Grad-itude

Finally, this weekend saw the making of the graduation thank-you cards!  I had in my mind what I wanted to do, but mass production is so different from making one or two cards.  So I stayed really simple.

On white cardstock, I used the "thank you" sentiment from SU! Wishes Your Way.  The nice thing I learned is that when using the MISTI with this stamp set, I get a much more consistent image.  If I use acrylic blocks, I tend to have "wiggle issues."  Then, I used this Silhouette file made available for free from Cathy Zielske to make the cap.  That was no small adventure.  I think I need to change my blade, because it did a cruddy job of cutting the tassel.  You cannot see this, but I also added some Wink of Stella pen to the tassel.  

And that's it!  Now, they are in the boy's hands for the heartfelt sentiment part of the process.  We have a goal of getting them in the mail this week.

Happy Father's Day 2015

For our guy this year.  In addition to an EBay gift certificate (he loves buying dude clothes on EBay), I made him this card inspired by this pin.  I used some Stampin' Up! and Basic Grey paper, as well as SU! punches to make the bow ties.  The background is embossed with a Stampin' Up! embossing folder, inked, and popped up with Dimensionals.  The sentiment is part of the Hero Arts Celebrate Everyday set. I used Bazzill craft cardstock. Here's a closer look.

The inside is fairly simple.  I used an Ali Edwards Technique Tuesday stamp (Always Adore set)for the message that says it all.  Stamped on white for more pow!  

Here's to all the great dads out there, like the one my kids have!

Summer Fun!

I feel like I am truly enjoying the month of June this year.  I lovingly call it the "Friday of Summer," but sometimes the Friday of Summer flies by.  It's usually due to preparing for a crazy July or filling June with lots of stuff.  We are prepping our firstborn for college, but, honestly, that has been slow and steady as well.

This week was full of some fun cardmaking, dabbled with some scrapbooking that is not-quite-ready for photo ops just yet.

First, some cards among friends.  Our friend, Mama Kate, is moving to Florida.  So we threw her a shoebox swap to celebrate her presence in our lives.  We tried to make a card that captured the moment or captured Kate.  I think we did a great job.  Some of these cards are not "finished," as we wanted to save them for moments when we needed them.  For example, on the US card, one could color in two states from which people are separated.  For the flower card, we left the stitched oval blank to be able to choose the appropriate sentiment.

Tonight, I had some fun stamping with Lawn Fawn.  A friend of mine is going on a trip to Australia with her family as part of her son's band trip.  I felt the need for a card, of course.  I borrowed Kim's Critters from Down Under set as well as some Pinspiration from this crafter.  I also used a bit of the Bon Voyage set.

I used two Spellbinders' dies (rectangles and squares) to create the Polaroid frame.  The black frame is hand-drawn.  I loved using the woodgrain background rather than patterned paper for this one.  I think it really let the image stand out.

Loved mixing Stampin' Up! linen thread with Lawn Fawn's baker's twine.

I cut out the individual pieces with die cuts and colored them with Copics.  For the background, I sponged some Distress Inks on white cardstock.  The kookaburra is popped up.

I tried several different ways to incorporate the boomerang because I thought it was adorable.  Finally snuck it in after my sentiment inside the card.

All in all, it's been a very creative week so far!

A couple of cards

Today, I got to crank out a couple of cards with my buddy, Kim.

Card number one, an anniversary card for my hubs.

I have seen several cards like this on Pinterest, and thought I would try my hand at it.  I used my Silhouette with Impact font.  I searched on the web for a site to count the days (no, I did not sit and count the days...).  I used some newly purchased Starform heart stickers.  The cutout letters are done with Lawn Fawn patterned paper.  I used Bazzill kraft paper and black cardstock for the card, as well as a white gel pen for the border.

Card #2 is for a friend who lost a beloved pet.  

We used a couple of Simon Says Stamp sets for this one.  The cat was from You Are Pawsome. The "Always Remembered" sentiment, as well as a few sentiments on the inside, were from the Pawprints on Our Hearts set.  We used some SU! linen thread, some Basic Grey grunge paper, and some Bazzill kraft cardstock.