First Cards of 2020

I have several friends and relatives having birthdays in January so here are the first cards I've made in the New Year. 

Supplies : 

• Cricut Explore 2
• Copyright Free Image
• Aqua Glitter Paper ( Michaels)
• Foiled Vellum Paper (Michaels)
• CraftSmart Classic Chic Paper Stack ( Michaels)
• 110 lb Cardstock ( Michaels)
• Rhinestones (Stash)
• Foam Squares

For this card, I found the birthday cake image online and uploaded in Cricut Design Space. Cut two images and layered them using foam tape to give dimension.

Card is sized 5x7. Cut vellum paper panel 5x7 ; aqua glitter paper to 4.25x6.25 ; polka dot paper ( CraftSmart stack) to 4x6 and layer as shown. Finish by mounting the layered birthday cake. 

I tend to leave the inside of my cards blank more often than not but I haven't been doodling / lettering much so I used the negative from the cake image I cut and traced it on a panel of paper which I think doodled / hand lettered: 

For the next card, I used: 

• Whisky Barrel "Hot Buy" Paper stack (Michaels)
• 110 lb Cardstock ( Michaels)

I have a little bit of a paper addiction ( OK I have a HUGE paper addiction) and when Michaels has their "Hot Buy" stacks either 70% off / Buy 1 Get 2 Free, I'm there. That's where I found this Whisky Barrel stack which is great for "man cards". 

For this card, used only the stack, selecting two coordinating sheets of paper and one panel from a sentiments sheet in the stack. Same process and dimensions for the basic card, trimmed the sentiment with a black panel and layered all as shown. 

For the interior, I drew a double banner ( thank you You Tube!) and then lettered the sentiment inside. 

For the last card:

• Silhouette Design Store Image
• Silhouette Cameo 3
• Antique Gold Glitter Paper ( Michaels)
• Cardstock 110 lb (Michaels)
• Music Themed Vellum ( Stash) 
• Cricut Brushed Gold Adhesive Foil ( Michaels or JoAnn's one of the two!)

Card is also 5x7. Layered vellum panel, then alternated gold glitter and white cardstock cutting the image on my Cameo and layering on a white panel. I like the simplicity of this one. I used the "stencil" from the first card for the interior and forgot to take pictures but did it in gold gel pen instead of black ink. 

Baby Boy Cards

I made a couple of cards this weekend to congratulate new parents and grandparents on the arrival of a new bundle of joy. I decided to keep things fairly monochromatic in hues of blue . 

Supplies Used: 

• White Cardstock (Recollections, Michaels 110 lb)
• Pale Blue 12x12 Glitter Paper ( Recollections, Michaels,  Holiday Glitz and Glitter Stack)
• Light and Medium Blue 12x12 Cardstock (Craft Smith, Michaels Blues Stack) 
• Baby Boy cut file (Silhouette Online Store Design ID #17765)
• Onesie cut file (Silhouette Online Store Design ID # 59708

Misc: 

• Gold paper scrap
• Heart punch
• Washi Tape
• Adhesive ( I live for my tape gun)
• Paper Cutter
• Silhouette Cameo 3
• Foam tape

Instructions: 

• Using paper cutter, cut and score white cardstock to 5x7  card
• Cut blue glitter paper panel to 4.75 x 6.75
• Cut pale blue cardstock to 4.25 x 6.25
• Layer glitter and pale blue panels as shown. 
• Add washi tape to opposite corners as shown
• Download, size, cut "Baby Boy" and "Onesie" images. 
• I cut sets of images from the glitter paper and from the medium blue paper. I like giving images a little bit of a shadow by layering them. I find this gives them some depth. 
• Mount cut  images to card panels using foam tape
• Punch heart from gold scrap and mount to center of onesie

I made matching panels for the inside of the card but forgot to take a pic when they were blank. You can see a little peeking out from the card that's laying down. 

2018 Christmas Cards

I haven't been posting a lot, but I have been busy making things including my 2018 Christmas cards. I'm old school and while I know there are all kinds of cool things you can order online I still like making my cards. 

I was a little frustrated this year ( and have seen other card makers and paper crafters express similar frustration) that both Michaels and JoAnn had very paltry supplies to choose from. Usually there are several paper stacks and coordinating embellishments but both stores disappointed this year. I was able to find two stacks by Recollections that I liked and who am I kidding? Like all crafters, I had "stash" from prior years. Not the point Mr. Chocolate so don't even start. 

This year, I incorporated adhesive foils in my card making. I like to spread the love so I used my Cameo 3 to cut my Cricut adhesive foils :) 

For this one, I went with a monochromatic approach using SEI white on white papers, silver glitter paper, silver metallic foil and iridescent sequins. Sized and cut the "dot tree" (Silhouette Online Store) and then layered onto a metallic white panel, then glitter panel and SEI panel as shown. Finish with iridescent sequins. 

Since I can never settle on one card to make, I usually make a few different ones. This year, I made three different versions. For the second one, I used black cardstock as the base card, and then cut my focal using metallic gold foil (Cricut) , layered onto black cardstock, trimmed closely and then layered using foam tape onto red velvet paper panel, matted with black and onto coordinating papers. Finished with iridescent sequins and red self adhesive rhinestones. 

For the third card, I cut a snowglobe image ( Silhouette Online Store) from the gold foil and like the ornament card, layered onto cardstock, trimmed, layered onto white and silver panel as shown and then used panels cut from the Recollections pack I did find this year. Again finished with iridescent sequins. 

While I might have been cranky that my favorite stores didn't have the selection I wanted and I am happy with the papers I did find, c'mon, we're creatives...less is not more. More is more!! 

DIY Vintage Christmas Sign

I will start decking my halls this coming weekend and wanted to add some new items to my Christmas decor. This sign was easy to make starting with a ready to decorate sign I found at Michaels 70% off! 

Supplies: 

• 11x24 Sign or Board. Mine is Art Minds which I got for $5 
• Vinyl of choice. I used Cricut Glitter Red
• Images / Phrase to cut. The ornaments and "BELIEVE" phrase were in my library, previously purchased from the Silhouette online store. 
• Electronic Cutter. I used my Cameo 3

Size and cut your images and text. I used the "BELIEVE" and ornament images I got from the Silhouette online store. For the rest of the sentiment, I just chose fonts from my library. 

The ornament image is designed with the snowflakes to be cut separately and layered. I wanted to change that up so I un-grouped everything and then put the snowflakes inside the ornament. 

This is the original: 

This is how I reconfigured it: 

Once you have your  images cut out, then take a deep breath, have a Harry Potter marathon on in the background, and "proceed to weed" your vinyl. Once that's done then apply the transfer tape and prepare to apply to your sign. 

I applied the "BELIEVE" vinyl first, then the rest of my phrase and finally the ornaments. It has a vintage / farmhouse feel to it!