Glitter Bird Card Kit from Martha Stewart

I found these card kits by Martha Stewart at Walmart. From the package photo I wasn't all that impressed with it. I thought the cards looked a little boring, but the kit was marked down to $2. I figured that the cards and envelopes alone were worth that price. So I bought 2 kits. Each kit included 4 cards, 4 envelopes, 5 small bottles of glitter, and bird cutouts. The finished product is much prettier than the package leads you to believe. In one evening, my friend and I created 4 cards each. We used the glitter provided, but used our own color design on the birds, even mixing some the glitter colors together for a different effect. We also added patterened paper behind the birds to jazz them up a bit. Other than having glitter go EVERYWHERE, this was a fun project. I think our finished cards are quite lovely.

Robyn's Cards












Erin's Cards

2 More Submissions Accepted!

I just found out today that 2 of my submissions will be featured in upcoming magazines. Check them out by clicking on the their blinkies (in left-hand column)!

August/September 2009 Ready, Set, Create magazine -- an owl greeting card

August 2009 Scrapbook News and Review magazine -- Playing Ball digital layout

Published Again!

These all seemed to come in at the same time. Very exciting! You just never know what will be accepted.

Butterfly Punch Card

Published in the March/April 2009 issue of
Scrap n' Art

Supplies:
5x7 blank greeting card
Sweet Life Papercrafting and Cardmaking
Fiskars 4-in-1 Embossing Corner Punch - Glory
Ecstasy Butterfly Clip Punch

Instructions:
1. Cut rectangle from pattern pattern a little smaller than 5x7.
2. Punch each corner using Fiskar corner punch.
3. Affix double-sided tape to back of rectangle and place on front of card.
4. Select die-cuts from Sweet Life Papercrafting and Cardmaking Pack. Affix to front of card with double-sided tape.

5. Punch butterflies out of orange paper using the Ecstasy Butterfly Clip Punch.
6. Clip around circle die-cut. For added security, use small glue dots to keep butterflies in place.

Published!

Ready, Set, Create online magazine accepted 2 of my submissions for publication! They were in the March/April 2009 magazine. Here they are:


This card was made from a recycled mini gift bag. I cut the front off the bag and attached it to a 3x5 blank greeting card. Punched 2 holes on each side of the card. Using the handle from the bag, I threaded the metal tags onto the cord and then through each side of the card. The black & white flower is the gift tag from the bag.

Papers and elements: Denim & Lace digital kit by Rachael Hudnall.
Title was handstitched and then scanned in.

Envelope Seals

I used this stamp to make envelope seals for the birth announcements. It was a little labor intensive, but so cute! Using a 8 1/2 x 11 label sheet, stamp the entire page. Color each stamp. Punch out with a circle punch. You now have customized seals for your envelopes.

Birth Announcements

Anything worthwhile deserves to be announced. Who doesn't want to share the news of their new baby with everyone they know? The birth of a child is one the most memorable and enjoyable events of a persons' life. Personalized photo birth announcements are my personal favorite and are a thoughtful way to convey this special occasion to family and friends. The photo birth announcement is can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. Besides, it has exactly what you and your friends are really after in an announcement – a picture of the BABY!

You can easily make a photo birth announcement yourself. It also can make a wonderful gift to the new mom.

I chose a photo-holder tri-fold card. Unfolding the card I punched a small hole in the first fold and inserted a matching yarn to wrap around the front of the card. This way the card will still open! I punched 1” squares out of white cardstock, stamped a little foot (stamp is from Stampin' Up) onto it, wrote “I’m Here” across it, and matted it with matching cardstock. I glued the completed square to the front of the card.

The cards can all be pre-assembled, just waiting to insert the photo after the big day. The birth details can easily be printed and inserted inside, leaving room for a personalized note if the mom so wishes.

Iris Folding Cards

A couple more cards using the iris folding technique. The template and papers are from the Anna Griffin kit.

A Quick Baby Shower Invitation

Have you ever needed to make an invitation quickly? That was my dilemma and they needed to be fairly simple since I was making 20. I could have resorted to an e-mail invitation, but there is just something nicer about a traditional paper invitation. Browsing through the racks of scrapbook paper at the store, I came upon an idea of using a clear overlay of baby words from Creative Imaginations. I used a green paper from Die Cuts With a View for the background. For all the inside details of where and when, I printed those out and glued it inside. Done!

Iris Folding

This is a recent card I made using the technique of iris folding. The paper and instructions used come in a kit by Anna Griffin. I added the ribbon bow and metal circle tag. I also used a Fiskar corner punch on the green background paper.

Iris folding refers to a technique where folded strips of colored or patterned paper are layered in a spiral pattern behind an aperture. It is called Iris Folding because it resembles the iris of a camera. This particular pattern included using ribbon as well as paper in the layered look.

I found an excellent tutorial on iris folding here. This really helped me in understanding the technique.

You can find free patterns here.

Wedding Invitation

One of my first card making ventures was to make wedding invitations for my sister in 1997.

Materials/Instructions:

5x7 Blank Strathmore Creative Cards

Large round paper doilies

Hunter Green ribbon

Hunter Green ink

1. Cut each paper doily in half.

2. Spray back of cut doily with adhesive.

3. Attach to front of card.

4. Ink the front edge of the card dark green.

5. Hot glue a small green ribbon bow to the front.