Big post!

I really have been missing - haven't done much crafting as I had to catch up on life. So I am going to post two cards today and you can tell me which one you like best - remember that I show the insides also since I learned to make them! There are two pieces to each of these. Both are female birthdays. This first one is for a dear friend. I am really pleased with the way it came out. I find that since I got my Vagabond and it is out and open, that I don't hesitate to use it at the drop of an idea! I bought this lattice die awhile back and couldn't really get it to cut - it cuts like butter (as they say) on the Vagabond! And what use is a lattice if you don't put something neat behind it? I pieced a view! If you can imagine a beach scene? It isn't but you can almost see it from the patterned paper, I think. This covers the entire card. My friend loves mice (not real ones, for heaven's sake!), so I thought this image perfect. It is on dimensionals. I cut those flowers out of a hero art's stamp/die set. One is stamped, the other just cut. They were too plain for my taste, hence the gems. I searched through my word category of my stamps and thought this was the one I needed for the front. While I was looking through my dies for something great to cut it, I realized that the butterfly would fit and be just what I wanted! Now here is the inside of the card, using the same dp as the outside.

I used two different stamps to get this greeting. Since they were both rubber, I had to use a stamp positioner. I love how those work and if you have rubber stamps, it is a have to have! All of the inside is done with paper. One of those flowers is dimensional, the other just glued flat. And here are the copics I used on the front:B0000, B14, B18, Y11, Y15, Y17, YG00, YG03, C2, C3, R14, C7, E31, E33, E35. It has been awhile since I colored and I managed to color a whole lot of images when I did this one as I needed several cards for September! Can't mail anything until Tues as the post office is closed for Labor Day.

 

This one is for one of my granddaughters. Her fav color is red with pink - that is how she phrases it! So I hunted through my ever increasing stash until I found a paper I could live with that was basically those colors. By the time I was actually putting the card together, I found I actually liked the papers I chose! Fancy that! I couldn't find a die to cut the fairy out - She is digital, but I had made her just a little too big. I wanted the background paper to show after all, so I cut it out by hand this way. It is on dimensionals. I had the idea of using that ribbon in a couple of places and I think it works without giving it a look of a package when you immediately look at it. Her name is cut out from a Tim Holtz alphabet strip die. That was just so much easier than using my cricut and welding them into one piece. I did glitter after they were on the card - after all its not MY card without a little stickles! I am practicing though since I am hoping to send a box of cards to Operation Write Home before too long.  The Happy Birthday is white heat embossed.  Don't forget the gems! And here is the inside.

Stamped the sentiment, found a die to fit and cut it. Since I was going to use brads, I needed to mount it to something before putting it on the card. You can get a pretty good view of the patterned paper here. That red strip is actually dp also. I tried for the similar subtle package thing with paper instead of ribbon on the inside. And here are the copics I used to color: E00, E11, E18, E33, E35, E37, R32, R37, R20, YG00, YG03, BG72, Y08, C1.

Remember there are two photos of each card. Would you like to tell me which one you like best?

I know there are a lot of people out there that keep notebooks of sketches for layouts for cards as well as scrapbooks. That one really isn't for me. I probably wouldn't think about looking at one. I guess I just like the freedom. I know I must assimilate from watching all those youtube videos and reading all those magazines. I can only tell you what I am thinking not where I got it from. I have taken a few online classes and I can assure you there are plenty of cards and layouts given for each class, so if you want to have more ammunition, take some classes. It probably doesn't matter whose class you start with - just jump in with both feet and get them really wet!! In the end, you are the one chosing what and how you will put on your card. My motto has become, if you don't like it, cover it or tear it off and put something else there!! Don't let it haunt you -    fix it!! Hugs to you all, Barb F