Crafty Wednesday – kids cards

Welcome to another Crafty Wednesday. Sorry it’s been awhile since I actually posted about my cards but I’m sure you know how busy life can get sometimes. Today I have a few cards for kids to show you. Some might be similar to ones I’ve shown you before, but they are not exactly the same. Let’s start with the owl. It is suitable for a girl or a boy.

To recreate the front of the card you will need:

Dark green card stock, 8-1/2″ x 5-1/2″
a long-stemmed plant stamp
black ink pad
wood-grain specialty paper
2-1/2″ circle punch
Stampin’ Up‘s Owl punch
brown paper (about 2″ x 3″)
cream-coloured paper (about 1-1/2″ x 2-1/2″)
yellow card stock (about 1″ square)
red permanent marker
glue runner &/or Sticky Dots
double-sided sticky tape
quick-drying white glue with narrow nozzle
yellow ‘google eyes (those plastic ones with the pupils that move)
leaf stamp
white card stock
olive green ink pad
a strip of green paper 1-1/2″ wide
sharp scissors
lady bug brad
sentiments printed using word processor – any font & colour you prefer

Instructions:

1. Fold green card stock in half to create the 4-1/4″ x 5-1/2″ portrait sized card
2. Stamp the foliage at the bottom of the card.
3. From the wood-grain paper, cut out a tree trunk that is at least an inch wider than your circle punch
4. Use the punch to cut out the hole in the tree, approximately 1/2 way down the trunk
5. Punch out the owl body from the brown paper and the chest part from the cream-coloured paper
6. Attach the chest part to the owl body with a glue runner
7. Cut out a 1″ diamond shape from the yellow card stock, fold it in half and draw a red line down from the fold to create the tongue.
8. Glue the beak just above the chest piece. Glue the eyes above the beak. Set aside to dry.
9. On the white card stock, print out the sentiments for both front and inside (see below) of card and cut it out. on the left over card stock, stamp out several ‘branches’ using the olive green ink pad and cut them out
10. Cut a fringe along one edge of the green paper to look like grass
11. Once the owl has dried, tape it to the inside of the tree trunk so it is looking out through the hole
12. Before attaching the tree trunk to middle of the card with the double-sided tape, stick the lady bug brad about an inch up from the bottom of the tree trunk
13. Tape the ‘grass’ strip to the bottom of the card, so that the lady bug is peeking above it. If the grass strip is too wide, it can be trimmed with a paper cutter
14. Attach the leafy branches in an overlap pattern at the top of the card using a glue runner or sticky dots

For the inside, I used:

Green paper 5″ x 3-3/4″
Cuttlebug
Owl embossing folder
2 gold-coloured ‘jewels’
quick-drying white glue
3-D sticky strips
double-sided tape
Brown and gold-coloured Pebbles Metallic Cream Chalks
Printed sentiment from word processor
Ticket corner punch (Stampin’ Up)
glue runner
Q-Tip

Instructions:

1. Use the Cuttlebug and owl embossing folder to create the owl pattern on the green paper. The paper will be a little smaller than the pattern, so place it fairly evenly on the folder before running it through the Cuttlebug
2. Using a Q-Tip (or the cotton balls that come with the Cream Chalks) apply the cream chalk colour to the raised portion of the owl embossing to help make it stand out (click above to see a demonstration)
3. Centre the green owl-embossed paper to the card and attach with double-sided tape
4. Attach jewel eyes with a drop of glue. Set aside to dry
5. Trim the sentiment to size and clip corners using the ticket corner punch. Attach it to the green with the 3-D sticky strips.

One down, two to go! This pretty little girl’s card is fairly simple to make using Close To My Heart‘s ‘Magic Adventure’ stamp set.

What else you will need:

White card stock 8-1/2″ x 5-1/2″ folded in half
White card stock for embossing
Pink polka-dot paper 5″ x 3-3/4″
Thin string, thread or cord at least 5-1/2″ long
small 1″ squares of multi-colored paper
2″ scalloped oval punch
double-sided tape
3-D strips
shiny paints (or markers or coloured pencils to fill in the design)
Versa Mark sticky pad
black heat-embossing powder
green heat-embossing powder
heat tool
star stamp
silver ink pad
curved-corner punch
printed sentiment using word processor

Instructions:

1. Attach double-sided tape to coloured squares and fold squares over the string to make little flags.
2. Attach string of flags to the back of the pink polka-dot paper with tape, about 1/2″ from the top
3. Centre pink polka-dot paper and attach to front of card
4. Stamp the carousel horse with Versa Mark. Sprinkle on embossing powder, shaking off excess. Use heat tool to melt and set the powder
5. Colour in the design as you like, either with paint, colored pencils or markers. The nice thing about the embossed image is that it keeps the paint from running into the wrong area.
6. Cut out sentiment with scalloped punch.
7. Attach both sentiment and stamped image to the card with squares of 3-D tape

Now for the inside:

1. Using the Versa Mark sticky pad, stamp the roller coaster image to the centre of the card.
2 Sprinkle on the embossing powder, shaking off excess, and heating to set.
3. Using a star stamp and silver ink pad, stamp the area of card above the roller coaster.
4. Stamp the sentiment from the ‘Magic Adventure’ set using the Versa Mark pad
5. Sprinkle on the green embossing powder, shake off excess and heat until set
6. Trim the sentiment and punch off the corners. Attach to card with 3-D sticky tape.

