How a creative greeting!! might get started

As I peruse the Internet (card making, scrapbook designing, paper crafts...websites, blogs... what else is there?) I look through cardmaking magazines. I come upon images that are easy enough for me to doodle. I'm inspired by other cardmakers with their layouts and try to re-create what they've designed with my own interpretation and with the materials I have on hand. In most cases, the images are a stamp that someone designed, being frugal and having the ability (that I've practiced for over 30+ years) to draw, I'm able to re-capture their image!

Here is a tiny bin full of images that I've drawn (doodled) that have yet to find a card front home.

Some images have been colored in... completely (water color pencils, or markers) some images just have the outlines and are waiting to be matched up to background paper.Some images have been in there a very long time, because I don't like them any more, but they have a home in the back of the bin!

Some images NEVER make it to the front page, it all depends on my mood, what's needed for a card I want to create and if they can be found easily in the image bin. Some doodles are made right away and copied (inspired) into a card the minute they are drawn. Then embellishments are added brads, buttons, fiber, stickers etc.. stickles dripped on to create dimension, embossing (dry or wet)are added, corner punches punched to give variety, glazes dabbed on to dry, shading added to pop!!

As you can see, I'm more into the whimsy of images! Sometimes, drawing and doodling is all I do in my creative room, it gives me a challenge I can accomplish it quickly!

Then what the web sites I visit do, is give inspiration with a layout, here is one from Page Maps Card Maps where they actually give you the template and then you take it from there! How cool is that?

So, in some cases (ha! get it CASES - C opy A nd S hare E verything) this is how I get inspired to design and make a creative greeting!!!

A little froggie

Can't go wrong with a cute little froggie wishing you a HOPPY birthday. I think I've shown all the cards I created in the last two weeks, I need to get working on creating some more. What have I been doing with my time? mmmm! I know I've been in my crafting 'suite'... I'm off today, so maybe I can create some more cards before the troops get home! Or maybe I just have to take some pictures of what I have laying around!

As always, cards are for sale. Cards I don't sell... often are given away as gifts, sent out for RAK's or are just sitting gathering dust! But I have to admit... I love being inspired every day, making cards and drawing is so much fun for me!!!

Here's another scoop!

Was inspired to create this fun loving delicious card. Scallop punches are da bomb!!! Look at the cute scoops they create, they are so fun! Sprinkles are stickles (crafty glue with glitter in it). I was too late figuring with the cone that I should have put it through the crimper both ways to give it a waffle affect.I just drew the waffle lines, duh? I've seen circles coming back around for designer paper.... so sloppily I used a circle template and created my own... it works. Used white craft ink for the HB... but it was not crisp enough so I had to go back over the sentiment with my gel pen!


February is coming to a quick end, yikes... time to make next month's calendar. I think I'll be moving on to fresh spring cards soon! Happy Day, y'all.

Signs of Spring, despite the snow

So, on my and Cooper's walk this morning, although cloudy and overcast, it was a windless 36 degrees out... doable... I heard this song bird singing.... pretty, pretty, pretty... actually this deep red cardinal high up in the tree! And I also heard other birds twittering away... could this be a great sign that spring is coming? I sure hope so!!


This card was fun to make, I could have kept adding more and more flowers, but had to stop somewhere. Of course I was inspired, but used doodles instead of a stamp. I feel it kind of has the old chalk board look with the white gel pen. You could make a whole bunch of these type of cards using different color combos and an easy sentiment.

Zindorf 2/23

Did I tell you I am taking a class with Michelle Zindorf? She is the one who gives all these great tutorials with the brayer... making multiple layers of ink on one card look like a wonderful portrait of shadows and light!! I'm so excited! The class is next month, and I can't wait. I have a cheapo brayer (looks like a paint roller) but much smaller for rolling ink! Since I couldn't master it, all my cards that I've created with her tutorials are all made by me using a sponge to get the layered ink look! I really like how my cards turn out, but it will be fun to learn this technique.



Sometime this week I'm going to work on some more inspirational quotes, or something fun-ner to check in my blog to see.... not that my cards are boring, but I need to spice things up a latte!!!! Cheers!

