One hundred valentines

Last year our local Meals on Wheels organization collected valentines that they delivered to clients with their meals. I made a small batch of valentines last year, and I wanted to participate in the project again this year. When I e-mailed the organization's volunteer coordinator I found out that the deadline to submit cards was Feb. 2, which only gave me about a week to work. I decided to make that my weekend project, and I set a lofty, but achievable, goal of making one hundred valentines.

I started working on Friday, and everything was going pretty smoothly. I thought I was on track to finish the cards on Sunday night or Monday afternoon. Then a wrench was thrown into my plans. On early Sunday afternoon I went out to salt the icy sidewalk, and on my second step out the door I slipped and fell on the stairs. Hard. I didn't have any outward bumps or bruises, but my back was extremely unhappy. I ended up hobbling around and spending a lot of time lying on the couch with a heating pad.

Needless to say, my card-making was hampered since I couldn't sit for very long and needed to take frequent breaks. But I kept plugging away, and I finished all one hundred cards by late Tuesday afternoon. I made mostly 4" x 4" cards because I was able to get four card bases from one piece of 12" x 12" card stock, and I used the leftover 4" x 4" square from each piece for punching out shapes or making layers.

Here are all the finished cards:

As you can see, some of the cards were stamped, and some of them were made with just punches and paper. I kept them all fairly simple without too much embellishment. Below are close-up pictures of most of the cards (I few of the designs I've already shared), but I didn't keep track of the supplies I used for each card. If you have questions about a particular design, leave a comment below and I'll respond as soon as I can.

I stamped "Happy Valentines Day" inside both of these card designs. I also wrote a brief note and signed all one hundred of the cards.

Inside the teacups card I stamped "Happy Valentine's Day."  The inside of the cat card says "You're the cats meow."

I stamped "You're treemendous" inside the tree card and "Up in the air over you" inside the card with hot air balloons.

Inside these cards I stamped "Happy heart day."

Inside the hedgehog card I stamped "Happy Valentine's Day" and wrote a note about sending "hedgehugs." In the whale card I stamped "Happy heart day" and wrote "Whale you be my valentine?"

The rest of the cards are made with patterned paper, punches and a few embellishments. Inside the cards I stamped either "Happy Valentine's Day" or "Happy heart day."

You can't really tell in this photo, but the cupcakes on this paper are covered with a glittery gloss, and they sparkle in the light. I've been saving this piece of paper for years because it's so pretty, but I decided this was the perfect way to use it.

Inside these cupcake cards I wrote a note wishing the recipient a sweet day.

These are some of the simplest card designs, but I actually really like them. I think they're perfect for Valentine's Day. And they remind me of the old Sesame Street song, "One of these things is not like the others ..."

I used four punched hearts again for the card in the front of this photo. But instead of arranging them in a square, I glued them down with the point of each heart in the center of the card base, so they make a flower or clover shape.

This was the last bunch of valentines I made, and I was starting to lose a little steam. So I used strips of coordinating patterned paper, ribbon and punched hearts to make these sixteen cards.

I love being able to share my cards, and I hope they bring a little sunshine to the recipients.




Thanks for stopping by!

Irresistibly Yours DSP

Today I want to share two cards I made with one of the products available during Stampin' Up!'s Sale-a-Bration promotion: Irresistibly Yours Specialty Designer Series Paper (DSP). It's white paper printed with a glossy white pattern (in six different prints) that you reveal by adding color in different ways, such as sponging and spritzing.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Bloom for You
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Whisper White card stock; Irresistibly Yours DSP
Ink: Pink Pirouette, Strawberry Slush (pad and ink refill), Mossy Meadow
Accessories: Fun Flower punch, Mossy Meadow stitched satin ribbon, White Simply Pressed Clay, Button and Blossoms Simply Pressed Molds, 1-1/4" circle punch, sponge

I chose the leaf-print DSP as a background for the flower focal point. I used a sponge to apply Mossy Meadow ink to about two-thirds of the DSP and Strawberry Slush to the remaining one-third. I wrapped a piece of Mossy Meadow ribbon around the DSP to hide the transition between the colors. Before adhering the DSP to the card base, I used the 1-1/4" circle punch to round the upper-right and lower-left corners. To finish the card I glued the middle of the stamped, punched flower on the ribbon (I used my fingers to gently fold up the petals) and added a Simply Pressed Clay flower embellishment to the center.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Perfect Pennants
Paper: Island Indigo, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White card stock; Irresistibly Yours DSP
Ink: Island Indigo (pad and ink refill), Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive
Accessories: Stampin' Spritzer, Notetag punch, 2-1/2" circle punch, Essentials Paper-Piercing Pack, paper-piercing tool, 1/8" Old Olive taffeta ribbon, Island Indigo cotton ribbon, mini stapler and staples (Making Memories), Itty Bitty Accents punch pack, Dimensionals

