In the Navy

Greetings!  Today I have a special request card to show you.  My dd has some friends in the military, and she wanted to send some goodies to one of them who is overseas in a war zone.  But she needed a card.  DD told me some ideas she had, and I showed her supplies that were on hand for her use, and together we came up with a design that she was quite happy to send to her friend.

I started with a (you guessed it) Navy Blue card base.  It's a very dark blue, which comes across nearly black in the photos:

I used a Cuttlebug folder to emboss the stars in the background layer, but I added a frame layer to provide a blank space for the featured sticker.  I considered brushing on some color to highlight the stars, but elected not to do that because the embossing shows up beautifully in person.  The eagle and flag image was stamped with Versamark and heat embossed with a powder color which picked up color from the sticker below.

                   

 I cut out the stamped/embossed eagle and used foam tape to affix it to the background.  The sticker itself is three layers which provided enough dimension on its own, so I affixed it directly onto the background.  I have several sentiment stamp sets which can be used for patriotic-type cards such as this one.  Here is the sentiment my daughter chose:

DD wanted to keep the clean look of the card, so instead of handwriting a message directly inside, she chose to compose a letter to insert on a separate page.

 I hope you've enjoyed this simple and elegant card for my dd's Navy buddy.  It certainly was a pleasure and an honor to make it for him.

The details:
          Stamps:  Pink by Design "Our Troops" and Inkadinkadoo "Patriotic Eagle"
          Embossing folder:  Cuttlebug "Stars"
          Dimensional Sticker:  K & Company "Navy"
          Ink:  Versamark
          Paper:  Gina K Designs heavy base weight "In the Navy," and Georgia Pacific white
          Embossing Powder:  Sweet Stamps "Fine Detail Copper"
          Miscellaneous:  Stamp On It "Frame-Its Kit," foam tape, Scotch ATG

'Til next time.....

Big HUGS!
CHRISTINE

CAS, Color and Sketch!

Well, here I am back again with another blue card.  But, then again, who doesn't love BLUE?  This time it's for a particular challenge I'm entering.  Actually, I've combined two challenges; one that is clean and simple with a color combo, and the other with a sketch.   The CAS/Color is from the new challenge blog, House of Cards, while the Sketch is from the Repeat Impressions Blog.  Here are photos of the two challenges:

 

In the color part of the challenge, at least three of the colors must be used.  And here is my card:

Using the sketch, I took the three blues, a silhouette stamp and a sentiment to keep the card very simple.  The sentiment is very light, so I have a close-up for you.  It's much more readable in person.

Both stamps that I used came from the Raisin Boat "Stunning Silhouettes" set.  I used Versamark ink and Ranger clear embossing powder to get the light, but slightly raised and shiny silhouette effect.

Lastly, I cut the sentiment in a banner cut, layered it, and affixed it with foam tape for just a little bit of dimension on the card:

Most of the paper is from Recollections, and Surprise, Surprise, I used NO SCRAPS!!  I know, shocking, isn't it?

Thanks so very much for spending some time with me today!  Before you go, tell me in a comment what you're reading these days.  I love books and am always looking for suggestions!

'Til next time.....
Big HUGS!
CHRISTINE

True Blue

It's a good thing my hubby was looking at the calendar yesterday because I totally forgot it was my turn for a design at the Card A Day Blog!  And, being on Sunday means I get to start the new theme.  This week we're presenting "Monochromatic" cards for your viewing pleasure and inspiration.  I have another of my 'scrap specials' for you, all in blues because that's what my daughter requested.  The design of my card was actually 'borrowed' from a recent Stampin' Up stamp camp held by a neighbor.  And here it is:

As you can see, this card uses lots of small bits of paper, so it's an absolute natural for using up those scraps.  I did my best to get a sort of ombre effect with my papers; darkest in upper left corner to lightest in lower right corner.  I used a postage stamp punch for most of the pieces, but several of the focal piece bits were simply cut square.

