Some of my favorite cards .....

 I thought it might be fun this week to share some of the cards that I have made recently that I really liked.  As with all paper crafters, not all of my "creations" are a success, but here are a few of my favorites:

 The card to the left is a friendship card that I made for a swap group.  I really liked the yellow and black color theme.  To make the punched frame I used a Martha Stewart punch then embossed the yellow paper. The music background came from a paper stack that I had laying around in my craft room.  The butterfly embellishment came from Martha Stewart also.

I used a Martha Stewart butterfly in the birthday card to the right also.  (I must like butterflies :-)).  The center label was cut from a Cricut Mini die cutting machine cartridge.  I really liked how the green colors in the papers blended together.

 The Thank You card to the left was created with a "crinkled ink" technique that I discovered through a YouTube video.  It is really simple to do using crinkled up plastic wrap dipped in an ink pad and dabbed on the paper.  I used two different ink colors in this one both by Stampin' Up.  Lost Lagoon (item#133644) and Pistachio Pudding (item#131177). The "Thank You" stamp is from Stampin'Up Painted Petals stamp set (item# 137146)

 The card to the right is called a "Twisted Double Easel" card that I learned about through one of my swap groups. The two flowered sections fold down so the card will fit in a business size envelope.  This was my first attempt at this technique.  Next time I try this I think I will add more bling and embellishments to the stand up portions of the card.

 The card to the left is one of my all time favorites.  I uses a very versatile Stampin' Up stamp set "Sheltering Tree" (item #137163). The border on the left is an Anna Griffen die that was embossed after it was cut.


Wishing everyone a Happy Memorial Day!

To get my creative juices flowing again, I plan to curl up with my brand new Stampin Up catalog that arrived the other day and begin placing my next order!





Please stop by to visit my Stampin'Up online store by clicking HERE.  It's open 24/7!

Flower Card

This weekend I made a flower birthday card for a swap group that I belong to.  I really liked the way it turned out and wanted to share the instructions with you.

1,  Cut one 8 1/2"  x 11" sheet of Whisper White card stock to 4/1/4" by 11".  Score along the 11" side at 5 1/2" to form the card base.

2.  Cut one sheet of Lost Lagoon cardstock to 5 1/4" x 4".

3.  Cut one sheet of the Lost Lagoon and light green flowered cardstock from the All Abloom cardstack to 5" x 3 3/4".

4.  Cut one sheet of Lost Lagoon cardstock  to 5" x 1".  Using the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, emboss the 1" wide cardstock in your Cuttlebug or Big Shot machine.

5.  From the remaining section of the Lost Lagoon cardstock punch out one flower with the Fun Flower punch.

6.  From the remaining section of the Whisper White cardstock cut one flower with the Fun Flower punch.

7.  Stamp "Happy Birthday Wishes" from the Petite Pairs stamp set on the large white flower using the  Lost Lagoon ink pad.

8.  Stamp 5 small flowers on the Whisper White cardstock scraps using a variety of designs from the Petite Petals stamp set.  Align the Petite Petals punch over each of the stamped flowers and cut out the flowers.

9.  Cut a piece of white ribbon 6" long.

10.  To assemble the card:  adhere the printed cardstock from #3 above to the Lost Lagoon cardstock  leaving an 1/8" border all around.  Adhere the white ribbon down the middle of the embossed strip folding the ends of the ribbon over to the back of the strip.  Then adhere the strip to the card front about 1/2" inside the left side of the card front.

11.  Adhere the cut out flowers evenly spaced down the center of the white ribbon on the embossed strip and decorate with a pearl in the center of each flower.

12.  Adhere the white large flower to the large Lost Lagoon flower so that the petals are staggered.  Using two dimensionals attach the flower to the top right corner of the card.

13.  Finally, attach the entire card front to the card base leaving a 1/8" border all around.

Materials:  (Stampin' Up item number in parentheses)

Whisper White cardstock (#100730)
Lost Lagoon cardstock (#133679)
All Abloom paper stack (#133703)
Lost Lagoon stamp pad (#133644)
Petite Pairs stamp set (#122497)
Fun Flower Punch (#133785)
Petite Petals Punch (#133322)
Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder (#117335)
Pearl Basic Jewels (#119247)
Adhesives:  Glue dots  (#103683
                    Dimensionals (#104430)
                    Snail adhesive (#107332)

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Welcome

Welcome to my very first blog post!

      Just a bit about me.... 

I live in Clayton, New Jersey with my husband, Jack, and my 13 year old long-haired dachshund, Mercedes. We adopted Mercedes and her "brother" Hans a few years ago from a Dachshund Rescue, both were considered "senior" doxies. Hans and Mercedes soon became a very important part of our lives!  Unfortunately, we lost Hans last year to liver disease, but Mercedes is still going strong barking her head off at pretty much anything that moves.

I retired from my work as a Finance Director for a non-profit organization 2 years ago and I am thoroughly enjoying my retirement! Now that I have more free time, I am able to pursue more creative interests.  I enjoy collecting and trading postcards, photography, reading (especially mysteries and thrillers) and most importantly, creating greeting cards.  Recently, I became an Independent Stampin' Up Demonstrator.

In future posts I plan to share my card creations with you and the terrific products that Stampin' Up has to offer. We will also explore some stamping and card making techniques and ideas to inspire you to create your own original cards.