More Summer Birthdays

I am really NOT a summer person.  I like the colors, and the sunshine and the long days, and all the flowers.  I DO NOT like the HEAT.  Re my last post about Michigan summers....yeah.....Not with this horrific heat wave we're having!  Lawdy, can we get us some SEPTEMBER already??

ANYHOW....

My nephew/godson Jared had his birthday, and I made him this card--

I was kind of digging this design, because the image happens at the bottom third of the card.  I don't think I find that happening most of the time. 

This card started with a base of SU card stock, with some layers of cut and punched MME Fine and Dandy Boy DP.  I did some detail with yellow and white twine from We R Memory Keepers.

I stamped Jenny Bowlin Studios seal stamp in two colors to create a sun on some SU daffodil delight cs, and circle cut it with a spellbinders die and my Cuttlebug. 

I die cut some clouds with my A*muse studio clouds duo die and sponged them with Memento cantalope ink to make them look like a sunrise, then popped them up with some foam tape.  That little kiss of aqua behind the sun is a circle sticker from Paper Source.

The truck is SU's Loads of Love set, and the dude and presents are from the Loads of Love extender set.  I hand drew the little swirls that look like exhaust/movement.  I stamped the truck both on the card stock and a piece of DP, then cut out the DP one and pieced it on top of the stamped image.  I used copics to color things in.  I mounted the whole thing on some random gray cs, and mounted it up with foam tape.

The inside looked like this--

Here I used sentiments from SU, both from the Loads of Love set (duh), and from Happiest Birthday Wishes (double duh)..
I repeated the use of that seal stamp to make my sun, and I used a piece of smashbook tape to help attach the blue banner piece.
I hand drew a border around the yellow cs with a superfine tipped marker.  I like how it personalizes it a little.

So-  That's my birthday card!

Thanks for stopping by!
Stay out of the heat, for heaven's sake.

All Best-
Richard

Mr Cardmaker LOVES Summertime Birthdays

Boy, summer in Michigan is a BEE-YOU-TEE-FUL thing!  Warm, breezy days, lots of lakes around, gorgeous trees and flowers.   We have had a week of pretty hot days, but they come and GO, and then we have marvelous, open-the -window kind of weather for two more weeks.  I am a happy, happy cardmaking man.

Being in such a great mood, I am able to summon up my mojo and make a fun card for my little brother Daniel.  I think he's 16 now!  OMG.

I made this for him--

This started with a base of PTI Summer Sunrise card stock., which I stamped with Unity Stamp Co.'s Ippity stamp set, "Cuppy Cakes" in Memento Tangelo ink.

The next layer is MME's  Fine and Dandy Boy paper pad, with a backing of some of SU Marina Mist CS.  I stamped candles from Ditto by Studio G in SU Marina Mist ink.  I adhered these pieces to the base.

Then I stamped the receipt stamp from Jenny Bowlin Studio onto some PTI white CS, and stamped the Wishing You sentiment from PTI Simply You with Distress Ink festive berries (part of the 2011 Christmas ink bundle).  I stamped in black, then paper pieced more candles, and colored the flames with copic markers.  I also used a sponge dauber and some Memento Cantelope ink to make a glow around the flames. I hand drew the red line at the bottom with a red tombo marker, just to add a third bit of red (the sentiment, the red brad, and the red line).  Without any red in any of the papers, I thought I needed to make sure there was a big enough presence of red, so it wouldn't look like a mistake.

I added three brads from AC Moore.  The red one was actually green to start.  I dipped the head onto my versamark pad and then into red embossing powder, then heated it to get a red brad.  My first attempt there.  I think it needs work.  BTW--use tweezers or something to hold your brad when using your heat tool.  Trust me...  Anyway, that then got mounted onto a piece of patterned paper to wait for the next step.

I cut a 1.5" x 4.25" pice of numbered paper, adhered a small piece of turquoise ribbon to the back, and adhered it to the card.  Then I added some foam tape to the top layer and adhered it at an angle.  I like to carefully overlap some elements of the underneath layers when I do that.  You can see here I went off the edge a bit, measuring to make sure it would all fit into a regular A2 envelope.

That takes care of the front.  But my sentiment promises some more info....so I went inside...

I did this inside--

I cut a circle out of Marina Mist CS and stamped some candles and a Happy Birthday! (GKD Happy Camper set)on it with Stazon Black ink.  I adhered it to the inside, and then stamped lots more cupcakes around with more Memento Tangelo.  This ink is light enough on the orange card stock that I can write a message without it getting lost in all my images.

