tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-848882037349342382012-02-01T12:17:00.323-08:00An aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident.craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.comBlogger1461100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-38197150052467171232012-02-01T12:17:00.000-08:002012-02-01T12:17:00.386-08:00

My middle granddaughter turned two last Thursday.  She LOVES cats, so I made her this card with a momma cat and kitten… The cat and kitten pattern came from 202 Paper Piecing Patterns by Annie Lang.

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-20870927798379744982012-01-29T12:13:00.001-08:002012-01-29T12:13:52.292-08:00

Back to butterflies!  Here is another butterfly made from the 15 Butterflies and Dragonflies template.  I colored it with Smooch inks. The parchment work is a modification of a pattern from Pergamano’s Parchment Perforating Kit. I got the inspiration for this card from PaperWishes’ January 27th Friday Freebies e-mail.

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-427333249394138392012-01-28T22:33:00.001-08:002012-01-28T22:33:17.677-08:00

Today’s card was inspired by the January 25 Creative Spark e-mail from Paper Wishes.  Rather than use the pattern supplied, I came up with my own modification which I posted on the Paper Wishes forum. Here’s the front of the card… … and the inside panels. Except for the doilies, the papers are all from PaperWishes.  The stickers are from the Mix ‘ems Heart pack.  I don’t have very many

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-35781747315126651422012-01-25T10:12:00.000-08:002012-01-25T10:12:00.164-08:00

Here is another air-brushed card.  Butterflies, of course!  I’ve had this particular stencil for years, but hadn’t used it much. The flowers across the bottom are from the Spellbinders Flower Bouquet Miniabilities set. After I finished airbrushing the butterflies, I removed the stencil and airbrushed the background lightly with sky blue.  The butterflies across the center are from Martha

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-15578102710482173452012-01-24T12:01:00.000-08:002012-01-24T12:01:00.040-08:00

See? I warned you!  I am definitely in butterfly mode!  This card is the result of this week’s sketch challenge at Just Cards.  I really had no idea what I was going to do for this one.  I started by going through my stack of card blanks and grabbing the color I like least.  After I selected it, I realized that the marbled paper I made earlier this week would go very well with it. Since the

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-400559635082245212012-01-23T21:44:00.001-08:002012-01-23T21:44:11.264-08:00

I’ve gone into butterfly mode.  Just about everything I have made lately has butterflies on it.  I don’t know why, I guess I just like them. I made this card for the weekly challenge at PaperWishes.  This week, the challenge was to make something using punches.  Having recently purchased the Summer Punch It, I used this as an opportunity to experiment with it.   I also used the 15 lovely

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-82946321271932986692012-01-20T12:05:00.001-08:002012-01-20T12:05:28.679-08:00

I had the day off from work today so of course, that means crafty time!  For a little inspiration, I checked out the current sketch over at Just Cards.  I’ve been wanting to use more of my Paper Wishes templates, so I selected the 15 Butterflies and Dragonflies, 15 Lovely Labels and Layered Labels templates. I also threw in some smooch inks to color the butterflies.  Here’s what I came up with.

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-25884532046270284292012-01-18T10:45:00.000-08:002012-01-18T10:45:01.655-08:00

I love challenges, they’re great for inspiration!  This week’s challenge on the Paper Wishes forum is to make a mosaic.  Since I recently purchased the 15 Butterflies and Dragonflies template. I decided upon a mosaic butterfly. I saw a mosaic heart made from smaller hearts on Pinterest a while back, so I decided to use tiny butterfly punch outs for mine. The flower is two of the Spellbinders

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-57726292225089867732012-01-17T22:34:00.001-08:002012-01-17T22:34:46.450-08:00

I used one of the gift certificates I received for Christmas to buy a Copic airbrush.  One of the things I really like about it is that since it uses Copic pens, there’s really no clean-up.  I’m still learning the basics, but what fun! I have quite a collection of brass stencils, so I selected one with a lighthouse on it and here is what I created. After I removed the stencil from the

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-23763847959599951602012-01-09T13:53:00.000-08:002012-01-09T13:53:00.478-08:00

I made this birthday card with my Spellbinders Sunflower 2 die.  My original intent was to make a blue flower, but after I removed the die-cut flower, I noticed that the left-over blue paper had a perfect aperture for iris folding.  I used my pentagon template for this card, but the hexagon template would also work.

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-35068038183640188742012-01-08T13:24:00.001-08:002012-01-08T13:24:56.465-08:00

Spellbinders scalloped oval and circle die templates are perfect for Spirelli.  Here are a couple cards I made recently using the Oval templates.  I cut one large and one small oval and stacked them. I gave this card to my mom for her birthday.  The butterfly is from the Mix ‘ems Butterflies pack from Paper Wishes.  I used a gold butterfly and shaeded the wing insets with a blue Copic marker

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-11416303638887588722012-01-01T07:02:00.000-08:002012-01-01T07:02:01.698-08:00

I finally got to play with my build a banner template that I received from Paper Wishes at the beginning of December.  The template comes with three different shaped banners in several sizes as well as templates for other shapes (19 shapes total, including the banners).  I’m just about out of birthday cards, so that’s what I decided to make.  Yes banners are simple and yes, I could have easily

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-6901918252949115012011-12-31T12:23:00.001-08:002011-12-31T12:23:04.606-08:00

Now that the gifts have been opened, it’s time for thank-you cards. Since I’m trying to reduce the amount of scraps I had, I decided to make four cards on the same background.  Here’s what I came up with: They don’t exactly fit the season, but it has been dark and dreary for the past few days and I wanted to work on something spring-like. Spellbinders die templates used: Labels Two

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-40656337763560843072011-11-06T11:22:00.000-08:002011-11-06T11:22:00.773-08:00

OK.  I’m pretty much hooked on kirigami.  Here are a few more of my creations made, for the most part, with the Christmas Kirigami template.  I matted this one by tracing it about 1/16” from the edges onto vellum.  I then embossed the traced lines on the vellum, cut it out just to the outside of the embossed lines and stacked the snowflakes.  The label and writing are also embossed on vellum.

