Pear Blossom EZ Lights on A Special Card for My Teenage Grandson

I am blessed with two grandsons I adore and one of them is teenager now. It is sometimes hard to make cards for teens but they all love their video games and phones, right? In my newest video here, I show how to make a special light up card using EZ Lights from Pear Blossom Press. Just look at what happens when the "push here" button is pushed:

The phone and game console light up! How cool is that? I used stamps from Paper Smooches, Clearly Besotted, Lawn Fawn and Heffy Doodle on this card. I continued the gamer theme on the inside with a Spellbinders die:

I had so much fun designing with the EZ Lights and am told this week they should be back in stock and are 15% off with the coupon code BACKINSTOCK for one week. I am sure you know some special kids of all ages who would love to receive a card that lights up, and believe me the name EZ LIGHTS is perfect as they are so easy to install. Watch my video here and I hope that inspires you to give light up cards a try.

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday.

Anything Goes 4 Kids OR Valentine/Love Cards 4 Kids at SAS4Kids

It’s Saturday and time for another fun challenge at Send a Smile 4 Kids! This year, all challenges at SAS4Kids are Anything Goes 4 Kids! We will have an alternative theme that you can choose to follow, but are not required to. Create and link any card that is appropriate for a child and you could be chosen as one of our top three cards and be eligible to join us as a guest dt member.

The theme for this challenge is: Anything Goes 4 Kids OR Valentine/Love Cards 4 Kids. I chose to make a shaker Valentine card for this challenge. I die cut a heart from Simon Says Stamp, “happy” from Frantic Stamper and “day” from Sue Wilson and then attached acetate behind the openings. I stamped and paper pieced some cute critters from Paper Smooches. Then I created a well with two layers of mounting tape and dumped a bunch of red and pink sequins in for my shaker elements. Love how this card turned out and I think any child would be happy to receive it!

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenge at Dies R Us. and in the in the Something New challenge at Simon Says Stamp Monday and at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday. (Some of the dies and stamps are new.)

Sweet Spotted CAS Card for Grandson and More Fun News

Day three at the Sparkle and Shine Online Card Class was all about liquid drops and products. As a member of the USA Tonic Studios blog team, I was so happy to again see our awesome Nuvo products recommended by the instructors! I love Nuvo Crystal Drops and use them all the time, but never tried a three layer eyeball and that was one of the tips I learned today. I tried it on the Adorable Elephant die cut (from Tonic Studios) and it is a sweet touch. I also colored his spots and dots with several colors of Nuvo Glitter Markers. I die cut the dotted "hi" with a die from Paper Smooches and filled in the dots with a lime green Nuvo Crystal Drops and dotted the i with a black Crystal Drop. I die cut the letters "evan" with Tonic's Attraction Lower Case Simple dies and colored the letters with red and yellow Crystal Drops. Here is a peak at the adorable grandson who will love this card: 

I am entering this card in the Going Dotty challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge.

MORE FUN NEWS: I have had another card and tutorial published at AllFreePaperCrafts.com. Here is a sneak peak:

Click on this link to find out how to use dish soap and glitter to make an awesome masculine card. As always, comments are welcome. 

Thanks for helping me #spread the joy of creativity!

Best Fishes with Uchi's Design Animated Stamps and Die

I have been having so much fun playing with the brand new animated stamps and dies I received from Uchi's Design. Today I am sharing another card I created with the DC105 Slider Circle Die and the grid and stamp that comes with that die set. I watched this video from Uchi's Design before I started to design which explains how to make an animated card with this die set and how the fish moves using the slider on the bottom of the card. I started with a blue card base that I cut to 5" by 12" and folded according to the video's instructions. (The video by Uchi's Design recommends dimensions of 5 3/4" x 12" so the folded card fits into a 6" x 6" envelope. I made mine to fit into an envelope I had that was about 5" x 7".)

Here are the steps I used to make this card:

1. I die cut the circle in the front of the card with one of the circle dies in the DC105 set.

2. I die cut and embossed the frame with a bubbles embossing folder from Tim Holtz and added some heart bubbles punched with a Martha Stewart punch. 

