The Power of Caffeine

I got this cute little stamp the other day from A-i Stamps, and thought it might just work in the 365 Days Sunday challenge this week.

Loosely following the sketch (and I hope not too loosely!), I laid out some scraps of discontinued paper and got to work.  The plaid background has a coffee stain on the left hand side, and I hope the recipient will appreciate the humor and not just think I put damaged paper on the card! The coffee cup is a cut out.

Here is the card:

So this is my go at the challenge!

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog, and as always, God's highest and best for you today and every day!

Blessings,

Ginny B.

Sympathy Card

Making a sympathy card is a delicate matter.  You don't want it to be too over the top cheerful, but you do want it to be lovely and warm and expressive.

So a dear friend of mine lost her husband a few days ago and I wanted to make her a very special card that would be flat enough to send through the mail, as she lives about 3 1/2 hours from where I am.

This card starts with white cardstock; the next blue layer is a diecut background that has a series of slits on the right hand side so that you can weave a ribbon in and out of it.  The center rectangle has a bottom layer of white cardstock, a layer of embossed vellum, and a final layer of a die cut lattice.  On top of that is a leaf flourish and blue and white flowers which were cut out.  At the bottom is the sentiment printed on a piece of white cardstock run through a ribbon die. It is finished off with a sweet blue butterfly.

Here is the card:

Theses are the tools used for making the card:

• Spellbinders A-2 Fancy Ribbon Threader, Fancy Lattice, Ribbon Banners
• Cheery Lynn Fanciful Flourish
• Memory Box Pippi Butterfly

I am entering this card into the Flutterby Wednesdays challenge.

As always, God's highest and best to you today and every day.

Blessings,

Ginny B.

Transparent

Monday was Day 98 at 365 Cards.  I am so stoked about this challenge because we get to use some form of transparent or semi transparent media.

What I used was a piece of acrylic that was once a part of packaging that one of my dies came in from an order a few months ago.  I ran it through a Spellbinders embossing folder and it made a great addition to a white on white card I made for a cousin of mine.  She recently went through a terrible tragedy right before Christmas, and I wanted to make her something special for her birthday.  She really loves white on white.

The card was a lot of fun to make.  I wish the embossed acrylic piece showed up better in the picture, but it did turn out nicely.  The acrylic piece is laid over a white on white dimensional piece, then two different ribbons were added.  Over that is a lace doily--the kind you can get at any craft store, or even the grocery store.  Some more flourishes were added; I put glitter glue on them to make them sparkle.  Next is a Spellbinders die (Moroccan Flourishes); on that I heat embossed in silver, "For You."  Next, each tip of the die cut I embellished with a rhinestone. Topping it off is a silver and white ribbon.

Here is the card:

Thank you for stopping by my blog.  As always, God's highest and best to you today and every day.

Blessings,

Ginny B.

Day 97

Well, I am trying to do a bit of catch up at 365 Cards today.  Sunday was Day 97 and here it is Tuesday already.  I had to think about this layout quite a lot, which is often the case at this great site.  They do challenge me and make me try new things.  A great place to stretch a cardmaker's wings.  :o)

It was a simple layout.  I used the following:

• White cardstock
• Light blue cardstock
• A piece of  white cardstock dry embellished with blue ink
• Spellbinders Jewel Flowers and Flourishes SR-S5143
• Memory Box Pippi Butterfly
• Some green cut out leaves
• Blue polka dot ribbon
• "Miss You" stamp - Sorry, don't know the manufacturer

Here is the card for the challenge:

This card is for a dear friend of mine who moved to Alaska last year.  She is one of the sweetest ladies you could ever hope to meet--nobody quite like Kathleen.  She's the best, and I do miss her.

One thing about this card is that the layout and design of the card make it for easy mailing.  You always have to consider those things.

Thank you for stopping by my blog, and as always, God's highest and best to you today and every day!

Blessings,

Ginny B.

Welcome, Spring!

