Dove Inspired Sympathy Cards - the Hungry Jpeg!

Seems that I have been making a lot of sympathy cards this summer so far.  I am always looking for new ideas  and I love how beautiful these doves came out.  I love using vinyl for more intricate files because it can handle the detail often much easier than paper!

The image is from The Hungry Jpeg.

Sometimes the simplest designs can help create the most beautiful cards that express much with few words.

The image on the left was removed with transfer tape.  It is the main image and the one

on the left it was what remained behind - leaving another beautiful image for a card.

This file was super detailed, but cut beautifully out of vinyl.  It's a good thing to remember

that there is no reason all cards must be made with card stock and paper.

The vinyl adds a lovely touch and transfers easily and needs little else.

I have another sympathy card to share soon, along with some birthday cards and new recipes.  I was feeling a bit "uncreative" lately but am getting some enthusiasm back.  I have to admit that a lot of my free time has been spent working on my diamond painting (I am still loving it) which is huge and I have collected many more to do - I love them.  It's a great way to just stop and take a breath.  I have also been doing more volunteer work and am getting ready to take over the presidency of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Oceanside so have been trying to get more organized so I can continue to find the time and energy for all of the things that I love.  I am still a work in progress!!

Enjoy what you love.......Life is too short.

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INTRODUCING... A Baby Card....and....a....???

So about a week ago I got a call that my new grandchild was about to enter the world - finally!  It was morning and I knew there was some time before I would be heading to the hospital - so I had time to make a card.  That's what every self-respecting crafter things of first - right?!?  But I didn't know if they were going to have a boy or a girl so what could I do?  Easy - make two different card fronts, of course!!

I don't know why I waited until the last minute to think about this, but it certainly forced me into a creative zone whether or not I wanted to be there!!  I just knew I could not arrive at the hospital without a card for this wonderful occasion.  Nothing like putting pressure on myself!

So I created these components

File is from Lori Whitlock - cut on the Silver Bullet Platinum

And put them together into these two cards:

 Crazy, right?  But I was prepared and ready for anything when we entered the doors of the hospital that night.  I had printed out the inside and had it with me, tape and all!  So once I knew the baby was here, the card was finished and delivered in person!!

IT'S A BOY!

Welcome precious little bundle, Graycen Robert (Graycen spelled that way means gift from God and that he is).  Robert was my father's name and is also the name of my youngest (after Dad).  It is also Megan's Dad's middle name - so the families are well represented! :)

So happy for Scott and Megan and Carter. Congratulations!

Barely an hour old

About 5 days old

Big Brother Carter with his little bro!

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Sympathy Card - Graciellie Design

I wanted to make a simple and elegant sympathy card for a dear lady who recently lost her husband.  she also lost two of her grown children the end of last year and I honestly don't know how people without faith get through trying times like these.  She is an amazing woman.

I love this floral image from Graciellie Design (the You Matter collection). It is simple yet elegant and when foiled (I used DecoFoil) it just radiates beauty.  The sentiment is also from Graciellie - the Healing Prayers collection.  

It is much prettier in person. 

It is difficult to capture the shine 

    and coverage of the foil.  

I wanted to keep it uncluttered so just used Neenah Classic Crest card stock and some gold card stock from my stash of scraps!  The card is accented with sequins from 28 Lilac Lane and Nuvo Golden Ovals which are new and add a special shimmer to the card.

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Hello Card - Graciellie Design

 I have been spring cleaning and uncovering layers/piles/drawers full of craft supplies that either need to be used or donated. So I sent boxes of "stuff" over to the Boys & Girls Club because I know they put all of it to good use as they have the main site plus have after school programs in 8 schools.  They are always happy to receive whatever I can share.  So it makes the giving away process so much easier!

And during that process I always seem to get invigorated and feel creative again because I am reminded of all that I have wanted to use and forgotten about - or just haven't had time.  I find ideas whirling around in my head again and it just feels so good.  So even tho my craft room is in a bit of chaos at the moment (I promise new pics soon when I CLEAN it up), it's all good.  I am rediscovering the things I love doing and starting physical lists of what I want to try as the ideas come because I just don't trust my memory anymore!  I should not say that out loud. :(

I have done the same with the kitchen and I am sure that is why I have started doing more baking and experimenting there as well - so there will be more recipes to share soon - it all feels good. And maybe that is part of what spring cleaning is all about - letting go of what gets in the way and making room for whatever it is you want to do or what feels important in the moment. So glad I am at least in the process!  Progress is often baby steps, but at least there is movement. I will take it.

Enough chatter - on to the card.

This is one of the newer designs from Graciellie Design.  She is such an engaging artist and her artwork always makes me smile.  The image is from her "Your Kindness" collection and it was such fun to color even tho I am still a work in progress on that front!

The fun thing about coloring on vellum is that it is so forgiving whether it is markers or pencils.  You color on the backside and it is super forgiving - you don't have to do a lot of blending

This was printed in SCAL using a print and cut on the Silver Bullet Platinum.

I purposely left an edge because I wanted it to pop a little more...

And here it is from the front - so soft and the colors are 

diffused but I love how subtle the colors are - like a gentle spring day.

Here it is assembled on the card with ribbon and backing

and some foam squares to pop it up a little.

Designed in SCAL from a simple font and cut on the Silver Bullet Platinum.

Look at now narrow the lines are - cut with ease!

 Loving the finished product - hope you do too!

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More Cards for Difficult Times....

It's been one of those difficult periods of time when it seems that too many wonderful people in my life are passing away.  I am grateful that I have the faith to believe that they are now in a better place, but I still with that those who loved them most could have more time with them. I suppose that is the very human side of grief and loss, right?

So these two cards were to remember a very loved and loving wife who brightened the community of Oceanside, and a very dear and loving husband of a special cousin who passed so suddenly and unexpectedly.  Nothing makes the loss easier I am convinced, no matter what the circumstances.

I kept both of these cards very simple with just a little embellishment.

It's no secret that I love using flowers when making cards, 

especially when I need them to make a statement.  

These images were artfully created by Dominic  

and are beautiful in their simplicity..

I hope these cards brought comfort and love to those left behind......... Pin It Now!

Cuppa Buttercups - Power Poppy

I am not even going to make excuses for not posting in a while because it won't change anything.  But rest assured I have been making a LOT of cards and doing a little baking and with fall around the corner the baking and cooking will increase.  I am so ready for fall!   So I am pushing myself to get back on track.  :) And I have some fun things to share that you will hopefully enjoy. So stay tuned!

I have been working hard this summer to try new things and get out of my comfort zone. I continue to work on my "coloring" -whether it be markers, pencils or watercolor - I want to enjoy it more and worry about how perfect it isn't less!  I plan to carve out more time to practice.

I love this buttercup design from Power Poppy. This was a digi image that I  printed on Paper Temptress cryogen card stock that has a lovely sparkle and handles markers so well.

This actually started as a challenge for Power Poppy - to use circles in the design. But I finished it way after the challenge was over. No surprise there!   I am  however glad I did it because it helped me think more creatively and I want to challenge myself more.  I like how easy it was to make the simple coloring have a dotted pattern, and then the glossy accents gave it a nice shimmer.

This shows the dimension created with foam tape and the great cutting job performed

by the Silver Bullet Platinum.

Glittered markers were used to add sparkle to the center of the flowers.  And the sequins added that final touch of interest.  

I love the final result and hope my friend did too!

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Granddaughter's Graduation Card (how could that be??!!??)

This week my granddaughter, Kendra, graduated from high school.  I can still SO vividly remember the day she was born and holding her in the hospital when she was just hours old.  Where in the world has all of the time gone?

Kendra graduated "young" at 17, but she is ready to conquer the world. I love talking with her about what she wants to do and how excited she is about college.  I hope she will never be TOO busy to stop sharing some of her experiences with me. And now that she has her driver's license, I am hoping with all of my heart that she will be able to drive down here during the summer and spend a week with me at the beach. We would have so much fun!  I can dream........... :)

I wanted her graduation card to be different than the run of the mill graduation cards and I hope I achieved that. I think it is one of my favorite cards for sure!

I love the saying - it is from the Flutterby collection from

Crafter's Companion

I made a rounded mat and centered the butterfly on the mat and cut out just the inside. Then I cut the full butterfly out of incandescent card stock in black to use as an outline when I was done.  I put a piece of  contact paper (double sided adhesive works well too) behind the cut out butterfly and glittered each portion using a straw so I could pick up a small amount of glitter at a time. 

Congratulations, Kendra. I am so proud of you!

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Happy Easter - a Little Late!!!

With Spring arriving so late in parts of the country, I figured I might be able to get away with posting a "bleated" Easter card.  This was actually delivered in time, but I was busy packing for a trip to New York so all things got pushed to the bottom of my priority list.  I have returned and am exhausted and jet lagged, but had a GREAT time. Will share more of that trip once I catch up on some posts!

It is hard to believe that Carter just celebrated his third Easter and family gathered around to help him enjoy the festivities with Easter brunch and plenty of Easter Bunny goodies. (post on my ice cream contribution to follow soon!)

I just realized as I am writing this, that his card was a bit more grown up than it should have been.  Not sure what I was thinking, but I definitely could have made it more little boyish - not that he cared. He was definitely more interested in the goodies in the Easter basket that we delivered!

And it was nice for both of the grandmothers to be there along with other family members and share in the fun over brunch.

