Our youngest son and daughter-in-law live with us. She works at a Day Care Center. The owner gave each of the employees a stocking to decorate, since parents sometimes want to drop off little gifts to the teachers. She asked for my help in figuring out what to do with it. I had some beautiful Christmas ribbon, lots of Silhouette designs to choose from, and my Cameo. This is the result:
When we started, it looked pretty plain and cheap. It's amazing what a little HTV and pretty ribbon can do.
I am still working on my 2017 Disney Christmas album, and still on the first day of our trip. This is obviously going to take forever if I don't spend more time scrapbooking.
The title is from Paper Wizard. The snowflakes are a Silhouette Design Store cutting file. The paper is BoBunny, from a winter line of long ago. I bought it for something else, but these were the only papers in my ridiculously huge stash that went with the Paper Wizard title.
My daughter loves Alice in Wonderland. She loves herbal tea. Someday, when she has a baby, she wants to decorate the baby's room in an Alice in Wonderland theme. She had a birthday recently. Her husband and in-laws threw her a surprise party. The theme? Alice in Wonderland, of course. They live a long ways away, so attending was not an option. I had to make do with a card and a check sent in the mail.
I used Silhouette Design Studio print and cut files from Echo Park, and my own box card design.
This box card was made for my youngest grandson's birthday. The Dinosaurs and phrase are Stinkin' Cute Print & Cut Paper Piecings from the Silhouette Design store. I used pattern fill papers from Silhouette, too. I made this box card back in September but never posted it.
He has an older brother who has been learning to play Dungeons & Dragons. His birthday was actually a couple of months ago. I get the bad grandma award for the delay, but I try to make very personal birthday cards that I hope will be enjoyed and appreciated. We've also been dealing with my husband's major health problems, and I have been struggling with the creativity needed for a fun card. I finally came up with this:
D&D fans will get it.
I showed my 27 year old son the D&D card and asked what he thought. He said he wants me to make one just like it for him when his birthday rolls around, so I got a "perfect 20" for my card design. I'll actually be making a less cutesy design for his.
This is another of the box cards that I made back in September while debating which to use for the first CARDtober Challenge. The scarecrows are from the Silhouette Design Store, but the box card is my own design.
Before moving to Texas, we lived near a local farm, which had a Fall Festival every year. Our family went to the Fall Festival there most years. My two youngest sons both worked at the farm when they were old enough. This box card is a reminder of those happy times.
When I was preparing for CARDtober, I created several box cards ahead of time. I just didn't post all of them. Here are two Halloween Box Cards that I made in September but didn't use for the first CARDtober Challenge:
This challenge was to use a particular fall color palette. It included a peachy pink, along with a fall green, brown, etc.
Despite my ridiculously huge stash, I had trouble finding anything that even came close. However, yesterday while on an errand, I realized that I was passing a Tuesday Morning. It's one that I rarely visit, because it is so far, and I always have to use the GPS to find it. It's a feast or famine location as far as craft supplies, but this time I found some fun papers. I put some back before checking out, and I still came home with more than I should have. The papers I used for this card were among them. The photo doesn't show the colors quite true, but they actually worked well for the color palette for this last CARDtober challenge.
The twist was to make a card of a different size than usual, or to use a technique that you rarely use. I'm burned out, though. I hadn't expected to complete every challenge this month, so I accomplished more than I expected.
This challenge was to use your scraps to make a card, and the twist was to add bling. I didn't have any bling that would really suit my card, so I decided to forget about the twist. The gnome was a Silhouette Design Store file. It was supposed to be a regular cut, but I had used it as a print & cut, then never actually used it. It's not perfect, but it worked well enough, and since it was a left over, I felt it qualified as a scrap.
This is my last CARDtober challenge where I am the hostess, and it is to make a card or layout with a "magical" theme such as Disney, Harry Potter, a magician doing tricks, dragons/fairies, Halloween, or whatever is magical to you. The twist is to use a technique that you haven't done in at least a year. I chose to do heat embossing. It's been so long that I have no idea when I last did heat embossing on a project. It's definitely been a minimum of a year.