3. I stamped the fish that is included in the DC105 Slider Circle Die Set on white cardstock and attached it to the inside of the cardbase so it shows through the framed circle.

4. I die cut the slider with a stitched die from My Creative Time and stamped it with a perfect sentiment stamp from Joy's Life. Then I punched a couple arrows and popped them up on the slider to encourage the recipient to slide it back and forth. The slider is attached with two layers of mounting tape as shown in Uchi's Design instructional video linked above. Here is a video I made showing the animation when the slider is moved:

**Edited to add: I have made and added a more complete video showing this card and others I have made as well as all the products from Uchi's Design and imbedded it here. To see on YouTube and perhaps become a subscriber, here is a direct link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rdkokaL_Lc

The card is closed with mounting tape so the grid stays inside and is moved with the slider. I added a lighter blue piece to the back of the card with another perfect sentiment from the Joy's Life stamp set and a fun fish from Paper Smooches where I can sign the card.

I think any kid or kid at heart would love to receive this fun animated card! I hope you have a fintastic day!

Thanks for helping me #spread the joy of creativity!

Worm Wishes B-earthday Magic Card

I received a special request for birthday cards for very small children and I thought they might like a magic card that comes to life with color when opened. I haven't made one of these in years, but recently purchased a Magic Card Kit from The Paper Cut that gave me all the pieces to easily make them. I stamped the worm on acetate with black Staz-on and sentiment on a bright orange circle using stamps from a set by Paper Smooches. Look at the magic when the blue tab is pulled:

I paper pieced the colorful birthday worm and stamped the perfect sentiment from the same Paper Smooches set. The worm gets stamped on acetate and on the pull out white cardstock in the same place so the magic happens when the tab is pulled. There are many videos available on how to make magic cards like this one. The kits from The Paper Cut makes them so easy because all the cutting and scoring is done. 

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge.

Summery Christmas Card Challenge

Recently I was introduced to Paperless Post, a card company who is running an interesting challenge. They were looking for designers to create Christmas cards with a summer theme. I checked out their new Christmas cards on line here and even though I only make my own cards for Christmas and other holidays, I decided to accept their challenge. If you are too busy to make your own holiday cards, you should check out the on line and other card options at Paperless Post here.

A friend and member of my Send a Smile 4 Kids design team lives in Australia and she says it is very hot there at Christmas time and her Santa wears shorts. I started picturing Santa on a warm beach and came up with this textured "Warm Wishes" card: 

I cut a blue A2 sized card base and applied Tonic Studio's Nuvo Lemon Sorbet Embellishment Mousse through a Memory Box stencil for the sunshine. I die cut Memory Box's "warm wishes" border out of two sided tape paper by Sookang and then dumped Summer Mudd Puddles sand over it for the sandy beach. I die cut a yellow beach chair and the red flip flops with a die from Impression Obsession. I stamped the Santa hat out of a red and white scrap with a Paper Smooches stamp and paper pieced them together. The floral Christmas trees were created with stamps by Kitchen Sink Stamps.

I had fun challenging myself to try a different type of Christmas card. When it is cold and snowy this December in Wisconsin, I will pick a special friend to send these "Warm Wishes" to.

But it is still summer now, so I am entering this card in the Summer Fun challenge at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

Brusho Rose Hello

I was playing with my Brushos and some dies and came up with this card recently. I deliberately aimed lighter colors in the center and darker on the edges of a piece of watercolor paper and then when it was dry, I stamped a rose from Penny Black. I framed the rose with a stitched die from Lawn Fawn and added a die cut Hello from Paper Smooches.

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenge at Scrapy Land and the Fabulous Florals challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wed. Challenge.

Anything Goes 4 Kids at Send a Smile 4 Kids!

It’s Saturday and time for another fun challenge at Send a Smile 4 Kids! This time our challenge is Anything Goes 4 Kids!  Create and link any card appropriate for a child, and you could win one of our great prizes.

We have three very generous sponsors for this challenge: Flat Friends Boutique is giving their winner 6 digis of their choice!  Crafty Sentiments is giving their randomly picked winner 3 digis!  And Stitchy Bear Digital Outlet’s winner gets a $6 gift certificate! TEAM S.A.S will also be choosing their favorite cards for our top three and the winners will receive a blog badge and an opportunity to be a guest design team member on a future challenge.

