Dot & Whimsy

A good Thursday morning to you!  My family and I have just returned from 

a little camping getaway.  Since I didn't do much more than lay outside in a recliner and 

read books, I can't figure out why I'm sooo tired LOL  I did complete 5 loads of laundry

when we got home and have two more to get done today.  Just the thought of all of that

laundry is probably what exhausted me :)

In the meantime, I was up on the BELLA BLVD blog on Tuesday, as well as today.

I honestly love to be given a palette of pigment and then told "go with it!"

So this month's inspiration board was a lot of fun to work with...love those colors!

I added a splash of color to the chevron paper by applying some Designer Tape over a portion of it.

 For this card I wanted to show how the patterned papers can be turned into beautiful blossoms.

 Each flower was given two layers, along with a smaller flower and button in the center. 

Using a stylus and molding mat, you can give shape to the petals and create a true 3-D effect.

 We have four ladies at work who are expecting, so baby cards have been on my agenda lately :)

 This sweet elephant Cute Cut was a must-have!  I added her to the card-front with foam dots and then embellished. The small green circles at the bottom were cut from one of the Baby Boy papers.

For this week's "Cards on Thursdays" we were asked to create 'shaped' cards.
Have a look at the Bella Blvd blog to see all of the wonderful takes on this assignment :)

I've had this apron template for quite a long time now, so I'm not sure who to reference.
There are similar templates online and most for free! Again, I took my template and traced it onto
 a prepared card and then cut out; repeat with desired patterned paper. To attach the pocket,
I machine stitched around the sides and bottom, leaving the top open.
You can use a strip of paper or ribbon for the top.

Supplies: Thankful: Alpha+Bits Stickers, Burlap, Our Spot, Chipboard Icons; Sienna Chipboard Alphas: Pony; Crochet Hearts: Bell Pepper; Button Market: Red Flowers

 Using basic shapes make fun and easy cards! I used a star die-cut that I had on hand and traced
onto a prepared card; make adjustments so that the most prominent part of the design isn't distorted
 and then cut out. Next, I transferred that shape onto a patterned paper and then cut out and applied
 to the card front. I love that the bit of feather creates a plume similar to a burst of fireworks!

Supplies: All American: Alpha+Bits Stickers, Seeing Stars, American Pride, Chipboard Icons; Feathers: McIntosh; Flags: All American Words

Time for some fun with Bella Blvd today!

There are a ton of really sweet cards up on the blog today, so don't miss it:

This card takes me back to the days of Jr. High when we learned to weave yarn to make pot-holders! 

After cutting a 3.5" X 3.5" piece of cardstock, I then layered it with strips of woven Designer Tapes.

 Just apply the tapes to a piece of paper and trim; use a tab of glue or small Glue Dot for the bottoms pieces so that they won't move around while weaving. For a finishing look, machine stitch around the perimeter.

 Supplies:
Birthday Boy: Alpha+Bits Stickers, Chipboard Icons; Sophisticates: Sprinkles & Lace Ice; Freestyle Sophisticates: Freestyle McIntosh; Button Market: Blues; Designer Tapes: 12 mm Combo

 Using an oval shaped piece of cork as inspiration, I set out to create this island of fun card with the

 Sand & Surf Collection! Cork can be easily found at any craft-supply store. I love how it looks a lot like a sandy beach. I used strong-bonding Glue Dots to adhere the chipboard palm tree to the side of the cork.

 A perfectly peachy summer card!

 Supplies:
Sand & Surf: Surfs Up, Paradise, Borders, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Chipboard Icons; High Five Alpha Stickers: Blue; Ciao Chip Elements: Borders; Button Market: Tie Dye

Glad to have you here today!

Thursdays are featured card days at  

and since yesterday was Valentine's Day, we were asked to create cards of

amour du jour with the Kiss Me Collection, as well as any others that could capture

the true feeling of the special day of love.

I have a total of FIVE cards to share, so just hang in there :)

 I started out thinking that I would add a cute bee to the side of the Valentine journal card and then the idea struck me to leave the two journal cards attached and add the bee over the flower :) 

For the bee, I used a 1.5" and 1" circle punches for the body; I layered the head on with a foam dot and added a brad for the eye. For the wings, I used a 1.5" heart punch that I cut in half.

 A little pink chalk for the cheek area and this card was done!

 So many of the Bella Blvd collections contain sentiments that are just perfect for Valentine's cards!

