Shimmery Joy Card

While it is just starting to heat up here I am sharing this sparkly Christmas card today.  I've had this card in my head for a while and I'm pleased that it looks just like I'd hope.  Hope you enjoy it!

I used a swirling snowflakes embossing folder, embossing a piece of shimmer white paper, which I then attached to a white card base.  Setting the card aside, I set to making the snowflakes. I used these beautiful opaque pearl white diamond shaped Dew Drops.  For each snowflake I used 6 of the Dew Drops, adhering them together on a piece of non-stick freezer paper, but any non-stick surface, such as a craft sheet will work.  What I did was put a dot of glue on the non-stick paper, then placed the diamonds in a "circle" pattern; then placed a small drop of glue in the center of the snowflake and added a Mini Pearl Dew Drop onto the glue.  You need to use something non-stick since the glue becomes a part of the snowflake and after leaving the flake to dry overnight you need to be able to gently lift the snowflake from the paper. The flake may still be slightly damp and may bend a bit. Just put the snowflake back onto the non-stick sheet, and gently bend the Diamond Dew Drops back into place and let it dry a bit more.  I turned the snowflakes over and let them dry overnight again just to make sure they were fully dry. Meanwhile, I had used holographic paper {the pattern I used is a burst, or fireworks pattern; it's subtle, but you can still see it since the word die is so large} and cut out the word joy {I used Winnie & Walter's In a Word Joy die, but they are no longer in business.  You can find many other options for a large joy die}, then popped the word up with dimensional tape. I added three of the snowflakes I made, as well as a few more of the Mini Dew Drops in Pearl.  The card is very sparkly and festive in person, and I know the recipient will certainly get into a holiday mood.  

Thanks so much for visiting and checking out my card! Have a fabulous day and I will see you again soon :) Fondly, Christi

I am entering my card in the following challenges:
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge (#597) - Anything Goes Christmas
12 Months of Christmas (#89) - Anything Christmas Goes
Creatalicious (#236) Anything Goes w/ Lots of Bling
The Holly & Ivy Christmas Challenge - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Up in the Air (Snowflakes)

Be Mine, Galentine

 Even thought I am not a fan of Valentine's Day, I thought I'd make a card to send to my sister, who is also single, and ask her to be my Galentine.  Hopefully this will put a smile on her face!

I started the card by making the floral heat using Concord & 9th's Triple Step Blooming Heart.  I used the following Distress Inks: Spun Sugar, Kitsch Flamingo and Festive Berries.  Once the heart was done, I found a piece of paper that matched in my stash and dry embossed it with Darice's Mini Hearts Embossing Folder {it is still available, but you need to look}, I then glued that onto the white card base.  I used a strip of red card, embossed the sentiment {which is from MFT, but seems to be discontinued} onto it using white embossing powder then die cut it.  Dimensional tape was used to adhere the heart to the background, I glued the sentiment in place and added two diamond hearts I got ages ago from Maker Forte {the picture makes the hearts look gold when they are actually iridescent}.  I think I did a fairly good job here. I like how all of the colors match :)

Thanks for stopping by and have a fantastic week :) Fondly, Christi

I am entering my card in the following challenges:
Can You Handle the Pressure (NEW CHALLENGE!!) #2, Anything Goes w/ a Twist of Pink
Sweet Stampin'- Love, Love, Love
CCEE Stampers, #205 - Valentine's Day
The Little Red Wagon, #640 - Be My Love/Valentine
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Emboss it
Try it on Tuesday - All Loved Up
Colorful Options, M - Rosy Red

Daring Cardmakers - My Sweet Valentine

CLBH Hot Flash {DAY 2}

Hello!! Welcome to my blog and one of the cards I have made for the Cat Lovers Blog Hop! I've had this stamp since Rabbit Hole Designs was a brand new company; at the time they didn't have the matching die so I filed it away and actually forgot about it until I reorganized all my stamps & dies and found it! I promptly went and bought the matching die because I HATE fussy cutting. This is the first card I've made a card with the set and I think the card came out nicely {and the sentiment - well, let's just say I can relate}!

I stamped my image on watercolor paper, using the Caffeinated Cat stamp, colored it in with Zigs, then cut it out using the coordinating die.  I made a background using the Sizzix/Tim Holtz On the Go embossing folder {#660248 - retired} and brown paper and attached that to the white card base.  For the sentiment I used one from Funny Bones {Riley & Company}, then cut it out with a stitched square die.  I adhered the sentiment to the embossed background, then used dimensional dots to attach the cat.  

Thanks for stopping by :) Christi

I am entering my Coffee Loving Cat Card in the following challenges:

Cat Lovers Blog Hop - Day 2
NBUS - Anything New Goes {entry #2}
Friendship Challenge, #70 - Pets
Happy Little Stampers - Anything Goes w/ Die Cuts
Die Cut Divas - Anything Goes w/Die Cuts {entry 2}
SUYP, #71 - Anything Goes

 

 

You Donut Even Know. . .

Hi Dies R Us Fans!

Today I am sharing a cute birthday card made with darling Mama Elephant products that are available in the Dies R Us store.  Here is my card:

What I Used to Make my Card:
White Card Base
Watercolor Paper {I use this}
Zig Clean Color Brush Markers
Gina K Amalgam Ink Pad in Obsidian Ink
Hero Arts Ultra Fine White Embossing Powder
Light Purple Card
Sizzix/Tim Holtz Beaded Garland Embossing Folder, #660041 {retired, but available}
Mama Elephant Donut Treats Stamps
Mama Elephant Donut Treats Dies
Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive
Half Pearls {stash}
Dimensional Dots

I began this card by stamping, coloring and cutting out the mice and the donuts.  Setting them aside, I embossed a piece of light purple card {there are SO many embossing folders available in the Dies R Us store; I have some on order but haven't gotten them yet} using an embossing folder and then embossed the sentiment using ultra fine white embossing powder. 

I used some pastel colored half pearls I had in my stash to add some interest and to act as some sprinkles on the donuts, gluing them down with adhesive. Lastly, I used dimensional dots to attach the elements and then glued the the entire piece onto a white card base.  Between the embossing folder, the half pearls and the dimensional dots this card has a lot of character, but it was difficult to get a good picture of both the front and of the dimension so I have included a view that shows it all off.  Just click on the picture and it should open up in another screen big enough to see.

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope the world is opening up a bit where you are but please, stay safe! See you soon! Christi

I am entering my card in the following challenges:
Always Fun Challenges, #216 - Food
Three Room Studio, #38 - Birthday
Crafty Animals, #51 - Anything Goes w/ an Animal
Die Cut Divas - Birthday
MIUCB, #50 - Anything Goes w/ Stamping
Friendship Challenge, #66 - Happy Birthday

Have a Magical Winter Season

If you visit this blog regularly you know how I just adore Lawn Fawn.  I've had this set since it was introduced {last winter} but hadn't made anything with it until recently.  And I went a bit overboard; once I got started, I couldn't stop and ended up making three cards!  Instead of doing a separate post for each card, I decided to do just one.  So here is a picture of all 3 cards together:

Now in order to tell the cards apart, the first one is Landscape, the second is Portrait, and the third is Three Fairies.  I wanted to let you get a better look at each card.

What I Used to Make my Cards:
Each of the three cards uses the following:
White Card Base
Lawn Fawn Frosty Fairy Friends stamps, #LF1224
Lawn Fawn Frosty Fairy Friends dies, #LF1225
Watercolor Paper {I use this}

Ranger Archival Ink in Jet Black

Zig Clean Color Brush Markers

Wink of Stella in Clear {all of their wings sparkle}

Dimensional Dots

Gelly Roll Gel Pens, Stardust Pack

For the first card, Landscape, I also used the following:              

The Landscape Card

Distress Ink in Broken China

Petal Point Pad, Alchemy, the Silver Ink

Lawn Fawn Starry Skies die, #LF1377

Silver Glitter Paper

The first thing I did when making this card {after the fairies were all stamped, colored, and cut} was stamp the sentiment onto the card base using Broken China ink.  I cut some stars out of silver glitter paper and glued them in various places around the card and stamped the wand swirls in silver ink.  

