Thanks Coach

Hello again!  Last month was "March Madness" for you basketball lovers, that includes our family.  Well, actually my hubby and my son love to watch the games on TV.  I would much rather be at the game than to watch it on TV.  Anyways, last month was also the end of the basketball season for my son and his team.  We hated to see it end, due to enjoying the game and seeing our son gain a great amount of confidence in himself and learning a lot along the way.  He was even just beginning to gain new friends, which was great!  The great thing was that he got to play on the 2 teams.  He was in between ages so they allowed him to play on the younger guys team and also the high school team.  We were so proud of him.  He was so shy at first and by the end of the season all the younger guys, really seemed to enjoy being around him.  The high school team was mostly made up of seniors, that have played together for quite awhile.  They were a great team and played really well with each other, so well that, in the league, they were undefeated.  Woohoo!  They were a tough team!  Great Job guys!  Again we are so proud of all of them!  With having so many players for each team we needed several coaches too.  Our son had a total of 5 couches.  They are all great men to look up to.  They were very patient in teaching him how to improve his skills and how to do the drills and plays.  We were really grateful for their willingness to do all that they did for our son and for the teams.  So I knew I had to make them a "Thank You" card at the end of the season.  So this is what I came up with!  You will notice that the one card looks very much like the one I made for my son's birthday...well I liked the design so much that I had use it for his coaches too.  The only real difference is the ribbon and the orange background paper.  Well, I hope they liked their cards!
 
I used:
Basketball Cricut Cartridge
Laserline Basketball Words Individual Sheets of Paper from Pat Catan's Craft Store
Black, Blue, silver and Orange Cardstock
Cuttlebug Embossing Folder: Polka Dots
Pop Dots For Dimension
Ribbon from Pat Catan's Craft Store

 My son, Nathan!

This is the trophies that my son received this year!

This was our High School team!

Thanks for stopping by and

 I hope you have a wonderful day!

Challenges Entered:

DL.ART APRIL LINKY CHALLENGE

Best Swishes

Hi!  Well my son just recently had his 15th Birthday!  I just can't over that he is that old!  What is even more crazy, and scary, is that here in Ohio, he could get his temporary driving license in just 6 months.  I don't think so though, he still has a lot of "growing up" to do before I would ever let him behind the wheel of a car.  LOL  0.0 
Anyways, his birthday landed in the middle of the week, so on his actual birthday we let him open a couple of small gifts from us, and then on the weekend we had a larger, but small birthday party with his grandparents.  We always have a lot of fun!  I love having my house full of people, celebrating something!  It may be a bit crazy in my tiny house, but when you involve good food and friends and family and lots of love, it is a blast! 
Okay, about  his card!  This year he has been playing basketball, for two different teams.  You see, his age allowed him to play both on the High School team and the Younger Guys team.    So when we would go to his games we got to see him play 2 times!  It was a lot of fun and I am so proud of him.  It was amazing to watch him improve and get more aggressive and not be so timid about playing.  He even kinda got a nick-name, "Pick-Pocket" Nathan, because he was quick to steal the basketball from the other team!  LOL  You gotta watch out for that little skinny guy, cause he is quick!  LOL  So since that is his interest this year, naturally that was the inspiration for his card that I made for him.

I used:
Basketball Cricut Cartridge
Gypsy Wanderings Cricut Cartridge for the Frame
Laserline Basketball Words Individual Sheets of Paper from Pat Catan's Craft Store
Black, Blue and Orange Cardstock
Cuttlebug Embossing Folder: Polka Dots
Pop Dots For Dimension
White Gel Pen for the Faux stitching
Ribbon from Pat Catan's Craft Store
The Sentiment is computer generated

Thanks for stopping in! 

 I hope you have a blessed day!

