Caardvark Challenge – From Your Closet

[Repeat from an earlier post]

A birthday card I created a using stencils from “Paper Fashions” a neat little book from the editors of Klutz, and fabric. I made this card for my very good and dear friend who truly has it all going on! This card captures her personality and spirit to the tee! (Note: The little black dress on the front of the card is not from Paper Fashions. My friend had given me a card with a little black dress on the front. I cut out the dress and used it as a template for this card.) This was a difficult card to photograph since it folds in on it self, thus the 3 photos.

Skating Party Invites

The winners of the birthday party invites (donation for my son's school fundraiser---see previous posts) wanted an ice-skating themed party for their seven-year old son. The mom had an idea for a card…the child’s name written across the ice. I liked her idea but wasn’t sure how to implement the concept. I’m pretty computer illiterate and this is all I could come up with working in Word’s free style line shapes.

His mom liked the design concept but instead decided to go with this skate card I created from four templates that I made based on a photo of a skate that I liked. After tracing and cutting the templates from card stock, I pieced and glued them all together. I used the crop-a-dile and some eyelets on the tongue and craft cord for the laces. I added an appliqué embroidered letter (the child's first initial) as well as a tiny tag made by printing the child’s name onto card stock and adhering it to the skate.

I carried the skating theme through to the party favors by using a hockey stick stamp (Inkadinkado) and on the thank you cards by having ‘Joe Cool Snoopy’ (Stampabilities) holding both the hockey stick and carrying a pair of ice skates over his shoulder. The skate stamp and the word stamp are from the Paper Source. I paper pieced Joe Cool’s pants and jacket.

These cards were quite a bit of work (I made 20 of these babies!) especially since I committed the ultimate “no-no” in card making…I made the card without first checking the envelope size! So…I had to quickly make 20 envelops from 12x12 paper.

I loved making these cards and am pretty happy with the results...I think I'll keep them in my card-making repertoire!

Thanks for looking...

Figuring out this thing called "Blog"

So. I’m tooling with this blog thing and becoming more adventurous everyday. I’m adding page elements, changing colors, updating my profile. But heck, I’m not even sure my blog is out there…on the www! I can’t find it when I try to Google it. So…I’ll just continue to blog as if I am on the www and hopefully get better...at this thing called Blogging.

Birthday Party Kits

These are samples of birthday party kits I created for my son’s school’s silent auction. The winning bid won a set of personalized party invites, goodie bags and thank you cards.

The idea for this set hit me while shopping for a birthday gift at the Lego store. I saw these flat rubber Lego coasters and tried to imagine using them on a card. Then I remembered this cute keepsake box (by Martha Stewart) with a dinosaur glued to the lid. I liked the idea and thought…hmm, why not use Legos? To make the Lego invite, I placed colored cardstock over Lego pieces and used my embossing tools to get Lego “bumps.” I like the bold look of the red, yellow and black cardstock for the faux Legos. Hope you can see the “bumps” on each faux Lego piece.

I used a template from another neat little book by Klutz, “Handmade Cards-Simple Designs for Beautiful Cards,” by Anne Akers Johnson, to make the box. (I bought this book years ago, but only just started using it this past year when I begin teaching an after-school card-making class to 4th and 5th graders. I love this book! It would make another neat gift for a little crafter in your family.) I glued some of my son’s old Legos (you can also purchase loose Lego pieces for under $5 at the Lego Store).

The thank you card uses the same embossing technique & a stamp from the Paper Source.

Here’s another sample of a birthday party set I created for the winter auction. I used another template from the “Handmade Cards-Simple Designs for Beautiful Cards,” to create this card. The card folds up on itself to make its own envelope. It can be finished off with a paper (or ribbon) band. I generated a computer printed invite and embellished the card with stickers and rub-on transfers.

I used a small, round wooden box from AC Moore to create the party favor. I covered both the inside and outside with paper and glued a chipboard letter to the front. Before covering the inside, I glued both ends of a piece of ribbon together inside the the lid so that the ribbon forms a loop on which to hang the box when the lid is closed. I love covering these little boxes with ribbon and paper, especially at Christmas and for Valentine’s Day. The thank you card was created using a Stampabilities stamp from the dollar bin at Michaels or AC Moore…I’m a big fan of those dollar bins! I embellished with brads and matted onto coordinating cardstock.

