Same supplies - different card!

Card project designed by Sharon M. Reinhart

Well I was on a mission to go through my supplies and organize. My mission ended quickly once I found all of the leftover kits from previous card classes and make and takes! I was still on a mission, but more of a creative one rather than a cleaning one! The mission if I accepted was to take these card kits and without adding more supplies switch the card design up! I gladly accepted this mission and thought I would share the results with you.

The original card was basically the card on the left but without the extra aqua card base. The tea bag fold was a basic triangle tea bag fold using squares of Recollections paper and the white base was pressure embossed and then dots of craft paint were added as an accent using the end of a paint brush using a dip-dot method. You can also use a stylus for this as well. Just dip the instrument into the craft paint and then dot onto your cardstock. The craft paint was also used to color the layered square of cardstock underneath the die-cut square simply using a sponge.

The first switch up (on the left) was to trim the panel to fit the aqua card base. This was another find in my inventory, pre-made note cards that had a beautiful silver embossed double frame on the front. The first switch up entailed using only a single silver frame. The second change on this card was to add a bit of Stickles glitter glue to the silver brad and random paint dots.

The second switch up (card on the right) was made into a side-fold portrait card. The fold made use of a progression fold, starting with a basic triangle fold and then folding the top left and right points under to the center to create this beautifully textured square design in the center. If you are interested in tea bag folding and looking for more progressions you may wish to check out my Fabulous Paper Folds online class or DVD, I share the basics and then a multitude of progressions! To change this design a little further I trimmed the white panel a little smaller to make use of the double silver frame on the pre-made card base. The other switch up was to use two more squares of the printed paper that was used for the tea bag fold as a layering element underneath the die-cut square.

So if you have left-over kits or bits and pieces from previous creations, challenge yourself to make something new using the same supplies. Hope you are inspired to create!
Creatively Yours,
Sharon

Birthday Inspiration!

Card project designed by Sharon M. Reinhart

Stopping by with this quick and simple but cute card! It can't get much easier! The panel is from a sheet of cardstock that has these panels printed multiple times, it is from Scrapbook Customs, Her Birthday Words/plaid #38793A.The flowers and foliage on the panel inspired me to add some die cut flowers using the Elizabeth Crafts Design Bunch of Flowers 2 #729 set, along with Cheery Lynn Designs Mini Fanciful Flourish B117S. The base card is a 5-inch white cardstock side fold followed by a layer of Bazzill pink tutu pink cardstock and the printed panel was layered to a slightly larger piece of black cardstock. I also cut an additional piece of the birthday wishes sentiment and adhered on top of the panel using foam mounting tape for added dimension. Add a couple of adhesive rhinestones to the flowers and this one is good to go!
Hope you like it and are inspired to create!
Creatively Yours,
Sharon

Bit of Spring!

Card project designed by Sharon M. Reinhart March 2019

Stopping by with a cute card that offers a feeling of Spring and would be perfect for a variety of occasions from birthday, Mother's Day, new baby, Easter, and thinking of you.

I feel like there is a bit of a trend happening right now which combines stamped words with die-cut script words. I love the look! It is easy to accomplish as well. For this card the effect was created with a stamp set from Stampin' Up. I chose the sentiment "sent with love". Simply place a post it note or painters tape over the area that you do not wish to have stamped. In this case I masked off the word "love". Next ink up the stamp, remove the post it note or painters tape and stamp the sentiment onto white cardstock. Next, die-cut the word "love" from pink cardstock, this particular one is from a Recollections set but there are many die-cut word sets available through a variety of manufacturers. Add the die-cut word below the stamped greeting. It's that simple!

If you don't have a lot of word stamps try using a label maker or perhaps computer generate the words and print them onto cardstock. Further options would be to use sticker words or cut words from old books.

Now onto the actual card. This card is an A2 side fold card. A beautiful scalloped edge window has been created using the Reverse Stitched Scalloped Circle die set from Lawn Fawn. Cut the window in the top portion of a white panel of cardstock and layer to a pink cardstock panel that is slightly larger. Adhere to the card front.

