Simple Masculine Card

I love making cards.  I think it has to do with the fact that I love giving people gifts.  Like, seriously love it. I have never read the book, but I'm pretty sure my love language is gifts.  It's not always feasible to give a gift, but you can always find an occasion to give a card!

I haven't made a card for anyone in over a year. For me, that's an eternity.  I used to make a ton of cards.  I tried to make my mother-in-law a birthday card a few weeks ago and it was a disastrous mess, so I quit and bought her one.  [sad face]

I wanted to say thanks to some awesome teens in our church for helping me out, so I decided to see if I could get the creative juices flowing today.  And I made 5 cards!

Here's one...

I've said it before and it's still true - Masculine cards are HARD to make. I always want to sparkle or glitter or shimmer it or something.  My hubby picked out this paper at Hobby Lobby a while back.  He said it's his favorite paper I own.  Poor guy... he has bad taste - except in women!  Actually, I am glad he talked me into buying it because it's perfect for simple cards.

I used my fuse tool and page protectors to make a pocket, then added micro beads to fill it up.  I cut out the sentiment using my Silhouette, then put it on with foam tape.

It's quite plain and perfect for the recipient!  The young man I gave it to is definitely no-frills, so this was right up his alley.  And he enjoyed playing with the shaker part!

Once I came up with the general idea, I made several. I would suggest whenever you make a card, always make a couple, then you'll have them on hand when you need one fast.

Happy Crafting!

Simple Thank You Card

A few weeks ago, I needed to make several thank you cards.  I had been working a big wedding order for several weeks and was up to my eyeballs in glitter paper and glue dots.  I decided to settle for making a card with a ready-made design and I settled on one of the free files from Miss Kate Cuttables.

Side note - Miss Kate, you rock!

I took a scalloped frame and welded two pieces together to make the card base.

The woodgrain panel, flowers and wording are all a part of the file from Miss Kate.  LOVE!

I inked the edges of everything with brown ink, then added the flowers with foam dots so they would stand out. Voila!  Quick, easy and pretty card!

Have a fantabulous day!
Cheryl

Cute & Simple Halloween Cards

Earlier in the week I posted some cute little Halloween treat bags for my co-workers.  Of course, I had to make cards to go along with them!

I made 6 different cards, mixing and matching the colors using up my scraps from last Halloween.  They were easy and fast to make.

Each card measures around 3" x 3".  I took a simple pennant shape and imported it into Silhouette Design Studio.  I flipped one over and welded them together to make cards.  For ease of folding, I added a score line in the middle of each card so it cut that for me.

I then used the internal offset function to make some layers to cut my patterend paper.  

The font I used is apparently unavailable now, but it's very similar to Galpon from DaFont.  You can get it HERE.  For the font, I used the offset feature to make an outline, then welded the letters together.

I love Halloween colors!  I had a blast making these fun little cards.  It's been a long time since I've sat at my craft desk and played.  It was wonderful.  And I must do it again very soon!

Happy Halloween!
Cheryl

Batman Card

My co-worker ordered a card from me for her sister's 18th birthday.  Apparently, she's a huge Batman fan, so she found an idea on Pinterest asked me to recreate it.  She wanted me to merge two cards. Here's the inspiration...

via Pinterest

via Pinterest

And here's what I came up with...

I created this on my Silhouette.  (Sorry for the bad lighting...I finished late at night!)  I also was lazy and didn't set up my photo tent so please ignore my messy desk!  My co-worker told me what she wanted it to say, but I designed the rest.

 

 

To create the cityscape, I found an image on Google and traced it in my Silhouette.  I added the windows, made a compound path and cut it in black.  Then, I removed the windows and cut a yellow layer to put behind it.  For the words, I designed them in Silhouette as well and used the print and cut feature.  The font is KG Beneath Your Beautiful.

The Bat Signal is attached with an Action Wobble.  You can purchase these on Amazon HERE.

