Layered Leaves "Thank You" Card

Hey, crafters!  Today's video is all about how I made a simple Thank You card using a borrowed stamp and die set.  My sweet mom was kind enough to let me borrow her Sizzix "Leaves" set.  As soon as I saw it I knew I wanted to play with it - I'm a sucker for anything with leaves!  Just to get my fingers inky, I did a simple stamping of the leaves themselves in Bamboo Leaves ink from Memento.

Then I stamped the outline in a rich Chocolate Brown ink from My Favorite Things.

I used the smaller outline die to cut out the entire vine, then used the larger outline die to cut a piece of black card stock.  These layer together beautifully!

Once I put the floral paper down on the card base, I knew that I needed a nice oval piece for the center.  My oval dies from Spellbinders are great, but I wanted something narrower because I didn't want to cover up the pretty flowers too much.  This is where having a Silhouette Cameo really comes in handy!  I figured out the ideal measurements of my ovals and simply created one that would fit perfectly.  I cut this out of the pale purple dotted paper, then cut a slightly larger oval from white.  For the scalloped piece, I found a round scalloped cut file in my library and simply resized it to fit my card.  I could have found a scalloped oval in the Silhouette shop to avoid any distortions, but I wanted to use what I already had.  I think it turned out cute!

Assembly was very easy with the pieces.  I kept everything flat and only popped up the leaves with some foam squares.  The finishing touch was 3 little iridescent bubbles in colors picked from the patterned paper.  Voila!

Check out my card video on YouTube:


Supplies Used in this project:

• Sizzix "Leaves" Stamp & Die set
• Sizzix "Tags & Words" Framelits & Stamps set (sentiment)
• Silhouette Cameo 3
• Neenah Solar White 80-lb card stock
• Recollections Black card stock (available at Michael's)
• DCWV Fresh Floral Stack patterned paper
• Memento Tuxedo Black ink
• Memento Bamboo Leaves ink
• My Favorite Things Chocolate Brown ink
• Queen And Company Iridescent Bubbles in Purple, Yellow and Blue
• Foam squares
• ATG Tape Gun

6 Cards 1 Kit - Simon Says Stamp July 2015 Card Kit

Hello there, crafters!  My latest YouTube video features a quick look at an older card kit that I pulled from my stash.  I have quite a few kits that I've either barely used, or not used yet at all!  To remedy that situation, I decided to dust them off and make some videos about them.

The card kit is called "Sail Away With Me" and features the adorable "Sailing" stamp set.  You also get 12 sheets of Authentique patterned papers, 5 sheets of card stock, a pack of Tim Holtz metal charms, and an accessory pack of twine, paper clips and a darling sailboat die.  Let's take a look at each card I made in detail.

CARD #1

For the first card I chose this fabulous striped paper featuring anchors, ships, knotted rope, seashells, and seahorses.  To this I added a strip of red card stock stamped with chunky stripes and a slightly narrower strip of navy blue card stock. I then backstitched some of the twine to the navy paper and tied on one of the anchor paper clips.  How fun!

 CARD #2

For the second card I wanted to feature the life preserver image and make it look as though it were hanging on the side of a boat.  I cut a rectangle of the soft blue card stock for the top of the card, and added narrow strips of MFT's "Kraft" card stock - inked with SSS Khaki ink and Distress Ink's "Gathered Twigs" to make it look more like wood.  I added tiny dots of Nuvo Drops in Silver to mimic the look of rivets.  I also used a horizontal strip of the same inked paper to make a railing. 

For the bottom half of the card, I used a larger rectangle of the white card stock and stamped the sentiment and two stars.  I stamped the life preserver separately on both the white and red card stock, then paper-pieced the red over the white for some dimension and interest.  Then the ring was put on foam tape to pop it up a bit from the rest of the card.  The final detail I added was some embossed horizontal lines on the white to give the idea of a painted wooden boat.  Cute!

CARD #3

For my third card I wanted to create a bit of a scene.  I made a simple frame with white card stock which was popped up with foam tape to create dimension.  One of the clouds, the sailboat, and one of the waves were also popped up, while the other elements were attached flat.  I also added a bit more twine around the panel and tied on the little compass charm.  So cute!

CARD #4

My fourth card was quite a CAS (Clean and Simple) design where I let the colors do the talking for me.  I really loved that bright red paper with the coral branch design!  I flagged the ends of the paper strips and added a stitched rectangle of white to act as my focal.  The little navy blue stars were cut with an older Lawn Fawn die, and the coloring was done with alcohol markers.  The cute silver star charm tied with a tiny twine bow is the perfect finishing touch!

