Two Cards - The Same, but Different

I like to make one-of-a-kind cards. I craft one and then move on to the next rather than making 2 or 3 the same. First of all, I get bored too easily and, second, that way each card is unique. Having said that, both these cards were made using the same paper - "My Mind's Eye Wild Asparagus". I figured, since I had all the paper laid out, it made sense to do both at one time. The white paper doilies are a nice accent for cardmaking and can be used in a million different ways. Both of the "mother" quotes are from the same line of Wild Asparagus papers which are aptly titled "Mother Plaid". The weather today fooled me - it's all bright and sunny but when I went outside, it felt like November. Hurry back, Spring!

Have I had a day off?

It seems lately that I have been working much more than I have been playing. I thought the adage was that the older we get, the more spare time we have. I'm not buying that.

I spent the day yesterday at the Creative Sewing Festival in Toronto (http://www.cnsf.com/) where, despite the name, there were lots of scrapbooking vendors selling their wares. Of course, I had to buy many of those wares, not because I needed them but because they were there. The show was packed and doing a good business.

This card was made with "imaginisce" papers which are very rich with an old-fashioned feeling. The papers are double-sided so you can get plenty of different looks from them. I hope to be back at the cardmaking later this week with some new posts to follow. Thanks for looking!

Baby Girl Card

I made this pretty card yesterday - all bright and frilly for a little girl. The papers are all from "Basic Grey" and the dress and pants were cut from Cricut "New Arrivals" cartridge. I took the picture on my newly cleaned-up-for-spring balcony. The patio furniture is up and ready to go and the Christmas lights are finally down. Don't you just love days like this?

Square Cards

Lately, I am really into the square cards. I think I feel like they give me a bigger work space than do the rectangular ones although that theory is probably just in my head.

Mother's Day is our next big "holiday" so I have been busy making cards for moms. This was made with "Bo-Bunny's Back to Backs" paper and I love how the papers complement each other. The red gingham ribbon is some of my favourite and a great deal that I picked up at Michael's for $1.49. The "M" is chipboard covered with paper and then I used various flowers and brads to pretty it up. I have started to use a lot more flowers on my cards. I just find that they are the perfect accent no matter the theme. Have a great spring day!

Spring Has Sprung

What a gorgeous day it is out there today. I saw my first robin yesterday so I hope this means winter is far behind us. The only problem with all the sunshine is that it shows how badly my windows need cleaned...but that's for another day.

Keeping with the theme of sunshine, I made this thank you card out of some white embossed Doodlebug Designs paper then added some rub-ons for the "Friend" and the black squiggly. The centres of the flowers are two big, silver brads. I think the card turned out really bright and cheery.

I somehow ended up at the scrapbook store today and brought home some great new papers I can't wait to try out. I'll get busy tonight and the dirty windows will just have to wait.

Inside and out

This is some very pretty paper from "Flair Designs" that, honestly, I thought was wedding paper. By pairing it with some dotted paper by "daisyd's", it becomes just a nice flowery pattern and works well for a birthday. I always try to decorate the cards both inside and out so that the recipient gets a little extra surprise when they open the card. The quote is by HOTP which I ordered from an on-line company called Paper Wishes (www.paperwishes.com). I have been in somewhat of a buying frenzy lately with big plans to start a family heritage album. Love the projects but need more time!

Finally...some new photos

I have been so busy these past couple of weeks that I haven't had time for anything. Today is cold, windy and rainy so what better day than to stay inside and make some cards. This is an Anniversary card that I think is pretty but kind of fun rather than formal. The paper on top is by "Two Busy Moms" and the bottom paper is some scrap that I had laying around. I used lots of decorative brads just to make it interesting and cut "love" with Cricut. Which reminds me - Michaels is having a big sale on Cricut cartridges so I must get over there and stock up. I always wonder why they are so much more expensive in Canada than the U.S. but then I wonder about a lot of things that don't make much sense......

Big Cat

When I dug this paper out, it reminded me that I hadn't used my Cricut Animal Kingdom cartridge for awhile. The shapes on this cartridge are so cute but do require some work to get them looking a little more 3-D. The photo does not really do the card justice...again, my picture-taking disability rears it ugly head...but it is cute, nonetheless. This card would be perfect for a child's birthday or for someone like me who likes cats of all sizes.

Could it be?

Both the cats adore looking out the window into the backyard. What a difference a couple of weeks makes - you can actually see some grass there now. Could it be that spring is not far off???

Another Baby Card

Here is another baby card done with some "Daisy D's" paper and Cricut lettering. Blue and green is a pretty combination and perfect for a new little boy. I used rub-ons for the sentiment at the bottom and the swirl at the top and a black gingham brad in the centre of the flower. It's my cat's birthday (Kona) tomorrow and he will be a big boy of 7. Happy Birthday, Kona!

I always wonder when people make cards if they have a plan in place before they begin or if they just do like I do - willy-nilly straight into the project and see what happens. I think a bit of pre-planning might be less time-consuming in the end...I'll have to try that sometime.

Now that the lights are back on.....

Now that we can all see again, I am back to my cards. This is a pretty "thinking of you" card that could be used for almost any occasion. I picked up some lace ribbon at the $1 store and added it to the bottom of this card. The $1 store has some amazing deals, particularly on ribbon which I find can be an outrageous price in some of the scrapbook stores. Hope you like!

Saving the Earth

I hope everyone did their part over the weekend during "Earth Hour". I was working during the event but we did manage to get some of the lights and appliances turned off as you can see in the above photo. Every little bit helps.

Procrastinating

I am a terrible procrastinator, particularly when avoiding something I really don't want to do...like cleaning the house. So, rather than clean, I made this thank you card. The paper is from 7gypsies and the corner mounts are peel and stick from "Peeloffs". They are one of my favourite products because a) they are so easy to use and b) there are 100 different designs. The centre sentiment is a rub-on, another of my favourite products and a great invention.

Time marches on so I must summon up some willpower and get to my errands. Enjoy your day!

Thank you card

This is a card I made from some left over scrap paper. I have so much paper that I need to start using some up before I buy more (note to self....remember this mantra when in the scrapbooking store buying new paper). The sunflower always looks so bright and cheery - quite the contrast from what I am seeing out the window....snow. The flowers were made with Cricut and I added a lot of edgy bits to finish the card off.

Me and my cat

This is me and Kona playing on the webcam. Kona has little patience when it comes to posing and sits reluctantly until we get the perfect picture. He would much rather be playing, eating or sleeping.

New Babies Everywhere

It seems lately that everyone is looking for baby cards. The paper on this cute boy card is called "Wanted - Buffalo Bill" and has horses and cowboys all over it. The stars and "It's a Boy" were cut from Cricut and I used a strip of "magic mesh" just to balance out the stars.

What a nasty, cold and blustery day it is outside today. I have tons of stuff I need to go out and do but it seems better suited for an inside day of making cards.

The Easter Cats

Even the cats are getting into the Easter spirit (they can be spirited because they didn't have to fight the crowds in the grocery store). They think that anything and everything brought into the house is for them, especially if it's in a bag. There's no need to spend money on toys; a bag provides them with hours of entertainment.

Happy Easter everyone!

It's crazy out there

For anyone who had to go out today to do any errands, it was like a madhouse. It reminded me of the Boxing Day sales with people pushing and shoving and grabbing at everything. The grocery store was the worst and should have been avoided but a girl's gotta eat. All that craziness made it nice to come home to my peaceful abode and make some cards.

This is a bridal shower card made with pink/peach Anna Griffin papers. I love her designs (I know...I say that about all the paper) because they are so easy to coordinate. The "shower girl" in the centre is an embellishment by Jolee's and the heart was done with Cricut.
I love the diamond pattern along the bottom, made with a Fiskars punch. It adds such a nice finishing touch.

