Oh, Happy Day! Cascading Birthday Card

Pin It Now! Today my first born is 14!  Where does the time go?  I know it's sappy, but wow!  He's officially taller than me, and very nearly smarter, too.

I made him a dude card.  He loves the mechanical cards that I make - cards with fancy folds, flips, etc.  More than just folded in half! This one is a cascade card, and wasn't at all hard to make after watching Dawn's video here.

Embellished with Typeset DSP, Starburst Sayings, and a little gold trim.  We'll see if it's manly enough!

I love this card fold, it's interesting, and shows off the tons of DSP that some of us are hoarding!

The back...

The "HAPPY" is dotted with Crystal Effects and sprinkled with glitter.  It reminds me of a lit up Vegas sign!

It's a bit oversized (standard A6), so a handmade envelope was in order.  

Check out the snack & soda "cake" I made for him last night!  A great way to use up old ribbons and such.  I love making basket cakes :)  You can find a how-to here.

Have a blessed and creative day!  ~ Erika

SUPPLIES:

STAMPS: Starburst Sayings, Chalk Talk, Something to Say

INK:  Memento Tuxedo Black

PAPER:  Vintage Typeset Specialty, Basic Black, Very Vanilla

EMBELLISHMENTS:  Gold Sequin Trim, Gold 5/8" Satin ribbon, gold glitter, Crystal Effects

BIG SHOT:  Starburst Framelits, Chalk Talk Framelits

Batty Punch Art Circle Flip Card - Halloween!

Pin It Now! A fun idea that I discovered from last year on Pinterest from Susan Campfield.  My layout is updated a bit with current supplies from the catalog and the Holiday Mini 2014...new DSP, the cute Lucky Stars embossing folder, and tiny bats from Holiday Home.

Check out this wide eyed punch art bat!

Peek-A-Boo!

The bat wings are made with the smallest butterfly from the Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Die, and the silver Glimmer bat punch is retired. 

I like this little ticket (That's the Ticket stamp set)!  I found it by accident rummaging for Halloween themed stamps :). The Blackberry Bliss ticket is stamped with Hardwood, and sponged around the edges. The bat (Owl Punch) hangs off the edge of my Hello Honey moon, and a flurry of bats fly off into the night (Holiday Home). On the flip side, a Halloween greeting, and more bats!

Have a blessed and creative day! ~ Erika

SUPPLIES:
STAMPS: Holiday Home, That's the Ticket, Delighful Dozen (Retired), Hardwood
INK:  Jet Black Staz On, Hello Honey, Black Stampin' Emboss with VersaMark.
EMBELLISHMENTS:  Hello Honey Stitched Satin Ribbon
PAPER:  Moonlight DSP Stack, Basic Black, Hello Honey, Whisper White
PUNCHES:  Bat (Retired), Owl Builder, Bird Builder, Ticket Duo Builder, 1/2" Circle (bat wings), 2-1/2" Circle (moon)
BIG SHOT:  Circle Thinlits Flip Card, Lucky Stars TIEF, Bigz Beautiful Butterflies Die (Ret.)

Double Christmas Challenge - Circle Thinlits Flip Card

Pin It Now!

Hey crafty friend!  I'm popping in today with a little Christmas cheer!  Here's a flip card using SU's Circle Thinlits, with the twist of a festive banner on the inside.

I've extended the card with an extra flap, and when opened...

Out stretches a starry ornament banner!

The flip side of the circle is vellum embossed with Lucky Stars embossing folder.  The glue dots are strategically placed to be covered by sequins. 

A little ribbon to finish the front.  It also makes it easy to tuck the circle and hold the card closed. 

I'm playing along with these two Christmas challenges!  Please visit them for some jolly inspiration! Click on the pics to open their pages...

Sorry for the screenshot here...you get the picture :D

Have a wonderful week! I hope it's crisp and cool and sunny at your house, too!

SUPPLIES:

STAMPS:  Christmas Messages, Cheerful Christmas

INK:  Cherry Cobbler, Basic Black, Garden Green

PAPER:  Trim the Tree DSP Stack, Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green, Whisper White, Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper

EMBELLISHMENTS:  Star Sequins (non SU), Cherry Cobbler Sheer Linen Ribbon, Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine, Basic Rhinestones

BIG SHOT: Lucky Stars Embossing Folder, Circle Thinlits Card die, Holiday Ornaments Framelits

Christmas In July - Heart of Christmas

Pin It Now! The challenge at Merry Mondays this week is to make a green and white card, and this one turned out so different from the way I had it pictured.  Does this happen to you?  I was going to go the CAS route with a white base and maybe some washi tape.  Haha!

