Hello

 I was so excited when the doorbell rang and it was the postman with a package for ME! I wasn't even expecting it since I hadn't gotten a shipping notice yet! What a fun surprise! I have been dying to play around with "Graceful Greetings" since it came out. I needed a few cards for the ladies that I go visiting teaching to, so I got to work!

 The first thing I did, was emboss "hello" using a very old, but much loved embossing powder from SU! called "Vintage Verdigris". For those of you who have been around for a while know that it is one of my all time favorites and I was super irritated when it was retired back in my SU! days. I resurrected it for today's project and can forsee it being used for lots more things! It has lots of different specks in it for a beautiful effect. It looks like copper after it has aged. 

 Once I had it embossed, I added the flowers and leaves. This was my first time getting it inky and I can see where I need to improve with the placement, but I had fun anyway. I also did a little swiss dot dry embossing for some fun!

The two arrows were diecut using Spellbinders dies. I also used a bit of ribbon twine and a mini clothes pin for some added dimension. Thanks for fluttering by!

P.S. I had some other fun goodies delivered as well, so stay tuned for some projects using those!

Best Wishes for the {Mr. and Mrs.}

 I'm back today with a wedding design to share with you. In my last post I mentioned that I didn't have a single graduation stamp set and the same is true for weddings. What is wrong with me? I decided to make a mixed media piece for the Bride and Groom. It takes me back to a time when I used to make scrappy cards WAY more than stampy cards. The only stamping on this card is the tiny Mr. and Mrs. image in the lower corner. It is from an old sentiment set from SU! I was sure happy to find it!

I chose my papers from a 6 by 6 pad that I bought to make this card. I knew it would be perfect since it is called "something blue" and is a wedding collection. So...the papers and the little tags that are included were my starting points. 

 It is hard to see in the photos, but the little tag with the bicycle says "Just Married" and I knew it wold be perfect. I decided to make a "bulletin board" of sorts and die cut a circle piece of cork board to add my bobbles and trinkets. I pulled out my glass jar filled with little treasures perfect for a card like this. The first piece was the tiny crocheted flower that I had left over from this project back in 2009. That is an awful long time to wait to be used, don't you think? I'm glad it made its way onto this special wedding card. I threaded a metal heart onto a pin and pushed it into the hot glue that I used to adhere it all together. I also used a clock and leaf that I am pretty sure I got here many years ago. Tiny clocks are so much fun to use, especially on wedding designs.

 The ribbon is a white satin from Offray that I simply tied in a bow and then "melted" it using my heat tool. It gives it just the right amount of vintage quality for today's design without being overly "shabby". I also accordion folded a strip of tulle and secured it to the bow with a pin for just a touch of sheer lightness and mimics the feel of a bridal veil. 

 The two pattern papers were stitched together using a zig-zag stitch for some extra detail. The Mr. and Mrs. stamped strip was adhered to another little tag that is included in the paper pad. I folded a doily in half to reinforce the circle pattern and add some softness. The main white base of the card was dry embossed using an embossing folder from Hobby Lobby.

The key is one that I have had for years and I can't remember the manufacturer, unfortunately. Keys used to be my "go to" design element on so many projects. I was thrilled to use it.  I had a lot of fun making this card and it really was a blast from the past as I remembered how much fun I used to have putting together little collage projects. Thanks for fluttering by!

Congrats to the {2015} Grad!

It seems like everyone I know is headed to a graduation or has already gone! It's crazy!  I realized that the season of graduations is really just beginning in my extended family. Out of the 20 grand kids on my husband's side only 2 have graduated and there should be one almost every year for a LONG time. I just got an announcement in the mail yesterday for my awesome nephew's graduation. I don't have a SINGLE graduation stamp set or anything remotely related except for this little sentiment from PTI's " Mega Mixed Messages. What's a girl to do? Well, I had to just get creative, that's all!  Oh...and maybe go shopping?!?! 

I die cut the numbers out of black cardstock and set those aside. I had decided that some confetti would be fitting for a graduation card so I decided to create a shaker card. I diecut the window using a square nestability for precision and ease. I adhered the acetate window as well and got to work deciding on the "filling".  I chose a combination of sequins; gold, silver, stars and then some seed beeds for some extra texture. I did stamp "congrats to the grad" a few times on the card base which you can see in the window. The other's are covered up with sequins, but it also gave it some added depth.  Once that was done, I simply attached it to the card base using foam tape. 

