Seagulls

Here at the end of the week I thought it would be fun to combine one of my beach files, a great file from a blogland friend, and the Stampin Sisters In Christ red, white, & blue thank you card challenge. All of this in one cool project...that just has to be shared ;)

(I may not be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, but combing projects may just be something I can pull off...LOL)

Here is what I came up with.

The wonderfully kind Cheryl from Cheryl Ann First Expressions (CAFE) made this terrific light house svg. I have followed her blog for a while now and love to see what she creates. She usually shares her cool cut files too.

Drop by her blog CAFExpressions to download her lighthouse file and show her some blog love :)

I used an old Fiskers "brick" embossing plate on the lighthouse then inked it with THDI Pumice Stone.
(I just love all the little details in Cheryl's lighthouse.)
The seagull file I made last week goes so well with it too.
For the background, I started out with white cardstock. I cut some cloud die cuts that I made to use as masks and positioned them to the cardstock with prepositional tape. I then inked the whole sheet with THDI Stormy Sky and removed the masks.
On the bottom, I stamped several border stamps, inked over them, and cut them out to form the ground and waves.
I rather like it :)

Here is a link to download my seagull svg as well as the clouds and thank you caption.

I think the images are too small to cut from a pdf, but if you want it anyway, just let me know.

The scripture focus for this SSIC challenge is:

Scripture: Galatians 5:1 "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."

This is the last day for the Stampin Sisters In Christ red, white, and blue thank you card challenge, but be sure and stop by their blog tomorrow to see the next challenge and play along.

 

Beach themed shape cards

Today I have some beach themed shape cards to share with you.

I took the images from the "Fun in the Sun" set that I made and made some fun shaped cards out of them.

Here is a sandcastle card.

It was a little plain all by itself so I added some shells and a starfish. I also added some flags for a little punch of color.

I always line the inside of my cards, but I usually forget to show it.

Lining them makes the card sturdier and gives the card a more finished look.

I learned a long time ago that if the lining was all one piece the fold of the card got really bulky.

I solved that problem by making  front and back liner pieces that attach desperately.

Up next is this adorable sand pail card.

The bottom of the card is rounded and I wanted to keep it that way so I added a shell and a sand pile to allow the card to stand up.

The shovel fits into a pocket on the front of the card and comes out.

Notice the sand piece "inside" the pail.

That could also be cut from blue paper and turned upside down where the smooth side is up to look like water.

This one is lined also. The lining also gives a clean surface to write on rather than the dark cardstock that the card is made from. Try lining your next card and see what a neat little touch it adds to your cards.

Up next is this cute little clam shell card.

It is attached together so that it opens up like a clam.

Of coarse, I could not resist adding a "pearl" to the center.

It does not show up in the picture, but the pearl piece is cut from a pearlized paper and looks really cool in person.

Wouldn't this be cute with a little strap for a "mermaid's purse :)

It would also make darling interactive pieces for a learning game.

For instance, a capital letter could be written on the inside and the separate pearl piece could be matched to it with the corresponding lowercase letter instead of being attached to the card.

Another example would be to write an addition or subtraction problem on the inside. Then the answer written on the pearl which could be matched to it.

(The elementary teacher in me is coming out. LOL)

I used to make stuff like this all the time. That is one of the things I miss most about teaching. Playing educational games with the students. I was constantly putting together cute little themed center activity games. ( I am thinking of starting another blog with kid's games like this posted. Let me know what you think. Of coarse I would still have this craft blog :)

Well I hope you like the cards.

Here is a link to download the clamshell card as a svg cut file and a pdf template.

http://www.box.net/shared/b1gafgjkv9t1yzjlig02

As soon as I finish instructions for the other cards ai am going to place them in my Etsy store as a Beach Themed bundle.

Happy crafting. 



award

My dear Blogger friend Fran over at Scallops and Swirls gave me an award!

Thanks, Fran, for The Irresistibly Sweet Award.

The rules for the award are the following: 
1) Send a thank you to the person who nominated you and include their link.
2) To accept this award, answer 7 random facts about yourself.
3) Pass the award on to at least 8 other awesome blog buddies.

So for 7 random facts about me that I have not shared before:

1) I love gadgets.

2) I just celebrated my 23rd wedding anniversary. Yeah!

3) I have a sister who is 4 years older than me but we look and sound so much alike that people have always mistaken us for the other ever since I caught up to her in height.

4) I was voted "Most Polite" my Senior year of high school.

5) I love to eat chocolate and thin pretzels together.

6) I hate pictures of myself. Which is why I usually put a picture of one of my flowers on my profile.

7) I am going to make the cut file for the July 11th challenge for the Paper Dolls Blog!

(I am so inspired by Thienly & Tamara)

I will be a guest designer the following week!

Now for some blogs to pass my award to:

I already mentioned Gail and Tracey in my last post so I will choose some other people.

Now REMEMBER ME and don't stop dropping by my blog once you see these wonderful blogs...LOL

( I may pale in comparison:)

Anna Dawn from Memories by Anna Dawn

Lori from Papercrafts by SaintsRule

Thienly from Mod Paperie

Tamara from Happy Life, Crafty Wife

Alyssa from My Thoughts Exactly

Becki from The Happy Card Encouragement Factory

Queenie from Queenie's

Neha from Steps Toward Crafting

And don't forget to stop by Fran's site too.

Scallops and Swirls