Set of Mother’s Day Cards

I made Mother’s Day Cards for my dear Mother and Mother-in-law. The first one I want to share is the hummingbird card I made for my Mom. She loves hummingbirds so I made her this inspired card using the Cricut Pagoda and Tags, Bags, Boxes, & More 2 (TBBM2) cartridges.

Last weekend, I found DCWV’s Nana’s Kitchen Stack at Michael’s on sale for $4.99. I used the pretty floral paper for the card and envelope (TBBM2 page 34 card, page 35 envelope). The card originally has small circles that cut out on the the card’s spine but I hid these in Design Studio (DS). The scalloped card base is cut at 4.5 inches from TBBM2. I cut a second card base in light blue cardstock to serve as a liner and adhered it inside the card. I must not have scored the liner perfectly centered to match the floral card base because it sticks out on the front but the two layered scalloped edge is a happy accident.

I used Accent Essentials to cut out the two circles on the front of the card (3 and 4 inches) and one more 4 inch circle for the inside message. The leaves are made from two Martha Stewart punches – Frond and Vine Trim. The hummingbird is cut from the Pagoda cartridge at 3 inches. I added Distressed Clear Rock Candy on the hummingbird and Stardust Stickles on the wing. The flower layers are from the dollar bin at Michael’s and the button brad is from American Craft’s Crate Paper “On Trend” line. I used Cuttlebug folders on the circles on the front of the card – Swiss Dots and D’vine Swirls. The “MOM” alpha stickers at the bottom right of the card face are from Dear Lizzy 5th & Frolic.

I wrote a personal message to my Mom in Word and printed it on a 4 inch circle and adhered it to the inside of the card. I then punched out more fronds and adhered them with a Zig 2-Way glue pen. I cut the corresponding envelope in TBBM2 a little larger than the card base because there’s dimension on the card. I cut the envelope out at 4 3/4 inches.

The second card is for my Mother-in-law. I used TBBM2 again for the card base and for the mini pizza box. The flower embellishment is very dimensional so I made the pizza box to put the card in. I used the card feature on page 24 at 5 inches. I also used the “Happy Mother’s Day” phrase on page 41 at 5 inches using a pink Cricut Gel Pen. To get it to print on the inside of the card, I rotated the Mother’s Day phrase 180 degrees to print it upside down.

The pizza box is cut at 9 inches (page 68). I cut this out in one piece so I used Cricut’s pastel 12×24 cardstock. There is the option to cut sections 1 and 2 and adhere them together for a larger box. I used 1/4 inch Scor-Tape to assemble the box. I decorated the lid with the Mother’s Day phrase layers cut at 2.5 inches (page 41).

The paper used on the card and on the box’s lid is Dear Lizzy 5th & Frolic. The paper is two sided (green and pink). The paper flower is from Crate Paper’s On Trend. The gold scalloped border on the card face is from Dear Lizzy 5th & Frolic’s Accent and Phrase Sticker book. The glittery alpha stickers (Thickers) are also from 5th & Frolic.

I’m entering the hummingbird card into the following challenges:

Fantabulous Cricut Challenge (Challenge Me Monday – #159 Mother’s Day – create a Mother’s Day card). Deadline: 7:00 pm (CST) May 12, 2013.

Cardz TV Stamps DT Challenge #29 (“There’s No Other Like My Mother” – make a card, layout or craft project for Mother’s Day!) Deadline: Noon (EST) May 16, 2013.

My Craft Spot Challenge (Monday Post #96 – For Mom – create something special for Mom). Deadline: May 13, 2013.

Happy Mother’s Day to everyone, everywhere! 🙂

Vanessa

Autumn Banner

Hi all! This will be a quick post (well, quick for me LOL), as I am still getting the house ready for our family’s Thanksgiving! I had a banner planned out since October but didn’t make it until today. I was determined to get it done, even if it’s only to be used this week! I used Cricut’s “Straight from the Nest” cartridge for the banner’s triangles and toppers which were cut at 7 1/2 inches. The banner is cut from two sheets of Paper Studio’s 12×12 “Natural Botanical” patterned paper. Here is the layout of my mat. I cut this layout twice (once in light green leaf paper, and once in brown leaf paper). It made it quick and easy.

For the letters, I used Cricut’s “Designer’s Calendar” cartridge. “A” “U” and “N” are cut at 6 inches, “M” at 5.5 inches, and “T” at 4.5 inches. I alternated the colors of the letters using beige and brown cardstock to show up well against the alternating banner colors. I also ran each letter through a Swiss Dots embossing folder before adhering. I connected the banner sections with bows made from twine. I’m not really pleased with how it’s hung – note the two neon green push pins! 😦 But it works from a distance. I couldn’t find any clear push pins and I couldn’t think of another way to hang it, so the green pins will have to do!

So that’s my first banner! I plan on making one for Christmas too. I think it adds a nice touch to the fireplace.

