Birthday Cards

I needed a fast card for a couple birthdays, so I did a combo of Cameo cutting and die-cutting.  I've seen the large balloon cut like this in dies, but just don't remember which brand.  I wanted a background that didn't overtake the sentiment or the number "50" in the first card.  It's for my first foreign exchange student who came over from Germany over 30 years ago.   My middle son and he became friends and now my son is visiting Germany as I write this post.

Since I was doing one card, I made another card for my girlfriend.  

I used the same type of design and am happy with both. 

  

Follows the list of supplies I used to create these cards.

• SUPPLIES:
• Intricutz dies Couture Creations (50)
• Elizabeth Craft Design Happy Birthday at Dies R Us
• Elizabeth Craft Design Sleigh at Dies R Us (presents)
• Cameo die (balloon)
• Paper in stash
• Vagabond die cut machine

Similarities in Speech Crafting and Paper Crafting - Really?

  

  My avocation is not only in the field of card-making, but also in speech crafting.  I attend a Toastmaster meeting every Thursday and I ENJOY IT, almost as much as paper crafting.

Communication and creating are both integral in the crafting of a paper project or a speech.  You wouldn't think there would be so many similarities in both hobbies.

Speech Crafting                                                        Paper crafting

Research background	Research products
Build layers into a speech	Build layers on a card/mixed-media project
Develop story lines	Develop techniques
Imagination	Imagination
Keeping up on current news	Keeping up on current materials in use
Connecting with your audience	Connecting with other crafters
Inspire others	Inspire others
Enjoy what you do and share your expertise	Enjoy what you do and share your expertise

Here I am, ready to leave for a Toastmaster's meeting.I'm ready for anything.

Arlene, the Toastmaster

And here is a fresh creation with both a new die-cut and image.

Arlene's creation

I love both hobbies and my Toastmaster group.  There's nothing like having fun in whatever you do.

A2Z Haunted Boo

Sometimes I don't know what size I want to work with and with a digital stamp, you can try different sizes at will.  The digital haunted house kit has so many options and I really like this house.  I had cut out the house and left it on my desk just in case, yes, in case I wanted to use it.  I had purchasd the Holiday Greenery Edge Fancy Die with an eye to its versatility in use.  Cut it in green for both spring, summer and winter, spring with spring colors on the flowers, winter with red flowers and NOW, in black for a creepy vine. 

The hint of pink in the photo is not real, this is a black and white card with dots of Nuvo on the vines.

Don't forget about your discount code Arlene15 to get 15% off your purchase of $25 or more at A2Z Scrapbooking and look for my post here.

Close-up of the dots on the vines below

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Please join us in this month’s "Frightfully Fun" challenge.   As you know, we’ve changed our rules a bit and participants are no longer required to use Hero Arts products to enter our challenges. Each month we feature a ‘Digi of the Month’ which will be the prize offered to our randomly-chosen challenge winner from our Hero Arts store. Our current monthly challenge can always be found in the menu bar, and runs from the 1st to last day of the month

 
The a2z scrapbooking store carries a wide variety of Hero Arts products! Get discounted new releases, sales, grab bags & more. Proceeds from our store benefit Celiac & Behcets disease foundations. Use my discount code Arlene15 to get 15% off your purchase of $25 or more. If you're looking for a Hero Arts product you don't see in store, use the Request Custom Order button from with-in the shop.

•  Hero Arts HaHoliday Greenery Edge Fancy Die
• Hero Arts Haunted digital kit Halloween 
• Elizabeth Craft Designs alphabet 2 - Lower Case
• Elizabeth Craft Designs Frame It Stitched Rectangles
• Elizabeth Craft Designs Postage Stamp Squares
• Nuvo Crystal Drops Gloss - Simply White, Dandelion Yellow, ,Crushed Grape and Caribbean Ocean
• Nuveo Glitter Drops Silver Moondust
• Vagabond die cut machine

Spooking Dueling at A2Z

It's dueling day at A2Z Scrapbooking this month. I can't wait to see what Char brings to the spooky table at A2Z, don't you?.

This was a quick and easy card to make, print out the label from the Spooky Labels in the size you want and use spooky colors of distress inks.  Drawing some additional lines makes it webbier (is there such a word as webbier?).  Some more lines and Nuvo Ebony Black Crystal Drops Gloss make this a fun project.

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Please join us in this month's "Anything Goes" challenge for your chance at a free digital stamp AND, if you used Hero Arts, a $20 gift card to our Hero Arts store. Our current monthly challenge can always be found in the menu bar, and runs from the 1st to last day of the month

The a2z scrapbooking store carries a wide variety of Hero Arts products! Get discounted new releases, sales, grab bags & more. Proceeds from our store benefit Celiac & Behcets disease foundations. Use my discount code Arlene15 to get 15% off your purchase of $25 or more. If you're looking for a Hero Arts product you don't see in store, use the Request Custom Order button from with-in the shop.



Supplies:
Hero Arts digital kit Spooky Labels at A2Z Scrapbooking
Spellbinders nesting dies - Labels Eight
Distress Inks Mustard Seed, Abandoned Coral and Carved Pumpkin
Copic Multi-Liner 0.3
Nuvo Ebony Black Crystal Drops

Hero Arts Haunted House Boo to You

Black and white is haunting too.  I was going to color the background, but couldn't get past the black and white phase.

I couldn't get past stark and bold.  Below the photos are instructions on how I put this card together.

And do remember to use my discount code Arlene15 to get 15% off your purchase of $25 or more.  Follow me to A2Z Scrapbooking to enter the challenge of Frightfully Fun.

Close-up

I printed out the haunted house from an A2Z Scrapbooking digital kit, Haunted Digital Kit, Halloween about a month ago.  I usually die cut an image so I don't have a large sheet, but smaller, more manageable pieces of paper, either squares, rectangles or sometimes circles, depending on the image.  I sort through them to see if an idea pops up.  POP!

I used the second largest scallop die in both white and black, scored at the top, folded and adhered together. Listed below are the papers:

Black schallop
White scallop
Black cardstock with white dots Postage Stamp Squares
White panel with printed haunted house

I popped up the "BOO" and added the stickers.  I rarely have a card come together so fast, but the image did have to sit for a month.  You can see this post at A2Z Scrpabooking.

Are you on social media? We are! Please join us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook? so you don't miss any fun promotions or new challenge announcements!




Please join us in this month's "Frightfully Fun" challenge for your chance at a free digital stamp AND, if you used Hero Arts, a $20 gift card to our Hero Arts store. Our current monthly challenge can always be found in the menu bar, and runs from the 1st to last day of the month

The a2z scrapbooking store carries a wide variety of Hero Arts products! Get discounted new releases, sales, grab bags & more. Proceeds from our store benefit Celiac & Behcets disease foundations. Use my discount code Arlene15 to get 15% off your purchase of $25 or more. If you're looking for a Hero Arts product you don't see in store, use the Request Custom Order button from with-in the shop.



Hero Arts Haunted Digital Kit Halloween at A2Z Scrapbooking
Hero Arts Spooky Labels Halloween at A2Z Scrapbooking (sentiment BOO)
Elizabeth Craft Designs Postage Stamp Squares dies
QuicKutz Nesting Scallop Squares dies
Scrap dotted paper peanl
Vagabond
Silhouette
Starform stickers (Glitter Violet/Silver) (look like gems)

A2Z Trick or Treat

It's turning Trick or Treat Season, yep, October is here. This is a really simple card, but I think it looks pretty cool and a bit mysterious.  I printed out one of the images from Spooky Labels (2 1/2 X 3 1/2 inch panel) in a large print to see if I might find a use for it.  I cut it, left it on my desk for a a week, looked again and suddenly I thought what could be more perfect than distress inks.  I went distress happy and added in an old (20 or more years) stamp for a spooky sky (close-up will show you what I mean).

Close-up below

See the dots under the right wing of the bat - that's the stamping.  Looks spooky and sooty.

Have fun this month.

Are you on social media? We are! Please join us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook? so you don't miss any fun promotions or new challenge announcements!




Please join us in this month's "Frightfully Fun" challenge for your chance at a free digital stamp AND, if you used Hero Arts, a $20 gift card to our Hero Arts store. Our current monthly challenge can always be found in the menu bar, and runs from the 1st to last day of the month

The a2z scrapbooking store carries a wide variety of Hero Arts products! Get discounted new releases, sales, grab bags & more. Proceeds from our store benefit Celiac & Behcets disease foundations. Use my discount code Arlene15 to get 15% off your purchase of $25 or more. If you're looking for a Hero Arts product you don't see in store, use the Request Custom Order button from with-in the shop.

•  Hero Arts Spooky Labels at A2Z Scrapbooking
• Sppoky sky stamping - unknown
• Nuvo Crystal Drops Gloss = Ebony Black
• Distress inks candied apple, carved pumpkin, mustard seed, cracked pistachio and hickory smoke
• Elizabeth Craft Designs Stitched Rectangles
• Vagabond die cutting machine

Dies R Us Halloween For Me

I'm featuring a card for inspiration for the Die Cut Divas' challenge blog which is featuring a challenge involving an Autumn theme, which in the U.S. includes Halloween.   The sponsor is Dies R Us and I found this "Happy Holidays" die there.  The link to the die is in the Supplies section.

I'm really into Halloween this year and this is just the beginning.  I recently purchased some holiday stamps and dies.  I don't know why I wanted out of the sandbox into some spooky place, but that's where my mind went.

I turned two Hero Arts dies from Xmas to spooky with only the change of color to black.  Here, my friends, is the result of my spin into spooky. I photographed this card against the dry dry grasses of California.  I thought it would make it a bit spookier.

Supplies:
Hero Arts Holiday die at Dies R Us
Sizzix ABC (spooky)
Hero Arts Christmas Mice Combo (stamps & dies) at A2Z Scrapbooking
Old black & white striped note card cut in half for the spooky lined panel
Copic markes for the mouse
Vagabond die cut machine

Enjoy creating.
Arlene