Handmade Card #6 and #7

That's right, double card day today!  Put it this way, if I don't start showing you two cards a day this could go on and on!

Card #6 and #7 are very similar, so it seemed like a good idea to group them together.  That sentence isn't even true . . . I typed it before I decided which cards to talk about.  Let's start again.  Card #6 and #7 are both birthday cards.  Now that is a true sentence.

Card #6 features a cute little cupcake and the words "make a wish".  I started with a white card base and covered the front with some bright green paper.

Next I cut out two frames - one is 3.25" of tan card stock and the other is 3" of a brown, green and white patterned paper.  I layered the two and adhered them to the front of the card.

The cupcake comes from a birthday stamp set from American Crafts, and so does the sentiment and the little stars.  I stamped the cupcake on to the same tan card stock and then carefully cut around it and used pop dots to add it to the card.  I stamped the sentiment and stars on the tan card stock which I trimmed with the pinking blade on my paper cutter.  Adhere that to the front of the card and this card is done!

Card #7 is another window card, which I talked about when I showed you Card #2.  I used the same process here, so I won't repeat it.

I started with a white card base and added some green card stock to the front, then a piece of retro patterned paper.

I cut out a white frame using my Cricut (2.5") and stamped the sentiment using Leaf green pigment ink from American Crafts.  I also brushed the edges with the ink, then I used pop dots to adhere the frame to the inside of the card.

Whew!  Two more cards done and several more to go!

Handmade Card #4

Today I'll show you a card I made without using my Cricut - shocking, right?!  Card #4 is a get well card and it's truly one of a kind because I don't have the supplies to make more, although I could make something similar.

As usual, I started this card using a white card base.  I covered the front with green grid patterned paper from Scenic Route.

The flower is a sticker that I've had for ages; sorry but I don't know the source on that.

I used a small flower punch to cut the two little flowers and then I added a black pop dot from Pebbles, Inc. to the center of each flower.

For the sentiment I typed "Get Well Soon" in Word using Ali Edward's handwriting font, printed it on yellow card stock and cut it out.  Then I found some coordinating yellow patterned paper and cut a block just a bit larger then the sentiment block and added them both to the card.  I also cut a strip of the yellow patterned paper to go across the top of the card.  I used my pinking blade on my paper cutter when I cut the strip.

The inside of the card is blank since the sentiment is on the front.

Very easy card but one of my favorites, probably because of the colors which are bright and cheery.  Hopefully the recipient of this card will love it too!

Handmade Card #3

Today I'll add some variety and show you a more generic card rather than another birthday card.

I started with a white card base and covered the front with some pretty red & white patterned paper.  Next I cut a smaller piece of white card stock, rounded the corners and placed it on top of the red & white paper.

Once again my Cricut played a big role in this card - the tree was cut using the Serenade cartridge.  I cut the tree out at 3.5" because I wanted it to fill up most of the card.  I adhered the card to the white cardstock using pop dots to give it some dimension.

This card could be used for many occasions - I stamped "with sincere sympathy" on the inside but it would also work well as a blank note card.

Card #3 was very simple because of my Cricut.  It was a big purchase at $200, but I have definitely gotten my money's worth out of it in the 3 years I have owned it.  The cartridges are faily expensive ($40-$60) but sometimes you can find them on sale.  The Serenade cartridge that I used for this card was on sale for $9.99 and you will see more of the shapes from the cartridge in the days ahead.

More cards to come - stay tuned!

Handmade Card #2

Thanks for the positive comments about Card #1 (I'm not being sarcastic - there were comments on FB just not here on my blog!).  I appreciate your kind words.

Now for Card #2:

They aren't all birthday cards - I promise!

Card #2 is a birthday card with a cut out window.  I needed to use a clear, plexi glass stand to photograph this card because when it was standing by itself it was very hard to get the vision.  So, that's why you see what you see.

Moving on.  I decided that I wanted to do a cut out window on this card, something I don't ever do, and by the time I was done I swore I wouldn't do it again!  But I did, as you will see in the coming days.  I will explain what made it so hard later in this post.

