting Turquoise ink and brushed over the dots to add color to it.  I attached it using runner adhesive.  

The top layer is a quilt I made using left over designer series paper.   I started with a 4" x 5" piece of Whisper White.  Using my 1" square punch, I punched out squares from the dsp and attached them to the white using runner adhesive.  Once covered, I ran this through the big shot using the top note die. 

I attached a piece of retired 1/4" grosgrain Tempting Turquoise ribbon to it and attached it to the card using the runner adhesive.

 

The stamped image on this one is from a stamp set called Best of Brides and Babies.  This is a special set offered by Stampin' Up! in celebration of their 25 years in business.  I stamped the image using Chocolate Chip ink onto Whisper White.  I colored the image using colored pencils and cut it out free hand.  It is attached to the card with runner adhesive.  I tucked it behind the ribbon just a bit.  I added some colored rhinestones to the ribbon for dazzle.

The word was made using my big shot and an alphabet set of sizzlits called Girls are Weird.  I cut the skinny part of the letters out of Pumpkin Pie card stock and the shadow letter from Basic Black. I layered the letters using a 2 way glue pen and attached them to the card with the same glue pen.  I added some dazzling details glitter glue to the letters for added pizzazz.

Well that's it for today.  I am going to go finish my laundry and take a nap.  The worst part of the summer heat for me is that it increases my migraines greatly and I spend a lot of days hurting.  Oh well, I have survived for many years so I am sure I will be fine this summer too.  

Please stop by tomorrow to see what I will have to share with you then.  I am so happy you chose to spend some time with me today.  Thanks for dropping in and I will see you tomorrow.

New Stamp and Impression Folder

Hi everyone!!  Happy Monday.  It's a brand new week and it is also exactly one week until my youngest daughter turns 21.  Where did the time go?  It always amazes me how quickly life goes by.  As kids all we want to do is grow up.  If only we knew that it would happen sooner than we think, we would relish the childhood moments and never want to grow up!!  I am so proud of both my girls.  I guess to me they will always be little.

This weekend I decided I wanted to play with some of the new items from Stampin' Up!.  The card I am sharing with you today uses the new Wildflower Meadow stamp with the coordinating Wildflower Meadow impression folder.  Let's jump in shall we?!!!!

 

This card begins with a base card of Daffodil Delight cut at 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4".  I then added a layer of Garden Green card stock measuring 4 1/8" x 5 3/8".  It is attached with runner adhesive.  For the top layer, I cut a piece of Whisper White card stock at 4" x 5 1/4".   I took out the Wildflower Meadow stamp and inked it using my Daffodil Delight ink pad.  I then used my Stampin' Up! Garden Green marker and went over the stems and leaves and used the Bermuda Bay marker to color the hummingbird.  Because the green and bermuda are darker than the daffodil, I was able to just color on top of the daffodil but have the colors I wanted.  I then stamped the image onto the white being sure to put even pressure on the stamp.  Once the image was stamped, I ran it through the big shot using the coordinating impression folder.  I know it is hard to see in the photo so I took a couple of close ups.

 

The impression is still hard to see but hopefully you can see some.  I was slightly off on the placement of the folder over the stamped image but I think it looks okay.  I attached it to the card using the runner adhesive.  Once attached, I wanted the hummingbird to have an eye so I used  a small black pearl and added orange glitter using my 2 way glue pen to the beak and a few areas of the bird.  I thought it helped to give definition to him.

 

Here are the rest of the flowers.  Again you can see the impression if you look closely, especially on the right side of the image.  I added orange glitter to the center of all the flowers and outlined the petals of the one flower with it.  Again, I used a 2 way glue pen to do this.  

