Yakudoshi Card

Here's a card I made for a Yakudoshi celebration we were recently invited to. Really struggled with this one! Cards for guys are always tough for me. Knew from the start that it couldn't be pink and frilly or too cutsey...and knew I wanted to do something with an Asian flavor.

Since nearly all the cuts on my Cricut are cutesy or girly, and I really didn't have the time to spend designing on DS, I had to resort to my rubber stamps. Busted out my old box of Asian stamps and used a bamboo stamp from Good Stamps Stamp Goods and a dragonfly stamp from Magenta.

The front and inside gold panels of this Joy fold card were embossed using Cuttlebug's new Friends Forever folder.

Cut out one of the stamped dragonflies and topped it with a few layers of Diamond Glaze to use as an embellishment to keep the card closed. Inside sentiment panel was edged with a Krylon gold leafing pen and all other panels were finished with Tim Holtz Walnut distress ink.

Covered Slider Card

Made this card for a co-worker who was having a surprise 50th birthday celebration a few weekends ago. Couldn't make it to the party, so I thought this card would be a fun way to add to the surprise element. It's called a covered slider card because the slider in the front is covered and hidden with a decorative embellishment. Pulling on the ribbon at the top of the card reveals the slider on the front, giving the appearance that it is popping out of the embellishment. Pretty neat!

First saw this card on a thread posted by member McFlick on the Cricut Messageboard. Her card had Tinkerbell popping out of a pocket...too cute!

She also shares the Cricut cut file she created for this card on the same thread. But since my cake was too big, I had to use and make adjustments to the original template by Chia Wald which can be found at Chia's Rubber Stamp Art.

I stuck a gift card on to the slider behind the cake so when the ribbon on the top of the card is pulled to reveal the sentiment, the gift card pops out of the cake. The best part about this card is that it was the easiest slider card I've ever made and it came together pretty quickly. I used the Cuttlebug swiss dots template for the background and the cake was cut from the Celebrations cart, and adhered with foam tape. The number 50 is from the Opposites Attract cart. Nestabilities scallop and circle dies were used to cut the round tag embellishment at the bottom. Happy Birthday stamp is from Stampin' Up and personalized with Heidi rub ons from Making Memories.

White Coat Ceremony

Dh and I flew up to Cali to attend our dd's white coat ceremony at her school this weekend. This is the official induction into professional school where the students are cloaked and pinned and recite their oath. Definitely a dream come true, chicken skin time for dh and myself. Dd worked so hard to get to this point in her life and we are so proud!

And since Hallmark doesn't make a card for this occasion, here's the card I made for her. The pattern for this is actually a Cricut cut file for a tuxedo originally created by the very talented Okielady which I changed up a bit to look more like a white consultation coat. Quite pleased with how it turned out. Thank you for sharing, Okielady! Rx on the pocket are rub ons from Making Memories and the cute tiny buttons are from Dress It Up.

Monkeyin' Around

Here's a card created with Design Studio for my cousin's grandaughter's first birthday celebration. The theme of her party used this cute little monkey, and I just had to give it a whirl on Design Studio. Originally wanted to do a hanging monkey, but was pressed for time so I settled with this head shot. This was mostly just circles and ovals from the George cart welded together so it came together pretty quickly.

Cupcake and candle are favorites from Doodlecharms, embellished with sprinkles from a Sizzix cupcake die and stickles & prisma glitter. Tag is a sizzlit die from the mini tag set. Background layer is Bazzill Bling Diamond cardstock embossed with Cuttlebug's Spots and Dots folder.

Presents on the inside are from the Celebrations cart, and all sentiments computer generated.If you own Design Studio and would like the cut file for the monkey, I will be more than happy to share the file if you send me a request (access my email addy via my profile). Be forewarned however, that since this was created in a hurry and for my own personal use, you might find it a little disappointing because I am not a very orderly type person...lol!

Quickie Gift Card Holders

Needed to do three gift card holders in a hurry, and found a video tutorial to make these quick 'n easy tri-fold cards over at Dawn's Stamping Thoughts. Just love Dawn and all her amazing videos...her blog is always the first place I go to when I need some ideas.

First card was made for a co-worker who was leaving to go to school in Cali. Used David Walker's Paper Pups Cricut cartridge to do the cute puppy cuts and chalked them up to add a little color.

The square embellishment on the front of each of these cards is attached with foam tape and serves as a place to tuck the top flap in to keep the card closed. Such a simple idea but turns out looking so cute!

The tutorial I watched used a word window punch to make the slit for the gift card to slide into. Don't own one of those so used my trusty ol' exacto knife to make the hole instead. (btw, the old Christmas Jamba gift card in the photo is just what I used to measure to make sure the slit was cut large enuff...lol)

This second tri-fold card holder was made for a co-worker at dh's workplace who was being honored for thirty years of service. Wow, that's true dedication!

Front of the card embellishment here cut with Mickey Font (30) and Stone Script (years).

Coffee mug cut is one of my favorite cuts from the Christmas Cheer cart...and one of the main reasons I felt I needed to own this cart! All patterned paper from left over scraps stash. I like that this card is small enough that I could whittle down my enormous stash of scraps.

Third and last card was a belated birthday card for my friend Teri, who shares her awesome cards on her blog, BIG ideas from a little girl. Teri is the person I go to for all my Stampin Up product needs.

Glad I finally got a chance to use my cute little Cuttlekids turtle die. Cupcake on turtle's back on the inside of the card comes from the Doodlecharms cart. Chalked all and added a little sparkle to the cupcake with stickles and ultrafine prisma glitter.

All card sentiments were computer generated.

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"