Saturday, December 29, 2012

Starburst Card / It's Your Day

The challenge last week over at ScrapZee.com was to create a card using the starburst technique. I used paper by Cosmo Cricket to create a sun ray  / sky effect using this technique. The clouds were made using dies from Memory Box and the picket fence is a Martha Stewart punch.

Have you heard about ScrapZee.com? It is a new paper community for inspiration, challenges and sharing. It is just kicking off and getting started but it already is a fun place to share your love for paper crafting. Check it out!

Thanks for stopping by.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

A Peaceful Christmas / Christmas Card and Tags

 As promised earlier, I am back with another Christmas card. I made 4 different designs this year and this was my favorite of the four. The sky is made with blending 4 inks from the Tim Holtz Distress Ink collection. I used Tumbled Glass, Weathered Wood, Chipped Sapphire and Black Soot. The village and star are  dies from Memory Box. Very clean and simple but I thought elegant looking...most certainly my favorite this year.

And what does the perfect gift need? A pretty tag of course! Below is a tag that I made using the embossed resist technique and the same village die from Memory box that I used on the above card.
 For a fun tag I used a cuttlebug embossing folder, Sizzix alphabet die and a Santa hat rubber stamp to create the tag below.


Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas. May it be safe, joyful and spent with family and friends.

Believe in the magic of Christmas / Christmas card

The magic of Christmas is upon us and I couldn't help but make this adorable card. This is a design that I first saw a couple of years ago and have had on my "to try" list since. It uses the top note die from Stampin Up. While there are several how to tutorials on the web, this is my favorite and the one I used to make my card : Elf Shoe Tutorial. Every Christmas I'm looking for a card design that I can mass produce and will be flat enough to require only one postage stamp. This fit the requirements! Also made one other design that I will be back a little bit later to post.

Thanks for looking!

Monday, October 29, 2012

Christmas Wreath Card / Martha Stewart Pine Branch Punch



It's my turn to host the weekly member challenge over at the CardSwaps forum on the CardMaker site. I'm challenging everyone to make a card with a wreath on it. It can be stamped, made with punches or die cuts, made with ribbon or buttons etc. Any holiday, season or colors but you must showcase a wreath on your card. I chose to use the Martha Stewart pine branch punch to make my wreath as the example for the challenge. I used Bazzill cardstock to punch the branches. Gemstones and ribbon are from my stash.

Why don't you come join us over at CardSwaps for the weekly challenge? Would love to see you there!

Thanks for stopping by!


Friday, October 5, 2012

Happy Halloween - Dreamweaver Bare Trees Brass Stencil

I'm not one that gets into Halloween but I do enjoy seeing all the spooky, creepy and cute cards that all my crafty friends make. I got this idea to take one of my favorite Dreamweaver brass stencils...Bare Trees...to make a Halloween card. Using black cardstock I stenciled different shades of gray to create the night sky. I used a mask and frosty white pigment ink to create the moon. All inks I used are pigment inks by Colorbox. The bats were created using a stamp by Martha Stewart Crafts and then cut out. The label tag is by Spellbinders and the sentiment is computer generated.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope everyone has a wonderful October!



Sunday, September 23, 2012

A Chest of Drawers Tag

Just a quick post to share a tag with all of you that I recently made for a swap I hosted on the Card Swaps forum of the CardMaker site. Using a tag die by Sizzix, I cut three layers... two from Kraft cardstock and one from a kleenex box. I sandwiched the kleenex box piece between the two Kraft cardstock pieces. Using a label die from Spellbinders I cut the bottom piece out to form the legs of the dresser. All pieces were inked on the edges using  Tim Holtz's walnut distress ink by Ranger. Strung some pearls on thread to make the necklace and added a bit of lace trim for the bottom drawer. It was a lot of fun to make!

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Autumn to all my crafty friends!

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Asian Inspired Tag and a Cute Little Purse



If you didn't get to join in on the Treat Yourself Crop week before last at Card Swaps...then you missed out on a lot of fun challenges! I still have a lot of things going on in my life right now so I was only able to do two of the challenges. Meredith asked us to make a tag using a specific technique of coloring and embossing. The idea is to ink your background and then stamp it in another color. You then stamp your main image with versamark ink and then clear emboss. Then you apply a darker ink all over your tag. The embossed area will reject the darker ink causing the lighter ink and stamping to show through. For Meredith's full tutorial click HERE.

