Heart Tree

 

Hello, hello!  I decided to submit another card to the Cards blog tree challenge.  I just bought the most amazing pack of chipboard at Hobby Lobby, and when I saw this tree full of hearts, I knew I had to make it happen.  :)  I used the last of that aqua glittery polka dot paper from Target's dollar spot, as well as some K&Co pink goodness.  I knew I wanted to use a tree quote along with the image, so I went through all of my sentiments but couldn't find the one I was looking for.  :(  I did come across the "friendship" rub-on (Target dollar spot, again!) that I've had forever, so I thought I would just use that up and add the aqua Making Memories letters to supplement.  I thought that was an appropriate quote, even for Valentine's Day :)  I added some clear pink gems that came with a card kit and that was just enough embellishment.  I'm thrilled with how this card turned out, hopefully you enjoy it too!

I can't wait for tomorrow night to get here- I've had a pretty busy week at work, so I'm looking forward to some serious craft time! :)  Thanks for checking in!

-Suzanne :O )

Card Set: Birthday

Hi there!  Just wanted to do a quick post showing you the set of birthday cards I made as part of my co-workers' gifts.  I bought a pack of lime green printer paper on clearance at Office Depot, so that was my base.  I added some blue K&Co paper on top of that, and then handmade my own orange patterned paper by stamping the circular pattern w/ Versamark ink and embossing it with clear powder.  To that I added some red scraps and multi-color paper by Sizzix, and adhered the Fiskars cake image to bit of yellow cardstock.  I added some yellow brads and colored the image with my water color pencils.  It was a LOT of work making all that orange paper, but I'm really pleased with how bright and fun these cards are.  Hope you like them too, thanks for stopping by!

-Suzanne :O )

Hand-stitched Flower

Hello again! I'm back to participate in Kim Kesti's fun challenge, based off of her card:

We could either make a card based off a second love (hers is quilting), or use the design layout, colors, etc. for inspiration.  I have to admit I cheated a little here, because I don't LOVE sewing, but I wanted to use this flower I had hand-stitched a loooong time ago (I'm talkin' years here).  I am currently cross-stitching a baby quilt, but it's taking me forever, so that's why I don't LOVE it anymore!  :)  I used a Bazzill template to outline the flower, and then stitched it with some floss.  I added some brightly colored Art Institute Glitter to fill in the petals and leaves and a button for the bud.  The floral paper on the top of the card was from a swap, but the geometric paper on the bottom is K&Co.  I added a bit of Michaels ribbon and a Making Memories epoxy tag with some twine.  The bee is a button, but I snipped the loop off, adhered it with a glue dot, and hand drew the bee's path. :)  You can see I'm still experimenting with trying to get better pictures.  I took one with the card flat on my table, one standing up so you can see how the tag hangs, and one that's just a close up of the tag.  I hope you like this card, and man, I'm glad to have finally used that flower! :D

-Suzanne :O ) 

Card Set Packages

Hi everyone!  I had a FABULOUS time shopping on Saturday.  I'm head over heels in love with Hobby Lobby.  Seriously.  I'm totally smitten.  I can't wait to go back.  :D  I wonder if they give coupons, though? 

Today I'm finally sharing these sweet little DVD boxes I picked up at my local thrift store.  I bought 12 of them for a quarter each, and at the time I didn't know what I was going to use them for, but I figured for that price, they had to be mine! :)  Originally, I thought about using them to package some of the Christmas cards I was selling at the craft fairs, but they were already sealed in plastic, plus I would have either had to jack up the price of the cards or included the box in the price, and then I would have been losing money.  SO... it finally dawned on me that instead of buying small little gifts for my co-workers, I would use the boxes to package a variety of cards! 

