Dragonfly Birthday

Hello, fellow crafters!  Today's card was created for my SIL who loves dragonflies and whose birthday falls this month.

Here are the products/tools used in making this card:

Card Stock:  GKD White, Bubblegum Pink, Black Onyx; SU Garden Green

Stamps:  SU Dragonfly Dreams Set

Inks:  Distress Oxide (various shades used in coloring the dragonfly)

Dies:  MB Blushing Flower Branch, MB Delicate Fern, SU Detailed Dragofly, Sue Wilson Double Pierced Squares, tiny circle dies (from various die sets)

Other:  craft scissors, dimensionals, adhesive, foam tape, black faux velvet, bricks EF

The dragonfly image was stamped, colored and die cut with its co-ordinating die. The floral images were cut twice, once in green and a second time in pink. The pink flowers were then cut off their pink stems and adhered (paper pieced) onto the green floral die cut. Black faux velvet centers were added to the pink floral images. The fern branches, flowers and dragonfly were then all positioned on the brick panel and adhered with adhesive or dimensionals.

The sentiment was computer generated, cut out with craft scissors and popped on the brick panel with dimensionals. The sentiment wording "Darting around...." was followed by the message inside the card which read....."to send you birthday wishes".

The brick focal panel was then adhered to the pink and black layers and then to the white base card. As a final touch, I added glitter to the dragonfly.

Thank you for stopping by!  And, til next time, make it a great day!

Flowing Floral Basket

Hello!  I have what I call a "phone pal" (instead of a "pen pal") that I have been friends with for many years. This is someone I've never met but had work related telephone conversations with frequently over the many years that I worked. Over time this led to a friendship and continued even into retirement and beyond where we would call each other and send birthday and Christmas cards. My "phone  pal's" birthday is this month and this is the card I made for her.

Using white card stock I die cut a panel with a rectangular cross stitch die. This would be my focal panel. Next I die cut a garden fence in white card stock and adhered it to my focal panel. A die cut grass edge was added to the base of the fence.

The basket was cut in kraft card stock and then sponged with Distress Oxide ink. It was adhered to the fence with dimensionals.  Next, the two (2) flower branches were die cut in green and the little flowers in violet card stock. Yellow card stock was used to create the flower centers. The little flowers were adhered to the branches which were then positioned and adhered to the panel.

To complete the scene, I added some die cut butterflies in violet, adding Wink of Stella to give them some shimmer. As a final touch a watering can was added which was die cut out of silver metallic card stock, sponged with gray ink, positioned and adhered to the fence at an angle.

For the last step, the focal panel was matted with violet card stock followed by white card stock and then adhered to the white base card both of which were cut with stitched rectangles dies. This last step completed my project.

Here is a list of products used:

Card Stock:  GKD White, Vibrant Violet, Kraft, Wild Dandelion, Shimmering Silver; SU Garden Green

Ink:  Distress Oxide Vintage Paper

Dies:  Sue Wilson Garden Circle Scene, Frantic Stamper Flower Basket, Bent Blossoming Branch, Avery Elle Butterflies, Leane Creatief Watering Can.

Other:  adhesive, dimensional tape, Wink of Stella pen, 

I hope you enjoyed this post. Thank you for visiting and please come back soon.  Any and all comments are most welcome and appreciated.

Until next time....make it a great crafting day!

Jukebox Birthday

When  I create my cards, I always hope to come up with a theme that personally relates to the individual I'm making the card for.  More often than not it takes me several days of bouncing ideas before I realize "that's it!"  The card above was made for my brother who was turning 64 this month. One idea led to another and this was the final result.

I began with adhering burlap to a red panel. This would be my focal panel.  The musical score "When I'm Sixty-Four" was computer generated and the edges trimmed with craft scissors and then sponged with Distress Oxide Vintage Photo ink.  This was adhered with dimensionals on an angle to my focal panel.  

My next step was to create the jukebox.  I die cut the jukebox twice.....in silver card stock and in red card stock. Wherever you see the red parts of the jukebox  these were the pieces that were punched out from  the silver die cut. Then they were replaced with red. I added a mini record to the jukebox to make it look authentic. When completed the jukebox was adhered to the focal panel with dimensionals.  

Since the song "When I'm Sixty-Four" is from the Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, a mini replica was adhered to the musical score.  The happy birthday sentiment was stamped on white card stock, die cut and then the edges trimmed with craft scissors and sponged with the same ink as the musical score.

