Cards from friends

It's always fun to get cards in the mail.  Over the past couple of weeks, I have been receiving registrations for our annual WAG get together that is held in Salem, OR in September.

I started this event 10 years ago as a way for "The Angel Company" demonstrators that lived in the North Western states (demonstrators from other states were welcome, too) to come together in a smaller setting and just get to know other "Angels'.  

It has been a fun way to connect, learn new ideas, swap cards and do awesome shoebox projects.  This was our added way of getting new ideas for our business.

Three years ago, The Angel Company hung up it's 'wings' but the gals that come to WAG decided that they still wanted to meet together each September.  So, we do :-)

Here are a couple of cards that I received in the mail with their registrations.

This is a card from Tammy.  She tricked me by putting the images on the card so that the card opened from the left.  Funny, Tammy :-)  I love the hot air balloon image....and the cloud designer paper behind it.      

And, a card from Chan.

Love this stamp set and all the pastel colors on this card.  She promised she would bring the Memento inks and the stamp set so that I could CASE her card!!!  :-)

Enjoy your day!!!

Hugs,

Char

                                             

Love my mountains

 Taking a break from posting about card making and wanted to share some photos I have taken of the beautiful mountains that surround us.  I never get tired of snapping photos of these beauties or get tired of looking at them.

Here is a zoomed in shot of Mt Hood from our front porch, at dusk.





 This is a shot of Mt Jefferson, which I can also see from my front porch but this wasn't taken from my front porch as there are buildings that get in the way. This was taken on my way into town.  I just never get tired of this view.

Here is another shot of Mt Jefferson as seen through some wheel lines in a carrot seed field at a different time of of the year.  I had my photo printed onto some address labels and a mouse pad because I love it so much.  You can even see the water coming out of the sprinklers.

On the way up to Portland, we have to go over the pass around Mt Hood....and I get tons of photos from that highway.  But, this is a close up of it as seen from Hwy 35 coming back from Hood River, OR.






And, finally, the Three Sisters near Sisters, OR.  We love this view from Hwy 22 on the way to Sisters.

So much beauty that surrounds us and I never take it for granted.

We are truly blessed.

Have a great day!!!

More butterflies

Oh gosh, don't you just LOVE this card???

We did this at our July stamp class along with the other butterfly card I posted a few days back.

Basically, we used three rectangle pieces of designer paper.  We punched the butterflies, using the SU butterfly punch, at the very end of the pieces.

Then we adhered the rectangles to the top of the card and the butterflies just below them.  We attached a brad (or you could use some jewels or pearls) to the middle of the butterflies and then stamped a sentiment.

Again...can I say EASY???

Enjoy your day!!!
Char

Ride em cowboy

You know any rodeo fans or someone that just likes to ride horses? (well in this case, he looks like it's bucking) Then this is the card for you or I should say, them.

But, I need to tell you that I couldn't find it in the current SU catalog so either it's retired or I missed it.

Anyway, if you have this set or one similar, it's a easy/fun card to make. Gotta love monochromatic cards!!

I also really liked using the different label punches for the sentiment.  :-)

Is it hot where you are???  I am so looking forward to FALL....but then again, Winter follows Fall....so there again...maybe not.

Have a great day!!!

Coffee and Friends

Forgive the horrible photo, but I think you can get the idea.

Another EZ card!!  We stamped and cut out the coffee cup from the stamp set "Perfect Blend" by SU.  Then, we stamped the verse.

We put a 'sleeve' of brown card stock that had been crimped across the middle of the card....and attached some twine (mine didn't cooperate, as you can see) and then we attached our cup on top of that with dimensionals.

We then stamped the Mocha Latte sentiment across the top and bottom.

I normally would have done this card over and took another photo but I don't have that set.

I just might have to get it, though :-)

Have a fun day!!

Char

Patriotic Card

Can I say EASY???  Well, I guess I can, it's my blog....so I'll say it...EASYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!

Are you seeing a theme this month?? I like cool cards but I also like easy ones for those times that I want to send out a card but don't want to spend hours and hours coming up with one.

I love to spend a lot of time on 'special' cards for special occasions but I also enjoy sending out cards that don't take hours to make.