I was inspired by the Japanese Shinto wood charms for my tag. I used 3 different colors of distress ink, a Japanese script rubber stamp, a Japanese crane rubber stamp and a Japanese symbol rubber stamp. For my tag base I used a kleenex box that I cut the tag shape out of to give some stability as if it were wood. I then cut two more tag shapes out of a manilla folder. After inking both pieces I then placed one on each side of the tag cut out of the kleenex box. The back of the tag is inked with black walnut distress ink to help make the tag look like wood. I then chose to top off my tag with a Japanese Omamori Tassel knot. For a tutorial on how to make one, click HERE.

The second challenge I did was hosted by Margaret. She had us make these adorable little purses.

I kept mine super simple but you can embellish them as much or as little as you want. They are super simple to make. They would be absolutely adorable for a bridal shower or to house a small gift of jewelry or something for someone. You can find the tutorial on how to make these adorable purses HERE.

If you missed the crop this time....don't fret! The next one is coming up in November.  There will be lots of challenges, games, a blog hop, prizes, not to mention all the fun and inspiration!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cherry Blossom / Memory Box Die

Have you ever CASE on a card that you saw on Pinterest or maybe someone's blog? I recently pinned a card on Pinterest that I fell in love with its simplicity and wanted to make one just like it. Using the cherry blossom die and woodland branch die from Memory Box, I was able to do just that. I used kraft cardstock for the base and the mat. The mat I crimped in my paper crimper going in one direction and then turning it and crimping it again in the other direction. It is a simple but I think elegant look.

You can see the original card that inspired this HERE.

Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

CardSwaps Treat Yourself Blog Hop


WELCOME  to the Treat Yourself Blog Hop!

There is an awesome crop going on over at the CardSwaps forum on CardMaker's site this week. Challenges and games will be posted August 8-11, 2012 and you have until 11:59PM EST August 14, 2012 to get your projects posted to the appropriate thread. If you haven't participated before, don't worry! There are many members and myself that will be around to offer support and encouragement. You can find out all you need to know in the forum. At the end of the hop, you will be taken to the crop and I do hope you join in. Collect the letters along the way and unscramble them to be entered into the drawing for a prize for one lucky hopper! You will be given details at the bottom of the post. Don't skip ahead!!! 


You should have  arrived here from Jane's  blog, I hope. If not, go back and check out her blog and see the amazing creation she has made especially for this blog hop. While there be sure to leave her some love with a comment and grab her letter that you will need for the Unscramble It game.
The blog hop "theme" goes with the crop title of "Treat Yourself". The type of project was left  up to the hostesses of the blog hop, as long as it somehow conveyed a way the hostess "treats" herself. We were also asked to share something about a way we unwind or our favorite way to treat ourselves. I had to think about that for awhile as I wasn't sure how I really treated myself to be honest. Then I thought about time with the "girls". I have 4 friends whom I have known for years and have remained close to in spite of our busy  hectic schedules of work and raising kids. We manage to schedule some girl time together now and then which usually means a lunch or dinner date followed with maybe some shopping or seeing a movie. This brings me to my project...

I really didn't have anything stamp wise or image wise that I could use to show time out with the girls so I knew I would have to think outside the box for this one! Then I remembered something that occurs just about every time we get together for lunch or dinner. A couple of years ago the 5 of us decided to try a new restaurant for our girls night out dinner. Once the waitress took  our drink order she set some coasters down in front of each of us and said she would be right back with our drinks. My eyes zeroed in on those chipboard coasters and I immediately started thinking of all the things I could make with them. I started snatching them up as I was telling my friends what all I could do with them. When the waitress returned, you could tell she had a puzzled look on her face as if she was trying to remember if she had set down coasters already or not. That's when one of my friends spoke up and let her know she wasn't going crazy but that I had taken them and put them in my purse to take home to craft with. I sat there waiting for the coaster police to come out and take me away , when to my surprise the waitress said, "I do the same thing! Here have some more." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a big stack that she handed over to me. From that time on when we meet for lunch or dinner, my friends are grabbing up their coaster and handing them over to me!