Die-cut a flower using white cardstock and the Elizabeth Craft Designs Victorian Flower Overlay Set 1. Wrap metallic thread around your fingers and sandwich it between the die-cut flower and the pink layer on the card front. Next die-cut the flower center and adhere using foam mounting tape. To dress up this delightful flower apply adhesive glitter dots. I use my piercing tool to lift the adhesive dots from the backing sheet and to place them on my image. Glitter dots are available in a variety of colors and add the perfect amount of bling without the bulk!

To further embellish the card front, die-cut a little bow using the Elizabeth Craft Designs Lollypop, set or alternatively tie a bow with narrow ribbon or twine. Add a glitter dot to the center and adhere to the card front. Punch the sentiment out using an oval punch or die, a Fiskars punch was used here. Punch an additional oval from pink cardstock, cut in half and adhere to the back of the sentiment piece at left and right sides to create a layering effect. Adhere to the card front using foam mounting tape.

I realize that I have used several products from Elizabeth Craft Designs; the flower, lollypop (bow) and the glitter dots. No, I do not work for this company I simply enjoy using their products. Please know I will always give you my honest opinions regardless.

This card is simple to make and offers beautiful results! I hope you have been inspired to create!
Creatively Yours,
Sharon

Valentine Inspiration!

Just a quick post to offer up some Valentine card making inspiration and to say Happy Valentine's Day to all!
This card is mainly comprised of Stampin' Up supplies in particular their designer paper and the Be Mine die set. The love word at the bottom is a Recollections die however I know there are many word die templates out there, I am sure you will have one that works perfectly. I would like to give a shout out to my Stampin' Up demonstrator and friend Jennifer Reynard - a very talented lady herself, thanks for always hooking me up with some wonderful supplies!
Creatively Yours,
Sharon

Countdown to Valentine's Day!

Card project designed by Sharon M. Reinhart February 2019

Stopping by with another sweet Valentine! This is another sweet and simple Valentine card. This card is a white side-fold A2 base. For those of you who may be new to card making, an A2 size card is 4-1/4 x 5 1/2 inches in its folded form. That being said it can be made by beginning with an 8-1/2 x 5-1/2 inch piece of cardstock and scoring and folding in half at 4-1/4, of it can be a gate-fold with an opening in the center scoring at 2-1/8 from each side. An A2 card may also be made beginning with a 4-1/4 x 11 inch piece of cardstock and scoring at 5-1/2 inches and folding in half. They can all be made as a side fold or a top fold although the most effective gate folds in order to still display are side folds.

Onwards with this particular card. The printed paper layer base is a Recollection paper that has been trimmed slightly leaving just a small border of plain white. The sizes I typically use for this type of layering is either 5-1/4 x 4 or 5 x 3-3/4 inches. Next is a layer of coral cardstock followed by a narrow strip of the word "love". This narrow strip is cut from a Canvas Corp paper. I love to create notched ribbon ends and find the quickest and most efficient method is to use either my hexagon or square punches, utilizing a corner area within the punch. Okay, folks, pull out your retro card making supplies that have been banished to the back of the cupboard! In order to create the black decorative edge strip I have used my mini scalloped edge scissors from Fiskars! I still love them! I begin with a larger width than required which results in two useable decorative strips once the cut is completed.

Die-cut or punch a couple of heart shapes. This particular heart is an older one from Stampin' Up that cuts and creates the Swiss dot effect at the same time.  A plain heart works equally as well, it can always be embossed with an embossing folder. Or if you do not have the tools in order to emboss, try stamping a texture on the hearts, or adding score lines to create an embossed design. Where there is a will there is a way! Wrap thread (this beautiful thread is from Wonderfil) a few times around fingers and secure with tape and then sandwich in between the two hearts. One heart has been adhered with double-sided tape and the other with foam mounting tape.

Die cut, punch or stamp "LOVE" and "YOU" and adhere to the heart shapes. These particular words are from a Sizzix set by Stephanie Barnard, #560025. This sweet Valentine is good to go! Hope you have been inspired to create!
Creatively Yours,
Sharon

Heartstrings Valentine!

