Caring Thoughts

I needed a sympathy card and didn't have a lot of time so I reached for the prettiest glittery paper (from the same KandCo pad that I used for my in-laws anniversary card), cut it down to size and then stamped an old Hero Arts sentiment. I wanted to keep the sentiment small so I grabbed a label punch by Stampin 'Up but the entire sentiment "With Caring Thoughts" didn't fit. I found that if I limited it to "Caring Thoughts," it did fit. A quick punch and done. Even better was that the backside of my pretty paper was a colorful pattern of stripes that worked perfectly for the inside of my card. I used the stripes as a guide for my handwritten note. Perfect.

It reminds me of the type of cards that you can buy in a boxed set, but by making my own, I'm not committed to 10 of the same cards in the future.

Frugal tip: Cut 4"x 5-1/4" rectangles from your leftover papers so you have panels that are ready to go when you need a quick card. Oh, and if your paper is double-sided and you can cut two panels, you may be able to use one to coordinate the inside of your card.

Have a nice day!

Oh Crab...

A belated birthday card for a cousin. Again, Paper Smooches came through. How did they know that from time to time I need that sentiment from Chubby Chum Pals? The little crab comes from the PS set called Surf and Turf. When I saw his little claws, it reminded me of the "L" people make with their thumb and forefinger to represent the word "loser" and I had to use it to express a little self-deprecating humor at my forgetting her birthday. Lol. I love creating scenes on cards, as you may know, so it was fun to use sky, water and sand papers to make this little beach scene. It made my cousin laugh. Whew! I'm forgiven. *smile*

Coming up next, a sympathy card that proves you don't need much time or product to make a pretty card.

Happy Bird-day....

A birthday card for a relative that has 6 cats. I thought a silly one that incorporated a Paper Smooches (PS) Party Posse cat hanging out with my favorite Ippity bird stamps would bring a smile. Accompanied by the perfect sentiment from PS' Birthday Buddies. Oh, and how can I not give credit to that Stampin' Up paper from the Big Top line that gave me all those pretty banners. I did have to add the numbers 6 and 1 to the banner flags to customize it more.

Coming soon, a belated birthday card....

*smile*

A Special Anniversary

Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans, said John Lennon. So true. I've been busy outside of the craft room until recently so finally I have some projects to share.

My in-laws are an amazing couple. At 88 and 89, they are still vibrant and active and enjoying themselves. They just marked their 68th wedding anniversary so that called for more than just a card. I put together a small accordion album with just 4 photos to illustrate the fact that I think they are still the glamourous couple they've always been. I used photos from their early years and a recent one as well to prove that. I had a K&Co paper pad with lovely embossed patterns to use for the outside (squares of paper glued to cereal box cardboard) and a different pattern for the insides. Black pages folded and glued together formed the accordion pages for the photos. Seam binding, a pocket embellishment and some acrylic numbers added the final touches. They loved it!

So easy. I hope it inspires you to try one.

Thanks for visiting. I do have a few cards to share with you in the next few days, so check back....

*smile*