Making Me Happy!

Making cards makes me happy!  Have I told you that before?  Well if not, let me say it again . . . "Making cards makes me happy!"  For two days I have basically just made cards and played in my studio, and I have had a blast!  I'm feeling better today, thanks so much for asking, and think I have dodged the sinus/upper respiratory infection bullet. this time, but I think that being able to stay home and do what I love doing has helped - it truly is therapy for me!

Anyway, my friend and regular card-buying customer, Phyllis, had asked me to make some more birthday cards, so today that's what I've done.  They are all different, but I love every one of them!  Up first is 'A Special Wish' . . .

Product Info:

• Base card stock is Die Cuts With a View
• Card stock for matting is from my scrap bin
• Image is from clip art software
• Button and ribbon and twine from my stash
• Sentiment printed on ivory card stock

Tools, Tips and Techniques:

• Base of card cut on Cricut, Walk in My Garden cartridge, card2 set on 5"
• Polka dotted mat was cut on Cricut with Songbird cartridge, frame3 set at 4 1/4" and mat was cut on 4 1/4" using shadow feature
• Sentiment tag was tied onto purple bow using one of my favorite new things - cotton twine from Walmart's hardware department!

And can I just say I am LOVING my new Cricut Songbird cartridge?  It's got many, many options, but my favorite are the 6 new 'frames' that I can use instead of drooling over all the latest and greatest Spellbinders dies!  My budget is limited, and I've found the 'Nesties' are expensive and have limited uses.  But I got this whole Songbird cartridge, complete with font, frames, and all kinds of goodies for less than $20 and free shipping on eBay - much more goodness for the money!

Okay, enough about that, let's move on to a card that is sweetness itself!  Welcome to 'Many Happy returns' . . .

Product Info:

• Card stock is all Die Cuts With a View
• Patterned paper is a scrap I've been hoarding from an old My Minds Eye 'Wild Asparagus' stack
• The image is from clip art software
• Ribbon is crinkled French seam binding from Bluebird Lane etsy shop
• Gems are from Prima e Line
• Stickles Diamond used on her hair bow and the pink flowers
• Very old button (Maybe mother of pearl or bone?) is from my stash

Tools, Tips and Techniques:

• Base of card cut on Cricut, Walk in My Garden cartridge, card2 set at 5"
• Frame cut on Cricut, Songbird cartridge, frame1-s set at 4 1/2", and mat cut set at 4 1/2" using shadow feature
• To make the fluffy bow, I cut the 3 colors (pink, blue, green) of seam binding to length and tied a knot in each end.  Then I tied the bow and untied the ends and trimmed.  I threaded the antique button with a bit of the blue seam binding and glued it onto the bow.

I think that is the sweetest image!   Next card is 'A Blessed Birthday' . . .

Product Info:

• Card base is one purchased in a large package with envelopes
• Patterned paper is K&Company Blue Awning Blue and Ivory Damask Flat Paper
• Card stocks for matting are Die Cuts With a View
• Vintage glass button and organza ribbon are from my stash
• Image is from clip art software
• Sentiment printed on ivory card stock

Tips, Tools and Techniques:

• Pretty much everything was cut by hand.  The only technique that is noteworthy is that I cut a small slit in the folded side of the card using a craft knife, and pulled the ribbon through from the inside, and that allowed me to do a 'wrap' around the front flap of the card

I love the blending of the dark blue and pink on that card, and the image is so sweet!  And the last card up for today is "Party Like It's 1959" . . .

 Product Info:

• Card base is one purchased in a large package with envelopes
• Patterned paper is another piece hoarded from the old My Minds Eye 'Wild Asparagus' stack
• Mat is a scrap of Bazzill card stock, embossed using Cuttlebug and embossing folder 'Spots and Dots'
• Flowers are Prima
• Stickles 'Star Dust'
• Corduroy button is Nikki Sivils
• Vintage image from clip art software
• Sentiment printed on white card stock

Isn't that the cutest picture!!!  That little boy in the center sure looks happy, doesn't he?  Anyone who grew up in the 1950's, like me, will recognize the style of clothes and such, and I loved the play on words with the 'party like it's 1959' sentiment.

So, that's all from me today!  Tomorrow I have to get out and run a couple of errands, so I won't be making any cards most likely.  But next time I do, you can count on seeing the latest right here!  Take care everyone, Becky

 

Card Making Day!

Hey there!  Happy Wednesday to everyone!  I'm not feeling my best today (sinusy,achy, etc.) so I have made this a card making day!  Here are my three latest cards - one birthday, and two more halloween.  Up first is the 'black cat'!

Product Info:

• Base Card Stock - Bazzill
• Red Card Stock - Die Cuts with a View
• Patterned Paper - October Afternoon, Road Map 'Skyline Motor Inn'
• Image - clip art software
• Ribbon - Hobby Lobby
• Bling - Prima e Line
• Button and cotton twine from my stash
• Touch of Stickles on the cat's bow

Tools, Tips, Techniques:

• Card base cut using Cricut, Walk in My Garden cartridge, card2 set at 5"
• Patterned paper frame cut using Cricut, Songbird cartridge, Frame1 cut at 3 3/4"
• Red frame cut using Cricut, Songbird cartridge, Frame1-s cut at 3"
• Image matted on scrap of black card stock

Second up is 'jack o' lantern choir':

Before I give the details, I'd like to say that I found the image cute, but kind of flat, so I wanted to give the card at least a feeling of texture.  The use of fabric print papers and jute twine really seemed to help!

Product info:

• Base card stock is from Anna Griffin 'Decorative Impressions' paper pack
• Orange card stock is Bazzill
• Green tweed look paper is an old scrap of another Anna Griffin paper
• Image is from clip art software
• Ribbon - Hobby Lobby
• Stickles Star Dust
• Buttons, jute twine and cotton twine from my stash

Tools, Tips, Techniques:

• Base card cut on Cricut using Walk in My Garden cartridge, card2 set at 5"
• Green and orange frames cut on Cricut using Mothers Day cartridge, Frame3 set at 3 3/4" and 4"
• Boo tag was made by printing on ivory card stock and trimming to size, used a 1/8" hole punch and tied on with cotton twine.
• Jute twine was glued around matted image
• Stickles was used on bats and eyes and mouths of jack o' lanterns

And last up is 'birthday poppies':

Product Info:

• Card stock is Die Cuts With a View
• Patterned paper is October Afternoon, Cherry Hill 'Sunday Dishes'
• Image from clip art software
• Gems are from Prima e Line
• Stickles, Diamond
• Button - Walmart?
• Button from my stash

Tools, Tips, Techniques:

• Card Base cut using Cricut, Walk in My Garden cartridge, card2 set at 5"
• Frames cut using Cricut, Songbird cartridge, Frame2 set at 3 3/4" and 3 3/4" shadow
• Stickles on centers of flowers
• Image matted on scrap of black card stock

I hope you've enjoyed these cards!  Now I'm going to roll back across the room to my work table where I have another card waiting to be made!  Blessings friends, Becky

Halloween Cards!

Me again!  I've been on a roll today, and got 3 halloween cards made that I thought I would share with you.  They all have vintage clipart images and will all be up for sale at my upcoming shows for $4 each, so if you are interested, please email me!

First up is "Trick or Treat?" . . .

Trick or Treat? uses Bazzill cardstock, some very old My Minds Eye 'Wild Asparagus paper, a frame cut on the Cricut using the "Mother's Day" cartridge and heavily coated with red German glass glitter.  The buttons are old, and a tiny bow of black seam binding.

Next up is "A Happy Halloween" . . .

Cardstock is Bazzill, the frame was once again cut using one of the frames from the Cricut "Mother's Day" cartridge, gems are from Prima e-line, ribbon is from Hobby Lobby.  Patterned paper is from a kit I bought so long ago that I couldn't begin to tell you who made it!

And last but not least is "A Merry Halloween" . . .

Base cardstock is Die Cuts With a View, gold paper is from a stack from Dollar General, but was embossed using the Cuttlebug 'Swirls' embossing folder, then distressed a bit with an emery board.  Patterned paper is October Afternoon, Road Map 'Skyline Motor Inn', orange button is vintage, tied with green bakers twine, ribbon is from Hobby Lobby, and the gold button is from my stash.Scallopped frames cut using Cuttlebug and Spellbinders Nestabilities Classic Scallopped Squares - Small.

You know, some times it is fun to not go by a sketch or challenge, but just 'go with the flow' and see what happens.  I hope you like these cards.  Please come back and visit very soon!  Becky 

Hubby's Birthday, and Tuesday Tagger Challenge

Happy Friday Everyone!!!  It's going to be a nice weekend - at least for my hubby, because it is his birthday on Sunday.  To celebrate we will be going to one of our favorite local Italian restaurants - Provino's - on Sunday night for dinner.  On your birthday, Provinos gives you a free meal, up to about $11 or so, or that much off of your meal.  Most pasta dishes are - you guessed it! - around $11 or so!  Hubby always gets one of their fish dishes, but they are only $3 - 4 more than the pasta, so we have a very nice meal, complete with salad, killer garlic rolls, and a dish of spumoni ice cream that we share, for about $20!

I really have a hard time making cards for men.  I mean, my usual shabby, cute, vintagey style doesn't relate well to most men!  But when I saw the Tuesday Taggers challenge for this week, it was a piece of cake!  The challenge is to make a project with a water, sea, boats type theme.  Hubby and I have a red canoe that we love, so I went to one of my clipart programs and found a cute vintage image of a couple in a canoe, and went from there!  Here is my card based on their challenge . . .

And here is all the info . . .

