I've been cheating...

Have you ever put together a few cards that were SO simple that you felt like you were cheating?  Well, I have always heard of people doing 5 minute and 10 minute cards, but put them in the same category with unicorns, comfortable dress shoes, and tasty calorie-free treats!  So I was a little shocked when I managed to knock out not one, but FOUR cards in about ten minutes-and most of that time was picking out my papers...  CRAZY!!!!

I also have a confession to make.  I know that Project Life is huge right now and there are so many people doing amazing things with these kits, but I cannot get into it!  I have tried several times to create those 'in a few minutes' scrapbook pages and spent over an hour trying to decide just how to make things work for me.  Since Stampin' UP is offering many stamps, kits, and supplies in the new catalog, I felt like I needed to give it another try.  I am still not sold on the scrapbooking part (I really like my big blank canvas approach), but I can see the benefit of using the kits for cards.

I used the retired Everyday Adventure kit to make my super simple cards.  Many of the papers have blank spaces for titles or writing.  This makes stamping really easy! Then all I had to do was trim the 4x6 pieces, attach them to my card bases, and add a little embellishing (or not!).

This card used another piece of pattern paper, 

two strips of washi, and I even used the piece

I cut off of the 4x6! No waste at all!!

                                                                                                                                                                     

I added a puffy 'doodad' sticker to this one.

The strip cut from the second card found its 

way to the bottom of this card.

 !

And this one doesn't have a single thing

added to it, other than the sentiment!

I'm still in a minor state of shock over how quick this went and how much I liked the finished cards.  Nice and flat for mailing too!  No lumpy cards here!!  The papers in this kit worked so well for the masculine style I was needing, and I'm sure the guys won't miss the ribbons and embellishments!

While I'm sure I won't give up my more traditional card making, it is nice to know that if it's crunch time, I can make a card (or four) in under ten minutes!

It's another busy day for our family tomorrow and this Mama is getting sleepy so it's off to bed with me!  Thanks so much for stopping by!  It makes my day a little brighter knowing that I'm not alone out here!!  Have a fantastic week!

Take a Hike! with Anything But a Card

No, I'm not telling you to get lost (unless you enjoy doing that on a hike!) or anything like that!  I'm sharing my creation for Anything But a Card's challenge 'Out and About'.  We are inviting all of you creative people to share what you love about the outdoors.  It could be celebrating the seasons, nature, your favorite place, vacations, cookouts, or any outdoor activities!  The choices of inspiration are as big as the great outdoors themselves!

My family loves to spend time camping and hiking, so my DT project is a scrapbook page about hiking in one of our favorite places.  We usually hike in the spring or fall when the weather is a little cooler, and the bugs are a little less active.  The photos I scrapped were from the fall, so I chose fall colors for my page.

I have not scrapped in a while and it took me a little while to get my muse in gear!  It took longer to pick out the papers than it did to put the thing together!!

I think most of the page is pretty easy to figure out.  The only thing that was a little more involved was the red leaf.  I used the autumn accents die to cut the leaf, creased the cut leaf in half and ran it through the woodgrain embossing folder.  I inked up all of the edges with some crumb cake ink to make it more earthy!  Easy peasy!

I hope you will make time to share a special outdoorsy project with us this week!  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Anything But a Card-Out and About

Have you ever spent days cleaning and organizing and just felt like you supplies were crying out to you?  This has been my reality for the past week, especially when I cleaned up my crafting space!  I am suffering from creativity withdrawal...  Very soon, I hope, I will once again be back at my table!

While I don't have anything that I've created to share with you, I do want to share our latest challenge at ABAC.  Maybe you will find some time to join in the fun!

The new Challenge... "Out and About". For Anything But a Card Challenges No. 48 use the great outdoors as your inspiration to challenge your muse; celebrate nature, your favorite place; World Environment Day June 5th; the seasonal colors at your place; or just having fun outdoors. Summer time is here which is everyone's favorite time of year - time for vacations, camping and cookouts! Use your muse to create whatever our prompt "OUT and ABOUT"inspires you to make {remember no cards}. Now it's time to gather all of your creative goodies to come out and play.

I have lots of ideas running through my head for this one and will be sharing with you on week three!  Hope to see you (or at least your creation) there!

The last of the graduation cards

I think this year just might be the record breaking year for graduation parties!  Guess that's what happens when your oldest is in high school!  Because of the number of celebrations, I decided to make a few multiples instead of many individual cards (time crunch, anyone?!).  I did manage to personalize them a bit with school colors and changing the background pattern paper to fit the recipient's interests when I could.

Both of the cards shown are the same basic design and I also made a few more that used this same style.  I decided to show two of them to share how to make a unique card without changing the layout.  The first one used book print paper paired with the spiral punch for a general academic feel.  On the second card, I swapped out the words for music note paper.  This made an easy, but personalized touch for the musical graduates.  Even swapping out paper and ink colors can give a more individualized addition.

Of course, I'm sure most of the grads were more pleased with what was on the inside of the cards, but it made me feel a little better about giving something personal to go with the cash and gift cards!

I have been quite busy cleaning and organizing this past week.  My goal is to purge/clean out the entire house by the end of June.  Wish me luck!!  We are hoping to have some solid plans in place very soon to finally dig our basement and prepare for our new home!  I can't really call it 'moving' since our new house will still be on the same property that we are currently living, but the less things I have to relocate, the better!

Well, I better get back to work, but I will be back soon to share some new creations!  Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful day!