happy birthday {October Card Night}.

this is my favorite of the three from october.  :)  i always have a favorite!!

it was fun digging through my button bin - i think i get now why i always find my girls playing with it!  i took those four colors of cardstock, and taped them together from the back.  then, i ran it through the cuttlebug to dry-emboss it.  that turned out beautifully, but i thought i could take it up one notch...  i decided to heat emboss on top of the dry embossing!  :)  i used a versamark marker to "color" the raised pattern, then sprinkled it with clear embossing powder and heat-set it.  it was perfect!!  {even though my neck was aching after concentrating on all that tedious coloring, it was worth it!}

i used pop-dots to give it dimension, and then added that line of buttons.  i fussy cut the happy birthday stamp and set it above the row of buttons.

 

Thanksgiving {October Card Night}.

true to my designing process, what i imagined for this card did not actually happen.  the sentiment stamp (happy thanksgiving) is from that super-cute unity stamp set i bought last year, but the image i originally put on that center white label die cut just didn't work.  the end result was that i taught myself a new technique!

the new technique is masking.  i used this technique with the leaves on that white square die cut.  i think it's my new favorite stamping technique.  it's a little time-consuming, though.  here's how to do it:
1) stamp the image you'll be using a few times on scrap paper
2) fussy cut the image -- i learned through trial and error that it's better to leave a tiny border as you cut instead of cutting right along the edge of the image
3) put removable adhesive on the back -- i like tombow
4) arrange your cut images where you'll be stamping

on my card, i arranged my three leaves on the white label.  then, i stamped the dotted border in dark chocolate ink.  i removed the top leaf, inked the stamp in a pine green, and stamped right on top of the other cut out leaves.  next, i removed the leaf on your left, inked in a nice buttery yellow, and stamped that image.  then i removed the final leaf, and stamped it in that pale orange.

don't you love how it turned out??  

two flourish stamps and a ribbon really brought the whole card together.  one product i use and love, is stickles.  stickles is basically just good old glitter glue.  but it comes in sooo many colors and is so easy to use!

on the inside, i die cut the same rectangle label from white paper.  then, i cut it in half, and adhered it to the bottom.  i used the same leaf flourish stamp from the front, and {of course!} added more stickles!  love the stickles!!

Thank You {October Card Night}.

this is the card i patterned after that favorite of mine that i just can't mail :).  it's super easy to switch up for whatever occasion a card is needed for....  change the color palette and the stamp, and it's anything you want it to be!

my favorite part of this card is that flower.  it was so fun digging through my ridiculously large collection of paper, felt, and fabric flowers to layer just the right combination.  i wanted a feathery aspect to it, so i bought tulle and used a large circle punch.  it's barely noticeable, but that's the effect i wanted.  the best part is the corduroy brad in the center!  it's from stampin' up.  i heat embossed the sentiment, added a strip of the patterned paper to the inside for decoration, and called it complete!

designing.

i am in the middle of designing for the october card night.  i decided to move it up a week - ahhh! - and am now in hyperspeed to get it all done.  i'm crossing my fingers that the online order i just placed through papertrey ink comes in in time.  {i can't even think how crazy i'll feel if it doesn't}  i have all the ideas in my head from looking through countless magazines.  the next step in my design process is to play with the paper and embellishments and see if i can make it look like what i imagine.  or better.  or start over.  {hopefully not}

i really like one of the cards on the cover of this magazine - you'll have to wait to see which one i'm improvising on.

the second card i'm working on has been a favorite that i made at one of the rare card nights i attended not done by me :).  it has stayed lovingly in my little stash of goodies - couldn't bear to mail it to anyone since i made it without my own supplies, which makes it truly a one of kind to me!  i decided to use it as my template; different colors, different embellishments, different stamp, but same great sketch.  i think it will work.

the third card is all about thanksgiving. i bought the cutest themed set last year {by unity} for card night.