Products:

• Base card stock is Die Cuts With a View, as are all the scraps of cardstock
• Patterned paper is from October Afternoon, Road Map "Skyline Motor Inn"
• Sticker letters are 'Tag Types' from EK Success
• Jute Twine from m stash

Tips:

• Base of card was cut on Cricut "Walk in My Garden" cartridge, card2 set at 5"
• Patterned paper was cut on Cricut "Walk in My Garden" cartridge, card1 set at 4 3/4"
• Image was double matted with contrasting cardstocks. 

 This was such an easy card to make once I had that theme to go by!  Thanks for visiting, and have a great weekend!  Becky

Card Patterns Sketch 75

Can you believe it?  Three posts in one day!  Do you ever find that sometimes you are on 'creative overload'?  Well that's been me the last couple of days!  Between Friday night and tonight, I have made about 15 - 16 tags (for sale at local shops) and three cards.  this last card kind of brought me out of my comfort zone, but that's a good thing!  I mean, teal and purple aren't really my normal colors, but they really worked for this card.  The card is for Card Patterns sketch challenge blog, number 75, and here is their sketch . . .

And here is my card based on the sketch . . .

And here are the details . . .

Product Info:

• Base card stock is Die Cuts With a View
• Patterned paper is Bo Bunny, Peacock Lane 'Tweet'
• Image is from Crafty Secrets, Heartwarming Vintage Cuts 'Friendship and Flowers'
• Crinkled seam binding from Bluebird Lane Etsy shop
• Cotton lace and button from my stash

Tips, Tools and Techniques:

• Base of card cut on Cricut, Walk in My Garden cartridge, card2 set at 5"
• Patterned paper cut on Cricut, Walk in My Garden cartridge, card1 set at 5", then about 1" cut off of top
• Image matted on a scrap of green card stock and popped up on foam squares for dimension

As I said above, purple and teal aren't my usual colors, but sometimes it is good to go beyond the norm and try different things.  I hope you have enjoyed this visit!  Blessings, Becky

Double the Fun!

I told you I would be back soon, and this time I have one card for two challenges - love it when I can do that!  The first challenge is for one of my very favorite challenge and inspiration blogs, Moxie Fab World - oh, how I love Cath and the folks at Moxie Fab world!  If you haven't checked them out, you really should!  This card is for their 'Fun and Cute' style challenge.  This card is also for another of my favorites - the sketch challenge blog Card Positioning Systems (CPS) #178 - a very clean and simple sketch.  Here is the sketch . . .

And here is my card based on the sketch and inspiration . . .

Isn't that little lady so cute???  And I'm with her (and Joan Rivers) on housekeeping!  Here are all the details . . .

Product Info:

• Base card stock and green background card stock are from Bazzill
• Patterned papers are Fancy Pants "Celebrate" 'Play' - the flowered paper is one side, and the stripes at top are the reverse.
• Ric-rack and cotton twine are from my stash
• Pearls are from Prima e line
• The cute image is from Crafty Secrets, Creative Scraps "Domestic Goddess"

Tips, Tools and Techniques:

• Base of card cut using Cricut, Walk in My Garden cartridge, card2 set at 5"
• Patterned paper cut using Cricut, Walk in My Garden cartridge, card1 set at 5", then I measured and cut about 1 1/2 inches off the top and reversed it for the stripes
• Matted image were popped up on foam squares to allow the cotton twine to fit through without problems

And that was it!  A very simple card to make, but lots of fun!  I hope you've enjoyed your visit!  I hope to be back soon with another card for yet another challenge.  Have a great week, and blessings, Becky

Etsy Inspired Challenge #99

The latest challenge at "Etsy Inspired Challenge" blog is really fun!  Each week you get to visit a different shop on Etsy, find your inspiration for a card there, and then make a card and link it back to their blog.  A kind of different spin on the usual challenges.  This challenge we were invited to visit Becky Kazana's very fun shop, and here's the item I chose for my inspiration . . .   

It's a raven cake topper!  Isn't it just the cutest thing?  And  here is my card based on the inspiration . . .

I used felt to make two ravens.  Here are all the details . . .

• Patterned paper is Websters Pages "Life's Portrait . . . pure grace"
• Bird cage was cut on card stock using Cricut Serenade cartridge set on birdcage 4, then I inked it with versamark and heat embossed it using 'Queen's Gold' embossing powders by Ranger
• Flowers on patterned paper were given a bit of bling using Stickles 'platinum'
• Felt cut using an old template I've had for ages
• Felt, beads for eyes, lace, silk flower and bead trim all from my stash
• Gem on bow tie is from Prima e line

Here are a few more pictures . . .

This was a lot of fun to make, and while I've never made ravens for a card before, I love anything with a cute birdie on it, so I'm happy with the end product.  I've got a couple of other cards in the works for challenges, so check back soon!  Blessings, Becky