The only think the card does not have on the fron

Let's Look at the New In-Colors

Hi everyone.  Welcome to Tuesday and to a new week.  I do hope you all enjoyed your Memorial Day weekend.  I spent mine with my hubby.  We attended a graduation party for one of his fire fighter's daughter on Saturday night and had a lot of fun.   On Sunday we decided to indulge a little for the long hot summer of Arizona and bought an inflatable pool.  Now this is not a big pool.  It is a smaller one we can get in to cool off and just relax.  We set it up and had a nice relaxing afternoon.  Monday was a work day for my hubby so I spent most of the day with my sister doing girl stuff!!

I went into my craft room to make a card to share with you today and decided I should showcase a few of the new items from the upcoming catalog as well as the new in-colors.  I also decided I would just make a card front instead of a whole card.  With the card front, I may choose to add it to a card in the future or I can just use it as an example.  So let's get started shall we.

 

Okay so I forgot to rotate the photo prior to uploading it to my blog.  Don't know why I cannot seem to remember to do this.  Oh well I can still talk you through my card.  Just pretend it is vertical.  Since I made just a card front, I started with a piece of Basic Black cut at 4 1/4" x 5 1/2".  Next I cut a piece of Whisper White at 4" x 5 1/4".  I took this piece and ran it through my big shot using the new Modern Mosaic impression folder.  I attached the piece to the black with runner adhesive.

 

Next, I grabbed a half piece of each of the new in-colors:  Crisp Cantaloupe, Baked Brown Sugar, Pistachio Pudding, Strawberry Slush and Coastal Cabana.  I used the new mosaic punch and punched 2 out of each color.  I then randomly attached them to the card using runner adhesive.  As you can see from the photo, I used the side of the white where the mosaic is depressed and not raised.  That way my punched pieces would fit and look really nice.  I added crystal effects to these added on mosaic pieces and left them to dry.  Once dry, I attached a rhinestone to the top and bottom points of the punched shapes.  

 

My greeting is from a new hostess set called Sweetly Framed.  I stamped the frame, saying, and hearts using Basic Black ink onto Whisper White card stock and cut it out using my scissors.  I then took a scrap of black and used one of the frames from the Apothecary Accents framelits set to cut out the background for the white piece.  I added rhinestones to this and attached it to the card using dimensionals.  

Well that's all for today.  I will return tomorrow with another card to share with you.  Thanks for dropping by today.  See you all later!!

Going Simple Again

Hi everyone and happy Wednesday.  Well the nice UPS man came and delivered my new SU! items.  I have not yet taken time to really go through them so I cannot wait to get into them today.  I think that for tomorrow's blog, I will share some the new items with you.

Our week started with the loss of 2 public safety officers - 1 firefighter and 1 police officer.  I wish I could say the week has leveled out and things were at least calm right now.  However, my aunt called the other day to tell us that my uncle is in the hospital.  We are still waiting for test results to find out exactly what is going on but his blood pressure was so elevated from the pain he was in that they actually were afraid he was going to have a stroke.  We are praying for him and hope his hospital stay will not be a long one.

With everything going on, I decided to keep today's card simple.  I went back to basics in order to keep myself calm.  So let's get started.

 

As you can see, I really did keep it simple.  I started with a base card of Daffodil Delight cut at 4 1/4" x 11", scored at 5 1/2".  I added a layer of Whisper White measuring 4 1/8" x 5 3/8".  I sponged the edges of this piece with Daffodil Delight ink and attached it to the base with runner adhesive.  For the top layer I used a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of Daffodil Delight.  I ran this through the big shot using the Elegant Lines impression folder.

 

Here is a closer shot of the Elegant Lines impression folder design.  When I run this one through the big shot I do it a little different than other folder.  I use the base platform (no tab on this one) instead of tab 1 on the platform.  I place a shim on the the bottom cutting pad and then the folder with the card stock in it and finally the top cutting pad.  When I run this folder through on the tab 1 like all the others it tends to cut through the card stock.  I found by doing it this way, it does just the impression and leaves the card stock intact.  I added little pearls into all the open circle areas for added glitz.  

