Sunday, September 4, 2011

Thank you cards for Andy and Johnathan Hillstrand

Hello everyone!  Once again it has been too long since I lasted posted.  I cannot believe that it is already the beginning of September and Labor Day is here.  Where does the time go??  Even though I haven’t been posting I have been busy  making handmade cards and fiddling with some new ideas.  I think I mentioned this but last month I went and saw Captain  Andy and  Captain Johnathan Hillstrand of the fishing vessel  Time Bandit.    I had spent a little time with them a couple of months back so I thought I would just give them kind of a thank you card.  So if any of you watch the show you know what  the  Deadliest Catch is about.  So I was  thinking about doing something with a crab theme, but as I looked at a few things that I had,  I notice on my new Cricut Cartridge called Life is a Beach  it had something similar to there  skull and bones symbol.  So that is where I started.  Once I had found what I was looking for it was pretty easy from there come up with the rest of the card.  The skull and bone and the letters are from the same cartridge.  The Life is a Beach cartridge is a pretty cool one.  It has many different things too choose from.  After I printed the skull and bones and the words I just added some colored jewels in the eyes.  I thought it was a cute touch.   Let me know what you think of my new handmade cards and ideas.  I love getting feedback. 

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Welcome Baby Card

It has been way  too long since I last posted anything on my blog.  I have been so busy with summer winding down and starting to think about the upcoming school year I haven’t had much time for creativity or coming up with some new handmade cards and ideas.  I have had time to go shopping and I have picked up  some more new Cricut cartridges.  I have so many now I need the time to use them.    For  my handmade card  today I used the Cricut cartridge Wall Décor and More to make the blue onesis.    The card is made with Brilliant Blue and the onesis are made with Bashful Blue paper.  The  words welcome baby are from the Stampin Up set called  Short and Sweet.  I used 26 gauge wire and hung the onesis with colored brads.  The welcome baby on the background I stamped with white pigment ink.  I then layered the welcome baby  words with the blue paper and I connected it to the card with  a spacer to give the card a little dimension.  This card turned out really cute and I think my next project  will be the same card but change the colors and make it with pinks.  I am hoping to get to sit down and have some more time  to get some more cards and ideas done.  Let me know what you think  I love feedback.  Thanks  have a great day!!

Friday, August 12, 2011

Thank You Card

TGIF  I know that everyone is getting ready for the weekend.  Lots to do and not enough time to do it.  We have a wedding tonight but tomorrow and Sunday I will be going down to the casino to see Captain Sig and the Hilstrand Brothers.  I am so excited.  I love the Deadliest catch.  I actually got to meet them once so I’m taking the pictures of them and me together and hopefully  I’ll get them to autograph them.  Busy, busy.  So my handmade card today of course has tearing in it.  I think probably about 90% of my cards and ideas has tearing in it.  I love to tear and I love the torn look.  So this stamp came from the set  Measure of a Life from Stampin Up.  I embossed the big stamp with black embossing powder  and layered it with black paper and tore around the edges.  I added the jewel brads on both sides.  Next I embossed the word thanks and layered and tore around that too.  I then added a little black bow (black organdy ribbon).  One of my favorite colors from Stampin Up was Real Red.  I am so bummed that they do not make that color anymore.  I hope you enjoyed my handmade card today.  I love any feedback on any of my cards and ideas.  Have a great weekend!!

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Birthday Fairy Card

Good morning!  It looks like its going to be a great day today.  Sun is out and shining, but not too hot.  My handmade card today is a birthday card.  I got the image from  http://www.card-making-downloads.com/  it is called Sophie The Fairy.  I really think she is sweet.  I colored her with my Stampin Up markers.  The paper are from Stampin Up also.  Pretty in Pink and Melon Mambo.  The stamps are from a Sale-a-bration set from SU called So Happy For You.  I also added pink brads on the for corners.  After I cut her out and put my card together I then added glitter to her wings.  I love glitter and shiny.  This is my finished card.    I actually  made a lot of these cards for the craft show I’m going too.  I am keeping busy coming up with new ideas every day.  I hope you enjoy them.  .  Have a great day!

Monday, August 8, 2011

Garden Card

Like I said before time flies when your having fun.  Very busy but fun weekend.  We invited people over on Sat.  for a BBQ and to play some volleyball.  We told everyone to come at 4:00.  Wouldn’t you know it at about 4:45 we started to play volleyball and by 4:55 it started to rain and then massive downpour for about 1 hour and a half.  After we ate we did get to play volleyball  however it was extremely wet and slippery.  I think the slippery part it made it more fun.  There were plenty of laughs.  Oh well!  So I bought  some new Cricut cartridges  a couple weeks back and finally made a new handmade card with one. The cartridge  is  called Freshly Picked. It is  really cute.  If you are a gardener this is just for you.  It has a ton of garden things  rakes, shovels, gloves, fences, anything you need in a garden..  It also has 6 different features.    When I was trying to figure out what I was going to do the hardest thing was picking out the colors.   As you can tell this card took no time at all.  After  the Cricut cut the images   I glued it together ,  added 3 green eyelets and we are done.  I love my Cricut.  You can come up with many ideas  and new cards in no time at all.  Love to hear any feedback.  Have a great night!