I love Action Wobbles!  I think they make whimsical cards so much better.  Here's a side view.

And get ready for it....

The Action Wobble in action!

One more.  I was quite impressed with my speedy photography skills to catch this.  Wow.  Love these little springs!

Here's the inside of the card.  Again, I found the image online and traced it in Silhouette Studio.

She texted me after I'd already made the card and asked for a gift card holder to be added.  Nothing fancy, but I put this inside.

If you ever need a card for a super hero in your life, go ahead - use this layout!  It's easy and fun!

Hugs,

Cheryl

Shaker Card Obsession

So, I know shaker cards have been around for a while.  But, for some reason I never cared about them until now.  I have become obsessed with shaker cards.  I am not sure why but I just love them all of a sudden!  I bought a bunch of micro beads on clearance at Michael's, so I'm ready to make a whole slew of 'em!

When I made this card, I hadn't yet accumulated all my beautiful micro beads, so I used my hole punch and punched a ton of holes to fill the "window".

I'm really happy with the way it turned out!  I cut "Thanks" using my Silhouette Cameo.  I used a fancy font, then welded the letters together.

For the window, I used acetate paper.  I found a really good deal on this through Amazon. It's by Grafix and you get 25 sheets for about 10 bucks with free shipping if you're a Prime member.  Love this stuff!  You can buy it here:

Have you ever made a shaker card?  If so, I'd love to see it!  Please share!

Cheryl

This post contains affiliate links.  Clicking the link and purchasing through Amazon helps support Pink and Paper.  Thanks for your support!

Flowery Card

I saw a card on Pinterest a while back and I loved the style, so I decided to use that for inspiration.  Sadly, I didn't pin the card so I can't share the inspiration pic with you all.

Until a few weeks ago, I hadn't been crafty in a few months.  I decided I was ready to play with paper again and I'm working on building up my stash of cards.  I like to have cards on hand in case I forget a birthday and need a card right away... or just want to drop a note to a friend.

As you can tell from the pic, the front of the card is basically a half sheet.  I designed it on my Silhouette, cut it, then added the flowers.

I cut the flowers in a couple of different sizes and layered them with foam dots.  I added enamel dots to the center of each flower.  I made the enamel dots myself and I'll post about that soon so you do it too!

I'm really pleased with how this turned out.  It was fairly simple and I think I can easily make several different cards using this style as a template.

I'm off to make more cards....

Cheryl

I {heart} Paper Flowers!

I've expressed in the past my love for paper flowers.  I love creating them and have to stop myself from using them on EVERYTHING I make.  Since I got my Cameo, I haven't made many because I've been trying to find files that are just right.  I have the Flower Shoppe Cartridge for Cricut, but it's up on the top shelf, I'm super short and I don't wanna dig it out!  Soooo...  Here's my first "real" flower using the Cameo.  It's ok...but I know I can do better.

Love that giant flower!!

I saw the yellow part on Pinterest and cut it by hand.  I will be designing a file on my Silhouette because I really like how it looks.

Thanks for looking!

Cheryl

Awesome Birthday Card

This will be a super quick post.  I was playing around with some new fonts with my Silhouette the other day and cut this word out.  I decided to slap it on to some paper and Viola!  It's a really simple card, but I thought I'd share it anyway.

I added some handwritten words and added some dots with my white gel pen, then put it on the card using foam tape.  That's it!  Easy peesy!

Have a great Saturday!

Cheryl

Sunflower!

Have you hear of Miss Kate Cuttables? She is a fabulous gal who designs and offers a FREE SVG file every day!  You can visit her site HERE. I love her files.  They're super cute and easy to cut and layer.

I downloaded this cute little bee from there.  I have a friend who really likes Sunflowers and I saw a similar "split card" (don't know the official name...ha ha) made using a daisy.  I thought I would try one with a sunflower and the bee.

I created the base for the card in my Silhouette software.  It was really hard to photograph, but it's pretty cute in person.  The card measures around 5"x 5".