 

For my butterfly, I started by punching it out of Whisper White card stock using the Elegant Butterfly punch.  I added a line of liquid glue to the center of the body and put green glitter onto it.  Next, using a 2 way glue pen, I added some white glitter all over the wings.  For the final accent I added 3 dots to each wing of liquid glue and put yellow glitter onto the dots.  I attached the butterfly to the card using a glue dot.

 

I must have taken a photo of the greeting at least 3 times and every time it came out blurry.  So I do apologize for that.  I chose the greeting from the stamp set Teeny Tiny Wishes.  I stamped it using Daffodil Delight ink onto Whisper White card stock.  I then stamped a small butterfly under the greeting using a stamp from the set Fitting Occasion using the same ink.  I punched this out with the 1" circle punch.  I layered it onto a 1 1/4" Daffodil Delight circle with runner adhesive.  I then layered this onto a 1 3/8" circle of Whisper White.  Prior to layering the circles onto this one, I added some Dazzling Diamond glitter tot he edges with a 2 way glue pen.  For the final touch I used added a yellow rhinestone and then attached the greeting to the card using a dimensional.  

Well that's it for today.  I will be back tomorrow to share some of my new stuff with you.  I hope you stop by to see it.  Thanks for dropping by today to visit.  

A Floating Dress???????

Hi everyone and welcome to another Monday.  I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.  I am saddened to say that while our weekend started out well, it all changed in the blink of an eye.  The Phoenix Fire Department lost one of its own early Sunday morning.  There was an accident involving fire apparatus while they were fighting a fire late Saturday afternoon.  The 23 year old firefighter became pinned between 2 vehicles and succumbed to his injuries around 1:30 Sunday morning.  On the heels of that, a 29 year old Phoenix police officer was hit by a car early Sunday morning and also passed away from his injuries.  The driver of the car fled the scene and we can only hope they do the right thing and turn themselves in.  We are praying for all of these families.  Being the wife of a firefighter I can tell you that my heart is broken for the widows and families of these heroes.  All fire and police departments work closely together and we truly are a family.  It is a reminder to us all to never sweat the small stuff, let the past go, and be sure to tell those around you how much they mean to you.  We never know when our time will end here.

I so appreciate your understanding about my blog last week.  After all that happened this weekend I am reminded that the time I spend with my hubby is so precious.  I got to some quality time with my hubby and I am so grateful for the time.  It just seems that we get so busy and worn out that we miss little opportunities to spend time with the ones who are most important to us and yet in an instant things change and people pass on.  I need to be sure to prioritize my time and put hubby and my girls at the top where they belong.  

Hubby went back to work last Friday and I spent the day with the other little man in my life, Jackson.  He is so much fun.  He is crawling all around and loves to play.  It saddens me that next week will be my last Friday with him as mommy is a teacher and school will be out for summer.  I hope that I get to keep him some over the summer too.  I will truly miss him.

I spent some time catching up on email and pinterest over the weekend.  I came upon an interesting card on pinterest and was immediately inspired to try it.  Now I am going to show you my card first and then will share the link to a video by Karen Burnstein which will teach you how to make this.

 

I started with a base card of Regal Rose I cut to be 5" x 11".  I ran this through my big shot using my pop n' cuts die for just the card.  It makes it be 4 1/4" x 11".  I then scored it at 5 1/2".  I stamped the front with an image from the Reason to Smile stamp set using VersaMark ink.  Now it is really light and too hard to see even in person so I would used Regal Rose next time and do tone on tone instead.  Anyway, I used the labels framelits collection to cut out  a label on the front of the card.   Prior to removing the label, I added adhesive to the back of it and adhered it to the inside of the card.  I then cut out the same size label along with the next size up from Very Vanilla card stock so I could make a frame for the front opening.  I made 2 of these.  The other one is on the inside.  I added the pink rhinestones to finish off the front look and headed to the inside.