This card uses the Perfect Polka Dot embossing folder, a heart punch and a star punch.

We layered three strips of designer paper onto our card and then adhered the two punched out pieces with SU dimensionals.   It can't get much simpler than that  :-)

Have a great day!!

Char

Happy Birthday

Using the Alphabet Press embossing folder and the Top Note Bigz die from SU, we created a fun birthday card for just about anyone.

Choose different colors depending on the recipient and whether the person is a child or an adult (but then just because they are an adult doesn't mean that they aren't a child :-)

Again, this card could be adjusted for any occasion by using different letters, designer paper and colors.

Enjoy!!
                                                                

Fishin' Around

My Granddaughter and I went to stamp class, together, in July.  She made all the cards that I made, but she had a blast making a card like this one.

This is basically a very easy card to put together and we didn't take time to color the one she did as we were in a hurry to go somewhere right after class.

Anyway, we used the stamp set "Fishin' Around" from SU.

Another easy card and works well for just about anyone!

Enjoy!!!
Char

Fabulous Florets

Here is a card we did in class that I want to repeat with different colors and images.

Basically, we put down the 'negative' of the Labels Collection die.  If you are not sure what that means, you cut out your die and then use the piece that is left....the opening....to lay on your paper and sponge the inside.  I love the effect.

Then, using the Smoky Slate ink pad, we stamped the image on top of it.

The image we used was from the "Fabulous Florets" stamp set in the SU catalog.  But, you could use any similar image.

I want to try this idea using different dies and with several different stamps!

Have fun!!!

Char

Happy Birthday Sailor

A fun card for that boating fan in your family....or just a fun masculine card for any occasion.

Very simple and fast.  The only thing that took any time at all was tying the tiny knots in the Baker's twine before adhering it to the card.

Have a happy day!!!
Char

Shirt Card

This was a cute card for a masculine birthday. Our instructor had a template that she had made that we used for the shirt and tie.

We used the Chevron embossing folder from SU for the background.

Then added a couple of brads to the collar and DONE!!!

Cute and fast!!

Have a great day!!
Char

Owl Card

Here is another version of the Owl card that was given to my Granddaughter for Graduation.

But, this time, instead of a graduate, he is just an owl :-)

Using the Top Note die and some circle punches and a scalloped circle die, we put this little guy together in no time.

Once again, he/she could be dressed up for any occasion :-)

Have a great day!!!
                                                                     Char

Trio Butterfly card

LOVE butterflies.  Can't seem to quit making them once I get started.

This is one of the butterfly cards we made in class in July.

Two different SU butterfly punches and the rest is pretty self explanatory.

Endless possibilities depending on the designer paper and colored card stock that you use.
Of course, you don't have to use a decorative edge on the orange piece of card stock but I think it adds to the look of the card.  

I want to make some more of these using different colors, jewels and decorative edges.

And, it would go for almost any occasion!

Have fun with it!!

Have a great day,
Char

Enjoy your Day

Here is yet another card we made in card class..... the coffee cup card.

For the basic card, we embossed the stripes embossing folder on brown card stock.

We then stamped swirls on white card stock and layered the coffee cup which was made out of a piece of rectangle card stock with the bottom edges trimmed.  We used a punch to just barely cut the side of a circle (for the handle) and used an oval for the bottom of the cup.

Then, we punched a little piece out of two corners of the white card stock and layered it onto dark brown card stock and attached two brads.

Pretty easy card.

Have a great day!!

Char

Star card

We made this card for the 4th of July but actually it could be used for almost any occasion just changing up the colors on the card.

We used a couple sized punches and just adhered them to striped designer paper.

Stamp Celebrate in red ink.....and it's done.

Fun, simple, easy card!!!

Have a great day,
Char

Cute Caterpillar Card

Anyone that knows me knows I love punches....and any card that uses punches!!

This caterpillar card is so simple yet so stinking cute!!  We just punched out 6 circles for his/her body using different background paper and two punches for the eyes and two smaller punches for the antennae and used squiggly eyes and then a marker pen to make his mouth and Voila` we were done.  Could it get any simpler than that?

Have fun creating this little guy, I am sure anyone would love receiving this in the mail.   You could even have a message in the circles.  Endless possibilities!!

