I'm still alive and well....

It's been quite a while since I've posted...life just gets too busy sometimes.  I spent the last part of last year making gifts for all my children.  In November, I fell from a 12 foot ladder while adding ornaments to the top of a 20 foot tree at church.  I fell about 10 feet...bouncing off the choir risers on my way down...WHEW!  Believe it or not, I didn't even break a bone!  However, it's been a couple of months now and I just now moving with ease! LOL!  I've also been on a "getting healthier" kick and spend a good bit of my time at the gym and walking.  I've lost about 50 lbs now and would like to lose about 20 more...so I've got my work cut out for me in the next few months.  

I recently got a yearly report from Fitbit...and according to their tracking, I walked 3,139,520 steps in 2019 for a total of 1,342 miles!!! Go ME!!

Anyway...with all that said, I have managed to get a few cards made in the last week or so, so I thought I'd share them with you.

This card was made using new to me stamps from Maymay Made It.com.  She does lots of videos also.  I used my score buddy to make scores every 1/4 inch on a white card piece cut slightly narrower than the card base.  The laundry basket was stamped multiple times and then I just cut the laundry off and stacked it up on one of the baskets.  Very quick and simple.

This next card was made with another stamp set from Maymaymadeit.com called Flowers for Friends.  I cut it slightly smaller than the card base, then added some striped papers to the right and bottom edge of the card base and popped the panel on top.  I also added a few Nuvo drops for dimension.  Image was colored with Copic markers.

This card was made using the flower stamp from Penny Black and the sentiment from Maymaymadeit.com Flowers for a friend.  I colored the image with Copics, cut the right edge off and fussy cutting the flower edge, then popped it over a black striped border.  Sentiment was stamped in versamark and embossed in white on black card stock.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Comments are always welcomed and appreciated!  Have a great weekend!

Hugs!

WHOOSH!....and another month rolls by!

Another month has flown by and I don't know where the time goes! I've stayed very busy doing some vinyl work for my church, but I did find the time to make a few birthday cards.  Seems like birthday cards are the ones I use the most and it doesn't hurt to have a few on standby! I didn't go out and check to see if these cards met any of the current challenges....just thought I'd share with you.

I really love this first card.  I used a NBUS stamp from SSS (Beautiful Flowers) and I love that it covers the entire length of the card without having to mask and stamp!  I colored the image with Prismacolor pencils then cut around the right side and popped it off the card base.  I added a piece of pink behind the flowers.  The sentiment is also from SSS. I also added a few Nuvo drops in pearl.

This card is just something I was playing with....the tulips are a small stamp from Clearly Besotted and have matching dies.  I stamped, colored with Copics, and popped on a white card base that I made some clouds on using a piece of masking paper and distress inks.  The sentiment is also from Clearly Besotted.

For this card, I used the Peek A Boo die from MFT, the large stitched rectangle was cut with the SSS die.  I had one tulip left from the previous card so I popped it into the opening and added a distress inked background.  I also added a few tiny pieces of bling.

This card is mostly made with Washi tapes.  I added strips of Washi tape to a 4.5 x 5.5 inch background, then adhered it to a white card base.  I used some MFT alpha dies to cut the "happy" from the panel, then cut foam letters too.  I added them back into the cut outs from the Washi panel.  The "birthday" sentiment was stamped with versamark ink and heat embossed in white.  It looked kind of plain, so I added some thin strips of the green to form a border.

This is a card I made for a friend of mine who will soon turn 76.  I always try to send him something unique, so I made this slider card.  I made this card using techniques from a video from Jennifer McGuire. You can see what it looks like opened up in the photo below. The sentiment was die cut 4 times and layered from a MFT die.  I cut the sliding mechanism with the Cameo (although I've since ordered the die to do this).  The balloons are from Sunny Studios and have a matching die. The sentiment inside the card is from PTI (and I've had it forever!)

Thanks so much for stopping by!  If you've left me a comment, please know that I sincerely appreciate each and every one!   Hope to see you again soon!

LIM and AAA Card Challenges #336 and #337

Hello All!

