Marvelous Possibilities

  I have been dying to try a twisted pop-up card for a long time, and then I saw someone make it with the Beautiful You stamp set and my heart just sang.  It was time to head over to Splitcoast Stampers to find a tutorial and get started.  It was surprisingly easy.  The only wrong twist I made was when I got it assembled and opened it up, the ladies were upside down.  Took it apart and fixed it in a jiffy.   I love paper piecing with the Beautiful You girls.  It reminds me of making paper dolls when I was a girl.  Yes, I had the store bought paper dolls, but as I got older there was the Betsy McCall you got to cut out of mom's McCall's magazine each month, but with 3 sisters I only got to cut them once every few months.  So, I started cutting paper dolls out of catalogs.  Well, actually I would draw dolls and cut out dresses and accessories.  So for this card my dresses were inspired by Curtain Call's Inspirational Challenge  #58.  I used Festive Party DSP for the

    I am really enjoying making birthday cards for a swap that I am in.  I have birthday cards on my mind all the time.  But, I sometimes don't want to spend too much time or get too elaborate, or it takes all the fun out of making so many cards.  So "Fast and Fun" has become my new mantra.  The Big On Birthday stamp set was one of my first choices, because of the big images.  Knew it would be simple when the big sentiment says it all.  So, it opens the opportunity to use some fun Party Animal designer paper, and a little bit of washi tape, a couple of Enamel Shames, and I've got a card all made.  What makes it even more fun.  Great challenges to inspire me.  Freshly Made Sketches #279  had the perfect layout.  Less Is More #320 said to use Washi Tape.  And, CAS on Sunday Challenge#104 was to Use Only Sentiment - No Image.  Easy, peasy, fast and fun.  Hope you liked my card today and come back for more.  Just remember the marvelous possibilities.  

  Finally it's looking like spring is around the corner in Minnesota.  I actually went outside wearing a sweater today.  Yeah!  I came home with a spring in my step and the desire to head to the craft room and make something for Easter.  Actually, I have to admit that this is the third day in a row that I've spent crafting.  Yesterday a friend came and joined me and we had so much fun making Easter projects.  But, here's what I made today. I have never made a shaker card.  When Stamp Ink Paper Challenge #90 said to make a shaker card, I decided this was the week I would do it.  Besides, I had just got the cutest little sequins in my order this week along with the Basket Bunch bundle.  I have been wanting this set, because I knew the grandkids would love playing with all these cute pieces to create their craft projects.  (That will happen Tuesday, but for today it was all for me. I chose the layout from the Global Design Project this week, and the colors from Fab Frid

I thought I would make a quick birthday card for my brother-in-law whose birthday is on St. Paddy's Day.  His wife is on vacation in Peru, so I thought I'd give him a little extra attention this year.  Keeping it simple. I did not have a shamrock, and didn't want to play around with hearts, so I came up with an idea to use a flower from Flower Shop and mask the stem to make the flower look like a shamrock.  Did it work?  I think so. I added a gold salutation from Love Sparkles, and then decided to add a little shamrock made out of enamel hearts, just because.  I love playing along with a challenge, so I chose the layout from As You See It Challenge #145 , and since the colors are perfectly appropriate, I will share this card on Color Throwdown #434. I hope Tim likes my card, and hope you did too.  I have some other fun projects to share with you tomorrow.  So, come back again, and just imagine the marvelous possibilities.  Mary Alice  

I needed a quick thank you card today for a customer, and I jumped at the chance to play with the Tasty Truck again, before it's gone from Sale-A-Bration.  I love this truck and I will be playing with it for a long time to come, so get yours before they are gone at the end of the month.  I looked to Mojo Monday Challenge for a layout idea, and the first thing I saw was a taco, so I used some paper from Festive Birthday DSP to create that fun effect and a little bit of Glimmer Paper, which is also from Sale-A-Bration.  I hope she likes her card, and gets all kinds of fun ideas for the products she ordered.  Hope you like it, too.   Mary Alice  

Friday is always my "fun day" because I consider it my "day off".  I do daycare for 2 granddaughters, and they don't come on Friday, so I have always enjoyed a little time for myself after a busy week with the kids.  I try to relax and enjoy myself before the weekend begins.  It's my favorite day to craft. I wanted to make a few more birthday cards for March and I decided to get a little crazy with the Cake Crazy stamp set that I had not had the opportunity to ink up yet.  I got the idea when I saw the Inkspirational Challenge 's Word Prompt CONNECT.  I couldn't wait to connect the pieces of the cake together.  So many choices and options to play around with, and it's a blast to create the cake of your dreams.  I was reading someone elses blog yesterday, and they said they had randomly reached into their stash of paper and grabbed a paper stack and that was their inspirational starting point.  I did the same today, and pulled out the Floral

    Another Irish inspired card for today.  St Patrick's day is a week away, and I can almost taste the corned beef and cabbage, except that it's going to fall on Friday.  I wonder if the bishop will give us dispensation to eat corned beef on Friday during Lent?  Maybe if I send him a nice card and ask, otherwise I will have to wait a day to fix it, and eat my fish.  (Am I showing my age?) Today's card is made with the new two Sale-A-Bration stamp sets, Make A Medallion and  the sentiments came from Avant Garden.  I have to admit that I had an advantage when making this card.  I used my new stamp positioner.  I just got it a couple weeks ago and it was the bees knees when it came to making the medallion.  I did a stack of these cards for a swap, and I only tossed out one mistake piece.  I added a little lace doily and ribbon to give it that extra Irish touch.  The Lovely Lace EF adds a beautifultexture that compliments the medallion, too. The card is  Emerald Envy,

I found a card in my stash of ideas that I was just dying to try, and the Make a Medallion stamp set seemed just perfect for this technique. It's a new stamp set available from Sale-A-Bration.  I was in the mood to make something green.  I guess it's the Irish in me that inspired the card.  I had the good fortune to go to Ireland last fall with my sisters and an aunt.  We loved the beautiful green countryside and exploring villages, castles and villas.  We also enjoyed shopping for sweaters, woolens, lace and Celtic jewelry.  The whole card just tied it all together for me. I stamped everything in Emerald Envy with a touch of Basic Black.  The double front card design is what I really wanted to make.  The card originated from a post by Susan Campfield here .  I stamped a simple sentiment for a friend, with thanks inside, then left the inside page blank for a note. Trimmed it with a little Festive Birthda y DSP.  Below you can see a side view with the double fron