Card project designed by Sharon M. Reinhart February 2019

Hi everyone! Stopping by with a simple yet striking Valentine card suitable for either a guy or gal!

This card is made with a side-fold A2 size (begin with 8-1/2 x 5-1/2 inches and score and fold in half) white shimmer cardstock base. A 2-inch x 5-1/2 inch piece of "love" cardstock from Canvas Corp has been layered onto two red scalloped strips at each side. The beautiful scalloped edge has been created with a Lawn Fawn die set called Stitched Scalloped Borders. An alternative would be any scalloped border die or punch, punched circles layered on top of each other or scalloped-edge scissors.

The next layer is created with 3 thread wrapped cardstock hearts. These particular hearts have been die-cut using a Spellbinders Scalloped-edge Nestablilities die template. The thread is a beautiful cream/gold thread from Wonderfil. I find it best to work from the spool while completing thread wrapped pieces. First tape the end of the thread to the back of the heart shape close to the top. My first wrap begins through the first valley to the right of center on the top of the heart and continues along through the first valley to the left at the bottom of the heart. Continue wrapping in an anti-clockwise manner until complete, trimming thread from spool and adhering to the back with tape.

The center heart has been adhered with foam mounting tape allowing further dimension and the top and bottom hearts are adhered with double sided tape. A gold heart, punched using a Fiskars punch adorns the center heart followed by three mini adhesive black rhinestones.

The finish on this card is a die-cut heart from the printed paper using a die from Penny Black that has 5 decorative hearts and 1 plain heart in the set and is called All My Hearts #51-180. Layered on top of this is a gold die-cut word "LOVE" which has been created with a Sizzix set by Stephanie Barnard #560025.

I like to add a bit of the décor to the inside of the card, so I just simply added a strip of red cardstock followed by a stamped greeting punched out with a circle punch. There are so many ways of carrying the design from the front to the inside, just add some of the same colors or images that have been used on the front. It is amazing how just a strip of cardstock and a little element such as a punched heart or greeting finishes the inside! Hope you like this card and are inspired to create!
Creatively Yours,
Sharon

Recycled Gift Bag

Gift bag repurposing project by Sharon M. Reinhart January 2019



Stopping by with a cute recycling project. I have a collection of little gift bags that are too cute to send to the recycling bin and with Valentine's Day being the next special occasion, I thought why not re-purpose these cute bags. The original bag is white with black printing and cording handles and rose pink colored ribbon.

I chose to trim the rose pink ribbon away and utilize it for something else, it wasn't quite the right pink to go with the printed paper I had selected. The next step is to measure the width of the bag and also the height of the printed area on the bag. Remember to do everything times two so that you can decorate both sides of the bag. Next cut your papers to your measurements and layer. I love the cardstock from Canvas Corp, it is simply a 12 inch piece of cardstock with a black base that has the word love printed in white with a pretty script font throughout the paper. I have chosen to cut two narrow strips to accent the top and bottom of the printed pink and white paper. This also co-ordinates with the black cording that came on the bag. Next I cut different heart shapes and layered them on top adding a second heart to the center one and also at the top of the bag where the rose pink ribbon was trimmed away. Voila! a quick but cute project that I am sure will be used for some treat giving this Valentine's! Hope you are inspired to create!
Creatively yours,
Sharon

Valentine Boxed Set

Card projects designed by Sharon M. Reinhart 2019

 Stopping by with a quick post today. A couple posts ago I shared a decorated repurposed gift card holder box and suggested that you stay tuned to see what I will use it for. Well I decided to make a gift set of Valentine's! The folded size of these are 3.25x4.25, however just measure the box that you are using to determine the size of your Valentine note cards. Then pull out your Valentine themed supplies and start creating. I used many of the same supplies that had been used on the box front, but the Valentine notes can be different from the box front if you choose. This would be a nice little hostess gift or if you sell your handmade creations at fairs it would be a great little ensemble. Keep in mind that they could be created for any reason or season not just Valentine's! I could see them used for Christmas and Easter tags and even Thinking of You note cards.

