Simply Fall

  As the air turns cooler and the leaves start to change, I think about all the people I would like to send cards and wish that I could make the time to actually sit down at my crafting table and try my hand at making the cards that I would like to make for them.  But, lack of time is my main issue.  So, the question becomes, how can I make a card quicker and still be satisfied with the result.   What is my favorite part of the card making process?  The coloring of the image -- hands down, my favorite part (although, I do not claim to be good at it, I do try!), so I want coloring to be part of the cards.  That I decided would be my card style -- just a colored image.  Then I had to decide how large the images should be printed...

Big:

Bigger:

Biggest:

 

No preference, really.  But I did decide they really needed the matting.  And when possible a caption.  So here are the rest of my extremely simple fall cards (all are 4 1/4  X  5 1/2):

Hope YOU are finding the time to make some cards, too!!

 

A Belated Birthday

Here's the card that I made for Karen's birthday with lots of Prima roses and pearls from the bridal aisle.

Give Me A Nose

O.k, I admit it.  I've always been a "face snob."   No nose, and I didn't want to use the image -- no matter how cute it was otherwise.  Over the years, my crafting friends have sent me samples of images for me to try, convinced that if I just colored one I would be hooked.  But I remained true to my snobbery -- until now.  Mary G. had a birthday to celebrate and I finally took the plunge and dug into that giant stack of faceless images to find a cute one for her card.  I'm happy to report that my crafting buddies were right -- I'm hooked.  No nose, doesn't necessarily interpret into a bad image.  Here's to many nose-less creations to come!

Supplies used were:  

Magnolia Image, 

DCWV burlap paper, 

Spare Parts flowers, 

Martha Stewart leaf punch, 

and metal embellishments, 

and teal colored card stock.

   

Pom Pom Lambs

 

I took a bit of a break from card making to spend some time with the grandkids making Christmas ornaments for them to give to their family and friends this holiday season.  The first ornament that we decided to try our hand at making is this simple pom-pom lamb.  We got the idea for these from a pin at Pinterest (I'm not posting the link, because I don't know the original poster, but I'm sure you could find her lambs on Pinterest if you are interested).

We used the two smallest sizes in the Yarnology Pom Pom maker set for the lamb's body and head. 

Note:  Waxed thread works great for tying pom poms together.  I started out using simple dental floss, but the kids wanted to make so many lambs that I soon up-graded to a thicker waxed bead thread, because the dental floss was cutting into my hands.  

Then we added 4 bought craft store pom poms for the legs and one for the face. 

Note:  The size pre-made pom poms that are needed for this are different with each type yarn that you use for the heads and bodies.

We glued them all together using Aleene's Quick Dry Tacky Glue. 

We broke out the paper crafting supplies next and used the Cuttlebug with a Spellbinders oval die to cut out ears for the lambs from black felt.

We used fuzzy felt for the tails.  We free handed these with scissors. 

Next we added ribbon around their necks and googly eyes to their faces. 

Our lambs needed a way to hang from the Christmas tree, so we used a large needle and threaded a ribbon through the body.  And presto -- easy lamb Christmas ornaments. 

I liked the shaggy cream colored yarn for winter Christmas lambs, but my granddaughter pointed out (rightly so), that lambs are white.  So, we made some white lambs using the some technique, but with thick white wool yarn for the head and body.

Sheep also can be gray, so we made a few gray ones using just plain generic gray yarn.  (This one looks like he could use a bit of shearing to even him out in spots.)

All in all, we made a whole box of Christmas lambs.  30+ total.   Fortunately, my granddaughter didn't see that there was pink and lavender yarn in my stash or we probably would have had lamb's in colors that the good Lord never intended.  LOL. 

I don't know if you can tell from this picture, but we made some larger lambs too -- using the bigger pom pom makers -- for the kids to set in their rooms. 

Hopefully, the kids friends and family will all like their Christmas lamb ornaments. 

Have you started on your holiday crafts yet?

Readin' an 'Ritin' an 'Rithmatic

    School has started again for another season and I'm hoping my grandchildren are not "talkin' to the tune of a hickory stick."  Even my little 3 year old, granddaughter is starting pre-school this year and she is pretty thrilled about that!  So, of-course cards had to go out to them to mark the occasion.

