Cupcake Birthday Cards

 

Well hello friends! I know it’s been a long time since I’ve posted and holy smokes have things changed with trying to post on social media. I ended up taking a break from sharing online, and when I was ready to come back I had a new laptop. Which meant my photo editing program needed to be updated and all my actions and brushes (I use Photoshop) were gone. It was such a chore to try to edit the photos so I just didn’t bother uploading.

I had somehow injured my hip mid April and was in a lot of pain with very limited mobility so sitting and trying to figure out photo editing AND uploading to Instagram etc was beyond me. When you are in pain - and on strong pain meds - it’s hard to think clearly. I can now say that I am finally turning the corner and have much better mobility and a lot less pain. I still can’t go up a full size step but I can now do a 3” one!! Thank goodness for physio therapy.

In May I suggested to hubby that I wanted to 're-do’ part of my craft room. I pictured going through the drawers etc one at a time, and showed him a few cabinet options. Again, I was thinking sometime in the future. I could only stand for about 10 minutes at a time because of the hip injury so knew it would be a long haul project. My hubby does not do long drawn out projects, and immediately started emptying about 2/3 of my room, dragged out the old cabinet - which was initially our daughters and she was happy to take it back. He showed me a couple of cabinets that he thought would work - paper and dies are HEAVY - and placed the order. Let me tell you, I had craft stuff EVERYWHERE in our main living area. 

It took me WEEKS to go through what remained in the room, get it all re-organized into the new cabinets, and then purge what came out of there initially. The night I got the last bin emptied and we had our living area back was cause for celebration!  I love having everything organized and easily accessible but mostly out of sight. I have room to work again - my work space just kept getting smaller and smaller because of STUFF. 

With this injury, I really came to terms to how much paper crafting stuff I owned that I was not using … just keeping it for someday. Of course, I had also stopped purchasing craft stuff - haven’t really done much in the past couple of years. I have continued to make 25 birthday cards each month for my Mom’s old nursing home as well as most of our families cards. That being said, I didn’t get Canada Day cards made or even our July Ice Cream cards done. But I’m back on track now and just finished Back To School cards for the grandkids so I’ll have them ready at the end of the month. 

Meanwhile, I’m here to share these birthday cards made for the nursing home. I used my very favourite Sheetoad layout, the August 2023 one. Now I’m off to see if I can get the pictures uploaded to Facebook and Instagram too!

Supplies used:

August 2023 Sheetload of Cards, Call Me Crafty Al

Patterned paper - Confetti, DCWV

Happy Birthday - Magic Messages, Lawn Fawn

1-3/4” Circle Punch, Stampin’ Up

Red Balloon Birthday Card Trio

Using what I had left of a 12x12” birthday themed patterned paper sheet, I made these three cards. They are based on the February 2020 Sheetload of Cards, but I tilted the center panel rather than centering it.

The sentiment was stamped right on the 2nd patterned paper, and I added a large die cut balloon with foam tape. The white lines were done with a white paint pen and the movement lines and balloon strings were done with a fine point black marker. Finally, I added puffy balloon stickers and the card fronts were finished.

Here is a peek at the inside … all three were done the same.

Supplies used:

Based on Feb 2020 Sheetload of Cards, Call Me Crafty Al (on YouTube)

Happy Birthday patterned paper - Party Fun, Echo Park

Yellow stars patterned paper - Make A Wish, Bella Blvd

Balloon dies - Lawn FAwn

Happy Birthday - Little Something Sentiments (I think), Catherine Pooler

White paint pen

Puffy Stickers - Birthday Wishes, Pebbles

Inside - Big Birthday Bolds, Divinity Designs

Harvest Slimline Card

 

I made so many Fall & Thanksgiving cards last year that I didn't need to make any this year. Then, I ran out of time and didn't get any mailed for our Canadian Thanksgiving in October, so now I have lots for next year too. Sheesh. At least I can mail cards to our American friends & family this month. I found this single 12x12" sheet of fall themed paper in my stash and decided to use it up. I made 4 different sized cards and will be sharing them throughout the week. 

So far I have shared a 5x7" fun fold, and a standard A2 sized card. Today Is a Slimline card! I have these Kraft #10 business envelopes and they are perfect for fall cards. I used stickers to decorate both the envelope and the inside of the card, which is shown a bit further down the post.

