Dog-gone it!

I don’t use a lot of animal images in my card making, but this dog-reading-a-newspaper stamp from Stampendous! caught my eye for various reasons — first, as a former news reporter, I love anything newspaper related, and second … well, do you SEE the expression in that dog’s eyes? Credit Stampendous! owner Fran Seiford for the wonderful artwork. Perfect for a Fabulous Finds Friday stamp pick!

The image was stamped in Ranger’s Wendy Vecchi’s Archival Potting Soil and colored with watercolor pencils, then blended lightly. The background paper and the darling center piece die cut (stitched journaling die) are from Lawn Fawn.

In the next card, I finally found something to use on this stenciled background I made a while back (featured here and here.)

Same process. The sentiment is from Hero Arts. Have a great weekend!

Boxed In

As we know, I love boxes and I love this box die from Lifestyle Crafts (now owned by We R Memory Keepers).

The wood-look papers are from Kaisercraft, the rosettes were cut using a Tim Holtz/Sizzix die.

The papers here are from Basic Grey.

These were so fast and easy to make — I used them as gifts for my co-workers.

That was a quick posting, eh? Have a great week.

A Shoe to “Die” (Cut) for…

Do you love shoes? Check out this beautiful shoe die from Tattered Lace:

The paper on this top-folding card is Graphic 45. The arched die cut is Spellbinders Arched Windows One, edged a bit with Old Paper Distress ink; the tiny pearls on the shoe are Hero Arts. I used Elmer’s Fine Line glue pen to attach the shoe and Therm O Web’s supertape to attach the ribbon.

And did you notice the darling bow tie at the top? That’s a die from Cheery Lynn and I am getting such a kick out of using it.

After I cut out the shoe, I notice the negative space left from the die and decided to use it as a stencil:

And here’s the result (again with the bow tie):

The dotted background paper is from Simple Stories’s Snap collection; the dies are Spellbinders Label 8 and that adorable Cheery Lynn bow tie.

The Last of the Valentines!

Ah, sigh… it’s finally Valentine’s Day. I had so much fun making and sending Valentines to my girlfriends. My friends are heart-felt treasures and life would not be the same without them. When I looked at the big stack I had to send, I thought, “What a lucky girl am I.”

Enjoy the last ones ….

Most of these were fast and simple:

I adore this feather set from Close to my Heart! I could make a dozen of these cards, leave off the greeting, and have a stack ready for any occasion! The feathers were stamped on white card stock using various shades of mostly Hero Arts Shadow Inks and a blue Distress pad.

This, too, was fast and easy using the CTMH Oodles of Doodles set, Hero Arts inks and Hero Art hearts (embossed using American Crafts’ Zing powders). The pretty sequins are from Lawn Fawn.

A clean and simple card using a die from Hero Arts:

And just to prove that crafting is not a perfect art, here’s one from my Imperfect Crafter side.
It’s actually cuter in person than it appears here. I needed ONE more Valentine, so I grabbed some leftovers on my desk. I’m showing this card because I always tell my workshop students that there are “no mistakes in crafting; only design elements.” So warts and all, here she is:

I was anxious to play with this tissue paper from Hazel & Ruby. And being the Impatient Crafter, as well as the Imperfect Crafter, I tore off a piece and glued it to my card base. I had a die cut heart that did not cut all the way through so I disguised the bad part with the Prima flowers. If you look VERY closely, you will see, peeking out from the upper left hand ventricle, part of the heart where it didn’t cut all the way through. But do we through anything away? Nope! We just carry on!

Thanks for bearing with me, and I hope everyone has a sweet Valentine somewhere. Have a fabulous Friday!

Hearts, Hearts Everywhere!

Can you stand a few more Valentines?

This card should really be a Fabulous Finds Friday because I love this new Stephanie Barnard banner die from Sizzix.
The background is made using a Tim Holtz embossing folder. And I’m sure you noticed my oopsie — the peek of a staple. Sigh.

Originally, I thought it would be cute to staple the banners on the top of my card, using my Tiny Stapler. But it looked too unfinished:

So I added a piece of ribbon. But it looks like one staple got the best of me. Oh, well. Warts and all, that’s what you get here.

