Hexagons and Happy Birthday

Have you fallen for the hexagon crazy yet? I sure have! I bought a hexagon embossing folder and am saving for a hexagon die and matching stamp set from Papertrey Ink. Of course, the craze may be over by the time I get them!

At least a year ago, I bought a mishmash 6x6 pack of papers from my LSS. It had all kinds of papers in it but when I finally went through all of it, I found this patterned paper. I absolutely had to make a couple of cards with it. The sentiment is Stampin' Up and the brads are from my stash. I got the idea from this post on Splitcoast Stampers.

 

I usually don't follow the latest "in" thing when it comes to clothes, food, crafting, etc. Do you? What's the latest one you've loved and tried?

 

Cherie

Wish!

I'm trying to do more specific cards for my next Operation Write Home box. I tend to do a lot of general thinking of you cards...hello, friendship, etc. Usually 1/2 of my box is general. We'll see if I can accomplish it!

Here is a bright birthday card. I originally made one for a friend's birthday. Then I made one with these spring type colors for my aunt's birthday. They turned out so cute that I made a few more for OWH. The background is embossed with a Cuttlebug folder and wrapped with some yellow/white twine. The balloon brads (from my stash of many, many brads) move the twine into the position I want. The sentiment, one of my favorite birthday stamps, is by Fiskars. The bottom corners are all rounded with my corner rounder. I got the idea from this post.

 

I think I might make a few more of these to keep them in my stash of cards...which is currently empty lol. Do you have a stash of cards or do you make them as you need them? Donate them all?

 

Cherie

Thinking of You

Here's a bright card for you. I rarely use yellows but these were in my scraps and were begging to be used!

I started with the yellow SU papers and found some pretty Teresa Collins dots to go with it. Then I found OWH sketch 11 that would work with the sizes of scraps I had handy. A bit of trimming and layering and I was all set. The sentiment and punches are SU.

 

Do you have colors you rarely use on your cards?

 

Cherie

Thank You

Today I have a thank you card to share. This one is simple but uses one of my favorite things...a banner.

The banner uses Bo Bunny paper and is layered on red Bazzill. The grey and blue are also Bazzill. The sentiment is by Fiskars and I used a star brad on the "a" for a bit of interest.

 

 

I hope you have a fabulous day.

 

Cherie

I'm no quitter!

I haven't decided if I like this card or not. For me, it's very busy but my hubby assures me it's not. So today, I'm sharing it with you and letting you decide.

The background paper is actually plastic with brown cupcakes on it. The red and brown are Bazzill and cut with Nesties. I used a sentiment/image stamp from SU and a some Pearl Pen to help define it.

 

What do you think...too busy or okay?

 

Cherie

Lucky Stars

For this card, I used one of my favorite pieces of Basic Grey and made six cards. I've had this paper for awhile and love it so much. It had been sitting in my paper rack for so long that it was dusty!

The star and its layer were both fussy cut. I stamped a star from a Hero Arts set on the back of the paper and cut it out, then layered it on some orange and cut it out again. The sentiment is also from the same Hero Arts set. I put a white oval behind it to help it pop.

 

Do you have a favorite paper that you hoard?

 

Cherie

thank you

Today I'm sharing another card that was inspired by Pinterest. The original card can be found here. It makes me happy to be working on some Pinterest ideas finally. Goodness knows I have enough ideas pinned to keep me busy for years lol!

This uses simple layers of cardstock and patterned paper with rounded corners for added interest. With all of those color in the heart paper (which I've had for years and have no idea who makes it), it was easy to find cardstock, button and twine colors to coordinate. The button is done with a Martha Stewart punch. I used a small SU sentiment that I think makes a bold statement even with its size.

 

Do you have a favorite button punch or die? I'm looking for one that does more than just one size. Thanks in advance for any ideas.

 

Cherie

 

 

Easter!

I wanted to share the Easter cards I made for my family. I only made three this year and it was the day before Easter. I completely forgot!

