Card a Day Blog: Sketch Time

It's my turn once again to be a designer for the Card A Day Blog.  This week theme is to use a sketch.  I for one am an avid fan of sketches not only card making but scrapbooking.  I always struggle to figure out where to put my elements on the card (or page) in a pleasing to the eye way.  Sketches take the guess work out and let's me get to the fun part..choosing paper and embellishments.

One of my favorite sketch blogs is Deconstructed Sketches by Jen.  With Jen's sketches I just pull out a coordinating paper pack and go to town!  The latest sketch is 151

Ready for my card...you may want to put your sunglasses on!

Normally, I would never do a card with this much bling but this is for my daughter.  Her motto is the more bling the better so I really made this card shine with sequins, glitter and a flower accented with a gem.  I used my Sentiments:  Elegant for the focal point.  The letters are all connected making it easy to add to the circle.   I added some glitter glue to the sentiment for some extra sparkle.  I won't be doing this again...it was very hard to pull off the excess glitter glue from these letters when dry.  Next time I will run it through my xyron and sprinkle loose glitter on instead.  The "happy" stamp is from Papertrey Ink's Honey Bees .  The "7" is a Martha Stewart stamp and I just wrote in the "TH".  I love using sentiments as a focal point..really stresses the importance of the occasion.

If you would like to purchase my file...please click on the preview below.

Gosh we had a ton of rain last night!  The kids had a 2 hour delay from school and they even mentioned if you can't make it because of road closing that the kids would have an excused absence.   We have a wet basement so I always worry when they call for flooding.  We have a swimming pool under our swing set!  I am counting my blessings though because other areas around us got hit by mudslides and such.  Amazing how much damage a little water can do! 

I am going to make an effort to blog more.  So would you like to see some of my scrapbook pages?  I know I primarily have been posting cards because I have many people to send cards to and try my best not to buy any.  I do however have some scrapbook pages to share too if you'd like to see them.  I think I'll be redoing my metal die storage again sometime so I'll do a blog post on that..anything else you are having trouble organizing that I haven't mentioned?

Thanks for visiting me!  I hope you have a good weekend!  Please stop by again!

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Card A Day Blog Post: Love You Mom

It's my turn again to be a designer on the Card A Day blog.  I am quite glad to have an excuse to sit and craft and get a card ready early for a change!  What would we do without our Moms?!  I for one never realized how big of a job being a Mom is until I had my own kids.  So here's a shout out to say "thanks for all you do" to all those Moms out there.  This also includes good friends who act like Moms sometime too.  Don't forget all those special people in your life when you think about sending out Mother's day cards!

I used the newest file added to my store Floral Mom Tag and applied the tag to a simple card embellished with chevron stamps from Papertrey Ink.  I originally designed this tag to fit on a 5 x 7 card but I reduced the size to fit on an A2 card and was delighted to see it worked out quite well.  I added some Stickles to the words and flower centers and also the heart.  The picture really doesn't do the bling justice..it really dazzles in real life.  I used some very old Creative Memories striped paper for the flowers.  I also added some lines with a Copic maker to the flower for added depth.  Curling the flower petals under a bit and gluing just the centers with pop dots also gives the flowers a lovely 3-D effect.  I was happy to use this sheer ribbon in my stash.  It doesn't work for all projects but for this I feel the sheerness adds to the card without being too distracting. 

If you would like to purchase my file..please click on the preview below:

Gotta get to the gym.  Hope you have a fabulous weekend!  Please come back again.  I'll be adding more new files to my store next week. 

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Card A Day Blog Post: Sympathy

Hello everyone!  How are you?!  What is the weather like in your neck of the woods?  It is rainy here but I'm not complaining since it's making the Spring flowers burst through the ground and also making the grass greener.  Plus this rainy weather helped put me in the mood to make a sympathy card for the Card a Day blog.  I always dread making these cards because it is such a somber occasion and it's hard to convey the right message with just a card.  However, it's good to have these on hand so I am happy to have one in my stash.