I used the Paper Nest Wizard Boy stamp, as well as Queen & Co. Foundation dies (of course). The "Stop by for a Spell" heat embossed phrase was done with a Stampendous stamp that I have had for several years.
This challenge was to use scraps and make a card based on the sketch and dimensions that the hostess provided. The twist was to use an animal. I had butterfly paper in my scraps, and since insects are part of the animal kingdom, I fussy cut one of them out. It was the perfect size to fit inside the circle.
This slider was done with nylon thread or fishing line and a tube bead. It's a very clever idea. I have no idea who came up with this technique, but the little ghost slides easily back and forth as the card is tilted.
The 3 views below show different positions of the ghost as she glides between the tombstones.
The print & cut ghost is from the Silhouette Design Store, and the artist is Stinkin' Cute Paper Piecings.
I used Lawn Fawn dies for the slimline card. I used Queen & Co. dies and stamps for the banner and tombstones.
I found a really cute paper in my stash from a holiday paper pad. It had glittered color on it, which looked like it had been heat embossed. I used 3 different colors of rhinestones, and an unusual color of pearl.
I added a border at the bottom, did some fussy cutting for this card, and glued the layers on top. It adds slight dimension, not a lot, but I felt that it needed "something" more, so that's what it got.
I used some of my scraps from the previous day's card to make this one. The sketch used only one vertical banner, and it used a circle in a scallop (marked "any shape"), but I kept closer to the sketch than sometimes. I used Queen & Co. dies and stamp.
The twist is supposed to be to fussy cut. I fussy cut the strawberry tag, the 3 butterfiles (including their antennae), and the ladybug. The papers were from the BoBunny Celebrating Freedom paper pad, and I used Queen & Co. Foundation dies.
Challenge 20 was to make a spinner card. You wind it up before putting in the envelope. When the recipient opens the card, the figure spins. I used a Silhouette Print and Cut file, and reversed it, so that I could have the exact same image on both sides.
Challenge 21 was to use a stamped or printed image. I did some fussy cutting from BoBunny's Cottontail Collection.
Challenge 23 was to be inspired by stickers or die cuts and use them on a card. I used stickers from Echo Park on a Simple Stories cut apart card. This one was super fast, super easy.
It's my turn to host the CARDtober challenge again, and this time the challenge is to make a card that is reflective of where you live.
I live in Texas. Some people wear cowboy hats, cowboy boots, and drive big trucks. I am not one of them. However, when I found this stamp, I bought it, because it reminded me of one of the first friends I made after I moved here. She unexpectedly became a young widow two years ago, and life is often challenging for her. I made this card with her in mind. The phrase inside says, "Some days ya gotta put on your BOOTS and just DANCE."
This challenge was to make a very simple holiday card. I used leftovers and scraps from my stash mostly, to make this Thanksgiving card.
I had far more trouble with this challenge than I should have, since it was a simple sketch. I adapted it slightly, since there was an asymmetrical aspect that bothered me. I like asymmentrical designs if they are balanced, but this one just didn't sit well with me. Sketches are meant to be adaptable, anyway. The twist was to include food or drink in some way. The apple basket was a very old stamp from my stash that I had used for one of my card nights. It was a leftover. The phrase was from a Queen & Co. set. The dies I used were their Foundation dies. Of course. They just make it easier.
This challenge was to use brown or whatever color is typically difficult for you to use in card making. The twist was to incorporate circles in some way. I struggle to use brown/kraft paper.
This is a kraft patterned paper that I had in my stash, with various printed designs on it that could be cut apart for card making. I'd found a 12 sheet pack of it at Tuesday Morning, and I bought it, thinking that it would be great for cards, but I actually have had a very difficult time using it.
I often wake up during the night and can't go back to sleep. Last night was another of those nights, so I was up in my craft room around 4:30 this morning, working on this card. It came together easier than I expected. The hardest part was actually figuring out what to use for the card base behind the printed kraft elements. I used an embossing folder to give the lighter brown card stock some texture/dimension.
The kraft paper is called Alfresco Sampler on Kraft by Canvas Corp.
Today's challenge is to be inspired by a kit and use it to make a card. I don't subscribe to kits. The kits that I have bought on an individual basis tend to be for scrapbook layouts, which I'm not going to cut into in order to make a card. I'm not sure if Queen & Co. are the kind of kits the hostess had in mind, but I have bought quite a few of those during the pandemic "Stay at Home" orders. I went with the Queen & Co. Support Sentiment Stacker kit, which included papers, dies, and phrase stamps. I also used a few of their Foundation dies to make this card:
It's my turn to host the CARDtober Challenge again. This challenge is to use a stamped or die-cut vehicle or other mode of transportation as a focal point on a card or layout, with 2 bonus points for anyone who includes a shaker in some way. Their is also a twist: another bonus point if it is a shaped card or shaped element on a layout.
For my example, I used the Queen & Co. Hot Air Balloon Shaped Card set, with a My Favorite Things stamped elephant baby in the basket. The colors are more vibrant than the photo shows.
I have a lot of scraps, but this proved to be a harder challenge than I expected. We needed to cut our scraps into strips, then use them on the front of a card in some way.
My card just seems too busy, even with the die cut "BOO" and banner (from Queen & Co.). I was going to do a different arrangement, but I cut my strips 3/4 inch wide, due to the pattern on some of them, and I think that was a mistake. The samples used 1/2 inch wide strips.
I may try this again, just not today.
I decided to try again. I'm happier with the one below. Same papers, cut thinner strips, better pattern.
I bought the My Favorite Things Interactive Swing die set awhile back, along with their coordinating stamp "Start Each Day with a Whee." This card is a blatant copy of the example in the video on their website. No creativity required. However, the phrase was not part of the stamp set. I created it on my computer.
I'm not a big fan of non-traditional colors for holidays, but I did have one paper in my stash from Bazzill Basics that fit the bill. It also gave me a chance to use a Queen & Co. shaker and stamp that I haven't used yet.
I definitely took some liberties with the sketch, but I needed a birthday card, and I wanted to use these Paper Nest wizard stamps and Queen & Co. broom shaker, since it's for a family member who is a Harry Potter fan. I used Wink of Stella for the hint of magic coming from the wand. I created the sentiment with the LD Lightning font and printed it with my computer. I had to go with a 5x7 card for everything to fit.
This might have been a harder challenge for me if I hadn't had the Graphic 45 Cafe Parisien collection. I used the Queen & Co. Foundation dies and did a little fussy cutting. It's kind of a salmon pink, but it's pink.I used foam tape to pop the fussy cut center piece.
This challenge is to design a card where you are inspired by a collection. Most of my "collections" are paper pads. I bought the Echo Park Fashionista 6x6 paper pad at Tuesday Morning awhile back. It works perfectly with the Queen & Co. Make Me Up set, so I guess you'd say that I created my own collection. The card turned out a little "busier" than I had expected, but I plan to send it to my daughter, perhaps for her birthday.
I used Queen & Co. Foundation dies to cut the papers.
And because someone probably wonders, I have no affiliation with any company. I don't get anything free from anyone. I just have my current favorites, and I really love the Queen & Co. Foundation dies. They simplify card making for me.
For this challenge we could use only 2 patterned papers. I used Graphic 45 Floral Shoppe papers and did some fussy cutting from the papers to add a bit of variety.
I also used Queen & Co. Foundation dies. I don't remember who makes the stamp. It was part of a wreath stamp set that I found at Tuesday Morning.
It's my turn to post the challenge for CARDtober again. This time, it's about using your small/tiny dies and/or stamps.
