22 Years Ago ...

Hello crafting friends. You'll find me on the Dies R Us Inspiration Blog today sharing a card I made for my son's 22nd Birthday, which is tomorrow!
 How time flies!

This card was very easy to put together.

 It's one of the many things I love about working with dies :-)

I cut the Brick in the Wall out of white cardstock. The car and the helmet I cut from red cardstock. The trophy cup was cut out of silver cardstock and the flag out of black cardstock. I ran them all through my Cut 'n Boss a second time to emboss all the cuts. While the dies are still on the cardstock, I used various colours to shade in the embossed areas.  I usually use large sponge daubers as you see above. I find they provide a large uniform coverage.  For the car and the helmet, however, I used a small make up applicator. I find that these produce a more intensive coverage and you can get into all the itty bitty spaces. The only thing left was to make a small tag for the sentiment. I'm not sure of the make of this tag, it was given to me a long time ago, but I have listed others that will work just as well.

Now it was just a matter of putting it all together. I added a silver brad to the front wheel of the car and to the helmet. I also traced and cut out a black backing little circle for the wheel and a white backing for the flag. I also used foam pop dots on the helmet, the flag and half of the car that is sticking out the wall. 

Here is a list of the supplies I used with links to the Dies R Us store for your convenience.

Brick in the Wall - Amy Design

Wild Boys Racing - Yvonne Creations

Stitched Tags - Tutti Designs

Tunnel Tags - Poppystamps

Memento Ink - Desert Sand

Memento Ink - London Fog

Memento Ink - Tuxedo Black

Zig 2-way Glue Pen

Thermoweb Foam Squares

Thank you for stopping by today.  I hope I was able to inspire you to use your dies, create a project, and come play along at the Dies R Us Challenge Blog for your chance to win a gift voucher to the Dies R Us Store.  A new challenge begins on the first and fifteenth of every month.

 For your convenience, all the important Dies R Us links are provided below.

Click below for:

STORE 
 CHALLENGE BLOG
  FACEBOOK
  INSPIRATION BLOG

FRIENDS OF DIES R US PINTEREST PAGE

Hugs,

Last Minute Christmas Cards

Hello crafting friends and welcome back.  I have a few last minute Christmas cards to share with you today.  It's the 1st day of December and by now you should have all your cards done, written and ready to mail, but if you're like me, there are always a few last minute cards that you need.  This is where my frame dies come into play.  Here are a few ideas of how you can whip up a few cards that take about 15 - 20 minutes each :-). 

For my first card, I used Jeanine's Art Christmas Tree Frame. I dded a backing die cut with the Silhouette, a winter pic from a recycle Christmas card, a few sequins and it was done. If you want more info on how to make backing dies for your frame dies, please see this post here. 

My second card uses the Ice Crystal Frame by Amy Design. Since this is a straight square frame, it was easy to cut a plain square 1/4" bigger and place it as a backing mat. I then added a pair of bells adorned with holly and tiny silver glitter snowflakes to the centre of each of the bigger snowflakes on the die frame. The bells are a die from Marianne Designs.  Every so often, Dies R Us runs a big sale on international dies. During these times, you will find dies from companies such as Marianne Designs, Lea'bilities, and Joy Crafts, etc. The best way to know about these fabulous sales is to subscribe to the Dies R Us Newsletter. If you scroll down to the bottom of the page, you will be able to enter your email address and be put on their mailing list. The focal image is cut from an old calendar. I'm always on the look out for these types of images. You can find them on old Christmas cards, packaging, gift wrapping paper, old calendars, Pinterest and Google.

Sometimes, I look for odd pieces that were left over from previous projects, like this Vintage Minnie by Character World, for example. Do you remember her? To read about how I put her together, please see this post.  I wanted a simple frame for her, so I decided on the Christmas Card Set also by Amy Design.

I used the largest die to cut the card shape. Then cut the holly frame in green and added tiny little red gems for the berries. I think this card came out very CAS but still festive and perfect for Christmas. What do you all think?

The last card I'm sharing with you today, uses the Christmas Greeting Frame by Amy Design. In this case, I traced the outside and the inside of the die so that I could scan it and cut it with the Silhouette to create a frame backing die. I did the same thing with the Merry Christmas greeting which is by Yvonne Creations. I added a piece of burlap snowflake paper to background and called it good. Again, CAS but pretty for Christmas, I think.

I'm sure by now you've figure out why I love my frame dies. They are the best to make quick and easy cards that look like you spent a lot of time making them. I made all four cards, the fronts and the insides in a little less than 2 hours :-)

I hope I was able to help and inspire you to make your "last minute" Christmas cards by using frame dies.  Don't forget to play along at the Dies R Us Challenge Blog for your chance to win a gift voucher to the Dies R Us Store.  A new challenge begins on the first and fifteenth of every month.  Be sure to Follow Us on Facebook too. 

Click below for:

STORE 
 CHALLENGE BLOG
  FACEBOOK
  INSPIRATION BLOG

FRIENDS OF DIES R US PINTEREST PAGE

Till next time,

CCAYR April Challenge ~ Add Flowers!

Happy Saturday, crafting friends. I hope it's the start to a great weekend!

It's the first of the month, so that means a brand new challenge at Christmas Cards All Year 'Round

April challenge ~ Add flowers!

Prize ~  please visit the CCAYR blog.

With so many beautiful Christmas flowers, this is an easy peasy challenge. And of course, it all depends on where you celebrate your Christmas ... it could be in the winter cold with Poinsettias and Christmas Roses or in the tropical heat with Plumerias and Hibiscuses :-)

Here is my card with Poinsettias.

Crafty Ingredients:

Card base - Recollections - %.5" x 5.5" - white

Red and white card stock - GinaK

Christmas frame die - Amy Designs

Merry Christmas - io Dies - Bottom part of the Merry Chrismas Tree

Stamp - Great Impression Stamps

Poinsettias - Christmas Crafts

Thank you for stopping by today.  I hope you enjoyed your visit and will play along with us.  Please take a few minutes and visit the Christmas Cards All Year 'Round blog to see all the wonderful projects The Gingerbread Gals made.  And don't forget to come back on the 15th, when the Christmas Belles will post their projects for our mid-month inspiration.

Till next time,

Crafting Hugs