Thank You Card

Thank You Card

It is always fun to let someone know you appreciate something they've done to help you out, don't you think? I enjoy having an opportunity to send a Thank You card to someone, because it usually means that they have gone out of their way to help me or my family.  When that happens there is a lot of love involved.

I love my paper, and I know you can understand! This card works because the paper is so pretty. I cut it to fit the front of the card and then got out my glitter to highlight that gorgeous flower, added a gem to complete the look. As you can see, I went a bit glittery on this card, I added it to my butterflies and the "Thank You" too.

Your Friendship has Touched my Heart

For the inside, I cut out a border for the top of the card and cut around one of those pretty flowers and added my glitter to this one as well. I also used a Martha Stewart border punch.  I used my MelJen's image and Rainbow Echo Design's sentiment to complete the card.  I hope you like it!

Do you think that Thank You cards are a thing of the past? Do you still send them? When do you send them? Is it for your children's birthday gifts or perhaps you send them after opening your Christmas gifts? I'd love to hear from you.

Thank You to each of you! I wanted to extend my sincerest thanks to everyone for all your kind words and support.

I hope you have a wonderful day!

FREE My Memories Software Free for Everyone

Use code FreeTreatLL146  to get your FREE MyMemories digital software, use Code:  FreeTreatLL146 

I am SOOOOO excited! I have a great offer for everyone of you reading my blog!!!!

Think about this as an early Halloween treat for all my followers…free software!  Who doesn't love free? The best part is that there is no limit to the number of followers who can use this free code, everyone reading this can get it for free!

From October 27th to November 3rd you can get a free copy of the My Memories software simply by using this code FreeTreatLL146 at the checkout!  This is really important, please copy and paste it since it has to look exactly like this  FreeTreatLL146  also, don't forget to enter the code in the promo code field before checking out.  UPDATE Oct 30th: There is something odd with the MyMemories website. Please create an account before you place the order for your software, if you don't you will see an error message indicating that there is something wrong with their website.  I have tested this out today, October 30th, and I was able to successfully order the software and didn't have to pay anything to get it!

Use code FreeTreatLL146  to get your FREE MyMemories digital software, use Code:  FreeTreatLL146 

To get your  free copy of the MyMemories software copy this code FreeTreatLL146 then, go to the My Memories software by clicking here.  It is really important, that you copy and paste the code since it has to look exactly like this  FreeTreatLL146  make sure to enter the code in the promo code field before checking out (if you are like me, sometimes I forget).

If you aren't familiar with My Memories digital scrapbooking kits and scrapbook software, their software makes it easy to create scrapbooks, photobooks, cards, magnets, some of my freebie printables and more. Although I haven't done this, you can create iPhone skins, laptop skins, and jewelry as well.  Included with the software are hundreds of papers, templates, and embellishments, and they always offer freebies as well as hundreds of additional items you can download from their online shop. Now you don't have to search the internet for a free photo editing tool, because you can have your own... the software works on a PC or MAC, so come on, get yours now before time runs out!

Please don't let this opportunity pass you by! I can offer this to you because I am a MyMemories affiliate and you are a follower. Please note that I receive nothing from you downloading the software using my code, this is a gift they have given to me to offer to you, my followers.

Here is an example of a project I made with my little cutie so many years ago!

MyMemories project

Let me know if you take the plunge and then share with me what you've created!

I hope you have a wonderful day!

Happy Birthday Hug Card

Happy Birthday Hug Card

Do you have a certain type of card you prefer to make? I really like these Hug Cards.... I like the fact that the gift card slides easily in and out of the enclosure and they are super easy to make.  By easy I mean that you can adjust the size of the card to suit your needs and you practically cannot make a mistake!

If you want to pop on over to this earlier post, you can get see the tutorial for making this card.

Since this is a Birthday Card, I decided to use my Martha Stewart present border punch - this makes an appearance on many of the birthday cards I make :-)

Here is a shot of the slider enclosed in the card.

Happy Birthday Hug Card

I hope you have a wonderful day!

Thank You Card

Thank You Card!

