HALLOWEEN CATS N' SPIDERS

I really fell in love with these background papers!  I love all the great colors, you can mix so much with it.  As usual I kept it pretty simple and on the first two added my favorite fancy, ribbon, and used my great eyelets from Gina K.  (so ezzy-peezy!) to put the ribbon through.  I printed the cats and spiders from my computer.

AUTUMN IN OREGON

Aloha all!  I am up in Oregon visiting my daughter and son-in-law.  When I arrived I picked up my rental car and headed up to the Columbia River Gorge, my favorite place up this way!  It was a beautiful day with huge clouds and sunshine, about 62 degrees, perfect!  The leaves are changing colors and are GORGEOUS!  It was a marvelous day!

Yesterday I went shopping in a wonderful scrapbooking store!  Got some super papers, eyelets, new Cricut blades and Diamond Glaze - really been wanting to try that stuff!  This week I'm going to a great stamping store called The Stampin' Cat.  Can't wait.  Have a good week!

 

CREEPY!

Halloween cards are so FUN to make!  I love all the wild colors you can use - so why did I choose mostly black and white, LOL!  I loved this graphic but wasn't sure how to use it.  I printed it and it laid on my table for at least three days until I started staring at it and decided to tear the edges and do some distressing.  Then it just all seemed to  fall into place!  I really like the background paper.  It was from a pack that I got at Big Lots.  It's hard to see, but the word "creepy" was cut out with my Cricut, then I added the rhinestone spider.  I'm giving this to my daughter as she HATES spiders, but hey, it's Halloween and things are supposed to be creepy and spooky!

BIRDIE HELLO

Happy Saturday all.  Hope you are having a good one.  The weather here is finally getting cooler, great golf weather!  I played yesterday up in Cornville, really BEAUTIFUL course.

This was a fun, quickie card.  I got the birdie stamp some time ago but had never used it.  I think it goes well with the back and white paper.  The paper clip circle was just a little touch to jazz it up a bit, I think it works (?).  

BABY GIRL

A girlfriend of mine here in Phoenix is a Grandma for the 1st time!  Her son and daughter-in-law had a beautiful baby girl.  It was so fun to make a baby card for them.  I don't do many of those and it was a nice change.  I kept it very simple as a lot of my supplies had not arrived yet, so I used Precious Moments stick ons.  Later I hung a little gold safety pin charm from the pink bow, but I forgot to take another picture with it on. . .

HAPPY 50th ANNIVERSARY

Lots of fun doing this one!  I really love the white on white cards, they look so elegant.  The heart was cut out  with the Cricut, used the Cuttlebug for the embossing, added some little pearls, and ribbon.  The inner heart edges are heat embossed with sparkle embossing powder and I computer generated their names.  Happy 50th Peggy & Ed!

BIRTHDAY POSIES

A simple birthday card for a special lady.  Added the "Swiss Dots" using the Cuttlebug and of course some ribbon which I always like!  The posies are a stamp that I did twice but cut out one and used on at the bottom.

I'M BAAAAACK!!!!

Aloha ALL!! I have been gone from here longer than I expected, but am SO GLAD to be back! All my card supplies that I shipped from Hawaii to my Dad's house made if safely, thank goodness. It has been quite an adjustment to say the least, but I am doing pretty good and anxious to be in touch with all my wonderful blogging friends again! Thanx so much for all your support!

I want to start out with a the card I did for my daughter and new son-in-law for their wedding this past June.  The wedding was lovely and they are so happy! I kept the card simple and a bit elegant. The paper was such a pretty, soft cream color with gold.  I'm really glad that they liked it!

The wedding was held in Eugene, OR and they were blessed with perfect weather - sunshine and no rain!  Early that morning I got up and went out into the forest and picked ferns and wildflowers to weave my daughter's haku (head wreath).  It turned out beautiful.  Here is a picture of the happy couple!