 

Here is the inside.  You can actually see my VersaMarked flowers from the front of the card on this piece.   Remember this piece is from the front.  You can see the second frame I have adhered around the label with runner adhesive. I stamped the same flower image one more time onto Very Vanilla card stock using Red Rose ink.  I colored the center of the flower in with the same ink and punched it out using the scallop punch.  I then sponged the edges with the same ink and adhered it to the inside label with runner adhesive.   I added dots to the frame with the Red Rose marker.  I added the greeting using the Red Rose ink and the All Dressed Up stamp set. 

 

To fill the opening on the front left  by the label removal,  I made this cute little floating dress.  This is a view of it from the inside of the card.  You can see how it hangs when the card is open.

 

This is a view from the top of the card.  You can get an idea of the dress better from this viewpoint.  To make the floating dress I used a designer card stock I picked up last week.  You will be cutting 2 strips at 2 1/2" x 12".  You will adhere these pieces together back to back so that the same pattern is then on both sides.  Using the Dress Up framelits, you will cut out 3 of the sun dresses.  

Now I could go on trying to explain how you cut the slots and notches and intertwine them together but the video Karen did is wonderful and will actually go through the entire card (different color and stamps used) from start to finish.  So click here to see the video.  Let me know if you have questions.

I am going to try more of these cards.  I have ideas running through my head and hope that some of them work.   I will just have to try them to find out. 

Again thanks for your understanding about last week.   I plan to see you all tomorrow.  If there are days that I miss a post it would only be to spend time with my family.  I now have to help my hubby through this rough time as we prepare to attend funerals honoring each of these fallen heroes.  Thanks for all your understanding and for stopping by today to see me.  See you tomorrow.

Another Gown for the Ball

It's a brand new week!!  Welcome to Monday.  I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend.  I spent mine working on cards, cleaning, going to work with my sister, and seeing family.  It was busy and it was full but it was fun. 

Last week I decided to make Belle's ball gown from Beauty and the Beast using punches.  I received a very nice email about how wonderful it looked.  The author of that email also expressed how they hoped I would try Snow White's dress.  Well, I did!!!!  I used the one Michelle Suit made as a guide but really went by my own judgement as to how to make it.  Ready to see it?  Here we go!!

 

Ta da!!!!!  I started with a base card of Daffodil Delight cut at 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4".  I added a layer of Pacific Point measuring 4 1/8" x 5 3/8" using runner adhesive.  For the top layer, I chose a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of Whisper White card stock.  I ran this through my big shot using the elegant bouquet impression folder.  I sponged the edges of this with Daffodil Delight ink and lightly sponged over the raised impression with the same ink.  This added just a hint of color to the background.  I attached the piece to the card using runner adhesive and finished the look with light blue rhinestones in the center of a few flowers.

 

My greeting comes from a Sale-a-bration stamp set called Pretty Petites.  This was stamped using Pacific Point ink onto Whisper White card stock.  I then punched it out using the Petite Curly Label punch and attached it to the card using a dimensional.  

 

Now let's focus on the top portion of the dress.  The colors used for this portion are Whisper White, Pacific Point, Real Red, Bashful Blue and Daffodil Delight.  Here is a list of the pieces and punches or big shot items used to make them:

Collar - 1 3/4" circle; I really used a lot of trial and error for this one.  I folded in each side to make it look as if it comes all the way around the back of the dress to the front.  

Bodice - Dress Up Framelits and big shot;  once again I used the sundress and cut the straps off

Sleeves - the blue portion is a 3/4" circle while the yellow that sticks out under it is a 1/2" circle which I flattened on one side.  The red tear drop shapes are from a retired triple layer punch that I have.  I think you could make these even from a circle.  You would just have to trim it and be patient.  I think there is also a hand punch I have seen at craft stores that would punch this shape.

I added red rhinestones to the center of the bodice.  The bodice was also edged using a sponge and Pacific Point ink.

