Bird Cage Shaped Card

Happy November 1st! We are now in the countdown to Thanksgiving which is one of my favorite holidays other than Christmas! 🙂 For those who stop by and check out my little crafty corner, I thank you for your visit! And for the wonderful people who follow my blog and leave such sweet, supportive comments, please know I appreciate you all so much. Your support gives me the confidence to share my paper crafts with you through this blog. I’m still learning and growing in this hobby and thrilled that I can share the journey with so many people who love paper crafts as much as me! My sweet Mom recently celebrated a birthday and we had a wonderful time with presents, cake, and ice cream. I made her a bird cage shaped card accented with a pretty K & Company die-cut butterfly. Below are clickable photos showing how to create this card using the Cricut Lite Bloom cartridge and Design Studio:

Cage Shadow – 6 inches

Cage Shadow – Distressing with Brown Ink

Hand-trimmed inked shadow layer to hide behind white cage

6 inch cage with flower centers – white cardstock

Back side of white cage with inked shadow layer trimmed to fit

Welded Bird Cages – 6 inches – inner cuts hidden (cut in light blue cardstock)

Layers of cage shaped card

Flower and leaves layer – 6 inches (cut 2 sets in turquoise for dimension)

Flowers – 6 inches (cut 2 sets in red for dimension)

Side view of cage shaped card

Details close-up

Cage Shaped Card

Supplies:

• Colorbok 12×12 Textured Cardstock, Soft Pastels (light blue, white, turquoise) – Wal-mart
• Ampad Earth Tone Cardstock (tan) 8 1/2 x 11 – Wal-mart
• Red patterned paper – My Mind’s Eye “Simply Delightful”
• Butterfly Die-cut – K & Company Que Sera Sera Die-Cuts & Acetates
• Pearl Embellishments – Michael’s
• Tan Hemp Cord – Wal-mart
• Stampabilities Brown Ink – Hobby Lobby
• Foam Adhesive Dimensionals – Michael’s

Garden of Love Mother’s Day Card

Hello! This is the first of two Mother’s Day cards I have been working on this week. The Just Because Cards cartridge has some fun card shapes and I used key 23 cut at 7 inches for this scalloped edge card measuring 5×7. I love the scalloped layer running along the edge. I cut the envelope (key 43) at 7 inches from this same cartridge as well. The fence and flowers are cut at 3 inches from Bloom (key 23). I inked the fence and sentiment banner with a sponge dauber and brown Stampabilities ink. I printed the sentiment using my computer which always comes through in a pinch.

The inside shows a frame from Bloom cut at 2 inches and “Happy Mother’s Day” is from Wild Card cut at 5 inches. I use Design Studio to get the sizes right before cutting since different cartridges vary regarding their image sizes in relation to the cartridge project. I tend to use multiple cartridges in my design so using the software helps me save time and paper! If you don’t use Design Studio, Cricut has a free Cricut Craft Room on their site for designing and cutting.

Thanks as always for taking a look! I will be posting my other card in a separate post when completed.

Hope you all have a wonderful day! And I wish everyone a lovely Mother’s Day this Sunday!

Vanessa

A Quiet Autumn Scene – Thanksgiving Card

I wanted to capture an autumn scene and show the beauty that this wonderful season offers.  This card is dedicated to my husband, Glen in honor of our wonderful Thanksgivings together and the ones to come.

Cartridges used:

Bloom, Designer’s Calendar, Pagoda, Storybook, and Wild Card

Papers Used:

My Mind’s Eye Simply Delightful (colored paper), Wal-Mart card stock (card base), Paper Studio’s Natural Botanical card stock (brown paper)

Embellishments:

Swiss Dots Cuttlebug Folder; Inking using Stampabilities brown ink; Shading using a brown colored pencil

I made a 5×7 card base, then trimmed light blue paper to 5×7 and adhered it to the front of the card. Next I cut a 5×7 mat of light green paper and used a pencil to sketch hills.  I used scissors to cut around each hill, embossed them with a Swiss Dots folder, then inked the edges with brown ink and a Q-tip for definition.  I then adhered the hill pieces to the blue mat fitting them like a puzzle.  I cut the “Bloom” tree trunks (both kinds on the cartridge) at 3 inches using brown card stock and cut one layer of leaves in orange paper for the larger tree.  I cut extra leaves in orange paper at 4 inches so they would appear larger as they fell to the ground and could be used on the other trees.  The pumpkins are cut at 2 inches from Designer’s Calendar.  I used a brown colored pencil to color in the stem and make ridges in the pumpkin.  I also applied a bit of ink over these for more dimension. The bridge is cut from Pagoda at 1 1/2 inches.  The inside sentiment was done on my computer using Edwardian Script. I cut a 1 inch owl from Storybook and some maple leaves from Wild Card at 3 and 1 inches.

