Chess Board Birthday

 

Hello, fellow crafters! Do you find it hard to come up with many different themes for masculine cards?  I know I do. I have 3 males that I make birthday cards for each year and each one is different. Trying to come up with ideas each time is not an easy task. The card above is a birthday card I made for my brother whose birthday falls this month and I decided on a chess theme,.

I began by creating my base card in ivory card stock. This was matted with a panel of kraft followed by a panel of black card stock. I searched on line for a chess board image and printed it out. Then I cut black squares and adhered them to the chess board image to give it some dimension. The chess board was then adhered to the prepared base card.  The chess pieces were die cut in black mirror paper and adhered to the chess board using dimensionals.  The sentiment was computer generated and adhered to the chess board with foam tape.This completed my project.

Here are the products/materials used:

Card Stock:  GKD Ivory, Kraft, Black Onyx; Black mirror paper

Dies:  Yvionne Creations Chess Game, Spellbinders A2 Distressed Edges

Ink:  GKD Sandy Beach (for sponging sentiment edges)

Other:  adhesive, dimensionals, foam tape, sponge dauber

 

Thanks for stopping by!  Come back again soon.

  In the meantime.....get creating!

Hang in There (Encouragement)

 

 A friend of my daughter's is going through some tough times and my daughter asked me to make a card. I thought this card would put a smile on their face and let them know that someone cares.

To create this card, I began with die cutting a front panel in blue card stock. Next, I cut out a cloud shape on the panel. At the same time, different sizes of cloud images were die cut, to be added to the panel later.

The tree image was stamped on white card stock, colored with Copics and die cut. The owl image was die cut and assembled. The sentiment was computer generated and die cut. 

Now it was time to put it all together. The base card was prepared in white card stock. The focal panel was adhered to the base using fun foam. Finally, the tree image, owl, clouds and sentiment were positioned and adhered using dimensionals. My project was complete.

Here are the materials/products used:

Card Stock:  GKD White, Kraft, Dark Chocolate, Pumpkin Spice (used my last sheet of this one...no longer available at GKD's; SU Spring Rain

Ink:   Distress Oxide Vintage Photo  (to sponge edges of the bird images)

Stamps:  Heartfelt Creations Sugar Hollow Hangout

Dies: Sue Wilson Double Stitched Rectangles, A Little Birdie Told Me; Poppy Stamps Fancy Clouds; Memory Box Mini Clouds; Elizabeth Craft Poppy the Owl; Heartfelt Creations Sugar Hollow Hangout;  MFT Die-Namics Inside & Out Diagonal Stitched Rectangles

Other: adhesive, fun foam, dimensionals, Copic markers, sponge dauber

 

Hope you enjoyed this post. Thank you for visiting and stop by again soon!

Vase of Flowers Birthday

 Hello again! I forgot to mention this birthday card that I created recently as well. This  one took me a while because those flower images were just to tiny for my hands. I somehow managed to get them die cut and positioned. But it was worth it because I was very pleased with the result.

 

Listed are the products used:

Card Stock:  GKD White, Blue Lagoon, various for floral images

Dies:  Sue Wilson Fancy Cut Border, Elegant Arrangements, IO Bouquet

Other:  adhesive, dimensionals, Wink of Stella 

 

Once again, thank you for visiting my blog. Hope you stop by again soon.

Happy crafting!

 

Thinking of You Get Well and Butterfly Birthday

 Hello Crafters! My sister-in-law fell and sustained an injury to her upper arm. Surgery is not an option at this time and her physicians want to wait and see if it heals on its own. Also, her birthday fell this month. Thus, these are the cards I made for her...one get well and the other a birthday card.

 Here are the products used for the get well card:

 Card Stock:  GKD white, Innocent Pink

Inks: GKD Passionate Pink (to blend around perimeter of card front)

Stamps:  Simon Says Stamp Garden Greetings

Other: Versamark, Gold EP, adhesive, blending brush

 

For the birthday card, these products were used:

Card Stock:  GKD White, Sweet Mango, Dark Chocolate 

Dies:  Sue Wilson Stamp Cuts Butterfly, Hero Arts Postage Stamps Infinity Dies,  Memory Box Lovely Happy Birthday

Other:  Distress Oxide inks to color butterfly, blending brushes, adhesive, dimensionals

 

Thank you for stopping by! I will have 3 more cards to post next month, all birthday cards. 

Hope you stop by to visit.  Until til then....make it a great day!