This next feminine card has a bit of a circus theme to it. I used the acrylic stamps from the My Mind’s Eye Lost & Found 2 ‘Rosy “Everything” designs’ stamp set. The set has a vintage look to it and included the tight-rope walker, a hot air balloon, stamps, coins, a typewriter, among other things. I think it might be a discontinued set, as I have not been able to find one on-line to show you. Anyway, without further ado, here is the list of supplies:

Pink card stock 8-1/2″ x 5-1/2″ folded on half
Cuttlebug
Dots embossing folder
Frames die-cutter
Pale blue card stock approximately 3″ x 2″
navy blue ink pad
sponge or ink dauber
Crop-A-Dile
2 pink flower eyelets
pink cord
Flowery ribbon approximately 10″ long
1/8″ wide double-sided tape
2 pieces of Cloud specialty paper, (5″ x 3-3/4″), (5-1/2″ x 2″) cut so that clouds are facing the right way
Versa Mark sticky pad
black heat-embossing powder
heat tool
2″ scalloped circle punch
shiny paints, coloured pencils or markers
sentiments printed on white card stock using word processor
stencils for oval shapes or oval punches (2″, 2-1/2″)
small sticky dots
3-D double-sided tape
glue runner
sharp scissors

Instructions:

1. Using the Cuttlebug and dots embossing folder, place the front of the card into the folder so the dots are punched out on the front. Run through Cuttlebug.
2. Using the Frames die-cutter, place pale blue card stock over the cutting blade and run through Cuttlebug.
3. Cut out the front sentiment by either tracing the oval around it and cutting it out with scissors or using the appropriate sized punch. Sponge around the edges of frame and sentiment with navy ink
4. Centre sentiment on frame and attach with glue runner. Attach frame to the front of the card with 3-D tape
5. Using the Crop-A-Dile, punch holes on either side of the larger piece of cloud paper a little higher than halfway up the page. Insert the flower eyelet into the hole and press with the Crop-A-Dile. Repeat with other hole.
6. String the cord through the eyelets loosely and secure to the back of the cloud paper with double-sided tape
7. Centre the cloud paper to the front of the card and attach with double-sided tape
8. Tie a bow in the centre of your ribbon and attach with double-sided tape to the left-hand edge of card, covering the edge of the cloud paper
9. Stamp images (tight-rope walker and balloon) using Versa Mark, sprinkle with embossing powder and heat until set. Carefully cut around images and colour as desired.
10. On front of the card, use Sticky Dots to attach the tight-rope walker to the cord and card as shown
11. Punch out half a scalloped circle from smaller rectangle of cloud paper about 1-1/2″ from the top. Attach remaining cloud paper rectangle to the left-hand side of the card with glue runner.
12. Place the half scalloped circle opposite its other half and attach with glue runner
13. Trace an oval shape around the sentiment for the inside of the card and cut (or punch) out. Centre over the scalloped circle and attach with 3-D tape
14. Attach the balloon to the bottom of the cloud rectangle with 3-D tape

And there you have it! Three cute cards for kids. Actually, the tight-rope walker one could also be for a teen or young adult. I gave this one to a pre-teen.

So, what crafty things have YOU done lately?

Crafty Wednesday – masculine cards

Welcome to another Crafty Wednesday! 🙂

With all the pretty paper, stamps and embellishments on the market today, it can be difficult to find something masculine for the men in your life. That’s why I thought I’d focus on them, today. Last time I was at The Scrapbook Cottage, they were having a paper sale, so I picked up some more masculine paper with a camping theme. I thought this striped paper from the 12 x 12″ ‘Camp-A-Lot’ collection by Bo Bunny Press would be perfect for some cards I had in mind. I loved the paw and footprints that were in some of the wider stripes.

The base for this card is beige card stock, cut so that the card dimensions when folded are 5-1/2 x 4-1/4″. I cut the striped paper to 5 x 3-3/4″ and attached it to the base. I added some felt animal stickers that I’d picked up somewhere along the line. Dollar Store, maybe? I can’t remember. Anyway, they were perfect for this outdoorsy-type card. All the black heat-embossed sentiments are from Close To My Heart’s ‘Pure Adventure’ stamp set.

