Never Ending Card

Hi Everyone!  Today's post features a never ending card.  I found a tutorial on this card on youtube.com here.  It really is quite magical!

This card celebrates the domestic goddess!  It opens from the center and once you get to the inside, it opens from the center again, and again, and continues in that way until you return to the beginning!  

The card features lots of retro inspired paper and embellishments throughout.   I used Crafty Secrets Creative Scraps, Girlfriend Collection for the images and sentiments, and Cosmo Cricket, Material Girl patterned papers.  

              

Although it is very hard to see in these photos, I used Sakura Glitter Pens in various places to highlight many of the images, such as the eyes, shoes, lips, and clothing.  Lots of metal charms were added, as well as ribbons, buttons and pearl accents.

After opening the card, the inside is quite different...

Then, opening again, you see an entirely different card!  It really is quite unique, in that it continues to fold open to reveal yet another card after this...

And here I added some buttons with snipped off shanks in order to get a snug fit against the card.

And another card...

The embellishments are all girlie and cute...

Purses and shoes and all things goddess!

I hope you enjoyed this unique, fun card!  It really was easy to create and even more fun to give!

Thanks for joining me today and I'll be back with yet another creation very soon!

Merilee

Crisssross Cards--So Fun and Easy to Make!

Hello Readers!  I hope this Monday is the beginning of a wonderful week for you!  Today I have a fun and super easy crisscross card to show you.  You can find a tutorial for this card on www.splitcoaststampers.com.

My niece was celebrating her birthday so I made this card especially for her.  The colors and patterns are a great reflection of the fun loving, girlie-girl she is!  

Today's post features The Street Lace Stack, a darling paper stack by Die Cuts With a View.  I was lucky enough to find this paper stack in the clearance section of my favorite Michaels store and I loved the paper so much that I bought three paper pads!

As you can see below, the card itself is a crisscrossing pocket envelope with a post card style pullout card inside.

The envelope couldn't be easier to make!  I used gray cardstock for the base, followed by hot pink cardstock cut just inside each flap, topped by the lacy patterned cardstock.  The center medallion was made by fussy-cutting one of the flowers from the patterned cardstock and matting it on top of hot pink cardstock cut to the same shape, but slightly larger.  I used my Martha Stewart scalloped circle for the flower center, topped with an extra large, hot pink brad. Since the paper was so fancy, I just had to fancy up that brad by placing some bling over top.  However, I only had large, clear rhinestones, so I used my markers to match the hot pink on the card and...voila, instant matching bling!

I also placed smaller rhinestones along the edges of the flower for a little added pizazz!  After all, this girlie-girl card was for my girlie-girl niece, lol!  Nothing short of spectacular would do!

For the inside card, the base was cut from hot pink cardstock, covered with this darling lacy extravaganza.  Once again, I fussy cut a large flower and matted it in hot pink to add in the lower right-hand corner.  As you can see, it has plenty of bling, too!

For the tab on top I used my Martha Stewart scalloped punch and layered that atop a punched half circle.  I then secured it all with a black rhinestone brad.  The stamped sentiment is from Crafty Secrets Glamour Girls large stamp set.  Nothing less than glamorous would do for this card!

I always try to match the theme of the card when adding my business stamp, so I stamped a piece of the lacy cardstock with my business stamp, punched out the circle and finished the edges with my fancy scissors.  I then cut a larger circle from hot pink cardstock, once again finished the edges with my scissors, matted the business stamp on top and polished it off with one tiny pink rhinestone.

Even though this card has it's own envelope, it cannot be mailed as it is.  So I made an envelope to match the card.

The envelope was standard white, on which I added a black background and fussy-cut some of the edge of this beautiful patterned cardstock.  I then added a piece of gray cardstock for the label, again matted in hot pink.  I always use my Xyron machine to secure paper to the outside of any envelope.  That way I can be sure nothing will be torn or ripped while in transit with the postal service.

I saw my niece over the holidays and she told me how much she loved her birthday card.  That, in and of itself, makes all the work involved well worthwhile!  After all, this is what I live for--adding a little happiness to someones day!

Thanks for visiting today and I hope to see you again soon!

Merilee

Vintage 50th Birthday Card

Hi Everyone!  Today's vintage 50th birthday card was so much fun to make!

This card is both a card and an envelope all in one.  I chose this card style because it was reminiscent of the old photo albums in which my parents used to receive their photos after developing.  I couldn't resist its retro feel, which was in my mind when I began this process.


