Trying my hand at cards

So I've been toying with the idea of trying to make some cards, and when I decorated the tin that I did recently, I thought cards would go nicely inside as a gift. These didn't end up going in that tin, but I made them for my sister, who really liked them- but I say she's my sister so she has to. :) I used my Cuttlebug that my best buddy gave me so generously, and used the Swiss Dot, Paisley, and a flower/vine (don't know the official name of it) embossing folders on store bought plain cards. I was inspired to do this by Maria from her blog Maria's Craft Room. She has so many cards that she used her Cuttlebug, and I thought it looks so nice without having to be a ton of work. I used an acrylic monogram stamp that my best buddy (again :)) gave me a set of, and stamped on the embossed card and then on some plain white cardstock. I then cut around the image on the cardstock and used foam pop up dots to pop it up over the image on the card. I attached the ribbon in the middle of the stamped image on the card before I attached the second one over it by wrapping ribbon around the card then gluing the ends in the middle of the image to hide it. I just tied a little extra bit of ribbon on the side to add a bit more visual interest, and added self stick half pearls in the middle of the stamped letter to make it a little prettier too. Very basic looking, but nice enough I think. Thanks Maria for the inspiration!

Altered Tin

This is a great way to re-use something that might be thrown away otherwise (not in my house though... if it's feasible). I used a tin that originally held a holiday cookie mix, and I'm glad I held on to it. It's pretty sad when I'm looking at a tin in the store that holds goodies and I'm thinking "that's a nice looking tin- I could do a lot with that!", and I haven't even bought it yet. I used Terrifically Tacky Tape by Provocraft- it's just beyond awesome for holding power to adhere my paper to the tin. I cut flowers out of the paper and inked, then stitched them, and used buttons in the centers. For the die cut, I used a Sizzix Top Notch die with my Cuttlebug machine, and then used the Swiss Dots Embossing Folder (Cuttlebug product) over it. I love that polka dotted look so much (or as my 3 year old daughter calls them "pokey doks".... I used an acrylic monogram stamp for the initial on the top. I plan on filling the tin with some hand made cards (definitely SIMPLE hand made cards, since I'm not a card maker) for the recipient. Maybe you'll be inspired to find a tin and reuse it, or buy one at the craft store and fill it with some goodies of your own, perhaps handmade :)