Inside, I cut a 3-1/2″ scalloped circle with my paper punch out of my 6 x 6″ ‘Weekend Market’ paper pack, also by Bo Bunny. Onto this I added the sentiments. The ‘Happy Birthday’ is from Stampin’ Up. The stamp can be found in either the ‘Plane & Simple set or the ‘You’re My Type’ set. The ‘Kitty Cat Paw Border’ stamp is from INKADINKADO and can be found here, although I found mine at Michael’s. It’s a fairly simple card to make and perfect for the outdoorsman in your circle of friends and family.

 

Here are two more masculine cards, using buttons and twine. Everyone has buttons lying around, so this should be easy for you, too.

Using the Bo Bunny striped paper again, I cut it to measure 5 x 3-3/4″ and cut beige card stock the same dimensions as the previous card for the base.

Hint: Before attaching stuff to the front of this card, emboss the inside (see below) by running the ‘Moroccan Screen’ embossing folder and your card base through the Cuttlebug. I thought of embossing it after the front of the card was done and broke one of the buttons because of the pressure of the rollers. Then I had to glue on a replacement button.

Before attaching the striped paper to the base, wrap twine around it three times and slide on three buttons, placing them so they line up with the largest of the three in the centre. Make sure you use a strong adhesive like Sookwang to hold the twine and the paper in place.

The light brown label was cut out using the ‘Fanciful Labels’ cutting/embossing folder and my Cuttlebug. I stamped the ‘Happy Birthday’ (by INKADINKADO) using my Versa Mark and black embossing powder, which I then heated to produce the desired effect. Since the lettering was just an outline, I painted in the centre of each letter using my shiny paint set and a very fine brush. The label was attached with 3-D sticky tape and slipped underneath the twine so that some of the striped paper s visible on the right-hand side. Sticky Dots can be used to hold the buttons in their desired places.

The inside of the card is fairly simple. I cut a rectangle out of contrasting card stock (approximately 3-1/2 x 2-1/2″) and trimmed the corners with my ‘Ticket Corner’ punch by Stampin’ Up. I printed out the sentiment with MS Word (I usually set the page to 3 columns so the width is the right size). I cut it to fit the frame and trimmed the corners with the punch. Everything was attached with a glue runner since there wasn’t much weight to any of the elements.

 

This card is very similar to the previous one, except I used wooden buttons and made sure this nature-lover could see the paw and hoof prints in the paper. The base was cut the same size as the others using a camel-colored card stock.

I also discovered a new technique that could be done with the cutting/embossing folder. Before removing the label from the folder, once it’s cut out, the embossed portions of the label are exposed. You can then brush an inked sponge over the exposed portions to create the outlines. It brings out the raised parts quite nicely, don’t you think? I stamped the sentiment (same stamp as before) but instead of heat-embossing it, I just used the same brown ink I’d used on the outlines.

The inside is similar to the previous card, except for the sentiment. I cut out the contrasting card stock so it was an inch larger than the sentiment. I added the paw prints across the bottom corner to coordinate it with the paper on the front. I used the same brown ink as on the front of the card.

And there you have it – three simple masculine cards, each one slightly different, each one unique.

 

Hope you enjoyed this week’s projects. These cards would be easy enough for a beginner to try, so if you’ve been thinking this is a hobby you’d like to explore, why not start with a pattern similar to these? Happy crafting! 🙂

Crafty Wednesday

It will be a short one, today, since I posted my Liebster award stuff earlier. Not only that, but I have to leave soon to babysit the Grandson. (Hooray!)

I thought I’d discuss this card because it uses one of my favourite stamp sets by Stampin’ Up – ‘Cool Cat’. It comes with the cat, perfume bottle, crown, a stack of presents and the sentiment. The paw prints stamp that I used on the inside was one I found in the bargain bin at Michael‘s.

I started with a bright pink card stock (8-1/2″ x 5-1/2″), folded in half. I ran the front part of the card through my Cuttlebug using the Dots embossing folder. I cut a pink polka dot paper to measure 3-3/4″ x 5″, then trimmed the corners with my corner punch. I measured a piece of pink polka dot ribbon about 1/2″ longer than the paper and fastened to the back with two-sided tape. I then attached the paper to the card stock with the two-sided tape. I used my Versa Mark sticky pad and black embossing powder to stamp the cat and sentiment, then used my heat tool to finish the embossing. I carefully cut around the cat and painted the eyes, ears, nose and collar with my shiny paint set. I used my ‘Postage Stamp’ punch to cut out the sentiment. I used gold heat embossing powder for the crown and cut it out. I used purple ink to stamp the perfume bottle and added finishing touches with my shiny paints. All elements were attached with 3-D double-sided tape.

