Category: Handmade Card

Must Love (Baby) Bunny

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Season’s Greetings Card Crafters!

(I can’t even believe it’s the Christmas season already!)

Are you all busy paper crafting?

So I figured it was time to update my blog.  It’s been quite a long time since I shared anything with you all.  I’ve been such a busy bunny lately!

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Yep, that’s right, we are expecting our first baby.  This is the handmade card that I gave my husband to share the news with him.

The supplies for this card are as follows:

  • Mama Elephant Arctic Penguins Stamp Set
  • Stamp Blocks
  • Alphabet Detachable Block (I got mine at Michael’s Crafts) – the possibilities are endless with this craft supply!
  • Alcohol Brush markers

So yes, I’ve only had a chance to make a handful of greeting cards over the last few months.  I will try to set some time aside to share some of them with you (I managed to at least take pictures prior to gifting them to my loved ones).

So with that said, I’m in nesting mode (already).  And I’ve been missing blogging so much.  I’ve been thinking I will start blogging about home/baking/cooking/baby, so stay tuned for a Must Love (House) Bunny WordPress blog to be created (I’ll link it in my “About” page).

It’s amazing how much life has changed, I couldn’t be happier.

Warmth,

Kim

p.s. I haven’t even thought about my handmade Christmas cards this year (this is now behind in life I am right now).  In the meantime, check out the cards I made last year below/here:

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p.p.s. I clearly need some last minute inspiration on some card crafting handmade Christmas greeting cards, so please leave me a link to your work in the comments. 🙂

 

Cheers to you, Dad! Handmade Card

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Why Hello There Paper Crafters,

Let me start off with saying I’ve been so busy.  Summer is in full swing and I can’t keep up with anything in life it seems.  With two vacations under my belt thus far and Stampede quickly approaching I wanted to make sure I get a blog post in before my life becomes more of a Stampede (see what I did there, bwahaha)!!  Alright, so a very important day happens in June every year, Father’s Day!  So today’s post is all about dad.  Let’s drink to him, and that!

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So, as you can see I went with a beer theme.  Which is “different” than my recent work (my recent work has included a lot of stamp work), but more closer to my work that I originally started out with (using stencils and designs).  I actually set out to use my Silhouette cutter for this project.  I was on a mission.

So I opened the Silhouette Studio and off I went.  So I searched “Fathers Day” and found this project by JMRush and loved the look of the beer mugs.  So I proceeded to purchase that project and started thinking up what the card will look like.  However, side note, because I’m all about making things harder then they should be I actually found (now that it’s one month later) another project template here (also note it’s by the same designer, JMRush – and don’t worry I purchased this project today so I don’t forget about it the next time I want to make one of my beer-loving friends a card) that would have been perfect for this card and would have required far less manipulation. Sigh. Well, you’re welcome!

So after playing around with the original template (I can’t even harbour a guess at how long it took me to manipulate it to the correct size I wanted it) – yay for learning how to use my Cameo!  In the end, I came up with this beer mug with “hoppy bubbles”.

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And yes, I added glitter (because there is nothing more manly than glitter, I’m sure you agree):

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For this handmade greeting card you will need:

  • Your chosen stencil of a beer mug (or free drawn if you are oh-so talented), or the Silhouette Studio project templates here (for you adventurers like me this one, or for the more practical and sane crafters this one – see above my long winded side-note).
  • Cameo (or scissors if you are using a stencil or hand-drawn)
  • Card stock
  • Colouring weapons of choice
  • Glue
  • GLITTER!!!

Cut out your beer mug stencil.  Prior to assembling all of the layers, I coloured in the “hoppy bubbles” with my brush markers.  Arrange all of the mug layers so that they overlap (refer to photos above and below) and add chosen “greeting”.  Glue all layers and greeting together.  Using a glue stick (I used a glue pen above but I think a stick would have worked better as I had to press down the glue and glitter once I had everything on the card stock) add accents of glitter to the “beer windows” and “hoppy bubbles”.  Let everything dry overnight and paste your finished mug onto your card.  I finished the card off by stamping a greeting of “Hoppy Father’s Day” on the inside, because, well, it was just so fitting for the card.