For this card I used a Stampin' Spritzer (with rubbing alcohol and Island Indigo ink) to apply color to the DSP, which I layered on a mat of Rich Razzleberry card stock and then on an Island Indigo card base. For the focal image, I stamped the sentiment on Whisper White card stock, punched it out with the Notetag punch (I was excited to discover that it was a perfect fit!), and stapled two small pieces of ribbon on the top of the tag. To help the tag stand out against the DSP, I matted it with a 2-1/2" Island Indigo circle. I finished the card with a few small stars punched from Rich Razzleberry card stock.

I'm excited to try the other four patterns in the Irresistibly Yours DSP. It's great to be able to have DSP in whatever color you want. Thanks for stopping by!

Kids birthday cards

I'm still rolling with the birthday cards, and today I have a few kid-friendly designs to share.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: A Happy Hi
Paper: Whisper White, Rose Red, Pear Pizzazz card stock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Rose Red, Pear Pizzazz, Baked Brown Sugar, Hello Honey, Wild Wasabi, Crisp Cantaloupe, Smoky Slate, Sahara Sand, Soft Sky
Accessories: Large Scallop Edgelits die, Essentials Paper-Piercing Pack, paper-piercing tool, corner rounder, 1/8" Daffodil Delight taffeta ribbon, Dimensionals

To make the bow for this card, I wrapped the ribbon around two of my fingers three times. Then I slipped a shorter piece of ribbon between my fingers and tied it around the first piece of ribbon. I slipped the bow off my fingers, trimmed the ends, arranged the loops and adhered it to the card.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Happy Chick Birthday (Unity Stamp Co.), Remembering Your Birthday
Paper: Bermuda Bay, Pool Party, Whisper White card stock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Bermuda Bay, Pool Party, Daffodil Delight, Tangelo Twist, Blushing Bride
Accessories: Chalk Talk Framelits dies, Pool Party seam binding ribbon, Lucky Stars embossing folder

If you frequently read my blog, you've probably discovered that I'm a sucker for cute animal stamps. These little chicks are no exception. But honestly, if I had this card to do again, I think I'd change the layout a little. I'd move up the image on the tag just a bit and then stamp the sentiment on the bottom of the tag instead of having it on a separate piece of white card stock. Then I'd move the tag a little bit to the right and maybe add some patterned paper as an accent. What do you think?

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Ruff Day
Paper: Island Indigo, Whisper White card stock
Ink: Jet Black SstazOn, Island Indigo, Old Olive, Real Red, Soft Suede, Chocolate Chip, Pool Party, Basic Black
Accessories: Decorative Dots embossing folder, dog-themed brads (Around the Block), Island Indigo 1/4" cotton ribbon, Old Olive 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, Real Red 1/8" taffeta ribbon, corner rounder, mini stapler and staples (Making Memories), Dimensionals

See, I told you: more cute animals. And more coloring. I seemed to do a lot of coloring with this group of cards. This particular card was a quick one to make because the focal image was already done. When I pulled out this stamp set, I found the stamped and colored image in the case. I just rounded the corners, added the border and ribbon and adhered it to the embossed card base. So if you ever end up with an image that doesn't quite work for a project, don't toss it. You never know when it might be just what you need.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!) unless otherwise noted:
Stamps: Splendid Day (Close to My Heart), Birthday Wish
Paper: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Marina Mist card stock
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Wild Wasabi, Marina Mist, Daffodil Delight, Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Mono Multi liquid glue, Glue Dots

If you look closely at this photo, you can see that the tree top and trunk were actually stamped on another piece of Whisper White card stock, cut out and then adhered to the focal layer on the card base. Originally I had stamped these images directly on the card layer. But I accidentally stamped the tree trunk in Early Espresso instead of Chocolate Chip, and it was just too dark. I re-stamped the tree, cut it out and glued it over the first tree. But then the trunk was layered over the leaves, which I didn't like. So I re-stamped and cut out the tree top and adhered it to the card with Glue Dots to give it just a little bit of dimension.