Have a great day!!
Char

Go in the Direction of your Dreams

Here is a super easy card to put together.  We did this one in June class, too.

Simple but yet really cool!!

Basically the only stamping you do is the gray splotch and the verse.

The rest is just assembly!

My kind of card :-)

Have a great day!!
Char

The Berry Best

Another stamp class card we made in June.

Love the designer paper, although I think it's retired SU paper.

The berry best saying and the berry stamp could be retired as well.  Not sure about that.

But, it's definitely a fun summer card!!

Have a great day!!
Char

Thinking of You

This is a Thinking of You card/bookmark that we made at card class in June.

We used the honeycomb embossing folder and the butterfly punches all from SU.

Easy card if you don't glue down the designer paper :-)  Whoops!!!

This would make a cute Christmas card, as well, and the bookmark would be a little gift for the recipient.

Have a great day!!
Char

Another Graduation card

This is a really cool Graduation card my Granddaughter received a couple of weeks ago.  I love how my friend, Rita, used the school colors of black and orange for the card.

It's a simple card but the star just sets it off with the decorative stamped image behind it.
 The
The star is from a set of dies from
a-muse/studio and I am sure the stamp is as well, but I couldn't find it in the catalog.

I know that the card stock the star is cut from is a-muse Petite Polka Dot Orange card stock.   I love their polka dotted card stock.

Have a great day!!

Char

Cards from friends

 I received several cards from friends over the past month or so and here are a few of them.

 I received this card from my friend, Kim a few weeks back.

I love how it's laid out and of course will have to stamp lift the idea :-)  It's simple, yet so elegant.  Love the colors she used.

 Another card I received for the 4th of July was from my friend, Chan.  She has this little moose stamp, Riley, in lots of different holiday images and other images....and I just love him!!!  I always get such a kick out of seeing what she's going to send next.

 And, lastly, Jane sent this really cool dinosaur card for a D swap we were in together.

 I love getting cards in the mail!!

Have a great day,

Char

In memory of Little Guy

 Losing a beloved pet is so hard.  In June, we had to have our 17 year old cat, Little Guy, (Guy Guy as I called him) put to sleep.  It was a HARD decision and in my head I know it was the best decision for him, but in my heart.....I miss him terribly.

He was one of the sweetest cats, ever.  He had such a fun personality and was so loving.  Not a mean bone in his body.

He gave me some scares over the years, especially when we lived on the ranch and he climbed up a power pole and was at the top and we couldn't get him down. I thought he would never get down but my Son talked him down and he never did that again, thankfully.

He survived living out on the high desert, on our ranch, and moved with us, along with 5 of our other cats, in 2006 to a residential area where he had to stay inside from then on out.  One by one, we have lost four of the other cats.....old age, mostly.  They all, except for one, lived to be 16-17 years old.

We made the garage into their living quarters and they adapted quite well.  I am sure they missed roaming the fields (although I always worried about them and the coyotes out in the desert) but as long as they were with their 'humans' they seemed ok with it.

He and our older cat, Shadow, who died a few years ago, were best buds...and looked a lot alike.

Even wanted to be near me when I was getting the house ready for Christmas...and crawled into a basket that I was keeping some cards in.

I miss you little buddy...

We still have Tinker, who is 15.  I am sure she misses his company, too.

Here are some cards I received from our Vet and a couple of friends.  I thought it was so thoughtful for them to send a card and it meant a lot to me.   I had other people that sent e-mails conveying their sympathy...and that meant a lot as well.  It's so good to know that there are others, out there, that know how it feels to lose a much loved pet.

This card was from an online friend in CA, Andrea.

 This card was from Joanne, an online friend in IA.

This was from the Vet and all the other Vets and office staff signed it, as well.

It will take some time, I am sure, to get over the loss....it gets easier each day.  But, I still miss him and miss his cute voice when you would go out to the garage.....and he would always walk over to the door to greet me :-)  Love and miss you Little Guy!!!

Where has the time gone?

It's been over a month since I last posted anything.

During the summer months, it just gets so busy and then, too,  it's just too hot in the office to spend much time here, even with a fan going.  Unless I get in here EARLY in the morning.

I decided that this morning, I should do just that....

