Paw Prints Have Been Left On Your Hearts

My parents just lost one of their beloved dogs named Sugar a couple of weeks ago.  Although she had been sick for a few months, it is never easy to say goodbye to our furry friends.  I made this sympathy card to send to them.

I've been thinking about making a card with a window in it for quite some time, and today was the day to dig in and try it.  I cut the 2 1/2" circle out of a sheet of 8 1/2 x 11" Recollections pearlized paper by using my George Cricut cartridge.  Then I cut the paper down into a card in order to fit around the window.  I embossed the front with my Cuttlebug.  Then I cut the frame with the Mini Monograms Cricut cartridge, using the scalloped circle and the "framed" feature.  I cut it at 3 1/2".  In the window I cut the paw print from the Paper Pups cartridge at 1 3/4" and shadowed it.  I put patterned paper on the inside of the card to give it a little more color (although you can barely see it on the outside).  I popped the scalloped circle frame on the outside of the card.  I also used a Martha Stewart Border punch, as well as several layers of punches for the sentiment.  I also used some little gems, tiny Recollection roses, and blue ribbon because I though it needed a burst of color.  The sentiment on the inside was computer generated as well and punched with an EK Success punch.  I also used a couple of tiny heart punches.  The scalloped circle frame on the inside of the card was cut just like the one on the outside from the Mini Monograms cartridge.

Hope you like it!  I really don't think the pictures look as good as the card!

Thanks for looking, and for those sweet comments that I love to see.

Time to Celebrate

Today is reveal day for the Cardabilities blog.  I've been out doing some shopping with my daughter and am late getting my card posted.  It was a wonderful sketch, and really helped me stretch myself to do the shaped card.  Lots of fun! 

The card was made for a dear friend's birthday.  She loves the color taupe, so this card has a little of that, but mostly earthtones.  Her birthday is on Saturday, and I have given her a warning not to look at my blog until after I give it to her on Monday.  (A couple of years ago she called me on her birthday and said, "Oh, by the way, I love my card."  She had looked at my blog before I gave her the card at lunch that day.  I didn't expect her to do that!)

I cut the card using the scalloped circle on the Mini Monograms Cricut cartridge.  I did a shadow of it for the background and then flipped it and cut again for the back of the card.   I also cut the center orange circle using that cartridge.  I scored the back about an inch from the top and then glued the two pieces together at the top.  The sentiment was punched using an EK Success punch and then put on rectangle paper with the edges punched with the Stampin Up ticket corner punch.  I used one of my Prima flowers that I'd been wanting to use for quite some time (although I have to say they looked so pretty laying in my drawer -- hee hee!).  I also used some glittery chipboard that I think is made by Making Memories??  Not sure -- I've had them for awhile, and they are no longer in their original packaging.  Last but not least, I used an EK Success border punch as well.  Oh, and how could I forget some little pearl accents!


Here is the sketch:

And here is my card:

Thanks so much for looking, and thanks for your comments.  Hope you'll pop over to Cardabilities and play with us!

Happy Happy Happy!

My day was made when I went to the Frosted Designs blog and found that my layout below (Wrapped Around Your Finger) made the top 3.  How cool is that.  So, I'm sitting on top of the world right now.  Here is the announcement.

Thanks to Frosted Designs and to all of you who've left such nice comments about the layout on my blog!

Wrapped Around Your Finger

I've had these pictures of my granddaughter just waiting to be used on a layout for some time.  I had thought about doing something related to her curls.  I especially love the picture that shows that one big curl.  This was two years ago, and her hair has now lost much of its curl (boo hoo).  These pictures were taken early one morning while we were at the lake, and she hadn't even brushed her hair.  How cool is that!  (She had, however, been eating a red sucker -- hence the sucker mouth.)

The title for this layout came from the current challenge over at Frosted Designs.  You are to use lyrics from a song somewhere on a layout.  I decided on Tim McGraw's song, "My Little Girl."  The two lines of the song I thought of were these:  "I remember I thought you looked like an angel wrapped in pink so soft and warm.  You've had me wrapped around your finger since the day you were born."  My husband and daughter danced to this song at her wedidng last year, so it has special meaning to me anyway.

I used Allison Davis' July sketch for this layout.  I love her two page sketches!  She has an awesome way of taking one sketch and making it into several different designs. 

Supplies:

"Wrapped" and "Finger" are the Marketing Script font cut using Sure Cuts A Lot.  (Sorry that you have a hard time seeing the title -- I loved the patterned paper I used, but it was hard to get words to show up, and I couldn't get a shadow to work in SCAL.)
"around" and "your" are the Olivia Cuttlebug font.
"You've Had Me" and "Since the Day You Were Born" are computer generated and then punched.
The large background circle, small circles and scalloped circles are either punches, or cut from the George Cricut cartridge.
Scalloped border is a Martha Stewart border punch.
Ladybugs are K & Co.

