Wedding Inspiration

This has definitely been the summer of weddings around here! In the past three months we have received invitation after invitation...its been exciting! Unless I know the couple exceptionally well, I prefer to give a gift card...which means a handmade card to put it in, of course!

With all the gift giving and reception attending, my stash of ready congratulations cards is perilously low! So I got to work with an idea or two that I had...and here is the result!

At the Designed2Delight blog they have a weekly Designer's Challenge, this week it is to make a card using predominately pink and black...and the lightbulb went off!

I found the perfect stamp in the D2D store, that's the beauty of digital stamps...find, purchase, download and print...then get creating!

For both of my cards I kept the image simple...it is such a lovely collage on its own, I didn't want to distract from it. No coloring, just printed on colored cardstock.



I found a compimentary embossing folder for the background and inked the edges and raised pattern, then added some ribbon and a flower from stash...



The stick pin is from a recent swap, isn't it the perfect match? Most of the wedding cards I give are hand carried (instead of mailed) so I'm not worried about it getting smashed.



The second card got a bit more involved. I cased a card that I received in a swap a while ago...I'd never seen anything like it, and have intended to duplicate it for the longest time...I finally did tonight!

Here is the front view of the card as it is closed, you'd never know how much is in here!



I thought that I'd record the steps here...so if you want to make one too, you can!

Supplies needed:

• cardstock and patterned paper
  


• elastic thread



• 1/16" hole punch



• strong adhesive
  


• focal image
  


• strong adhesive



• embellishments as desired

1) Cut your base cardstock to 5 1/2" x 11"

2) Score your base cardstock at 2", 3 3/4", 7 1/4" and 9"

3) Fold the 3 3/4" and 7 1/4" scores toward eachother, the middle of the card and fold the 2" and 9" scores to the outside of the card, have a look at this picture to get a better idea...you end up with a card sized 4" x 5 1/2"



4) Add your patterned paper strips to the front (cut at 1 3/4" x 5 1/4") and inside (3 1/4" x 5 1/4") of the card

I have to share, my patterned paper started out like this...



but I didn't want the white on this card, so I used my pink ink and a foam sponge to color it!

5) Punch a hole on each 'inside' fold, knot one end of the elastic and thread it through, check to make sure that your knot is bigger than the hole! Double knot if necessary...

6) Thread it through the second hole, leaving approximately 3 1/2" inside the card (the width of the card back), knot the other side.

7) Put some strong glue on the knots, and let dry

8) For the center suspension, make sure that it is about 2" high, and no more than 2 3/4" wide, any wider, and you will not be able to close the card

9) Make the suspension several layers, and use a strong glue to sandwich the final layer between the rest, let it dry

10) Attatch your focal image to the front, and embellish the card as you like

As you open the card, the suspension comes forward and hangs...so intricate!



I couldn't leave the envelopes alone...but I wasn't sure what to do with them until I saw the negative from the bird punch that I used



I took that negative and sponged some pink ink through it, using it as a stencil...I'm so pleased with how it came out!



I'm definitely going to take a look at my punches again with fresh eyes...maybe you'll see more of this on some cards soon!

Enjoy,

Meredith

Summer's End Blog Hop

Hello and Welcome!

I'm so glad you joined us on the Cardswaps Summer's End blog hop!

You should have come here from Ashley. If not, be sure to start at Lora's blog so you don't miss any of the great projects!

At the end of the hop, be sure to hop on over to the forum for more fun, games, challenges and...PRIZES!!!

The crop will be going on from August 10th - August 13th, 2011 and you have until 11:59pm CST August 16th, 2011 to get your projects uploaded.

But enough about that...you're here to hop along and get inspired, right?

The theme of our crop and blog hop is Summer's End.

We have hostesses that are going to help you spell out SUMMERS END in products, techniques, embellishments or anyway they can.

My assigned letter was M.
There are so many ways to use M! Masking, Monograms, Marigolds, Monsters...in the end, I decided to use a Mouse!

This is a digital stamp from Designed2Delight...who happens to have a challenge going on right now where if you use this stamp (which you can get for free!) you will be emailed another stamp!

Oh, and the D2D blog has another weekly challenge...this week's is to add bling to your card...and what goes better on a birthday card than gems and glitter?

Your next stop on the hop is Ana! Hop on over and see what fabulousness she has for you!

In case you get lost along the way, here are all the hostesses for the blog hop...

• 
  
  
  S Lora


• 
  
  U Jane
  M Ashley


• 
  
  M Meredith <--- you are here


• 
  
  E Ana


• 
  
  R SusieQ


• 
  
  S Tina


• 
  
  E Angelina


• 
  
  N Jeanette


• 
  
  D Golda

Orange You Glad Its Summer?

What a blast this card was to make! The challenge over at the Do You Stack Up? blog is to use the color orange...and I just happen to have a son who loves that color...so I am definitely stocked up!

One of the sponsors of this challenge is Karen's Doodles and as I was wandering through the shop when I found this adorable monkey image...for free!!!

I'm catching up on some cards for birthdays...so that's what I made!



I colored the image with my Prismacolor pencils and inked the edges of all the ivory cardstock with a Dew Drop ink pad. The patterned paper is from a K & Co. pack and I printed the sentiments on my computer. The ribbon is from The Paper Studio.

Another z-fold...this one is a bit different from the first, in that the 'folded' part is cut smaller and put on a base of flat cardstock...although I've seen it put on the front of a card as well...clever if you want more writing space!