My first thought was to decide which occasions to make.  I figured birthday, thank you, get well, and sympathy were cards most people would use (and appreciate!).  To make my life easier, I made 12 of each, so I didn't spend more than 2-3 hours on any one occasion. I kept the layouts pretty simple, too. :)

You can see a sneak peak of all the cards in that first photo, but the first set I'm showing you in detail is the sympathy card.  I used up some old K&Co papers, and these kraft "bookmarks" I bought on clearance at Michaels.  I put bookmark in quotes, because they're really just strips of cardstock, intended to be embellished as bookmarks.  I got a package of 50 for something cheap like 50 cents or a dollar.  Anyway, they come in handy for trying to save time on projects like this! :)  I used my 3inch scalloped circle punch and the bird-on-a-branch image by Inkadinkado for my focal point.  The sentiment is My Sentiments Exactly (Sympathy Sentiments) and the inside says "Our hearts and prayers are with you at this time" 

I will be posting the other 3 cards this week, so stay tuned!

-Suzanne :O )

Just think...

Hi everyone!  I'm back again with a quick post.  This card is based off of this week's Mojo Monday sketch.  I haven't done one in forever, and it REALLY feels good to participate again!  Here's the sketch:

 

I moved the circle element to the other side because of the cat's hand. :)  Both stamps are Inkadinkado, although they're from different sets, and I colored the little guy with my water color pencils. The papers are both Colorbok, the ribbon is from Michael's, and the chipboard balloon I got in a swap.  I added a touch of twine for the balloon string, and rounded the corners.  The "cardstock" is actually from a pile of index cards my brother just gave me.  They're so old that they're not exactly a crisp white color anymore, but I kind of like that.  I made this card for my cousin, so it's a little tongue-in-cheek about his parents! :)  Hope you enjoy!

-Suzanne :O )

thoughtful

Hi there! I'm combining a couple of challenges here with this card- first up is the tree/branch challenge from Cards Blog. Second is this sketch by CPS:

 

I'm using more of the aqua/kraft combo here- it's so soothing! :) The tree is a clear die cut by Deja Views. I adhered it to some white cardstock, and then just cut around the outside. (The white paper helps show the die cut's color and the white border helps it stand out) :) The raspberry scalloped border might look familiar- it's the rest of the Target dollar spot punch-out. The yellow rick rack is from my stash, and I believe the white & pink striped ribbon is some leftover Making Memories. The ribbon slide is by Colorbok- I've had that forever! I stamped the Fiskars sentiment with Versamark ink and embossed it with white powder.

I have to say these colors are a little out of my comfort zone, but I pushed myself to do something a little different, and I'm really happy with how it turned out! I also tried to take a better picture. Everyone else seems to have a great set up, so maybe I need to look into a light box or something.

Tomorrow I'm heading out to a city about 30 minutes from my house that I don't normally go to, to do some serious shopping! I saw that there was a Hobby Lobby there (it must be new!) last week, so tomorrow I'm going to check it out. I'm also going to Michael's, AC Moore, Joann's, and Big Lots- they're all about 5-10 minutes away from each other- how convenient! :D I hope you all have a fabulous long weekend!

-Suzanne :O )

touch of love

Hi friends! I'm starting to work on my Valentine's Day cards- early!  I thought I would get back to using challenges for inspiration, so I based this card off of the Cards Blog challenge.  We were given Maile Belles card for a basic guide:

You can see that my interpretation is pretty close to the original!  I tried to use the same colors and the same layout- I guess I don't trust myself creatively just yet.  :)  On to the supplies:  I bought a pack of paper at Target's dollar spot last week, hence the glittery aqua paper.  I have to thank the dollar spot also for the tag, rick rack, and pink scalloped border.  The kraft cardstock was a scrap, and the quote is from Joann's.  The epoxy cupid embellishment is Making Memories and the love letter image is Hero Arts. 

  

My friend is an English professor, so I thought the whole poetry idea would suit her for Valentine's Day!  :)  Hope you like this card, thanks for stopping by!

-Suzanne :O ) 

PS- What a difference the staging/photo quality make!  I'm almost embarrassed to have my photo near Maile's! lol