Cards

Hugs

~ dddesignz ~ Leave a comment

There are times we feel helpless when friends are hurting. Life can be so hard sometimes. Add a pandemic into the mix, and those who suffer can feel isolated and alone. Reaching out to them is helpful in any form. Today I felt the need to let someone I know how much I love and care for them. Making and sending a card is such an easy thing to do when you can’t physically be with them.

The pretty papers in this card came from Cocoa Vanilla Studio‘s These Days collection. I often purchase the A5 Paper Stack in these collections, as they are excellent for card making. I chose butterfly paper to cover the whole card front. Next, I used two Stitched Scallop Basic Edged 2 dies (currently not available) from My Favorite Things to shape the soft green leafy paper.

The HUGS sentiment comes from Papertrey Ink, and I have had it in my collection for at least a decade. It is a timeless set that I will continue to use for many years to come. I purchased the coordinating stamp set for these dies and used the word SENDING for the front of the card. Each letter of the word HUGS has intricate cutouts. I wanted these cutouts filled with coordinating colours of this collection. The easiest and quickest way to achieve this was to cut the coordinating papers and back these sections. I layered the completed die cut on fun foam to provide a bit of texture and dimension to the card.

The final touch was adding a few hearts from the These Days Puffy Stickers sheet. I’m very happy with the end result and hope my friend feels the love I’m sending with it.

Thanks for stopping by, and until next time, stay safe, stay well, and Happy Scrapping!

You’re How Old?

~ dddesignz ~ 2 Comments

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband! Because he’s older than I, I always like to tease him over his age. I’m always willing to let him go first in the age game, so generous of me!

This year, I’ve challenged myself to use more of my cut files to make cards. It is a great way to stretch the investment in your electronic cut files. I used the Balloons cut file from Confessions of a Paper Addict (COAPA) to make this card.

I resized the cut file in Silhouette software to fit the front of the card, and then cut it from black cardstock. I chose coordinating papers from the Harvest Festival collection by Honey Bee Stamps for the card base and the balloons. I love the vibrant colours in the balloons.

The next step was to emboss the greeting “You’re How Old?” on the card front. This stamp belongs to the Bitty Birthday Wishes stamp set by My Favorite Things (MFT). I then used adhesive foam to layer the balloons to the front of the card. I wanted the tails of the balloons to flow freely from the card, providing more texture and movement.

The final touch was adding some sequins in different hues of orange to coordinate with the balloons. I adhered them to the card front using Glossy Accents, as it provides an extremely firm hold. Overall, I found this card quite quick and easy to pull together.

Thanks for stopping in today, I hope I’ve encouraged you to look at using your cut files in new and different ways. Until next time, stay safe, stay well, and Happy Scrapping!

Valentine’s Day 2021!

~ dddesignz ~ 3 Comments

While I’m not the type of girl who looks for roses or gifts on Valentine’s Day, I certainly love to show my family how much they mean to me on this special day. This year especially, I look forward to the positive distraction the day will bring! I love to make Valentine cards for my family, and this year I was inspired by the very talented Zsoka Marko who posted a video using a Paige Evan’s cut file. I love interactive cards, and this was the perfect fit for my 3 grandchildren. You can find Zsoka’s video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RO1hIrGCpo&t=384s.

Each of these cards was made with Paige Evan’s Folding Heart Mini Album cut file, Design ID #300594, found in the Silhouette Design Store. I cut one single heart and 2 of the folding hearts to make each card. There is space for 4 heart photos within each card, providing a great opportunity to personalize each one. To achieve the heart-shaped photos, I traced the cut single heart onto a piece of clear acetate to create a template that was positioned and traced directly onto my chosen photos. I simply cut the photos a bit smaller than the tracing lines to fit them in the appropriate spots. Liquid glue was used to secure all the cut file pieces together, and a tape runner was used for securing the pictures in place. Ribbons were selected from my stash to coordinate with each paper collection. When the folding hearts were fully completed, I used double-sided adhesive sheets, cut to fit, to ensure a good stronghold to the front of the card. These cards measure 6″ tall by 5 ” wide. To complete the front of each card, I dug into my Doodlebug Design Inc. stash again and pulled two coordinating paper frills in bubblegum, blue jean, and limeade to complement the completed hearts.

Madison’s card was created using the Lovebugs collection of papers and stickers from Doodlebug Designs Inc.

Owen’s card was completed using the Legendary collection of papers and stickers from Cocoa Vanilla Studio.

Benjamin’s card was completed using the Boys Rule collection of papers and stickers from Cocoa Vanilla Studio.

I can’t wait to give my grandchildren these personalize cards on Sunday! I hope you all find special ways to enjoy Valentine’s Day this year, and to show your love to those who mean so much to you!

