Mr Cardmaker Has A Different Idea of Christmas "CHEERS" Than Most People...

Prototyping is harder than it looks. Oh yeah, it is.....Just sayin'.

My goal here is to make a design that I can do many multiples of, from my card stock and DP stacks, where I can use different combinations of papers to get the same general effect.  This way, I use some of what I HAVE, instead of making a big investment of cash just to make identical cards.

MEANWHILE, I want to create something that will be beautiful and memorable.  That means, no junky materials.  Inexpensive does not necessarily equal junky.  Flimsy and tacky equals junky.  But, you knew that already.

SO, I already made some prototypes, and they can be seen HERE.  I'm now adding to the choice-making madness.....

I made this one--

So, this is on an Ivory base, which I ran thru the Cuttlebug with another embossing folder.

I made an "asterisk-y" snowflake of sorts with strips of DP, pink and teal and cream glitter paper, as well as red ribbon. Then, I stamped and embossed the sentiment in white embossing powder on the teal plaid and adhered it.

Then I stamped the martini glass and its contents onto white card stock with silver and green ink, respectively, and added the red rhinestone to shine it up. I adhered it with some foam tape.

I think this needs a brighter background, (maybe inked on top of the dry embossing?) and a MUCH brighter ink for the martini. And more bling, somewhere...Otherwise, not too bad.

This one is particularly good for conserving materials, since the expensive stuff is being used only in those tiny strips. I think it's worth a second look, for sure.

Then, I made these--

The photos don't do justice to the papers, I'm afraid.  This is done on a dove grey card body, and the sentiment is stamped on it with silver ink and is embossed with clear embossing powder.

The trees are cut by hand from pink shimmer paper, and run thru the Cuttle bug with Sizzix embossing folders. 

I adhered the "verbage" paper to the card body, adhered the plaid with foam tape, and then applied the trees behind and on top of the plaid.  The tree on top is mounted with foam squares, which are twice the depth of the tape, to cover the difference in distance.  You could do it by doubling the thickness of the foam tape.

The snowflake is done from cream glitter paper, and adhered with a glue dot.  The pearls finish it off.

I did two versions, just slightly different, as you can see. 

In all honestly, while I like this, I think I need to add some ribbon somewhere; maybe on the plaid?

I have to ponder on this one.  Plus I really am not sure what will happen in a different paper background.  I think the words give a lot of action to this card.  We shall see. 

CLEARLY, I have a good bit of work ahead of me.

Anyway, that's me, so far....

Materials-

Martini card-

Papers--the Paper Company, American Crafts Patterned Papers, DCWV, GinaKDesigns

Ink-Studio G, Stampin' Up

Ribbon- The Paper Source

Bling-AC Moore

Tools-Sizzix embossing folder, Scor-pal, EK success punch, Tombo mono-dots, Scotch foam tape.

Pink Trees card-

Same as above, with the addition of pearls from AC Moore, and Martha Stewart snowflake punch.

I have to make a decision on these babies soon, because I really don't want to run out of time.  November starts next week, already!!! 

This is now your time to ofer me some feedback on these, or to tell me to chuck it all and go in a different direction completely.  Seriously, I do well with (constructive) criticism.

Hey, thanks stopping by and checking out my stuff!

All Best-

Richard

Mr. Cardmaker Has More Birthday Stuff to Share

SO, the fall birthdays continue!  I shared George's card with you last time, and today I want to show you Jan's and Sue's cards.  (This is your SECOND SPOILER ALERT, Sue and Jan!!  Go watch some puppy videos or something!)

For Jan, I made this--

This is the first time I've printed out my own sentiments.  I found some fun, FREE fonts at kevinandamanda.com, and I have a feeling I will be using my downloaded fonts frequently!!

I stamped some leaves with lots of color onto the sentiment, and then trimmed and rounded three corners.  I also used my glitter pen to highlight "hey girl" and "two".  The inside has some personal stuff, but ends up saying "Happy Birthday".  Duh.

I layered a strip of teal card stock onto my swiss dot embossed baseto highlight the sentiment a bit, and then added a small piece of striped dp, also with rounded edges to the back of the sentiment.  I added a leaf punched with my leaf punch, and then adhered the whole thing with foam tape to give it some lift.

I cut a small slit in the fold of the card to allow the ribbon to slide through, then added a dry embossed circle on top.  I lined up some leaves and adhered them with foam tape.  Orange rhinestones finish it all up.

For Sue, I did this--

I dry embossed a piece of cream cardstock with my cuttlebug and a sizzix folder, then highlighted the embosing with a direct to paper techinque, using orange ink.  Then I adhered the ribbons and rick-rack.  There was a reall fun, happy accident with this big, chunky rick-rack.  It doesn't CREASE so well, so it pops itself off of the card front in a really charming way.  I could've glued it down flat, but I really like this effect.

