Vertical Paper Bag Mini Album, Installment 2

Hope you're enjoying and being inspired by the mini album pictures. This first picture shows one of my favorite pages of all. The pocket and handkerchief are from Cricut's Old West cartridge. The upper embellishment is simply a piece of print paper that has three metal brads through it.

This page shows the tags that I put into the small flap made by the bottom of the paper bag. I cut them at 3 3/4" by 5" and used a Martha Stewart around the page punch. The tag I cut from From My Kitchen. The lower tag came on the inside of the package of some embellishments. I added a flower from Hobby Lobby.

 This page shows the outer side of the first large flap attached to a bag. The sentiment is a sticker from the page kit. I mounted the sticker onto a retangular tag, stamping some lines on the tag so that it could be used for journaling. Hope you like these.

Vertical Paper Bag Mini Album--The First of Several Installments

I recently watched a video series by mysistersscrapper on youtube. Following her very good directions, I put together this album for a sweet young lady who is getting married soon. My binding is different from hers, and I made the space between pages 1/2" rather than her 3/8". I had so much fun doing this, that I will definitely do another. I started with a Hobby Lobby page kit that had twelve papers and some embellishments and stickers. But I needed to add several other things. Check out the videos, stock up on paper, adhesives of various types, and lots of decorative items and kraft cardstock, and then give this a try. You won't be disappointed.

The front cover is a combination of gemstone letters  and a sticker from the Hobby Lobby pack, a die cut from the Old West Cricut cartridge, and some dimensional stickers (the rope).





For the spine I created a bangle with a Tim Holtz clasp chain to which I added several different-length strands made from wooden beads and plastic ones from Blue Moon. I also added two wooden hearts engraved with initials. I tied ribbons and jute to the strands.

To hold the book closed, I added another clasp be simply adding two more eyelets--one on the back cover, and one on the front.

The inside front cover. The flower is handmade from fine twine and has a button center and a pink scallop circle behind it. Hope you like it so far.

Daisy with Ribbon and Diagonal Stripe Thank You

The latest in my list of 3 1/2" x 5" thank you cards.

 

 

This one uses a diagonal stripe in pink with white and dark turquoise. The flower is cut from Walk in My Garden at approximately 1 1/2".  I cut two daisies and then layered them on top of each other to make the flower fuller. Before placing the paper on the white card base, I added the ribbon and secured it to the back of the paper. A pink gemstone and a tag stamped with Thank you complete this easy and sweet card. Hope you enjoy it. Thanks for stopping by.

Juggling Crocodile Birthday Card

     Entry number three using the orange circles paper from K and Company's Life's Little Occasions paper pack.

     The cheery crocodile is from the Crocs Rule cartridge. I cut it at 3", using white and pink for the under layers. Wiggle eyes, some black inking, and an Action Wobble brought this guy to life. The balls he's juggling are punched from the orange and a dark green (also from this paper pack) and are on some foam tape.
     The orange mat is 3 1/4" x 4 1/2". The smaller white is 3 3/8 x 4 5/8. The card base is green, The white mat is 4 1/8 x 5 3/8. The green print mat is 4 x 5 1/4.
     "Happy Birthday" is from the Hapyy Days set from CardzTV stamps. The inside sentiment says: "Hope it's more fun than a juggling crocodile."
     Have a day that's just as fun. Thanks for stopping by.

Orange Circle Thank You

Card #2 from the K and Company pack called Life's Little Occasions is a bright and cheery thank you.

The papers in this pack are double-sided, so I used the solid orange from the back to cut the border. The card base is white (3 1/2" x 5") and has two mats under the dotted paper. I used a McGill punch for the white flower and a Fiskars circle (1/2") for the center. I punched the centers from the dotted paper, being sure to center the circle over a smaller dot in the print. Too late I thought about adding Glossy Accents to the smaller circles. Next time.

The sentiment is from a Fiskars Thank You set. I used white and stamped onto the border. Hope it brightens your day and encouages you to remember a special something that someone has done for you. Thanks for stopping by.

Owl Happy Birthday

I made this birthday card for someone who likes both owls and the retro orange, brown and green colors of the '70s.

 

The owl is from Create a Critter. I used the branch that was an accessory for it. Dark brown is the base for the owl. I added a subtle orange-on-orange print for the next layer and a bright orange with circles for the top. The bright orange is a favorite from a K and Company stack called Life's Little Occasions. I've used that orange several times. In fact, in the next two posts I'll be showing others cards I've made with it. It's bright, cheery, and very versatile. 

 

Gloosy accents help the beak and the feet pop off the page a bit. A sideways sentiment added some balance without looking crowded.

 

"Whooo's" someone you could make this for? Thanks for stopping by.