For the inside, I cut pink polka dot paper, 5″ x 2-1/2″, and used a glue runner to attach it to the card base. I printed out the sentiment with MS Word, then used my 3-1/2″ scalloped circle punch to cut it out. I poked holes in the bottom of the circle and threaded four 6″ strands of pink embroidery cotton through and tied them in a bow. I attached the circle to the card with 3-D double-sided tape. With my Versa Mark sticky pad, I stamped the paw prints across the polka dot paper, sprinkled black embossing powder over it, shook off the excess and heated it with my heat tool…and we’re done!

Drop by next week for the next installment of Crafty Wednesdays! 🙂

Crafty Wednesday

Hello, fellow crafters! Here’s another couple of cards fresh off the presses, so to speak. I might not be as exact with the details, today, as I left my crafting supplies at my sister-in-law’s, and my memory isn’t that great! I plan to go back to her place tomorrow and get more cards done, so I will make a note of the things I forgot today and maybe add them in later.

The first is obviously a birthday card. I started with a white card stock base (8-1/2″ x 5-1/2″ folded in half). I cut yellow card stock to 5″ x 3-3/4″ and trimmed the corners with a corner punch. I wrapped green cord three times around the centre of the card and tied it at the back. The scroll patterns are from the Close To My Heart set, Love Life. The large one was embossed with green embossing powder and green sparkles (I sometimes mix the solid embossing powders with glitter) on white card stock and cut out with precision scissors (really sharp pointy ones!) The Happy Birthday (from Stampin’ Up) and small swirl were stamped with green ink (I think it was CTMH’s Olive shade), as were the stars which were from the Love Life CTMH set. I cut out the ‘Happy Birthday’ using a 2″ paper punch and attached it to the upper left-hand corner. To the large swirl I attached 3-D squares and attached it diagonally across the page.

On the inside, I continued the stars, adding them randomly along the top half of the card, interspersing them with other small stars. The Swirls are also from the Love Life set. The ‘Celebrate You’ stamp is from the ‘b is for birthday’ set by Stampin’ Up. I cut it out with my 2″ punch. Using my 2-1/2″ scalloped circle punch to cut out the yellow scalloped circle on which I stuck the ‘Celebrate You’ circle. I attached them to the centre of the card.

 

 

 

 

 

Now, on to the anniversary card. I used the other half of the card stock from which I cut out the first card for the base. I cut a piece of wine-coloured card stock, then punched out the scalloped edge with an edge punch. I used my 2-1/2″ scalloped circle punch to create the centre design and attached it to the front of the card. I stamped the ‘Love’ (I can’t remember which set it came from) in the centre of the scalloped circle and added the two little hearts (from the Love Life set). I attached a gold/silver bow to the right-hand side with 3D double-sided tape. I stamped the hearts on white card stock and cut them out. I added heart-shaped jewel to the largest heart on the stamped hearts and attached both large hearts to the left-hand side of the card with 3D tape.

Inside, I used the punched-out scalloped circle from the piece I used on the front of the card. I stamped the heart (from CTMH’s Roxie Workshop-On-The-Go set. I typed out the sentiment using MS Word and  added one silver and one gold heart beside the word. I cut it out, then cut out a piece of wine-coloured card stock 1/4″ bigger, on all sides, than the sentiment. I stamped the ‘Happy Anniversary’ (using a Stampin’ Up stamp) onto white card stock and cut it out carefully, attaching it to the card with a glue runner. I attached one large gold brad and two small silver brads to the right-hand side of the card.

And there you have it – two more card to add to my stash, awaiting the family gathering. Only 30 more to go!

Happy crafting, everyone!

Just in time for Father’s Day

Someone made a comment on my last Crafty Wednesday post wondering if I was going to make a Father’s Day card, so I sat down and made this one for my son to give to his Dad. I used the motorcycle, flame and the ‘Feel The Wind’ stamp from Close To My Heart‘s Born To Ride set. The letters for ‘DAD!’ are from the CTMH Hero Alphabet stamp set. The ‘Incredible’ sentiment and frame on the inside of the card were from the CTMH Pure Adventure set. The ‘Happy Father’s Day’ was from the Stampin’ Up set Plane Simple.

For all the stamped elements, I used my Versa Mark sticky pad and heat-emboss powders. The ‘DAD!’, ‘Happy Father’s Day’ and motorcycle were embossed in black. For the flames, ‘Incredible’ and ‘Feel The Wind’ I used copper embossing powder. Using my Cuttlebug, I cut/embossed an orange ‘Fanciful Label’ with a folder by Provo Craft. I brushed a non-heat gold embossing powder over the label to make it shiny.

The base of the card is half of an 8 1/2″ x 11″ white card stock, folded in half, making the final card dimensions 5 1/2″ x 4 1/4″. The brown paper on the front of the card measures 5 1/4″ x 3″. The polka dot paper is 5 1/4″ x 1 1/2″ and tucks under the brown, slightly. The paper was fastened to the card base with double-sided sticky tape. The flames were attached with a glue runner. The motorcycle and letters were attached with 3-D squares.

