Birthday in Teal and Purple

Time for another birthday card. I'm still trying to build up my stash!

This card features the Honeycomb embossing folder by Cricut and the Woodgrain folder by the Paper Studio. The stamps are all Stampin' Up! purchases that I was playing with. The flowers are from the Flower Shop set and the sentiment is from Banner Greetings. I used a Colorbox ink for the purple flowers (Deep Grape) and a Tim Holtz Distress Marker in Peacock Feathers for the blue. This card just makes me happy (probably because it uses two of my favorite colors!).

Super Cute Notebook Cover

Now for something a little different today. I just got my first Stampin' Up! order in and I was so excited to try it out. I've been wanting to make this really cute notebook cover that I found on Pinterest and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. For the instructions, please check out Brandy's YouTube tutorial.

I used the Secret Garden stamp set and framelits for the flowers and a sentiment from a Fiskars stamp set that I got years ago. I used the Midnight Muse ink for the blue and a random ColorBox brown. I think it's adorable!

The inside has a pocket and a small embellishment on the top of the notebook paper. The pencil inside was a plain old number 2 that I covered in a matching washi tape. Super adorable! I'm so proud. :)

Birthday in Teal

You can never have too many birthday cards in your stash. I'm the type of person that always seems to forget to send a birthday card until the last minute. That's why I'm glad I make tons of birthday cards in advance. Don't get me wrong, I always remember my mom and dad and, of course, my husband, but I'm terrible when it comes to friends and even my brother (sorry, Ryan!).

That's why I made this card today:

I dug in my scrap pile until I found 3 patterned papers that I think originally came from a coordinated paper pack, but they look good together. I cut thin strips of each and then staggered their lengths. I used a square punch to make nice ends for my flags and adhered them to a while mat. I used kraft paper and scored it to create the bottom of my cupcake and then cut it into the shape of the wrapper. I used a small scalloped circle punch that was then cut in half to create the top of the cupcake. The embossing folder I used was D'vine Swirls from Cricut. I attached a piece of ribbon to the top and adhered the completed cupcake. Last step was stamping my sentiment which was one by Stampabilities that I've had for ages. 

Ta-da! I have a card that's cute enough to send in a pinch.

Break Ups are the Worst

One of my friends just went through a pretty tough break-up and I wanted to send her a little something since I can't be there in person to cheer her up. After playing around with some of my embossing folders, I came up with this little gem:

I used the modern wallpaper folder from Cricut and another from Darice (not sure of the name). I used the same folders for the matting behind the stamp.

I have another card in mind for her that I'll have to make and send in a couple of days. I'm thinking that I might send one every few days for a couple of weeks just to make her smile. :)

Another Thank You

I guess I should mention that my weekend is Sunday and Monday. That's when my husband has off work and I tend to take those days and spend them with him. But, now that's over and I'm back on the crafting binge.

Today I made another thank you card. I feel like you can never have enough in your stash.

I'm simply in love with greens these days and I love mixing the different tones together. The embossing folders are both from Cricut (Swiss dots and D'vine swirls). The enamel dots at the bottom are actually home made. I bought some perler beads and followed the directions from this blog. They look perfect! Love them!

A Note of Thanks

I sat down today to experiment with a card sketch I found on Pinterest.

It just spoke to me... Anyway, I put together a quick card and it turned out like this:

Notice I didn't bother to pose it with the plant like I usually do?  Well, I just thought there was something missing...

So I grabbed my Cuttlebug and my Swiss Dots embossing folder and quickly recreated the card and it turned out great!

See? The first card just felt too flat. I love this one though! The only punch I used was the bird punch from Stampin' Up! for the leaves behind the buttons. The buttons were just ones I had in my stash and the patterned paper was in my scrap pile. I cut the white paper with my Cricut and glued the whole thing together. Easy-peasy. Now I can get back to my laundry... *sigh*

Low Key Kind of Day

I'm having a slightly more low key day than I typically have today. I sat down and made a couple of cards, but I just really wasn't feeling all that creative for some reason, so I made a simple sympathy card:

My grandfather passed away about a month ago and I was really thinking about him today. I usually pose my cards with some of his wood turnings whenever I take photos, so I guess it was only natural. This card made me think of him. (Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder, sentiment from Stampabilities)

Then I decided to recreate a card that I found on Pinterest and just loved. I love the use of negative space. I changed a few elements, however.

 

I used the Martha Stewart butterfly double punch to create the negative space for my card and then embossed the panel with the swiss dots folder by Cuttlebug. I backed the panel with one of my many scraps of paper. I used the butterfly punch again on the same paper to create the middle butterfly that I added with dimensional foam to give it some pop. Then I stamped the sentiment from Inkadinkadoo's Greetings collection.and used an EK Success frame punch to give the ends some interest. I used the same punch on a coordinating piece of pink paper to create a framed effect. Last but not least, I added some rhinestones and some pearls to my butterflies or added interest. I like how it turned out. :)

Cupcakes Always Help

It seems like every time I turn around, I have a friend who needs some cheering up. There's one in particular that seems to have a rough time of it. In her honor, I made this card:

 

 

The cupcake reference is an inside joke for us. We live far away now, but when we were in the same city, I was always baking and bringing her sweets. She used to say that I had a sense about when she needed a cupcake. And the pink really reminds me of her, too.

 

 

My second card for the day is this little cutie.

 

I used a circle punch to create the sunset in graduating colors and my Cricut to cut out the silhouette of the owl and the branch. Attach some googly eyes and you have an easy card, but I think it has a great effect.