It's been quite a while since I've posted...shame on me...but, in my defense, I had a massive computer crash, found out that it was not repairable, then had to order a new computer, and wait, and wait, and wait for it to finally arrive.

My son works in the IT field, and he was going to try to recover all my data...and most importantly, my photos, and move them to my new computer.  Well...that didn't work.  My old computer was really fried!  Fortunately, I have always had a backup drive attached to my computer, and was able to recapture almost all of my files. The drive only had files backed up as of 6/2017...but I definitely breathed a sigh of relief!

So, while my computer was down, I did a little sewing (made a full-sized quilt) and made just a few cards.  Much to my dismay, when I took photos of this card so that I could finally post it, I found out that the card reader on my new computer doesn't accept "compact flash" cards, which is the type of card in my big camera....so...I had to retake the photos with my small Canon and THEN upload! Whew!

So...after all that...here's my card for the LIM and AAA Card Challenges #336 & #337.

I used the gigantic butterfly stamp for SU, and stamped on a paper that has a tiny green checked background...does that count as a colored background?  I heat embossed it in black and cut around the edge of the right hand wing.  As you can see from the photo below, I allowed the butterfly to wrap around to the back of the card also. I added color over the green background with Copics.

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I thought I'd share a peek at the quilt I finished while I had the two weeks with no computer!  This is the first quilt that I machine quilted.  I've always hand quilted my quilts before...but hey, since I have the new sewing machine, I thought...why not give machine quilting a try.  I loved machine quilting and have already bought fabric for my next quilt!

That's all for me today....As always, thanks so much for stopping in.  I appreciate your visit...and I appreciate each and every comment!

LIM #329 - Geometrics

I hope none of you faint!  Here I am back again for the 3rd day in a row!!  I've had a productive day today.  Finished a dress for one of my granddaughters, bought groceries to prepare dinner tonight for two of my children and their families and made two cards for the Less is More Challenge!

And....I'm getting my cards posted on the same day I made them! WooHoo!!!

For this first card, I used a wood mounted stamp (that I coveted) from the wonderful Darnell of djkardkreations and leader of the NBUS challenges.  So...thank you, Darnell!  I stamped the image in versamark and heat embossed it with gold embossing powder.  I colored in parts of the image with two yellow Copic markers.  The butterfly is from Hero Arts, and was also stamped and heat embossed with gold.  I fussy cut the image and added some yellow to the butterfly.  The sentiment is from SSS. I colored the side of the card and the sentiment strip with one of the Copic markers, then heat embossed the sentiment in gold.  Added a few drops of Nuvo to match, and popped the white panel with some craft foam.

Not too sure about this card.  It might not be CAS enough for the challenge.  I got this new 6 x 6 image from Concord and 9th.  I think I might need just a "little" more practice with the stamp! After my attempt at stamping, I added some Wink of Stella to the blue triangles and the orange stripe down the right side.  I wiped the blue ink on a scrap of white to make the sentiment tag.  Sentiment is from SSS and is heat embossed with white.  Added just a few Nuvo drops and popped the panel with craft foam.

That's all for me today....As always, thanks so much for stopping in.  I appreciate your visit...and I appreciate each and every comment!

Four Challenges...

I've made a few cards this week, and thought I'd link them up to several challenges.  I even made a card or two that would fit more than one challenge!  Yay, Me!

I will be playing along with the following challenges:  CAS(E) this Sketch, Happy Little Stampers, CASology, and Merry Monday!  Whew! That's a LOT of challenges for me!

So, let's get started....

This first card is for CAS(E) this Sketch.  I used a really old "Magnolia" stamp.  When I saw this one, I just had to have it...and I probably haven't used it 2 times!  The little girl was facing the wrong way, so I scanned the stamped image into my Silhouette program and flipped her horizontally, then used the trace feature to trace her and then welded the image into a rectangle, so that I could cut out just her legs with the Cameo.Much easier to do than to explain! LOL! I cut the cloud (SSS) from the rectangle, then ink blended the blue sky before popping the cloud back in (raised with foam). The little girl is colored with Copics and the sentiment is computer generated.