I made the little flip flops with tiny dies from Queen & Co.'s Summer Celebration add on set that goes with their Special Delivery truck set. I used another small die from one of their Foundation die sets for the banner. The papers are from Carta Bella's Soak Up the Sun line.
I live in Texas. It's still flip flop weather here.
I have intended to make a slider card for a long time. I just never got around to doing it. Since I already had some My Favorite Things stamped images colored and cut out, I used what I had on hand. The slider spacers are also from My Favorite Things, but I used Lawn Fawn dies for the slimline card and the slider opening. The patterned paper is from Graphic 45.
I went for easy on this one. I have plenty of Fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas cards made from previous CARDtober challenges, so I went for a 4th of July card.
I used BoBunny papers. Simple and fast. I'm already 2 days behind on my challenges, but life is crazy right now.
The hostess for this challenge posted a simple sketch, which I followed, with very slight adaptation. The vertical banner was a plain rectangle in the sketch. The tag was a scalloped circle, but had wording inside that said "any shape." It was also placed a little lower than I placed my tag.
I used papers from the BoBunny Celebrating Freedom collection and a variety of Queen & Co. Foundation dies.
I had a hard time finding papers that would work for this challenge. We were to make a card with Cactus Green and pink(s). I can't say this is my best work, nor is it my favorite card. I went for easy since we had family over today.
I used a cut apart card page from Simple Stories (Mistletoe Kisses) and turned it into a shaker with a Queen & Co. die from their North Pole kit. I added a little bling, and I was done.
This challenge was to use an ad for inspiration. A JoAnn Fabrics ad came into my email, showing a fall table runner with a plaid outside border. It made me think of a slimline card.
I had actually already made this card recently but not posted it. Since it fit the challenge, and I am not on a team claiming any points, I decided to post this instead of make a new, very similar card.
The papers that I used are all from an older Little Yellow Bicycle line named "Feels Like Home." I used Lawn Fawn slimline dies.
For those who may be intimidated by a box card challenge, I added a second, much easier option for fewer points (for those on teams, who are working to get points). I am not on a team this year, but I have been for past CARDtobers.
I used a Queen & Co. shaker die from their Fright Fest kit for the window frame in the front of the card. The inside cut out piece was my pattern for the opening. I used one of their border dies to create the uneven ground of the graveyard.
The ghosts are print & cut paper piecings by Stinkin'
Cute Paper Piecings that I bought from the Silhouette Design Store.
The patterned paper is by Graphic 45. I used 2 layers of fun foam to pop the top layer for a more dramatic depth so the little "Boo" ghost is recessed quite a bit.
I am the host for the first CARDtober Challenge. I will be hosting every Thursday, where I post a challenge and a sample or two. My first challenge was to make a box card with a window opening.
I used a Queen & Co. shaker die for the window frame in the front of the box card. I traced the inside cut out of the die to create the opening.
The ghosts are print & cut paper piecings by Stinkin' Cute Paper Piecings that I bought from the Silhouette Design Store. The patterned paper is by Graphic 45.
The box card is a cutting file of my own design.
For those who need a tutorial, I posted a link to a great tutorial video:
I lived more than half of my life on the East Coast. Four years ago tomorrow, we left the home where we had lived for almost 34 years and headed to Texas.
I loved Virginia, but I love Texas, too. We are close enough to occasionally visit Fort Worth, and they have an old town section with a cattle pen maze (or did before COVID-19), a train, a cattle drive (before COVID), and other fun places to see. It's definitely Cowboy Country, and I love it. I don't own a cowboy hat or cowboy boots. I don't know if I ever will. I love this area, though. The people are wonderful. I pass ranches and farms on my way to the grocery store. I live in a small town where we don't even have a grocery store.
Anyway, when I found this stamp set, it immediately became one of my favorites. One of my Texas friends just had a birthday, so I made this box card for her.
