Well... Hello there!

Real Life, as it says on this card... Real life can be pretty hectic.  Real life can be stressful.  Real life can be more wonderful than words can express.
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I have been still making cards (and scrapbooking here and there).  I just have not been posting cards!  I know, I know... I have promised in previous posts that "now I am back" and "I promise to post more", but it gets to be, well, real life.
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So here is a card I made to send the boys' school photos in for a family member.
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Real Life.  Don't miss it!

New Year, New Post

Scraps Used!

Inspired by having a ton of scraps... and by my friend, Jaimie! (She could and should start her own blog!)

Have I Shared This One Yet? Ha ha!

Summer vacation arrived here a couple of weeks ago or so for my boys... they are keeping me very busy, to say the least... but I miss blogging. We will see if I get any computer time worked into my schedule to go along with card-making time.

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Here is one in a group I made for my husband and his clients at work. He has shared that a couple of clients have appreciated the hand made cards... I just want to share that they are made with love and sympathy for those who receive them.

Another New Set

Inspired by a card my friend made (Hi, Jaimie!) I used another new Stampin' Up! set (Organic Outlines) as soon as I got it delivered to me. I am liking this blue, green, and brown combination, too! Here, this card is used as a "Thinking of You" card, but obviously could be used with a variety of sayings.

Punches Make This One

Maybe not the best photo here... but I think you can see the highlight of this card... the punches.

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The main image is a stamp backed with a background stamp... layered/matted with coordinating colors. The sentiment is stamped on the side. The bottom border is a strip of paper the same color as the base of the card with average, notebook hole size punches glued on top. Elegant and easy.

Variations on a Theme

Just a few cards that I made for church... my Hope Stampers group that I have mentioned here several times. (We make cards used to send to people on our church's prayer list.)

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I have to admit that this group is a fun one for me to be a part of. I love paper crafts and making pretty cards. It is an easy ministy to take part of... and, yes, we don't make nearly the number of cards we need for the entire prayer list and they fill in the need with store bought cards... and that those cards are just as good... well, I just want to say that I try to put my heart into making the cards that I do contribute. I consider it a part of how I worship... a part of how I can include God in on my everyday life.

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And I guess I am including these thoughts here to say that God can be as close to you as the air you breathe. Let Him in, use your gifts for Him, and I will promise you your life will change.

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1 Peter 1:8 For you love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him, you trust him; and even now you are happy with a glorious, inexpressible joy.

A Kind of a Glimpse

These two cards (the way that they are laid out? layed out? which one is it?) provide you with a glimpse into what my Christmas Cards will look like this year! (Love my new scallop punch from Stampin' Up!, too, by the way! Can't you tell?)

Post for Today...

This is one I put together for my stamping group at church.

This one was for my niece for her birthday. I liked having fun with this glistening zebra print. I am almost out of it now. It is one of those papers that I got 1 sheet of and now wish I had gotten 20... oh well!!!

Before and After 4

Just a simple strip of paper and two purple staples to add just a little more to this card.

Before and After 3

Still just another post of taking a card one step further... I am sure that there may be something else that could be done. What do you think?

And others done recently...

Before and After

So... the last time at Hope Stampers (the group at my church that stamps cards to send to people on our church's prayer list) there were two wonderful gals who attended who had not been there in a long time (actually, one of them had not been there in a long time - we're talkin' years - and the other was her sister who had never been before). They were only there for the last 40-50 minutes, but still cranked out a number of cards. One of them had some basic things down, but even she herself admitted that they needed some extra little touches to bring them to life. Above shows one of those cards... and below is after I added a little somethin' somethin'.
I have more samples of these coming soon in more posts. What other ideas might you have?

Thinking of...

I am thinking of spring. I am anxious to get a pair of shorts on for the rest of the season and summer. As for the card... well, we still think of the people in need of a kind word at our church and make cards for them. This is one that I made the other day. (I am still loving the "Priceless" stamp set by Stampin' Up!)

Another Recycled Creation

The image of the birds and flowers was taken from an old card... some new embellishments were added and there you have it!

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More again soon!

New Punch

I have really learned to like punches recently. It seems when I started scrapbooking... oh, probably 10+ years ago, I really enjoyed adding punched accents to my pages. Then I got away from it because adhering the smaller pieces (smaller punches were more popular then) was a pain.

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Along came the Xyron create a sticker (TM) stuff and that was no longer a problem. Then along came easier to use, larger, and more fun shapes in the world of punches.

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This card is really not "all that," but it does show that I am trying to incorporate more in my card making... and I am trying to do more things that I have not done before. That way I keep myself fresh and interested.

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What has been sitting on the shelf waiting for you to use it? Try it sometime and just enjoy.

Another one for Hope...

Simple, stamped, layered, recycled... turned out alright, I think! I have a few more cards like this to post... I hope it inspires you to take cards and turn them around!

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Now I have to get started on a few birthday cards and Mother's Day cards... so that should be good for a few more posts!

Last of the Scraps

No, no, no.... I did not get through ALL my scraps when finishing this card. This is just the last one in this series I did of cards-I-made-for-church-using-my-scrap-bin. Simple, easy... I maybe would change some of the colors/where I used the colors in the little stamped image... but overall I think it turned out pretty cute.

Hit and Miss

Perhaps this is the card that "missed" (above). I started with the scrap piece that had the wreath of roses stamped on it. I remember that this was a stamp that my friend had... and I just made a couple of black ink on white paper images of it to use at another time. Well, this was probably easily 6-7 years ago!!! (I really need to learn to throw things away, eh?) Anyway... it was already colored and I tried to do something with it and that is what I got.
Here is the other black ink on white paper image I had of the same stamp (above) and I had already colored that at one time, too. So I paired it up with this cardstock and I think that this result is a little better... a bit like a card I just posted a little bit back, but... oh well!!! Both cards should be alright for my stamping group at church, though.

Scrap Mania!

So, I mentioned in the last couple of posts that I would start showing cards that I made by using just scraps. Here is the first one!

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The base paper is from church and all of these cards will go towards the Hope Stampers ministry supply. I just used my scraps from home to adorn the cards. (I have 3 HUGE scrap buckets... I think that they are huge... maybe not huge to some people...)

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So this card has just some leftover, printed vellum paper (even the scallop edge was already there) as the bottom layer. The next layer is a leftover piece from another card I have posted HERE. And the top layer is a stamped image on a mat piece (both scraps).

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Easy stuff!