Stamps + Nesties = Quick and Cute Easter Cards

Blessed Good Friday to all who celebrate.  I thought I would take a break from my in-home projects I have had going part of this week and share my three final 2011 Easter Cards.  Earlier this winter I purchased this adorable little Easter girl stamp as party of a Stampin' Up set.  I just had to make a few cards with her before the season passed.

I used Stampin' Up Rose ink and stamped the image on smooth white cardstock.  I used classic rectangular nesties and one of the newer label sets to cut out my girl and her mattings.   I whipped up some quick cards using leftover Easter papers and white ribbon and pop dotted the stamped images on to the front of the cards.  I added a pink button with floss to each card.

I also stamped the image using Stampin Up "Almost Amethyst" ink and purple cardstock.  I did not show you the entire purple card because the purple looks horrid against my bright pink background. This pink/purple combination  was visually offensive!

I am excited because my younger son arrives in from Atlanta today.  The Easter bunny had to do a bit of last minute shopping this week.  I also have to finish Aaron's and Crissie's baskets, though I did get Crissie a Zoku frozen pop maker.  I have one and Doug and I love it.  Homemade pudding pops are wonderful.
With my family in town for Easter I probably will not post again until Monday - we have a lot of activities planned for the weekend.  I wish you all fabulous weekend and a very special Easter!! 

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Stamps + Nesties = Quick and Cute Easter Cards

Blessed Good Friday to all who celebrate.  I thought I would take a break from my in-home projects I have had going part of this week and share my three final 2011 Easter Cards.  Earlier this winter I purchased this adorable little Easter girl stamp as party of a Stampin' Up set.  I just had to make a few cards with her before the season passed.

I used Stampin' Up Rose ink and stamped the image on smooth white cardstock.  I used classic rectangular nesties and one of the newer label sets to cut out my girl and her mattings.   I whipped up some quick cards using leftover Easter papers and white ribbon and pop dotted the stamped images on to the front of the cards.  I added a pink button with floss to each card.

I also stamped the image using Stampin Up "Almost Amethyst" ink and purple cardstock.  I did not show you the entire purple card because the purple looks horrid against my bright pink background. This pink/purple combination  was visually offensive!

I am excited because my younger son arrives in from Atlanta today.  The Easter bunny had to do a bit of last minute shopping this week.  I also have to finish Aaron's and Crissie's baskets, though I did get Crissie a Zoku frozen pop maker.  I have one and Doug and I love it.  Homemade pudding pops are wonderful.
With my family in town for Easter I probably will not post again until Monday - we have a lot of activities planned for the weekend.  I wish you all fabulous weekend and a very special Easter!! 

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Stamps + Nesties = Quick and Cute Easter Cards

Blessed Good Friday to all who celebrate.  I thought I would take a break from my in-home projects I have had going part of this week and share my three final 2011 Easter Cards.  Earlier this winter I purchased this adorable little Easter girl stamp as party of a Stampin' Up set.  I just had to make a few cards with her before the season passed.I used Stampin' Up Rose ink and stamped the image on

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Victorian Card with Spellbinders

Happy Thursday!  Let's get to the "good stuff" right up front today - the winner of the Custom Crops sponsored blog candy.  The winner is lucky comment number 49, who is:

~JulieH~  who said...

"Wow Susan what a fabulous design! Love this card and the birds heart 

done in pink looks just gorgeous.Love all the extra details too"

Congratulations Julie!  You will be hearing from CC soon!

Now on to today's card.  This was the card I entered to round two of the Spellbinders design team tryouts.  It is the card that let me down.... :-(

This card was created using Spellbinders label 14 on folded cardstock, with the edge of the die placed just above the fold so as to not cut that end of the card.  I then cut a single layer of label 14, folded it in half and affixed it to the top back of the base card.  This created the top flap and the fold out portion.

To create the layered flap I cut the same die two more times, once in gray print and once in smooth cream cardstock which had been stamped with a GinaK stamp.   Using scissors I cut the two additional cuts in half and layered them under the front flap.

I cut the front message area with circle and scalloped circle nesties.  The closure flourish was cut from a Christmas set of Spellbinder dies. 

I decided that the top flap needed a little more detail so I cut a solid pendant shape and then trimmed it in half, affixing half to the front of the top flap.

And that flower??? That was created during flower surgery.  The netting was formerly the outer petals on the flower, but I did not like it with this card.  I took scissors and cut away the netting, reshaped it into a loose loopy bow and topped it with the flower center.

I finished the card by stamping an additional Thank You sentiment inside the card.  I actually was quite pleased with this little cutie!  And I will use my nesties to create shaped cards in the future!