 Once that was done, I was able to start placing the other elements that I was using on the card. I stamped this "best day ever" sentiment from one of the big ticket stamp sets. It thought it was fitting.  I also made a little graduation cap from a black square and some hand clipped fringe to act as a tassle. 

I was having a hard time finding balance, but adding the gold glitter strip to the top and a few gold sequins at the bottom did the trick. It probably is a bit more than an 18 year old boy needs, but what the hay...he's got a card maker for an aunt! It's playful and fun and that's probably all that matters...oh...and a big wad of cash inside! LOL! Thanks for fluttering by!
P.S. I have a wedding to go to so stay tuned for a wedding card as well!

{Mint} to Be!

 Wednesday was Rowan's last day of preschool and I wanted to take a little something for his two teachers. I already sent a nice gift during Teacher Appreciation Week so I kept this one simple, yet fun! If you are still needing some last minute ideas before the kids get out of school, this is a fun one!

 I have been wanting to do a minty teacher gift for a while so I jumped at the chance when I found this yummy Mint Julep lotion at Bath and Body Works. It smells delicious and the bottle is so pretty! I love the color combo and knew it would be a perfect starting point for a gift tag.

 The color combo actually reminds me of some of the Christmas gift tags we had when I was a kid. We had an assortment of tags that were left over from the late sixties or early seventies I'm guessing and were decorated with all kinds of bright, grinchy greens and shocking pinks with a fair helping of glitter. I loved those tags!  I guarantee that there are probably still a few kicking around in the Christmas wrapping paper stash!

I didn't have a specific image or stamp set in mind when I first got started. As I was rummaging around trying to find the wood grain background, my eyes landed on this set. The biggest leaf looks just like a sprig of mint, don't you think? It is Lovely Layers from PTI.

 I stamped the tag base using white ink and PTI's "Background Basics: Wood grain" stamp set. I also used "Polka Dot Basics" for the vellum strip. I inked it up using Versamark ink, poured Heat and Stick powder over the top and heated it until glossy. I immediately poured the glitter over the top and then heat set it. The final step was to use a dusting brush and brush off all of the excess glitter. I used a fine glitter so I used my embossing buddy to reduce static on the vellum before I got started. I love how it turned out. I used the same technique and supplies on the pink portion of the focal image.

 I quickly made a computer generated sentiment to fit the theme and piled it all in a cello bag. It's tied up with a satin ribbon and ready to go. I can't believe how fast the year has gone! 

These are the supplies I used, minus the few I talked about in the post. Thanks for fluttering by!

Flight of Fancy

 I ran to the craft store the other day to pick up some supplies for a baby headband that a friend asked me to make.  Of course, I always get sidetracked and bought WAY more than I needed. One of my purchases was this fun metallic/twine trim that I just had to have in gold and silver. Isn't it pretty? I also was drooling over the Heidi Swapp Minc line and decided to make my own foil-esque card.  I decided to go with a piece of metallic paper to die cut the butterflies and sentiment. It is so nice and sturdy; perfect for sentiments like this.

 I also diecut the butterflies in white card stock and then embossed the images in gold over the top. I love how they turned out!  I played around with some embossed vellum butterflies as well, but they didn't make the cut on this card. They may, however, make their way into a future design.  You can see in this photo how I attached the embossed butterflies askew from the gold ones rather than lined up. I really like the fun, whimsical feel it gives the card as well as a little more visual movement. The sentiment and gold butterflies were attached using foam squares for added dimension.

 The finishing touch was a few gold/black striped sequins which also made their way into my cart as well as the fun trim! Thanks for fluttering by!

Bouquet of Birthday Wishes!

 It felt good to sit down and make a few cards this morning. I had been away Thursday and Friday down at BYU for the annual PTA Convention. Many of the talks and classes were inspiring, but I found the most inspiration when a few of us skipped class and headed over to the Museum of Fine Art instead. Shhhhhh....don't tell anyone. I will share some of my inspired pieces later. The inspiration for today's card comes from my daughter's dance recital on Saturday night. She did such an amazing job and won 1 of the 2 awards for Excellence. It came as such a surprise for her and for us! She is a great dancer!  Well...there was a brother of one of the dancer's in the audience holding a bouquet of flowers for his sister wrapped in bold, black and white striped tissue that is so popular right now. It looked gorgeous! Of course I had to get to work creating my own beautiful bouquet. I actually made two cards and they will be going to two of the ladies in my book club who have birthdays this week.

