Saturday, 18 October 2025

Butterfly Pop Up Birthday Card Duo


This pair of pop-up birthday cards started with the pretty scenic card bases from the March 2024 Paper Pumpkin kit. Since they are patterned on both the front and back, I cut one card base down and mounted them to the front of two white top folding card bases.


Each panel got a blast from my shimmer spray and then I mounted a single purple butterfly to each one with a single gem in the center.


Inside, I used dies by Karen Burniston to create the pop-up. Her Lorna Label Pop Up has long been a favourite of mine, and the add-ons just make it even more versatile. For these two I used the Happy Birthday Add-Ons and die cut the Happy Birthday layer from rainbow holographic card stock for some shimmer and shine.


The sentiment was stamped on one of the stitched Lorna Label dies and added inside each card. I could have just stamped the sentiment but I like the little extra detail it gave the card by adding it to a stitched die cut label. I also added a sentiment to a fishtail banner on the pop-up portion.



Supplies used:
March 2024 Paper Pumpkin, Memorable Meadows - Stampin' Up
Butterfly dies - Scrapbook .com
Rainbow Holographic cardstock - Recollections
Lorna Label Pop Up - Karen Burniston
Happy Birthday Lorna Add-Ons - Karen Burniston
Shimmer Spray
Little Eetched Butterflies - Paper Rose
Sentiment inside - Not Older but Better, Penny Black
Sticky back gems - my stash

Wednesday, 15 October 2025

Three Nautical Themed Birthday Cards



I never seem to post things in the same order I make them … I had been working with an older paper pad to make some masculine cards for the nursing home and these three were actually the last ones I made. I will share the others another day.  The patterned paper is nice and heavy weight, many of them have gold foiled accents and they are semi glossy as well. 


I was just using up some of the leftover strips and scraps in the paper package and I think they turned out cute. The Happy Birthday was stamped onto white scrap strips and popped up with foam tape. The inside of all three were stamped with the same image and these three were ready to go.


Supplies used:
Patterned paper - Hey Sailor, DCWV (old, from my stash)
Happy Birthday Many Ways - Catherine Pooler
Inside sentiment - Essential BD Sentiments, LDRS

Friday, 10 October 2025

Pop-Up Slimline Father’s Day Card


In Canada, Father’s Day was back in June but I am very behind in posting so wanted to share this card and not hang onto the photos any longer. Since it’s Fun Fold Friday here on my blog, it seemed like a good time to share this card, which I made for my hubby. 


As you can see, it’s a Slimline card and I started with this printed Slimline card panel by Whimsy Stamps. I die cut the bears and popped them up with foam tape, then stamped the sentiment onto a scrap of white card stock with brown ink. I used a stitched circle die to cut it out, attached it to the card with foam tape then trimmed off any overhang.


Inside I used the Little Twist Panel die set by Karen Burniston for the pop up inside as well as her Outdoor Edges for the details. The beaded border was an old sticker I found in my stash and I thought the colours were perfect.


Supplies Used:
Patterned paper - Enchanted Forest, Whimsy Stamps - Slimline …
Little Twist Panel Pop Up - Karen Burniston
Long Nature Edges - Karen Burniston
Outdoor Scene - Karen Burniston
Double Stitched Circles - Divinity Designs
Words - Something for Everyone, Catherine pooler
Sticker - the Paper Studio (Old, from my stash)
Brother Label Maker
Twine
Bear Family Fancy Dies - Hero Arts

Wednesday, 8 October 2025

Birthday Card Trio


Hello friends - we had another busy week and I didn’t get any of my cards posted. I think things will slow down after this weekend though, once we get through Thanksgiving (we are hosting) and get our RV winterized and closed up for the season. We were hoping to get another couple of weekends in but the overnight temps are plummeting so that’s it until Spring. Sigh. I am SO not looking forward to the cold.

Today’s cards feature what could be my new favourite card layout. I tried it out when I had some leftover strips of patterned paper with various width’s. Eventually I settled on 2.5” width with a 2.75” mat. The length is as long as your card (or as long as you wish) - for these A2 sized cards they are 5.5” long. Now I know a lot of you will be feeling like a 2” strip would be a more efficient use of the paper, but that is not my goal. I have a ton of patterned paper in my stash and I know I will come up with a use for the leftover pieces after cutting them from a sheet of 12x12” paper. 


