Valentine Hoot

I made this VERY pink Valentine last weekend as part of the Hero Arts 90 Minute Scramble. This little challenge was so much fun. At the announced time, a Hero Arts hostess (Barb was this week's!) announces a theme or embellishment that you must use on your card. After the announcement, you have exactly 90 minutes to complete and upload your card. Barb's challenge was to use a frame on your card. I used my Spellbinders Nestability die to cut a scallopoed square, then I cut out a circle from the center. I then popped the frame up around my owl image using pop dots.

Stamps are from Hero Arts; papers are from the Target Dollar Spot a few years ago. Still trying to make a dent in my stash!

Owl Hugs

I feel like all of my recent blog posts have started the same way: "Just another quick and easy card..." I have been making a TON of CAS cards lately. Could it be that my style is becoming more streamlined? I'm not sure-but I am loving the CAS style. Cutesy CAS. :)

This stamp set is right up my alley. Mix-Up of Cuteness by Unity. This little owl is the reason that I bought this set! Isn't he a cutie? He worked well with this sketch that I wanted to use from Lucy Abrams, too. Her sketches are CAS, and I have been using a lot of them lately, so maybe that is why my cards are simplified. Whatever it is, I really like this little card. It just makes me smile. I made it for my friend Alina-I hope it makes her smile, too.

Cardstock: Bazzill; patterned paper: Anna Griffin; Stamps: Unity Stamp Co.; twine.

DeNami Feature Product: Owls!

I think my owl stamps are slowly taking over my craft room. They are just so cute I can't help but buy them all! :) These little cuties from DeNami Design are no exception, plus they are the perfect size for creating fun scenes. The Owls Stamp Set is this week's Featured Product over on the DeNami Design blog.

For this card, I started with several tree images from DeNami. I used the Small Leafy Topiary, Round Leafy Tree, and Small Narrow Leafy Tree. Then I stamped one of the little owls (there are four in the set) on the middle tree. After coloring these images, I embossed this piece using the Swiss Dots embossing folder. I then stamped my little owl on a scrap of cardstock and layered her using a pop dot. This just made her stand out a bit more. I "need" dimension on my cards! :)

I finished my card with the "love you" sentiment from the Assorted Greetings Stamp Set, some American Crafts valentine ribbon and orchid pearls by Queen & Co.

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today. Please be sure to check out the adorable cards made by the other DeNami DT members using these cute little owls! Just head over to the DeNami blog to see everyone's creations.

Another Sneak Peek...

of some of the new DeNami stamps coming out on July 1. Of course these cute little owls are some of my favorites!

I have seen lots of mini canvases altered. I made a "faux" canvas using one of the DeNami gift boxes. I first stamped one of the Elegant Spring Flowers as a branch for my owls. Next, I used the Round Leafy Tree randomly around the edge of the box to look like the owls are nestled in the middle of a tree. I also stamped this image on a strip of sage cardstock, which I wrapped around the edge of my box after assembling. For the owls, I stamped them on the tree branch, then again on a piece of scrap cardstock. I trimmed the owls and mounted them on the box using foam squares.

To finish off my box, I stamped "Thank You" from the Assorted Greetings stamp set and embellished that with some of the new Harvest buttons. A bit of brown grosgrain ribbon and another button tied with string add the finishing touches to this little project.

Please head on over to the DeNami blog for some more cute projects featuring these little owls!

Graduation Owl

Today's card features this cute little Graduation Owl from DeNami Design. (You all know how much I love owls!) He's the perfect little guy to embellish a simple graduation card.

To make this card, I started with a red card. To that, I added a piece of black cardstock (attached with white micro brads) to "anchor" the center panel. The center panel is kraft cardstock which I stamped using the Diploma stamp and Versamark ink. To slightly define each of the diplomas, I lightly colored them with a white colored pencil. I finished them by applying a little bit of red Sparklets glitter to the ties. then I simply stamped and colored the owl, cut him out, and adhered him to the card front. A punched border on each side and a stamped sentiment (Small Congratulations) make for a super-cute, and super-simple, graduation card.

thanks for looking today, and don't forget to check out the DeNami Design blog for more cute cards from the DT using the Graduation Owl stamp!

Can you stand another owl card?

You know me and my owls. Just love 'em. In a recent issue of Creating Keepsakes, someone shared a great idea for using the Leave it to Weaver border punch from Fiskars. The trick is to punch borders on two different colored strips. With one of the strips, cut off the edge of the paper right down the center of the punched cut-outs. Then layer this border over the whole one. Voila! A two-tone border that you can use with ribbon. So very clever! Here's my take on this technique. I also used buttons in a different way on this card-I stamped the owl image a few times and paper-pieced him. With one of the stamped images, I cut out just his eyes and mounted them on top of two side-by-side buttons. Gives him the big-eyed look. He's just too cute, don't you think?

All of the papers, flocked die-cuts, twill and buttons for this card are from SEI (Playground Collection) and the owl stamp is from Hero Arts.

Some fun Valentine's Day cards...

to share with you today. I made these mini cards using up some spare stamped pieces and scraps. So easy!

First, I started with one white A2 size card (4.25" x 5.5"), then I cut it in half. The result: two 2.75" x 4.25" mini cards, already folded. More bang for your buck, as you're making two cards from one. Plus, the smaller surface makes them perfect for using your scraps!

For each card, I adhered a small scrap of kraft cardstock to the top, then a small punched border directly below that. I adhered a scrap of ribbon around the card, letting the ends extend beyond the card. (The ribbon is not tied-just adhered.) I also added a button with thread tied through on top of the ribbon-just attach it with a glue dot.

For the images, I stamped the frog and the owl (both from Hero Arts) on patterned paper and cut them out. I added some pink chalk to the frog's cheeks, and used a red colored pencil and a white gel pen to accent the owl. I wanted to add fun touches to each image, since these cards are for my kiddos. The frog got a little tiny heart "kiss" on his cheek-the heart is actually a tiny heart left behind after I used a Martha Stewart heart border punch. I used a glue stick to attach it to his cheek, then added a bit of Fruit Punch stickles. For the owl, I also added some Fruit Punch stickles to the wing, but the fun part was adding the pink, eye-lashed googly eyes. I found these at JoAnn Fabrics. So cute!

You can add whatever you'd like for sentiments near the top. My "Happy Valentine's Day" stamp is from Studio G, while the "I" and "you" are from Technique Tuesday. The heart is from Hero Arts.

I'd love to see what you come up with for mini cards using your scraps. If you'd care to share, email me a link to your card and I will share the link on my blog. Be brave-we'd all love to see what you create!

My first tri-fold card...

and I am so happy with the way it turned out! Anybody who knows me knows that I just adore the little Hero Arts owls, anyway, but I especially love them on this "scenic" card! I saw a similar card created by Kelly Booth posted in the Hero Arts Flickr group. (For some super-cute card ideas, visit Kelly's blog-the link is over on the right.)

Lots of paper-piecing and stickling on this one-two of my favorite stamping techniques. Donna Mikasa (her blog is also linked on the right) has done some cute birthday tri-folds, too. That may be the next one that I try. One thing that I would change next time: I made this card using a 6 x 11" piece of cardstock. Not quite long enough to make the "easel" back to help the card stand up. Next time, I will use a 6 x 12" piece and score at 1", 2", 4", 6", and 9". Does that make sense? If you'd like more detailed instructions, please email me or leave a comment here and I will try to do a better job. ;)

Christmas Gift Card Holders

Here are some gift card holders that I made using Hero Arts stamps. The card design is one that Jennifer McGuire featured last year on her blog. The gift card slides right into the front of the card (you can see mine-it's light blue) into a sleeve. The sleeve is machine-stitched and adhered to the card front. Finally, you add a punched circle to the front of the sleeve and embellish as desired.

I chose to use these adorable little critters from Hero Arts. I love the owl-how cute is he in that little sweater?! I also embossed the white circles with my Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder, just to make the critters stand out a little bit.

This design is so versatile-you can personalize it for any holiday. Just think of all of the gift cards that you give in a year-birthdays, thank you's (I have some coffee stamps that would be so cute with a Tim Horton's card tucked inside!)

If you haven't checked it out already, you should head over to the Hero Arts blog this week and also check out the Hero Arts Flickr group. They are hosting a two-week contest for cards that hold gifts (including gift cards.) There are some really cute projects there!

Have I mentioned that I love owls?

It's my latest obsession-owl anything. I even ordered checks that have owls on them. They are just the cutest things-makes bill paying more fun, ya know?

Here's my latest project-owl and all. This actually satisfies a couple of challenges and submissions in addition to being just plain cute. First, it is my take on the Be Inpsired #39 challenge over at Cuttlebug Challenge. Yes, it is a real twig-and yes, I might be crazy-but it went so well with the theme.

It is also part of my submission for the design team over at My Sketch World. My first time trying out for a design team-keep your fingers crossed for me. I really love sketches, so this would be perfect for me.

Finally, I decided to submit it to Papercrafts magazine. I loved it that much! And three's a charm, right? Somedays you just come up with something that you just can't stop looking at. This is one of those. I'll keep you posted...

Budget-Friendly Embellishments by Lisa Johnson

After my budget-conscious post , I visited a few blogs that I love. I was thrilled to see that the girls from Papertrey Ink had a budget-friendly challenge this month! Their challenge was to create their own embellishments-all of which were very budget friendly! Each also had a very different idea with step-by-step instructions. My favorite was this card from Lisa Johnson: create your own wood-look frames. Could it be my favorite because it features an owl? Possibly-but this technique is great for cards for men. With Father's Day coming up, I'm sure many of us will be stumped for men's cards. Enjoy!

Miss You Mini Card

I'm still playing around with my entry for the "manly card" challenge over on the Hero Arts blog. It also occurred to me that I should include links for some of the blogs and sites that I talk about. The Hero Arts blog is one of my favorites-you can visit it HERE. New posts from the designers each day, tons of ideas, and weekly contests. Need I say more?

Today I'm sharing a mini card I made for this challenge. It's pretty versatile-could be for a man, woman or child. I'm actually going to send it to the students in my practicum classroom. It's been less than a month since my semester ended, but I really do miss them already. Can't wait to have a classroom of my own soon!

For this card, I used a wood-grain stamp from the Hero Arts Artistic Windows set, a little owl from their Ink 'n Stamp Birds and Branches set, and the "miss you" sentiment from Lily Pad Greetings. Yes, more owls. The Green Stack from DCWV goes perfectly with all of my new owl stamps, too.

Give a hoot...

for owls, that is. My daughter thinks I'm absolutely nuts and teases me endlessly about my "freaky forest creatures." I'm not the only one, though-have you noticed that there are tons of cute little critter stamps and other supplies out there?

I picked up this Big Owl from Hero Arts a few months ago, but have been a little intimidated to use it. It is ONE BIG OWL. I also picked up the new Ink 'n Stamp-Birds and Branches set from Hero Arts just last week. This set has some super-tiny owls in it. So I combined the two for this "Thinking of You" card. Not sure yet if I will enter it in this week's "manly" challenge on the Hero Arts blog-not sure if it's submission quality or not. I think I'll play around some more this week before I decide.

Off to my son's baseball practice now, but I'll be back tomorrow to share some more cards.