GARDEN ANGEL

This card was inspired by my daughter's Spring planting.  She has been working very hard planting and decorating her garden.  She bought the cutest garden angel to hang on her picket fence and when I saw it this card idea took root!  The background paper was a piece of printed scrapbook paper that had the grass printed on it.  The angel is an SVG file I cut with SCAL and also all the little flowers were free SVG files except the sunflowers whick are from A Walk In My Garden Cricut cartridge.  I used a printable paper that looked like wood for the fence and added some color to it.  I raised the fence and angel with pop dots for some dimension then added the little worm, butterfly and dragonfly.  It was a labor of love and lots of fun!

I'M SO EXCITED!!!

I am so excited!  I won my first card challenge for my card over at Copic Colour Challenge.  It was for the "crazy party lady" card.  It meant a lot because the winner is not chosen by a number generator, they are picked by the design team.  So thanx so much, I can't wait to use the $25 gift certificate over at Simon Says Stamps!

MAY YOUR DAY BE FILLED WITH SUNSHINE

You know it's funny sometimes how things turn out...  I like the eyelets on cards and decided it was time to check into getting an eyelet setter.  After doing a bit of research I found they were a bit "pricey" and bulky to use.  I was also surprised to learn they could be noisy!  In any case, I decided to wait a bit and look at them on the mainland when I go next week.  THEN, I got my weekly e-mail from Gina K. at Stamp TV and guess what her tutorial was on!?!  Setting eyelets with a ballpoint pen, yes a pen!  Check out the video.  Well, I took the bait, hook line and sinker!  And am I ever glad I did.  For a fraction of the price and so much less work I made my 1st card using their technique.  It was so simple and fun!  It's a shame the ribbon covers so much of the eyelets.  Can't wait to use them again and have them where they are more visible.  Something else new on this card is the stamped sentiment.  It's a cute stamp I picked up on E-bay for 99 cents!  With postage it was a whopping $3.49, lol.  I think I'm starting to sound like a cheap skate, but like I've said before, "I love a bargain!"  ALSO I have entered this card over at Flutter By Wednesdays.

PARTY TIME!

We are having a much needed rain shower!  Considering the Big Island has the highest drought rate in the US right now, we really need it.  It made for a nice afternoon listening to the rain and crafting, great combo!  I love this crazy ol' gal!  She just screams PARTY! to me.  I colored her with Copic's and then added the champagne charm and a bow.  I tried to find some wild paper, but this was the best I had.  It seemed to fit because it has some sparkle to it.  Time to party!  I entered her in the Copic Colour Challenge.

These are the colors we were to use:

BIRTHDAY BALOONS - POLKA DOODLE CHALLENGE WEEK 13, BIRTHDAY

This is a scraplift of a card I saw some time ago.  I loved it because of its simple, clean lines.  You know me, the ordered and tailored look!  I did it in two different color schemes and I'm not sure which one I like best.  Both were colored with Prisma pencils and Gamsol and I did some embossing lines around the stamped area.  The sentiment is computer generated.  I added the glazed look on the balloons with clear embossing powder.  I want to find some "crystal lacquer" when I go to the mainland on the 19th - oh boy, fun craft supply shopping time again!  I entered this card in the challenge over at Polka Doodle where the theme is "Birthday".

LITTLE KIMONO GIRL - MO'S DIGITAL STAMP

Mo's Digital Stamps has the MOST adorable selection of stamps!  When I saw this one I knew it was the one for me.  I find I am using digital stamps more and more.  I love being able to download a design and have it right away - instant gratification, lol.  It's also nice to be able to manipulate the size of the design to fit your project.  I submitted this card to their call for a guest DT for the month of May.  How fun would that be!?!  The image was colored with my Prismas and Gamsol and a little bit with my Copics.  I added the faux coins which I got at the craft fair in Tucson on my last trip to the mainland - love to shop for card goodies when I get home.

This is the layout that we were request to use:

MOTHER'S DAY

I am busy getting my cards done for Mother's Day.  My Mom passed away a few years back, but I have several Aunts that are very dear to me and are like a mom to me.  I always remember them on their special day as they are mothers too! 

