Cards Abound This Week!

Hi, guys! Hope all is well! Sorry for the lack of posts lately, but with work and card orders, I have been swamped.  Over the next week or so, I will be sharing a lot of cards.  I have a friend Christine who always orders a bunch of personalized cards from me and who is going out on leave to have a baby soon.  She gave me a list of all the cards she will be needing for various occasions and holidays while she is out and I have to get them done before next Friday!  So far I have completed 8 out of 13, so you know what I will be working on this weekend!

I thought I would start by sharing two thank you cards she asked to be made.  The first one is for her in-laws for taking care of her daughter for a few weeks while her husband went back to work.  I decided to use the LARGE thank you stamp from Papertrey Ink.  The focal point is embossed with Zing embossing powder and I like how it pops against the patterned paper.

The next card up was made for Christine's brotther as a thank you for her daughter's dance classes.  Chris mentioned that her daughter's class all wears blue outfits and tutus.  I used a sheet of Nutcracker paper by Graphic 45 as I thought it was perfect.  The little ballerina stamp is by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous.  Love that little stamp!   I decided the cute sentiment by Dear Lizzie was perfect. Distress Ink in Faded Jeans was used to add color to the edges of the images and the patterned paper.

This week I am entering these two card in the challenge at: http://wordartwednesday.blogspot.com  These will be my first submissions there.  Very excited to join in the fun!

Thanks for stopping by today!  Hope you find some time in your day to do something you love!

Until next time!



Distress Stain Cards (Sympathy & Thank You)

Hi, guys! Hope all is well!  Today I thought I would share a pair of cards I made using my Distress Stains.  I made two similar backgrounds and used the same stamp set by Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous.  The paper I used is watercolor paper as I find it works great with stains as they are a wet medium.

After they dried, I used the lighter (softer) background to turn into a sympathy card for a friend who lost his mom.  I think nature themes work very well for sympathy cards.

I then used the second panel to make a thank you card for a friend who hosted us for this Labor Day weekend.  Barbara is someone who ALWAYS makes me laugh and smile.  I used the brighter background and went with a more whimsical way to display the sentiment. The sentiment I used is from Paper Smooches.

Isn't it great that you can create two cards easily using the same backgrounds and stamps but change them a bit for two special people in your life?  I know when I take out my stains, or paints, it is very rare that I only make one card.  It saves me time and cleanup and I enjoy stretching my imagination.

Until next time!

I Thank My Lucky Stars For You

Hi, guys!  Today's card came about after I had a spray ink mishap! I was trying to use my Dylusions Spray inks on one of my stencils, but it bled underneath the stencils (too much ink!).  I loved the colors and HATE to waste anything.  So I decided to punch stars out of the papers, and loved how they looked.  I embossed the card with the Cuttlebug Star embossing folder and placed some of the punched stars in the centers of the embossed ones.

I thought the sentiment by Hero Arts is perfect for this card.  I used Jelly Roll pens to color the stars on the sentiment. This is a clean and simple-looking card and I enjoyed turning my mishap into a fun card! 

How do you save your bloopers?

Until next time!

WOYWW 201 (Merci Beaucoup!)

Hi, guys!  Hope all is well.  Today is Wednesday, so I am sharing what is on my work desk! So, what is going on in my stamp studio today?  I am making a thank you card for a special person.  Peter is a wonderful gentleman who used to be my boss many years ago.  He sent me this great gift; it now resides in my stamp studio (which is decorated in a Paris theme!).

I am using the Tim Holtz Paris stamps and Graphic 45 sentiment.  I even decided to decorate an envelope to go with it.

I am looking forward to visiting lots of work desks today.  Thank you, Julia, for this great weekly fun!

Hope you find a few moments in your day to do something you love!

Floral Thank You Cards

Hi, guys! Hope all is well! Today I am sharing a pair of thank you cards I was asked to make for a co-worker.

This first one features a Papertrey Ink stamp.  I liked the color combination when I was finished.  I kept it simple, but I think it looks very clean and neat.  The image is heat embossed using Ranger Silver embossing powder.

Supplies:
Stamps: Papertrey Ink
Paper: Gina K Designs, Stampin' Up
Ink: Versamark
Misc.: Ranger Silver Embossing Powder, Stampin' Up Flowers & Brads, SU Silver Cord

For the next one, I decided to use one of my older stamps that I hadn't used in a long while.  It is by Anna Griffin.  I love her work and style, and am glad I took it out to use!

Supplies:
Stamps: Anna Griffin, Stampers Anonymous
Paper: Gina K Designs, Stampin' Up, Tim Holtz
Ink: Distress Inks, Stampin' Up,Versamark
Misc.: White Embossing Powder, Tim Holtz Banner Die

I heat embossed the image with white powder, and colored it using my favorite Springtime colors.

I hope I have inspired you to look through your stamps and use a few that you haven't used in awhile -  it is so much fun!

Have a great day!

