No Soliciting Sign

I've been intending to make a No Soliciting sign for ages. Some really obnoxious solicitors got me to finally do it.  The sign is a combination of a few Silhouette Design Store cutting files, and some of my own creation, to suit my personality.

Christmas Tiles

In Relief Society (the women's group at Church) we added the above vinyl designs onto boards. They had shown the project in our Sunday church meetings. I basically measured the board, went and bought a tile the right size, and took that with me the night we made them. I didn't want a painted board. I was very happy with the results.

Then I went home and searched among the cutting files that I had bought, and I found the same nativity cutting file, minus the phrase. I found another cutting file with the same phrase, but in a different font.

My husband and I went to see my daughter, my youngest son, and their spouses. While there, I used my daughter's cutter, my husband's laptop, and the nativity file on a flash drive and made a few tiles for family.

I decided that I didn't want the smaller stars to have just 4 points, so I took the center of the large star and duplicated it. I liked the final result better than the original. Apparently I did not take a picture before I flew home. I had to ask my daughter to send me a photo. It's not taken quite straight on, but you can still see the differences a bit.

One more card, because I have several grandkids....

This is another pop-up card, so technically it can count for Cardtober challenge 16.

The castle inside and the castle outside are Silhouette Design Store cutting files.  The knight and dragon are Karen Burniston dies. For the words/name inside the card, I used the Bernard MT condensed font. I'm sorry the castle details don't show well. It does look better in person.

CARDtober Cards, in one post.......

It took two separate photos, but here they all are:

They are not in any particular order. They've gotten a bit mixed up during the month. Oh, and one is missing because I mailed it to a friend already. It was the quilt/friends one.

CARDtober 30 and 31

I actually managed all of the October challenges. I did a card for all 31 days.  Here are the final two:

Challenge 30 was to Mix It Up. I used mixed media, which I am still not super comfortable with. I first spritzed the blue card stock with Perfect Pearls Mist, to try to create an illusion of snow falling. It was not perfect, by any means, no pun intended. I used Dreamweaver Stencils Pearlescent Embossing Paste to create the snow on the tree (Ellentine die cut, I think) and beneath the tree. Then I used Nuvo drops to add dimensional snow falling. The peace die cut was from Silhouette Design Store (Christmas Peace Words). I created a minimal background mat for it so that it would actually show up. Both the Peace word and background mat were cut from metallic papers (silver and evergreen).

 Challenge 31 was an easy one: make a fall card. I used Graphic 45 papers from their "Time to Flourish" and "Children's Hour" collections.

CARDtober 28 and 29

Challenge 28 was to use something new, that you had never used before. It could be a year old, as long as you had not actually used it previously for a project.

I decided to use an embossing folder/die set from Tonic, that I had recently purchased from CraftStash but had not yet opened. I embossed three different colored squares of cardstock with the folder, then used one of the dies to cut the red and green sections for the card. This is just one embossing folder.  It is really beautiful and versatile. It is somewhat like "THAT folder" which I used for Challenge 25, but I love that the dies are included in the set, which makes it easy to create a variety of cards with just the one set.

The cardinal stamp is from the Heartfelt Creations Festive Holly collection, which I had also recently bought but never opened. I used Stickles for the snow clumps. The stamp does have the little clumps of snow, but I wanted the snow to look a bit more realistic.

I could have made a huge number of projects using items that I have bought and never used before. I really need to challenge myself to use as least one each week. It is ridiculous to buy stamps, dies, embossing folders, and other papercraft items, and not put them to use.


Challenge 29 was to have a POP of color.

I have been intending to use this Penny Black stamp, and this was the perfect challenge for it. I love the shabby farm truck. The stamp shows paint missing from the truck, but because I used a dark blue ink, which is actually darker than it looks here, the missing paint sections did not show up well. I used the Copic blending pen to remove spots of color, so the truck would look older and more worn. The "Happy Harvest stamp is an old one by Stampin' Up, probably from the mid-90's.

CARDtober 26 and 27

Challenge 26 was to stamp and color on kraft card stock. I used colored pencils to color a Penny Black stamp. I added a Heartfelt Creations die-cut. I separated the die-cut into 3 separate pieces. The background paper was from the 6x6 paper pad of the Graphic 45 St. Nicholas collection. I used prills from Heartfelt Creations for the center of the flower, and added a few highlights with Wink of Stella.

Challenge 27 was based on a sketch, and was supposed to be monochromatic. For my first try, I totally forgot about keeping it monochrome. I used a die set for the leaves that I found at Tuesday Morning recently. I inked the cuts a little to add color. I cut the word FALL using the ZP Champagne Kisses Bold font. The paper is from the Acorn Hollow collection by Little Yellow Bicycle, an older line.

I wasn't totally happy with the fall card, so I tried again, this time keeping closer to the sketch, although I chose to do a 6x6 card because I wanted to use this embossing folder by Apple Blossom, a recent purchase from CraftStash, which is located in the UK. The "Thinking of You" stamp came with a set that was free with the Cardmaking & Papercraft magazine, issue 183 June. It had some cute stamps in the set, but I only used the phrase for this card.  I covered the stamped "you" with the first square. I used the same font for the "Y" and "U" that I used for the fall card above.

CARDtober25, Using Heartfelt Creations and THAT Folder

Referred to among card makers as "THAT folder," this is an embossing folder that originally came with the "Papercraft Essentials" magazine, issue 122. A wonderful person at RefuPeas sent the embossing folder and the magazine to me as a RAK when she found out that I was trying to find it. It is available only in the UK. The Apple Blossom company also makes additional folders based on the same concept. CraftStash in the UK sells them, and even we Yankees can order from across the pond.

There are a lot of beautiful ideas on Pinterest using this folder, which is where I saw cards made with it, and why I wanted to get one for myself. Since it is such a beautiful embossing folder, it was the obvious choice for the CARDtober challenge 25 (embossing):

I used purple Stickles on the dots, and I added a Lush Lilac bouquet (Heartfelt Creations). I don't often do 6x6 cards, but I couldn't bring myself to crop it to a rectangular size.

I apologize for the poor cropping job I did. It actually is straight, but it really doesn't look like it.

CARDtober24

This challenge was to use a tag on your card. I used papers from the BoBunny Enchanted Harvest collection, from their 6x6 inch paper pad. The pumpkin was die cut. I inked the embossing slightly.

Emily's Card

I made this pop up card for a granddaughter using a combination of files from Silhouette Design Store. I added a little Wink of Stella for shine.

CARDtober 22 and 23

Challenge 22 was to use a number.

I made a card for my youngest grandson's birthday. The onesie card was inspired by something I saw on Pinterest ages ago. I had made a cutting file for my Cameo back then. I think I posted my earlier cards here some time ago. I made a similar card, but can no longer find large enough brads, so I went with buttons.

Challenge 23 was to make a card for your Pop, as in a masculine card for your father, grandfather, etc.

I just used some paper scraps for this one.

CARDtober 20 and 21

Challenge 20 was to use a sketch and make a monochromatic card with twine and a button.

The sketch had a star border. I may have taken a few liberties with the sketch. I turned it one quarter turn, and I did not have a green button, so I used something else with my twine. I also had trouble finding a green in my stash that worked with the green card stock, so I sponged green ink on white card stock.

Challenge 21 was to use a die-cut as a focal point.

I had cut this balloon die cut for a layout, then decided that I wanted a darker color for my layout, so I had this left over. I hand cut the banner, stamped the title, and added Nuvo drops.

CARDtober Challenges 17, 18, and 19

Challenge 17 was texture with mixed media.

This one was harder for me, since I had never used a texture paste before. I learned the hard way that you need to clean the template right away. It was a bear to clean once it was dried. Think concrete. Stuck to your template. Okay, maybe not that bad, but soaking only helped a little. I still had to scrape and scrape to get the stuff off.

I mixed in red ink, but only got kind of an orangy color. It worked for brick, though, which was the template I had decided to use ahead of time.  I had some papers that worked well with a short brick wall popped in front, and I used Nuvo drops to add a little final something.  I'm still not crazy about mixed media, but part of it had to do with how much texture paste was required for so little stencil. I make a big enough mess paper crafting as it is. Mixed media just seems to make an even bigger mess, so that's another reason I am not fond of using gooey stuff (Nuvo drops excepted).

Anyway, here is the card I did:

Challenge 18 was dimension.

So I popped out the layers and added a pinwheel. You want dimension? Add a pinwheel. It really pokes out. I don't know how I will get this one into an envelope.

Challenge 19 was bling.

This card was a definite copy from something similar I saw done by a Heartfelt Creations DT member. The dies are Heartfelt Creations, and so is the background paper. I used a metallic shimmer cardstock for the layers. I used 8 rhinestones and Stickles, too. This card shines.