Challenges Entered:

DL.ART APRIL LINKY CHALLENGE

Best Wishes White With a Splash of Pink

This was a simple card made with some trial and error.  But once I got all the sizes and cuts figured out then it was easy.  So not one piece of paper for this card was cut with my Cricut.  Poor baby, it was neglected on this one!  LOL  Amazingly, all the cuts were made using Martha Stewart Punches!  I am pretty proud of this one!  I love the white on white look with the embossing and layers, all combined.  It gives it such depth and dimension.  Then with that little bit of pink, just makes it so elegant.  This card was made for a bridal shower, but really it could be made for just about any occasion, except for maybe a masculine card, of course.  As soon as the bride-to-be saw it, she was in love with it!  I know I sure was, of course I say that with almost every one of my cards.  LOL  I love to challenge myself to try something new and see if I can achieve a new look.  I have always admired the look of many layers and lots of fancy cuts weather they are cut on a machine or with a die and in this case cut with a punch.  Who knew! 

 

I used:

White Cardstock

Pink and Green Velum Paper for the flowers and leaves

Martha Stewart Around the Page Loop Punches

Martha Stewart Hydrangea Punches

Cuttlebug embossing folder set:  Loves in the Air

White Satin Ribbon from Hobby Lobby

Adhesive Pearls

Well thank you stopping in and I hope you have a

wonderful day!

 

Challenges Entered:

DL.ART THANKFUL THURSDAY MARCH LINKY CHALLENGE

Antique Truck Masculine Card

Hello again!  I hope everyone is doing great!  It has been sun shining here a lot more, lately!  That means that spring is here!  Yay!  Yes even I, the one who loves winter, is ready for some warmer days and more sun shine and flowers blooming.  The biggest two things I don't like about warmer weather is tornado weather and HOT weather.  Otherwise, give me 70-75 with very little humidity and I am happy.  LOL
Anyways, my BIL had a birthday here a while back, and I really just always struggle with coming up with masculine cards.  So when I saw this old truck image, I immediately thought of his old Model-T that he has and plans on restoring.  So this was naturally my choice or my jumping off point for his card.  Then it went from there.  I recently bought the brick embossing folder with intentions of using it on some more masculine cards.  I sure hope he liked it!  I think it turned out nice. 

I used:
DCWV The Formal Affair Stack
White Cardstock
Darice Brick Pattern embossing folder
Tim Holtz Distress Ink Black Soot
Online Image for the truck
I-Rock Gems
Stampin' Up! Celebrations for the Sentiment
Ribbon From my stash

Thank you so much for taking time to see what I have been doing!  I hope you have a day filled with many blessings!

Birthday Pop-Up Box Card

Hello again!  Like I said, I have been continually making cards even though I have not been posting.  I am just glad that I have remembered to grab pictures of these cards before they are give out or sent to their recipient.  One to many times I have forgotten to snap that picture until after I have either sealed the envelope or have already sent it.  I am sure no one else does that except me.  Very frustrating.  Well this one is fortunately not one of those. 

 

I made this card for my wonderful SIL,  she is such a special lady and a blessing to us all.  She has such a giving heart and always seems to have a smile on her face even when things get rough.  We all love her so very much and are so very proud of her and the changes she has made in her life, and are praying for her continually.  Either way the pop up box turned out really pretty and very elegant.  I love the contrast of the colors against each other.

 

I used:

Potpourri Basket Cricut Cartridge for the greenery/Ivy

Kate's ABCs Cricut Cartridge for the larger flowers

Making Memories Wedding Stack

Red and White Textured Cardstock

Black Cardstock

Small strips of acetate paper

Martha Stewart Hydrangea Punches for the smaller flowers

EK Success Butterfly punch

Brads for the center of the large flowers

Gold and Silver liquid pearls



 

Thank you so much for stopping in and seeing what all I have been up to! 

I hope you have a wonderful day!

Challenges Entered:

DL.ART THANKFUL THURSDAY MARCH LINKY CHALLENGE

 

Best Wishes Pop Up Present Card!

