Izbzee

B-days in November

Dropping in to update:  We have a few birthdays this month -- two cards are in the mail and should have arrived at their destination yesterday.  Fingers crossed!  

 

It was fun using papers from my stash.  One of the stacks is 15  years old!  Time to get it used up!  Ink for some texture, pop up dots for some layers and a surprise on the inside which can't be shared right now. 

Do you like to get b-day cards?  I certainly do.  Especially those that have been created with me specifically in mind.   

Cuts made using the Skycut C24 and SCAL 5 Pro.  

More cards to finish up in the next week or so and I'm looking forward to some creative time in the next few days.  How about you?  Have  you built in some creative time in the next few days?  If not, try.  It really is good for the soul.  

 

August cards

Tried to get a head start on August's cards, but I'm still working on them.  I let one of them get out into the mail yesterday without getting a picture of the finished under the sea shaker card.  Might have to try to recreate that one in the future.  

In the meantime, I did manage to get all the ministering cards done in good time.  This was a much easier card to print, assemble and get into the mail just before the end of the month.  BONUS:  Easy to change out the greeting on the front of the card too!  

After creating the design in SCAL, printing and folding the card base, I thought the card front was a little too plain with just the word smile and the patterned paper strip.  So I added a little color using some splattered color on the card front.  The splatters were created using some FSJ Silks I've had in my stash for a few years. It was a good way to use a little of that and it does go a long way.  I chose Cranberry and Sour Lemon as they were the closest to the colors in the paper strip.  When the splatters were dry, the paper almost looked like a little more expensive handmade paper I have always loved.

Adding the printed, cut and inked paper strip popped up with some foam tape, adds the finishing touch to the front of the card.  

Anniversaries start on the first Friday in August.  I wasn't sure I could meet that deadline, but yesterday was a good day for designing in SCAL and getting a little cutting done early in the morning and then printing the card base a little later.   I tried a new technique to me - still needs some refining, but I think it works for this design.  I hope to do a little more playing in Procreate to see if I can get the background just the way I see it in my brain.  Fingers crossed.  


I used the color cube system to choose the colors - I think they blended quite well.  Now to make a palette using that system for a few upcoming projects I'd like to try using Procreate again.  

4 more birthdays to do for August.  Hoping to make a dent in one or two of those today for the grands and then focus on the last two cards for the month.  

Family Reunion

We were trying to explain to the 92 year old that he had quite a posterity.... but he couldn't wrap his head around the number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren he had.  So what better way than to create a visual of that -- and who belonged to who!  

We've done family group shots in previous years -- But that isn't quite the same and doesn't make it any easier at times... so after looking around for the perfect SVG of a tree that could be used as a background for the project, I found one on Creative Fabrica that would work.  It needed to be big... the 8 x 8 original size of the file wasn't going to allow me to put a large enough image for each grouping... so resizing in SCAL 6 Pro was easy enough and the final size of the tree is 20 x 20 inches.  Hobby Lobby has sheets of watercolor paper in different weights in the 23 x 30 inch size and that was perfect for what we needed to cut the tree -- and having a mat in the right size made it possible to cut the tree as one piece.  

The tree is painted with watercolor paint.  We let it dry overnight before taking the next steps.  

The sentiment at the bottom of the tree is foil quilled using a Single Line Font -- I think Gma would have given a thumbs up on that choice.  

We gathered images from family FB pages and special email requests and could fill all but a very few of the spots -- we still have a couple of blank spots yet.  I'm hoping they'll help us "fill" the circles in over the course of the next few weeks.  The goal was to have the tree finished by the 20th in time for the reunion and share at our gathering.  I initially planned on using hearts to showcase the family photos, but found that difficult with many of the photo choices I had -- so we bagged that went to a circle with a shadow behind it.  We popped up pictures depending on the generation for a little more interest and dimension. 

The frame was one we found on Amazon -- we'd purchased it for another project, but the puzzle didn't fit into it -- so the frame has been sitting for over a year waiting for another opportunity to be used.  

It's a keeper!  Gpa loves it and points out many of the pictures he can identify individuals in.  