I again started with a white card base and then chose this fun green and brown floral paper from my stash.  I used my Cricut to cut the window out of the patterned paper; I used the Accent Essentials cartridge and cut the window at 2.5".  This was the easy part, because I just put the entire 12" X 12" piece of paper through my Cricut and then cut it to size afterward, centering the window.

The hard part came when I realized that I also needed to cut the window out of the card base.  If you have used a Cricut you may agree that it's kind of hard to know exactly where the cut will end up on the paper you are using.  You can move the blade anywhere you want, but once you press start you lose all control and the blade shifts this way and that while you stand and watch in horror!  Dramatic, right?  So I was confused about how to make that next cut.  I gave it a try and had very bad results; the cut was not at all centered on the card base.  On to Plan B, which was to attach the patterned paper to the base and then use it as a template to freehand cut the window out of the base.  It worked - but there's nothing like watching the Cricut do the work so I was bummed that I couldn't figure it out.  Oh well, I got the result I wanted in the end, it just wasn't the quickest way to get it done.  I wouldn't want to do this if I was making multiple cards.

Once I conquered the window challenge the rest of the card was super easy.  I used a balloon stamp from my American Crafts birthday set and stamped the balloons using green ink from Studio g.

Next I used some coordinating green cardstock and some white cardstock and cut a little banner.  I free hand cut the strip and then just notched the end to make the banner shape.  I used rub ons from Pebbles, Inc. for the Happy Birthday sentiment.

A little bit of adhesive to attach everything and Wa La - Card #2!

Need some cards?

I have been on a card making spree and over the next several days I will show you some of the cards I have made along with information about the process I used to create the card.  If you see something you like let me know!  I don't have any of these cards listed in my Etsy shop but I can make more (in most cases) and would love to make them for you!

This is one of my favorite cards - I love the colors and the cheery sentiment.

To make this card I began by covering the front of a blank, white card with textured blue paper.  Then I chose two coordinating patterned papers to place on top.  I wanted them to be slightly smaller than the base so plenty of the pretty blue color showed.  I free hand cut the wavy bottom; it took a few tries to get it just how I wanted it.

I used a Happy Birthday word stamp and separate frame stamp (both from a birthday set from American Crafts) to stamp the sentiment.  I stamped both in red ink on blue & white grid paper from Scenic Route.  I rounded the corners, and then placed the grid paper on a piece of red paper, also with rounded corners.

The final step was to cut out a flower using my Cricut.  This flower is from the Accent Essentials cartridge; it is 1.75".  I cut it out of the same blue paper as the base of the card and then I sewed a small red button on using red embroidery floss.  The red button is from Fancy Pants.

Check back tomorrow for another card idea!

Hand Made Cards

I've been busy making cards lately, and yet the cards I need this week (birthday and thank you) I do not have.  Ugh.  I took some pictures of some of my recent creations but if you read my last post you know that editing the photos so that I can share them with you is never easy.  Ever.  Tonight is no different than any other . . . waiting for Picnic to move from one screen to the next.  Patience may be a virture but not one that I possess, so rather than sit here and wait I'm up and about, doing this and that, and pretty soon the night is over and I'm still working on editing photos!!

Rant over.  When is that Photoshop software I ordered going to arrive??

So, hopefully I've set this up so that you aren't disappointed with the photos  you are about to see.  If I haven't been clear, they aren't good.  But they are what I have and I want to share them with you!

The cards are all birthday cards, and there are more but honestly the pictures are too bad to share.

Ok, this picture isn't too bad.  Like the new props?  I love the blue, brown and green color combo on this card, and the message (eat cake) isn't bad either!

Make a wish.  Let's see, I wish my photos were better!  This card features adorable birthday hat paper (Scenic Route) and ribbon.

I saved the worst for last.   This paper is actually orange and is much brighter and cuter in person.  The card is simple and I love that about it.  I also love the wire basket I bought recently at a cute local store.  It works perfectly to hold completed cards.

Tomorrow I'm going to do a post about One Little Word, the class I enrolled in for 2011.  The class is taught by the great Ali Edwards and already it's lots of fun.  There's a link on the right if you want to check it out!