I used dimensional dots to attach this fairy to the card, placing her appropriately so that the wand swirls and stars were in the correct areas.

The Portrait Card

For the second card, Portrait, I used the following products:

White Scrap {for embossing folder}
Darice Scroll Background Embossing Folder, #1216-62
Distress Ink in Broken China

For this little fairy, first I stamped the snowflakes and wand swirls in Broken China and stamped the sentiment in Jet Black ink, then I dry embossed the background.  I attached the background paper to the white card base and finished the card by using dimensional dots to adhere the fairy.  

Finally for the third card, Three Fairies, it was time to have some fairies hanging out together outside their home.  I picture them practicing flying and getting those wand swirls perfect.

For this last card I used these additional products to make my card: 

Three Fairies

Scrap White Card {for banner}
Spellbinders Shapeabilities Vintage Pierced Banners, #S4-820
Distress Ink in Broken China
Light Blue Cardstock
Darice Embossing Folder Snowflake Trim, #1219-135
Stickles Glitter Glue in Crystal

Step one in constructing this card was running the light blue card through my Big Shot to dry emboss the paper.  I glued the background paper to the white card base and made the banner out of scrap.  The sentiment was stamped onto the banner after it was cut, and then it was assembled.

The fairy house was water colored like the fairies and I added a bit of glitter glue to the roof and the tip of the front door.  I was trying to give the illusion of snow, but since I used a clear glitter glue you can't really see it, even in person.  So we will just say it's ice; works for me!  The fairy that carries a muff is now holding a star leftover from the first card and another star has been added to the top window of the house.  

I hope you enjoyed my cards; these fairies are adorable.  ~Christi

I am entering all of the cards in the following challenges:
Fashionable Stamping - #143, Anything Goes
The Fairy & the Unicorn - M, Anything Goes
The Crafters Cafe - Fairy Tale {hope my fairies count!}
Friendship Challenge - #38, Anything Goes with Snowflakes
Just for Fun - Use Blue & Silver {entry 2}
Sweet Stampers - #28, Winter/Snow
Alphabet Challenge - W is for Wings
Fab 'n Funky - #425, Fantasy Figures
Lil Red Wagon - #482, Winter Blues
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes
Frilly and Funkie - Winter Blues

Love has Four Paws

Good morning! I'm so glad you stopped by and I hope you like my most recent card for Die Cut Diva's.  This month's theme is Anything New and this image, provided by our sponsor, Bugaboo Digi Stamps is brand new; at least to me!  You still have a little time to enter this month and I hope to see you there!

What I Used to Make my Card:
White Card Base
Pink Card
Alcohol Ink Markers
Bugaboo Valentine Pup Set, #BUGVALPUPSET
Kat Scrappiness, Pet Sentiments dies
Darice Mini Hearts embossing folder, #1219223 {retired? Still available}
Tutti Scalloped Stitched Nesting Circles, #TUTTI-419
Altenew Enamel Dots, Red Cosmos, #ALT2591
Wink of Stella, Clear
Gelly Roll Gel Pen, Clear
Gelly Roll Gel Pen, White, #10 {I highly recommend the 3 pack}

I had printed this pup out on two different type of paper just to see if different

If you look close you can
see the sparkle on the
heart and a few around
the puppy.

paper printed better - I could see no difference.  I just grabbed the image closest to me and started to color away with my hodgepodge of alcohol ink markers; the reason I don't note the colors I've used is because I have such a mix of the markers half the time I'm not even sure which manufacturer I'm using!  The picture was colored and I added the white dots around the smaller heart {which is a different color than the large heart - I'm not sure if that is clear on your monitor}, some clear Wink of Stella around the large heart and I added some little sparkles around the dog with my clear gel pen.  

Once the image was colored I concentrated on the rest of the card.  I like the light pink background but it lacked something; the card needed more interest so I embossed the background paper with the mini hearts folder.  I trimmed that paper down and adhered it to my card base.  I then cut the dog out using the stitched scalloped circle die and cut the love out twice, using white and red card.  I inlaid the paw with the red pieces and glued that to the card.  Finally, just to add a bit more embellishing I finished off the card with three enamel dots on the lower right side; one of them blends in very well with

Another Look

the pink card so you might have to look for it.  

I am becoming more comfortable with using digital stamps and I still plan on learning how to use my alcohol markers properly.  I realized while coloring this image that alcohol ink markers use color to highlight and blend not a blender.  Might not sound like a breakthrough to you but I was happy; I felt as if I cracked one of the many secrets of using these markers.  I'd love to hear your secrets to using alcohol markers, please leave me a comment {complete with your info so I can return the blog love and visit you!} with your breakthroughs or tips and tricks, I could use all the help I can get!  As I said, there is still a bit of time to enter this Die Cut Diva's challenge, using the theme of Anything New,  but if you can't make this one there will be a brand new one tomorrow.  I hope to see you there! Fondly, Christi

I am a day late in adding my card to some challenges! I forgot I had this card scheduled :)
2 Crafty Critter Crazies - #23, M, Anything Goes w/ a Critter
Pearly Sparkles Challenge - #37, M, It's a LOVE thing
Dies R Us - #114, Use the Color Red
Color Crazy Challenge - Anything Colored Goes (week 4)
Creative Friday - #223, Love is in the Air
Cut it Up - #166, Hearts
Kat Scrappiness Challenge - Hearts

Happy 2019 with a2z Scrapbooking!

I am still in that holiday coma as I completely forgot I needed to have a post ready for the a2z Scrapbooking's January Challenge, which is the wonderful {and easy} theme of ANYTHING GOES! Thank goodness I had already made the card and only had to write up this post.  As you can see, I was really feeling the festivities and went a bit overboard on the embellishments and the bling, but hey, it's only once a year, right? And it was SO much fun to just go a bit crazy!

What I Used to Make my Card:
White Card Base {5" x 7"}
Grey Card
Black Card
Hero Arts Birthday Celebration, stamps, #CM123
Hero Arts Birthday Celebration, dies, #DI343
Spellbinders Filigree Numbers, #S6-141
Hero Arts Embossing Powder in Silver, Gold and Silver Sparkle
WOW! Embossing Powder in Silent Night, #WS101R
Hero Arts Intense Black Ink, #AF345
Gold Card
Couture Creations Embossing Folder, Chiaro, #723156 {available online}
Memory Box Happy Birthday die, #99684
Iridescent Plastic Dots, Mixed Colors and Sizes
Studio Katia Clear Round Dots, Mix 1, #SK2410

When I think of New Year's Eve, images of women in gowns, men in tuxedos, confetti, champagne, and classic elegance come to mind.  I wanted this card to convey some of that festive party mood so I used a classic palette of silver, gold, black, and gray.  I used a white 5" x 7" card base since I knew I wouldn't be able to fit all the elements I wanted to use on my usual A2 {5 1/2" x 4 1/4"} sized card.  I trimmed down the gray card and ran it through my Big Shot using an embossing folder that I didn't even remember I had!  I tend to keep the crafty items that I don't use that much in the back of whatever storage I have and this one was hiding.  Being a larger size than I typically use means I put the folder in the very back.  However, I think it helps the festive nature of the card and I'm glad I came across it.  Once the card was dry embossed, I glued it onto the base and stuck it under the tile to dry overnight.  I've had trouble getting intricate embossed paper to stick to the base so I knew if I loaded it up with glue and set it to dry overnight it would stick.