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And there you have it!  A fun card for the beer drinker in your life.  I hope you enjoyed it!  What did you dream up for your father’s day cards?  Until next time!

Warmth,

Kim

 

Happy Plaid Birthday, With Googly Eyes On Top!

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Hello Fellow Paper Crafters!

I know it’s been a while since I’ve shared some handmade cards with you – I’ve been awfully busy.  Case and point, I’m just getting around to playing with my May 2016 Simon Says Stamp Card Kit.  So yeah, if you are keeping track here, I am one card kit behind.  So… I unsubscribed for the time being with plans to order once a quarter.  As much as I love card crafting, life is just too hectic to use up all of my monthly goodies.  Plus, we are heading into summer and my garden is calling my name.  Any who, below is the May card kit.  I just loved this kit!  It was perfect for spring-time.

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So what project did I dream up with this card kit?  A friend (who is pretty much a brother to me) was celebrating their birthday at the beginning of June so I used this kit to create him a birthday card.  Of course I took some time for colour-therapy with these stamps.  Just. So. Freaking. Cute.

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Side note: I still have not tried stamps with coordinating die sets, but it looks and sounds so attractive!  I mean I don’t mind taking the time to cut my stamps out, I just think of how much time would be saved (and my poor hands with those crafting scissors – yikes).  Some stamps are just so intricate (i.e. the umbrella handle on the stamp above).  So the next stamp set I get, I promise, I’m going to break down and buy the die set as well. 🙂

So birthday card!  Focus!  🙂  Below is what I came up with. Yup, I can’t even.  I added googly eyes (**smiles uncontrollably**), because well, googly eyes are never a bad idea.  See for yourself?  Cute right?

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For this birthday greeting card you will need:

  • Card stock (I used Lawn Fawn plain white for the card base, solid blue and green, and plaid patterned paper – all from the May SSSCK)
  • Paper trimmer
  • SSS Happy Days stamp set, ink, and stamp block
  • Colouring weapon of choice (I used brush markers)
  • Scissors
  • Glue
  • Googly eyes (aka “Jiggly Eyes”- I bought mine at my local Walmart)
  • Ribbon bows and string
  • Sequins

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Measure and cut out the solid and patterned paper of choice.  I just eye-balled my pieces and then used my paper trimmer to get them down to size.  Stamp, colour, and cut out your little darling stamps of choice.  I arranged all of my paper pieces before gluing them all down.  You can use my layout above as inspiration or play around with other stamps and combinations.  These sets are so versatile, there are so many possibilities!

Once you’ve organized your layout, trim some string and glue it to your kite stamp.  Glue all paper pieces down.  Stamp your chosen greeting (I found that it’s easiest to stamp this prior to adding your googly eyes – add these last).  Finally, add your ribbon bows to your kite string (I got these cute little bow stickers at my local dollar store – I use them lots in card crafting!), googly eyes and sequins (I added six in total to the right corners of the card).

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So cute right?  My friend that I gave this to is quite a fan of plaid, so the card stock that came in the SSS card kit was perfect!  I was so excited to share this one with you (ohmegosh googly eyes!!!!), I hope you enjoyed it!  Did you receive this card kit or stamp set?  Leave me some love in the comments so I can check out your card crafting adventures!

Warmth,

Kim

Hello Baby Handmade Card

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Greetings Card Crafters!

The weather is phenomenal here in YYC and I’ve been so busy lately.  I received my recently ordered baby stamp set (and yes I went with Lawn Fawn) and have been antsy to create greeting cards with them.  Today I finally set some time aside to play with this darling stamp set: “Hello Baby“.

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I’m really getting the hang of these brush markers.  Blending is fun!  When I grow up, I want to own copic markers, but until then I will stick to my amateur Home Sense markers.  Speaking of brush markers, I was pleasantly surprised to find how pretty the back of my colouring page was.  It looks like watercolour versions of the little darling stamps.

