Saturday, March 13, 2010

Catching Up! (and a few more cards)


It was a very soggy Saturday here so I stayed in and spent a lot of time trying to restore some order to my house.  After a busy week as the Guest Designer on the Everyday Cricut blog there were many things that needed some attention!  I want to welcome any of you who are new visitors to my blog.  It was fun to "meet" some new people this week.  I am trying to read through all of the comments from last week and I hope to do a post answering as many of them as I can tomorrow or Monday.  I am also trying to catch up with emails so please be patient if it takes me a day or two until I can answer everyone.

I was surprised at how many people liked the idea of "leftover" cards.  I just hate to throw things away and find that it is a fun challenge to make things out of the bits and pieces left on my table.  The only trouble is - sometimes the leftovers cards create new leftovers!  So the cycle continues...


I used this sheet of cardstock from the DCWV "Sweet" stack for the strawberries that filled the egg offcut in the card below

 
The strawberries were just so cute that I had to use up the rest of the strip that was in the project box.  (I try to keep all of the bits and pieces from a project together so it will be easier to coordinate the "extras" I do with them.


I used a second large section to make a traditional note card.  Super simple - the bright pink layer is 5 1/4 x 4 inches and the strawberry layer is 3 3/4 x 5 inches.  I added the dotted ribbon in a bright green, using a few glue dots to anchor it covering a row of the strawberries.


The ends of the ribbon wrap around the strawberry cardstock and are taped in place.  Some people call this the "cheater method" but I think of it as the "green method" since you use less ribbon.  A small extra piece of ribbon is tied around the base ribbon and it looks like the ribbon is fully wrapped around the card.


I try to cut these pieces to the correct length, but if there is an extra bit left after trimming - you may be able to use it for a tab.


You can see the little tab at the top right of this notecard.  The remaining section of the strawberry cardstock is aligned with the extra piece from the first layer on the ribbon card.  A very thin strip that was trimmed from the bottom section of the 12 x 12 sheet is layered at the "seam" between the two.  I added a flower punched from the gemstone cardstock I used on for the Easter cards with the matte side showing and a tiny pink gem in the center.


The third card uses the rest of the trimmed strip from the 12 x 12 cardstock as a border of a tall strip of the pink gemstone cardstock and a square of the dark pink cardstock used for the layers on the other cards.  I added a half inch strip of the pink gemstone cardstock at the bottom of the dark pink cardstock.  This time I punched the flower from a scrap and turned it gemstone side up.  I also used the Cuttlebug A2 Combo Emboss and Die set "With Gratitude" for the "thanks"  - that is one of my favorite "go to" cuts for quick cards when I don't use my Cricut.

This type of card is quick and easy to make and if you use the scraps as you finish a project you will soon have a stock of cards that can be used for quick notes or put together in sets for small gifts.  It took me less than half an hour to put these together - so it was a nice break.  I enjoy working with happy colors, particularly when we are having such a dreary day.

Our son will be going back to college tomorrow - Spring Break is already over.  He is taking the train this time which turns out to be a good choice given the weather.  I hope the weather is better wherever you are.  Don't forget to turn your clocks ahead!

10 comments:

  1. I read on the MSNBC page people were stranded on a train for 5 hours due to the weather. I hope your son was not one of them. I pray he got to his destination safely. It doesn't matter how old our kids get we still worry about them. On a different note I loved your post about using up scraps for cards. TFS!

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  2. Diane..The best part of your entire week was the fact that you do use leftovers.. I don't like to waste either. The tab ribbon, omg.. what a good idea.. thnx for sharing your ideas..

    Your new blog friend..

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  3. Sometimes if I really really like a certain paper, and I use it to mat something, I will cut out the middle that won't be seen. For example, your bright pink paper on the card. If I only need 1/4 inch of that to show, I would a rectangle out of the middle, leaving a border of about 1/2 inch, just enough to glue it on. Then I've got that large rectangle to use someplace else.

    Just another green idea.
    Meg

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  4. I think it's a great way to use up bits of paper! I like the idea of keeping it in a box with the other leftovers from a particular project so that it is all coordinated. Right now I just lump them all together in a ziplock and so I still have to spend time searching for the right ones. Thanks for your great ideas!

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  5. After reading your posts on scraps I am going to try and do something with my scraps next time I'm in the craft room! I'm a new follower and I look forward to reading your posts! -Deborah

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  6. I save my scraps too diane. i have an illness that takes most of my money, so scraps are good, lol.

    i love your projects and visit your blog everyday.

    chriswooten57
    mcwooten1999@carolina.rr.com

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  7. Love those cards. I like to mail my cards to friends and some of the designers make the card so elaborate that they won't fit into a normal envelope which makes me not want to make them. You make practical cards that can be mailed. Thank you for that and the scraps ideas.
    Mary Ann

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  8. I have to admit I am a hoarder, I do try to use my scraps to make cards and I do make lots of cards but my scrap stash grows faster than my cards.
    Thanks for sharing your scrap cards.

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  9. I have been tossing my scraps. But, after seeing your cards last week and seeing what others do, I'm gonna set up scrap boxes/drawers for my scraps. I think I'll sort by main color and USE my scraps!

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  10. I love how you use all your scraps - such great cards. So inspiring!

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