Thanks for stopping by!

Girls just wanna have fun

After my last post (Let's hear it for the boy), I was stuck in an '80s music frame of mind. So a shout out to Cyndi Lauper seemed like a great way to introduce a few birthday cards for the girls, who after all, just wanna have fun.

Supplies (all Stampin Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Basket Full of Wishes (Unity Stamp Co.), Gorgeous Grunge
Paper: Soft Sky, Whisper White card stock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Smoky Slate, Basic Gray, Gumball Green, Real Red, Soft Sky, Pink Pirouette, So Saffron
Accessories: Corner rounder, Pool Party baker's twine, Subtles Candy Dots, Travel Postmark Trendy Tape (Queen & Co.), Glue Dots, Dimensionals

I chose the colors for my focal image from the washi tape, which has a travel theme and seemed appropriate for the bicycle image. To embellish the image, I added a Candy Dot to the center of each wheel and adhered a baker's twine bow in the top right corner.

It's hard to see in the photo, but I used one of the images from Gorgeous Grunge to add a few splatters across the card front.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Cray for Cupcakes
Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla card stock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Cherry Cobbler, So Saffron, Close to Cocoa
Accessories: Scalloped Tag Topper punch, Cherry Cobbler seam binding ribbon, Victoria crochet trim, Large Polka Dot embossing folder, rhinestones, Dimensionals

I had cupcakes from a local cupcake bakery for my last birthday, and they were delicious. Mine was chocolate-covered cherry. Yum. (If I could have a cupcake like that every day I'd be happy.) The next best thing to birthday cupcakes is a birthday card with cupcakes.

I love that this image is the perfect width for the Scalloped Tag Topper punch. To make the tassel for the tag I put two small pieces of Cherry Cobbler seam binding ribbon through the hole and then tied them together with a piece of crochet trim.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Strokes of Wisdom (Raisin Boat), Kinda Eclectic, Four You
Paper: Blushing Bride, Calypso Coral, Very Vanilla card stock
Ink: Blushing Bride, Calypso Coral
Accessories: Corner rounder, rhinestones, Dimensionals

I worked a little backwards with this card. I knew that I wanted to use the sentiment "You can never have too much happy" inside the card, so I created the focal image on the front by repeatedly stamping the word "happy" on a piece of Very Vanilla card stock. I stamped "Birthday" on a separate strip of card stock and notched the ends into V shapes like a banner. To give the banner some Dimension, I used my bone folder to help curl the paper a bit (like you would use a scissors to curl ribbon) and then adhered two Dimensionals behind the middle of the banner to help it retain its shape.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Tea Shoppe, Create a Cupcake, Gorgeous Grunge
Paper: Very Vanilla, Smoky Slate, Hello Honey card stock
Ink: Smoky Slate, Hello Honey
Accessories: Corner rounder, Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack, pearls, Mono Multi liquid glue, Dimensionals

I stamped the focal image in Hello Honey and then again in Smoky Slate. I cut the middle coffee cup out of the Smoky Slate image and adhered it over the Hello Honey image. The only simple embellishment on this card is a small punched flower with a pearl in the middle.

Thanks for stopping by!

Let's hear it for the boy

Did you start singing when you read the title of this post? I had to go watch that Footloose clip on YouTube, and the list of related videos on the right side of page was filled with awesome '80s hits. Serious flashback. So what does a classic '80s jam have to do with crafting? Well, today I'm going to share a few cards for the boys -- masculine birthday cards.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Cheers to You, Hardwood
Paper: Smoky Slate, Basic Black, More Mustard, Whisper White card stock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Smoky Slate, Daffodil Delight Blendabilities, light gray alcohol marker (Copic C1)
Accessories: 1-3/8" and 2-1/2" circle punches, Circle Collection Framelits dies, Neutrals Candy Dots, Ice White Pearl Pen (Viva Decor), Dimensionals

I love the textured foam on those beer mugs, and it was easy to make with a Pearl Pen. And here's a little tip: If you'd rather have root beer for a child-friendly card, just use a brown marker to color inside the mug. You could even add a narrow strip of white paper with hand-drawn red stripes for a straw.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Bold Shapes
Paper: Sahara Sand, Whisper White card stock; champagne glimmer paper
Ink: Baked Brown Sugar, Lost Lagoon, Mossy Meadow, Hello Honey
Accessories: 1-1/4" square punch, Itty Bitty Accents punch pack, Neutrals Candy Dots, Dimensionals