I'm sure you'll have to click on the picture if you want to get a better look.  I had a tough time getting a good picture of this.  It was either too bright, or too dark, and then I ended up with shadows on the photos. 

Here's the sketch:

Mr. & Mrs. Wedding Card

I made another wedding card!  And it was made from another sketch!  I can't remember having two wedding cards to make so close together.  Here is a funny story about this card.  It is for my boss' daughter.  I told my boss last week that I was going to give him a test.  The test consisted of one question:  "What are the colors of the wedding?"  His response:  "Uh . . . white?  There's a white dress."  Ha!   I told him that he failed miserably.  He called his wife and asked her the colors of the wedding, and she said, black, white, a little pink, and a little green -- thus, the colors of this card.

The card is made from this week's sketch at Get Sketchy.  I used my Nestabilities to cut the heart shape.  The black/white background was embossed with my Cuttlebug.  I also used two Martha Stewart border punches on the front.  I cut "Mr. & Mrs." from the Sweethearts Cricut cartridge.  To finish it off, I added a few pearls.  Hope you like it!

Thanks for looking, and as always, for your comments!

Here is the sketch:

And here is my interpretation

[CLICK ON THE PICTURE FOR A BETTER LOOK.]

Thanks

I had so much fun playing with the sketch this week over at Mojo Monday.  It is a great sketch.  I have so enjoyed using sketches lately because not only do they make my cardmaking time easier and more fun, but they seem to stretch my creativity as well.  I create cards in a way that I probably wouldn't do otherwise! 

We babysat our grandchildren this past week while my daughter and her husband went to church camp with the youth of their church.  My in-laws came down and spent three days with us.  They kept the grandkids Monday through Wednesday while I was at work.  (I took Thursday and Friday off from work.)  My mother-in-law had bottles washed, beds made, the baby fed, clothes washed, and lots more done when I got home in the evenings.  What a blessing!  So, I wanted to make a card to send to them to let them know how much we appreciated it, and how much we enjoyed having them.

The squares were punched using an old Creative Memories punch.  It was one of the first punches I purchased when I started scrapbooking.  It's good to get that stuff out and use it sometimes.  The flowers are a Cuttlebug die from the "With Gratitude" combo set.  The word "Thanks" is from that set as well.  The scalloped circle was cut using the Mini Monograms Cricut cartridge.  The scalloped border is the Martha Stewart Doily Lace Trim punch.  I covered the middle part of it up.  I added two blue brads and a few red ones that my husband took the "legs" off as well (technically making them flat gems).

Thanks so much for looking.  As always, you can click on the picture for a better look.

Here is the sketch:

A Prayer For You - My First Card for Cardabilities

I'm so excited to show you my very first card designed for Cardabilities!  We were given this great sketch to use, and I am in love with what the designers came up with!

I made the card for a friend who've been going through a tough time lately.  These are her favorite colors.  The inside says:  "God, please now my future see, make it clear where I should be. Open windows, close the doors, not my will, my God, but Yours."  The prayer was written by the author Karen Kingsbury for her book, "Fame."

I used several punches on this card:  Martha Stewart Heart Punch, Stampin' Up punches for the sentiment, and three flower punches.  The scalloped rectangles are Nestabilities, the cross is a Shapabilities die, and the flourishes are a Sizzlit die.  I embossed the background with my Cuttlebug and used a Fiskars border punch.

Hope you'll come on over and play with us at Cardabilities!

Here is the sketch:

And here is my card:

[click on the picture for a better look.]

Thanks so much for looking and for your comments!

Happy Hearts

Unlike my "mend soon" card, I really like this card.  It's probably because of the colors.  The heart idea for the bride and groom is not my idea.  I saw it on Splitcoast Stampers.  Several people, including Figaro and Momhom, had made similar cards, and I absolutely loved the idea!  This card is for a young couple getting ready to get married.  (I bet you couldn't have figured that out.  LOL.)

The card was made using sketch 72 at card patterns.  When I saw the sketch, I immediately knew I wanted to give it a shot.  A wedding card was perfect for it!  I punched the squares, rounded the corners, and layered them on scalloped squares that I also punched.  The label that the hearts are on was cut from the Storybook Cricut cartridge.  The hearts are Nestabilities.   I embossed the bride's dress with my Cuttlebug.  Believe it or not, I cut the little bow tie using my Cricut.  It was part of the groom's tux on the Sweethearts cartridge (I think I cut it at 6 1/4").   I added a few pearls to the bride's dress and the groom's tuxedo.  The flowers were in my stash.  I added a little Stickles to them.  The flourish is a Thickers sticker that I cut apart.

Here is the sketch:

And here is my interpretation of the sketch:

[CLICK ON THE PICTURE FOR A BETTER LOOK.]