we used it on two cards {gave them both away and didn't take pics - crime!}, and i love it so much i'm using it again this year.  i rarely do that.  i always try to use new things for card night.

the idea comes out of this magazine, on page 124:

and it caught my eye because it uses the stampin' up top note die cut, which i have and love to use.

so, i'm off to bed - maybe i'll dream up the perfect combination of paper and bling and wow even myself with one of these cards!  {or maybe they'll just get done in time for card night, which would be equally exciting!}

merci {september card night}.

this card evolved as i worked on it.  i went shopping intending on light colors, muted patterns, and came back with a loud set of safari patterned paper.  it doesn't happen very often, but sometimes the exact right components of a card just fall in front of me.  the more amazing part is that i bought each supply separately at different times, all for this card, but not thinking about the other, then watched them come together kind of on their own.

the front panel is ink-distressed after i rounded two corners.  that lovely flourish stamp is one of my favorites right now {i used that set last month, too}.  the ribbon i found was perfect too - not very frilly, but perfect for a safari print.  i don't know why i like a french word paired with giraffe or snake or zebra print, but i really do.  a little flourish on the inside and this one is done!

mr. and mrs. {september card night}.

this month i had a request for a wedding card.  i love getting requests - it helps me narrow down all the ideas i have!  i have passed over this inspiration card many times, loving the ingenious use of material.  other than determining the size of each cake layer, this is a wonderfully simple card.

i love kraft cardstock, so leaving it as a plain canvas seemed right.  you're not going to believe me, but the layers of the cake come from one paint chip sample i picked up at home depot!  isn't that great?  you get the perfectly matched shades of any color you can imagine, and it's the best price - free!

all i had to add were a few little rub-ons, and tiny flowers.  pearls in the center of the flowers finished the front of the card.

to finish the inside, i love this simple little stamp.  but, this could easily be a birthday card - take away a few flowers and change the stamp!

happy halloween {september card night}.

every year that i've had a card night in september, i have to talk myself into making a halloween card.  personally, i think what's the point?  :)  but, each year, i make one, and i always love the result - even if i've never used any of them!

this card appealed to me because the base idea could easily be modified slightly to work for other occasions.  in fact, more than one person at card night did alter the design to make one for a wedding and the other for a birthday.

after i stamped the sentiment, i dry embossed the front panel with my cuttlebug.  why don't i use that wonderful tool more often?  it's such a quick, easy, and beautiful addition of texture to a card.  the inspiration card i based my version from used a crochet lace that was nice, but not quite the look i was going for.  since i couldn't {not surprisingly} find lace with spiders and webs on it, i went into unfamiliar territory -- the fabric section!  i not only bought this wonderful lacey fabric, i bought a rotary cutter and mat to get the job done right.  {my first sewing related purchase!}  i trimmed each piece, roughed them up to give the edges some character, and then ran them through my xyron sticker maker.  a big orange ribbon bow and some pop dots, and this was one of the easier cards i've designed for card night.

i can't resist putting a little something inside the card.  this nice, creepy little stamp is heat embossed to make it raised and shiny, and then two teeny yellow gems were added to that owl's eyes.  so perfect!

birthdays are the best {august card night}.

this is an adaptation of a card i saw {again} in a papercrafts magazine.  i love papertrey ink stamps, and i managed to use three different sets on this card.  the background is is a text stamp that i repeated three times.  the flourish is inked in a beautiful topiary green from close to my heart.  the sentiment is from the blooming buttons set - i love the combination of fonts!  i underlined 'best' with pearl stickers to make it pop.

this design would look perfect for a wedding card!  you could stamp the flourish to match the wedding colors, and choose an appropriate wedding sentiment.

this card is also great for mass-producing - i only had to cut the card base, and then the panel for the front.  a few stamps and a matching ribbon, and voila!  one {or 100!} beautiful cards!

*note: i get lots of my ideas from card magazines.  i find i have an easier time tweaking things i see and making them my own, rather than trying to start from scratch.*