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Victorian Card with Spellbinders

Happy Thursday!  Let's get to the "good stuff" right up front today - the winner of the Custom Crops sponsored blog candy.  The winner is lucky comment number 49, who is:

~JulieH~  who said...

"Wow Susan what a fabulous design! Love this card and the birds heart 

done in pink looks just gorgeous.Love all the extra details too"

Congratulations Julie!  You will be hearing from CC soon!

Now on to today's card.  This was the card I entered to round two of the Spellbinders design team tryouts.  It is the card that let me down.... :-(

This card was created using Spellbinders label 14 on folded cardstock, with the edge of the die placed just above the fold so as to not cut that end of the card.  I then cut a single layer of label 14, folded it in half and affixed it to the top back of the base card.  This created the top flap and the fold out portion.

To create the layered flap I cut the same die two more times, once in gray print and once in smooth cream cardstock which had been stamped with a GinaK stamp.   Using scissors I cut the two additional cuts in half and layered them under the front flap.

I cut the front message area with circle and scalloped circle nesties.  The closure flourish was cut from a Christmas set of Spellbinder dies. 

I decided that the top flap needed a little more detail so I cut a solid pendant shape and then trimmed it in half, affixing half to the front of the top flap.

And that flower??? That was created during flower surgery.  The netting was formerly the outer petals on the flower, but I did not like it with this card.  I took scissors and cut away the netting, reshaped it into a loose loopy bow and topped it with the flower center.

I finished the card by stamping an additional Thank You sentiment inside the card.  I actually was quite pleased with this little cutie!  And I will use my nesties to create shaped cards in the future!

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Winter Wonderland using Spellbinders

I have news to share - I did not make the cut on round two of tryouts for the Spellbinders team.  I was disappointed, but I know that their team is highly competitive.  The good news is that I may now show my projects with you!

My entry for round one was this 12 x 12 inch layout.  I used two colored  sheets of cardstock topped with snowflake printed paper.  The snowflake print made a lovely, low-key background on which to build the layout elements.  The first element I added was a Stampin' Up stamp which reads "Winter Wonderland" stamped on my snowflake print.

I used my Grand Calibur with grand label one to cut the two layer matting and the main photo.  I used nesties label one to cut the mats and the smaller photo.  I also used snowflakes number one and cut red and blue embellishment snowflakes.  The snowflakes were topped with red buttons tied with white embroidery floss.

My page border was created using a Spellbinders lacey border cut four times.  I mitered the corners and topped the corners with snowflakes or tags.  The WINTER tag at the bottom left was created using label 14 and a stamp.  I penned in the date at the bottom of the label. 

I will admit that I was a disappointed at not making the cut, but really it was fun to try out.  And I was able to get this great photo scrapped!!

Remember that I have blog candy up for grabs in the previous post.  A winner will be drawn a Thursday.

Read more »

Winter Wonderland using Spellbinders

I have news to share - I did not make the cut on round two of tryouts for the Spellbinders team.  I was disappointed, but I know that their team is highly competitive.  The good news is that I may now show my projects with you!

My entry for round one was this 12 x 12 inch layout.  I used two colored  sheets of cardstock topped with snowflake printed paper.  The snowflake print made a lovely, low-key background on which to build the layout elements.  The first element I added was a Stampin' Up stamp which reads "Winter Wonderland" stamped on my snowflake print.

I used my Grand Calibur with grand label one to cut the two layer matting and the main photo.  I used nesties label one to cut the mats and the smaller photo.  I also used snowflakes number one and cut red and blue embellishment snowflakes.  The snowflakes were topped with red buttons tied with white embroidery floss.

My page border was created using a Spellbinders lacey border cut four times.  I mitered the corners and topped the corners with snowflakes or tags.  The WINTER tag at the bottom left was created using label 14 and a stamp.  I penned in the date at the bottom of the label. 

I will admit that I was a disappointed at not making the cut, but really it was fun to try out.  And I was able to get this great photo scrapped!!

Remember that I have blog candy up for grabs in the previous post.  A winner will be drawn a Thursday.

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Sixty Cent Stamp + Spellbinders = Great Valentines

Today I am going to share a quickie Valentine card ... or two!  But of course there is a bit of a back story with this card.... I know, isn't there always?   A couple of weeks ago the scrappy girlfriends and I spent a lovely weekend at Lake Murray, scrapping, and laughing, and talking weddings...  We always schedule a little break for ourselves on the weekend - we visit Michaels and A.C. Moore craft stores on Saturday afternoons.  We say that while we do not NEED anything, we might find something we should have.  This last trip, four of us purchased new cutters because we all liked Beth's new Fiskar's Deluxe cutter. 
We also looked for great bargains, but usable bargains.  And this is where the card comes in!

