Thank Whoooo, Thank You Card

I took some lessons on how to combine patterned paper, how to mix and match and create balance.  This is my first try.  Being a beginner, I chose a 6x6 patterned paper collection from My Mind's Eye called Notable.  I like the fall colors that I thought would work well with an old Hero Arts stamp I purchased a long time ago.  I hope you like it. Enjoy!

Here's the inside.....

Winter Dreams

It's no secret that I LOVE Cheery Lynn Dies.  I find they have the most detail and intricate cuts that really make the design of the die so stunning.  I had an idea for a wintry card filled with snowflakes....a snowflake border, snowflake flowers and yes, plain old snowflakes fluttering through the air.  But these are not just any old snowflakes, they're Cheery Lynn snowflakes.  I wanted to have the color palette give off an icy cold feel and I think I accomplished that with the hues of blues I chose.  Enjoy!

Cheery Lynn Dies used to make this card:

Snowflakes - C146

Snowflake Flowers - DL225

Mini Fanciful Flourish Right - B291

Shasta Daisy - B310

Dusting Off A Retired Sizzix Die

One of my favorite holidays is just around the corner, Halloween.  I love to decorate and make all kinds of treats and goodies.  I used Authentique's Thrilling Collection papers and Petaloo Small Wild Flowers in Paprika and decided I wanted to make a Halloween card.  I stood before the enormous shelf in my craft room scouring through my selection of dies.  As I searched, I wondered if some of the dies I had owned were even made anymore.  I discovered I had quite a few of retired dies.  I saw a lonely, neglected Halloween Sizzix die and pulled it off my shelf.  I dusted her off and said, "Today's your lucky day."  It's simply called "Pumpkins #2".  What I love about this die is that you can create whatever type of face you want on these pumpkins just as you could on a real pumpkin.  Of course, you could always use the pattern already provided by the die, which is what I did simply to save time.  I also dusted off my Sizzix Tim Holtz Alterations die called 'In The Bag".  It didn't need much dusting since this is a relatively newer die and isn't retired.  It's a cute little bag the size of a party favor and I thought it would be a perfect addition to a card that I could fill with little treats.

The small bag is ready to fill with treats.

I lined the back of the card with heavy white cardstock and covered it in more Authentique Thrilling papers to give the card stability and strength to stand up to the weight of the card and also for the added weight after I add the candy.  Enjoy!

Click on the images below to find the products I used to make my card:

Authentique Thrilling Collection

Petaloo - Small Wild Flowers - Paprika

Watercolor Pencils and Prima Everyday Vintage Paintables

Today I'm showing you the beautiful effects you can create using Prism watercolor pencils and Prima's Everyday Vintage Paintables designed by IOD.  The wonderful thing about these cards is that the shading is done for you.  Simply choose your colors and go over the shaded areas using medium pressure to put enough color on those areas.  Next, dip a fine tip paintbrush in water and pull the color to the outer edges of the design to get the perfect shading.

There you have it.  You're now ready to showcase your "painting" on your project.  Give them a try, they'll make you feel like a real artist. 

The Paintables come in three beautiful designs. Each collection contains 8 designs (you get two of each design) and two different sizes:  4" x 6" and 2.875" x 4".

Click the image below to find the products I used on this card:  

Prima Everyday Vintage - Printables

Glittered Happiness

Who doesn't love glitter.  Just the right amount can make a handmade flower pop.  I used Heartfelt Creations Sun Kissed Fleur Stamp Set along with the coordinating die cut set from Spellbinders to create the beautiful sun kissed flower.  First I used the stamp set to create a background for the card.  I colored the flowers with Copic markers V15 & V17 and the vines with colors G94 & G99.

Assembling the flower takes no time at all when using the coordinating die cut set.  First I stamped the flowers on stamping paper and cut them out with the coordinating die.  I used the same Copic marker colors to color the large 3D flower as I did on the flowers in the background of the card.  After all the flowers were dry, I assembled the flower using hot glue, making sure to alter the petals.  I put a thin strip of glue along the tips of the flower petals, added some super fine glitter and viola! a beautiful glittered flower to put on the coordinating card.  I think these colors are the perfect combination to make someone smile.