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-27577187040680570272011-11-05T22:18:00.001-07:002011-11-05T22:18:33.396-07:00

This card opens like an envelope and has two pockets inside for stashing a greeting and a gift card or money.  You can find the instructions for it over on my Chic’n Scratch. You can used stamps or clipart for the picture, but I was thinking that this would be a very good way to recycle images off of old greeting cards.  I didn’t have any old greeting cards on hand, so I used this image from

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-78761122936176760322011-10-29T22:34:00.001-07:002011-10-29T22:34:54.290-07:00

Last month in my Templates Plus kit from Paper Wishes, I received a Christmas Kirigami.  I’d never done Kirigami before and it looked kind of difficult, so I was pleasantly surprised to find out I was wrong. Here’s my first card. Not bad for a beginner.  I love the paper that came in the kit with the template.  It’s called Glimmer paper.  It is lightweight enough for kirigami and it holds its

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-87324231479810309562011-09-09T17:50:00.000-07:002011-09-09T17:50:00.719-07:00

I made this card using the Gingerbread Dazzles stickers and papers I received in the August Premium Dazzles package from Paper Wishes.com. This was a very quick and easy card. I stuck the gingerbread house dazzle on a piece of white card stock and painted the background, chimney, door, windows and trim with watercolor paints, then I cut it out and put it on the card. 

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-48347699054501978772011-09-08T17:50:00.001-07:002011-09-08T17:50:26.206-07:00

I have decided I’d better get busy making Christmas cards if I plan on sending any out this year.   Since one of my goals right now is to use up scraps, I decided on doing some paper piecing. The pattern for this darling little angel is from Annie Lang’s 202 Paper Piecing patterns.  I bought it several years ago, so I’m not sure if it’s still in print.  You can get a lot of really cute

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-48440686293788683212011-09-05T09:50:00.000-07:002011-09-05T09:50:00.746-07:00

This card was inspired by a card I received from Norma at Just Cards.  The instructions for making a center step card can be found at Split Coast Stampers, but I wanted different dimensions for my card, so I had to make my own pattern.  Getting the folds just right was a little tricky.  This is another card made primarily with paper from my scrap box.

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-71884409272520556642011-09-04T06:26:00.000-07:002011-09-04T06:26:00.184-07:00

I made this card for a friend for her 60th birthday.  You can find the iris folding template for the hat on my website.

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-83901059724511560842011-09-03T08:27:00.000-07:002011-09-03T08:27:00.274-07:00

The focal point of this birthday card is done with a technique called reverse iris fold.  It’s really a lot simpler than it looks.  You can find the instructions HERE. The picture I used is a combination of images from the Birthday Wishes collection at PcCrafter.com.

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-15017054624503413182011-09-02T19:01:00.001-07:002011-09-02T19:01:42.684-07:00

Once again, I have found myself in a card making dry spell, so I turned to my friends for some inspiration. This card is based on a sketch posted by Norma at Just Cards.  The square in the upper left corner is a window. The background paper is from my ever-growing collection of scraps.  Why I keep buying more paper, I will never know! I have enough scraps to make cards for a very long time

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-53965978404676745072011-07-30T16:47:00.001-07:002011-07-30T16:47:13.580-07:00

Since I knew I would be off work on disability for several weeks this summer, I dug around in my to-do pile looking for something to keep me busy.  My search was successful and I found an afghan I started about eight years ago.  I’m happy to report that I finished it yesterday. I made the squares on a lap loom and then crocheted them together.  it was quite easy to do and went together pretty

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-25665558161897334402011-07-27T11:20:00.001-07:002011-07-27T11:20:06.090-07:00

I just love Dwight Kirkland’s Father’s Day collection at PcCrafter.com.  The images are perfect for making cards for men (something I struggle with!).  I made this birthday card for my Nephew using both reverse iris folding and 3D decoupage. The thing I really like about this particular collection is most of the animals overlap the frame, which works very well for 3D decoupage.  Doing the

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-55091054412749676602011-07-07T09:53:00.000-07:002011-07-07T09:53:00.466-07:00

I have a small collection of card blanks with patterns printed on them.  Until now, I haven’t really figured out what to do with them, but the other day, I needed to make some quick thank-you cards and having the pre-printed backgrounds really saved me some time. I cut a couple labels using my Nestabilities Labels Four template and punched out some flowers.  I layered the labels, stamped and

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-54486904588405078502011-07-06T21:37:00.001-07:002011-07-06T21:39:32.428-07:00

