New Cards finally...

Here's a pretty card I made for my good friend, Sue Iven, for her birthday! We had a lovely evening celebrating at the Olive Garden with great food, wine, and friendship. I used one of the new Stampin' Up Textured plates in the Cuttlebug for this card.

I love these new plates, and you get 6 designs for under $10! You can't beat it, and they are so diverse! You do need a silicone mat to emboss these plates in the Cuttlebug. You'll need your A plate, C plate, cardstock and the silicone mat. Here is how to make the sandwich: A Plate, Texture Plate, Cardstock, Silicone Mat and C Plate. It will be a bit tough to put it through the machine, and you can always try the B plate if it won't go through no matter what you do. If you do have to use your B plate, use cardboard as shims to make it work.

I used a pretty double-sided floral paper from a paper stack I got at Michael's by K & Company and Brenda Walton. One side is the green floral, and the other side is the pink floral. I punched the edge of my embossed white cardstock with one of the new EK Success punches (from Michael's). Next, I mounted a pink strip of paper on the inside of the card, where the punched edge would show.

I punched both ends of the green floral strip with the Fleur-de-lis border punch from EK Success and threaded a pretty pink and gold ribbon through it, then tied a bow. I glittered the embossed white cardstock, added a "Happy Birthday" gold peel-off greeting and it was ready for Sue. She loved it, too! Card size: 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 inches.

This next card is a favorite of mine. I love the color combination and I adore the dandelion rubber stamp by Hero Arts. The mottled background paper is by Murdock papers, and comes in a wide variety of colors. I used the Martha Stewart Lace punch on the background paper and mounted two punched pieces to a white card. Next I tied a black gingham ribbon to the card then stamped "thanks so much" in the white space between the two background pieces. This stamp is from Hero Arts as well.

Lastly, I stamped the dandelion onto white cardstock, adhered it to black cardstock, then mounted it to my card with foam dots. A simple yet elegant card! Card size: 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 inches.

Here's a sweet baby card that would work for either a girl or a boy. I used background papers from the "Nursery" stack from Die Cuts with a View that I purchased from JoAnn Fabrics. I cut one strip at 5 1/4 x 2 inches of the words paper, and the same from a green gingham print and adhered them to an olive green card.

I tied a pretty satin lavender ribbon around the card and added a sweet button for fun. I stamped the "baby shoes" from Stampendous on white cardstock and used colored pencils for a touch of color. I glued this piece to darker purple cardstock, then mounted it to the card with foam dots. Card size: 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 inches.

and something new.... I've been playing with glass these past two months!! I've been learning lampworking and am making my own glass beads. I absolutely love this medium. It is so challenging and so much to learn! I've been fortunate to have already sold some of my beads and several bracelets, a necklace and earrings. It's so exciting and I'm having a lot of fun! Stay tuned for more information about my glassmaking!