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Pretty right?  Who would have thought that all of this beauty was happening while I was trying to create something on the other side.  It’s these little things in life that truly inspire me.  I didn’t use these versions for my projects today but who knows in the future!

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I can’t get over these little cuties and I can’t wait to give them to my expecting friends.

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For this greeting card you will need:

  • Lawn Fawn Hello Baby Stamp
  • Grass Stamp (Or you could just use a green marker to draw tall grass) – cut out the grass so you can place the bunnies within the “strands”.
  • Coloured (of choice – I used blue/green and white polkadots) and white cardstock
  • Scissors
  • Exacto knife (I used these to cut slits into the puddle of water to insert the duckies
  • Glue
  • Sequins

Stamp ’em all out, colour ’em up, and cut ’em out.  Chose your coloured paper for choice.  Arrange your card how you like it.  Use my arrangements as inspiration above for come up with your own.  All of the animals are so cute and there are endless combinations.  Glue everything down.  Stamp out your greeting and add a few sequins.

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Just. Too. Freaking. Cute. Right?  I had a design all picked out for the Frog Prince so I will share that one once it is finished.

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I hope you enjoyed these new baby handmade cards.  I would like to see how you used this stamp set so please leave me a comment so I can follow your card making adventures.

Warmth,

Kim

 

Handmade Card: “Hoppy Moother’s Day, We Ruff Ewe.”

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Hello Paper Crafters!

Although my first post for a handmade Mother’s Day card was quite early, we are so much closer now (where does the time go?!).  I hope you enjoy this greeting card, it was really fun to make.

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I was staring at my Mama Elephant Lunar Animals stamps last weekend wondering what I could come up with as an idea for a Mother’s Day Card and came up with this: Hoppy (bunnies hop) Moothers (cows moo) Day, We Ruff (Doggies ruff) Ewe (a lady lamb).  So it was decided, I started stamping the four little darlings out in preparation to use my new brush markers.  Colouring is just so therapeutic!

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Next, I was trying to think of ways to arrange these little darlings into a scene with my chosen saying.  I thought maybe a cute lil’ barn?  A green, luscious field?  Naw!  I went with some cute lil’ polaroids.

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For this greeting card you will need the following supplies:

  • Mama Elephant Lunar Animals Stamp Set
  • Stamp Pad
  • Cardstock (white and chosen colours)
  • Markers, or your colouring weapons of choice
  • Scissors
  • Polaroid Template (I purchased my template from the Silhouette Design Store)
  • Glue
  • Alphabet stamp set (I used this stamp set I got at Michaels that click together and apart to create words) – or if your calligraphy skills rock totally just write the words out!
  • A few sequins

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Stamp, colour,  and cut out your lil’ critters.  Get your polaroid frame ready (I used my Cameo for this) and glue your little friends to the four corners of the frame.  Now that the animals and frame should be one piece, attach it with glue to the front of your card.  Stamp, cut, arrange and glue your words to form the phrase on the card.  Lastly throw on a few sequins, because well, you only live once and there should be more glitter and sequins in everything, period. (Ohh man did I just #yolo about glitter and sequins!?)

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Anyways, back on topic.  Just plain ol’ cute right!?  I love this Mama Elephant stamp set and have used it quite a few times already on a few card projects.  The possibilities are endless.  I think this is my favourite card I’ve used them on to date though.

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What handmade greetings cards have you dreamt up with this stamp set?  How about Mother’s Day cards in general as well?  I’m curious and would love to see your work, so please leave me a comment so I can check out some of your paper craft adventures.

Until next time fellow homemade card lovers!

Warmth,

Kim

Handmade Cards & Photography

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Hello Card Crafting Friends!

Today was a fun and relaxing day.  I took a much needed staycation day today.  I spent the morning at the spa, wandered around Michaels (yay!), and cooked a wonderful dinner for my husband and I (with fresh baked bread, or course).  So let’s go back to that magical word “Michaels”, one of my favourite places in the world.  It’s one of those stores you walk into to get one, and one item only, and then two hours pass and you leave with 294,349,304 other items.  The. Struggle. Is. Real.  Today’s retail therapy trip to Michaels was to pick up supplies for photographing my handmade greeting cards.

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I’ve been doing some research on taking photos of my newly minted cards.  I’ve been so inspired by some bloggers and instagrammers.  Not only are their handmade cards  wonderful, so are the photos they take of their work.  I got some great inspiration from Maria Russell’s blog.    I’ve found through my research that it’s quite easy to take
some great shots of your work and it doesn’t require a lot of expensive equipment.  For example, this Hubpage gives some great tips.

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Here’s my take on greeting card photography.

For this card making idea, you will need:

  • Studio Tri-fold with one of the folds removed (I got the one above at the Dollarstore)
  • Neutral coloured scrapbook paper or card stock
  • Photo frame/easel/plate holder of choice
  • Some natural light
  • A handmade greeting card
  • A camera (my weapon of choice is my iPhone 6)

I went with this cute little rustic looking plate holder that I scored on my Michaels run today.  I figured this would go great with my neutral backgrounds (the paper I also got at Michaels).

Set up your now two-fold on it’s side and line up and glue your chosen paper or cardstock to both sides.  Place your chosen card holder in it’s newly created scene and add your handmade card creation.  Now get ready to be part of the paparazzi!  I’ve found from my research and personal experience today that natural light is the best.  Flash doesn’t do your work justice, trust me.

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In a nutshell, here are some tips I’ve found that work well:

  • No expensive camera equipment is necessary – most of us have camera phones 😉
  • Use a neutral background
  • Pick a location with bright natural light (or head outside!)
  • Prop your card up (frame/easel/plate holder) to get a good angle of your photo

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So there you have it!  I hope you picked up some tips on taking photos of your newly created paper crafts.  Do you have any tips on photographing your handmade greeting cards?  Be sure to leave me a comment with your tried and tested tips.

Warmth,

Kim

P.s. If you are wondering about the card I featured here, it’s a birthday card I made for my husband.  It’s a Mama Elephant stamp that I morphed to resemble our bunny @banjothebunny.  I also used my Martha Stewart cupcake and balloon paper punches, and my Cuttlebug cupcake embossing folder.

 

Sympathy Handmade Card

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Hello Card Crafters!

I wanted to share a handmade card that is close to the heart as it was a sympathy card for a friend of mine that lost a loved one.  I made this card using my Silhouette Cameo.  It’s the first time I’ve made a card of this nature so I didn’t have any stamps that coordinated with this card theme.  So I thought “why not check out the Silhouette store”, and viola! I found this this card design from Bits of Paper (you can also just search “sympathy” in the Silhouette online shop as well).

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Although the original design for this greeting card was beautiful, I was inspired by another bloggers work, Kristina Werner.  I really liked how she added dimension to the bottom of the card with an embossing folder and the coordinating strip of card stock.  I also really loved her design period, so I have also purchased and downloaded her greeting to use in future cards.  Anyways, back on topic, I created a hybrid of these two lovely ladies cards:

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You will need the following card making supplies:

  • Chosen Sympathy Design (you can purchase and download either of the ladies work Bits of Paper or Kristina Werner)
  • Card stock of choice (for the two above i used white, and pastel yellow and blue)
  • Paper Trimmer
  • Silhouette Cameo
  • Glue
  • Embossing folder and Embossing Machine (I love my Cuttlebug)

“Cameo” your chosen design and arrange it according to the colour scheme you went with.  Emboss the lower portion (just below the half-mark) of your card).  Trim a coordinating colour strip of card stock (I just eyeballed the strip).  Glue all of these coordinating paper pieces to your card.

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I must admit, I’m more into stamps but the odd time I like to break out my Cameo (perhaps I maybe just need to get better at using all of its functions…?), but I like how this design turned out.  And I was happy to give something to my friend that I picked out and card crafted myself.

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What’s next for me?  Well I’ve been reading up and getting some inspiration on card making ideas from other card crafter blogs.  I’ve read some pretty good content on taking photos of finished greeting cards.  So I will be practicing my photography skills for my next project and will share with you the knowledge I have come across.  I still can’t get over how amazing some peoples card photo’s turn out so I am excited to get started on this.