Inside, I glued a brown square, 3″ x 3″, to the centre of a strip of polka dot paper measuring 3″ x 5 1/4″. ‘Incredible’ and ‘Feel The Wind’ were glued to brown paper and trimmed to add contrast to the orange paper. The ‘Happy Father’s Day’ was attached with Sticky Dots. The orange label and sentiments were attached to the card with 3-D squares.

Well, the instructions weren’t step-by-step today, but I hope you got the idea. If you want to used this as a model for a card for a dad in your life, go for it! Make changes, add your own embellishments, if you like. I’m sure the dad you give it to will love it and appreciate that fact that it is home-made by you! 🙂

Happy Father’s Day to all dads, grandfathers and great-grandfathers! 🙂

Crafty Wednesday

Hello fellow crafters & bloggers!

I thought I’d try a different format for my cards, today, for those people who might want to make one like it. I will introduce them to you then supply you with a list of what I used and describe the process.

It’s been a rather hectic 2 weeks so I didn’t get as many cards made as I had hoped, but I did get the ones done that were needed! A dear friend is retiring this year after working in our school division for about 35 years, so of course I had to make her a card! I made this one big enough that all the staff in her class would have room to sign it and add a comment or two. Mrs. L. is a very colourful and gregarious person so the card reflects that – as did her retirement party this past Monday night. The theme for the party was colour!

Supply List

Fanciful labels

1 sheet of 8 1/2″ x 11″ yellow card stock
Purple card stock (large paisley)
Blue card stock (small paisley)
Green card stock (frame for sentiment)
Orange Card stock (small butterfly)
White card stock (sentiments)
Yellow card stock (large butterfly)
8 1/2″ feathery ribbon
Glue Dots – large & small

Sticky Dots Die-cut Adhesive
Fanciful Labels embossing folder by Cricut (I used the yellow shape)
Cuttlebug plus ‘C’ plate & 2 ‘B’ plates (or a Big Shot)
Versa Mark (or similar) sticky pad for heat embossing
Close To My Heart‘s Sonoma Workshop On The Go acrylic stamp set (or any other style of paisley stamps)
Large swirl from CTMH Love Life clear acrylic stamp set

9 green mini jewels
1 copper-colored mini jewel
1 pink silk flower, 1 3/4″ in diameter
1 small plastic flower (or flower-shaped brad)
small butterfly stamp (I used one from Martha Stewart‘s butterfly clear acrylic stamp set)

Scotch brand Quick Dry Adhesive (I like this brand because it has a fine spout that’s perfect for gluing on the jewels)
Copper embossing powder
Black embossing powder
Green embossing powder
large butterfly stamp (I used one from Martha Stewart‘s set)
white card stock
green paper
orange/yellow poppy specialty paper
2 1/2″ scalloped circle punch
Lacy Labels embossing folders by Cricut
Microsoft Word for printing the sentiments
non-heat embossing powders in green & gold

Directions

1. Fold the yellow card stock in half.
2. Attach the feather ribbon with small Glue Dots along the left-hand side of the card about a 1/2″ from the edge.
3. Cut out the green label using the Fanciful Labels embossing folder & your Cuttlebug. Then, with your sharp pointy scissors, cut neatly along the inside rim of the label.
4. Print out the sentiments, making sure that the ‘Happy Retirement’ is no longer than the inside dimension of the label you just cut out.
5. Carefully attach the label over the sentiment with sticky dots, then centre on card and attach with Sticky Dots.
6. Stamp the paisley prints (large on purple, small on blue card stock) using your sticky pad and then sprinkle with black embossing powder.
7. Use the heat tool to melt the embossing just until it becomes shiny.
8. Carefully cut out your paisley prints and attach to card using the Sticky Dots.
9. Attach silk flower just below the label/sentiment with a large raised Glue Dot. Use a generous amount of Quick Dry Adhesive to attach the plastic flower onto the centre of the silk flower, then glue the copper-colored jewel to the centre of the plastic flower. Allow plenty of time for the glue to dry. (As an alternative, you could use a flower-shaped brad for the centre of the silk flower.)
10. Use Versa Mark to stamp the swirly design beneath the flower and sentiment on an angle. Add the green embossing powder and heat. Glue on the green mini-jewels onto the ends of the swirly bits.
11. Use Versa Mark to stamp the small butterfly on the orange card stock. Add the copper-colored embossing powder and heat. Cut carefully around the outline of the butterfly and attach it to the bottom right corner of the card with a large Glue Dot.

For the inside of the card, use the Cuttlebug to emboss the frame. Carefully cut around the outside of the frame. Brush the leaves with the green non-heat embossing powder and the flowers with the gold. Brush off any excess. Attach the frame to the inside of the card with sticky dots.
2. Punch out a scalloped circle of the orange/yellow poppies. Carefully cut around the sentiment and place it over the centre of this circle. Use sticky dots to affix to the centre of the green frame.
3. Stamp & heat emboss the large butterfly with black embossing powder. Use large Glue Dot to attach to the bottom of the frame below the sentiment.