CARD #5

Another awesome paper from the kit was this pretty pale blue paper featuring delicate scrolls around a central anchor.  I trimmed the paper to preserve the detail, then added a navy strip beneath it stamped in the chunky stripes.  I used Lawn Fawn's stitched journaling tag die for the focal piece and punched out the sailboat shape, backing it with more navy blue card stock.  The scattered dots were made with Nuvo Glitter Drops in "Silver Moondust."  So pretty!

CARD #6

For my final card I just HAD to make a shaker!  I used one of my favorite dies to create the tags, cutting out the center of the light blue tag and backing it with a piece of acetate and popping it up on two layers of foam tape for a bit more room.  I put the second anchor paper clip in there, along with some 4mm Pretty Pink Posh sequins in three different colors.  I know this one is a little busy with the multiple patterns, but the mostly monochromatic color scheme keeps things under control....I hope! 😀

Here is a more detailed list of the products I used to make these cards.  Also, please watch the video below to see these cards coming together.  Thanks for watching and Happy Crafting!

YouTube Video: 6 Cards 1 Kit - SSS July 2015 Card Kit

Simon Says Stamp "Sailing" Stamp Set

Simon Says Stamp "Soft Navy" card stock

Simon Says Stamp "Lipstick Red" card stock
Simon Says Stamp "Surf Blue" card stock

Neenah Solar White 80-lb card stock

Memento Ink in Tuxedo Black

Memento Ink in Lady Bug

Memento Ink in Rhubarb Stalk

Simon Says Stamp "Khaki" ink

Distress Ink "Gathered Twigs"

Scotch 3M Foam Tape

VersaMark embossing ink

Hero Arts White embossing powder

Simon Says Stamp Fine Detail Clear embossing powder

My Favorite Things Stitched Rectangle STAX die-namics

My Favorite Things Blueprints Tag Builder Dies #4
Lawn Fawn Stitched Journaling Card die

Nuvo Glitter Drops in "Silver Moondust"

Nuvo Crystal Drops in Metallic "Silver Lining"

Pretty Pink Posh 4mm Sparkling Clear sequins

Pretty Pink Posh 4mm Aquamarine sequins

Pretty Pink Posh 4mm Cobalt sequins

"Puppy Love" Thank You Card

Hello crafters!  I have been making quite a few YouTube videos since I got my channel going, which has been a lot of fun.  However, this blog is being ignored again 😔  I really need to figure out a way to organize my time and include blogging, YouTube, crafting and life into each day.  We'll have to see how that goes....

Anyway, today I'm showing you the thank you card that I made for my daughter's birthday.  I created multiple cards so that she could personally mail a "thank you" to each person who sent her a gift.  I've been working with the Doodlebug Designs "Puppy Love" collection lately, so we picked some cute papers and the puppy she liked best.  It came from the Silhouette Design Store, and I just re-sized it to fit my card front.

I used colored card stock from my Co'ordinations smooth paper collection to create the pup out of three different browns.  His eyes and nose are black, his collar is navy blue, and I colored his dog tag with my silver ink pen.  Isn't he the cutest?!

I chose a repeating tennis ball pattern for the background, and a cute tone-on-tone orange paper featuring interlocking dog bones.  I made the flag with a piece of turquoise blue card stock, then layered everything with the same navy blue paper as the dog collar.

I'm sad to say that I don't have any dog-related sentiment stamps, so I decided to use my Silhouette software to create one.  I chose a cute font that was playful, typed out my own sentiment, then printed it onto white card stock.  To dress up the sentiment strip, I added a chunky brad from the Doodlebug design pack that perfectly matched the orange in the papers.  I love it when everything matches!

For a more comprehensive look at how I created this card, here is my video:

Puppy Love Thank You Card

2017

Wow, it's already 2017!  I can say for sure that 2016 was a pivotal year in all of our lives, and there was as much joy as there was sorrow.  There have already been some new challenges popping up, but I am determined to face them head-on and work through them the best I can.  No promises of perfection or grace, just diligence and determination!

