SORRY

So sorry to anyone who tried to read my late post.  I just noticed how bright and unreadable the text was with the colors I chose.  I changed the color so hopefully it's better.  Again Sorry.   I'm working on an everyday card right now using Stampi Ups Watercolor DSP pack.  I'll post the card later.  I  think I'll have our ladies make one at our gathering tomorrow night.  Check back later!

HAPPY CARDING

Easter step cards

HAPPY EASTER
HAPPY SPRING
HAPPY HAPPY
EVERYTHING!

One of my "absolute" favorite little saying!   don't know where I saw it or how long ago I first saw it but it has stuck in my head for a very long time!  
So today I want to share a couple Easter cards I made for my grand nieces and grand nephew.  I made the same one for my grand kids too but didn't want to post all since the only real difference is the color.  The little girl and boy are from the Stampin up Blessings set.  I used Glimmer Bazzill card stock and miscellaneous designer papers from Hobby Lobby.  The Happy Easter stamp was an old stamp I had that doesn't have a name on it.  Sorry.  I think they turned out really cute.

I try to send the kids a different card every year.  I hope all of you and your families have a very nice Easter this Sunday.  I will be hosting Easter dinner again this year.  Can't wait for the kids to have their egg hunt in our back yard.  Its so fun watching them running around.  Before I go here are a few closeups of the cards.

HAPPY CARDING

TIP ALERT!!!!

Being a bit on the thrifty side..I tend to try to get the most out of what I have.  So when my cricut mat got all gunked up, papers sticking, things ripping when I was trying to remove them...I decided it was time to have it re-surfaced.  So first I used some lemon oil that loosened the stickiness after it sat for awhile and scrubbed it off.  Once cleaned I then sprayed it with a stencil adhesive and TADA! A working mat again...unfortunately.. :( it had to be resprayed after each sheet of paper since stencil spray is temporary.  And after 3 resprays it needed to be resurfaced from scratch again!  WHAT A PAIN!!!  So I bought a new mat.  I should be happy right?   Nope!  I realized that after maybe 3 uses the images started ripping and the background paper was not coming off right.  This is ridiculous.  So I sent out a HELP message on Splitcoast Stampers and thanks to SOUTHGIRL I got a very pleasing tip.   Some of our papers are more fibrous than others so little bits of paper fibers stick to the mat,which gets caught on the blade, which causes cuts to rip and papers to not pull off right.  She suggested that periodically you just wash your mat.  Not strip it just wash it.  So I rinsed it with hot (very hot) water, rubbed a little Palmolive dish soap on it and lightly scrubbed it with an old toothbrush.  Then while still soapy I again lightly scrapped a razor blade across entire mat to slide all the fibers off.  Rinse the soap off (again in very hot water) and hung it with a clip in my dishwasher to air dry.   Oh My Goodness....what great results!  I've had this mat now for awhile and I find that at the end of the day when I'm completely finished using my Cricut I do a quick Rinse, Soap, and Scrape and my mat is in great shape the next time I want to use it.  Great way to extend the life of the mat without totally re-surfacing it.   Thanks to SOUTHGIRL .....great advise!

FLOWERS FLOWERS FLOWERS

I've been on a flower kick lately!  I saw a bunch of you tube video's and was super inspired!  Nearly all the flowers were made with the five petal flower punch and the medium five petal punch.  I mostly used all white watercolor paper and watercolored the colors on after they were punched.  Then while they were still wet I did the crunching and scrunching of each petal until I liked how the looked.  Some I air dried and others I was in too much of a hurry so I used the heat gun to fast set them..Layered them willy nilly until I liked how they looked and then glued down using glossy accents.  Some centers I used pearlys or rhinestones, others I just hid by scrunching a small sunburst punch out and glueing it to the middle.  Some I added glitter, others some homemade glimmer mist.  I love them!  Definately taking these to my ladies gathering on friday.  We all plan on making some more flowers but this time maybe with some dies for the Big Shot or Cricut.  I'll post what we make later.  Until then ... hope you enjoy my current bunch of flower embellishments!

Until Later....HAPPY CARDING!