3 New Cards

What a busy time! Between birthdays at work, an anniversary, Halloween and Thanksgiving, I've been spending a lot of time in the craftroom!

Here's my first of three cards to show you today:  a birthday greeting for a co-worker who is a fellow cat lover:

I chose some nice flocked polka dot paper by DCWV topped off with one of my favorite Penny Black cat stamps, cut out with my scalloped Spellbinders die. I used Aleene's Tacky Glue on the hearts and added Martha Stewart's fine red glitter for a touch of sparkle. A polka dot ribbon from my stash and round black jewels added to the dots design. Colouring the cat was done with Copics C1, C2 and C3. N1, N2 and N3 for the cup and some R21 for the cat's nose and ears. The sentiment was cut using a Cuttlebug Emboss Plus die set.

Here's another co-worker card, this time a Get Well Greeting to cheer her up:

This card uses an Inkadinkado stamp, Memento ink, Fancy Pants "Baby's Breath" paper and Copics G20, G21, G24, G82, G85, Y11, Y15 and Y17. The stamped image was cut out and popped up using foam dimensionals. The sheer ribbon is Celebrate It from Michaels.

And speaking of "Celebrate", here is a simple card I made for my Mom and Dad's 63rd anniversary!

I used my Cricut for this one, cutting out the "Celebrate" from the "Tie The Knot" cartridge. Wild Orchid flowers were coloured with Y21 Copic and the sheer ribbon was again Celebrate It from Michaels. The beautiful paper is K&Co.

Whew! I have also been busy making a whole slew of my very first ATC (Artist Trading Cards) and will post those when I can (I want them to be a secret to the recipients).

Trick or Treat!

"O" is for October, Orange and Octagon!

Here's a sketch I came up for the front of my easel card:

And here is what I have been working on for a few days:

Since Halloween is one of my favorite holidays (second only to Christmas), I wanted to create a "costume parade" of sorts with my stamps. Here we have Pirate Tilda, Sherwood Edwin and Princess Tilda all ready for Trick or Treating!

Each one also has their very own treat bag to collect some yummy goodies; these were made on my Cricut and decorated with die cuts from the Cricut as well. I also used it for the front sentiment and the little bat on the back. Pirate Tilda is sitting on my set of three pumpkins and another pumpkin with leaf is set forward of those. If you want these digital images for your own Halloween / Fall cards, you can get them HERE at my DigiDrawn site! Both Edwin and Princess Tilda fold down to allow the card to close flat, with the Trick or Treat flap holding down the front of the card.

I used K & Co. papers, Recollections sparkly wires (recoloured with my Copics), Recollections ribbon and a black cat button on the title bar. Other supplies used was some gold Stickles and Memento ink.

Here are the Copics I used:

Pirate Tilda:
E0000, E00, E01, E02, E99, C1, C3, C4, C6, N2, N3, N4, N6, R43, R46, R59, Y11

Princess Tilda:
E0000, E00, E02, C0, C3, Y11, Y28, V000, V12, V17

Sherwood Edwin:
E00, E01, E02, E31, E35, E37, E55, E57, E59, G20, G21, G24, G28, Y15, Y17, Y19

Pumpkins:

YR02, YR04, YR07, YR09, YR24, G20, G21, G24, G28

September Already???

Yay! My favorite time of the year is approaching... the crunchy leaves, the cooler nights, the return to hot dinners and NO MORE SWEATING!

I've been sweating a lot lately for daughter and I switched rooms. She's back in her old bedroom upstairs, and I moved my scrapbook room to the basement. I have more room AND a TV to watch while I craft! Woot! She has her comfy room back which makes her happy too. So it's a win-win! But MAN. What a lot of work! Moving all that crap, er stuff was tiring. And setting everything up again was time consuming... if you're ever going to do this madness, here's a hint for you. Take photos BEFORE you move your crafting stuff.

