Graduation Owl Card

Isn't this a really fun card? I had so much fun making it, and can honestly say that I am super proud of what I have created!  The owl is partly inspiration from the wonderful selection of cards out there and a large part from my own imagination and ingenuity.

We are going to a graduation party and I wanted to create something special.  When my husband likes a card that I have made, then I know I have created a good one, and he liked this one (usually what I make is "too girly" for him).  As many things do these days, I began my quest for inspiration and ideas by doing a google search on graduation owl cards... I absolutely love google, don't you :-)

As is the case many times when doing a search, I got completely lost in the search.  Yes, I sometimes strayed from the quest, but eventually I had to call the search quits.  I found so many cards that I liked, but the one that was my inspiration is this card by Sharon Caudle from Gramma's House of Cards, check out Sharon's blog, because she is very talented. 

I know what you are thinking, it is an owl, how different can they all be and how did this inspire the owl I created? Yes, most owls do look the same.  They all have a basically rounded face and short round body.  Some are punched or die cut and many others were stamped.  All this is true.  So what was it that inspired me? I really liked the way the die that she used allowed her to layer her owl.  If you look at the accent paper that she used for the belly and face area it really stands out.

Now, as you may have guessed by the differences with our cards, I don't have an owl punch or die cut... did that let stop me? Of course not, just I had to shake out my brain and get a bit creative. So armed with nothing more than my circle punches and scissors,  I got started.  Oh, and don't forget rummaging through the stash of papers that I have too.  I am convinced that the paper stash is secretly happy when I go rummaging through them because they are tired of sitting around looking pretty and not being used - lol.

If you are interested in the instructions for making this fella, click here for the complete set of instructions.  Due to the number of pictures that I used and the somewhat complex set of instructions I felt it was easier to post them there than here.

I hope you enjoy this card and have a wonderful day!


Enjoy!
Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco

Birthday Card for a Boy

Hello my friends... I don't know about you, but I struggle when it comes time to make Birthday Cards.  I can't even explain why? Perhaps it is the pressure of creating something that a child will like :-)  or just the initial inertia of trying to come up with a card idea or design.  Of course, when it comes to children, I am probably giving it too much thought because the card probably wasn't even glanced at and has been forgotten in the midst of opening the gifts - lol.

I think "boy" cards frighten me even more than "girl" cards - I mean with girl cards you can at least fall back on pinks and flowers or glitter, but boys?? Even looking around online it is hard to find ideas that can be incorporated.

Well, we recently attended 2 Birthday parties for my son's friends, and you guessed it, they are both boys.  So I decided to surf the internet looking for inspiration... I passed up many of the designs, although very cute, were a bit too young.  I finally came across one of those pinwheels, you remember the ones we used to make when we were little (well, you do have to be a bit older to remember them - lol)...  And I decided that this would be my inspiration and came up with 2 similar cards based on a pinwheel theme.

Here is one of the cards I made (I promise to post the other one soon because I got a bit more bold with my palette and paper stash)

The card is 4 x 6 oriented with the opening at the top, on the short side.  I used a nice double-sided paper from ancestry.com K and Company paper pad to make the card base.  As you can see, I chose a palette of greens and blues (always appropriate for a boy).

For the pinwheel, I used 2 scrap pieces (Note: Next time I would definitely use a double-sided paper for the pinwheel):

• 2 - 3 inch squares
• I took the squares and cut in from each corner toward the center
• I mark my center with a little dot
• Do not cut all the way to the center, leave about 1/8 inch in from each corner (I added a little picture of a square with the center marked to show that you do not want to cut all the way through)
• This will create 4 "triangles"
• You then pull one corner from each of these triangles in toward the center and adhere it - you can look at the finished pinwheel to see this
• For this card, I used a glue dot and glued each end to the glue dot 
• I then used a K and Company birthday hat embellishment and added it to the center
• Note: on the other card I made, I used a brad to secure it

I then simply adhered to pinwheel to the card

For the sentiment, I printed and matted a nice "Happy Birthday" in Microsoft Word

Now, the only thing left to do was make sure that the inside of the card also looked nice.  So I matted a blank yellow cardstock and added a little header with a strip of paper left over from my pinwheel.

I really liked the way this card looked when I made it, and so did my son :-)

The next card will have a few more elements to make it a bit more interesting to look at.

Enjoy! Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco

Happy Father's Day

Hello and Happy Father's Day!

Wow, it has been a long time since I last posted! Today I wanted to share with you the fun little project that I have been working on for my dear hubby.

I have gone back to basics and made a project that involves paper, photos, and lots of shabby chic techniques.

I started by creating an accordion folded album, found some fun father themed quotes and printed them onto some nice scrapbook paper.  I have tons of scrapbook paper and I really need to do more of these projects because this paper is crying out to be used.

I decided to use photos that I converted to black and white because I love the way they pop off the page against the colorful paper.  I also have to thank Becca, from Amazing Paper Grace, for inspiring me to finally use some of that ribbon that I have on a project.

I am very proud of this little project and had lots of fun making it... I also created a similar one for my Dad in shades of brown... that is the best part about using the computer :-) 

I don't have time right now, but I will convert the quotes into a PDF document if you are interested.  I will update this post when it is ready and provide a link to the full set of instructions, including the quotes should you want to use them on one of your projects.

Enjoy!
Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco

Courage a Breast Cancer ATC

I wanted to share with everyone an ATC that I made for a friend when she found out that she had breast cancer.  I gave her this card before she went in for her surgery.  I know that in the US there have been some new studies out about breast cancer and the such, I wanted to say that I personally think that it is a good idea to go to your doctor for your exams and that I have seen mamograms save lives - don't put your health second, your life matters.

In honor of all those courageous people who battle breast cancer, I share with you my free pattern:

ATC pattern:

• Cut Purple cardstock: 2.5 in x 3.5 in (6.4 cm x 8.9 cm)
• For this ATC I created my own paper. I used MicroSoft PowerPoint to create this look.
• I wanted to simulate the look of quilling paper strips so I created colored lines in various widths and shades to create the background.
• I then trimmed 1/4 inches off top and side so that it is 1/8 inch smaller, on all sides, than the purple ATC size cardstock. Finally, I tore the right edge (I love that look)
• I printed the word "Courage" on a scrap piece of paper and added some pink chalk through the word (sorry, don't remember what font I used)
• I then added Alene's Paper Glaze over "Courage" (don't you love that look?).

 Mandala

• 5 - 4 inch ( cm) Orange Teardrops.  Arrange and glue with the tip (pointed ends) touching.
• 5 - 4 inch ( cm) Pink Tight Rolls.  Arrange and glue between the orange teardrops at the rounded end.
• 10 - 4 inch ( cm) Orange Teardrops.  Arrange and glue 2 at a time, with the rounded ends touching and attach to the top of the first Orange layer of teardrops.
• 5 - 6 inch ( cm) Pink Teardrops.  Arrange and glue between the points of the Orange teardrops you just glued down.
• 5 - 6 inch ( cm) Orange Teardrops.  Arrange and glue to the top of the Pink Tight Rolls.
• Paint entire Mandala with Alene's Paper Glaze (or similar product) to get that beautiful glossy look.
• Allow to dry completely
• Add a Crystal in the center for added sparkle and bling!

Glue to the ATC to complete the project.

I loved how the pink and orange look together.  The best part about this mandala design is that you can attach a pin back and wear it as a pin or attach a connector and have a beautiful necklace and the lovely glass look that the paper glaze gives it makes it a treasure for you or a friend.

 

Enjoy!

Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco