Filigree Friday Birthday Card

I know, not your traditional birthday card, but then again, isn't that part of the fun???

If only there were more time :-)  I would love to have more time to create, but for the moment I am trying to be content with the time that I have to create!

This is a birthday card with a distinctly fall theme, oh yeah, and I also *had* to play (I mean use) the Spellbinders dies that my friend Lucy let me borrow.  Oh, and I have to tell you they are addicting! I tried several of the dies that Lucy had (and bless her she has so many of them, and she let me borrow her entire collection and her cuttlebug for almost 2 weeks!! and another addiction was born)

So, for this card I was inspired during one of my blog walks (that is what I call it when I start out reviewing the posts on my blog roll and then end up following one link after another and end up someplace new... Unfortunately, I didn't save the picture, but made a sketch and then this card was born :-)

The following are general guidelines I used when I made the card, I just ran with the idea and didn't really measure anything (yes, I really just picked the paper and started cutting - of course this was after I took a post-it and made a little sketch - lol)... So...

I cut a 12x12 sheet of scrapbook paper in half (I chose one with no design because I knew I would be decorating it, but a nice decorative scrapbook paper would look great!)

I folded the paper into thirds at 4" and 8"

Next I lightly drew lines for the cake layers at approximately 2.5" and 4" and cut the layers of the cake - Yum!

The next part was pure fun, I used my Martha border punches and fun paper and created the cake decorations.  I folded them around the layers so they would be visible when the card was open or closed. The "Happy Birthday" is also a Martha punch.

The circle scallops are Spellbinders dies, I used various sizes and added lots of bling.

On the tallest panel, I added a scallop flower.  I cut 3 different scallop circles and then made several cuts, like I would for fringed flowers, and layered them.

The quilled element uses multiple quilling strips, I don't know that this has a name.  I grabbed a bunch of quilling strips in autumn colors and glued them in the center.  To create this look, I then started at one end and gently pulled the strips to create the bowed shape.  When it was something I was happy with, I glued that end and then curled the ends.

I placed the scallop, fringed flower in the center and added mini flowers on the curled ends (these are the cast offs from the flower border punch I used).  I also added the pine branch punch (this is a newly acquired punch and will definitely be making an appearance in my Christmas designs - too fun!).

I took these pictures at home and missed the final version of this card... just as we were ready to leave, I took a final look and added a rhinestone to the scallop, fringed flower and off we went.

I hope that you enjoyed this card and would love to see your creations!

Update 11/19: 
Linking up to these parties

BFF Open House Link Party #29 and Carmex Healing Lotion Giveaway

Whipperberry Friday Flair Link Party

Enjoy! Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco

Filigree Friday Spooky Card

I cannot believe that Halloween is only a few days away!! We are expecting snow, if you can believe it?!?

What happened to those beautiful autumn days? Brrrr.... snow, snow, go away

Ok, enough complaining - lol

Hopefully it is warmer where you are :-)  I will send warm wishes your way!

I have been having a lot of trouble lately finding time to craft. Do you ever have that problem? This is the worst it has been, between work, kids, homework, volunteer work, and life in general, there isn't much time for me :-(

But it hasn't been all boo-hoo (lol)... This is a calendar for October (yeah, I know, it is the end of October, but better late than never, right?!?!)

I used up some of my left over alphabet stack letters - c'mon, fess up, you have some too don't you?  And I created a simple 3 x 3 grid with scrapbook paper and spelled out the word "Spooky" - yeah, perfect word for October, isn't it? I think the best part about the Halloween theme is that I don't have to worry about making everything straight and picture perfect... I may have gone a little overboard, you'll have to let me know, because everything is a little off center.

I even quilled a quick little ghost... For this guy, I used one strip of white quilling paper (if you wanted him to be bigger, go ahead and grab 2 or 3 strips.  So, I took my white quilling paper and rolled a loose coil.  Then I put a dab of glue on the end and pinched the paper where the glue was applied.  I then pinched 2 more times and squeezed the ends to create that zig-zag bottom.  Finally, I punched little eyes and a mouth.  Isn't he cute?

I quickly created the calendar on my word processor and added it to the other side of the card.  I don't know what I was thinking, but I didn't take a picture of how I set it up.  This is not a traditional card and there is a triangle created that has "spooky" on one side and the calendar on the other. Unfortunately, I gave this away (yes, at the beginning of October - lol)...

I hope you can tell how much fun I had making this... don't you love the spiders climbing around and those "wiggle eyes"??