I like this card for Daniel, because it's fun without being juvenile. While these images and other items could be used for a younger kid, I think the layers and composition make it sophisticated enough for a teenager without being stuffy.

Next time I have another summer birthday card to share with you.   This one is for another teenager, my nephew, Jared.

I hope your summer is a terrific one, too!
Thanks for stopping by!
All Best-
Richard

Mr Cardmaker has a CASE of the Graduation Hooplas

SO after I made nephew Elliot's card, seen HERE,  I needed three more cards for my younger brother, my cousin, and another nephew.  Time was of the essence, so I made almost identical cards for them all.  They look like this--

This design started with a CASE of a card I saw on Pinterest.  You can see the original with all due credits HERE.  I liked the idea of the partial mortar board hat, and the tassel, so I ran with it.

I started with a white card stock base, 4.25"x 5.5".  I then added a piece of DCWR cloud paper, trimmed down to 4"x 5.25".
With a Jenny Bowlin Studio "seal" (looks like a sun to me) stamp, I stamped a sun on SU Dandelion Delight CS with two yellow shades of ink (sorry, I did not note which I used).  Then I found a Spellbinders circle die that fit it, and put it through my Cuttlebug.
I stamped the sentiment "You" (Papertrey Ink's Simply YOU set) on the sun with gray ink, and then stamped the center circle and the second part of the sentiment with black stazon ink, just to get that amazing crispness.  MUCH easier to read.  I cut the circle part out with a Fiskars circle punch, and adhered it with some foam tape. I attached the sun with some adhesive, making sure to overlap the open edges of the background piece.
To do the mortar board, I used some DCWR Brights cardstock stack green and cut a square, cut it in half diagonally, then rounded the corners with a 1/2" rounder punch.  I used some gray ink on a foam dauber to give some texture to the edges. 
I used a 1 1/2" x 1" piece of the same CS, as well as a scrap of yellow in the same size, and used my snips to create a fringed edge.  I rolled the uncut side around a piece of yellow cord, and made a tassel.  I attached the end of the cord to the underside of the mortar board, and adhered the whole shebang with foam tape.  I secured the tassel to the card front with a glue dot. and let the cord move around freely.
I felt like there was too much negative space at the bottom of the card, so I stamped some birds from Melanie Muenchinger's Gifts form the Sea set, by GKD.  I find myself going back to that stamp often!
I happened to have two graduates with green and yellow as their colors, so I did two of them.  The other one was red and white, with navy. 
I made this one--

This one is the same idea, different colors.  I decided to overlap the sun and the mortar board on this one, rather than have the sun overlap the outer edge.  They both work for me, I think  The red one has a more pronounced tassel.  That would probably change every time I make this card.

SO, graduations are over.  On to new adventures for these guys.  I, myself, am very proud of each of them.

Thanks for stopping by!
All Best-
Richard

Mr Cardmaker is Searching

This week is graduation for Elliot, one of the nephews.  Everyone else has happened already.  I am BROKE, shelling out for gifties!  I DO love my nephews...

I made Elliot this card--

This is a really cool stamp from Stamps of Life.  I ran into this company at the MegaMeet in Novi, MI, and I really like some of their stuff!  I stamped this in Memento Paris Dusk ink onto PTI white card stock, and then mounted it onto some navy cardstock (probably SU Night of Navy).  That went onto a layered background, using DCWV Cotton Bloom paper (oval) Basic Grey Boxer paper (the blue piece) and My Mind's Eye Lost and Found Two Sunshine paper (the big houndstooth background piece.  The base is SU More Mustard (I think.  I also have a multicolor pack from PTI, and I may have used one of theirs).  All on a base of PTI white card stock.
I inked the edges of the puzzle piece with some Distress Ink Tea Stain, and I die cut the letters of his school initials with some sizzix dies, and used my glue pen to adhere them  That rhinestone is some random foundling.

The inside looks like this--

I used Spellbinders Labels Four and Labels Four Small dies with my old bud the Cuttlebug to do the center piece (Dollars to doughnuts there is some messed up stamping underneath it), and I used my pennant punch from SU to do the pennant pieces.  Stringing these puppies onto that twine was a pain in the butt, but it looks good, so, there that is.  The sentiments stamps are GinaK Designs and SU, and the twine is from Memory Keepers. 