There is a fun challenge going on over at The Pink Elephant and the theme is NATURE.   I bought this stamp last week on E-bay and love it.  I thought it would be perfect.  It looks so much like Spring and could be used for Easter too.  Both cards are very different in their color combos, but I like them both.  I stamped them with marker pens applied directly to the stamp then used my Nestie's to cut and emboss their edges.  I added some ribbon, a few dew drops on one and tiny crystal rhinestones on the other.  I also used the Cuttlebug to emboss the background paper on the second one.  Hope you like them and are inspired to make a great card for your Mum!

FLOWERPOT CARD

I sure hope you had a wonderful Easter!  It was a lovely day here and very relaxed.  I even managed to get a little fun crafting time in.

I came across this fantastic cut file on the SVG site.  It"s a kit for for Mother's Day, but I used it for a birthday.  I have a sweet Aunt who will be 90 next weekend and I needed something special for her, and this is perfect.  All the pieces were cut with my Cricut except the base....  I only have the 6x12 mat and because this is a large shape fold card I had to do some "fanigalling" as my Mom used to say!  I cut only half of it then laid it on my paper and drew around it.  I then flipped the pattern it for the reverse image opposite the one I just drew, then cut it out by hand and folded it in half.  A bit of extra work, but, hey, it worked great. I used dew drops for the center of the flowers and stamped the sentiment.  This is my first attempt at the flowerpot type card and I know I'll be making more of them, I really like them!

SPRING MARTINI

Cheers to Spring!  I am so happy to hear all of you saying that warm weather is finally coming your way.  To celebrate, I made this using an adorable stamp sent to me by my sweet blogger buddy, Christine.  Mahalo Lady!  I'm not sure I did the stamp justice as I am not real happy with my coloring.  I used my Copic's and wsih I had used my Prisma's and Gamsol instead.  In any case, it is cute and was a lot of fun to do.  I did something else I have never done before - I entered it in SIX challenges!  I'm usually lucky if I find two, but this time it fit right in the criteria required for quite a few, fun!

Here is the sketch #C4C30 from Crazy 4 Challenges

Cute Card Thursday #106

Cupcake Craft Challenge #84

Die Cuts R Us - Surprise Challenge

Crafty Creations #61

Papertake Weekly - Open Theme

TULIP GATE FOLD CARD

I really like the clean and simple lines on this card.  No muss, no fuss, no clutter, lol.  It was for a friend for Easter.  I used the Cuttlebug on two of the papers, cut out the circle with Nestabilities, colored the stamp with Copics and added the ribbon.  I love the polka dots!

SIMPLE WEDDING CARDS

These are more cards for my order.  I'm so glad my customer likes my style of card making.  Sometimes I think I should use more flowers and embellishments, and I try to, but then I never seem to like the card (only with "Tilda" cards do I love to go overboard - except for the previous frog card!).  The solution for me is to keep it more "tailored" and add a smaller amount of goodies.  I really prefer a more subtle elegant look, and that is what I tried to do here.  

For the first card I computer generated the "Mr. & Mrs." as I don't have a stamp for that, used the Cuttlebug to emboss the paper and also scored it.  Then I added the ribbon, flowers and pearls - simple but elegant!

This second card is a scraplift from SusieB - again, lol.  I absolutely love her cards, that lady knows what elegant means!  I purchased this stamp when I saw how she had used it on several cards.  I couldn't wait to get my hands on it and do this card!  The embossed paper just gives it so much personality along with the arch edge which was cut with a Martha Stewart edge punch.  I heat embossed the trim on the bride's gown, veil and the hearts with a mixture of transparent Clear and Stardust embossing powders, colored the stamp with Copics, added the ribbon, raised the image with pop dots and was set!

HAPPY FROGS!

All the frogs on this paper are so colorful, but the overall card is very "busy".  But I  used it for a reason.  I needed a very HAPPY card for a very special lady!  It's for my friend who has been going through radiation and chemo for the past 8 weeks.  This week is her last set of treatments and she got through it like a champ.  It wasn't easy, but she MADE it! 

