Thanks a Melon

Here is a super fun and summery card for you today! It is a 4 1/4"x5 1/2" card. I used a green polka dot paper for the card base. The pink layer is 4 1/8"x5 3/8" and the striped layer is 4"x5 1/4." I stamped my sentiment, which is from My Pink Stamper, in black in on the striped paper. The watermelon is from Preserves and I cut it at 3 1/4." I used patterned papers from K&Company for the green and red parts of the watermelon. I added glossy accents to the seeds and, boy, do they look real! I pop-dotted the watermelon and finished off the card with some black buttons, one of which I tied with pink embroidery floss bow. I think it is the perfect summer thank you card!

I made this for the following challenges:

• 365 Cards: "Day 90" - create at least four layers
• BBTB2: garden theme
• Die Cuttin' Divas: anything goes
• My Sheri Crafts: summer
• My Craft Spot: buttons and bows
• Perfect Sentiment: anything goes, with a sentiment
• Tuesday Alchemy: fruit

Graduation Cap

I got invited to a graduation party, which is happening in a couple of weeks. It is the first graduation party I have been invited to in a while...does that mean I am getting older? One of the guys in my EMT class was a senior in high school, so that is how I wound up getting invited. I can't make the party, unfortunately, I will be out of town. So, I made this fun card to send to him. I don't know his school's colors, so I went with the more traditional black with yellow tassel.

The card was cut using Wild Card, at 6." I cut it twice and then cut off the top part of the cap so that I could pop it up using some foam tape. I cut the tassel and then covered it with flocking before adding it to my cap. I used a black brad for the button that holds the tassel on. I used a Scrappy Moms Stamp for the sentiment. I stamped it in yellow and also used some yellow embossing powder to heat emboss the sentiment. I also cut the matching envelope for the card, I just don't have any pictures of it. :) I hope you enjoy and I hope the recipient does too!

I made this for the following challenges:

• Cupcake Inspirations: cupcake photo
• Cardz TV: graduation card
• Celebrate the Occasion: anything goes

Argyle Father's Day

I made another Father's Day card. This time I used Wild Card to create the argyle pattern at the bottom of the card. It was cut at 5." I wrapped it with ribbon and added a buckle from Fabulous Finds, it was cut at 1." I used a My Pink Stamper stamp for the sentiment. It is a nice and simple one, but a perfect masculine card.

Father's Day Card

I started making my Father's Day cards. I guess it is a little bit of a jump start, but I don't know how much time I am going to have, so I will work on them now. This is a 4 1/4"x5 1/2" card. The red mat is 4"x5 1/4" and the green mat is 3 3/4"x5." I used Elegant Edges to cut the label, using both the regular and shadow feature. It is cut at 4." I embossed the regular label with the Herringbone folder and my Cuttlebug. I used A Child's Year for the father/daughter cut, which is cut at 3 1/2." I then used some foam tape to adhere the cut to the card. I used a Scrappy Moms Stamp for the sentiment and stamped it using night sky ink by Tsukineko. It was a nice and simple one, but I like the look of it. Enjoy!

Hummingbird Clock

Well, I have been having some computer difficulty, okay it's more like computer failure. My computer froze on me the other day and now it won't even boot up. It is slightly frustrating to say the least. I am using my husband's computer to check email, but I don't have access to my normal stuff. I hope we get this computer thing figured out...soon!

I got some crafting in this afternoon and made a clock for my new craft room. We are remodling our basement and in doing so I get a new craft room, which is exciting. It is slow going, but we are working on it so I know it is coming. Anyway, this is the clock that I will hang on my wall. My current craft room doesn't have one, so this will be nice. I got the clock at Target, it was on clearance for about $3. I then used Art Nouveau to spruce it up a bit. The numbers are all cut at 1" and I used my Gypsy to weld the 10, 11, & 12. The hummingbird is cut at 5." I popped up the wing and used a purple pearl for the eye.

Plumbing

My husband came in from the garage earlier today with a tool box and announced that he wanted me to make some labels for it. The box contains his plumbing supplies (or some of them at any rate) and he wanted it labeled so that he would know what is inside. I asked him where he wanted the labels and if he had any preferences for them. All he wanted was something on the top and one of the ends so that he can identify it quickly. Well, here is what I came up with:

This is my first time using vinyl. I have had a bunch of vinyl for a while, but have just never used it. I thought it would work a lot better than using paper and covering it with tape or something. I think it turned out really well, and even better...my husband thought it was awesome!

I used Birthday Bash for the word "plumbing," which I welded with my Gypsy, and Handy Man for the pipe wrench.