I ended up putting some ribbon to the side, because I read my score-board incorrectly and scored the first line too soon. Instead of the z-fold being symmetrical it ended up uneven...but I decided that I liked it so just left it that way.



And like I wrote, I'm late sending it for a birthday...here's what I put inside...



Isn't this little monkey just the cutest? Click on over to Karen's Doodles to pick it up for yourself!



Enjoy,

Meredith

Big Blooms

What an adorable image to work with from the Designed 2 Delight progressive challenge this week!

We were sent one image from the Big Blooms set, which you can purchase in the store if you want.

Take time to see how many different ways the cardmakers have been using this...so clever!

I took the flower image into Word and combined it with some a little poem that I found...unfortunately, I'm behind on some birthday cards that I wanted to send...do you think they'll forgive me if I send a card this cute?



I used cardstock from stash...and patterned paper from K & Co. The digital stamp from Designed 2 Delight was partially colored with Prismacolor pencils and cording is from stash as well.

This was my first try at a z-fold card...too easy, just cut a 4 1/2" x 11" piece of cardstock and score at 5 1/2" and 8 1/4". I'll be using this more often for sure...there are so many different ways to extend shapes and embellishments off the edge!

This is the view from the top...so you can see the 'z' part...



And a few other views...





Here is the cute poem...modified a bit from this website...



Enjoy,

Meredith

Summer Days progressive challenge

I had a lot of fun coloring the image from this weeks Designed 2 Delight progressive challenge. Is this not a cute, cute bear? You can pick yours up in the store and join in over at the blog any time!

I think I'll use this one for a special friend who could probably use a pick-me-up about now...



I'm still working on learning how to shade...doing better...but have a ways to go...



Enjoy,

Meredith

Somewhere Over the Rainbow Blog Hop

Welcome to the Sunny Days "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" Blog Hop! I know that you are having a great time hopping around and enjoying everyone's creations! You should have arrived here from Ana's blog...is she not the most joyful person? Endlessly creative, and a Twilight fan to boot ~ Fabulous!

The theme of this blog hop is "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". Each blog hostess has been assigned a color. At the end of this rainbow is the link to your pot of gold! Be sure to click through the link so you can join us in the Card Swaps forum for challenges, games, fun and prizes! We're all sure to have a lot of fun!

The color that I have been assigned is green (betcha guessed that already!) Normally, green is a color that I use to accent...so making it the focus of a card was different for me. I do love this color though...to me, green means Spring! My lawn greens up, my plants start sending out new growth and become happy mounds of green that I know will be covered in flowers soon, and we plant seeds and starts in the garden. Happy Green Spring!

And without further ado, here is my card:

It looks involved, but was very easy to put together. I used some doodle flowers from a Stamps of Life set to dress up my background paper, just randomly stamping and spacing where it looked good to me. Another smaller layer on top of that for the sentiment, and that's it for the cardstock and paper. The flowers are all from one package, and while I love layering them, I wanted to try something different this time. So I folded one of the flowers in half and put a shiny gem brad in the center middle, kind of like a black-eyed susan. I then folded another flower into quarters and used a button from my stash to accent the bud shape. The last flower is just the three types that came in the package layered together with a glittery brad in the center.



Supply list: cardstock:Hobby Lobby, patterned paper:My Mind's Eye, ink:TPC Studios, flowers and brads:The Paper Studio, stamps:The Stamps of Life

For the inside, I wanted enough room for the whole family to sign, so I covered the cardstock with patterned paper, stamped my sentiment, and scattered some more stamped flowers across the pages.

And hey...this is a plea to any designers out there...could we please have some awesome anniversary sets? With happy and anniversary in several different fonts and sizes...and maybe even some labels or frames to go around? There are so many wedding sets out there...but one wedding equals lots and lots of anniversaries!!! And if any of you know of any fabulous anniversary sets...please, leave me a comment and tell me where!!!



We aren't doing prizes on the blog hop today, because the real prize is seeing great ideas and filling your mind with inspiration. However, I do hope you leave a comment and let me know what you think! There is also a post in the forum where you can post any cards you make that are blog hop inspired. I do hope to see you there! Here is a link to the Cardmaker's Cardswaps forum...but don't go until you get through the blog hop, we'll all have this link for you!

Your next stop along the hop is Laura. She has a sense of style that won't quit and a sense of humor that goes even longer! I know you'll enjoy your visit!

In case you want a map, here is the complete list of blogs in order:

Lora
Susan H
Golda
Jane
Ana
Meredith ~ You are here!
Laura
Angelina
Ashley

Enjoy,

Meredith

Skater Boy

Week 2 down!

After uploading a card with last week's digital image, Faith of Designed 2 Delight sent me this adorable Skater Boy image! Would you like him too? You can head over to the shop and pick him up...and if you upload a card to the blog challenge, then you will be emailed the next image too!

I'm working on my coloring...still have a ways to go, I know! But the funny thing that I learned with this image was to check which pencils I'm using! I lay down a layer of blue around the image, intending to use a paintbrush and some water to blend it out to nothing...well, that only works if you use a watercolor pencil!!!

Oh well, next time!



The base is made from Coredinations color core cardstock, embossed with the diamond edge Cuttlebug folder. The rest of the cardstock is from my scrap pile, shapes cut with dies and punches and dimension added with a crimper. The sentiment is from a stamped set swap.

Enjoy,

Meredith