Charley's Smile

I had a great lunch date with Charley's mom the other day, and I brought her a "You make me smile" card. I love drawing Charley, I feel that she is really my own creative image.... slightly inspired, but really truly my own, tweaked down to her brown muzzle and stump of a tail! I know, boring layout! But this is my standard, if I'm not being inspired to create something, this is what I fall back to. And with this layout, I'm happy to say that I use up scraps.




Well, it's Monday, back to normal? The doctor @@ is back from his vacation, everyone is back to school or work, there is 4" of fresh snow on the ground, no hockey or volleyball tournaments to worry about today, the sun is shinning and there is a deep blue sky... who could ask for anything else???

Happy Day!

Dig it!

Yay! We're home from a volleyball weekend in Indianapolis, IN, (about 4 + hours away from our home) . DD (dear daughter's) team was seeded 5th out of 18 teams for her age group and level, and they finished 3rd overall. It was a good weekend... I was going to say fun, but the parents just sit around and watch, it's not like I'm out there playing... I wish!!!

Sissy did pretty well over all, she is considered a defensive specialist... each of the six girls on the court specializes in some sort of play, hitter(right, center, left), setter, defensive back or libero. I chaperoned this tournament last year, first time traveling, there was a 6" snow blizzard on my drive down there, I had no GPS, and a crabby parent made me cry.... can you believe that? This year, dh came along and I wasn't chaperoning, and we only had flurries of snow, plus we have gotten a GPS, and this is about our 5th time traveling with the team... so everything was a bit more familiar.

Now they are trying to figure out a tournament in Orlando FL... dh and both check NO (way).... the cost first of all, and secondly, they are only 14... we don't need to travel that far for competition. Yikes, what club sports is all about!!!

Good Luck

Here's a little lucky guy that I was inspired to make. I'm thinking here that St. Patricks's day really isn't THAT big of a holiday, but there have to be a few better images out there of little leprechauns, or clovers or something? I practiced with my shading here on this card. That is so fun give a flat piece of paper some dimension and with a little shadow, the image pops up off the page. (well a tiny bit) I did try to do some stitching on this card, but the bobbin wasn't really liking going through the card stock, so... I didn't get the smoothest look I wanted, but it's still kind of 'edge-y'.


We're off to Indianapolis today for a volleyball tournament. We're going to stop and have lunch at Arnie's in Lafayette IN, a favorite place we ate at every time we went 'home' to visit DH's parents. We're going to meet up with his mom today!! Then off for a weekend of volleyball.

This should be good... last year I drove in 6" of blinding snow/blizzard conditions and I was the team chaperone, first time ever doing that... and sheesh... some of the other parents... needed to take a chill pill, yikes!!! But this time, I've got my hubby with me, I'm NOT chaperoning, and we now know we can actually leave the 14 year olds behind and not have to worry. Cross our fingers for a fun weekend and some winning!!!

Shamrock Hello Tree

So I was blurffing... is that the term for surfing on blogs? I think so... and saw this cute image and was inspired to change it from the valentine card, to a st. paddy's day card. Original colors were the pink and red and hearts on the tree, to the greens with the shamrock(ish) ornaments. I just loved the results.


This is similar to something from way long ago, I believe it was Stamps By Judith, where she had a tree branch stamp, and then all the seasons. So, next month you can make an Easter Egg tree.... pumpkins, ornaments, stars (4th of July), bones (for a dog), fish (for a cat) flower heads, oak leaf... you get the idea. Too, too cute!!!

Used my nestabilities to get the circle scallop, then used all my SU! punches for the circles. DP is scraps still left from a SU! purchase.

The Sun is shinning, the sky is a brilliant blue, we got a dusting of snow last night and it's 9 degrees outside. Have a great day!

Patti-bella

Don't know if that's her actual name, or if someone turned a 'party' bella in to a St. Patrick's day girl, but here is my inspired piece. You can say you don't celebrate the Hallmark Holidays, but wouldn't it be great to have on hand, a card you can send out to tell someone your thinking of them?

I'm off today @@, so I think I'm going to try and clean my craft room a bit. I have some fresh blender pens somewhere that I can't find!! Blender pens, ha ha... if you don't know what those are, you'd think, cardmaking and a blender, how does that work? Add a little juice and just whip it up! Actually, what the blender pens do, is have a bit of moisture in them, so you can blend the water color pencils together and smooth out the image you just colored in. Added a touch of stickles to the top of her fun hat and the cupcake! Tried to make the bacground paper... the shamrocks are a bit shaking! Fun card.