The booth at the back is from a different MFT stamp set. The diagonal plaid papers were a Silhouette patterned paper that I used to make the front and flap panels into a print and cut file.
I got the idea to try cutting tulle and/or crepe paper streamer in the middle of the night. I made it this morning. I hope the photos do it justice.
The pumpkin stamps are from My Favorite Things "Witch Way to the Candy" set. The dies that I used are all Queen & Co. Foundation dies.
Getting the tulle and the crepe paper streamer material out of the die intact after cutting was a royal pain. I didn't succeed until I sandwiched the crepe streamer between waxed paper sheets before cutting.
I probably won't try this again, although I do like how the flower turned out. Unfortunately, as soon as it goes into an envelope, the tulle flower will get smashed, and the tulle tends to stick to itself, so it won't fluff back up without help.
The most recent challenge from Queen & Co. is to die cut something you have never die cut before.
My first project was a card. I have never die cut cork before, so I decided to create a cork message board on a card using their Foundation dies, and a tag die from their Love Jar kit. The middle tag was done with a stamp from their Bug Jar kit. The other two stamps that I used were dollar stamps that I bought from one of the big box craft stores years ago. I used Nuvo drops for the flower centers. Those are real, but very small applique pins holding the tags to the cork message board, although I also used adhesive on the back.
For my second project, I decided to die-cut HTV (heat transfer vinyl) and iron it onto a face mask, since masks are mandatory in my state (although I was wearing masks, even when they weren't, because I am very high risk). I've cut HTV with my electronic cutter, but I have never die cut it with dies. You do have to peel the plastic off first before die cutting it with dies, then make sure you die cut the correct side of the vinyl, carefully position the adhesive plastic back over, then place it and iron it on. It's a lot easier using an electronic cutter, but dies will work.
I used the Queen and Co. Hello die, from their Hello Sentiment Stacker set, and flower and leaf dies from Foundation sets.
I used the Silhouette software to create this mini slim trifold card. It is inspired by the Taylored Expressions mini slim trifold cards, but with round windows rather than square. Theirs was sold out.
I used My Favorite Things "Witch Way to the Candy" stamp set. The bat is nearly exact on both sides, so he could be used on both the front and back of the window and still matched up.
Here is a closer up view of the front of the closed card.
Then below you can see all three parts of the card. The top image is same as the one above. The middle image shows the first panel open, with the second panel showing on the right. The bottom image is the fully opened card.
I am back to making box cards again. I love them. They take time to make, but those who receive them usually really like them.
I bought this design from the Silhouette Design Store. The designer is Lori Whitlock. I have downloaded a lot of her designs, but I have not actually made that many of them.
The design had a problem. It will not fold flat. I have been making box cards for years. I know how to make them so they fold flat. This was definitely a design flaw. I emailed her but never heard back from her. I posted about it on the RefuPeas board, and learned that others have had similar issues with her 3D files.
The sad thing is that a lot of people might buy and make this design, and think they did it wrong. They might be too discouraged to make box cards again.
I ended up tweaking the design until I got a box card that would fold flat, but I should not have had to do that.
It's cute, but I can't mail this particular one to anybody, which is more than a little disappointing.
The most recent challenge from Queen & Co.'s Facebook page was by Ginger Williams, who made a "bridge card" using the new Beach Bound kit. The challenge was to make a beach project, whether a card, a scrapbook layout, mini album, or anything else. Many are posting bridge cards. I may do a bridge card at some point, but this is the card that I decided to do for the challenge, using the Beach Bound kit, Foundations dies, and the tiny flip flops were made with dies from their Summer Celebrations add-on kit (that goes with their Special Delivery kit). I cut the little flip flops from fun foam. I stamped the top half of the sentiment from the Beach Bound kit on the cloud, and the other half on a banner that went inside the card. Stamping them as two separate phrases on individual die cuts instead of doing it as one stamped sentiment was actually the hardest part of making this card.
The front of the card:
And inside the card:
