Wish List

Monday, March 18, 2024

Birthday cards for tiny tots...

 I try to make a wide variety of cards to donate, and a short time ago I made a couple for toddlers.

It was a chance to use up some scraps that were laying on my desk.


I'm always amazed when a very few small scraps completely embellish a card front. 


Both cards were made in exactly the same way. I used glitter cardstock for each of the numbers. I also used dimensionals to pop up each small number panel.



I've had the teddy bear die for years. I have no idea who the manufacuter is, but it could be Spellbinder's. It's a nice die because you can ink the tummy, paws, nose/mouth and ears through holes in the die.

I added some Nuvo Drops for the eyes.



Both cards had the same stamped sentiment on the inside.

*****

It has turned cold here. They predict it will get down to the teens at night this week. My poor tulips, which are about 5 inches high, are going to suffer some serious frostbite!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.

Cheryl

Friday, March 15, 2024

St. Patrick's Day cards...

I made several cards for St. Patrick's Day--one for a family member and the others to donate to the thrift store. I thought I'd share some samples with you today.

I made several of these cards. The sentiment made me smile, and I love using my little frog die.


Of course, I had to add some googly eyes to my frog. They always add some life and just the right amount of silliness.










Both sentiments (front and inside) were printed with my computer. The four-leaf clover was cut with a die.








The image of the four-leaf clover on this card was created with a stencil. I matted it and popped it up on dimensionals. the sentiment was stamped, die-cut, matted and also popped up on dimensionals.


I added another four-leaf clover on the inside above my compiter-printed sentiment.









On this card, I used three die-cut shamrocks as my focal point and added a green gem at the center of each.


The largest shamrock was popped up with dimensionals, as was my stamped and die-cut sentiment.









I also added a shamrock to the inside of this card.

Do you know the difference between shamrocks and four-leaf clovers? I learned this online:  

As for the difference in symbolism between shamrocks and clovers, shamrocks re recognized as representtions of the Holy Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, the four leaves of a clover syumbolize love, faith, hope, and luck. 

Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.

Cheryl

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Die-cut, layered flowers...

 

I purchased the die set for this flower sometime ago. I ordered it online, so I guess I wasn't fully aware of how big it was. It definitely fills up an A2 card front!

There are four layers of petals and two layers of the flower center. By the time you get them all glued together, it's quite a stack. And with a little shading (achieved with some ink and a blending brush), it looks pretty impressive.

I used a background die to for the pinpoint design in the white panel of each card.

I just had to try it in purple, too, but I changed the orientation to a top-fold card. 

I pulled some scraps of purple in different shades from my scrap pile and die-cut the layers. Then I added some shading with different purple inks. You can see in the photos that I cut the bottom layers in the darkest shade of purple and used progressively lighter shades for the subsequent layers.


I loved how this one turned out.

I added some shading to the flower centers and the leaves, too.









Each card had a stamped sentiment on the inside.

These were such fun cards to make and sold quickly at the thrift store. I definitely need to make some more of them!

*****

I'm happy to report that my injured knee is nearly back to normal. I was a bit surprised--but very happy--with how quickly it recovered. I still don't know what I did to it, but I hope it never happens again. It was very painful!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.

Cheryl

Monday, March 11, 2024

A new way to use a die...

In the past, I've shared a number of cards using a die that cut lines and small circles radiating out from a center point where I often adhered a butterfly.


This card is a slimline card made with that die. It really works well on this size of card.

When I used the die on A2 cards, I placed it diagonally across the front of the card. You can see some examples of those cards here.
















One day, when I was perusing the internet, I found an example of the die used as shown in the following two cards.

For this card, I placed the die close to the bottom of my panel of DSP. After running it through my Big Shot, I carefully cut off the bottom piece, following the lines of the die cut. 


After adhering my die-cut panel to the card base, I added some star embellishments and a sentiment. It would have been better if the little die-cut circles had been die-cut stars (there is a die like that available online), but I thought it stilled worked.






The inside of this card had a stamped sentiment and a few stamped stars that I filled in with a glitter pen.








For this card, I used the same idea, but added a wedding cake sticker at the point where the lines intersect. The background DSP is a silver metallic pattern, and the cake was also made of silver metallic patterned tiers.

The sentiment was heat-embossed with silver embossing powder and then popped up on dimensionals.


I filled the little open circles with pearly white Nuvo Drops.







The inside sentiment was also heat-embossed with silver embossing powder.

I had a strip of the metallic DSP left over, so I added it to the inside as an embellishment.

I really love finding new ways to use the dies I have. If you have any more ideas for me, please share!