Hope you are having fun!

Quick Update - Check out this awesome tool that let's you create your own 2012 owl calendar!!! Many artists contributed their personal owl artwork and you get to decide which one you want for each month of the year.  After you pick the artwork for each month, it will generate a PDF file for you that you can print!  You have to check it out!!! Incredible!!!  Thank you to Ann (All Things Paper) for the heads up and to Shivani for this wonderful calendar!



One More Update:   What a cool idea - A Blog Hop to increase your blog presence! Hop On Board!!




FYI:  All of my punches on this project are Martha's (you know, Martha Stewart).  I don't know about you, but I really like her punches?

Enjoy! Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco

Wondrous Wednesday Teacher Printable Sept 8

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

wallfish meaning snail 

I know that you are probably all Back-to-Schooled out, but here is one more... Subway printables are all the rage these days, so this is my take for your favorite teacher :-) These are in PDF format and are sized to 4x6 so it can be put in a frame or added to a card.... They are all blue, if you have a color preference or you'd like me to add a specific teacher name, let me know. The following collage shows what is in the file:

Antonella's Teacher Printable

As always.... I am happy to share my tutorials and freebies / printables with you, I only ask that you do the following:

• Please leave a comment if you download one of my freebies / printables, I would love to hear from you and get to know what everyone likes
• If you enjoy the things I share with you, please become a follower so that you will see all the new stuff when it is posted (no pressure, join only if you want)
• Please do not share any of my digital images, printables, or tutorials directly with others, but please do send them on over to me so that they can peruse and collect the images themselves.
• I would be thrilled and honored if you would send me links to any images or posts that you've done using something that I have shared with you.  If you say it is ok, I will even feature your work here!
• If you want to recolor an images, feel free! 
• If you have a special request, please let me know and I will see what I can do.
• Most importantly - HAVE FUN!!

I was inspired by this Father's Day idea from "Today's Fabulous Finds"...

I am linking up to:

• Make It Monday - Anything Goes all the time! I love it!!

Enjoy! Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco

Simply Sunday - Printables and So Glad to be BACK!!

 Hello Everyone!!

I have been MIA for a while and I apologize!!! Things have been a bit challenging this summer and I didn't have access to my personal computer for quite a while.... I cannot say that everything is "back to normal" but I am going to do my best to keep up...

Since today is "Simply Sunday" I wanted to share a picture with you... Many moons ago, my husband and I took a trip to Connecticut and while there we stopped at a little farm stand and while we sought out some fresh items I snapped this shot of some apples that they were offering.  I always wanted to turn this into a black and white photo, and finally decided to do it...

As you can see, I also decided to create a few digis or printables with some fun quotes for you... I am sharing the following quotes with you this week (couldn't help myself!)...

"The best teachers teach from the heart, not from the book."

"Millions saw the apple fall, but Newton was the one who asked why." -- Bernard M. Baruch

"Anyone can count the seeds in an apple, but only God can count the number of apples in a seed." -- Robert H. Schuller

I think they would be perfect for that back to school teacher gift - easy enough to print out and put on the front of a card... I hope you like these quotes as much as I do, I started out thinking school (you know, give an apple to the teacher kind of thing - lol) and then just thought about "apple" themed quotes... here they are (Oh yeah, Click on the image and it will open up in a new window, then right-click the image and save to your hard drive):

As always.... I am happy to share my tutorials and freebies / printables with you, I only ask that you do the following:

• Please leave a comment if you download one of my freebies / printables, I would love to hear from you and get to know what everyone likes
• If you enjoy the things I share with you, please become a follower so that you will see all the new stuff when it is posted (no pressure, join only if you want)
• Please do not share any of my digital images, printables, or tutorials directly with others, but please do send them on over to me so that they can peruse and collect the images themselves.
• I would be thrilled and honored if you would send me links to any images or posts that you've done using something that I have shared with you.  If you say it is ok, I will even feature your work here!
• If you want to recolor an images, feel free! 
• If you have a special request, please let me know and I will see what I can do.
• Most importantly - HAVE FUN!!

I am linking this up with the following:

• Shadow Shot Sunday  - I love the way all the colors and shadows dance along the apples
• I Heart Nap Time Link To Party {Sundae Scoop} -  Lots of fun DIY stuff from around the globe
• Strut Your Stuff Sunday (J&Ms Eye Candy) -  A cool place to hang out

Enjoy! Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco