Mother's Day Card with CTMH Rosy Regards, Simple Memories, You and Me

This is the Mother's Day card I'll be sending out to my Mom and my MIL this year.

The fold I used is very fun - its a 4x11" piece of Crystal Blue Cardstock that I folded in half and then folded the front back at about 2.5" from the edge which keeps the card propped open in a kind of Z fold after its removed from the standard sized envelope.  Here you can see the card folded out - the inside flap is where I'll write my message.

The journaling spot is a sneak peak at a stamp that will be featured in the upcoming May special "You and Me" scrapbooking kit - you're going to LOVE that one!  I also used the new doily stamp "Simple Memories" to give some texture to the base paper.  The Sweet Leaf circle is punched with our 2" scallop and the "I love you" comes from Tag the Occassion.

Those FABULOUS roses come from our set "Rosy Regards" which is a base and shade stamp so you can use two different inks or first and second generation ink to really give the roses lots of pop.  Here's a close up so you can see the Glitz Glitter Gel I added to each flower along with a sparkle for the center.  I'm really happy with how these cards came out and can't wait to send them out!

If you'd like to make this card, get these supplies:

Paper:  Crystal Blue CS, White Daisy CS, Sweet Leaf CS

Stamps:  Rosy Regards, Tag the Occassion, Simple Memories, Say it in Style, You and Me (upcoming May special)

Inks:  Crystal Blue, Chocolate, Desert Sand, Hollyhock, Blush

Other:  Sparkles, Glitz Glitter Gel, Hollyhock Ribbon (retired - but the Designer Pink Ribbon Rounds is a good substitute)

Get Well Soon card with CTMH Springtime, True Happiness, Say It in Style

I needed a "feel better" kind of card the other day for a friend who is under the weather.  Weather, weather...hmmmm....I know!  I'll use my new umbrella stamp!  (Yes, that really is how I think.)  I've mailed off the one for my friend but I whipped up a couple of copies to have in my stash of cards.  I try to make two or three of each card when I come up with a design that I like.  That way I can put them in my personal stash for use or give them away as prizes at parties.

The clouds are from the set True Happiness mixed with the rain drops and umbrella from Springtime.  I really like that Springtime comes with three different patterns for the umbrella so you can make a more masculine card easily by using the plaid or dotted pattern.  The rain drops were given a little dollop of liquid glass to give them shine and the umbrella got the same treatment for some added dimension.  I was trying to keep it fairly flat for mailing so the only big bump is the button on this card and they usually go through the mail pretty good.

For those of you who do mail out handmade cards, one of the tips I've used is to take a paper towel or paper napkin and place it over the "bumpy" parts to help keep the envelope from ripping.  I send cards across country to my family back east and they've all come without damage so far using that technique. 

Here is a close up of the liquid glass on the rain and umbrella.  I've picked out the pattern in the umbrella with some gel pens to give it some more dimension and the button above has a rub on placed on top.

Here is a more masculine version using the dotted umbrella pattern.

Materials Used:

Paper:  Heavenly Blue B&T (retired) but Caboodle would be a good subsitute, Gray Wool CS, White Daisy CS

Stamps:  Springtime, True Happiness, Say it in Style

Inks:  Gray Wool, Heavenly Blue, Black, Topiary (green umbrella), Sunflower (yellow umbrella)

Other:  Liquid Glass, Summer Craft Button, Autumn Flowers (retired), Metal Brad, Connection Club Rub Ons, Gel Pens (from Costco)

Elegant Thinking of You card with CTMH You're Adored and Noted Backgrounds

I have my lovely playgroup ladies coming over for a crop night tomorrow night and have to do all my cleaning today as I volunteer in my youngest kiddo's class room tomorrow morning and have physical therapy with him right after school.  So while I should be doing all my cleaning and a bit of baking I'm up here playing around on my computer instead.  Ah well, I guess I'll just have to speed clean later...

This is a lovely card I lifted from my copy of Card Creations: Start to Finish, Volume 2 that I won (yipee!) from the Paper Crafts Connections blog along with a Technique Tuesday stamp set!  I was so excited to win this prize as I love Paper Crafts magazine and their books are always full of fun ideas.  I pulled this card from one of pages as I needed a "thinking of you" card for a friend whose mother is ill.

The second shot shows what the inside card looks like (I made another one as I wrote on the inside of this card before I took a picture!).  I really like the simple elegance of this card and am looking forward to including it in my "friendship" cards workshop coming up next month.

Materials Used:
Paper:  Brown Bag and White Daisy Cardstock
Stamps:  Noted Backgrounds, You're Adored, Thinking of You (retired) but Say it in Style would be good too
Ink:  Black, Brown Bag (stamped image under the clear buttons)
Other:  Clear Buttons, Liquid Glass, Ribbon (from Michael's Crafts), Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch

Christmas Card with CTMH Beautiful Things and Say it in Style

This card was inspired by this one on Kathy Carlson's blog - she is one of my favorite bloggers as I just love her classy, elegant style.

Materials Used:
Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Ponderosa Pine Gingham (retired)
Stamps: Beautiful Things, Say it in Style
Ink: Ponderosa Pine, Cocoa for distressing
Other: Pewter Designer Brads, Cranberry Grosgrain Ribbon