Sending A Big Thank You

Hi, guys!  I just finished making a card for our friend Jeff. My hubby and I lost our phone and electricity during Hurricane Sandy and had exhausted the power in our cellphones and my iPad by day 4.  Luckily Jeff had power and we were able to spend some time visiting and charging all our devices.  It was such a blessing, as I was very nervous not having a way to make a call should we have an emergency. I decided to make him a card today to express our thanks.

Supplies:

Stamps: Paper Smooches, Papertrey Ink

Ink: Versafine

Paper: Studio G Card

Misc.: ClearEmbossing Powder, White Gel Pen

Hope Jeff and his wife Lisa know how much they mean to us, and hope you take a moment to let those in your life know how important they are to you.

Have a great day!

Old-Time Radio Thank You

Hi, guys! You may recall that my husband acts in a company that recreates old-time radio productions. His company performed their last show in their current venue a few weeks ago. Some of their longtime regular audience members gave the cast a gift of bubbly to toast their last show.  I thought it would be a great idea to make them a thank you card. I used a Lawn Fawn set that has a great microphone like those that the company uses.

Supplies:
Stamps: Lawn Fawn, Stampin' Up (Sentiment)
Paper: Stampin' Up, Kaiser Kraft, Gina K Designs (Black)
Misc.: Bakers Twine

The last show was bittersweet. The kind gesture of the bubbly was definitely one of the "sweet" moments.

Until next time!

Knit Happens

Hi, guys!  I am happy to say that I won a fun giveaway the other day.  Debbi over at http://knitrunrepeat.blogspot.com/ held the giveaway and I was one of the winners of 8 skeins of yarn.  As a crafter, you know this was very cool for me.  So, in order to thank her,  I made her a card and used a bit of the yarn on it.

Supplies
Stamps: A Muse, Stampendous
Ink: Memento Black, Distress Ink (Weathered Wood)
Misc.: Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, Stampin' Up Button, Yarn, Copics

Blogging has opened a new world to me.  I have read blogs from all over the world and have shared, chatted and been enjoying this great community.  I have learned a great deal from fellow bloggers like Debbi, who for instance has been answering a lot of my gardening questions, and I hope that I have taught a few things to some of you.  If nothing else, I hope you embrace your creative side!

Wishing you a great holiday weekend!

Thank You, Gracias, Danke

Hi, guys!  How do you say thank you?  Well, I think this card covers many of your answers!  I needed to make a card for a co-worker. I got to use some of my favorite paper for this card. The Core-dinations paper is just great to use when embossing.  I love taking out my sanding block and emphasizing the embossing.

Supplies:
Paper: Stampin Up, Core-dinations
Misc.: K & Co. Butterflies

I just thought I would say Thank You to each of you for taking time to visit and for all the kind comments and the encouragement you have shown.   You help make blogging fun and special!

Thank You, Buzzy!

Hi, guys!  Hope all is well. I made a card a few days ago for a friend's brother for building her new home.  Well, last night I made another thank you card for a house builder.  I had never made one of these before, and now two in a short time.  I was able to use both stamping and embossing on this card.

Supplies:
Stamps: Hero Arts
Paper: Stampin' Up
Ink: Memento Black, Copic Markers, Distress Ink
Misc.:  Crafts-Too Embossing Folder

It was a fun card to make.  I enjoy coloring images, and used my Copic markers to color the house and used a computer generated name.

Have a great day!

Not Bob, But Lee The Builder

Hi, guys!  Hope everything is well. I am really looking forward to some R & R this weekend.

I thought I would share a card I made for a friend's brother.  My friend asked me to make a special card for her brother Lee, as he is currently building her a house and she wanted a special "thank you" to him. She fondly refers to him as "Lee the Builder," so I wanted to make sure I included that.  I went through my stamps and found a whimsical house set by Claudine Hellmuth that had some great images that I knew I had to use.  I watercolored the sky and grass with Distress Inks, and used my Distress Markers to color all the images.

Supplies:
Paper: Stampin' Up
Stamps: Claudine Helluth Studio
Inks: Distress Inks, Black Archival, Distress Markers
Misc.: Memory Box Cloud Dies, Tim Holtz Ribbon

This was a fun card for me to make.  I haven't had time lately to watercolor and it was so relaxing to do.

Hope you have a great weekend!   I hope you find time for some fun and relaxation!

One Man's Trash is Another Man's Treasure

Hi, guys!  Thought I would share another card I made for the online card class A Cut Above with Jennifer McGuire and Friends.  I made this one using old, clear packaging that I die cut and turned into leaves.   I used alcohol inks for coloring the leaves.  I am really happy with the way it turned out.  I LOVE that I can turn my trash into treasures with my trusty Vagabond and steel ruled dies.

Supplies:
Paper: Gina K Designs White, Husk Note Card The Ink Pad NYC, Papertrey Ink Designer paper

Ink: Alcohol inks
Die: Tattered Leaves Alterations
Misc.: Scallop punch, Glossy Accents

I stamped a sentiment inside that says "Thankful for you."  I think it will be perfect for a Thanksgiving card, or a thank you card.

I hope you like this card.  I hope it inspires you to think of ways to repurpose things in your crafting!
Have a great day!