Happy Easter

Hi everyone!

The weather has been absolutely glorious this week!  We have azaleas, irises, and lots of other beautiful blooms showing their gorgeous colors in our neighborhood, so it was really easy to get into a Springy, Easter mood for today's project.  

Although it looks like a conventional fold, this card is made from a full sheet of card stock scored horizontally and vertically with the top left corner removed, which creates an extra flap and more space to decorate on the inside.  I cut a window through the outermost section for this darling bunny to peek through.  (I trimmed just a little off the bottom of the bunny for ease of opening/closing the card.) 

When the front is opened it reveals this "cracked egg shell" designer paper (probably actually parched earth, but y'know!) with a sweet sentiment.  Maybe your family "pocked" eggs...a Cajun Easter tradition...so you get where I'm comin' from!  Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday are next week, so the season of Lent is truly almost upon us!        

And here's the very innermost fold of the card.  I love this simple rustic cross and traditional Easter sentiment.  I kept everything inside really simple with some sunrise stenciling using distress inks.

I know this is most oft said about Christmas, but it applies here as well!  Jesus is the Reason for the Season!    

Supplies:

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Easter is for Jesus Bundle
• Stamp Simply Steel Dies - Fishtail Sentiment Banners
• Stamp Simply Steel Dies - Farmhouse Pierced Nested Hearts
• May Arts 5/8" Faux Linen Canvas Ribbon Sampler - 27 yards
• Echo Park My Favorite Spring 6x6
• Craft Consortium Test of Time 6x6 
• Copic markers
• sunrise stencil
• distress inks

Masculine Happy Birthday!

Hi friends!

I often find masculine cards challenging, but today's clean and simple masculine birthday card was a piece of cake using prints from three paper pads from Craft Consortium and our Stamp Simply Autumn Silhouettes set.  

I stamped the sentiment and the cattails image directly onto the designer papers, die cut the one using our fishtail banners and adhered them to the card front.  I added a knot of ribbon with a very simple men's wear style of a button tied onto it as a simple embellishment, then splashed and splattered some diluted brown and grey-black distress oxide ink onto everything.  

Here's a peek at the inside.  The kind of no-nonsense card that my fellas prefer!  I hope you like it too!  

Supplies:

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Autumn Silhouettes
• Craft Consortium Brick Textures 6x6
• Craft Consortium Test of Time 6x6
• Craft Consortium Beach Hut 6x6
• Memento Full Size Dye Ink Pad - Espresso Truffle
• Stamp Simply Steel Dies - Fishtail Sentiment Baners
• May Arts 5/8" Faux Linen Canvas Ribbon Sampler - 27 yards
• Burlap string
• distress oxide inks for spattering
• button from stash
• glitter gel pen

Pet Condolences

Hi everyone!

I love that Stamp Simply has a stamp set which includes a "beloved pet" sentiment among all of the more traditional sympathy sentiments that are oft spoken after the loss of a loved one.  One of my spinning/crafting friends recently lost her sweet Corgi "Marti" and I am so glad to be able to craft a card especially for her to comfort her in her grief.  Our pets really are cherished members of our families and it hurts so much to let them go, even when we know it is the right time and for the right reasons.   

I chose Spring-y colors for this card in celebration of a happy life well-lived.  A photo of a leather collar and leash inspired the decorative element along the left edge of the card.  I used strips of card stock, some of them folded and "faux braided" along with an end of a die cut from the Tim Holtz Tags Collection to construct it. Several colors of distress oxide ink gave it that weathered leather look, and I even used a few very old eyelets applied with a Crop-a-dile!    

Here's the inside, with plenty of room to write a heart-felt note.  

Supplies:

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Sympathy Sentiments Set 2
• Echo Park My Favorite Easter 6x6
• Echo Park My Favorite Spring 6x6
• Stamp Simply Steel Dies - Farmhouse Pierced Nested Hearts
• Kaisercraft Self-Adhesive Round Pearls - Latte
• Sizzix Thinlits Dies by Tim Holtz - Tag Collection (for tab of collar)
• various distress oxide inks
• very old eyelets! ;)

Deepest Sympathy

Hello friends!  I'm here today with a sympathy card in soft neutral tones, pairing prints from two different paper pads with our beautiful Eucalyptus Silhouettes stamp set.   

The background paper has hints of pale peachy pink which I tried to emphasize by using matching ribbon and ink (notice the sponging around the edge of the circular mat under the greenery.  Even the greenery has a touch of that pale pink and soft taupe mingled with the sage green).  The sentiment was stamped directly onto the designer paper background.    

The strip of frilly lace, silky ribbon and pearls make this simple design decidedly feminine.      

A harmonizing print from the Baroque designer paper pad carries the same colors and feminine theme to the inside of the card.  

Stamp Simply Store

Supplies:

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Eucalyptus Silhouettes Bundle
• Craft Consortium Test of Time 6x6
• Craft Consortium Baroque 6x6
• Spellbinders Nestabilities - Standard Circles LG
• May Arts 1.25" Variegated Silk - 32 yard spools - Pink/Champagne
• Original Bow Easy
• May Arts 1.5" Lace w/Satin Center - 1 yard - Pink
• Kaisercraft Self-Adhesive Round Pearls - Latte
• distress oxide inks (bundled sage, frayed burlap, tattered rose)