I punched some leaves from scraps of DP, creased them down the middle to make them have more movement, and tucked them under the rick-rack, lifting them off the surface with some foam tape.

The sentiment is also popped off the surface, and highlighted with a white brad and some orange rhinestones. 

The pumpkins are in blue ink on some orange dp, and I did my usual cutting thing where I leave some space around the image, rather than "fussy cutting" it. 

Pop the whole thing onto an orange card base, and you're set!
This one is really pretty easy, but the effect is something much more busy and detailed.

So, these are my fall birthday cards.  Hope you found some inspiration!
Thanks so much for stopping by!!
All Best--
Richard

Supplies--
Jan's card-
Paper--DCWV (base and teal strip), SU dsp(leaves), M&MBI (leaves and stiped piece)
Ink- Colorbox
Embellishments- AC Moore (my old pal, the Dollar Bin) 
Tools--Scor-Pal, Fiskars punches, CutterBee snips, Cuttlebug, Sizzix embossing folders
Sue's card
Paper--SU (base, pumpkin pie, leaves, dsp), M&MBI(leaves), The Paper Co.(card front and sentiment strip)
Ink-Studio G, Colorbox
Embellishments-AC Moore (of course)
Tools--Scor-Pal, Fiskars punches, CutterBee snips, Cuttlebug, Sizzix embossing folders, SU piercing tool and Mat pack.

Mr. Cardmaker has LOTS of Fall Birthdays Coming Up!!

My DP has two sisters and a brother, and they all have November birthdays, two days apart.  Jan and George are twins, so (obviously) they are on the same day, and Sue is just two days later (but two years earlier).  Is that confusing enough?

Anyway, I had to make them cards, of course.  Oh, yeah, SPOILER ALERT, Sue, Jan, and George!!!
You should go look at kittens or something unless you want to ruin your surprises....

For George, I made this--

This was made on SU Pumpkin Pie CS and I ran it through the Cuttlebug with my new embossing folder.  I think this is called "distressed stripes", but I got excited about new toys and threw away the package before I could note what it was called.  Boo.
I then inked the edges with some brown ink.  The designer papers I used are all Me & My Big Ideas, with the exception of the bottom green-striped leaf.  That's SU.  Oh wait, that tiny yellow-striped leaf is SU too.  Scraps, I tell you.  Scraps!!!

I cut a strip of leaf paper , layered some ribbon (AC Moore Dollar Bin.  My Home-away-from-home), and adhered it. 
Then on a piece of SU Daffodil Delight, I used a stamp from Inkadinadoo's Autumn Foliage set to make my own DP.  I used tombo and Memento markers, in orange and green, to "thump" ink onto the stamp.  I thumped in several different directions, then "huffed" warm air on the stamp to make sure all the ink was good and moist before stamping.  Then I used a Spellbinder's circle die to cut and emboss my circle on my Cuttlebug.

Can you believe I actually "fussy cut" my image?  I so rarely do that....These pumpkins are in the Harvest Greetings set from Inkadinkadoo.  I stamped them in brown onto some M&MBI designer paper and after cutting them out, I adhered them to my circle, popping the center one up with some foam tape.  Then I cut a scalloped circle from more DP with my cuttlebug and another Spellbinders die and adhered my circle to it. 

I bought a Fiskars leaf punch from AC Moore during a punch sale (I hate to pay retail) and I used it and another teensy leaf punch I've had forever to punch some leaves from scraps.  Some I adhered to the card base, but I adhered a few to the back of my scalloped circle; I then popped the whole thing off the card with some foam tape.

The sentiment is from SU's Teeny Tiny sentiments set, on a scrap of SU dsp, popped up with more foam tape.  The brads and rhinestones are AC Moore.

I think George will appreciate all the layering.  He has an awesome eye for detail.

You know what?  I think I will wait and do the girls' cards in a different posting.  "Always leave them wanting more", PT Barnum used to say. (I think it was PTB.....)
They're really cute though!  Y'All come back here and have a look, y'here?

Thanks for stopping by.  Hope I can help inspire you to do your own fun projects.
All Best-
Richard

Mr. Cardmaker is a Birthday Card Making Guy

My sister, Lisa, has a birthday coming up on the 29th of this month.  Because I value my life, I won't tell you "how many" she's going to be, but she is just 14 months younger than myself, so you can figure it out, pretty much. 

She is a very outgoing, fun girl, with friends and neighbors in and out of her house all the time.  This girl knows how to entertain.  With my reclusive self, it's hard to believe she's my sister.

Anyway, I made her this--

Cute and fun, right?  I think it suits her personality.  I made this card on SU Mostly Mustard card stock, stamped with images from A*muse Studio's "Tini Time" set.  I used Studio G inkpads. 

The circles were cut from scraps of GinaK Designs white, and DCWV green cs with my Fiskars punches, and then inked with some colorbox ink.  I am sorry to say I threw the labels away for several of my colorbox pads, so I can't share the color.  Boo.  Pearls and ribbon from AC Moore (I swear, I LIVE in that dollar bin). 

I stamped the sentiment on a scrap of SU Daffodil Delight, and popped it up with foam tape.  The 'tini image is mounted on SU Pumpkin pie. 

I cut it out with my usual technique of leaving a white border around the image.  I like how it gives it more substance, and a little pop, especially when you back it with another color card stock.  I used Colorbox and Studio G ink on the martini, and crayola markers to do the cherry.  I popped it up higher than the sentiment with foam squares.

On the inside, I stamped "Olive you!" from the same set, and under it, I used SU's Teeny Tiny Wishes "Happy Birthday" stamp.  (No photo, sorry.)

I like the cheery colors, and the bubbly feeling from all the circles.

I hope she likes it, too!!

Thanks for dropping by! 

All Best--

Richard



Mr. Cardmaker is Feeling Scrappy

Boy, fall is taking its sweet time getting to us in Boston. Ready for some color, Yo!! 
I am almost OVER making autumn cards, and am ready to get a move on with my Christmas cards.  ALMOST, I said.  I actually have some autumn stamps that have yet to be inked up.  Mr. Cardmaker would NEVER let a season go by without inking up ALL of his new stamps.

That reminds me, I need to do just a few dozen more Halloween cards to make that a true statement.  DANG YOU, AC Moore Dollar Bin!!!  Dang you, and all of your $1 too-cute-to-pass-up Halloween goodness!!!!

ANYWAY---

I had some scraps all over my floor from the rosette banner project I did (more on that later).  I decided they were just too good to throw away (like most of my scraps).
So, I made this--

This was made on a beige base, cardstock from The Paper Co. I layered some DP from Me & My Big Ideas, then some SU Mostly Mustard cs run thru my Cuttlebug with a Sizzix embossing folder.  I inked that up with some brown ink for some depth.  I popped that off the DP with some foam tape. 

I  gathered up my scrap DP (SU, M&MBI, and some Target "no name")  and arranged and adhered them just as they were; no extra cutting.  Then I cut out, edged, and stamped the sentiment (Studio g).  I stamped it twice, once in brown, and once in white to give it some pop.  I added a swirl from another Studio g set to give it some "somethin'-somethin'.
I added a little loop of ribbon to the back, and attached it with some more foam tape.
Easy-Peasy.

THEN--
StampTV did a "Red and Kraft" challenge for their "Mix-it-up Monday" challenge.  I had just won GinaK Designs' "Garden Fresh" stamp set during a blog hop, so I decided to bust it out and get inky with it. 

I made this--

This could not have been easier or more fun.  I stamped some GinaK Designs Kraft CS with the apple stamp in Versamark, and used some (really old) red embossing powder to get them nice and shiny.  (Gotta love a shiny red apple!)
I then used some crayola markers to re-ink the stamp, and I stamped it on some white CS, and cut it out.  I like to leave a little white area around most images I cut out.  I think it looks good, and it's often MUCH easier to cut.
I stamped the sentiment on another piece of white CS in Memento Tuxedo Black, and used the green marker I used on the apple leaf to hand draw the border.
I attached some Baker's twine to the back, added some foam tape to the back, and adhered it, using my two-way glue pen to attach the twine to the card base.
I added some foam tape to the apple image, and adhered it to the sentiment.
Easy as pie. 
Mmmmmmm, apple pie.   SO glad we went apple picking this weekend!!!

So, that's me for now.  I have some autumn birthday cards to share with you next time. 

Thanks so much for stopping by!
All Best-
Richard

Mr Cardmaker is Feeling Sketchy...

Hey there.  I was making a bunch of Autumn themed birthday and thank you cards yesterday, and I decided to toss my cardstock into the mojo Monday and CPS arenas.  For this MOJO210 challenge, I made this--

For this card, I used SU chocolate chip cardstock, and the dp is from Me & My Big Ideas.  The other cardstock is DCWV.  The sentiment stamp is from Inkadinkado, and I used two colors of colorbox ink to ink it up.  Hard to see in the photo, but I also used my sakura glitter pen on the letters.  The pearls and ribbons are from AC Moore's dollar bins.

Then!  I found one of my birthday cards fit the sketch for CPS this week!  What luck!  I made this one--

For this card, I used SU CS for the base, and medalion, and the DP is from M&MBI and SU.  I used a new-to-me Sizzix embossing folder, and my nestabilities dies, as well as a fiskars leaf punch, and a punch from a million years ago for the tiny leaves.  Ink is Colorbox, and the embellies are from AC Moore's dollar bin.. Love that dollar bin!!

I have to say, I find sketch challenges to be sort of tough for me.  I guess I am a bit too literal.  This was a really nice sketch to use, thouigh, and I'm glad I tried it out!  I will have to get more practice!

Thanks for checking it out!

All Best-

Richard