Well those coasters have been sitting on a shelf in my craft room collecting dust so I decided it was time to finally use some of them for this blog hop. I made a post it holder using a coaster for the base and one for the top. In fact just this past week I was treating myself to a luncheon with the girls so I made one for each of them. The one I have pictured here was made using a Spellbinders butterfly. I cut the butterfly out of the piece of DP used to cover the top and then repositioned the butterfly to look as if the butterfly just came right out of the paper. I used some Lumiere paint to paint the coaster so that the printing of the coaster would not show through where I cut the butterfly out. The basic design of the post it note holder is not my own original idea but is from someone I follow on you tube. You can find her directions HERE if you would like to make one of your own. 




Supplies I used:
2 chipboard 3 1/2" square coasters
Designer Paper & Cardstock
Elmer's Rubber Cement Glue
Score Tape
Spellbinder's Butterfly die
Sizzix Leaf Branch die
Lumiere Pearl White Paint
Colorbox Lavender pigment ink
Pearls from my stash

Unscramble It game for hoppers... You will be unscrambling a word once you have collected a letter at each blog you visit. The hostesses can play along, because they don't know any of the letters but their own. Once you collect ALL the letters, the last hostess (Lora) in the blog hop will direct you to the thread in the forum where you can find all the details you need to enter the drawing. All hoppers collecting all the letters, unscrambling the word or phrase, entering the game by following the directions in the forum, and leaving feedback on EVERY blog in the hop WILL be entered into a random drawing held on August 15, 2012. ONE lucky hopper will have their name drawn and will win a prize!! Fun, right?? The winner will be posted in the forum on the game thread for Treat Yourself Unscramble It! So, make sure you visit every blog and find the letters. Your hints are... it’s a phrase, it has three words, and it’s a way to keep balance in one's life.

My letter is...
i

Now, be sure to hop on over to Margaret's blog next to see what she has created and to collect your next letter. Hope to see you over at the crop joining in on all the fun with the challenges and games!

The list of hoppers, in case you got lost somewhere on the hop:

Brooke Smith (CardMaker Blog)   :   http://www.cardmakermagazine.com/blog/
Jane   :   http://jane-notsuchaplainjane.blogspot.com/
Susan   :   http://lilbitofme-susan.blogspot.com/
Margaret      http://mmora-lilyana-365.blogspot.com/
Trudy Sjolander   :   http://truesgiftsfromtheheart.blogspot.com/
Golda   :   http://goldapete.wordpress.com/
Meredith   :   http://whatsnextma.blogspot.com/
Jeanette   :   http://jeanette9677.blogspot.com/
Colleen Schaan   :   http://www.distinctivetouches.com/
Laura   :   http://ljjonescircus.blogspot.com/
Ivanka   :   http://ivankascardstudio.blogspot.com/
Marlene   :   http://www.marlenescubbyholecreations.blogspot.com/
Anya Schrier   :   http://aschoss.blogspot.com/
Angelina   :   http://angel-artdesign.blogspot.com/
Ana   :   http://anaggarciam.blogspot.com/
Ashley   :   http://www.stampingwithashley.blogspot.com
Lora   :   http://www.lorabrinkman.com/

Friday, July 20, 2012

Christmas Wreath Card

Wow! Two posts in one day from me....and back to back ...LOL! Sorry about that. I meant to add this to the previous post and I no sooner clicked on the publish button when I realized I hadn't added this card to the post. So I decided to just make a separate post for this card. I promised myself I would try very hard to have my Christmas cards done early this year. Of course I say that every year and I always end up at last minute trying to get them all finished up and mailed. I'm thinking about designs though and I had fun making this one.

The wreath is made with the Martha Stewart pine branch punch. I punched several out in white cardstock and then placed them around a circle shape I had cut out with a Spellbinders die. I wanted to keep it simple and more of a white Christmas type of theme. Therefor I chose to have the only color be the red embellies on the wreath and bow. The border design was made using a Martha Stewart border punch. I had fun making the wreath and plan to try it out in green next.