I wanted to share my new Bygel Rails for storing my punches, near my desk.  I had to wait till I could get up to Portland to an IKEA store and that happened in June!!

I was so excited to have these installed by hubby and as you can see, they are already FULL!  But, there is room at the top for more rails, (you just can't see that in the photo) if I need to put a couple more :-)

I'll be sharing some more photos, over the next few months, as I once again reorganize my stamp room.  Sheesh, does everyone do this as much as I seem to?  I just can't seem to stay satisfied with how I have it arranged.  OR I see a new idea and need to give it a try.

I think it's time for some major purging, too!!!  There are items I haven't used in years or am no longer am interested in using...but the minute I get rid of something, I know I'll need it.  Am I alone in this?

So, I really need to do some major rethinking as to what I reallllly need and what needs to go.

Have a great day!!!

Char

I Pod card

I think this would make a great card for a teenager or younger for that matter.  I don't know if they call them I Pods or what now....can't seem to keep up with the terms, but it's basically a player for music.  :-)

The card is simple to make....and you can probably figure it out just by looking at it.

I didn't take down the dimensions as we made it, so could only guess at the sizes, now.  Sorry, I get so busy actually making the cards that I don't remember to write down the directions and then forget when I get home :-(

But, it's fairly simple and you could even put a message or a name of a favorite song on the white piece on the front or a gift card inside for them to buy some of their favorite tunes.

Can you tell I really don't know what the heck I am talking about??   I have an MP3 player but know nothing about the newer gadgets out there.

My Granddaughter tries to enlighten me, but I am happy enough with my little MP3 but it's hard keeping up with all the new technology out there.

Have a great day,

Char

Graduations are over

Well, it's all behind us, now.  Both graduations are over and they were fantastic!!

There was a lot of running to do between the two graduations but I made the trip up and back to Washington state for the first graduation, safe and sound and then hit the pavement running to get stuff done for the second graduation.  :-)

But, it all came together like it was supposed to...thankfully!!

Here is the Graduation card I gave my Granddaughter for Graduation.

Here is a Graduation card a friend of mine made for her.  It is too stinkin cute!!!

She had a very enjoyable day with friends and family here to celebrate with her.  My hubby barbecued burgers and we had potato salad and baked beans among other things.  We got a cake with her school colors which happen to be the same as Halloween colors.

She doesn't like having her photos on any websites or Facebook so I will respect her wishes and not post them.

So, now with graduations and Father's Day over....I can get back to stamping once again.

Have a great day!!!

Char

Orange and White cupcake card

Love this card!!!

We used the Cupcake Builder punch and the decorative label punch (from S.U.) on this card.

We punched the decorative label out of white card stock and layered a piece of polka dot paper behind it and adhered it to the orange card stock.

We used the Essentials Paper Piercing pack from SU and pierced around the decorative label punch out.

Adding some ribbon and a bow and a sentiment.... finishes it off.

HOW FUN!!!  Simple, yet so dang cute.

Have a fantastic day!!!

Char

Two step stamping

Love the two step stamping technique although I forget to do it a lot of the time and I don't always have the proper stamps TO do it.

Here we have a tulip stamp (not sure if it's discontinued or not) and we stamped it in shades of lavender and the stems in green.

We layered the Wisteria wonder card (?) (I keep planning on writing all these colors down while I am actually at stamp class....but get too busy yakking and making my cards) with white, green, Wisteria wonder and white again.

We added a green striped ribbon across the card between the actual card and the layers.

So simple.....and could be made for any occasion!!

Have a great day!!

Yet one more Graduation

We will be attending yet another Graduation this afternoon for a friend, whose Son has been home schooled.  

I found out what his favorite candy bars were and made him a candy bouquet, too.

He really didn't have graduation colors, so I just used a Graduation cap like I used in my Granddaughter's bouquet.

Do you see all the PayDay bars in there?  That's one of my most favorite candy bars!!!
He is so fortunate that I am off sugar....cause I don't know if they would have survived :-)
Hope he likes it!!!

It is really fun to make these bouquets and I think I'll be trying to figure out other bouquets I can do using different items.

Have a great day!!!

Happy Graduation!!!!

Well, today IS the day we have been waiting for!!  Our youngest Granddaughter will be graduating, today.