Another Look

Meanwhile, I stamped the balloons with embossing ink and embossed them with black, silver, gold embossing powder, and a little silver glitter powder, then I cut and set them aside.  I did the same with the balloon strings.  I stamped the drinks in black ink and die cut them as well.  I don't have many number dies and I bought these without having a project in mind, but I knew they'd come in handy and they did! I cut them out of gold card, sort of a dull gold.  Lastly, I had to decide what "happy" I wanted to use and eventually settled on one.  I didn't want the "happy" to be the focal point of the card so I chose a small one, cut it out of black card, and all of my elements were ready to go.

I added all the die cut pieces and then went a little crazy with some iridescent and clear dots.  I started wanting the bubbles to come up out of the glasses like champagne but that didn't work so well so I just put the dots anywhere and everywhere I wanted.  I think it makes the card a celebration all on it's own!  Thank you for reading my tutorial and I hope you join us at a2z Scrapbooking this month; after all, you can't win if you don't play and how can you not play when Anything Goes! Fondly, Christi

I am entering my Happy 2019 Card in the following Challenges:
2 Sisters on the Blog - Use Numbers
Dies R Us - Anything New {New Year! New Die!} Entry 2
Mix it Up - #21, Anything Goes w/ Sentiment as the Focus
Sparkles Forum - #112, New Year, New Stash {the stamps & dies are all new}
Tuesday Throwdown - #423, Embossing {I used dry & wet}
Crafty Gals Corner - #183, Make it Sparkle
A Blog Named Hero - M, Crafter's Choice

The Guys Have it at Stinkin' Inkers

The monthly theme for June at Stinkin' Inkers is The Guys Have It.  My man just so happens to have his birthday in May, so by the time you read this post he's already gotten his card and he loved it! Of course he did, I made it for him.  I hope you like my creation, too!

What I Used to Make my Card:
White Card Base
Black Card
Red Card
Tiny Graven Alphabet {company out of business}
Silhouette Cameo
Free Font - Loki-Cola from dafont.com
Die-Versions Whispers Retro-Car, #DV-528 {retired but available}
Wink of Stella in Clear
Numbers Embossing Folder {local craft big box}
Homemade Dots
Craft Foam {see this post to read about the foam I used}

I had an idea in my head of how I wanted his birthday card to look.  Part of my inspiration came from the fact that my man is a Coca-Cola™ addict.  He drinks the stuff like it is going out of style.  I knew what I wanted the front of his card to say and to tie in his soda addiction {he calls it pop.  I guess it makes all the difference depending on where you grew up. It will always be soda to me.}  I chose a free font to design and cut the word "classic" for the front.  That was the easy part.

Before I even started my Silhouette Cameo machine, I decided to stamp the part of the sentiment leading up to the word "classic."  Some of you may remember how difficult it was to stamp personalized sentiments with the old fashioned wood mounted stamps.  Well, that was what I used on the front of this card.  And, honestly, I was stunned that I only had to stamp it once.  Of course, it's far from perfect but I wanted the words to be sort of wonky

Sparkle & You can see the
numbers a little bit

anyway
 {plus I knew I'd never, ever get the letters in any semblance of a line so I had decided if it was readable, it would work.}  Once that part was done, I sized the "classic" to fit on the panel for the front.

Then I made my car.  I cut out red card and some craft foam and glued them together.  I used clear Wink of Stella a few times {letting it dry in between coats} to give the car a sparkly finish.  All the components of the card were set aside while I took a piece of black card, embossed it with an old embossing folder I had, which was nothing but numbers, attached the white panel with the sentiment on it, and glued on the "Classic" I had made with my Silhouette Cameo.  In hindsight, you can barely see the numbers from the embossing folder, so I could have

Dimension!

skipped that step but, since it doesn't hurt the card any and since there was NO WAY I was going to stamp out all those words again letter by letter (!), I continued on and attached the white panel.  I also thought that perhaps I should have used dimensional dots, but the card was glued, so that was that.  