 

New Home Welcome

 

 Hello, crafting friends!  Just recently I was asked to create a card welcoming new neighbors that moved in next to the property belonging to a friend of mine. My friend went to welcome them and introduced himself and discovered that they were a young Ukrainian family with a young son and another child on the way. He requested that I make a card that would welcome them so that he could present it to them along with a welcoming gift. Being Ukrainian myself and fluent in the language and culture I came up with this card.

Since I don't have Ukrainian themed stamps or dies (and don't know if I could even find any) I had to improvise to achieve the idea I had in mind. I wanted it to represent the Ukrainian culture in both symbols and language. 

I began by creating the focal panel. I wanted to create a sentiment that wished them happiness in their new home. I personally composed  the sentiment and printed it on white card stock. I also computer generated an image of a vase of flowers to add alongside the sentiment. Than I searched for Ukrainian embroidery images and chose the blue and yellow border strips. (Blue and yellow are the colors of the Ukrainian national flag).  I printed them out, cut them to size and then adhered them to a the white card panel on either edge. This completed the front panel.

Next, I worked on the inside of the card. Ukrainians regard the round bread (called a korovai) as a symbol of hospitality. It is presented to visitors as a welcome greeting on an embroidered ritual towel along with salt which represents friendship. If you welcome people with bread and salt, this means you respect them for what they are.

With this in mind I found an image of a young Ukrainian woman presenting bread and used this image on the inside of the card. I added some red poppies as well. I created the sentiment above the image in Ukrainian. It interprets as:  "We welcome you and wish you good fortune, happiness and memories in your new home" 

With the focal panel and inside panel completed I prepared the base in white card stock, matted it with GKD Blue Denim and then adhered the focal panel and the inside panel. This completed my project.

I was pleased with how it turned out. I just wish I could find Ukrainian themed stamps and dies. I'm on a mission to see if these are available anywhere. If not, one can always improvise with what they have on hand.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Hope to have another post very soon.

Til then....make it a great day!

Recover Quickly

 Hello, crafting friends! Today I'm sharing a card that I made for my brother who recently had shoulder surgery. As you can see this was not a difficult card to make. So instead of providing the steps I took to create this, I am listing the products/materials used.

 

Card Stock:  GKD Pure Luxury White, Cherry Red, Kraft, Black Onyx. Sweet Blush; Pale Yellow (scraps from my stash), silver mirror paper; burlap panel

Dies:  Frantic Stamper Nurse's Gear, Jumbo Bandage, Sue Wilson Double Pierced Squares

Other:  Adhesive, dimensionals, foam tape, computer generated sentiment (on bandaid and medicine bottle) 

 

Hope you enjoyed this post and were inspired to create.  Stay tuned for another post coming soon. Until then, make it a great day!

Speedy Recovery

 Hello, crafty friends!  I'm sure some of you have had knee replacement surgery. Well, a friend of mine just had her knee replaced and I decided to create a get well card for her using knee replacement as my theme.

To begin, I created the front panel using white card stock and an embossing folder. This was matted with red card stock followed by a panel of red and white striped digital paper. Then it was adhered to a white card base.

The die cut images, such as the wheelchair, crutches and cane were a challenge because each of them came in several pieces and had to be assembled. The parts are small and my hands are not.

The images were then adhered to the front panel. The "store" sign was composed and computer generated on white card stock layered over red. This completed my project.

Here are the materials used in creating this card:

Card Stock:  GKD Pure Luxury White, Red Velvet, Kraft;  PTI Dark Chocolate, SU Pink Pirouette; Black and Silver Mirror papers; red and black velvet (unknown manufacturer); red and white stripped digital paper

Embossing Folder:  Taylored Expressions Bead Board

Dies:  Cottage Cutz Wheelchair, Cane & Crutch, Sue Wilson Feel Better Soon, Spellbinders A2 Distressed Edges

Other:  adhesive, foam tape, dimensionals

 

Fluttering Butterfly Birthday

 

 

 

 Hello crafters!  This card was made for the wife of one of my nephews whose birthday falls this month. Now, would she be considered my niece even though she is not a blood relative?  I've wondered about this for some time.

To make this card I began with creating the base card in yellow. This base was then layered with black card stock using dimensional tape. Next, my sentiment was computer generated on white and then adhered to the black layer. The frame was created in yellow and popped onto the prepared base card with dimensional tape. The cut-out butterfly was die cut in black. This was adhered to a solid die cut butterfly which was created using vellum stamped in white with a floral design wood stamp that I had on hand. The finished butterfly was adhered to the frame and my project was done.

 I loved the look of the butterfly with the vellum floral "underside". I think it added some elegance to the entire card.