I made a card similar to this in the past you can find it here.  I found this awesome sentiment through pinterest..it didn't have a source website but you can find it here.  I printed it 4 to a page making it easy to grab one and have a finished card in no time.  I used my 3-D butterflies file.  I just love the depth they add to a card!  It's hard to tell in the photo but I used black Stickles on the butterfly's bodies.  This style of card is a great way to use up some of that printed ribbon and lace trim I just loved but couldn't seem to find a use for. It it based on Mojo Monday's sketch 327.   Some sequins finish up the card.  Not sure if the sequins are too much..making the card gaudy but I just felt it needed one more bit of jazz.

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you have a fabulous weekend!  Please stop by again!

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Card A Day Blog Post: Easter

Hello!  Can you believe March is almost over?  Where has the time gone?!  It feels like Winter at my house with these cold temps so I am having a hard time realizing it is indeed Spring!  So I was more than happy to make an Easter themed card for Card A Day Blog this week.  It was lots of fun to work with the fun pastel colors and gave me hopes of warmer weather soon.

I came across this patterned paper in my stash.  The patterns reminded me of Easter eggs for some reason.  However, it had the grungy brown detailing to it.  I liked that but had to think of a way to incorporate that color into the pastel theme of Easter.  So viola..I pulled out my Easter Tree Digital Stamp. I colored the tree brown thus incorporating the grungy color with the pastel Easter eggs.  I also added some glitter glue to each egg for some sparkle.  The card started with my newest file Card Base 3.  This file is perfect for showcasing taller stamps like my tree! Some rick rack finishes off the card.  If you would like to purchase any of the files I used for this card...please click on the previews below to be taken directly to my store.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Please come back again!  Enjoy the rest of your week!

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Card A Day Blog: Think Spring

Howdy!  Ahh Spring is in the air!  Well I know it's not really Spring but that is the theme this week at the Card a Day blog.  I am soo ready for Spring and Spring flowers.  We actually had some really warm weather today.  It was such a nice change..I'm going to enjoy every minute of this warm weather as later in the week it is supposed to get cold again!  UGH!

One of the first things I notice when Spring is trying to sprout is my Lily of The Valley plants pushing their heads up through the ground.  So..I decided to make a few cards featuring my version of the Lily of the Valley plant. 

I used Case this sketch #67 for my inspiration. 

I used two of the newest files added to my store...Think Spring and Pennant Border Set.  I also used my Sentiments:  Script for the greeting.  You can purchase them by clicking directly on the previews below:

 

One thing I like to do when I make a card is to cut enough pieces out to make a duplicate card.  That way I increase my stash.  Below is another one I made.

This time I decided to stamp and emboss the sentiment using PaperTrey Ink's Mat Stack stamp.  Oh and it's very hard to tell in the photos but I used PTI's rosie posie to stamp the edge of the background paper in tone on tone ink.  It really does add a lot to the card in person.

I really enjoyed this sketch.  It was fun to do since I am a very linear person when it comes to card making.  I really loved the fun element the tilted tag shadow added.

Thanks for stopping by!  Please come back again!

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Card A Day Blog: Wedding

Hello!  It's my turn again to continue the wedding theme for Card A Day Blog.  I wanted to create an elegant looking card.  It was fun to use some lace from my stash.

I used two of the newest files added to my store.  My Card Base 2 was the start of this card.  My file made it easy to piece this card together.  I used Papertrey Ink's Happy Day stamp in Momento Rich Cocoa  then embossed the word "Wedding" in gold.  I added some lace and a glittery bow but still the card looked a little plain so I added the wedding rings from my Wedding Charms file.  I used my Turning Paper Into Metal technique to make the rings  look like a metal charm. I really love this technique..you can't tell this gold trinket started out as a vanilla piece of paper!  Click here for the tutorial.  Click on the previews below if you would like to purchase any of the files I used for my card.

Thanks for stopping by!  Please come back again!

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Card A Day Blog: St. Patrick's Day

Hello!  How are you all doing?  Good I hope!  Do you feel lucky?  Well I have a card to show you that will give you luck!  I'm in charge of coming up with a St. Patrick's day card for the Card A Day blog today.  I never ever make cards for this occasion.  I have a friend who loves this holiday and anything Irish so I plan on surprising her with this card! 

Papertrey Ink's anniversary contest continues so I decided to enter this card in that challenge as well.  Here is the sketch I used.

Here is the color combo:

I used all Papertrey Ink stamps.  The background was stamped with Background Basics:  Chevron Stripe.  The circle was stamped with Fancy Flourishes. The sentiment is from Paper Tray.  The shamrock sticker is from a scrapbooking kit I purchased years ago.  I had a hard time with this sketch.  I don't particularly like the string but it looked so plain without it.  A few sequins finish off the card.  A small white seed bead was attached to the center of the shamrock's sequin.

Hope it is warm in your neck of the woods!  It is cold and snowy here.  The kids have school off yet again!  Poor kids will be going to school all Summer!

Thanks for visiting!  Please come by again!

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Card A Day Blog: Thank You, Color Throwdown #277 and Case this Sketch #61

Hello!  I am here!  Just haven't had as a much a chance to create as I did last week.  I was thankful it is my turn to design for Card A Day blog this week.  Ha..I didn't even realize I said thankful in the last sentence...kinda fitting since the theme this week is Thank You cards.   I'm sad to say I don't send these type of cards very often.  I must make more of an effort to do so in the future.

So once again I sought out challenges to point me in the right direction when starting this card.  First the wonderfully romantic color scheme came from Color Throwdown latest challenge #277.

I found this paper in my stash that basically contained all the colors in the challenge although the blue is a little different but they say substitutes are okay.  Next I sought out the latest Case This Sketch #61

I absolutely loved the white tree in the photo so I used my Stampin' Up Season of Friendship stamp and heat embossed it plus the leaves in white.  I placed the tree behind a rolling hill.  I freehand cut the hill and added a slight texture to it using a Stampin' Up texture plate. I added some punched flowers with pearl centers to the tree/hill some baker's twine finished off the hill.  Oh and the sentiment stamp came from Papertrey Ink's everyday classics anniversary set.   A friend of mine gave me that ruffled trim...I keep pulling it out to try to use on cards but it never looked right..but this time I think the ruffle is a perfect accent..what do you think?

Thanks for stopping by.  Please come back again!

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Card A Day Blog: Get Well and Fusion #2

It's my turn again to continue the Get Well theme at the Card A Day blog.  This is a theme card that should be always in one's stash.  But guess what it's never in mine!  I needed two cards for two friends who recently had surgery.  So this one will be used immediately and I may just duplicate it for the other friend.  Note to self:  make more Get Well cards!

I decided to use the Fusion Challenge #2 for the inspiration of my card.

When I saw this photo I immediately thought of bees!  Weird huh!  Well it works because I have an adorable bee stamp set that I was dying to use.  Let me show you my card then I'll explain more of how it came about.

I wanted to use hexagons with the bees and since the fusion sketch didn't have any hexagon shapes I sought inspiration elsewhere.  I had pinned this card by Sheri Feypel.  I loved her use of hexagons..embossing..and butterflies.  I figured bees would work just as well as butterflies so I got to creating.  I punched the hexagons using the 1 1/4 inch size.  I used Papertrey Ink's honey bees stamps and embossed the bees.  Does embossing powder get old?  I tried various inks and two different embossing powders plus different papers but the surface failed to get raised and shiny.  Eventually I ended up using Versamark ink stamping...heat embossing then stamping image over the embossing before then heat embossing again getting the raised image I wanted.  Thank goodness I was using clear stamps or that would have been impossible!  I used some fun flock on the the largest bees yellow body to make it nice and fuzzy.  The sentiment is from PTI's honey bee sentiments.  I embossed the background with a wood grain embossing folder to mimic the fusion photo then rubbed some grey ink over the embossing to bring out the details more.  I added some white sequins to mimic the flight of the bees and add movement to the card. 

Thanks for stopping by!  Please come back again..I'll have another challenge card to share soon.  It's freezing here..hope it's warm where you are!  I think I need to buy more sweaters!  Brrr!

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Card A Day: Valentine

Hello! It's my turn to design a card for the Card A Day blog. The theme this week is Valentine's.  This is one of those holidays I let go pass without too much fuss.  So I was very happy to have an excuse to make a Valentine.  In fact I got a little carried away and made 4 different Valentines.  So I'll be sharing them in the future.  (I even have a garland and candle holder planned for Valentine decorating!).   Anyway, on to the card of the day:

I used all files I designed myself for this card.  (The files will be coming soon to my new store so if you are interested in them..stay tuned..I will post here when they are ready)  I actually cut all bordered squares in vanilla cardstock and colored them with various shades of Copic markers to get this gorgeous ombre effect.  I can't wait to try this in other monochromatic color schemes.  I'm not totally loving the red card stock base...in hindsight it would look better on white.  I added some black fun flock to the I love U sentiment to give a little elegance  and texture to the card.  The buttons were actually die cuts too. I used my 3-D paper button technique except I only did one layer of paper.  I know it's hard to tell in the photo but they are glittery and super shiny!  Baker's twine accents the buttons.

Thanks for stopping by!  Come back again!  I'll be posting my entry for the Colour Q challenge soon.

Have a fabulous weekend!

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Card A Day Blog Post: Christmas Gift Card

It's my turn to post a card for the card a day blog.  The theme this week is Christmas Gift Cards.  Aren't gift cards wonderful!  You don't have to worry about getting the wrong color, size, shape etc.  It's always the perfect gift!  What makes it more personal is making a special card to present your gift card.  I'm sure you'll get lots of great ideas on how to do just that this week.  Check out the Card A Day blog everyday for tons of  inspiration. 

I came across this lonely sheet of Christmas paper with nothing to match it.  I loved the non traditional colors and the hints of glitter on this card stock so I figured it would be perfect for my gift card holder.  I chose my pocket card file to create a gift card holder similar to a library pocket.  The file contains the cutting file for the purple tag. I accented the tag with clear rhinestones colored green with a Copic marker.  I stamped the sentiment "Greetings" from Papertrey Ink's Happy Day stamp set.

The inner tag pulls out and little slots hold the gift card in place.  I stamped a snowflake border using a single snowflake from Papertrey Ink's Vintage Picnic stamp set.  I stamped them in Memento Sweet Plum, black and a green from Studio G.  I figured it would help match the snowflakes in the patterned paper.  The polk a  dotted glitter bow is the cutest finishing touch.  Look even the gift card matches the pattern paper...love that!  LOL!  

So this makes three cards ready for the holiday season and it's not even December yet!  Woo Hoo!  Hope I can continue to get things done early!  I hope you can too!

Thanks for stopping by!  Please come back again!

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Card A Day Blog Post: Thanksgiving

It's my turn again to post a card on the Card A Day blog.  The theme this week is Thanksgiving.  I have to admit I never make cards for Thanksgiving.  In fact I don't often do this holiday justice.  My son's and hubby's birthday is in November so after those events are over I move on to getting ready for Christmas.  So I was happy to actually take the time to make a Thanksgiving card now when things aren't so crazy!  It also gave me a chance to reflect on how thankful I am to have such a great family and terrific friends!

My 6 year old daughter loves to craft!  So I cut out the pieces from my build a turkey file to cut two turkeys.  It was fun watching her take her turkey and create a unique card!  She is going to give it to her teacher this year. 

I  was looking for card sketches to help me decide where to place my elements.  I discovered the most amazing sketch site!  Deconstructed Sketches by Jen.  I used the most recent sketch so I could enter the challenge but I saw many others I hope to have time to try!

  I was inspired by Jen's amazing card.  I loved the textured background and craft color so I too used those elements on my card.  I used some very old Creative Memories tone on tone papers to complete my turkey.  Some orange ribbon with red stitching and also some silver dots are the finishing touches.

Hope you all have a lovely week!  Thanks for visiting me today!  Please stop by again!

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Card A Day Blog Post: Patchwork Jack

It's my turn to post a card for the Card A Day blog.  The theme this week is Halloween.  I have to admit I've never really been drawn to the gory side of Halloween as far as decorating goes.  (However, I do like scary movies!) So for my card I went the cute route.  I'd like to introduce you to...Patchwork Jack.

I used one of the first files I created for this cute  little card.  I chose various pattern papers to fill in the image which reminds me of a patchwork quilt.  So thus Patchwork Jack is born!  I didn't have any Halloween sentiment stamps so I just used the "just 4 you" stamp from Studio G.  I think this would be adorable paired with a treat for your favorite teacher.

You know it's amazing how much we taken things for granted until we don't have them!   Our refrigerator broke last weekend.  It wouldn't keep things cool.  So we trucked a bunch of things to our friend's house to store for us.  But we needed some things to eat so we stored food in coolers.  Buying ice every day just to keep the food cold was a pain!  The fridge finally got fixed yesterday..we went to the store and I was soo happy to be able to put food in a working fridge.  I'm soo glad we no longer have to eat out of coolers!  We've been trying to eat healthy since hubby's heart attack and eating healthy is difficult when you have a cooler for a fridge.  On the plus side now our fridge is clean!  I'm very thankful for modern appliances! 