Lastly, I attached the foam backed car and the two plastic dots.  I made the dots out of Perler beads; they have a slight dimple in the center (that seems to only happen with the black ones) but he doesn't notice that sort of stuff so no worries.  I hope you decide to make at least one masculine card and join us at Stinkin' Inkers - I'd love to see you there!  Fondly, Christi

I am entering my You're Not Old, You're a Classic card in the following challenges:
Crafty Friends Challenge - #85, Happy Birthday
Always Happy Birthday - M, Anything Goes
Simply Create, Too - M, #139, For a Male
Crafting by Designs - For the Boys
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes
Cards in Envy - Let's Hear it for the Boys!
Dream Valley Challenges - #180, For a Man or Boy
Tuesday Throwdown - #395, What a Guy!

Roses are Red or What to do with Leftover Shaker Card Foam

I LOVE making shaker cards; even more since I discovered this foam that Kelley from Lawn Fawn inspired me to use {you can see her video as well as the foam I used here.}  Now I seem to have a lots of "extra" foam, so I made a card out of it! This is something new that I have never done before, so for all those "new" challenges, I hope this fits the bill! I made a bunch of roses that I really like and I might even make a wall hanging out of it!

What I Used to Make my Card:
Red Card Base
Die from Die-Namites, Rose Bouquet, #DN-1120 {available online}
Vellum
Embossing folder, Darice, Mini Hearts, #1219 223 {available online}
Alcohol Ink Markers
Red & Green Card
Foam from this card
Ranger Glossy Accents

First thing I did was die cut the roses. I wasn't sure it the die would go through the foam, but it worked perfectly!  So then I had these rose buds cut from white foam.  I wasn't sure what I was going to use to color them, but I figured

I had to start somewhere, so I whipped out my alcohol ink markers; I have a bit of every manufacturer {my generous friend, NanaConnie, sent some to me that she was no longer using - SO SWEET!} and took every red I could find.  It took me two days to color the flowers, mostly because I wasn't sure what they'd look like dry, and I really wanted a deep, rose red on them.   Once they dried, one of them had a sheen to it; no matter what I did, how many times I colored it, the sheen stayed.  What's a crafter to do? Make them ALL shine a bit - I covered them all with s light coat of Glossy Accents.  Problem solved.  Aren't we a talented bunch when it comes to problem solving?

Now I set the roses aside and began to construct the stem portion of the card.  I

cut the die out twice; once in green and then again in red.  The green card is the main design, the one I built off.  I manipulated the red cut by trimming out just the bow portion.  I attached the red card to the green card and then set about attaching the foam flowers; this is when I realized I was missing something - can you spot it? Yep, I am one flower shy.  I have NO idea where it went, but I suspect a Fabulous Feline might have been creeping on my desk.  I try to cover everything I'm working on so

they can't get to it, but they're pretty crafty little devils.  Luckily, I still had foam left and I cut another rose, colored it and glazed it with Glossy Accents.  This rose didn't take as long as the others since experience told me it didn't matter how long I let it dry or how many colors I used; and I had some idea which markers I used.  While this rose was drying,  I ran my vellum through my Big Shot using the Mini Hearts embossing folder and set it aside.

Finally all of the roses were ready to go and I glued the last rose to it's stem; the existing roses on the card had to be trimmed down since my foam flowers didn't quite match up to the roses on the green card.  I wasn't as careful as I should have been and I must have glued a red rose to the wrong green rose.  No worries, you can't tell.  I attached my rose bouquet to the vellum and then used the area under the bouquet to glue the vellum to the red card base.  There you have it! There are tons of ways to use leftover foam; any die will cut it, so even a tiny heart, star, or accent can be utilized - just keep the critters away!