Finally...some organization

For years, I crafted in a complete state of disorganization. I had stuff in bags, boxes, cupboards, closets, drawers and anywhere else you could imagine. Finally, it got to the point where I had to do something so I ordered this scrapbooking unit from "Best" craft organizers and my life is changed.

Everything fits nicely into the shelves and drawers and, if necessary, I can order add-on pieces to give me more room (although, they do contend that the more space you have, the more stuff you get to fill up the space). The papers are now arranged by colour and I have labelled the drawers so that I don't have to go rooting around everywhere to find one stamp or one flower. The unit was expensive but worth it.

Easter Weekend

Easter weekend is upon us. The holiday today gave me a chance to get some cards finished up. Tomorrow, I'll finish my shopping and wrapping and then all that's left is to sit back and wait for the Easter Bunny.

The top card was made using more of the Scenic Route paper I bought the other day. Each sheet is two-sided with a different pattern on each side so that you can do a lot of mixing and matching and get so many different looks. The chick in the centre and the blue swirl at the top are also from the same line. I love the flowers and have them in a bunch of colours.

The red stripe paper in the bottom card is from Melissa Frances and the chick paper is from Heidi Grace Designs. It is shimmery and flocked and just really beautiful. Having said the pattern is chicks, if you hold it the other way round, it looks like mice. I figured if I was using it as an Easter paper, chicks were more appropriate so that's what I'm calling it.

I love the brown gingham ribbon - gingham is one of my favourites and, to me, it goes with anything. The little yellow chick I've had forever and I honestly don't remember where I got it.

Doggone Days

I love to make cards with an animal theme, I suppose because so many of my friends are animal lovers. There are lots of fun papers and accessories devoted to dogs and cats and I can't resist buying whatever I see. That's a habit that needs to be housebroken.

Anyway, my midnight shifts are, thankfully, behind me so I am back to card creations. Just as working and raising kids keeps one busy, I don't get how people who work are so prolific in their paper crafts output. When I'm working, I do very little other. Perhaps I need a course in work/cardmaking management. I'm sure there is one out there. To carry that further, I think I also need a course in photography because, for the life of me, I can't seem to take a good picture.

This card was made for my sister-in-law (who is mother to two basset hounds) out of some Bo Bunny pawprint paper and the die cut is one that I just happened to come across one day in a scrapbooking store I was passing by. I love the Cricut Animal Kingdom cartridge for the many dogs but it would be nice if they came out with one dedicated to specific breeds. "Happy Birthday" was cut from the Cricut "Beyond Birthdays" cartridge and the wooden paw is from the $1 store. Below the card is Moe the Basset Hound, looking all sad and droopy-eyed as they always do.

As midnight shift drags on.....

Midnight shifts just seem to go on and on and are not really conducive to cardmaking. This is an Easter card I made last week with beautiful bright, coordinating papers from Scenic Route. The brads are from K&Company and have sparkly crystals in them. I must get to work later this week and finish up my Easter cards, along with all my other projects.

Purple Passion

How pretty are these new papers from "Sassafras"! I do not usually use a lot of purple but the combination with the red is quite stunning. I save all my old ribbons from gifts I receive with the thought that, one day, I'll find the perfect use for them. The ribbon on this card is an opalesque combination of red and purple and perfectly accents the colours on the card. The top of the card is pleated paper held together with brads.

The Ragdolls

I thought you might like to see my cats, Kona (above) and Kenya (below). They are Ragdolls and are both very sweet. Their favourite activities are eating and sleeping but they do like to go out in the backyard in the summertime and love to watch all the squirrels and birds. I have several videos made for cats that they often watch on television. It's quite amusing to see them both sitting as close as possible to the set watching the action.

Happy Easter but where is spring?

To me, Easter is not always about bunnies and eggs. It's also about flowers blooming and all of nature coming alive again after a long hard winter. The Melissa Frances papers I used on this card are perfect spring colours - bright and cheery despite all the snow outside.
I love the big, pink flower. It's very dimensional and makes the card pop. What a contrast to the picture below!