Friday, August 5, 2011

Little Angel

Well it  has been too long since I lasted posted a card or worked on any new ideas.  Summer is going by so fast and things have been crazy.  So much to do and not enough time. So I was able to come up with this new handmade card last night.   Surprisingly it turned out how I  pictured it in my head.  I borrowed this stamp set from my mother-in-law its called If the Halo Fits.  It is a Stampin Up set.  I love this little angel, she is so cute.  So after I picked out the stamp I was going to use I found some designer paper I liked and then found ink and paper colors to go with it.  The green is Mellow Moss and the blue is Tempting Turquoise from Stampin Up.  After I put the card together I put some green glitter glue on the halo and colored the flowers on her dress Pale Plum.  I then finished the card off with the colorful pretties that I put on both the top and the bottom.  I am in the process of making mass quantities of cards for a craft show at the end of the month.  Drop me a line and let me know which cards or ideas are the best.  I love to hear feedback on my handmade cards.   Have a great day!!

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Any Occassion

Good morning !  Its been three days since I have posted on my blog or looked at anyone else’s.  That has been the longest I have gone without looking for a long time.  Summer is crazy and we have so many things to do.  Friday we had a huge party.  Saturday we had cleanup from our party and wedding at night.  So now I am posting a card before we are off to another birthday party.  Crazy, crazy.  So I was able to put together a handmade card yesterday.  This was my first attempt so I thought it turned out pretty good.  This was one of those ideas that actually worked out on paper like it did in my head.  Imagine that.    I am not sure  why but most of my cards tend to be black,  so this time  I started out with Real Red paper. I then embossed the saying in black embossing powder, and put black organdy ribbon underneath.  Next I embossed the image in silver embossing powder on the black.  I then layered it with Night of Navy paper and added 3 square brad on top of the image and 3 red jewels on the bottom.  The words and image are from the same Stampin Up set called All that I Have Seen.  As you can see I tore and layered again.  I can’t help it.   So give me  a shout and let me know what you think of this one.  Have a great day!

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Birthday Card

Its been a busy couple of days.  It is my sons 15th birthday today and we are having a party on Friday.  The party started out being a small one but now we have like 25 families invited and there is a ton of work to do and I am starting to stress a bit.  I sat down tonight to make a card that I could post on my blog, but  I have a ton of things to do getting ready for this party and I think my heart is just not  in it tonight.  Two days ago I bought  some new Cricut Cartridges and I wanted to make my handmade card using one of them tonight.  I used the cartridge Wall Décor and More.  I haven’t made any man or boy  cards lately so my ideas had to be manly.  I picked out this tow truck.  My thinking was that every  man and boys like  trucks.  So I put this card together a couple different ways and this was the best I could come up with.  Like I said I think I just am not into it tonight.  Its okay maybe just a little plain.  What do you think??  Have  a great night!

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Welcome Baby Cards


Well its Sunday night and I hope that everyone had a great weekend.  We had an awesome weekend.  Yesterday was relaxing time,  we did absolutely nothing.  It was great.  Today as a family we dedicated our lives to Jesus and we were baptized together.  It was a special time for my family and there is no other feeling that can compare.  So my card today are welcome baby cards.  I used this bear last week I think.  He was so cute so I decided to use him again.  There are 2 different version of cards.  Obviously the pink will be for a girl and the blue for a boy.   I used my Stampin Up markers to color the bear and flowers.   I just bought these pink teardrop stones so I had to use them.  I know that I have mentioned this before but I am definitely in a tearing paper and glitter phase.  So I did both on each card.    I also just bought some metallic eyelets and as you can see I used them on the blue card.   So what do you think of my new ideas?  Love to hear any feedback.   

Friday, July 22, 2011

Red White and Blue

Well Friday is finally here.  I know everyone has big plans for the weekend but not me.  I am actually looking forward to having no plans and just being able to relax and go with the flow.  We have had such a busy summer so far and some down time is looking really good right now.  So my cards theme today is the stars and the red, white, and blue.  I found these stars at a garage sale.  I used them on card that I posted last month but I liked them so much I wanted to make another handmade card using them.  They are called Foil Rimmed Acetate Shapes by Lil Davis Designs. They come clear so I  put red and blue paper under the big stars.  The stamp sets I used in this card are Warm Words, So Happy for You, and Wonderful Words.  The colors are Not Quite Navy and Cherry Cobbler.  As you can see this is a fairly simple card but so cute.  When I put it together I raised the big stars for some dimension.   This card  could be used for any occasion.  Hopefully I’ll have lots of time for creating new cards and ideas this weekend.    I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Card In Progress

Try # 1
Try # 2
Finished
Good morning everyone!  This is going on day number 4 of the temps being in the ninety’s.  Hopefully we’ll get a lot of pool time today to keep cool.  So my card today was a work in progress.   My first attempt of  my handmade card today looked like this.  The flower is a stamp from the set called Delight in Life.  The words are from the set Short and Sweet. Both from Stampin Up.  I used Always Artichoke paper.  As you can see I stamped the flowers and cut them out.  Next I added the brads in the center of the flowers, and three  white brad to the bottom. Then stamped the words Best Wishes layered and tore around them.  I tacked it all down and added some white organdy ribbon.  So this was my first try with this idea.

 It was not working for me , I thought it was lacking so I tore it apart and made a few changes.  I layered the flowers with black, changed the cards base to black and layered the words with more black and put it together again. This was try number 2.  It still was missing something so I tore it apart again.

This time I took it apart and added black  swirls in the background.  The swirls came from the Delight in Life set also.  I then put the card back together and added some black organdy ribbon.  This time I liked what I saw.  So I believe this card is finished.    It definitely was a work in progress. I am happy that the ideas in my head do sometimes work out.    What do you think about the changes I made??  Leave me a comment and let me know.  Thanks!

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

A Card for my Sweetie

I had a great birthday.  My kids cleaned the house.  My mom came up and we went  shopping and out for lunch. Then we went and sat in  my in-laws pool for a couple hours.  My husband got home from work at 5:00 and had a small  surprise get together planned,  a couple close friends.  Starbucks is my favorite so I bought one in the morning and then my husband surprised me and got me one on his way home from work.  Starbuck twice in one day is absolutely a great day.    So my card today  was made for my husband, he is a great guy.  So I started with my fish(my husband likes  to fish) stamp.  It is from the set Fishy Friends. I embossed it with Night of Navy.  The love you is also embossed with the Night of Navy.  As you can tell I love to tear and layer so that is what I did next.  The red paper is Cherry Cobbler and the blue is Night of Navy.  Next I added all the little hearts in Night of Navy ink and then colored them with Glossy Effects. Everything  used for this card is Stampin Up.    I am really please on how this card turned out.  Sometimes my ideas don’t come out quite as I picture them.  This will be a great handmade card for my sweetie.  Have a great night!

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Bear Card

Good morning everyone.  Its supposed to be a hot one today.  In the 90’s I heard.  Lots to do so I am posting early again.  Also It’s my birthday today  and I know the family has things planned.  Hopefully it has something to do with water or keeping cool.    I am posting 2 handmade cards today.  Same card just a little different version.  This bear is one of my favorite stamps.  He is so cute.  I stamped him with black ink and  colored him with my Stampin Up markers.  The bear is colored with Creamy Caramel and Going Gray.  The stem is Green Galore.  The flowers are Pacific Point and Pink Passion in one and Pacific Point and Tempting Turquoise in the other.  For his nose and mouth I used Pretty in Pink.  I then layered the bear with black paper and Pacific Point paper.  I am pretty sure that Pacific Point is a pretty new  color new  from Stampin Up.  It replaced Brilliant Blue.  .  Brilliant Blue was one of my favorites and I was pretty bummed but I think I am going to like this new color just as much. So on the fist card I just added some blue jewels to the corners, on the second card I used blue Stickles on the flowers and added some black organdy ribbon on the bottom.  Great all occasion cards.   Love that glitter.  Hopefully I’ll have time to come up with some new ideas.  Stay cool today!!

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Cherry Card

Well yesterday was the first day in quite a while that I did not post a  handmade card.  My sister and I canned three bushels of peaches so it was a pretty busy day.  By the time I got home I was so tired and did not have any cards or ideas going on  so I decided to take a day off.  The day before my family went and picked cherries so that is where the inspiration for today’s card came from.  I love to eat fresh cherries.  For every one that goes in the bucket you have to eat one.  Lol.  So this card is pretty simple.  I have this big cherry stamp.  I used my Stampin Up markers to color it.  Next I layered the cherries with real red paper and put 3 glorious green eyelets in the 2 corners.  The stamp on the bottom is embossed.  I know that I have told you this before but I love glitter and sparkle so I just bought  this glittery stuff called Stickles.  I colored the cherries with the red  Stickles for some shine.  So I  spent some time in  my craft room today and have come up with some new cards and ideas so I will be posting again soon.  Have a great night.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Fishy Friends

Another early morning for me. Lots to do so I am getting my post in early.  My handmade card today again is 5x5.  I used the same stamp set as yesterday called Fishy Friends.  The blue paper is Bashful Blue and the green is Gable Green.  All Stampin Up colors. I really like both colors so I tried to make this card work.  I first stamped the bubbles on the background of the card in Gable Green.     I then stamped each fish and put layers under it.  I am not sure if you can tell but I did stamp bubbles on all the blue paper with the Gable Green.  Next I used my chalks to color the fishes.  After I put the card together it still was a little plain and need something more.  I then used my chalks to give the background a little more color and I added the little colored dots  for breathing bubbles.  It helped some.  So this is all that I could come up with.  Not one of my best ideas or cards but it was cute enough.  Sometimes I think I have  a creativity block and some days every card and idea is great.  I believe I had the block going yesterday.  Hopefully my handmade cards and ideas with be brilliant today.  I guess we will see .  Maybe you’ll want to check back tomorrow.  Lol.  Have a great day!
Go to http://keepsakesbymelissa.blogspot.com/2011/06/my-3rd-blogaversary-giveaway.html  for an opportunity to win some great stuff !!  Don't miss out!