More fun in June

The last of the cards for this month are done -- 

Sandy from Simply Crafty SVGs helped immensely with this card design. I love the hexagon pop up cards -- however, this one gave me a run for my money.  My machine didn't like the paper I chose much ... so the original colors I'd hoped to use had to be switched out.  It did approve of the final choices and I do like the way it turned out.

The digi paper is from Polkadoodles (Rebel Collection) and the flowers are from Lori Whitlock (one of her envelope box cards).  I hand painted the flowers and leaves with Vintage Pastels from Art Philosophy.  


Normally, this card would lay flat for mailing, however, I altered the design a bit and now it's a stand up card that won't lay flat.  LOL  I hope the recipient likes it as much as I do.  She's all into flowers this year and volunteers at a community garden.  

I played with this llama design in Procreate.  I like how it turned out and it was easy enough to export as a png and trace in SCAL and use as an svg.  I used Ohuhu markers to color.  I stacked 4 cuts to make it sturdy like a chipboard die cut.  The small adornments on the blanket cut quite well on the skycut using SCAL 6 Pro (6.056), all things considered and this One Year Celebration card is now ready for personalization.  This is for an early July birthday.... 


Looking forward to sharing July's cards with you soon.. I have some unexpected medical testing added to the calendar this month and possible surgery in the near future -- so I did get my July Ministering Card stack completed.  I'll share those very soon.  In the meantime, I've got a few tags to get made before the 24th!  

Have a creative sort of day -- even if it's just perusing pages in Instagram or Pinterest.  Enjoy! 

June and nearly July

Lots on the calendar this month -- and we seem to add a few more things every day. We've still be creating -- but maybe not as much as I'd really like.  

Father's Day is just around the corner so I did a little looksie over on Pinterest, found a sketch I really liked, but the paper was a no go -- it's no longer available!  Drats!  However, I did have something I could use in my digi paper stash (Nit Wit Collections - Manual Labour Collection) that is my usual default for masculine prints.  So using the pattern fill, print and cut options in SCAL 6 Pro was my go to.

I opted to do a little personalizing on both the front for a couple of our sons and again with the sentiment on the inside of the card.  One other thing I really like about SCAL is being able to set a template for the size of the card and then using pre-cut stock, just print the inside of the card.  It's a BREEZE!  

June's Ministering Card stack was fun and a little more cutting intensive, but the Skycut handled all the cuts and the "buttons" were really a fun addition to this card.  

The rose gold vinyl "hello" was the perfect way to add the sentiment for the front of the card.  I now have a stash of kraft colored hearts to use in shakers over the course of the next couple of months!  LOL

Our Mother's Day card was an adaptation of the Orchid Box card from Simply Crafty SVGs.  I wanted a slimline card and the orchids and stem were resized a bit to fit on the card.  I really like how this one turned out.  

I played around with a pocket design and some holographic overlay on some digital clip art.  While I like the images, I'm not so sure about the final use on this project.  

And last, but not least, we have a couple of boys celebrating birthdays this month.  I finished up their cards late last month -- I really like the pop & twist movement in this card.  Interactive cards are at the top of my to-do list whenever I can! 



Since the rest of the birthdays are still coming up -- I guess I'll hold off sharing those images until a little later this month. 

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you have a creative rest of the month!  

May b-days....

they all come so quickly!  This was another year to share Mother's Day with one of the recipients.  

Oldest son has a resident iguana at his second home.  It's rather large and we thought this might have been a perfect way to celebrate his birthday since they wouldn't be spending time there this month.  

Our daughter-in-law is a delight and we wanted to share a few of our favorite photos with her = the "reel" seemed perfect for this year's card (a pinterest inspiration).  

We couldn't let the "cow" rest too long and we thought #3 son would enjoy "milking his day".  

whether or weather

The weather has been kind of yucky the last few days.  Lots of dreary days and sometimes it makes it harder to get the supplies out and play.  However, there have been a few days that playing has been accomplished and successful.  

