Happy Birthday Mum (my 1st MISTI card)

First I have to say I love my Kitchen Sink Stamps and was hoping that the MISTI would help me get better alignment on the different steps.  I think we made it for the most part.  The problem? If you follow me you know, I work big and the MISTI is made primarily for people who make notecard size cards.  As I have said before if I sent my family notecard sized cards they would think all sorts of bad things because most of them are English and in England they do "BIG" cards, the stronger the "love" the bigger the card seems to be the understood motto!  So getting back to my problem, I have seen loads of great videos where a stamper was able to put their card in the MISTI multiple times without having to mess with moving the stamps over and over.  I wanted to do that, but I kept either running into creasing my card on the edges or not being able to get it in the right position because of the hinges.  I still love it!  Just got to work out my groove with big cards and the MISTI.

Ingredients
Card Size - 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 in;
Cardstock - Recollections white 110lb;
Stamps - Kitchen Sink Stamps: 3-step Daisy, Never A Loss 4 Words; Whole Family;
Ink - Memento: Rose Bud, Lady Bug, Rhubard Stalk, Cottage Ivy, Northern Pine;
Accessories - MISTI

Mother's Mittens

When I was making this card I was thinking about the patterns trend at the moment and seriously thought this card was going to be for our Niece.  Once I finish it, I liked how traditional it felt and decided I would send it to my MIL. Instead.  Yeah, if you look at it you can see placed where the pattern doesn't line up correctly, but isn't that sort of the point of handmade at times.  I could have stressed out and restamped that line of stamps on another background and had the same problem again.  I decided to just go with it.  

I decided that the mittens had to match and then to add the satin and velvet ribbons from my stash.  That velvet ribbon is an off cut from Christmas bow decorations I made.  I decided it wasn't that different to the flocked paper I have bought in the past and I think it adds the right level of luxuriousness to this card.  I love this card even with its imperfections. 

Ingredients
Card size - 8 1/2" x 5 1/2";
Cardstock - Recollections 110lb and 65lb ivory
Stamps - Gina K Designs: Warm Woolen Mittens; Kitchen Sink Stamps: Whole Family;
Ink - Memento: Love Letter, Toffee Crunch;
Accessories - Velvet ribbon, Satin Ribbon

Updated Snowman

Sometimes you have to alter a card after you publish it.  Here is the link to the original version - sparkleglitter-snowman.  I even pointed out that it needed the greeting.  Funnily enough when I made this I thought it was going to go to my MIL but I changed my mined.  I like this card a lot more now with how the salutation/greeting helps to ground it by echoing the color of the sky and there is something wintery and ethereal about the script of the words as well.

Ingredients
Card size - 8 1/2" x 5 1/2";
Cardstock - Recollections 65lb white, blue, kraft;
Stamps - High Hopes stamps: Gimme A Hug! Snowman, Snow Background; Kitchen Sink Stamps: Whole Family; 
Ink - Gina K Color Companions: Black Onyx, White; Distress Inks: Broken China; Memento: Danube Blue;
Color - Copics
Accessories - Stickles: Diamond; Recollections: Red, Black; Martha Stewart glitter: snow

Superman - Dad of Steel! Exactly as I have planned it.

Oh how I wish I could say I was the most organized crafter ever and that I completely planned to make a superman card for my husband for Father's Day because I knew it would correspond with going to the movie with the family later that day...

The truth is I lost my mojo and remembered I had the stamp and had an "aha" moment and thinking I could do a gatefold card to make the cape and was at a loss for anything else to do.  What? Father's Day was the opening weekend for the movie too? well of course I planned it all!!! *knowing wink* 

The second picture shows the card standing.  Thinking about it now I could have adhered the blue to come over the top instead of inside of sandwiching the gate.  I think I might re-visit this card and try out those changes.

I also stamped the inside but the kids got hold of the card and added their own decorations and sentiments before I could photograph it to share it.  Oh well, you will have to take my word that it is cute as it has Superman flying through "Happy Father's Day".

I keep wondering if the stamp is lost, but I keep thinking if it were larger then I would have had issues with the gate fold... 

Ingredients
Card Size - 8.5 x 5.5 inches
Cardstock - Neenah Classic Crest Smooth Solar White; Recollections: Red, Blue; 
Stamps - Viva LasVegastamps: Logo 1; Inside - Viva LasVegastamps: Superman Flying; Kitchen Sink Stamps: Whole Family;
Ink - Versamark; Memento: Danube Blue, Tuxedo Black;
Accessories - Zing! Gold Glitter Embossing Powder

Flowery Mother's Day

Another Mother's Day card that could easily be translated to a flowery birthday card.  There really isn't much to say except even though I know when US Mother's Day is every year I was still scrambling around at the last minute trying to get this made!

Pretty straightforward with a bit of masking.

Ingredients

Card Size - 8.5 in x 5.5 in

Card Stock - Neenah Classic Crest

Stamps - Kitchen Sink Stamps: 3 Step Daisy, Whole Family

Ink - Memento: Canteloupe, Tangelo, Bamboo Leaves, Pear Tart, Cottage Ivy

Daffodil Mother's Day

I think every year I explain that Mothering Sunday in England is not in May...

I will spare you and just say that one year I will get organized and send my MIL's birthday (end of February) and Mothering Sunday (3 weeks before Easter) cards at the same time.  This year wasn't that year.

This is a fairly straightforward and I would say clean and simple card for Mother's Day.  Die cutting, Stamping, Masking, Coloring.  Yup that about sums it up.  Any questions?  I do like how it turned out though.

Ingredients

Card Size - 8.5 in x 5.5 in

Card Stock - Neenah Classic Crest, The Paper Company

Stamps - Northwoods, Kitchen Sink Stamps: Whole Family

Ink - Memento: Tuxedo Black

Color - Copics

Miscellaneous - Spellbinders Long Rectangles Nestabilities

18th Birthday!