When I cut the little bee he was so tiny, I had to draw on the eyes and mouth.  I added everything to the front with several layers of foam to make it POP!  

On another subject, I am in the process of creating a planner/home management binder/budget book....etc.  Do any of you use that on a daily or weekly basis?  I purchased several items in the ARC line of products by Staples and am trying to design my own pages.  Once it's complete, I will share it all with you, but was wondering if you have any ideas or suggestions as I'm setting it up?  I hope to have sections for meal planning, budgeting, blog posts, calendar and notes/receipts. If you aren't familiar with the ARC system, here's a link to their products:

ARC Notebooks

Have a blessed day,

Cheryl

Hello Sunshine!

 

Hello, sunshine!

I made this card for a friend of mine who has been facing some hard times.  I wanted something sunny and happy and fun!

Here's a close up of the center of my sun.  I added a few gems because everything is better with bling.  I inked the edges of everything with black.  I was worried the black would be too harsh, but I didn't want to use brown and didn't have some gray ink.  I gotta get some of that...

I made a little cloud, cut it out and put my stamp on there.  This was a cheapo, dollar bin stamp and I like it.

Although this was super simple, I really enjoyed making it.  The paper is from The Basics stack by The Paper Studio.  I designed this in the Silhouette Studio software.  I thought I'd share the file in case you all were interested in it.  Here's the link:

Sunburst and Cloud Studio File

Happy Crafting!!

Cheryl

Nurses' Day Cards

Happy Monday everyone!  I hope you had a fabulous mother's day weekend...even if you're not a mother (like me!).  I had a nice lazy weekend but surely sad to see it end.  I thought I'd share the above pic with you all just because they're so pretty.  My hubby's aunt grew these peonies and brought me some to enjoy.  Gorgeous!!!

I wanted to share a couple of cards with you that I made over the weekend.  I was asked to make a card for a nursing school graduate, then asked to make a card for someone for Nurses' Day.  I had no clue what to design, so I went to Pinterest.  I found some inspiration there, of course.  Here's a link to the inspiration card: Scrub Card.  And here are mine:

First of all - Please disregard the bad photos.  I forgot to take pictures until I got to work, then had to take them at my desk under the lovely fluorescent lights.

I designed the card on my Silhouette, using basic shapes for most of it.  I downloaded the stethoscope, band aids and scissors all in one file from the silhouette store.

For the bandages, I accidentally discovered that if I cover some brown paper with my peach-with-silver-polka-dot washi tape, it looks like band aids!  So, that's what I did.  Aren't they cute?

This is my favorite part of the card.  I cut the red R.N. portion with the cameo, then did print and cut for the name badge.  I love my Cameo!!  This was the first time I've used that feature and I. LOVE. IT.

I was really pleased with how it turned out.  Although, as I was editing my pictures, I did think it odd that I made this body card with no head or arms.  Freaky.

My boss also asked for this card to be made in blue to match the scrubs they wore in nursing school.  Here's that one:

You can see the "stitching" marks around the collar and pocket.  I added those in the design on silhouette and it cut them for me.  How genius is that cameo?!?!?

Have a great Monday!

Cheryl

Owl Easel Card

Here's a fun easel card I made on the Silhouette a few weeks ago.  I downloaded it from the Silhouette store and I believe it was designed by Lori Whiltock.  I've never made an easel card before and it couldn't have been easier!

Here's a side view of the card. As you can see, I added the beak and feet using foam dots so they would stand out.  You can't tell in this picture, but I also coated them with Glossy Accents to make them shiny.

This is the view from the inside.  As you can see, there's plenty of room to write, which I like.  And the branch is kinda cute, too!

This is what it looks like all set up.  I really enjoyed making and giving this card.  I am planning to make a few more to have on hand, since it will work for a birthday, thank you or just a card to say "Howdy!".

That's all for today, folks.  I wish you all a fabulous day!

Cheryl