The card was cut using my Cricut Expression and my trusty Wild Card cartridge (Scallop-page 32).  It isn't really meant to be a card and envelope all in one since it is featured in the manual with a matching envelope, but I loved it just the way it was!  I printed it in yellow cardstock, inked the edges with Tim Holtz/Ranger Ink in Fired Brick, and then covered select areas with these darling papers from Cosmo Cricket's Double Deck - Material Girl and Garden Variety.  I just love, love, love these papers!


To close the card, I used my Crop a Dile to punch two holes and set my eyelets.  I then ran the red satin ribbon through the eyelets and slipped on the tiny tag that I cut using my tag die plate and Crop a Dile III Main Squeeze.  I inked the edges and then I made my own dimensional numbers with my Cricut and my bottle of Glossy Accents (I just love that stuff!).  Once I finished, I decided to attach pretty daisies to the ribbon ends to keep the ribbon from slipping out and from fraying.  I punched four of the daisies with my daisy punch, ran them through my Xyron machine, and attached them back-to-back with the ribbon sandwiched in between.  I added flower centers on both sides from my stash of colored dimensional epoxy stickers.  Didn't they turn out so cute?!?  

(I also used the dimensional epoxy stickers in the centers of the flowers on the designer paper.)

For the feature on the middle panel inside, I cut a darling image from the Crafty Secrets Heartwarming Vintage Collection of Creative Scraps.  It was a great freebie when I ordered stamps from the same collection!  :o)  It so reminded me of my Mom, Aunts and Grandmother.  

I chose a coordinating paper from my Double Deck and lined the inside panels.  Then I chose a bright yellow cardstock for the feature panel and typeset a sentiment in my word processing program.  I printed the sentiment in green and then added pretty gem brads to adorn the upper corners with a little added bling.  After inking the edges, the image was matted on another coordinating cardstock from the Double Deck.  However, before mounting the image (and so my stems didn't stick out the back of the card) I added little green flower brads in each corner and then mounted the image under my sentiment inside the card.

 

I decided to add a gift card to the inside left panel, so estimated the size I'd need and I cut a strip of cardstock wide enough to accommodate my folder.  I then folded it in thirds and, with the open ends in the back, I adhered it to the card. To adorn the band, I took my cues from the darling cardstock I've been using and cut a bumble bee image with my Cricut using the really cute Create a Critter cartridge.  I used my white gel pen to detail the little bumble bee, filled in his wings with Glossy Accents, added tiny wiggle eyes from my stash, and attached him to the band.  I then cut a flower and leaf from the designer paper and added it to the band, as well.

I cut a small folder with my Cricut from my Tags, Bags, Boxes and More cartridge and rounded the corners using my Crop a Dile Corner Chomper.  Then I inked the edges.  Once again I cut some strawberries, flowers and leaves from the designer paper to adorn the outside and used my markers and Glossy Accents to add dimension.  (It would have been cute to use my Cricut to cut the fruit and flowers, too.)  The flower centers are accented with dimensional epoxy stickers.  

For the inside flap I used the same yellow cardstock as above, inking the edges and stamping "Happy Birthday" using Fired Brick Ranger ink.  The sentiment is from a darling stamp set from Crafty Secrets' Clear Art Stamps, the Heartwarming Vintage Collection.  I also added another strawberry cut from the designer paper and a couple more leaves.

Once inside the folder you can see the cute papers which inspired the strawberry and bumble bee motifs!  Isn't this the cutest paper ever?!?

I like lots of interaction, so I made yet another band inside to hold a small envelope.  The band was made in the same way as before and decorated with more cut images from the designer paper.  The envelope was cut from printed vellum using my Cricut and the Tags, Bags, Boxes and More cartridge.  I rounded the edges to match the folder and inked them with the same color Ranger ink.

This project was so much fun and I really enjoyed giving to my sister-in-law!  :o)

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!  :o)

Merilee

Recipe Ingredients: Papers:  Cosmo Cricket Double Deck-Material Girl and Garden Variety; The Paper Studio-Textured Cardstock; Printed Vellum

Designer Image:  Crafty Secrets Creative Scraps-Heartwarming Vintage

Embellishments:  Dimensional Epoxy Stickers-Recollections; Red Satin Ribbon-Offray

Stamps:  Happy Birthday Sentiment-Clear Art Stamps, Crafty Secrets-Heartwarming Vintage Collection

Ink:  Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Ink-Fired Brick

Tools:  Cricut Expression; Cricut Cartridges-Wild Card (Scallop, Pg. 32), Create a Critter (Bee, Pg. 68), Tags, Bags, Boxes and More; Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper; Crop-A-Dile II; Crop-A-Dile III Main Squeeze (Die Plate Tag); The Paper Studio Flower Punch; Xyron Sticker Maker