                   *****


On Saturdau, as I was carrying groceries up our back steps, I somehow wrenched my knee. I could hardly get up the steps after that! It felt like something had slipped out of joint momentarily. It was still very sore on Sunday, but I could at least walk again without too much discomfort. This "getting old" stuff is for the birds!!! Hopefully, my knee will continue to improve in the days ahead. Then I think I need to get on an exercise regime to strengthen those muscles.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.

Cheryl

Friday, March 8, 2024

Loving my 3D embossing folders...

I recently purchased a new 3D embossing folder, and I really love it. Of course, embossing folders are some of my very favorite crafting tools. They can make a plain piece of cardstock look amazing.

On this card, I used a new (to me) embossing folder to add some pretty texture to the background.


The wedding cake is a sticker that was one of several that were given to me. The sentiment was stamped, die-cut and then popped up on dimensionals, as was my shaped panel.









I stamped another sentiment on the inside. I also glued on a strip of the embossed panel that I had cut off the original one. I just couldn't waste it!








For this card, I used the same embossing folder, but after running it through my Big Shot, I lightly dragged an ink pad across the top. The ink highlighted the raised areas of the embossed pattern, and I thought it was just beautiful! 

I didn't want to detract from the embossed design, so I added just a sheer ribbon and a sentiment on dimensionals. The ribbon was actually pale pink to start with, but I used a blue alcohol marker to color it.


This card also had a stamped sentiment on the inside.

Do you like using using embossing folders, too? I'd love it if you'd share some tips for using them creatively. 

Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.

Cheryl

Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Let's Craft and Create Challenge #205: Anything Goes or Thank You (Give thanks)...

 

It's time for another challenge at Let's Craft and Create, and this time I'm looking forward to many, many entries. We all make thank you cards, right? And if you don't happen to be making any thank you cards right now, there is always the "Anything Goes" option.

I decided to make a "Double Flap" thank you card. This is a card-in-a-card fun fold. The idea came from Lisa Curcio, and you can watch her video here.


I used three coordinating patterned papers along with some blue and white cardstock to make my card.


The daisy was die-cut. I wanted to use a white daisy because the green background paper has white daisies on it. After cutting and layering it, I realized that it wouldn't show up well against the green and white check. I used a finger dauber to add a little blue ink to the ends of the petals to make it more prominent.

The center of the flower is a green, sparkly enamel dot.







When the top flap is lifted, this is what you see on the inside. 

I stamped the sentiment and the flower stems. Then I added a small die-cut daisy at the top of each stem and gave them each a Nuvo Drop center.






When the second flap is lifted, this is the message on the inside.

This time I used a blending brush to add a little light green ink in the center, stamped my sentiment and added a couple more small, die-cut daisies.

This card was easy to make, as Lisa offers a link to a printout with all the dimensions here.

I hope you'll join this latest challenge. I am always inspired by the creativity of those who do! First, though, be sure to check out what the rest of the Design Team has made at Let's Craft and Create.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.

Cheryl

Saturday, March 2, 2024

Star quilt cards...

I had fun making a couple of star quilt cards lately, and I plan to make more with some of my leftover scraps of DSP. I think they're especially great for get well cards. Who doesn't like a nice warm quilt when you don't feel well or are recovering from surgery?

If you want to see a video tutorial for these cards, check this one out. You'll see just how easy they are.

This was the first star quilt card that I made. I used scraps for all the quilt square pieces and  simply cut them to size with my paper cutter. It worked fine to do it that way.


Using an embossing folder on the design really gives it the appearance of a quilt.

The strips were 1/2" wide, the white square was 3" X 3" and the mat was 3 1/8" X 3 1/8"

You will also need four 3/4" squares of white cardstock. These are glued in each corner on top of the strips to create the points of the star.







For the inside of my card, I added a computer-generated sentiment.









This card was made using dies for everything but the strips. I found I had a 3" square die, so I used that to cut the white square. I used the next size up in my set of dies to cut the orange mat. I also had a 3/4" square die and used that to cut the squares for the corners. Using the dies ensured that everything was cut perfectly square.


The sentiments on both cards were popped up on foam tape, and I added a few enamel dots on my second card.

I want to try out some other embossing folders on these cards, too. 

I hope you'll give these cards a try. They're really quick and fun and such a great way to use up scraps.







 This card had a stamped sentiment (actually two sentiments) on the inside. I had a little ink boo-boo between the sentiments, so I used a stitched strip die to cut a small piece of of DSP to cover it up. I think it looks ok; do you?

Someday, when I have some extra time, I'd like to try this in a little bigger size. Maybe a 4" square and 3/4" strips. If I do, I'll let you know how it turns out.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.

Cheryl