Rainboot bouquet thanks

Happy Tuesday to you! 

I'm popping in with a couple thank you cards I made for birthday gifts. To start, I thought I'd play along with Darnell's (djkardkreations) IDEAS program; this week it's E for Embossing. You can see her gorgeous embossed card HERE. And I can also fit my card at her February NBUS Challenge #71 since I'm using a 2024 Spellbinders Small Die of the Month set that hadn't seen the light of day until now!!

Supplies: Paper - Park Lane A2 card; scraps

Dies - Spellbinders Rainboot Bouquet (DOM-Feb24) &

Thanks Enclosed Sentiments

Other - plaid embossed panel from a make 'n take;

foam tape

I die cut all the pieces of the boot set and assembled. I considered a patterned paper for the background but ended up choosing an embossed panel. It came from a make 'n take set I got in Arizona. I mentioned a bit about my trip to Arizona for two weeks over Christmas/New Year. I stayed with my sister Tami, the quilting maniac who also makes cards occasionally. I contributed a bunch of stuff to her stash & she didn't mind, as long as it fit in the allotted storage! Anyway, we visited my favorite crafting store down there - Scraps of Love in Peoria. They have make 'n takes on Thursdays & will keep the leftover sets for additional purchase. I bought one of these from a previous week's session & used the embossed plaid background here. I have no clue what brand it is. Then I used the string of flowers from that make 'n take set on my next card:

Supplies: Paper - Park Lane A2 card; scraps;

Lawn Fawn Pint Sized Patterns Summertime

Dies - AJVD Stitched Dot Rectangle Backdrop Set;

Frantic Stamper Giant Layered Thanks

Other - flower die cut from a make 'n take; 

Simple Stories enamel dots

No clue which brand makes the flower chain die cut. Here, I used the patterned paper I'd considered for card one. I think I put the right backgrounds on the right cards - what do you think? 

That's it for today. Thanks for stopping by & happy crafting!

A Nativity Z-fold

Happy Sunday everyone - hope you're enjoying the weekend! I was reminded yesterday about the February Christmas Kickstart Challenge #95 where Jo & elf Leslie are doing Fancy Folds. Jo used a Z-fold for her reminder card so I decided to go that route with a new-to-me Nativity die set.

Supplies: Paper - My Favorite Things gray cardstock;

Hobby Lobby Star of Bethlehem;

Spellbinders Betterpress Pebble; Neenah white

Dies - Cottage Cutz Nativity w/Wisemen Slimline

Press Plates w/Dies - Spellbinders Merry & Bright Sentiment Strips

Hot Foil Plate w/Dies - Lawn Fawn Winter Big Scripty Words (dies HERE)

Other - enamel star from an old Hero Arts kit; gold foil

Back in November CKC had a Wise Men challenge. I didn't have much in that department so I ordered a few things from Frantic Stamper, including the Nativity die set. Just didn't have time to use them on that other challenge, oh well... The link I used above for the Nativity die is to Cottage Cutz but as of today FS still has two HERE. Sadly, FS is going out of business so if you want to get some hard-to-find older products, as well as some new releases of many brands, check them out! They've been a wonderful sponsor at Die Cut Divas over the years & I'll miss them!!

The slimline die cuts to a length of 9" so I knew I could trim it down & do a portrait style A2 Z-card with it. I wanted to score the die so the Holy Family was in one panel. This meant my dimensions weren't standard and the card actually folds down from the right. The height is still 5.5" and the starting length is still 8.5". I backed the die cut with a strip of patterned paper from Star of Bethlehem and used other papers on the panels. I put the sentiment panel on the back of the left side cardstock piece. 

The two sentiments on the front panels were in my stash - the "Joy' actually foiled as "Oh Joy" but I snipped off the "Oh". Can you believe it? I'd actually foiled a Hot Foil plate! That was back went I first got it and didn't have a Betterpress yet. I'm sure to press it at some point!! The enamel star fell out of the package and has been sitting on the table for ages; finally found the perfect home for it.

Since my Nativity die got first play, I'll add my card to Darnell's February NBUS Challenge #71. I'm also playing at The Creative Crafters Challenge #85 where sister Diva Arlene (A Bit of This and That) is a DT member. This challenge is always anything goes.

Thanks for visiting & have a crafty day!!

Frogs for Craft Roulette

Hi all - hope you're having a wonderful weekend! We got hit with a bunch of snow last night, so you can guess what I'll be doing today!

I watched Craft Roulette #254 live last night. Fun Valentine episode with a faithful CR member Jay Thomas (@Craft by Jay) as our "date" - LOL! Here's my card:

Supplies: Paper - My Favorite Things purple & plaid;

Sunny Studio Flirty Flowers; Neenah white; scraps

Dies - Waffleflower Open Book, Small Frog &

Pond with Lily Pads

Hero Arts retired alphabet

Stencils - Waffleflower Open Book Coloring Stencil

Inks - Tumbled Glass & Salty Ocean DI; Hero Arts purple

Other - Copic Markers (for pussy willows);

Recollections metallic stickers

Here's what the wheel spun for host Mary Gunn FUNN, Jay, and all players:

• Project - Book Binding Card: I did the standard format, as demonstrated by Mary.
• Colors - Candy: I did jelly bean colors plus blues a la M&Ms.
• Element - Rhymes with "Ogg": I used frog die cuts
• Random - Letter(s)(ing): Sentiment was made from individual letter die cuts.

