Happy World Cardmaking Day!

Oh, poor little blog.  I know you are still here!  I have been creating, just not sharing.  For shame!

Happy World Cardmaking Day!

Hello to my dusty ol' blog.  Yes, school started again for this Teacher Mama.  Slowly and infrequently to the craft room I go.  So, here are a couple of cards I have made in the past few weeks.

First, a birthday card for a Lego-lovin' nine year old.

Inspired by these Pinterest cards

Papertrey Ink Stamp

Fiskars hole punch

Next a card for a buddy who had beautiful baby girl #3.  (Overcast day = not great photo)

Inspired by this Splitcoast stamper's shower idea

Silhouette file for the bow (love!)

Fancy Pants patterned paper

Spellbinders oval scallop

Love using the SU! chalk marker to decorate the envelope.

Envelope by Hero Arts

Happy World Cardmaking Day, my crafting friends!

World Cardmaking Day 2011

A glorious day.  Great weather.  Great food.  The stamping ladies.  And lots of awesome cards prepared by my dealer, Karen.


Some photos:

Ashley and I working on replicating one of Karen's creations

Kate and Julie working on a delightful Christmas card

Ah, the intensity!

Thanks, Ann, for taking these lovely photos!

Too much is never enough

I was about to mail my brother's card when I realized that my niece (his daughter) had a birthday at the end of September. Nope, didn't send her a card yet.

This stamp looks so... "her." I really think she will enjoy it. On the inside, I used the SU! On Your Birthday "Happy Birthday" and "(a little late)" sentiments. I am becoming quite proficient at belated cards. Could be a market for me, eh?

This fulfills yet another SCS World Cardmaking Day challenge! This one is the limited supplies challenge. We were to avoid pastels and patterned paper. I love limiting supplies. It forces me to really think about colors, textures, and balance. I wished I had a cute yoga-ish, birthday-ish saying for this stamp. I settled for the sentiment from SU! Full of Life.

Size: 4.25 x 5.5 inches

Paper: (I think) SU! Garden Green, Only Orange, and PTI white

Stamps: SU! Full of Life and On Your Birthday, Stamping Bella yogabella

Embellishments: SU! Felt Fusion flowers, silver brads, Dimensionals

Coloring Media: Adirondack Pitch Black, Copics (Willow, Brick Beige, Skin White, Flesh, Cool Gray), SU! Brilliant Blue

Idiots... and then there's me...

So, it's 1:17 a.m., and some dorks in the neighborhood ring the doorbell. This makes me scratch my head almost as much as cow-tipping. Everyone in my house is asleep, except me. Since I have some lights on, what else could be funnier, I suppose, than to ring our doorbell? I guess the question is, who is the bigger idiot, them or me (for being awake making cards)? Your choice. :) Ah, the midwest... excitement that can't be had anywhere else.

Anyway, I was making a card for a friend... I have been horribly remiss in sending her a card after her husband passed away at the end of August. It's almost embarrassing to send it now, but to not send it at all would be terrible.

So, I used another World Cardmaking Day challenge. This time, we were asked to use the Coldwater Creek catalog as inspiration. Many of the colors of the season were inspiring. So, I just decided to find a happy medium of patterns and colors that would fit. I found in my newer Club SEI mini-kit some papers that were just delicious. The papers are from SEI's Windsor collection. I paired them up with SU! Really Rust and Chocolate Chip, adding some Oriental Trading velvet ribbon and some gold brads I had hanging around. I used a stamp from my SU! Hope for Comfort set. I distressed the panels just a bit to take away some harsh contrast.

Now, off to bed before the din-dong ditchers strike again. :) Ah, to be young and stupid.

Oh, there's more!

Apparently, I am on fire here. Crazy creative juices.

Here is my submission for WCMDFS08. We were to look at the SCS gallery of SherryLC05 for inspiration. INDEED! Lots of good stuff. With featured stampers, I enjoy taking a journey from their beginnings. I CASEd a card that SherryLC05 did a while back (shown), and I put a little '08 twist to it. I tried to incorporate the green, but the blue and white would not let me.

I really, really like how this turned out. It's a belated birthday card for my niece, whose birthday was Friday.

I have no idea where I got the clear tab. I think it was a Bazzill giveaway at something I attended. Anyway, loved that I had it. I inked it with a white Adirondack acrylic dauber. To stamp on it, I colored part of the SU! Define Your Life "wish" definition with my black Bic Mark it. I huffed... I puffed... I stamped. I cleaned it right away, and all survived the experience. I really wanted to use the wish definition, but I wasn't sure how to balance it without having the card become to cluttered.

Size: 4.25 x 5.5 inches

Paper: SU! Baja Breeze and Maine Blueberry DSP

Stamps: SU! Define Your Life

Accessories: Sheer white ribbon and silver brads

Ink: Adirondack white acrylic, black Bic Mark it

World Cardmaking Day

What a great day for cardmakers everywhere, yes? This is actually the first time I have sat down and made a card today. I have several to make, so I thought I would wait until I could really dig in. I spent some time hanging with my peeps at Karen's event. I helped Kate with making her box, but I am so card heavy here that I thought I better not make some. I still wanted to be social, though. It's my life's calling. :) Plus, the cause was a good one... read up on it via the link above.

My first card was for the Splitcoast sketch for today. Loved the sketch (pictured). It was quick and easy. This card is for my brother's birthday, which is tomorrow. Dang, and I think he's 45. Crazy how time flies.

So, this card is pretty masculine. No ribbon, a little "lift," and a little texture. I love it, though, as Always Artichoke has to be one of my favorite SU! colors. And how could you not love Prints DSP? These scraps were around from my miniscrapbook adventure of last night. [FLASH OF MEMORY... Did you every think back to what your Friday and Saturday nights in college were like? I think I would have laughed myself out the dorm if you told me in 20 years I would spent the weekend scrapbooking and stamping. Small digression... just popped into my head.]

Size: 5.5 x 5.5 inches

Paper: SU! Sahara Sand, Always Artichoke, and Prints DSP

Stamps: SU! Enjoy Every Moment and Teeny Tinies

Ink: SU! Always Artichoke

Accessories: Silver brads, Stamp-a-majig, and Dimensionals