I decided to go more green and less white, with a combo of Old Olive & Confetti White, which is a much creamier white. 

I used a similar layout for my anniversary card last week, and I like the way it looks. The point in the front allows the patterned paper to show whether opened or shut. 

I embossed the cardfront with Lacy Brocade, and created a Hardwood panel with Old Olive ink and some sponging. Atop that, the sentiment Heart of Christmas is heat embossed white on Olive with a little more sponging.  A little banner of burlap and three tiny bells strung on linen thread fancy it up some.  Finally, rhinestones anchor the sentiment panel - I colored them with my Blendabilities. 

Inside...

Go check out all the beautiful cards at Merry Monday!  BTW, I LOVE this inspiration photo.  Just gorgeous!

SUPPLIES:

STAMPS:  Heart of Christmas, Merry Messages

INK:  Old Olive, White embossing

PAPER:  Old Olive CS, Candlelight Christmas patterned paper, Confetti White

EMBELLISHMENTS:  1-1/4" Burlap ribbon, Linen Thread, mini bells

OTHER / TOOLS:  Labels Framelits, Dotted Scallop Punch, 

Anniversary Card - From My Heart [ SUO100 ]

Pin It Now! Today is my 14th wedding anniversary!  Like the card suggests, I have enjoyed the passing of time with my dear husband.  He is my rock, and was placed in my life at just the right moment, 16 years ago, and we were married on the same day 2 years later.

Here's the card I made for him at 11:00 last night while he was still out working.

I found a card on pg. 130 of the SU catalog that I loved the layout of, so I used the basic sketch of it to create my card.  I tried to go very MANLY, but as you can see, I just had to add a few sequins to make it stand out!  I left the little fringes from the sequin trim to rough up the look a little.  

The point at the card front is made by marking the center with a ruler and then each side at 1-1/4", then using the trimmer to cut away the excess.  The chevron embossing is spritzed with Early Espresso and the Spritz Tool, and "enjoying" is gold embossed on Mossy Meadow.  The bottom strip is from the new Vintage Typeset DSP.   I'll be using that on so many things! 

I tied off the bottom with Baked Brown Sugar thick twine.  

And here we are, saying I Do, on a breezy July day on the Miles River. *sigh*

July 2, 2000

I'm joining SUO challenges in their 100th, and I chose #22 - Anniversary, of course! 

SUPPLIES: 

STAMPS:  From My Heart, Teeny Tiny Wishes

INK:  Early Espresso, Gold Embossing

PAPER:  Vintage Typeset DSP, Mossy Meadow, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla

EMBELLISHMENTS:  gold sequin trim, Thick baker's twine in Baked Brown Sugar, Chevron Embossing folder 

TOOLS:  Spritz Tool, Heat Embossing Gun

Minecraft Birthday Card In A Box - 13th Birthday!

Pin It Now! Want to see something cool I made for my 13 y.o. son's best friend's 13th birthday?   A Minecraft card-in-a-box!

My son LOVED it!  I simply found images online that I liked, resized them to work together, and hand cut each one.  The bricks were a challenge, I had to layer them row by row!  Added a "13" to Steve's shirt!

Added some birthday stamps from Starburst Sayings. 

Folded flat to fit in a standard envelope...

And the backside for the birthday message.  The sentiment here is long retired. 

This was a stretch in my style, but so fun and worth the smiles it got.   Thankfully, I saved the digi files for the Minecraft portion of this card, so I can make more if I get the urge!

Thanks for stopping by, have a blessed and creative day!

Flip-it Circle Card for Dad - Peek at new stamps!

Pin It Now! I spent a little time working with my new products from the upcoming catalog tonight, and created a Father's Day card using an upcoming stamp set Traveler, with the latest sketch from Hand Stamped Sentiments.  I thought I would give my Circle Card Thinlits a little workout!

Here's the sketch. I flipped it portrait style. 

I did the little trick of extending the card to provide a flap to write inside by cutting the cardstock to 5-1/2" x 8-1/2, and sliding the long edge over the non-cut side of the Thinlit to score an extra panel.  

