Praying for you card

This week  needed a Sympathy Card. I had been experimenting some more with my Flower Garden embossing folder and brayer and had produced some images in Crumb Cake ink that weren't quite what I wanted for another purpose, but they were pretty and I saved them. Now these particular images seemed perfect for my Sympathy card.

I sponged around the image in Crumb Cake and that seemed to finish it off nicely. No need for shimmer or glitter on this occasion.

I layered it on two different retired designer series papers, then added the embossed image and tied some natural knotted cotton tape over the lot. The card didn't seem finished so I punched out two Scallop Trim borders in Crumb Cake and added narrow strips of Soft Suede cardstock over the borders.

I used the offcuts from the embossed image to stamp the sentiment onto then layered the message over some Certainly Celery cardstock. Three generic yellow brads seemed to fit as well.

I even finished the inside of this card, this time (thank you, Carla, for the inspiration to do so. I cannot emulate your wonderful style and come up with a CAS style instead no matter what I do:)) I used one of the trees from the Thoughts and Prayers stamp set to support the layered sentiment. Our handwritten personal note went to the right of the sentiment. And yes, I added a tree to the envelope as well :)

My goodness I am coming to the end of my cardmaking 'run' so will just have to make time to return to my craft desk soon :) I need to make more Cards for the Troops anyway, so maybe there will be a few Christmas cards posted here soon. I do have some new stamp sets to play with, coincidentally...he he he.

Thailand Tigers

Now for something completely different! Well, different in that I usually post cards, right? This time I actually made a double layout of Col and I in Thailand, getting to know some tigers. Yikes! I was sure nervous abotu getting to know tigers! But Col was determined. It was one of his lifelong wishes, to get close to a real live tiger. The day we went to this particular place, he got close to many tigers. We lost count. And he had a ball. I was still very wary as those things are HUGE and the paws on the bigger ones alone were bigger than dinner plates. They were quite used to the Buddhist monks who handled them though and tolerated us without protest.

So here it is, the Thailand Tigers double layout (most of the supplies were non-Stampin' Up! items and i cannot remember which companies etc made the papers and so on, but it was a fun layout to make).

Are you Dragon today?

I'm draggin' a bit - lol! I always feel slow in the morning :) I guess that passes abotu 10am? It does for me, anyway.

The other night I made another punch art card for another grandson who turns 4 this month. I found this idea while surfing Stampin' Up! blogs too but this time i didn't record the crafter's name. So sorry about that! I enjoyed making this smokey little fellow though.I had to make this one similar to my Punch Buggy as the two grandsons are brothers and we cannot have something TOO different, now can we.

Have a beautiful day. I'm off to church!

Supplies:
All Stampin' Up! supplies were used.
Cardstock: Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Not Quite Navy, Shara Sand, Whisper White. Poppy Parade, Confetti
Ink: Not Quite Navy
Punches: Various oval, circle, scallop border and heart punches
Sentiment: Hand written with a black journaling pen

Punch Buggy

When my daughter was small, we used to have a game when we drove along. If we saw a Volkswagon Beetle we would yell out 'Punch Buggy!" and punch each other (lightly!) in the arm. This little punch art bug just led me to think of the game. It really isn't a punch buggy. Lol!

I made this one for one of my grandson's 1st birthday. The idea came from a Stampin' Up! demonstrator from Kay Sha of Creations on Paper (thank you for the cute image!) and was very easy to put together once i saw the picture. It came alive with a bit of sponging, don't you think?

Anyway, happy birthday to my little grandson.

Supplies:
All Stampin; Up! supplies were used -
Cardstock: Old Olive, Basic Black, Whisper White, So Saffron, Poppy Parade
White gel pen, black Stampin' Write marker
Various oval and circle punches, a small heart punch plus a scallop border punch
Big Shot Top Note die
Hand written sentiment

Embossed and Shimmered

I had a crafty evening this evening. I made five new cards, all for special occasions in the family. I know the person I made this one for won't see it till she gets it, so I shall share it with you:

It was a simple card to make. I embossed the background with an inky embossing folder, then shimmer sprayed it. That's the only trick I used, really! And the camera doesn't pick up the shimmer at all, but believe me, it is there.

Must get some sleep. Maybe will post another card tomorrow {yawn}

Supplies:
Stampin' Up! (SU!) cardstock - Whisper White, Certainly Celery
Certainly Celery ink & taffeta ribbon
Retired designer series paper & shiny ribbon
SU! pearls
SU! Flower Garden embossing folder
SU! shimmer paint mixed with rubbing alcohol

Double Layer Stamping

You know the stamp sets you think you don't like, then you get a chance to play with them and you like them a lot? I was like that with Betsy's Blossoms. It was one set I could get in advance when the new Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue came out. I didn't know if I liked it till I stamped with it, and guess what? I like it. Lol!

I built a class around the double stamping technique with it in fact, and here is a sample of the cards we made:

That little birdie is so cute, the flowers so lovely to use, the new In Colours so refreshing....

Now if I could only get the lighting for photos right!

Metallic Masculine Cards

Got any spare roof flashing? Got a Big Shot and a rugged embossing folder? Then you can make Metallic Masculine Cards!

The is one of the two cards we made at the last Stampin' Up! class I ran in August. The technique can be used for many other types of cards and will take the most delicate of embossing designs as well. All you do is cut a piece of thin metal (such as roof flashing) and place it in your embossing folder as though it were just cardstock, then run  your 'sandwich' through the Big Shot.

Be careful of any sharp edges or corners on your embossed metal sheet. I like to blunt the corners of my metal sheets a little with my craft scissors. The metal will tend to curve a bit as well. I always place the metal on the card with the arched back up, then flatten it down so the edges and corners bed down nicely on the card.

Just use ordinary two-way glue pen to adhere it to your cardstock.

Supplies (all from Stampin' Up! except the roof flashing. That was form Bunnings.):

Cardstock and Ink colours: Gumball Green , Midnight Muse, Whisper White
Stamps: Teeny Tiny Sentiments, retired Stampin' Around Wheel whose name escapes me
Embossing folder: Houndstooth
Notions: Neutrals buttons, Linen thread, Glue dots, Two Way Glue Pen