Masculine Birthday Trio

I think masculine birthday cards are the most difficult to make. Unless I am adding an image that has to do with sports or a male hobby, it's a bit tricky for me. And I kind of steer away from those images unless I know for a fact the intended recipient is really into that sport/theme.

So when coming up with a general card with a masculine feel, I'm still not great with the options. Most of the time, I pick a design and recreate it in different colors. That's exactly what I did here. I made the same card three times, only changing the colors.

The stamp is by Stampin' Up! from the Alphabet Soup set (which I don't believe is available any longer) The other materials are various from my stash.

Here's one final picture of the three together. 

The only problem here...I'm not sure which one I like the most. Which one is your favorite?

Sweet Birthday Wishes

Today I have two cards to share. I often pick a stamp or a card layout and make more than one similar card with variations. In this case, though I was using the same stamp, the cards look completely different. 

Both cards use the large cupcake stamp by Inkadinkado. The sentiment for the first card is by Studio G. The patterned paper is by DCWV and was the inspiration for the color scheme. The ribbon and jewel were in my stash, so I'm not sure where they came from, but the ribbon most likely came from Michael's. The little flower is Heidi Grace Designs with a small brad added to the center. I used the Polka Dots embossing folder for the background.  

I don't have any of the fancy Copic Markers...just haven't made the investment yet. So I color with other markers and colored pencils. The problem with colored pencils is that you can see the pencil strokes. But I saw a great tip on Pinterest where you take a cotton swab dipped in some rubbing alcohol and rub it over your colored image. I gave it a try and I am very pleased with the results! It really did blend my pencil strokes for the most part and it's not so obvious I used colored pencils! I'll be using this technique a lot...until one day I make that investment for the "good" markers! :)

For the second card the sentiment is also from Inkadinkado. No clue who the paper is by...like most of the paper in my stash! And again, the ribbon is probably from Michael's. On this cupcake, I used Studio G glitter glue to highlight the sprinkles, and a small gem for the "cherry" on top. 

There is a similar card buried deep in my files that I saved forever ago where I drew my inspiration. I wish I knew who the original card belonged to so I could give credit, but I saved it long before I knew to keep up with that sort of thing. But to whoever designed the original card...thank you for your inspiration!

Thank You Monkey

I made this set of thank you cards for my same friend I mentioned yesterday. This was just a small part of her gift. I always try to include a set of handmade thank you cards when I buy a gift for a baby or bridal shower. What's more practical than that? And I love it when I know the recipient actually uses them, because they send one to me! (Then I have one I get to keep!)

I kept these SUPER simple using a stamp from the same set by Stampabilities. When I was making these, my daughter pointed out that this little guy was the same one that was used on the background paper of the invitation to the shower that we had received. Bonus!

Welcome Little One

This was a fun card to make. I have a sweet friend who is expecting her first baby - a boy. The nursery is so adorable decked out in monkeys, including an awesome mural painted by her sister. Her shower had a monkey theme as well, so the card I made her HAD to include a monkey.

I think this little guy is so adorable. The stamp is by Stampabilities. The sentiment is by Studio G and is foam mounted for a little lift.

Your Germs are Irresistable!

If that made you sing a certain Robert Palmer song, then great minds think alike! :)

I love this get well card. This Dudley Dragon image is too cute. It is a pre-colored digital stamp from Dustin Pike. He has quite a few Dudley designs, and I think the are all adorable! I can't remember where I found the sentiment though. I THINK it came from Ginger's House, but I'm not sure. (She has LOTS of awesome word art!) I have searched and searched my files and can't find it, so again, if anyone sees this who knows where it came from, let me know so I can give proper credit!

The inside of this card says "Get Well Soon."

I'm Sorry

No, I didn't forget I had a blog, even though it would seem that way. I've always struggled a little with balancing all the pieces of my busy life. Unfortunately, my creative side is what gets put on the back burner more often than not so I can take care of everything else! That's something I plan to work on this year.

I've recently "acquired" a new craft room. We have a storage building out back which housed my husband's office. He is no longer using that office and told me quite some time ago that I could have the space. I didn't think I wanted it at first...I liked the convenience of having everything inside my house so I could create whenever the urge hit. The problem with that was, with it being in the middle of everything (it was my dining area space), that I had a difficult time keeping it organized and there were always other things going on in the same space. This made it difficult to walk away from a project that wasn't completed yet. Leaving things out meant things were going to get messed up.

So, I finally decided to accept his offer and move all my craft supplies. I cleaned out the office, repainted it and moved all my things in. It isn't a large room, but it's a great work space. I will eventually post pictures, but I still have several details to take care of in there first.

Now that I have this space, my daughter and I make time to go out and "play" as often as possible. Turns out, it isn't all that inconvenient going out there after all! I'll actually be "scheduling" time to go out and "work" now. Hopefully I'll get better about blogging my creations as well. Maybe this will be the year my business gets closer to the direction I want it to go!

Anyway, here's a cute little card I made. Perfect way to say I'm sorry for just about anything. I had forgetting a birthday in mind when I made this, but really it could be an apology card for any reason at all.