I have been continuing with my YouTube channel, and I really love making videos.  It's so much fun to share with others the little things I make, and also watch all of the crafts that others are making.  I have quite a list of favorite channels, but the two that will always mean something to me are as follows:

Vicky - Vicky Papaioannou
She is really the one that lit the card-making fire in me.  Although I never branched out into the fabulous journaling that she does, I still learn so much about design and working with all of the supplies whenever I watch one of her videos.  She has personally grown and become a serious force in the crafting world, with classes around the world and guest designing on many popular channels.  If you haven't seen her yet, please click the link and enjoy!

FaithAbigail - FaithAbigailDesigns
This sweet young woman inspired me to purchase my Silhouette Cameo, and also gave me the inspiration to actually MAKE scrapbook pages instead of just dreaming about them!  I love her style, her design choices, and the cuteness that goes into each of her creations.  Her videos are clean and clear and fun to watch.  Click the link and check them out for yourself!

My New Crafting Toy

I'm very excited to share with you that I got a brand new crafting toy - the Silhouette Cameo 3!  I've never used a cutting machine before, and I LOVE it!  So far I've only used it to cut purchased files and do a bit of sketching, but it can do so much more.  It has really opened up a whole new level of paper crafting, and I look forward to making many projects with it 😀

The first projects I made were from a company called Little Scraps Of Heaven.  They have the cutest cut files in many different styles, so I started collecting all the ones I thought I could use.  I made a series of little Halloween kids all dressed up in their costumes - they all came together in one purchase and I created them one by one.

Frankenstein:

Frank's Bride:  

Dracula:  

Witch:  

Red Devil:  

Werewolf:  

I haven't yet made a scrapbook layout with all of them, but when I do I will share it with you.

When I decided to start making YouTube videos, I focused on Halloween themed items because the holiday was fast approaching.  I have always loved Halloween decorations and designs, so it was a great opportunity to really play with them.  I made spiders:  PIC

And bats:

And witchy things:

And even a haunted house:

Settling In

Well, after many long months of extreme stress, we are finally settled into our new home!  I can't even describe how happy we are to be here.  I really didn't think that we would ever have a chance to live in such a beautiful home, but we really did it.  There is so much room for all of us to spread out and relax, but still come together for meals in the eating nook and TV time in the spacious family room.  I feel that we have been truly blessed, and I am eternally grateful.

On a related note, I was able to turn one of the bedrooms into my very own craft room!  Finally I have a dedicated space to keep ALL of my many craft supplies, and can escape to the joy of crafting whenever I get a chance.  This has to be my favorite thing about our new home!  And Dave is glad that he doesn't have to look at all of my crafting clutter everywhere (hahaha!)  I have plenty of shelving, a brand new desk, and even a folding table for spreading out with big projects.  It's definitely my happy place, and I look forward to decorating it and making it a very feminine and creative space.

During our big move, we had it really tough because we needed to sell our first house before we could purchase our new one.  Not only did we have to pack and store everything we possibly could, I had to part with virtually all of my needlework, lampwork glass, and paper crafting supplies.  I had one crochet hook and some yarn so I wouldn't lose my mind completely, but that was it.  I guess I never fully understood how much creativity was a part of my life and my soul.  My stress level was steadily rising and I had no creative outlet to find relief.  I hope and pray that I will never have to go through another extended period like that again.  It was so much harder than I ever imagined!

Once I get a bit more coordinated, I will be able to share some of the projects that I have completed and a few more I've started.  I hope that you will check in with my blog once a week or so to catch up on my updates.  I'm starting up my YouTube channel and have already posted some videos, so please check them out.  It's a lot of fun - I almost feel like I'm on TV!

My very own YouTube channel

Mid-July Update

Hello, hello!  We are getting much closer to wrapping up this whole moving thing.  I don't know if it's the crazy market, the sign of our times, or the fact that we're both buying AND selling, but this has been one wild and crazy ride!  The most recent wrinkle in the plan was waiting SEVEN WEEKS for the VA to send someone to do the appraisal on our home.  Can you imagine it?  After packing up about 90% of our belongings and putting it all in storage, and having our offer accepted on the new house, we all had to just SIT and WAIT for seven full weeks.  I consider myself a somewhat patient person (generally speaking), but come on - you can't blame me for almost losing my mind, can you?  It's crazy!

**Deep Breath**  Okay, now that the appraisal has been done we can finally move forward with the process.  It's going to get really crazy really fast, with a lot of hard work and final details hitting all at once.  But that's what we've been waiting for, and we are SO ready to do it!  I will check in again as time permits, but can't make any promises :-)  See you all soon!