Celebrating Easter with My G-Baby

This year we are celebrating my little g-baby's first Easter.  I put together a little Easter basket with some baby treats and an outfit for her.  For her card I chose Fable Friends because of the sweet little bunny that it has in it.  I made the card to match the sign that I got for her in her Easter basket.  I love having a little one to celebrate with and make things for.  :)

I found this cute little sign that says You are SO Loved and bought it to hang up in the nursery.  The little lamb is from a country store that we went to last week.  I made the bunny card using the cut out and papers from the Hand Penned suite.

I think he is just so cute!  

And here is the little Bunny Girl herself all decked out for Easter and sporting her bunny rabbit ears!  

Sunny Day Cards

Recently I saw some really cute cards and tags made with the Sharing Sunshine stamp set.  It's a set that doesn't look like much until you start making things with it.  

I made this bright and sunny card and added a saying from Sunny Sentiments.  The papers are from Fine Art Floral.  I got the idea for this card from Meg Loven on Pinterest.

This next card is filled with Sunshine, too.  I really like this saying so I had to buy Celebrate with Flowers just to get it!  I used some older designer papers that I had lying around.  The yellow trim on the side is from Brilliant Rainbow dies.  Sweet, right?

For this next card I used Bermuda Bay cardstock and added some gingham papers from a few years ago.  The saying is from the Rainbow of Happiness set and the clouds are cut from the Rainbow papers that were in the last Sale-a-Bration.  This card is a fancy fold that I saw from the Kitchen Table Stamper.  

And the inside of the card has a surprise rainbow in it!  

For the final Sunshine card, I made this using Hand Penned designer papers, and added an old die called Sunshine Wishes.  I fussy cut the flowers from the paper.  I got the idea for this card from someone on Pinterest but can't find her name.  (Let me know if this is your card idea and I will give you the credit.)

Working with this stamp set and it's coordinating sayings was so much fun.  I will definitely be making more cards and projects filled with Sunshine!  :)

 

What is a Cloche?

 A cloche is a little dome that you put over something.  In the fall SU catalog, there are 2 new cloche sets to chose from.  They both use the same dome and cut out.  This set, called Classic Cloche, has a house stamp and some cute birds.  Even though the birds on my cards are not inside of the dome, I still like this look.  I copied the idea for these cards from Kerry Timms.  

Look how sweet the birds are sitting on a little branch!  I used the new sponge brush on the dome to shade it in and the flowers are from the Hand Penned stamp set.  

 This is pretty much the same card, only with a Soft Succulent background.  I love how these cards came out.  

Next up is this cards using the "book fold" at the side.  Here I featured the houses from the stamp set.  Then I tucked a little bird in the corner.  The roofs of the houses have Wink of Stella on them to give them a bit of a sparkle.  I cut out some little trees from the die cuts to finish the scene.  

Here is a sample of how to use the Cloche set for a Christmas card.  I put the little houses under the dome and added some snowflakes and sequins for a winter shaker card.  The paper is Beautifully Penned from the summer Sale-a-Bration selections.  I got this idea from Cheri's Cards.

Which one do you like the best?  It's nice to be able to use your stamp sets through many seasons, don't you think?

Birthday Thanks to My Friends

This year I celebrated one of my milestone birthdays at an outing with some of my friends.  We gathered together for the day and went to Olana, a historical home in Hudson set up on a hill along the river.  We toured the home and grounds and had great day together.  If you live near the Hudson River valley and haven't been there yet, you're in for a treat.  We had a great time!

For the Thank You cards, I took out an old set and mixed it with some new things.  I've been a SU demonstrator for 18 years and I have a LOT of stamp sets.  Bur surprisingly, I don't have a lot with women as friends in them.  

I paired this old stamp with some new Hand Penned papers and added the saying, "Life is better with a friend like you."  Seriously, I love how they came out.  

When I made the cards, I only had some scraps of the Hand Penned designer paper leftover from my class.  So I had to use a secondary color scheme to make all of the my cards with.  This time I added some Peach Parfait cardstock instead of Fresh Freesia to complete the cards.  I used the Hand Penned cards and envelopes for the base of the cards.  

I loved using this old set and making it into something "modern."  

Here I am with some of my friends along one of the the trails at Olana.  What a perfect day to celebrate my birthday!

 

 

Still More Hand Penned

For this card, I used the pink designer paper that comes with the Hand Penned suite for the inside.  I cut off 2 7/8" from the front of the card and used that piece for the focal point.  There is very little stamping on this card; the flowers are all cut from the designer papers.  

I put a piece of white cardstock on the inside flap so that you can sign the card.  I also added a small cut out flower to the white paper for embellishment (not shown in the photos).  

Here you can see the little box that I made to put the set of Hand Penned cards into.  Add a bow to finish it off.  Sweet, right?  

 

More Hand Penned

This card was made using the Hand Penned Memories and More cards & envelopes. They corrdinate so nicely with the Hand Penned suite.  I used the Curvy dies to cut the designer paper and then stamped a flower to add to the card.  I used a Stampin Blend marker to add some highlights to the flowers.  This made them stand out more.  The sentiment is stamped in black ink.

I will have to say that I thought the 6" card length was a weird length, so I cut 1/2" off of the side to make the card a standard 5 1/2" x 4 1/4."  They still fit into the envelope with a little extra room.  Have you used the Memories and More card fronts?  Did you think the size was just a bit too large?

The card idea is from Nicole Stalker.  

Up next is a pretty purple card using the Hand Penned.  I found the idea to use a vase from LeAnn Pugliese.  I cut out a vase shape from silver cardstock and embossed it using the Tasteful Textile folder.  Don't you think it adds so much to the card?

I never used to like making cards with purple, but since we've added the Highland Heather to our cardstock choices, I think I really like the purples now.  I used the background stamp from the Very Versailles set for the right side of the card and added the pretty cardstock to the left side.  

I stamped the flower image and a couple of other smaller flowers for the background.  I think this is my favorite Hand Penned card so far.  For the first card, the edging is cut with the strip in Penned Flowers and in the second card, I used the Scalloped Contours edge.  Which one do you like better?

 

Hand Penned Cards

I have to admit, I didn't know for sure if I wanted to get the Hand Penned stamp set with its matching die cuts and beautiful designer papers.  :)

But after seeing so many samples that people were making on Pinterest and Facebook, I knew that I would love it!

And I do!  I also ordered the Memories and More card pack and matching envelops to complete the set.  I love how it coordinates with so many different colors.  

For this card, I used Misty Moonlight for the background and added the pretty paper to the cardstock.  I stamped the image with black ink and used the stamp set with ink pads to color in the flowers.  The stamps give the image a wonderful watercolor look.  

I added a couple of die cuts from the new Scallop Contours set.  The Thank You is heat embossed with white powders.  I got the idea for this from Jan Musselman.

I used the envelopes from the Cards & Envelope set but added a bit of the blue designer paper to the flap on the back so that it would match.  I love how it all came together.

And finally, I made a little box to put the set of card in.  What a sweet set to work with!