FREEBIE for 4th of July!

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We just got back from a vacation to Napa and Monterey with my college roommate, Linda. I don't think we could have squeezed in any more fun if we tried...and we all came back feeling so relaxed and happy! I needed to make up a thank you/4th of July card for Linda to thank her for treating us to so many surprises on this trip...so I came up with this quick star wreath design.


To make this star card, adhere 6 stars to a 3" square base as shown below:

Then put a small piece of foam tape on the backs of the next 6 stars (see star in lower left corner below) and adhere each one in between two stars (varying the color and pattern) as shown below :

(Medium Star Squeeze Punch by Fiskars)

Since I was making up the saying on my computer for this card, I made a whole sheet to give each of you as a thank you for reading my blog! Simply click on either of the two links below to download a sheet of your own sayings, print the pdf on white cardstock and punch each saying out with any paper punch. Complete the tag by raising it with some foam tape then add some bling! BTW: The papers are OLD GLORY scraps and some solid Bazzill cardstock I had sitting around from my June Club Card project seen HERE...and this star card design can be used for Christmas, birthdays, etc.


I hope we all  celebrate the brave men and women who protect our freedom and Happy 4th of July to all of you!

 

Download the FREE

Celebrate Freedom tags

HERE or HERE.

A New Arrival

We have a Red Egg Party (a Chinese banquet celebration for the birth of a baby) coming up soon in our family, and I used this cute little baby card idea by Mercedes Weber to make a card for the newest little baby boy in our family. Her idea is just adorable....and at first, I didn't notice how she added shading to the little chick head, the wing tips and cheeks --- it's those details that really make it look professional! 

Here is my my 1st attempt ---

without the color shading:

and here's my final version --- with the color shading and

some new heart-shaped feet:

I didn't have any googly eyes, so I used large adhesive pearls and dotted each one with a Sharpie marker...and when I stamped the sentiment, the ink smudged...so I re-stamped it on white cardstock, punched it out and raised it up with foam tape...another happy little opportunity to fix a mistake! (Note to self: Maybe a little blue shading on the oval would have been nice, too!) 

To visit Mercedes website, click HERE. Stamps: SU Curvy Verses; 1 3/8" circle, large oval punch, open scallop punch and circle scallop punch; misc. gems; cardstock scraps left over from my card posted HERE. (OMG --- I just fixed a typo --- I had left off the first "s" in "scraps" --- I would have died from embarrassment if I had done that!)

More Ribbon Weaving!

Here are two more non-holiday cards made using the ribbon weaving technique that I'll be demonstrating in my July 18th Christmas in July Class at Scrapbook Island. For more details, see the Tea Party info. in the right column...and to see the post showing my original Christmas cards using this technique, click HERE. 

CARD MAKERS' BARGAIN!

Oh, how I love a bargain...and it's even more thrilling if the bargain is related to paper crafting! For only $3, I got this entire bucket of flowers - YAHOO - that was the best $3 I've spent in a long time! I found these flowers at TJ Max as I was waiting in the long check out line. (They're pretty darn sneaky to let you continue to shop even as you wait!) 


I recently added a subscriber and followers section in the right-hand column, and if you are a follower or subscriber, I'll randomly pick a winner in 2 weeks from that group to win this card PLUS enough supplies to make your own card! I'm ecstatic that this site has received over 15,000 hits in just a few weeks --- THANKS SO MUCH for making me smile!


Be sure to watch my YouTube videos to tie perfect knots and bows. Click HERE then click on the FREEBIES tab to watch those videos.


Cardstock paper: Linen Closet paper stack by DCWV; Martha Stewart adhesive pearls; saying done on my computer

Here Comes the Bride

My son asked if I could make up a card for a friend's upcoming wedding, and I used my Cuttlebug Textile Hearts cutting and embossing folder set to create this card. (Thank you, Alice, for that wonderful Cuttlebug gift!) I saw a card for inspiration --- check it out here --- so darn clever! Stamp: SU Congrats; Stampendous Detail Silver embossing powder; SU Open Scallop Punch; Tulle was used at the top of the bride's heart 

RIBBON WEAVING

 

Here are a few card samples of the ribbon weaving technique I'll be teaching at my July 18th Christmas in July Tea Party Class at Scrapbook Island. This looks a lot harder than it is....so come and learn the secrets to making your 2010 Christmas card with the WOW! factor by calling (408)978-89oo to attend this class. (More Tea Party info. is provided in the column on the right.) I'll be posting non-Christmas ribbon weaving cards on Sunday...so check back then.
(Stamp in center of middle card: SU Spotlight on Christmas with Real Red ink)

I LOVE MY CRICUT AND NESTIES TOYS!