This was a stamp I got years ago that I have been putting

on the back of the cards made for my grandchildren.

I hope you all had a blessed and happy Easter and are ready to enjoy a beautiful Spring.

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A Birthday "Tweet"!

So the title of the post is a little corny, but it got your attention - right?  This was a fun card using images from Birds Cards.

I was able to keep it pretty simple since the background paper added the perfect "setting" and I didn't want to overdo it!  

The greeting was simply printed on vellum with an inkjet printer and embossed. It's one of the easiest ways to get a glossy raised image on any printing - it stays just wet enough to add embossing powder and heat.

A few sequins and pearls finished off the look.  I really had a good time putting this card together!!

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Foiled Flowers - Part 2

This summer, thanks to Patricia at Paper Temptress, I became acquainted with the artistic images from Graciellie Designs.

The detail in that rose is incredible.  And it was such fun to do and relatively easy.

First I traced the image in SCAL and created a cut file for both the large rose and the center bud.I printed the digi images on regular card stock using a monolaser printer, foiled the images with the FoilMaster and then cut them out with the Silver Bullet. I also created a shadow image of the larger rose and cut out of a black card stock to make the image pop.

Always challenging to capture the beauty of the foil and the card at the same time!

Love the shimmer of the Paper Temptress Mica card base.

The rose image is from her Strong and Courageous collection.

The sentiment is from her Classic Greetings.

This view shows a little of the dimenwion -  

both the large rose and the center are on foam dots.

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Birthday Blooms

So many August and September birthdays - which just means lots of cards to share!

I have been cleaning and reorganizing my craft room (seems to be a bi-monthly project!) and paused an extra minute or two when I ran across the two bins full of 4x6 patterned card stock pads.  Because most of the cards I make are larger, I forget to incorporate these smaller patterns. So with this card I realized I could cut it in half and use it as a great accent on a larger card. It worked out so well that I am eager to try it again!

The greeting was simply printed in SCAL on a monolaser printer, foiled in gold Deco Foil, and then cut into a tag image.  It was super simple but gave the card a nice finishing touch.

The main pattern for this card came from one of my Dover Electronic clip art books. Their images are royalty free and they easily convert into vector images for cutting.  And there are lots of options with each one - you can actually make a stencil, or cut out the pieces to mimic a stenciled design as I did here.

Here is another card using the Dover Electronic Clip Art.  I loved the soft image of the large butterfly and the flowers.  I used Paper Temptress Glimmer Text paper for the main image against the dark blue PT Incandescent.

I added some rhinestones for interest. I love this butterfly!

It felt like it needed a little something to stand out more, so I added glitter to the flower images and love the result. It often doesn't take a lot to make a statement.

A closeup of the flowers, embellished with Glamour Dust crystal glitter.

I totally forgot to take a final photo of the entire card as the glitter was an afterthought, but hopefully you get the idea!  It's a fun and sparkly card!

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Crafting and Generosity in the Wake of Harvey

I have been so touched by the amazing generosity of the crafting community the past week. So many companies (especially the small ones) have been sending a percentage of profits to TX or creating groups of items where proceeds will go to help.  It is just a reminder that it doesn't always need to be a large gift to make a difference; a lot of small gifts add up as well and bring help in just the same way.

In that vein, I was reading a post from Patricia at A Little Hut.  She lives in the Houston area and luckily is okay, but she has been spending a lot of her time volunteering to help others who did not fare as well.  She also spent sleepless nights during the howling winds - so she drew.  Her story is here.

I loved the simple but stately qualities of her bird (the state bird of Texas) and wanted to use it to celebrate a birthday.  Out of tragedy and sadness, good things can happen.  And I am hoping this bird will bring joy to the recipient.

In her details about her creation with the bird, she didn't have perfect shade she wanted for one of the colors in the leaves. So she took a colored pencil and made the shade she wanted.  OMG - a lightbulb went off,  Why did I never think of that - I can create the colors I need with pencils, markers or watercolors.Duh!!  And it just so happened that I ran out of the silver Mica paper (from Paper Temptress) that I wanted for the lighter gray color, so I grabbed the opal Mica paper and colored it with a marker.  And you will see the unexpected but fun results!

A little closeup of the bird - see the mottled gray coloring? That is the marker colored paper. 

I love it and can't wait to try it again with other mediums.

I also embossed the background to give it some interest,

and added sequins and clear butterflies from the 28 Lilac Lane collection.

I attached the bird with foam dots to give it some dimension. I also cut an

extra layer of the stems out of black and offset it to define the leaves a bit more.

Thank you, Patricia, for all you are doing to help those who are suffering so much devastation.  

God bless Texas (and Florida who may need all the prayers we can spare as well).

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