This completed my focal panel. To balance the color scheme, I matted this panel with 2 more layers of card stock (kraft and black).   Finally, this was adhered to my base card.

Here are the products used in creating this card:

Card Stock:  GKD Pure Luxury White, Cherry Red, Kraft, Black Onyx, Whisper; Burlap; Silver and Red Mirror paper.

Ink:  Distress Oxide Vintage Paper, Versafine Onyx Black

Stamps:  GKD Country Roads 2

Dies:  Tonic Studios Rococo Jukebox Jive, Spellbinders Labels Trio

Other:  Mini record albums, mini record, adhesive, dimensionals, craft scissors, sponge dauber 

Thanks so much for stopping by!   Until next time, happy crafting!

Birthday Gifts Trio

Hello!  The wife of my younger nephew has a birthday this month. Here's the card I made for her.

Since I didn't know how large the card would be I started with my focal panel.  Using white card stock I cut a 5"x 6 1/4" panel. Next I die cut squares in various colors using a die from Sue Wilson's Ornate Pierced Squares.  These were then layered with matching dotted swiss digital paper. A white ribbon was added and the bows were die cut from 3 different die sets:  SU Pretty Pines, Memory Box Crisp Bows, and Frantic Stamper Gifts and Bows. These were adhered to the gift boxes and set aside.

Next, the frame was created from GKD Pure Luxury White card stock using 2 dies from Sue Wilson's Double Stitched Rectangles. This was then adhered to the focal panel using foam tape. The gift images were positioned and then adhered in the frame with foam tape.

The base card was created in GKD Pure Luxury White card stock and layered with digital patterned paper. The focal frame was then adhered to the prepared base card and my project was complete.

Thanks for visiting!  Hope you were inspired to make it a great crafting day!

Stacked Cupcake Birthday

Hello fellow crafters!  Here is a card I made for my nephew's wife's birthday. She is a master at baking and I thought I'd offer a little competition with my stacked cupcakes (chuckle).

I began with creating my base card in white card stock. It was layered with pink gingham digital paper. This was put aside to work on my focal panel.

A panel was die cut in white card stock. Before adding any images, I decided on a greeting and then had it generated by my computer. Since I didn't have any cupcake dies, I had to improvise. I created the cupcake liner by embossing a piece of pale pink card stock. To create the cupcake tops I used an oval die and a scalloped oval die and created 5 cupcake tops in various colors. I added glitter to each cupcake top and then positioned them one on top of the other. The candles were die cut and a Jelly Roll pen was used to add shimmer to the flames. I matted my focal panel with hot pink card stock and then adhered it to my prepared base card.

Here are the products used in this project:

Card Stock:  GKD Pure Luxury white, hot pink (unknown), various colors; gingham digital paper

Dies:  Sue Wilson Double Pierced Rectangles, Hero Arts Infinity Ovals, Spellbinders Classic Scalloped Ovals, Divinity Designs Birthday Candles

Embossing Folder:  SU Textured Impressions Corrugated Dynamic

Other: glitter, dimensionals, Jelly Roll Clear Star pen

This was a fun card to make. Thanks for visiting! 

I hope you enjoyed this post and will stop by often.

Happy Crafting!

70th Pink Floral Birthday

Hello Crafters! Do you celebrate Valentine's Day? I have a friend whose birthday falls right on Valentine's Day. How lucky can one get!  Each year when I create a card for my friend, I make sure there is a heart image somewhere in the card to recognize Valentine's Day.  In the above card, I added a heart inside the card with the word YOU in it, incorporating the heart image in my birthday message.

Here are the products used in creating this card:

Card Stock:  GKD Pure Luxury White (base card), Black Onyx; Crafter's Companion                                      Shimmering White Pearl and Pink Pearl (for the layer and focal panels).
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Angel Pink (for the flowers)
Dies:  Sue Wilson Double Pierced Square Set B, Chloe die;  Spellbinders Floral Ovals,
              A2 Distressed Edges;  HFC Sun Kissed Fleur;  Provo Craft Cuttlebug Numbers die (old dies)
Stamps:  GKD Country Roads 2  (for greeting)
Other:   Adhesive, dimensionals, black pearls, sponge dauber

Hope you enjoyed this post and will come back to visit again soon. In the meantime, 

Happy Valentine's Day!  Make it a great one!