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Octopus Card

Good morning!   I hope everyone  had a  great day yesterday.  I was planning on having a stay at  home day to  do  a bunch of  things around the house but then last minute one of my sisters  called to see if we wanted to go to Bay Beach(an amusement park).  So off we were.  It was a great day.   It was warm but cloudy with a little breeze.  Could not have asked for a better day.  We did not get home until quite late so I did not post  one of my handmade cards . I wanted to get right on top of that today so I am getting it done first thing.   Usually my cards are 5 ½ by 4 ¼.  As I have been blog hopping I see that there are many different sized cards  and ideas out there so I thought I would try a different sized card myself.  So today’s card is 5x 5.  It was pretty fun.  I had a little more room to work with.  Like I said before my favorite stamps are animals of any sort so I dug out a stamp from the set called Fishy Friends by Stampin Up.  My colors are Real Red and Brilliant Blue.  I stamped the octopus all over the background in Real Red.  I then stamped the  big red octopus and layered it with the red and blue paper.  The colored squares are really cool.  I bought a Square Stax that is what they are called.  It is a stack  about 5 inches high with different colored squares with different edges on too.  Pretty neat.  The you make me smile stamp is from the set Simple Saying from Stampin Up also.  I then added some little red jewels on the top and bottom .  Would love any feedback.   Have a great day!

http://traceyscountrycraft.blogspot.com/
Tracys Blog Candy

Monday, July 11, 2011

Picnic Card 2

Had a great day.  It was very hot so I got my work done this morning and then me and the kids played in the pool all afternoon.  I didn’t even have to cook supper because we grilled  out at the in-laws house.  Whenever I get out of cooking its always a great day.  So I really liked the picnic card I made yesterday and I received  some feedback  so I thought maybe I would  use the same ideas but  different colors.    I used yellow this time.  I think my yellow handmade card is cute but the red one is way better.  What is your opinion?  Well it’s  been almost a month since I’ve stared my blog and I have been having a great time.  I have posted something almost everyday, which was one of my goals so  I am very pleased with that. I   have been in my craft room almost everyday trying to come up with new cards and ideas and I am having a blast.  I really forgot how much I enjoy making cards.  Its great to find others out there  who love it just as much as I do.  Have a great night!

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Picnic Card

Good morning!  I am up kind of early today.  I want to post this new card that I made yesterday.  After I was finished  making this card I took it and asked my husband what he thought about it.  He said that it was nice( but then he says that about all the cards I show him) and then all of a sudden it just came to me.  It is my picnic card.  I think it’s the white and red checkered butterflies.  In movies the picnic blanket is always checkered , isn‘t it? .  So I guess this thought just pooped into my head. Lol.  So anyways, I really like this card.  My sister gave me these butterflies.  They are pieces of fabric shaped into butterflies with stickies on the back.  Pretty neat!  she gave me other colors too,  so today I plan on  using them and hopefully I’ll post those tomorrow.  So I traced around the butterflies to add a layer.  I picked some red textured paper for the card itself.  Next I took some white paper and tore it to cover a good portion of the front.  I then added 3 Real Red eyelets to the top, and red ribbon to the bottom.  I thought it still needed something so I added the red jewels on the left.  Then at the top I added the bible verse   In everything   give thanks.   1 Thess. 5:18   The verse   is just what this handmade card needed to finish it off.  Hopefully I get some time today and be able to come up with some new ideas and cards for tomorrows post.  Have a great day!
By the way if you are interested in  winning some blog candy check it out at http://shestamps.blogspot.com/  Really cool stuff don't miss out!

Saturday, July 9, 2011

New Card

I hope everyone had a great day.  Mine was pretty relaxing,  however it is getting quite late and this is the first time I got to sit at the computer today to post a new handmade card.  I did get a couple of hours earlier to organize my craft room a little and to come up with some new ideas and cards, so that was great.  So I was sitting there looking at this Metallic Copper stamp pad and I was like yup this is what I want to use today for some new cards.  I tried a few different things before I came across this flower stamp.  It is from the Stampin Up set called Cottage Rose.  It’s from 1999 catalog so it’s quite old but I thought it was perfect.  I stamped the big flower with the copper metallic ink  and layered it with Creamy Caramel paper.  I then attached t3 brown eyelets to the bottom corner.  Next   I embossed the happiness always with gold powder. That saying is from the set called Happy Harmony.    I then layered that also with the Creamy Caramel paper  and then tied black organdy ribbon on the bottom..  Next I took a smaller flower stamp from the same set and stamped little flowers on the whole background with the copper metallic ink and then attached the pieces together.  I think this handmade card turned out great. I feel that is is very elegant.  This is usually not my style.  I showed this to my sister and she was like you made that.  So I guess maybe my cards are changing some.  I keep looking  at all your great cards and I think that they inspire me.  Have a great night .

