A Set of Note Cards

This past week I took my mother up to a hospital for a gamma knife surgery.  (She suffers from trigeminal neuralgia)  The doctors were fabulous, but if anything, the nurse was out of this world!!!  Clare, the nurse was with my mom every step of the day, everywhere they had to be.  Clare also got breakfast for my mom, helped her and cleaned her up...above and beyond the call of duty.  We are going back for a followup visit on Wednesday, so I made a set of note cards for her, as a way of saying thank you.  Here is what it looks like:

It is a fairly simple card to make.  I pulled out papers that were leftovers from years ago when I went to a class at CKC in Philadelphia.  Then I went to work!  I used an embossing folder for the base paper.  I took a 3 1/2 inch sheet of black designer paper and used an edge punch by EK Success, and centered this on a base sheet.  Next I cut a 1 1/2 inch strip of black cardstock and layered a piece of ribbon that was 1 1/4 inches wide.  There was a solid piece of white ribbon with a heart in the center, and sheer ribbon on the sides, trimmed in gold.  I then cut a circle and a scalloped circle out and used a stamp from Mark's Finest Papers and Stamps that said "Hi and Hello" and stamped on the white circle.  I added faux stitch lines around the edge and popped the circle on the scalloped circle and then on the ribbon.   As a final touch, I punched out 2 very small butterflys, glued them together separating the wing, and placed it off center of the sentiment. I like the over all appearance.  What do you think?

I have entered this in challenges at the following 

• Creative Craft Challenges
• Party Time Tuesdays
• Shopping Our Stash

Summer Fun is now beginning

Schools are out for the summer!  Kids all over are either working or having lots of fun...swimming, playing outside, going on vacation, hiking, going to the amusement parks, and so on.  There are several challenges for card showing something that is fun in the summer...or hot weather. 

I started out using this sketch from  Your Next Stamp.  

Here is what I did with it...

I used a Magnolia stamp stamp that I colored with my Copic markers, a piece of metal foil that I ran through my Cuttlebug with an embossing folder.  I sanded the top layer to show silver flowers.  I used Washi tape on the edges of the metal foil, to cover up the sharp edges some orangeish yellow paper from Michaels and put it on a spring green card base.  I hope you like it.

June Blog Hop!

What does June mean to you? Is it graduation, weddings, dads, or just fun in the sun? Our blog hop this month is special because all of us are sharing what June means to each of us! I am sure that you are bound to find some inspiration on several of our blogs!

In planning for this blog hop, the girls and I were discussing what June means to us.  For many, our minds went straight to the traditional “June Brides” or “Fun in the Sun” themes of summer, but we were quickly reminded that the internet is a global community, and while those of us in the U.S. and Europe will be enjoying a lovely summer, our friends and colleagues south of the equator will be facing the start of winter.  It was quickly apparent that many of the themes we thought of just wouldn’t work, so instead, we opted for “What June Means to Me,” which leaves us with a much broader area of interpretation, and really got me thinking about a few things.
If you came here from   Roxie Nitti's  blog, then you are in the right place! If you are a regular subscriber of my blog then be sure to follow all of the links to see the great projects we all have to share with you!

Of the many things that are happening in June, at least in my family, one thing is Father's Day.  Yes, I have birthdays, anniversaries, and graduations  (but no weddings this year) in addition to other June events, but Father's Day brings back fond memories of my Dad.  I also think of all the wonderful things my husband has done with our children.  I also think about my son, and what a fantastic father he has become.  Wow!  From one generation to the next.

I thought I would show you my Father's Day card, in a mini tutorial that can show you how to take a card from nice to better.  Here is the nice card.

It is a very simple card, and it could do.  In fact, I think I am sending this card to my son, who has turned out to be on fabulous father.  His kids mean everything to him, and he shows it.  He supports them with all their activities and takes them everywhere.


I decided to change the card, or should I say update, the card.  I took the beige background paper and used my Martha Stewart edge punch to add a border on each side.  Not too bad.

 

After that I decided to stamp a frame to put around the word Dad, and I cut the next to the smallest Romantic Rectangle nestability die cut and mounted it on the bottom of the frame with pop dots. 

I stamped a pocket watch on white card stock and fussy cut around it then I glued it on the next to the smallest beaded circles nestability and popped that up. 

For the final thing, I added a heart shaped button on the card. 

This is what the card turned out to look like.  It is basically the same card, but with a little bit of extra work, the card looks much better, don't you think?

 

So, as promised, here’s how you can win a prize from me.  This month for the hop, each blog is hosting their own prize, so that means you have more chances to win!  I will be giving away 8 sheets of vinyl peel off sticker sheets in gold and silver.   That will be 4 sheets of gold and 4 sheets of silver.

 

 

All you have to do is comment on my blog about the project for this month, and tell us what theme you think we should pick for next month (July).  That’s it!  Then go visit all the other blogs in the hop and do the same thing for a chance to win some of those fabulous prizes, too!  We’ll pick a random winner for each blog on July 1, so you have until June 30 to enter.   While you are visiting, maybe you would like to become a member.   After you have commented, hop on over to Lisa's blog at Lisa Loves to Scrap.  See what she has to share with you. 

Here is a list of all blog participants:

 

Cindy Murray

 

Laura Hedgecock

 

Roxie Nitti

 

                                                Connie Walsh      (You are here right now)

 

                                                Lisa Tyndall at  Lisa Loves to Stamp

 

Patty Chenail

 

Sharon Armstrong

Leave a comment on my blog and let me know what you think. 

More Mouse in the House

Here is another Mouse in the House cards that I made.  Just like the last one, I used a quilt background, but my mouse is busy drinking his hot chocolate.  We all need something hot and soothing when we are not feeling well.  I colored the stamp with my Copic markers, and used a spritz or two of Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist.  This can be used for a man or a woman who isn't feeling well.

 

 

The Mouse is in the house....

I have a few House Mouse stamps in my collection, and I just love the way these little mice are placed...outdoors, in the house, in all kinds of interesting places.  This is one I bought several years ago, and I do love it. 

 

 

Above is a birthday card I was going to give to my grandson.  Initially I wasn't sure what I was going to do.  I was trying a new technique using a quilting pattern.  Once I placed the quilting papers down, and I was looking through my stamp collection, I knew what I wanted to do.  This House Mouse stamp fit the bill.  I used Copic markers to color it in.  As I look at it now, that cupcake looks mighty good.    I hope you like this.

I have posted this card for these challenges:

Here Come the Boys which is to use ribbon on a boy's/man's card.
Brown Sugar Challenge which is for a masculine birthday card.
Paper Crafting Journey which is for a masculine card.