First Time RAKkin'

Isn't this pretty? Received this lovely card in the mail this week from my new friend Rhonda. Lovin' the color combo she used and all the details...the scalloped border and ribbon accent makes this card so special! Rhonda shares more of her wonderful card creations on her blog, Creatingwithsandbetweenmytoes.

But wait, that wasn't all....together with the card came all of these goodies! An entire collection of coordinating papers, ribbons, tags and rub ons from the Fancy Pants Fancy-Free line, a set of blank cards 'n envelopes, more matching satin ribbons, and the entire Looks Like Spring rubber stamp set from SU! All I can say is..."WOW"! Thank you, Rhonda, you are a sweetie!

Rhonda and I were randomly paired up when we signed up to join Jen's JT Aloha RAK for August. I had been thinking about participating in this RAK for quite awhile, finally took the plunge, and am so happy that I did. It's such a neat and fun way to meet new people, make new friends and have a chance to see and learn new styles of crafting.

Here's the card I sent Rhonda:

It's called a Triangle Tri-Fold card, and I learned how to make it by watching a video on Dawn's Stampin' Studio. The folds are simple, but were a little tricky at first for my feeble brain. Had to give it a try myself before I could actually figure out how it worked.

All cuts for this card are Cricut, except the Hello Friend sentiment, which is a die cut from my new Friends Forever Cuttlebug embossing card combo. Butterfly's from Pooh & Friends, Ladybug from Doodlecharms, photo corners from Jasmine and the flower border is from Paper Dolls.

Back To School

The saddest day of summer happened last weekend when we had to say goodbye to dd as she left to return to school in Cali. Guess she's been back and forth at least 10 times already by now, but I still always feel so sad and empty when she has to leave. Dd is my best friend and we always get so close when she's home. Don't think I'll ever get used to her leaving. So here's the card that was sent to her the day after she was gone. Saw the idea in an old issue of Cards magazine, and always wanted to do one too.

Front of the card was embossed with the Cuttlebug Blossom Dots embossing folder and I used a hole punch for the window openings. Used foam tape to attach it to the pink card base for dimmension, and added a strip of darker pink cardstock behind the openings for contrast. Little daisies are from Quickutz, cut twice; once in cardstock and a second layer in vellum. Flower centers were glittered with Ice Stickles and ultrafine glitter. Sentiment is a rub on... "Missing you... already"

Diamond Lattice Thank You Card

Finally had the chance to make a card using this beautiful and intricate diamond lattice cut file created and shared by Linda on her blog, Just for Sharing. Linda generously shares this and many other awesome cut files she has created on her blog. If you own Design Studio and decide to download any of these files while visiting her site, please be sure to leave a comment to thank her!

The original idea for the design of this card comes from Cricut Message board member, DC Scrapper here. The elegant card she created was actually a sympathy card, but it's so pretty, I thought it could be used for any occasion. Wanted to try and make one too but unfortunately, mine didn't turn out anywhere close to looking as good as hers!

The 3 dimensional effect with the folded butterfly wings is something I've seen on many cards recently, but never had the desire to try because I always figured it was an effect that would be lost once the card was flattened and squeezed into an envelope and went through the postal system. Or, at least so I thought until I read a very cool trick from Susan on her blog. She very innovatively figured out a way to use heavy gauge plastic (like the kind used to package merchandise at Costco that's almost impossible to cut open) to keep those wings popped out no matter how much it gets pressed down. Cutting small rectangular pieces of this type of heavy plastic, folding them in half and attaching to the center back of both wings assures that your butterfly, fairy, angel and dragonfly wings will always pop back into the "flying position". Very cool indeed. Susan's detailed instructions complete with photos are here.

Used Bazzill Luster from the metallic line for the base of this card. Used Cricut to cut the butterflies (Home Accents) and the vine (Stretch Your Imagination); and swirls on inside of card are from Quickutz. Gold vellum used for all gold accents. Front panel of the card is Bazzill Bling Diamond cardstock run through the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder. Thank you sentiment is a rubber stamp from Dandelion Designs.

Peek-A-Boo Thank Yous

...And yet another peek-a-boo card! Really having fun with these. This was actually the very first peek-a-boo card I put together. Just didn't want to post it until it had been mailed out. Made for my special friend, Jen who had sent me a surprise package of goodies. Base of this card is a double sided cardstock from Bo Bunny's Double Dot Collection. All the yummy candy and cake cuts are from Sizzix. "Sweet" is from the Stone Script cartridge and "Thank you" from the Beyond Birthdays cart, both from Cricut. Scalloped circle frame cut with Nestabilities and embossed with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder. Used MM rubons for the sliding sentiment on the inside and Stickles for a little glitz on the cupcake.

My second peek-a-boo thank you was made for another special friend, Jean who is also the designer of Dandelion Designs, a line of ultra cute mini stamps. Jean also has a blog by the same name where she shares the cutest and most creative little projects created with her stamps. Definitely a fun place to visit! Wanted to send her a card showcasing her kaki mochi stamp which I think is adorable. Coloring in the kaki mochi with prismacolor markers made them look so real I got hungry!




"I heart" is a clear stamp from Imaginisce's Loves Me collection, "Yum" is from Hero Arts' Clear Design Cupcakes set, and flower is from Stampendous! Perfectly Clear Floral Flourish set. "Thank you" is another from Jean's Dandelion Designs. Front of card embossed with Cuttlebug Spots and Dots folder, and scalloped frame was created on Design Studio by welding circles from the George cartridge.