My first card above features a sweet digi from Flat Friends Boutique called "Bear Hug." I paper pieced the bear and his friend's clothes and popped them up with pop dots on a patterned piece of green cardstock. I added a couple button hearts and stamped a big hug sentiment.

My second card features a cute giraffe from Crafty Sentiments called Gaffi. I created a background with patterned cardstock, some strips of embossed cardstock and a stitched wavy circle. I paper pieced Gaffi and attached a "hey" greeting cut with a die cut from Paper Smooches.

I am entering these cards in the Anything Goes challenges at Wonderful Wednesdays and Crafty Sentiments Designs.

Faux Marble Cards with Rubber Cement

I was totally inspired by this blog post by Ink Stained Roni to run out and get some rubber cement and try her Faux Marble technique with my Brushos and watercolor paper. She has several variations of the technique and I decided to try the one on the blog post I linked where she put down a layer of lighter colored Brushos and water on the paper, then drizzled on the rubber cement. After it was dry, she then sprinkled on some darker Brusho Coloured Crystals and spritzed with water before removing the rubber cement with an adhesive eraser. I decided to use iridescent gold Glimmer Mist spray for the top layer so it sparkles and then I spattered on black and gold dots made with black distress ink and a gold spray from Heidi Swapp. Here is what the pieces looked like when done:

I decided to cut the blue background with a Simon Says Stamp Mod Circle Frame, then remove the frame part after attaching the inside pieces to the front of an A2 white card. I added a "hey" from Paper Smooches for my greeting. My green card was cut with a stitched border die from My Favorite Things and then I stamped in the opening with a new set from Stampin' Up. I raised the two stitched pieces on pop dots when attaching to the white card base, and then I added a couple animal silhouette die cuts from Penny Black.

I like making my BBCB backgrounds larger than I need for my card so I can tape down the piece to prevent water warping and so I have extra pieces of the background to punch or add to the inside like this one:

I am entering the blue card in the "Frame It Out" challenge at Wags 'n Whiskers, and the Anything Goes challenge at Jo's Scrap Shack.

Funny story- when buying the rubber cement at my local Target for a whopping $1.79, I had to produce photo ID or they would not have let me buy it. They are required to do this because if I was buying large quantities, I might be making meth with it. I told the clerk it was for my addiction- crafting and making cards. And if I had fun with it, I might be back to buy some more to share with my classes. Who needs drugs and alcohol when this brings me such joy?! Although a little alcohol does pass these lips I admit:)

CAS (Clean and Simple) 4 Kids Challenge at SAS4Kids

It’s Saturday and time for another fun challenge at Send a Smile 4 Kids! This time our challenge is CAS 4 Kids! Create and link any Clean and Simple card for a child, and you could win one of our great prizes.

We have three very generous sponsors for this challenge: Bugaboo is giving their winner 7 digis of their choice!  Lacy Sunshine is giving their randomly picked winner 3 digis!  And Kitchen Sink Stamp’s winner gets a $25 gift certificate! TEAM S.A.S will also be choosing their favorite cards for our top three and the winners will receive a blog badge and an opportunity to be a guest design team member on a future challenge.

My first CAS card features a sweet colored digi from Bugaboo called Cute Puppy. I simply printed him on cardstock, added a fun sentiment (coming soon at Repeat Impressions) and some colored gems, then layered on a blue card base. CAS and sweet and I think one of our kids would love this card.

My second CAS card features a sweet digi from Lacy Sunshine called Suzy Shell's Sleepy Time Baby. I paper pieced Suzy and her baby and their quilts and framed them with a circle cut out with a stitched circle die from My Creative Time. The "hello" die is from Paper Smooches and the "kiddo" is coming soon from Repeat Impressions. I raised the blue frame piece with mounting tape when I attached it to a white top folding card base.

I am entering these cards in the Anything Goes challenges at Sassy Studios and Addicted to Stamps and More.

