LOTS of new cards to share!

Hello strangers!  I've been away and now I'm back!  Easter just killed me.  I had SO much to do, and of course, I'm still trying to get myself into a routine.  It's just not happening!  Well, anyway, on to the more important subject, my cards!  LOL! 

Our cousin celebrated his 60th birthday this past March.  He and his wife always have an Easter family gathering at their home and have a HUGE egg hunt for all the kids.  Well, this year was no different, however, his wife asked us all to bring a birthday card to acknowledge his birthday!  His profession is contracting.  So, my grandmother asked me to make a card to give him and make it about his job.  Well, this is what I created.  What do you think?

This card was fun to make!  Once I figured out in my head what I wanted to do, it was easy to put together!  The houses are from Right at Home from Stampin' Up!  The crane is a clip art image from Word.  I cut a piece of metal to make a hook.  It's the kind that is shaped like a triangle, like a triangle ring off of a key chain?  Anyway, I put the crane on top of a pile of dirt which I ran through my xyron and dumped brown flocking on to.  The "boards" are the sentiment, saying: Building your life each birthday at a time.  The background paper is from a sheet of 12x12 that I have had for a while, wondering what the heck I'm going to do with it?!  Well, here you go!  LOL!  And I have the rest of this sheet plus a whole piece of 12x12, so if you need it, I'll gladly send it to you!  Or make you a card w/ it! 

Next up is a sympathy card for my husband's boss, the superintendent of schools.  She lost her father last week, and since my husband isn't able to attend the viewing or funeral, I made him a card to send to her. 

This card features the new bird and branch punch from Stampin' Up!  You can find it in the Occasions Mini which is still good til April 30th.  It's the Extra Large Two-Step Bird punch for $15.95.  What a great punch this is!!!  And for that price!  You can do SO much with that bird!  Just wait and see!  I've become bird crazy!  I'm having a Stampin' Up! party at my house on Friday, and I want all this bird stuff!  But, the funny thing is, that if you know me, you know that I HATE birds!  They are loud, and I just have never liked them!  Even when I was a baby, my grandmother told me that when my window was open and I could hear the birds singing in the tree outside my window, I would start to fuss!  LOL!  Funny how things just stay with us as we grow up!  Anyway, so, the layout is kind of a copy from my friend Mandy who used this punch to make baby shower announcements.  I couldn't remember exactly how she had it, but her cards were so gorgeous, this just doesn't compare!  For the background, I did the criss cross w/ my Scor-Pal, and then in between the score lines, I pierced lines to make it more of a plaid background, for lack of a better word!  I thought it turned out cool!  The sentiment is from Kitchen Sink Stamps Hearts and Roses.

Here are two Easter cards that I made for my uncle and grandmother (two cross cards, only one shown) and then one for my parents. 

These cards use the lily from Kitchen Sink Stamps Multi Step Lilies.  The cross on the top card is from Sweet N' Sassy stamps Elegant Blessings.  I bought this stamp set purely for the cross.  The sentiments are wonderful as well! 

And last but not least, my card for both a MFT Rak birthday card and for the patchwork challenge for MFT.  As it is, this card is late, so I apologize for that in advance.  But, it worked perfectly to tie it in w/ the WSC challenge this week!  Can I just tell you how much I LOVE the Origins paper from Basic Grey?!  LOVE IT!!!!!  And, you can find it in 6x6 form on the MFT store website.  Just an FYI!

Although, looking at this card now, I should have used a white background.  All I thought about at the time was taking a picture of this card in natural light.  Which, to me, is outside.  So, I took it outside and perched it on top of my rock wall, and where we have mulch on the other side of the wall.  And shrubs.  Can you see them?  The card melts right into the background!  DUH!  Talk about photo taking 101!  Oh well!  Look hard!  Maybe play I Spy and you can find the card among the mulch!  LOL!

This card uses MFT's Who's That Birthday Girl and the sentiment from the same set.  All patterned paper is from the Origins line.  I also used Choc. Chip, Yo Yo Yellow and white cardstock.  Sheer brown polka dot ribbon and my stencil swirl were my detail items.  I sewed all over this card!  Front AND inside!  I'm getting the hang of it!!!!  The saying, "Practice makes perfect" is SO true!!!

That's all folks!  So, I've been a busy little bee!  Now, my husband, who doesn't really like this hobby of mine, wants me to make 3 sets of cards for his 3 secretaries for Administrative Asst. day.  Hmmmm, maybe I'll charge him!  And buy more stamps!  Hahahahaha! ;)

Have a STAMPTASTIC day!  Thanks for visiting!