Stay well, stay healthy and Happy Scrapping!

MFT 2018 Card Superstars

~ dddesignz ~ 2 Comments

Everyone who receives my cards knows I have an addiction to My Favourite Things stamps and dies. I am always inspired by their products and first rate design team! So I’m excited to enter a creation in their Clean & Simple Genius category this year. This card is headed to my hubby later this month when we celebrate our 38th wedding Anniversary!

My Favourite Things – MFT Creative Olympics

~ dddesignz ~ 1 Comment

Well I’ve been absent for a long time, but this event got me excited! Here’s my entry for the MFT Creative Biathlon, using masking and a slider. This card is headed to my Granddaughter who turns 7 next weekend. She’s in love with the Olympics, so I hope she’ll be excited to hear I entered her card in a contest.

I used the “You’re Super “ stamp and die set, the “Interactive Labels” stamp, sun ray stencil, stamped and water coloured with distress inks, and hooked it all up with some Chibitronics!

I started the card by stamping and masking the “boom” cloud! I used a small punch to punch out a small hole in one of the “o’s” to let the light shine through. Then I moved on to the stencil and some inking of the background. The city scenes were die cut, the sentiment was heat embossed using VersaMark warermark and white embossing powder. The cute super girl was watercoloured, and mounted on a thin layer of craft foam before adhering to the card front. Her mask and the “M” ( for Maddy), were die cut from black glitter cardstock.

The trickiest part was setting up the circuit for the Chibitronics light. The recent MFT Youtube video came to the rescue! It was slow going, but I couldn’t be more delighted with the final result. The real test will be when Maddy opens her card, can’t wait!

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Happy Birthday Margie!

~ dddesignz ~ Leave a comment

Some people are extra special. Margie Dinsmore is one of those people. Margie’s played an important part in our family for…well, forever! Margie is a RN who cared for patients in the Intensive Care Unit. Not an easy job. Margie was my Grandmother’s friend. She babysat my Dad and his siblings, myself and my siblings, my children and many, many more. Not an easy job!

Margie volunteered her time over years and years to the benefit of many. She walks everywhere, choosing her feet over transportation whenever she can. She still lives on her own, as independent as she can be.

Today we celebrate her 101st Birthday! She remains a kind, selfless, loving woman. Wherever you are today, raise a glass to a remarkable woman who sets a high example of making a difference in other people’s lives.

Happy Birthday Margie, we LOVE YOU!

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Happy Easter

~ dddesignz ~ Leave a comment

Welcome Spring!

I just finished preparing my Easter baskets for our two wonderful grandchildren. Thought I’d share the cards I made to put in their baskets. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE my Silhouette? These bunnies are just adorable. Hope Maddy and Owen enjoy them as much as I enjoyed making them. Happy Easter everyone!

Easter - MaddyEaster - Owen

Welcome to Your New Home

~ dddesignz ~ 1 Comment

I make approximately 150 cards throughout the year between, birthdays, anniversaries, Valentine’s Day, Christmas, special occasions, or just simply to brighten someone’s day. I really enjoy the process of working on a card specific for the person and personality it’s going to.

Recently our daughter and her family moved into a new home. Actually, an older home that needed a lot of renovations before they could move in. That meant they were in between homes for a few weeks. Not an easy thing for a young family to manage. So when they recently got to the stage of living in their new home (reno in progress!) I wanted to make it special.

This is the card I made for the whole family, Mom, Dad and kids:

Home is Where Your Story Begins

The stamp comes from the Unity Stamp Company. I purchased it several years ago, but it seemed the perfect occasion to christen it. Some simple colouring with water colour pencils and brightly striped background paper completed the front.

I wanted to send cards to each of our grandchildren (Maddy – 4 and Owen – 2). What’s more exciting then getting mail, especially to your NEW home! Maddy’s card was made using Simon Says stamping products; You Have My Heart (stamps and matching dies), and Circle Sayings. I stamped the “Love You’ circle on the cardstock and then used a circle die to cut out the centre. The open centre was backed with My Favorite Things “Plaid Patterns” paper. Gorgeous options in this 6″x 6″ paper pack! The girl holding the heart was stamped and then die cut. I used water colour pencils again to fill in the image and adhered it to the card with pop dots.

Love You Circle

Owen is obsessed with PENGUINS! Anything penguin makes his day. So when I saw the Penguins in Paradise stamp and die set from My Favorite Things, I knew I just had to buy it. Owen’s card was backed with another beautiful plaid paper from MFT and the penguin was stamped, water coloured and die cut. I love to use dimension in my projects, so the penguin was also adhered with a product that allows it to “bounce”.

Your're My Penguin

The cards were a hit, and that really makes my day!