My great find on our last Saturday afternoon outing was in the $1.00 stamp bin at Michaels.  All of the $1.00 stamps were 40% off.  I found this cute "here's my heart" contemporary stamp, which only cost me sixty cents!!  And of course I had to use it that evening, just to show "the girls" that I would indeed use that sixty cent stamp!!

I stamped the sixty cent stamp onto smooth cardstock and cut it out with my circle nesties.  I mounted the circle on a Lacey Circle nestie, and mounted that on a double layer matting cut with label 2 (?). 
I used many of my leftover scraps to create two Valentine cards - one for each of the grandmoms. 

So the next time you are digging through those $1.00 bins at Michaels remember that you really can make some cute, cute projects with inexpensive stamps!!

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Sixty Cent Stamp + Spellbinders = Great Valentines

Today I am going to share a quickie Valentine card ... or two!  But of course there is a bit of a back story with this card.... I know, isn't there always?   A couple of weeks ago the scrappy girlfriends and I spent a lovely weekend at Lake Murray, scrapping, and laughing, and talking weddings...  We always schedule a little break for ourselves on the weekend - we visit Michaels and A.C. Moore craft stores on Saturday afternoons.  We say that while we do not NEED anything, we might find something we should have.  This last trip, four of us purchased new cutters because we all liked Beth's new Fiskar's Deluxe cutter. 
We also looked for great bargains, but usable bargains.  And this is where the card comes in!

My great find on our last Saturday afternoon outing was in the $1.00 stamp bin at Michaels.  All of the $1.00 stamps were 40% off.  I found this cute "here's my heart" contemporary stamp, which only cost me sixty cents!!  And of course I had to use it that evening, just to show "the girls" that I would indeed use that sixty cent stamp!!

I stamped the sixty cent stamp onto smooth cardstock and cut it out with my circle nesties.  I mounted the circle on a Lacey Circle nestie, and mounted that on a double layer matting cut with label 2 (?). 
I used many of my leftover scraps to create two Valentine cards - one for each of the grandmoms. 

So the next time you are digging through those $1.00 bins at Michaels remember that you really can make some cute, cute projects with inexpensive stamps!!

Read more »

Victorian Fan Card with Spellbinders

Hello, today I am sharing a Victorian Fan card that I created using Spellbinders dies.  This card began as an experiment to see if I could cut a folded card with a single die.  Well of course I could.  And then it grew from there!

The fan feature was created using strips of cardstock glued together, then scored and folded.  I created two sections of fan - the larger upper section and the tiny lower section.  I would highly recommend a scoring board and tool for creating the fans.  I prescored the lines and then folded.

For the center front of the card I cut the same die shape, only smaller, and centered a sweet thank you verse in the middle of a classic circular nestie.

The card was finished with a bit of old fashioned lace tied in a double bow.  To me this card just screams Victorian, especially with the slight Asian look, which I attribute to the fan and the touch of red in the label.

I will be back tomorrow with another new project to share - and as soon as my new power cord comes for my lap top, I will share the 50 cupcake wrappers I created for my sister-in-law.

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Victorian Fan Card with Spellbinders

Hello, today I am sharing a Victorian Fan card that I created using Spellbinders dies.  This card began as an experiment to see if I could cut a folded card with a single die.  Well of course I could.  And then it grew from there!

The fan feature was created using strips of cardstock glued together, then scored and folded.  I created two sections of fan - the larger upper section and the tiny lower section.  I would highly recommend a scoring board and tool for creating the fans.  I prescored the lines and then folded.

For the center front of the card I cut the same die shape, only smaller, and centered a sweet thank you verse in the middle of a classic circular nestie.

The card was finished with a bit of old fashioned lace tied in a double bow.  To me this card just screams Victorian, especially with the slight Asian look, which I attribute to the fan and the touch of red in the label.

I will be back tomorrow with another new project to share - and as soon as my new power cord comes for my lap top, I will share the 50 cupcake wrappers I created for my sister-in-law.

Read more »

Home Sweet Home with Label 16 and Lacey Circles

 I must open with an apology - I intended to write this post and publish it at 6:00 am this morning, but .... Last night I fell asleep reading and did not finish everything I had planned to do.  My husband has this bad habit of falling asleep on the sofa.  The way this plays out is about three nights a week he falls asleep on the sofa and I wake him to send him to bed.  He ignores me the first time or two that I wake him.  Occasionally he begins snoring while on the sofa, which is quite irritating.  Usually I just wake him and eventually he will go to bed.

