Skip to content

Happy Anniversary

  • by

I spent most of yesterday on paperwork and unpacking and organizing cardstock. Before we left for Wisconsin, I emptied a large carton that I had hauled to the basement while my craft room was renovated. It had been sitting there for over a year. Almost everything in it was 12X12 paper I had accumulated while I was scrapbooking. I went through it piece by piece, pulled out the papers I thought I could use for card making, and took the rest to the crafting charity shop. I had a lovely pile of papers, many of which I had totally forgotten about, so while we were at Sarah’s I cut them all down to 8 1/2 X 11 and sorted them into three categories. They’re filed in three plastic boxes on the bookshelf behind my desk where I’m very likely to find them when I need them. 

Last night when I finished the sorting and organizing, I found the pieces to a card I never finished before we left. It’s just perfect for another entry to the Double D Challenge: Birthday or Anniversary. Since lots of die cuts were involved, I’ll be adding it to A Cut Above where Anything Goes. 

Double DCutAbove300

It’s another CAS card–but brighter with more contrast than most of my cards. I love the hot pink against the black. The frame were cut at a friend’s house several years ago. They’re by Papertrey Ink, but I couldn’t find them in the shop so they may be retired. I stacked three of them together for some dimension as well as the stamped and die cut sentiment before adding them to the black panel which was embossed with Altenew’s 3D Checkered Squares embossing folder. It all went on a Raspberry Fizz (PTI) card base.

PinkAnniversary

The sentiment is also from an older Papertrey Ink set, Penned Elegance, and die cut with the accompanying die. The set is so old that it’s a solid die, and it took me awhile to remember how to get a good cut. The newer open dies are so much easier. It’s a reminder of how much the industry has changed since I started stamping over 3o years ago when all the stamps were wooden (or unmounted!) and embossing was the revelation that got many of us going.  The final touch was a few bright pink pearls.

PinkAnniversaryClose

Thanks for visiting. I hope your week is off to a good start.

 

 

 

Winter Birthday

  • by

My nephew celebrates a birthday in early January. The occasion was an opportunity to put my Simon Says/Gina K Designs Stay Cozy stamp set to good use again. Early in December, I used the set to create two cards-one for my brother-in-law and one for my brother. This version came together quickly after finding the background piece in my stash. 

MarcBD

After stamping the silhouettes on the background piece, I die cut it with Gina K’s Master Layout #1 which has become indispensable in my craft room. Then I cut a snowbank to add to the bottom of the panel and stamped my sentiment from Papertrey Ink’s Wishes Come True. 

MarcBDclose

Using the Master Layout #1 again, I die cut a narrow black mat and added the panel to a white card base. 

The AAA Birthday Challenge: Winter came along at just the right time. As did the Double D Challenge: Birthday or Anniversary. Diane and Darlene are celebrating 9 years for the Double D Challenge–Congrats to them! I’ll be adding this card to both galleries. 

AAABD#69Dd 9th1-tile

Color Hues #101

  • by

Sheri is the hostess for our first Color Hues Challenge of 2025. She chose Red and Kraft, and it was a perfect combination for putting two of my very recent purchases to work.

CH #101 Red and Kraft.001

I couldn’t resist ordering the Frosty Buds (and a few other goodies) from The Greetery’s November release. Betsy always has a nice sale for this release, and she ships her products very quickly. I also ordered Pinkfresh Studio’s Nested Hexagons Blanket Stitch from Simon Says Black Friday sale. 

CH101

I die cut the two hexagons and created the card base from Papertrey Ink’s Soft Stone paper which is a very pale grey. The Frosty Buds were die cut from pretty red cardstock in my scrap box and the branch from kraft cardstock.

CH101Flat

Deciding on the centers of the buds took a bit of trial and error. I first tried crystals from the Crystal Sequin Mix offered in The Greetery’s November release. It ended up looking too busy, so I settled for four of the crystals with tiny silver pearls in the centers of the crystals and just the pearls for the smaller buds. 

CH101Close

I silver embossed the sentiment from Pink & Main’s Special Day sentiments and trimmed it down. I fluffed up the florals and the leaves a bit for some dimension, and also added dimensional foam between the largest hexagon and the card base. “Time to Celebrate” is one of my favorite sentiments because the card is suitable for a variety of occasions. 

I hope you’ll join us in the gallery to start off another year of inspirational color combinations! The Design Team and Guest Designer, Stephanie Severin, have some great inspiration waiting for you on the blog. 

Thanks for visiting. Here’s to a Healthy and Happy New Year!