For You

Here's a cute card I made over the weekend. A little (lot of) plan and thought went into it, as I was inspired by a post from Markie's Mom.

When I link a name like Markie's Mom, Zindorf, or SCS... these are all card sites that I frequent and cards that I've seen on their blogs or sites, I am inspired to create and make myself. Often called to CASE (C opy A nd S hare E verything). The SHARE can also be replaced by the word STEAL.... I like to call the entire process as being inspired!!! Links to these sites can be viewed by clicking on the name to the right of my blog.

I don't know, is the computer and the internet becoming something scary, is big brother watching us all over again?? What's the scare on Facebook... so ideas, thoughts, pictures are no longer sacred... OMG... who could ever think that people would 'steal' our intermost personal things! WAKE UP people.... express yourself on the internet... and if it's good stuff.... watch it circle the world like a little virus.... see if you can catch it and reel it back in!!!! Hit that send button and you've lost any control you might have. HHeeeellllllooooo!

Back to my happy cards. I just love to make them. I love to give them. And sometimes, lucky readers of my blog receive them. Creating cards is like a little personal goal I reach for every day, and by completing creativity... I reach my goals, and for that, I feel great!!

More Cowbell

Who would have thought that you could get thrown out of a jv high school league play off game for ringing a cowbell? But I almost did last night!!

I have brought my cowbell for every game this year and feel I ring it 'tastefully' any time we score a goal. Some games I never even rung the bell. Last night there was excitement in the air and we were playing a rival team that often brought varsity players down to play our jv team, we were winning 8-0. Actually, Bubba (ds) scored the 6th goal and I was happy and excited for him. I was cheering for our team, they really scored some great goals.... no way was I 'rubbing' it in to the other team for being LOSERS!!!! (I totally say that in jest now) I didn't know there was a protocol, and that if you were 'skunking' the other team, you are not allowed to cheer for your team... if you do... on the 7th goal, you get a mother from the opposing team telling you to shut up, and then on the 8th goal (which as a courtesy not to make the other team feel sad... they leave the score on the scoreboard as 6-0) a parent on security patrol from the opposing team said "if you keep ringing that cowbell you'll be thrown out of the arena!"

OMG... I was so embarrassed. Who knew? Our team manager NEVER ever said a word to me. And he knows ALL of the rules of the game of hockey. How many hockey dads swear at the refs and tell their players 'hit em harder'..... it was just a cowbell ringing when we scored a goal!!! Sore losers, with a big "L" .... the cowbell to say the least, has now gone out to pasture!!

The power of love is a curious thing

Wow! Go to google and type in love, it takes you all over from definitions of the word 'love' in many different languages, to love themed songs, to a love computer calculation to see if you are compatible with your mate!

This is a little Be My Valentine we made at stamp camp the other night. I just love the pink/brown color combo. I'm thinking I really like the designer or background paper they have at SU!... but it seems so expensive for what you get. Although, I never find that quality when looking at Hobby Lobby. I need to expand and start buying on line more often too, more selection of current products... but sales like anyone else, are really low... so it's hard to justify purchasing more stuff!!!

So, what kind of cards should I move on to next???


They say that all in love is fair
Yeah, but you dont care
But you know what to do
When it gets hold of you
And with a little help from above
You feel the power of love
You feel the power of love
Can you feel it ? Hmmm
~Huey Lewis

Lots of Valentines

Man, I was like butter yesterday.... I was on a roll (ba dum ba).... I was on fire.... cranking heat on some Valentine cards! I thought I had an order... but it ended up as a no show! So, now I have lots of cute Valentine cards.... warm wishes to recoginize the one you love! Used SU! Simply Said and Load of Love, the was inspired by another.

I'm really liking the kiwi (or green) and pink together. Gives it a cool vibe mix. Cuttlebugged the heart embossing folder, just for a rectangle touch of texture.

This card was completely cased. You can go to SCS and look up other creative stampers work by category of the stamp. I like how this turned out. Used Glitter embossing powder on the big heart, but hard to tell in this photo.

