New Baby Cards

I love making cards and baby cards are especially fun.  I was checking out my stash of baby stamps and decided to just use a few sentiments and animals to create a few cards.  Do you like to pick up embellishments and stamping goodies on clearance?  I had these alphabet buttons I got for 97 cents on clearance - they were perfect for my sailboat card.

Spring is nearly here.  Our daffodils are in bloom.  I sat outside today with my favorite stamping magazine and enjoyed this warm and gorgeous weather.  My neighborhood consists of McMansions and old farm houses.  On my walk today, I passed a house that had a 1785 historic marker.  We live on a boxwood farm. There's lots of land and lots of woods.  When the leaves all bloom, we won't be able to see another house.

I've been energized with this change of seasons approaching and have been making all kinds of cards.
I found some paper and embellishments which sparked a flood of card making ideas.  I'll post some of my latest cards and also some of what I call home.  Hope you enjoy the week and the upcoming Spring season!

Out with the Old - in with the New

Happy New Years!!  I am not one for making resolutions, but I have decided that for 2012 I will allow myself creative freedom.  I'll let my inspirations take me where they will, and I will not let the critical Virgo ego, squash my ideas like a bug.  I am mine own worst critic and a perfectionist - not a match made in heaven.  I've decided for 2012 I will let my inner artist outside of the box.  If she does something I don't normally do RIGHT ON!!  I am the only one who grades my work and I am very stingy with A's.

 I decided to take a fresh look at some cards I made in the past and breathe some new life and updates into the greeting card design.  Nothing drastic or huge, just a few tweaks to give my card some pizazz!!

 

Here is the old one - not a bad card, but I wanted to give it some 2012 magic.

 I just attached the card to a white card base with rounded corners.  I then switched out the sentiment and added an attractive new label.  Onto the label, I added a few red pearls.  Now good has become better.  For the background I used a red glossy card and sprayed it with a white webbing spray.

 

Christmas is coming so fast!!

Wow!  I just realized this morning that Christmas is a short 23 days away.  I haven't put up a decoration yet!!
We will be celebrating Christmas in our new place.  I am very excited, especially since we now have a fireplace and a mantel to hang stockings.  I wanted to post a few pictures of Christmas cards I made yesterday. 
Last year I got a lot of Christmas stamp sets, punches and diecuts.  I was overwhelmed when I got all
my new stuff out.  So I decided to take one stamp set at a time.  I'll come up with gift cards, tags, and other fun paper crafts.  I figure this will help me focus more!  I also wanted to post some pictures I took of my craft room.

I didn't have a background stamp I liked for this card..  So I used a small snowflake stamp

to create an embossed and unique background.  Small white pearls fit perfectly inside each flake.

For this card I pulled out some flowers I bought on clearance.  They remind me of poinsettias.  I embossed
a swirly background with an embossing folder.  Love to use these for quick backgrounds.  I then die cut a label and stamped a greeting.

I die cut a holly branch to start this card.  There were small spots for the berries where I added rhinestones.

On the tree card, I again embossed in white.  I then added small rhinestones.  I found some glitter printed paper which matched so well.  I just love when it all comes together!!

 My fiance built me shelves which I needed for all my boxes which hold stickers, embellishments, etc.

 I found a lot of fabric boxes at the dollar store.  They hold and a lot and are sturdy enough for my supplies.

 Anyone who scrapbooks or designs cards, knows paper is our biggest supply.  I found a cardboard paper holder at Staples and I also got a wooden cabinet from JoAnn's which holds my cricut and sissix machines.

 

 Trying to keep a clear work area is my biggest problem.  I start pulling out stamps, glitter, inks, and scissors and I have a real mess in no time.

My creative space is small, very small. 

Backgrounds

Sometimes I like to make a quick background when creating a card.  I love the cuttlebug embossing folders.  The one I use the most is the swiss dots.  I also love my bird stamps, so I decided to combine the two.  Sometimes, simple is just so much better.

I also love owls and in the last few years there has been a lot of great owl stamps out on the market.

I didn't have a polka dot stamp, so I found a pen with an eraser which made a perfect circle to create the polka dotted background on the owl card I made.