Birthday Balloons Stencil and Cards

Welcome Back,
Each new year, I create two dozen birthday cards to mail out to friends and family during the course of the year. I try to get a head start during my Christmas break. This year, I wanted to make a few balloon themed cards, but I have no balloon stamps or stencils. Thought "Bet I can create one with my cricut!" My husband helped me with some of the graphic design using inkscape and corel draw, but I did most of it myself:

I happen to have a pack of 3 blank stencil materials that a friend gave me, and I used two of the with this project. I did large and small balloons. 

Using my MISTI tool, and mass produced 8 cards that were very similar in design. I thought they came out pretty cute!  After stamping them all with the same "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" stamp, I realized, I need to purchase some more Birthday sentiment stamps!  LOL

I entered this card into a few challenges:

Cute Card Thursday - Anything Goes

Seize the Birthday - Anything Goes

Supplies:

Stamps: none

Stencil: Handmade - similar to other balloon stencils

Sentiment: SSS essential greetings
Paper: Neenah Solar White, black cardstock, SU cardstock
Ink: Distress Oxide Inks, SSS Black Ink

Thanks for dropping by!

Heard the News?

Good Morning!
I am determined to keep my creative flow going. Here is another creation. Take a Look:

 

I am so sad that Whiff of Joy is no more. I LOVE Henry the Mouse. I wish I had purchased more while we was still available. I am getting better at Copic coloring (I think) All the videos make it look so easy.  The Sentiment came from my brain and my font list. More to come!

I adore Rubbernecker Stamps!

Do you have a company of stamps that just make you feel good? I do. I adore Rubbernecker Stamps. They are foolproof! They are designed with a watercolor feel, so even the most horrible stamped image comes out beautiful every time! I mean it!

I was dog sitting for a good friend of mine, and I brought a pile of pre-cut watercolor paper and this rubbernecker stamp set. I had more fun combining colors and stamping dozens of images to see the effect I got. They all came out beautifully. Here are a few of the images I finally got a chance to match with a background and mounted on folded card stock. Take a look:

 I took the time to re-set up my indoor light box in the corner of my craft room. I experimented with different colored backgrounds and tons of lighting. I STILL prefer my outdoor photos, but some days I am just not able to get outside due to temperature, or inclement weather. I turned up my exposure on my camera and brighten these photos up with my Microsoft Picture Manager. They still seem dark to me. What do you think? Huh.....so much to learn about this card making/paper craft obsession of mine!!  :)

Please leave a comment, it makes my day to hear from you!

Birthday Challenges: Hamlet PigWit PigOut strikes again!

Hey There,
With this long weekend, I wanted to get crafty, and join a few challenges. I love this little piggy, and use him often for birthday cards and cake cards. This time, I used a cupcake ribbon down the side to add a new touch.

I entered this card into a two challenges:

Addicted to CAS (Challenge #79):  http://addictedtocas.blogspot.com/
Seize the Birthday: http://seizethebirthday.blogspot.com/

Here are the card details:
Digital Stamp: Hamlet PigWit PigOut
Markers: Copic
Paper: Stampin'Up!
Ribbon: Joanns

New Year, New ME!

Hey strangers,
I know, I know...it's been a VERY long time. I dusted off my craft room, and got my fingers inky today. I think I found my mojo! I think I can start creating again. I am not sure if I will be consistent, but it is NEW year's eve, and I would like to make a New Year's resolution to try!

I have been so focused on my teaching, that I was simply overwhelmed by the thought of being in my craft room. I decided to force myself out of my shell, and make complicated Christmas cards (and stupidly expensive too) They came out perfectly. I was very pleased. They were inspired by Jennifer McGuire's card: here.

 Here is my take:

THEN I decided to add more names and addresses to my yearly (2016 here I come) birthday spreadsheet. When I really looked at the list, I realized that many of the names are male, and OMG! I have no manly cards at all! So, I have to get busy! When in doubt, duplicate a card you have made previously!

That is exactly what I did! I duplicated two different designs all in one day. Take a look!

I even found a bit of inspiration to create one solo card:

Sorry, the pictures are blah......I couldn't get outside to shoot the images.

Beautiful Backgrounds!

Hello everyone!

I love when I dig through some backgrounds that I created forever ago, and I finish them into a beautiful card that I did not envision back then. Here are a few of those.

 I LOVE the backgrounds on this duo! The sentiment completes the card.

I just purchased all I need to create Jennifer McGuires ink color swatch book. I have over 100 different inks, and thought it was about time I got them sorted and cataloged to see what I have, and what I lack in my collection. Stay tuned to see my version of a swatch book!

Just before my Cruise!

I totally forgot to post these cards. I enjoyed creating these. I created these before my cruise.

Featured Product: Simon Says Stamps' die: Hello!

Hey there,
I had time to play around with the "hello" die  I purchased from Simon Says Stamps. That site is very addicting! It has everything and more. I love just playing around and seeing what emerges from my craft room. Here's some of my creations before I made cards with them.

 I clear embossed it twice, then embossed a third time with JudiKins "Psychedelic" embossing powder! WOW! Can you see the colors! Beautiful!

I was so in love with the colors I embossed other sentiments I had leftover from past cards. I must use this embossing powder more often!

 

I created a full sheet of these butterflies and then cut them up and made front panels with them.

Then I die cut the Hello, and inserted the beautiful Hello from above! WOW, just as I envisioned. I love it!I think I will be making a few more of these! Stay posted!

Duos: Summer goes too fast!

Hey everyone!

I am not going to bore you with how busy I have been, and how I have not been able to spend time in my craft room until the END of my summer. As much as I love card making, and crafting, there are other items that must have my attention so that I can craft. Anywho....

I made a vow to accomplish 3 craft items this summer. (Only three, you are thinking?) Wait until you hear these.....BIG!

Item 1: I will RE-CREATE  my Christmas list. Somehow my digital Christmas database went POOF! Granted, I only had 20-25 names in it, but still. I texted, called, left messages, and face-booked everyone I needed to track down and asked them for their current address. Why you ask? I am going to make handmade Christmas cards this summer, and have them ready to mail to everyone in my database! (I told you....BIG)

Item 2: I will  CREATE (from my Christmas list) a BIRTHDAY list! I took only relatives, and dear friends off the Christmas list, and created a birthday list with addresses and dates. (not the year, silly) Why you ask? I am going to make handmade birthday cards for everyone for the next 12 months, seal, stamp and have them ready to go with the date on them, so to mail them out a week early!

Item 3: I want to create EXTRA birthday cards to pass on to our school based SUNSHINE committee so that every Sunshine committee member gets a hand made card this year! (I can dream, right). How many teachers join the Sunshine committee? About 50.

 

Status:

• I am missing 2-3 people on my Christmas list, but otherwise, it is DONE!
• I have completed my birthday list and finished cards for July through December. 1/2 DONE!
• I have a handful of Extra birthday cards started, which I am sharing with you here. 1/2 DONE!

Pretty good, and school starts up again in three weeks!

 

On to the cards. Disclaimer: I am having a tough time with picture taking. I tried these photos 3 times. with two different cameras. (my phone, and my 6 year old stand alone) So please bear with me. These pictures are not my best, but I can't seem to get better shots right now.

 

 

I need to make more masculine birthday cards. I always gravitate to girly - pretty cards. So I went surfing for masculine cards, and came across this digital stamp set. I LOVE this chick! He came with a bunch of sentiments that go along with the stamp. I used the same one here twice. The site is called: From the heart digital Stamps. I purchased a few other ones too, as you will see. I am book marking this site for sure!

Duo Set Two:

 

Again, this masculine card digital stamp is created by From the heart digital Stamps. I don't know if you can see, but the foam is puff paint, and the glass is shiny. Although I used beer, you can make it kid-friendly and call it root beer! (lol)


Duo Set Three:

 

 

Ok, these are a set of three cards, not a duo, but I am SO EXCITED about this, and I will tell you why! I splurged and bought a subscription to A CARD MAKING KIT subscription. For a monthly fee, a BRAND new set of stamps and materials with matching accessories comes to my door from SIMON SAYS STAMPS. (I love them). These cards are from the AUGUST kit. (it comes mid-July) and I created these adorable cards from the kit. I even had to purchase new copic markers to get the cones just right. (I had no browns in my collection of 10 markers) I love the way they POP and the bright summer colors in the papers.

 

Thanks for joining me, see you soon!