Two to share today....

Today I'm sharing two cards I made using the same layout.  I participated in a swap in one of my yahoo groups, and this first one is the card I made for it.  

Sorry the front isn't closed well in this shot.  It's hard to see the Cajun Craze strip I punched it with the Dotted Scalloped Ribbon Punch to adhere to the "inside" of the card--which really shows from the front. 

 This card is made from Island Indigo cardstock.  I cut 1-1/4" off the front before I put the white cardstock on it.  I did emboss the white with the Square Lattice Embossing Folder.  

I used the Orchard Harvest designer paper for the "flags" on this one.  

 Here is a close-up of the sentiment.  I punched white using the Apothecary Accents Framelits die.  I also punched a Old Olive one and a Cajun Craze one and trimmed them off to put behind the white piece.  I like how this one turned out.

 I hope the girls I swapped with like my sample!  I was a bit bothered that the "flags" were just "stuck" there, so I decided to make a Christmas card using this layout and I anchored them with a piece of card stock.

Here is the Christmas card, made using Baja Breeze and Cherry Cobbler card stock, but non-SU designer paper.  I used the Finishing Touches Framelet for the strip down the right side of the card.  I also layered the designer paper on the front of this one with Cherry Cobbler.  I think that extra layer adds more color!

Here is a close-up shot of the sentiment on this card.  I used the "NOEL" from the Greetings of the Season set in the Holiday Mini.

I stamped it on white and this time, rather than putting the two pieces on the top and bottom and then the sides, I decided to put two layers on the top and two on the bottom.  Just shows you there are many ways to layer this die.

Hope you like these two cards!  Leave me your comments!!  And come back often!
Smiles, Laura

December 25.....

I love this "December 25" stamp from the Joyous Celebrations set in Stampin' Up! Holiday Mini!  The oval and dots around it are also in that set.

This is one of the cards friend Judy and I made the other day when we played.  The designer paper isn't Stampin' Up! but I try to use some of my other DSP when I am designing, so as not to waste my SU DSP.  

This card is Riding Hood Red.  The designer paper on the card are layered onto Gumball Green cardstock.    

I love this layout and will be making more cards like this.  It is the "layout of the day" on one of those groups who post a layout every day or so to inspire us!  I'm inspired by this one!!

Thanks for stopping in!!

Smiles, Laura

Snowman

For some reason, this snowman reminds me of the song, "Raindrops keep falling on my head," and the dancing around the light pole in one of the old movies.  I guess it's the hat.  Ha!! 

I saw a snowman in Paper Crafts magazine and he inspired this fellow.   The card is 4-1/4" x 4-1/4" square and Real Red cardstock.  I used the pale gray patterned paper from the Neautrals Patterns Stack for the layer and topped that with white which I had run through my Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder.  

I punched the body and head using circle punches.  The hat is made using the Round Tab punch (oops! Just noticed when looking up the name that it is retired now.  Sorry!!)

This is a simple little card to make, but sometimes it's nice to have a quick one!

Come back again soon.  Smiles, Laura

Out Comes the Sun.....

For us and so much of the country, we have all been plagued by the rain from Hurricane Isaac the last week or so.  During July and August, we have had over 18 inches at our house---and we are a LONG way from the Gulf.  So this card today seem appropriate.  It was inspired by a card shared by Heather Klump.  But I actually added the "rain drops" to mine.

The boots on this card are from the Bootiful Occasions set and it is so much fun to play with.  I cut my image and word stamps apart so I could use them separately.  It's handier that way.  The card is made using So Saffron cardstock, layered with white cardstock that I used the Finishing Touches Edgelit to cut the edge.  I layered on Floral District designer paper to look like the sky.

 Here is a close-up shot of the raindrops.  For them, I used my stylus dipped in Front White Shimmer Paint and dotted it on to look like raindrops.  I like how they turned out.

 The boots are colored with my aqua painter

I hope you like this one! Thanks for visiting my blog; come back again soon!!
Smiles, Laura

Christmas Tree Fold-up....