I don't know about you but I LOVE explosion boxes and always wanted to make one.  Finally I had the opportunity and I love how it turned out!  Let me know what you think.

I got my basic instructions from Magic Boxes. I love the work on that blog.  I adjusted it because I wanted a big box out of 12 x 12 - yes those are 4 inch sides.

Now I have seen dies that make 3D cakes.  I'm a cheapskate (well sometimes) and I used my Circle nestabilities to cut and emboss a circle inside.  I then made tiny cuts around the circle to the embossed line to make the cake top.  The fringe was used to adhere to a 1.25 inch strip of cardstock to create the height of the cake.  I scored 0.25 inches in and fringed it for attachment.

Now I thought I was being clever decorating the tiers before I put it together... lets just put it this way, I wouldn't do it that way again. My three layers of mirri gold, purple cardstock and red ribbon didn't really like being eased into a circle.  The cake topper is a circle diecut stamped and layered with a bit of red decorative wire that I had already made into a spring by spiralling it around my piercing tool.

On the box uprights I made sleeves for tags for each parent and brother to sign.  The color combo is a combination of the 18 year old's school and favorite soccer team - Purple, Red, Gold (cardstock & mirri). 

I'm still undecided as to whether or not I should have decorated the sides of the lid...









Ingredients
Finished Size - 4in x 4in x 4in
Cardstock - Neenah Classic Crest, The Paper Company, Revelations, Mirri unknown
Stamps - Kitchen Sink Stamps; Playful Numbers, Whole Family
Ink - Memento; Sweet Plum, Canteloupe, Lady Bug
Miscellaneous - Spellbinders Circle Nestabilities; Provocraft Cuttlebug Embossing Folders: Spots & Dots, Happy Birthday, Numbers; Sakura Red Stardust gel pen; Red Satin ribbon.

Pom Flower Christmas

Wow! I have had this post queued up since the New Year.  I can’t believe it has taken me this long to get around to posting it.  As we all know life just sometimes gets in the way.  Luckily it was nothing overtly dramatic, just life itself.  So I created this card for my Mother in law for Christmas.  Now if you dust the cobwebs from my blog you will remember I did a similar felt flower pin in November.  I decided to dress it up a bit and add some beads to it.  There are plenty of tutorials on how to make the pin on the internet.  TBH it is very simple and I’m not going to re-invent the wheel here.  The big thing I had to overcome is how to adhere it to my card so the recipient wouldn’t destroy the card taking it off AND getting it into an envelope.

I was very lucky as my dear husband gave me a Grand Caliber for Christmas (when I found an incredible end of stock deal) that he let me use before Christmas.  I’m sure it helped that I explained my concept that I needed it for a card for his mother *wink, wink*  I used some of my hoarded lovingly acquired stash of Christmas cardstock that will most likely last me through my old age and then some.  I liked the idea of the repetition of flowers, even though they weren’t identical to the one I made.  I think it was more important to have the continuity of idea and colors.  I cut one of the largest sizes for the front of the card and some American Craft cardstock for the background.  I think off set the large die and cut it to fit on the front of my large card.  I used some Versamark and gold embossing powder on the edges of the die cut to make it pop from the background a bit more.  I used a smaller die to make a base for the flower pin.  Stamped and embossed the pin base and the card base.  My brain storm came when I used fun foam to create depth needed to put the pin on the small base and not mark the larger die cut on the card.  I used repositionable glue on the pin base so that it could easily be removed from the card.

My next brainwave was how to package the card.  Now it is at this point that I probably need to point out that I was sending this as part of a larger package to my in-laws with presents and other cards enclosed.  Space was a premium.  I have to admit I was rather impressed with myself for thinking about making a peek-a-boo window in the envelope itself for the pin to pop through.  My family said it was as if Rudolph got nosy!

Hopefully the pictures make it all pretty self explanatory.  Let me know if you have any questions.

Ingredients

Card size - 8.5in x 5.5in
Cardstock – Neenah Classic Crest, American Crafts
Stamps – Inkadinkado “Warm Holiday Wishes”, Kitchen Sink Stamps “Whole Family”
Ink – Versamark
Accessories – Gold Embossing Powder, Spellbinders Grand Dies, Fun Foam, Felt, pin back, Beads, wiring,
Technique – Stamping with heat embossing

All that glitters...

Hmm I guess it is rather subtle for whom I made this card. LOL!  I can't decide whether it looks too simple or not.  Though I have to be really honest and say I am chuffed to bits with how it turned out even if I couldn't get a decent photograph of it. In person is looked plain luxurious.

The tree stamp is a Martha Stewart stamp and truthfully I wasn't expecting a good image.  I had read a lot of stories about how difficult it is to stamp with her clear stamps, so I really worked on the stamp with a white eraser before stamping.  I decided to go for a luxurious look - green and gold, it is almost like Fort Knox on a card.  The cardstock is from open stock at Archiver's.  I rubbed the cardstock all over with a used fabric softener sheet (cheap embossing buddy) to ensure I didn't have any stray embossing powder.  Loaded up my stamp with versamark, stamped and heat embossed with gold embossing powder that I have had forever.  Truthfully I thought it might have gone off/tarnished as I have read some horror stories.  But it seemed fine even if I couldn't photograph it!

Hope they enjoyed their elegant card.  Maybe next year I will go back to cutesy!

Ingredients -

Cardstock - Neenah Classic Crest, Archiver's open stock - linen texture

Stamp - Martha Stewart Crafts - Clear Christmas Tree Stamps, Kitchen Sink Stamps - Whole Family

Ink - Versamark

Accessories - gold embossing powder.