Hello, long time no post from me!  Sorry!  As usual, life tends to keep me busy from posting.  I am still busy in my little corner, making my cards, even when I don't post anything.  So this was made for my cousin who has always been really special to me since childhood.  We were and are like best friends.  We had many a sleepovers as kids.  When I got a little older my family moved away.  But even now as adults, when we do get together, it is like we were never apart and we just pick up where we left of and just really enjoy each others company.  What a blessing it is to have someone like that!  I love her and her beautiful family!  Now unfortunately she lives in another state, so I REALLY, don't get to see her except maybe once a year during the holiday season.  :-(    Anyways, her birthday is a funny one, because it lands on the one day that only happens once every 4 years, leap year!  So her birthday is an easy one to remember.  She used to always tell me that she would actually celebrate her birthday at midnight, when it is not a "leap year"!  LOL  Since she is so special to me and so easy to remember I wanted to get a card to her.  So this is what I came up with. Either way, I hope she liked it!

 

I Used:

DCWV The Mariposa Stack

Blue Textured Cardstock

Darice Dandelions embossing folder

Green and White Chalk to give it some color

Stickles:  Crystal

Stamped sentiment from Hobby Lobby

The Ribbons for both the inside and outside are from my stash

Also, the inside papers for the gifts are from my crazy stash of scraps

 

 

Thank you so much for stopping in and checking out what I have busy doing. May you have a day filled many blessings!

 

Challenges entered in:

DL.ART THANKFUL THURSDAY MARCH LINKY CHALLENGE

 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hi, I hope you all had a great Valentine's Day with your Valentine...weather it was with your spouse, or just you and your kids or even just friends.  No matter who you chose to be your Valentine, I hope it was special and fun!  My family chose to stay home and just have a nice evening home.  And for us that seems to be something rare.  LOL  So as tradition, that has been passed down from my parents, my kids woke up and came down to a heart shaped box of yummy chocolates, and it did not end there. My wonderful hubby surprised me with a box of yummy chocolates and a card, and then later he had a bouquet of flowers sent to me too.  Talk about feeling special and very spoiled.  At lunch then, I made grilled cheese sandwiches, with a heart cut out of the center of the bread and replaced with another kind of bread.  Mmmm, yummy and fun!   Then at dinner time, I made a very special meal, with heart shaped homemade pizzas and dessert was Black Forrest Cakes in individual servings all served with candle light and dinner music!  LOL  They had fun and really enjoyed it all!  Wow, everyone was stuffed too!   But is in the mix of it all, I made my hubby a quick Valentine card to go with the box of chocolates I gave him.  I think we have enough chocolates to last us quite a while!  LOL  Anyways, I wanted to share the card I made for my hubby!  I think he liked it!

I Used:
Cricut Craft Room Basics Cartridge for the Heart cuts, circle cut and the scalloped circle cut
Gypsy Font Cricut Cartridge for the Letters
DCWV Glittered Stack for the large center Heart
Authentique Paper, LLC Authentique Genuine Collection
DCWV The Shimmer Stack for the smaller hearts
Love's In the Air Cuttlebug Embossing Folder
Rhinestones from Michael's
The Sentiment was computer Generated

Thanks stopping by!  I hope you have a fantastic day!

Purple Butterfly Pop Up Box Card

Hello Blog friends!  It seems that many of the birthdays in my family happen to run in bunches.  Where I will have 3 or 4 of them all at once and then nothing...then again 3 or 4.  I wish they were more spread out so that my "creative juices" would be able to continue to flow.  LOL  Well, I had no problems with  this card for my sister.  I knew exactly what I wanted to make for her.  She loves the color purple and nature.  And because she lives so far away from me, I knew I wanted to make her a pop up box card.  Since she is so far, and sending her a "exploding box", or another handmade dimensional gift is not all that practical without paying extra shipping, this was the perfect solution.  I love how it lays flat to put into the envelope and yet when you open it, it is full of "WOW"!  Such an unexpected surprise!  I hope she will enjoy it!  Plus, I received a wonderful gift/toy for my birthday a while back, that helps in aiding with sending such great types of cards...the Envelope Punch Board!  Oh my, this thing is great!  I can make my own envelopes that fit my cards perfectly.  I love that thing!  It sure came in handy for this type of card.  So now I can use up a lot of my thinner scrapbook papers for custom envelopes!  Oh how perfect!  Anyways, this card style is very easy to make, it is up to you on how complicated or detailed you want to make it.  This was a little more embellished than the last one but it still did not take very long to do. 