I wanted to share what I made her for part of her celebration!!  It's a candy bouquet.  I found some star balloons in her school colors and made her a tiny Graduation cap (with Hershey Kisses inside) and added a lot of candy bars that she likes.  It is PACKED full of candy but the photo doesn't show it very well.
I also put in some little mints that said "Happy Graduation" on them.

I am sure she'll enjoy this bouquet :-)

Orange and Brown card

Another simple card that you can make for almost any occasion by just changing up the colors and maybe even adding different bling to the flowers.

I like quick cards as it seems I am always having to come up with a card for something and don't always have the MOJO going on....so having a variety of these simple cards in stock works just great!!

Today is the day before our Granddaughter's Graduation and there is a lot to do to get ready and I hope to have some fun things to share with you after Graduation is over.

Have a great day!!!


Char

Another Graduation

Our oldest Granddaughter is graduating, tonight, from her special needs program.  She graduated from high school a couple of years ago and we had a graduation party for her here when she came to spend the summer.

This is a special program that special needs kids attend AFTER Graduation until they are 21 that helps them transition into the world.

Anyway, I made her a special Candy Bouquet to give to her that night.

I think she'll definitely enjoy it :-)

Then, we are coming home to decorate the house for her Cousin's graduation in two days!!!

Our other Granddaughter is so excited that she will be here for her Graduation as she was there for her High School Graduation.

Anyone feel led, I would appreciate prayers for safe travels as it's a 6 hour round trip drive.

Have a great day!!!!
Char

Graduation Cap

Well, the day is coming soon and this is what I made for our Granddaughter on her special day.

They were super fun to create and I got the idea here.

This is what is on the underside.

Their colors are black and orange so how fun was it to find Hershey Kisses that had Orange foil?


Have a great day!!!

Teacher Appreciation Pencil Box

 I made my Granddaughter's little appreciation gifts for each of her teachers.  I know she is 18 and maybe they don't do that much any more but I wanted to thank them all for being a part of her life these past few years.

This is the box I decorated (it was the original box that came with an assortment of candy bars that I used to make some candy bouquets).

I used black card stock to decorate the sides and then orange for the top with some black card stock to outline the actual thank you.

Then, I just added some stickers and lined the box with tissue.     
Then, I added all the 'pencils' which are really Rolo candy and a hershey kiss.  I got the idea here and here.

These are so fun to make and go rather quickly once you get all the paper cut and sponged.  Quickly, being a few hours.....but hey, with a movie on.....it works for me :-)

Have a great day!!!!

Char

Red, White and Blue Father's Day

And, yet another Red, White and Blue card that can be used for different occasions.  Here we are using it for a Father's Day card.

On a red card stock base, we adhered a embossed white piece of card stock.  Then, we added two square pieces of red card stock with a little smaller square of designer paper.

We put them at opposite ends of the card and layered a piece of blue striped designer paper over them.

Then, we added a blue and beige striped ribbon to that and added punched stars out of red and white card stock.  Adding a sentiment tops it off.

EASY to put together and I just LOVE the stars!!!!

Have a great day!!!

Char

Graduation is coming

Graduation is just around the corner.  Our Graduation here is on June 8th.

Since we have a Granddaughter that is graduating, I have been working on several different cards both at class and here at home.

This is one we did in class.  Of course, I had to do it a little different and not quite sure I like the gray on gray so much.

I goofed and got a little ink on my card stock so had to layer the ribbon diagonal.  Oh well...it works :-)

This card was made using SU stamps and designer paper.

Red, White and Blue Happy Birthday

 Here is a card that can be used for a Birthday card or a 4th of July card or really any kind of event just by changing out the colors and designer paper.

We used the Scalloped Square die cut from Island Indigo card stock (Or I should say she did as she had these all done ahead for us)  Then, we attached a piece of Real Red card stock on top of that and added  a piece of designer paper on top of the red and then we added strips of alternating Real Red and Island Indigo card stock across the bottom and then attached an Oval Framelit from Island Indigo and a white Apothecary Accent Framlit on top of that, with a sentiment stamped in Real Red.  We then topped it off with two silver brads.

Hope you like it!

Have a great day!!!