So that's it!  Hope he likes it.

Thanks for stopping by! 
All Best--
Richard

Mr Cardmaker is an Interactive Guy

I have entered the land of Papertrey Ink stamps and dies lately, and WOW am I having fun!
I have been ODing on their Rosie Posie stamp and die sets, and now I have some new PTI dies to play with.
The movers and shakers dies by PTI let you make interactive cards.  I made this one--

I used the PTI Simply You Stamp set for the sentiment, and yes, the flowers and leaves are done with the Rosie Posie sets.  I Wet embossed my white rose onto yellow CS, and the leaves are merely stamped. 

This is what you see when you pull the tab--(except not so blurry)

The key to doing this well is to use super strong tape on either side of the strip so it doesn't pull off while the tab gets pulled.  I used scor-tape on mine. 

This is a fun die, and there is also a landscape oriented one.  There are dies for things that pop up, and one to make spinners or sliding things with cool pathways. 

I am always psyched to find something new and exciting.  More, please!

Thanks for dropping by!
All Best-
Richard

Supplies-Card stock- Stampin' Up and Papertrey Ink; Stamps and Dies, Papertrey Ink and Spellbinders; Ink, Memento, Distress Ink and Versamark; Baker's twine, Paper Source; Cuttlebug embossing folders.

Mr Cardmaker is (clearly) in a Punchy Mood

So, after showing you the card made with my new EK Tools punch HERE, I felt a kinship with the punch, and had to go further.  I felt the big loopy shapes really lent itself to a super feminine card, and I had to explore the possibilities.

I made this--

This is on SU cardstock, and the DP is My Mind's Eye.  The white card stock is PTI.  The sentiment stamp is also SU, and the die is Spellbinders Labels Four.
I hand inked the sentiment stamp (yes, it's one stamp) with Tombo and Crayola markers.  Who'da thunk my old OLD Crayola markers could be useful?  Love them!
The hearts are punched with a heart punch from the dollar bin. and I got them to line up by just sliding the punch down the strip as I went.  No guesswork! 
I used the circles that fell from the scallop punch to back them.  Much easier than trying to line up punched hearts, and no waste!  Love that.

Speaking of the circles that fell from the scallop punch, I used more of them on the inside--

Whoa, bit of a blur.  Sorry about that.
I stamped the sentiment (SU) first, then did the tiny circles. I found it really easy to place the stamped circles on top of what was already there.
As you can see, I am putting more effort into the insides of the card lately.  I am gonna get the biggest bang for my extra twenty cents postage that I can!

So That's my card.  Hope it gives you some ideas of your own.

Thanks for stopping by!
All Best--
Richard

He's BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK......

Yes, indeed, fellow crafters, stampers, and scrappers, Mr. Cardmaker has returned.  Whoopie, probably...

Anyway, the move went/is going really well, despite the fact that I have no job.  However, we are fine, and I am hoping to make a go of some sort of card business, once I get THAT part of my life set up.

I have a ROOM!  It has nothing but a table so far, and it also doubles as guest room #2, but it's mine!  I hope to show you how all that progresses.  Stay tuned.  PLEASE!   (I did lose TWO followers in my absence.  Wah, I say. Wah, indeed.

But I am in need of stamping buds in my new home!  I feel lonely.  If you are anywhere in the Detroit area, or know of folks there who are ready to welcome a man into their midst, please clue me in.

Meanwhile, I have a card to share with you all today. 
I made this--

Clearly, I bought a new punch!   This is an EK Success (or is it tools) punch, and it's SO big and chunky, and I LURVE this!!!  It that an amazing scallop or what???  The DP is all My Mind's Eye, and the base is, ummmmmm.....Ok, I forget.  The white is PTI, and the star punch is Fiskars.  The Birthday stamp is SU, and the pearls are $1.00 bin pearls.

So this is how it's folded--

I sliced about two inches off the bottom of my 4.25"x 5.5" card.  I popped the white up with foam tape to give the star some dimension.  I used a copic marker bg000 to fill in the "I" in Birthday.

It looks like this inside--

I used the insides of the circles that were punched out for the scalloped edge to stamp the sentiment (SU) on.  I think this is a really happy card, and still okay for a man, I think.

So, I guess I'm back!  I will show you some more girly stuff next time.

Thanks for stopping by!
All Best-
Richard

Mr Cardmaker has a Quicky for You

Actually, this was not so much of a quicky to make.  I fussed and fretted, and added and moved, and took a way and added back, stamped more stuff...

Anyway, I made this--

This is for my brother Chet's 18th birthday.  I started with this little Studio G stamp set, that had the sentiment, the guitar, the swirl and the fleur de lis.  Then I pulled out some background stamps, the crackle and the speckles, and SU's Inspired by Nature set, stamped the grass in red and brown, and turned it on its side.The DP is MME Fine and Dandy Boy, and the yellow card is SU.  I think the base is PTI, but don't hold me to that.The brads are from AC Moore, and the twine is some really old stuff from who knows where. 
I punched a hole with a regular old hand punch in the one end and wound the twine thru it.  Looks good, not so easy at envelope time....
Memento Rich Cocoa , and Distress Broken China and Festive Berries inks.
That skinny piece with the screw brad?  The final addition.  It's all about the negative space, people.
And, oh yeah, I pried the whole thing apart to get it under there.  You know I did.

Still in move mode, so don't know when I'll get a minute to get back here.

Thanks for stopping by!
All Best-
Richard

Mr Cardmaker is Krazy....

I know I have been MIA and probably AWOL to some of you, but I am in the throes of MOVING, and just too nutz to think.  I HAVE been making cards, though, and I will get with you all asap.

Here's something to peek at while I am running nuts....

Martha punch, all SU papers, GinaK Designs stamps, random buttons and twine.

Simple, but effective.

Mr Cardmaker misses you!!!

All Best-
Richard

Mr Cardmaker is All Set

Here in New England, when you don't want what's being offered to you, instead of saying "no thanks", people tend to say, "I'm all set."  I don't get this.  I also don't get/like/appreciate/admire using "no problem" instead of "you're welcome", or even "my pleasure", which is my own prefered phrase.

Anyway, putting my soapbox aside, I made this set--

 These are A2 (4.25"x 5.5") bases, with 4"x 4" white cards attached to them.  I used GinaK Designs "Garden Fresh" set, and My Mind's Eye "Ooh La La" 6x6 paper pad to create these.  To do the carrots, I masked and stamped three of the carrot image, then paper pieced them, popping the center carrot off the surface with some foam adhesive.  You can just see where I used an edge punch to do a pierced scallop edge.

 The red of the mellon is popped up on this one.  Same edge treatment on all of the bases; hard to make out in the photos.

 I love these pears.  I was worried about them at first, because the "skin part prints the color of the ink, and I didn't want to switch away from the black I had been using, but the patterned paper with a bit of green and lots of white carries it all off, I think.

 For the peas, I did a two level dimensional treatment.  The peas are popped 1/8", the pod is up 1/4".  I like the way it looks.

 For this one, I had to mask off the core part of the stamp in order to get a "whole" apple look.  Yum!

The "pulp" part is popped up on the dotted one, and the "pits" are above those.  I am just about "fussy cut" out!!!
The white card stock is from PTI.  These cards don't stand by themselves so well.  I really don't care so much about that.  This may be my favorite thing I have made to date.

Thanks for stopping by!
All Best-
Richard

PS--I hope to be able to give you a positive report about our ventures in Real Estate next time I write!!

Mr Cardmaker has an Announcement!

Well, the big news here is that Mr Cardmaker and his DP Charlie are MOVING!  We have a great opportunity to move out to Michigan, near Charlie's family.  He starts out there on April 1st!  We are headed out to Detroit this weekend to search out a house in the Bloomfield/Birmingham areas.  I am sad to be leaving my Boston-area stamping buddies, but whithersoever he goest.... It's been so much fun.  I hope I find some Michigan stamping buds, too, and that they are half as great as the gals I befriended here!

We'll be staying with Charlie's mom, and, of course, I can't go empty handed.  I was raised in the South, where you show up with something for your hostess.  Yes, you do.

I made these--

My apologies for the terrible pictures.  I could NOT get these things to stay closed to save my life, and it was impossible to get anything any better shot.

SO I made this little collection of cards and tags.  I used SCRAPS!  These are pieces of GinaK Designs Pure Luxury Cream card stock.  I basically went with the sizes that they were, scored (thanks, scor-pal) and folded them, then ran the fronts thru the Cuttlebug with a sizzix embossing folder. 