This second card is for the CASology challenge with a cue word of "hero".  My youngest grandson is a HUGE fan of Batman, and even though his birthday is a ways away, I thought I'd get his card done for him.  The Batman image is from the Silhouette Store.  I created the "Bam" accent in the Silhouette program as well as the sentiment.  I printed all of this out and cut it to 4 x 5.25 inches.  I colored in some "ground" under Batman.  I also printed out another of the "Bam" stars and popped it over the one on the card.  I added a very small black border and adhered it to a white card base.

This third card is for a couple of challenges - Merry Monday and HLS - Anything Goes with Dies.  I used a Christmas tree die that I've had for a while and cut it from a card panel.  I had to add a piece of acetate behind the aperture so that I'd have something which I could used to adhere my tree back in the aperture.  I then popped that panel over a inked panel.  To make the inked background, I used the TH spritzer, and my Tombow markers and spritzed two different colors of ink on a small panel that would fit behind the tree.  I then used my WOS silver and gold pens and flicked some of the sparkly WOS onto the green.  It's difficult to see, but there's really a lot of shine behind the tree.  I cut the sentiment "merry" (SSS) from card stock and from foam, then added a bit of glitter to the bottom portion of the letters.  The "Christmas" is from DRS Designs.  The star is popped with foam tape, and painted with gold WOS. (Cut with a SSS die)

This last card is just me playing around with some water colors again.  I wanted to create a "scene", but this one fell a little short of what I was trying to do...but it's okay.  If practice really makes perfect, then I should be getting better at this, don't you think?! LOL!

That's all for me today....As always, thanks so much for stopping in.  I appreciate your visit...and I appreciate each and every comment!

LIM #313 - Balloons

It just so happened that I just made a card this morning that fits perfectly with the LIM challenge for this week!  I needed a card for a new baby, so I made this cute little gift card holder card. 

The only part that opens on this card is the light blue striped piece on the very front of the card base (and is the actual card).  The flap that says "welcome Ezra" is held down by the elephant's trunk.  When you slide the sentiment tab out from under the elephant's trunk, the card will open to display a gift card and a message.  The elephant is from W Plus 9 Unforgettable set, the "welcome" part of the sentiment is from PTI, and the name was stamped with Concord and 9th's Perfectly Penned set. The sentiments was stamped in versamark and heat embossed with white.  I colored the elephant and balloon with Copics and cut them out to pop on the front of the card. I would say this was a quick and easy card...and it probably would have been if I hadn't totally messed up the elephant's eyes on the first one I cut out...so that meant that I had to re-stamp, re-color, and cut another one out! Other than that little mess up, it was quick! LOL!

As always, thanks so much for stopping in.  I appreciate your visit...and I appreciate each and every comment!

LIM #299 - Acetate or Vellum

It's been a while since I've played along with the Less is More Challenge.  This week the challenge is to use acetate or vellum on a card.

Here's my take on this week's challenge...

I guess it's been a while since I made a card...this card took me ALL day long to finish!  I have no idea why it was so slow!  

This is a new die from Hero Arts...cut twice (once in red and another in white) and layered slightly off center.  I cut an aperture from the center of a card panel with a stitched circle die (also cut the edges with a stitched-edged rectangle die).  The holly leaves were cut with a very OLD die that I'm not even sure where I got it! I backed the circle with a piece of vellum, then stamped part of the sentiment with Stazon ink and added the layered "joy".  The leaves were colored with Copics and I added some Wink of Stella for a little shine. For berries, I used red pearls.  Popped the panel with craft foam....and done!

I really loved the end result...just took me a while to get there! LOL!

As always, thanks so much for stopping in.  I appreciate your visit...and I appreciate each and every comment!

Lots to Share....

First of all...I must warn you....this is a VERY photo-heavy post! 

I've been extremely busy making cards, and just never could get around to posting them.  I needed quite a few cards for the widow's group meeting this month, as we ended up mailing out almost 30 cards to the home bound members from our church.  

So...off we go...and I'll give a brief description for each card, but as always, if you have specific questions, use the contact me button on my blog and I will get back with you as soon as possible.  

Water color with Zig clean color brushes on Bristol paper, mounted on a pink background. Added drops of irResistable.  

One layer card, stamped with Harvest berries from PTI in shades of blue from Hero Arts.  Sentiment is from a very old Flourishes stamp set. Berries are coated with glossy accents and a little wink of stella added to the leaves.

Image cut with Silhouette Cameo, colored with Copics and adhered to card base...with flowers popped off the paper with foam tape.  Sentiment is from SSS.

Image from SU on Bristol paper, and colored with Zig Clean Color brushes.  Sentiment is from Hero Arts.  Added wink of stella on the blooms.

Same image...another color and colored this time with Copics.

Image from SSS and sentiment is from PTI.  Stamped on Bristol paper and colored with Zig Clean Color brushes.  Popped on a deep purple background.

Image from Power Poppy, brought into Silhouette program and made a cut file to cut the flowers out. Printed the sentiment from Silhouette and cut out the oval on the card panel. Put the flowers inside the oval and inked the card base (background) with Distress Inks.

Image from Uniko. Stamped the flower in black, and added the stem with a Copic multi-liner pen. Sentiment is from Jillybean Soup and is stamped in Versafine black.  Added quite a few dots of irResistable drops.

LOVE this (digi) image...from Power Poppy.  I also have this as a Flourishes stamp that I bought years ago (same artist), but I'm able to resize the digi to fit (can't do that with a regular stamp).  Printed this out on water color paper (Canson), and colored it with Inktense water color pencils and then used a water brush to smooth out the pencil and add shading. Sentiment is part of the digi image download. To be able to print both the image and the sentiment at the same time, use something like Photoshop Elements to change the background on the apples to transparent, then when you put the sentiment to the back layer, the two images do not overlap.  When changing the background to a transparent background, you have to save the image as a .png file.  I wasn't able to change the background on the sentiment as the lines are so small, but just taking the white background off the apple image allowed me to print both images at the same time.  I'm sure to some of you this sounds like a foreign language...LOL! But...to those of you that use Photoshop Elements, you'll know what I'm talking about.  Remember...you can learn almost anything watching YouTube videos!

As always, thanks so much for stopping in.  I appreciate your visit...and I appreciate each and every comment!

Addicted to CAS and LIM 290

I spent a little time in my craft room today...and made a card for the challenge at Addicted to CAS and the current challenge at Less is More.

As it turns out, I made a card with a "silhouette" on my Silhouette Cameo for the challenge at Addicted to CAS!

I cut the beach scene with the Cameo. The design is from the Silhouette store Design #2666.  I cut it from black card stock.  I used distress inks to blend the background, masking off the sun with a circle cut from a post it note.  After I finished inking the background, I removed the mask and added a bit of mustard seed DI to the sun so that it wouldn't be stark white.  The sentiment is from TPC Studio stamps and is heat embossed in white on the black silhouette piece.  The silhouette was popped off the sunset panel with foam tape. 

The second card is for the challenge at Less is More.  The theme this week is Exotic.  That was definitely a brain teaser for me!  Of course, after I made this card, I remembered that I do have some panda stamps! Duh!  Anyway, this image is a coloring book image I downloaded from the Internet.  I printed the image and the sentiment and colored it with Copic markers.  This is a one-layer card. I had to look up the bird to see what color they actually are, so he's probably not perfect, but he's close!

I used Aloha for the sentiment, thinking it meant "hello" or "goodbye" in Hawaiian, but then did a little research and this is what I discovered.  "The real meaning of Aloha in Hawaiian is that of Love, Peace, and Compassion.  It’s the guidelines of how to live – a life of Aloha is one when the heart is so full it is overflowing with the ability to influence others around you with your spirit."

I like Aloha even better now that I know that it's not used to mean hello or goodbye!

As always, thanks so much for stopping in.  I appreciate your visit...and I appreciate each and every comment!

CASology Week 211 - Dream

It's been a while since I've actually gotten a card posted during a challenge...and I'm barely squeaking into the CASology challenge this week!