Last night I was reading on the love seat and he fell asleep and began the snoring routine.  I suggested he go to bed and he promptly ignored me.  As his volume increased I decided to find a new reading location and I took my kindle to bed.  At some point I feel asleep and left him on the sofa.  He woke me at 3:00 am as he turned off the lights and came to bed.   So... he was on the sofa far longer than usual and I got nothing done on my blog!!  I am not sure exactly which of us learned a lesson there....

So on to the card.  This is one of the fun Spellbinders cut cards that I created last weekend at the lake.  I used left over paper (that I love) by Three Bugs in a Rug.

 I began by creating this fun focal point of the card - I used Spellbinders Nestabilities Label 16, a GinaK stamp from the lovely labels 2 set, and circle nesties.  I stamped the music frame on smooth white cardstock and cut it out with label 16, using a circle nestie to cut out the center.  I then cut a larger version of label 16 in black cardstock and cut the center out with a smaller circle nestie.  I adhered the two layers together and placed the pink house image in the circular opening.  I adhered the house label to the card using pop dots.

 Next, using Lacey Circle nesties and round nesties I created the tag.  I layered three round circles on top of the lacey circle - stamping the top layer with black ink.

I found pink ribbon in my stash that perfectly coordinated with the background paper and added a the ribbon runner with bow as a finishing touch.

Now all I need is a house warming party to attend or a new neighbor down the street!!

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Home Sweet Home with Label 16 and Lacey Circles

 I must open with an apology - I intended to write this post and publish it at 6:00 am this morning, but .... Last night I fell asleep reading and did not finish everything I had planned to do.  My husband has this bad habit of falling asleep on the sofa.  The way this plays out is about three nights a week he falls asleep on the sofa and I wake him to send him to bed.  He ignores me the first time or two that I wake him.  Occasionally he begins snoring while on the sofa, which is quite irritating.  Usually I just wake him and eventually he will go to bed.

Last night I was reading on the love seat and he fell asleep and began the snoring routine.  I suggested he go to bed and he promptly ignored me.  As his volume increased I decided to find a new reading location and I took my kindle to bed.  At some point I feel asleep and left him on the sofa.  He woke me at 3:00 am as he turned off the lights and came to bed.   So... he was on the sofa far longer than usual and I got nothing done on my blog!!  I am not sure exactly which of us learned a lesson there....

So on to the card.  This is one of the fun Spellbinders cut cards that I created last weekend at the lake.  I used left over paper (that I love) by Three Bugs in a Rug.

 I began by creating this fun focal point of the card - I used Spellbinders Nestabilities Label 16, a GinaK stamp from the lovely labels 2 set, and circle nesties.  I stamped the music frame on smooth white cardstock and cut it out with label 16, using a circle nestie to cut out the center.  I then cut a larger version of label 16 in black cardstock and cut the center out with a smaller circle nestie.  I adhered the two layers together and placed the pink house image in the circular opening.  I adhered the house label to the card using pop dots.

 Next, using Lacey Circle nesties and round nesties I created the tag.  I layered three round circles on top of the lacey circle - stamping the top layer with black ink.

I found pink ribbon in my stash that perfectly coordinated with the background paper and added a the ribbon runner with bow as a finishing touch.

Now all I need is a house warming party to attend or a new neighbor down the street!!

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Warm Mittens for a cold day

Have you heard the expression "cold hands - warm heart"?  That is what I thought of while making this adorable card.  With these adorable mittens the warm heart can also have warm hands!  This card is one of several cards that I created while on my scrappy girlfriend boondoggle to Lake Murray!

This card was created with Spellbinders Nested Mittens dies and Gina K Winter Mittens stamp set as well as the Snowflake Pendent die set and Snowflake 1 die set.  In addition to the smooth white cardstock, I also used printed and solid cardstock from my scraps.  I love using up scraps. 

I tried a self adhesive silver metallic paper/cardstock to cut the embellie snowflakes.  I had mixed results with the self adhesive aspect.  In the end I had to add Tomboy glue to a few spots to ensure that the snowflakes stayed on the card.  I will add that the metallic paper cut marvelously with my Spellbinder dies and my Grand Calibur.

I used Stampin' Up ink to stamp my mittens.  I also used Stampin' Up ribbon to create the exquisite bow.   I used a one-eighth inch hole punch on each of the mittens and suspended them on one-eighth inch white ribbon (and pop dots, of course). 

I hope this card makes you feel all warm inside when you see it.  I truly enjoyed using my Gina K stamps.  I have purchased three sets of Gina K stamps which are compatible with my Spellbinders Nestabilities and I am excited to share them with you over the next few weeks.

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