Made A Few More Cards

I so enjoyed making these little girls from the Marci rubber stamp line from La-La Land Crafts. I finally got around to putting them on cards. It's nice to have them all ready to go for any occasion that might arise, last-minute or otherwise.

The one above is my favorite. I used the fence die Valerie gave me. I'd like to do more with this die, it's so whimsical.

For a few of these I started with store-bought cards Dawn gave me and embellished them. The strawberry girl below sports a tiny strawberry I fussy-cut and then popped it up after coating it with Glossy Accents.

This last one was made with layers of different colored card stock on top of a blank note card decorated with hearts. A strip of LOVE Washi tape (that stuff is addicting!) is along the bottom and heart Washi tape was added next to the little girl. I drew white stitch lines between each layer of card stock for a little something extra.

My daughters surprised me with a bunch of new little girl stamps and other crafty things like glass-fusing products for the microwave kiln I got for Christmas (I haven't tried yet) and some of the most awesome 12"x12" card stock I've ever laid my eyes on.

I can't wait to play with it all!

Yard Work

I mowed the back 40 yesterday, go me! You wouldn't think it would take two hours to mow this thing, but take my word for it, it does. There are so many obstacles, the sheds, trees, tree stumps, horse shoe backstops, rocks, cement. I don't know how many times I caught the blade on a rock, ugh. I still need to get at it with a weed-eater. Also, I wouldn't mind doing something to make that path you see (made by our dogs), permanent.

Today I pulled weeds along the side of the house. I feel accomplished! Sore, but I'm glad I don't have that niggling in the back of my mind. At least, for a while.

Card Holder For San Jose Sharks Fan

I'm flattered hubby asked me to make him a card holder for all of the cards he received while visiting his parents during the holidays.

We're huge San Jose Sharks fans, so I dug into my stash and found ONE 12"x12" piece of hockey scrapbooking paper. I embellished it with a couple of photos taken by my daughter which I ran through my die-cutter using a die in the shape of a postage stamp. I made a couple of pockets for the inside to hold cards and notes that won't fit between the binder rings. Man, that paper went a long way!

I'm not sure if the beads are "manly" enough for my man, so they may eventually show up on my craft table.

Elephant Girl

When I made my New Year's cards with this stamp from La La Land Crafts, Valerie liked them so much she asked me to make her one with an elephant theme she could frame. (Anytime my family asks me to make them something it tickles me to no end!) So I found a couple of scraps of the elephant textured scrapbooking paper I had leftover from her card-holder and went to work.

I stamped and embossed her using detailed black embossing powder, which gave it a much more finished look than just stamping with black ink. I used a yellow Inktense pencil for her hair and glitzed her up with Stickles. I also added a little clover of hearts to her hat, a nod to Valerie's love of her dog Clover.

I inked the edges of the background paper and mounted two of them to grey card stock. To give it some depth I popped up the top two layers along with the little girl. My daughter had a 5"x 7" glass memory box on hand that provided lots of room for using pop-dots, so that is her new home.

I love how she turned out, but more importantly, so does Valerie!

Washi Tape At Costco

I picked up this set of Washi tape by We R Memory Keepers, complete with holder at Costco, of all places. They rarely have scrapbooking/card-making stuff, so it was an unexpected fun find.

 

I like that it fits inside my Washi tape container.

And by unscrewing the center handle, the lid even closes, holla!

Lots Of Crafting Goin' On

I was able to get a lot of crafting in this past month or so, yay! I'm going to pack a lot into this post so you can see what I've been up to. Sit back, grab a cup of tea or coffee, and enjoy.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I wanted to send out a few New Year's cards, but searching the crafts stores both on-line and off brought me nothing. Leave it to Dawn to find this adorably perfect stamp! There was a lot of fussy cutting, paper piecing, coloring and Stickles involved, about 3 days' worth of fun. Each one was different because I had specific people in mind. I wanted to get the hair and even the pets just so. I failed miserably at the pets, though, I should have shopped better for those, but maybe I caught the essence anyway.

I stamped the girls using black Staz-On, but upon reflection I wish I had embossed them for a more polished finish. I placed pop dots under the little girls so they stand out from the background and gave each one a tiny companion. The inside sentiment was embossed with detail black embossing powder and also popped up. Each banner is backed with a matching piece of card stock from the front. The stars were cut from sparkly paper using a die with my Vagabond. I inked the edges to give them depth.

My daughters puffed my chest by telling me they were little works of art and I couldn’t give them away, I should frame them, and would I make them a couple to keep. They’re so good for my ego. (More photos and details on my flickr.)

A YEAR'S WORTH OF LOVE IN CARDS!
Since my card-holder was filled to the brim...

 I made myself another one.

I’m normally not one for the frou-frou, but a friend of ours gave me 3, 12”x12” stacks of some pretty gorgeous paper for Christmas and I just had to use some of it. I’ve always liked butterflies, so I chose two pieces that compliment one another. Also, the sparkly ones drew me in.

I embellished the pages with rub-ons, stickers and Washi tape and inked the edges with a subtle blue. I added pockets to the inside adding the word “memories” on one and cutting a square of the same pretty cardstock for the other. My daughters have given me lots of beads lately and they’re perfect for this project. I'm excited because my husband liked it enough to ask me to make one for him! (More photos and details on my flickr.)

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, MARTHA AND LARRY!

  

I made my sister and her hubby an anniversary card using some adorable prints Dawn gave me. Again, my ninja paper-cutting skills came in handy, especially on the tiny duckling. They loved it

FIRST CROCHET IN LIKE FOREVER
Around Midnight on Christmas Eve I came across this free PDF pattern for a dish cloth and tracked it to a site called Tangled Yarn. I hadn't crocheted in a couple of years, probably, or at least haven't made anything. I thought, I could do that, and so I did. It called for a triple crochet, and because I hadn't done it in such a long time I had to look it up on YouTube. It's a bit wonky, but my sister Martha liked it. As a matter of fact it reminded her she wants to re-learn crocheting this year, so the other day we sat down and I showed her how to make a chain. One step at a time.

THINK PINK!
My sister-in-law is a 4-time cancer survivor. The second type was breast cancer, which resulted in the removal of her left breast. She collects all things pink ribboned and is decorating a small tree with this theme in mind.

We went to Michael’s and she picked out a packet full of lovely breast cancer awareness crafting fodder because she wanted me to make some rosettes for it.

I gave her back the kit when I dropped them off so she could finish them off at the center the way she liked. Besides, that’s the fun part. Here are a few of the photos she texted me. Beautiful!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DENI!
I made my hubby a birthday card with a gift/present theme. I cut out his name with a die using my Vagabond. You can't see it in the photo, but I sparkled up the lettering with a glitter-type pen. I cut out some presents, popped them up and added the letters to each one.

I also cut the sentiment from a birthday die and added it to the inside. The little gift in the corner is also popped up with a pop dot.

There were a few other things I made, but I'm making this too long as it is.

I love crafting and have fallen in love with card-making. I hope to hone my skills and pick up some speed. I spend a lot of time on each card, maybe too much. But when I'm making a card I'm thinking of the one who will be receiving it, so I want to make it as perfect as possible. Not because I want accolades; I want the recipient to know they are special and worth the time and extra effort I put into the card they are holding in their hand so they can feel the love that goes along with it.

Note: If you would like to see more photographs and explanations of the crafts I make, please see my flickr.

Lights In My Window

I put some LED lights in my window above my craft table (2 years ago?), something I'd seen on-line only they were around a bed. The last month or so they began to go out one strand at a time. I was down to a single strand before my daughters treated me to four new boxes.

The magic is back, Jack!