Then I got out some dp that I have had forever (and lost the cover of the pad, so I have no idea who made it) and my Labels 4 dies from Spellbinders, and went to town. One of the pieces is adhered directly to the cs, and one is popped up with foam tape.  It was tons of fun playing with the placement, and trimming off what was overhanging.  I just used my snips to do that.

The sentiments are from Stampendous, the Everything Happy set.  I like the font so much.I used my SU words window punch on some of them, and for those that didn't fit, I trimmed off the bottom of the card.  I stamped them in Memento Rich Cocoa, to go with the brown in the dp.

Some rhinestones from ACMoore finish them all off.  Because these are weird, random sizes, I don't have envelopes for them.  I have had the itch to make some, though, and if I get the time before we go on Friday, I may just have to give them a go.  I do still have more of that dp.  They ARE tags, for the most part, so if they don't get envelopes, I think it'll be okay.  They can be inserted inside a giftbox or something like that.

So, onward goes my plan to use ALL my stamps.  I also got rid of lots of scraps!

We could sure use a good thought from everyone out there, that we sell our condo here in Boston, and that we find some wonderful house to buy! 

And, hey, holler at me if you live in the Detroit area.  We can stamp together!

Thanks for stopping by!

All Best-
Richard

Mr Cardmaker has a Mojo-free day...

Several years ago, I was fortunate enough to hear Vidal Sassoon speak about his long career in hairdressing.  He spoke most passionately about "process", and how you have to do something all the time, whether it's good or not, so you can make breakthroughs and come up with something really great.

So, with that in mind, on a very NON-MOJO day, I pulled out a stack of DP I hadn't used yet; Cotton Bloom from DCWV.  Pretty, happy paper, some glittery, nice stuff. 

I made these-

This could not have been simpler.  The top strip is popped up (doesn't it make you giggle when you accidentally write "pooped up"?)  with some foam tape, and is edged with a strip that was punched with a Martha Stewart punch.  The sentiment is SU, and the swirl stamp is GinaK Designs.  Blah blah blah, you gotta card.  I am going right now to round those bottom corners.  Be right back.

Ok, done.  Sorry about that.  Next!



This one has a bit more effort, working the ribbon under the dp strips.  Again, simple, simple.
It's sometimes nice to just let the pretty paper do the work for you.  I will remember these ideas when I am pressed for time.  I think I would definitely round all the edges on this one if I recreate it, though. 

Thanks for stopping by.
Next time, I have some MUCH more involved projects to share.  Stay tuned!

All Best-
Richard

Mr. Cardmaker is a User

I have been collecting all kinds of stuff for a couple of years now.  Paper, brads, stamps, inks, paper, cutters, glitter, stamps, paper, embossing powder, paper, stamps......oh, and some paper.  Other stuff too.

Anyway, I am making it my mission to use ALL of my stamps this year.  Of course, I will also buy more.  I feel it is my duty to support the stamp-making community.  I am going to drag out each set, one-by one, and use them!  I also have a love-it-or-die rule going on.  Sorta self-explanatory there, right?

However!  I did pull out a set that I have not given much use, and I did create a card with it.

I made this-

This was made with GinaK Designs set called Nesting.  I have previously used this set on THIS POST, and decided to see what else I could come up with.  I liked the nest image, and I like how the eggs on the yellow piece sort of reinforce the eggs in the nest.  There's just a little copic action happening on the nest and eggs, too.

The DP is from DCWV, and the card stock is all from SU, with the exception of the scalloped oval.  That's from DCWV as well.

The flourishes are done with an Inkadinkadoo set called Dot Flourishes, and they're stamped with Versamark.

I am also experimenting with doing MORE layers.  I am always so impressed by these cards I see with SO much great stuff going on. 

This could certainly be an all-occasion card, but I did stamp Happy Birthday inside. 

Thanks for stopping by!

All Best-

Richard

Mr Cardmaker is a Love Kind of Guy

For my DP Charlie--My Valentine.

I made this thing--

This was done with My Mind's Eye papers on GinaK Designs Kraft card stock.  The brown is SU, and that is attached to the striped band.

I then adhered the  pink strip with the Martha Stewart punched leaves (from PTI)to the underside of the green piece.  The green piece is popped up from the brown with foam tape.  To do the glitter hearts, I punched the hearts in the green paper, and then took a scrap of whatever else, ran my adhesive runner across it, and sprinkled some pink Martha Stewart glitter on it. I think they would NEVER look this crisp done on top of the paper. Oh yeah, that's a SU scallop punch used on the top of the green piece.