Sweater Card

Hello, fellow crafters!  I hope those in the Winter Blast area this week are safe and warm.  Here in Ohio we had air temps at 0 with wind chills at -25 to -35 degrees. Thankfully it only lasted 2 days and spring-like weather arrived for the weekend.  But winter is not over yet by a long shot. Sigh....

Since I stayed indoors during this arctic blast, I made this sweater card for my dearest friend's birthday. I was going to use my cable knit EF but thought this other folder would give it a more feminine look. Here are the products used in this project:

Card Stock:  GKD Pure Luxury White, Just Peachy (unknown brand)
Dies/Punches:  circle die, Martha Stewart Doily Lace Edge punch, corner punch,
Embossing Folder: Darice Interlocked Circles
Other:  lace, buttons, adhesives

For anyone interested in how to make a sweater card, here is a link to a web site: Sweater Card . This is the perfect time of the year to make a sweater card. I hope you will be inspired to create one if you haven't already. I know you'll be happy with the result.

Thanks for visiting my blog. Please come by often. 

Until next time, make it a great creative day!

Kick Up Them Heels Birthday

Hello, everyone!  Masculine cards are ones that I don't make very often....and it's always challenging to come up with a theme. This is one I made for one of my nephews' birthdays. When I attended his wedding this past fall, there was a lot of line dancing done by the young crowd.  That's what gave me inspiration for this card.

I created my card base using GKD Pure Luxury Ivory card stock. This was layered with GKD Kraft card stock and then with GKD Black Onyx card stock. I put this aside to work on my focal panel.

I cut a piece of ivory card stock (5"x5") and scored it at one inch intervals. Next, I swiped Stampin' Up Crumb Cake ink over the layer (pad to paper) and then sponged the edges with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. This would be the front panel on which the die cuts would be adhered.

The boots and guitar were cut with Tessler Crafts Western Cowboy die set in  GKD Tan Leather card stock. Each image was backed with black mirror paper. The greeting was computer generated on tan leather card stock, cut with a die from Spellbinders Disteressed Edges and then sponged with black ink on all four edges. All die cut images were then positioned on the focal panel and adhered using dimensionals. Brads were added to the greeting "sign" and some twine was attached to the sign as an added effect.

Even though I listed the supplies used in the body of this post, here is a breakdown of all products used: 

Card Stock:  GKD Ivory, Black Onyx, Kraft, Tan Leather
Inks:  SU Crumb Cake, Memento Tuxedo Black
Dies:  Tessler Crafts Western Cowboy Set, Spellbinders A2 Distressed Edges
Other: scoring board, twine, brads, sponge dauber, adhesive, dimensionals

This completed my project. I hope you enjoyed this post and have been inspired to create.

Thanks for stopping by and come by often.

Rose Arch Wedding Card

This card was made for my older nephew's wedding which took place this past fall.  The wedding was held in Tennessee. I flew into Georgia to stay with my brother and sister-in-law for about a week. We drove 4 hours to the wedding venue and stayed in TN for 2 nights. It was a lovely wedding and the bride and groom made a very handsome couple.  

Here are the products used in creating this card:

Card Stock  -  GKD Pure Luxury White, Silver, Cherry Red, Black Onyx
Dies:  - Spellbinders 5x7 Detailed Scallops; Sue Wilson's Ornate Pierced Rectangles, The Happy                     Couple, Rose with Wedding  Rings; Die-Namics Garden Gate; Leane Creatief Love Die
Punches  -  Martha Stewart Fern
Other  -  White bows, pearls, adhesive, dimensionals

I hope you enjoyed this post and will stop by often. Thanks for visiting! Any and all comments are most welcome. Have a great day!

Floral Wreath Birthday

Hello everyone! This card was made for a friend and former co-worker. 

The card front was created first by scoring 3 lines at the top and bottom of the panel on ivory card stock. Next, the wreath die was used to cut out 2 twig wreaths in Kraft card stock and then colored with Vintage Photo ink and adhered together.  Several flowers were die cut in white card stock and then colored with Spiced Marmalade using mini applicators.  The center of the flowers was colored with Vintage Photo ink. After coloring, Wink of Stella was applied to each flower. The leaf branches were die cut in Fresh Asparagus card stock.

After all the elements were die cut, it was time to assemble the wreath. With dimensionals, the wreath was adhered to the front panel. Next, the flowers were randomly attached with glue dots. Finally the leaves were inserted behind the flowers and attached with adhesive.