Hope you are inspired to create!

Creatively Yours,

Sharon

Love Letters!

Project designed by Sharon M. Reinhart January 2019

Back with more Valentine inspiration! This valentine makes use of stamps, die templates and an embossing folder to create some wonderful layers. The embossing folder is a Recollections product, the swirl border is from Dee's Distinctively border #3 and the balance of the layers -- hearts, mini envelope and insert is from Stampin Up's Love Notes Framelits set #142752. The stamp unfortunately is an older stamp from My Sentiments Exactly, so it could be difficult to find, but there is always a way to recreate the effect, look for some tips below!       

Start with an 8-1/2 x 11 inch piece of white cardstock, score at 4-1/4 and fold in half creating a portrait style side fold card. Next emboss the card front using the embossing folder and a die-cutting/embossing system.

Now onto creating the layers, layer a 2 x 5-1/2 piece of red cardstock to card front at right side. I did add some black distressing or edging to the panel prior to adhering to the card front. Next stamp the image and die-cut each letter out using a circle template, (Spellbinder's circles small Nestabilities) edge each circle with black ink. Layer the letters onto the red panel overlapping slightly. On the left side I actually began this by creating the envelope with love letters embellishment, instead of layering the one little heart onto the red heart I wove it through the slats and secured at the back. The first piece adhered on this side of the card was the little envelope embellishment made up of various elements from the die set and layered together collage style. Again, add some distressing/edging to the mini envelope. This is a wonderful way to make your own embellishments for cards, tags, gift bags, favors, etc. Gather all of the elements you wish to use and start layering together, don't forget to vary the adhesive used. For this embellishment I used foam mounting tape to add dimension with the white heart on the envelope and to adhere the woven heart on top of the envelope flap. Next die-cut a swirl border, adhere to card front right next to the mini envelope embellishment, trim excess and repeat at opposite end. The final touch is to add a few little black rhinestones to the white heart on the mini envelope.

I know that we don't always have the same supplies and some unfortunately may not be available to you. So look at your supplies and see what you can use to replicate. For example the stamp, just stamp some script onto white cardstock followed by an alphabet letter or use book print paper and stamp letters onto that or for further dimension layer chipboard letters on top instead of stamped letters. For the swirl border, try some delicate leaves or branches at each end. This is just a start to what you could use to re-create this design. Make it your own with your own supplies and have fun doing it!

I hope you have been inspired to create! Until next time ...
Creatively Yours,
Sharon

Valentine's Inspirations!

Todays post is a little Valentine Inspiration and a bit of a challenge to you as well. I love to look for different surfaces and blank forms to become my canvas so to speak. Well the inspiration here is the little gift card box on the left, of which was on clearance at Superstore after the holidays at drastically reduced prices. I thought they were beautiful to begin with but of course I have to create my handmade touches. There were a variety of designs and colors, but this one caught my eye for Valentine's. I can see many uses for this little box besides using it as a gift card holder. Perhaps a gift of handmade tags or mini note cards. The first step was to transform the outside of the box.

I began by removing any traces of Christmas, which was easily accomplished without damaging the box. Try using a piece of dental floss and wiggling it under the embellishments or sometimes a little bit of heat with a heat tool is enough.

My next step was pulling out Valentine theme supplies.  One of my most favorite heart die template sets is one from Cheery Lynn Designs, which is DL128 Two of Hearts. I die cut the largest heart out of gold mirror cardstock. It was going to need a layer underneath so I chose another die template from Cheery Lynn, this particular die template is the Mini Fanciful Flourish B117S, so I die-cut two of these from white glossy cardstock and layered them under the gold heart. It needed just something else in the middle of the gold heart, nothing too large or elaborate. I chose this stitched heart from a Lawn Fawn set the Reverse Stitched Scalloped Circle windows set which has a tiny stitched heart in the set. This was also die-cut from glossy white cardstock. The last die-cut to use was a sentiment that would fit beautifully in the bottom right corner. One simple word "LOVE" was all that it needed. This die is from a Sizzix set by Stephanie Barnard #560025. I also die-cut the word from glossy white cardstock.