My Sheri Crafts Guest Designer

I am the guest designer at My Sheri Crafts for this week's challenge! The challenge is to create a wedding or anniversary project using black, white, and one other color. Here is my project:

This is an accordian fold card that is 4 1/2"x3 1/2" when folded. All the patterned cardstock comes from the Black Currant Stack by DCWV. The plain black and white cardstock is from The Paper Company. I used two sheets of the patterned back cardstock to create the card base. The purple mat is cut at 4 1/4"x3 1/4" and the white mat is 4"x3." I used Storybook for the "LOVE," which is cut at 3." I used Elegant Edges for the oval label. I stamped my sentiment, which is from Fiskars, on the oval in black ink. I used Flower Shoppe for the rolled flowers. This was my first time making them and I think they look quite nice. The smaller flowers were cut at 1 3/4" and the larger flowers were cut at 2 1/2." I finished off the card with some black pearls on the front of the card and white pearls on the letters. I hope you enjoy this one, because I love it!

Perk Up!

The challenge this week at Perfect Sentiments Challenge is to create a get well card without using the phrasing, "get well." I used the Cricut cartridge, Love You a Latte, and some Scrappy Moms Stamps to create my card. I used the cinnamon bun, cut at 2 1/2," and a coffee pot, cut at 3 1/2," to create this joy fold card. The striped cardstock is from the Guy Stack by DCWV and the buttons are from Favorite Findings. My seniments are stamped in coffee bean ink by Tsukineko. Enjoy!

Love Tree

Here is another card I made using inspiration from my cardmaking book. This one is a little more similar to the inspiration card than the others, but I really liked the look of this card overall. I just added my own touches by using the Cricut for my pieces. Here is the inspiration card:

My card is 5"x5" and I used white cardstock for the card base. I then cut some green patterned paper 1/8" smaller and distressed the edges. I also distressed the edges of a blue strip of patterned paper, which is 1 1/4" tall. I hand cut my "hill" from the same green patterned paper and distressed it as well. I used my Cricut and Graphically Speaking to cut the tree at 4 1/2." I used a wood patterned cardstock, which is from DCWV, for the tree. My hearts are also from Graphically Speaking, cut at 1." I rubbed sandpaper on the edge of them to give them a distressed look and make them stand out against the background. I also cut one blue one as well. The sentiment is a stamp from Scrappy Moms and is stamped on vellum using coffee bean ink by Tsukineko. Here is how my card turned out:

Thinking of You Cards

I was flipping through a book of cardmaking that I have and was inspired by a couple of the cards. I made my own versions based on those cards and I thought I would share them today.

This was my first inspiration card. I really loved the buttons and wanted to make my own version. I did not like the pink though, so I went another way with it. Here is my take on the card:

My card is 4 1/4"x5 1/2" and made of ivory cardstock. The patterned cardstock is 4"x5 1/4" and I wrapped it with three layers of sheer ribbon. Each piece of ribbon is only adhered at the top so that the bottom of each layer is loose, which gives it a soft look. I stamped the sentiment and heat embossed it with a dark red embossing powder. I then added my buttons with glue dots.

This is my second inspiration card. I loved the look of the offset flower. Most cards put the image directly in the middle, but I thought this look was quite effective and I wanted to replicate that. However, I made my card using much brighter colors. This is my take on the card:

This card is also 4 1/4"x5 1/2." I used a dark pink cardstock for the card base. I used a double mat on this one, each layer 1/8" smaller than the previous. The first mat is a dark shimmery green and the next is the striped paper, which is actually a diagonal stripe that I cut to use vertically. My flower is from Serenade, cut at 4," and the stem is from Walk in My Garden, cut at 4 1/2." I placed the flower to the side and trimmed off the edge, then added a button, tied with some white twine, to the middle of the flower. I finished off the card with my sentiment, stamped in a dark green ink.

Two Simple Cards

It is pouring rain here, with a tornado watch in effect, so I decided to craft the night away while I wait it out. My husband is out of town for a couple of days so that leaves me with two dogs that clearly do not like thunder! It isn't too bad though, they just curl up by my feet and let me do my work.

I made a couple of cards tonight, and both of them are pretty simple. This first one is for the challenge at Celebrate the Occasion. Their current challenge is to create something for a male birthday and to use a circle. I used Wild Card to cut the circle card base, it is 5" around. I cut two circles, one at 4 3/4" and one at 4 1/2" for my mats. The patterned paper is from DCWV's Guy Stack. I used Father's Day to cut the golf club/ball. I embossed the tee with Forest Branches and the golf ball with Polka Dots, I used the debossed side for that one. I also added glossy accents to the ball. I stamped my sentiment, which is from Fiskars, in coffee bean ink by Tsukineko. I finished off the card by adding some buttons. I made this one at the request of my mom, it is for her brother's birthday.

The second card today is for the ice cream cone challenge at Bitten by the Bug 2. I used the ice cream cone from Indie Art and cut it at 4." I pop-dotted the ice cream part of the cone, and also pop-dotted the whole cone to the card. The white layer is embossed with the D'vine Swirls folder. The patterned paper is from Penny Lane by My Mind's Eye. The sentiment is stamped in jumbo java ink by Tsukineko and is from Scrappy Moms Stamps, the Kids Incorporated set.

There you go. Two quick and easy cards for tonight, I hope you enjoy!