"Loving, Kind, and Fearless" Mom Card

Mother's Day is coming up, and I made a card to celebrate my mom. I recently came upon "the sweetest thing" collection by My Mind's Eye, and its colors and flowers reminded me of my mom, so I had to use it for this project. She loves flowers, and bright colors like mustard yellow and coral red are right up her alley.



From the patterned paper pad, I found the "loving, kind, & fearless" sentiment, which perfectly describe my mom. I used that panel as a jumping off point, drawing inspiration from it for the rest of my card.



I used a coordinating flower stamp from the same collection to stamp the flowers repeatedly on watercolor paper, making a background of sorts. I then colored those flowers using Distress Ink and Stamp Markers and a waterbrush, achieving a watercolored look. I stamped two more flowers on a separate piece of paper, colored them in, fussy-cut them, and popped them up on the watercolored panel to add some dimension.



From there, I added the sentiment panel, along with two brads and two yellow enamel dots (all from the same collection, of course) to finish it off. I then attached some patterned paper to an envelope for a special touch, and I couldn't resist putting a fake flower inside the envelope for an added surprise.

Supplies

Paper: Recollections (card base), Strathmore (watercolor paper)
Patterned paper: My Mind's Eye ("the sweetest thing" collection)
Stamp: My Mind' Eye ("the sweetest thing" collection)
Ink: Ranger Archival Black Ink, Distress Ink (mustard seed, spun sugar, spiced marmalade)
Markers: American Crafts Stamp Markers (aqua, key lime)
Brads and enamel dots: My Mind's Eye ("the sweetest thing" collection)
Flower: Recollections

Challenges

The Wonder of Watercolor Challenge in the Moxie Fab World

"Heat of the Moment" Valentine Card

Thanks to an episode of Supernatural, the song "Heat of the Moment" by Asia has been stuck in my head. So, I turned the earworm into a not-very-traditional Valentine card:







On the back, I couldn't resist putting a reference to the episode of Supernatural that features this song:

Supplies

Cardstock by Recollections
Patterned paper by We R Memory keepers
Letters cut using Silhouette Cameo
Heart punch by Recollections
Brad by Recollections
Baker's twine by Martha Stewart

I entered this card into the Ribbon Carrousel Challenge.

Valentines Jar Cards

I made a couple of Valentines Day cards based around a jar stamp:

Supplies

Patterned paper by Recollections
Ink: Tuxedo Black by Memento
Markers: Magenta by Memento, Spun Sugar by Distress Marker, brown by Tombo
Stamps: Mason Jar by Inkadinkado, peony by Paper Source
Punches: Hearts Border Punch by Fiskars, big heart by Marvy Uchida
Washi tape by Recollections
Ribbon from a gift I got (yay for recycling!)

Valentine's Advent Calendar

I made a nine-day advent calendar for Valentine's Day. If I had planned it far enough in advance, I could've created a fourteen-day calendar that reads "Happy Valentine" -- which sounds a bit awkward, but at least it would allow for one card for each day in February leading up to Valentine's Day. Alas, I got a late start; I was away from all my crafting supplies this weekend, since I visited my parents to watch the Super Bowl together. So I only have nine days, one for each letter in the word "Valentine."

It was quick and easy to make, using some 3x3-inch cards and envelopes, paperclips with ribbon on them, and string. I decorated each card by embossing the words "I love you" on the front of them and writing a different personal message inside each one. On the back of the envelopes, the word "VALENTINE" is spelled out. I didn't have stamps large enough to make the letters readable around the room, so I opted to write them myself using colored pencils. I alternated colors since Michaels sold multiple styles of 3x3 card-envelope sets, and I bought the two types I liked.

Here are some close-up shots of the card and envelope:

Although the dates go from Feb 6-14 (instead of the more logical 1-14), I'm satisfied with how it turned out. I'll definitely try this again with other holidays, but with better planning.

Supplies

Card and envelope sets by Recollections
Ribbon-adorned paperclips by Recollections
Colored pencils by Prismacolor
"I love you" stamp by craftsmart
Detail white embossing powder by Stampendous!
kitchen twine

Owl I Want for Christmas...

Today I made a card using the Lawn Fawn set "Winter Owl", and I'm entering it into the Lawnscaping Challenge Color Inspiration:



This is a perfect color scheme for a card I can give to my boyfriend, because kraft lends itself well to masculine cards. More importantly, my boyfriend's favorite color is red, and I love all types of blues, especially the hues leaning towards the turquoise side of the spectrum. This color combination was the perfect chance for me to break out that hearts washi tape by Freckled Fawn.

Without further ado, here is the card I made:

Here's a close-up of the cute little owls:

I used the Paper Smooches "Dude Block" to mirror the owl, and I made the little bow on the girl owl myself. (This is my first attempt at carving a stamp, so be gentle!) It was especially fun to paper piece this, because those patterns by BasicGrey were just made to become scarves. To personalize this for my boyfriend and me, I monogrammed the scarves using a mini-wooden alphabet set by Recollections.

Here, of course, is the adorable sentiment that came with the Winter Owl set. It's so darling, I wish I could use it year-round!

Here's a peek at the inside of the card, before I wrote my message:

Supplies

Kraft cardstock from Recollections
Patterned paper: BasicGrey "nordic holiday"
Stamps: "Winter Owl" by Lawn Fawn, small letters (g and j) by Recollections, mittens by Studio G, "Dude Block" by Paper Smooches
(I carved the bow stamp myself.)
Ink: Memento "Tuxedo Black" and "Rich Cocoa"
Prismacolor colored pencils
Gems by Recollections
Washi tape: music notes by Recollections, hearts by Freckled Fawn
Twine by Martha Stewart

Halloween Cards set

One of my friends is a big fan of Halloween; she loves it more than Christmas, and it shows. Her house is decorated inside and out, she wears a different spooky shirt all month long, and her family has a big party every year for the holiday. To commemorate the occasion, I made her a set of blank Halloween cards that she could give to others. (Although, knowing her, she'll just keep them for herself, which is flattering, to say the least.)

Click on each photo to see it full-sized, along with a list of products I used:












And here is the box itself:

July 4th Moon

The moon looked stunning the night of (America's) Independence Day.

Fireworks (July 4th)

Here are some more pictures from my family's fireworks celebration. All of these were from fireworks that have been sitting in our garage for about a year now. (We had a lot of stuff leftover from last year.) I'm surprised how potent they still are.

Light Painting (July 4th)

For July 4th, my parents and I had fun setting off fireworks in our yard. Somehow, it's legal in our city, and it has been for the last couple of years. However, we had the most fun with sparklers, because of the ability to do light painting with them.

My dad made a heart for my sister, who is studying abroad and thus can't celebrate American holidays here with us.



My mom and I did some light painting together. For those who watch Avatar: The Last Airbender/The Legend of Korra, this looks a bit like fire-bending.



The three of us went crazy, making all the shapes we could, in the time the shutter stayed open. This was the result.