 I pulled a few things from the Birthday Girl Collection and added a small sticker from Kiss Me.

 I hand-stitched the corner stitckers to the cut-out before attaching it to the card front. In lieu of a 'cherry on top' I added a Punch colored crochet heart! 

 Gotta have a Valentine card for the guy in my life :) 

Again, I used a non-traditional Valentine collection to bring this card together.

 One of my favorite color combos is orange and turquoise, so this turned out to be a lot of fun.

 I searched the internet for a catchy quote to go with a "playing card/game" theme and found this one by 

Eva Gabor: "Love is a game that two can play & both win". I just printed it out from my computer and added it to the top of the cardstock sticker.

If you look closely you will notice that the design in the True Love paper is made up of clustered hearts! 

With that in mind, I set out to emphasize a few of the hearts by layering with 1/2" punched hearts and in a diagonal pattern. After gluing each heart in place, I used a sewing machine to to enhance the hearts and lend a quilted look. Next, I simply layered a precut doily with one of the sentiment stickers and added a small piece of the Punch Feather and crochet heart off to the side. I wanted to keep the design to a minimum so that as many of the little hearts would show as possible!

 I love taking strips of paper and sewing them together to create a quilted design...this was made easy by cutting the strips from the Borders & Cute Cuts Paper! 

After determining the dimension of the cardfront, I cut a piece of plain cardstock down to size and then layered with the strips. I sewed them together in a small zig-zag stitch. 

Next, I used a doily die shape to make the focal point and then layered with sticker tabs, journal stickers

 and cut-outs attached with foam dots. To each side I added two of the new white crochet hearts 

and a small chevron bow to one-side. At the bottom I applied a dotted border sticker that I added a little hand-stitching to. Finally, I taped a small piece of the Designer Tape to a scrap of cardstock and then punched four small circles from it. I glued the circles in place over the green dots found on the paper. 

I really like extra detail that it brings, as well as a bit of dimension!

 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Phew!  That was a lotta cards.  The best thing is that a card of love can be given at

any time of the year...hopefully you can snag a few ideas to try :)

 

I'm not complainin', but I get lots of fun stuff each month and often times I 

get duplicates of things that I all ready have....so, it's time to share some LOVE with one of you!

 Prize pack includes: 

"Good Day Sunshine" Untiy/Authentique co-branded stamp; baker's twine-My Mind's Eye; tiny flower-embossed clothespins-Little Yellow Bicycle; 12 small envelopes-Canvas Corp.; four vintage yellow-topped stick pins; 1 yard yellow swiss dot grosgrain ribbon- May Arts; two plastic yellow flowers; Gray Flannel Dew Drop ink pad- Imagine Crafts; and a wooden spool of grey doily washi tape.

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3- Leave a comment on today's post

HAVE A TERRIFIC WEEKEND!

It's Bella Cards on Thursday on Friday at 

Just a day late and a dollar short...story of my life!

You can catch some pretty neat-o cards almost every

Thursday at Bella Blvd.

A couple of days late posting my cards for this week's

"Keep Calm & Gobble On!" Card
Starting with the word 'bubble' sticker, I created a vertical line of fun embellishments
to help emphasize the sentiment. I layered two different buttons together by
 simply hand-sewing them together and attaching to the card with a sticky dot.
The yellow ribbon mirrors the scalloped border sticker and helps to frame the cute 'lil turkey!
 Supplies:
Thankful: Bountiful, Perfect Day, Cute Cuts, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Just Write Journaling Stickers; Sophisticates: Sprinkles & Lace Brownie, Miniatures Card Sentiments Stickers; Button Market: Merlot Flowers, Masculine Mix; Flags: Thankful1

 "Merry Christmas Magic" Card
'm a little late to the washi-love-craze, but a few recent challenges have me lovin' all
of the things that you can create with it! For this card I wanted a banner hanging across
 the chipboard tree. I took strips of Red Dot Designer Tape and folded it around
 a length of baker's twine. After attaching the sticker letters I determined how long
 I wanted the banners to be and trimmed the ends with pinking shears. Simple and fun!
 Supplies:
Christmas Wishes: Christmas Love, North Pole, Just Write Journaling Stickers, Alpha+Bits Stickers; Family Dynamix: Quadrants; Christmas Wishes: Chipboard Icons; High Five Alphabet Stickers: Blue; Designer Tape: Red Dot; Button Market: Orange Stars
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Hope you have plans for a wonderful weekend!
I appreciate you dropping by.............  :)