Five Butterflies

This little card is covered in sherbert colors. The patterned cardstock came from one of those 4x6 pads (DCWV I think)... two Stampin'Up dies were used on this card... and one Cuttlebug embossing folder (swirls)...the StampinUp dies are the Top Note and the five butterflies (a small embosslit that cuts and embosses 5 different sized butterflies)... these are two of my very favorites... and ones that' I've used more than any of the others... 

I used a coordinating piece of cardstock (from the same pad as the cs on the front of the card) for the envelope lining. I rounded the corners of the card base and orange and pink colored mats which were run through the Cuttlebug with the Swiss Dot embossing folder.

Hope this gives you some ideas...

Blessings and happy crafting,

~Kathy

Another Card for Aunt Alice

This is one of the other cards I did for my Aunt Alice's 100th birthday last month... I LOVE House Mouse images, don't you? Put some sparkle on the cupcake icing, colored image with watercolor crayons and aquapen; used my Fiskars corner shapers/embossers for the watercolor paper and the solid pink paper underneath it... a few brads and some ribbon threaded through the front bottom. She really liked this one... I love the bright colors...

Hope you're having a great day!
Blessings and Happy Crafting,
~Kathy

I recently participated in a swap over on the SCS (SplitCoastStampers) website where I had to make cards that were black and white and one other color of my choosing... of course, I chose red... I had just found this cute little stamp from Hobby Lobby and I got carried away one night stamping them and coloring them in... It says "Girls Just Want to Have Fun"... which reminds me, I saw a cute handmade sign in a shop in Cocoa Village a couple of months ago that read "Girls Just Want to Have Funds"... now that's a sentiment I agree with, don't you? 

The black and white paper came from a pad of dp (designer paper, don't remember who makes it), but what's nice is that the thin black lines of the design are actually embossed/raised.
I did put a piece of white cardstock on the inside to write a message on...
The black and white ribbon on the one to the left was very shiny and feels very smooth and silky... love it!

Here's what the inside looks like... I cut the inside piece out with my top note die from StampinUp!, then stamped Live, Laugh, Love, and embossed it in shiny black embossing powder, then added some faceted black jewels for dimension.

Here's one more using that same stamp but this time I used red and blue cardstock. I added some horizontal scored lines on the blue card base front and ran the top piece of red cardstock through my crimper at an angle. A few jewels in the lower right corner for a little bling.

That's it for today...

Blessings and Happy Crafting!
~Kathy



In a hurry? Here's a great idea for a quick card...

This is one of my favorite CAS (clean and simple) cards. It is a pre-made card that came in a box of about 50... 5 each of 10 designs... I get them on sale at JoAnn's and Michael's and use a 40% off coupon... (Reg $10... just $6 with a coupon)... they come with envelopes too so they are a real bargain... nice sturdy stock also...

The really cool thing about this particular card is that I happened to have had some ribbon on hand (I have LOTS of ribbon on hand)... that seems to perfectly match the colors of the polka dots. I used one of my very favorite MS (Martha Stewart) border punches that also embosses, added a couple of bright brads, and voila... a cute quick card! Doesn't get much easier than that, eh?

Blessings and Happy Crafting!
~Kathy

Another House Mouse Birthday Card

Here's another birthday card done with the same House Mouse stamp as the tri-shutter I showed you yesterday. This was for a good friend and neighbor... it has the chocolate quote that I used on my friend Selma's retirement card... A "balanced diet is chocolate in both hands"... and another chocolate quote on the inside which is also visible when the card is propped open... it says "The best things in life are chocolate..."

This card style is called and easel and is quite easy to do... it is a standard A2 size card with a top fold (4.25"x11")... the front of the card is then folded in half (mountain fold) and scored. You then attach another panel (4.25"x5.5") to the bottom half of the front of the card base.
Decorate as desired, chosing a "stop"... some element, whether it be a button, flower, or quote that will keep the card in the standing position once it is opened. Here I used the chocolate quote on a piece of cardstock that is popped up on dimensional foam dots. It's a very easy card but one that the recipient will enjoy displaying for others to admire...
Blessings and Happy Crafting!
~Kathy

One More Baby Shower Tri-Shutter

I'm lovin these tri-shutter cards... this one is my favorite... it's for my daughter's baby shower this afternoon... Claudia is our older daughter... a great wife and mother... she has a 20-yr-old son Lane, an 11-yr-old son Bailey, a sweetie that just turned 3 - Olivia, and come January, she'll add MacKenzie Joy to their brood... I can't wait! It will be such fun to have a baby to cuddle again!

The base of the card is a pearlized green that's gorgeous (I think)... I used 3 designer papers that I felt coordinated well... some of the trims on it are from a package of narrow, self-adhesive, 12-inch strips called Itsy Bitsy Baby Girl adhesive borders (they come 30 to a pkg for about $4) (from K&Company)... They are great! And then there's Maisy KETTO... isn't she cute?

I used the same verse on the large center panel as the other baby tri-shutter I shared with you last week...

As promised, here's another tri-shutter...

I made this one for my Great Aunt Alice who turned 100 last month! She loved it... I actually sent her an envelope with 4 of my cards ... the other three signed by my mother and our two daughters' families... Aunt Alice lives in Peterborough Ontario Canada and I've not seen her many years... she's as sharp as ever and we have great phone conversations!

The cute little fairy person is Maisy KETTO... she is one of the KETTO characters you can find at StampingBella... I bought Kenya KETTO at the same time... I think they're all so cute... I had a hard time deciding which one to get (so of course I got two)... and they are so much fun to color... used some glittery stuff on her wings and some bling on her little crown and the flower center... isn't she cute? Love the hairdo!

Have a great day!

Blessings,

~Kathy

Another Tri-Shutter Card

Ya gotta love these designs... I think the best thing about them is that they stand up and others can enjoy seeing the recipient's card... I would love to display one of these on my desk/workspace (if I had a job)...

This is one I made for a very dear friend who recently retired after 20 years at Marshall University... the over-sized felt sunflower is something I found at my new Hobby Lobby when they first opened... there were several in a package and I wish I had bought all the store had! I've used them on several tri-shutters and think they just make the card so special... I attached them with a glue gun since they are a bit bulkier and heavier than the average embellishment...

The sentiment on the center panel reads "a balanced diet is chocolate in each hand"... don't you just love it... I was hoping it implied that I thought she was gonna retire to her sofa, watch tv, and eat bonbons... ; )

I'll share another tri-shutter with you tomorrow... hope you're having a great day!
Blessings and Happy Crafting!
~Kathy

Another Fun Fold Card

Here's another fun fold card I did after watching a YouTube video showing the technique. This cardstock already had a lot of "bling" to it... The finished card (closed) is shown here in the top right photo, corner detail of the inside panels is in the photo below that, and a closeup of the paper is below that... again I used two of the French Scalloped Flair dies from Cheery Lynn Designs to create the pink "frame" and layered that on top of a piece of pearlized cardstock that's ready for the sentiment or hand-written note. The diamond-shaped piece of pearlized cs on the front was run through my crimper, a small flower-shaped jewel glued on top and a piece of ribbon tied around the whole card. Hope you like it!

There are so many gorgeous papers and cardstocks out there... some already "glitzy"... it's so much fun to take one 12"x12' sheet and turn it into a unique card like this that the recipient will think you spent hours on!

Have a wonderful day!

Blessings and happy crafting!

~Kathy

Folio Card with Two Pockets

I found this cute folio card in one of my cardmaking books... and thought I'd share it with y'all... I've written an instructional sheet with diagrams that you can download to try one yourself.

I created my first one from coordinating MS (Martha Stewart) cardstock I found at my local WalMart last year... This design uses one whole 12"x12" sheet (preferrably two-sided) and then a 3"x6" scrap of coordinating paper for the "spine" that holds the front and back together...

You could really get creative with the closure using buttons and thread, latches, etc. I just used some sheer white ribbon tied around mine. You can also attach the ribbon although I just tied mine around the card and it can be slipped off and then slipped back on without actually untying it.

I did put another piece of coordinating paper on the center inside panel... it is about 5-1/2" square. I used another sheet from the MS pad so that the colors coordinate but this is strictly up to you. I then added another piece of cardstock that I die cut (using French Scalloped Flair - ST010 from Cheery Lynn Designs/Dies Direct). It has a computer-generated Thanksgiving quote from Erma Bombeck printed on it (found here on QuoteGarden.com), so this card had absolutely no stamping on it at all...

The pocket design allows you to include goodies for the recipient... you'll see I've added a CD to the left pocket and a bookmark in the narrow pocket on the right. Hope you like it...

You can get the instructions by clicking here.

Hope you have a wonderful week!

Blessings,

~Kathy

BUSY, BUSY DAY!

Wow! Seven cards...3 baby shower tri-shutters and 4 pastor appreciation fun fold cards... Although I was pretty productive, if I do say so myself, I still need to make several sympathy cards... guess it will be a late night!

The baby shower cards were very similar, the first two almost identical started with a pearlized pink cardstock (ColorBok), used a couple of coordinated patterned designer paper, a little ribbon, a cute brad, some bling and pearls, several strips from a K&Company grouping of baby-themed scrapbooking strips, and one cute sticker.



Here's the straight-on view of the first card... I have two stamps I wanted to use on these... one was too long to fit on any of the card panels. So I put it on the flap of the card, embossed with SU's silver powder, and lined the envelope.

The other stamp has this wonderful sentiment (God sends His love and joy to earth with every newborn baby's birth) -- I'm very pleased with the finished card... What do you think?

Sunday.... What a great Lord's Day!

I hope you've had a wonderful Sunday too... weather was great... finally starting to get a little cooler in the evenings... can't wait til we can turn the AC off again... not quite there yet... supposed to cool off here by this coming weekend... yippee!!!

One of the things I spoke to folks about while chatting with them at Hobby Lobby yesterday... and was received very favorably by many... was that I would be willing to come to their home to do a "private" cardmaking party... great for a girls' night "out" or birthday party... even teenagers' sleepover.... think this would be fun and a no-pressure option for those who are not interested in purchasing a whole bunch of cardmaking "equipment" since I would provide all the necessary materials and tools needed to make the cards they would decide on... I'm thinking they'll choose what type of card they want to make... Get Well, Thinking of You, Sympathy, Baby, general all occasion or just because, etc.

If you think you'd like to do this with a bunch of girlfriends, moms group, Bible study group, or mother-daughter groups, shoot me an email and we'll discuss what you'd like!