Friday, July 8, 2011

Flower Card

Good morning!  Its going to be another beautiful day.  I don’t have a whole lot planned for this morning but a pretty busy late afternoon and evening tonight.  I have been using more borrowed things from my sisters.  It’s great having new things but not having to buy them yourself.  So I am using this huge flower stamp from Stampin Up.  This one is monstrous.  Almost just the stamp itself would be cute.  I however did add a few embellishments.  I used white pigment ink for the flower.  It is very neat I have not used it before. It has a very different texture than regular ink.   I then embossed the  saying with white embossing powder. .   It is from a Stampin Up set called Sweet and Simple.  As you can see I made 3 cards but each one  is a slightly different version. I put a little flower on the inside of each flower.  The first one has a yellow flower and yellow eyelets.  The second one has a white flower inside and white eyelets.  The third has a white flower in the inside and I used black organdy ribbon on the bottom.  This was a very simple card.  I am sure you could come up with a bunch of great ideas with this one.  I hope you enjoyed this handmade card. Would love any feedback or comments.    Have a great day and try to stay cool.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

New Card

Another beautiful day, it  was way more relaxing than yesterday.  I had several hours to play around in my craft room and clean up a bit.  I also got a little shopping in and bought a couple new  decoration for my handmade cards.  I have noticed that a lot of peoples ideas have ribbon on them also so I bought some of that too!  Over the weekend I spent some time with my sisters and I borrowed quite a few things from them that I don’t have.  First was a punch from Stampin Up.  As you can see it is a flower punch.  So that is where this idea started from.  So I punched some white and black flowers, and used a glittery brad to keep them together.  The black strip of paper on the bottom of the card I put through this crimping tool.  You put the paper through and it comes out crimped.(I am not sure if I am spelling the  word crimped  right?)  Very cool.  I embossed the saying on the front with white powder. It is  a stamp set from Stampin Up called Happy Harmony.   So I tacked the black to the card  first.  Then I took some white ribbon and tacked it right above the black.  I don’t think I have ever used ribbon on any of my cards before. Then I put on my flowers.  The 3 white button things  on the black paper is an embellishment  that I just bought.  I thought they very cute and added just what my card needed.   I Think black and white go great together.  What do you think??  Have a great night. 

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Flower Card

Now that the holiday weekend is over it back to the real world.  Had a busy, busy day.  Two cleanings, husband at the hospital, doctor appt for one of the kids, guitar lessons for the other one, and church.  Now its me time.  I have managed to get about 45 minutes to myself so I made this card and wanted to post it real quick.  My sister borrowed me a bunch of different embossing colors .  I saw the hot  pink and knew I had to think of some cute ideas for it.   I then saw the purple and said yes I need to use the purple too!  So I started out  with the big flowers they are embossed.  The big  flower is from the stamp set called Friendship blooms.  I  then dug out a smaller flower that sort of matched the big one.  I cut each  big flower out and put an eyelet in the center of each.  I then embossed a bunch of little  pink flowers in the background.  The saying  Your Friendship makes my Heart Happy is also from the Friendship Blooms set.  It is embossed and then I put a layer of pink paper underneath it.  I added a little pink flower jewel thing on the corner of the saying.  The big pink flower is raised off the card for a little effect.  .  I wasn’t sure if I like this one at first or not, but this handmade card is growing on me by the minute.  I hope you are enjoying my cards and ideas.  Would love any feedback.

Monday, July 4, 2011

Happy 4th

I hope everyone had a great 4th.  I sure did.  It was a  wonderful day with family,  great food,  and lots of volleyball. I did not get to any fireworks displays though.  I guess I’ll have to catch some next year.  Just wanted to post a quick handmade  card today.  I love tearing paper.  I know that I’ve said it before.  So I was sitting there thinking of  any ideas to use but nothing was coming together and I know that I’ve said this  before but when in doubt tear.  So I got out this stamp.  It is from a Stampin Up set called Little Layers Plus.  I embossed this heart with black powder.  I then added a couple of layers on black the other is Real Red.  I tore around each layer.  Two  of my favorite colors are  Brilliant Blue and black.   Those colors go great together.   I made the card itself  blue  and then tore some more black to go on the front.  I then embossed the saying with red.  I’m not sure which Stampin Up set it came from.  As always would love to hear any feedback.  Thanks!
 

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Fairy Card

I hope everyone is having a great weekend.  I know  I am.  I have been  loving all this hot weather and a lot of great food.   So I have been using my chalks again on this handmade card.  I love the card and the colors  it turned out great but my camera did not do it any justice.  It did not matter what light I was in or what different angle I went from the colors did not appear as they are.  I am still enjoying using the chalks so even thought  my camera was not cooperating I still wanted to post it.  I dug out this stamp.  I knew when I saw it I could make some pretty cards.  This stamp is called Fairy by Stamps Happen.  I then  used my chalks to color it.  I am not sure if you can tell but I glittered all the flowers.  The paper and the three  brads  are Pretty in Pink by  Stampin Up.  The cute pink drops  on the bottom under the fairy are called rain dots.   They are stickers that are raised and shiny.  Those are by Cloud 9 designs.  These  are really neat,  they  come in a ton of different shapes and colors.  You could use these and come up with some really neat ideas.  I really enjoyed the soft colors that I used for this card .  Wish I could of posted a better picture.  Oh well!  Have a great night.