This one uses lots of Nesties and the paper is all from my scraps. The flowers are a Recollections punch with a center of Pearl Pen. The background is a Cuttlebug embossing folder and googlie eyes give it a fun touch. The inspiration was found here.

 

This one is my favorite of the group. The patterned papers are Authentique and the rest is all from my scrap pile. Again, Nesties were used for all of the bunny shapes. The nose is from my bling bag and the tail is part of a cotton ball. The edge was pierced and done with a black Micro pen. I found the idea for this card right here.

 

 

For the last one, I used my new Fiskars grass border punch and a Cuttlebug embossing folder for the grass. The bottom two eggs were stamped with Inkadinkado stamps before trimming. The other three were just traced onto paper and cut out. Pearl Pen gives each one a bit more detail. Yet again, the paper is all scraps.

 

 

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter!

 

Cherie

 

 

Happy Father's Day

This card was so fun to make! I made 20 for Operation Write Home. I turned them in early so they can get spread out to different boxes headed to our troops. I CASE'd this card from this one.

I used three different embossing folders to give it lots of texture and the papers that aren't embossed are all Bazzill which has its own texture. The ball was cut out with Nestabilities and the clouds with two different Fiskars punches. The grass was done with a PTI die that I borrowed from a friend. And the sentiment is SU.

 

Where do you get your card ideas from?

 

Cherie

Thank You Hero

It's another thank you card! I kept this one pretty simple but that ribbon wasn't easy to adhere lol.

This sentiment is actually a free digi you can find on Paula's blog. I used a Cuttlebug folder for the stars and the red ribbon is May Arts. It was tricky to keep it on, but I managed! I put adhesive on so it is hidden under the sentiment and lots on the back to hold it in place.

 

Do you have any tips for keeping ribbon or bling on?

 

Cherie

Wuff You

This is a new technique for me and one I'm not likely to try again! It's selective embossing and it's such a pain. I'm not even going to try to explain it since I still don't get it after reading and watching several things about it.

I used a Sizzix folder for the embossing and a digi I colored with Copics. Then I fussy cut around the cute dog and added a couple layers of Glossy Accents to the heart. The sentiment is from Hero Arts. Simple but with a huge message!

 

Enjoy your day!

 

Cherie

love you

Happy Monday to you! Is there any better way to start off the week than hearing "love you?" I don't think so, but that's just me.

I simply adore this chickie from DeNami, even more now that they've come out with so many stamps to go with it like birthday and surfing stuff. The conversation balloon is also by DeNami, as is the sentiment. I used Nestabilities for the circles and added interest with some piercing. Then did some fussy cutting around the balloon. Don't you just love those bright colors together? The heart embossing folder is from Sizzix. This card also follows OWH sketch 152.

 

Remember...everyone loves to hear the words "love you" even if they already know you do. Don't be afraid to say them out loud!

 

Cherie

Thank you, Hero

Here is a card I made using a free digi I found, I think, on Paula's blog. It's just perfect for an Any Hero card. I made six of these and will be adding them to my box of thank you cards for my veteran's hospital Any Hero card signing party. This makes 71 cards now and my goal it 100. Getting so close!

I had all of these items on hand...ribbon, red/white Recollections paper, blue Bazzill and cardstocks. The gold bling I picked up at my LSS...50 for 50 cents! What a great deal that was.

 

Have you thanked a hero in your life recently?

 

Cherie

Hugs and Kisses on Your Birthday

Here's a birthday card I made for my Operation Write Home box. Actually, I ended up making six! I got the layout inspiration here which I found through Pinterest.

I dug through my scraps to find papers for the circles. They are all cut out with Nestabilities. The black/white is DCWV and the red/white is Recollections. The background is red Bazzill run through my Cuttlebug with a birthday folder. I added some baker's twine for detail.