Fan"tache"tic Birthday card

I can't honestly say that I understand the popularity of the mustache in crafting these days. But I do recognize it. So, when I found a stamp for fabric paint the other day at Big Lots, and it had three mustaches on it, I had to bring it home and try it out with chalk ink. It worked fine.

I stamped these with black ink, trimmed around them, and then attached them to the tan mat. After I had completed the card, I decided to go back and jazz it up a bit with some Martha Stewart glitter. The finished product is simple and easy--but masculine and trendy.

The card is cut from Kraft cardstock. I used black to mat the design papers which are from Recollections.
Hope you enjoy it. Thanks for stopping by.

Lion's Awakening--My First Novel

It's taken nearly three years and has survived one major college-football scandal, but my first book is here--now available through Amazon and WestBow Press both in print and in ebook format. Soon, I hope, I'll have it for sale here.

It's the story of a young man and how he copes after a serious injury removes football from his life. Since everyone experiences disappointments, I'm hoping that others will be inspired by his story. Check it out at Amazon. Thanks for stopping by.

Biggest Fan card

It's college football time again. To celebrate the new season, and to launch some important news, I've created a card which I'll send to some Penn State fans.

 

 

The pennant is from Sports Mania, and the letters are from Lyrical Letters . I used a Tim Holtz embossing folder to add some texture to the background The white banner is simply a white strip that I cut a banner end into. Two metallic dots add a little bling. Switch up the colors and lettering, and you're all set to root for your favorite team. Thanks for stopping by.

 

 



Stripes and Flowers Thank You Cards

I like stripes, especially when they're combined with something else.

 

 

Hidden among the crocodile images in the Crocs Rule cartridge is this sweet bunch of flowers. The base cut has the flowers and the leaves. I cut it out of a green with yellow polka dots paper at @ 1 3/4". Then I added the flower layers and the centers. Around everything I did some faux stitching using a black marker.

 

Using a word window punch, I punched the white sentiment mat and then stamped thanks using a small Fiskars stamp. Easy and bright. Hope you like it. Thanks for stopping by. 

Thinking of You

     I've recently been in "punch" mode--using punches, that is. The flower is a McGill punch that I've had for a long time, and the center is a Fiskars circle. I added some brads from Hobby Lobby and used foam tape to pop the flowers off the page a bit.
     The paper is a double-sided one that my JoAnn store recently began carrying. The sentiment is one from Hobby Lobby's Stampabilites lines. I hope that the bright colors and the warm words encouraged a sweet young lady I know. Thanks for stopping by.

"Sending Prayers" Encouragement Card

Taking a break from thank you sets, I created this card to encourage a friend whose husband recently underwent surgery and will be several weeks recovering.

 

 

The plaid paper is from the Bold Basics 8 1/2" x 11" pack by Recollections. I used kraft, aqua, and white cardstocks for the accents. The "trellis" was created with an EK border punch. I used a small and a medium flower punch by Fiskars to create the flowers. Then I added a brown gemstone for the center. The stamp is one from a set of Spellbinders. I hope that the soft colors and the cheery flowers brighten my friend's days. Know anyone who needs some encouragement? Thanks for stopping by.

Stylish Thank You Set

I love this "stylish" set of cards. It is feminine but has only a hint of a flower.

The dress form, with the shadow and the dress pieces, is from Nifty Fifties and is cut approximately 3 3/4" inches tall. I ran the dress pieces through the Swiss Dots folder to emboss them. The sentiment is a Fiskars stamp. The black and white is another piece from a Recollections black and white stack which I use a lot. Hope this jogs your stylish ideas for other cards. Thanks for coming by.

Lady Bug Thanks

Can you ever have enough thank you cards? I seem to go through these like crazy. Not only do I use a lot, but I also give many as gifts. The cute lady bugs on these are from the  Walk in my Garden cartridge from Cricut. This is the border feature cut at approximately 1 1/2 inches. I placed the three on the diagonal. The white with black pattern is from a Recollections pack of black and white 8 1/2" x 11" papers. Hope you enjoy these sweet bugs.

3-D Stars Thank You Cards

After a very busy few months, I'm back with several card ideas. The first is a set of thank you cards that have 3-dimensional stars on them. The stars are very easy. Simply cut your favorite star and score each of the arms of the star from the point in a straight line to the opposite side of the star. Once you have all five scored, crease on the lines. You'll see the dimension happen as you do. Place a dimensional dot in the center to keep the star from flattening. The papers here are from a set from Hobby Lobby. The colors and the design make this cards just rights for either men or women. I used a small circle punch to add the curve at the ends of the sentiment mat and then stamped the word thanks. Hope you enjoy making these 3-D stars.