I used:
Me & My Big Ideas Specialty Cardstock
DCWV The Shimmer Stack
Dark Green and purple Cardstock
Potpourri Basket Cricut Cartridge for the "Ivy leaves" cut
EK Success Butterfly Punch
Stickles
Celebrate stamped Sentiment from Stampin' Up!
Happy Birthday Sentiment from my stash
Paper flowers from my stash
Glue Dots

Due to many requests of how to make this kind of card, I figured I would share the link to where I got a really great tutorial.  Very clear and simple!  Have fun! 
Pop Up Box Card Tutorial

Here is what it looks like closed!

Thanks for stopping by to see what I have been up to!

I hope you all stay warm!

May you have a wonderful day!

 

Hoppy Birthday!

My sweet little baby girl just turned 12 this week!  Where does the time go!  She is growing up way to fast, yet there are moments where I still see little glimpses of that little girl in her.  She is always ready to smile or giggle at something or with you.  I am truly blessed that God chose me to be her momma.  If you could know her, she always has some kind of insect or frog in her hand or in a jar, through out the spring/summer months.  Even last summer, she cried when one of her many caterpillars died.  Last summer we ordered a butterfly kit where we got to see the caterpillars turn into butterflies and then released them back into the wild.  That was so cool!  She really enjoyed that a lot.  Actually, I think we all enjoyed it.  She brings so much joy and adventure to our little family! So naturally, this is where my inspiration came from for her card!  It made her giggle a little, especially with the frog being on an action wobble.  When it wobbles, the goggle eyes rattle!  What fun!

I used:
Create A Critter Cricut Cartridge for the Frog
Kate's ABC's Cricut Cartridge for the Jar and grass cuts
Sweet Treats Cricut Cartridge for the party hat
Elegant Edges Cricut Cartridge for the Background cuts
The Paper Studio Persnickety paper pack
Action Wobble behind the frog
Goggle eyes from my stash
Martha Stewart Butterfly boarder punch for the butterflies
Paper flowers from my stash
"Hoppy Birthday" sentiment made using alpha bet stamp set from my stash
Stickles
Butterfly Ribbon from my stash

 

Here is what it looks like with the Action Wobble in action!  Fun!

 

Thank you for Hopping by!

I hope you have a day filled with many blessings!

A Little Bit of Summer Pop Up Box Card!

Hello dear bloggy friends!  I hope you all are staying thawed out this cold winter.  It has been unusually cold here.  I love winter, but not when the temperatures are this cold.  I would like to be able to send my kids outside to play in the snow, but with it being this cold, they can't.  Anyways, knowing that spring and summer are just around the corner, I decided to bring a little bit of that into my card making.  My sweet SIL's birthday was just here and I know she loves being outside in her flower beds and garden and I am sure she is getting antsy to be able to do that again.  So I thought I would send her a little bit of summer to warm up her birthday a little for her.  Plus, I have been enjoying seeing the "Card in a Box" technique and I decided that I wanted to try my hand at it.  If you know me, I am always trying a new card technique.  Pushing myself to try something new, is something I really enjoy doing, especially when it comes to using my papers and glue!  I love how this turned out!

I Used:
DCWV  Lemon Flower Stack
Yellow textured cardstock
DCWV Glitter Stack for the Star Cuts on my Cricut
The Daisy were stickers that were given to me years ago,from Walmart
Cupcake and "Celebrate" stamps from Hobby Lobby and hand cut out
Stickles
Rhinestones from Michael's dollar bin 
"Happy Birthday" Stamp from my stash

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Stay warm!