Koala Birthday Wishes

Today, I decided to make a few quick birthday cards. It always helps to have finished cards on hand for those surprise birthdays, especially if you work in a large office!

I began by coloring the koala with balloon with my Copics, and then I fussy cut him. I cut the Lawn Fawn papers in various sizes (5.75" x 5.75" and 5.75" x 3") and layered them on a 6" x 6" white card base. I added a 5.25" x 2.5" white panel and added the "Birthday Wishes" die cut. I didn't have a coordinating cardstock, so I cut the sentiment in white and then colored it with Copics before gluing it to the card front. I popped up the koala and balloon with foam dots and glued on a handful of embellishments.

Same card, but in blue!

Products Used:

• Picket Fence Studios "I Wish We Could Hug" Stamp Set
• My Favorite Things "Birthday Wishes" Die-Namics Die
• Lawn Fawn "Spring Fling" 6" x 6" Paper Pack
• Lawn Fawn "Really Rainbow Scallops" 6" x 6" Paper Pack
• Buttons Galore & More Sparkletz "Aloha" Embellishment Pack

I hope you enjoyed this project, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Happy Crafting!

Birthday Card: Dance to the Beat of Your Own Heart

I wanted to create a Valentine's card with the Polka Dot Pals Maria digital stamp, but I ran out of time, so I decided to make it a birthday/celebration card instead.

I colored Maria using Copics, and then fussy cut her. I wanted the balloons to be the same color as her dress, but I didn't have the right red ink, so I used Inkon3 Fadeout Ink. This ink creates a light stamp of your image, and the ink absorbs any color you put on top of it, so I just colored over the stamp for my bright red balloons.

I used some Stampin' Up paper from my stash and cut a heart window with the MFT die. I used my Copics to color the heart frame and the edges of a white piece of paper for the layering elements. I used a new Sparkletz pack (Valentine's Day) for the shaker elements, selecting the pieces that went with this card. I attached a sentiment that I printed on my computer and glue some of the Sparkletz as embellishments to the front of the card.

I kept the inside fairly simple. I used a coordinating piece of cardstock and stamped the balloons using Stampin' Up Real Red ink (since I wasn't concerned about matching it to her dress). I left the sentiment blank for now, as I'm not sure who will receive this card.

Products Used:

• Little Miss Muffet "Polka Dot Pals Maria" Digital Stamp
• Sunny Studio "Birthday Balloons" Stamp Set
• My Favorite Things "Heart Shaker Window and Frame Die-Namics" Die Set
• My Favorite Things "Heart Shaker Pouch" 
• Inkon3 Fadeout Ink
• Buttons Galore & More "Valentine's Day" Sparkletz Shaker Elements

I hope you enjoyed this project, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Happy Crafting!

Valentine's Day Dogs with a Heart Maze

This week, I created some Valentine's cards for some young ladies (8-year-old and 6-year-old sisters, and a young teenager) who have these particular dog breeds as pets.

This is a stand-alone piece, meaning there's no hinged card. The front is decorated, and the sentiment/message is on the back. These girls like to post their cards on a cork board, so you really only see the front. The maze is inside of a plastic shaker pouch, which is sandwiched between layers of paper so none of the metal balls will escape.

The first step was to emboss the paw print layer with red embossing powder. Next, I cut the shimmery red paper using the largest Lawn Fawn Rectangle die. I cut the heart out of the paw print layer, set down the maze and inserted four metal balls, and then sandwiched the maze (inside of a heart shaker pouch) between the paw print and red paper layers. I added a red shimmery paper frame around the heart, and then the rest of the card was embellishment!

The dogs were stamped on Copic XPress It paper and colored with Copics, then fussy cut. I popped them up with foam so they'd be the same height as the shaker pouch. I cut a white glitter dog bone and a trio of red sparkly hearts from the Tattered Lace die set and also popped those up with foam. The Tim Holtz Idea-ology Mirrored Hearts provided the finishing touch.

Products Used:

• Rare Earth "Paws for Thought" Stamp Set
• Technique Junkies "Paw Prints Background" Stamp
• My Favorite Things "Heart Shaker Window and Frame Die-Namics" Die Set
• My Favorite Things "Heart Maze Shapes - White"
• My Favorite Things "Maze Spheres"
• My Favorite Things "Heart Shaker Pouch" 
• Tattered Lace "Cuddly Icons" Die Set
• Tim Holtz Idea-ology "Mirrored Hearts" Embellishments

I hope you enjoyed this project, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Happy Crafting!

Velveteen Rabbit Card

This week, I was inspired to create a card based on one of my favorite children's books, The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams.

When I saw the "Valentine Rabbit" (Impression Obsession) stamp set, I immediately thought of the Velveteen Rabbit. He just looked as sweet, shabby, and well-loved as Bunny. I rummaged through my other stamps to find flowers, a tiny fairy, and some more bunnies. In the end, I came up with this card:

I used masking to layer the flowers in the foreground and background, and I drew in hills, grass, and sky with Copic markers. On the cover, I included a quote that matched the scene: the Nursery Fairy rescuing Bunny from the burn pile. Inside, I chose two more scenes after Bunny became Real.

On the top, Bunny is playing with the wild rabbits after the Fairy kisses him, making him Real. On the bottom, he returned to see the Boy who loved him.

Products Used:

• Impression Obsession Valentine Rabbit Stamp
• Clearly Besotted From All Of Us II Stamp Set
• Impression Obsession Happy Hopping Stamp
• Hero Arts "Thank You" Subscriber Stamp Set (December 2018 Monthly Kit)
• Hero Arts Color Layering Rabbit Stamp Set
• Kat Scrappiness Distressed Edge Rectangles Die Set

I hope you enjoyed this project, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Happy Crafting!

Valentine's Lip Balm Cards

So many friends and colleagues loved the holiday lip balm cards that I decided to create similar small gifts for Valentine's Day.

I created a standard-size card (4.25" x 5.5") with a Burt's Bees Lip Balm on each card. This card is similar to a postcard, as it doesn't open. It has the design on the front and the rip strip (and my personal stamp) on the back.

These cards required the following products:

• Stamping Bella stamps:
• Hydrangea Baby
• Peony Baby in a Pot
• Cactus Baby
• Sprouted Baby
• Love Potion Oddball
• Set of Kitties
• Kat Scrappiness Stitched Postage Stamp Edge Rectangle Dies
• Kat Scrappiness Stitched Postage Stamp Edge Square Dies
• Kat Scrappiness Distressed Edge Rectangle Dies
• My Favorite Things Lip Balm Window & Frame Die-Namics Set
• My Favorite Things Essential Sentiments Rip Strips Die-Namics Set
• My Favorite Things Lip Balm Shaker Pouches
• Burt's Bees Lip Balm (various flavors)
• Various patterned papers (My Favorite Things, Lawn Fawn, Gina K Designs)

Cut two pieces of cardstock with the largest stitched rectangle die (4.25" x 5.5"). On the front piece, cut the lip balm window, then cut the rip strip on the back piece of cardstock. I found it easiest to line the front piece up, after I cut the window, with the back and then position the rip strip die where it will fall directly behind the lip balm. Before you assemble everything, the pieces look like this:

I found the rip strip too long, so I left part of the die and card hanging over the edge of the cutting plates so there was no pressure and it didn't cut that part. An example of the rip strip (on the back of one of my holiday cards) is below:

Place double-sided tape onto the top of the lip balm pouch, and then slide the pouch into the front window. Cover the back piece of cardstock with double-sided tape, put your lip balm into the pouch (very important!!), and then seal the two pieces together like a sandwich. When you're done, you're left with a flat card with lip balm "magically" inside it.

Cut a "frame" for your lip balm window on the front, as it makes the card look professional and complete. Decorate as desired, and then give your gift to your friend or family member.

Here are full photos of each card:

I hope you enjoyed this project, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Happy Crafting!