Last Card for 2013

I almost never make Christmas cards, but decided to make an exception this year because, as I mentioned in the previous post, I've been inspired by the magnificent cards that Kittie Caracciolo creates.  My nephew's nickname is "Moose," so I decided to make a card for him.

The moose and the green trees are from Cottage Cutz "Moose and Trees," and the trees in background are from My Favorite Things "Tree Line."

Cards for Year End

I managed to squeeze in making a few cards along with the scarves and necklaces I've been creating.  The first is a birthday with a design that is similar to one I made

This was another hybrid card I made for a long-time friend.  I cut out the sentiment with stitched square from and mounted it on a circle I die cut.

On the inside, I used Papertrey's "One Line: Celebrations" for the "Happy" and Papertrey's "By the Numbers" set for the "70."  I repeated the same basic design from the front of the card to die cut the sentiment and mount it on top of a circle of dark blue paper.

A friend wanted a birthday card for her mother-in-law, so I refreshed a design I had made previously (April 11, 2012).  The only change is the background die which is Papertrey's "Cover Plate: Twist."

I also had a request for a Christmas card with a cottage.  This stamp was about as close as I could get (though I was told it is not actually a cottage), and I was happy with the result.  I have recently come across the blog of an incredibly talented card maker, Kittie Caracciolo.  This is my first card that is influenced by her incredible talent.  (I'm thinking there'll be a lot more in the future.)

The "cottage" itself is from Taylored Expressions "Rose Garden Estate."  The trees in the foreground are from Cottage Cutz "Moose and Trees."  The trees in the background are My Favorite Things "Tree Line," and the picket fence is My Favorite Things "Woodgrain Fence."  

Another Sympathy Card

Unfortunately, I needed another sympathy card.  My (last) aunt passed away, so I wanted to be sure to send my cousin a card.

I used the same design as my previous sympathy card but just changed the colors.

Purrr-fect Birthday

I needed a card rather quickly for a friend's birthday brunch.  Knowing she has a cat, I created this card.

On the front of the card I used L'il Inker Designs "Circles and Diamonds Stitched Pattern" and added the sentiment, "Purr-fect Birthday" from Penny Black, with two sizes of the Spellbinders "Deckled Rectangle.

On the inside, I used the Papertrey Inc. pop-up die.  The sentiment is from the Hero Arts "Hip, Hip Hurray" stamp set.  The cat image is "Mouse Gift" from American Art Stamps.

November Birthday

Tomorrow is my friend, Nancy's, birthday.  Now that she has her precious dog, Sasha, I try to be sure to make her a dog-themed card.

The exterior is layered with three die cuts from Papertrey Inc.: Mat Stack 4, Mat Stack 4 Layerz, and Mat Stack 4 Mega.  The sentiment is from My Favorite Things "Birthday Greetings" set.

On the inside I used the Sizzix Zig Zag 3-D pop-up die.  The stamp is Penny Black's "Where's Dinner," and the sentiment is from Leavenworth Jackson which is die cut from My Favorite Things "Postage Stamp STAX."

October Hybrid Birthday

I made another hybrid card as I, once again, found a card in a store that I liked soooo much that I just had to buy it, then "tart it up" a bit.

I used Spellbinders "Wonky Rectangle" to cut out the sentiment and border color.  Those are mounted on top of Spellbinders M-Bossabilities "Cane Weave."

Sympathy Card

A good friend recently experienced a loss, so I wanted to be sure to get a sympathy card to her.

I started with "Diamonds & Damask" embossing folder by Sizzix.  On top of that I layered two "Multi Die Flower #003" by Lea-bilities.  I'd never used either product and am pleased with the final result.

Nephew's Birthday

My nephew is about to have a birthday, and I decided to "tweak" my previous Tropical Birthday card for him.

The only difference with the exterior of this card is that the background with yellow with orange inserts as opposed to orange with yellow inserts.

On the interior, the difference is the digital stamp image of "Cool Dog".

Tropical Birthday

A friend's birthday is next week, so I've made her a tropical theme card since she loves Hawaii.

On the card front, the silhouette is "Beach Border" die by Taylored Expressions, and behind it is "Sun Ray" die by My Favorite Things.  The sentiment is from Hero Arts "Birthday Messages" stamp set.

On the interior, I used Hambo Stamps digital "Cool Cat" on Sizzix's "Scallop Circle 3-D pop-up.  I then added "Puffy Clouds" die from Your Next Stamp, "Wave Border" die from Taylored Expressions, and "Sunshine" die from L'il Inker Designs.

Mississippi Birthday #2

This is the card I made for my aunt's birthday.

I had just received the Iris die (from Penny Black Stamps) and thought it fit the frame perfectly.  The frame is Spellbinders A2 Filigree Delight.  Pretty simple to put together with a really nice result.

Mississippi Birthday

Two of my cousins and their mother, my aunt, have their birthdays this month.  This is the first of the  cards for them:

The die is Spellbinders "Just Swingin'" and the sentiment is from Hero Arts "Many Birthday Messages" set.