 I used Nuvo drops on the pearl strand die cut. I had to do every other one, let them set, then do the alternating ones. Otherwise, they kind of blend together. I waited a day to let the Nuvos and Stickles set. It was longer than necessary, but I smushed some of the pearls accidentally. There were originally going to be more pearls than I ended up with.

CARDtober 16 Fall Box Card

This card definitely took longer to make, but box cards are among my favorite cards. I was surprised to realize that it has been over 3 years since I made one. Renovating and moving kind of got in the way of the fun stuff.

There are tutorials online for how to make them, but I recommend the ones by Nichol Spohr. The way she puts hers together is easier, faster, and they fold correctly. The way most tutorials show, it is sometimes difficult to get your card to flatten properly for going into the envelope.

I have a cute scarecrow stamp that I love, and I have a cornstalk stamp that goes with him. Both are by Stampin' Up, and are old as dirt. So I have my scarecrow in a corn field. The pumpkin and Happy Fall stamps were by other companies, but not ones I am as familiar with.

I am including more photos of this project, because it is hard to see it well from just one angle.

CARDtober 14 and 15

CARDtober challenge 14 was to make a card using a sports theme. Camping and hiking are as sporty as we get. I hiked with my dad when I was younger, and we love nature. Everything was cut from patterned papers.

CARDtober challenge 15 was to use the colors of your flag. I'm American, so I did red, white, and blue. The die cut shield tag is by Heartfelt Creations. The stamped sayings are Heartfelt Creations. I just hand cut the banners. I added some red rhinestones, and blue & white twine. The paper is old. Really old. I have no idea who the manufacturer was. I will probably send this one to a friend of mine who is a relatively recent military widow. She is having a hard time.

CARDtober 12 and 13

Both of these challenges were based on sketches. I don't use sketches, so it was a bit more of a challenge for me.

Challenge 12 had a sketch with papers cut on the diagonal, a cluster, and a sentiment. I used older papers, older cut-out shapes, and a stamped mummy I had made awhile ago, but never used. I prefer cute to creepy Halloween anything, so this is how it turned out:

The Challenge 12 sketch used angled rectangles, a border on the side of one of the rectangles, and a circle with a scalloped mat. I definitely adapted a little because I wanted to focus on the word "Dream" that was part of the patterned paper. It seemed a shame to cover it up. I added a die-cut that I split into two separate shapes. The papers are by BoBunny. I don't know who the die-cut was by, but it was either an older Heartfelt Creations die or Spellbinders.

CARDtober 11

For this challenge, we had to choose two of the following, although I assume we could do more than two (I did):

Layers
Background Paper
Embossing
Glitter (or glitter paper)
Fiber (ribbon, thread, yarn, baker's twine)
Tag

I used Enchanted Harvest BoBunny papers from the 6x6 pad, and Carta Bella stickers, all of which I had found at Tuesday Morning. I used crochet thread, and added glitter with Wink of Stella.

One of the leaves, the butterfly, and the sunflower on the post card layer may look sort of distressed in the photo, but it is actually the shine from the Wink of Stella glitter you are seeing.

CARDtober 10 with Heartfelt Creations

Today's challenge was to create a birthday card with sparkle, and an additional challenge to use the colors aqua/teal, navy blue, and silver/grey.

The stamped sentiment, car cut-out, and die-cut are from Heartfelt Creations. The car and sentiment are from their Young at Heart Collection.

It's not super obvious, but I used silver glitter Nuvo drops on the headlights and hub caps of the car cut-out, and aqua glitter Nuvo drops on some of the flowers. I used clear Wink of Stella to add ultra fine glitter to the word "classic" in the sentiment. I used it on the windshield and some of the chrome parts of the car, too.

CARDtober 09 with Heartfelt Creations Die and Stamps

This challenge was to have something from the inside of the card popping through a window cut into the front of the card.

The paper is BoBunny, from their Serendipity line. You have to look closely, but there is a bird in the patterned paper, within the cage. The bird cage and 3D flowers are Heartfelt Creations dies and stamps. The bird cage die is from their Lush Lilac collection. The 3D flowers were created with stamps from their Classic Petunia collection.

Just for clarification, there is no black border. It has a white border. I put the card on a black background to take the photo.

CARDtober 7 and 8

Challenge 7 was to make a shaker card. I couldn't find any talc or baby powder, so mine has a bit of static. I also wish I had used clear micro beads instead of gold, since clear might have looked like snow but by the time I realized that, it was too late to do anything about it.

I used Graphic 45 papers from their St. Nicholas collection. It's a 5x7 card.