The card base is standard A2 size at 4 1/4 x 5 1/2.  The layered piece is 4 x 5 1/4.  The focal piece starts at 2" square with the rest of the pieces each just a bit smaller.

As I hope you can see,  the focal piece has been affixed in two separate layers with foam tape.  The sweet little brads offer just a bit of glitter to the card.

This little card really is a blast to make.  You can have lots of fun choosing colors and a theme because, of course, this card can be adapted to many occasions.  I can just imagine it done in colors for Christmas or Halloween with just the right central image.  And it would look gorgeous in shades of brown and tans for fall.  I do hope you'll enjoy designing your own!

Also linking to:  Repeat Impressions DCC73 ~ Monochrome

Here are the specs:
          Brads:  American Crafts Mini Glitter Brads
          Paper:  Card base Georgia Pacific
          Ink:  Versamark
          Embossing Powder:  JudiKins Opaque White
          Punch:  Stampin' Up "Postage stamp"
          Stamp:  Pink By Design

'Til we meet again.....

Big HUGS!!
CHRISTINE

Gift Card to Die For

As we get ready to close out our year of cardmaking at the Card A Day Blog, I get to bring you one last inspiration.  Our final theme of the year is 'Snow.'  I had all sorts of ideas, but at the last minute I received a die that I had ordered, so I decided to use it for my card.  I also had been making rosettes to use as tags on Christmas gifts, and it became a simple matter to combine the two elements.

My new die is for a gift card holder.  I chose a paper to coordinate with one of my rosettes, and used the die to cut it out.  I scored for the folds (the scores were lightly marked by the die), and affixed the flap for the gift card.  My last step for the card, itself, was to stamp and emboss a greeting for the inside.  Here are some shots of the inside of the card:

Sorry about the glare in the top photo.  I wanted to show the card as it would be used so I inserted a used gift card into the pocket.  Also, I wanted to emphasize the snow idea on the inside, and used a snowflake stamp along with a greeting to accomplish that.  It also helps to have snowflakes on the card stock that I used.

The rosette I chose was made using another die, the Snowflake Rosette by Tim Holtz.  The paper for that piece also has a snowflake pattern on the red ground.  The scores for the rosette are done as perforations which makes it a bit fiddly to work with, as well as exposing the paper edges.  In this case the edges were showing too much white, so I simply inked those edges to smooth out the color.  I also applied a glitter spray, and added a rhinestone to the center of the snowflake.  I then affixed the snowflake/rosette to the front of the card with foam tape to lift it a bit off the surface making it easier to open/close the flap.

I have three more photos for you.  The first one shows the open card:

The next two give you a much better look at the rosette.  If you click on the pictures you might even be able to see the glitter on the rosette as well as the card itself.

Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to visit.  It's such a bustling time for everyone with the holidays looming.  Don't forget to take time for the really important things.

And here are the small details:
     Dies:  Sizzix BigzXL Gift Card Holder and Tim Holtz Snowflake Rosette
     Paper:  Recollections "Jolly Jamboree" stack
     Stamps:  Close to My Heart "Very Merry Christmas" and My Mind's Eye "Holly Jolly"
     Bling:  Studio18 Rhinestones and Crafter's Companion Spray & Sparkle Gold
     Ink:  Versamark
     Embossing Powder:  Stampendous Detail Gold


Hugs to all!
CHRISTINE

Festival of Lights

As designer of the day for the Card A Day Blog I had the pleasure of creating, for the first time ever, a card for Hanukkah.  This is the first time we've had a week featuring this well-known Jewish holiday at the CADB, and it's been a true learning experience for most of our participating designers.  I know that Hanukkah, or the Festival of Lights, celebrates the miracle of one days' worth of the special olive oil (that remained after the rest had been destroyed) keeping the candles lit in the Temple for a full eight days until a fresh supply could be made.  Not traditionally a religious holiday Hanukkah, falling during the same season as the Christmas holiday, has come to be celebrated in a similar fashion with celebrations, special foods and gift-giving.

My card features the Star of David and the menorah, or candelabrum, on which one candle is lit for each of the 8 days of the holiday.  The center, or highest, candle is the one used for lighting all the others.  Please remember I am speaking as a Christian who is not too well-versed on the traditions, and giving a much condensed explanation.  So, if you need to set me straight in any way, feel free to do so in a comment.  Here is your first look at my card:

 

 I started with a card base cut at 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" in a dark navy and folded in half to form an A2 sized card..  I added a lighter blue mat measuring 4" x 5 1/4" and then the card face, in white, cut at 3 3/4" x 5".  I used two stamps for the greeting, one a background frame stamped in blue and the second stamped with Versamark and embossed in silver.  I couldn't find a stamp of just the word 'Blessings' in my excessive collection (How crazy is that, right?!), so I used 'Autumn Blessing' and taped over the word autumn.  The menorah is a sticker, and the stars are die cuts, the larger one being affixed with foam dots for dimension. 

 

Before the layers were affixed I rounded opposing corners of each layer for a little interest.  I used my tape runner for the blue layer and more foam dots for the white layer.  The rhinestones were added for a bit of sparkle.  Here is another photo where you might be able to see some of the dimension:

 

 I added a white liner to the inside, and created my own sentiment using MS Word.  I thought the bright white pieces were a little too stark, so I inked all their edges letting some of the ink stray toward the center.  Finally, I added two more candle stickers to dress it up.

 



 I'll end with one more slightly closer shot of the card front, and I'll be looking forward to your comments.

Here are the details:
     Stamps:  Clear Stamps "Faithful Friend" set, TCP Studio "Autumn Harvest" set
     Inks:  Versamark, Stampin' Up "Bashful Blue"
     Papers:  Gina K. Designs "In the Navy", Recollections medium blue, and Georgia Pacific white
     Hanukkah images:  Creative Memories "Judaic Combination Pack"
     Embossing Powder:  Stampendous Metallic Detail Silver


So happy you decided to stop by!  Sending lots of hugs!!!
CHRISTINE

A Bit of Christmas Joy

Yes, I know, it's only the beginning of November, but Christmas will be here before we know it.  I have the Card A Day Blog spot today, and I am beginning the new theme of 'Christmas Gift Card.'  I think my card has a very traditional look to it with the red and green colors and the holly design paper, and I gave it just a little touch of sparkle to spice it up, as well as a coordinating envelope.

The base is 12" x 5 1/2" and, when folded, creates a card that fits a standard A2 envelope.  It's best to used a two-sided paper for the base to give a more finished look once it's put together.  The base is folded in thirds with the two side sections being cut to form triangles that cross over.  Here's a first look for you:

 

 

As you can see, I started with a dark green base (DCWV Textured Naturals), and added triangles of the holly design paper (Recollections Jolly Jamboree).  The insert, as well as the snowflake embellishment, are also from Recollections paper (Bright Christmas pack).  I used a glitter pen to outline the snowflake and draw the faux stitching around the dp.

 

I used coordinating Martha Stewart punches for the insert trim and the snowflake.  Then I used a die to cut notches at the bottom of the insert.  You can see that here:

 

 

The next photo shows a gift card inserted in the cut outs.  The photo below it gives you a nice look at the embossed greeting.

 



 

And then one more shot to give you a full view of the opened card:

 

I mentioned that this card has a coordinating envelope.  I used the same punch on the envelope flap that I used on the top of the card insert. It was a combination of a border punch with it's matching corner punch.  Here is a look at the card with its envelope:

 

 

That pretty much wraps it up for this one.  The last photo shows most of the supplies I used in addition to the papers already mentioned.  I used  my ATG to affix the pieces except for the snowflake for which I used a Zig 2-Way Glue Pen.



I hope you've enjoyed your visit with me today.  You might be able to use this card idea for some of your upcoming holiday gift-giving.

I'm still trying to get photos together of the Girl Scout projects I mentioned in an earlier post.  I'll do that soon so you can see what we've been up to recently.

Wishing you a beautiful day,
CHRISTINE

CDAC Challenge Series

Happy Fall, everyone!!

I have two very different cards for you today.  We recently started a new Progressive Challenge series at the Crafter's Digital Arts Center, and I'm already behind in showing my cards to you.  If you're not familiar with these challenges, do be sure to click on the link and check out the site.  There are lots of fun activities for digital artists.  In the Progressive Challenge Group, we are currently on challenge 20, but I will show you the card for challenge 19 first.

Since summer was coming to an end, our challenge leader wanted to celebrate the summer season.  We had a fun surfboard digi image from Tiffany Doodles.  I hope you like what I've done with it; I turned mine into a 'feel better' card.

 

I decided to keep the card fairly simple and used coordinating design papers to paper-piece the surfboards, and I used a 'sandy' colored paper with a bit of inking to add a little dimension and shadow.  I made up the the outside sentiment, printed it and affixed it with foam tape putting a bit of curl into it for fun.

 

Here is the inside.  I thought I knew where the sentiment came from, but I couldn't find it (maybe Gina K. Designs)  to tell you for sure.  I thought it was a perfect match for the theme of my card.  Added Oct 2, 2012- FOUND IT:  Pink By Design 'live life creatively' set.

The current challenge, PC20, uses an image from Priscilla Styles.  It's a cute Halloween design featuring a frustrated-looking kitty wearing a bat mask.  I did the coloring with various markers.

Once again, I printed my own sentiment.  I added a spider to the original image, and used embossing on the spider and the mask. I know they look gold, but that's just the reflection of the light. Take a look at the next photo.  I was careful not to get the glare.

Here is a look at the inside:

I thought it would be fun to use a stamp of a scarey kitty before it got too pooped.  The card base is cut to A2 size from black card stock from Recollections.

Thanks for coming by to visit today.  See you again soon!

BIG HUGS,

CHRISTINE

A Golden Autumn

HOW CAN IT BE SEPTEMBER ALREADY???????

Sorry for yelling.  I just can't believe how quickly this year is going.  Even the long, hot summer is over, and all-too-soon we will be seeing the colors of Autumn.  I have another Card A Day Blog design for you today.  As you might already have guessed, our weekly theme is 'Autumn.'  I had several ideas percolating in my brain for this theme, but I love tone-on-tone treatments, so that is the idea that won over all the others.

I started with a base of kraft card stock cut at 4 1/4" x 11" or half an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet cut the long way to make a tall A2 standard sized card.  That piece then needed to be scored and cut to make a step card with one step and a higher centerpiece.  Here is your first view:

 

 

The cuts were made 1" from each long side and cut from 1" to 6 1/2".  The center score was done at 5 1/2" and the side scores were made at 1", 2" and 6 1/2".  I really like how the center lifts from the borders.

 

The side border pieces as well as the sentiment piece were cut from a golden paper which has a pretty sheen that, unfortunately, does not show up well in the photos.  The centerpiece was cut from a sandy colored paper, and the mat from a darker mustard paper.  By the way, these pieces were all scraps and I no longer remember where they came from.

 

I used Versamark to stamp the center image as well as the borders and greeting, and used a lovely golden embossing powder to highlight them.

 

 

Overall, this was a fairly quick and easy card to make and would be great when multiples are needed.  It's a super design for any occasion.

 



Not too many extra details for you on this one.  The stamps all came from TPC Studio:  Autumn Harvest set and Patterned Borders.  The embossing powder I used (and I really love this one) is Medieval Metals from Sweet Stamps.

 

Now I'm off to make a wedding card.  I'll show it to you soon after the wedding which is this coming Saturday -- eek! only a couple of days away.  I'd better get creating......................