I love making Thank You cards, don't you? I think the reason is because you get to share your joy with the person or persons who did something special for you. Win-win all around!

Thank You Card - close up view

I love the paper, don't you? I had a happy little surprise when I punched the scallop out of paper that had circles on it... wasn't it neat that the circles look a little like hearts? I then colored this cute stamp with colored pencils and added sparkle with some stickles.  I punched a few Martha butterflies and added some bling, of course.

Thank You Card - sentiment

This quote is from Raindrop Echo Designs.

Thank You Card - side view

I hope you have a wonderful day!

Birthday Card and some Linky Parties

The weather can't decide what it wants to do these days, it is rainy, hot, cold, dry, you name it.

I made this birthday card for a co-worker whose birthday happened to fall on a business trip we took recently.  I'm glad I took a picture of it before our trip because it didn't travel well, it was a wee bit squished when we arrived - lol.

While I was contemplating what to make, I made my rounds around blog-land and decided to follow the sketch from this weeks Sweet Stampin Challenge Blog to inspire my card.

So what do you think of my interpretation of this sketch? To make it more fun, I decided to try some colors I don't use very often and added some fun dies and followed my inspiration muse. I added the Pink "ribbon"  to soften up the card.


I am participating in the following challenges:

• Sweet Stampin Challenge Blog - Sketch Challenge - Follow the sketch; keep it simple, dress it up as much as you like so long as we can see the layout on your creations
• Make it Monday #144 b - with Nicecrane Designs - Ignacio is generously providing a $20 gift voucher to our winner! to be in the running to win the prize from our sponsor this week just leave a comment for another entry. Be sure to mention you saw them on Make It Monday

I used my Marianne Designs - Creatables Die on this card because I hadn't used them before :-)




I hope you have a wonderful day!

Filigree Friday Cross Ornament

Happy Filigree Friday Everyone!!

I hope that you are enjoying your day! It is too early to know for certain, but I am hopeful today will be nice and sunny (a bit on the colder side, but the sun will definitely go a long way to making it a beautiful day!)

Wow! The holidays are here!!! I cannot believe it, last week was Thanksgiving (for those of you who live in the states) and ourselves with lots of food and goodies... I personally love the goodies - lol!  And now we are almost a week into Advent! Christmas is just around the corner for us!!

I am way, way, way behind in my Christmas ornaments... I am definitely starting to feel worried, because every time I think that I have set aside time to work on them something comes up!! I actually took off yesterday and today (now I didn't have the whole day planned to work on them, but you would think I would have found at least an hour yesterday - nope, didn't happen!) Between running to do something in the morning with my stepdaughter (that was supposed to be 3 hours and ended up being 5 hours - travel time included) and then regular afters school stuff and dinner and yeah, let's not forget the long phone conversation with a friend who moved to Florida, I kinda didn't get anything done... but today will be different... Positive Thinking!!!  and for extra motivation, my friend Lucy will continue to provide the necessary positive reinforcement as she continues to design her awesome Christmas cards this year!!

So, because I have been so bad, I decided I'd share an ornament I made a few years ago.  This is a cross ornament with a sweet dove in the center, the ornament is hanging from an easel card so it could be easily removed or the card itself could be where the ornament was displayed.

Here are some links to similar projects that have more details about the techniques used, if you want specific instructions for this cross, please let me know and I will post them....
Easel Cards and Spreuer Crosses (click on the pictures to go to those posts)

Easel Card - Graduation

Easel Card - Snowman

Quilled Spreuer Cross - Christmas

Spreuer Cross - Communion

Have a wonderful day and may it be super productive!!!

Hey, I've linked up to this wonderful 26 Day Christmas Craft Marathon Linky Party - http://lisascraftblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/christmas-craft-marathon-linky-party.html

and The Winter Holiday Craft Party - http://www.craftsunleashed.com/index.php/seasonal/holidays/winter-holiday-linky-party/  

Enjoy! Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco

Wondrous Wednesday Thinking of You

Happy Wondrous Wednesday!

Hope you are having a wonderful day! Our "W" word of the day is:

walleteer meaning one who carries a wallet  

I know, how did I miss that one for FATHER's DAY?!?!?

