Sharon Fincham’s October Shoebox Event
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Our October Shoebox Event was hosted by Sharon Fincham and she had such fun Halloween goodies and cards.
Of course, these were filled with goodies that disappeared quickly.
This first card uses a die and stamp set from Stampin’ Up! Sharon’s use of the glimmer paper and silver embossing made the card very special.
SAL, Share A Love of handmade cards
Karen
Riddle of the day:
Question: I’m a ball, but I can’t be kicked, thrown or tossed. What am I?
Answer: Eyeball.
Lisa Christensen September Shoebox Event
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It is almost time for the November Shoebox Event so I had better get the September and October events journaled. Lisa Christensen was our hostess and we made two cards. She had numerous stamp sets from which we could choose our greetings, so I made one card a wedding card and one card a birthday card. Take a look:
Isn’t that a beautiful card?! The colors Lisa chose and the variety of dies she used to make a bouquet are just wonderful! I think it is the Big Blossoms Dies from Scrapbook.com.
. You should take a notebook to the scrapbook events so you can write down the products they use.
Should a – would a – could -a!
Lisa’s second card used Designer Series Paper to make a beautiful statement with strips on a panel to bring in the base color.
I can’t even guess the products used on this card but the idea is awesome!
Thank you for stopping by.
SAL, Send A Lot of handmade greetings
Karen
Riddle of the day:
Question: Forward I am heavy, but backward I am not. What am I?
Answer: Ton.
Retirement Wishes and Sympathy Wishes
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Paul received many cards for his retirement and we also received so many cards expressing sympathy for the passing of my mom. Thank you everyone! This post will display the many cards that were handmade though all the other cards were just as wonderful and touched our hearts. This post is for crafters – and myself- when we are struggling to find a retirement or sympathy idea in a handmade card. We can pull up the blog and type ‘retirement’ or ‘sympathy’ in the search bar and get ideas.
RETIREMENT CARDS
Thank you, dear friends.
SYMPATHY CARDS
My Mom passed away September 2, 2024. She had a fall August 30 and broke bones in both her lower legs. She was 91 years old and had lived a blessed life.
SAL, Soaking In A Lot of Love
Karen
Riddle of the day:
Question: What is always by your side, yet never stands in your way?
Answer: A true friend.
Retirement Party Card
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Paul,my DH (darling husband), retired after 18 years of working at the same facility. He climbed the ladder and went out on top so that was a success deserving of a very special party and a very special card – of course!
In retrospect, I wish I had made it as a bridge fold card so the scenes would be side by side and the mushy words on the back!
You could use AI and link them for the blog.
No way, Sal. I prefer reality instead of artificial intelligence. My previous post uses the Lovely Layered Eagle from Honeybee Stamps and I wanted to use it for this card with the eagle holding the fish instead of the branch.
Recipe
- Base: Sahara Sand, 7 X 10, scored at 5
- Layer 1 (X3): Evening Evergreen, 6 1/2 X 4 1/2
- Layer 2 (X3): Pool Party, 6 1/4 X 4 1/4
- Top (X2): Basic White, 6 X 4
- Stampin’ Up! Wild About Flowers – Retirement Greetings stamped on scrap white and cut to look like cloud
- Stampin’ Up! High Tide – Water and Grass
- Stampin’ Up! By The Dock – Frog, Fish, Dock
- Stampin’ Up! In The Meadow – Deer & Fawn, Mountains
- Stampin’ Up! Swan Lake – Little Swans
- Stampin’ Up! Special Celebrations – Inside left greetings – both
- Divinity Designs Silhouette Couple Die
- Stampin’ Up! Be Mine Stitched Framelits – Hearts
- Eagle –
- Soft Suede, large wing feathers
- Early Espresso, body and top of wings; talons
- Shimmery White, head and tail
- Crushed Curry, beak and feet
- Dk Grey and Lt Grey for the fish
Stamp the mountains, the dock, the grass, the deer and the frog. Mask them and stamp the water. Sponge the sky and add white to the mountain tops with a white gel pen. I stamped the swans and fish after the water was stamped and then used the white gel pen to color the swans and grey for the fish.
It was fun to use all the stamps I have collected over the years to make this scene.
I had a party for Paul at the Rhyolite park where I could rent the pavilion; Flying Horse catered a great BBQ meal. Paul invited all his coworkers (telling me only a couple would show up) and almost all of them showed up, even some who came and then went back to the site to work and let someone else come. His hunting buddy and his wife came and my stampers came (thank you) and the church small group came as well as our daughter’s and their families and several of our neighbors. Paul got a bit emotional at one point saying “I had no idea I had this many friends.” It was a wonderful party.
SAL, Such A Lot of loving people
Karen
Riddle of the day: What can be stolen, mistaken, or altered, yet never leaves you your entire life?
Answer: Your Identity.
Layered Eagle Thank You
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Hello friends, bear with me as I catch up on my blog posts – or journaling as I like to think of it. Let’s start with the Layered Eagle die set that Sharon gave me for my birthday. I used it for thank you cards. The patterned paper is Whaline Patriotic paper I purchased on Amazon.
I guess it makes sense if someone gives you a die that you make a card with that die to thank them.
It also makes me use it to see how it looks. The eagle die is from Honey Bee Stamps. I will link the site down below where little Sal is waving at us from the computer.
This is a Starburst card, however the diagonal strips are not adhered next to each other, there is a gap between each strip where the navy blue shows. This keeps the card from being overly busy.
Recipe
- Base: Red, 8 1/2 X 5 1/2, scored at 4 1/4
- Layer 1: White, 4 1/8 X 5 3/8
- Layer 2: Navy Blue, 4 X 5 1/4
- Base of Starburst: Navy Blue, 3 3/4 X 5
- Patterned Paper:
- 2 pieces, 4 1/2 X 1 1/2, cut on diagonal
- 4 pieces, 3 X 1 1/2, cut on diagonal
- Mark your center point on the Starburst base and position each strip on the base. When you are happy with the placement of the strips, adhere them to the base and then turn the base over and cut off all the excess sticking out from the base. Now you can adhere the base to the larger Navy Blue layer.
- Circle: White 2 3/8″ die cut with circle dies
- Eagle:
- Soft Suede, large wing feathers
- Early Espresso, body and top of wings; talons
- Shimmery White, head and tail
- Crushed Curry, beak and feet
- Evening Evergreen, Branch
- Soft Succulent, Berries
- Inside Greeting, Patterned paper for shadow, Navy Blue for letters, 3 3/4 X 1 1/2, die cut with Scrapbook.com Word Dies Grateful Sentiments
- Heart: Cut out from a Kokorosa starburst die
That die you started with that didn’t work very well?
Yes, it wouldn’t cut out all the detailed cuts without having a metal shim plate, so I wasted a bit of paper but saved the heart! I ordered the metal shim plate from Amazon so I can try again another time.
- Star Embellishments are silver star gems I colored with red and blue alcohol markers.
I hope you found some inspiration for your card making today!
SAL, Saluting A Land we love
Karen
Riddle of the day:
Question: What game is dangerous for your mental health?
Answer: Marbles; you don’t want to lose them.
Joy Meadows August 2024 Shoebox Event
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I am too excited to wait until next week for another post, so let me show you the amazing cards designed and presented by Joy Meadows for us to make at our August Shoebox Event. Her first card uses a stamp from Pink Inc Designs. It is a British company but their stamps are available on Scrapbook.com. I linked that stamp below with little Sal in the computer. I laughed out loud when she showed me her card. It is so sooo cute!
Let’s zoom in to see those glasses and long eyelashes!
For the greetings Joy used the Stampin’ Up! ‘In Your Words’ stamp set. She had Washi tape that was the perfect embellishment for the front and back and punched out stars with one of the new textured dots bling for the middles offered by Stampin’ Up!
Not to be outdone by the cute giraffe card, her second card was just as awesome! She surprised us when she held it up and said, with a twinkle in her eye, – “looks like a regular card, right”; then she opened it up to a pop up fun fold. Joy said it is a design by Susan Campfield who calls it a ‘million dollar fun fold’.
Drum roll…….. Voila! A surprise inside.
And the middle flap folds down and has the greeting on that part of the flap so you can write on the inside.
Here is a side view.
How special is that card!
And you love monochromatic cards!
Yes, I do, Sal. Let’s look at the products Joy used from Stampin’ Up!
- New In Color, Petunia Pop
- Wildly Flowering Suite Collection.
- Dies from the suite – Wild Flower Designs Dies
- Translucent Florals designer series paper
- Dashing Designs 3D embossing folder
- Happy Birthday – Translucent Florals stamp set
- Inside Greeting – Happiness Abounds stamp set
Thank you, Joy, for looking up those products for me to share on the blog and thank you for your creations! I have seen lots of layering dies but the scalloped layer (check out the first picture) is really special.
PS When you put Joy’s name, or the name of any of our Shoebox designers, in the search box on the blog, it will pull up all the lovely cards that she, or any of the others, have designed. You can also access the cards by going to the ‘Recipe Box’ tab at the top of the blog and then clicking on the card to be taken to the specific blog post for that card.
Thank you, Joy, for giving us a pinch of creativity to spice up our crafting worlds.
SAL, Shoebox A Lot for inspiration
Karen
Click on Little Sal in the computer to go to Scrapbook.com which has the Pink Inc giraffe.
Riddle of the day:
Question: What has cities, but no houses; forests, but no trees; and rivers, but no water?
Answer: A map.
Christine Dillon’s July 2024 Shoebox Event
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July’s Shoebox Event was hosted by Christine Dillon. She created two lovely designs and then made card kits for each of us to make the cards. We had fun crafting the cards under Christine’s guidance and then we went out to lunch to eat and visit. Such fun!
Christine used foiled DSP-designer series paper on both her cards which gave a beautiful shiny look to the cards.
Recipe- Some call this an ‘S fold’ others call it a ‘Modified Gate Card’
- Base: Blue, 8 1/2 X 5 1/2, Scored at 2 1/8 and 4 1/4
- Left Side Strip: Foiled DSP, 2 X 5 3/8 (1/16th border)
- Inside Layer: White, 4 X 5 1/4, (1/8th border)
- Base of Flap: Blue, 3 1/2 X 3 1/2
- Flap Layer: White, 3 1/4 X 3 1/4
- Medallion: Gold Foil, 3 X 3, die cut with Stampin’ Up! Eastern Medallions Die, glue directly down to flap
- Medallion Layer: Blue, 2 3/4 X 2 3/4, die cut with Stampin’ Up! Eastern Medallions Die, Pop Up
- Medallion Top Layer: White, 2 1/4 X 2 1/4, Stampin’ Up! Eastern Medallions Die, glued directly down
- Stamp with greeting from Petitie Pairs – Stampin UP
- Inside Layer: White, 4 X 5 1/4, 1/8 border
- Stamp with greeting from Colorful Seasons Stamp Set
Would you call this a masculine birthday card?
I will tag it as generic and masculine. It is so beautiful it could be used for either.
This next card is for a feminine birthday or a gardener who loves flowers. It is foiled DSP, and the foil is only on the edge of the flowers and leaves so each of us chose our favorite color and colored inside the images. The flowers were edged in gold foil and the leaves were edged in silver foil so it was a perfect guide for where to color. I wish I had taken pictures of the different colored cards. They were all beautiful.
I did say that and I have not done it yet. Sigh…… I even had to send a box card to a friend this past week and she will wonder if I sold all my stamps but…
BETTER A BOX CARD THAN NO CARD!
I say that because I have those who say they could never make a card and have quit sending me cards since they know I make cards; as if I would be disappointed to get a box card??! NOT! Receiving any card makes me smile.
I recently read someone comparing making a card to decorating a cake – you make the cake beautiful and it is admired for a short time, but then consumed and just a memory. Hopefully our cards stay on a mantel or refrigerator for longer, but the joy is in the creating and hopefully the recipient is blessed.
Are you going to take up cake decorating?
No way, Sal, but I admire those who do.
SAL, Shoebox And Laughter
Karen
Riddle of the day:
Question: Four cars come to a four-way stop, each coming from a different direction. They can’t decide who got there first, so they all go forward at the same time. All four cars go, but none crash into each other. How is this possible?
Answer: They all made right-hand turns.
‘Twas My Birthday
Check out these beautiful handmade birthday cards from my dear friends.
Lucille’s was the first one I received in advance of my birthday.
Jo had a very clever little purse which opened and then the inside had a pull tab with an additional wish:
Joy’s card was a unique circle shape with lots of texture and layers:
Christine used a fun die and paper piecing to create this card:
Lisa’s card was a beautiful teacup filled with flowers and lots of layers on a fun fold. Lisa joined with Sharon to celebrate my birthday with a real tea party! I felt like a queen.
At the tea, Sharon gave me this card and many goodies:
Lucille made me a second card:
Thank you, dear friends, for those beautiful creations!
The family is not into card making, but Amber is a wonderful cook and she, Tyler and Stacia put on a great birthday celebration up at the lake. Amber made brownies and her awesome potato salad and Tyler grilled steaks and grilled corn on the cob with fresh corn Stacia had brought. We were able to get two campsites close together at Willow Creek Reservoir, just minutes from Grandby Lake and Shadow Lake.
Paul, not to be outdone for my birthday, booked us on a hot air balloon ride in Steamboat Springs a couple weeks later. It is quite awesome to have a daughter, Stacia, and son in law, Jonathan, who own a hot air balloon business.
https://wildwestballooning.com/
It was a month of birthday celebrations.
Back to the July 4th week — Jaxson and Emmitt, our two grandsons, were camping with us for the week and we drove from the lake to Steamboat Springs for the 4th of July parade. Jonathan asked Paul to drive the jeep with the float they had made. It looked like a hot air balloon basket with lots of red, white and blue balloons attached above. Stacia and the girls were on this float blowing bubbles at the crowds.
The royal wave!
The boys got to ride with Uncle Jonathan in the ‘real’ hot air balloon basket! You can see the burners on the silver truck behind this picture. Jonathan would do a quick touch of the burners to create the sound you hear as they fly the balloon. They won first prize in the commercial float category. I wonder what they will come up with next year!
Then it was back to the lake!
It was Jaxson’s and Emmitt’s first long camping trip with us. Mom and Dad came up on the 4th and Stacia and the granddaughters came up on the 5th. Emmitt had me pull his first loose tooth. In this picture he is trying to show you the gap in his mouth. Grandma is a doctor who can pull splinters out and now a dentist who can pull a loose tooth, but my favorite role is just being grandma and cuddling these grandchildren before they are grown and gone.
Here’s a picture of Emmitt after he caught his first fish. Jaxson had three fish on his hook that were ‘almost’ a catch.
After the Buchholtz family headed home, we took Stacia and the girls and anchored beside a little island on Shadow Lake for a picnic on the boat.
And Ruger was always with us, of course!
When the Whiteheads went back home, it was time for a little R&R with my beloved:
Thank you everyone for a memorable birthday month!
SAL, Shown A Lot of love for my birthday
Karen
I cannot pick a ‘best’ birthday card so I will show the hot air balloon and link Sal in the computer to their site. The videos are awesome to watch even if you have no desire to fly!
From Jonathan:
Question: What do you call it when the hot air balloon shadow passes over you on the ground?
Answer: A balloonereclipse!
Karen Decker’s June 2024 Shoebox Event- Red, White & Blue
It is time to catch up with my card postings here on the blog. As is now becoming common, I post cards for the holiday or celebration we just had instead of the one coming up. If you are thrilled with the card you can find it on Pinterest or Instagram under Stampalosopher and save its design for next year. Or you can come back to this blog and click the ‘Recipe Box’ tab and scroll to the card and click its thumbnail in the Recipe Box to access the blog post for that card. With that being said, let’s look at cards for the Fourth of July (or perhaps July birthdays)!
I wondered if we had been archived!
No, Sal, I just had a camping trip with the two grandsons, then both families joining us over the 4th for some boating and camping. Later I had the two granddaughters for a week with trips to and from Steamboat to pick them up and take them home. It has been a wonderfully full month!
Recipe for Firework Card:
- Base: Night of Navy, 5 1/2 X 8 1/2 scored at 4 1/4
- Layer (X2): Real Red, 5 1/4 X 4, Emboss with textured embossing folder (just a guess)
- Top Note: White 5 1/4 X 4, die cut once with the top note, then turn 90 degrees and die cut again
- sponge the edge with Night of Navy
- Use Taylored Expressions 6 x 6 ‘Party in the USA’ Stencils to stamp the background
- stencil 1 – Night of Navy stars & stripes
- stencil 2 – Real Red stars & stripes
- stencil 3 – Basic Grey stars & stripes
- Firework strips
- Night of Navy, 4 X 3, score at 2, fold and then cut 12 -1/8 inch strips
- Real Red, 2 1/2 X 3, score at 1 1/4, fold and then cut 12 – 1/8 inch strips
- Put a little bit of glue on each strip on the unscored end and attach it to itself; put another tiny bit of glue on the inside of the blue strip to attach the red strip. Place the strips symmetrically around the fireworks securing them to the Top Note with a 3/4″ punched circle from a double back sheet
- When all are attached to the circle, add tombow glue to the center to reinforce the pieces
- Punch a 3/4″ circle from the Amazon DSP and add to the very center
- Inside Top Layer: White 5 X 3 3/4
- Bottom Strip: Whaline Patriotic Pattern DSP from Amazon, 3 3/4 X 3/4
- Bottom Front Strips: Night of Navy, 3/8 X 4; White 1/8 X 4
- Bottom Greeting: White 3 X 1 1/2, die cut with detailed Bands Die then stamp with ‘Band Together’ stamp set; the little blue stars are from the Hometown Greetings Edgelit Dies
The inside greeting of ‘Celebrate Freedom’ is from the Taylored Expressions ‘Land That I Love’ foil it sheets. The sheet is foiled with blue foil and then cut to size. The inside and the front greeting are lightly sponged on the edges with Night of Navy. I will link Textured Expressions in the computer at the end of the blog.
The next card uses the ‘Star Spangled Banner’ stamp from Taylored Expressions, the ‘Land That I Love’ foil it sheets, and the ‘Hometown Greetings’ edgelit dies from Stampin’ Up!
Recipe for God Bless America card
- Base: Real Red, 5 1/2 X 8 1/2 scored at 4 1/4
- Layer (X2): Night of Navy, 5 1/4 X 4
- Top (X2): White 5 X 3 3/4, Use sticky notes to mask the red for stamping blue and then mask blue to stamp the red of the flag. Use the stamparatus so that you can stamp several times to get a nice dark blue/red
- Church: White textured paper, 3 X 1, cut with Hometown Greetings Edgelit Dies
- Die cut from Night of Navy a second church, 2 3/4X 1, to adhere behind the white and slightly to the side for shadow (next time I would add a blue strip connected to the greeting like the inside has)
- Note: The Foil It Sheet from Taylored Expressions has several greetings on one sheet so it needs to have the greeting cut first and then use a separate set of blue foil sheet for the layer, usually you can cut the blue foil to size and then foil it and use the negative for the layer
- Greeting: Foil God Bless America
- God Bless America, 2 1/2 X 1 1/8
- Blue Foil, 2 3/4 X 1 3/8
- The Foil It Sheet from Taylored Expressions has several greetings on one sheet so it needs to have the greeting cut first and then use a separate set of blue foil sheet for the layer
- Greeting Inside: Land That I Love
- Land That I Love, 1 1/2 X 2
- Blue Foil Layer, 1 3/4 X 2 1/4
- Blue Houses on Inside: Night of Navy, 3 1/2 X 2, die cut with Hometown Greetings Edgelit Dies
- Top Strip on Inside: Amazon Whaline Patriotic DSP, 5 X 7/8
Thanks for visiting!
SAL, Salute A Land we love
Karen
Click to go to Taylored Expressions
Riddle of the day:
Question: How can you drop a raw egg from a height onto a concrete floor without cracking it?
Answer: Concrete floors are very hard to crack.