Loads of love. Cute. Stickled a few hearts. I took time to mask of the top of the bed of the truck so the hearts didn't run over (which normally happens, because I think I'm so good.) and I masked over the door top, so the girl was riding inside the truck.... to lazy sometimes when I multi stamp and image. Love the green and pink together!

The last card is just a fun doodle of hearts. Can you see the 3 flagged ribbon to the right on top of the image? They almost blend in to the stripes.

My last quote... until I move on to something else novel.....

"Call your family often."

Stamp Camp

Went to stamp camp this week and had fun playing around with a few new things. One, that I found really cool was this card holder.... I've made all kinds of paper craft/ card holders, but it's fun to learn different ways, shapes and dimensions. Some have covers, some open like a pizza box... it is so cool what people play around with and figure to make, then share it!! Also included in this post is one sample card from the pack. Four of the cards that night were made to 'match' the packaging, so you could think about giving it as a gift.

The techniques at stamp camp are always good reminders of things I haven't done in a while, or just great things to incorporate that are so simple, and they look great.I can always learn more ways to make sympathy cards.

"Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed."

Peek-a-boo

Here's a card inspired by Markies Mom. I love so much what she does with color combos and everything she puts together to make her cards. If you recall some time ago... we had counted over 12 layers just on one card of hers!!! The colors here mesh better in real life, and now that I see a photo of the card, it needs some sort of sentiment at the top. The hands of the frog are separate from the body and could be attached anywhere, it kind of makes him floating on top of the flower.

What's living in Illinois without talking about the weather.... spring tease today... high of 61.... that's almost 80 degrees warmer than it was three weeks ago when we had that cold spell!! Weird.

"Do the right thing."

Happy Birthday Princess!!

Not to incriminate those involved, here's a card for the birthday girl! She's not really my boss, she sort of hired me at the doctor's office @@, she was a fellow stamper from stamp camp, and it's her birthday! To make the card more personalized, I decided to include her two favorite kids (LBK's) for the make a wish occassion. Inside it says something like : Don't be scared, it's just another birthday creeping up on you. Happy Birthday!!

The images are based off of Whipper Snapper designs. Cuttlebugged the green background, used little paw prints to make the background paper. Stickled the tops of the hat and candle, for sparkle factor.


"No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up."

Valentine Mail Box

The other day we were talking at Highlowaha about these adorable mailboxes from the $1 bin at Target. So dang cute!! A lovely way to give a gift filled with chocolates, cookies or a gift card, to that special someone in your life. Below are two examples, and three different views. Just going outisde the (mail) box for today's post.





This last one could be more for a birthday gift.

Oh, just one last thing about the weather, the thermometer already says 52 degrees, who hoo... the snow is melting, we see grass, the downspouts are dripping, and it's a sunny, windy day, a taste of spring, what relief!!

"Do the right thing."

Upsy Daisy

Oh, whose talking about weather? It's possible it will get up to 48 degrees tomorrow.... who-hoo! That is a heat wave!

'Nugh about that... heres a cute Upsy Daisy card I made last week. Love the green and brown color combo. I have a few scraps of the SU! background paper laying around (grin). And followed another great card makers layout... end result, a cute note card anyone would love to receive?

Short day at work today, but both kids have sports practice after school. So I will be running around, then! I love playing in my craft room, but it's getting pretty messy, probably need to do some cleaning and purging.


"Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need."

Computer Whiz

Here's another special order card... for a young gentleman celebrating his birthday, and he's really into his computer he got for Christmas. Inside it reads: W Y A V H B!


or (wishing you a very happy birthday)
Doodled the picture of a funky computer. The keyboard and mouse pop up a bit, they have crystal affects on them. A nice little card that a 17 year old boy wil go... nice.... what's inside!!! "Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful"

Welcome Baby

Here's a baby shower card I created over the weekend. (Sharon, don't peek) They know it's a boy and I was given ideas off the original shower invite. Obviously, if you scroll down you see that the tag slides out, and out comes a fun little monkey (based off the Chingita?) I used safety pins to embellish the blue ribbons. Extended the SU! word bubble punch to make the slot a little wider. Cuttlebugged the white card stock and used pop dots just around the slide area to give it room to slide.


Inside is enough room to write a sentiment and a few blue baby footprints to say Welcome Baby!!

"The best is yet to come."