I haven't used my Cricut for quite awhile, and I pulled it out to make a few flowers for my friend Suzanne who loves Cricut flowers. She has resisted buying a Cricut - so far! However, I must say that owning a Cricut is a black hole when it comes to buying new cartridges...but I have everything in one under-the-bed storage container and I'm vowing that I won't go to a bigger box!! I do love using my Cricut and I finally had the time to pull it out and have some fun!

This card uses the Big Scallop Circle Nesties (that I had to have recently!), the Walk in My Garden Cricut cartridge for the flowers, Recollections adhesive pearls, two types of ribbon (layered and held in place with a brad that fits through a hole in the background layer), and the paper is from a paper stack by Heidi Grace called Sparkle.

CHRISTMAS IN JULY CLASS

Over the next few weeks - until my July 18th CHRISTMAS IN JULY CLASS at Scrapbook Island - I'll be posting pics of projects that will be included in this fun class for all paper crafters. Here is the first project: Every year for Christmas, I design a favor/gift idea using a Tic Tac container. Each person who attends this class will receive all of the measurements, templates and how-to instructions to make this paper craft. 

BBQ Card for Uncle Mike

Here's a masculine birthday or Father's Day card idea. We're giving my brother-in-law a gas grill for his birthday, so of course...I had to make him a BBQ card! I used my Nesties and some real birthday candles for this one. I'll put it in a clear envelope on the night of his party --- I don't think this one would go through the mail without breaking those candles, but you could make some paper ones and attach a bow if you had to send it via snail mail. (BTW - I used the Stampin' Up slot punch and a 3/4" circle punch to make the handle for the BBQ)..and here's a terrific BBQ card from my wonderful paper crafting pen pal, Leslie-Ann, in Vancouver, B.C. - What a great idea she used for this King of the Grill Stampin' Up stamp! It's the perfect way to make a card when you're using a mega-size stamp.

Card for DADS!

Here's a Father's Day card that would surely make the dad or grandpa in your family smile! 

JUNE PROJECTS: Graduation, Father's Day, Birthdays, 4th of July

Here are some card club projects I recently designed: A pop up sailboat card, a folded card made with one sheet of 12x12" paper that fits into a business size envelope and a tag using beads and wire! 

PURCHASE OPTIONS

All 3 June Projects $10.00 Pop Up Sailboat Card Only $5.00 12x12" Folded Card Only $5.00

Get Well Card

I have MANY sets of Nesties and I used them in a different way to create this card for a friend who is about to have some surgery. Oh --- how I love those Nesties! I used a 3/4" circle and my Small Classic Squares set to create two masks, then ripped a piece of scrap paper to add 3 color levels on this card. 

The oval saying (from Impression Obsession called Life is Tweet) is raised with foam tape --- and along with the two gems --- adds to the finished overall look when you see it in person. I used Brilliance Pearlescent Inks (Sky Blue, Pearl Purple, Beige and Cosmic Copper for the tree) with VersaMagic Hint of Pesto for the green at the bottom. The shiny ink finish gives this card a lovely ethereal quality. The tree and bird stamp are from a Stampin' Up set called Branch Out.

If you'd like to see an awesome tutorial using Nestie masking and a sponge coloring technique, click HERE. WARNING: You may have to get the tree stamp seen in this tutorial for your Halloween cards this year!

JustRite Birthday Card

This is my first card with the JustRite's MY GARDEN stamp set that was calling out my name when I saw it in the store! I couldn't resist it and had to take it home plus the 3 1/4" stamp round...and I'm having so much fun using it! My friend and fellow card maker, Rina, will soon get this card for her birthday and I know she'll really appreciate the extra details like the pearl embellishments and the silver embossing. This is quite a labor intensive card, so I'll have to make 3 more cards while I have everything out! (My craft room looks like a bomb has gone off after making this one card! Thankfully, I can close the door until I make the rest of the cards.) Here is the info. on the other supplies used for this card: An ancient corner punch I bought 20+ years ago, the purple background paper and the printed background flower paper are from a double-sided paper stack by Heidi Grace, pearls are from Recollections, and in the center of the flowers, I used Ranger Liquid Pearls Pastel Raspberries paint. Copic marker colors used on the center flowers: Y15, Y17, YG06, BVOO, BV04, RV11, RV14, V12, V15. Nesties: Big Scallop Circles and Small Classic Circles. 

BTW: Have you heard that JustRite is coming out with clear stamps?! YIPPEE!!...and I've discovered that the rubber used on the JustRite stamps works best with pigment, chalk or VersaMark ink. JustRite also has a Christmas catalog coming out in June. Click HERE for more info. and to learn about their contest, too.