I think this little guy is so cute with his big sad eyes.

I'm aggravated that I can't find who to give credit to for this digital stamp. I keep all my digital stamps in folders with the owner's name, but I can't find this one now! I printed it out a while back, so I think the image is actually stored on my external hard drive and that's why I can't find it on this computer. I also can't figure out what I did with my hard drive during my massive cleaning/organizing project. I know it must be somewhere in my house, but I haven't found it yet. As soon as I do, I will look this image up so I can credit it properly. Meanwhile, if someone reads this who knows who this image belongs to, PLEASE let me know! I found my hard drive! The stamp came from Beccy's Place and you can get him free here!

UPDATED: I am entering this card in the January challenge over at Beccy's here. This is the first challenge of any kind I've participated in a VERY long time! I figured it was a great way to start out the new year!!!

Christmas in July!

But just barely!!!

I've been looking at Christmas in July posts all month. And it wasn't until last night that I was struck with the urge to create a Christmas card. So, I JUST did manage to squeeze it in before July was over!

My absolute favorite Christmas song is I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas. And when I found this adorable hippo digital stamp, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it!

I'm still quite new to digital stamps, and I am loving them! I have made only a couple things using them, but I see a long future with them! I found this hippo stamp at Anne's "Cards 4U" along with many more I can't wait to use!

And here's the card:

Versatile Birthday

Anyone who makes cards knows it seems to be a little more difficult to come up with designs that work for the men in our lives. I'm no different...but occasionally a card happens that will work perfectly for a man without a ton of effort put into it.

Yesterday I chose a patterned paper I wanted to work with and had no idea what kind of card(s) I'd end up making with it. I chose a solid to go with it and even some ribbon. Before I was finished, I had made five completely different cards.

I like when that happens. If I'm going to have the supplies out to make a card, I may as well make a few more with the same supplies, right? Maybe others don't work like that, but I find that I do it frequently.

One of the cards I ended up with was this birthday card. And when I finished it, I realized it would be great for either a man or a woman! The colors are neutral and the ribbon is minimal, so it's not to feminine, but not overly masculine either. I love when something comes out with a bit of versatility to it!

Pink & Green Monogrammed J

I LOVE this color combination! I think it is my new favorite!

A wonderful customer placed an order for four sets of monogrammed cards with matching beaded pens. She chose the color combinations and I went from there. For this pink and green set, I gave her a few different options, and this was the one she picked. I love the way they turned out!

Each card turned out slightly different in the set due to the pattern on the paper, which I think makes the cards even more fun! And I don't know what it is, but making the beaded pens to match brings me so much satisfaction! It always puts a smile on my face!

Be sure to visit JMDesigns on facebook!

Happy Father's Day!

I just want to say Happy Father's Day to the special dads in my life. My own fabulous Dad, My amazing husband and Dad to our children, and My wonderful Father-in-law. Happy Father's Day!

I have two more Father's Day cards today. Very simple, though I apparently was on a shirt kick! I need to come up with some new designs!

Baby, Baby, Oh...

Oh....no, you won't find what you may have thought you would here! No singing, and no JB!

Instead, I have today a couple of baby cards. I made this quite some time ago and put them in my Etsy shop (which I just "reopened" yesterday. There's not a lot in there yet, but more is coming!). These were some of my very first cards to sell and I was so excited! That was the beginning of my business. I didn't do much on Etsy as I got busy with word of mouth orders. Then life got in the way and I quit creating altogether...but that's all about to change again! YAY!

Anyway...here are the cards:

Oh, and FYI - you can now find me on Facebook! Be sure to click over and "like" me!

For the Graduate

Today I thought I'd share a few graduation cards. I love classic black and white for graduation cards...they are fit for anyone!

Here is a set of graduation thank you cards in black and white.

But I also like to do school colors whenever I can. That was the case in this one.

How About a Little Mother's Day?

I think I'll take a break for a day or two from Father's Day cards and post different ones. I know Mother's Day has come and gone, but I wasn't back to blogging then, so why not put them here a little late?

Often when I create a card I like, I'll create it again in a different color or with just a little change. In this case, I used the same design and changed up the colors.

And I did the same with this one - just changed the colors.

That's all for now - I'll be back with something different tomorrow!

Father's Day 3

Keeping up with the Father's Day theme, here's another card. This one I made for my Father-in-law a few years ago. If you knew him, you'd know why this card was perfect for him!

I have a few more that I'll be sharing this week, but I will take a break at least one day and share something other than Father's Day cards!
And I need to get busy and make this year's cards so I can post them!

Father's Day 2

Here's another Father's Day card I made a while back for my Dad.
Wow, I just checked, and this one is from 2007!
I love simple cards, with just a couple of colors and little embellishment, and this falls into that category!

Father's Day

Since Father's Day is coming up, I thought I'd start by posting a few cards I've made. The one I'm posting today I actually never posted on my old blog. It apparently got "lost" on my hard drive. But now it's found and here it is:

The shirt is an origami fold, and I believe that was my first attempt ever. I made a couple more with this fold, but haven't located them yet. If I find them, I'll get them posted.