Sup? Masculine Card

What's sup? I used my favorite new embossing folder from Spellbinders to make this masculine card recently. I started with a dp that looks like fabric, then embossed with the Fabric Weave embossing folder and rubbed black ink over the top of the raised parts. Love the look! I layered it on a black card base and attached the Contemporary Circles die cut also from Spellbinders. "Sup" is a fun stamp from Paper Smooches.

I am entering this card in the Masculine challenge at Simon Says Stamp, the texture challenge at Cards 4 Guyz and the Anything Goes challenge at 613 Avenue Create. 

No Mistakes and No Waste with BB or CB

BB/CB stands for Bisters, Brushos or Color Burst in my world and they are still my favorite card making colors to play with. I  belong to a Facebook group of stampers and artists from all over the world sharing ideas and projects using these three color crystals and I have learned so much from all of them. If you would like to be inspired and join the group, send me your email address via the contact feature on the side of the blog and I would be happy to extend an invitation to you. This card started out to be a disaster and then evolved into something I really like. I tried stamping some flowers on watercolor paper first, then creating a colorful background with cling wrap and natural, yellow and green Bister powders spritzed with gold shimmer spray. The flowers almost totally disappeared, but a hint of a purple flower is in the center left- see it? But I still liked the shimmer and color of the piece, so I die cut it with Simon Says Stamp's Mod Circle Frame and re-assembled the pieces on a brown card base. I added a fun sentiment from Paper Smooches.

And because I do not like to waste any of my gorgeous BB/CB pieces, I took the SSS Mod Circle Frame and attached to a white card base. I added more of the fun sentiments from the Paper Smooches set and some green dp and made a card for a teen's birthday.

I am entering these cards in the Let's Get Sentimental challenge at Simon Says Stamp and the Beautiful Background challenge at DRS Designs.

Pastel Colors 4 Kids Challenge at Send a Smile 4 Kids

It’s Saturday and time for another fun challenge at Send a Smile 4 Kids! This time our challenge is Pastel Colors 4 Kids! Create and link any pastel colored card for a child and you could win one of our great prizes.

We have three very generous sponsors for this challenge: Milk Coffee Stamps is giving their winner 3 digis of their choice! The Cutting Café is giving their randomly picked winner 3 digi or cutting files!  And All Dressed Up Stamp’s winner gets 2 digis of their choice! TEAM S.A.S will also be choosing their favorite cards for our top three and the winners will receive a blog badge and an opportunity to be a guest design team member on a future challenge.

My first card above features a very sweet girl from All Dressed Up Stamps. I printed her on a white cardbase and again on several dp pieces and cream cardstock, then paper pieced her completely. I attached two blue dp panels with pop dots to raise and the Happy Birthday (Memory Box) banner across the inside piece. I used large gems to cover up the glue dots used to attach the vellum banner.

My second pastel card features a sweet digi from MilkCoffee called Charlotte and the Bunny Love Balloon which I printed on the front of a white cardbase. Then I cut around the side of the printed digi and paper pieced her in pastel dps. I attached another pink dp in the inside of the card and attached a cheery "hello" from Paper Smooches.

I am entering these cards in the Spring challenges at Simon Says Stamp and Cute Card Thursday, the Anything Goes challenge at All Dressed Up and the Design Team Showcase.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I am sharing the Valentine I sent to my BFF who is enjoying the warmth far away from frigid Wisconsin. I love using the positives and negatives of dies and the Sketch Heart from Simon Says Stamp works beautifully for that. I die cut it several times out of white and deep red to create this card. I also die cut the sentiment out of an alphabet die from Die-Versions. This is what the inside looks like:

One more sketch heart and a "friend" from Paper Smooches. I am finding I am using die cuts even more than stamps lately.

 I am entering this card in the Valentines challenge at Scrap and Craft and the Anything Goes challenge at Scrapper's Delights.

Happy Birthday Friend Screen Divider Card

I love fun folds and making a screen divider card allows the designer to have fun on all four flaps of this card. I started with a 12 x 8 piece of embossed cardstock from Coor'dinations and scored at 3. 6 and 9 inches. I punched the top with a large present border punch from Martha Stewart and punched the bottom with a Stampin' up label punch. The front is a blue foil cardstock that was embossed with an embossing folder from Embossalicious and then sanded. I added a "friend" diecut  from Paper Smooches. I die cut Classy Girl and her shopping bag accessories from Creative Time, then created a shopping bag money holder to match. The circular word dies are from IO Dies. I punched happy birthday with another Martha Stewart punch and left the floral piece blank for a personal greeting and signature. I did a little sponging and added a couple gems to complete the card. The folded card fits into a business sized envelope.

This is what the card looks like closed and from the top:

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenge at 613 Avenue Create and Scribble and Scrap.

BFF Christmas Card

This is the card I created for my best friend and her husband for Christmas. The sentiment- which is perfect- is from a set by Close to My Heart. I heat embossed a Penny Black tree scene with some super sparkly blue embossing powder from Stampamania. I popped up a frame and acetate and created a shake card with sequins and glass beads. This is what the inside looks like:

I tried a new fold, and the diecuts are all from Paper Smooches. It is fun to try new looks on special cards for special people.

I am entering this card in the Winter or Christmas challenges at Love's Rubberstamps and at Crafty Sentiments Designs.

TTCRD Anything Goes Challenge

It’s Tuesday and time for another Through the Craft Room Door challenge. As always the theme is my favorite, Anything Goes! There is a new challenge every Tuesday at TTCRD. I am on Team A and this week is our turn to post our cards. The sponsor this week is The Stamping Boutique and the prize is 2 digis (3 if the winner used a TSB image in their card)!

I used the cute Snow Friends digi by The Stamping Boutique to make this fun Holiday Cheer card. I decided to focus on the snowman in the middle and paper pieced his hat, scarf and vest, then popped him up on pop dots. I added a sentiment cut out with a Paper Smooches die and a little Stickles for the sparkle in the snow.

**Don’t Miss It! The November-December 2014 issue of Through The Craft Room Door magazine is published for your viewing pleasure in the "Subscribers Only Area" of the TTCRD website. It is loaded with paper craft tutorials, tons of inspirations and projects you can create. Sandi Huggett is this month's Featured Digi Artist.  She has given us some wonderful images for you to download. Anne Fenton has also given us three sweet holiday digi images to download as well. We also have some yummy Holiday recipes! Come check it out! If you do not currently subscribe to the magazine you will need to go to the top of the page and click on the Subscription/Renewals tab. I look forward to seeing you there!**

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenges at 613 Avenue Create, Scribble and Scrap and That Craft Place.

Playing with my new Brushos and Other Toys

First time I played with Brusho Crystal Colours, I stamped this tree (old set from Stampin' Up, but new to me), then added various shades of blue to make a pretty night sky. What I like about Bister and Brushos is, no matter what I do with them, I still can make a nice card with the background created. I made some snowbanks with new stitched dies from Lawn Cuts, added a deer (Memory Box) and a fun sentiment die from Paper Smooches. I decorated the tree with some gems and a star, and added some white gel pen stars.

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenge at Party Time Tuesday and the Christmas challenge at Raisin Boat.

Joyful Christmas Bokeh Card

I was inspired by a great sketch for our local stamp club to create this Christmas card using the Bokeh technique. Here is a link to photography showing the bokeh effect. This look is being used as an inspiration for card making. I used various sizes of daubers in light colors, one round stamp and some sequins. Then I added the "joyful" words cut out with a Paper Smooches die.

I am entering this card in the Christmas Joy challenge at Creative Card Crew and the Anything Goes challenge at Party Time Tuesday.

CAS Bister Christmas Card

I made a couple Christmas cards this week using Bister powders for the background (from I Brake for Stamps here) and some new dies and stamps. I used just the red Bister powder on this background after I embossed the "Merry" from Stampin' Up with white embossing powder. I added a snowflake die (Memory Box) and the "Christmas" cut with a new die from Paper Smooches. I distressed the edges of the red piece and sponged a little, then added a couple pearls to complete the CAS card.

I am entering this card in the Emboss challenge at CAS on Sunday and the Anything Goes challenge at 613 Avenue Create.