Well, I’m off work for a few weeks due to surgery, so maybe I will get some cards made while I’m recuperating.  Here’s one I made today for my niece’s birthday. I used alcohol ink to color both sides of a 12 x 12 sheet of shiny lightweight card stock (butterscotch on one side and a mixture of cranberry, wild plum and butterscotch on the other).  I used the Giant Fold-it Flower Card template

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-46111085053055574822011-03-31T08:00:00.000-07:002011-03-31T08:00:07.882-07:00

Coming up with ideas for cards for men is always difficult to for me.  As I was sorting through my scrap pile the other night, I found some good papers for a “man” card but I couldn’t figure out what to do with them until I remembered some Father’s' day clip art I had.  I used this cardinal from PcCrafter’s Father’s Day collection.  The technique is reverse iris folding with 3D decoupage.  I

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-3637585334471583922011-03-30T08:00:00.000-07:002011-03-30T08:00:10.702-07:00

I do not like to throw scraps away and I don’t like to file them either.  So, they accumulate in a pile on my desk.  About once a week, or more often if needed, I sort them by color and put them in an accordion file. This evening, as I looked at my growing pile of scraps, I decided to see what I could make with them so I wouldn’t have to file them.  I ended up with two cards and a slightly

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-3882719375223863602011-03-29T08:00:00.000-07:002011-03-29T08:00:07.680-07:00

I had some free time last Sunday afternoon, so I visited the Sketches thread over at Just Cards for some inspiration.  I decided upon one with diamond shapes across the top.  Here is my rendition: The background was made using alcohol inks.  I cut the diamonds using a Coluzzle nested diamonds template.  The embossing was done with a brass template I’ve had for ages.  I was feeling lazy, so I

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-88336595375231564142011-03-28T08:00:00.000-07:002011-03-28T08:00:13.627-07:00

I am terrible with tea bag tiles.  I will print them out, and sometimes even cut them out, and then not use them.  I have a notebook full of pre-printed pre-cut tiles that has been gathering dust on my bookshelf.  Today I grabbed that notebook and told myself that I had to make something from my pre-printed tiles.  I looked through my collection and found some tiny green and orange ones that

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-62697972801519265262011-03-27T08:00:00.000-07:002011-03-27T08:00:03.835-07:00

Here’s a birthday card I made for my granddaughter.  The papers are from ProvoCraft’s Super Slab by Rob and Bob Studios.  I chose these colors because they are what she wears most. The ribbon is from Michael’s. Here’s the cupcake pattern for the paper piecing.  I drew it with OpenOffice.org Draw.  Feel free to use it if you want, but please do not post it on another website or group.  

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-46227778082176800402011-03-26T08:00:00.000-07:002011-03-26T08:00:13.078-07:00

I got the idea for this card while thumbing through an old Cardmaker magazine.  The card in the magazine had the pop-up window like this, but just had a flat scene inside the window.  I wanted to give it a bit more of a 3-D look, so I used this cute clip art from PcCrafter’s Friends Forever collection. Here’s a close-up:   I carefully cut out the girls on the swing and saved the tree and

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-11202471511706694782011-03-25T08:00:00.000-07:002011-03-25T08:00:13.090-07:00

Four cards today.  Some Spring string art cards (aka Spirelli) I made.  I printed these on cardstock using this pattern then cut them out and chalked them to give them extra color.      They really aren’t as bad to cut out as you may think.  I cut the leaves out using scalloped scissors.

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-2119585131580903482011-03-24T08:00:00.000-07:002011-03-24T08:00:16.901-07:00

I love butterflies, don’t you?  This one is from Stampin’ up!  I stamped it onto vellum with blue pigment ink and embossed it with holographic embossing powder. The vellum is kind of unusual as it has a textured weave so that it almost resembles Aida cloth.  It’s really pretty.  The background paper is leftover from another project, so I’m not sure where I got it.  I like the bright colors,

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-21697465122899506232011-03-23T08:00:00.000-07:002011-03-23T08:00:02.741-07:00

I have loads of scraps and loads of die-cuts.  So when I sat down to make this card, I grabbed a box of die cuts and told myself I had to use something from the box and that I couldn’t use anything but scraps for the background.  I had no idea how it would turn out. When I got done, I liked it so much that I sent it to a dear friend with whom I have been exchanging cards and ideas for several

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-80490263589105124202011-03-22T08:00:00.000-07:002011-03-22T08:00:09.106-07:00

It has been a long, wet Winter and I am very ready for some springtime flowers!  Here’s a card I made for a swap I was in over at Just Cards. I cut the watering can aperture using the Sizzix watering can steel rule die.  I kept the punch-out from the middle of the handle and glued it in place after finishing the iris folding.  The folding was done using my basic triangle template. I used gift

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-49075526795767340452011-03-21T09:31:00.001-07:002011-03-21T13:55:12.880-07:00

Well, it has been a very busy few months.  I’ve been making cards, but haven’t had time to post.  I’ll start out with a card I made last fall.  It is based on a sketch Norma posted at Just Cards. I love sketches because they often give me the opportunity to try something new.  I hadn’t done a lot with torn paper or distress ink prior to this.  It really does give the card a whole new look.

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-29653523204093611142011-01-02T21:43:00.001-08:002011-01-02T22:15:21.641-08:00

I am having so much fun with my parchment starter kit!  I don’t know why I didn’t take this up years ago.  This afternoon, I moved on to lesson four, which involved dorsing (coloring) some flowers.  I also found my fine-point embossing tool, which really helped with the fine lines on the butterfly. I didn’t color the flowers quite dark enough and I got a little carried away with the embossing

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-49047323370628157882011-01-01T21:27:00.001-08:002011-01-01T21:27:18.972-08:00

I received some money for Christmas, so I decided to buy a parchment craft starter kit. I’ve been wanting to try parchment craft for a long time.  It is so pretty, but it looks like it would be difficult and time consuming. I ordered a starter kit from www.paperwishes.com and was totally blown away when it arrived just 3 days later. Either it was a slow week for them or they are doing something

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-10933812523159155182010-11-20T16:40:00.001-08:002011-09-02T22:06:24.674-07:00

Last night, when I was playing with Kaleidoscope Kreator, it occurred to me that the quilter’s star template would be perfect for spirelli.  I found a photo with the colors I wanted and created a 20 point quilter’s star.  I also created a couple 10 point stars so I could turn the whole thing into a Christmas ornament.  Here’s how it turned out: I edged the stars with gold Perfect Pearls. 

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-76726238350621675372010-11-10T21:28:00.001-08:002010-11-10T21:28:47.326-08:00

I’ve been playing with Spirelli lately.  The other night I cut out several shapes and decided to chalk them before adding the thread.  most of them I did in pretty pastels, but I chose to do this one in fall colors instead.  After finishing it, it occurred to me that it just might work as tail feathers for a turkey.  I was hoping I had some clip art I could use for the turkey’s head and body, but

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-49441904934204817872010-10-09T23:19:00.001-07:002010-10-09T23:19:40.859-07:00

I have a bunch of partially finished projects stashed here and there and my mission this weekend was to finish at least a few of them. So, I peeked in my embroidery box and found several embroidered and spirelli pieces that need to be put on cards.  All of them are at least a year old and some of them much older than that.  There are a few that are just ho-hum, but I can’t bring myself to throw

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-86174719580347182392010-10-08T12:58:00.001-07:002010-10-08T12:59:29.278-07:00

After figuring out and writing up the tea bag folding instructions for the Open Center Star, I ended up with three completed medallions that I needed to do something with. I wanted to mat them and put them on a shiny background, but didn’t have any paper I liked, so I started rummaging through my gift wrap collection and found several rolls of metallic paper in various colors. Perfect! Next,

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-39753702484952659772010-10-05T07:32:00.001-07:002010-10-05T07:32:23.433-07:00

I’ve been working on updating my website and I came across a tea bag fold card I made quite some time ago but I never got around to writing the instructions.  I remember when I made the card that I wanted a fold that would show the picture on the tile, but I couldn’t find a fold I liked.  After playing around a bit, I came up with my own.  It’s fairly simple, so I’m sure someone else has probably

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-15317387934666151952010-09-23T23:25:00.001-07:002010-09-23T23:28:26.228-07:00

I didn’t have much time this evening for crafting, but I’m going to be away this weekend so I knew if I didn’t make something tonight, I probably wouldn’t get anything done for another week.  So I turned to my clip art collection, which is mostly from PcCrafter.  I quickly located a very cute Christmas Sampler collection by Laurie Furnell, one of my favorite artists.  I printed a few images on

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-25263279380067704002010-09-19T22:17:00.001-07:002010-09-19T22:19:28.949-07:00

Here is another card I created based on the September sketch from CraftMad.  This time I used the Nestabilities Scalloped Square and Blossom Two dies.  I wanted to make a Christmas card from non-traditional colors, so I chose some card stock that is purple on one side and pink on the other.  I am pretty sure it is from Making Memories, but I have had it forever, so I don’t know if you can still

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-12649999350659785682010-09-16T20:43:00.001-07:002010-09-16T20:44:51.876-07:00

I don’t know about you, but I certainly get my share of junk mail.  it seems like such a waste.  All that paper that goes straight from my mailbox to the recycle bin.  Well, today I decided to put some of it to good use and make a card. I used my Shapeabilities Pendants die to cut the square shapes and my Nestabilities Blossom Two template to cut the flowers.  The die cuts are all from junk

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-11306542216486500772010-08-28T11:18:00.001-07:002010-08-28T11:18:44.579-07:00

One of the things I have been trying to do with my website redesign is update the descriptions and instructions for my cards.  Last night I was looking at my Embroidered Eight Point Star and trying to remember how I stitched it well enough to write instructions.  I decided it would be easiest just to make another card and while I was at it, it might as well be a Christmas card. I chose the

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-56000939628975317982010-08-19T23:26:00.001-07:002011-09-02T22:15:27.937-07:00

I found some time this evening to make another lantern (no pencil lines this time!). These go together fairly quickly.  This time, I added the flowers and butterfly before putting the lamp together and it was much easier. Here’s the front… … and the back.

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-46498681758991154502010-08-14T22:55:00.001-07:002011-09-02T22:10:42.451-07:00

Today, I finally found some time to play with my new mini lantern template from Hot Off The Press.  They are so adorable!  This is my first one, complete with pencil marks – I’ll be more careful next time! I made it with handmade paper.  The butterfly is layered gold foil and pink scrapbook paper.  I really like the way it turned out.  There are six lantern templates in all.  I think they

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-66431691352468689742010-07-07T15:56:00.001-07:002010-07-07T15:56:08.312-07:00

I made this card for my niece’s birthday.  I made the purse with Paper Wishes’ Pretty Little Purses template.  There are four purses on the template and they are adorable! I put some money inside the purse. It was a real hit with my niece. The dress is a die-cut I received in a swap several years ago.  The shoes are paper-pieced based on a shoe from PCCrafter’s Club Diva collection.