I guess it wasn't meant to be :-)

better late than never!

Do you love to use the photos that you take and add them to your cards? I know that I do.  Sometimes you capture that moment that is just perfect (or at least in your own mind anyway - lol)... This is one of those cards... This is a picture that goes back several years, my dad, son, and I were going for a walk and he kept trying to grab the flowers that I was trying to photograph... I happened to catch this picture and just loved it (ok, it is probably because every time I see it I think of that day and just being able to spend some time with my dad and my son - he will never be that young again and those moments are so fleeting)

I have made this card many times and have also used different sentiments, unfortunately I don't always take pictures of my creations and this was the only one I could find (you see, I don't have my pictures organized and cross linked by subject - only by date - lol)

This is a very simple card (yeah, I know... just forget for a moment the background I actually used, and use the photos as a reference only)

• Print the photo to a full 4x6
• Crop it so that the hand is the focal point
• Mat and mount on the card
• I then took one of the scraps from the cropping and used that on the card where I then attached the sentiment
• In this case it was "Thinking Of You"

As I said, I've used it for Sympathy, Get Well, and Thank You cards as well.

Why not give this a try?  If you would like to use the photo I have used, let me know and I will update this post with a link to the pic :-)

Enjoy! Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco

Filigree Friday Free Quilled Dress

Time for another Fabulous Filigree Friday! 
Update:  I've linked to Top Tip Tuesday, and my T's are Twirled Paper, Two arms, and Two legs - TOO Fun!

This little girl is crafted in the school colors from my niece's school.

Bodice:

• 1 - 6 inch (15.2 cm) White plus 6 inch (15.2 cm) Navy Blue coil them together and make a Coil Heart shape
• 1 - 6 inch (15.2 cm) Flattened V-Scroll
• Tip: I love using a heart as the bodice of my dresses, I started doing this many years ago and adding the V-scroll as the sleeves also helps finish the neckline.  I refer to it as flattened because it will only follow the shape of your heart.  The deeper the top "V" of your heart, the deeper the v-scroll.
• See the photos

Skirt:

• 2 - White 6 inch (15.2 cm) Marquise
• 1 - Navy Blue 6 inch (15.2 cm) Marquise
• I made both of these very loose so that they would be longer
• Glue at tip, place Blue in the center
• I then created a top layer for dimension to the skirt
• 2 - 4 inch (10.2 cm) Marquise
• Take a piece of they Navy Blue quilling paper and go around the white
• Glue these on top of the larger Marquise made previously

• Face: a 4 inch (10.2 cm) Loose Coil in White
• Arms/Hands: 2 - 2 inch (5.1 cm) strip, coil only one end 3 - 4 times to make the hands
• Legs/Feet: 2 - 2 inch (5.1 cm)  strip, attach a small Navy Blue coil for her shoes :-can use )
• Use Photo for placement

This is similar to my "Flower Power Girl" these are a lot of fun to make and perfect for a little girl, young woman, mom, sister, best friend. The possibilities are endless as are the color combinations and styles.

UPDATE:  WINNER Announced... Giveaway closed - check out who won!!







Please check out my sidebar for the Link Parties that I link up to! :-)

Enjoy! Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco

Filigree Friday Summer Flowers Tutorial

Fabulous Filigree Friday! 

UPDATE:  WINNER Announced... Giveaway closed - check out who won!!

It is raining here today, hopefully these will add a splash of color to brighten your day!

These are very simple daisies... If you have ever done quilling you have made a few daisies... If you have never tried quilling, this is your chance... They are super easy and sturdy!

In keeping with my bright, upbeat feel, I have pinks, greens, yellows, and blues... for that added "pop" everything is on a black background.

I don't go far without some sparkle and bling, so the centers are rhinestones and there is just a light covering of paper glaze (next time I will add more - it gives the quilling that glass-like look)

As I said, this is really easy, each of the flowers is the same pattern:

• 5 - 6 inch (15.24 cm) Teardrops
• Place all teardrops with the points touching in the center and glue
• lightly coat with Alene's Paper Glaze, let dry
• Top it off with a rhinestone in the center

For the paper squares I added what you can think of as marker stiching... the "stitching" is a pattern of "dot dash dot dash dot" (. _ . _ . _ . _) with my marker - because you see, I cannot sew, this is about as close I get really... it is fun and I thin adds a finishing touch to the card.

