Technical difficulties

I had planned to publish a blog post today, but my computer had other ideas. It’s old and tired and very grumpy and was not interested in being a team player. I’m far from a tech expert, but I tried a bit of troubleshooting that has worked before. No luck this time. I also tried using my sister’s new laptop, but I couldn’t figure out how to resize my photos. So I’m throwing in the towel today, and maybe we’ll try again tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by!
Andrea

A little bundle of birthday cards

Gah! I can't believe we're nearing the end of April, and I've only done three blog posts for the month. I'm trying not to feel guilty about my inconsistent posting -- there are enough other things to be stressed about right now -- but I also don't want to fall too far behind. I guess I just have to keep plugging away, and I’ll start by sharing a set of birthday cards I made for my sister.

Supplies:
Stamps: Birthday Stacks (Concord & 9th)
Paper: Whisper White, Daffodil Delight, Coastal Cabana card stock (Stampin' Up!); Golden Honey Specialty Designer Series Paper (DSP)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko); Daffodil Delight, Coastal Cabana, Granny Apple Green (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Birthday Stacks dies (Concord & 9th), sparkling clear sequins (Pretty Pink Posh), foam tape (3M), Art Glitter Glue (Art Impressions)

I gave my sister this little bundle of cards for Valentine's Day. It's definitely not a traditional gift, but I wanted to give her something other than candy. And since she occasionally asks me for a birthday card for a coworker, I thought she might like to have a few cards to keep on hand at work.

I wanted the cards to be gender neutral, so I chose a stamp set with traditional birthday images and used a color palette of yellow, green, blue, black and white. I chose two of the colors - Daffodil Delight and Coastal Cabana - for the card bases and added a layer of black-and-white striped DSP to the front of each card.

For the focal panels, I stamped each image along the top of a piece of white card stock and used the coordinating dies to cut around the images and make a shaped border. Below the images, I added a sentiment, stamping multiple times with two different ink colors to fill up the white space. I used foam tape to adhere each panel to a card base and added a few clear sequins for just a touch of sparkle.

Thanks for stopping by today. I’ll try to get a couple more posts done before the end of the month - wish me luck! Be well!

April Christmas card: Home for the holidays

I'm finally starting to get back a hint of crafty mojo. So when I sat down to make cards today, I figured I'd better take care of my April Christmas cards before it disappeared again.

I wanted to use the November 2019 My Monthly Hero kit from Hero Arts, which is still available on the Hero Arts site (as of April 16, 2020). I didn't have a chance to use the kit last Christmas because my cards were already done at that point, but I did use it to create a cute non-holiday card (see the card with the sleeping cat and dog near the middle of my 1,000th blog post.) I love all the stamps in the kit, but for this month's Christmas card design I decided to focus on a few of the dies:

Supplies:
Stamps: My Monthly Hero November 2019 kit (Hero Arts)
Paper: Whisper White, thick Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler, Shaded Spruce card stock (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Crushed Curry (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Blending brush (Picket Fence Studios), Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!), Scor-Tape (Scor-Pal)

The kit includes a large die that cuts out this front door scene, which is sized perfectly for an A2 card. I've seen many beautiful cards that added color to the door die cut, but I knew starting out that I wanted to leave it white. I wasn't in the mood to do a lot of coloring, especially not when I was planning to make multiples of the cards. So I did a quick online search for some inspiration and found a gorgeous card by designer Emily Midgett. I loved Emily's card, and it was very similar to what I had in mind, so I used that as my starting point.

I cut the door panel and topiaries out of white card stock, the tiny envelopes out of Cherry Cobbler, and the wreath out of Shaded Spruce. I punched out a few pieces on the door panel, tucked two envelopes in the mail slot (I secured them with a tiny drop of glue), and then applied Scor-Tape across the back of the door panel. (The door die is designed so the door opens for more creative options.) I blended Crushed Curry ink on a thick white card base behind the openings in the door panel and then adhered the panel to the card base. I stamped "Welcome" on the doormat using Cherry Cobbler ink and used Dimensionals to attach a wreath and two topiaries to each card.

I hope you are staying safe and healthy during this pandemic. I'm starting to wonder when things will go back to "normal" -- and what "normal" will even look like. Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Birthday stripes trio

My stash of birthday cards is getting seriously depleted. I used to have a box full of cards, but now I seem to use them as soon as I make them. If you need some ideas for birthday cards, here are three fun cards that are pretty quick to make.

Supplies:
Stamps: Happy Birthday (Honey Bee Stamps)
Paper: Thick Whisper White, Whisper White, Basic Gray, Lemon Lime Twist card stock; Bubbles & Fizz Designer Series Paper (DSP)
Ink: Basic Gray (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Happy Birthday dies (Honey Bee Stamps), glitter enamel dots (Stampin' Up!), foam tape (3M), Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute)

The birthday dies come in a set of three: the actual word and two background layers. (The larger background layer also has dots around the edge. You can see it a little on the card on the right.) I cut each die from three colors of card stock -- gray, white, and lime -- and then mixed and matched the die cuts to make three focal images.

For the card bases I used thick white card stock and added layers and strips of DSP. I mixed a couple of patterns for the DSP: one with colorful stripes and a coordinating one that was a tone-on-tone pattern. I used the stamp set that coordinates with the dies to stamp phrases, either directly on the card or on strips of white card stock, to complete the sentiment on each card. I attached the "birthday" pieces using foam tape and finished each card with a few lime glitter enamel dots.

Although Easter celebrations will be different for many people this year, I hope you have a safe, happy holiday. Apparently we are predicted to get five inches of wet snow tomorrow, so I may be doing some shoveling. Thanks for stopping by!

Blue and yellow baptism card

I've mentioned before that religious cards are not my forte, so I always struggle a bit when I have to make a card for a religious occasion. I usually try to use a stamped or die-cut cross as the focal point, which is what I did for my cousin's baptism in February. This time I combined the cross with some blue and yellow patterned papers in a design that would also work as an Easter card.

Supplies:
Stamps: Crosses of Hope (Stampin' Up!)
Paper: 80lb Natural card stock (Cougar), Summer 6" x 6" bundle (Authentique)
Ink: VersaMark (Tsukineko), Island Indigo (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Square Flip-Its #2 dies (Sizzix), Nested Square X-Stitch dies (Rubbernecker Stamps), Pinewood Planks embossing folder (Stampin' Up!), gold embossing powder (Stampin' Up!), Share What You Love Artisan Pearls (Stampin' Up!), Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!), sanding block (Close to My Heart)

I haven't used my Flip-Its dies very often, but they were perfect for this card. The center square was just the right size to highlight the cross, and the flip side of the center square was just enough space to stamp/write a short sentiment.

I cut the card base out of a cream card stock. For the sides of the card, I chose two paper from a coordinating pack and used the layering dies from the die set to cut out the pieces. The blue piece on the right side seemed too plain, though, so I embossed it with the Pinewood Planks embossing folder and lightly sanded the top to add some texture.

I discovered that one of the dies in a set of nested cross-stitch border dies was the perfect size to fit the center of the card. I used that die to cut out a layer of yellow paper and adhered it to the card base. I stamped the cross on light blue paper, embossed it with gold embossing powder, and cut it out by hand. I stamped "God bless you" on the reverse side of the center square and then used Dimensionals to attach cross to the front of the square. To finish the card I added three tiny yellow pearls near the upper right corner of the card.

Thanks for stopping by today! I did manage to make a couple of birthday cards today, so I hope that's a good sign, and maybe next time I'll be able to create a few more. Stay safe and be well!