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-1113124448764127022010-07-04T22:17:00.000-07:002010-07-07T15:59:03.246-07:00

Well, I did it. I was so impressed with the templates from Paper Wishes that I joined the template personal shopper club. My first template was this adorable ice cream sundae and it arrived just in time form my nephew’s birthday. Along with the template, I received some very nice paper as well as a newsletter with suggestions. The sparkly brown paper I used to make the ice cream came in the

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-31260906240727361382010-07-03T22:09:00.001-07:002010-07-03T22:09:11.683-07:00

I recently bought some new stamps at Joanne’s and decided to use them on this birthday card for my daughter-in-law.  The outer border stamp is from Heidi Grace Designs and the “happy birthday” and circle are from Inkadinkadoo. After stamping and embossing the circle, I cut it out and mounted it using foam squares to make a raised frame.  The punches I used for the flowers and leaves are as

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-86358634642604016902010-07-03T01:29:00.001-07:002010-07-03T01:29:03.977-07:00

Here’s a sympathy card I made recently.  It was one of my first attempts with perfect pearls and I had to re-do the stamped part 3 times before I got it right.  In spite of that, I really do like Perfect Pearls.  I’m sure I will be using it a lot on future projects. The flowers were made with several different punches.  I used an embossing tool to shape the petals.  Punch flowers are some of

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-27400810211468455702010-06-30T23:05:00.001-07:002010-07-07T16:00:17.733-07:00

I have been eyeing the Fold-it card templates from Paper Wishes for quite some time, so when I saw the spiral template on sale for $1 I snapped it up right away. I wasn’t sure how I would like the template because it seemed like there was a lot of tracing and cutting involved, but it turned out to be quite easy to use. Here is my first card. I made it for my niece’s graduation. Inside, I put

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-36693049635698465542010-06-27T20:49:00.001-07:002010-06-27T20:49:13.870-07:00

My youngest nephew graduated from high school this year.  How time flies!  Cards for guys have always been a struggle for me, so I turned to the May issue of Cardmaker magazine for some inspiration and found the perfect pattern.  The only problem was that I didn’t have the die cuts for the diploma or the graduation hat, nor did I have the stamp for the wording. What to do?  Make my own

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-56895694946485826722010-04-13T07:30:00.001-07:002010-04-13T07:30:52.515-07:00

My oldest granddaughter just turned four.  It is hard to believe how fast she is growing up!  Her birthday was just a few days before Easter, so I added a cute little bunny to her card.   The die for this bunny came in a Sizzlits four pack set which also includes a bear, a lamb and a lion.  They are all adorable.  The lace is made from a strip of vellum that I punched using a Fiskars floral

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-76551728928285512862010-02-17T20:13:00.000-08:002010-02-17T20:13:00.171-08:00

I made this card for my best friend’s birthday.  I used my Sizzlits garden set and my Sizzix flower pot die to make the die cuts.   I used distress ink to make the gloves look used and punched some flowers to add to the flower pot.

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-89216146828032828282010-02-15T20:05:00.001-08:002010-02-15T20:05:35.256-08:00

I made this card for a co-worker who recently suffered a stroke.  One of his favorite pastimes is square dancing, so I wanted to make a card with a square dance theme. I searched high and low and finally found some clip art of a square dancing couple that I could paper piece.  I enlarged it and printed it out, then used my light box to trace the pieces onto patterned scrapbook paper.  I’m

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-9458567557694706842010-01-17T13:22:00.001-08:002010-08-22T13:55:10.217-07:00

Last week one of my co-workers asked me if I could make a thank-you card for a woman at his church who is moving away.  He wanted a quilt theme since she likes to sew and quilt. I decided that I wanted to do something with iris folding, so I went in search of some quilt block patterns and found one called Day and Night that I really like.  Here’s my finished card. While this isn’t quite iris

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-10087594955932090522009-11-27T22:44:00.001-08:002009-11-27T22:44:48.178-08:00

Now that we’ve “killed the bird,” I’m finally ready to make some Christmas cards.  My sister came over today to work on packaging up some jewelry for a craft fair and while she was working on that, I made cards.  It was so nice to have another female in the house!  I love my boys, but sometimes I need some girl time. I started out with some iris folding.  I have a rather large stack of

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-38321174156624194062009-11-24T08:53:00.001-08:002009-11-24T08:53:33.387-08:00

A couple years ago I passed the 10-year mark at my place of employment and as a reward, I received a Krups espresso/cappuccino maker.  Last year, at his company Christmas party, my husband won a really nice Cuisinart burr grinder, so now we have all we need for making a pretty decent cup of coffee.  I have yet to make a cappuccino to rival those I was served when in Holland, but I can make a

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-89637799544339442032009-11-15T22:41:00.001-08:002009-11-16T08:34:32.253-08:00

I was chatting with one of my friends yesterday and we were both commenting that we just weren’t into the Christmas card making spirit yet. We both have blogs (click here to see hers), but neither of us has posted for a while. So I issued a challenge. We both had to post a card by tonight. She beat me by several hours. I have an excuse, though. My sister stopped by unexpectedly with the

