Crafty Thank You Card

The Martha Stewart Crafts cake cartridges are some of my top "go to" cartridges.  These cartridges were designed with cakes in mind but they have so much content that is equally useful for paper crafting projects.  The borders and sentiments are great for all of the typical card making occasions.

I own lots of Martha Stewart border punches but I find it frustrating sometimes that they don't exactly fit the space where I would like to use them.  With the cartridges and Design Studio or the Gypsy you can adapt any of the border images to fit the space perfectly.  For this card I used the border shown from the MS Elegant Cake cartridge and then adjusted the size to exactly five inches in Design Studio using the handle in the lower right corner.  On the Gypsy, you can use the proportional resizing to make the border the perfect size.

 

The "Thanks!" sentiment is also from the MS Elegant cartridge.

The sentiments all have shadow options which is a great timesaver.

I decided to add a stamped border from a new set that I found recently (at Marshall's - always check their stationery section when you are there).  I added some white pen stitching above and below the stamped border.

This is the stamp set from American Crafts.  I bought it for the wedding images but the border is good for all sorts of projects.

I wanted to use this paper from the DCWV "Crafty" stack.  This stack has lots of homespun, textured designs. 

In case you haven't seen this stack, here is a photo of the front.  I really like the sewing motifs (buttons, little scissors, etc.).

I wanted to be sure to center this striking design.  I am a bit compulsive about aligning and centering items and I always notice when someone just cuts from one end of the paper instead of thinking about the design of the paper.  I cut a strip with plenty of extra paper and adhered it to the border strip.

 

Then I carefully trimmed it even with the blue border strip on my small trimmer.

I added the sentiment and the decorative layer to a kraft cardstock A2 card.

The sentiment is raised on foam dots to add some dimension.

The sentiment needed a little more punch so I did some white pen stitching in the letters.

For a finishing touch, I tied some twine in a bow at the top of the card.  This is "cappucino" twine from The Twinery (I ordered the "original sampler pack" a while ago to try out the eight colors they offered at the time - they have added more colors since then and there is a larger sampler pack now called "colorful bunch" with 11 colors).

The final card has a ""crafty" homespun look and will be good to send to one of my crafty friends!

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Mother's Day Card

 Good morning.  If you are an email subscriber, this post will arrive later than usual.  Blogger was doing some maintenance and I couldn't put the post up late last night as I normally do. I didn't want to post this card until after it was received since my mother-in-law reads my blog.  This card could easily be used for any occasion - just change the sentiment.  I used some more of the flowers shapes that filled up my mat when I showed how to make the 10 petal flowers in THIS POST.

This flower was made with five 1 1/2 inch flowers (one for the base and four folded) and one 3/4 inch flower for the center.  The center is a Gradient Gem Brad from Creative Charms.

 

I placed one of the four inch flowers on the front of the card with six of the petals showing and folded it around to the back for an asymmetrical look.  I used a skewer to curl the edges of the large petals so they lift slightly from the card surface.

Scor-tape holds the dimensional flower to the large flower securely.

The card base is kraft cardstock.  I added some white pen stitching around the edges.  An ivory cardstock mat with the top and bottom edges punched with the Martha Stewart Floral Lace punch provides a place to write a message inside.

I added another piece of ivory cardstock to the left side of the card and attached it at the sides and base to make a pocket for a gift card.

I used this extra piece of cardstock which is larger than a gift card just to show the pocket (I didn't have the card when I took the photos).

The sentiment stamp is from the Hero Arts Celebrate Everyday set.

We will be leaving to attend our younger son's graduation later today - cross your fingers for good weather this weekend!  I won't be online much so please be patient if you send an email - I'll catch up next week.

link to discussion Day #3 - Time to Craft

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Time for Tea - Imagine that!

There as been a lot of activity in the craftroom but right now it looks even worse than it did before I started.  Sometimes you need to make a big mess to get everything sorted out!  I have moved some things around to make room for the IKEA items - it's going to be awesome!

I moved the Imagine table and couldn't resist taking a few minutes to try out the cartridge I just bought - Imagine More Cards.  I also found this American Crafts White textured cardstock at Marshall's (good finds there lately!).

There are 60 sheets in a package and the best part was the price...

...which meant is was less than 12 cents a sheet.

I printed out the first four papers in the handbook at full 12 x 12 size.  It is fun to be able to do this - and as long as you have a supply of white paper and your ink cartridges are full, you can produce the exact shade of paper that you need or choose from all of the patterns on the cartridges that you own.

The patterns look great on the textured paper.  I also found some kraft cardstock that I've been wanting to use so I decided to make a quick card.  It is so easy to get sidetracked when you are supposed to be doing a bigger project!

I chose this image on the Imagine More cards cartridge and selected the layers option.  Then I deleted everything but the cup and saucer image and printed and cut just that image.

I had already printed this piece of paper and I trimmed the bottom to have just the red check and yellow dots stripes showing.

I cut a section to 5 1/2 inches and layered it on the front of my card.  One thing that I don't always like is the "distressing" on most of the papers for the Imagine.  I made sure to trim my stripes from the center to avoid the dark distressed area at the edge.

The "Time for Tea" stamp is from Taylored Expressions, part of the CreativiTEA set (you can see it HERE).  I stamped it twice in two shades of blue offset a bit for a shadow effect.

I used some foam squares to lift up the cup and saucer.  I can't remember which brand these are but they are not easy to work with.  I should just toss them but I don't like to waste things so, on days when I feel a bit patient, I try them.  Soon they will be gone!

I wanted a simple card but this just looked too plain.  Fortunately, it just needed a quick and inexpensive addition to finish it off.

I pulled out my white pen and added some stitching.  First I did the sides, thinking that I might add a bow on the top but I decided that it would be better to just finish the stitching all the way around the top.

The stitching along the top frames the image nicely.  I use a Uni-ball Signo UM-153 white pen and it is the best I have found.  You can get them from JetPens for $2.25 each or $21.50 for a box of 10 and if you add one or two other items so your total is $25 or more, the shipping is free.  You'll probably want to get the box so you won't run out and the pens also make great little gifts for your crafting friends.  Here is a LINK (I am not affiliated with this company - I just love these pens and this is the best place I have found to buy them!).

It is amazing what a few little lines can do.  In this close view you can also see how closely the Imagine cut around the cup and saucer.  This was just a smaller part of a composite image but when you separate it and enlarge it I think it is a great focal point for a card.

 Kraft cardstock is by nature uneven and tough but I did not like this dark area on the inside of my card (I should have looked inside first before completing the front!).  I borrowed a trick from my friend Joy (Obsessed with Scrapbooking)...

...and added a thin strip (the edge I cut from the paper on the front) to the inside of the card - problem solved!


Now it's back to work in the craft room while I keep an eye out for the predicted snow - an April Fools Day storm could be coming our way.

If you are a Facebook user, you might want to go "like" the Creative Memories Home Office page.  They say that there will be an awesome surprise for US and Canadian customers and consultants to be revealed on Friday - April 1st.  It is supposed to be something that will make everyone HAPPY!   I have no idea what it is but it sounds like it could be really good!

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Lace Edge Scalloped Tags

I finally got to sneak down to my craftroom to test cut a tag inspired by the one that came with the church bake sale cookies.  This has been designed in my computer for a few days but with so many holiday activities, plus two "minor" home improvement projects, it has been difficult to find time to do everything!

The original tag is on the left.  It did not have any identifying information on it but appeared to be a commercially printed and assembled tag.  I really like the idea of the lace scallops around the tag and set about finding a way to design something similar.  I haven't tried to duplicate the reindeer but it could be done easily with a few basic shapes.

I did two variations of the tag.  For the tag on the left I added an additional circle cut at the top.  For the tag on the right I simply aligned the circles to overlap at the top of the tag.

 I used the tag shape and silhouetted circle on Plantin Schoolbook to make the open scallops.  I added the word "Joy" on this tag.  This was printed and cut with the Imagine.  The font was A Child's Year and the paper is from the Snow Angel cartridge.

I added some pen stitching around the edges of the tag to give it a more finished look.

 

There are so many ways to decorate and use pretty tags like these!

I turned this tag to be vertical and added some leftover snowflakes from a border punch as decoration.  With the gingham ribbon I was all set for a red and white Christmas.  I might add some pen stitching to this tag as well.

For the third tag, I added gold "peel-off" strips around the edges and chose a K & Company layered image for the greeting.  It really isn't hard to think of ways to decorate the basic tag shape and get many different results which will be fun to share on the gifts you give.

I will explain how I made the file and share it tomorrow (or soon if tomorrow gets too crazy).

I need to get some more presents wrapped before our older son arrives Tuesday night since they are on top of the bed he will be sleeping in!  We had some snow here but I am keeping my fingers crossed that there will be no delays with the flights.

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