Thanks again for stopping by!

House Mouse Tent Topper Card and Grand Madison Window Die Card

Hello! I meant to post these awhile ago. I actually have been making cards lately...well a few but just haven't been getting around to posting them. Things have been kind of chaotic and hectic in my life for awhile. Anywho....the card pictured above was made using the Grand Madison window die from Poppy Stamps / Memory Box. I fell in love with this window die and have pinned many examples of it being used on Pinterest. I have a lot of ideas for it and sure hope I find time in the near future to try out all of those ideas. The sun and sunrays were made with Colorbox pigment inks. The landscape is a die also by Memory Box called Country Landscape. The DP is by Basic Grey.

The next card below was for a challenge I hosted over on Card Swaps on the CardMaker site. The challenge was to make a tent topper card. The image I used is called O Happy Day....a House Mouse stamp by Stampabilities. I colored the image with Prismacolor color pencils. Embossing folder is by Cuttlebug and the cardstock is by Bazzill.


Thanks for stopping by and I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer and staying cool. It has been a hot summer so far here in the Midwest!

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Sunshine Cards / Country Landscape Memory Box Die

Do you picture a card in your head but when you sit down to make it, it just doesn't come out the way you pictured it? Most often that is the case with me but not this time. This design came out exactly the way I imagined it. I originally planned to make another starburst card like the two I made last month using yellow patterned paper to help resemble sunshine. The more I thought about it though, I decided to ink it and create my own rays of sunshine.

I had decisions to make though...what time of day for my sun rays...early morning...later in the day etc. Should I round my corners, keep them square, sun cut to fit the card or hanging off the edge etc. Soooo...I decided to make two cards using all the ideas instead of choosing.

This card has the darker rays, rounded corners and the sun coming off the edge.

The next card has squared corners, lighter color rays and the sun cut to fit the card. I think I like both equally!

Here's how I made both:

I took a scrap piece of white cardstock and cut the narrow strips to help make my rays. I then took some Elmer's Rubber Cement Glue and ran some glue on one side of the white strips...covering them completely. I love Elmer's Rubber Cement. It can be used for both a permanent glue and a repositonable tacky glue. It also does not wrinkle or warp your paper. Putting the strips aside to dry and become tacky I then cut the remainder of my pieces I needed to make my cards. The card base is 4 1/4" x 5 1/2". The mat that the sun rays are on is 4" x 5 1/4". My sun is cut from a Spellbinder die and measures 2 1/2" in diameter. The bottom piece used for cutting the landscape and stamping the word "Sunshine" measures 2 1/4"  x 4"before cutting the landscape. All pieces were cut from white cardstock.

My white strips were now dry and tacky and ready to postion on my 4" x 5 1/4" mat. Once I had them into postion I proceeded on to ink my rays. Using yellow pigment ink I inked the mat all over using a direct pad to paper method. I then took a stencil brush and stenciled Rose Coral pigment ink all over on top of the yellow. Still applying ink with a stencil brush I now took Apricot pigment ink and stenciled color from about the middle of the rays and out to the edges. Continuing on I then stenciled Old Rose pigment ink around the edges and then I blended all colors for a smooth transition of light to dark on the outer edges. All four colors of ink used are pigment inks by Colorbox. For the lightter rays I used less ink and more for the darker rays. Once inked I removed my white strips for masking to reveal my white stripes between the rays. For the sun I inked the circle all over with the yellow pigment ink and then blended in some Apricot pigment ink all over.

I then used the Country Landscape die by Memory Box to cut the landscape border on my 2 1/4" x 4" piece. I then stamped my "Sunshine" sentiment which is a clear dollar stamp that I picked up at JoAnn's. I then adhered my sun ray mat to my card base, pop dotted my sun into place and then pop dotted my landscape border on top of that for dimension.

It was a pretty simple and quick card to make. I have a ton more ideas that came to mind using the Country Landscape border while working on this card that I can't wait to try. Also thought this card would be cute with a silhouette of a rooster in front of the sun. Makes me think of the days when I was little and would visit my relatives on the farm.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

Red, White and Blue Tag / Memory Box dies

Have you discovered Memory Box dies yet? I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them! They are my latest craze and I can't seem to get enough of them. They carry such a fun and unique line of dies that cut very nicely and are fun to work with.