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Chalks

How is everyone today?  I’m  pretty sure everyone is getting ready for the  long weekend with the holiday coming.  I have been busy,  me and my family are leaving for a couple days but I did still have time to get a card in.  I am so enjoying how everyone colors their cards so beautifully with all the different shades of colors and stuff.  Which made me think about  my chalks.  I haven’t used them for a long time so I gave it a shot.  I dug out the biggest stamp I could find.  It is called Walking Dragon by Stamps Happen Inc.  This is the first time I have used it.  All I did was stamp the image on white cardstock and started going to town with the chalk.  It was quite fun actually.   I then stamped the good luck with a Versa Mark and rubbed that with chalk also.  It turned out pretty good.  I  mounted it on Orchid Opulence paper which is a Stampin Up color.  I then again used my liquid paint with glitter and put it all over the pink and the brown at the bottom to give it some shine.   As you can tell a new favorite of mine is glitter.  I think its kind of hard to tell from the picture.   I am very happy with the outcome.  What do you all think? Would love any feedback!

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

New card

Good morning everyone.  The weather is supposed to be great today.  I love the sun and hot weather.  Would  definitely take hot over cold any day.  So I was  rummaging through my crafting things I cam across this beautiful sequin butterfly, someone gave it to me along time ago and I thought what in the heck am  I going to do with this??  Well as I came across it again  I was like this is really cool and I have to  make a handmade card using  it.  I think that it  is great that your taste  and ideas   change from time to time.  So anyways I found some purple paper that was pretty  close to  matching the butterfly.  I wanted something shiny to go with it so I got out my silver embossing powder.  The little butterfly swirls and the birthday wishes are from the Stampin Up set called So Happy For You.  They are both embossed in silver.  I put some paper layers  around the birthday wishes. The purple is Marvelous Magenta and the pink is Pretty in Pink.    I then took  some 26 gauge copper wire and made the butterfly  some little antennas.    I think the littlest ideas or embellishments can really improve a card. So as you can see a very simple but elegant card.  

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Digital Stamp

Yesterday I posted my first handmade card using a digital stamp so I thought I would try another idea using the same digi  .  I just love this stamp.  The bears are so cute.  On yesterdays card I used Stampin Up markers to color  with this card I used colored pencils.  After I had the bears colored I decided to color the heart green  and outline it with yellow.  After I finished  that I then took Summer Sun and Gable Green ink from Stampin up and used a cotton ball  and rubbed those colors along the edge of the card.  I then took Glitter Glaze by Lil Davis Designs  and spread it on the heart. I put both cards together yesterdays and today’s  but could not decide which one I liked better.  What do you think?? Have a great evening.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Valentines Day Card

Like I told you a couple of days ago I bought my first digital stamp. I have seen a ton of great ideas  using them so I had to try.  My digi is called Roger and Rosie  I Love You.  I am going to give this one to my hubby  just because,  but it could be a great Valentines Day card .  Maybe I‘ll give it   to him  again then ,he probably won‘t remember anyway .  LOL.  That’s pretty far off though.  I used my Stampin Up markers to color it.  The heart is Pink Passion, the bow in Rosies’s hair and the little heart on Roger’s foot is Brilliant Blue,   the bears are  Creamy Caramel, and  Going Gray.  The blue behind the bears is Brilliant Blue and the brown paper is the Creamy Caramel.  I then used  blue  square eyelets that I had laying around.  If you have been looking at my different cards you will be able to see that I love to tear paper.  My motto is when in doubt  or something is missing  try tearing.  While checking out every ones handmade cards I can see that the coloring alone can make a  great card using the digital stamps..  I hope that I can get the hang of it.  As always I’d love to hear any ideas or advice on my cards.   Have a great night!

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Thank You Card

Busy,  busy day today  but wonderful weather.  I got my first sunburn of the  season.  Well I  was  sitting in my craft room deciding what  I was going to make.  While  looking through my stuff ,  I came across this stamp set.  If someone were to ask me what was my favorite kind of stamps were  (flowers,  words, nature, etc) I would probably have an answer of  I do not  have a favorite, but as I look through my stamp sets  I can’t help but notice I have a lot of bugs, fish, and animals.  So even thought I did not know it I guess they are my favorite.  They  just keep showing up. Oh well.  My handmade card today is a thank you card.  Everything in this card idea is from Stampin Up.  The colors are Brocade Blue, Summer Sun, Chocolate Chip, and Always Artichoke.  All of the stamps are from the set Monkey Business.  I then put some Crystal Effects on all the bananas.   I love these monkeys they are so cute.  Well I have  been working on my card for tomorrows ideas.  I am using a digital image for the first time. Hope it goes well.  Come back tomorrow and check it out!! You’ll have to let me know how I did.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

New Card

I just got back from camping with my  family.  We had a great 4 days, it was very wet because all it did was rain but we had a great time.  All the kids  played in the rain and then they played in the puddles after it got done raining.  It  was every kids dream that they  got to do these things and not get in trouble.   So I have a wedding today but I wanted to post  a new card.  This is a very easy quick card.  I do not have many boy cards  and usually I am not very good at them but I figured what boy does not like basketball.  I used the Cricut cartridge  called Basketball for all the images.  The blue and orange are  Stampin Up colors Brocade Blue and Only Orange.  It was a very simple card so I decided  added to more images to the inside also from the Basketball Cartridge.  The Happy Birthday to you is from  Simple Sayings II set  from Stampin Up also.  It is stamped with Basic Black ink. Of course because now we are home from camping the sun decides to come out oh well,  I hope everyone has a great day!!