All of these photos use the same type of flowers and squares, they are only different in their composition.

P.S. I hope this posts, I used the schedule feature :-)

Update, I've linked to:
Make it Monday (link on my sidebar) 

Enjoy!

Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco

Wacky Wednesday - Hug Card

Welcome back to Wacky Wednesday! 
Oops... forgot my definition:  wassail - means toast to someone's health

I don't know if this is the official name of this type of card, but I call them "HUG Cards" - can't say why exactly, but they remind me of a hug.  I made my first card like this in January, and have been making many variations of them ever since because I think they are so versatile and they are perfect for gift cards.

This is how I made this card:
The HUG:
Cut 5" x 12" decorative paper
Score at 4" and 8"
Now you will notice that if you fold the sides in, you cannot see into the center of the card.  So now we need to do a bit of cutting so we can get the HUG :-)
You want to cut a diagonal line beginning at the crease down to the corner
Do this on both sides
Now when you fold the card onto itself you have a hug

To make the Pocket Insert:
Cut 3-3/4" x 9" (just under 4" so that it slides in and out easier)
Border punched both ends
Score at 4" and fold up - the folded height is approx 5" so that it peaks above the base card
I punched a scallop in the middle of the shorter side(so you can see the gift card or tag)
Note: I used double sided paper so that there was a pattern on all the visible pieces)
I then took a coordinating paper and cut it at 3-3/4" x 3"
For this one, I adhered it to the inside of the shorter side so that it was visible when folded up and then punched a scallop in the same place.  This way I didn't have to measure, and the coordinating paper created a contrast so that you could more easily see that something was back there.
I then decided what I was going to put into the pocket and glued the pocket so that the item fit.

You may wonder, how did I keep the pocket from sliding out of my card?
Well, I cut a scrap piece of cardstock, 3" x 3" and folded it in half
I glued one side to the bottom of the inside of my hug
This is then covered by the sides when they are folded in, and you slide the Pocket right in

The Scallop Flowers
I punched 6 scallops
Folded and bent them to create dimension
Snipped along either side of the scallop (see the detailed picture)
Put a brad in the center
I used the brads to adhere it to my card - but you don't have to, you can use a glue dot just as easily

Finishing touch:
I cut a 1" x 9" strip of coordinating paper
Take a Ribbon and tie it to the strip

Slide the pocket into the hug
Fold up the flap at the bottom of the hug so the Pocket doesn't slide out
Fold in the sides (arms) of the hug
Take your 1" wide strip, wrap it around the card and glue it to the back - make sure your ribbon is positioned in a nice place in the front of the card - you can move it around until you like it and then glue everything.

That's it!  Would love to see what you do!

Note: I have included a template with dimensions, it is not drawn to scale, but shows the dimensions (click on it for a bigger picture)

Update - 6/24 Linkup:  Top Tip Tuesday - http://toptiptuesday.blogspot.com/2011/06/ttt-39-cross-it-challenge.html   (this challenge is to make the exact type of card I have posted - YEAH!! How cool is that?)

Update - 5/25 - Link Parties:

I Heart Naptime - Sundae Scoop Link Party - http://www.iheartnaptime.net/2011/05/sundae-scoop-link-party-8.html

Make It Monday #38 - Anything Goes - http://ppp-makeitmonday.blogspot.com/

A Marvelous Mess #14 - http://marvelouslymessy.blogspot.com/2011/05/marvelous-mess-14-and-features.html

Update - 6/4 - Link Parties

Sundae Scoop Link Party - http://www.iheartnaptime.net/2011/05/sundae-scoop-link-to-party.html
One Stop Craft Challenge - Texture - http://onestopcraftchallenge.blogspot.com/

Enjoy! Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco

Wacky Wednesday and Free Cute Purse Template

Woohoo!!! My first Wacky Wednesday post...

I was thinking it would be a little fun to find other words that start with "W" to try out some other options

Our word this week is:  welaway it means alas... appropriate for today, as I begin anew :-)

I thought it would be fun to share my son's Mother's Day card.  Isn't this adorable? I love the shape and the jewels on the handle, but my favorite is the pictures he drew, LOVE the picture of us hanging out together.  I love the little details that were added just for us - the pool party with the "splash" - I LOVE IT!!!  In fact, I am entering this as one of my projects for the "May Artful Bag Challenge" maybe you will feel inspired to give it a try :-)

For those of you who would like to try your hands at a project of your own, I am sharing this purse template (pdf) that you can print out to make your own purse.  Cathy, if you are reading this, please skip over this next part... I am going to use this template to create a purse card for my niece's birthday... No matter the age, that love of purse's is strong, I am thinking paper with glitter and lots and lots of bling - what do you think? I need to get on that, I don't have a lot of time to pull this together (well, sleep is overrated!)

Purse Template

I promise to take pictures of my journey in creating the girly-girl purse, but some quick notes... I will print out the template, cut and fold it on a scrap piece of paper.  I usually start with printer / copy paper.  I do this because I don't want to have lines on my project, so when I am ready to make my project, this becomes what I use to create my purse.  I will line it up on the paper I am going to cut and cut around it (tape can be used to hold it in place).  I have a bunch of ideas floating around my head right now, they will probably continue to float there for a while as my project builds up in my head and then I attempt to create it :-)

Oops, gotta get the little one to bed.  If you make this project, please link up to this post and leave me a comment so that every one can see your creations!

Have a WONDERFUL day!

Enjoy! Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco

Angel Wings Card

Yeah! Here is one of the cards that I've created recently. I must admit that this was fun because I have never made a card like this before.  It is free standing with a circle window, peeking from the window is an angel medallion. 

• I cut 2 pieces of cardstock 6 x 5 inches (DCWV the Street Lace Stack)
• I scored each piece at 1/4 inch and 1/2 inch on each of the short sides
• Since this paper was not double sided, I needed to line the inside of what would later become the back piece.  I used some of my paper stash and found Autumn Leaves assorted scrap pack and mounted it on the back.
• I then punched a 2 inch circle centered in the front piece.

For the angel medallion I used my angel punch (not sure what brand the punch is, it is not labeled on the punch and I don't remember).

• I punched 7 angels and scored them in the center.  I then glued them to each other, to make a half circle / fan.
• I used my Fiskars scallop punches and punched one of each size.  
• Mounted the Angels to the scallops and then centered them so that it could be seen through the window in the front.  
• It would not be complete without some "bling" so I used my glitter glue for some sparkle.  I placed a dot of glue on each of the scallops.  It really changes the whole look.

 I thought that the circle window opening looked a little plain, so I carefully cut 2 circles and layered them over the hole.

I used another leftover scrap of the background paper and layered it on the front of the card.

I made a pretty bow to layer on the strip

No card is complete without a quote or sentiment, so I used a free sentiment from Rainbow Echo Designs it was Tameko's sentiments #2  "It is the little blessings that help us to see just how lovely life can be."

I again used my scallop punch to punch it out and then punched 1/16 inch circle punches in each of the scallops.  I used the scrap circle cutouts from when I was cutting for the opening.

There are a few challenges that I am entering this card into, they are:

• Sentimental Sundays ~ "Anything With Wings" (Jan 18)
• Aly's  Sunday ~ "Things With Wings" (Jan 22)
• My Time To Craft ~ "Up in The Air"
• Cupcake Craft ~ "Something New" (this is the 1st time I have attempted this type of card) (Jan 16)
• Rainbow Lady ~ "It's All New to Me" (this is the 1st time I have attempted this type of card)
• Allsorts Challenge ~ "Fancy Fold" (this new fold of the card I made)
• Our Daily Bread ~ "Something Old, Something New" (Something old - my background paper and angel punch, Something new - the card style itself and the sentiment)

Note: This is not my original card design.  I was going to include the link to the tutorial for the card and cannot find the card that inspired it.  I promise to keep looking for it and will update this post with the link. 


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