A Sassy Cheryl for little Amelia:

And for Carson (who wasn't near as thrilled about school starting as his sister), another Sassy Cheryl:

This Bridge

                                  by Shel Silverstein

 This bridge will only take you halfway there

To those mysterious lands you long to see:

Through gypsy camps and swirling Arab fairs

And moonlit woods where unicorns run free.

So come and walk awhile with me and share

The twisting trails and wondrous worlds I've known.

But this bridge will only take you halfway there --

The last few steps you'll have to take alone.

Happy School Days Everyone!

Happy 4th

Couldn't carve out much time to make 4th of July cards, but I did mange to get 4 made -- all with Sassy Cheryl digis.

For Bill:

Max Honors The Flag

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For Mary G.:

Maddie Honors The Flag

For Amelia:

For Carson:

Happy Independence Day!

Bearly Blooming

  Image by Lynn Stansbery 
  From:  Squigglefly
  Named:  Bouquet Bear

For Claudia P.  Another was done the same way with a black bear for Amelia:

For Terrie R:

I never have a birthday card when I need one, so I made a stash b-day card with this image too:

For Carson:

"But pleasures are like poppies spread --

You seize the flow'r, its bloom is shed;

Or like the snow falls in the river --

A moment white -- then melts forever."

                                          Robert Burns

LOTV

             Main Image:  Lili of the Valley
        Sentiment:  ?
        Sent to:  Karen O.
            

Happy Birthday!

Recent b-day cards:

A card for an actual birth DAY.  To welcome Josie's new granddaughter into the world:

Stamp:  House Mouse

Colored using Copics.

The inside:

A card for a Queen's birthday.  A Queen Bee that is.

Main image stamp:  Rubbernecker

Sentiment stamp:  High Hopes

Colored with Copics

Glitter Added

This is what happened when I colored over the top of the embossing using a Copic marker:

Live and learn.  On the actual card, I carefully avoided the smear - and didn't add as much Copic color as I had envisioned.

Sweet little Maria sent me some stamped images for my own birthday (along with a great card and other treats) and I tried using one of them for a return birthday card to her:

A tiny Sassy Cheryl for Claire's big day:

A pink birthday:

And a birthday tag:

Happy Birthday!

Photographing the Baby Mice

Stamp Used:  "Say Cheese" featuring Maxwell by House Mouse Designs

Other Stamps Used:  Also by House Mouse

Embellishment:  Laser cut film strip from my scrapbooking stash and photo corners

This little card goes out to Josie:

Blow Me a Kiss

Stamp Used:  "Blow Me a Kiss" by Lynn Stansbery from Squigglefly

Other Stamps Used:  "Friends Are Kisses..." by High Hopes

"Hugs and Kisses" by Serendipity

The Cards:

For Denise Q:

 

The same colors with a K & Co. embellishment for Cathy R.:

 

Still using yellow and blue, for Claire E.:

My goal on the preceding cards was to use the same color combo and even the same design papers and try to give each card a unique look, while still being the same.  On this next card for Vicky O., a little mustard yellow was added:

On this birthday card, I used the mustard yellow with greens (I'll probably send this card to my mother on her bday):

This image for Theresa G. is colored exactly the same as the b-day card image, the embellishments and the turn of the card are the only differences:

Shauna P. gets a card designed exactly like the b-day card, even down to the K & Co. embellishment, but with more green on the image:

Not willing to give up the mustard color yet, I tried mustard with a "dirty" blue on this card for Ann M.:

 A different shade of blue for Jill A.:

The back panel of the card is a little wider than the front, so if it was closed the white of the back panel would show through the holes in the punched border.

Cindy P. gets a card in purples:

Notice, I went back to the mustard yellow on it somehow.

All of the above cards are the traditional 4 1/4 X 5 1/2, this last card is about an inch shorter.  Hot pinks for Mary G.:

(I wish I would have embossed a design in the pink panel that has the buttons on it, I think that would have made it better.)

And now for the Goof of the bunch:

Once I was done coloring, I realized that I didn't like the background  and I thought, the black tinted edging made it look "dirty."  I started to cut out the background, thinking I might save the image -- then thought "Nah."  So, this image goes in the trash.  And it is the reason that all the others have a plain white background.
Happy Crafting!