Yes, I am all about handmade, but sometimes it just makes sense to start off with something pre-made and add to it, especially if it makes dollar cents too! So don't be afraid to use pre-made items, note cards etc. and add to it in order to make it your own. I have also done this same thing with printed cards that are just begging for more dimension and design! I hope you are inspired to create and like the transformation and stay tuned to see what I end up designing for the inside of this box!
Creatively Yours,
Sharon

Time to Celebrate 2019!

Designed by Sharon M. Reinhart December 2018

Happy New Year to each of you! I hope that 2019 will be a great year for all and that we will be able to feed our creative souls throughout the year! Just a quick little post today, its about using what you have when you do not have a theme specific design. I wanted to create a card for the New Year and didn't have stamps that were specific to New Years. Can you believe it? I know I can't either, although maybe its more about my organization or lack of organization right now. Anyway I pulled out some background stamps from the Stampin' Up Gorgeous Grunge set and a clock and sentiment stamp from a Technique Tuesday set.

The background was created with the horizontal lines stamped in red ink, splatter in black ink and once dry I also heat embossed a second set of splatter with silver embossing powder. An additional clock was created and also heat embossed with silver and then die-cut using a Spellbinder's circle die template. The hands of the clock have been stamped with red ink and a mini silver brad attached to the center.  The sentiment, perfect for New Year's or any celebration was stamped with red ink and then layered onto red cardstock followed by the beautiful glitter paper. A little secret here, I didn't have any silver glitter paper but I did have this beautiful gift bag and cut it apart to create my glitter layer -- another way to recycle! I truly hope you are inspired to create! Until next time, All the Best to You and Yours!
Creatively Yours,
Sharon

Journey back to Creativity!

Designed by Sharon M. Reinhart September 2018

I am happy to say that I am back! I also apologize for the long hiatus, been devoting the majority of my time to my Dad who has some major heath issues. I realize though that I also need to allow my self the opportunity to do some of the things that are important to me -- and creating, sharing, teaching, writing, designing are some of the things besides family that are important to me.

So it is my goal to regularly post and hopefully inspire some of you!

Lets get to it! Thanks to Carole Crawford from Paper Pastimes in Calgary who recommended this die set from Elizabeth Craft Designs to me. I was looking for some creative inspiration and I believe I found it. The Christmas season is truly one of my favorites and one of my favorites to create for, whether it be cards, favors, décor, etc.

I have chosen cards simple in design that a beginner could create quite easily and one that I think an advanced crafter could also appreciate. These snowflakes are quite possibly the most beautiful I have seen. They have been created with a die-template and not only are they simply beautiful but they have dimensional aspects built right into the die-cut. By simply lifting elements of the design up it is easy to create dimension without even layering multiple die-cuts. They die-cut beautifully! This set is #1409 Ornate Snowflakes. Please know that I do not receive compensation from Elizabeth Craft Designs however that being said you will always get my honest opinion!

Now I must say that I am also in the mode of using up some of my beautiful papers that are discontinued and that I was not able to use for publication or when I was writing for publications such as CardMaker Magazine. (miss that magazine and the wonderful people I had the pleasure of working with over many years) So you know what they say, seize the opportunity! This is mine and your opportunity to pull out some of those beautiful papers and give them life once again!

The NOEL die template is a Spellbinders die set called Ho Ho Ho Holiday 2017 #S2-266, that I was demonstrating with last year at the Scrapbook Carnival at Spruce Meadows which is still showing available on their website.

Add some glitter with adhesive rhinestones and stickles glitter glue, a stamped or die-cut greeting and these cards are good to go!

As you can see an A2 card can change its appearance just by changing the orientation from portrait (tis the season card) to landscape as shown in the NOEL card.