I was digging around looking for a sentiment to fit the white circle and came across this three piece sentiment from My Favorite Things in one of their bunny sets. Only after I'd stamped them and put every thing together did I realize it didn't match the happy birthday embossing. But, when you think about it, what could be a better gift from a loved one on your birthday than some hugs and kisses?

 

Take the time to spread some hugs and kisses to your loved ones today, or send them a card letting them know they are in your heart and on your mind.

 

Cherie

Some red stripes

Here is a pretty and simple card for you. It uses OWH bonus sketch 12. I used a masculine looking embossing folder and some red and brown Bazzill papers. The red stripes are by Recollections and the heart is Stampin' Up! I used Nestabilities for the circles. This will make a great love card for somebody.

 

Have a marvelous day!

 

Cherie

For Mom

I managed to get a few Mother's Day cards done in time for the OWH deadline. I rarely make specific holiday cards for them because I end up having to keep them for 9-10 months because I miss the deadline lol.

The first one features some SEI Couture Tabaret paper. I used a dots folder for texture and added some matching ribbon. I really like this mint green Bazzill and plan on using it more often. All of the cardstock is Bazzill and the ribbon I had on hand. The sentiment and punches are Stampin' Up! This card uses OWH bonus sketch 31.

 

For this one, I used SEI Couture Marquisette paper and a cute embellishment from the Embellishment Bar at my LSS. (I love how she sells individual items like this.) Again, I used a dots folder for texture and to match the paper. The cardstock is all Bazzill. For the sentiment, I used a Stampin' Up! stamp and punches.  This one uses OWH bonus sketch 17. I usually put a piece of pop up tape in the middle of my main pieces, but this time I didn't so there's some "give" for the embellishment.

 

Share a smile today...you never know how it will change someone's day!

 

Cherie

You are SO funny!

Today I have three more cards from my scraps. They all follow OWH sketch 20 and use the same papers. The polka dots are Teresa Collins Welcome Home and the yellow is Stampin' Up! DSP. For the sentiment, I used a Studio G stamp and the flip flops are from K&Company. The cardstock is all Bazzill.

 

 

Enjoy your weekend!

Cherie

Thanks...so much

Here's another scrappy card for you. The background is red Bazzill embossed with dots. The blues are also Bazzill. The stripes are Pebbles Let Freedom Ring. I used Nesties for the circles and a Fiskars sentiment. The bling is from my stash and the card follows OWH bonus sketch 21.

 

Hope you're enjoying your week...it's half over!

 

Cherie

Smile

This picture doesn't come close to doing the card justice, but it's the best I could do. The black/white DCWV paper is shiny and so is the bling from my stash, so there's a bit of a glare. I used black cardstock for the base and some blue and pale yellow Bazzill for the layers. The sentiment is Studio G. It makes me smile to read it and hope it does for someone else as well.

 

I wish you an amazing week with plenty of time to get inky.

 

Cherie

Oh Happy Day!

I love this sentiment (from Studio G). It just strikes me as cheerful and fun. What do you think? The cardstock on this is all Bazzill and the patterned paper is SEI Couture Marquisette. I enjoyed hunting through my scraps for something to match those dots. The circles are done with Nesties and the bling is from my stash. This is also my interpretation of OWH bonus sketch 19.

 

Have a fabulous weekend!

 

Cherie

Celebrate!

Here's another card made from scraps. I ran some white through my new Darice honeycomb folder, then a piece of neon heart paper. I cut out a few of the hexagons and glued them in a scatter pattern. I love how it turned out and how the patterned paper has so many colors in it. You could easily use just about any colors for a card with this bright paper. The sentiment is Studio G and the rest is all cardstock I had on hand.

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Cherie

W*I*S*H

When I made this card, I was thinking birthday. But it was pointed out to me that "wish" could mean anything. So true! I like the thought of someone wishing for a parent or spouse to come home and suddenly learning they're on their way. Or wishing for a card in the mail and presto!

No sketch was used for this one. It was the end of the day and I wanted to get just one more card done. This uses all scraps. The black/white is DCWV and the pink pattern is SU. That bling is from my stash. The sentiment is Fiskars mounted on some pink paper from my scrap pile.

