Playing Cards and Greeting Cards

I think this might fall into the upcycle category. I found this package of playing cards at Michael’s after the holidays last year. I think I paid fifty cents for a deck of 52+ cards. I have used several of them to tuck into swaps and various gifts to crafty friends and still find myself with a couple dozen left. I used a sketch I found on pinterest – well, loosely. And decided my little gingerbread man was just too plain all by himself. So I added some green brads where his buttons are. Then I dug out my ribbon whole punch and made two slots to pull that red ribbon through and give his bow tie some dimension. I made four of these for the OWH box.

VCMP twofer

Our third challenge of the day at Cindy's Card Co was to make a snowflake but not Christmas card.
Unbeknownst to me, the next challenge was for that great triple play stamping technique.
I had made both with this card.

This is one of my favorite sketches and I go to it often. This time I used some Inkadinkadoo inchie stamps. Pretty layers, a bit of twine that came from a swap - and that Stampin Up set for sentiments is the perfect finish for this card.

One More Day!!

Are you ready for the PREMIER Blog hop of the year? Join Operation White Home for their annual Memorial Day Blog Hop This weekend!

Counting Down!

Are you ready for the PREMIER Blog hop of the year? Join Operation White Home for their annual Memorial Day Blog Hop This weekend!

Mojo Booster

I have been a bit low on mojo lately.  Not sure if is spring fever, the new baby, the new other stuff – but life is good and I am crafty as much and as often as I can – if not as often as I would like.  Just like with energy and a body in motion stays in motion, I think the craft mojo stays fueled if keep crafting.  When I slack off the pool gets lower.

This weekend was the first time I had big blocks of  time to make some cards for Operation Write Home.  But, alas, the mojo was nowhere to be found.  I made six of these pretty red/black and white cards with a great stamp from the Michael’s dollar bin.  But I had to drag that simple design out.  And at this rate, I would have nothing to show for all this crafty time. 

I have a Stampin UP set, Nature Walk, that I love – LOVE and really wanted to use, but no ideas.  The images are a bit more vintage than I usually do, so working with them is a challenge for me.  To kick start things I started on Youtube and found this video and straight up cased her card!  Three of those for the box.

Next, I decided to use the google image feature and just put in Stampin Up Nature Walk cards and literally hundreds of lovely cards popped right up.  I just cased my way through the list.   

The pretty blue design is based on a great basic sketch I am going to go to again and only required a tiny amount of pattern paper.  Would be great for that stuff we love and hoard.  I used a big beautiful pearl brad from Wild Orchids and a bit of linen thread from Stampin UP. I made four of these in about an hour.

Then, I saw this masked card.  I haven’t done any masking, I don’t know why!  I used a nestabilitie die to pop out a square and put down some ink for the yellow background, then did a lot of that so nerve wracking direct to paper stamping.  Vivid colors, simple designs – they do it every time.  I added another mask of a circle and spritzed a touch of black smooch spray.  Just really added that touch to pull all of those elements together.  A  rich red sheer ribbon was knotted around the card base. Then I layered with a matching red on top of a kraft for a good go to combination.  Four of these came together in about 90 minutes and I just love them! 

The beautiful bird from the same set is stamped and embossed in green.  Before I stamped that image I stamped a big script stamp on cream and edged that with Tim Holtz' Tea Dye.  That got a little bling and a pretty sheer ribbon and was layered on SU! designer paper topped on brown.... man I love layers.  The background paper is cream that I stamped with tea dye some random bird cages.  I rounded the lower corners and gave the top bottom a bit of corner detail.  Add a sentiment, repeat and two more cards ready to go.

 

A little bit of CASE time and 19 fresh cards for the OWH box.

Blue Cards for March

Blue was the color tonight.  No particular reason – except I am out of white A2 envelopes.  I ordered another 1000 yesterday, but they aren’t here yet…slackers!  One of the clocks you will recognize from the OWH set Hero Arts has out now.  The long grandfather style one is a favorite stamp of mine, but I don’t remember where I found it.  The background papers are Webster’s pages.  You know you are a lucky girl when your scrap bin has Webster’s Pages!!  I made two of each of these for the OWH box.

Happiness Cards

Tonight I worked on an altered frame for a swap, made some flowers, spent a little time on my desk calendar I have been making and finished off the night with three pretty cards. 
I have had this cherry blossom mulberry paper for ages but it felt like an odd theme for OWH cards.  But, I used a 50% off coupon to pick up the Fiskars Background Asian Inspired Clear Stamps set I have been wanting.
A tag punched with my Stampin Up punch, great satin ribbon, embossed character and the word happiness all finished off with some strategically placed half back pearls.  I didn't forget the inside either and shared one of the stamps there.  Three more cards for the box.

Thinking Spring on a Monday night

Tonight I finished up some projects and added to the box for OWH.  First is another train banner - this one for an etsy sale.  I just love the rush I get from someone I don't know asking to buy my goodies.
Then I finished an image swap where we just stamp our favorite images and then we switch them up.  I have found it to be the biggest mojo starter.
After those were ready to go, I knew I had to add to my OWH box.  Four cards in total and both on the spring side.  I am working really hard to make my cards more lush with more detail and not so 'card party kit' as when we needed hundreds and hundreds.  There is still a need, but less.  These images were both found at the dollar bin at JoAnn's.  I embossed the bird's nest, added gel pen to the eggs and it looks really polished to me.  It is lined in white with a stampin up flower image.
The last two are on a paper with glossy accents to the petals, inked edges to let it feel more worn, and stickles to the flowers.  This is also lined and stamped.
Thanks for stopping by - hope you had a great Monday, too.