The time change is affecting my sleep....

.....but it appears to be great for my creativity. I was awake at 4:30 a.m. this morning and went straight to my craft room, no coffee, no OJ, no nuttin' honey! Besides being cold because we keep the door shut so our cat, Hank, doesn't eat scraps and ribbon, but not even that affected me adversely. I made two cards that I think are pretty good. Here's the first one.



The idea for this card came from a newly published Canadian magazine called Simply Cards Today. What a beautiful magazine and it is published by Scrapbook and Cards Today in response to a magazine just showcasing cards. It is beautiful quality and can proudly be displayed on anyone's coffee table, it's that good.

This card used a full 12" x 12" sheet of cardstock. I used my Scor-Pal and scored it at 3" and 9", then turned it 1/4 turn to the right and scored again at 3" and 9". This should give you four score marks. Then, cut each corner out. On the remaining four flaps, I used my largest CM circle and the red blade and cut the flap into a half-circle. I did this on each of the flaps. Now it's ready to decorate. Because this is my first attempt, I kept it relatively simple and used my Technique Tuesday Paisley stamps.

Then, it was ready to do the inside of the card. I cut some DSP from a Stampin' Up collection to 5" square and adhered it to the centre of the card. Then I used a 4" square PTI Select White c/s and stamped Getwellabella image there, along witht he sentiment. I coloured her with Prismacolour Markers and that was it. Well, except for the ribbon. To fold it closed, start at the botton and fold one flap up. Next go to the left and fold that up, tucking in a portion of the bottom of the half-circle, then go to the next two flaps and do the same, always tucking a portion of the bottom of the hal-circle in. This makes it stay somewhat closed, but you still need some ribbon. That's it. If you want to see step-by-step directions, leave a comment. If there's enough interest, I will do a tutorial.



My next card was already half done, as I had the stitched PP left over from my cards for the swap (see post below). I used Chocolate Chip for the card base. Oh, the idea for this pumpkin also came from the same book as the previous card, Simply Cards Today. As I said, great book. For the pumpkin, I used Only Orange cardstock and randomly stamped the Technique Tuesday Paisley, again. Then, using the middle CM Oval with the red blade, on the inside of the oval, I cut three ovals. I switched to the blue blade and cut two more ovals. After inking the edges of all the ovals in dark brown chalk ink, I placed the three large ovals together, slightly tucking in the ovals on either side. Then I added one each of the small ovals to each side, setting it higher up to give the bottom a rounded look. For the stem, I used a piece of green c/s, the smallest oval and started with the red blade, again on the inside, then without lifting the oval, switched to the blue blade. This created an oval-shaped ring which I cut in half, inked in brown and attached to the underside of the pumpkin. So, these instructions are clear as mud, right? If not, let me know and I'll see if I can clean them up for you, should you be interested.

Now I'm tired and need a nap. I'll be back later.