I love the Happy Fall die from Pink & Main and have used it many times over the years during the fall season. For this card I lightly sponged a deeper orange in the centre of the die cut then added Wink of Stella for a little sparkle & Shine. The pumpkin started off as a shaker, but I decided I didn't want to add extra postage so instead created the shaker with thin foam tape. That gave me less bulk, and some of the filler is thin and does move around but not enough that I would call it a shaker.  Still, I liked the look. 

Below is a peek at the inside, where I added washi tape to the bottom of an off white confetti panel then a big focal sticker. 

Supplies used:

Patterned paper - Fall Harvest, Echo Park

Narrow gold tape - Amazon .ca

Stitched Pumpkin Frame - Lawn Fawn

Outside In Stitched Pumpkin - Lawn Fawn

Shimmering Fallen Leaves - Kat Scrappiness

Happy Fall - Pink & Main

Gold Lunar Paste

Shimmer Spray

Wash Tape - old, my stash

Stickers - old, from my stash

Glitter Dots stickers - Ecstasy Crafts

Floral Pumpkin Card

I made so many Fall & Thanksgiving cards last year that I didn't need to make any this year. Then, I ran out of time and didn't get any mailed for our Canadian Thanksgiving in October, so now I have lots for next year too. Sheesh. At least I can mail cards to our American friends & family this month. I found this single 12x12" sheet of fall themed paper in my stash and decided to use it up. I made 4 different sized cards and will be sharing them throughout the week. 

Yesterday I shared a 5x7" Z-fold card and today's card is a standard A2 size. I went through my fall embellishments and found several of these floral sprays so added one to the top of my layered pumpkin. These were clip art from many years ago, printed and cut out with my Scan 'N Cut - then promptly stored away. 🤷‍♀️

I cut the pumpkin frame and the base, sandwiching a clear transparency in between the layers. I love the shine this gives! A sentiment was stamped inside and I added a strip of the patterned paper for some colour. The paper was double sided with the fall print on one side and this gingham on the other.

 

Supplies used:

Patterned paper - Fall Harvest, Echo Park

Narrow gold tape - Amazon .ca

Stitched Pumpkin Frame - Lawn Fawn

Outside In Stitched Pumpkin - Lawn Fawn

Clipart - old, from my stash

Mini Strips Harvest stamp & die - Taylored Expressions

Let our Lives stamp - Be Full, Neat & Tangled

5x7" Fall Z-Fold Card

I made so many Fall & Thanksgiving cards last year that I didn't need to make any this year. Then, I ran out of time and didn't get any mailed for our Canadian Thanksgiving in October, so now I have lots for next year too. Sheesh. At least I can mail cards to our American friends & family this month. I found this single 12x12" sheet of fall themed paper in my stash and decided to use it up. I made 4 different sized cards and will be sharing them throughout the week. This 5x7" Z-Fold crd is the first one.

The cute stamped images (Lawn Fawn) were stamped and cut with my Scan 'N Cut several years ago. I stamped & cut out a whole sheet of images from the stamp set and then just had them stored in a baggie in with my Fall embellishments. At some point I even coloured some of them so those are the ones I pulled out for this card.

Supplies used:

Patterned paper - Fall Harvest, Echo Park

Narrow gold tape - Amazon .ca

Shimmer Spray

A6 Lacy Layers - Waffle Flower

Wash Tape - old, my stash

Happy Harvest - Lawn Fawn

Autumn Greetings - Sunny Studio

Six Sheetload Birthday Cards

It's Masculine Card Monday here on my blog and today I have a Sheetload of Cards to share today. Several weeks ago I was making a birthday card for our Grandson and realized that there weren't many sheets left in the older 6x6" package of paper. I decided to just work on it until it was finished, and have been sharing the cards made with them. I still have a couple more to share and I DID finish off that paper pad!  I pulled out three sheets for the November 2020 Sheetload sketch and made birthday cards that can be donated to my Mom's old nursing home.

The cards are all the same inside, with a stamped sentiment and small fishtail banners from any leftover scraps I had. I like how nicely the Magic Message stamps from Lawn Fawn fit inside a punched circle, so I added the Happy Birthday one to these cards.

