Welcome, Spring!

I haven't posted to my blog in so long, I hardly know where to start.  Needless to say, it's been a busy time with the holidays after my last post.  Then in February hubby and I were busy working on our house.  We painted the kitchen/dining room area of our great room and then decided to prime and paint the paneling in the living room end.  What a job.  Thankfully it was during our winter's biggest snow storm, so we could not have gotten out and done anything else anyway.  It looks very different in the cream color, rather than the dark paneling.  (Yes, my hubby built that lovely stone fireplace about 30 years ago.  Love it!!)  We are very pleased with the results.  I was busy hunting and purchasing some new decor items to go in the room. 

I have also been busy with Lent and Easter preparations/celebrations at our church.  I am a member of the Altar Design Team and we try to arrange a different altar each Sunday.  Here is one we had during Lent.  The theme this week was "Empty Bowls, Empty Hands."

We have also been to Myrtle Beach, SC, on a little vacation and saw 4 beautiful sunrises.  Here is but one of them!  That vacation was a nice time of rest and relaxation, which we all need.

I so appreciate those of you who wrote to tell me how much you missed me on the blog, expressing your concern that I might have something serious going on.  No, it was just life.  So I thought I'd say hello to you, my faithful friends, today and perhaps share a sample or two.

I am so behind in posting samples, I don't know which to post.  I think for today, I'll just show you several with no instructions and you can use them for inspiration if you like!

 (The instructions for this next one will be on Splitcoaststampers on May 28, so watch for that.  I am their guest tutorial writer that day and will give the "how to's" for this one.)

Hope these have gotten you interested again.  I hope to post again real soon.  I have more cards I want to share with you!  Thanks for keeping in touch with me!!
Smiles, Laura

Gift Card Pouch...

Today's share is very simple to make, but makes a neat little pouch for a gift card, candy, a pair of earrings on a card, or other small objects.  You can barely see the Santa gift card I have in the back of this one behind the Giradelli candy.

 

It starts with a 6x6" piece of designer paper.  Fold it in half, one corner to the opposite corner, forming a triangle. 

Measure 3-3/4" on one side of triangle, and fold the opposite corner over the meet that 3-3/4" mark. 

 Fold the other point toward the opposite side, making the top of those two line up.

 Fold down one of the top pieced so that if shows the pattern inside.  This definitely works best with two-sided designer paper.

Then decorate to fit the occasion.  These are doing for Christmas gift cards and candy.
                                    
I can think of tons of uses for these little cuties!  Let's go make some....
Smiles, Laura

Upright Diamond Card, modified....

Recently another one of my cards was chosen for the weekly technique tutorial on Splitcoaststamper (SCS).  I was very flattered that Beate Johns would run another of my designs. (She has another one scheduled for February, too).  I thought I'd share the cards with you today.  You can find the instructions for making them on SCS.

I am calling it the Upright Diamond card, modified, because I've seen this layout on Pinterest, but the front of the card was a bit off to the left and taller, making it very hard to get it into an envelope. So I figured out a way to modify it to make the "diamond" lay toward the center more.

This first one is the one featured with the instructions on SCS:

 Opened:

 Made a smaller height--4-1/4":

 Opened:

 This one has the front off to the left of center a bit:

 Inside:

 Another smaller size:

 Opened:

 Snowflake one:

 Opened:

I hope you will look up the "how-to" instructions on SCS and make one of these yourself.  It is a striking layout!!
Smiles, Laura

Mary Ann's birthday card....

My sweet sister-in-law Mary Ann had a birthday recently and turned, well, we won't say how old (unless you can figure it out from her birthday card, hee hee) but it was a milestone birthday! Anyway, I wanted to make her a very special card.  I had seen a similar card on Pinterest and knew this was the card for Mary Ann!!

 I used this Cascading card layout before on m blog in the past, so I won't repeat them here again.    You can find them if you scroll back.

 I used a retired SU balloon punch for the colorful balloons.  And the "60" was cut with a non-SU die.

 The stars are punched from silver glimmer paper.  I cut strips on acetate from sheets and used glue dots to attach the stars to them.  This makes the stars "dance" and "twinkle" when you open out the card.

 I had some blue and green netting left over from some dance skirts I made in past years and just cut that and glued it inside the card to all "fluff."

 Here's Mary Ann with her card. I think she liked it!!  Doesn't she look YOUNG for, well, advancing years! Ha!  Love you, girl!!

Smiles, Laura

Mosaic Christmas Tree...

Today's card is made using the Mosaic Punch and Mosaic Magic stamp set.  I used 3 colors of green--Old Olive, Pear Pizzazz, and Garden Green.  (Ed. Note:  I just realized I used Wild Wasabi, rather than Garden Green on this card.  Sorry!!)

The glitter decorations are punched  using the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack and the Silver and Red Glimmer paper. 

I haven't done it on this card, but the next one like this will have an embossed background to add some interest to all that white.  I did want to show this one to you today, so you can make one, if you like it.

Smiles, Laura

Hello you!

Today's share is a card we made this month in class that has sort of a different look.   It looks sort of like an envelope opening up. To make this one, I cut a piece of Island Indigo  5-1/2" x 8-1/2", and folded it in the center.  I marked the ends 1-1/2" from the fold and marked the open side exactly in the middle.  I cut from the 1-1/2" mark to the center of the open side of the card.  I used the new Envelope Punch Board to round the point.

I cut Pistachio Pudding 5-1/2" x 4-3/4", then scored the 4-3/4" side at 1/2" and folded it.  I marked 1-1/2" from each end of that fold line and marked the opposite side (opposite the fold) in the middle.  I cut from the 1-1/2" mark to the center mark on each end.

I put Vanilla inside and topped that with a piece of Venetian Romance designer paper.

 The flowers are from the Flower Shop stamp set, punched out using the Pansy punch. 

Thanks for stopping by today!!  I'd love to hear your comment on this one!
Smiles, Laura

Happy Birthday, Regina!!

Today is my friend Regina's birthday and I just had to make a special card to send her.  Here is the front of that card:

 This card has multiple layers.  On the front of the card is a smaller card.  This is the inside of that smaller card:

 When you fold that smaller card to the right, you see the left side of the card (shown below).  I decorated the back of the smaller card with "Make a Wish."

 If you fold that left side back, you finally see the inside of the larger card. 

 I like that fact that the recipient keeps on opening and opening, finding more good wishes and images.  I sure hope Regina likes her card and has a wonderful birthday!!

I'd like to say this card was my original idea, but my friend Janet Nunziato had this card layout as the program for our Smudge Bunch card club recently.  She told us how to make it and we all designed ours individually.  Here is the card I made at club meeting:

 Inside of smaller card on the front:

 Small card opened to the right:

 Left side folded back, to reveal inside the card.

As you can see, I made Regina's with the same stamps that I used on my original card, but I used different designer paper on hers.  I thought hers looked more feminine. 

Thanks for stopping by today!!
Smiles, Laura