 Since this is such a tactile card, it's going to be my mother's Valentine card.  She never has to worry about the roses wilting!  

I hope you enjoyed my little tutorial.  What do you do with your leftovers? Be it foam, shapes, whatever; I'd love to hear how you recycle your crafty leftovers.  Please leave your idea in the comments below and be sure there is a link back to your creation, if you've made one.  I'd also be grateful if you'd consider following me; I'll follow you back :)

Have a wonderful day! Christi




I would like to enter my Roses are Red card in the following challenges:
Die Cut Divas - Love is in the Air
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes
AAA Cards - #108, CAS & All You Need is Love
Crafting with Dragonflies - #97, Valentines 

Sympathy Card & The April CCC Reveal

** two posts today - if you are looking for Stinkin' Inkers, click here**

This April's Card Chain Challenge is a sad one.  My receiving partner had a loss in her family, so I wanted to make her a sweet and simple condolence card.  To do that, this month I followed the sketch:

The CCC Sketch I Used

And here is the card I created for her:

I hope my card brings her some comfort. At the very least, she knows I am thinking of her.  

What I Used to Make my Card:
White Card Base
Black Card Panel
White Cardstock
Unity Stamp Peace, Courage & Memories sentiment, GKD-004A
Darice Embossing Folder, Vine Pattern, #1219-136
Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Forty-One (on sale for $4.49!!)
Simon Says Stamp Detail White Embossing Powder
Embossing Fluid
Die-Versions Whispers Stitched Nesting Squares, #DV-572 (for fishtail)
White Resin Flowers (from stash)
Pop Dots

First thing I did was find a nice embossing folder.  I think the Vine Pattern embossing folder can be used for many occasions.  I cut a panel (which, in my case is typically 1/4" smaller than the card base) out of black card and ran it through my Big Shot to emboss it.  I also ran some scrap white card through,

Some Dimension

matching the pattern, but you can barely see it (tip: die cut your cardstock before you dry emboss it!)  Once the cardstock was embossed, I set the black panel aside to figure out how I was going to make the fishtail I needed to coordinate with the sketch.  I envy the people who can cut evenly using hand held scissors, or who can figure out how to turn cardstock the correct way and then use their cutter; I can do neither.  But, a light bulb went off in my head; if I could find a square that matched up with the width of the piece of paper I wished to fishtail, I could do it with the die cut.  Lucky for me I had just purchased the Stitched Nesting Squares, so I set about lining the card and the square up and it worked! I have taken pictures of the process:

Step One: Align the square with the ends of your paper.  The ends of the die should go over the ends just a little bit to accommodate the space around the die cut.  I use temporary tape to keep my dies in place; I did this long before washi tape came out and it's cheaper.  If you look closely you can still see a bit of the dry embossing.

And there you go! A perfect fishtail! Also, note that the stitches in the die aren't a problem; they appear on the cut out, not the base. Now, just peel off the tape and put your die away.  I hope, between my explanation and the pictures, the process makes sense.


After I handled the fishtail (I am SO proud, can you tell?) I moved on to the sentiment of the card.  I embossed "So Sorry" using detail white embossing powder.  I die cut it, attached the 2 white resin flowers, and pop dotted it onto the banner.  I then attached the banner onto the embossed panel of black cardstock.  There you have it.  A simple sympathy card.  Before I go I wanted to share the card I received from Lucille: 

How cute is that! She had known of my love of cats and I adore the card! Just click her name and it will take you to her blog.  Also, today is Reveal Day - don't forget to go to the Card Chain Challenge website to see all the glorious cards

Another Peek

that were sent all around the world!

I hope you have a great day and will come back to see me soon ~ Fondly, Christi 


I am entering my Sympathy Cards in the following challenges:
Word Art Wednesday - Anything Goes
Crafting When we Can - #43, C A S
Brown Sugar - #248, No Image, Just a Sentiment
Crafty Catz - #368, Anything Goes
Deep Ocean - #154, Anything Goes