Also, I’ve ordered some more card making supplies that revolve around babies and new arrivals (because, well, it seems everyone and their dog is expecting these days!  Jokes, I am so happy for my expectant friends – I can’t wait to be the crazy bunny auntie that crafts her own cards and drives an oh-so-boxy white Nissan Cube – wait a second maybe I’m related to the Magic School Bus Driver?!).  I am really getting off topic here…  Anyways, so my next focus once these items arrive will be to paper craft some cute lil’ greeting cards for my expectant friends.  I was extremely torn between the Lawn Fawn and Mama Elephant stamp sets, and don’t worry I didn’t buy both (even though I wanted to).  You will have to check back to see which set I went with!

Warmth,

Kim

P.s. Even though I already chose and ordered just the one stamp set, the other one is still on my mind…

 

 

 

SSSCK: Mother’s Day Card

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Hello Card Crafters!

So I received my first Simon Says Stamp subscription package a few weeks ago.  I ate the lollipop right away (obvs) but I just got around to paper crafting with this card kit now.  This package was so versatile with some strong vibrant colours, perfect for spring.

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For my first subscription package I was thrilled.  Upon first look many handmade cards  can be made from this set: Valentines, Birthday, Thank-you, simple greeting cards.  Projects truly are endless with this kit!  I also picked up some new brush markers at Homesense last weekend.  I’ve been eyeing those Copic markers that a lot of card crafters use but I couldn’t justify the price just quite yet.  Maybe with more experience I will slowly start building my marker collection, but until then these will work just fine I’m sure.

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New! Yay!

I don’t have any special occasions coming up in the next little while so I decided to get a head start on my Mother’s Day cards.  I have two amazing mom’s so I was able to make two similar home-made cards.  I know Mother’s Day is a few months away but I figured it’s never too early for some inspiration.

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For these handmade cards you will need:IMG_9374

  • The April Simon Says Stamp Card Kit (SSSCK) – you can buy all of the supplies separately from their online shop as well.
    • You can also just use solid and patterned cardstock, stickers and stamps to create your own handmade card
  • Paper Trimmer
  • Glue
  • Small 3D Dot Foam Adhesive Squares
  • Markers
  • Mother’s Day stamp
  • Stamp Ink Pads

The most time consuming part of this card creation was choosing the patterned paper and coordinating stickers.  Everything was just so lovely!  After I chose the paper combinations I eyeballed the sizing and trimmed my paper pieces (3 in total – the large “XOXO” paper and the smaller half and half paper that is glued at the top of the “XOXO” paper, and the sentimental greeting to the right).

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I glued the two patterned paper pieces to the card and attached the sentimental piece of paper with some 3D foam squares (note: don’t stick the foam stickers where the cute lil clip will go if you plan to let your loved one know that they can re-use the clip as a bookmark <3).  Attach your chosen stickers (I stamped the “Love You” greeting on the label sticker from the kit), and add the cute lil clip onto your sentimental greeting.

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I added some detail to the inside of these cards.  I really liked how they turned out!  Perfect for Spring, and perfect for Mother’s Day!  I used the lines and flower stamps included in the kit and coloured the flowers with my new brush pens.  Stamp your greeting and you’re done!

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So there you have it, a Mother’s Day card!

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I can’t wait to see what comes in next months SSSCK.  Did you create a greeting card with this month’s card kit?  Leave me a comment so I can check out your blog and creations!

Warmth,

Kim

Christmas Cards in Spring!

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Greetings Homemade Card Crafters!

So it’s never too early (or late I guess) to start thinking about Christmas.  So yes, I’m going back in time and covering the Christmas greeting cards I paper crafted for my loved ones.  Today’s post will be the final of my 2015 handmade card favourites.  I hope you find a little early (or late) inspiration for your Christmas card designs.

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First of all, I must take a moment and gush over one of my FIRST EVER stamp sets from Mama Elephant.  The stamp set I used for these cards is Reindeer Games.  I was visiting this site often and love all of the designs that they have created.  It was extremely difficult to pick a set as I wanted one of everything (I still do).  At least it was Christmas time so my options were limited.  I still had to exercise a little bit of self control though because everything is just so darn cute (Ok, I lied, I bought this set too)!