 Here are the products used in the making of this card:

Card Stock:  GKD Wild Dandelion, Black Onyx, Pure Luxury White; Vellum

Dies:  Rubbernecker Rectangle Combo #3, Memory Box Vivienne Butterfly, Daria Butterfly

Stamps:  Floral design wood stamp (brand unknown)

Ink:  Versamark, GKD White,

Other:  Adhesive, dimensionals, embossing powder, heat gun

 

 Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, have a happy crafting day! 

This card was submitted to the following challenge:

Mod Squad Challenge  -   Beautiful Butterflies

 

Bloomin' Heart Birthdays

 February is Valentine's month and heart themes would be quite appropriate for any birthdays that fell this month. I made two heart themed cards for February.  The one above was created for my dearest friend whose birthday falls at the beginning of February.

 

 

This second card was created for a friend whose birthday falls right on Valentine's day.  How lucky can you get?? 

Here are the products used:

CARD #1

Card Stock:  GKD Pure Luxury White, Sweet Mango

Dies:  Punch Around the Page Swirling Lace Corner Punch, Marvy Corner punch, Stampin' Up Blooomin Heart Die, Spellbinders Ribbon Tag Die  

Stamps:  SU Bloomin' Love, Cake Soiree

Inks:  Memento Tangelo

Other:  adhesive, dimensionals, pearl half-heads

CARD #2

Card Stock:  GKD Pure Luxury White, Ocean Mist

Dies:  Sue Wilson Ornate Pierced Rectangles, Stampin' Up Bloomin' Heart

Stamps:  SU Bloomin Love, GKD Massive Messages

Inks:  GKD Ocean Mist 

Other:   adhesive, dimensionals, pearl half-heads, ribbon

Thank you for visiting my blog. My next project will be 2 birthday cards in March.  Please stop by again and..... in the meantime......get creative!

 

Birthdays Are A Big Deal

Hello, fellow crafters! The holidays are over and it's a new year, hopefully better that 2020. My first card for 2021 is a birthday card for one of my nephews. I had to put a lot of thought into what theme to use for this masculine card. This is what I came up with.

I began with deciding what images I would use for my theme.....playing cards and poker chips. First, the base card was prepared in GKD Pure Luxury White card stock. Next, the base was layered with GKD Red Hot card stock followed by a layer of GKD Black Onyx.  The sentiment was computer generated onto a panel of plaid digital paper which was then layered onto the base card.

I chose the main suits from a deck of cards and adhered them to the front panel as shown above. The poker chips were digital images that I cut out with my circle dies and arranged on the card.

This completed my project. I was quite pleased with the final product. It was not difficult to create and it was a lot of fun to design.

Thanks for visiting!  Hope you were inspired to create. 

Stop by again soon.  Door is always open!

 

Christmas Cards 2020

These are this year's Christmas cards that I made. Unfortunately, my camera did not capture the gold or silver sheen or glitter features.

 

Fall Pumpkin Splendor

Hello fellow crafters!  It's fall and my favorite season. Here's a birthday card I designed for my old college roommate whose birthday falls this month.

Following are the products used in this project:

Card Stock:  GKD Ivory, Kraft, Daffodil Delight, Sweet Mango, Dark Chocolate; Gold (unknown brand); Patterned papers from my stash. 

Dies:  Cottage Cutz Double Stitched Ovals, Spellbinders Woodland Acorns, IO Wheat, Memory Box Nutty Acorn, Spellbinders Create a Sunflower

Inks:  Distress Oxide Vintage Photo, Fossilized Amber, Spiced Marmalade, Peeled Paint 

Other:  Adhesive, dimensionals 

This card was entered into the following challenge(s):

Mod Squad Challenge Blog - Hello Pumpkin 

 

I am so thrilled to find that my entry was the winner of the

 Hello Pumpkin Challenge at the Mod Squad Challenge Blog! 

 

Fall Floral

 

 

 

Hello Crafters!  Autumn is my most favorite season of the year. I just love the crispness in the air and the gorgeous hues of this time of year. The card pictured above was made for a friend whose birthday falls this month.

I began with choosing the background for my card. I found this rustic looking digital paper and decided this would be perfect. It was matted with brown card stock and then adhered to an ivory card base.

In the next step I die cut a basket and colored it with Distress Oxide ink.This was then popped on with dimensionals to the front the card. The flowers were die cut in various colored card stock. Fun flock was added to most of the centers The sunflower (which came with their own dies for the center) were sponged with Distress Oxide ink. The flowers were the positioned on the basket and some wheat heads, a fern leaf and leafy springs were added as a final touch.

