Birthday

Here is a card I made sometime back for my oldest daughter's birthday. The flowers and flourishes were cut with the Cricut. I folded and embossed the card and stamped with pink ink around the edges.


I was able to hand deliver it...it would have been hard to have kept the flower from being crushed otherwise. However, I think if you cut the end from an empty paper towel or toilet tissue roll and put it around the flower and send it in bubble wrap envelope.
Hope everyone is having a good week. I'm excited...our little 3 yr old granddaughter is going to come for a visit tomorrow and stay all night. We will have a lot of fun! Have a great weekend. -Donna

All Occasion Card

Hello...it has been a few days since I've blogged anything, but sometimes you need a break. Yesterday, I started out making a card and didn't really have anything in mind when I started. Ever have days like that?

So, I just started putting things together and came up with this shabby kinda card. My husband looked at it and didn't say anything...and I said, "Are you speechless." To which like any good husband would reply he said, "I looks really good." Way to go buddy!

As always thanks for stopping by and visiting for a bit. Tell me what you think!
-Donna

All Occasion Card

I could easily see this as a Get Well, Hello, Birthday or Mother's Day card. It is going to be a Get Well card for my use. The side scroll is an .svg file I found at Wandas Crafts . The paper from K&Company, I've had for years, you know the kind you keep for just the right occasion! Well, the occasion finally arose to use it. I stamped the side scroll lightly with MS Stem Green ink. The daisy is an .svg file and the very center of it is syrofoam ball shavings colored with brown ink and water. To get stryofoam shavings just rub two strofoam balls together. Excellent for snow. That's all I have for you today. Thanks for spending some time with me.

Leave a comment...I love hearing from you!
-Donna

Graduation

My dear nephew will be Graduating in May. I thought it might be a good idea to get his card made early...you know "The early bird gets the worm." Well, in this case the early card will be more likely to get delivered.

My nephew, Joey...whom I assume everyone else calls, "Joe" is a broad shouldered, gentle giant. He wants to become a policemen and that isn't such a dangerous job here in WV, like it can be in other places. Of course I would still worry about him.

For "Joe's" graduation card I wanted to use his school colors (they were mine as well) of red and blue. The stars on his card are for his dream to become a policeman and a dream it has been for several years. I hope his dream comes true.

Sympathy Card

Sympathy cards...what can you say about them? I guess, the first thing that comes to my mind is if you are the one receiving a sympathy card, it does comfort you to know that someone has taken the time to think about you and your loved one that has passed. Maybe the card will reconnect you with someone you hadn't heard from in a long time or something written in the card will help you during your time of grieving. There are many ways to look at a sympathy card and my guess would be that most people truly appreciate that someone sent them one.

What do you think about sympathy cards and do you make many? I like to keep mine simple and put more into what I want to write inside.


I like comments, so please leave one! Hoping you have a wonderful evening. It is back to the heating pad for me...
-Donna

Thinking of You

This card was inspired by a card featured in the June 2008 issue of CARDS. The designer is Ana Wohlfahrt and it was a Father's Day card.

I was needing a masculine "Thinking of You" card and this is what I came up with and it worked! I'm always amazed when that happens.

To cut the neck ties, I cut a 1" diamond, using the Cricut and George cartridge. I then cut the diamond down to resemble a tie. A fine tipped marker was use to make the knot. I printed "Thinking of You" on tan colored card stock and added the dark brown bow and another card is made!


Thanks so much for sharing a little part of your day with me.

Tips and Tricks/ Cricut Mat

Whether scrapbooking or card making, supplies can quickly add up. This information on getting more use from your Cricut mat may be new news for some, and old news for others. First, a nice new sticky mat that paper sticks to and all is wonderful. After a few weeks that nice mat doesn't look so good and paper is no longer sticking to it like it did when new. What to do? Well...you could continue to buy new mats or do what others are doing and that is extending the life of their mats by apply an adhesive to it. I bought at JoAnn's Fabric a can of Tailor Quilt Basting Spray (abt 10.99) or Slice Repositionable Spray Adhesive can be found online for about 7.99, plus shipping. To use these adhesives simply cover the edges of your mat with painters tape and spray a light coating of the adhesive on the mat. Leave to air dry about 20 minutes and wha-la, your mat is once again nice and sticky. Remove the painters tape and you are ready to cut with the mat again. If the mat is too sticky press it against a tee shirt to make it not quite so sticky. When not in use I use the clear cover that comes with the mat over my mats. To clean mats run them under warm water and use a gentle soap.

Another adhesive some people use is the Jumbo Zip Glue Pen, by far the cheapest at about 5.99. To use this adhesive, just run the Zip Glue pen all over the mat and then let it set until dry.

Just Because Spring

Spring...colorful and erupting with flowers, new leaves and everything sprouting up and growing. Just the time to send a "Just Because" card!

I think you can probably figure this simple card out. If not let me know and as always have a wonderful day and thank you for stopping in for a few minutes.
-Donna

Just Because

I think, I have Spring fever! Every card I've done lately has had a flower on it. So...I love flowers! This card was made using the Cuddlebug Swiss Dots folder on pink cardstock. Then flowered wallpaper was added on the bottom and a piece of pink Wright rickrack. The flower and message are matted on a layer of sage and then white cardstock. The flower came from an old Hot Off the Press Vellum shapes booklet.

When you live as far away from a craft store as I do, you use what you have, can find or make on your own! LOL!

As always, thanks for stopping by and come back again!

-Donna

Get Well

Looks like it is going to be another beautiful day here in my part of the woods! I was up extremely late (3 am) last night. But, had fun looking at some other sites. People have such wonderful crafting skills and am I so glad they are willing to share their talents and creations!
The card that is posted today is a very simple card made by using the Cricut. For the large flower, the George cartridge was used to cut about 6-7 retro flowers of different sizes, the largest being 3" and the smallest being 1 1/2". The small flowers are cut from George and folded in half and added to the flourish. The flourish, which I love is from the Home Accents cartridge and is cut at 4". Martha Stewart punch for the bordes and everything was inked with walnut ink. Get well was stamped on using MS Metallics and the stamp is from...ummm....I don't know.

Please leave me a comment...love those! Thank you so much for stopping by. Have a great weekend.

-Donna

Giveaway

You won't want to miss the giveaway at Kristina's World and Runs With Scraps! Hop over and check it out.

Birthday/Everyday Card

It is such a beautiful day here in Southern WV! I love days like this. I've been busy making cards. One, I'm going to show you today is for a dear friend of mine. We have been friends for about 40 yrs and love getting together. Because, she lives in Ohio, we only see each other ever couple of years. We are always vowing to do better.

My friend, Deb's birthday is soon, and I wanted to make her a card...so the photo on the left is what I came up with. I added a pack of seeds to her card and it is ready for mailing.

Taking the same basic design I made another everyday card. It isn't nearly as retro! But, a card that could be used for most occasions.

Thanks for stopping by. I would love to hear any comments you might have about anything on my blog. I'm hoping for some followers soon...it is quite lonely here!

YourStory

I was shopping at Oh, My Crafts and run onto an unbelievable deal on a YourStory (29.99 w/free shipping). YourStory will bind photo books and will laminate. I love crafting, but I like finding ways to do things without having to buy all my supplies from the manufacturer.

After watching a YouTube (click to watch video) video tutorial, I was ready today to make a project! Instead of using the YourStory album, I had bought some uncut mats for pictures and used one of these for the front and back of book we were making. My daughter, Beth, wanted to make a journal for her best friend.

We cut the mat to 6 1/2"x 8". Using wallpaper cut to size, Beth, covered the inside and outside of the journal. We cut the paper to size and as shown in the above referenced video, we used a bone folder and made the spine. Filled it with glue, inserted the pages and then followed the YourStory directions. Here is a picture of the completed project. My daughter, Beth, was so excited about making this journal for her friend. Thanks for stopping by.

Cards for Males

I seem to hit a brick when trying to come up with cards for men. I really like the little tree stamp from Studio G. I don't have much experience with stamping, but hope to change that as I acquire and experiment with stamps more.

That is it for today! Have a blessed day.
-Donna

Sizzix Texture Boutique

I bought the Sizzix Texture Boutique a couple weeks ago. It was a hard decision to make with all the embossing machines on the market. I reasoned, I didn't need a die cutting machine, because I have a Cricut. I wanted something that would just emboss and use the embossing folders made by other manufacturers.

This little machine will do that. Right now it is offered at around $24.00 at Oh, My Crafts, but hurry I don't know how long this sale will last.

My dear SIL, Vicki and I, had a great time playing with this little machine on Saturday. We even made our own embossing folder of a tree. We were quite excited at the prospect of making our own custom folders using a cereal box and a Cricut.

Later-Donna

Paper Rose

To make this card I used a deep red paper from The Paper Company, topped with a piece of white card stock and a piece of black paper embossed with the Cuddlebug folder, Floral Fantasy. I lightly used Martha Stewart's white cat eye ink pad over the embossed image. The rose and green paper used to embellish are wallpaper. I used a paint brush and highlighted the rose and leaves with Ranger clear embossing ink and then used Stamp-n Stuff clear embossing powders. Finished it off with Offray black and white checked ribbon.

This was a fun card to make!

Until next time-Donna

Baptized

This is a very basic card I made today using a 4x5 card, Sizzix Swirls & Dots Embossing Folder and Best Occasions Everyday Blessings Quote Pack.

I made this card for a special young man, Cole, who turn his life over to Christ and was baptized last night. We wanted to congratulate him and let him know how happy we are for him.

Well, the hot pink cast came off my arm yesterday and on went a lighter, soft cast for the next month. My hand will require physical therapy everyday, to get it back in shape and while challenging I WILL DO IT. Slowly, I am trying to get back into doing the crafting and card making, I enjoy so much.

Until next time.

Heat Resistant Craft Mat Comparison/ Tips & Tricks

What do you think about these mats? Same or different?

They are both Teflon mats...the difference is where you purchase them, what their advertised use is and that you will pay double the cost for one of them.

The second item is a teflon sheet, 15"x15" sheet usually sells for around $5 on Ebay. The first is Ranger's Utee Non-Stick Craft Sheet that retails for around $16.

So, after ruining my Friskars mat with the heat gun, it was time to move on to another mat. The teflon sheet is a great price and works great for any crafting projects. My money will be spent on the craft mat from Ebay.

Have a great day!