Luckily, I did this and it saved me so much time. I knew exactly how I had my wooden stamps displayed in their printer's drawers (mounted on the walls), how I arranged all my inks, glitter, and tiny bottles in the Embellishment Center, how I had my punches organized and how I had my desk set up. Whew! It could have been a lot worse without those reference photos to use.

Since I LOVE Fall, here is a new card:

I chose Edwin With Butterfly, except I guess I should really call it "Edwin WITHOUT Butterfly" for this card. Yeah, I cut off the butterfly and added a pine cone for Fall. I love stamps I can change up easily. With Edwin's hand out like this, it's a breeze to put anything in it!

After I chose the stamp to use, I hunted through my papers for a Fall-themed design. I found this ProvoCraft "Fluttery Things" paper and cut out a corner, carefully going around the leaves to create an interesting shape. I mounted the patterned paper onto three layers of cardstock.

Using my Cricut, I got out the "Give A Hoot" cartridge and cut out the pine cone in brown and green. I used All Night Media's Clear Gloss for the pine cone and some Peeled Paint Distress Stickles on the pine cone cap.

I also used my Cricut and the same cartridge for the sentiment; I thought this would make a good Boy's Card.  A simple bow (made with my Bow Easy, natch) from some Celebrate It Harvest ribbon is all the other embellishments I added.

Here are the Copics I used:

Skin:  E000, E00, E01, E02
Hair:  E71, E74, E77
Shirt:  R000, R46, R59
Jeans:  B91, B93, B95, B97
Shoes and cuffs:  N1, N2, N3, N4, N5
Shading:  W2, W3, W5

It's Just Paper...

Here is a card using JUST PAPER! Yep, everything on this card is made from paper - all the embellies and even the flowers which were made from TISSUE PAPER!

I started out with wanting to use this oh-so-cute Tilda with Flower Pot.

The background patterned paper is Bo Bunny's "Calypso Dream". I rounded off the corners and inked the edges using ColorBox ink. To mat it, I broke out something I haven't used in years; my Provo Craft Paper Shapers scissors! The second layer of darker blue mat was cut using my Martha Stewart Eyelet Lace punches.

I used my Cricut a lot for this project; I just bought the "Give A Hoot" cartridge at half price, so I had to put it to good use. The sentiment, leaves and flower cutouts are all done on the Cricut. The swirls were created with my Cuttlebug and Sizzix dies.

To create more interest, I decided to create lots of depth using layers and some 3D effects... I layered the blue mat up on foam dimensionals. Then, I stamped Tilda twice on cardstock. One Tilda I cut up to use for the features I wanted to "pop" out. Take a look below (and click for even a closer look!)

I have added 3D hair ribbons, coat lapels, flowers and leaves, and the tag hanging off the flower pot.

So even if all you have is paper, there is A LOT that can be done to create interest, texture and special effects!

Copics used:

Skin:  E0000, E000, E00, E01
Hair:  E42, E43, E44, E47
Dress & Jacket:  R00, R21, R22
Boots:  E00, E31, E33, E35, E37
Flowers:  Y00, Y15, Y35, YR04
Leaves:  G21, G28

Summer Fun

Here's a card for a hot summery day:

I chose Beach Tilda for this project as she's just the right size to sit on her majestic sand castle! I simply used cardstock for this project; layering it multiple times for the sky, water, clouds and beach.

For a textured sandy surface, I added a solid piece of Scor-Tape (cutting down one of the sheets to size) to a beige cardstock piece. I then pressed a mixture of white and yellow flocking powders onto the exposed tape - Viola! It worked perfectly! The wave whitecaps were added with dimensional white paint.

I printed the sentiment onto white cardstock and cut cloud shapes, stacking them and adding dimension with foam tape.

I finished off the beach scene with a beachball and starfish from the same Recollections sticker package.

Here are the Copic colours I used for Tilda (I used darker than normal skin tones for a slight sun-kissed effect):

Skin: E00, E01, E02
Hair: YR21, YR23, YR24, YR 31
Bathing suit: C1, C3, R81, R83, R85

With the temps at 34 to 36C this week, I definitely WANT to be joining Tilda at the Beach!