I made this tag for a challenge that I hosted over at Card Swaps on the CardMakers site week before last. The challenge was to make a card or a tag using any shades of red, white and blue. There was a twist though....you could not make a USA patriotic card. The carousel birdcage, perched bird, woodland branch and flowers are all dies from Memory Box. The pine branch is a Martha Stewart punch.

Have a great week!

Cards from the Time To Shine crop

A quick post to post some more of the cards from the Time To Shine crop over at Card Swaps that was in May. Sorry, I promised these with my last post over two weeks ago! The card pictured above was for a challenge to create a card using stars. I painted mine with Lumiere paints and added some glitter.

The next card was to make a pattern design with rhinestones...such as the swirls I made.

Next up is a card that was for Ana's challenge....embossing foil or metal. I used some brass tooling foil and a Dreaweavers brass stencil to make my card.

Last but not least is a card for Judy's challenge...spotlight technique. I used an Asian theme stamp and spotlighted a small part of the pear which I gold embossed and colored with distressed inks.


Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Rainbow Card & Tag

Whew, the Time To Shine Crop has finally ended over on the Card Swaps forum. It was loads of fun with challenges, games and a blog hop but also very hectic trying to do everything. I'm in the progress of getting my craft room back in shape as it always looks like a hurricane hit after a crop week. Thought I would take a quick break though and post some of the challenges I completed.
The card below was for prairiewildflower / Judy's challenge that she hosted titled "Bling Me Up Scotty". We were to create a card using an image of something that we see in the sky. It could be a stamped image or printed paper etc that featured something we see in the sky. I had a fairly new die that I was anxious to use of a rainbow. So this was the perfect opportunity for me to use it. We also had to add some "glitz" of some sort and somehow to our card. I glittered my rainbow making it very sparkly.

The rainbow die is by My Favorite Things and the clouds are a die by Memory Box. Cardstock is by Bazzill.

Another challenge hosted by Marlene was to make a card or any other paper project of your choice using either Glossy Accents or glossy embossing powder to gloss something on your creation. I was excited to see this challenge because it not only gave me the opportunity to use my rainbow die again but also gave me the opportunity to make a tag to go along with my card. I plan on giving the card to someone who graduated from college this year and the tag will be attached to a present.
So for my tag I used the same dies and same cardstock as the card . I added some baker's twine from Doodlebug and a picket fence from a Martha Stewart border punch. The rainbow looks dark in the picture but in real life it is not that dark and is very glossy. Not sure if I like the rainbow better glittery or glossy. What do you think?

Well this is two of the challenges I completed for the crop. There were 12 in all and I only managed to complete 6 of them. I will post the other 4 in the next day or two.  Every crop I make it my goal to complete all 12 but haven't managed to do that yet. Maybe the next crop that is coming up in August...

Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Time To Shine Blog Hop

WELCOME!

You are on the Time To Shine Blog Hop which is in connection with the Time To Sine Crop which is currently going on over at the Card Swaps forum on the CardMaker site. There will be lots of challenges, games and prizes. Click HERE for details about the crop. You should have arrived here from Marlene's blog. If not then you will want to go back to the beginning with Brooke Smith and the CardMaker Blog and start over as you do not want to miss anything. The theme of the crop is Time To Shine, focusing on glittery and shimmery things. The blog hop theme goes along with that with the hostesses focusing on items that you would see on a time to shine day such as graduation, wedding etc. There is also a fun game going on for all the blog hoppers. So stick with me as I will be giving you the details for that in just a moment.

I chose to make a graduation card for my project. I have been seeing these adorable graduation cap cards all over Pinterest and of course I had to "pin" them. Besides some family and friends that are graduating this year, my son has quite a few friends that are graduating from college this year. He asked if I would make cards for him to give to his friends. I thought the graduation cap card would be perfect to make not only for his friends but also for the ones I needed too. Each one I have made has been made in the color of that person's graduation cap and tassel. Let me tell you, a lot of royal blue and black! Had one navy blue. The card I have pictured below is for one of my son's friends whose cap and gown is black with an off white tassel. Luckily the card is for a girl so I was able to bling it up a bit with some rhinestones and a shimmery tassel made with embroidery floss. All cardstock is by Bazzill and the sentiment is by Hero Arts.