The frame for the sentiment is GKD, and the sentiment itself is SU.  I stamped it in Memento Rich Cocoa to go with the background.
The background script stamp is from Joanne's, I believe, and the heart punch is from AC Moore's dollar bins.  I STILL love poking around in those dollar bins! The pink pearls are also from AC Moore.

The tiny pink heart stamp in the sentiment is also from GKD, the same All Occasions Greetings set as the frame. That's a Spellbinders grommet tags die that cut it out.  Tiny piece of SU white satin ribbon through the tag holes.

That's my Valentine's valentine.  Hope you like!

Thanks for stopping by!
All Best-
Richard

Mr Cardmaker may have a Couple of Misses...

THIS IS MY SECOND POST TODAY!!!

Please scroll down and check out my earlier post.  You'll enjoy it!

...............................................................

Hoo Boy.  You know how you get this idea, rush to pump it out, and in the end, you stare at the thing and wonder how it went wrong? 

Yeah.

I made these things-

 OK, to be honest, I don't hate this first one so much.  I think the colors are just a bit weird.
I used GinaK Designs All Occasions Tags set to make this, with PTI paper, SU Cherry Cobbler ink and Memento Tuxedo Black.  The tag is cut out with a Spellbinders Grommet Tag die, and popped up with some foam tape.

This one.....Yeahhhhhhh.
Mmmmmmmm.
Hmmmmmmm.     A love muffin.  And the streamers.   A red stardust pen.   Yeah, I think I gotta toss this one.  Too much of a whole lotta nuttin' going on here.

What do YOU think?

Give me a shout and let me know what you think.  The envelope, or the trash bin?

Thanks for stopping by!!!

Mr Cardmaker has a Lonely....

In my Pinterest travels, which now probably suck up no less than two hours each day, I came upon a card that had lots of birdcages, all filled with different birds.  It was really cute.  I did not bother to repin it, apparently, so I can't link to it.  However, it obviously left its impression on me.

I am thinking of my far away Mama this week, and I used the cage idea to make her a card.

I made this--

This is made on a GinaK Designs Kraft base, and I used My Mind's Eye  Quite Contrary paper to stamp my cages.  The cages are stamps from A*muse Studio, the Life is a Song set.  The fly away birds are from GKD, my friend Melanie Muenchinger's Gifts from the Sea set.  Oh yes, my panel backing piece is a random scrap, but the backing for my letters (which are Studio G) is done with SU Daffodil Delight.   The Button is from Basic Grey.

I popped the letters in the word "miss" up with foam tape, and used foam tape as well on some of the cages. 

Simple card.  I was hoping the yellow would keep it on the cheery side, since it's not the most "up" of cards... 

Thanks for stopping by!
Richard

Mr Cardmaker tries something new.....

Ok, so I have been all over Pinterest, looking for new and exciting ideas.  Don't know Pinterest?  FIND IT!!!  You will have sooooo much fun, and waste SOOOOOOO much time!  

I have seen really imaginative and creative cards, and somewhere along the line I got the idea to try something different.  Different for me, anyway...

I made these--

I did these with My Mind's Eye papers, on PTI white card stock bases.  The pink CS is PTI as well.  The ink is SU crumbcake with a SU stamp, and the hearts are from TPC Studio with Studio G ink.  The ribbons are from my AC Moore dollar bin stash.

To make the doily image, which is from SU, I stamped and embossed the image with white embossing powder, and cut out the center with a Spellbinder's die.  I then cut out the pink scalloped circles with another Spellbinder's die.  I saved the insides of the scalloped circle for the sentiment, and adhered the open circle to the back of the doily piece. 

Setting the inside circle took a bit of trickery, because I needed it to be placed perfectly, so no edges would show.  so, I used some removable adhesive, and gently stuck it to the pink frame.  I did this AFTER putting strong adhesive on the back of it, because I needed it stuck to the card base.  There was next to zero space to work with here, so imagine me cursing under my breath, because that's what happened several times while doing this.

The rest of the card front was given the big foam tape treatment, around the opening, and on the edges.  This was an adhesive nightmare to make work, especially since the inside circle kept falling off while I was trying to flip the whole shebang over.  DO NOT try this immediately after having coffee.

I finally got it all down and secure, and then I got to peel the bottom off, because, as usual, I forgot about RIBBON!...grumblegrumble.....It all worked out fine in the end.  There has to be an easier way, however.

I added the sentiment piece at the end, and trimmed the overhanging edge off by hand.
All in all, these look pretty good, but also look much easier than they were.  I think the idea is to LOOK hard and BE simple.  *sigh* 
But, I learned something, and I had fun, as always.  That's the name of the game.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing my mad musings. 
All Best-
Richard

Mr Cardmaker has Thoughts of Spring

I got some lovely papers for Christmas from my DP.  I decided to put them and some stamps I hadn't gotten any ink on yet to work.  Besides, I'm cold, and I want to start thinking about Spring!

I made this--

This was made on an A*Muse Studio base.  I like the fact that their card stock has a white backing, especially for bases.  I DO wish they would come out with a heavier weight version, however, because once you get a layer or two, it is hard to get proper support .  A*Muse studio is known for their very simple styling, so they probably don't worry too much about tons of layers......anyway...

The DP is from My Mind's Eye.  I think.  Pretty sure.  Almost positive. 
I cut strips, and ran them through the ol' Cuttlebug with a distressed stripes embossing folder.  I LOVE the effect it gave to the striped paper.  Each panel was backed with some SU basic gray cs, and I stamped the sentiment (SU) with Memento London Fog.  The flowers are chipboard pieces from  from Me & My Big Ideas. 

I like the way the panels overhang the edges. I will use this for a birthday card, most likely.

Since I had everything out, I decided to make another one. 
I made this-

Same base, ink, and stamp.  I added buttons from my randon collection, and a flower and ribbon from AC Moore's dollar bin.  The top of the base is run through the Cuttlebug with a Sizzix embossing folder that looks like gauze or netting.
Strangely enough, that ribbon is straight.  The embossing folder sort of warped the base a bit for the photo..  This is what I mean about wishing A*Muse made a thicker CS.  Maybe one day!

Thanks for stopping by!
All Best-
Richard

Mr Cardmaker is LATE for a Date! 365 of them, to be Precise...

Well, I really got a LATE start on anything to do with a calendar, but I did one anyway. 
Now, a calendar is a WONDERFUL way to get really creative, with twelve creative opportunities for each one!  Sounds fun, right?

LATE is not the way to begin this project.  Nor is the idea to "just make one."  This "just one" thing takes FOREVER to produce, and you (you=ME) will haul out every stamp you ever owned to figure the thing out.

However, I made this--

Ohhhh, this is not a great picture.  So much for the collage function on my Picasa program. Let me add some single shots.....

I 'll keep them small, so your wrist doesn't get tired scrolling down forever. 
The supply list is pretty extensive-
Jan-SU and Studio G stamps, Distress ink, Colorbox ink
Feb-TPC Studio stamps, Distress ink, Delicata gold ink
March- Fiskars stamps, Studio G inks
April- SU and Studio G stamps, Studio G inks
May- SU and GinaK Designs stamps, Studio G inks
June- no stamps, Distress inks, Studio G inks, white gel pen
July- GinaK Designs and SU  stamps, Distress ink, SU ink, Delicata ink
Aug- SU stamp and Ink
Sept- Fiskars stamps, Memento ink, copic markers
Oct- Studio G stamp, Memento ink, copic marker
Nov- SU stamp, Studio G inks
Dec- SU stamp and ink, sakura stardust pen

So, some months are more exciting than others, and there could be so much more done to the edges, AND there could be some dp used as backing or something, but I think I got really overwhelmed after March started.   I do think that's where I got my stride.  By August, I was getting panicky, because the mess was ENORMOUS, and dinner should've been started about 20 minutes before....I decided to do takeout after I did September.  That one was fun.  The Sakura stardust pen did a lot for December; I wish you could see it in this pic.

ANYWAY!  I learned.  I had some creative FUN.  And it doesn't suck or anything, really, so......

I will go at this idea again IN TIME to make some gifts for 2013.  I have a feeling some themes will be revisited! 

Thanks for stopping by!
Hope your 2012 is off to a great start!
All Best-
Richard

Mr Cardmaker's Ski-Crazed Nephew has a Birthday

Nephew Elliot is a ski-all-the-time kinda guy.  The winter he learned to ski, he cried when the family came home from a Florida vacation to find all the snow had melted.  He pretty much hates Florida now.  No snow.