This is an easy layout with basic stamping and punching. I did lay the punched squares out on the card before gluing them down so I could play around with the spacing and color order. For a little embellishment I added small stars punched from glimmer paper in the middle of the stamped stars and added a Candy Dot in the corner of three of the balloon squares.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: You're My Type, Geo-Graphic (Paper Smooches)
Paper: Lost Lagoon, Basic Black, Whisper White card stock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Lost Lagoon
Accessories: Lost Lagoon taffeta ribbon, mini stapler and staples (Making Memories), Dimensionals

I love how the rows of polka dots along the bottom of the card mimic the rows of keys on the typewriter. And
I decided that a little bit of ribbon would be OK on a guy card as long as it wasn't tied in a frilly bow.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Basic Black, Crumb Cake, Whisper White card stock; Fresh Prints Designer Series Paper (DSP) Stack
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Courtyard die (Tim Holtz Alterations), Word Window punch, Tea Party embossing folder (Lifestyle Crafts), Neutrals Candy Dots, Dimensionals

The Courtyard die (what I've cut from Crumb Cake card stock for this card) is a fun way to add little bits of color and pattern to a project. I glued small pieces of a Crumb Cake DSP print behind each circle. I also added Basic Black card stock behind the diamond shapes between the circles. I added Basic Black Candy Dots to three of the circles and adhered the panel to an embossed Basic Black card base with Dimensionals. I used the Word Window punch to add a sentiment, but you could omit that to have a great all-occasion card.

Here is another version I made with the Courtyard die:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Paper: Crumb Cake, Basic Black card stock; This and That Epic Day DSP
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Courtyard die (Tim Holtz Alterations) 1" circle punch, mini silver brads, linen thread, sponge, Mono Multi liquid glue

For this card I cut out the Courtyard die shape twice and then cut apart the rows of circles by hand. I punched 1" circles out of DSP to glue behind the diamond shapes, but they still needed to be trimmed down a bit. I sponged the edges of the strips and added a mini silver brad to two circles in each row. I adhered the rows to the card leaving enough space to add some linen thread.

Thanks for stopping by!

Birthday cards abound

My grandma's birthday is a few days before Christmas, and as part of her birthday present, I gave her a box filled with birthday cards she can use throughout the year. That means I have a whole mess of birthday cards to share with you. Hooray! I'll be posting them in groups over the next couple of weeks, and here are the first three:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Celebrate Today
Paper: Pacific Point, Whisper White card stock
Ink: Pacific Point, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Tempting Turquoise
Accessories: Balloons Framelits dies, Dimensionals

This is a new stamp set and the coordinating dies from Stampin' Up!'s 2015 Occasions catalog. The set includes a few different accents you can stamp over the solid balloon image, including the banner image in the background. This is a pretty straightforward card -- just stamping and die cutting -- and I just realized that I didn't use any embellishments. With the bold, bright colors, I think it looks OK without anything extra, but what do you think?

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Happy Birthday Background (Inkadinkadoo), Birthday Best
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Daffodil Delight card stock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Tempting Turquoise
Accessories: Gold sequin trim, Glue Dots

To make the focal panel on this card I started by stamping the Happy Birthday Background on Whisper White card stock. I stamped the image again on a sticky note and cut it out, following the general shape of the image. I placed the trimmed sticky note over the image on card stock and then stamped the balloons. I used markers to color the balloons in a "scribbly" style -- one of my favorite ways to color since it doesn't have to be perfect -- added a few rhinestones and matted the piece with Basic Black card stock. Then I adhered the panel to a Daffodil Delight card base.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Essential Messages (Hero Arts)
Paper: Pistachio Pudding, Chocolate Chip, Real Red, Very Vanilla card stock; gold glimmer paper
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Large oval punch, scalloped oval punch, Cupcake Builder punch, Simply Scored tool, Essentials Paper-Piercing Pack, paper-piercing tool, sponge Mono Multi liquid glue

To make this punch-art cake, I started by punching an oval from Chocolate Chip card stock for the top. Then I cut a small piece of Chocolate Chip card stock the same width as the oval for the base. To make the curve of the base the same as the top, I traced the curve of the punched oval along the bottom of the base piece and then cut along the curve. I added scored lines and lightly sponged some Chocolate Chip ink on the base for depth. To make frosting I punched a scalloped oval from Very Vanilla card stock and adhered it behind the Chocolate Chip oval. I glued the pieces together and added candles made with the Cupcake Builder punch. (The candle flames are glued directly on the card base.)