 

Now the bottom portion.  I used Daffodil Delight and Whisper White for the dress.  The stand is cut using the Dress Up framelits set out of Basic Gray card stock.  Now onto the dress.

I used the large scallop circle punch for the white.  I placed pieces behind the Daffodil.  The very back of the skirt and the open sides are the 3rd smallest oval from the Oval Collection of framelits.  The back one is placed sideways.  The side panels were made by cutting an oval in half and attaching one half to the back oval of the dress.  The center of the gown is a 2 1/2" circle.  I attached the other halves of the ovals to the circle and then attached the circle to the bottom oval with dimensionals.  All pieces of the skirt were sponged with Daffodil Delight ink.  Trim the skirt to round the top.  The bodice is attached to the bottom oval with runner adhesive prior to attaching the circle top piece.  I added 3 blue rhinestones for added bling.

All pieces of the dress were adhered together using runner adhesive and liquid glue, except the circle of the skirt which was attached to the bottom oval with the dimensionals.   The finished dress was attached to the dress stand with runner adhesive.  You will need to cut the stand down a bit.  The finished piece is attached to the card with dimensionals. 

I hope you enjoyed this gown as much as Belle's.  Both of my girls will expect to see some other gowns designed soon as I have not yet done their favorite princesses. 

That's it for today.  I hope you have a wonderful Monday.  Thanks for stopping by and I will see you all tomorrow.

A Dress Fit For A Ball

Happy Thursday everyone!!!  I do hope you are all doing well.  I am still a little sore for my long walk home on Tuesday but I am sure I will be fine.  After all I need to be ready to play with Jackson tomorrow!!!

On Tuesday I share with you some beautiful punch art princess dresses made by Michelle Suit.  They truly inspired me to want to give some of these gorgeous dresses a try.  Now at the time I was not sure which one I would try first but that decision turned out to be an easy one.  Since she provides the tutorials for sale, I just went off the photo and took a guess as to what punches and big shot accessories to use for mine.  So while this was inspired by her, I did create it on my own.  Anyway let me show you the one I chose to do first.

 

I chose to start with Belle's ball gown from Beauty and the Beast.  She is my favorite out of all the princesses.  I chose a base card of Melon Mambo measuring 4 1/4" x 11", scored at 5 1/2".  I added a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of Whisper White that I had put through the big shot using the vintage wallpaper impression folder.  I attached it to the base using runner adhesive.  I added the pink rhinestones to the background once all the other components were firmly attached onto the card.

 

The greeting is from a Sale-a-bration stamp set called Bloomin' Marvelous (no longer available for order).  I stamped it using Melon Mambo ink onto Whisper White card stock and punched it out using the large oval punch.  I layered it using runner adhesive onto a scallop oval punched from Melon Mambo.  I added a pink rhinestone to it and adhered it to the card using dimensionals.

 

The butterfly is part of the same stamp set as the greeting.  I stamped it using the Melon Mambo ink onto Whisper White and punched it out with the small butterfly punch.  I attached it to the card using a glue dot and bent the wings slightly upward.  I added 3 small pearls to the center as the body.

 

Finally we arrive at the gown.  I started by cutting out a dress form from Basic Gray using my big shot and the dress up framelits collection.  For the gown itself, I used Daffodil Delight card stock.  As I cut out and punched punched out the pieces that would make the gown, I sponged the edges of each one with Daffodil Delight ink in order to add some depth.  The bodice of the gown is from the dress up framelits.  I used the dress that has the straps over the shoulder for this.  I cut off the straps to get the piece strapless.  It is adhered to the dress form with runner adhesive.  I then punched out 2 of the smallest petals from the blossom builder punch for the shoulder pieces of the dress. They are attached using runner adhesive.   I added 3 small pearls where these petals meet to complete the top half.  