The card base was created in ivory card stock and layered with Sweet Mango. The completed card front was adhered to the base card with dimensionals. As a final step, the greeting was computer generated and then die cut with the smallest die from the Nesting Postage Stamps set.  This completed my project.

Here are the products used in this project:

Card Stock  -  GKD Pure Luxury Ivory, Sweet Mango, Kraft, Fresh Asparagus, White.
Dies  -  IO Twig Wreath, IO Spring Wreath, Poppy Stamps Lorelei Leaf, Hero Arts Nesting Postage                 Stamp
Inks  -  Distress Oxide Spiced Marmalade, Vintage Photo
Other  -  scoring tool, adhesive, dimensionals, mini applicators, glue dots.

I love how simple yet so very appealing this card turned out.  I hope it inspired you to create.

Thanks for stopping by.  I'll be back soon with another wreath card. 

Until then, make it a great day!

Autum Leaf Wreath Birthday

Hello fellow crafters!  Anyone that knows me knows that I love fall. It is my favorite season. Maybe it's because I was born in the fall. I love the crispness of the air and nature's colorful palette in the leaves.

One of my college roommate's birthdays falls in the same month as mine and just 4 days apart. This card was made for her.

In my first step I created the wreath by cutting branches from an IO Wide Tree die in GKD Kraft card stop and colored it with Distress Oxide Vintage Photo ink.  The base for the wreath was prepared by die cutting a smaller circle inside a larger circle resulting in a large "O". The die cut tree branches were then adhered to the base circle until it was completely covered. 

Next, using the dies from an IO Small Leaf  set  (5 leaf dies), each leaf was cut several times from differed colored card stock  (fall colors).  I applied Inka Gold to the leaves using a mini applicator to give them some interest and shine.  The leaves were then randomly adhered to the wreath with glue dots and dimensionals.

The base card was created in GKD  Pure Luxury Ivory card stock. A wide strip of ivory card stock was embossed with a Sizzix Corrugated EF and then matted with GKD  Sweet Mango  and Chocolate Brown card stock. This was then adhered to the card base with foam tape.  As a final step, the sentiment was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink from GKD Country Roads 2 stamp set and a brown bow was added to the wreath for a finishing touch.

Thanks for stopping by today!  Until next time, have a great week

Wedding Shaker Card

Another wedding card to share. This one was requested by a very lovely lady, that I've only met through emails, whose grandson is getting married. I've made several cards for her in the past. This turned out to be a very large card....a little over 8 inches high and 6 inches wide. 

I began by die cutting the heart wreath twice and adhering the two together. I temporarily positioned the wreath on my front card panel to determine where to print the sentiment and names of the bride and groom. Then these were computer generated.  Next, once again positioning the wreath temporarily on the card, I determined where to place  the champagne glass dies in order to create the negative space that would hold the shaker elements. After die cutting space for the glasses, the wreath was permanently adhered to the panel. The part of the wreath that overlapped the champagne glasses was cut out.  This gave the appearance that the wreath was behind the glasses.

Now it was time to prepare the shaker elements.  I cut a piece of acetate and adhered it behind the cut out glasses.  Next, I added foam tape around the portion of the glasses that would house the shaker elements. Then, and very carefully, I added the little glitter heart shapes. As a last step in creating the front panel of the shaker card, using dimensional tape, I covered the back with a piece of card stock just a bit smaller than the panel itself.

I prepared the base card, slightly larger, and adhered the focal panel to the base. I added some die cut bows and small overlapping hearts to complete the look. My project was complete.

Here are the products used in this project:

Card Stock  -  Shimmering Ivory, GKD Ivory (for the inside message)

Dies  -  Memory Box Bingham Heart, Sizzix Framelits Scalloped Hearts, Die-Namics Layered                                  Champagne Glass

Other  -  Reflections Glitter Shapes, adhesive, dimensionals

Thank you for stopping by. Hoping you were inspired to create. 

Until next time,  Happy Crafting!

Wedding Couple Under Arch

Hello!  I have had to make several wedding cards this year for fall. Here is one I made for a friend and former co-worker whose son was recently married. I was invited to the out-of-town wedding, however, I was unable to attend due to a prior commitment but wanted to send a card.  