Monday, June 20, 2011

Digital Downloads

I hope that everyone had a great weekend.  Well, I have been doing a lot of blog hopping lately and have seen a lot of cards and ideas  using digital images.  I am not sure what this is all about so I decided do dig a little deeper and  try it out myself.  I just  bought a digital download.  Yah!!  I have not yet received it and I am not quite sure what I am going to do with it once I get it but I am really excited to try something new and  hoping to get a handle on what its  all about.  So if anyone has  anything helpful  I would appreciate any advice  about these downloads.   Like I said in a previous blog that I have been stamping for about 9 years.  The last 3 years or so I did the bare minimum.  Would make cards  when I needed them, but I did not keep up on the latest trends and the new tools.  I had not boughten anything new except my Cricut.  There have been  lots of changes.   So now  that I have dedicated myself to making  cards on a regular basis and keeping this blog I feel like I have to try and keep up on the different and new things that are out there or at least try them.  The next thing I have to look into is  Copics.  I know that they are colors  or coloring tools of some sort.  I have seen and read that a lot of people are using these and I have seen many awesome handmade cards that they used them on.    Well I am patiently waiting for my digital  download ,  I guess I’ll have to make something else till then.  Have a great day!

Sunday, June 19, 2011

New Card


One of my favorite colors is pink.  I’ve seen some really great cards out there lately with pink  and I thought yup now its my turn.  I used my Cricut with this one.  I love these flowers.  They are really cute and so easy to make cards with.  As you can see I did two variations of the same card.  I just changed one color and  rearranged the images.  I think my favorite is the pinks with the black.  I guess I really like black too!!  The flowers were made with the Cricut cartridge Home Décor.  The flowers  are a variety of different sizes.  It is the  same flower though.  The Birthday Wishes stamp is from a Stampin Up set called So Happy For You.  The little pink  jewel things are called Glass Effects  by Heidi Grace Designs.  The different shades of pink are Regal Rose and Pretty in Pink from Stampin Up.  The black card looks great as is, so when I used the white cardstock I thought it looked a little plain .   So I took a cotton ball and dabbed  Regal Rose ink on the whole front to add some color.  It made a huge difference.  As you can see the then layered some paper under the birthday wishes.  I love to tear!!  Always love to hear feedback  on my ideas and handmade cards.  Have a great night.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

New Card

Good morning everyone.  I have a busy day today  so I wanted to post my card right away.  A couple of days ago I used my Four Legged Friends Cricut cartridge  for the first time and liked it so much I had to use it again.  This time I did the whole fishbowl and the  words to go with it.  This card was very simple and quick to make, my Cricut did all the work.  All I had to do was pick out some colored paper.  The paper is all Stampin Up.  They are as follows  Real Red, Brilliant Blue,  Bliss Blue,  Night of Navy  and Bordering Blue.  I did put some Crystal Effects on the top of the fish bowl for a shiny look and some more texture.  The Crystal Effects is also a Stampin Up product.  I think this is  a great encouragement  card.  I would love to hear any comments you may have.  Check back soon

Friday, June 17, 2011

Styles

First of all I hope that everyone had a great day.  Mine was pretty prosperous.  Had a great day of shopping with my sister-in-law.  Got the whole lawn cut and trimmed and even had time to sit down and make some cards.   Well I have been looking at many card making idea  blogs over the last couple weeks.  It is so neat because there are never two cards the same.  I have learned just by looking  at many blogs that each person has their own style and way of doing things.  Let me tell you there are a lot of  great handmade card makers out there.  Also I have learned that there is always something new to learn.   When I am looking at someones step by step instructions  on a card and I come across something I have not heard of before I have to write it down so I can go back later and find out what it is  they are talking about.  Making handmade cards has changed and keeps on changing.  I definitely think that its all the new gadgets they come out with..  If you throw in a Cricut or a Cuttlebug ,  you’re on a whole new level.    I really enjoy going to different blogs and seeing  so many great ideas.  There are many that are so detailed.   My cards are not  there yet.  I hope at some point I can get to that level.  My style right now (I think that your style  does change from time to time)  is pretty simple but I think that my cards are cute.. I just enjoy making cards and trying to come up with new ideas.  I hope you’ll come back to see how  my  cards are coming along.  Good night all!! 