 The stamp sets that I used were "Rosie Posie" and it's accompanying shadow set "Rosie Posie 2". I also used the sentiment from "Ruby Rose" which is one of my all time favorites.  To get started, I simply diecut a large quantity of all of the images. Since I was making two cards and I didn't know exactly what I would need, I just cranked those babies out.  Before I stamped the images, I heat embossed the hexagon strip at the bottom of a piece of vellum using gold embossing powder.

 Once I was done with that, I chose my inks and got to work. It really worked up fast when I got all of the colors picked out. These are the colors that I used: (PTI) New Leaf, Simply Chartreuse and Limeade Ice (SU!) Melon Mamba, Ruby Red, Pumpkin Pie, Really Rust, Old Olive, Summer Sun, Crushed Curry)  They all worked up well with just the right "shadow".  The pattern paper is actually a strip of double sided Martha Stewart Halloween paper. Yay for versatility, right?

I arranged the leaves and flowers in a pleasing way without doing too much pre-planning or fussing. Since I was trying to go for a bouquet feel, it could be a little hap hazard, if you will. After I got done, I realized that I probably shouldn't have been so hasty, since now I knew I wouldn't be able to fit the sentiment without running the risk of getting black ink on the flowers. I simply stamped a piece of white cardstock and slid it into place. It worked out all right. In fact, I actually stamped directly onto the vellum of the second card and it wasn't as crisp, so in the end, this looked better.  The finishing touch was a sprinkling of dew drops, a few sequins for shine and a nice little bow using charcoal baker's twine to tie it up! I'll pop these in the mail today! Thanks for fluttering by!

Be brave, little one

 be BRAVE little one...I love this quote! It reminds me of the song from "The Rescuers" that I listened to over and over again after my dad died.{Be Brave little one, make a wish for each sad little tear, hold your head up though no one is near}

 It is currently very trendy with nursery decor and such so I thought I would make up a quick card to go with these pseudo moccasins I stitched up yesterday. They don't have a recipient, yet. I just got some new felt from MFT and it was begging to be made into some sweet moccasins for a sweet little papoose. 

 I used a potpourri of things to create the design. I used the chevron image from "Teach and Inspire" from PTI. It is perfect for creating the arrow look that I used here. I also used an arrow image from "Stampendous" that I picked up at Hobby Lobby. I also die cut a few arrows from Spellbinders as well. 

 I hand lettered the "be BRAVE" sentiment using a chalkboard marker from American Crafts. Thankfully it fit perfectly into the circle punch that was the perfect size. I also added some cross stitching to the bottom of the card using DMC floss to recreate the look on the shoes.

Here you can see the cute little shoes all ready to go for a brave little one. I think next time, I will try making a girly version with some beading as well. Thanks for fluttering by!

Always thinking of you, Mother!

 Happy Mother's Day! I hope you are all having a wonderful day.  I got to work yesterday to make a few cards; one for my mom and one for my MIL. I decided to make them exactly the same this year. I have been wanting to make a butterfly card for a while now and this was the perfect excuse.  

 I die cut four butterflies for each card; two from vellum and two from card stock so that I could stamp and color them.  I didn't really have an actual butterfly sample to look at so I just made up my own. It's always more fun that way, don't you think?  Each butterfly was colored with copic markers and then I added just a touch of Diamond Stickles to the center of each wing for some extra shine. I adhered the vellum butterfly to the cardstock butterfly using Tombow Mono Multi glue. The wings of the card stock butterflies were bent slightly for realism, while the vellum wings were left flat so they could be seen better.

 I adhered a strip of sticky tape and then poured glitter over the top for some fun shine. I also used a watercolor pen to add some color to the "Always" sentiment.  The cards have a nice, soft feminine feel to them, which is exactly what I was trying to achieve.

The "Mother" sentiment was computer generated since nothing I had fit very well.  I added some sequins and charcoal baker's twine for added interest. I hope the moms like their special cards! Thanks for fluttering by!

Red, White and True Blue Teacher!

 I'm switching gears today to show you an unconventional teacher card, but one that was a lot of fun to put together. Before I get started on the card details, I want to point something out; something that no one else has probably even noticed, but is a super huge deal to me. I have noticed on my sidebar how many post I have made every year and for the last few, it has been dismal. Yesterday's post marked the 45th post this year, WHICH MEANS, I have shared more this year (and it's only the beginning of May) than I have since 2010. Wow! That says a lot about where I've been and where I am now. I feel like I need some fireworks or something...I guess that works well with today's card! LOL! Anyway, I feel proud of myself!  Okay...on to the card.....

