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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October Anniversary - five years already!

It is unbelievable to me that five years have passed since Scott and Megan were married and now they have a beautiful son who will be TWO years old in a few months.  And this post is a couple of weeks late because, once again, life got in the way.  Why does that happen ?  I have the best of intentions, but I get derailed a lot lately. So going to try to get back on track with the rest of my October cards and some new ice cream recipes. It is warm again here in southern CA, so my freezer is once again full of ice cream (even pumpkin pie ice cream and it is delicious!)  Just  a little teaser for you. Wish I could pass out samples - you would love it. But other flavors first.....so stay tuned!

Back to the anniversary card.  This is from Paulo's FREE collection online (Lacy Heart) and I love the detail in many of his files.  This seemed quite perfect for a five year anniversary.

  

    This is the basic design. The love bird stamp from VERVE

was embossed with silver. Used the MISTI for positioning.
 I love all of the detail in the heart.

This is the final result. I love it!  I added itty bitty pearls to add to the larger heart cutouts.

Five white rosebuds were added to honor the five years!

It is simple, but elegant.

If you have not checked out his files (link above) in a while - you need to do that!!

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Fun Cards for October Birthday Ladies!

It has been a while since I have posted, but sometimes life just gets in the way!  I still have some yummy ice cream recipes left over from summer to share (it was in the 80s here as recently as last week!).  And it was cool enough this week that I did a little baking and have some delicious breads to share soon - but first I have these October cards.

These cards were so much fun to make - one for a dear friend and one for my daughter in law.

The first is using an image from Paulo.  He has not posted designs since 2012, I believe, but there are literally hundreds on his website and they are amazing - and FREE.  Some are simple and some are intricate  - but they are unique from the average SVG file you can find on the internet - and I love that.  They also cut beautifully - an added bonus.

So the first card:

This is the songbird doily design from Paulo's website

The second is a technique/style I have not tried before.  My inspiration (even though this type of card has been on the internet for years) was based on a similar card that I received..  So I grabbed a sheet of firm acetate, scored it, and went to work with the image on the outside and the smaller card with the sentiment on the attached inside card that was also embossed for interest.  It was such fun to make and I hope to come up with variations in the future.  I hope some of you will try it too - if you haven't already.


And for my daughter in law.,.

A stenciled design cut out with the dry embossed backing...

It's really difficult to photography the clear card, but it's to the left of the

embossed green cardstock...The colored card will go inside the clear card.

And here is the card assembled with all of the parts - isn't it fun?

The design is on the outside of the acetate and the card with the message is on the inside

The final result.  I cannot wait to try this again!

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Sending Words of Sympathy

I have talked about it before.... making a sympathy card is without a doubt the most difficult card to make.  And there are certainly situations that make it even harder.  This was one of those times.

I have been blessed to have a lot of warm and wonderful people enter my life.  The dear lady who is the recipient of this card is truly one of my guardian angels. She came into my life when I moved back to CA after having lived in Arizona for 12 years.  I was not in the strongest physical shape and needed a part time caregiver.  That is when this special woman created a "forever spot" in my heart.  She not only helped me for a year (I was in wheelchair at the time and couldn't drive) but she challenged me to live - really live and reach for all that I could do.  Over time and a lot of tough love on her part, I found the will and the strength to leave the wheelchair behind and fight the system to drive again.  She saw the strength inside of me even when I couldn't, or didn't want to.  I owe her so much.  And even though we mutually ended the employer/employee relationship, we have remained close friends for the past ten years.

A week ago I received a very short email from her. She is now in her 80s,  but living a full and active life. Sadly she shared that her oldest son had recently passed away and that the healing would now begin.  My heart ached for her and I felt/feel so helpless.  So this card is for her - this special lady who was a transforming light in my life.   I hope it reminds her that she is dearly loved...now and forever...

God bless you and your family.....

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