A Truly Recycled Christmas Card

This card is a truly recycled card, with a fun story behind it.

One of my very good friends put this tag on my Christmas gift last year. As soon as I saw it, my card making side thought "what a great start that it would be for a card". So I kept it with my Christmas card making stash. This is the card I made with the tag as the centre piece. I started with using my Cuttlebug to emboss a glossy white CS with the ornaments embossing folder. After trimming it to allow an 1/8" border it was mounted onto the blue CS and added to the A2 cardbase. The ornament tag is popped on some dimensionals and then I added the silver ribbon to finish it off.
The card itself was a great hit when we had a good giggle over the ultimate in recycling.

Thanks for dropping by,
Sandy

I have been busy with all my Christmas preparation and as I sat down this evening I realized that although I have scanned all the cards I've made I have not shared any of them here. Oops!!! The follow are 10 cards that were made at a wonderful day at a friend of mine who had 15 people over for a "Stampn' Up card making day. Oh what a fun productive day it was!

For those of you counting...I know I said we made 10 cards, but unfortunately one of them didn't scan very well. So I will have to get my camera out and see if I can capture a better image of it.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
As for cards that I've made since the Blitz day. This is the one that I planned to mass produce.

It is a stamp set from Stampn' Up this year, that I feel I will get a lot of use of.  I stamped the image and sentiment with Versamark and then heat embossed them both with silver detail powder.  I used the same to make the border on the piece I matted the image on. Then it all on an A2 card base.  It is a very clean and simple look but that is what I wanted.
As I mentioned I was going to mass produce this one, but unfortunately I only got 6 made. Oh, well, in my card making life that is sort of mass produced.
 

This card is one that I made using a tag that I made at make and take at my LSS.  I really like the tag, but just felt if I mounted it on a 4 x 9" dark green CS it would make a good card.  The tag itself is made mostly using Tim Holtz dies, stamps and trinkets.  It is a fairly bulky card, but as it will be had delivered that isn't really a problem.
 
 
I do have a few more cards made ready to share, I want to make sure they've been received those who are getting them, before I post them here.
 
Thanks for dropping by,
Sandy
 

A Start on Christmas Cards.

I know that there are some of my card making buddies out there who have all their Christmas cards done but I do have a pretty good start on mine.

This is a set of cards that I did and sent to a cousin who is going to be having to celebrate Christmas this year without her husband who passed away a few months ago. I knew that it would be a difficult time for her and thought that maybe having a few simple cards to use would be helpful.
The image is from Stamp'n Up a few years ago. It is part of M-J's collection. The sentiment "The Miracle of Christmas" is from a purchase from http://www.susanascustomartandcarddesign.com/  (sorry I don't have the manufacturer's name right now). I used Versafine black onyx (my go to ink). The stamped image has been matted with black. Then a simple black ribbon to finish it off.
I almost forgot, there is a small golden stick-on gem in the centre of the star.

I am working a my own cards but they are all in various stages of construction right now.
Thanks for dropping by,
Sandy

My Nephew's Birthday Card

Tomorrow is my nephew's Birthday, I can't believe that it's been 38 years since he made his "early" appearance into our lives. The great family story is when my brother phone our parents to let them know they had a grandson my father was so thrilled that the next 'trick or treaters' that came to the door got the whole bowl of candy in their bags. Being born on Halloween does have some perks, there is always a party, I'm glad though that I don't have to find a costume every year for my celebrations. Chris has had some great ones over the years!

This card is a technique I learned at a make & take at a local Scrapping store. You take pieces of regular masking tape and tear them off in small uneven strips and cover the peice of white CS. Once it is completely covered, choose the color of Tim Holtz distress ink you want to use and sponge it all over the masking tape covered piece, and while it is still tacky cover it with clear UTEE embossing powder and heat set it. This gives you a smooth surface that has this rough look. The fabric leaves, arrow brad and a peice of twine doubled on itself finish of this look. I matted it with a piece of chocolate brown CS and mounted it all on a light brown making it a 41/2" square card.

Thanks for dropping by,
Sandy

Birthday card with Smooch Swirls

The card I'm sharing with you today is a technique that I learned at a make and take last month.