EIGHT CARDS FOR $1!

I was at Michael's the other day and made an amazing find in the $1 bin section: Eight cards for only $1!!!!!!!!! Here's what the original plain card looked like:

...and I had an idea...With SU's new bird punch, I embellished these cards on the outside and inside - and very quickly (using some paper scraps and some Zip two-way glue) - created 8 different cards that I can give as a gift --- Make that 2 gifts as I'll give a set of 4 cards each to two friends. Here are the inside and outside views of one of the embellished cards:

There were even several design variations of card sets available, but I liked this set the best. The business-sized envelopes included were of excellent quality, too...and I embellished those with some matching papers. Oh! Don't you just love it when you find a bargain like that?! (Note: It may be hard to tell in the photos, but the far right branch is glued to the white inside of the card so that it's part of the design when the card is opened as well as closed. Also, the bird on the card front has no adhesive on its tail so the card can open to reveal another bird facing the opposite direction. I also raised the wing on the card front bird with a foam square for added dimension.)

Inside a Grad Card

Here's the inside view of my pop up sailboat card and one of two birthday/graduation/and Father's Day sayings that will be included with my two June paper craft projects. I thought the Mark Twain quote was perfect for this sailboat card and provides some inspiration no matter what age your driver's license states!...Stay tuned for the photos of the entire set of June projects which I'll post on June 1st.... and here's another quick way to finish the inside of your graduation cards. 

The saying is from Hero Arts and simply says: May your dreams take flight. The kite tail uses gold cording (purchase it in the jewelry section of your craft store). The cording is held in place by small glue dots under the kite tail bows. View the front of this graduation card HERE.

Another Cake Slice Box

My new blog buddy, Kay of Creations on Paper, posted one of my cake slices on her blog yesterday! I made this cake slice box using her tutorial and it was the best $4.99 I've ever spent! If you make up 12 slices to give as favors for party guests, you can actually combine the slices to make a beautiful paper cake! For this slice, I attached the candle on top of the flower's center brad with a glue gun --- and it's pretty darn stable. I used THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS SU stamp set for the circular sentiment, Prima mini flower, Recollections adhesive pearls, Classic Scallop Circles Nesties, DCWV Nana's Kids DSP, a birthday candle from a pack purchased at the grocery store, PLUS a single scallop rose. Click HERE for my FREE scallop paper rose tutorial. I've been filling my boxes with Werther's Sugarless Candies (from Safeway and Walgreen's) and a small handwritten note.

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all of you and I hope you have an extra special day! Here's the Mother's Day card I made for my dear MIL. Using a 1" circle punch is an easy way to make an over-sized scalloped border. Just place adhesive on the back of the designer scrapbook paper (DSP) panel before adhering to the card front and adhere one circle in the middle so that only half of the circle is visible. Next - attach a circle on each side of the center circle. Add one last circle on each side. Adhere the DSP panel to the card front then trim the far left and right circles by using the card front as a guide. Because I hate to throw away perfectly good scraps, I used a  6 x 1.5" of  DSP, layered it with green cardstock and adhered it to the envelope and trimmed it using the envelope as a guide. All papers and the sentiment are from Stampin' Up and the ribbon is from Martha Stewart.

GRAD CARD

I'm going to a wedding this month, and the Bride just graduated from med school, too --- such big events all in a short amount of time! This is the grad card I made for her and this card is the perfect compliment to my GRAD CAP BOX tutorial that is shown HERE. I got this wonderful idea from Jackie Topa's blog where she shows a female and a male version for a graduation card. To take a look at Jackie's original grad cards,  click HERE! So clever and so fun to make --- Thank you, Jackie! (There are no directions on her site for the grad cards. Start by taking a 3" square and add a decorative corner punch in any corner. Then score at 45 degrees next to the decorative corner, fold the corner over and trim about 1" away from the fold at a parallel line to the fold.)

Supplies:

Stampin' Up open scallop corner punch for blouse, gold star brad, gold cording, mini star gems, Recollections adhesive pearls, and the wording was done on the computer

Birthday Cakes!

I was surfing around on the net this week and found this cake slice box tutorial for $4.99 HERE --- I made a variation on the tutorial and it sure made my friend VERY happy this week when we celebrated his birthday :-) His wife is quite a paper crafter, and they both enjoyed the cake slice (filled with candies and a little card) and the mini tea light cake. (The FREE tea light tutorial is featured this week on Splitcoaststampers.com.) The Happy Birthday sentiment is called Well Scripted from Stampin' Up 2010 Occasions Mini Catalog.

Kay Sha made a bunch of boxes to make an entire cake! Click HERE for more info.