This card was for one of the students I have worked with since he started Middle School. He is now 21 and will be graduating, this year. He is in a wheelchair and wears braces over his ankles with the imprint of a motorcycle on each one, so I decided to use a motorcycle theme for his card.

Supplies

5 1/2″ x 2 1/5″ Pale green paper for the grass plus another strip 5 1/2″ x 1 3/4″
3″x 3″ pice of darker green paper for inside
5 1/2″ x 1 3/4″ piece of pale blue or ‘cloud-patterned’ paper for the sky
brown card stock
Sookwang sheet (double sided adhesive sheet) – one piece 5 1/2″ x 2 1/2″ (same as the green paper) & another piece the same size as the road
yellow, white & red glitter mixed together (maybe a teaspoon, altogether)
CTMH Born To Ride clear acrylic stamp set (Born To Ride, Motorcycle stamps)
CTMH Dreamin’ Workshop on the Go clear acrylic stamp set (leaf pattern)
CTMH Hero Alphabet clear acrylic stamp set (1, 2, !, &)
CTMH Pure Adventure clear acrylic stamp set (the flying goose)
Versa Mark sticky pad
Black embossing powder
heat tool
sharp scissors
black ink pad
green ink pad
The boy was from a set of paper dolls I got a long time ago and I don’t remember where I got them or what the name of it was.
3-D double-sided sticky squares
The ‘Happy Birthday’ stamp was from the bargain bins at Michael’s
Cuttlebug, ‘C’ plate & 2 ‘B’ plates
Happy Birthday embossing folder

Directions

1. Draw a road on the green paper to the ‘horizon’. Cut out pieces. Trace shapes onto Sookwang and cut out.
2. Trace the road you’ve just cut out onto the brown card stock. Peel off the backing of the Sookwang from the piece that matches the road shape and affix to the front part of the brown road. Remove the rest of the backing and sprinkle the glitter onto the sticky surface. Rub the glitter around so that no stickiness is left. Cut enough Sookwang to cover the back of the road.
3. Snip the road-side edge of the green paper that will go on the right-hand side to look like grass. Attach the matching piece of Sookwang to this pice of ‘grass’ and attach to the bottom right-hand side of the card front.
4. Peel the Sookwang backing from the road and stick into place under the grassy fringe.
5. Match up the left-hand side of grass with the Soowkang and attach grass to the card.
6.  Stamp the motorcycle, numbers, & sentiments using Versa Mark and black embossing powder. Heat until shiny. Carefully cut around each piece.
7. Stamp the flying goose in black ink at the top left-hand corner of ‘sky’.
8. Stamp leaf patterns in the ‘grass’. if you want them to overlap, use the extra piece of green paper and cut out the patterns to suit your taste.
9. Place the boy on the motorcycle and tape the back so he does not fall off the bike. Use 3-D squares to affix the motorcycle and boy as shown.
10 Inside, use the Cuttlebug to emboss a piece of green paper with the ‘Happy Birthday’ embossing folder. Glue to the centre of the card. Attache the sentiments with 3-D squares as shown.

Phew! That seems like a lot of work when I write it out this way! I hope I remembered to tell you everything. Let me know if I’ve missed a step, or if something seems confusing.

Do you prefer this format, or the previous, more chatty version to describe how I made my cards?

Crafty Wednesday

I thought I’d take a break from all the Symposium stuff to show you what I did this morning. I made a card for my newest grand-niece. Since it’s the only crafty project I’ve done in awhile, I wanted to take you through the creative process – from choosing the paper, the stamps, the punches and the embellishments.

Since the card is for a baby girl, I considered the colours I would use. Pink was a definite for the main part of the card, but what went with it? I considered the polka dot pattern, then added blue for contrast. I cut out some samples of each paper to decide which combination of colours would work best together with the stamped words. Using my 3″ scalloped circle punch, my 2-1/2″ scalloped circle punch and my 2″ circle punch I cut out some of each colour and put them together. I’ll show you what I came up with in a minute.

Also, in this picture you will notice the ‘Word Play’ stamp sets. I thought the ‘So worth the wait’ stamp would be the best sentiment for inside the card.

Next, I had to decide on a design. I have two Recollections stamp sets that would be appropriate, one with animals, the other more for baby showers, although some of the phrases could be used. Since there is a turtle theme to the baby’s room, I chose that and the ‘It’s a Girl’ stamp from the other set. I also chose ‘Congratulations’ from Stampin’ Up’s wedding stamp set so that the front of the card will say ‘Congratulations. It’s a Girl!’