 

 

Do remember to always keep your creative genius happy and well-fed!

 

Big HUGS to all!!

CHRISTINE

Mama Needs a NEW Pair of Shoes

Hello and Welcome!!  I hope you are enjoying the weather in your neck-of-the-woods.  As today's designer for the Card A Day Blog, I was very happy to have to stay inside to make my card.  We've been having plenty of hot, hot days this summer, and I just don't do well in extreme temps anymore.

This week's theme at CADB is 'NEW'; new job, new home, new whatever.  When I started thinking about my card I was hoping to come up with something just a little bit different.  I thought about new hat and new dress, but then I remembered some fun stamps I've had for awhile of shoes.  That's the idea that really grabbed me.  Upon looking at the stamps again, I found the ideal sentiment for this week's theme.  You'll see what I mean.  Here's your first look:

These first two pictures give you a close look at just two of the shoe stamps I used.  I wanted different colors to match all my outfits (heehee) so I used colors from the background dp.

I had been playing with some of my punches recently, and that left me with some miscellaneous punched elements.  I happened to have one that was the perfect fit for tiling my shoes.  Let's take a peek:

Here you can see the multicolored background with solid-colored framing that matches the card base.  In the next shot you get a better idea of the whole card front.

I mentioned that the stamp set I used had a perfect sentiment.  Here it is:

This card would be perfect for someone who just needs a little pick-me-up.  Here is your straight-on front view:

The sentiment and the focal shoe were both heat embossed with Stampendous 'Detail Black'and mounted with foam tape for just a tiny bit of extra dimension.  This card measures 5" x 7".

Nitty-Gritty:
          Stamps:  Pink by Design 'Shoe Addict' and 'Designer Shoes' sets
          Paper:  K&Company (dp) and Recollections (card base), stash white
          Punch:  Martha Stewart corner and edge (sorry, I don't have the name.)
          Ink:  Versamark, Memento 'New Sprout', Memories Direct 'Pink', Stampin' Up 'Wisteria Wonder' and 'Bashful Blue'

FYI for anyone who might be visiting for the first time:  We have new themes weekly and challenges - with prizes - every month at the CADB.  Hope you'll stop by and play along!

Remember to always keep your creative genius happy and well-fed!!

CHRISTINE

Congratulations Graduate!

It's my turn, once again, to bring you some inspiration from the Card A Day Blog.  Hello friends and welcome newcomers to my little creative space.  This week's theme at CADB is 'Congratulations.'  We have a graduation coming up before too long, so I decided to use that as my inspiration for this card.  I didn't have to think about what colors to use because the school colors are purple and gold...one item taken care of; just needed to find the papers.

I knew I would be using a Cricut cut, and I had to do a bit of hunting to find what I needed.  Here are the pieces before assembly:

As you can see, I decided to use the mortarboard for a shaped card.  The one I used comes from the Cricut cartridge "Wrap It Up."  The next photos show the back of the card where you can see the fold where the front and back are attached, and also the inside where the front is folded back.

An angled shot shows the bit of dimension added by attaching the sentiment with foam tape.

I used VersaMark and Detail Gold embossing powder for the stamp.  Here's a nice close-up:

Finally, here is the full front view:

This card was really quite easy to make once I got the pieces sized on my Gypsy.  Here are the rest of the details on supplies:

          Papers:  Core'dinations (both purples); Stampin 'Up Whisper White and More Mustard
          Stamp:  Close to My Heart "Frames, Tags, Borders" set
          Die:  Spellbinders Circle
          Embossing Powders:  Stampendous Detail Gold
          Glues:  Tombow Mono Glue Stick and Mono Dots



Be sure to stop by on Monday, March 19, for the Card A Day Blog SPRING HAS SPRUNG Blog Hop.  There will be PRIZES!!

Thanks for visiting, and remember always keep your creative genius happy and well-fed!

CHRISTINE