Dragonfly Love

I recently saw this Memory Box die online and wanted to try it out, having never used that brand of die.  Today was the day to try it out.  It cuts beautifully, so I needed find a way to use it on my cards.  I decided on this dragonfly paper from Basic Grey.

I had problems finding other things to go on the card.  I had some fuzzy yarn that someone sent to me.  I wrapped it around the card, but was afraid it wouldn't last through mailing, so I had to find a way to secure it.  I also had this wide, sheer ribbon that went with the paper.  I covered the yarn with the ribbon.  It really looks better in person than it does in the scan.  I needed more to make this card acceptable, so I added some gold metallic stickers.  I'm still deciding if I like it.

I like this card better.  I used the leftover strip of dragonfly paper on another piece of paper from the same 6"x6" pad from Basic Grey.  I then covered the dragonfly paper with the sheer ribbon.  I added more gold metallic stickers.

More patriotic cards

These are the last of the cards I have made with the scraps from my last group of cards.  Statue of Liberty is a rubber stamp by Limited Edition.

Patriotic Cards

One of the requests from our deployed troops to Operation Write Home was for patriotic cards that they can send home.  I recently purchased some paper for this purpose.  I bought this paper for the white stars on a blue background.  When I got home, I discover the starburst stipes on the back.  I cut the 12" x 12" paper into quarters to preserve the starburst design.  I used the center portion for my starburst card, then used the edges of paper for the stars.

I managed to get 4 of these cards from that paper, with lots left over.  I'll work on making cards from the rest of my scraps.

 

Horses

I read that Operation Write Home was low on Missing You cards to send to our deployed troops.  I decided to make some yesterday.

This image is a rubber stamp from Stampabilities, stamped with Rich Cocoa Memento ink.  I embossed the green background paper with a Woodgrain embossing folder from The Paper Studio, then distressed it with Rich Cocoa Memento ink.  The paper tended to tear a bit because the embossing was so deep.

On this card, I mounted the background paper onto the brown layer of cardstock before embossing.  I also distressed this with some Rich Cocoa Memento ink.  This sentiment is a clear stamp from my stash of stamps.

More doilies

I've been practicing with the paper doilies.  This time, I learned to stamp on the doilies before putting them on the cards.  On this first one, you can see the edge of my layer under the doily.

I added some lace to make it look more vintage.  Then, I worked on doing it better.

This paper is from My Mind's Eye, the stamps are a clear set (unlabeled) and the ribbon from Offray.

Stamping on doilies

I've been playing with paper doilies.  I have learned that I could stamp directly on the doily.  This is a clear stamp and Memento ink in Bahama Blue.  The fiber is some that was given me years ago and I had never used on a card.  It was the color I needed for this card.  That is a very sparkly self adhesive gem, but I added extra glue to make it hold over the fibers.

Paper doily

After working with the doilies cut with dies, I decided to make some cards using the purchased paper doilies that are in my drawer.  I have quite a few of these in both cream and white, so I'll work on making a few more.  That is a sticker from Hawaii in the center of doily.  The paper is from the same lilybeedesign pad that I used for my previous cards.  Sentiment is from Hero Arts.

More new toys

I made this doily with a new die from Cheery Lynn Designs.  It cuts very nicely in my Big Shot.  It's 4" in diameter and gave me some problems in deciding how to use it on a card.  The flower in the center of doily is a sticker.

A friend gave me some of the new tape that she got in a kit.  They called it washi tape, but it appears to be plastic.  I have never used the real Washi Tape, but I thought it was made of paper.  The sentiment is a piece of that tape.  I mounted it on a strip of white cardstock and trimmed it to look like a banner.  Both the doily and the sentiment are wrapped around to the back of top layer.  The background paper is from a lilybeedesign 6"x6" tablet called This and That.

This card is made with paper from the same pad as the first card, with the same sentiment tape.  This doily is from a die owned by my friend.  It is made by QuicKutz.  I added some heart stickers to add some interest.

I may have try making some cards with the purchased paper doilies.  It would be easier than cutting these out.  I'll see what I can come up with.

Learning with new toys

I've had a rough time finding motivation to create new cards lately.  In an attempt to stimulate the mojo, I did some some shopping.  I placed several orders online and even got to a couple of stores.  A friend mailed me some things that she wasn't using.

I continued with my previous attempt at creating backgrounds with strips of paper glued to a backing sheet, then embossing the finished product.  On this one, I only used red and white strips.  The results were not to my satisfaction.  Tip: Pay attention to pattern you are creating while arranging the strips.

I ran this through the Big Shot with a new embossing folder (Tiny Stars by the Paper Studio).  I felt the need to cover most of the background.  I used some new Nestibilities (Star Circles) to create elements to cover the background.  I also used a large sentiment to finish off the card.

I then used more new toys to create these cards:


 
For making these cards, I used my new Corner Chomper for rounding the corners.  I also used my new Spellbinders dies for the rectangle lattice frame.  The coneflower was stamped with a 2 part stamp that was in the box of goodies from my friend, Pat.  I colored the flowers with colored pencils.

Background technique

I recently saw a card on this blog - Expressions of a Craftaholic - and wanted to try to make that background.  I pulled out a box of scraps and cut some pieces into 1/2" strips.  The scraps weren't all the same length, so some are
1 1/2" long and others are shorter.  I ran a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of cardstock through the Xyron and proceded to stick the strips onto adhesive.  In the future, I will draw a straight diagonal line onto the base card before running it through the cardstock.  This is my first attempt:

Before adhering scrap card to base card, I ran it through the Big Shot with a Square Lattice embossing folder.  I stamped the images onto cardstock and lightly colored them with colored pencils.  These images are from a set of Sizzix Framelit dies and Hero Arts stamps.  I wanted a border around the images, so I trimmed off the edges left by the die and mounted it on a die cut from the brown cardstock.  I then popped images with dimensional foam tape.

I made a straight line on this base card as a guide in getting my strips straighter.

On this card, I left the die cuts as they were and didn't mount them on the brown piece.  I will practice some more and try to master this technique.

Hang in there!

I saw this stamp and had to have it for a special card for a special friend.  The stamp is of course a House Mouse stamp and is actually called Jelly Bean Heist.  I colored it with Prismacolor pencils.  It's a large stamp and fills the entire card front, leaving room only for a frame and a sentiment.

I've been holding this post until my friend received it.  It arrived today, so I can share it with you.

RIP - D12

Some sad news arrived this morning.  I have been watching the Decorah, Iowa Eagle Cam and love watching the baby eagles learning life skills.  This year's brood are just over 3 months old and learning about life outside the nest.  They have learned to fly and are learning about catching their own food.

The oldest of this year's hatch had a serious mishap this morning by landing on a power pole and was electrocuted.  For more information on this sad event, please go to the Raptor Resource Project.  This is on Facebook.  If you don't use Facebook, their may be information later on their website - Raptor Resource Project.

This is a recent photo D12:

Enjoying the birds

I'm still enjoying the birds in my back yard.  I have even discovered some baby birds in my patio roof.  I'm not really what kind they are, but I suspect they are house finches.  They may also be one of varieties of sparrow I have in my yard.

Mama bird doesn't stick around much.  She flies away when I open the door.  I have managed to capture some photos through the glass door.

I've also been enjoying the hummingbirds and orioles coming to the hummingbird feeder.

Even the bat taking a nap on my front porch was interesting.

Even Tex has been enjoying the backyard.  He spends a lot of time trying to catch the geckos.  I don't know what he would do if he caught one.