Make a Wish

Gave the blog a facelift!  What do you think?

I wanted something lighter and more fun.  Thanks to The Cutest Blog on the Block I was able to do just that.  😀

Now on to today's card....

I am still adding to my Birthday card stash today so I will have plenty for the year.  When I started the card I wasn't really liking how it was coming together.  But once I added the patterned paper to the side and the embellishments I was much happier.

All the paper is from Recollections.  The pink patterned paper I added to the side has been sprayed with glimmer mist to add some shine to it.  In person that really makes the card pop.

The images are from Technique Tuesday.  Again some of those stamps I have had for years.  They still stamp great, so why not keep using them?  I stamped them with Stampin' Up's Cherry Cobbler, Melon Mambo, and Perfect Plum.

The sentiment is new.  My sister when I was home gave me a few stamp sets as she doesn't really do much paper crafting anymore.  It is from My Sentiments Exactly.  I love MSE's sentiments because in each collection they have a sentiment perfect for any occassion.  I stamped the sentiment in Momento Tuxedo black ink.  To finish it off I added a few sequins and one purple enamel dot by the sentiment.  The enamel dot is one of many I received in swap.  

The inspiration for the card started with two challenge blogs and one I have been checking out but have yet to enter a card.

I am linking this card to:  CAS(E) this sketch! #207.  Here is the sketch:

I am also linking this to Less is More Challenge Blog #315 Color Wheel.
Finally, I also entering into Crafting with an Attitude-Anything Goes #24.

While I had the supplies out I made a couple of more cards since this was pretty simple to replicate.  

Thanks for stopping by and checking out the blog.  Hope you have a great weekend.  Get inky!

Those Dreaded Cards for Men

So I have joined quite a few swap groups via Facebook.  It has been loads of fun trying my hand a new things like pocket letters, flip books, loaded flip bags.  I love getting to know a little bit about my fellow crafters out there.  It also gives me the flexibility of joining as many or as few swaps as I think I can handle each month.  Not to mention the inspiration....there are some amazing talents out there.

I am currently taking a break from all that.  With the Christmas coming, I knew there would be some handmade projects I would want to tackle so I decided to take a break.

That being said, there was one personal swap that kept getting bumped.  Since somethings in my life have been a bit stressful I just kept putting it off.  There was no actual date so it finally worked out where I had a moment to breathe and put something together for this person.

She will be sending me some, I am sure amazing embellishments, while I am sending her 6 cards that would be perfect for men.  

Now, I don't know about you but if you are a papercrafter, this is the area that a lot of us struggle with.  Bring on the flowers and the You go for it girl sentiments...we are in our element.  Trying to come up with something handmade a man would enjoy in a card form though can seem daunting...heck it is daunting.  I struggle each year for Father's day as well as my husband's birthday.  I get it ....cards for men are hard.

But, I was up for the challenge.  I went to my favorite place for inspiration...Pintrest.  How did you guess?

So over the next bit I will be sharing with you these 6 cards I made just for this swap.  It was fun.  I loved how they turned out.  So get out your die cutting machines, paper, stamps, etc.  Dive in, I know you can do it too!

Here is card #1.  I got out my trusty Cricut machine to put this one together.  I started out with a A2 card base in creme.  I then added some super cute patterned paper by Recollections.  This 6 x 6 paper pad I used throughout these cards.  The paper has a travel theme, but are the perfect shades for cards for men.

The vest and tie was from Cricut's design space.  I layered on the tie, buttons, and the pocket.  To make sure I had the correct color scheme I printed this as a print and cut.  The Happy Birthday sentiment was written by my Cricut using the font babycakes.  I then in the lower left just added a enamel dot I made with those perler beads you see everywhere.

Didn't take too long...the biggest obstacle is getting the computer for a few minutes from my 7 year old because he was playing on it.

I am entering this into CAS(E) this Sketch's #201 sketch as it was the inspiration for the sketch.  I love that challenge blog because the sketch's are really my style, simple.  You can see the other entry's for this challenge here.

Here is a copy of the sketch:

Hope you all have a great week!

Time to CAS(E)

This card started out with the cool sketch over at the CAS(e) this sketch blog... #122

It was super simple and easy to create.  I began with a white 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 top folding card.  I then added some color using Ranger's Distress Inks in Spun Sugar and Picked Rasberry.
I then added the line of hearts by Unity Stamp Company using Stampin' Up' Melon Mambo.
The sentiment is stamped in Staz On Black ink and is by Unity as well.

For a bit more interest I added some silver sequins using some glossy accents.

Voila'!  Done in no time.