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Universal Card


This blog has been a great thing for me.  I have a ton of stuff for making cards but  was not using any of it.  By doing this blog it has motivated me to  make cards again.   My goal is to write or post a handmade card every day for the first month.   Now its like any free time I have I am in my back room trying to come up with some new ideas or  cards.  The funny thing is that I forgot how much fun it was.  I feel really good and accomplished when I have made something.
 I think universal cards are great so I’ve made another one.  I was looking through my stuff and came across my embossing things.  I knew I had to make a card using it. I love how embossing looks.  It gives the card texture.   I started out with black cardstock  from the craft store.  I then took my Versa Mark from Stampin Up and stamped the flower, pedal, and swirls.  Next I  poured my white stampin powder on  my stamped images.  Once all the excess powder is removed you  heat  up the embossing powder that is  left on your images  with an embossing tool.   I then used Real Red eyelets  to give it a little color.  For the wonderful  I  used white cardstock .  I stamped the word  with my Versa Mark and  used Basic Black embossing powder.  I then tore around the wonderful and added a couple of black and white layers .  The wonderful is from the  set Warm Words and the rest  of the stamps is from the set Friendship Blooms.   Both  are from Stampin Up.

I hope you are enjoying my handmade cards and ideas.  Like I said I am going to try and post something every day for a month so come and check back each day to see what I have.   Have a great day!!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Fathers Day Card


Well this has been the third time I’ve tried to sit down and make my fathers day card.  The other times I started  my card, the   ideas I came  up with stunk so I  gave up. Since its only 4 days away I thought I would give it another try.  I do not think that this  handmade hard is horrible but I am not feeling so great about it either.  I think the card is kinda cute but plain,  it needs something more.  So if any of you have  suggestions I would love to hear them.   I did use my Cricut Machine for this one.    First I took Basic Black ink from
Stampin up with a cotton ball and just kinda brushed a little color on the front of the card.  I then used the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge to print the Happy Fathers Day.  Next,  I took my Four Legged Friends Cartridge and printed out the fish.  This was actually the first time I used this one.  I had never done the  printing in layers thing before.  I thought it would be much more complicated than   it was.  Very cool.  I used  black cardstock from the craft store.  The gray is Going Gray which is a Stampin Up color.  Like I said  I thought it was kind of plain so I added some glitter glue to parts of the fish.   Any feedback or help is  welcome.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Handmade Card


Well as I sat down today to make a card I  came across these stars I purchased from a garage sale a couple weeks ago and I thought these are really cool, so I had to make a card using them .   The stars made me think of the 4th of July so I then had to dig out some paper with stars on them.  That is how I got started with the idea for this handmade card.  The stars are very cool.  They are called Foil Rimmed Acetate Shapes made by Li’l Davis Designs.   I’m not sure where you can get these,  like I said I got  them at a garage sale.  The star paper was just from a variety pack I had bought at Joanne Fabrics.  All I did was glue the  star paper to the back of two of the stars,  the other star I left as is. I picked out  the Ruby Red ink.  I then dug  my color coach  out and  looked at which shades of blue went with Ruby Red .  Not Quite Navy  was the answer it gave me .   I then stamped the  word sparkle.  It is from the  Stampin Up set called From Warm Words .  Then I  tore around the word sparkle  and with a cotton ball  rubbed the edges with the Ruby Red ink.  I also placed the stars paper around the middle sparkle. I then placed it all together.  So  you could write or stamp anything you want  in the inside to make it for whatever occasion you want.

Monday, June 13, 2011

My Favorite Products

I  want to tell you  about my favorite products that I use for making handmade cards.  I know that everyone has there own favorite something.  Mine is Stampin Up stuff.  I love the paper ,the ink pads,  the eyelets, the brads,  the markers, the embossing powder, the chalks, the wire and any other colored things.(I’m sure that I’ve missed something.)  I love the products but it has more to do with just the colors of all these  things.  I find that sometimes I sit down   and just look at the different colors of paper and  find a couple that I think go together  and try some ideas.  If  I’m not sure about it  or I don’t think the colors are just right I’ll get out the Stampin Up Color Coach.  This is the greatest thing.   It costs $14.95 but its so worth the money.   For those of you who are not familiar with this,  it’s a handy tool to have .  Find the color you want to use and the wheel will give you coordinating  and complementary colors to go  with your color.  It also gives you dynamic duos.  This wheel is very helpful. It puts together colors that I would have never dreamed of and they look excellent together.  I just love that all their colors match.   Sometimes I think that is half the battle.  Once I get my colored paper picked out then I’ll look which eyelets  match or do I have that color embossing powder . Its also really nice to have the same color paper and ink. You can’t go wrong there.   I would love to hear about any of your favorite product!!

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Universal Card

Today my handmade card is  universal but I made it because I have a Confirmation party to go to.  I know that brown and black are not the most upbeat colors but it is for a boy and I feel that I trouble making man  cards.   I thought that there would be no questions with this one that it could be manly.    Today everything used to make this cards if from Stampin Up.  Right now I am in a tearing phase as you can see every card or idea  I have come up with I tore something on each one.  The brown card stock for the card is Chocolate Chip.  Both of the stamps I used are from the same set which is called All I Have Seen.  I then stamped the words and the leaf image on Close To Cocoa paper and tore around each shape. Next I placed them on black cardstock and tore around that to make another layer.  The picture  is done but I then added another layer under the words which is the Close To Cocoa paper  again.  I used Basic Black ink.    Before I glued both shapes on the card  I took a cotton ball and dabbed it on the black ink pad and gently rubbed around the edges  of the card to give it a vintage kind of look.  I then glued  both stamped images down.   Now we are finished.  I hope you enjoyed my handmade card idea.