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope you have a fab weekend!  Please come visit again!

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Card A Day: Kiddie Card and PTI MIM #132: Layered die cut borders

It's my turn again to make a card for the Card a Day blog.  The theme this week is Kiddie Cards.   Once again I got this done at the very last minute.  I do have a good excuse this time though.  But..before I get into some personal matters I want to share my card with you.

 close up of Stickles

I loved Kristina's One Cool Kid card here.   I pinned it knowing one of these days I must case it.  Well today was the day!  I also loved the scalloped layered borders Dawn used in her latest PTI MIM #132 video here.    So I decided to substitute the straight diagonal strips with the scallop border strips instead.  It's a little busy but kids tend to like bold prints.  I couldn't resist adding some glittery sparkle to this fun card on the main star using multicolored Stickles.  I cut the title out with my digital cutter using vinyl so I didn't have to worry about lining up the individual letters.  Font used was MFT Skinny Jeans.  PTI stamps used: Patterned Stars: Everyday Classics (anniversary), "You're": Paper Tray , Small stars after You're: Let Freedom Ring.

Okay now for what has taken my time lately.  Last Wednesday my husband had a heart attack.  He is 39!  We were totally shocked!  They put a stent in and placed him on a ton of medicines and thankfully he is doing great.  But..boy we sure were worried!  Heart problems do run in his side of the family so that has one thing to do with it but we also need to make an effort to eat better and exercise more.  So if any of you have any good recipes suitable for a heart healthy diet I sure would appreciate you sharing them!

Enjoy the rest of your week!  Please stop by again!

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Card A Day: With Faith and Store Closes Today..last chance at 70% off!

It's time again for me to design a card for the Card A Day blog.  The theme this week is "With Faith".  I purposely chose to sign up for this theme because I don't do many religious inspired cards.  I don't know why...there are many inspiring words in Scripture that are more than appropriate for card makers.  Patter Cross participates in a Scripture challenge.  You can find more details about that and see her beautiful cards on her blog Triple the Scraps.  I used her blog for a starting point on my card since I didn't have any religious stamp sets to use.

I used my Card Base 5 file.   This file is wonderful!  It allowed me to cut scraps of paper and have them all lined up perfectly thanks to the precision of my KNK.  It's also great for mass producing cards because you can cut all 4 shapes out of 4 different patterns and just place them in the appropriate spots to make 4 different cards.  I used Staz on ink to stamp the ribbon with Papertrey ink stamps from Year Round Puns.  I was thrilled to find some fibers that matched the colors in these papers.  They were a fun accent that I haven't used in a while!  It feels great to dig up some old embellishments to put them to use. If you click on the photo you should be able to read the scripture I printed with my home printer but if not here it is:

Hebrews 13:5 "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'"

Sometimes it's nice to be reminded that we are very blessed in this world and that if we are having troubles that seem insurmountable that God will help you through them.  

Sadly the day has come to close my store.  As of midnight EST Aug. 31, 2013 (tonight) the store will no longer exist!  I'm not sure when I'll have my files into a new store (please follow my blog to keep up to date on my whereabouts)  so cash in now at the best prices I have ever offered by going shopping here before it's too late!  Note: the discount won't show up until you add items to your cart..however it is easy to remove items so don't worry.  Please download your files immediately upon purchase because they won't be available after the 31st.

I have added many new files to the store over the past week so if you checked  in the beginning of the month you may want to stop by again.   Thanks soo much for all your support over the years!  I love designing and all the friends I have met by doing so!     I loved seeing all your inspiring projects using my files.  I do hope you'll continue to share your projects with me!  Yeppers..you guys are one talented bunch!   If you are ever in a bind and need something designed..please contact me even if I don't currently have files in a store.  I do hope you'll stay in touch so I won't say goodbye!

We are having a yard sale tomorrow.  Praying it doesn't rain!  I'd better get some sleep..early birds get the sales! 

Thanks for stopping by!  Please come back again!  Have a fabulous weekend!

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