Thanks for looking and for your kind words! 

Mend Soon

Sometimes you like them, and sometimes you don't!  This is a card I don't really care much for.  I think it is the colors.  It needs a punch of color or something.  But, considering the fact that I made it at 6:00 a.m. yesterday before heading to work, it will do!  The card is for a sweet lady at my church who fell and broke her ankle.  I have adopted her wonderful husband as my North Carolina father.  He gives me the best hugs every week, and since I can't get them from my own Daddy, who lives in Virginia, they are wonderful! 

The card was made from the latest sketch over at cardabilities.  In less than a week, my first card as a designer for that site will be revealed!  I'm excited!  In the meantime, I wanted to play along with the current sketch they have.  The butterfly is a Martha Stewart punch.  The large scallop circle was cut using the Storybook Cricut cartridge.  The small scalloped circles are punches.  I thought the sentiment "mend soon" would work well, since she has a broken bone.  It's kind of a play on the "get well soon" sentiment we all know and love.  The flowers are K&Co.  I also used a EKSuccess border punch on this one.  Quick, simple, and easy!

Here's the sketch and the card.

[CLICK ON THE PICTURE FOR A BETTER LOOK]

Thanks for looking and thanks in advance for those comments you leave.  They are very appreciated.

Poppy Time

I have done two layouts in a little over a week.  That's great for me because of working full time, and because I usually have so many cards to make (which I love).  This layout was done with the new sketch over at sketchabilities.  I loved the sketch, so was happy to get to play with it.

These pictures were taken in July of 2008 on one of our annual trips to a local lake.  We usually take our camper and hang out at the lake one weekend per summer.  My husband and my granddaughter are almost inseparable when we go.  He is her buddy and does such a great job at it.  I loved the pictures of them on the dock -- so peaceful!

The sun was cut using the Create a Critter Cricut cartridge.  The clouds were cut using the Zooballoo cartridge.  Poppy was cut using the Cuttin' Up cartridge, and "time" is the Cuttlebug typewriter font.  The scalloped circle was cut using Storybook and the fancy corner (which I love) is from the Sweethearts cartridge.  The white scalloped border strip is from Bazzill, to which I added a few skittles.  Flowers are K&Co. and the flourish is a Sizzlet die.  I journaled a little and put it on a pull out tag hidden behind the picture of my husband and my granddaughter.

TFL!  And thanks for your sweet comments.

Here is the sketch:

[CLICK FOR A BETTER LOOK]

Dear God . . . Please Let Me Pass!

I so wanted to try the sketch last week over at Stuck On U Sketches.  I got this one made, but it was too late to link it up.  Oh well.  It was a fun sketch to try, and I'm happy with how it turned out.  I've shown the sketch below and then my interpretation of it.

The pictures are from 2008 when my youngest daughter was opening the letter which held her CITA dental hygiene scores.  She had worried about this exam for months!  She had to find a patient who had not had a dental cleaning in quite some time and take them with her to Raleigh.  We had to pay for their gas, hotel, compensate them for their time, and pray they showed up!  LOL.  The patient did great, and these pictures show my daughter as she opened that letter.  The first picture is of her praying, and then her jubilation as she saw that she passed, and actually scored 100!  Woo hoo!

I used the Storybook Cricut cartridge for the "Dear God" and the small scalloped circle behind the flowers on the right page; Cindy Loo cartridge for the large flourish; Lacy Labels for the label behind the title; Primas flowers; a Spellbinders tag for the subtitle; and, a Sizzlit die for the small flourishes.  I added the yellow rectangle on the picture of the letter to hide personal info.  Thanks in advance for your comments. 

You can click on the picture for a better look.

Another Flower Has Bloomed In Heaven

A friend and former co-worker lost his Mom a few weeks ago to Alzheimer's.  The words that came to my mind to comfort him were these, "Another Flower Has Bloomed in Heaven."  I told him those words, and at first I thought I would use that sentiment on his card.  Then I decided, "No, I already told him that."  But, as time went by and how I would make a card for him kept running through my mind, I knew this was the right sentiment.  He sometimes glances at my blog, so I hesitated to post this, since he hasn't indicated that he received the card.  But, I couldn't wait any longer!  LOL.  I really do love how his card turned out.  And, I knew he would appreciate it!

The inside of the card says, "May you be surrounded by the love of family and friends, and may you feel God’s presence in this time of grieving."

The flower was cut using the Cindy Loo Cricut cartirdge. I cut the scalloped circle from the Lacy Labels Cricut Lite cartridge.  I printed the sentiment on my computer and cut it with a Spellbinders tag.  I also used some pearls and two buttons I had picked up at Joann's.

Hope you like it, and thanks for your comments!  You can get a closer look by clicking on the picture.