(Masculine) Cards from 6x6" Paper Pads, part 3

When I do something, I tend to do it in multiples. Hence the "part 3" of this post.

I was running low on masculine birthday cards and decided to use one of my recently-acquired 6x6" paper pads to get my stock back up ... Twenty-five cards later, I think I have enough to last me awhile!

I relied heavily on Kristie Marcotte's 6x6" paper pad tutorial for these cards. I just used the sketches of hers that I liked, and it made it so easy.

Since I wasn't working with a 24-sheet paper pad like she was, I chose 12 papers from my stash that worked well together and pulled 2 sheets of each of them. (I think an extra one may have slipped in about halfway through.)

What can I say? Masculine cards don't always come easy for me, so when the ideas are flowing, I make as many as I can.

This is the 6x6" paper pad that I used for the papers. It's more of a memories/travel theme paper pad, but quite a few of the prints and colors seem masculine to me.

Since I mainly make masculine cards for our church parishioners, I kept that in mind when choosing stamps. There are a few guys in our congregation that might remember this style of old truck (and besides, it's just plain cute!), so I figured it was a safe image to use when I couldn't think of anything else that might interest them.

I used Operation Write Home sketch #123 for these.

This airplane is appropriate for birthdays or graduations, so I made some of each. We have several graduates from our church this year. Our graduation party theme will be along the lines of exploring and travels, so these cards will work perfectly with the theme.

I was inspired by the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #220 for these, but I changed it to suit my images and paper.

We have several college professors in our congregation, so I thought these old-timey globes would be appropriate for them.

I used Reverse Confetti Sketch #21 for these.

We have a retired photographer in our congregation, so this camera stamp was perfect for him.

I used Reverse Confetti Sketch #53 for these.

Ships are always a safe masculine image. These are pretty detailed and are meant to look a bit "sketchy".

I used Operation Write Home Sketch #218 as my inspiration for these. I adapted it a bit.

Trains are another "safe" masculine image.

This was inspired by Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #232. I didn't have room for the fishtail banner at the bottom, so I left it off.

Lastly, we come to the cards that feature a sentiment. These are simple cards, designed to highlight the textured wood-look background paper (thanks to an embossing folder).

Hopefully you can better see the texture in this closeup.

These were based on My Favorite Things Weekly Sketch Challenge #227.

I inked the embossing folder on these, just to see what it would look like. It highlights the woodgrain look.

These were loosely based on Operation Write Home Sketch #160.

Lastly, I used up a good bit of the scraps on these cards. I still have some scraps left, but I didn't feel compelled to use them all right away.

These scraps cards are based on Operation Write Home Sketch #154.

I hope these have inspired you to create some masculine cards. Do you have a card style or recipient that is challenging for you to work with?

Cards from 6x6" Paper Pads, part 2

JoAnn's had their individual papers on sale 10/$2 a week or so ago, and I went in specifically for these cut-apart papers. My particular JoAnn's store has a pathetic papercrafting section (one very tiny aisle), but I really like this paper. It was the only one I purchased.

I bought several sheets and then matched it up with some paper from my 6x6" paper pads at home:

These both came from Michaels.

I know several gardeners, so these seed packet-style greetings were too cute to pass up. I simply attached them to coordinating papers and used strips from scraps for some background interest. I really like how they turned out!

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These cards were so easy, but so satisfying to make. It was fun to pick papers and watch the cards come together!

Cards from 6x6" Paper Pads

After the recent "Lowest Prices of the Season" sales and 50%-off coupons at Michaels (my main local craft store), I am now the proud owner of several 6x6" paper pads. At $3 for 180 sheets, I can't complain if the paper is not cardstock-weight (which it isn't). I enjoy the variety and the scaled-down designs for cardmaking.

I decided to play around with them and make basic cards using a card sketch and a simple sentiment - no image stamps. Today I'll share the first round with you.

This first set was made with My Favorite Things Weekly Sketch Challenge #180. 

The adhesive pearls are from Dollar Tree. I was thrilled to find them, since they're one of my favorite card decorations.

I recently learned about how much difference it makes to mat card elements, and I really liked the difference it made on these cards!

I didn't really use a sketch for this second set. I just worked with the scraps from some of the recent cards I've made and played around with them until I liked the placement.

I'm a huge fan of patterned paper, and this type of card (that highlights the pretty paper) resonates with me. I've seen quite a few people use gorgeous patterned papers and then hide them behind other card or album elements. To me, that's a waste of beautiful paper. (To each her own. It's just how my mind works.)

I'll share some more cards from my 6x6" paper pads next week.

Do you have a favorite paper size to work with for cardmaking? I'd love to hear your reasons for loving your favorite size.

P.S. For the actual card bases, 8-1/2 x 11" cardstock can't be beat. And if I'm wanting a card front (4 x 5-1/4" for a slight border), I prefer 12x12", since I can get six card fronts with some scraps leftover.

Cards from Dollar Tree Stickers

It may or may not be obvious from my blog, but I love finding good deals at Dollar Tree. I've shopped there long enough to know that not everything in the store is a good deal, but they do have some amazing deals.

Lately, they've been outdoing themselves with their sticker selection. I've tried to be very selective with my purchases, and I still came home with ten sticker sheets last week because they were so perfect.

I'm not talking about cutesy stickers that look like they came out of a child's sticker collection. These are elegant stickers that look like they could have come from one of the big names in papercrafting (but for a whole lot more money).

The cards I'm going to share with you today were made from one of the sticker sheets I bought last week.

Both of these sticker sheets came from Dollar Tree. The sheet on the right is my most recent purchase. I had to have it as soon as I saw the bicycle.

I've had the mason jar stickers on the left for about a year. I only ever saw one sheet at my local stores, but I would have happily purchased a few sheets. They're very thick, rigid, almost-plastic-feeling stickers. I think they're made from something like epoxy.

Isn't the mason jar sticker absolutely perfect for the bouquet sticker from the second sheet?! And since the mason jar stickers are clear, they look that much more realistic. This is a simply-designed card, but I love it!

After my success with the first bouquet sticker, I decided to use another mason jar with the second bouquet sticker. Again, this is a simple card, but I love how it turned out.

And there's that bicycle that I just had to have. Just looking at this card makes me happy. I think the bright yellow has something to do with that. Not only is it a cheery color, it's becoming my favorite color.

This is the last card I made with the sticker sheet. I used OWH Sketch #155 as a guide for this one. I designed and cut the sentiment banner on my Silhouette Cameo.

I still have two sentiments left from the sticker sheet. They just didn't work on any of these cards, but I'm hanging onto them for a future project. I'm considering making 3x3" mini cards with them.

I still have ten mason jar stickers left. Yay!!

I hope you've enjoyed these cards. As I searched online for ideas to use these beautiful stickers I've been finding at Dollar Tree, I found a lot of "haul" videos when people purchased the stickers and drooled over them, but not many cards showcasing the stickers. Maybe I'll make a few more sets with different sticker sheets and share them here.

Have you collected any of the Dollar Tree stickers? I'd love to know if you've shared any cards that you've made with them, or even if you know of anyone else who has shared cards made with them.

Bicycle Die Cards

I found this fiddly bicycle image and decided to test the limits of the used blade on my Silhouette Cameo. I was surprised that most of them came out beautifully, even using my cheapo Michaels' Recollections brand cardstock! So I had fun making a few bicycle-themed cards.

I worked mainly from my scrap paper containers. I was happy with how nicely they turned out!

Because the bicycle is so thin and fiddly, I planned to use my Xyron sticker maker to attach them. Alas, I forgot to check the measurements before cutting them. They were too big. So I found a Beacon spray adhesive and used that. It was a little messy, but it worked wonderfully and dried clear. Bonus: The little residue that ended up on the front from overspray dried completely smooth with no tacky residue.

