Girl's Birthday Cards

I decided to do a Kid's Birthday card swap on my Favorite MB. Swappers could sign up for Boys or Girls or a combination of both. I went with a stamp that my hubby bought for me about 3 Christmases back that I HAD TO HAVE. Sadly this is the first time she's seen the light of day! I tried my hand at using some of those alcohol markers, and although I am sure I didnt use them the proper way, I am pretty happy with the results. The background I embossed with Stampin' Up's Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder which I ran through my BigShot. I finished it off with the sentiment punched out and layered with circle punches and the scalloped circle punch. I couldn't decide if I liked the sentiment on the white or the purple, so I did some of each.

June's Card Club

One of the great things about card club, besides getting together with a great group of ladies, is that you get to see different people's creativeness. Tonight was Card Club and my usual group of ladies, along with a couple new ladies, came over to make cards. The first picture is my original sample. It features Pretty in Pink and Whisper White Cardstock with Concord Crush Designer Paper (DSP). I colored the image from the soon to be retired (retires June 30th) "Pun Fun" with my Stampin' Write markers. The polka dots on the latte mug were done with the white gel pen by Signo. The sentiment we stamped and then punched with the Word Window punch and then layered it onto Concord Crush which was punched with the Modern Label punch. At Card Club I also offered Fun and Fast Notes so everyone could choose an image/sentiment that best worked for her.

The second picture, I made at card club to show what it would look like without the Concord Crush strip. Some ladies liked it with, while others liked it without! Either way it looks great!

Are you interested in joining us for Card Club?? Why not check my website to see when the next Card Club meets:
http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/gina_thornton/Can't make it here? Have a card club with you and your friends, you provide the location.

Quilted Thinking of You

I have always liked the looks of the quilted card made with the Top Note die! Here is another spin on it which I created for the Summer Month's Fronts swap on my favorite MB. The theme for June was Thinking Of you. The sentiment is from Sincere Salutations. The papers and ribbons were all from stuff I had on hand, which coincidentally came from a RAK (Random Act of Kindness) from someone on my favorite MB.

Sympathy Fronts

So this is the right picture....Above are the fronts I created for the Sympathy Card fronts for my Monthly Card front swap on my Fav MB. It features the Thoughts and Prayers set. I also used an embossing folder on the background paper. I did a little embossing on the edges just to give it a little more color. Then finished it all off with a ribbon. The sentiment is punched out with the oval punchm then matted on a scalloped oval and dimensionals to give it some pop.

Red White and Blue Hello

Isn't this little girl the cutest? I found this stamp in a Craft Store in Ohio when we were there last September for my brother's wedding. We don't have the store near by here, and since it is at least a 10 hour drive to get there, we always make time to stop in and see what is new.
Anyway, I made this card for my Addicted to Cardmaking swap on my Favorite MB. I used my Stampin Write markers in Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Soft Suede, Blush Blossom, and Brocade Blue (I think). The sentiment is from Stampin' Up's "Hello Again". I love how it sort of looks like she is peeking through a window! The background is also embossed with a star folder and my BigShot.

LOL It appears I had the wrong picture there! But It's fixed now! Sorry about that!

Country Flowers

I thought I would share the finished card that I made to show the simple knots below. This is for my card front swap on my Favorite MB, the theme is ribbons. I used a now retired Stampin' Up set called "Country Morning". I stamped the image on watercolor paper and used my Stampin' p markers as well as Classic Ink pads and a blender pen to color the image. The cardstock, paper and ribbon are all stuff I had on hand.

Tying a simple knot

There was some discussion on tying bows and ribbons on my favorite MB. and I thought I'd make a photo tutorial of the way I tie my knots. I love doing them this way. No guess work! AND it uses less ribbon!!!

Step 1 cut a piece of ribbon long enough to fit your card with some to overlap:

Step 2. Adhere the overlap to the back of your card. I like to use masking tape, just to be sure it isn't going anywhere:

Step 3, slide a second piece of ribbon (still attached to the spool - or you can cut a second piece about as long as the first)under the ribbon:

Step 4 "fold" the top piece over the bottom of the "knot" part, a fellow crafter described this as what the Awareness Ribbons look like:

Step 5 tuck the tail of the top piece into the "hole":

Step 6 Pull ribbon tight. If you have a two sided ribbon, like I used, flip the top piece over so you can see the design before you pull it tight:

Here's what it will look like, You can make the tails of the knot longer or shorter according to your preference:

The part I love about this knot, is if the knot isn't where you want it, take a hold of one of the tails and slide it until the knot is where you would like it. If you want shorter tails, just trim them down. You can also pull the tails in a different direction if you'd like.

I hope this helps anyone who was having trouble!