April Cards for Kiwi Lane

It's that time again!  Another Sincerely post for Kiwi Lane Designs.  My assignment was to do some Mother's Day cards and to use their NEW templates!  Yay for new templates!!  I only used a few of the new templates for these cards, but all of their new (and old!) templates are fantastic- you can take a look here!

Card #1 "Mom"

Finished card size: 5" x 7"

Supplies:  Cardstock and patterned paper (DCWV); ribbon (May Arts); flower (Kaisercraft); brad (The Girls' Paperie); pen (Staedler); ink (Ranger); 2" circle punch (Marvy Uchida)

KLD Templates:  Tiny Nature 6T, Tiny Shapes 3T, Tags 1, Tiny Tags 1T

As soon as I saw the Tags 1 and 1T, I had a flood of projects whirring through my mind- and this "award" type of a badge was one of them.  I used a lot of layers to get the look I wanted, but there really isn't a lot of bulk to this card.  I used a sewing machine to stitch around the card stock that everything else would be adhered to.   I used regular old scissors to cut into the edges of the circles and then inked the edges to help define the cuts.  I then put the layers together (flower, circles and paper flower) with a super cute pearl brad.  The "ribbons" of the "award" are made from tracing and cutting the Tag templates (1 and 1T) and then adding another layer of a few strips with their ends cut at an angle.  The top layer is some pale pink ribbon, also with the ends cut at an angle.  I used some foam adhesive to adhere the flower over the ribbon.  I wrote "Mom" in the bottom corner very last (you could stamp it, if you wanted, but I'd suggest stamping before sewing or gluing anything on) and that's it!  It looks more complicated than it actually is... but no one will know but you!  Wouldn't you love to award your mom with a card like this for Mother's Day?

Card #2 "Happy Mother's Day"

Finished card size: 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"

Supplies:  Cardstock (The Paper Company); patterned paper (Authentique); paper flowers (Prima); pearls (Basic Grey); twine (The Twinery); 1" punch (Marvy Uchida); Glossy Accents, ink (Ranger)

KLD Templates:  Tiny Accents 1T, Tiny Shapes 2T

So have I mentioned that I'm in love with Authentique paper?  Well, I am!  And if you haven't had a chance to see any of their stuff yet, take a little look here and see why I'm in love!  I just think they have some great designs and their paper is high quality and beautiful.  Anyway, I had just a few 6x6 sheets of paper from a sampler pack of their Freebird collection and these gray and pink papers were just calling out  to me for this card!  It was fairly simple- it's just a background made of Tiny Shapes 2T (the small hexagon) glued to a card base and leaving just a little bit of space between them.  I trimmed the hexagons as I went so there is only one perfect one on the card.  On this hexagon, I added some stickers and paper flowers.  Then I cut out 2 flowers (Tiny Accents 1T), layered them and added a 1" circle for the center.  I made the center of the layered flower shiny with Glossy Accents, tied twine around the card front twice and tied it, added a few pearls for the centers of the other flowers and ta da!  Finished!

I hope these cards have inspired you to get going on your Mother's Day cards!  Have fun crafting!

No More PAPER!!

The title of this post does not reflect what is happening- it is a reminder to myself of what needs to happen.  I do not need to purchase any more paper.  I have paper stuffed in every corner of my workspace and closet and a few other places that I'd rather not divulge at the moment :) but the point is that I do not need more paper!!

Why post this when I tell myself this almost every day?  A few reasons... First, if I write it down, I tend to stick to it a little bit better.  Maybe not 100%, but still better.  Second, if I write it down where others might see it, it makes it more concrete.  I don't know why, but that's just how I tend to think.  Third, I need to make a goal of... something... before I can buy more paper.  Like a certain amount of pages or a certain amount of sales in the shop... something.  I guess I'll post that when I come up with it.

And why post this now?  Well, I think the postman does not like it when I order it online (which is what I have to do for lack of scrapbook stores in the area) because then he has to haul it through the parking lot of our apartment complex, up the stairs to our second story apartment and wait at the door for me to answer.  Although, I've noticed lately that he no longer waits.  I don't blame him.  I also don't think he appreciates that my packages of paper rarely weigh less than 4 or 5 pounds.  Like the one on Saturday that weighed at least 7 pounds.  I also have to post this now to keep myself from adding more to my paper addiction by going to a warehouse sale in town this weekend... because I do not need more paper!!  Especially when I bought a few hundred more sheets in the last week.  Yes, a few hundred in a week.  And then, while I was putting away the new stuff, I found paper that I had purchased recently and forgot about.  It's too much PAPER!!  I also know that we are going to be moving within the next year.  And I don't want to move this much paper... it's heavy!  And I don't want to get rid of it without getting to use it on something pretty.  But, it's still too much paper!!

So now for some help- what should I do for a paper-using goal?  And is there a Paper Hoarder's Anonymous group I can join? ;)