 

Enjoy your week and make it what you want it!

 

Cherie

It's your birthday!

Well, I'm sure it's somebody's birthday! And here's a birthday card made from scraps, not that anyone could tell unless I told them.

 

The background paper is Pink Paislee Taffeta and that circle is SEI Couture.  I used Bazzill for the base and that heart circle. I just love that Nesties set and have to thank my friend for bringing all of her Nesties for me to use. The sentiment and punches are SU. The purple is Bazzill. Oh, and the sketch is OWH Bonus 18.

 

 

Have a crafty kind of day!

 

Cherie

Scraps!

I had a craft date with a dear friend on Wednesday and she challenged me to use only my scraps. Now don't get me wrong, I have nothing against scraps. But to use ONLY scraps? For an entire day? She had to be crazy! I accepted her challenge and loaded up my scraps into two separate two gallon zip lock bags: one for solid and one for patterned. It turns out I have way more solid scraps than I do patterned. That's probably because I've started using an entire sheet of 12x12 before moving on to the next one...most of the time lol.

Anyway, she got 16 cards from her scraps and I got 17 done. And you know what? It was a blast! I got twice as many cards made than I usually do when we get together for the day. I also felt way more creative. So...for the next several posts, I'll be showcasing the cards I made.

These three cards all use OWH bonus sketch 3. I liked how the first one turned out so I made a few more with different colors. All three use SU patterned papers, but the black/white stripe is from my nameless stash. The bases are all Bazzill and the black layers are basic black cardstock. The sentiment is from Studio G and cut with Nesties. 

 

 

 

I hope you have a happy day!

 

Cherie

 

 

Miss You

This is the first card in my attempt to complete the 6x6 tutorial created by my friend, Kristie. Unlike her, however, I'll be making cards with other papers in between using up this pretty 6x6 pad from My Mind's Eye. This one is called Moments. I had enough to make three of this card. This is more Pinterest inspiration, but the blog it's from has been deactivated.

So...the patterned papers are MME. The stamp is by Fiskars and the rhinestones are from Recollections. The dark blue, white and yellow cardstock I had on hand.

 

Is there a tutorial you're waiting to try?

 

Cherie

 

 

Pretty Pumpkin

So...I figured it was time to start making some of the cards I've been pinning over on Pinterest that have given me some mojo. And wouldn't you know it, the first one I have a yearning to make is a Happy Thanksgiving card...in February!  As one friend told me, I'm already ahead of the game lol. Too bad I don't send out cards for Thanksgiving. The original card is posted on this blog, but I don't have the direct link to the post. The person who pinned it just used the blog addy.

This is mostly Stampin' Up products, except for the solid papers which I had on hand. The pumpkin is Pumpkin Pie designer paper and cut with Nesties. The stem is a heart punch from EK Success. The embossing folder, punches and sentiment stamp are all from Stampin' Up! I really like how this turned out. And that paper is an odd shade of green, not blue!

 

Do you ever get a yearning to make a card that is totally out of season?  Hope your week is full of smiles.

 

Cherie

Sylvester

Remember Sylvester and Tweety? Well, I came across a cute card on Pinterest that totally looked like him. The original post is here. I knew I had to CASE it when I saw it.

For the eyes, I used an EK Success heart punch then a regular hole punch to make the bottom of the eyes. The nose is an oval Nestie and whiskers are white gel pen. Both of the embossing folders are from Cuttlebug. For the sentiment, I used two punches from Stampin' Up! and the stamp is from them, too. All of the paper is cardstock I had on hand.

 

Do you have any favorite "character" cards you like to make? Enjoy your weekend!

 

Cherie

Pretty Purples

Here is bonus sketch 12 again that can be found here. I really enjoyed using this sketch. It can be used in so many ways.