Here are the products used in creating this card:

 

Card Stock:  GKD Ivory, Kraft, Daffodil Delight, Sweet Mango, Orange Zest, Wild Lilac, Dark Chocolate, Garden Green; SU Wild Honey; Gold

Dies:  IO Basket, HFC Delicate Asters, Rubbernecker Mixable Flower Stack, Cheery Lynn Wheat Heads, Memory Box Delicate Fern, Poppy Stamps Leafy Sprig

Inks: Distress Oxide Vintage Photo, Spiced Marmalade

Other:  Fun Flock, dimensionals, adhesive, blender brushes, mini applicators

 

Thank you for visiting my blog. I will be posting another fall card in another week or so.

 Please stop by again.

You Rock

Add caption

Hello!  My younger nephew's birthday fell this month and I made this card for him. I couldn't decide what to create so I went looking for inspiration and this was the result.

I wanted a definite masculine look to this card so I chose a weathered wood background from my stash of patterned papers. I matted his with GKD Charcoal Brown card stock and this would be my front panel.

Next, the images for the focal panel were die cut using black mirror card stock. Three sets of letters for the word ROCK were cut using Memory Box Vintage Varsity Alphabet dies and stacked to give dimension.  Also, 3 sets of letters for YOU were cut from an Elizabeth Craft Designs Alphabet 2 - Lower Case die set and stacked. The records were die cut with SugarPeas Designs Greatest Hits dies. The record labels were cut from the same die set using patterned paper except for the blue label on which the "Happy Birthday" was computer generated. Fun foam was added to all 3 record images to give dimension. The music notes were die cut with the same die set.

After all the images were die cut, they were positioned on the focal panel and adhered. The sentiment (For the record) was computer generated on weathered wood background paper and cut in the shape of a board. This was matted with charcoal brown card stock. Brads were added at each end to give the look of nails. This was then adhered to the card with dimensionals

The card front or focal panel was then adhered to a GKD Pure Luxury White card base using dimensional tape. This completed my project. 

 Thank you for stopping by!  Hope you were inspired to create. 

Make it a great crafting day! 

 

Flowering Tree and Cats on Fence

 

Hello crafting friends!   My daughter's birthday was this month and I decided to create an outdoor scene for her. It's a little different from my previous one and I find that I really enjoy creating these.

I began with cutting a 5x5 panel of green and white striped digital paper from my stash and creating a border around the panel using MS Punch Around the Page Eyelet Lace punch.  This would be my focal panel onto which I positioned and attached my images. I matted this panel with a larger piece of GKD Pure Luxury White card stock.

Next, I die cut the tree in GKD Kraft card stock using an IO Bare Tree die and then sponged it with Distress Oxide Vintage Photo ink. Using an IO Leaf Cluster die, I cut the tree leaves in GKD Garden Green card stock. The tiny flowers were die cut next using Rubbernecker's Tiny Flower Buds. The leaves were adhered to the tree branches followed by the tiny flowers which were arranged in groups of three (3). This was put aside for the time being.

The fence was cut in GKD Pure Luxury White card stock and the grass border in GKD Garden Green,  both from dies in Sue Wilson's Garden Circle Scene die set. The cats were die cut using DiesRus Cats die set and colored using Distress Oxide Antique Linen and Vintage Photo Inks. The feet and ears and part of the faces of the cats were colored with a dark brown brush pen.

The  butterflies were cut from Memory Box Peaceful Butterfly Wings in GKD Pure Luxury White card stock. Glitter was added to the butterflies.

Now it was time to put everything together to create the scene. First, I  positioned the tree and adhered the trunk with dimensional tape. Next, glue dots were added to the backs of the branches to adhere them. The fence was attached with dimensional tape and the grass border to the fence with double sided adhesive. The cats were positioned on the fence and adhered. The butterflies were randomly positioned in the background and adhered. I added Wink of Stella to the flower buds to give them just a  bit of sparkle.

Finally the focal panel was adhered to a layer of the GKD Garden Green card stock and then attached to a GKD Pure Luxury White base card. My project was complete.

 

Here are the materials and supplies used in making this card:

Card Stock:  GKD Pure Luxury White, Kraft, Garden Green; Digital paper

Inks:  Distress Oxide Vintage Photo, Antique Linen

Dies/Punches:  IO Bare Tree, Leaf Cluster; Rubbernecker Tiny Flowers; Sue Wilson Garden Circle Scene; Dies-R-Us Cats; Memory Box Peaceful Butterfly Wings; MS Eyelet Lace Punch Around the Page 

Other: adhesives (glue dots), dimensional tape, glitter, Wink of Stella, brush pen

 

Thank you for visiting my blog. I hope you enjoyed this post and will be inclined to create.

Til next time....make it a great day!