Re: book binding, I made my left side score a bit smaller than usual since I wanted my book die cut to fit. The typical space to the right is 4.25 square but I made it a bit longer. Card overall is still A2 size. To emphasize the left side, I added some metallic embellishments. 

I wanted to use some new Waffleflower stuff I bought locally. The clerk said she thought this would be their new craze like the postage collage was. I bought just a few of this line, then I bought a couple frog sets too. The bigger frog is actually the "small" frog set. The bitty frog came from the lily pond set. Since this is all new, I'll add my card to Darnell's February NBUS Challenge #71.

Thanks for stopping & have a crafty weekend!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

💖 Happy Valentine's Day if you're celebrating!! Or maybe it's Single Awareness Day where you are - LOL. Whatever it is, enjoy!!

I'm celebrating today along with my birthday twin, Lynn so I'll share the card I made her:

Supplies: Paper - Neenah white; Park Lane mint;

Paper Studio watercolor print

Stamps - Hero Arts retired Valentine set;

Sunny Studio Inside Greetings

Stencil - Hero Arts Floral Patterns

Dies - Hero Arts Hero Studio Jan'25 kit &

Love & Hearts Fancy Dies

Other - clay heart mix from Michaels

Lynn, our friend Linda & I all have February birthdays & we'll celebrate together next week. I made Lynn a shaker card since we're doing that format for our February Die Cut Diva Challenge sponsored by Hero Arts. I made the shaker window using one of the Hero Studio kit dies, plus cut an extra heart (stenciled) for the die cut sentiment (a January Hero Studio add-on). The red hearts were also from the add-on. I added a fussy cut combined Valentine's Day and birthday stamped sentiment. Since the dies are getting first play here, I'll add my card to Darnell's February NBUS #71 Challenge. I'll also share at Seize the Birthday #299 where we're to add a heart - yay!! Finally, I'll share at Tic Tac Toe #264 with the diagonal lower left to top right Heart - Die Cut - Love Sentiment.

My long-time cardmaking friend/almost birthday twin Greta (GG Creations) had her birthday on Wednesday; here's the card I sent her:

Supplies: Paper - Recollections A2 card; 

Spellbinders Betterpress Porcelain & Pebble

Hot Foil plate w/Stencils - Pinkfresh Studio Peony Print

stencils HERE

Press plates with dies - Spellbinders A Little Message Sentiments

Dies - AJVD Stitched Dot Rectangle Backdrop Set;

Hero Arts Tag Frame Infinity Dies (retired)

Other - Hero Arts enamel dots, inks & shimmer spray

As usual, I letterpressed the hot foil plate; I love doing that! After some simple stenciling, I die cut with a stitched rectangle and spritz the whole panel with shimmer spray - so pretty in real life! 

Still with me? Here's the final Valentine I made for this year - a quick & easy one that I sent to my auntie we call Tia.

Supplies: Paper - Paper Studio A2 cards; scrap of aqua;

BoBunny Love Letters 6x6

Dies - AJVD Stitched Dot Rectangle Backdrop Set;

Hero Arts Nesting Hearts Infinity Dies

Other - Recollections gems;

Taylored Expressions sentiment strip

Here are the birthday cards I've received to date; thanks to everyone who sent a card!!

And here's a photo of yesterday's lunch with my former quartet (with me in my favorite pink sweater) & our coach, plus a friend who went to New Zealand with us (both at left):

Totally forgot to take a photo of today's lunch with friend/almost sister Connie & her hubby. They treated me to lunch at our favorite spot called Doolittle's about 1/2 way between us. We ate early to try & beat the incoming snow; I did fine. They went home to the southwest & were already getting white out conditions! It's just started to snow here!! 

Looking forward to Craft Roulette tonight since I'll be staying off the snowy roads!

Thanks for stopping by & have a crafty weekend!!

With Love event Class Four Cards

Hi everyone - Final day of cards I made in the fourth class of the online With Love event offered by Scrapbook & Cards Today (SCT) last Saturday. You can see a group photo of the batch of cards, what the session kit contained, plus the class one cards with Meghann Andrew HERE. You can see class two cards with Cathy Zielske HERE and class three cards with Dana Joy HERE. 

Anyone who knows Jennifer McGuire (the crafting GOAT) has heard of her "Share Handmade Kindness" mantra. SCT thought that would be a great collaboration for this event. Jennifer described how it all began & shared some stories of cards she's donated - very inspiring!

Card one is an interactive card - the white page pulls up from inside the typewriter to reveal the hidden message. Amazingly easy to put together - we did a lot of homework on this one! Jennifer mentioned she loves to inlay so would probably inlay all the typewriter keys - yikes!! For the class we just backed the keyboard die cut with silver.

Jennifer had us trim "so very" off the die cut sentiment for a different look. The typewriter is stamped with the bouquet stamp for some interest; you could also cut it in a patterned paper. I didn't photograph the card with the pull-out tucked in. Oh, Jennifer also trimmed her card to shorter than A2 so it would fit into an A2 envelope. Not me - I'll just pop it into a larger envelope!

Card two is a window card, different that Meghann's in that it's interactive. Putting it together gave me many problems. I'm still trying to decide if it's useable. 

Jennifer wanted the shutters to close over the window so when you take the card out of the envelope (with shutters closed), the shutters pop open. When assembled there was a gap in the center so they didn't look closed. Jennifer used solid color cardstock & cut a second set of shutters, trimmed off the tabs (that go behind the window assembly) & "cheated" in a bit when gluing atop the existing shutters. That way, they closed perfectly.

I had die cut my shutters with white backed cardstock. I didn't like the white on the inside so I cut a third set of shutters to glue over the white. Made a very thick stack and I don't like the look from the side, oh well. You can see in the photo how I tried to cover the white edge with a grey Copic.

The other element Jennifer did that I skipped was to have the window peek into the card's inside. She glued the bouquet panel to the inside where you'd write your message. Her inside message was a strip hidden by the Hello Friend on the front.

When I cut the hole for the window into the card front, my opening seemed too large. I ended up gluing the bouquet-stamped panel directly behind the window. Of course, detail loving Jennifer would've sandwiched acetate in the window but she left that step out in the instructions. I was just glad to finish this during class!

Jennifer did a bonus session called "Mix It Up". She turned the window box greenery and flowers into a wreath & the window curtains became a bow - so clever!! I don't have her engineer brain but I know I'll get a lot of use from this kit!!

To wrap up, SCT announced two more of these one-day events coming up in 2025. One will take place in July (holiday cards) and one in September (Halloween cards). Registrations will open to the general public on Feb. 14th; With Love participants could register now so I did! Products and instruction are first class - well worth your time and money!

Thanks for checking out my class cards & happy crafting!!

With Love event Class Three cards

Hey there - I'm back with cards I made in the third class of the online With Love event offered by Scrapbook & Cards Today (SCT) last Saturday. The day included four classes taught by Meghann Andrew, Cathy Zielske, Dana Joy & Jennifer McGuire, plus Jennifer did a little bonus session. You can see a photo of the batch of cards, what the session kit contained, plus the class one cards with Meghann HERE. You can see class two cards with Cathy HERE. 

The sweet Dana Joy taught at her first SCT event and did great. She has contributed to the Hero Arts blog and has a YouTube channel (@Dana Joy). 

Card one used some of the same supplies that Cathy used yesterday but in a different way. Dana showed us inking after die cutting the sentiment; I inked a white strip and die cut from it. That way I was able to make the sentiment at right in the phone by die cutting the shadow from the inked remainder. I backed it with a white shadow & then inlaid the inked bits and another white sentiment for more dimension. Dana made her hearts look more like a typewritten page; I cascade them.

Card two used the subway tile stencil Meghann used, plus a die that cuts little envelopes & a sweet string bow die. We also stamped sentiments and postmarks on the envelopes (except the hidden yellow one).

Card three used the floral bouquet stamp with coordinating stencils & die. Somehow I'd gotten black ink on my pink pad so my roses got dark, oh well - still useable. After die cutting the bouquets I arranged them in the corners, trimmed the excess and stamped the sentiment. The little bits trimmed off were saved for future cards.

That's it for today; I'll be back tomorrow with class four cards. Thanks for visiting!

With Love event Class Two Cards

Hi all - I'm back to share cards I made in the second class of the online With Love event offered by Scrapbook & Cards Today (SCT). The day included four classes taught by Meghann Andrew, Cathy Zielske, Dana Joy & Jennifer McGuire, plus Jennifer did a little bonus session. You can see a photo of the batch of cards, what the session kit contained, plus the class one cards with Meghann HERE. 

The cards below were made in the class with Cathy Zielske, the Art Director at SCT, YouTuber & blogger (CZ Design) & she has a line of products at Simon Says Stamp HERE. I love how she "boops" when she places her gems & calls objects "little friends".

Card one used the floral bouquet and ball jar images with coordinating dies and stencils. The sentiment is mixed with die cuts and stamping. So simple, yet effective.

Card two (or this little friend, as Cathy would say) used the envelope die in the class kit to create a shaped card that opens at the bottom! We just placed the fold inside the cut line so the bottom edge stayed folded when we die cut the rest. Some masking & stamping gave us a liner look behind the sweet note. I left my note loose so it can be pulled out from the card base. Again, I used enamel dots instead of the bitty flower centers that you could die cut.

Card three used a cute batch of dies to create an old fashioned typewriter. Cathy did a white background with the cover plate that adds a heart pattern to it (hard to see in the photo). She suggested a neutral would also be fun so I tried this pale grey. A mixed die cut & stamped sentiment finished the card.

At the end of her session Cathy also showed two bonus cards; no instructions, but they looked super simple to create. I'm sure to try them sometime. Yesterday Cathy offered a free download to create some design templates - check that out HERE.

That's it for today; thanks for checking in & I'll be back tomorrow with class three cards. Have a fabulous day!!