This time I used some gorgeous Little Yellow Bicycle Purple Paisley patterned paper and SU Elegant Eggplant ink for the SU stamp. The purple Bazzill is embossed with dots and the circles were cut with Nesties.

 

Do you have a favorite sketch you keep going back to?

 

Cherie

Reindeer Owls?

I found an adorable card on Pinterest that can be found here. The colors are a bit off in this picture, but it's still cute. I made five of these. Maybe if I keep it up with five Christmas cards a month, I'll be done and won't have to worry about them as December starts looming lol!

The reindeer heads are made from the Stampin' Up! owl punch. I chopped off the feet and sponged some ink around the edges. The eyes and noses are also from the same punch with a bit of Pearl Pen for the eyeballs. I drew on the mouths and eyebrows with my Copic multi-liner. The antlers are made with parts from an EK Success snowflake punch and the Merry Christmas is also Stampin' Up! I used some scalloped Nesties for their "stalls." Lastly, the paper is kraft with some Bazzill design paper at the bottom.

 

Enjoy yourself today!

 

Cherie

 

 

Bonus Sketch!

Did you know there are bonus sketches on the Stars & Stripes blog as well as weekly sketches? This card is based on bonus sketch 12. You can find the bonus sketches here.

The heart stamp is from Stampin' Up! and is stamped in SU Melon Mambo, even though it looks red. And that pretty Echo Park Just Married Lace paper is actually black and white. Dang camera. The blue is Bazzill and run through a Cuttlebug with Divine Swirl. The circles are done with Nesties.

 

 

Have a fabulous day!

 

Cherie

Happy Birthday and OWH MWT

I have a cute birthday card for you today. I found the inspiration here and had to CASE it. This also follows along with the MWT over on the Stars & Stripes blog. Despite the many layers, I made this a card kit. I'll probably end up making them myself because I ended up having to use red sticky tape to keep that twine layer down. The twine is wrapped around three layers.

Anyway, here are the details for you. The black, red, white and yellow are basic cardstock. The silver background paper I stamped myself. DeNami has a cute set of sports balls and matching chickies. The punch used on the white is EK Success. I'm not sure about the yellow patterned paper since I've had it so long! I took my Copic multi-liner and doodled around the edge of the focal point to give it a bit more focus. And last, but not least, the sentiment is from Morning Star Stamps.

 

I hope you have time to join in the mid-week throwdown with me!

 

Cherie

Another Thank You

Look! It's another thank you card! I made 12 of these and now have more than half of what I need for my Any Hero card signing party. My goal is 100.

 

I started with Stars & Stripes sketch 63. I wanted to add some texture so I used a Cuttlebug embossing folder on the background. I layered the Bo Bunny banner on blue Bazzill and the Stampin' Up! sentiment on grey Bazzill. The brads give it a bit more flair and match the vanilla stripes in the paper.

 

 

Hope you're having a fabulous weekend!

 

Cherie

Striped Thank You

For this card, I used Stars & Stripes sketch 20. I had the Stampendous sentiment picked out but I was worried about what embellishment I was going to use to fill the extra white space. Then I remembered this star from one of the OWH Hero Arts sets. It goes well with the papers and the sentiment. The striped paper is Pebbles and the rest is cardstock I had on hand.

 

 

Do you have any crafty weekend plans?

 

Cherie

Double Thanks

This card was fun to make. I enjoyed flipping the colors around to add some variety.

 

It uses two different embossing folders, one with stars and one with all kinds of thank yous. The star is cut from some Moxxie paper. The dark blue is DeNami and the red (I promise it's not that orange in person!) is some I had on hand. The sentiment is Inkadinkado.

 

 

Enjoy your day!

 

Cherie

Thanks!

For today...another thank you card! This is one of my favorite Stars & Stamps sketches (sketch 142). I'm really into banners these days so this one is perfect.

The patterned paper is from the same sheet of Pebbles Let Freedom Ring collection. The dies are Lifestyles and the stamp is Fiskars. For embossing, I used one of my new Cuttlebug folders.

 

Happy Monday!