This month's stack was made using another pre-colored digi stamp from Polkadoodles.  It's a simple and clean to complete card.  The SCAL 6 software makes it easy to set up the card front for printing and cutting and then using the  skycut, I get a perfect cut every time. I don't have to recalibrate the camera/laser after a software update either.  Spot on!   

We have a few birthdays in February as well.  So I chose to dig through some stamps and dies and use those for this fun square card.  The bear is from Eileen Hutson, the flowers in a vase stamp is retired (Stampin' Up!) and the Happy Birthday is from Stamper's Anonymous.  The square die is an oldie from Spellbinders.  The background paper is from a very old stack and I colored the images using colored pencils on watercolor paper for a little more texture.  

If you've been following me for a while, I'm sure you know that I love to add lights, sound and movement to some of my cards.  I thought this one would be a fun one.
The penguins "shake" when you shake the card.  They're on a string and hang on the card between two small holes.  It's fun and is a case from a card I saw on Instagram.  I'm pretty sure there will be a few more along this same idea in the future.  Digi paper and penguins for easy print 2 cut and assembly!

The next card is for one of our granddaughters.  Her b-day is coming up shortly and I designed this box card in SCAL 6 and cut most everything with the skycut.  I did use a couple of punches and a die for the smaller embellishments.  The digi stamp is a fun one and it's from Whimsy Stamps.  I used pencils to color this one in too.  this image doesn't have the sentiment on the front yet.  I love how it folds flat and fits into an A2 envelope!  


Yesterday, I decided to play with some circuits again.  It's getting pretty easy to get the LED light ones to work on the first try now.... I used the robot die set from Tim Holtz and distress inks to color the pieces that started out as white paper.  I love playing with color....  This was a case from a card I saw on Pinterest.  The left eye does light up.  


Well, that's it for now.  I have another project to share in a day or so... but typepad isn't cooperating with letting me upload the image at the moment.  LOL  

Hope you've got some creative time built into your week.  Take care and nurture your creative soul as often as you can.  

 

cards, cards, cards

January has been a busy month to get a start on making cards -- my regular stack of cards using a pre-colored digital stamp from Polkadoodles.  Thankfully, they allowed me to make a few extras beyond the Angel Policy for this one. 


I really like how this one turned out.  

Birthdays - there aren't too many, but there are a few.  I used a stamp from MFT for this one and the design was cased from one I found on Pinterest.  I really like how it turned out.  I blended some distress ink on the lettering, added a little sparkle with some Wink of Stella.  The scarf and skates are colored and blended with colored pencil.  I find I still have too heavy a hand with markers.... but I'm working on it!  AND...My hard to please brother liked his!  He lives in Sunny AZ during the winter months and I love to tease him about the weather!  Especially after our 15 inches of snow this month!  I did use scan to cut on the bear.  I love how my Skycut can make the perfect cut time and time again!  



I did get another card designed after seeing something similar on Pinterest... It was fun to create and was the perfect "no sugar" gift for a friend battling cancer.  She would love to have some sweets, but these worked just fine.  

I used basic shapes to create the baking pan and cookies.  I found the spatula online as a free download.  It was perfect.  The paper is a gray from Bazill.  The card front is mounted on an A2 card base in white.  The recipient caught me on Sunday and said that she has been sharing the cards with her friends and family when they visit.  All of the cards I've been sending are now hanging on her fridge and are quite the conversation piece at the moment. a little bit of glossy accents and some fine glitter assed the final touch to the cookies.  

This project was for a challenge - It had to have a "heart shape" in it.  I was excited to have it turn out the way it did and even better, 3 of these will fit on a 12x12 sheet of paper.  Easy to assembly and fun to fill!  Paper is from a old, a really old paper stack from Stampin' Up!  

Next month may be a little lean on finished projects, but I have gotten a head start on a few things... February's stack of cards are completed and I'll post them in a couple of days.  Two of the grands have b-days and their cards are nearly finished.  I have a couple of other projects I'm hoping to finish up in the next few days -- another eye surgery is on the calendar for next month and while the recuperation time is relatively short, it would be nice to be all caught up for the month if possible.  