I chose a stamped and matted circle for these cards, but really - most shapes will work and you can play around with placement and size. I changed the location of these circles depending on what parts of the patterned paper I didn’t want to cover up.

Below is a peek at the inside, with a narrow strip of rainbow paper cut into a fishtail banner to bring in some colour.


 
Supplies used:
Patterned paper - Party Fun, Echo Park
Double Stitched Circles - Divinity Designs
Front sentiment - Little Something Sentiments- Catherine Pooler
Inside sentiment - Big Birthday Bolds, Divinity Designs

Saturday, 4 October 2025

Four Floral/Butterfly Birthday Cards


I haven’t used this card layout in a long time - so I pulled out this older floral paper and made four Birthday Cards for my nursing home donation bin. The paper is double sided, so the teal strip is actually the reverse side of the floral. I stamped a sentiment onto white card stock and popped them up with foam tape.


I die cut two rectangles then cut them in half so I had one for each of the cards and I adhered them on the right side below the teal strip. The pretty butterflies are a die from Divinity Designs, and they were also popped up with foam tape after I added a dot of glitter glue to the centres.

Below is what the inside looks like - all four are done the same.


Several years ago, I mistakenly ordered 20 sheets of this patterned paper when I meant to order two. I’m still working on whittling it down, ha ha.


Supplies used:
Patterned paper - Basic Grey
Label die - Stampin’ Up
Butterfly die - Butterfly Trio Divinity Designs
Front sentiment - Anything But Basic Birthday Wishes, MFT Stamps
Stickles glitter glue
Inside sentiment - Cake & Candles, Avery Elle
Mini MISTI

Wednesday, 1 October 2025

September Sheetload Birthday Cards (2nd round)


I had intended on posting this yesterday, but once again the day got away from me. This is my 2nd play with the September Sheetload and I think the cards turned out so cute! I can see me using this one again and again as you can really change up the look depending on what you add as your decorative element.


I did some stamping and colouring for mine - four of the card have this cute chick (MFT Stamps) and four have a hamster in a cupcake wrapper (Your Next Stamp)


Inside I added a sentiment from the Birthday Chicks stamp set and they all have a punched banner to bring a little colour inside.


 
Supplies used:
September 2025 Sheetload of Cards - Call Me Crafty Al (find her on YouTube)
Enjoy your special day - LJD Birthday, MFT Stamps
Patterned Paper - Birthday Bisque, Jillibean Soup
Banner Punch - Stampin’ Up
4 w/ Hammie Sweetness Overload
4 w/ Birthday Chicks - MFT Stamps
Circle die - Tasteful Label Dies - Stampin’ Up
Alcohol Markers
White paint pen
Stickles

Saturday, 27 September 2025

Back To School Shaker Card



This is a card I made for one of our grandkids for heading back to school this month. It’s a ‘Faux Shaker’, where the transparancy is folded around a journal card and secured at the back after adding some shaker filler. Then it was matted and added to the front of a 5x7” card.

NOTE:  I cut the transparency 1” larger than the journal card, in this case it’s a 4x6” journal card so the transparency was cut to 5x7”. I scored 1/2” on each side of the transparency then mitred the corners. Using a bone folder to ensure nice crisp folds of the transparency I used red line tape to attach it to the back of the journal card on three sides. That left me room to add in the sequins etc into the front side before securing the 4th side.


Inside, I added an apple sticker and a cut apart from some patterned paper in my stash. There was lots of room to write a note inside.



Supplies used:
4x6” Journal Card - stash, either Echo Park or Photo Play
Transparency
Sequins
Apple bits (filler)
5x7” card and envelope
‘Cut Apart’ I love School, Echo Park

Friday, 26 September 2025

Double Z Fold Birthday Card

 


It’s Fun Fold Friday here on my blog, and today I’m sharing the Double Z Fold birthday card made for our eldest granddaughter. She is very interested in space etc, so I pulled out this very old paper pad for her card. 