Supplies used:

November 2020 Sheetload of Cards, Call me Crafty Al

 Patterned paper - Boy Oh Boy, Carta Bella (6x6")

Happy Birthday - Magic Messages, Lawn Fawn

Catherine Pooler coloured inks

1-3/4" Circle punch - Stampin' Up

Inside sentiment - Large Birthday, Technique Tuesday

Holiday Slimline Wiper Card Duo

Welcome to Fun Fold Friday here on my blog!  I have two more holiday cards to add to my bin for Christmas 2024 - these ones are Slimline sized Wiper Cards and I have a walkthrough of these on YouTube: 

I used Slimline sized patterned paper along with a Wiper Card die set made for a 5x7" card - I love getting more uses out of my dies.  I also used the 'Above It All' stamp/die bundle that I got from Stampin' Up last year. Since we live in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, I knew I could use this die set year round. You can take the gondola up to the top of Tunnel Mountain in Banff in the Spring & Summer for some spectacular views. Also in summer you can also take a gondola up Sunshine Mountain to hike around on top of the ski hill to see all the beautiful wildflowers.

In the photo above, you can see the card fronts and the piece that comes out when you pull on the sides. In the photo below you can see the back sides of both cards when they are closed. Yes, even though the papers are exactly the same the position of the prints are slightly different - I explain that in my video. Hint - I have a REALLY hard time making Wiper Cards - they just don't make sense in my brain. Ha.

Finally, the lower photo shows the back of the card in the open position.

Note - I lined up the die onto the right side of the papers and held it in place with removable tape before die cutting (I showed this in the video). Also, I trimmed about 1/4" from the top of the wiper piece and rounded the corners so it fit inside the card a little better. Since the card size is smaller than the 5x7" that the die was designed for I needed to make that adjustment. That part was easy peasy! 

Supplies used: 

Patterned paper - Slimline paper pack, Frozen - Whimsy Stamps

5x7" Rectangle Wiper Card die set - Sam Calcott, Made To Surprise/Mixed Up Crafts

Corner rounder

Push here - Lawn Fawn

Labels Crosshatch - Karen Burniston

Catherine Pooler coloured inks

Above it All stamps & dies - Stampin' Up

Silver Snowflake peel off stickers

Ice Cream Shaker Card

Every July (on a certain day) my Grandpa would take my Mom to the Soda Shop in their little town for an Ice Cream Sundae. She continued the tradition with my brother and I even once we were living on our own!  When my Dad could no longer drive, we would make sure my Mom got her ice cream sundae on that day. Now that she is in heaven, we keep that tradition going with our children and grandchildren. It's a happy way to honour her memory!  I also send them an ice-cream themed card.

Today I'm sharing the first ice cream card that I'll be sending this year and I couldn't resist making this one a shaker card. Or Faux Shaker.  Or Edge to Edge Shaker.  Or one of the other names these go by 😂.  

I cut the patterned paper to 4 x 5.25" and cut a piece of transparency 5 x 6.25" (1" bigger all around). Scoring the transparency to fit around the decorated piece of patterned paper, I mitred the corners and attached it to the back of the patterned paper on 3 sides. After pouring in the sequins on the front side, I attached that one transparency edge on the back and my 'faux shaker was finished. The ice cream element, gem stickers & word die were added on top of the transparency and the whole piece was adhered to the front of my card.

Inside I added some scalloped circles, die cut phrase and gem stickers - which were attached with a folded paper spring.

Supplies used:

Patterned paper - Neapolitan, Dear Lizzy (old)

Transparency

Peel Off gem stickers - Dazzles

Sequins - Stash

Scallop Stitched Nesting Circle dies - Tutti Designs

Blending Brushes - Taylored Expessions

Washi Tape - possibility Doodlebug Designs

Big Scripty Words - Lawn Fawn

Rainbow patterned paper - JJ's Rainbows, Waffle Flower

YAY die - the Stamps of Life

Mini Alpha & Numbers - Karen Burniston

May 2024 Sheetload of Cards

Today I'm sharing my cards using the May 2024 Sheetload of Cards. I have a walkthrough of my cards on YouTube, as well as five bonus cards using the leftover patterned paper pieces!  

