Not-quite-right engagement card

I made this engagement card for my husband's cousin. It features a partially embossed background, rows of scallops accented with black gems, silver embossed letters and a white and black layered flower with pearl center. It was a bit of a rush job and I don't quite think I nailed it.

I think it's missing something at the bottom. I probably should have added another row of scallops, but my EK Success Embossed Curve Slim Edger Border Punch was being impossible and kept jamming. Usually EK Success border punches are pretty good but this one has been a dud since I bought it, always jamming and ripping the paper. I wasn't that surprised when using thinner weight scrapbook paper but I expected it to be fine with cardstock. I did just Google this and saw a video on YouTube where they layered thinner paper with cardstock in order to make the paper thick enough to punch, so I'll definitely try this out to see if that will help make this punch work.

I was going to stamp "Congratulations" on the bottom of the card to fill up that white space but I was afraid of messing it up, since I was rushing. Also I tend to overdo it a lot and struggle with keeping things simple so had second thoughts. What do you think?

Yellow butterfly thank you card

Finally getting around to posting one of the other "end of the year" thank you notes I made. This one was for my daughter's babysitter. She likes yellow. Totally not a color I usually reach for unless it's super bright, but I liked this butter yellow cardstock and I think it came together nicely with the piece of flowered patterned paper that happened to be on my desk. The yellow in the patterned paper is actually closer to the color of the cardstock in person that in this photo. The butterflies are stamped, cut out, raised up with pop dots and finished with jewels. Overall a cute and easy card to put together.

Bat Mitzvah Photo Book

Click here to view this photo book larger

Shutterfly offers exclusive layouts and designs so you can make your book just the way you want.

 

OK so normally I wouldn't share something like this but when Shutterfly offered me the ability to post to my blog the photo book I made for my niece's Bat Mitzvah, something possessed me to click yes. I guess I'm kind of proud of it -- it took me a long time to put together, both due to my own fault and Shutterfly's. Yes I know it is a little weird that some of the layouts are sideways, but I didn't realize that they don't offer an 8.5 by 11 PORTAIT option (so annoying!). I had already created the layouts (with some modifications in journaling) for my regular scrapbooks and ran out of time to adjust them all so they work landscape. Still., I think it looks pretty good and I am excited to see the printed book, especially since this is my first all digital bound book.

 

Bold Ballerina thank you card

It's the end of the school year. It's thank you season. Teachers, coaches, babysitters, you name it, whatever your child is moving on from, you need to give a thank you. I didn't want to spend a ton on thanks yous this year so I decided to include a handmade card. I made the outsides and my daughter scribbled all over decorated the insides.

First up was a card for my daughter's dance teacher. I wanted to create a special card because she was so patient with my hesitant daughter, even buying her special stickers to entice her to go on stage at the recital and holding her her entire time they were backstage. I decided to make something that reflected their recital costume.

 

I made the leotard by freehand cutting the shape out of yellow cardstock and running it through my Texture Boutique to emboss the swirls. Then I experimented with a few different ways to make the tutu (folding a doily, overlapping scalloped circles cut from vellum) and then I remembered I had crepe paper left from my daughter's birthday party. It took a few minutes to pleat and gather the tops to form a half circle but I think the effect really works. I used glue dots to adhere. Dressed it up with some gems, a strip of glittery patterned paper, a yellow border made with the EK Success Moroccan Lace border punch and pink gingham ribbon tied in a knot. Stamped the sentiment (which was harder that I expected because it's a wood mount stamp and I have gotten so used to using clear stamps) and it was ready to go.

Mother's Day hexagon card

So I may have gone a little crazy with the hexagons, buying not only one but all three sizes of the Fiskars squeeze punches and a Darice embossing folder. So I had to make use of them on this Mother's Day card. If you haven't used the Fiskars squeeze punches before, check them out. They do really make punching easy. You can even make chevrons with the hexagon so they're pretty versatile.

On to the card. I used kraft colored cardstock that I ran through my Texture Boutique using a the chevron embossing plate. Then I punched six patterned paper scraps that were on my desk with the largest sized hexagon punch. I stamped the sentiment with pink chalk ink onto white cardstock then trimmed the edge by putting the strip through the punch from the top, so that it just cut one side. I adhered it with foam tape over one of the hexagons. Then I punched flowers from three of the papers, adhered with with foam tape and topped each one with a pink pearl.

Valentine, You Make My Heart Glow

Well Valentine's Day was almost two weeks ago but I'm just getting around to looking at our photos from that week and it occurred to me that I should share the super cute valentines that I made for my daughter to hand out to her schoolmates. I thought she would want to paint or draw something but that didn't seem to be happening so instead I had her help me make these.

They were totally inspired by several that I saw on Pinterest. None of them were quite what I had in mind so I designed my own printable. This really couldn't have been any easier or inexpensive -- print, cut, punch holes, poke glow stick through. I bought the glow bracelets at Michaels, last summer I believe. I think there were 15 in the tube and it cost $1.

We decided to write the kids names and use some pink glitter glue on the heart, but neither is really necessary. You or your kids could color in the letters or decorate in some other way. My daughter chose to make a few half-hearted scribbles on the back.

I made a printable that you and your child can personalize -- feel free to download it and use it for your valentines next year!

Download valentine printable

4th birthday boy card

Yes, I have been crafting. Here and there. No I have not been blogging. Anywhere.

Here's a quick card that I made for a four-year-old whose birthday party my daughter went to over the weekend. I got to make it in the time that my daughter made her own card. Hers mostly involved scribbles, so I had to pull this together pretty quickly.

Ran some scrap navy cardstock through my Texture Boutique (really almost typed Bowtique there -- entirely too much Mickey Mouse Clubhouse has been playing at our house) for the background. Cut some scraps into banners using the quick square punch technique. (Just slide the end of the strip into a large square punch at a 45 degree angle, squeeze and you've got a banner.) Stamped the birthday boy's name letter by letter onto white cardstock, cut out freehand and edged with blue ink. Stole a foam number four from my daughter's craft stash, tied around a piece of bakers twine and the card was done. With 20 minutes to spare before we had to leave for the party. Whew!

Funny, I looked back at cards I've made for the same kid the past two years, and apparently I think banners and bunting when I think of him.

Last year's card:

The year before:

I'm definitely going to have to come up with something new next year!