Pagoda Dragonflies

Hello!  I made another anniversary card using Cricut’s Bloom cartridge for the tree branch and the Pagoda cartridge for the dragonflies.  This is the second anniversary card I made for my sister and her husband.  The first one was the Kraft colored card with the topiary.  I was in the mood today to make another card, this time featuring dragonflies which my sister will appreciate.  She loves collecting frogs and dragonfly decor.  For this card, I couldn’t resist adding a lot of embellishments.  I used a Sizzix Swirls & Dots embossing folder, adhesive gems from K & Company, and Star Dust Stickles to add shimmer to the dragonfly wings.  The card base is 5×7.  The branch and the dragonflies were cut at 2.5 inches.  The pastel blue and green paper is from Colorbok available at Wal-mart.

Thanks for looking!

Vanessa

Autumn Leaves on a Tree – Thanksgiving Card

I am quite tickled with how this card turned out.  It’s a simple card and didn’t take that long to put together but I love the autumn scene that the tree from the Bloom cartridge provided.  I’m also pleased that my button and hemp cord worked out.  I actually threaded the button and didn’t use any adhesive or glue (woo hoo!).  I am not that great at bows, etc. so this is an area that I need more practice with.  I plan on sending each family member a different Thanksgiving card so that it’s unique.  This is the second one made so far, and I have more planned out.  I just have to pick out the papers, cut, and assemble.

Details

Walk In My Garden Cartridge

• card base (5 inches)
• square mat on front (4 inches)
• square mat on inside (4 1/2 inches)

Wild Card Cartridge

• postage stamp mat layer (4 1/2 inches) –  I hid the contour lines that said “Stamped with Love

Bloom Cartridge

• tree layers and leaves (3 3/4 inches)

All paper is from Paper Studio.  I used their Natural Botanical 12×12 card stock pad and 8 1/2 x 11 brown card stock.  The stamp is from Stampabilities.  Hemp cord is from Wal-mart and the button is from my stash.

Thanks for looking!  I would love your feedback so please leave a comment or vote at the top of the post!

Vanessa

Anniversary Card – It’s Your Day

Hi all, this is an anniversary card I made last night.  I tried out my new white gel pen and Glossy Accents.  Papers used are Kraft and brown card stock (Paper Studio) and Simply Delightful (My Mind’s Eye).

Cartridges used:

Bloom ~ topiary (3.5 inches) and Live, Love, Grow sentiment (1 inch)

Walk in My Garden ~ card base (5 inches)

Storybook ~ marquee frame layers (4 inches)

Wild Card ~ It’s Your Day sentiment (7 inches) and rings welded to sentiment (2 inches)

Decorative Details:

I used foam tape to pop up the topiary and sentiments.  I used Glossy Accents on the topiary flowers and ring bands.  On the diamond, I used the white gel pen and then applied Star Dust stickles for shimmer.  I also used the white gel pen to outline the topiary and to embellish the sentiment on the inside of the card.  For the Kraft card base, I used the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder and used a scorer to score three lines running along the bottom.  The card is finished off with light green ribbon and a button threaded with pink jewelry cord.

Thanks for looking!

Vanessa

Vintage Looking Birthday Card for Mom

My mom’s birthday is on Halloween and she has always expressed that she likes to receive regular birthday cards which I can understand since my own birthday is near Christmas. So I made her a vintage looking card using DCWV’s Linen Closet glitter card stock. It looks appropriate for Autumn without using oranges, etc.  I hope she likes it.