I forgot to take photos of the bonus cards to share here on my blog though. Below is a photo of the inside and all the cards were done the same.

This was another fun Sheetload - I think it would be beautiful done with sparkly Christmas cards, with metallic border strips. 

You can find the May 2024 Sheetload of cards HERE.

Supplies used:

May 2024 Sheetload of cards - Alicia, Call Me Crafty Al

Patterned paper - Pebbles, All The Cake line

Inside Sentiment - Here Comes Birthday Wishes, Picket Fence Studios

Outside sentiment - Merry Messages, Lawn Fawn

Circle Punch - Stampin' Up

Dots embossing folder - Sizzix (old)

Rainbow Holographic cardstock

Front sentiment - Twice the Wishes, MFT Stamps

Inside sentiment - HBD4HSN - The Stamps of Life

Basketball Coach Appreciation Card

 

Welcome to Masculine Card Monday here on my blog!

When I asked our daughters how many teacher appreciation cards they would like me to make this year, our middle daughter asked if I could also make one for our grandson's basketball coach. I had completely forgotten about this stamp set from Stampin' Up that I have had for years, so it was fun to pull it out again. I added Nuvo Glaze to the basketball so it's raised and shiny. 

Now my mojo has taken a nosedive, and if that wasn't enough - my craft room has become a dumping ground and it's hard to even move in there let alone get creative. However, I really wanted to get this card made and this is what I came up with.

The element on the front was attached with an Action Wobble. I go in phases with these things - it can be a year before I use one, then I want to use them on lots of cards for awhile. 

I used an alpha die set to cut the letters for COACH, stamped 'thanks' above that then added some dots using my favourite dot stamp.

I had better get cracking on cardmaking, as I don't have anything made to share next week and usually I'm running at least three weeks ahead. Yikes!

Supplies used:

Patterned paper - Amber Moon, Prima

Simply Sports stamp set - Stampin' Up

Hexagon Crosshatch dies - Karen Burniston

Blending Sponge

Dot stamp - peg stamp, Stamps by Judith

Front sentiment - Simply Sentiments Teacher, Trinity Stamps

Action Wobble

Henry's ABC's - Lawn Fawn

Thanks - Biggest Wish - Stampin' Up

Nuvo Glaze

'Hello' Shutter Card

Welcome to Fun Fold Friday here on my blog!

Today I'm sharing my 12th card made using Paper Roses BEE HAPPY Cardmaking Kit. I made a Shutter Card using dies from Lawn Fawn and also added a couple of gold foiled bee stickers.

You slide off the belly band then open the side flaps to reveal the sunflower ephemera inside the shutter. I haven't made a Shutter Card since December, so it was fun to pull the dies out again.

I'm getting pretty close to finishing off that kit - and I sure have enjoyed it.

Supplies used:

Bee Happy Cardmaking kit - Paper Rose

Shutter Card die set - Lawn Fawn

Shutter Card Add On - Lawn Fawn

Gold foil bee sticker - Amazon .ca

Catherine Pooler Coloured Inks

White circle - leftover from an old card kit

Fluttering By sentiments - Waffle Flower

Tasteful Labels - Stampin' Up

Glitter Dots - Ecstasy Crafts

Beehive Half Shutter Card

Last year I bought the Beehive Magic Iris Add-On dies (Lawn Fawn) because I knew I could use it for more than just a Magic Iris Card. Today created a Half Shutter Card and used the beehive as the focal point. I am so happy with how it turned out!

The bee patterned paper is too cute and I pulled out these bee dies from Marianne Designs to embellish the card.

I love that the Half Shutter Card die set (Divinity Designs) comes with the layering dies - it makes it so quick and easy to complete the card base and all that's left is my choice for decorating! I added a hexagon where I can write a personal greeting and the tiny daisy's are in Karen Burniston's Twist Flower Pop Up die set. 

Supplies used:

Half Shutter with Layer dies - Divinity Designs

Patterned paper - Busy as a Bee, Echo Park

Bee dies - Elines Bees, Marianne Designs

White pearl cardstock

Magic Iris Beehive Add On - Lawn Fawn

Nested Hexagon dies - Pinkfresh Studios

Stitched circle - leftover from previous Magic Iris cards

Front sentiment - Thinking of You, Penny Black

Glitter Dots - Ecstasy Crafts

Daisy's - Twist Flower Pop Up, Karen Burniston

Alcohol markers

Stickles glitter glue

Valentine's Z-Fold Card

Happy Valentine's Day!

