Trying to catch up

I am so behind on my blog posts that all the cards I've been sharing are ones I made months ago. I've still been making cards and other projects -- I have a slew of pictures on my camera to prove it. But I've been so overwhelmed with holiday tasks and preparations that I can't keep up with sharing them.

My end-of-the-year goal is to finish posting the "old" cards -- the pictures I already have on my flash drive -- by Dec. 31. Then I'll start the new year with the photos that are still on my camera. I'll still be behind, but at least not quite so far behind.

Tonight I'm going to share three kid-friendly birthday cards. For the sake of time I'm just going to include the photos and supply lists, so if you have any how-to questions, please post a comment and I'll respond as soon as I can.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Under the Flower stamp and die combo (Taylored Expressions)
Paper: Granny Apple Green, Whisper White, Highland Heather, Flirty Flamingo card stock
Ink: Granny Apple Green, Memento Tuxedo Black; Blends/Blendabilities: Skin Tone Assortment, Pineapple Punch, Granny Apple Green, Highland Heather, Flirty Flamingo
Accessories: Frame in Frame 2 Cutting Plate (Taylored Expressions), sequins (Craft Medley), Lucky Limeade baker's twine, Daffodil Delight 1/8" taffeta ribbon, clear Wink of Stella glitter brush pen, Dimensionals

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Yippee Critters stamp and die combo (Taylored Expressions)
Paper: Soft Sky, Whisper White card stock; Happy Day paper pad (My Mind's Eye)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; alcohol markers: Bronze, Mocha, Smoky Slate, Nude (Blendabilites); Warm Gray No. 3 (Copic)
Accessories: Curly Q Cutting Plate (Taylored Expressions), Party Hat die (Taylored Expressions), Balloon Bouquet punch, crochet thread (DMC), Melon Mambo and Daffodil Delight pompom trims, sparkling clear sequins (Pretty Pink Posh), Dimensionals, Glue Dots

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Yippee Critters stamp and die combo (Taylored Expressions)
Paper: Soft Sky, Whisper White, Real Red, Pacific Point, Crushed Curry, Garden Green card stock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; alcohol markers: Bronze, Mocha, Daffodil Delight, Nude (Blendabillities); Warm Gray No. 3, Cool Gray No. 1 (Copic)
Accessories: Build-A-Scene Rolling Clouds dies (Taylored Expressions), Grassy Border Lawn Cuts (Lawn Fawn), Dimensionals

















 Thanks for stopping by!

Lego winter village 2018

It’s been a few years since I put out my Lego winter village (I think 2014 was the last appearance), but this year it’s taking center stage — and the entire coffee table — in the living room. We even expanded the village with a firehouse — just in case Santa gets stuck in a chimney. Here are a few photos of the village:

So far everything has remained intact, and there have been no invasions by abominable snow cats. Fingers crossed that the villagers remain safe for at least another week.

Thanks for stopping by!

Calling all cat lovers

How is it possible that Christmas is only seventeen days away? Last night I stayed up way too late addressing all my Christmas cards so they could go in the mail today. This afternoon we decorated our little Christmas tree and put up a few other decorations. And I worked on a couple of the gifts I'm making. But I still have so much to do! More shopping, all the wrapping, and a lot more crafting. It gets overwhelming if I think about it too much, so I'm taking a quick break to share a fun non-holiday kitty-themed card.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Paper:Whisper White, thick Whisper White, Basic Black, Smoky Slate card stock
Ink: Smoky Slate, Hello Honey, Baked Brown Sugar, Lucky Limeade, Marina Mist, Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: FeLINE die (Penny Black), Brick embossing folder (Taylored Expressions), clear droplets (Pretty Pink Posh), crochet thread (DMC), sponge daubers, Dimensionals, Bitty Banner punch, washi tape for masking

The last time I used this die, I cut the cats out of a monotone background I'd made with my gel printing plate. This time I wanted to try making the cats different colors.

I started by simply die cutting white card stock and setting aside the "negative" pieces (the blue and green pieces in my card). I placed a 1/8" wide piece of washi tape over the white strip across the middle of the die cut and then carefully sponged ink onto the cats and their tails. I think they turned out pretty cute! Maybe next time I'll even try adding some stripes or spots.

Once the cats were done, I carefully removed the washi tape to reveal the white ledge. Then I sponged the negative pieces -- blue sky for the top piece and green grass for the bottom. With all the sponging done, I replaced the negative pieces in the die cut and secured everything together by adhering an extra layer of card stock to the back.

For the card base I used thick Whisper White card stock and added a layer of Smoky Slate card stock embossed with a brick pattern. I lightly sponged Smoky Slate ink over the card stock to emphasize the embossing. I used Dimensionals to adhere the focal panel near the top of the card base and added a black banner peaking out from behind the panel. For a little embellishment, I gave one of the cats a white bow (he's fancy now!) and added three clear droplets to the embossed bricks.

Well, I guess that's enough of a break. I've got to go make dinner and then get back to Christmas preparations. Thanks for stopping by!

Framed floral card set

I had typed up this whole post last week, then just as I was getting ready to publish it, something happened and it was gone. Argh. I was too tired that night to redo it all, and I've been too annoyed to do it since then. But I really need to get back to a better blogging schedule, so I decided I should just get this one done.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Paper: Whisper White card stock, Whisper White note cards and envelopes, Somerset Velvet watercolor paper (Marco's Paper)
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Oxide ink pads: Worn Lipstick, Spiced Marmalade, Wild Honey, Twisted Citron, Peacock Feathers, Seedless Preserves (Ranger); gold paint pen (Sharpie); gold Wink of Stella glitter brush pen
Accessories: Floral Squares dies (Pinkfresh Studio), metallic washi tape (Hand Made Modern - Target), various sequins (Craft Medley), Dimensionals, Glue Dots

To make the focal image for each card, I pressed a Distress Oxide ink pad onto water color paper and then used a slightly damp paintbrush to smooth out the color. I die cut the framed floral shapes out of white card stock, adhered each one over a colored square, and then trimmed off the extra water color paper.

I wanted to add a little sparkle to the framed flowers, so I used a gold paint pen to carefully add gold to just the frame portion of the die cuts. (If I had this to do over, I would add the gold before gluing the frame to the watercolor paper.)

For the card bases, I used Whisper White note cards. I used a gold Wink of Stella glitter brush pen to fleck gold sparkles onto the top part of each card, and I added a strip of gold patterned washi tape along the bottom of the card.

I used Dimensionals to add the flower images to the card bases and then added three coordinating sequins to each card.

As a side note, I made it through National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). I didn't get to the  50,000-word goal (I wrote just over 27,000 words), but I did write at least a little bit every day during November, which is better than I did during my previous attempts. I'll take that as my victory.

Thanks for stopping by!

List of 2018 Christmas cards

We had a pretty good snowfall today, so, as the song goes, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. With that in mind, here is a list of all the Christmas cards I made this year. I hope you find something that inspires you, either for your cards this year or to tuck away for next year's cards.

Die-cut "Noel" (January 2018)

Good tidings of great joy (February 2018)

Winter characters (March 2018)

Gold star note cards (April 2018)

Thinking of you at Christmas (May 2018)

Holly jolly snowmen (June 2018)

Tree rings and mistletoe (July 2018)

Oh, Christmas tree (August 2018)

Joyful birds (September 2018)

Winter trio and peace on earth (October 2018)

Thanks for stopping by!