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For these greeting cards, you will need:

  • Snow globe template (here – free)
  • Christmas Stamp Set (hearting me some Reindeers) and stamp blocks
  • “Merry” die cut (woo hoo, thanks again Mama Elephant)
  • Cardstock of choice (I used some regular and textured glitter paper for the base, black and white for the top part of the globe)
  • Colouring utensils of choice (I used plain ol’ Crayola markers and pencil crayons)
  • Scissors (I recently bought a Cameo which would work amazing with the snow globe template – but this project is still easy to do with those reliable crafting scissors)
  • Glue

Trace out and cut your snow globe templates (or “Cameo” them). Stamp out your lil’ reindeer scene of choice.  Colour the little cuties up!  Die cut your “Merry” greeting.  Glue it all together.  Envelope them and seal them with a cute little Christmas sticker (I love stocking up on fun stickers from the dollar store).

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I love how these turned out.  I couldn’t wait to give them to my loved ones at Christmas.  I bake cookies every year and gift them in tins.  So adding these hand-made darlings on top of my Christmas baking tins really is the icing on the cookies.  I of course got to keep one (card that is, I kept a dump-truck sized portion of cookies don’t worry) because I hand crafted one for my Husband and bunny for Christmas.  There is no way I was going to be able to part with all of them!

Plus, I’m kind of a hoarder in a sense because I keep ALL cards that are given to me.  Since my teenage years, I’ve always just collected cards.  I guess I’ve always known the value of a greeting card.  They mean a lot to me.  I think that’s why I woke up that one day in early 2015 and decided to start hand making them.

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What does 2016 hold in store for my card crafting ideas?  I’ve been admiring some Instagram crafters and their wicked talent of shaker cards.  Since this original template was designed to be so I think some shaker card paper crafting is in my near future.

Warmth,

Kim

P.S. Speaking of Instagram, follow my card crafting adventures here (@mustlovebunny), so I can follow yours!

Must Love Baby Handmade Card

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Happy Thursday Paper Crafters!

Today’s blog post is one of my favourite handmade greeting cards from 2015.  A girlfriend asked me to make her a card to give to her soon-to-be mom friend.  Of course I said I would help her out!  She really let me run with the design and said to surprise her.  So off I went, in search of some ideas for a new bundle of joy card.  When I first came across this card design here I was so totally inspired!  It was so cute I had to make this for my friends friend.

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Card making supplies that you will need:

  • Paper (solid black and pink for the background, white for the cute lil face, and 3 different patterned paper)
  • Paper Trimmer (Thumbs up for Fiskars)
  • Markers & Pencil Crayons
  • Ribbon (small piece, frayed for the cute lil hair)
  • A couple bow stickers and embellishments
  • Scalloped Scissors (Again, woo hoo for Fiskars)
  • Circle stencil 1 inch and scissors (or punch)
  • Glue (much love for Elmers)
  • Stamps, pen, or label maker to write greeting

 

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I really didn’t measure any of the rectangular pieces – I just roughly estimated each size, arranged and glued.

I used pencil crayons and a black marker to create the face.  I attached a small frayed piece of ribbon to the back of the cute lil head.  For the wrap I cut out a triangle shape and trimmed the top with the scallop scissors.  Assembled the lil one by swaddling the cute lil face on top and finished the baby by adding a couple ribbons.

Added chosen sentiment (I used my label maker), and embellishments.

All done!  When I showed my girlfriend she was so thrilled and couldn’t wait to give it to her expecting mom-friend.

This card was not only fun to make, but also easy!  The finished product looks so perfect and professional (I’m told the receiver of the card physically turned the card over to see which card shop it came from).  There truly is nothing more amazing than a handmade card amiright?

I’m patiently waiting for a friend to have a boy so I can try out the blue colour swatch for this card.  I’m sure yellow or green would be super cute as well.

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I hope I inspired you with this card making idea!  I would love to see your version!

Warmth,

Kim