For the inside I cut out the year using Sizzix's script font. I then painted each number with metallic gold paint by Lumiere. While the paint was still wet I sprinkled on gold lame ultra fine glitter by Art Glitter. The majority of the inside was left blank for my son to write a special note to his friend.
I hope you like my project. It is super simple to make and should you like to try it, you can find the instructions HERE.

Now it's time to hear about the fun game that goes along with this hop. Each stop of the hop the hostesses will be giving you a letter. So be sure to collect each one because when you get to the last stop you will be directed to the Card Swaps forum where you will get your final letter and some hints to help you unscramble the word(s) for a chance to win a prize. So without further ado...my letter is:

U

Don't forget to check out the crop if you haven't already. It goes from May 16 - 19th and you have till 11:59pm CST on May 22 to upload your projects for a chance to win a prize. It's loads of fun and I hope to see you at the crop.

Now on to your next stop Colleen Schaan. I am sure she has an awesome project waiting for you to see. I love her cards and her coloring!

Here's a list of the blog hop stops in case you get lost...don't forget to collect your letters along the way!

Susan ...you are HERE

Friday, May 11, 2012

Starburst Cards

Hello! Have you tried making a card using the starburst pattern? I have seen it on many blogs and it was featured along with a tutorial on the Operation Write Home site. You can find that tutorial and samples HERE. Also my friend Judy sent me a Christmas card last year using this patter. You can see her gorgeous card HERE. So this pattern has been on my "to try" list for awhile. I finally chose to use it for a challenge a couple of weeks ago on the Card Swaps forum and also chose to send it to my friend Judy for her birthday last month.

It is such a fun and easy pattern / design to make. I had so much fun with it that I chose to make a second one to send to my mother in law for mother's day.

I'm sure I will be using this pattern again in the future. Check out the tutorial from OWH in the link above and give it a try if you haven't already.

Have a great weekend!

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Minnie Mouse Disney Card

The challenge, week before last, over at Card Swaps on the CardMaker  site, was to make a card that was Disney inspired. Love, love, love Disney and all the Disney characters! Feeling in a pink mood, I chose to make a Minnie Mouse card. Cardstock used is by Bazzill. Embossing folder is by cuttlebug. Minnie Mouse images are digi images that I colored with Prismacolor color pencils.

Hope you're having a good week and thanks for stopping by!

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Notecard Portfolio / Holder Tutorial

Back again as promised earlier with my project for this week's challenge over at Card Swaps on the CardMakers site. The challenge is to make a card portfolio. We were given a link to a tutorial on how to make one that we could use or we were also free to tweak the design a bit or design our own. I did a bit of tweaking and came up with a design using one sheet of 8 1/2" x 11" piece of cardstock. The size of my portfolio will hold size A2 cards with envelopes.

Here is an inside view of my portfolio. I kept it simple. The cards I plan on making to put inside will feature the window die template that I used for the front of the cover. I plan on making a card for each season, Summer, Fall etc.
Here's how I made the portfolio:

Take a piece of sturdy cardstock that measures 8 1/2" x 11". With the 8 1/2 side at the top of your score board, score at 6" and 6 1/4". Now turn your cardstock so that the 11" side is at the top of your scoreboard and score at the following score marks at:
3/4", 5 1/4", 5 3/4", and 10 1/4" all of these score marks are scored all the way down. Without turning the cardstock you will score at the 1/2" mark only scoring up to the 6" score line that you first scored. Then score one more line at 10 1/2" up to the 6" score line. Now flip your cardstock around so that the last two score lines you made are on the bottom.  Here's what your piece of cardstock should look like:
Take scissors or an exacto knife and cut on the 5 1/4" and 5 3/4" lines up to the 6" score line and remove that piece. On both sides cut out the notch between the 6" and 6 1/4" line up to the 1/2" score line and remove. Now your piece of cardstock should look like this:
Fold and crease all of your score lines. You will see the portfolio take shape as you are creasing the score lines. The bottom two flaps form the pockets, the space between your two middle score lines form the spine etc. If you would like to add ribbon to your project for ribbon tie closures, you would do so at this time. Using an exacto knife you will cut a slit on the 3/4" score line and on the 10 1/4" score line (your side flaps) on each side in the middle. Cut your slit to fit the width of your ribbon. Insert the ends of your two pieces of ribbon into the slits and then glue your 3/4" side flaps down which will secure your ribbon ties in place. You can see the ribbon coming out of the sides in my inside view picture. In that picture you can see how the ends are hidden under the side flaps. Here is a picture of what your cardstock will look like as you are folding the score lines:
You will need to apply a strong adhesive to the 3/4" side flaps and the 1/2" pocket side flaps. That's all there is to making the holder! Pretty easy eh? I recommend doing any decorating and embellishing that you may want to do before you glue your holder together. I find it easier.
The supplies I used:
Memory Box Grand Madison Window Die
Memory Box Flower Box Die
Memory Box Primula Flower  Die
Memory Box Fern Leaf Die
Martha Stewart Twig Branch punch
Martha Stewart border punch
Sizzix embossing folder
Kraft cardstock by The American Paper Co.
White cardstock by Bazzill
Raw Silk Pigment ink by Colorbox

Thanks for stopping by!

Friday, May 4, 2012

3x3 Cards

A quick post to get myself updated on my blog. I've been neglecting things here on my blog lately and not posting my projects...sorry about that! These are some more 3x3 cards. The Asian ones were made for the February crop on the Card Swaps forum over at CardMakers. We were to make 4 3x3 cards along with a holder for them. We had a specific holder that we had directions for to make. It went together really fast and easy. The holder holds 4 3x3 cards with envelopes very nicely. There is also a middle section for holding a small pen or stamps. I made mine with a clear acetate top. It would make a nice gift for someone.
I also recently hosted a swap for 3x3 cards and here are a couple of the ones I made.
Both have embossing on them but I had a really difficult time getting a good photo that would show the embossing.

This last 3x3 was made to look like the quilt block the Ohio Star.


Thanks for stopping by. I will be back in just a bit with my project for this week's challenge at Card Swaps.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Quilt Cards

Hello! I just realized that I never posted any of my cards from the online card crop last month over at Card Swaps. Geez Louise, you would think I was getting old and losing my mind :) I hosted two of the 12 challenges for the card crop. One of my challenges was to create a card using any quilt design of your choice. I use to love quilting. Going through all my quilt books and patterns I found many that I thought could be used for making cards. I chose to do a variation of the nine patch for my card samples. I made a 5x5 square card, a 3x3 card and a size A2 card all using the same pattern.

I also included a tutorial for making this super easy and quick pattern for anyone who wanted to try my challenge using this quilt block pattern. Here is the tutorial if any of you would like to try it too.
Directions:
You will need 5 squares and then a 6th square that is cut into fourths to create 4 triangles. You will also need a base that is square in shape and 3 times the size of one of your squares. So if you are cutting 1" squares then your base will be 3". In all my cards above I used a solid color for my base and two different pattern papers for my squares. You may use the same or come up with your own combination of different patterned papers. For the sake of the tutorial though I only used two colors. You may cut your squares with a paper punch, dies, trimmer...your choice. Here's the pieces you need to start with. I made 1" squares for the tutorial with a 3" base.
 The next picture shows you how to cut the four triangles. Cut the square in half then cut the two halves in half.
 Using your favorite choice for adhesive...place one square in each corner of your base...one triangle between each square and then the last square in the middle.





Pretty easy! Now you can mat and embellish your quilt square to your liking and use on your card as you see fit.

For my square card I used 1 1/4" squares. For the 3x3 card I used 3/4" squares. On my A2 size card I made 4 quilt blocks using 1/2" squares for all. The designer papers are by Basic Grey and the cardstock is Bazzill.

Hope you enjoyed my quilt cards and thanks for stopping by!