So, what other types of embellishments should I use? Ribbon? Let’s see what we’ve got that might look nice on a baby card…

What do you think of the wide pink polka dot ribbon on the right-hand side? The dots will go well with the theme, I think. Maybe I’ll also look in my box of silk wedding flowers, put a few pastel petals together with a pink brad. Now that I have a good idea of what I will use, I’ll put them all together. The sentiments were stamped using the Versa Mark sticky pad and black embossing powder to make the words stand out nicely.

For the main part of the card, I cut my 8-1/2″ x 11″ sheet of pink card stock in half, then folded the card so it was in a landscape orientation (4-1/4″ x 5-1/2″ ). I cut out a rectangle in blue that was 3-1/4″ x 5″, then used a curved corner punch to round out the corners of both the card and the blue rectangle. I wrapped a 5-1//2″ piece of ribbon around one side of the blue rectangle attaching it on the back with two-sided sticky tape. About 2/3 of the way up the ribbon, I fastened the flower, just through the ribbon and the blue paper. Then I fastened the blue rectangle onto the front of the pink card. I used pop-up squares to fasten the scalloped polka-dot circle, then fastened the smaller pink scalloped circle in the centre of that using a glue runner. I attached the blue circle into the middle of the pink one using a glue runner and finally attached the sentiments.

On the inside, I placed a 2-1/2″ blue scalloped circle off-centre to the right and added the sentiment. Beside it, added a turtle. I stamped and embossed the turtle on some designer paper I had that was various shades of green, which reminded me of a tortoise shell. So, there you have it. A bit of insight into what goes through my head when planning to make my cards.

Is that pretty much how other scrapbookers do it, I wonder, or do they follow patterns set out by someone else? WHat do you think?

Crafty Wednesday

While Hubby & Son were helping Brother and Nephew put up drywall on Saturday, Sister-in-law & I made a few cards. I was anxious to try out a couple of new stamp sets from Stampin’ Up, ‘Rue des Fleurs’ and ‘You’re My Type’. Since I like vintage things, these two sets were right up my alley.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are two cards I made with the ‘You’re My Type’ set which is basically just the typewriter with sayings that will fit onto the paper. For the green one, I used the polka dot embossing folder on the Cuttlebug. To that I added a 3″ wide piece of yellow plaid paper and a 1″ strip of peacock feather-patterned paper. For the blue card, I used a vine-patterned Cuttlebug embossing folder. The yellow strip is only 2 1/2″ wide. The blue pattern is stamped with one of the stamps from the ‘Rue des Fleurs’ set.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the ‘Rue des Fleurs’ set there were other pretty stamps like the flower-filled corset, a parasol with clocks hanging from it and a fountain pen with flourishes flowing from its nib. You can see them in the two cards above. The scrolled ‘Thanks’ is also part of the set. On the orange card, I stamped ‘Time to’ from a set called ‘Get It In Gear’ and haven’t yet decided whether it will be turned into a birthday card or a shower invitation.

Since my brother’s anniversary is coming up, I secretly made this card for them. The horn was also from the ‘Rue des Fleurs’ set as well as the 3 patterned pieces in the centre, which I cut out separately. I tried to use two different coloured inks when stamping the horn so that it was brown and the flourishes were green, but it didn’t show up too well. I used an edging embossing folder (and the Cuttlebug) to create the impressions on the top and bottom of the card. The hearts are from another new Stampin’ Up set called ‘Sprinkled Expressions’. It comes with the heart stamp, a flower and a star with sentiments that go along with each one. I used one of my sister-in-law’s stamps for the ‘happy together’. Again, I cut a 1″ strip of peacock feather paper from the Recollections Peacock paper pack. I love that pack, as it has so many beautiful paper patterns, some with glitter.

What are some of the hobbies that YOU like to indulge in whenever you get the chance?

Belated Crafty Wednesday

Or in other words, Crafty Thursday! Well, I have a few more cards to share with you.

The first was made with the the new Tim Holtz die cutter I got for my birthday – Bird & Birdcage. I used gold glitter card stock for the cage, to which I added gold ribbon, and I added feathers to the bird. For the background, I embossed it with the Swirls embossing folder and my Cuttlebug. Inside, I used a piece of sheet music and curved the corners with a punch. The stamped bird is from Stampin’ Up‘s Confucius stamp set. I believe the Happy Birthday is Stampin’ Up as well from a sentiments set I got a long time ago. I like the swirly look to it and use it a lot for birthday cards.

The next card was for my niece’s wedding. She really likes Betty Boop so used the black & white theme with red accents. That’s why I chose the red background. I stitched across the top with pink embroidery cotton. The stamp is a discontinued wedding flourish that I first stamped with Versa Mark (sticky pad) and added black embossing powder. Add a little heat and the powder forms a shiny raised impression, to which I added black ‘jewels’. The ‘love’ is also made with black embossing powder on pink card stock.

 

The inside contains a sentiment that I created with MS Word. I added black, heart-shaped jewels to the sentiment. The hearts were black-embossed on pink card stock. They are from Close To My Heart’s ‘Love Life’ clear stamp set.

 

 

 

 

For our ‘Sweet Sixteen’ nephew, I created this card using a background from a calendar my brother’s wife gave me a few years ago. It was a ‘Scrap Booker’s’ calendar that contained 365 pages of elements you could use for making cards or scrapbook pages for all occasions. The page I used had masculine colours and the swirl looked like a six, which seemed appropriate for the occasion. The ’16!’ was embossed with blue embossing powder. The stamps are from CTMH’s ‘Varsity Alphabet’ set. The base paper that I used was a crackled-look paper from a set I got years ago – so long ago I can’t remember the name of it! I found some pearlized buttons to put on the black-net ribbon.

 

 

 

On the inside, I used the left-over piece from the calendar page and embossed the ‘Imagine the Possibilities’ (from SU’s ‘Word Play stamp set) and the ‘Happy Birthday’ in blue. The Happy Birthday I punched out using a 2 inch circle punch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The girl who got married (above) was also celebrating her birthday at the Easter gathering, so this is the card I made for her using the same red/white/black colour scheme. The background was embossed using the Cuttlebug and the ‘Victoria’ embossing folder. This has to be one of my favourite patterns for the Cuttlebug. I used a 3 1/2 inch scalloped circle punch, I cut out the base for the CTMH bird from the ‘Find Your Style’ set. The silver ‘feathers’ are rub-on transfers from one of American Crafts ‘miniMARKS’ transfer packs that we got as one of the specials offered by the owner of The Scrapbook Cottage during our scrapbook weekend in March. The ‘soar’ is also part of CTMHs ‘Find Your Style’ set cut out with a 1-1/2 inch scalloped oval punch. The final embellishment is the black and white polka-dot bow.

On the inside, I added a feather, then put on the black-embossed ‘Happy Birthday’ sentiment, cut out using SU’s 2-3/8 inch scalloped circle punch. The sentiment ‘Go confidently in the direction of your dreams’ was stamped with black embossing powder and painstakingly cut out using a sharp pair of pointy scissors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The final card for this week was fun to make, especially when I made one  for each of our grand nephews born on the same day! The background is a wallpaper sample from which I cut a few matching leaves to cover the giraffe and the ‘photo hunter’ using ‘pop-up’ sticky strips. The giraffe is from the ‘ZOO’ Recollections stamp set that I stamped on a beige patterned paper. The ‘hunter’ is from my Publisher’s Gold clip art disc. It is normally a black and white image, but I used coloured pencils to brighten him up a little. Inside is more wallpaper in a kind-of African pattern. I printed the sentiment from the computer. It was stamped with a bargain-bin ‘Happy Birthday’.

Hope you enjoyed this week’s installment, even if it was a day late! 🙂

Crafty Wednesday

Sorry I haven’t posted anything for a couple of days. I have been working on the cards I need to give out at Easter. I still have about a dozen left to make, but I thought I would share a few with you. The ones that are specifically for anniversaries, a wedding and a particular numbered birthday would be too easy to identify, so I will wait until after they have been given to show them off.

These two are obviously for young children. With kids cards, I always like to show a bit of humour as you can see (click on the images to enlarge it). For the first one, I used stamps from the Close To My Heart set, By The Sea. The turtle is from the Footloose Workshop-On-The-Go by CTMH, as is the sand dollar.

For the second, I used stickers and the little boy stamp borrowed from my sister-in-law. The background is a wallpaper sample that resembles birchbark.

This lady’s card incorporates a butterfly from Martha Stewart’s Butterfly stamp set that I stamped onto orange paper and added a bit of glitter. The striped ribbon was one of the deals I got at my autumn scrapbook weekend. The buttons were part of a bargain bag I picked up at Walmart that seemed to go with the colours of the background. Inside, I used a bargain bin stamp which I painted with glitter paint.

For this lady’s card, I stamped the roses with stamps from CTMH’s Roxie set and cut them out. The buttons were from the bargain bag. The sentiment was one I wrote out using MS Word. Inside I added a couple of paper flowers, attached with small flower brads and stamped with the Happy Birthday from a bargain set of clear acrylic stamps.

For one of the musicians in the family, I call this card Groovy! The guitar player is one of the clip art designs from my Printmaster Gold program. I added three star brads to the 2 1/2″ scalloped circle, stamped stars with a Versa stamp pad, then used silver and gold embossing powder. The musical notes and ‘groovy’ stamps are from the CTMH Melody set. The ‘Party like a rock star’ is a bargain stamp from Michael’s, as is the Happy Birthday. The keyboard is made with my Cuttlebug and the keyboard embossing folder. I used a black Sharpie to fill in the black keys.

Well, that’s it for tonight. Happy crafting everyone!