 

Now for the bottom portion of the gown.  This gown is really made up of lots of ovals.  The white ruffle you see at the bottom of the gown is a scallop circle cut from Whisper White using the big shot.  I trimmed off the excess of the circle.  Next, I went back to my Daffodil Delight card stock.  I cut out 3 of the third smallest ovals from the oval collections framelits.  I then punched out 6 wide ovals and 2 of the small wide petals from the blossom builder punch.  Right at the center of the dress, I wanted a little curve to add to the dress so I punched out a small oval and set it aside.  I then repunched the small oval just offset from the small oval hole twice.  I trimmed these down just a bit.  Remember to sponge all the pieces with Daffodil Delight ink prior to building the gown.  I started by layering the 3 larger ovals from the framelits collection at the bottom of the dress.  I then layered the wide ovals going up each side and trimmed off any excess that hung over.  I placed the small ovals pieces at the top and added the petals to the sides.  All pieces were adhered using runner adhesive.  I attached the bottom portion of the gown to the dress form using the same runner adhesive.  I added 3 large pearls to the center where the ovals meet to complete the look.  

This dress really came together fairly easily.   If you look at the one Michelle made and at mine, you will definitely see similarities and differences but I think both are beautiful. 

I hope you enjoyed my version of the gown.  I will be back tomorrow with another share for all of you to see.  Thanks for dropping in to see me today. 

More Mario Friends

Hi everyone and welcome to a new week.  I do hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  I took my sister to the beauty salon for our monthly hair appointment.  She did very well with all the up and down to get in and out of the chairs.  It was nice for her to get out though.

I did find time to get into my craft room to do a bit of card making.  I decided to continue with the Mario friends and make the little mushroom guys.  Again I want to thank Heather Summers for her wonderful tutorial on these.  Let me show you my card and we will get started.

 

I started with a base card of Real Red card stock cut at 4 1/4" x 11", scored at 5 1/2".  Next I added a layer of Basic Black measuring 4 1/8" x 5 3/8" card stock to this with runner adhesive.  The top layer is a piece of Bashful Blue card stock cut at 4" x 5 1/4".  I ran this through the big shot using my cloudy day impression folder.  Next I took a piece of Garden Green 4" wide and tore a strip across it.  I attached it to the cloudy day blue using runner adhesive.  I then added dazzling diamond glitter to the torn edge of the green and colored the clouds in using a white colored pencil.  The finished piece was attached to the card using runner adhesive.  I punched the stars out of Daffodil Delight using a small star punch from the holiday punch pack.  I added little eyes and mouths to these with a fine tip black marker.  I attached these to the card with glue dots.

 

These cute little toadstools are so easy to make.  The hat is a 1 3/4" circle out of Real Red card stock that has been repunched with the 1" circle punch.  The smaller circles on the red are 3/4" Whisper White circles.  I ran these through my big shot using my medium dots impression folder.  I attached the white dots to the red using liquid glue.  I trimmed any of the white circles that were hanging over the edge of the red with scissors.  The face is a 1" circle punched out of Pink Pirouette.  I glued the red hat on with a 2 way glue pen and flattened the bottoms with scissors.  The Basic Black of the eyes were punched out using the retired horizontal slot punch.  You could make these using scraps if you do not have the punch.  The whites of the eyes are 1/8" circles.  They are attached to the black with liquid glue and the finished eyes are attached to the face with the same liquid glue.  The completed toadstools are attached to the card using dimensionals.

 

The greeting I chose for this card is from the retired King of the Grill stamp set.  I stamped it using Real Red ink onto Whisper White card stock and punched it out using the small oval punch.  I attached that to a large oval which had been punched out of Real Red card stock.  It is attached to the card using dimensionals.

Now I think the only other character I can think of to do from this group is Princess Peach.  I am not sure I am going to do her right now.  I am kind of ready to move on to another topic.  I guess I will have to think about it and see.  

That's it for today.  I hope your week is off to a good start.  I will be back tomorrow with another card to share with you.  Thanks for stopping by today!!