Everybody's doing it...

Have you tried drawing a box around a focal image yet? I have seen this again and again in recent days. I like to think that my friend Tiffany helped to make it popular...no one does it better :) I couldn't find an actual card that she made using this technique, so I linked to her blog. Snoop around a bit.

These cards were super easy. Have you seen the new line from K and Company? Actopus to Zelephant? Love it. Found these grand adhesions stickers and paired them with some stamps in my vast collection. Very sendable don't you think?

Supplies:
Cardstock: Archiver's

Stamps: Paper Makeup Stamps, PTI

Ink: Stampin Up

Stickers: K and Company

Just Saying Hello

This has been a very long week. My son went to the Dr and has bronchiolitis and an ear infection. The bronchiolitis is not bad, but bad enough that he pretty much wakes up every 45 at night. So I do as well. Needless to say, between half days at work (hubby and I are tag teaming) and getting nothing done at home it leaves little time to stamp. I did want to throw this card together though before you all gave up on me! The image is from Amuse and their stamps are always so simple that they demand minimal treatment on a card to look right. I colored the tent with Copics (thanks for the shading lesson Tiffany) and just added the sentiment (Hero Arts). Here's hoping to a night with a few hours of uninterupted sleep! Hope you had a great week- TGIF!

A couple cards

A couple cards to share tonight. The first one was by request for my Grandmother whose Nephew just became a grandfather again. He likes birds. My mother was over and was going to be leaving soon and she said "Oh your grandmother needs a Congratulations Grandpa card". Which means I made this card in about 10 minutes (sewing and all!). That is a record for me. The new grandpa likes birds, so I covered a chipboard bird from Scenic Route with paper from Basic Grey and trimmed with an exacto knife and then sanded the edges. The sentiment is a combo of a Hero Arts stamps and a stamp from the $1 bin at Michaels (there were all sorts of family words, it's from awhile back so don't get excited and go out looking for it). Stiched around the edges and wa-la! A manly card that has a bird! I did also use Kraft as the base. I took a kraft hiatus, but it is back with a bang!

Card number two was another quickie. It was for my Mom's birthday. Sometimes I just don't know what kind of a card to make for her. So I used some of the Amy Butler papers from the mat stack (the Sola line) and added a simple ribbon treatment and a sentiment from Papertrey Ink that I stamped inside the Border Basics Rectangle.

So that's that. Two nice and simple cards. Have a great night!

Simple Thank Yous

A friend of mine asked me to make some simple Thank you notes that she and her sister could make to send after her sister's baby shower. The emphasis was on the word "simple". These ladies have never stamped before and claim to not be crafty. They walked into Archiver's and said "Our friends told us to come here", and walked out with a piece of patterned paper, some ribbon, and cardstock that matched the party invitations. So I made 4 options for them. They can mix up the white or kraft backgrounds, pick one of the cards or make some of each design. I hope they like them!

Supplies:

Cardstock: Wausau Paper (white), Papertrey Ink (Kraft)

Patterned Paper: Reminisce

Ribbon: RibbonFX, Celebrate It

Stamps: Technique Tuesday

Ink: Memento

Simple Mom Card

It doesn't get much simpler then this...I love this coffee mug stamp from Hero Arts. I colored it with Copics (W1, YG91, and R27) and then stamped the sentiment (Papertrey Ink). I did cut out the mug and pop it off the card. I also used the super thick 120 lb weight Neenah paper. It is fantastic for a card base, but it sucks up a lot of ink from copics, so I would recommend the 80 lb for coloring images.

Supplies:

Stamps: Hero Arts (mug), Sentiment (papertrey ink)

Cardstock: Neenah

Ink: Memento

Markers: Copics

A Melon Thanks

A very quick post, I am working on my card exchange cards tonight (Due the second Tuesday of the Month!) This was a fun card to put together. I love the pun. The whole set is full of them (Little Fruit from Stampendous). A very quick and simple card.
Supplies:
Stamps: Sentiment and Melon (Stampendous), Polka Dots (PTI)
Ribbon: Basic Basic
Copics: YG03, R22
Cardstock: Berry Sorbet and Kraft (PTI)

Fabric Card

This past weekend when I was at Archiver's I found some Amy Butler accents in the clearance section. I was thinking about what I could do with them, and so I went into my fabric bins for some inspiration. I happened to have some polka dot Amy Butler fabric that coordinated perfectly! I used my Xyron to put adhesive on the back of the fabric and then trimmed around the cardstock.


