Here are a few graduation cards I made using a black and silver theme. (Later this week I will show you the black and gold theme). I used my cricut for some of the pieces (the large "G" and the grad hat). I found the tassels at a local fabric store.
Here are a few retirement cards I made for my retiring teacher friends. All the stamps are from Stampin' Up (some are retired). Most of the paper is also Stampin' Up, except the blue report card pattern paper (not sure about the company - it came in a huge pack of school paper from Joanne Fabrics).
I found this paper at the convention in Novi and now I wish I had more. I just love it! This core paper is lightly embossed. With a little sanding block, you are are to reveal the embossed pattern. I love the black with white printing. The second card is embossed with school paper lines. I stamped the sentiment "Thank you" in white. I added a stamped apple from the set Country Apple (retired Stampin' Up). These cards are just over 4x4 in size. The paper pack comes with 4 embossed designs in 5 different colors (for a total of 20 sheets of paper).
It is definately warm enough for these ice cream sundaes right now. Grand Rapids has had a bit of a heat wave! (And no air conditioner at school makes teaching 27 third graders really hard)! This card makes me think of summer. It is made with a Sizzix die and the Stampin' Up Sending Love Specialty paper (this was from the occasions mini that is no longer available). I actually bought extra paper because I loved the colors. I ran the sundae die through several times (each with a different color), then I cut the sundaes apart and pieced them back together. The swirl design on the "Close to Cocoa" paper is made with an embossing folder.
I have had the medallion stamp for a while and just have never used it. I made this card using versa mark and chalks. It was sort of fun, each one turned out different. I started out with the intention of using the colors old olive and brown, but I accidently put my sponge in the color "not quite navy" and I liked the results. I did a little stitching with my sewing machine. Then I thought it needed something for the center. I had these metal buttons from Jolee, but they were too bright, so I used the Adirondack alcohol inks (latte and gold) to tone them down a little. I think it did the trick. You can see in the picture the differences before and after.
So I was at Joanne Fabrics last week and what did they have on sale? Cricut cartridges! Now of course I didn't need anything new and goodness knows, I just got back from the Novi convention, so what was I thinking... buying two new cartridges? But they were both so cute! This tree is from the cartridge "Give a Hoot". (This is going to be a fun one to play with). The paper is from the first card is from the Green Stack by DCWV and the second card uses paper from Cosmo Crickets "Mr. Campy" series.
Here is another one of my "convention" finds. Glimmer Mist by Tattered Angels. (Other companies are also coming up with these glittery "spritz" sprays, including Stampin' Up). I have been checking these out and watching tutorials on these for about a year, but unfortunately, I haven't been able to find them in any stores. The Tattered Angel company was at the convention in Novi, so the hard thing was deciding what color or colors to start with. I decided on gold, pearl and bubble gum. I am not sure if you can see it in the photo, but this card is all glimmery. I used the set Upsy Daisy (Stampin' Up) and embossed it with white. The background is some ink and chalk. Then I added some of the glimmer mist over the top to add sparkle.
I'm always on the look out for these kind of cards. They are so easy to create from. By using a few tools and supplies from your sta...