Hoping you have some creative time carved out this week and over the course of the next month.... Enjoy the time and nurture your heart and soul!  






 

August cards....

Canning, making jam and dehydrating has filled quite a few of our days lately.  The garden is also beginning to produce so veggies are just around the corner and the fruit trees are showing their bounty as well.  HOWEVER, we have managed to squeeze in a bit of crafting time and now that a few of these are already on their way, I can share some of them:

My FIL turned 91 in July.  I've always wanted to make the expanding candle card and this celebration let us do it!  

It was fun and he enjoyed pulling it out and trying to refold it.....  I only lost one cut out of the 270 flame pieces.  Not bad!  The papers were from an Echo Park Let Freedom Ring kit I had some scraps left over from.  He loved all the plaids and prints since he lives in plaid shirts!  

Birthdays abound in August... so I got a little ahead of those and put a couple of them together early.  This one is for my Granddaughter who is turning 16.  She's had some health issues and thankfully, we're able to celebrate the fact that she'll be able to go a full year before having another MRI as her last scan was clear!  

I used several digital papers and images from Nitwit Collections and a tuxedo card base for this one.  It folds flat for mailing and then will pop open a bit to stand.  

The cuts for the two cards above were made using the Skycut C24 and SCAL 6 Pro.  Bearly Art Glue and Scor Tape were used as adhesives.  

My ministering cards for August were made using some unbranded dies - - I purchased the dies through Amazon.  I saw something similar on Pinterest and then decided to flip it to horizontal for about half of the makes.  I used distress inks and a blender tool for the background and some tombow markers for additional interest.  The stamp is from Bear Essentials by Ellen Hutson.

There's more -- but this is enough for today!  Hoping you have a creative day!  

Hello....

Need a little summer lift?  This card was fun to create and didn't take as much time as I thought making a stack of them might take.  Cuts made using the Skycut and SCAL and a fun stamp and die from Ellen Hutson.  I was really happy the the bear stamp set and dies were still in stock and reasonably priced.  

 

The next card is one for a very special birthday.... 91 years!  I've wanted to make a similar card for a long while, and made sure to get it done for my FIL's birthday this coming weekend.  

done in plaids, stripes and patriotic colors - all patterned papers from Echo Park. Other papers from AC Cardstock.  Lots of inking and I only lost one piece that needed to be recut!  Not bad considering there are 91 candles in this accordian style card. 

Next up will be the 5 Tags of Summer Reveal.  Starting on Saturday, the 15th.  It's been an interesting journey with these.  Some turned out just as envisioned, others not to much.... but I'm really happy to have found time to make them with everything else that's been going on in our household.  

May - went fast!

I spent a majority of the month playing with some new ideas -- and grateful to have finished most of them.  

Most of the finished designs are based on finds at Pinterest.  

Late in the month finish... a cute little flip top box with a mini-album insert.  Scraps used for all.  The paper is from Echo Park's Let Freedom Ring collection.  I did create the star cut border using SCAL.  There's some foiling and stamping in this album as well.  

Mo's Digital Pencil is the creator of the above image.  It's so cute and can be adaptable to most anyone's birthday celebration!  

Another image from Mo's Digital Pencil.  It was the perfect image for an upcoming birthday!  

With Father's Day just around the corner, this fun print and cut and digital colored image from Polkadoodles helped create this fun card for the guys in the family!  I hope they like them.  

Two of the boys have birthdays near the first of the month.  This quick make was perfect for them and includes use of scraps, print and cut and cut using the Skycut and SCAL 5 Pro.  I'm really happy this came together quickly and I'm looking forward to using this file again soon with a different color scheme.  

I made a stack of 18 of these to send out in June.  The digital image was from Polkdoodles (Spring bundle).  I used some old spellbinder border dies and created the ENJOY using a font and a few small rectangles to connect "the dots" if you will.  The word is cut on the skycut and the sentiment on the inside was a print using SCAL as well.  

May was busy -- and June is already filling up with plans for creating.  I'm definitely looking forward to more creative time this coming month.  How about you?