I had a lot of fun making this card. I think it was because I was using fabric; something I have never done before.
Supplies:
Cardstock: PTI
Fabric: Amy Butler
Accent: Amy Butler for K and Co
Ribbon: from the stash
Stamp: Stampin Up

Caardvarks Sketch and many cards

It started innocently enough...with the Caardvarks challenge for this week which was a sketch. Then I decided I liked the paper and wanted to make another card. And then I made another and another. Eleven cards later I was out of patterned paper. It is so much fun to take a piece of 12 x 12 paper and make cards until there is no more paper. (My best was 25 cards from one sheet; see this post and this post. It was one of my paper challenge's.) My goal is to keep moving, and not get stuck on thinking if I like a card or not. Simple is also key.

Let me know which you like best!

Common Supplies for the cards: Cardstock: White Wausau paper, Really Rust Stampin Up, Kraft Stampin Up; Patterned Paper: Umm...no idea It was from a pack of clearance paper from Michaels, Ink: Really Rust Stampin Up


The one that started it all...The Caardvarks Sketch. Stamp: Kolette Hall, Ribbon (May Arts)

Card #2: Thoughts of You (on loan from Tiffany, also by Kolette Hall)

Card #3: Thank you very much (Rub on by American Crafts), Ribbon (Daisy D's)

Card #4: Thinking of you (Stamp by Hero Arts), Ribbon (May Arts)

Card #5: Thanks (American Crafts Thickers), Ribbon (May Arts)

Card #6: Many Thanks (Stamp: Stampin Up)

Card #7: Road to Friend's House (Amuse), Ribbon (Amuse)

Card #8: Just Saying Hello (Hero Arts), Image (Big Lots), Brads (Making Memories)

Card #9: Just a Note (Stampin Up), Ribbon (Offray)

Card #10: Hi (American Crafts Thickers), Ribbon (May Arts)

Card #11: Fabulous Birthday (also on loan from Tiffany, Hero Arts), Ribbon Unknown

Card #12: Hugs Scrapling (Stampin Up), Bling (Kaiser), Ribbon (May Arts)

I put the last one next to the battery so you could see how small it was. It's called a scrapling. I didn't coin the phrase (I wish I had). It is the leftover scrap of white paper you have when you make a 4 x 4 card.

So those are my cards. Hope you like them. Hope they inspire you!

With Sympathy

It is never easy making a sympathy card, but I hope that it brings comfort to the recipient.

Supplies:

Patterned Paper: Basic Grey

Cardstock: Stampin Up (Brown and blue), Bazzil (Green), Papertrey Ink (Kraft)

Felt Ribbon: Stampin Up

Brads: Making Memories

The Green Stack

My mom surprised me with the new Green Stack from Die Cuts with a View last Saturday. I have been wanting this since I saw it in Creating Keepsakes back in December. I spent a few days just flipping through the papers, and then decided to make a card using this cute little guy. I can't wait to use more of the papers.

Supplies

Patterned Paper: Die Cuts with a View

Cardstock: Stampin' Up

Stamp: Hero Arts

Edited: The Green Stack is made with 70% recycled paper (that is why it is "Green"). It includes lots of woodland images, as well as environmentally angled papers (with sayings like "Go Green" and "Save the earth")

Good Luck for Friends

I was asked to make cards for two of my colleagues that are moving on to new positions. These cards had to be a decent size because a large number of people will be signing it. Plus, I didn't have much time to make them so they had to be simple. So I found a couple of fun patterned papers from my stash and used my favorite basic template of patterned paper, ribbon, and sentiment. I also found an old plate stand that helps keep the cards straight....nice!

Supplies

Good Luck

Cardstock: Unknown scrap

Patterned Paper: Wild Asparagus

Ink: Kiwi Kiss

Stamp: Katie and Co.

Ribbon:Unknown

Bling: Crystal Stickers

The Best is Yet to Come

Cardstock: Melissa Frances

Stamp: Stampin Up

Ink: Close to Cocoa

Ribbon: Unknown

Pearls:Kaiser Scrapbook