Old Is New,,,,,,,,

It's no secret that I LOVE my Big Shot. I have used that thing almost non-stop since I bought it. One of the things I love to do with my Big Shot,,,,,,is make diecuts,I find that they make a card super simple and cute to boot. And one of my fav places to FIND diecuts is on old cards. Ones I have received,,or cheap dollar store cards that come 30 or 40 to a box. So today I have 2 cards to share. Both made with old cards turned into diecuts with the help of my big shot and my nestabilities.

The giraffe card is super simple. Just a giraffe cut out from an old card,,,,forgotten about paper and a few bright buttons. It's for my brand new nephew who is coming to visit with his mom next month. Inside it says CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU!

The other is for his mother, my baby sister. Again, super simple,,,,,,die cut from an old card, matted on paper with my long rectangles nesties,,,,,,,a ribbon, a stick pin and an MS butterfly punch. What could be simpler???? AND recycling is good for the earth!

Hope you enjoyed, and thanks for looking!!!

Flower pot card,,,,,

Two posts in ONE day??? Well, I couldn't help but share this ADORABLE flower pot card I made for the weekly card challenge on scrapbook.com,,,,,,really, check it out,,it's tons of fun and very laid back,,,,,,Michelle picks awesome cards to challenge us with every week! And she posts a fantastic video for us to learn the different cards,,,,so much fun! Hop in and out of the challenge as desired, if a card isn't for you, no worries :) Totally fun!

I used the Rose Creations dies by spellbinders to make the flowers and embellished with gems, ribbon and lace. Butterflies are Martha Stewart Large Monarch Butterfly punch with simple gems in the center. So easy and SO fun! Hope you'll join us sometime!!!!

Curiouser and curiouser

So last night at work, I made these two cards. The second one I made for my mother-in-law. She lost her husband about a year and a half ago, and I've been popping her cards ever since,,,,,,I worry about her. The first will probably go into the sell pile,,,,,,,,,

the funny part? I didn't realize until they were both done, that I made them using the SAME EXACT two papers,,,,,,,and I was amazed that I pretty much got two different looks. The first one I used a LaBlanche stamp on. I love LaBlanche stamps, but they did take some getting used to. A couple of tricks for really good stamping with LaBlanche,,,,,,,,use GOOD ink,,,,,I like either Versafine onyx black or Memento Tuxedo black,,,,,,Versafine beats out Memento just a teensie bit, but I have more colors of the Memento,,,,,,but when I want a nice, deep, dark, crisp stamp,,,,,,I pick up my versafine. (It was a bit too juicy when I bought it, so I had to sop up some of the ink with a paper towel, but now we are getting along just fine!)

The papers I used on both cards is K and Company botanical. GORGEOUS paper,,,,,,love it. I stamped the Lablanche bunny stamp on water color paper so that I could use my water color pencils without warping,,,,,,,another trick for stamping and water coloring with LaBlanche (or any stamp). Watercolor paper is FANTASTIC for this! Nice and heavy too! The butterfly is a punch by Martha Stewart,,,,,,,,large monarch butterfly punch, and I've used it a TON in just the two weeks since I bought it. Flower is recollections that I tipped a bit with purple water colors. The Nesties are Labels 4.

I like the bunny card,,,,,,,,but it looks a little "Easterish" to me,,,,,,

which is why I surprised myself when I made the second card for my Mother in law,,,,,

it doesn't look the LEAST Easterish to me,,,,,,,must be the bunny. Hm.

anyway, on that card I used the daisy fan deep edge punch by Martha Stewart and then embossed with the Textile embossing folder,,,,,the ribbon treatment is easy once you practice a bit,,,,,simply run a line of good adhesive and fold over and over again, keeping the folds to roughly the same size, sticking down as you go,,,,,,simple!

I layered my favorite black 3/8 inch velvet ribbon over the ribbon treatment,,,,,and then layered a string of pearls on top,,,,,,,finished off with some Recollections pearls and gems,,,,and a stick pin which, IMHO, is one of the biggest bang for your ELCHEAPO buck there is out there,,,,,and voila,,,,,,,easy, simple card,,,,,,I hope my Mother in law likes it,,,,it's being mailed in a clear box because it's simply too bulky for a regular envelope or a clear envelope.

Hope you enjoyed!