Trying a Card Kit and Loving It

I've never been a huge fan of card kits, in fact, I've only purchased paper with matching stickers or die cuts, not an entire huge kit, and it's mostly because I don't always like every item in a kit. But I did purchase a Spellbinders card kit recently because it was crazy on sale and I liked a lot of the items. It was half off the $55 price and had stamps, dies, a patterned paper 6x6 pad, die cuts, stickers, cards and envelopes and even sequins. 

When it arrived, it was a ton of fun to open up and see all the goodies. And I sat right down to make some cards with it. For this one, I used patterned paper and some of the die cuts and stickers. Easy peasy!

I love the glittered and gilded butterfly dimensional stickers included in the kit and used three on this card. You can see the gold on the paper in the close up.

I used all die cuts and patterned paper for this adorable cat card, and popped some elements up with foam tape.

I think this last one is my favorite, because I love typewriter elements. The text paper is mine and the sentiment stickers are Tim Holtz, But it's another fast card using die cuts.

I haven't even dipped into the 8.5x11 papers or the dies yet, but it won't be long til I try them out. Have you ever bought a kit? As long as it's on sale and has mostly good things, I'll consider it again in the future.

Happy Friday!

Chark

Slimline Cards For The Win

Have you tried making the slimline card or mini slimline card size? I like the slimline size for a change and also I think they're a great way to disguise a birthday card that has money or a gift card in it, because you can put them in a regular business envelope. The size I use is 3.5"x8.5".

That way, if there's a bad guy looking to steal a birthday card, they'll flip past it. Now, I know you're thinking, "How often does that really happen, Char?" and I gotta tell you, I'm certain it happened to me and since I was stupid and used cash, $50 as a thank you to someone was gone. Now, I'm back to writing checks. So give it a shot to disguise your cards, plus, slimline design is fun to try!

This card uses die cuts and stickers from a card kit I got from Spellbinders on sale.  They will sometimes put their card kits on clearance and I feel like I got a steal when I pay under $30 for stickers, papers, dies, die cuts and stamps that all go together. For the May 2020 kit I bought, I also got sequins and tiny puffy stickers. Head here if you want to see what's available right now. Not an affiliate, just sharing info!

There's a lot of gold and glitter in this kit. You can see more in the close up. I made my own cloud stencil because I'm lazy and I didn't want to look for my real cloud stencil for one card. Sad but true 😅

This card uses the new Poppystamps HB Poe Script die, which I loooovvee. It's small but not dainty, so you're not tearing the die cut as you take it out of the die and it's a fun font. I just ripped some rainbow paper and layered it. I couldn't decide if I should fill up all the space with hearts, and in the end, I just went with three.

Thought I'd also share the photo that shows a tiny bit of the crafting tornado I always create. There's stencils, dies, paper, my trimmer, and a ton of stuff encroaching on my glass mat. I remember Jennifer McGuire saying since the mat was lifted off the table a bit, it kept her from getting her work surface messy. Turns out, I am capable of making my work area just as messy as if I were working on a flat surface. I just shoved it off to take a pic.

Happy Friday!

Chark

Books 'N Cards

I love historical fiction...and I love Young Adult fiction (even though I'm way past Young Adult age, ha!) and this cover definitely makes me want to read this book. 

Here's the synopsis. After growing up on a farm in Virginia, Walthingham Hall in England seems like another world to sixteen-year-old Katherine Randolph. Her new life, filled with the splendor of upper-class England in the 1820s, is shattered when her brother mysteriously drowns. Katherine is expected to observe the mourning customs and get on with her life, but she can't accept that her brother's death was an accident. 

And there's more—strange visitors, a bitter poacher and wild animals...okay, now I definitely want to read it!

Here's a card loosely based on the cover. The scroll work of the fence and the title reminded me of an intricate die from Spellbinders that I have.

My blues are brighter than the gray blues here, and I used silver toned paper instead of gold...but with the title, gold should've been the watchword! Maybe I'll try it again. If I do, I'll post that version too! Too bad I don't have any tree stamps like the trunks on the book. Hmmm...now I have to go see if I have anything similar. This is the Altenew Peony stamp that I've been using over and over lately :)

Hope you have some reading or crafting time in your weekend, I'm off to an art journal class this morning!

Happy Friday!
Chark