February Cards

Well here it is March, and I am finally posting some cards from February.  I think I am close to catching up, only because it is taking me so long to get cards made.  I have been trying to push myself to try some new things and it has been fun, but not always successful - hence the extra time to complete a card.

Here is a brief overview of my creative attempts in February...... sympathy cards for a friend who lost her grown daughter and another who lost her husband and birthday cards - one for my grandson and

another for a lifelong friend.

File origin is unknown - it's just titled "Deco Cross" - no clue where it came from, but I love it!

Was printed on standard card stock and foiled with silver glitter foil and the FoilMaster. - 

and then cut out.

You can see the beauty of the luster card stock from Paper Temptress.

This design is from SVG Cuts.  Papers are from PaperTemptress - Mica, vellum and gold luster.

I love the simplicity of it...

Found this image online. Star background is a FoilMate from

Gina K Designs. 

Couldn't resist making this image have some

galactic sparkle!

This beautiful flower is from Graciellie Designs. 

Card stock is Pop Tones from Paper Temptress. 

 I watercolored with Spectrum Noir aqua pens and SN Sparkle pens. 

The raised areas of the embossed background are highlighted with NUVO embossing mousse.

Thanks for reading.  Look forward to sharing some recipes next!

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A Special Two Year Old Birthday

My SeaHawk loving neighbors have such a precious grandson.  His name is Merritt and he is about six months younger than my grandson.  He is such an adorable boy and has easily won my heart.  When he comes to visit his grandparents, he goes out on the patio and yells my name - seriously!  There is nothing cuter than hearing this little voice calling "Gigi" as loud as he can.  It's so adorable.

The funny thing is, that when my grandson,Carter, comes to visit, he will go out on my deck and look down and say "Where's John?"    Those two little boys have us all wrapped around their little fingers - and we don't mind in the least!!

Recently, Merritt had his second birthday and his grandma needed a birthday card.  How could I say no??!!??  I was kind of stumped until I remembered a file from Ducky's Designs that I had used many years ago.  (By the way, we have been talking recently and she is slowly redoing all of her files and her website as well.  I am so excited to see what she comes up with so stay tuned!!)  Anyway,  her "Look Who's Turning ___" was perfect for Merritt.

I wanted it to be bright and fun.  He loved it!  (his grandma suggested that I just make all of the numbers and they can just trade the number out each year and keep using the card!!)

I love how the #2 came out - all glittered.  Who says boys can't have a little sparkle in their lives...right??

You can certainly see the sparkling prisms in the number 2!

And I do have a bit of a confession to make. I normally do not go into a lot of detail on the inside of the card. I just don't take the time.  I will often print a greeting on vellum and heat emboss it for the inside, but that's about it.  However..... I wanted to make this card extra special for Merritt, so I used some mirror card stock in the frame so he could see himself when he opened the card.  You can see the reflection of the "Happy Birthday"  on the left side of the card in the mirrored card stock.  Too fun!

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Another May Birthday!

My daughter celebrated her 30++ birthday the beginning of last week, and her card is actually what got me back into making cards again after such a dry spell.  I have been waiting for her to receive it in the mail, but it seems lost :(  So at least I have this way to share it with her while I still hope that it turns up in her mailbox soon!.

A few months ago, I talked about how sitting down and just jumping in and coloring a stamp is what seemed to break through the lack of creativity I had felt for so long.  Well I knew about halfway through coloring it, that it was going to be part of my daughter's birthday card because it was all about being carefree and flight and beauty.  So I set it aside until it was time to make her card.  It would have been SO much easier if I had chose the patterned papers first before I colored the butterfly - but why should I do anything the easy way!  So I was overjoyed when I actually found colors that would work!

The stamp is from the Sheena Collection from Crafters Companion. 

Her stamps are some of the few I still have that are made from rubber.  

They do stamp beautifully. I scanned the stamped image and then did a print and cut 

with the Silver Bullet.  So much easier than fussy cutting - and so much quicker!

The butterfly was colored with Spectrum Noir markers and highlighted with a Sparkle

pen.  Pearl tipped pins were added for the antennae. And colored pearls were added

to the flowers in the first photo above.  It's simple but so pretty.

I love how this card turned out.  It was inspired by a card I found on Pinterest that used double sided patterned paper and folded it back in an interesting way - a way I had never considered.  I hope to play around more with different ways to present a card and see if that unleashes a little more creativity. And it was such fun to color. Looking forward to more of that as well.

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Happy Easter Cards!

It was fun this past week to make a variety of Eater cards for grandchildren and friends.  I relied heavily on the designs from Miss Kate's Cuttables because they are great for "children" of all ages.

First up - cards for the granddaughters...

The designs are Fancy Easter Eggs from Miss Kate's Cuttables The solid card stock is PaperTemptress Mica that was run through an polka dot embossing folder.  Then I added sparkle pen to the dots in a diagonal pattern (in both cards)  I framed the sides of the cards with washi tape which was really fun.  I don't use it enough and it gives such a finished look.

You can see the sparkled dots a little better in the side by side.

And the adhesive pearls on the flowers added a nice little touch.

Then there is Carter - this was his first "real" Easter where he could actually have fun looking for eggs!

This card has a lot of dimension - I love that bunny face and added whiskers just because!  I love all of the bright spring colors.  The polka dot "o" egg (that makes up "Hoppy")

has dots colored over with a sparkle pen.

Not the traditional Easter basket, but he loves cars and trucks, so it was perfect. It was filled with bubble tubes, sidewalk chalk, an Easter book, a "sock bunny" and a few plastic eggs with little Rice Krispie treats inside!

My neighbors have a grandson who is 6 months younger than Carter, and they asked if I would make an Easter card for him.  Of course I was happy to do that!

These designs are from Miss Kate's Cuttables.  I added the "Happy 2nd" greeting and then used Glossy Accents  on the eyes to make them shine and Crackle Accents on the eggs to make the shells shiny and a little cracked!  This was fun and made in the early hours of Easter morning!

I had to include a photo of the carrot tops, cut with the regular blade and share the detail of

these pieces as it still blows me away when the machine can so easily produce such intricate cuts.

And I wanted to make a special card for my neighbors who are so good to me in so many ways.  This was incredibly difficult to photograph since the foil is so reflective, but I tried to get many angles to give you an idea. In person, it is really beautiful.  I plan to do a lot more foiling - the results are just too stunning not to do more of it!

The "Joyful Lilies" on the cross were printed on PT Neenah card stock

on a laser printer. (you need the toner for foil to adhere when it is laminated.)

This is gold spectre foil so it appears holographic as it catches the light. 

The sentiment is from Verve Stamps and was embossed with gold powder.

You can really see the colors in this photo.  It was stunning.

Tried to catch just the gold, but it almost doesn't look foiled in this picture.

I hope everyone had a happy and BLESSED Easter........

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New Cards and New Technique - Again!

You know by now that I love getting two cards out of one design, and I get excited when it works.  And this time it did.

The card stock is of course from Paper Temptress and combines the shimmery mica with the vibrant pop tones.   I totally forgot to get a picture of the negative until the card was made. As usual, I used the double sided adhesive to pull the left over (negative) pieces off the mat and filled in with iridescent glitter.

The colors used are similar of course but I think they have a different feel and stand on their one,  The card on the right uses the shimmery mica over an amethyst mica to pack a lot of soft glow.  The white flower is from my "need to use up" stash of Prima flowers with a purple rhinestone center.  The white Luster mat along with the flower and thin ribbon gives the card a touch of freshness.

But the part I am most excited about is the Happy Birthday on the ribbon.  It mimics a rub on, but it is actually a piece of laser transparency that was printed, run through the Foilmaster with purple foil, and then cut with the Silver Bullet Professional using the print and cut method.  I was terrifed the acetate would melt when it encountered the very hot temps of the Foilmaster, but it held up beautifully.  I was beyond thrilled as that opens up so many ideas that I cannot wait to try!

The second card with the glittered background was simple to put together. The multi-colored striped ribbon ties the colors together, and again - I used the Foilmaster and Silver Bullet Pro to do make the greeting overlay and pulled the background colors into the tag layers.  The white pearls hide (hopefully) the adhesive dots adhering the transparency!

If you have a Foilmaster, I hope you will try foiling a laser transparency. (I chose laser because I felt it had the best chance of holding up to the heat  of the Foilmaster -mine was set to 155 degrees for best results).


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Dutch Papercrafting Revisited - a Lacé card

The past few months have not only drained my energy, but I have been wanting to find the desire to make cards or bake and that was as far as I got - my thinking about it was not producing any tangible results! I poured over cards posted on Pinterest, looked at my favorite blogs, looked through my COLLECTION of card making books..... nothing sparked an idea.  So once again I went back to my first card making efforts - Dutch papercrafting.  And the ideas started.  I knew Penny Duncan  (Thank you , Penny! had created some cutline designs  also known as lacé so I used her arch design to make a card for a friend recovering from surgery.  She just returned home, in record time, so I am glad the inspiration surfaced.

The printed paper is from my stash and it is double sided so that made the folding easy.  The solid colors are all from Paper Temptress of course - Neenah green, and bubble gum and banana split from the Pop Tones collection.  Her papers always make my projects look pulled together.  The sentiment is from the Cats Meow (line discontinued) and the pearls are from Kaisercraft.  Both the lacé file and the tag were cut on the Silver Bullet Professional.  If you have not tried cutline or lacé designs, well you just have to!  They are such fun and there are a wide variety of shapes that lend themselves to every type of card.  So give it a try!

I apologize for the camera settings. They were clearly off when I took the pictures and didnt catch it til I went to edit the photos.  Unfortunately the next few posts will be "off", but will work at getting them better going forward........  Oops!

The process of cutting and beginning to fold.  Instant gratification! 

The design with the backing contrast color...

Voila!!  So simple... 

The end result

The finished card

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Dominic's Daisy - Tripled!

I have so needed to make quite a few birthday cards, but have been busy with some fundraising events and time was just not on my side.... until this past weekend.  I sat myself down and just said "knock it off!  You have things you need to do so focus!!"  Nope -  that was a great idea in theory but fell flat. I don't listen to my own lectures very well!  Sometimes the creative mojo is just NOT there and it has been doing an exceptional job of hiding lately.  I have searched through card sketches looking for inspiration - and found none.  I tried blog after blog after blog. I loved all of the wonderful creations out there, but none moved me enough to try to make one like it.  The more I looked the more discouraged I became.  And the more discouraged I became the less inclined I was to even try to think of something  to make.  Then it happened - the undeniable tick of the clock reminding me that the time was upon and the cards were needed NOW.

After a mild panic, I fell back on one of Dominic's designs - I love how they cut and they always make me look so clever - but it's really ALL him. I love his flower series and have used many time and time again.  I decided it was time to make the daisy again - so I not only made it once, I made it three times!  I know.... I never..... well almost never make the same card twice.  And even though I  used the main design three times with basically the same paper, each card has a character all its own. I really am happy with how these turned out and even happier that it has led me to work on other projects - to be revealed over the next few days  I hope.

I am hopeful that the creativity is returning, albeit s--l--o--w--l--y!!!  But it's okay - I can wait patiently and hope I can nurture it and keep it going.  My fingers are crossed!

So here is my trio of Dominic's daisies. And even though I cut the positive/negative image, I decided to just stick with the main file and play around with that.

I love showing the positive and negative images. 

This time I didn't make a card with the negative image...yet!

Paper Temptress Pop Tones Grape Jelly card base

Paper Temptress Parchment pink

Bow Easy for perfect bow making!

A simple and easy card.

Paper Temptress Sparkle Blanco card base

Coredinations background showing in the corners

Paper Temptress Luster Canvas behind the daisy

Seed pearls glued in the center of the flower.

A bit more detailed but still simple.

Paper Temptress Pop Tones Grapesicle with daisy cut out.

Back of Bo Bunny patterned paper showing through the daisy for contrast,

Star Dust Stickles in the openings of the flower center

All of the cards use Bo Bunny dotted patterned paper that has a solid color on the reverse side. It cut beautifully with the Silver Bullet Professional Cutter as did all of the papers, and it was fun to use something a little different.    Details are under each card. I hope you enjoy them!!

Stay tuned for more creativity from the craft room and the kitchen!! Pin It Now!

Happy Birthday to my Youngest Son!!

My "baby" is turning 24 today.  How did that happen?  I can still remember bringing him home when he was two days old. His sister was 11 at the time and his brother 14!  Yes there is a huge gap, but this special young man was very much wanted and planned for.  He is adopted and a very special gift.

I have three wonderful children and they are each different and unique. Only my youngest is adopted but he is the one who really taught me about love in an unexpected way.

By entering my life, he taught me that it doesn't matter how you enter someone's life, only that you do.  Love truly knows no bounds.   Children are born in your heart.  Nothing else matters.  He is a product of my heart as are each of the other two.  I gave each of them my heart the day they were born and the amazing thing about that, is that somehow, the heart manages to grow as big as you need it to grow to meet the demands placed upon it.  It allows you to love until you feel it might burst, but it never does.  It pours out love in infinite abundance.  What a miracle that is!!