This is a fun one made during a card making workshop at the Paper Source:

(Lousy photo — and taken of the wrong card!) In the original, the Hero Arts arrow background was gold embossed on white card stock. The Paper Source heart was punched with a heart punch then run through a Xyron. Stampendous! Gold Halo glitter was generously applied to the now sticky heart. A piece of red glitter paper was glued down on the card base and the glittered heart was placed so the red glitter showed through. The heart was placed using Therm O Web foam pop-ups.

Whew! Valentine’s Day is almost here… and I’ll have just a few last minute cards to show.
Thanks for sticking with me.

Fun, Frilly Valentines

These Valentines are a bit of a departure for me. They started because I love the paper (from Basic Grey’s Out of Print collection) and was eager to use it.

Because these are two-sided papers, I cut a piece about a quarter of an inch larger than the normal front of my A2 card. I scored the top, then attached the small scored part to the back of a flat card. The hearts (Hero Arts) were embossed with American Crafts’ Zing Blush, Ranger Antique Claret, Ranger Antique Verdigris. Sentiment from Inkadinkado. Because the ribbon is so sheer I ran it through my Baby Xyron for adhesive.

Paper, sentiment, ribbon all from the vendors above. The chipboard butterfly is from my stash. I rubbed it Viva Décor Inca Gold (I love these creamy colorants) in Rose Quartz and Inca Gold (the only two colors I have. I think I need more.) I stamped the butterfly with a text background (Hero Arts) and added a few pearls. It’s a little hard to see, but I dotted the centers of the lace flowers with Viva Silver Pearl Pen.

Thanks for stopping by!

Valentines — Fast and Easy

These two cards were fast and easy — my favorite style!

I had been hoarding these glitter hearts from K&Company’s Smitten Collection and finally decided to use them.

The white background was textured using a Tim Holtz embossing folder; the hearts were popped up with 3D Glue Dots. Sentiment on both is Hero Arts.

(The fun embellishments are Robin’s Nest Dew Drops.

Thanks for visiting! More Valentines to come!

More Valentines and a Fabulous Find

I just realized we don’t have too much time until Valentine’s Day… so in the next few posts I’ll do a Valentine Blitz! There will be more hearts than in a cardiac unit! So get ready….

This sweet die cut set is a Fabulous Find from Lawn Fawn. The stitched square and the tiny hearts are all part of the die set, which also includes a row of arrows, banners, etc. I colored the tiny hearts using a Distress Marker. The cute arrow paper clip is also a Fabulous Find from Freckled Fawn (Wow, this is like a whole deer theme!) The heart (gold embossed with Judikins) and sentiment (cut up) are both by Hero Arts. The pretty sequins are from Doodlebug Designs and the yummy pink card stock is from World Win.

This came together pretty quickly … mostly because I had lots of odds and ends and new dies hangin’ around my desk.

I also put some of those teensy hearts inside:

Have a wonderful weekend!

I (Heart) Valentines!

Valentine’s Day is my favorite card making occasion, even more than Christmas. Don’t know why … maybe it’s the pretty colors, the cheery heart shapes, or just a great excuse to stay in touch. I love sending Valentines to my girl friends — it’s such a sweet surprise to find these in one’s mailbox.

Here are two quick cards to start the countdown to Valentine’s Day:

The background paper is by Anna Griffin, the greeting is Hero Arts, stamped in Hero Arts Cup O’ Joe Shadow Ink. The hearts, also Hero Arts, are embossed (the larger heart uses Judikins Pastilles, the striped heart is American Crafts Zing Blush. And although you can barely see it, there are little dots of Viva Pearl Pens in the centers of the flowers and on the heart.

I love this ombre cardstock from Echo Park. The hearts are all from Hero Arts, embossed in Judikins Pastilles and Aegean silver (the smaller heart) and American Crafts Zing Blush.

Thanks for stopping by … more Valentines to come.

Pretty Prima Papers

Here’s a short, but sweet, post.

Yes, it’s taken me more than two weeks to sift through all my notes from the Craft & Hobby Association Mega Show! But now I’m ready to share some of the goodies I’ve found.

Like these nifty papers from Prima Marketing (I remember when they mostly sold flowers! They’ve come a long way.)

The tag was made during a fast make-and-take at the Prima booth. The papers are from the lovely Cartographer collection. The ribbon is spritzed with Prima’s Color Bloom spray.

Thanks for stopping by!