Goodbye, Maggie

 

Maggie 

March 13, 1922 - July 2, 2024

(Click on the Maggie Monday label to read more about this fireball.)

Maggie's Turning 100!

If you were a fan of Maggie Monday's--which focused on my grandmother's antics--I'd like to invite you to participate in her 100th birthday celebration. Her birthday is in ONE WEEK. We are making a Tribute for her. Because she has gone blind, cards won't do. We're using Tribute even though she will only be able to hear it. (That is, don't worry about what you look like!) If you're still out there, please join us! Thanks. And tell her Nikki sent you.

Double Flap Front Cards

 I hope you didn't miss me too much! I have been off making fifteen double front cards. With these cards, I've been able to start to use up card stock as well as the Designer Series Paper. The design for these comes from Heidi Collins at On Y Go Stamping. I have got quite a pile of new cards going!

The card starts with a folded piece of DSP, which is mounted on cardstock with just a small flap (the black on the left in the card above). When it is closed, that small orange square is the sentiment on the front (look for the Halloween card in the top photo). 

Open the card again, and you have the reverse side of the DSP and a place to write a note. These were fun, but I'm still looking at piles and piles of bitty pieces of paper. I may have misjudged where I should put my efforts! I've started a new set of cards which have no name according to the designer, but I'll push on. See you back here real soon!

Collars Complete

Hey followers! I managed to finish those collar cards I started the other night. Funny story about the Christmas cards. I bought something on eBay and the seller sent me some unsolicited paper samples. Yay? I was looking online to confirm the colors used, and as I was looking at the whole series together, I realized that I already have this paper but I've never opened it. [sad trombone] (That explains why I didn't recognize these four patterns.)

People keep asking me if I sell my cards and I always reply, "if I sold them, then it would be work and not fun." But now that I see how many cards I am making from scraps and shock horror the amount of paper I have that I have never used or even opened, maybe I should be. Of course, I don't think anyone wants to pay the amount it would take me to give these up! It does mean I should collect the birthdays and anniversary dates of every person I know so that I can use all the cards I make! (I'm contemplating sending Halloween cards to my nearest and dearest because of all the Halloween paper I have collected. 👀)

I have moved on to another stash buster of a card. These start with a 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 piece of DSP and lots of scrap size cardstock. I think I'm going to need a few days to finish the fifteen double front fun fold cards I am making. But I'll be back soon to share!

Collar Cards

Today, I made collar cards. These have a nice pop of contrast and you get to see both sides of the designer series paper. I think my favorites are the bear peeping out of the paper fold. Most cards of this type have an embellishment that covers up the point of the fold (it's not real pretty). I'm sure I'll find something even though I haven't found it yet. I am also thinking I might add some pink ink to the black and white daisies. Just here and there, nothing crazy but I think that one lacks a bit of color. 

The directions for these are pretty straightforward. Cut two-sided patterned paper 5x3 3/4". About 2 1/2" along the 5" side, cut in about 1 1/2 - 1 3/4". Score diagonally from the center cut to each corner. Fold along that score line, then adhere those triangles down. Adhere to a 5 1/4 x 4" card stock that has been stamped. Then adhere to your card!

 

 

Scrappy Accordions

I decided I should start with the largest scraps and work my way to the tiny bits because there will inevitably be more of the latter as we make cuts to the big stuff. Coincidentally, Connie Stewart posted a video about accordion fold cards on Thursday. I went through the big box of' scraps and retrieved every piece that was at least 5 1/2" x 12". There were eight of these. 

It's easy enough to cut and fold and find matching scraps and get all that together. The thing that slows me down is designing (such as it is) the focal image. Which stamps? Which colors to pull in? How to fill the space so the design looks intentional? I only managed to get three cards done last night.

I had a lot of Well Suited DSP. It's fairly masculine but the stamp sets I have really skew toward the floral. The sheep are new, and I saw Zoe Tant had dressed her sheep with DSP. I followed her directions. It is a great effect, but not gonna lie, takes time. 

This is what the inside looks like.

I had also done a focal image for that pink striped version. But I hated it. 

I spent some time at lunch grabbing some stamps I thought would work. After work, I got to stamping. I was pretty happy with the butterfly cards but kept thinking, "this needs something." I went to the third 13x13 box I have where I store embellishments and found raspberry sequins and some goldish rhinestones. Perfect! (These were a total surprise. I have no idea why I have hot pink and raspberry sequins in that box, but I guess they were waiting for their moment!) I did the Christmas card next. And was well and truly finished when I added wink of Stella (a shimmer medium) to the pine cones. The hearts were hard. The main color of the paper paper is a one I do not have (Lovely Lipstick) and the paper is nearly monochromatic. I looked at the comparisons, and decided that Magenta Mambo would do. I liked how it came out--and more rhinestones!--but thought it looked really busy with the background. In Connie's video, she handles this by extending the message piece on the inside. Eh voila!

The chess card was the very last card I put together. I had pulled a piece of pink paper (there is a pink stripe in the DSP) to back the focal image. But when I decided to give up on the pink, it came together pretty quickly! I'm super happy with all these cards and I am elated to tell you that I did not use one new piece of paper in making these cards--all scraps!

Scraptastic September

Hello, friends. I have been away stitching (gasp!) and reading, but what's brought me back to the blog is an idea I formulated as I was sifting through my paper scraps. I have a giant collection of scraps in two 13x13 boxes--one for printed papers and another for colored card stock. When you take it out and throw it on the dirty floor it looks like this:

Not gonna lie, there's more!

What can I accomplish in a month with these scraps? I'm allowing newly-cut card bases--in colors or neutrals--but no other new cuts. Everything has to come from this pile. I can use any stamps, embellishments, layouts, or fun folds. I can cut the paper down, punch it, or die cut it.

I had hoped to do a couple of cards of each style, to show also how different the same design can look with different papers and stamps, but I have been up and down the cellar stairs tonight to protect myself against predicted tornados which materialized not far from here. So, one completed card and a second start.

The finished card uses strips of Stampin' Up! Designer Series Paper in Mariner (retired) with the octopus from Sea Street. And when you open the card, surprise! Those strips are actually on the inside of the card! Isn't that clever? This design comes from Connie Stewart from Simply Simple Stamping. You can find directions at her YouTube channel at the link; it's the light blue card. I thought that was so neat. I mean, it doesn't look like much until you open it. 

Here's the second card I started. This one uses strips of Share What You Love DSP (ret.) on a kraft base (that I didn't have to cut!).

 Well, that's a start. Hoping the weather cooperates tomorrow so I can make a couple more cards to share!