Well, Hello There!

Here's a card I wanted to make for my niece -- she and her husband recently moved back to our city and it was the first chance we got to meet their 7 month old daughter! So I didn't want to do the typical "new baby" card. Instead I thought this Tilda With Lace Jeans stamp was just perfect; it's like she is saying "Why Hello There!" to a little one.


I started out by using one of my favorite double-sided papers, GCD Studios # 210 "Tinted Rose Stripe" and used the front striped side for the center panel. But the other side was quite plain and I wanted to have some soft swirls on the side panels to offset the hard stripes, so I added the pattern myself using Memento's Angel Pink ink and a foam stamp I got years ago.

I distressed and inked all the paper edges with ColorBox Magenta ink, added some pink polka dot ribbon from Michael's (using my Bow Easy, of course!) and a teenie button from my stash was sewed onto the sentiment tag.

I used my wonderful Cricut and Sure Cuts A Lot software to create the center hexagons and made the tag using my Cricut with Plantin Schoolbook cartridge. Foam dimensionals were used to pop the hexagon up over the background papers.



Copics used to colour Tilda were:


E0000, E01, E02, E21, E25, E27, E29

C0, C3

R20, R21, R22 and R24






I just LOVE making these girly cards - and it is so cool to have them really appreciated by the recipient (they loved it!)

But how can you go wrong with such a cutie....

Black & White with a Pop of Red!

Here's a card that's just black and white ... with a pop of one colour; I love the POP! of red against the stark black and white, so each section of my accordion card has a touch of red.

I used two Mini Magnolias on this project: Secret Tilda and New Years Edwin. I also kept the colouring of these two stamps monochrome (Copic list is below).

I didn't use any patterned paper again! Instead, I cut and folded black Bazzill cardstock for the base. The front of each section has a panel that's been embossed using my Cuttlebug. I kept to a dot pattern both in the embossing and in the ribbons for continuity.

Spellbinders scalloped circles were cut and some Michael's pearls in both black and white added. A few other stamps from my stash were used here and there, including one that had balloons in it. After colouring with Copics, I added some gloss with All Night Media's Clear Gloss, then attached six strings of white thread so Edwin could hold them. Dimension was added with foam under Tilda, Edwin and the balloons.

Here are the Copics I used:

Tilda:  C0, C1, C2, C3, C4
Edwin:  N0, N1, N3, N4, N5
Balloons:  R20, R29, R46, R59

Happy Birthday Pardner!

I made this barn card for a western-style birthday. If you look closely, I have scored it to create the wood panels on the barn, doors and even inside on the wooden floor.

There is no patterned paper on this card; just Bazzill cardstock. I attached the white framing with 1/8" Scor-Tape; it made it so easy to do!

I also got my Cricut going and cut out my text using a Western font. Some Dollar Store sheer ribbon, Michael's roses, brad, clip and string was all that was added.

Here's a closeup:

Copics used:

Tilda:  E0000, E00, E01, E33, E37, E50, E53, E55, R000, R32, R37 and C4

Horse:  C4, C6, C10, Y11,  E30, E33 and E37

That was fun!

Happy Birthday Daughter!

I can't believe it.

I no longer am the mom of a "Teenager" -- my baby turned 20 on Saturday!

Because this is an extra-special event, I wanted to make an extra-special card for her.

I started out by finding a tutorial for a "cake" card here (hit their Translator button when you arrive):

Cake Cards Tutorial

And got to work. First I chose the image -- I can't believe this is the first time I have inked up my Tilda with Wedding Gifts stamp! She is so cute for birthday cards too!

Next, the papers. I was so lucky to find some great Bo Bunny (my fav!) paper that was PERFECT for the cake top. It had a circular design that I simply cut out and "frosted" with Scribbles 3D white fabric paint. As a matter of fact ALL the patterned paper on the card are from Bo Bunny's "Sophie" line. Some really old embossed paper I got from Michaels back in 2006 called Vine Cream was used to create the easel card base and the cake itself. 

The side of the cake is decorated with Martha Stewart's Double Loops edge punch. I also glued some Recollections flowers to the sides, attached the cake to a Wilton doily and finished off the bottom edge of the cake with more 3D white paint to mimic frosting. Other supplies used on the card include Michaels satin ribbon coloured with Copic BG49, ColorBox inks, Martha Stewart Fern punch, Recollections floral spikes, and Diamond and Milled Lavender Stickles on the prezzies.

When folded up, the candle is slid into the "gift" beside the cake -- since there was only one, I didn't include a candle box as shown in the original tutorial; instead I rolled up daughter's monetary gift and wrapped it with ribbon and tag topped off with a bow.

Since this card is quite bulky, I made a box from white cardstock. The measurements of my card is 6" X 6.5", so I cut two pieces of 8.5" X 11" paper: one 8.5" X 8" and a second slightly larger for the top: 8.5" X 8 1/8". After scoring 1" on every side, folding, cutting and adding ScorTape to the flaps, viola! I have a box to transport the whole shebang without scrunching it up!

Here are the Copic colours used for Tilda:

BG45, BG49, C0, C1, C2, C3, C5, C6, E0000, E01, E02, E30, E35, E37, RV11, RV14, RV93, RV95, RV99, Y11 and Y21

I hope she likes it -- er, for more than the rolled up gift, that is ;)

A Wedding Shower Gift and Card

Since this month our family has been invited to a cousin's nuptials, I have also been invited to attend the bride's Wedding Shower... and a request in the invitation was to bring a favorite recipe to pass on to her. So I created both a Wedding Shower gift and card to give her.

Here's how I made the box:

How To Make a 5" X 3" Recipe Box:

Start out by cutting a 12" X 12" page of heavy cardstock into two pieces:

1 - 8.25" X 12"
1 - 3.75" X 12" (You won't need this piece for the box)

Cut the 8.25" X 12" piece into two:

1 - 8.25" X 7.25"
1 - 8.25" X 4.75"

Score, fold and cut each of these two pieces as per the following diagram:

Here's what mine looked like after cutting, scoring and folding:

Add Scor-Tape to the sides and bottoms to create your box with a top flap.

I added two Basic Grey thin magnets so it snaps shut. Just use Scor-Tape to adhere the first side of the magnet to the inside of the front of the box. Then snap the second magnet in place on the outside front of the box to line it up. Add Scor-Tape to the outside of the magnet and press down the flap to adhere it in the proper position (I remove the adhesive these magnets come with, since Scor-Tape is so much stronger). You will need to place something hard inside the box to press down onto -- I found two acrylic stamp blocks worked perfectly. (You could also do this step BEFORE putting the box together, but I didn't think of it until I had the box taped up!) I finished by covering each magnet with cardstock so they won't be accidentally knocked off when in use.

Inside the completed recipe box:

If you want to make a matching card, you can certainly use the leftover piece of 3.75" X 12" cardstock. I had a second sheet of matching paper, so I cut a piece 12" X 6" and did a triple fold card to mimic the shape of the recipe box. The finished size of the card is 5" X 6".

My box and card  set features the following three stamps: Mini Kitchen Tilda, Mini Chef Edwin and Tilda is Baking.

The following Copics were used to colour all three images:

E0000, E00 E01, E02, E11, E13, E30, E33, E35, E37, E49, E53, E57, E59, BV000, BV01, BV02, Y000, Y21, C0, C1, C2, C3.

To create my recipe box and matching card, I used both the Lavender and White Heart embossed paper I got from Michael's years ago. Bazzill Purple Pizzazz cardstock was also used. Two Martha Stewart edge punches created the Scroll Heart and Loops Heart designs.

The lace ribbon is from Dollarama Crafts, the pearls and flowers are from Michael's and the doilies are made by Wilton. The leaves are made with the Martha Stewart Fern Punch. Inside the card I typed up an edited version of "A Recipe for a Happy Marriage" I found on the net.

I hope the bride-to-be likes it!

Thinking Of You

Here is a new card; it's always a good idea to have a few "Thinking of You" cards on hand.

This 5.5" X 5.5" blue Bazzil cardstock base was layered with some of my favorite paper: Bo Bunny's Calypso Dream: both sides of this two-sided paper was used for the background and the left side mat. Pulling out the colours from this design, I matted each element with red, blue and yellow Bazzil cardstock. 

Since my Martha Stewart butterfly punch was too large, I used her Monarch Butterflies Trim Punch on the blue and yellow cardstock and cut out individual butterflies from that for the embellishments. I folded each one and glued the bodies to the card for extra dimension.

My circular element is a paper doily by Wilton. I used sheer polka-dot ribbon to keep the focus on the image. Lastly, I used some Diamond Stickles on the wings for a touch of glitter.

Copics used on Tilda are as follows:

Skin:  E000, E00, E01
Hair:  E33, E37 and E47
Dress & stockings:  B91, B93, B95 and C2
Wings and Butterfly:  Y15 and Y17

A Wedding Card

Here's a card with lots of texture, so I limited the colours and just used embossing folders and punches for this one.

I did a lot of layering on this card... alternating silver and white. Recollections Pearls, Dollar Store ribbon , Wild Orchid roses, Martha Stewart Pine and Oak leaves punches were all used in this project. I also added a touch of  Martha Stewart Sterling glitter to Tilda's flowers and in her veil (hard to see, here though). On the bottom of the card I have layered rows of Martha Stewart Deco Fan punched and Martha Stewart Double Loops punched papers. My Cuttlebug was used for the background embossing, and my scalloped heart Nestabilities were used for the heart.

Copics used:

BG93
C1, C2, C3, C4
E0000, E00, E55, E57, E97
R22
Y11

I think this card will be put to good use; I have a wedding to go to this spring, so at least I have their card done already!

Hoppy Easter!

For today's card, I created an Easter card with a mostly white front is simply adorned with Mini Chicken Tilda, a few Wild Orchid roses and ribbon. But she seems a tad lonely, no?

Well, don't fret - this Tilda's got some company waiting for her...

Mini Tilda Painting Egg and Mini Bunny Tilda are all ready for Easter to arrive! This trifold of embossed white cardstock opens to reveal a foldout row of Easter eggs. The two larger eggs are outlined with white satiny cording I saved from a shopping bag (I told you I never throw anything out!).

The charm came in a silver colour, so for this card I painted it white and then sprinkled some Martha Stewart White Crystal Fine glitter to add a touch of sparkle. A few self-stick pearls were added to the inside of the card as well.

I have a brand new toy that helped immensely with this project: My new black Cricut Expression! I was so excited to get this a few days ago... I have been wanting the black machine ever since my friend showed me just what it can do (thanks Wendy!). Last week I noticed ONE at my local Wal-mart... sitting amongst the lime green, pink and yellow machines, but to my dismay, it was priced nearly double to the other colours! I was so sad; I went home that night, disappointed and empty handed. The next day I couldn't stop thinking about it until I got up the nerve to call the store to ask if they would do a price match...

And you know what? They DID! So take it from me; it never hurts to ASK! I was SO excited!!! I didn't realise until I got it home the reason it was priced so high - the black machines were a limited edition... wow! It fits my room's decor perfectly and I have been playing with it using it every day since... and it was put to work cutting my title, eggs, frames and swirl for this project. There is no way I could have cut all those eggs EXACTLY the same otherwise!

Oh, and before I forget, here are the Copic colours I used:

Mini Chicken Tilda:  C3, E0000, E01, E35, E37, Y000, Y21, Y35, Y38
Mini Tilda Painting Egg: B34, BG10, BG49, C0, C1, C2, C3, E0000, E01, E21, E25, E37
Mini Bunny Tilda: C3, E0000, E01, R000, R21, R24

Whew! I hope you like my Easter greeting.