Then it was time to decorate!  The new Lullaby DSP has some patterns that I think work well with masculine cards. To take the bright edge off, I sponged the corners and splattered a little gold here and there. 

I used every stamp in the Traveler set!  A suitcase, train, ship, book, map, camera, luggage.  This is one cool set!  I was instantly drawn to it. Sentiment is from Look Up to Father, from the spring mini, only available for a few more days!

Here you can see how the card sprawls.  The "dad" stamp is from Family Reunion. And a little background action from Dictionary. 

So yay, I have a card for my FIL!   One down, a couple more to go in the dad department.

Go take a peek at the other designers' cards for this great sketch challenge at HSS!

Have a blessed and creative day!

SUPPLIES:  

Stamps:  Traveler (available June 2), Dictionary, Grunge, Look  Up to Father (spring 2014 mini)

Ink:  Gold Encore, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Bermuda Bay

Paper: Lullaby DSP (available June 2), Baked Brown Sugar, Bermuda Bay, Very Vanilla

Embellishments: Natural Chevron Ribbon, Basic Metal Buttons, Linen Thread

Big Shot, other: Circle Card Thinlits, 2-1/2" circle punch

Tag Topper Punch Trifold Card

Pin It Now! I love this new Tag Topper Punch.  I've always had a fascination with tags, and this opens up my cardmaking world to so many new ideas!

Today I want to share another card fold using the tag topper punch.

It's a pretty easy, but a nice surprise of a fold!  The card base is 5-1/2 x 11".  Simply score the left side of the cardstock at 4-1/4 & 8-1/2, and the remaining flap gets the Tag Topper Punch. 

Inside, from Kind and Cozy.  This is appropriate for sympathy, get well, or just - well - Thinking Of You!

DSP:  Sweet Sorbet

STAMP:  Kind & Cozy

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a blessed and creative day ~ Erika

Spiral Flower on Tag Topper Side Fold Card

Pin It Now! I have pretty colors and fancy folds to show you today!

Here's a trending technique - creating a trifold card with a special closure using the Tag Topper Punch. 

You can find a video here on how this tag topper closure is done.  

I have finished my card using Sweet Sorbet DSP and twine from the matching Accessory Pack available in the Sale-A-Bration brochure going on now!  

Inside: Again, Petal Parade from Sale-A-Bration, but the sentiment is from Another Great Year.

Check out this lovely flower!  It's made in a snap using the new Spiral Flower Originals Die.  I will tell you that there's a learning curve involved with this...don't give up, because when you find your "style" of flower, you'll love it:  Here are a couple of tips:

1 - I found that the Core'dinations paper worked by far the best for holding  the petal shape.

2 - Use a hot glue gun once you get it worked out right.  You don't want this flower falling apart!

3 - Use your bone folder to shape the petals before rolling it up.

4 - This flower is my prettiest one, and it was my eighth try!!!!  I will make more!

With the bulk of this card, it either needs to be hand delivered or sent in a box-type envelope.  I have glassine bags available in my Etsy Shop!  These are great to show off your work.


Have a blessed and creative day!  ~ Erika

Diamond Flip Flop Get Well Card - Tag It

Pin It Now! I needed a Get Well card for my cousin this week, and wanted it to be something she could display and enjoy in her hospital room, so I made a fancy "Diamond Flip" fold and decked it out in this week's Hand Stamped Sentiments challenge color combo.  Major pretty colors!

The colors are perfect for a girl!

This flip flop technique was highlighted in the last round of Ustamp With Dawn and Friends, Cards with Cool Moves.  I love my UStamp catalog...I can always find a Wow technique to practice!

Here, you can see how it opens. I stamped some Delicate Doilies inside to carry the doily theme through. 

And from behind ;)

Feel like making something pretty in the midst of fall / Thanksgiving / Christmas cards?  Check out Hand Stamped Sentiments' color challenge this week!

 I'm also playing along with Friday Mashup this week...Chevrons!  Love 'em!

Have a blessed and creative day!  ~Erika

Supply List:

Stamps:  Tag It, Delicate Doilies

Ink:  Blushing Bride, Baked Brown Sugar, Crisp Cantaloupe

Paper:  In-Color 2013-2015 Paper Stack, Soft Sky, Blushing Bride, Whisper White

Embellishments: doily, Chevron Ribbon in Blushing Bride, Stretch Ruffle Trim in Crisp Cantaloupe, Basic Pearls, Chevron Embossing Folder, Chalk Talk Framelits