Lighthouse Masculine Birthday Card, Part 11 of Recent Cards

This may be one of my all-time favorite cards--and it's for a guy. Amazing! I usually struggle so hard to create something that looks masculine.

After getting my white 5 1'2" by 4 1/4" card base, I added a brick red mat (5 3/8" x 4 1/8") and a black one that is 5 3/16" x 3 15/16". Then I went to the Elegant Edges Cricut cartridge and and started with the E. E. equivalent of the Top Note which I cut at 4 3/4" in a brick red cardstock. I also cut the shadow in white. The lighthouse stamp is from Studio 112. I stamped it with black and also inked the edges and rounded the corners. Looking for something masculine and somewhat nautical, I took three strands of thin jute and braided them, placing the cord below the lighthouse. After stamping the sentiment, I curved the ends using a circle punch. Before placing the frame onto the card, I put it on foam tape and also added two small black brads. As I said earlier, I really this card. I hope you do, too.

Rounded Petals Flowers Birthday Card, Part 10 of Recent Cards

I like the rounded petals card ideas so well that I created a card with two flowers.

I turned the 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" card sideways so that the flowers would fit and I'd have an easier time with the sentiment. The stripes (all from the same Recollections paper) are 1 1/8" squares with two corners rounded. The shadows are 1 1/4". I let some of the petals go off the edge and then went back and trimmed them. The sentiment, two 5/8" buttons with green floss, and three small purple brads complete this cheery birthday card. I hope you like it.

As Special As You Are Birthday Card, Part 9 in Recent Cards

In browsing Pinterest I located a sweet card that I just loved.  I took the idea, went to the Doodlecharms cartridge and located my favorite heart, and I was off. The hearts and mats are cut at 1 1/4".  For the hearts used two different red prints and a small piece of the background paper. The tan-ish green-ish mat is a piece of self adhesive cardstock from DCWV. I cut two "buttons" from the same paper, added a piece of white floss, and adhered them. The stamped sentiment reads: "Hope this day is as special as you are."

Many thanks to splitcoaststampers.com for the lovely card which gave me the idea.



Corner-rounded Flower Happy Birthday, Part 8 of Recent Cards

Hi, everyone. Several of the cards I've seen on Pinterest have included a flower with petals made from squares that have two corners (diagonals) rounded with a large corner rounder. After trying one with one layer and liking it a great deal, I decided to add my own twist.

I started with four sets of four squares. The solid red ones (used as shadows) are 1 1/2" and 1 1/4". The print squares are 1 3/8" and a 1/8".  After cutting the squares, I rounded the corners, then layered the prints on top of the solids. I embossed the card background, then placed the larger petals on the card. I glued well, but not near the petal edges so that I could slide some leaves (Spellbinders) under the flower when I was finished. I layered the smaller petals on top of the larger ones (using foam tape for dimension), added a 1/2" circle for the center, and slipped the leaves in under the petals. A piece of ric rac and a stamped sentiment, and I was finished.

Pull out your corner rounder and give this a try, then let me know what you think.

Envelope Birthday Card, Part 7 of Recent Cards

In the vein of using a Cricut image to replace a Stampin' Up product I don't have, I created this very different but nice masculine birthday card.

I started with an image from (you guessed it) Pinterest. Thanks to splitcoaststampers for the inspiration.

 

My card is an gray A2 card. I added two sets of mats, using a gray/black polka dot and white. The larger white mat is 4 1/16 x 5 5/16". The larger dotted mat is 3 7/8 x 5 3/8" . The smaller white mat is 4 1/2" x 3 1/4", the smaller dotted mat is 4 5/16" by 3 1/16".  I cut the 2" envelope with the Walk in My Garden cartridge and used a Paper Studio cupcake embossing folder. To help the embossed cupcakes pop from the page a bit, I once again used some ink (silver) on a foam spouncer brush. A Studio 112 stamp added just the right sentiment to this birthday card.

 

Have a Cricut? Use it to improvise for the things you don't have.

Thoughts and Prayers, Part 6 of Recent Cards

Do you ever create a card that you just love, and the more you look at it, the more the appreciate how it turned out?  For me, this is one of those cards. Once again, I'm indebted to Pinterest for a great idea.

 

The original is one that was posted by tenealwilliams.com.au.  Her tree is a Stampin' Up stamp which I do not have. Since I do have a Cricut and a number cartridges, I decided to use a tree from  Heritage.  I switched from blue to tan (once again a piece from Tim Holtz Kraft Core), cut a 2 3/4" tree, left the tan mat smaller and shifted to the right, and stamped a different sentiment. Mine isn't as fancy as Teneale's but I really love it--and I was able to use something I already had. Hope you're encouraged to do the same.