Below you can see the card open and standing for display.


I always like how nice and sturdy these cards are and I was able to make use of some border strips and other cut-aparts in the paper pad for decorating. The flowers, stars & moon were fussy cut and added as decorative elements.



There are a number of pages in the paper pad that contain four 6x6” panels. I rarely make 6x6” cards, but I cut one down for the front of the envelope and wrote her name inside the moon. Since we were hand delivering the card, I didn’t have to worry about anything catching in the mail so the fussy cut flowers were added with thin foam tape.



Supplies used:
5 x 6.5” card base & envelope - Michaels
Patterned paper - Moon Flower Magic, Craftsmart (old form my stash)
Large Birthday - Technique Tuesday
Self Adhesive Gem stickers - Dazzles
Stardust gel pen - Sakura


Tuesday, 23 September 2025

Collage Style Birthday Cards


When I was poking around in a drawer of 12x12” papers, I found this single sheet with a collage of different patterns. I have no recollection of where I got it and it wasn’t included in a paper pad. But I liked the cheerful colours so decided to cut the sheet down and make some birthday cards for the nursing home.


I cut the panels to 4 x 5.25” and added a striped washi tape were the patterns intersected. The edges of the tape were wrapped to the back of the panel which secured them firmly as the panel got attached to the card base.

I stamped the Happy Birthday onto white card stock and punched them out before attaching them with foam tape. Finally, I added a dollop of Nuvo Drops.

Below is a peek at the inside, with all the of them done the same.



Supplies used:
Patterned paper - unknown, collage/colorblocked and only one 12x12” sheet
Washi tape
Blending sponges
Sentiments - Large Birthday, Technique Tuesday
Label punch - Stampin’ Up
Nuvo Drops

Monday, 22 September 2025

September 2025 Sheetload of Cards


Today I’m sharing my first play with the September Sheetload of Cards - and I quite liked it. After I got these ones cut, I pulled out additional sheets from the same (really old) paper pad so I could make another set. I’ll share those another day.

These went into my Nursing Home donation bin - I have needed to build up my stock for them! The label and ice cream cone are older punches from Stampin’ Up and I aded a stamped sentiment as per the Sheetload sketch.


Inside each card is a two toned stamped sentiment and a little fishtail banner for a pop of colour.



Supplies used:
September Sheetload of Cards - Call Me Crafty Al
Enjoy your special day - LJD Birthday, MFT Stamps
Patterned Paper - Birthday Bisque, Jillibean Soup
Ice Cream Punch - Stampin’ Up
Label Punch - Stampin’ Up
Sweet Ice Cream stamps - Stampin’ Up
Shimmer Spray
Banner Punch - Stampin’ Up


Tuesday, 16 September 2025

Two Teacher’s Aid Appreciation Cards


I have a number of cards that I created back in June that didn’t get shared and here are two more of them. These are 5x7” cards I made for the teachers aid’s. I let the patterned paper do most of the work, but added narrow gold tape to dress them up a little. One has a gold card stock shadow below the die cut Thank You and the apple stickers are from my stash. 

This is an easy layout that would work for multiple card sizes and you can customize the top area to coordinate with whatever patterned paper you choose!


Leaving lots of room inside for the kids to write their own message, I added more of the narrow gold foil tape and another apple sticker inside each of the cards.


This is the second card - you can see the shine from the apple sticker in this photo.



Supplies used:
Patterned paper - I Love School, Echo Park
Narrow gold foil tape - Amazon .ca (old)
Simply Sentimental Teacher - Trinity Stamps
Essential Classic Words - Pinkfresh Studios
Gold card stock, Recollections
Apple stickers - Amazon .ca

Monday, 15 September 2025

Father’s Day Card/Gift Card Holder


It’s Masculine Card Monday here on my blog, and since I didn’t get it shared back in June I’m sharing a Father’s Day card/gift card holder. We were pressed for time so I combined the two and our son-in-law was still quite pleased with it.