Most of these papers are scraps from making pretty composition book journals from $5 Michaels Hot Buy paper pads.

As you can tell, I'm very partial to my lace border punch. I'm so thrilled to have found another one so many years later!

And that's all for this week! I have more Silhouette projects to share - perhaps next week.

My First Cards in Years

It's been a few years since I've made any cards. I got some time this past week to play around with my new-to-me Silhouette Cameo, so I thought I'd share my first rusty attempts at cardmaking.

I mostly have a need for birthday cards for our church people. A lot of the men in our congregation are (or were) hunters, so this buck silhouette was the perfect starting point for a birthday card. I got the idea for using the "Make a Wish" sentiment from Pinterest, and I thought it was especially appropriate for a buck with a rack this size.

I mimicked the nailheads on the wood paper with a regular old brown marker. I was pretty surprised at how well they blended in.

I could have thrown away the negative space from the buck silhouette diecut, but I had the idea to use it on another card. This was the result.

This truck stamp and die came from a Christmas stamp set. If you look, you can see the "Christmas lights" on the side of the truck. I figured it wouldn't be overly noticeable if I didn't point it out, so I hope I'm right. Choosing a truck color other than red helps, too.

I goofed on this card. After stamping the sentiment, I pulled it straight off - and then it slipped out of my hands. Of course it landed ink side down. Because the paper is so busy with tire tracks, I'm hoping it's not too noticeable. Or maybe it will look like a drop shadow. Yes, let's go with that last one. Note to self: Don't glue down the paper before stamping a sentiment onto it. You never know what might happen.

This one is pretty simple. It just came together from scraps, and I liked how it turned out.

I'm not anticipating sending this one to a guy, but it came together because I noticed how the two paper scraps looked like a table and wallpaper background together. That reminded me of the coffee cups I had pieced together awhile back, so I pulled one out and made the card while I was still thinking about it.

So, there you have it - my first cards in years. I really enjoyed it and may make a semi-regular blog feature of the "cards of the week".

Frugal Graduation Announcements

How many of you are tired of all the expense surrounding life-changing events (graduation, weddings, etc.)? Me, too! I have a nephew graduating this year, and let's just say that there isn't a never-ending stream of money flowing his direction.

In case it's been awhile since you or a child graduated, let's review how expenses can really add up. When I graduated from high school (1994), senior pictures ran into the hundreds of dollars, and you didn't get much. I'm positive that they're even more expensive now, although I don't have any recent figures.

Announcements and all the accessories that go with them also ran well over a hundred dollars and could easily top $200 if you got more than the basics.

When you add in the cost of a yearbook ($50 at this particular school), cap and gown rental, senior trip expenses, etc., it's getting to the point that you almost have to take out a loan to graduate from high school. Personally, I think that's ridiculous.

As a result, I took my nephew's senior pictures and also offered to make his graduation announcements. For $20 (including postage), they were all shipped to his door. I was pretty happy!

I ordered the pictures through ArtsCow, a company I've dealt with a lot over the last few years. They do a great job for a small price.

I made the announcements from those graduation invitations I picked up three years ago for $0.25/kit. They were designed to invite people to a graduation party, but they're very high quality and make great announcements, too!

Here's the original announcement:

At first I wasn't sure how to cover up that year. But then I remembered that I had blue metallic paper in my stash - lots of it! Since blue is his school's color, this worked perfectly:

I love how it turned out!

The inside is a removable insert that has all the information that a regular announcement would, in a formal style just like it would. I actually looked at sample announcements online to get the wording just right. I also chose a font that looks like some I've seen on graduation announcements in the past (French Script MT). Oh, and I made him some of those name card enclosures from a regular sheet of cardstock, using the same font.

I doubt that anyone who gets these nice, thick 5x8" announcements is going to think, "Wow, what a cheap invitation!" That's what I call success - frugality that looks expensive. :)