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I used the Heartfelt Creations Sun Kissed Collection stamps to make this card. 

You can find the collection here:  Heartfelt Creations Sun Kissed Collection.

Little Liliana

Liliana isn't just your ordinary little girl, she is a little girl that was dealt a difficult hand and at such a young age.  She was diagnosed with lymphoblastic leukemia.  The good news is that she is in remission and all she wants for her 6th birthday is to get mail, and lots of it.  Her mother said she loves getting mail and became jealous after her brother began receiving a monthly magazine.  When the magazine came, her brother was filled with excitement and she wondered why she never received any mail.  Her mother Maria thought it would be wonderful for Lilana to receive birthday cards for her upcoming 6th birthday so she began telling everyone how happy it would make her daughter to receive birthday mail.  The word spread and she has received more than 50 birthday cards.

Lilana with her birthday mail.

I made this card for little Liliana to help her mark her special day and hopefully bring a big smile to her adorable face.  The birthday card I made is filled with cheerful colors and designs that I was sure Lilana would love.  After all, what little 6 year old girl doesn't love pink!  A doily flower in the cool green grass surrounded by 3D hearts is sure to make this little girl smile......at least that's my hope.

Happy Birthday, Liliana!!  And many, many more. :)

Sending You Warm Thoughts

Sometimes a warm thought for someone goes a long way, whether they are struggling through something difficult in life or just to let them know you're thinking about them.  I created this card with a burst of cheer as the focal point and created a large doily flower using Cheery Lynn Designs dies.

How to make the Cheery Lynn Designs doily flower.  (I used French Pastry Doily for the outside of the flower and Chasing Rainbows for the inside of the flower.)

Step 1:  

Using your die cut machine, cut three Cheery Lynn Designs French Pastry Doilies and one Chasing Rainbows Doilies.  Also, punch out one 1 inch circle for the base of the flower.

Step 2:

Cut each of the three French Pastry Doily in quarters.

Step 3:

Fold each quarter in half.

Step 4:

Start to glue the doily quarters onto the 1 inch circle overlapping each quarter doily as you turn the circle clockwise.

When you are finished attaching the doily quarters onto the 1 inch circle it should look like this:

Step 5:

Cut a circle in the center of the Cheery Lynn Designs Chasing Rainbows.  Mist the doily lightly with a fine mist of water using a spray mister so the doily gets limp and pliable.

Step 6:

Carefully begin to fold and gather the doily toward the center.

Step 7:

Attach the gathered Chasing Rainbows Doily to the center of the French Pastry Doily flower with hot glue.

Step 8:

Attach your favorite flower center to the middle of the doily flower with hot glue.

Step 9:

Using a small wooden dowel or the end of a small paint brush, fluff the center of each quartered French Pastry Doily petal to give your doily flower dimension.

Step 10:

Enjoy!

New Beginnings

I'd like to say this is my first blog and my first post, but if I did I'd be lying.  I've been blogging for quite some time, almost 3 years now, but sometimes one needs a fresh start, a clean slate and that's what I'm doing.  I love to lose myself in paper.  My creative mind never rests and my hands never stop moving, especially when craft supplies are in arms reach.  The outside world becomes a blur, all sounds and smells vanish and my tunnel of vision is narrowed from the field of vision between my eyes and my hands.  I'd like to say I'm really good at what I do, but to be honest with you, I have much to improve upon.  I strive to learn from other artists and I rejoice in others creativity with an elevated heartbeat and a huge smile.  Sometimes when I see something really spectacular, my mouth drops to the floor.  I'd like to say that I've created something that has dropped my jaw, but to this day, I haven't.  So my creative journey continues.  I hope you at least smile a little when you see my creations and feel inspired in some way to pick up some art supplies and join in an artistic journey of your own.