 

Cherie

Bring on the Cake!

Today I have a bright and bold birthday card for you. The inspiration came from a Pinterest pin and you can see it here.

 

The orange paper and ink are Pumpkin Pie from Stampin' Up!, as is almost everything on this card. The stamp is Hello, Doily inked with Tempting Turquoise and the sentiment is from Bring on the Cake.

 

The non-SU items are my corner rounder, the Cuttlebug embossing folder and circle Nesties. I love how bright and cheerful this card is. These aren't two colors I would normally think of putting together.

 

 

Have a wonderful weekend!

 

Cherie

Clean and Simple

Today I have a super simple CAS card for you that happens to fit the OWH MWT. It only uses one stamp and one ink. I didn't have any plans to make a card like this, but I was at a friend's house and finished the projects I took with me. I happened to have my Stampin' Up! Lovely as a Tree set and my Encore Metallic Silver ink pad as well as some black cardstock.

I stamped the image a few times to make the scene. Then using the tip of a pen tapped onto the ink pad, I made the "stars." I was thinking of adding a "popped" tree to give it dimension, but I was vetoed by everyone else there lol.

 

Have you ever sat down without any idea in your head and had something amazing come out of it?

 

Cherie

You Make Me Smile!

This card uses two of my favorite stamp sets, a monster set from Recollections and Kid Quotes from Inkadinkado. The monster is colored with Copics. The patterned papers come from a miscellaneous pack I bought at one of my LSS. I know this is one of the OWH sketches, but I'm not sure which one. This is a kit that's been 1/2 done for months and I finally got around to coloring and putting it together.

 

 

I'm still wavering about giving the monster some googlie eyes. What do you think?

 

Cherie

Thank You

Here is my first card for the Any Hero card making party I hope to have this year at our local veterans' home. I made six of them. Why six, you may be asking. It's because I had six of those blue buttons! My mom was cleaning out her sewing/crafting/office and gave me tons of buttons. Some of them are still on their cardboard so it will be easy to know how many to make of certain cards lol.

 

This card has my mom all over it. She gave me the button, the paper and was with me when I used my Michaels gift card to buy the Inkadinkado thank you stamp set. The patterned paper is Yankee Doodle by Moxxie and the dark blue is from DeNami embossed with the Cuttlebug Stars folder. I used Recollections embossing powder on the sentiment.

 

 

This card also fits in with the ODBD challenge for the month of January. Happy Monday!

 

Cherie

Something smells fishy

Today I used up the fish paper I had left over from making coasters for my dad's Christmas present. I'm so glad to be rid of it, but I knew it would make some great masculine cards. It has fish on one side and flies/dots on the other. All of these cards use patterned paper from The Paper Loft called Hooked on Fishing (just in case you're dying to get some!), some Bazzill and plain cardstock.

 

First up, OWH sketch 152. I have to thank my friend, Sandy, for letting me use her Fish Love stamp set from The Paper Co. The only fish ones I have are cartoonish ones. I wanted the sentiment to stand out so the fish here are stamped in silver. They go nicely with the shiny blue scalloped Bazzill. The circles were done with Nesties.

 

Next is OWH sketch 153. I used the same stamp set on this one. I like how you can only tell those are flies on the paper if you know what you're looking at lol.

 

 

This last sketch was an eye opener for me. It's Mojo Monday 120. I'm so used to OWH sketches having measurements that it took me a bit to adjust my thinking. I used Nesties for the circles and an EK punch for the bottom border. I believe the bling is Recollections.

 

 

Have you made any crafting resolutions this year? My first one is to make at least one card kit a month so I'll be prepared for any card making parties that might come up. My second one is to see if I can plan an Any Hero card signing party at our local veterans' home. I talked it over with my hubby and a couple of friends who agree it's a great idea. Who would know better what to right in an Any Hero card than a hero? Now I just have to get the courage up to write that first letter to the administration!

 

Happy New Year to you and yours!

 

Cherie