Cat in the Window

I enjoyed the mother's day card that I made so much, that I decided to change it up just a bit for most of my June birthday folks - specifically, the cat lovers.  I added the "Window Cat" by Taylored Expressions, but everything else about the window design is the same as before.

For Dr. Lou

I wanted to make a card for my veterinarian (and neighbor) - he's been so wonderful with my furry monsters.  I've never had a vet who would make house calls - whatta guy!

I've done this style of card many times before and can't believe that I never used the party cat stamp until now.  I've used the party bird and party dog, so I'm long overdue in using this little guy.

16th Birthday

My niece's older son is turning 16, so I tried out some new dies on his birthday card.

On the exterior, the background die is Papertrey's "Cover Plate: Harlequin."  The sentiments, inside and out, are from Hero Arts' "Hip Hip Hurray" cling stamp set.

On the inside, the pop-up platform is Sizzix's "Zig Zag 3-D."  The pop up items are "Fast Food Fun Burger" and "Fast Food Fun Fries" from Your Next Stamp.

Mother's Day Card

A friend asked me to make a Mother's Day card for her, and I decided to use some new die cuts I just received.

The stamps for the sentiment and the roses in the vase are from "A Glimpse Inside" by Taylored Expressions.  The die cuts are all from the same company: "Picture Window," "Window Accessories," and "Flower Box Sprigs & Flowers."  I CASEd a sample card from Taylored Expressions blog for this.  The Copic markers I used for the stamped image are: R11, R22 & E04 (flowers), YG11 & YG17 (leaves), E50, E53 & E55 (table), and B0000 (background).

On the inside, I used the "Flower Box Sprigs & Flowers" at the bottom of the white insert, and used Spellbinders "A2 Bracket Borders One" at the top.

May Birthday

A friend asked me to make a birthday card for a cat-loving friend of hers.

On the front, I used a new die from L'il Inkers: "Circles and Diamonds Stitched Pattern," along with two sizes of Spellbinders "Fleur de Lis Rectangles."

On the inside, I went back to my favorite (for now) Sizzix Pop n' Cut and actually cut it out twice.  The white die cut I cut in half putting half of it above and half below the original blue die cut.  The cat image is from The Cat's Pajamas, and the sentiment is from My Favorite Things.

Another Hybrid Card

A friend was celebrating her 60th birthday, and when I saw this quirky card at the store, I knew I had to get it for her.  I decided to hybridize/customize it a bit:

 

On the front, I simply added the border die cut from Papertrey's "Filigree Border."

On the inside, I turned to my familiar style with the Sizzix Pop 'n Cut "Scallop Circle 3-D Pop Up," combined with Spellbinders "Crown Ovals."  The "celebrate" is also from Sizzix. 

Another Aloha

Last July I made a card for a friend who has a particular attachment to Hawaii, so when I needed to quickly come up with a birthday card for another friend who loves Hawaii, I decided to copy my original design and just tweak the colors.

My original card used summery colors for the flowers, but this time I decided to use something that looked a bit more like spring (even though we're in winter :)).

Except for the paper colors, all supplies used are the same as the card I made in July 2012.  It's amazing how much more quickly I can make a card when I've already got the basic design laid out.

Holy $#@%!

My next door neighbor is having a BIG birthday today, so I wanted to make something fun to mark the occasion.  About six weeks ago, I was in the drugstore and saw this really funny card and immediately thought of my neighbor since I knew this big birthday was on the horizon.  I went ahead and bought it and then deconstructed it into a creation of my own.

I started by cutting out the image of the woman and the sentiment.  I then put a layer of embossed dots behind the image to add some texture (and interest).

On the inside, I used my Papertrey Inc. pop-up die, and an edge punch from Martha Stewart.  The sentiment, which was from the original interior of the card, was punched out with My Creative Time's "Curly Label" and "Stitched Curly Label."  I hadn't used the pop-up on it's side before, but I think it turned out well.

February already!

OK, this year is flying by already!  It occurred to me that my niece's younger son's birthday is barreling down on me, so I tweaked a design I had used previously (in November 2012).

This time, I embossed some cardstock to add some interest to the background.  The embossing folder is QuicKutz "Twirl."  The sentiment is an (ancient) Annette Watkins stamp.  The remaining papers were die cut with Spellbinders.

On the inside, I used the Sizzix Pop 'n Cut "Scallop Circle 3D Pop Up."  The sweet doggie is from PaperTrey's "Tremendous Treats: Valentine" set.  The paper is both sides of a paper from a Martha Stewart collection.

First Card for 2013!

Another year has arrived and the first month is almost half over!  I've already missed making cards for a couple of birthdays this month because I've still been knitting!  But I was determined to get a card made for a particular friend of mine.

I started out with a new background die I just received this week from Taylored Expressions:  Swirls Cutting Plate.  The bow is the Medium Bow from L'il Inker Designs.  The sentiment is a very old Annette Watkins stamp, and it is die cut with Spellbinders Labels Four.  The paper is from Papertrey Inc. in Orange Zest and Summer Sunrise.