In my last entry, I promised to show you a Christmas card I made using that same fold.  Here is the front of the card.  I used the tree and die from the Scentsational Season Bundle.  I am having a ball playing with the stamps and dies in this bundle!  For the front of the card, also added some of the Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details to the tree.  Love that sparkle!

This card is made from Cherry Cobbler and Old Olive cardstock and the designer paper is last year's paper (retired).  The sentiment on front is from the Occasions Alphabet set.

Here is the inside of the card.  Instead of bats like I had on the Halloween card, I put trees to stand up when the card was opened.

And here it is sort of laying out open so you can see how it folds up.  See my entry for September 3 to see how to cut and fold this card.

Thanks for stopping by today!!  Leave me a comment, OK?

Smiles, Laura

Frightening Feline....

If you have followed my blog very long, you know I love neat and different folds.  I saw a card with this  fold SOMEWHERE and saved  it. (Maybe it was on Pinterest.) The card was made by Susanne Jordan, and I FINALLY found her blog (in Germany) but cannot find this card on her blog (I went back as far as April, 2012).  So forgive me for not being able to supply a link..  The card I saw of course wasn't a Halloween one and did not have any instructions with it---it was just a card with this delightful fold and Susanne's name on it.  SOOO, I had to figure out how to make the card from scratch.  My first one had a flower on the front, but I thought I'd  make a Halloween one to show you.

Here is the front of the card.  I used the Howlstooth & Scaringbone designer paper on the front and inside.  I also put the Frightening Feline stamp on the front.  I am loving that stamp!

Here is a picture of the inside.

And this shot shows sort of how it folds up.

To make the card, cut CS 4-1/4” x 11”. Score it at 4”, 8”,  and 10”.  Fold it up and set it aside.  Cut designer paper (dsp) 4”x8”.  Score it at 2” and 6”.  Mark center of DSP at 4” on both long edges.  Score from each corner to that 4” mark, so that you are making an “X” across your 2” and 6” score lines.  Fold up as shown, using mountain and valley folds.  If you need more pictures of the folding, email me and I'll snap and add more pictures.  Look at this cute bat.  He is made using the Elegant Butterfly punch.  Then you use the circle punch from the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch set and snip our circles to make it resemble a bat.  

This neat idea was shared by Sharon Berkert and here is her pictures of how to make bats from butterflies.  I don't have her blog link; I just have the saved picture.

I added a Velcro dot to hold the card closed.  Those are handy to keep on hand.

OK, so if a Halloween card is nice, a Christmas one is great, too.  Come back again and in my next entry I'll show you a Christmas card made with this same fold.

Thanks for stopping in!!   Leave me your comments if you like this one!!

Smiles, Laura

Single Ornament

Today's card has a single ornament on it.  I am OK with this card, but sort of think it needs something.  I may try adding some glitter or Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details to it.  This was another card made on "play day" so again, so Stampin' Up! designer paper, but I do love the paper on this one. 

The ornament is from the Ornament Keepsake stamp set. 

 I stamped it twice---once in the red and once in the Gumball Green.  I cut out the red part of the ornament and glued it to the green part.  Then I'd like to say I die cut it using my Holiday Ornaments die, but I could not find this particular die anywhere.  I searched the stamp room top to bottom---quite a feat if you could see all the clutter in there--but could not find it.  I was hoping I didn't accidentally toss it in the garbage.  Could not find it, so I cut the ornament out by hand.

I have to stop here and brag on SU!!  I called them to see if I could buy just one of the dies in the set, since I had the whole set minus this one die.  NO, they don't do that, demonstrator support said--sell you an individual die.  But they WOULD send me just this one die as a courtesy because I had the set and could not find this one!! I was beside myself because this is my favorite die in the whole set!  Wasn't that nice of SU!!!

I'm a happy girl!!  Hope you like this card!!  Smiles, Laura