Sometimes I do wish I would make cards that are less dimensional.  I go through my card drawer filled with little pieces of my soul--cards that I have put so much love into making.  And then, the reality of what I have done becomes apparent.  I have nothing I can put into the mail for that special birthday friend, sick friend, happy friend, sad friend, etc., because they are all too ridiculously thick and dimensional to mail.

Ugh.

So, I promised myself that I would try to do better on that front.  This card is still dimensional, but well within a thickness level that is very manageable for mailing.

Starting out with white cardstock, I layered yellow, then dark pink, then a lighter pink layer that is run through my Grand Calibur machine with a floral EF.  Then I printed out a sentiment on my computer and ran it through the GC with an oval die frame.  I cut out leaves, flowers and two butterflies and assembled them, and put little gold rhinestones in the center of each flower.

Here is the card:

This is what was used to create the card:

• Spellbinders floral embossing plate
• Spellbinders Floral Ovals die
• Spellbinders flower and swirly green vine die
• Memory Box Pippi Butterfly die
• Pink, yellow, green and purple cardstock

I am submitting this card to Flutterby Wednesdays and Word Art Wednesday.

Thank you for stopping by my blog. As the card says, God's highest and best to you today and every day!

Blessings,

Ginny B.

Yellow, Black and White

This week at Joan's Gardens the challenge is one that is totally enjoyable.  We are to make a card that has yellow, black and white.  This is a favorite combination for me because it always produces a crisp, clean, happy card.  Here are the guidelines for the challenge:

• Use Yellow, Black and White
• Use a Frame
• Use something to do with Spring (parasol, umbrella, etc.) - I don't have a parasol or umbrella die, so in this case I am using birds, a butterfly and flowers... 
• You must use something sold at Joan's Gardens on your card

The base is white cardstock.  Next, is a black lattice glued on top of a yellow frame.  The next layer is a white embossed oval frame. Then a yellow oval is glued on and a black oval cut just slightly smaller is on top of that.  Next is the white die cut tag with a little SU image of birds playing in a bird bath, set in a bed of flowers.  I used embossing ink and silver embossing powder.  There is a kind of ink you can use so that your colored markers won't cause the original stamped image to run, but I don't have that, so I heat embossed the stamped image and then colored the little birds yellow. It's hard to tell, but the flowers beneath the bird bath have a touch of yellow, as well. The heat embossing works great and also forms a little ridge to help you keep in the lines.  :o)

Nestled around the frame are black and white flourishes; the sentiment and the yellow bow finish the card.

Oh!  Can't forget the tiny little black butterfly on the upper left of the oval frame.  Love, love, love butterflies.

Here is the card:

These are what I used to make the elements of the card:

• Spellbinders Fancy Lattice Die
• Spellbinders Fancy Tags Three Die
• Spellbinders Just Swingin' Die (Yellow Frame)
• Spellbinders Floral Ovals Die
• Cheery Lynn Fanciful Flourish Die B117
• Fiskars Tiny Butterfly Punch
• SU For the Birds Stamp
• Versamark Ink
• Silver Embossing Powder
• Yellow Markers
• Sentiment Stamp from Joann's
• Ribbon from bargain aisle at Joann's
• Black, yellow and white cardstock

A Container of Posies

I loved this week's challenge at Joan's Gardens.  All dies and EFs used in this card can be purchased there.  It was so much fun to make, and I am sure that all who participate this week feel the same way.  These are the guidelines:

Here are the requirements:

• Use some kind of container
• Fill it with flowers
• Use Yellow, Green and Orange
• You must use something sold at Joan's Gardens on your card 

The background papers were a very light grey and a darker grey.  They made up the outside of the house.  The brick/stone part of the house was run though a Spellbinders EF, Bricks and Bark.  I rolled some black ink on the EF with a brayer before embossing the paper, so that the grout on the brick work looks a bit darker.  For the siding of the house, I used the lighter grey paper and scored it and folded it.  The window (Poppy Stamps, Small Madison Window) has an orange background for the inside wall color of the house and lace for curtains.  The planter box (Poppy Stamps, Small Madison Window Planter Box) is the container element which is one of the requirements this week.  It is filled with flowers cut out of yellow and orange paper.  Each blossom has a dab of gold glitter glue in the center of it.  The tree, chain and tire swing are from the Spellbinders Just Swingin' die.  Since the tree was bigger than needed, some of the greenery left over was tucked into the window box to add interest and dimension.  The tire is mounted with some dimensional foam, as is the house and the window.  The chain on the tire swing is cut from aluminum foil, with the die included in the Just Swingin' set.  Some tiny butterflies from a Fiskars punch finish the project.  For now, there is no sentiment.  There may be room to add something small later on when I decide who to give it to and for what occasion.

Here is the card:

Also entering this card at 365 Cards.  The theme there for Day 86 is the word "country."  This card reminds me of carefree days gone by where my grandparents lived on a farm in Kansas and had lace curtains in the windows, and a tire swing in the yard.  Those were the days!

This is another version of the card done in purple:

 


Thank you so much for stopping by my blog.  And as always, God's highest and best for you today and every day!

Blessings, 

Ginny

Blue, Green and Yellow

This week on Flutterby Wednesdays we are invited to make a card that is blue, green and yellow; of course, it also needs to have a fairy or butterfly.

For me, maybe 90% of the time spent making a card is all mental.  I hash out what might work and sometimes try several things that don't work before coming up with something that makes sense.  Ah, but that's part of the fun, right?

So, after much thinking and some experimenting, I finally finished the card.  I embossed some blue paper with a polka dot EF from Cuttlebug. The next layer is a piece of yellow paper with a white die cut lattice piece that was made from a Spellbinders die. Next is a "Happy Birthday" sentiment mounted with pop dots for a little three-dimensional effect.  I tied a blue ribbon around the yellow piece and made a bow, then attached it to the blue background.  The flower is just several layers of graduated sizes of cut out flower shapes, secured in the center with a yellow brad.  They are cut from white paper and inked with yellow ink around the edges of the top layers of the flower.  Underneath the flower is a Cheery Lynn leaf flourish made from the Fanciful Flourish die.  It is attached to the background with a dimensional foam piece.  Of course, it would not be complete without the lacy little Pippi Butterfly from a Memory Box die, which is attached with a tiny piece of sticky dimensional foam.  The whole thing is mounted on white cardstock cut to an A2 size.

I'm going to give this to my beautiful daughter who is having a birthday soon.

Here is the card:

Thank you for stopping by my blog.  As always, God's highest and best blessings to you today and every day.

Blessings,

Ginny

Time's Up!

An interesting and fun challenge from 365 Cards came up this week: set your timer and create a card in 20 minutes or less.  I love it!

Here is my quick card:

This challenge just goes to show you that you can create a special 3-dimensional card quickly and easily.

The background is from a card chosen from one of those packages of 50 that you get at any craft store.  The polka dot pattern is fun and cheerful.

All the dies are from Spellbinders.

• Flower:  Aster Flower Topper
• Leaf flourish:  Jewel Flower and Flourishes
• Butterfly:  Wonderful Wings

The border is from some ribbon I had on hand.

Thank you for visiting my blog.  As always, God's highest and best to you today and every day.

Blessings,

Ginny

I Give Thanks to God Always for You

This week at 365 Cards I am entering a challenge using the card I made below.  It is pretty simple and straightforward.  I made it for my daughter who needed a card for a friend at work.

The cardstock is from a package of cards bought at Hobby Lobby and the butterfly and bee are from a package of pre-diecut embellishments from Hobby Lobby as well.  The sentiment I printed out from my computer.

Here is the card:

I am also submitting this to Word Art Wednesday.

Thank you for visiting my blog.  As always, God's highest and best to you today and every day.

Blessings,

Ginny