Cherry on Top Cupcake card

     I have neglected this blog far too long; between working 7 days/week and just trying to keep up with my Etsy stores here & here, as long as my newly opened store, there just is not enough time in a day to do everything I want to… So I found myself letting go of some things willingly and neglecting others unwittingly… But here I am, hoping that the pending Christmas shutdown will bring a bit of peace to my work schedule and that I will get back in my posting routine 🙂

     Today’s posting was inspired by the large tray of goodness my friend Darlene showed up at work with last week. Granted, it was not full of cupcakes but of German Chocolate & Coconut bars, but cupcakes are more up my alley… Not the baked kind, but the cross-stitched ones, so here is one delightful little morsel, my version of a “Cherry on Top Cupcake“…

     Hungry yet…?!

 

We can’t all sparkle…

     I do love interactive cards! I love receiving them, as I know they will always put a big smile on my face as I discover all the “tricks” they can do… As I grew up, there were not too many cards like that in Romania, and yet my dad used to get his hands on one, once in a while… That magical memory pops up its head every time I open a Hallmark card that “does” things… LOL

     However, as much I love those cards I am a complete failure at creating them. No tutorial can help my mostly logical brain visualize how a “waterfal” card should work or one that has characters rolling from one end of the card to the other… So far, in my two years since I have started to create paper cards, the best I could do was the “mountain & valley” kind of cards, the type that a message is adhered in such a way that one can read it when the card is fully open, more or less…

     So here is “Sparkle“… I really loved the message it offers: “We can’t all be stars, but we can sparkle…” (front cover),

     “All I need is one star in the sky, to wish for you everyday!” (inside of card)

 

     The card was created with yellow and navy cardstock, hand stamped with solid and outline stars. I cannot remember the provenience of the diecuts, most likely from a kit… I guess it turned out OK 😉

 

In my Heart…

     One category of cards I don’t really have enough of is male geared cards… A few days ago, sifting and re-organizing my “Listed Cards” box, I’ve seen lots of flowers and lace, pearls and lots of frou-frou, but besides a couple of “Father’s Day” cards not many masculine cards… Now, we all have a husband, boyfriend, father brother – or just a male friend that has an upcoming birthday… Or maybe we just want to say Thank You to the guy next door that helped us change the flat tire last weekend… Well, you get the idea…

     So, I’ve decided to work and list some “manly” cards in my shop in the next couple of weeks. I’ve started working on them last weekend, but I was less than a week after my carpal tunnel and lateral epicondylitis in my left wrist and elbow and I was not as productive as I expected myself to be.

     However, I did finish and list one of the cards, “In my Heart“. The card was hand stamped on kraft cardstock and layered on dark chocolate-brown. One of my favorite Stampin’ Up DSP, Mocha Morning, has been used to accent the kraft cardstock base, as well as the card band. A perfect card for the man in your life, to let him know he is in your mind always… The card is a standard A2 (4 1/4 in by 5 1/2 in) and it comes with a cream envelope. The cream insert was left blank, ready for your added thoughts and sentiments…

Supplies are all Stampin’ Up, unless otherwise noted: Cardstock Crumb Cake #120953, Early Expresso #119686; DSP Mocha Morning #122366; Ink Early Expresso #119670; Stamps Word Play #120651; Punch Ticket Corner #119867; Envelope Very Vanilla #107300; Accessories copper brads, snail adhesive.

 

Mocha Morning Card Folio

     A restless night, a bit too much caffeine resulted in this new Mocha Morning Card Folio. The six cards it contains are styled for both women and men, though I would not dare to send any man I know any card that has a pearl on it – hence the metallic copper brads… lol…

    

     Here are the first two feminine cards cards, “Just for You” and “Happy Birthday”. The flocked DSP is simply stunning!

     One feminine and one masculine cards, “Love you much” and “Celebrate Today”. Though it has a bit of flourishes, the “Perfectly Penned” stamp set works even on a man’s card…

     The last two cards in the folio are both masculine cards, “Get Well” and “Thank You”. The metallic sheen DSP looks so very classy against the Early Expresso CS, doesn’t it…?

    

     The last photo shows the card folio closed. Lots of CS and DSP have gone to the way of the trach can before I came up with a folio that was satisfactory… And of course, after the folio was complete, I have realized I could have made some changes for a much better result – but I was quite tired by that point and stopped…

     For a better view of the individual cards, feel free to check out my Flickr “Mocha Morning Card Folio“.

     Supplies used are Stampin’ Up, unless otherwise noted: Cardstock Very Vanilla #101650, Early Expresso #119686, Crumb Cake #120953, Basic Black #121045; DSP Mocha Morning #122366; Ink Early Expresso #119670; Stamps Perfectly Penned #122892, Well Scripted, Afterthoughts (Hostess set) ; Accessories Basic Pearls #119247, Snail Adhesive #104332, Decorative Label Punch #120907, brads.

 

Beach Read – Cross-stitched bookmark

     One of my mental New Year “resolutions” was to better keep up with my blog, as well as my shops. So, at times, I might post more of the newer things I am creating and posting or simply updates on my boring life’s going ons… Maybe not daily posts, but as often as I possibly can… Of course, history taught me that New Year resolutions seem to be made only for us to break them as soon as their newness loses some of its luster – or maybe not…

     Right now, waiting for my coffee to be ready, I thought I should post another one of my older bookmarks, “Beach Read“. I love the unique surfboard shape and the summer details added by the flower, cool sunglasses, suntan lotion and the tiny flip flops… lol… The colors seem as perfect as the most perfect summerday at the beach… Sigh… I love the ocean: the water lapping on the beach, the smell of salty water, walking on the warm, wet sand, the sounds of the seagulls scavanging for food – I love it all, yet I have not been close to any beach in close to 10 years…

     Enjoy the bookmark and feel free to let me know what you think 🙂