Thinking of You Today

For the Crafty Secret's challenge on Splitcoast Stampers this week, Pammyjo asked us to make a card with just a base and an image layer. I love making one-layer cards because it really makes me think out my design and forces me to play with my stamps, paper, and ink in a different way. Here is my card:


Details:
Main Image - Crafty Secrets - Birds and Blossoms Creative Scraps
Stamps - Crafty Secrets - Fairyland (nest) & Best Buds Vintage Postcard set (small branch & sentiment); Heidi Grace (large branch)
Cardstock - Core'dinations - Whitewash Collection
Ink - Ranger Distress Ink - Tea Dye
Embellishments - vintage buttons; ribbon - Michaels

It is snowy and VERY cold here today -2 degrees right now! (Not a big deal for my neighbor who grew up in Minnesota.) So I think we'll be hanging out at home today, crafting and eating comfort. I'm going to make some yummy cranberry muffins for breakfast and homemade mac-n-cheese for lunch, probably some crockpot chili for supper.

What are YOU up to today? Whatever it is - stay warm!

Hugs,
Marcy

Northern Hearts Redwork Card

I am so pleased to share this card with you this morning! Every year my husband asks me to create a simple Christmas card that he can hand out to all of his associates on various boards, committees, etc. on which he serves. This is the card I've designed for this year.


It is a CAS (clean and simple) design, using the Stampin' Up! Northern Hearts hostess set and a sentiment from Papertrey Ink's Mixed Messages set. I'll tell you what CAS card designs are not for the faint of heart. You have to be very confident in your stamping abilities because mistakes are easily noticeable and hard to cover up. The only thing I typically measure is the card front and some mat layers; otherwise, I eyeball everything. Measuring kind of takes some of the fun out of card making for me. For this design, I just ink up the stamps, take a deep breath, and start stamping!

Hope you're having a great day today, and thanks for spending part of it with me!

Hugs,
Marcy

VBS Volunteer Thank Yous

Typically when I'm making cards, I do not make multiples. I try to make each card specific to the individual's likes and personality, but sometimes with a limited time frame and budget, making multiples is a necessity.

This card is a sample of the thank yous that I am sending out to our Vacation Bible School volunteers. I wanted to make cards that reflected our VBS's woodsy summer camp theme, that were only one layer of cardstock with no embellies, and that I could stamp quickly and easily.

I made these cards assembly line style. Once I made my prototype, it probably took me ten minutes tops to make a big stack of these cards. I cut a bunch of cards out of various shades of sage or olive green. Using the retired Pines set from SU!, I stamped the pine branch around the edge of each card in SU! River Rock and went around again with Staz-on Olive Green. Next I stamped the bear with Ranger's Vintage Photo Distress Ink and used the same ink to stamp the sentiment from SU!'s Favorite Teddy Bear set.

The Bazzill cardstock I used for these cards is very heavily textured, and I really like the distressed look it gives the images. It really lends to the handmade feel of these cards, and that's what stamping cards (for me) is all about. If it looks like it was cranked out on a printer, then what's the point?

Thanks for stopping by today! We're getting the fill dirt for under our front porch today. Never thought I'd be excited about dirt, but it's amazing how your values shift when you're doing home improvement! :) Have a good day!

Happy Day!

It's birthday party season! There's something about spring that seems to trigger the need to celebrate among the ten and under set. My 6-year-old's social calendar for the next few months puts my last 5 or so years to shame. But that's okay because if I'm lucky, like today, I get a little adult interaction in the process of dropping off and picking up my lil' social butterfly.

I made the card above for one of my daughter's classmates, who had a bug/insect themed party today. To make the space in the grass for the ladybug, I stamped half of the Row of Grass stamp (thank you Jason & Megan!) from Daisy Bucket Designs on each side of the paper. The ladybug and sentiment are from Heidi Grace Designs.

I colored the card with Copic markers, which are lovely alcohol-based markers that color like a dream. I have just a small collection of these markers, so I'm just a novice with them, but they are absolutely fantastic. I especially like to use them when I want bright, vibrant colors, particularly for kids' cards.

Wishing you a happy day too!