Cardz TV Stamps Note Card Set

Today I'm sharing a set of note cards I made for the Cardz TV Stamps Gallery. I put these together very quickly using a metal wafer die from Simon Says Stamp called Heart Parade. This die cuts the heart outline (I used black cardstock for the outline) and also cuts the inside pieces for the inlaid look. I used several different coordinating patterned papers from an older 6x6 paper pad from KAISERCRAFT called Chapter one. These papers are thinner which allowed me to stack two pieces at a time to run them through my die cutting machine. As you can see from the photo I mixed up the different pattern papers on each card. I love how these turned out and I like the simple, clean look. After I had the cards assembled I looked through all my Cardz TV Stamp sets for "heart" sentiments. There were a lot. In fact, so many that I actually made another four cards.

Here are the different stamp sets I used-Hugs & Kisses, Heart to Heart, Encouraging Thoughts, and Heartfelt Wishes. You can purchase them at Mary's Cardz TV Stamp shopping page HERE.

The Cutting Cafe Calendar set

This week at The Cutting Cafe the Design Team is showing off creations made with the 2015 Day Calendar Printable set. Lots of possibilities with this set. You can make a calendar for your desk or use the printable day sheets to create a card like I did here. I made a 4.25" square New Year's card. I simply printed out the day, and added it to a base card. I used white cardstock for the base card, topped it with a colorful chevron print, added a turquoise mat behind the day, then did a little embellishing. A pre-printed banner from my paper pad (Hampton Arts) that I fussy cut, a few die cut balloons and a die cut scalloped circle with a Happy New Year sentiment that came from another Cutting Cafe set called Happy New Years Printable Stamp Set.

AHOY! Pirate Bear

Hello, my crafty friends! As I mentioned in a previous post, I have a series of cards to send to my 3 year old grandson this year while his daddy is on deployment. I'm continuing with my bear theme for the month of January and today I have Pirate Bear. I cut him with my Cricut using the Teddy Bear Parade cartridge at 3.5". I've been using stitched rectangular dies from My Creative Time to put all my cards together. It makes the process so much quicker to be able to cut these stitched layers for my cards. I also added a little sand dune and a blue wave which are also My Creative Time dies.

Hubby and I have been working on this "deployment" project together. For his part he has been composing letters to go in the cards. He has been sorting through our photos from when our kids were small. He usually scans a couple pictures of our son into his letters and writes a story to go with them telling what the pictures are about. Kameron has been enjoying having his mommy read the letters to him and listening to the stories about his daddy when he was a little boy.  It's fun for us to reminisce and to share some family history with our grandson. I encourage all you grandparents out there to share family history with your grandkids as a legacy for your family.

The Cutting Cafe It's About That Time

Happy New Year to all my crafty friends! Did you all spend New Year's Eve watching the clock for the magical time of 12:00 and the beginning of another year? Wow 2015! This week at The Cutting Cafe the DT has a free week to design with any Cutting Cafe file we desired. I decided to use an oldie but goodie called It's About That Time printable stamp set. This set comes with all kinds of clocks and time sentiments, 77 images, to be exact.

I was looking for a masculine feel to send a card to my son so I used the pocket watch. If you've read any of my recent posts you know that my Marine son deployed a couple weeks before Christmas. I've made it my personal mission to send him cards as often as possible while he is deployed, as well as his little 3 year old son he left behind. I thought this pocket watch was the perfect image to go with my sentiments. I decided to stamp my own sentiment with an alphabet stamp set from my stash. Sometimes you just can't find the perfect sentiment and need to make your own. Having an alphabet stamp set can help you do this. I used papers from the Simple Stories Yearology 6x6 paper pad. I added a die cut chain cut from textured gold cardstock and a few die cut stars scattered around. This card went together very quickly because all I had to do was print the pocket watch, hand cut it then assemble the card. Just for fun here is another card I created with the same stamp set. Love this card. It makes me think of my grandma and the cuckoo clock she had. Make sure you head over to The Cutting Cafe Blog on Wednesday, January 7th, to see all the fabulous designs from the Design Team.

Sympathy for Payton

My sweet little granddaughter, Payton, lost her pet hamster on Christmas Day. If we were in Michigan, where she is, I could give her a big hug. Since we are in Florida I decided to send her a little card to let her know that Nana and Pop are sad for her. I found this cute little hamster on the Cricut Four-Legged Friends cartridge. I cut the image at 3.5". To make the card I started with a white base card (A2 size), topped with with a pretty blue mat that I cut with my My Creative Time Stitched Rectangular Frame dies. Next I added a speech bubble on the top edge and stamped the perfect sentiment on it from the MCT stamp set Live, Love, Bark. I also heat embossed a gold halo above the hamsters head with a stamp from this same set. To go along with the sentiment I stamped a tiny red heart on the hamster. I found the little heart in the MCT Build a Post Card Stamp set. I know that Payton is really going to love the card and knowing that we feel bad for her. I'm sure that we will be getting a phone call from her soon to tell us all about her new hamster. Her mom said that they will be taking her to the pet store for a new furry friend.

Cardz TV Stamps New Year's card

Now that Christmas is over it's time to head into a new year. As many people do, I've set a few goals for myself for the new year. One of the things I've decided to do is send my grandson Kameron, who is three, a card every week. Kameron's daddy is on deployment. I'm really struggling with the emotions over this and my heart is breaking for my daughter-in-law. She is having a rough time being alone with a three year old and a new baby with no family close by. She is in N. Carolina and we are in Florida and her parents are in Michigan. 

Anyway, this is the first card of the year I will be sending to Kameron. I've kind of picked a basic design theme for every month. Each card this month will have a bear on it. I used my Cricut and the Teddy Bear Parade cartridge for all of this month's cards. I cut my New Year's bear at 3.5". I stamped the sentiment on his hat from the Cardz TV Stamp set "Just Saying. 

On the inside of the card I used the the sentiment Happy New Year from the Cardz TV Stamps set "Happy Days". 

I hope you'll visit me each week as the year progresses to see my weekly card for my grandson. Along with my themed cards for the month I've made special cards for the holidays (Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, etc). So far I have all the cards made for the first six months of the year. I found it was a quick process to make a bunch of cards as long as I had my Cricut machine out. Unlike some of you, I don't have a craft room. It's a bit of a process to get to crafting. I don't have the option of leaving everything out living in a 500 sq. ft. home and using my dining table to craft on. My hubby really likes it when he can have dinner at the table. No clue why-LOL! Just finding time to craft is difficult. Who knew life could be so busy in retirement. I hope you all have a blessed, healthy and prosperous new year and happy crafting.

The Cutting Cafe Gift Box and Bow

Christmas is just a few days away. Just in case you're looking for a beautiful way to present a gift this Christmas, The Cutting Cafe has just what you need. Today I'm showcasing the fabulous Round Box Template and the Gift Bow Template. Both are easy to put together and take no time at all. Add a pretty handmade gift tag and the box will be as wonderful as the gift. I discovered when putting the bow together that thinner papers work better than thick. For the box, a thicker paper works best. Both my bow paper and my box paper are from Michael's Recollection papers. Make sure you head over to The Cutting Cafe Blog on Sunday, December 21 to see the rest of the amazing projects from the Design Team.

I hope you all have a wonderful, blessed and safe holiday. I'd like to ask for special prayers for all our service men and woman who will be spending this holiday away from their families serving this country to preserve all the freedoms we enjoy. My son was deployed just a couple weeks ago and so I know first hand how difficult the holidays can be for both the deployed and those family members left behind, especially the children. Keep them in your prayers.