July's Sincerely Cards for Kiwi Lane (a.k.a #19, #20 & #21)

I have a confession to make... or maybe a few confessions.  Every Monday before the third Wednesday, I wake up thinking, "OH, CRAP!  I have a Sincerely submission due today!!"  Yep, I'm a true procrastinator.  I have about a month between each submission, my assignment for each month for the rest of the year, and all the supplies to do it, and I usually start and finish it the day of.  Now, if you know me at all, you will also know that I don't like mornings.  And you will also know that I REALLY don't like Monday mornings!  So this realization that something is due on a Monday morning, and I haven't started on it any more than thinking about it briefly, is not a fun one!  That being said, I have to say that I love Kiwi Lane Designs Templates!!  Why?  Because they let my half-asleep-brain work quickly to create things without having to think harder than I can handle on a Monday morning.  And if they let me do that, just imagine what they can do for you when you're fully awake (and it's not Monday morning!)!!  So, moving on to the reason you came~

Birthday Star:

Finished card size: 5 1/2" x 5 1/2"
Supplies: card base (DCWV); patterned paper (My Mind's Eye); rhinestone star (Teresa Collins); ink (Ranger); pen (ZIG); circle punches (Marvy Uchida, EK Success)
Templates: Spook Alley 1B, Rings 2, Tiny Shapes 7T, Adventure 1&2.

I have been seeing chevrons everywhere in recent... months!  Have you?  I just really wanted to see if I could use them on this batch of cards and with the templates.  I like that this card ended up with masculine elements like chevrons, stars and a bulls eye type of design (the layers of circles).  And I had to throw in one glittery element with the rhinestone star :)

Wondering how to make chevrons with the templates?  It's easy peasy... and here's how:

Use one of the zig zag borders from the Spook Alley template set (not just for Halloween anymore!) and mark (with a pencil) how long you want your chevron to be.  Trace one zig zag line on your paper.

 Move the template away from the line you just made, keeping it evenly spaced from the entire length of the traced line.  Trace again.

Repeat this for as many time as you need to get the desired number of chevrons.  Cut with scissors and ink, and you're done!  Use them on your projects as you'd like.  Just remember to make sure you have the template the same way for each paper, if you're using multiple papers.

Birthday Balloons:

Finished Card Size: 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"
Supplies:  card base (DCWV); patterned paper (My Mind's Eye); vellum (Provo Craft); twine (Lilly Belles Paperie on Etsy, SupplyOwl on Etsy); ink (Ranger); pen (ZIG); felt rick rack (Creative Imaginations); stamp (Studio G)
Templates:  Sentiments 1 A&B, Celebrate 1, 2, & 3

Do you have a stash of vellum like I do?  I haven't seen it used very much recently and thought I'd challenge myself to use it a bit more than usual.  Balloons seemed to be a perfect fit!  The vellum balloon is sheer enough to see part of the sentiment through.  I used a single mini glue dot under the twine to adhere it to the card (it hides the glue enough that it isn't seen).  I left the strings on the balloons long to make it more interactive- perfect for a curious little boy!!

It's Your Day Gift Card Holder/ Card:

Finished Card Size: 5"x7"
Supplies: cardstock (Provo Craft); patterned paper (My Mind's Eye); star punches (Carl); twine (Lilly Belles Paperie on Etsy, SupplyOwl on Etsy); alphabet letters (Making Memories); felt rick rack (Creative Imaginations); ink (Ranger)
Templates: Tiny Tags 1T, Celebrate 6, Tiny Wildflower 2T

I started out wanting to make this into just a small gift card holder, but somehow it morphed into a full fledged card with a gift card holder that looked like a gift.  Cute, huh?  I know, it's not a gift card in the holder, it's my alumni card.  I couldn't find a gift card anywhere in our house and this was the only card  I found that didn't clash with the primary colors on the card... but, wouldn't a Target gift card look fabulous??  Anyway, the easiest way to make the part to hold the GC is this:  Cut a piece of paper just bigger than the card.  Ink the edges.  Use removable tape or glue dots to adhere card to paper.  Tie baker's twine around the card and paper like you would tie ribbon around a gift.  Don't double knot!!  You want a bow that's easy to untie so the recipient can actually remove the gift card without destroying the card!

The top of the party hat is a loopy pom pom made from more baker's twine.  I used a 1" glue dot to adhere it to the card and keep the strands separated.  Then I added the star punches on top of the twine. I had to glam it up a bit with small glittered alphabet stickers for the sentiment :)

Hope you had fun seeing my cards!  Comments and questions are always welcome!

Happy Scrapping!!