Today's card uses a bunch of bits and pieces and scraps from the Love Notes paper package & I created a Z-Fold card with a couple of older stamp sets from my stash.

I love this scalloped heart die from Studio Katia. When I laid it out with the different print papers, I decided I liked the coordinating grey print. But looking at it in the photos, I wish I'd chosen something with a bit more contrast. Ahh well.

I combined the stamp sets on the clipboard ephemera and added glitter to the bees' wings. The envelope got some pretty red & gold washi tape on the flap.

Supplies used:

Patterned paper - Love Notes, Doodlebug

and Love Notes Tiny Prints, Doodlebug

Scallop heart die - Studio Katia

Odds & Ends - Love Notes, Doodlebug

Black glaze pen

Nesting heart dies - Hero Arts

Sending Love stamp set - Waffle Flower

Bee Mine stamps - Lawn Fawn

Pops of Color - Snowflake, Scrapbook.com

Alcohol markers

White paint pen

Butterfly Sympathy Card

I gifted a friend a set of my hand made cards at Christmas, and she was so happy to see that I had included several sympathy cards. She said she has needed too many of them this past year and I realized my stash was also getting low.  

Looking for something else, I saw this paper package and thought I should have a look and see what was left in it. Not too much, as it turns out - at least not in the 12x12" package. But inside the bag was an almost full 6x6" pad of the same papers, so I am going to work at using up both the remnants of the larger one and the smaller pad too. Since this card is 5 x 7", I was able to use a larger partial piece for the front.

While this card is brighter than I usually use for a sympathy card, I am still happy with how it turned out. The layered butterfly was cut from cardstock, a patterned paper scrap and a leftover piece of gold foiled cardstock. 

Here is a look at the inside, with stamped sentiments and two little die cut butterflies. I have had this clear stamp set for many years so I don't know what it was called - but I did make a note that it was from Hero Arts.

Supplies used:

Patterned paper - Flower Market, Carta Bella

Layered Butterflies - Lawn Fawn

Little Etched Butterflies - Paper Rose

Scrap of gold foiled card stock 

Sympathy words - Hero Arts (old, from my stash)

Glitter Dots

Gold Gel Pen

Mini Slimline Christmas Duo

Welcome to Fun Fold Friday on my blog! Today I'm sharing my final Christmas cards for 2023 and these two Mini Slimline cards helped me use up the last of a 6x6" paper pad. 

The first card also uses the Winter Owl bundle (Stampin' Up) with a simple box pop up. The sentiment was trimmed from a sheet of borders in the pad - it was the last one!

 The Pop Up strip measures 1 x 3", scored at .5, 1.5 and 2". I have several video tutorials on creating this type of Pop-Up, here are a couple:  Slimline Pop Up Tutorial (but the technique and measurements work for A2 cards as well) or Quick and Easy Pop Up Tutorial (from 2 years ago but I use it all the time).

The second card has a piece of snowflake printed acetate over the ornament patterned paper - I don't do this nearly enough as I really like how it looks. The ornament decoration is a Peel Off sticker I've had in my stash for many years - originally it was from Elizabeth Craft Designs. As was the Seasons Greetings Peel Off sticker.

The navy cardstock strip goes over the patterned paper but under the acetate, and the Seasons Greeting is on top of the acetate. 

Inside I used my new favourite die by Karen Burniston ... the Twist Flower Pop Up. I love that it fits inside a Mini Slimline and Slimline card!

One more look ...

Having been asked how many cards I make I thought it would be fun to keep track this year. Many of my posts include more than a single card or project and below is my tally. 

Card Tally for 2023
January - 53 cards
February - 56 cards

March - 55 cards

April - 32 cards

May - 43 cards

June - 34 cards

July - 56 cards

August - 106 cards

September - 61 cards

October - 51 cards & 5 Tags

November - 46 cards

December so far - 22 cards (& 16 simple tags)

I decided to cancel the subscription that provided linked thumbnails to what products I used on my cards. It was costing me out of pocket each month, so I’m back to just listing what I used .

Supplies:

Patterned paper - A Winter's Night, Recollection (old)

Mini Slimline Embossed Edge Rectangle dies - Kat Scrappiness

Snowflake Luxury Foiled Acetate - Hunkydory

Snowflake Peel Off's - Ecstasy Crafts

Ornament Peel Off''s - Elizabeth Craft Designs

Copics to colour the snowflakes copper

Catherine Pooler Inks

Water Brush

Seasons Greetings Peel Off's - stash

Twist Flower Pop Up - Karen Burniston

Double Stitched Circles - Divinity Designs

Magic Holiday Messages - Lawn Fawn

Glitter Dots - Ecstasy Crafts

Large Snowflake Peel Off's - Elizabeth Craft Designs

Wink of Stella

Wonder & Cheer - Above it All, Stampin' Up

Winter Owls (stamps & dies) - Stampin' Up

Fishtail banners - MFT Stamps

Short Crosshatch Rectangles - Karen Burniston 

Snowman Slimline Card

There was a leftover piece of this holiday paper from a different card, and it work perfectly for a Slimline card! I fussy cut the snowman from a different sheet in the package and added it to the front with a folded paper 'spring'. I also added some Stickles for some holiday sparkle and stamped the sentiment on a fishtail banner to add near the top of the card.

Here is a look at the inside ...

Having been asked how many cards I make I thought it would be fun to keep track this year. Many of my posts include more than a single card or project and below is my tally. 

Card Tally for 2023
January - 53 cards
February - 56 cards

March - 55 cards

April - 32 cards

May - 43 cards

June - 34 cards

July - 56 cards

August - 106 cards

September - 61 cards

October - 51 cards & 5 Tags

November - 46 cards

December so far - 13 cards (& 16 simple tags)

I decided to cancel the subscription that provided linked thumbnails to what products I used on my cards. It was costing me out of pocket each month, so I’m back to listing what I used.

Supplies:

Patterned paper - Say Freeze, Recollections

Washi tape - Lawn Fawn

Slim lacy layer dies - Waffle Flower

Narrow gold tape - Amazon

Words - Joy to You, Stampin' Up

Stickles

New Years Magic Iris Card

Today I'm sharing the 12th and final edition to my monthly series "Magic Iris Cards" and this one is a card for the New Year. I used some cloud themed patterned cardstock for the decorative panel,, the scalloped piece and the iris 'arms', and also gold heat embossed the bursts onto the front panel.

When you slide down the lever on the right side, the arms open to reveal the gold heat embossed sentiment. So fun! I have really enjoyed using this die set over the past year and even though I won't be continuing the monthly series I will continue to use this set.  The numbers and CELEBRATE dies are by Karen Burniston and I added gold sequins for additional sparkle.

I didn't really have a stamp that would work inside, so I ended up just handwriting the greeting. I also added gold Peel Off border stickers to the inside panel for a little more shine.

Having been asked how many cards I make I thought it would be fun to keep track this year. Many of my posts include more than a single card or project and below is my tally. 

Card Tally for 2023
January - 53 cards
February - 56 cards

March - 55 cards

April - 32 cards

May - 43 cards

June - 34 cards

July - 56 cards

August - 106 cards

September - 61 cards

October - 51 cards & 5 Tags

November - 46 cards

December so far - 12 cards (& 16 simple tags)

I decided to cancel the subscription that provided linked thumbnails to what products I used on my cards. It was costing me out of pocket each month, so I’m back to listing what I used with a few affiliate links included.

Supplies

Magic Iris & Scallop Add On - Lawn Fawn 

Magic Messages - Holiday - Lawn Fawn

Patterned paper - Dreamy Nights, Hunky Dory

5 x 7" Card blank and envelope

Gold mirror cardstock

Gold embossing powder

Circle Bursts - Your Next Stamp

Gold Fusion Sequins - Studio Katia

Celebrate - Karen Burniston

White paint Pen

Mini Alphabet & Numbers - Karen Burniston

Gold Gel Pen

Gold Peel Off's - stash

Black marker

Glitter Dots - Ecstasy Crafts