I had an idea in my mind, but it didn't work out quite like I had planned, so this card was my second idea.

This little elephant was a freebie from SSS on one of my orders, and I think this is the first time the little guy has seen ink! I stamped the elephant and the balloon with Memento black ink and colored them with Copics. I used a double stitched square die from MFT and cut out the square, leaving the balloon hanging off the top edge of the square.  I don't know what the technique is called, but you have to figure out where you want the die to cut, then mark your stamped image and fussy cut it down to the line you've marked, sliding the (in this case) balloon on TOP of the die and then cutting with your Big Shot/Cuttlebug.  I usually don't have it work out this well...sometimes I have a gap between the fussy cutting and the square...but this time, I guess I was holding my mouth right and it cut just perfect!  The sentiment is from PTI.  I added a little gray shading under the elephant so that he didn't look like he was floating!  I cut a slightly smaller panel with the SSS stitched rectangle die, only I cut it a second time to make it a bit shorter and fit the square stamped piece a little better.  Mounted it all on a white card base...and done!

As always, thanks so much for stopping in.  I appreciate your visit...and I appreciate each and every comment!

Sad Cards

Sometimes you just need a sympathy card.  Unfortunately, I needed a couple of sympathy cards this week and realized that I didn't have a single one in my stash!  So, I set to work getting the ones I needed made and a few extras. It's never fun to make sympathy cards, but if you make several of them at one time, then it doesn't seem quite so bad.  Praying that I DON'T need them any time soon!

I think all of these cards would be eligible for the HLS August Anything Goes Challenge, so I think I'll link up with Happy Little Stampers!

Warning...this post is photo heavy!

Very simple card. Die cut the butterfly (MB) from grey card stock, and then cut the bottom off of the panel with a SU die. I inserted the butterfly back into the card panel using some foam tape to pop it off the card base and keep it in place. I popped the panel with craft foam onto a white card base.  Sentiment is from HA and is stamped in HA soft granite ink.

This was a very quick and easy card.  Cut a yellow panel slightly smaller than the card base. Used a distressed corner die (MB) and then embossed the panel with a large embossing folder.  Sentiment is from HA and is embossed in silver.  Panel is popped over the card base with craft foam.

This card and the next card were created with the same papers.  I embossed the white card stock with the same embossing folder I used on the yellow card.  I also embossed the black and a grey strip with two different embossing folders.  One the card above, I added a small strip of dull silver paper between the black and grey.  The bloom the leaves are from Altenew and are colored with Copics.  I stamped the sentiment on vellum and heat embossed with silver. The flower is popped on the panel, the panel is adhered directly to the card base.

I made this card with the leftovers from the previous card.  The leaves were cut with the Cameo. Sentiment is from PTI and is heat embossed in silver.

I think these next two are my fall-to designs.  I simply die cut the flower (SSS) from both a white panel and a craft panel.  I backed the panel with double sided tape and inserted the flowers in to the opposing colored panel. The sentiment was stamped and heat embossed in liquid platinum on a strip of vellum.  Panel is adhered directly to card base and corners were rounded with a corner chomper.

This is the second card panel.  I inserted the craft bloom into the white card base, added a small border of craft around the edges and heat embossed the sentiment (HA) with liquid platinum.

This is actually grey card stock.  I cut a panel with a stitched rectangle die (SSS), then cut the square from that panel with a double stitched edge die (MFT). The flowers stamps are from HA.  I stamped the image and scanned it into my Silhouette program and made a cut file for these flowers.  Having a die is always much easier to cut out an image, but when there isn't a die, I'm glad I have my Cameo to make the cut for me!  I colored the blooms with Copics. I popped the rectangle panel with some craft foam, then cut the center out so that I could put the square stitched piece down into the hole.  I put the flower stems under the larger panel and over the inset panel with on bloom  hanging over the edge.  Added a few liquid pearl drops.  Sentiment is from HA and heat embossed with liquid platinum.

Thanks so much for stopping in.  I appreciate your visit...and I appreciate each and every comment!