Good thing he doesn't read my blog - he would be embarrassed!!

Ok - card details.  I used the Silver Bullet Professional Cutter and SCAL to do a simple print and cut.  I loved the expression on this policeman!  The rest just seemed to come together. The stop sign is on foam tape as is the policeman so he stand out a little!  The card stock is from Paper Temptress (PopTones) and the yellow was embossed with an M-Bossabilities folder - Bricks!  I like the little bit of texture.  This is really quite simple - I just wanted it to be fun.  The "celebrate" text was printed in Microsoft Word with a border. Yes I went back to basics on this one!!!

So today, on the 24th birthday of my youngest son, I wish him all that life has to offer.  He has a college degree but that has not transpired into a "real" job, so he just completed classes to become a security guard, thus the policeman on his birthday card - it was the closest I could get!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROB!!!!!

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Another Lacé Birthday Card

I am so loving these lacé patterns from Penny Duncan Creations.  I think it's the end result that pushes me through the folding process.  I love the surprise color element and the possibilities are endless. I have been using the sorbet duo from Paper Temptress, but realized I have lots of papers that are monotone - solid on one side and textured on the other and they would make beautiful cards too. Of course I could glue thinner papers or card stock together to make my own double sided papers as well, but will work on the stash that I have for now.  :)  The base of the card is from the Pop Tone line with Paper Temptress. Yes I love her papers!  And the Silver Bullet Professional did its usual great job. Since this file is so intricate, I think the next time I cut it, I will use the detail blade!


This pattern is Penny's cutline half moon file.  Instead of scoring it this time, I took a little ruler and folded against it to get smooth folded edges and that worked well.  It seemed easier and a little quicker that way.

This file cut well and with the duo sided paper, the rest was easy!

The flower in the center is from my supply of 3D precut papers.  I continue to try to use up what I have which should keep me going for a LONG time!  I embellished the flower with yellow Stickles in the center and Kaiser pearls on the corners.

You can see the "fold and tuck" technique here and a closeup of the Stickles!

I love these files! Thank you , Penny!

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Ducky's Birthday Dilemma

I have a very dear friend with a birthday on St. Patrick's Day - March 17th (for those who missed it!!)  She is an incredible graphics designer. You may have seen her work at Ducky's Designs - she used to work for Disney, and you can certainly see her love for all things Mickey especially!!

I have to share a quick story.  We met on a forum for electronic cutters  4-5 years ago  and over time we found out that we not only lived in the same state, but were in the same city - and believe it or not, only four blocks apart!!  She has become such a special friend and I cannot imagine not having her in my life.  And I LOVE her designs and know she has quite a cult following - and rightly so.

So a few years ago as her birthday approached, I decided to use her files to make her a card - and incorporate as many different ones as I could.  Each year since,  I have tried to outdo myself!!  I love a challenge!  LOL  Not sure I exceeded the number of files used last year, but I did have a lot of fun putting her card together......

If you are a collector of Ducky's files, here are the ones I used....
Birthday Alphabet "D"  (the letter)
Birthday Alphabet "W" (the hat from the monkey!)
Alpha Charms (the small letters that spell "Ducky"
Treasure Box (the shamrock border)
Mickey Lying Down
Birthday Mickey (the balloons)
Look Who's Birthday?? ( the frame behind the letter )

Coming up with the vision was fun.  Her files lend themselves to all sorts of creativity. It was exciting  to see it come together!

Most of the papers are from  The Paper Temptress - many colors of the Mica text weight and some of the Pop Tones. I am excited to share the detail I was able to get with the Silver Bullet Professional. As many different things as I have cut on the machine, I am still caught off guard by the precision and detail with which it cuts.  Mickey's gloved hands were three separate pieces on one hand and SO small - as were the whites of his eyes.  Pretty incredible!!

The letter charms (only 1/2" thick), main letter and balloons were coated with an iridescent medium.  It created a sort of webbing on the letters and dried quickly.  I  love the way it shimmers and best of all it didn't weaken the paper or distort it!

The clover border outline is just under 1 MM  thick - or I should say thin!

Here is another photo of Mickey resized much smaller then the original design and perfectly cut.
This Mickey is 3 1/2" long (including the 1/2" tail!!) and 2 1/2" tall)

Look at how THIN the tail is!!

And I am so happy with the final results.

  Happy Birthday, Ducky!

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