I cut a black card stock panel to 6.5 x 4.5”, then centred the Grassy Grove and die on that. I added scenic patterned paper in behind then wrapped a narrow gold tape around the bottom edge. The panel was secured it down to the 5 x 7” card base leaving an even white border. The stamped sentiment was popped up with foam tape and I added a couple of glitter dots for some subtle sparkle. Finally, I added a stamped and die cut deer from the Grassy Grove set.


I used a gift card pocket die inside, which comes with the layering piece. I just moved the layering die around on a patterned paper scrap until I liked what I saw. The large Treat Yourself is a stamp I’ve had for a couple of years and I love how bold it is.



Supplies used:
Patterned paper - Water Colour Landscapes 1.1, Paper Rose
Grassy Grove (stamps and dies) - Stampin’ Up
5x7” card and envelope
Happy Celebrations - Studio Katia
Glitter Dots
Gift Card Pocket - MFT Stamps
Treat Yourself - Pigment Craft Co

Thursday, 11 September 2025

Piano Teacher Slimline Thank You Card


Whoa - it’s been ages since I’ve posted! I took a lot of time off this summer, spending it with family and friends instead of in my craft room. Of course, we didn’t have great weather this summer so it would have been a perfect excuse to craft, but … … …

I did manage to make a few cards here and there - and even got photos of them, but haven’t yet shared them so I will have some new content soon. Meanwhile,  this is the card I made for our youngest granddaughter’s (amazing) piano teacher at the end of June and she said he loved it.  I used dies & stamps by Karen Burniston including the Music Charms for the Grand Piano. It got sprayed with shimmer spray and I popped up the lid with a black foam dot.


Inside is the Piano Keys Pop Up - how fun, right? Two of them fit perfectly inside a Slimline card and I left room for her to write him a note.


Side view so you can see that the black keys are raised above the white ones. 



Supplies used:
Patterned paper - Guilded Ink, Recollections
Piano Keys Pop Up - Karen Burniston
Music Charms - Karen Burniston
Crosshatch Long Rectangles - Karen Burniston
Thanks - Biggest Wish, Stampin’ Up
Wink of Stella
Just A - Music Sentiments, Karen Burniston
Gold foil card stock
Glitter Dots flat adhesive stickers 

Tuesday, 17 June 2025

Mini Slimline Teacher Appreciation Card Duo


I like to make our grandkids their Teacher Appreciation Cards each year - here in Alberta the kids don’t start school until September and they go until almost the end of June. I made two of this one, as one family’s school is in a completely different county than the other. 

The apples are stickers I bought last year from Amazon and there are a lot in the package so I use them freely - including on the envelopes! The Mini Slim background die is from Taylored Expressions and I still get a lot of use out of it.


This year I left the cards blank inside - other than the apple sticker - because the grandkids are old enough now to write a thank you message rather than just sign their names. I thought that would make the cards more personal for their teachers.



Supplies used:
Patterned paper - I Love School, Echo Park
Apple Stickers - Amazon .ca
Mini Slim Square Window Cutting Plate - Taylored Expressions
Sentiments - Simply Sentimental Teacher, Trinity Stamps

Monday, 16 June 2025

Father’s Day Card/Gift Card Holder


It’s Masculine Card Monday here on my blog!  Father’s Day really snuck up on me this year so I was scrambling to get cards made. But I did it - with a few days to spare! In the interest of saving time, I made two of the cards with gift card pockets inside and I think they turned out cute. I’ll share the second one another day - this one was made for our son-in-law. It’s a 5x7” card and the leafy die cut frame ended up working perfectly for the 6x6” patterned paper I wanted to use!

The Happy Father’s Day was done with my Brother Label Maker and attached to a 1/2” strip of white card stock then popped up with foam tape. Since I was hand delivering them I didn’t need to worry about them being too bulky to go through the mail.

This family is going on a 9 - 12 month sabbatical in August, so there really isn’t anything they want. They are busy getting rid of things, so I added cash into the pocket so he can treat himself to several nice coffee’s as they get ready for this big adventure.


Supplies used:
5x7” card and envelope
5x7” Foliage Frame, Kat Scrappiness
Patterned paper - Watercolour Landscapes 1.1, Paper Rosse
Gift Card Pocket - MFT Stamps
Best Gift Ever - MFT Stamps
Brother Label Maker