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-44855254571953694662009-11-08T19:46:00.001-08:002009-11-08T19:46:37.056-08:00

I was staring blankly at my craft table today trying to figure out what to do next when I spotted some leftover tiles from my last teabag folding project.  I only had six, but I didn’t want to throw them away since they were printed on photo paper. I played with some different arrangements and this is what I came up with.   It’s quick and easy and it used up five out of six tiles. Now, I

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-32103995755398532552009-10-26T22:06:00.001-07:002009-10-26T22:06:52.565-07:00

But keep it to the mountains, please! I’m starting to get into the mood for making Christmas cards.  This card isn’t quite Christmas, but at least I’m getting closer to the right season!  I made it with the Coluzzle Shadow Shapes Mitten template (sadly, they no longer make them).  I Used dark purple card stock for the “shadow” and then cut the mitten from pink non-skid shelf liner.  I finished

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-26991181043587359492009-10-24T14:48:00.001-07:002011-09-02T22:19:42.285-07:00

This afternoon when I sat down to do some tea bag folding, I decided to print the tiles and background on photo paper.   I had never done that before because photo paper is a bit heavy for tea bag folding.  However, I bought some lower end photo paper recently that is lighter weight than most, so I thought I’d give it a shot. Well, the colors look great, but the tiles were a pain to fold.  I don’

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-74248546060515871092009-10-24T00:12:00.001-07:002009-10-24T00:12:16.123-07:00

I’ve been learning Visual Basic for the past couple of months and I’ve written an application that prints tile pages for tea bag folding.  Here’s a screen shot of the selection page: If you’re interested in testing it, let me know and I’ll send you a link so you can download it.

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-58405012982331972122009-10-17T23:03:00.001-07:002011-09-02T22:23:13.686-07:00

OK.  I’m hooked!  Kaleidoscope Kreater is so much fun!  I finally got around to buying some low-end photo paper (HP Everyday Photo) so the colors are much brighter. Here are the cards I made today.  The first one I made from an image from a Dutch tile book. The second one was made from some free clip art from Dover.

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-57507610600626381612009-10-10T22:39:00.001-07:002009-10-10T22:39:16.026-07:00

I splurged on myself this week and bought some craft supplies from CreativExpress.  One of the things I bought was the Sylized Flowers embossing folder.  I had some yellow paper left over from the Card I made Thursday that was just the right size for a 4 1/4” x 5 1/2” card, so I embossed that. Next I broke out my Coluzzle templates and cut some red flowers and green leaves and stems. It’s a

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-79811800948886296722009-10-08T21:45:00.001-07:002011-09-02T22:24:05.969-07:00

I recently purchased and downloaded a project guide from Kaleidoscope Kreator to get some ideas for more things to make with their software.  The first project that caught my eye was card with a layered star and I wanted to learn how to make it. I used a picture of a Dianthus from my garden to create the star.  After that, I just followed the instructions, which were very easy, and the card went

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-69078576808140007942009-09-05T10:41:00.001-07:002009-09-05T10:41:11.201-07:00

Over the past few Thursday evenings I have been teaching my friend's daughter how to make cards.  It has been really fun and she is quite talented.  I showed her iris folding and I think she's hooked.  She made her first card using my fan pattern (sorry, I didn't get a picture).  Her second card was a seashell.  Here it is:   As you can see, she has quite an eye for design.  I'm looking forward

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-60850944255513897032009-08-15T23:04:00.001-07:002009-08-15T23:04:46.199-07:00

Ah, finally, the creative juices are beginning to flow again.  It's good to be back!  The design for this card just popped into my head and I had to get it out before it vanished.  I used some clip-art from PcCrafter as a pattern for the dove.  I traced the body and the wing separately onto white paper, cut them out and then used distress ink to shade them.  I rounded the edges with a large-ball

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-24247326777565657062009-08-15T17:46:00.001-07:002009-08-15T17:46:03.302-07:00

I was invited to a Yuku card making group, Just Cards, some time ago and finally got around to joining today.  It's been months since I have done anything remotely crafty so I needed some inspiration.  The current card sketch on Just Cards was just what I needed and it was perfect for one of my favorite Bible verses.  It's pretty simple, but after such a long card making dry spell, I think

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-5698304378864375062009-03-22T12:20:00.001-07:002009-03-22T12:20:07.662-07:00

After making the moose yesterday, I decided I wanted to try something a little more complex.  I found this really pretty Japanese style butterfly in my clip art collection. This time, I put the pattern on top of the card stock and traced it with a stylus, then I cut the butterfly out with my X-Acto knife.  It was a little tricky because I have fairly bad eyesight so I had to work with my nose

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-36704033952813415222009-03-21T16:35:00.001-07:002009-03-21T16:35:01.004-07:00

Tomorrow is my oldest son's 23rd birthday.  How time flies!  As I sat down this afternoon to make his card, I was at a loss for what to do.  Cards for guys have always been a challenge.  Recently I saw some really pretty silhouette cards on one of the groups I belong to, so I decided to make one of those, but instead of using flowers I wanted used his favorite animal, the moose. I searched

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-196013091991315432009-02-12T22:30:00.001-08:002009-02-12T22:38:42.987-08:00

I came up with the idea for this card Tuesday while I was at work. That seems to happen to me a lot.  I come up with designs when I am away from my craft room and then when I arrive home, I have forgotten all about it.  Tuesdays are especially problematic because I go straight to night school after work.  After class is over I have to pick my youngest son up from high school because he is in the

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-33663843296044127412009-02-08T21:52:00.001-08:002009-02-08T21:55:54.799-08:00

Since I've been having such a hard time coming up with ideas for cards lately, I decided to pull out my scrapbooking stuff instead (which means, pretty much the same stuff I had out already, just add pictures!).  I still have a ton of pictures to rescue from my old "magnetic" albums.  The stack I'm working on now is from Christmas 1978.  Yeah, I have a LONG way to go!!! Here's today's layout:

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-34333708014176905582009-02-07T23:02:00.001-08:002011-09-02T22:28:22.680-07:00

I have had a serious creativity block this week.  Finally today, I managed to come up with something, but only after staring at my supplies for what seemed like hours. This one is really simple.  Draw or trace a heart on plain paper for the pattern Use a ruler and drew lines on it to divide it into sections. Use a light box to trace the sections onto different pieces of patterned

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-1207745453242461362009-01-31T17:18:00.001-08:002011-09-02T22:24:35.866-07:00

I haven't had much time this week for crafting, but I have had a little bit of time to play with Kaleidoscope Kreator and I made some square, round and octagon shaped tea bag tiles.  Here are a few.   If you would like to download any of them, click the one you want to open it in full size, then right-click and save the image. You can find tea bag tile folding instructions on my web site at http

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-78582330985487417952009-01-24T17:55:00.001-08:002011-09-02T22:25:07.713-07:00

I got the idea for this box from some junk main one of my co-workers received.  If you push down on it, it flattens out so that you can put it in an envelope, but when you take it out of the envelope it springs into a box shape.  I thought it was just about the coolest thing I'd ever seen, so of course, I had to figure out how it was done.  The secret is that it has a rubber band inside. The

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-3891536103729933202009-01-22T23:09:00.001-08:002009-01-22T23:09:04.467-08:00

Here is a sympathy card I made recently for a friend. The flowers are made from parchment.  I've always admired parchment work, but I've only done one other piece. This card is an extremely simple example of parchment work which is usually much more elaborate. Here's a closer look at the flowers. Here's what I used to make the card: Parchment paper Flower pattern from PCCrafter's

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-33349606044458356962009-01-22T22:22:00.001-08:002009-01-22T22:22:55.529-08:00

 Julie, one of my best and longest-time card making friends gave me these awards. First I am to list 5 things I am addicted to: 1. Well, I don't know that I'd call it an addiction, perhaps obsession would be better!  Number one is my family, particularly my granddaughter. 2. Paper crafting, which encompasses a multitude of techniques.  I don't like to be tied down to any particular one

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-69737727908373090302009-01-19T19:46:00.001-08:002011-09-02T22:28:37.332-07:00

I had the day off today, so of course, I spent some time making cards.  Here is a Valentine's card I made that combines iris folding and 3-D decoupage.   For the iris folding, I drew a heart with one of my graphics programs and used it as a pattern for the cut-out.  I used the largest triangle from my iris folding triangle template which can be found here: http://www.handcraftedgreetings.com

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-22096811654410170452009-01-19T00:31:00.001-08:002011-09-02T22:26:40.234-07:00

I have been looking through the sampling of Valentine's Day cards in the Treasury of Greeting Card Designs from Dover and I find it interesting to observe the differences in today's Valentine's Day cards and those done in the late 1800's. Two of the changes I noticed right away are that the cards of yesteryear used the color red much more sparingly and frequently incorporated violets, a flower

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-41469761805970042632009-01-16T22:53:00.001-08:002011-09-02T22:28:58.582-07:00

I love paper piecing!  It is a great way to use up scraps and you never quite know what you are going to end up with.  I wasn't sure if the brown paper I chose for this little guy was going to work out.  I was a little worried that he might look like he has chicken pox!  Now that he's done, I think he's cute!   I have a light box, so I scanned the pattern, then used the light box to trace the

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-62436325142589999962009-01-13T23:19:00.001-08:002009-01-13T23:19:27.061-08:00

Here's a birthday card I made for my mother-in-law.   The paper is from David Walker studios.  I love the colors, but they didn't scan well. Here's what I used to make the card: Coluzzle mini envelopes template Coluzzle tag template Coluzzle book plates template Uchida flower punch EK Success 1/8" hole puch (for flower centers) Studio g birthday stamp Paper Shapers

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-38414823220238093152009-01-10T21:40:00.001-08:002010-08-23T20:20:49.560-07:00

Hopefully you haven't thrown out last year's calendar yet, because here is some more treasure from trash!  This idea came from my mother and they are so easy to make.  Even the handles are from recycled material, they were crocheted using plastic shopping bags cut in inch-wide strips. These cute little gift bags can also be made from scrapbook paper, heavy weight gift wrap, or you can stamp

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-85297823443465739462009-01-06T23:23:00.001-08:002009-01-07T21:31:15.627-08:00

I'm a packrat.  My husband and sons will readily attest to that.  It annoys them, but sometimes it pays off.  I have been saving a Victorian calendar forever (I think it was from 1984) because the pictures are so pretty I just couldn't bear to throw it away.  As I was trying to decide what to use for my next basket, it occurred to me that the pictures on that calendar would be perfect. Here's