        On my daughter's teacher's spotlight, she mentioned how much she loves the 4th of July and baseball. I knew that would be a match made in heaven. I also chose to send this card on the day they were supposed to wear their teacher's favorite color which just happens to be...BLUE! I knew it would be perfect! I used an older PTI ink set called "Let Freedom Ring" for the sentiment on the baseball. The stamp says "friend" at the end, but I wanted it to say "red, white and true blue teacher" so I simply omitted that part when I inked it up.

 I really love how the apple is with the bat, like a baseball, but fun and teacher-y!  I really like how the stripes from the Chevron background die make it fresh and fun.  I added a few staples to adhere some red baker's twine.

All of the baseball images and coordinating dies are from the "Seventh Inning Stretch" set from PTI. The apple and main teacher sentiment are from a Teacher set that I can't remember the name of, but are also PTI...maybe "TEach and Inspire" or something like that.  I packaged up some 4th of July flip-flops, scarf, journal, pinwheel, cracker jacks, mike and ikes, coke and Hostess baseball cupcakes in a fun blue tote bag. My mind is literally going a mile a minute this week with ideas and assignments and deadlines and stuff, but it is already half way over! I hope you enjoyed today's card and thanks for fluttering by!

You make me feel like a SUPER HERO!

 This post has made me a little teary eyed. I made these cards today for my adorable son Rowan's preschool teachers.  When I saw these sweet images, I knew I HAD to have them and they would be perfect for our Teacher Appreciation Week. Thank you Ellen for your CRAZY fast shipping and amazing customer service! I never thought I could get them that fast, but thanks to her, I have them and they are perfect!  This adorable set is from My Favorite Things.  I thought this sweet little hero looked just like my son!

 Unfortunately, the sentiments weren't quite right for the card I had in mind, so I quickly computer generated the "Thank you for making me feel like a" portion and then stamped the SUPERHERO sentiment that comes with the set.  It turned out exactly like I had envisioned. Now...the reason why it makes me teary eyed is because my sweet little son seems to struggle when it comes to learning. It breaks my heart, but he does try. He is spunky, adventurous and truly loveable. His speech is delayed and he has a hard time recalling the things that he knows. Through the love and efforts of his wonderful preschool teachers he has made strides that I didn't think he would make. No matter how much I work with him, there is just something magical that happens when he gets in the classroom with his buddies and friends and they all work and learn together! It is amazing! I am grateful for a positive learning environment where he can truly be a SUPER HERO!

 I colored this sweet little guy using an assortment of Copic and Prismacolor markers. I chose my color cues based on the gift that was accompanying the card. Each teacher will receive a jar of handmade lemon sugar scrub (it is wonderful) a gift card to subway, a lemon eos lip balm, mini mentos and some citrus gum. Also, I am sick of red, blue and yellow, but I think I already mentioned that! Ha Ha!

 The blue background and stars are made from the Comic Strip pattern paper from PTI that came out a few months ago. It has truly been a lifesaver while putting all of these gifts and things together! I added a few burnished silver sequins for shine.

The cut out "Superhero" sentiment was stamped using Versamark ink and then heat embossed using Iridescent Ice embossing powder from SU! I have no idea if they still make it. It is one of my favorites!

What do you think? Do they look alike? I just asked my 3 year old who it was on the card and he confidently exclaimed,"Rowan!" I guess I did a good job! Thanks for fluttering by!

P.S. I also ordered the Mama Elephant set used on the last post from Ellen as well!

Your're my favorite SUPER HERO, Teacher!

       Designer  Kelly Lunceford   Images © Mama Elephant, PTI and Verve

Teacher Appreciation Week is in full swing! Super Heroes everywhere!  I'm having a lot of fun, but I am one tired Mama! It doesn't help that our school is also putting on its yearly play and I have been helping with concessions every night! It's all fun though and it is for a good cause so it makes it all worth it! Also, I had a comment on my last post about where I got the silver Diet Coke can...Walmart! 

 This is the card my daughter took to her teacher on Monday. They were to "Be like a reporter and write your teacher a special note!" 
I decided to make it non super heroey colors since I am growing tired of red, black, yellow and blue. I also wanted it to be fresh and fun! The super hero girl and sentiment are from Mama Elephant. The notebook background image behind the girl is from "Blue Skies" from Verve and the "Teacher" sentiment is from PTI.

 I punched some starts out of the same color as the background and adhered them with dimensionals. I also added some start dust stickles all around the edges. The circle with a star punched out is a fun shaker element for some fun movement. It is filled with an assortment of sequins, stars and sprinkles.

I couldn't JUST send a note, so I bundled up some fun notebooks, post its and pens! I hope she liked them! Thanks for fluttering by!