I began with creating my base card in GKD Lil Boy Blue card stock.  I added die cut layer in GKD Pure Luxury White card stock cut with a die from Spellbinder's 5x7 Detailed Scallops set. At this point, I used the arch die as a guide and sponged Memento Summer Sky in the center of the white die cut panel before die cutting the arch (Tattered Lace Blossoming Arch).

The arch was cut in GKD Pure Luxury White card stock and adhered to the card with dimensionals. Next, flower petals were cut in white card stock using Leane Creatief Small Flowers and Leaves die set and randomly attached to the arch. Blue pearls were added to the flower centers.

The bride and groom image was cut in GKD Pure Luxury White and Black Onyx card stock and adhered with dimensionals. Tiny pearls were added to the crown of the bride's head and also on her gown. The card was complete.

Thanks for visiting my blog. Please stop by often and feel free to leave comments, which are much appreciated.

Until your next visit, happy creating!

Beer Bottle Birthday

Hello everyone!  Masculine cards are always a challenge for me. I have 3 men in my life for whom I make birthday cards. Coming up with 3 different ideas each year is not easy. I try to make them as personal as possible and sometimes it takes days to finally come up with a theme that I feel is the perfect one.  Here is a birthday card that I made for one of my nephews whose birthday fell in August.

I began by creating the beer crate. This was done by taking kraft card stock, scoring it in 1/2" intervals and then running a brown ink pad over it to create the effect of wood. Next, this panel of card stock was cut into 4 strips along the score lines.  A strip of card stock was adhered vertically at both the left and right ends of the crate in order that the slats could be attached with brads. This was put aside.

My next step was to create the beer bottles. These were die cut in brown card stock and then crystal lacquer was applied to give the appearance of glass. The bottle caps were die cut in a golden pearl card stock and adhered to the tops of the bottles. (I created labels for the beer bottles, using the name of the most popular beer in my nephew's city). The 6 beer bottles were then attached to the crate with dimensionals, offsetting the ones in the rear of the crate.  This was also put aside.

The beer glass was die cut in a golden pearl card stock. Since the beer glass had cut-outs in the front, I had to mat it with colored paper to give the appearance that it was filled with beer. And to make it look really REAL, foam was added to the of of the beer glass using a snow maker.

Finally, the base card was prepared in brown card stock, layered with kraft, followed by ivory and brown plaid digital paper. The beer crate and glass were then adhered to the card front. The sentiments were die cut in the golden pearl card stock and adhered as shown.

This completed my project.  It took a lot of work but I was very pleased with the way it turned out. 

Here is a list of the products used in this project:

Card stock:  PTI Dark Chocolate, GKD Kraft, GKD Ivory, Golden Pearl (unknown)

Dies:  Frantic Stamper Soda/Beer Bottle and Can die set, Trim Craft Food and Drink die set, Sue Wilson's A Little Birdie Told Me, Crafter's Companion Simple Sentiments

Other:  digital paper, brads, Marvy Snow Marker, 3D Crystal Lacquer, adhesive, dimensionals

Thanks for visiting my blog. Any comments would be very much appreciated. 

Until next time, make it  great day!

Coffee Cup Pop-Up Birthday

Hello fellow crafters!  My daughter, who just LOVES coffee, had a birthday this month. I decided to use coffee as my theme for the card I made for her.  When the card is opened flat, up pops up a coffee cup.

The products used in this project:

Card Stock:  GKD Pure Luxury White, Blue Denim
Stamps:  GKD Fabulous Frame Fillers
Dies:  Spellbinders Triple Floral, Elizabeth Crafts Cup Pop Stand, IO Coffee Set, Cottage Cutz Stitched Oval
Inks:  GKD Blue Denim
Other:  digital paper, adhesive, dimensionals, sentiment composed and computer generated, crown image computer generated.

I began by working on the pop up cup on the inside of the card. Here is a link to a video tutorial in lieu of providing directions.

After completing the inside, I worked on the front of the card. First, I die cut my frame and adhered it to the base card. Next I added a layer for the background using digital paper from my stash. The coffee pot and cup were die cut and then stamped with the floral image.  I added a strip of matching digital paper to the top and bottom of the coffee pot and a small piece of brown card stock was adhered behind the coffee cup to make it appear as if the cup was filled with coffee.  These were then popped on with dimensionals. My sentiment was printed on white card stock, computer generated and then die cut and adhered to the card.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope this post gave you inspiration to create.

 Until next time, have a creative day!