I am entering this banner into the following challenges:

• My Craft Spot’s Monday Challenge #76 – Thanksgiving
• “I’M STUFFED!” Paper Playtime Challenge (PPT) #89 “Anything Goes!”

Due to the holiday, this will be my last post for this week. I’ve got family coming in from Florida and we plan on having a nice Thanksgiving meal and visit together!

I wish you all a wonderful and happy Thanksgiving! Blessings to you and your families!

~Vanessa

Got Candy? Halloween Card

In honor of my first 2012 Halloween card (it’s the second one I’ve ever made!), I changed my theme to “Monster”. This is a free WordPress.com Theme in case you’re a WordPresser and are interested in using it for the next few weeks, or longer if you dare :)! I used my Potpourri Basket cartridge to make this cute little jack-o-lantern shaped card. I welded two pumpkin shadows at 5.5 inches in Design Studio and then cut the face in orange cardstock. This image is originally from Stretch Your Imagination. Since I have Potpourri there are only two layers – shadow feature and the jack-o-lantern face so I ran the face again in green patterned paper and hand trimmed the vine, stem, and leaf with scissors and glued this to my card. I outlined the green parts with a fine point black pen and inked the edges of the orange pumpkin with black ink for more depth. I’m linking this up to My Craft Spot’s Too cute to spook! challenge!

I had fun with the inside sentiment using Word on my computer. I used the Chiller font in 36 point and inserted a spider symbol using Webdings. This fits perfectly on a 4 inch circle cut from Accent Essentials. I then cut a purple circle at 4 & 1/4 inches, and a black circle at 4 & 1/2 inches. (You will also note that I ran the pumpkin in orange cardstock again as a backdrop to my sentiment and circle mats.) I used Chiller again on the tag in 16 point. I used a 1 & 1/4 inch circle cut from Accent Essentials for “Oct. 31st” and then backed this up with a 1 & 3/8 inch purple circle and a 1 & 1/2 inch black circle. I used my 1/8 inch hold punch on the top of the tag and ran a circular paper clip through it to attach to the pumpkin vine.

Because the tag looked too plain, I cut a 1 & 1/2 inch bat from Wild Card and enbellished it with Glossy Accents. I also added the googly eyes to the pumpkin as an after thought to make it more whimsical.

Thanks for checking it out and remember… “Got Candy?” Halloween is two weeks away! 🙂 ~Vanessa

Butterfly Artwork

When my husband saw my creation this morning he said, “Well that’s certainly different!” I’m not sure if he liked it or not, but I love how it turned out. The embossing adds a nice twist because it shows that the stamped images beneath don’t have the embossing and that there’s more to the design than one might think at first glance. I’m not sure if someone has thought of this before (though I’m sure it’s out there :)), but I’m proud that I thought of this on my own while trying to fall asleep last night. It took some time completing it but I think the effort shows in the different steps needed to finish it.

If you’re interested in reading on (I get a bit wordy), here are the details…

I used my Cricut Design Studio software and created an A2 sized mat (4.25 x 5.5) with different shapes place inside the square so that these would cut out leaving a stenciled mat. I then cut a solid A2 mat using white cardstock and taped the stenciled mat to the solid one.

I wanted to use some new inks I got for Christmas but all of my sponge daubers were used up so I had to resort to a cleaning sponge (I sacrificed a new one from the kitchen cabinet). I used scissors to cut off chunks of it to make my own daubers. I found the sponge too dry to apply the ink well so I dampened each little ‘dauber’ with a little water and that did the trick. It softened up the sponge and allowed the ink to cover the paper better. Using a textured sponge gave the ink a distressed look which I like.

After the inking was done, I cut another stenciled mat out in white cardstock and ran it through my Sizzix Texture Boutique with a Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder. I then put foam dimensionals all over the back of it to raise it up from the inked layer for a 3-D look. I then added turquoise rhinestones to the flower centers.

Next, I created a frame with a 1/2 inch margin around each side using two square shapes from Walk In My Garden. I stretched the outer square to measure the A2 size. I then added an inner square and stretched it to measure 3.75 x 5 inches. I ran this cut twice to make the frame more durable in apricot cardstock.

I embossed one of the frames using the Swiss Dots folder. I then adhered the two frames together using adhesive tape and added foam dimensionals to the frame’s back to raise it up from the remaining design. Since there are so many foam dimensionals on it adding a nice weight, I am tempted to scrap the card idea and just display this as a little piece of artwork for my office :). I am entering this into the “Hot Summer Colors” challenge at My Craft Spot.

Cricut Cartridges:

Storybook ~ Butterflies

Straight From the Nest ~ Paisley Flowers, Flourish

Walk In My Garden ~ Square Shape (to make frame)

Inks:

Ink It Up! ~ Orange, Tart Lime, Turquoise

Paper:

Colorbok Spring Pastel ($5 at Wal-mart) ~White and Apricot

Rhinestones:

K&Company Brenda Walton Neapolitan Adhesive Rhinestones (Turquoise)

Thanks for looking!

Vanessa