The card is A2 sized from Wild Card. I used Design Studio (DS) to size it appropriately and have it cut in the direction I wanted it to fold. I also used DS to weld a frame to the edges of the card and this gave me a scalloped edge. The welded frame also allowed a window to cut out for the sentiment to peer through on the side I wanted. For the other end, I just hid the contour lines so the window wouldn’t cut. Hope this makes sense. The scalloped frame is from Wild Card’s baby carriage card.  I cut two separate frames in coordinating Linen Closet paper to line the front and inside window cut-outs.  I made the flowers from the Bloom cartridge using cuts at 1 inch, 1.5 inches, and 2 inches.  I hole punched each center and used a large brad for the centers of the flowers.  I then added some sparkle to the brads using Star Dust Stickles.  The flowers are popped up using foam tape.  I added layers of Linen Closet glitter card stock to the inside of the card as well, with a tan card stock area for a personal message.

Thanks for looking!

Vanessa

Butterfly Sympathy Card

A dear friend of mine lost her father last month and this is the card I made for her and her family.  This was my second attempt as the first just didn’t reflect what I was trying to express to her during this difficult time.  She has always been there for me and now we live quite a distance apart.   I wish for her peace and comfort, and pray that time will help heal the sorrow she is feeling.

Card Details:
The lavender card base is 5X7. The wreath embossing is an A2 Sizzix folder from the Birds & Wreath Set. I colored in the wreath using a Rangers clear ink embossing pen (working in small sections so it wouldn’t dry too fast) and then I applied green and purple Crayola chalks with Q-tips.  I cut the butterfly and cage from the Cricut Lite Bloom Cartridge at 3 1/2 inches. The black and lavender card stock came from Wal-mart in 8 1/2 x 11 sheets. The lavender satin ribbon is from a ribbon scrap pack from Paper Studios. The cream card stock is from a ream I got from Desktop Publishing supplies. The “Thinking of You” is a rub-on I had in my stash. The butterfly is embellished with Lavender Stickles and three light green adhesive gems.

I typed the sentiment in Word using Edwardian Script and printed it on a 5×7 sized sheet of cream card stock which I then trimmed down just a bit with a paper-cutter so it would fit on top of the other mat layers (went 1/8 inch inward around all sides for each mat to show the layers of mats). I used a corner rounder from Paper Studios on all corners of each mat and card base before adhering everything together.

Thanks for stopping by,

Vanessa

“In Flight” ~ Hummingbird Card

This is a little experiment on color.  I wasn’t quite sure how this card was going to end up but now looking at it, it’s grown on me.  These images are from the Cricut Lite Bloom Cartridge.  The card is 5×7 and the bird layers (brdcg2) were cut at 3 inches and the frame layers (frame1) were cut at 6 inches.  The bird reminds me of a hummingbird so I cut it in green and red to resemble a ruby-throated hummingbird.  The shadows were cut in black card stock and I used a silver metallic marker to add faux stitching.  To further experiment, I offset the frame to one side to help it pop off the card and not get lost on the red mat.  It also helps keep the “stitches” from being a jumbled mess.  I ran orange-yellow hemp cord through the buttons, tied it off, and then adhered the buttons with Elmer’s glue.  I tied some more cord around the frame prior to adhering.  For the inside of the card, I carried over the look from the front and then wrote “Hello …” with a black Sharpie to keep it fun and funky.  Click on the pictures to enlarge.

Thanks for looking!

Vanessa

Cricut Lite Bloom – Pitcher of Flowers Card

Well, I played around with my new cartridge, Cricut Lite Bloom today.  I must admit the image I chose confused me a bit on how to assemble the flowers.  And I also found myself re-cutting a few times in different colors to get the layering I wanted.  The image on the cartridge sheet is hard to look at for this particular pitcher image so I just went for it and did it my way.  There was one odd flower piece that I didn’t know what to do with so I just didn’t use it and slapped on a repetitive flower to hide the gap.  For a minute there, I was quite frustrated and almost scrapped the whole card.  Oh well, I still like the images on this cartridge and I guess I just chose a tricky one to experiment with.  Once I got through my frustration and decided it was ok to not follow Cricut’s rules on how the image should go, I proceeded on.  I was determined that this card would get completed, ugly or not.  It’s definitely bright looking.  I haven’t made one with these particular colors before.  Has anyone else had any issues with this image or any other ones?  I’m just curious.

*Card size is A2 (4.25 x 5.5) and I cut the image and its layers at 3 1/2 inches.