You can see the micro beads clustered at the bottom, but they do shake, rattle, and roll as you tilt the card.

Challenge 8 is a monochromatic card. Although it is not obvious, the fern paper actually has a very light green behind the ferns. I used Little Yellow Bicycle (background), BoBunny (stripes), and Colorbok (fern) papers. I used one of the new Heartfelt Creations sentiment stamps in the upper right corner.

CARDtober 6

Challenge 6 involved using hexagons and use of a sketch. I had to adapt it a bit since I wanted a horizontal card instead of the vertical samples shown, but I made it work. The friends stamp is by Art Impressions. I separated the sentiment from the friend group wrapped in the quilt. They were together on one rubber stamp. The hexagon stamps are by Stampin' Up from a few years or so ago.

Cardtober Challenges 3, 4, and 5

Challenge 3 was to use vellum. I was looking for something else at the time, when I came across a printed vellum in my stash that had light green vines on it.  The vine printed vellum was a perfect compliment for a vine printed paper which I had in my stash. The stamped sentiment and flowers were made using Heartfelt Creations stamps. The sentiment is from one of their new Sentiments and Tags collection, and so is the tag. The flower stamp was from their Lush Lilacs collection.

Challenge 4 was to use something old: 2 items that had been in your stash for a long time. I went digging among the Iris bins in my craft closet, and I found some very old die cuts ("Thankful" and the pinwheel, an old paper scrap, and I also used an old button, old twine, and an old brad. Even the card base was from a pack that is more than 2 years old. The grayish border is just the table it was on when I took the photo. I usually crop out unnecessary background, but I did not think the edges of the card would show up when I posted it here.

Challenge 5 was to use black and white, so I made a Halloween card using papers from my stash. The stamped owl is a Stampendous Stamp.

Cardtober Challenges 1 & 2

The RefuPeas site is doing challenges, which is not new, but I joined this month for the first time. One of the challenge opportunities is to make a card based on a different challenge given each day. I made one the first day but did not get it posted. I started the second challenge on the 3rd day. I hope I can catch up rather than fall farther behind. At any rate, here are the two cards I have made for Cardtober so far.

Challenge #1 is based on Yosemite, using the colors blue, gray, green, and brown. I used the Heartfelt Creations Woodsy Wonderland papers for this one:

Challenge #2 was to have something popping out, like out of a frame, shape, window, whatever. I had just come across a bin of stamps a day or two before. Among them was a cute Penny Black stamp that I had bought a few years ago but never used, and it was perfect for this challenge:

It's not as obvious from the photo, but I did literally pop her out. I did this by stamping and cutting out 3 layers, and the top layer has foam tape to pop her out of the window frame. Next time I will pop out the bird, too. That is the one thing I wish I had done differently.

Wreath Cards

Jennifer McGuire has posted videos of wreath cards made using templates by Gina K. It is a clever and fun concept. I have a huge collection of stamps, so I decided to try to make wreath cards with the stamps that I have on hand, but using the wreath card template. It has been a learning experience. These first ones have not really been finished or made into cards yet. I am not sure which ones I will actually use. These are just my first attempts that turned out halfway decent. The ones that bombed (several) got tossed into the trash. I really recommend that you choose your colors for coordination before you begin. Some of my first experiments would have worked if I had chosen my colors more carefully. Stamp the largest image first, then fit in the smaller ones, working your way down in size as you go.  The following wreath card fronts are not necessarily in the order that I made them.

I went diagonal with the next one. Not sure how it will work for an actual card. I may have to cut it out to use.

There is not much of an open center to this one. The bulk of the wreath was one floral stamp that I used in each corner, then filled in with a little green using smaller stamps.

This next card uses circle borders by ArtGoneWild. The pumpkin in the center is not part of the set. I just liked it better. It looks kind of like a wreath card, but it was done with 3 circle stamps made to go together. I could and probably should have popped out each of the smaller circles and the pumpkin, but I was tired, so I went for easy. If I used just the outside circle, I could adapt it to an actual wreath card, maybe filling it out a bit. I may try that eventually.

This last one is my favorite, and it is the most recent. The small pumpkin that I used in the center of the Halloween card above and in the wreath of the one below was by Impression Obsession.  The leaf/acorn/stick swag was a single stamp by Stampin' Up, so the wreath itself was made using only 2 stamps. The scarecrow is also a Stampin' Up stamp. These stamps, and most of the ones used in all of these card fronts were older stamps. There are a few stamps from newer sets, but very few.