Triple Birthday Wishes, Part 5 of Recent Cards

Once again, it's Pinterest to the rescue. This time my inspiration came from takingtimetocreate.blogspot.com.  Here is the inspiration card.

 

My take on this idea turned out like this.  I used a 1" circle punch, three different purple prints from various DCWV packs, a solid purple for the sentiment shadow, some silver ricrac and the Spts and Dots embossing folder. A cardztv.blogspot.com Happy Birthday stamp and some black ink formed the sentiment. Hope you find some inspiration.

 

 

It's Time for Another Birthday, Card 4 in Recent cards.

One more in the recent card collection--this time a masculine birthday card.

 



This A2 card is made from Tim Holtz Kraft Core paper pack, a really great stack. I used a Paper Studio (Hobby Lobby) embossing folder that has a collection of clocks. I discovered that if I inked the bottom of a craft paint foam spouncer--the kind that has a wooden handle and a very flat edge on the sponge, I could rub the ink across the surface of the card and apply it to only the raised portions.
I embossed the light tan marbled paper then inked the clocks with a brick red ink. To complete the front, I added two strips, one in the mat paper and one out of Kraft paper. Then I added to metal brads and the sentiment, "It's time . . ." The inside reads "for another birthday. Hope it's the best ever.

Wish Big birthday card, Part 3 of recent cards.

One of the card ideas that I saw on Pinterest came from bronheslop.wordpress.com. Here is her card.

 

 



I don't have the Stampin' Up stamp she used, but I have one that says the same thing. I switched up the color scheme, used Plantin Schoolbook to cut the circles, and embossed with a herringbone embossing folder. My card looks like this.

 

 

I put a navy shadow behind each circle. The teal and green papers are from a Tim Holtz Kraft stack. I placed two small ribbon loops on the right rather than the left. The inside sentiment reads, "Hoping those wishes come true today and in the future."

 

Thanks to Bron for the idea.

 

"Tea Set" Thinking of You Card, Part 2 of Recent Cards

One of the seldom mentioned Cricut cartridges that has become a personal favorite is Heritage. I used it to create this card for a friend who recently moved away.

The background mat is from a Recollections black and white stack. The black tea set (@ 2 1/2") tall, along with its white shadow, is from Heritage. I used a postage stamp edge punch to edge both of the strips. A Fiskars clear stamp and some black gems complete this simple but classic card. The inside sentiment reads: "with the warmest of thoughts."

Enjoy.

Caught a Bug? Part 1 of Recent Cards

I've recently discovered the wonder of Pinterest. The ideas there are incredible. Needing to do a number of cards quickly, I found some inspiration, and went to work. I'm going to post several over the next few days.

Card 1 is my own design, a 5 1/2 x 4 1/4" get well card with a quart jar containing a small bug. I used Cricut's "Walk in My Garden" for those. To give the jar some shine, I covered the white part of it with Glossy Accents. The scalloped circles are from Spellbinders. I trimmed the smaller ones off on one side. The black/gray flower print is from Recollections. I also used a red/black marble print paper for the mat and the bug and some medium gray and white for the other portions. The inside sentiment reads: "Let it go, and get well. Soon."

Hope you enjoy it and that it gives you some inspiration for brightening the day of someone who's ill.

I'm Bananas for You

It's a Valentine for my husband, but you could easily use it to show your love anytime. The cute monkey is from the Sweethearts cartridge. Thanks for coming by. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Valentine Trio for Kids

www.cardztv.blogspot.com is featuring a challenge for Valentines for kids. Here are my entries. I found all of these animals on the Sweethearts cartridge. A Spellbinders die was just the right size for the 3 x 3" cards. Hope these take you back to pleasant memories of your childhood.

Birdhouse Thank You

I'm indebted to some special people for their recent acts of kindness. The lastest in my attempts to thank them is this simple but cute birdhouse card. It's just right for that person who loves birds, birdhouses, or nature. Hope you like it.

Fancy Tree Thank You Card

Another card using the Heritage cartridge. This one features the first cut in the manual, an intricate tree that, despite its many branches and squiggles, cut beautifully. I used the basic two-mat-plus-one-printed-paper idea, but instead of layering them all squarely on top of each other, I turned the top one 90 degrees. A shadow to enhance the tree and a simple message of thanks, and this easy card was finished. I like it so much, I'm thinking of tweaking the idea a bit to make a birthday card. This tree is too great not to use. Hope you're inspired as I was.

Cowboy Hat Birthday Card

Finally, I'm back with another video. I can't believe I've been away so long. I hope you enjoy this card especially for guys--of all ages. I used the Paper Doll Dress Up cartidge and printed papers from the DCWV Stack 8 Pack. Have a great day.