The background is created using the product called "Smooch" by Clearsnap. You need a tin foil type pie plate, the instructor warned us not to use one of our good pie plates as the clean up it not easy. You put a couple of inches of water in the pie plate. Then you place a drop of a couple of different colours of smooch on the top of the water. Then you take the last colour you want to use and swirl it on the surface of the water. You now take a piece of glossy finish CS (not photo paper) cut to the approximate size you want to use and submerse it, glossy side down, in the water. After lifting it out you turn it over and you have your masterpiece. You can either lay it aside to dry or use your heat gun to dry it quicker.  It really is amazing the different effects you get by mixing your colours. This particular one was done with pumpkin, taffy, kiwi and then swirled with molasses. To finish off this card I used a dragon fly stamped on vellum and then cut out and popped up on dimensionals. The piece across the bottom is some Tim Holtz tissue that is pleated. The little flower is attached to a piece of brown twine double on itself and attached to the card front before adhering it to the folded card base. 
I have sent this particular card off to a card making friend of mine who's having a birthday this month.
Thanks for dropping by,
Sandy

Another Birthday

This card is one that I made for a neighbour who's birthday was last week.
I used the paisley embossing folder that is part of the Cindy Loo collection. The card itself is blue Bazzil so I didn't do any matting other than for the sentiment piece. The 1/8" ribbon was part of my stash. I then added 3 dark blue pearls for just that little bit of bling. On the inside of this card I mounted another piece of CS with another "celebrate" stamp.

Thanks for dropping by,
Sandy

A Milestone Birthday for a Fabulous Friend

The card that I last posted was for 1/2 of a couple who I'm lucky enough to count among my friends . This card today is for his wife. She is someone I met as a neighbour 25 years ago when she moved to Calgary from Ontario. We hit it off immediately and although we haven't been neighbours many years I definitely call her one of my 'best friends'. This birthday is one of those milestone years. You know that one's where you enter a new decade? I'm not going to mention which decade, but I did enter it myself a couple of years ago.
Although this card doesn't specifically mention age the sentiment "days just seem to flutter by" is perfect I think. Both the butterfly and the sentiment are from a sheet of stamps I won from Repeat Impressions The House that Stamps Built this summer. Lucky me! The background of card is a technique we were challenged to try on our CCB Yahoo group. It is done by using Versamark on your CS then passing it through your cuttlebug with an embossing folder, adding clear embossing powder and finally heat setting it. I used one of the folders from the Cindyloo collection. The butterfly was first stamped on the same yellow CS I used for the sentiment.  I also stamped it on some vellum with my black onyx Versafine added clear embossing powder and heat set it. I mounted it with a could of pop-ups on the body, which leaves the wings free.
I truly enjoyed making this card and was glad I could give it to such a good friend!
Thanks for dropping by,
Sandy

Where did August go?

I can't beleive that it has been so long since I last posted here. I know that I've been enjoying the summer weather that we in Calgary have been very lucky to have this year.  We really did miss summer completely last year and I don't remember the year before being that great either! But compared to all the horrendous weather events happening everywhere else we really are blessed here.

The card I'm sharing with you today is one that I made for a friend's Birthday in August. He really is a one of a kind great guy and he has this truck that he lovingly maintains so that it will pull their trailer. He and his wife enjoy trailering for their summer vacations and long weekend get aways.

I once again borrowed the stamp from M-J's collection. The background is stamped with one of the 'mustardy' tones of Tim Holtz distress inks (probably spiced marmalade). I really do need to make notes or post my cards while details are still fresh in my mind. I then used clear embossing powder over it. The centre image is done with my old stand-by black onyx Versafine with the same technique of the clear embossing powder. It has been die cut with a Spellbinder and then I 'ticket cut' the edges.
This was a fun card to make and it got me using heat embossing which is a technique many are using these days. I really need to be pushed to branch out of my usual comfort zone.
Thanks for dropping by,
Sandy



A Card for my Nephew

This week my nephew leaves to go to UNT in Denton Texas to take his doctorate in Musical Arts. He is a very gifted tenor and this is another step in his career.

This is a card I made for him.  It is from a recent 'make & take' class at my LSS.  It uses Tim Holtz stamps and distress inks.  When I saw it I knew that it was exactly what I wanted for Chris's card.
I am very proud of him and all that he has accomplished.  As I've learned through him the life of a performance artist is not an easy one.

My love goes with him as I hope he "Lives the Life he has Imagined"!!!

Thanks for dropping by,
Sandy

Step Card, Fun Fold a card with many names

The card I'm sharing with you today is one that can be found under many names. Some call it a "Step Card" others a "Fun Fold".

It was definitely fun to make and it has a step in it, as you can see from the side view.  The thing that I wanted to do for sure was make a card that would fit into a regular A2 envelope, so I had to go looking for the instructions that someone else had modified for these measurements. Right now I'm not sure where it was I found these but I will edit this posting later to give the credit to the original author.

 After starting with by base of white CS I added the golden yellow that was embossed with my go to favourite "swiss dots" embossing folder. The sunflower in the middle is a die from Spellbinders that is mounted on a piece of green Bazzil CS. Inside the sentiment is "Just wanted you to know how special you are!" It is another borrowed from M-J's collection.  It seemed perfect because when I made this card I didn't have specfic purpose for it and this way I can use it for many different occasions.
In looking at my stash I only have one more card I think I haven't shared, so I sure hope I'm going to have the time to do some creating very soon.
Thanks for dropping by,
Sandy



Two Quick & Easy Cards

A great 'yahoo' card group that I belong to called CCB has a challenge for this month to use two different embossing folders on a card front.

I had fun with this challenge yesterday and found that I could get a second different but similar card using what was left from the first card.
I used the CB embossing folders called "Jules Jewells" and one of the combo set "Cindy Loo".  I cut them using the approximate 1/3 rule.  The CS are both some Bazzil in a pale and moss green. The ribbon I purchased is a group of 'odds & ends' at a LSS in their bargain bin.  I used CB die cuts for both the slider and tag.

The sentiments are from a wonderful clear stamp set from 'Papertray Ink' called mixed messages.  M-J gave it to me for my birthday. I'm so lucky, as it is a fabulous set that is just so versatile.

I now have two more cards I can add to my stash of cards which has really been depleted lately due to my lack for productivity.

Thanks for dropping by,

Sandy

Cards I thought I'd shared

This is a card that I found in my "stuff to go on blog" file that I thought I'd shared already but it appears I haven't.
It is made using at sticker from the sheets I purchased in Didsbury during our last visit there.  I matted it on to dark purple CS and then the card front is moss green Bazzil.  The same matting was use for the sentiment.
This card was made for a Birthday of my cousin in Coquitlam.  It was sent in May so I'm not sure how it didn't get shared here. 








Well what do you know, in looking back I found another card that I haven't shared. It was for a May birthday as well.

This card was made for the Birthday of a very good friend. You know those gal friends who you consider sisters. Well she is definitely one of those!
Again, I used one of those stickers which I mounted on a piece of fuchsia CS. The card front is a shimmery gold and that card base is from the same piece of moss green Bazzil that I used in the previous card.  I used a little Sakura gel pen glimmer to highlight some of the flowers and leaves. I don't think it shows very well in the scan.
I will really try to keep more up-to- date in what I share!

Thanks for dropping by,
Sandy

More Birthdays & New Techniques

This past week I had two more birthdays that I needed cards for, as well as a challenge on my Yahoo group that was to show my idea of a favourite vacation.  So with this card I was able to satisfy all my needs.

The technique that I used to create the background for this card and the next one I'm going to show you is one I learned in a demo at a local scrapping store last Tuesday.  Many of my card making buddies have been using distress inks for quite awhile now but I have resisted as it is so far out of my comfort zone of my clean and simple cards.  However, to my surprise and with the encouragement of having M-J at my side I really did enjoy experimenting a bit. And if I do say so myself the end product isn't half bad either.
The stamp I used is one of M-J's Stampin Up stamps that really does epitomize my idea of a perfect relaxing vacation of sitting at the beach, watching the waves, reading a book and spending time with good friends.
One this first example I used more muted tones and stamped the image with sepia versafine. Then I matted it with brown C/S before putting on the card base.

The second card is brighter tones and it is stamp with my favourite go to ink black onyx versafine. It is matted with black before been attatched to its card base.

Because I wanted to enter these cards in a Cuttlebug challenge I added the swirling frame, sorry I can't remember the name of the embossing folder (I will add it later to this posting when I remember).

I must say that distress inks, spritzing and blending just may be in my future. It certainly was fun to see what can be done with it!

Thanks for dropping by,

Sandy

Cupcake Birthday Card for my Niece

This card was made for my niece who is having special birthday tomorrow. I remember the day 40 years ago when we were blessed with her birth.  I can't believe that it has been that long ago. She has become a very wonderful, confident and beautiful woman. I am so proud of her and all she has accomplished.

For this card I used the idea for the flower pot card I made about a year ago. Here's the link to that one http://sandyscreativecardcorner.blogspot.com/2010/06/once-month-is-not-enough.html
This time I used a cupcake design and I continued with the fun I've been having with easel cards just to make this card a little extra special. 
The base of the card is pink Bazzil C/S. The bottom of the cupcake is a striped paper that I 'borrowed' from M-J's stash. The top (icing) was cut using a circle Nestie and then embossed with my favourite 'Swiss Dots' CB embossing folder and the edge that is next to the cupcake was punched with the MS border punch. The one with the little hearts.  I also used this on both edges of the white strip that has the 3 little cupcakes on it.

You can see in this view how the top lifts out to reveal my special greeting to her, but there is still a Happy Birthday inside the easel card for all to see.

I truly did have fun creating this card!

Thanks for dropping by,

Sandy

Sympathy Card

This is a Sympathy card I made for a young lady who's Grandfather had passed away recently. I really do have to make a few more Sympathy cards to have in my stash, as this is one card you can't plan for.

It is another in the set of cards I made using those stickers I purchased when M-J and I went on that trip out to Didsbury last month.
I mounted the borderless sticker on some green C/S then onto a larger piece of fuchsia. The card itself is made from a co-ordinating colour of Bazzill C/S.
It doesn't show very well in the scan but I did add just a little bit of "bling" with some drops of Stickles on the tree.
The sentiment has been popped up on some dimensionals.


Thanks for dropping by,
Sandy

Spring Flowers Easel Card

Now that is has been received I can share with you the other easel card that that I made the same time as I did  the golf themed ones. This one was sent as mingle card in my CCB Yahoo group.

For this one I used a sticker that is in a set that I purchased last fall, when M-J and I went to our favourite 'little' card supplies store in Didsbury called Rose's Stuff . I've mounted the sticker on just some plain white C/S and then on to a piece of fuchsia that has been embossed with the Floral Fantasy CB folder. I used a little bit of star dust stickles on the edges of the flowers to give the idea of a some early morning dew.

I really do like these easel cards, they fold flat for mailing but open and sit-up into a different look for display.


Thanks for dropping by,
Sandy

Easel Cards

Easel cards are nothing new. In fact everyone has been making them for a long time now. However, for some reason I thought that they had to be made as a square card (not my favourite) and so never tried one. Last week while blog surfing on Splitcoaststampers I found the instructions for making rectangular ones. So I said to M-J that I really wanted to try them. I printed out the instructions from Beate  and headed up to M-J's place with all my supplies last Saturday.  What fun we had!

These are two of the ones I got made. I used some golf die cuts that I have had for quite awhile and were actually meant to be used as gift tags.  The green Bazzill CS was embossed with the Seeing Spots CB folder. The "Fore" was stamped and then cut out and embossed with a Quickutz small oval.

The first card is done landscape and the second portrait but they are both A2 size. I actually made two of the golf bag style and sent one to my Uncle for his birthday this week. These others are going to stay in my 'stash' which is very low these days.


I did make a third easel card last Saturday but it is going to be used for a Mingle so I will wait until I've mailed it before I post it.


Thanks for dropping by,
Sandy

Cards as a gift

Last week was 65th birthday for a gal who is in a therapy exercise class I take. I did a package of assorted cards for her as a little gift.

I just realized that I forgot to scan the other two cards I included. Dah!!! Oh well I guess the important part is that she really did appreciate the gift!








Thanks for dropping by,
Sandy

I'm so Lucky!

 Over the past 10 days I have been so lucky to received some very wonderful cards from my cardmaking friends.

 

 Thank you so much to Mary-Jane, Sharyn, Nancy, Doreen, Mary, Kris and Irene.

Aren't I lucky to have such talented friends?

Now its time for me to get busy making some cards too.




Thanks for dropping by,
Sandy

Two Cards Today

I started trying to make a card for the CCB plaid challenge yesterday. I had the idea of using some plaid DP I'd for quite awhile in my stash to make some flowers. Today I went up to M-J's to play and managed to get that card finished. The frames around the 2 flowers on the left side of the card were made by embossing only using square nesties. The idea for these frames came from Lynette's blog http://mystampingaddiction.blogspot.com/2011/03/simple-card-parts-birthday.html
The flowers are a CB die set with the 4 different sizes of flowers (sorry I have no idea its name as I bought it second hand). The pink strip on the right was embossed with the ever popular Swiss Dots embossing folder. Inside the card I've used the largest of the flowers, mounted on the pink and green.

This second card  uses a new set of die cut/embossing frames by Nellie's Multi frames. The flower stamp is one of M-J's that went so very well with this die cut. The DP is from a Making Memories pad called "just chillin". The edge has be punched using a MS punch.
This card is another one of those that takes my out of my favorite pink's and green's. Something I must do more often!

Thanks for dropping by,
Sandy

Tim Holtz Make and Take

Well, I can't believe that I went all the way through February without posting at all. To be sort of fair to myself, I was away visiting family in B.C. for a little over 2 weeks. But where the rest of the month went I have no idea.

The card that I'm sharing with you today is one I did a "make & take" at a local store here in Calgary called Scrapbookers Paradise. Every Thursday the have what the call "Toonie Thursday". It is a drop in demo between 11 and 4 and you make a card in less than 1/2 hr for $2. It is something that I've been meaning to do for awhile and so made a special effort to get there today. This card was made Tim Holtz embossing folder and die cuts. The one thing I did learn about his embossing folders is that they emboss very deeply on CS. This card was made with Bazzill which is a good weight. However, the 'postcard' embossing folder was actually cutting through the CS when going through their CB until I suggested that we only use one B plate and a couple of shims. We still got a deep embossing, but no holes to be repaired. I know that Tim Holtz does a lot of embossing a other media that is much thicker so I that is why his embossing folders are designed that way.
I did enjoy trying out these supplies and created a card that I will use for someone I know who needs a card to let them know that they are being thought of.

I have stamped some images since I got back and have some of the coloured. Now I must spend sometime getting a few cards put together. Hopefully, that will happen this week-end!

Thanks for dropping by,
Sandy

Cold and Crispy Day

Today is a very cold and crisp day, it's minus 20 with a brisk north wind to make it feel even cooler. At least the sun is shining bright so those that have to deal with the snow we got over the past 48 hours can do it under nice blue skies.
The card I'm sharing with you today is one that I made over a year ago and have had it ready and waiting to send to just the right person at the right time.

I do not have the actual details for what I used to make this card. I know that it is a wonderful tulip stamp that I got from M-J's. It was double stamped to achieve the images. I'm sending this card to a friend who is moving this week. I always try to mail a card to arrive when someone is just moved in. So often all the mail you receive just after a move is all the redirected important stuff and I feel that it is nice just to get something with good wishes at this time.

Thanks for dropping by,

Sandy

Where is this Month gone?

It has been almost a month since I last posted...It doesn't seem that long but the dates don't lie, do they?
Today I'm sharing with you a Birthday card idea that I got from watching Gina K on Stamp TV's Color Spotlight Challenge. This week's colours are turquoise, brown and white. 

I went up to M-J's this morning after watching the video and knew that I wanted to create a card to fit this challenge. With her help to use one of her cup cake punches, some patterned CS, swiss dots embossing folder, a little glitter and  square nesties this is the result.  I liked it so much I made a second one that is a mirror image of this one. I have trouble making two cards exactly the same.  Actually, I am very happy with the result and I may just have to get up the courage to post it on the challenge site for others to see.

It is good to get back into some creating again.

Thanks for dropping by,

Sandy