Another birthday party set created using a template from the wonderful “Handmade Cards-Simple Designs for Beautiful Cards. (Next time, I’d like to make this card with fabric.) I generated a computer printed invite to stick inside the purse. The ‘handles’ are made in a coordinating color and I used a large brad on the flap. The little favor bag is cased from a tutorial I saw on a card-making Blog awhile back. (Actually, I saw it on a few sites. I’m sorry I don’t remember where at the moment and can’t give credit, but I will check my files and do so at a later date.) I holed punched the sides, added flower brads and ribbon.

This last set is a birthday invite I created for my son’s rock climbing birthday party two years ago. I used a pre-made craft-paper card and a sheet of 12x12 rock paper from Provo Craft, which I purchased at Michaels. I cut around the rocks to give it a jagged-edged look and then used pop dots for a three-D effect. I used a pre-made hiking boot by Jolee and letter stickers.

I used the same technique with the thank you card, cutting around the rocks and used “Joe Cool Snoopy” from Stampabilities. (I love this guy…I’m a “Peanuts” fan from waaaay back.) The "thanks" stamp is from the Paper Source.
Thanks for looking…

Taking Baby Steps…

Some very kind friends have encouraged me to start taking baby steps…like teaching an after-school card-making class at my son’s school or offering a donation of handmade cards for the school’s winter fundraiser, both of which I did this past year. (The fact that the winter fundraiser was a silent auction made it easier, but I was still very nervous!) I decided to donate kids’ monogrammed cards and stationary. I kept the samples simple to reach a broad base. Here are a two samples of kids' monogrammed cards I created for the February auction. Obviously…I am not a photographer.

Robot Card
The robot paper is from one of my favorite shops, The Paper Source. I spied the paper while on a shopping spree… spending a thoughtful Hanukkah gift from my sweet husband…and immediately knew it could be used to make some great cards.

I cut out one of the robots and matted it onto gray cardstock. I printed some initials on white cardstock using the Alien Encounter Font and matted that onto the gray cardstock and embellished with brads. I used a red sharpie pen to make the electrical current run across the chest. I’ve used variations on this creation to make birthday cards and thank you notes. Here's another sample using the same paper.

Lilly Pulitzer(esque) Sundress

Another simple card using a stencil from “Paper Fashions,” a neat little book from the editors of Klutz, and some Lilly Pulitzer fabric I found on sale at G Street Fabrics. I love using fabric on my cards. The “Paper Fashions” book comes with three pages of stencils filled with fashion shapes, design paper, embellishments and a set of itty-bitty hangers. This would make a wonderful gift for the little crafter(s) in your family.

These are photos of a birthday card I created using stencils from “Paper Fashions” and some fabric. I made this card for my very dear and good friend who truly has it all going on! This card captures her personality and spirit to the tee! (Note: The little black dress on the front of the card is not from Paper Fashions. My friend had given me a card with a little black dress on the front. I cut out the dress and used it as a template for this card.)

A few more photos of some the other kids’ stationary samples I made. Again, they’re plain and simple to appeal to a broad base.

Thanks for looking...

Caardvark Sketch Challenge

Okay…that wasn’t so bad. Now that I’ve finally
taken the plunge, I can breathe again.

Thanks to the recent Caardvark sketch challenge, I’ve been motivated to move from ‘lurker’ to ‘participant.”

Just last week I created a guitar themed card for my husband’s birthday. When I saw the Caardvark sketch challenge, I knew it could make a good fit.

Thanks Caardvark...for the fun assignment!

Be-witched by it all...

August 3, 2008

I’m a newbie…
I’ve been lurking for some time now.
I have no idea how this post will look on the other end!


----------------------------------------------------

You make it look so easy.
How do you do it?
Where does the “know how” come from?

I’d like to become a part of this community ~ but it scares me.
Do I really want to emerge from “lurker” to “participant”?

There are so many talented and creative paper crafters…out there.
It’s amazing…exhilarating…daunting…humbling…and gratifying.

I’m so impressed with the talent and the ease in how
everyone seems so able to express and showcase their talent.
I’ve lurked a bit now and have been inspired…motivated…and bewitched.

I’m hoping to take a step forward with my “hobby,” and so…here I go!

Be-witched by it all…


(I wrote these lines in April 2007. It’s taken 16 months to summon the courage...)