The Big 5-0!

My brother-in-law turned 50 last week.  Of course I had to make him a card indicating such a huge birthday.  This card was done using the current sketch over at Cardabilities.  It was another fun sketch!  I love using sketches!

Hope you can play along with us!

Here's the sketch:

And here is my card:

Tears Are God's Gift To Us

This was one of the hardest sympathy cards I have ever made.  A 17 year old girl at our church was killed recently in a tragic, senseless act.  She had gone to a party with friends and was leaving with some friends when her former boyfriend's cousin threw a brick paving stone at the car she was a passenger in.  The stone came through the window and hit her in the stomach.  Her friends didn't take her to the hospital right away, and by the time they did, it was too late.  Her liver had been lacerated, and she had bled internally.  They transported her by helicopter to a trauma hospital, but she died on the operating table.  Her mother seems to be so strong.  She even got up and spoke at her funeral.  I really, really want to do something special for her Mom.  I had thought of doing a scrapbook, but then learned that the daughter scrapbooked, so another scrapbook might not be the best thing for her.  I also learned that several of her daughter's friends have made scrapbooks for her.  I'm going to call her this week.  My two thoughts are these:  (1) decorate a box for her to put the cards in that she has received (I'm sure there are hundreds of them though); or make some thank you notes for her to send.  I know I can't make enough thank you notes for her, but I could make a few anyway.  It's one of those times when you just want to do something and feel so helpless.

I used the current sketch over that Mojo Monday for the card.  It is a great sketch.  The girl had four initials, so that worked perfectly for the four squares on the sketch.  I used a punch for the scalloped squares and layered four white squares cut using the George Cricut cartridge on top of them.  I cut the initials using the Fancy Pants Cuttlebug font.  I also used a Cuttlebug flower embossing folder for the flowers.  The scalloped edge is from Bazzill.  I found the quote on the internet. 

I sure hope her family is somehow comforted with this card.  If you are a praying person, please pray for the Chisom family.

Here is the sketch:

And here is my card:

Thanks for your prayers, and for your sweet comments.

Have I Told You Lately What A Nice Human You Are?

This card was made for a sweet attorney at my office.  She loves animals, and has two beautiful German shepherds.  I knew she would like this little pooch on her card.   The dog is one of those wooden pre-painted pieces you see at craft stores.  I think I picked this one up at Hobby Lobby.  Isn't he cute?  The inside of the card says, "So, you wanna share some birthday cake?  Happy Birthday!"

Hope you like it.

Birthday Wishes

Happy Saturday everyone!  I hope to get into my scrapbook room today and make at least a couple of cards.  I have one more birthday card to make for August (for a total of 12 this month) and I have three sympathy cards to make. 

Anyway, to the card at hand -- it is my Mom's birthday card.  I am quickly running out of ideas for cards for her, but thought she would always enjoy seeing an old photo of herself.  I started with this great K&Co. paper given to me by my friend Lynn.  I added the scalloped octagon Nestabilities die cut (with some purple pearls for an added touch) and a Making Memories glittered frame over the photo.  I made a lace flower by folding and twirling the lace over a punched circle and gluing as I went.  Then I added a Prima flower on top of that.  I also used a couple of EKSuccess border punches with some purple pearls.  The little butterfly is a Martha Stewart punch.  The birthday wishes tag was in my stash, but I think it is made by Making Memories.

On the inside I punched some flowers, added a border punched strip and my sentiment.  The flourish is a Sizzlit die.

Hope you like it! 

To Our Sweet Girl

So many August birthdays!  It's been such a busy cardmaking month for me.  And I have three more to go.  But, that's ok.  I love making cards.  This one is for our sweet granddaughter, who turned 5 last week.  It's hard to believe!  And she'll be starting kindergarten next week.  Where has the time gone?!?  She is the reason I scrapbook.  I started making a book for her before she was born.  And she is the star of so many of my pages.

I made this card using the little turtle from the Paisley Cricut cartridge.  I've been wanting to use that turtle, and thought it would be cute for her birthday card.  I layered it on one of the labels from the Lacy Labels Cricut Lite cartridge.  I added some wide ribbon I had in my stash, and a punch using a Recollections border punch.  I put little pearls on the punched flowers.  The sentiment is computer generated of course.  I also added some K & Co. flowers that were in my stash.

Hope you like it!

Our Family Is a Bunch of Nuts!

I made this fun birthday card for my aunt.  She is so sweet, and has a great sense of humor.  She is only 9 years older than me, so she's really like a big sister, although she's this tiny little petite lady!  She and I talk on the phone often and laugh a lot.  She will certainly get the humor of this card.

I started the card by cutting the nut from the Create A Critter Cricut cartridge.  I then cut it again with the flip feature turned on.  I scored one of them about an inch from the top and glued the tops together.  Because the card is not flat on the bottom, it didn't want to sit up, but the squirrel helped it.  I cut the squirrel from that same cartridge. The sentiment is computer generated and punched.  I added some gems and some Recollections flowers.  The inside says, "Happy birthday from one nut to another."

Hope you like it!  Thanks for your comments.

A Huge Piece of Cake

A great friend and former co-worker is having a birthday this month.  I always try to make a card for her birthday, and I found another great sketch over at Card Patterns.  I like how this card turned out.  I used some wide pink ribbon, and a new Recollections border bunch.  I added some little pearls on the punch.  I also used a Nestabilities die, and some punches to set off the K&Co. cake embellishment.  The inside sentiment says, "Wishing You a Very Happy Birthday and A Huge Piece of Cake!"

Hope you like it!  I appreciate your comments.  They of course make my day.

Here is the sketch:

And here is my card:

(Click on the picture for a better look.)

Happy Birthday Isaiah!

My wonderfully sweet grandson turned one this weekend.  He is just so cute and lovable.  He has his Mimi wrapped around his little finger for sure (as does my granddaughter).  I made this birthday card for him. 

I cut the Elmo from the Elmo's Party Cricut cartridge.  I thought he looked like he was celebrating something!  He was -- celebrating Isaiah's first birthday.  LOL.  I layered the Elmo and the frame and used primary colors (the colors of his birthday party).  I punched the word "you're" and layered it, along with some little gems.  The "1" was cut using the Base Camp cartridge.  I layered it with some punched scalloped circles and then put it on a star from the George cartridge.  I also used a Martha Stewart border punch on the card.

Here is a picture of the birthday boy before the cupcake --

And here is a picture of the birthday boy after digging into his giant cupcake -- my little Smurf!

You can barely see his name on the cupcake.  I cut the letters out using the Base Camp cartridge, and we put them on toothpicks and then stuck them into the cupcake.

Thanks for looking and for your comments.

May Your Birthday Be As Wonderful As You Are!

It's another reveal day over at Cardabilities.  We had a very unique and fun sketch to use this time.  I used the sketch to make my youngest daughter's birthday card.  Hard to believe my baby is 24! 

My daughter's favorite color is purple, so I used that color, and added some teal to it.  I had this great paper that my friend Lynn gave me for my birthday, and it was perfect for this card.  I cut four circles of different sizes with my Cricut using the George cartridge, shadowed them, embossed part of them, and layered them in the corners like the sketch.  I added some off white lace (that you can barely see in the picture) behind the circles.  I added a heart and butterfly punched with my Martha Stewart punches, aand some small purple pearls, and a little ribbon.  The sentiment is computer generated.  Of course the inside says, "be as wonderful as you are.  Happy Birthday."

Here is the sketch:

And here is my card:

Hope you'll join us and make a card with this fun sketch.

Thanks for looking!

You're Still My Prince Charming

I made this card for my husband for our anniversary this week.  I finished it at 11:45 the night before our anniversary -- nothing like waiting until the last minute!  It's not my favorite card ever, but at that time of the night, I just had to finish it.  He's gotten two frog cards from me this year.  I think I need to change critters!  LOL.

The frog, crown and the words "prince charming" came from the Create A Critter Cricut cartridge.  I also used a button from my stash, a couple of skittles and an EKSuccess border punch.  The yellow embellishment on the inside is a Spellbinders die.  I had a leftover postage stamp die cut from a previous card that was cut using the Base Camp Cricut cartridge that I used on the inside as well.  I printed the remaining sentiment on my computer and punched it out.  I also added a couple of little heart punches.  It's a simple card, yet hopefully conveyed the message.  :o)

Thanks for looking!

Hope Your Birthday . . .

Our neighbor celebrated his birthday this week.  He loves funny cards, so this is the card I made for him.  You just can't beat the "Create a Critter" cartridge to help you out with birthdays!  I love this little cow!  I cut the postage stamp background for the card from the Base Camp Cricut cartridge.  I then selected "flip" and cut it again.  I scored one approximately one inch from the top and then glued them together.  I'll probably be making quite a few more of these cards.  I really liked the look of the shape.  I of course cut the cow from Create a Critter, and put it on a circle cut from the George cartridge, and layered that on a Nestabilities die.  I used a Martha Stewart border punch as well.  The sentiment was computer generated and punched.  I thought it turned out cute!

The inside says, "is 'UDDERLY' fantastic!"

Hope you like it!  Thanks for looking and for your comments.

Wishing You A Happy Birthday

I made this card for a dear friend celebrating a birthday.  I have lots and lots of August birthdays.  In fact, before the end of August, I will have made 11 birthday cards and one anniversary card.  What a busy month!

This card was made using the current sketch over at Card Patterns.  It was an easy sketch to follow, and I am pleased with the card.  Here's the recipe:

I used Winnie's Walls SEI papers.  Love them!  I cut the background label using the Cricut Lite Lacy Labels cartridge.  I think it is the "hugs" cut.  I took a Cuttlebug die and cut it in orange glitter paper and cut it in half to put behind the label for a little added color and dimension.  The photo corner is also a Cuttlebug die.  The gift is from the Celebrate with Flourish Cricut Lite cartridge.  "Happy Birthday" on the inside of the card was also cut using that cartridge.  The scalloped circles at the bottom of the card were cut using the Accent Essentials cartridge.  I also added some lace and pearls, a Prima flower, and the sentiment was cut using a Spellbinders die.  On the inside, I used an EKSuccess border punch and the small red circles are a Cuttlebug die from the Baby Face alphabet set.
Here is the sketch:

Here is my take:

Hope you like it!  Thanks in advance for your kind words!

Happy Birthday (to Hubby)

This is my hubby's birthday card that I barely got made in time for his birthday today.  I had a tough time coming up with something this year.  He would much rather have a funny card than a sweet card.  So, after looking around and thinking, and looking and thinking some more, I decided that the strong man on the Carousel Cricut lite cartridge would work just fine.  I cut the strong man at 4" and layered it on the Nestabilities scalloped octagon die (which is embossed with my Cuttlebug).  I also used a couple of little star punches, layered them, and then added little blue pearls.  I used an EK Success border punch as well.  The happy birthday metal slider was in my stash. The arrows were cut with DCWV chipboard using Cuttlebug dies.  The arrows work for the Frosted Designs challenge this week.  And believe it or not, I just missed the challenge.  I rushed to get the pictures taken, but when I went to link the card, I found I was too late.  Oh well, next time I'll know that I can't wait until Thursday night to participate!

The inside of the card says, "to my STRONG, handsome, hunk of a husband."

Hope you like it.  And thanks for your sweet comments.

And here is our 4 year old granddaughter's card that she made for my husband.  She used extra cuts that she found laying in my scrapbook room that hadn't been used.  I think her Mom helped her punch the heart out of felt.  My granddaughter asked me, "Isn't it the most beautiful card ever?"  And of course I said, "It sure is!"  She's so sweet!  She asked me if we could put a picture of her card on the computer, so I told her we would put it on Mimi's website.  :o)

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!