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-82329133532189189742009-01-03T02:45:00.001-08:002010-08-23T20:23:08.957-07:00

One of the things I remember from my childhood Christmases was a basket my mother had that my grandmother had made out of Christmas cards.  I don't know what became of the basket, but when my sister was visiting last month and we were trying to figure out what to do with a box of old Christmas cards, both of us thought of the basket.  Unfortunately, neither of us had any idea how to make one so

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-10735281855974274922009-01-02T01:39:00.001-08:002009-01-02T01:39:03.288-08:00

I finished the stained glass window on this card several years ago, but I never could figure out what to do with it.  Yesterday, someone sent me an e-mail asking if I had a pattern for a stained glass window, so I decided to dig this card out of the unfinished box and finish it. The clilp art is from PCCrafter.  The bride and groom are from the November 2005 PC Hug Club "Topper" set.  The

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-34067436560398474692008-12-23T05:41:00.000-08:002008-12-23T05:42:09.994-08:00

I was back in a stamping mood today.  I have growing collection of Studio G clear stamps from Michael's dollar bin and I decided it was high time I used them.  I am still working on card packets for Christmas so I made several of each of these cards.  Once I figured out the design, they went together fairly quickly.    

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-12649288472087989032008-12-21T21:06:00.000-08:002008-12-21T21:10:05.447-08:00

We are snowed in for real now.  We got six inches yesterday, then it rained last night, so we have a nice layer of ice on top and now it's snowing again.  Nobody's going anywhere unless they have chains and 4 wheel drive (we have a LOT of hills here).  This wouldn't be too much of a problem, except that I didn't finish my Christmas shopping and the forecast for the rest of the week is more of the

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-5828517836943456742008-12-17T23:04:00.001-08:002008-12-17T23:07:38.029-08:00

Tonight, as I sat down to my work table, I had a difficult time trying to decide what to do.  I was originally going to do iris folding, but my iris folding stuff is in a container in the garage somewhere and it's too cold out there to go look for it, then I thought about stamping, but I've done enough stamping this week.  After mulling over several other options, I finally settled on tea bag

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-66368822732552761892008-12-16T22:45:00.001-08:002008-12-16T22:45:21.859-08:00

Well, I think maybe I'm starting to recover my creativity.  This is the fourth consecutive day that I've made cards.  Today, I decided to try some more stamping and I needed more birthday cards for the gift sets I am making. Digging through my craft cabinet, I found a cute bird stamp from a Stampin' Up! set I bought a few years ago.  I decided to try something new (for me) and color the stamp

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-36931226098403798782008-12-15T22:57:00.001-08:002008-12-15T22:57:46.228-08:00

This evening, I wanted to make a card with a Christmas wreath on it, but I don't have a wreath stamp.  The roads are still pretty icy, so a trip to Michael's wasn't an option.  I decided to improvise and here's what I came up with. Not bad for a daisy stamp, huh?  I just drew a circle on the card and stamped away.  I found another stamp that somewhat resembled a poinsettia. I stamped it on

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-75558148776326648252008-12-14T21:59:00.001-08:002008-12-14T21:59:48.072-08:00

Today, we had our first winter storm of the year and I'm snowed in.  Well, not really, but snow here is rare enough that when it happens we all stay home.  Not that I mind all that much.  Since it is so cold and grey out, I decided I needed to look at something to remind me of warmer weather.  Here are a couple more photo cards I made this afternoon. One of the things I am attempting to do

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-52407249406248392782008-12-13T22:58:00.001-08:002008-12-13T23:01:51.583-08:00

Two things I really enjoy are card making and photography. I especially like taking pictures of flowers. Oddly enough, I have rarely combined card making with photography. Nearly all of my photographs have been relegated to photo albums or screen savers. This evening as I sat at my work table trying to figure out what kind of card to make, I decided to give it a try. Here's what I came up

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-8927517455519267802008-11-29T22:25:00.001-08:002011-09-02T22:10:42.464-07:00

My sister came to visit for Thanksgiving and decided to stay the rest of the week (she lives over 200 miles away).  We spent Friday and Saturday together playing with craft stuff.  Our original plan was to make gifts for the rest of our siblings, but we ended up making Christmas ornaments (which may still end up being gifts for our siblings).  I had a carton of 48 Easter eggs in assorted

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-32094438727341739812008-11-08T15:46:00.001-08:002008-11-08T15:46:28.075-08:00

For those of you who scrapbook, Wordle ( http://www.wordle.com ) is a very cool site for creating word clouds you can use on album pages.  Write a paragraph or two about the pictures on your page, paste what you've written into wordle and see what comes out.  I pasted in my entire final reflective essay from my college writing class.  Here's what it generated:   The more often a word is used,

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84888203734934238.post-50675596167088258942008-10-26T22:50:00.001-07:002008-10-26T23:02:54.894-07:00

Today I had a rare afternoon all to myself, so of course I sat down to make cards.   I stared at my empty craft table for quite a while trying to figure out what to do.  Tea bag folding? Embroidery? Iris Folding?  I just couldn't make up my mind, so I decided to rummage through a stack of paper I hadn't looked at for quite a while and discovered a few sheets of vellum with a weave texture. I

craftycardmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14362872358983182006noreply@blogger.com1