Anyway, he turns 18 this year.  He is co-captain of his soccer team, and a mean dude with a la crosse stick, let me tell you.  He is a great artist (like, OMG) and a really NICE kid.  Wicked smaht, too. That's a New England thing....not a typo.

So, I made him this--

This makes you happy about snow and skiing, right?  That's gotta be some black diamond stuff there....just sayin'. 

This image is from GinaK Designs, the Happy Camper set by Theresa Momber.  All except for the birds.  Those are also GKD, but from the Gifts from the Sea set, by my friend Melanie Meunchinger.  The sky was in need of something....Negative space is my nemesis sometimes, let me tell you...

So, to do this, I stamped the image onto the white card stock I was using, and again onto a scrap of card stock, which I cut out to use as a mask.  I like to use a good, heavy cardstock when I make a mask, so it doesn't get all mashed up when I do my stuff on top of it. I used repositionable tape runner to hold the mask in place.

I then used a foam applicator and applied some Iced Spruce Distress Ink all over the card stock, leaving it somewhat uneven, so I could make a subtle cloud look.  Then I used some Evergreen Bough Distress ink on the lower portion, and around the edges of my shape. 

The shape is a Labels Four die from Spellbinders, btw.  The white piece behind it is also a Spellbinders die, also edged with the evergreen bough.  Each piece is mounted on foam tape to pop it up a bit.

After I was happy with my ink, I removed my mask, and colored my image with copics.  I am NOT a copics expert by ANY means, but I do love the colors and I have a small collection.  I am LEARNING how to use them.  I did not pay much attention to the colors I used, so I can't list them here.  Oh well.  I did concentrate on making the mountain in the back a bit darker, to help it look further away.  I then added some Glossy Accents to almost everything to give it an icy feeling. 

The striped paper is My Mind's Eye, Lost and Found pad, and I punched some snowflakes with a Martha punch.  The base is DCWV, edged with more Rich Cocoa ink.  I did some faux stitching, added some of my dollar bin ribbons, mounted the whole thing on some white PTI card stock and viola!  Card.

I hope that Elliot likes it, and that it makes him want to go skiing.  Like he needs any encouragement from me.....

Thanks for stooping by!  I hope I inspired you, if not to go skiing, then perhaps to make a card!!
All Best-
Richard

Mr Cardmaker is a Quick-on the-Thanks Kinda Guy

Christmas came and went, and, at the moment, my condo is full of the (count them!) 14 storage crates (those 15 gallon babies) and 4 cardboard boxes that it takes to put the whole shebang away.  Oh yeah, we get hosed down with some Christmas around here! 

Christmas day, however, we were so happy to have so many gifts from loved ones around the country.  Needless to say, I wanted to come up with a really nice thank you card for everyone so I could express my gratitude. 

I came up with this--

Here is a really GREAT example of how that word "JUST" allows you to make a lovely, yet not-so-overworked and super-decorated card.  See it there in the sentiment?  Love that!

So, the base here is a 4 1/4" square, from PTI white card stock.  I love the 110# base weight.  I have used 120# in the past, and it is some really nice stuff, but I can never get it to stay folded, it's so thick!  Scor-Pal or not!  I now use my 120# for images I want to use my copics on.  Much better!

The blue cs is Baja Breeze from SU!, and it went through my devoted Cuttlebug with a swiss dot folder.  The designer paper is from My Mind's Eye, the Lost and Found pad.  LOVE this paper!  It has some really nice masculine patterns, and great colors--all very blue and brown and grey based stuff.  Pretty!

The envelope and the clouds were cut form the same collection of dp, and I used the envelope and cloud duo dies from A*Muse Studio. I popped the envelope up a bit with some foam tape.

The sentiment and note stamps are also A*Muse, from the Life is a Song set.  I am getting lots of use from that set!  I stamped them both with Rich Cocoa Memento ink.

I hand cut the tails on the sentiment strip, and edged it with some white ink.  I did the same edging on the piece with the notes.

I made 9 of these puppies, wrote them out and got them in the mail, PRONTO.  'Cause gratitude gets stale pretty quick.  Just sayin'. 

Hey, nephew Elliot's birthday is coming up.  I have a great card coming along for that ski-crazed kid.  Stay tuned!

Thanks for stopping by for my first posting of 2012!!!
All Best-
Richard