Valentines for my 3 guys and 1 girl

I spent a bit of time pondering how to make a Valentine Card for my 5 year old granddaughter who can't read most words yet. Connie Stewart from Simply Simple Stamping showcased this card fold on her site  (Click here) and I was sure Avery would like the layers to this card. I am currently in a sampler club from Scrapbook and Cards Today and that is where the birds and hearts print paper is from. The stamped birds on the front are from Lawn Fawn, the red and pink papers are from Stampin' Up.

Her brother is almost 11. He received this card with stamped images from the stamp set Hop, Flip, and Jump by My Favorite Things. The background was made with Gina K inks and cloud and grass stencils.

Their dad is my oldest son. Both he and his brother got cards made with die cuts from Sizzix/Tim Holtz. The first card used the man from The Park, the second card used The Gent. 

Other than the stamped sentiment on the MFT card, the cards for my guys only had a stamped Happy Valentine's Day greeting inside and then a personal note. 

Cards, Cards, Cards....

Another family birthday means another card and another way of presenting money besides just sticking it in an envelope. There is nothing wrong with doing that but I started something years ago and need to carry it through until the great-nephews and great-niece hit the cutoff point for getting cash on their birthdays. 

I used Hinged Alphabet dies from Ellen Hutson to cut out the letters for Josh's name. The numerals are cut from Little Letter dies by Stampin Up. 

I did an online search for origami money folds. Without duplicated a fold I've already used, this sword pattern was the easiest one I could find. En Garde! Happy Birthday!  Search my blog for Money as Gifts to find other examples of origami cash. 

This stamp set is Spring Tulips by Gina K. Designs. It is currently the incentive gift, free with an order of $75. There are three other sentiments included in the set so this is going to be a very useful set. It will eventually be available to purchase when the incentive gift changes.  This card is a sympathy card but the sentiment alone could apply to other situations. 

My hairstylist had been ill at the end of 2020 and yesterday was my first haircut since November. Yikes! That is a long stretch for short hairstyles! I normally give her a Christmas card at my December appointment. We share many interests, including card making and humor. I suggested inside this card that this could be our mantra for 2021. The Snarky Cat stamp is from Tim Holtz. 

And lastly, this isn't a card, just something that expresses how I feel about winter and coffee. The image is Jill from Picket Fence Studios. I added the glasses to look like mine and made the hair gray for the same reason. If only my hair looked like that...but alas, hair that was once full is now thin and my body has done the opposite. Dang it!

Pandas, scarves, gremlins, and cold

First, a Panda themed card for a friend I've known since kindergarten. The stamp set used is Party Like a Panda from Simon Says Stamp. The card design is from Dawn's Stamping Thoughts and is called an Angle Pop Up Wow card. The link should take you to that entry in her blog. I used Copic markers to color the images.

My current knitting is a mindless project but a slow growing one. The pattern is called Zick Zack and is a free pattern on Ravelry. The yarn is sock weight, the needles are US size 2. It is all garter stitch, therefore, easy. This will be perfect with my winter jacket, even if it isn't ready until fall of this year. I'm not that slow a knitter, this is my "between-other-projects" project.  

The first time I used this was after a winning a gift certificate at a yarn store and purchasing a set of smaller balls of hand dyed, variegated yarn and making this scarf that I thought might be okay. That was goal, just "okay". This has become my favorite scarf and gets the most comments when worn. 

Gremlins....we have to blame someone or something for the unexplainable, right? In a roughly two week time period, I've had a bogus charge on one credit card (resolved, thankfully), incorrect items delivered for the first time in a long history of ordering from one company (in the process of getting the correct one and returning the mistake), a break down in accessing my email on my computer (but all is fine on mobile devices), and the handsets on my house phones have been resetting their clocks at random. As I talk to others, many seem to be having unusual inconveniences. Residual 2020 crapola? 

And lastly, it is cold outside. In Michigan, in January. Who would have guessed, right? Better days are coming. Until then, I will continue to make things to keep me sane. 

Little Boy Blue sweater

 This sweater is going to a handsome little guy that is 6 months old already. He is a big boy so I made a size 2-3 (pattern designation on that sizing). It may be right for him by fall according to the photos I see on Facebook. 

Because the garter stitch hem wants to flip up on the bottom of the sweater, I may switch to traditional ribbing on the hems, and neckline also. I think I could eliminate that button placket with a ribbed neckline. 

How I feel about winter

Snowmen images and collectibles are cute. Cold weather and actual falling (and accumulating) snow are not.  The stamp set used is Winter Warm Up by Penny Black. 

 

Out of this world birthday card

My son is not a child, nor is he noticeably interested in outer space, but this is his birthday card this year.  The style is called a waterfall card. When the tab at the bottom (where the silver cord is seen) is pulled, the four panels flip over one by one to reveal a new image or message. I've made this style before, but a die set from Mama Elephant, Mega Flipper, made this easy to assemble. The images and sentiments are all from Hero Arts: August 2017 kit Celestial; and stamp sets Astronomical and Out of This World Christmas.  Backgrounds were done with white, black, and violet inks used on navy blue card stock with a spatter of silver paint to create the galaxy look. Images were colored with a combination of Zig markers and Prismacolor pencils. 

I began this card last Wednesday when I had to take a break from the news. Last Wednesday, January 6, 2021 was when Trump's anarchists stormed the US Capitol and caused 5 deaths in their insane attempt at keeping Trump as president. I never thought this would happen in the USA and yet there it was. I have kept myself busy with crafts, reading, and subscription TV channels to maintain some sense of personal peace during this chaos. 

Put Your Red Dress On Challenge

I have not decided how I will use this card yet so there is no sentiment inside.  The stamp, ink, and card stocks are all from Gina K. Designs. The stamp is Flower Child, ink is Obsidian amalgam, and card stocks are Turquoise Sea and Cherry Red.  The colored pencils used were all Prismacolor. Black and white Sakura Glaze pens were used, along with a Copic multiliner and clear Wink of Stella.