The frogs are little stick on embellishments that I've had for ages as are the little sentiment tags, all raised with pop dots.  She has not been able to "eat" in the normal sense for weeks - instead she has had to use a feeding tube inserted in her stomach.  She is SO hungry for pasta, her favorite food and can't wait to be able to "eat" again.  So on the inside of the card I want to put "Let frogs eat flies, Give me PASTA!"  Love her so and pray for her every day.  Her prognosis is good and for that I am so thankful!

BIRTHDAY FLOWER CUPCAKE

Aloha all, I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!  Spring is just stepping out from around the corner and this card has a cheerful Spring attitude.  It's another for my order in the birthday category.  I got the background flowered  paper in Phoenix my last trip for 10 cents a sheet!  Now that was a fun bargain find!  They had a stack of close out papers 10 for $1.00 and who could refuse that?!?!?!!  I colored the cupcake with my Prima's and Gamsol, used the Cuttlebug for the scallop ovals and a nice piece of ribbon to set it off.  What ya think?

SYMPATHY - THINKIING OF YOU

This is for part of the order I received.  I need to do two sympathy cards.  I don't find them hard to do, EXCEPT for the verse inside.  It's very emotional and never easy to express, so I try to keep it simple.  This one says:

Although it's difficult today to see beyond the sorrow,

May looking back in memory help comfort you tomorrow.

I enjoyed making this one because I did a fun technique  called emboss resist.  I used Samp-N Stuff's Stardust embossing powder because I wanted a bit of sparkle in the flower.  The card was also made with all scraps of paper that I just layered.  Add a few dew drops, a sentiment and you've got it!  But the thing I really like on this one is the ribbon.  It has the most beautiful sheen that is two colors, dark green and navy blue, depending on how the light hits it. 

Here is a close up of the ribbon:

MY 1st WEDDING CARD

I just received an order for 15 cards, yipee, I am busy, busy, busy!  In the order there is a request for 3 wedding cards.  Believe it or not, I have never done one before.  I have been anxious to do one, especially because my daughter's wedding is coming up in June and I want to do something really special.  This gives me a chance to experiment a bit.

The cake is a free SVG file (scroll down the page to 1.19.10) from SVG Cuts that was for a birthday cake.  I just manipulated the file in SCAL to add another layer.  The cake pieces were put through my Cuttlebug to give it a little texture, then I used Liquid Applique for the pearl like bands around the layers.  I cut some cute little hearts for on the top and was very happy with it.  I needed silver paper and didn't have any, so, I sprayed a heavy piece of card stock with silver spray paint - it worked great!

INDULGE!

We all need to "indulge" a little every now and then!  My blogging buddy Christine sent me this adorable Bella stamp.  I've been wanting to use her and tonight I decided it was time to get with it!  It's a birthday card for a very good friend who lives way too far away.  I entered it in the challenge going on over at Truly Scrumptious.  They are using a super layout, and Christine is also their guest designer this week - you go girl!  For the coloring I used my Copics and also Prisma's and Gamsol.  I also added a little Liquid Applique on the pop corn to make it look a little puffy.

Here is the layout:

KING OF THE ROAD

Don't you just love it when you find something special that you need for a card - in this case paper for a guy card.  As you are scrounging through your stuff, searching, you come across a set of paper you bought, put away and forgot about!  You see it and BINGO, it all falls into place!!!  Well, this is exactly what happened today with this card.  I had the stamp all picked out and then thought, uh oh, what paper can I use?  This is for my SIL's birthday.  He is a total hot rod and classic car guy, he builds and restores them for a living.  Some of the cars he's done are so beautiful, they're like a work of art.  I sure hope he enjoys this as much as I enjoyed making it.

The paper is by COLORBOK, one of their "patterned paper packs" and I think the title is " Kiss".  I colored it with my Prisma's and Gamsol, a silver metallic pen and added the rhinestones.  I know it's for a guy, but hey, it's for a "King" so why not!  The banner and car are raised with pop dots.  On the inside it says, "Today and Always!  Happy Birthday".