Just about any color would work for the card base. I wanted a fairly neutral color, so I used Pistachio Pudding. Unfortunately, when I was taking pictures, the flash kept washing out the color, so it looks dull and gray in this photo. I promise it's prettier in person.

Thanks for stopping by, and stay tuned for more birthday cards!

One image, three cards

When I'm making cards, if I decide to use a technique that is a bit involved or more time-consuming -- such as using multiple markers to apply ink directly to the rubber of a stamp to create a multi-colored image -- I will sometimes make a few extra images. Then if I mess up the card, I have a back-up image ready to go. And if I don't mess up, I can use the extras to make additional cards. That's how I ended up with these three cards featuring the Hey There Buds image from Stampin' Up!

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Hey There Buds, Petite Pairs
Paper: Whisper White, Soft Suede, Calypso Coral
Ink: Soft Suede, Old Olive, Calypso Coral, Real Red
Accessories: Modern Mosaic embossing folder, 1/8" gold ribbon, gold sequin trim, corner rounder, Dimensionals, Glue Dots

I think all three of the cards are pretty self-explanatory, so I won't go into great detail. One note: For all the cards, I used just the flower part of the stamp, not the "hey there" sentiment that is part of the image. If you have questions about other steps or techniques, leave me a comment and I'll respond as soon as I can.

For this card, I rounded two opposite corners of the focal layer, stamped a birthday greeting and added faux stitching around the border. I matted the image with Calypso Coral card stock and adhered it to the embossed card base with Dimensionals. For a little glitz I added gold ribbon and a few gold sequins.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Hey There Buds, Decorative Dots, Four You
Paper: Whisper White, Soft Suede, Pink Pirouette
Ink: Soft Suede, Old Olive, Calypso Coral, Real Red, Pink Pirouette
Accessories: Window Frame Collection Framelits dies, Festive Paper-Piercing Pack, paper-piercing tool, rhinestones, Dimensionals

For this card I cut out the image with one of the Window Frame Collection Framelits dies then pierced around the border. I matted the focal image with a square of Soft Suede card stock and adhered it to the card base, which I stamped with polka dots. I added a few rhinestones and stamped the sentiment "hello."

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Hey There Buds, Thank You Kindly
Paper: Whisper White, Real Red card stock
Ink: Soft Suede, Old Olive, Calypso Coral, Real Red, Pink Pirouette
Accessories: Real Red 1/8" taffeta ribbon, pearls, sponge

To make the background for this card I stamped the Hey There Buds image repeatedly using Real Red ink on a Real Red card base. I really like the effect created by that technique, and I think it would also be interesting to stamp the image repeatedly on Whisper White card stock with one color of ink. Then I sponged the edges of the card base, the focal layer and the sentiment layer with Soft Suede ink. For embellishment I added a few pearls and narrow red ribbon.





Thanks for stopping by!

Monoprint ocean background

Happy new year! I hope you and your loved ones enjoyed the holidays. I was lucky enough to receive some papercrafting supplies this Christmas (yay!), and one of the first things I tried out was my new gel printing plate. I made a few different backgrounds during my first printing session, and most of them were so-so. But I really liked one of them that looked to me like an underwater scene. So I pulled out a fish stamp set and turned it into a card.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Fish Frolics
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Bermuda Bay card stock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Gel printing plate (Gelli Arts), brayer, turquoise nailhead metal stickers (Mark Richards), acrylic paint (various), paintbrush and other tools for printing (various)

I read the directions for the gel printing plate, watched a couple of online videos and then dove in (no pun intended). I used a few ocean-like colors -- light green, teal blue and maybe another blue, I can't remember exactly -- a small paintbrush and a couple of sponges to create the background. I love how the colors are layered and lighter in some spots, like the sunlight filtering through the water.

Once the paint was dry I stamped the fish and bubble images using Memento Tuxedo Black ink. The ink took quite awhile to dry on the acrylic paint: I blotted it, applied heat, and still had to let it air dry. I probably should have used a permanent ink, such as StazOn.

To finish the card I matted the focal layer with Basic Black and then adhered the panel to a Bermuda Bay card base. I didn't want to detract from the background with a bunch of embellishments, so I added a simple turquoise nailhead metal sticker in each corner.

Thanks for stopping by!