I truly hope that you have been inspired to create!
Creatively Yours,
Sharon

Mother's Day Inspiration

Cards designed by Sharon M. Reinhart

Hello, my sincere apologies for being absent for so long -- unfortunately I have been dealing with some parent health issues which sadly are still ongoing. I did manage though to take a creative break the other day. Its amazing how when one is not creating regularly how it becomes a difficult process when you get back to it. I am so glad though that I did get back to it and hope to find my muse once again. For those of you who find themselves in the same position I encourage you to just pull out some supplies and tools and get cracking. Its kind of like falling off the horse and getting back on again. Don't forget through the process to be kind to yourself as well and not to be overly critical. I also recommend just taking some classes just for fun, seek out some of your local talents and see what they have to offer. Allowing yourself some time to be creative is great food for the soul!

Anyways, I wanted to share with you a couple of cards that I did manage to finish. A shout out to Island Paperie in Maui! I had the pleasure of visiting this shop a few years ago, I did of course buy some papers but the owner also provided product support of some for an article that was published. Many thanks again! The printed papers used on both of these cards are from Island Paperie. I encourage you to visit their site www.islandpaperie.com.

These cards are 4 1/2 inches square with the card base being a cream pearl cardstock with a turquoise cardstock layer followed by the printed paper from Island Paperie called Hibiscus Blues Scatter G15. Both cards make use of the Flourish Thinlets dies #141478 from Stampin' Up. The scallop element shown on the floral trio is the Stitched Scalloped Borders die template from Lawn Fawn #LF612 which has three lovely scallop border designs in the set. The centers of the floral trio are created with a floral hand punch by Fiskars -- those old school tools still come in handy! Don't forget to pull out your hand punches and your fancy edge scissors! For the word MOM simply use stickers or die-cut alphabet letters or even alphabet beads or stamped letters. Don't be afraid to experiment with what you have, it does not have to be exactly the same as the sample you are recreating.
I hope you have been inspired to create!
Creatively Yours,
Sharon

Happy Valentine's Day!

Project design by Sharon M. Reinhart may be used for personal use.

Another card coming your way on this Valentine's Day! This one makes use of an A2 size white card base that has been embossed using a wonderful embossing folder by Spellbinders -- the Quilt It SES 013. That being said, there are many wonderful embossing folders that would also work nicely with this card design. Embossed hearts or swirls would look lovely and whichever you use remember to emboss the black cardstock hearts to add a little visual interest. A piece of printed cardstock in the center creates a wonderful base for layering die-cut hearts and other elements such as the stamped and punched greeting from Stampin' Up or the die-cut word. If you do not have any suitable printed cardstock (this particular one I believe was from Canvas Corp) try stamping with a word stamp and repeating the design until the panel is full or even a page from a book or romantic novel would work great. Hope you have been inspired to create something wonderful today!
Creatively Yours,
Sharon

Lovely in Pink Valentine!

We are getting closer to Valentine's Day and I have a couple more creations to share with you. Today I have chosen this Lovely in Pink card which is a 5-inch square side fold card. Mini envelopes are a wonderful way to add interest, create little pockets and tuck love notes into. These particular mini envelopes are die-cut using the Love Notes Framelits set from Stampin' Up. There are many methods of generating a mini envelope, from die-cutting to stamping or using an envelope punch board. The hearts and words are all die-cut using a Sizzix die template set #560025 designed by Stephanie Barnard. The paper is a Recollections paper that works perfectly to create this delicate Valentine. The cardstock strip along the bottom provides an area to add a touch of white satin ribbon and to provide a resting place for the arrow which is also created using the Love Notes set. I have chosen to adhere the cardstock strip with foam mounting squares in order to add a bit of dimension. Hope it provides you with some inspiration!
Creatively Yours,
Sharon

More Valentines!

Hi there, this post has a bit of a challenge involved. It involves taking a pre-made card and turning it into a different card. The red and white card was some cards that a friend was getting rid of and of course I thought I would have a purpose for them being an avid paper-crafter. The black, white and gold cards were purchased at a dollar store as they were inexpensive and I was looking for that size of envelope and they worked perfectly.

The black, white and gold card original size is 4 3/4 x 3 3/8-inches, a perfect size for Valentine's cards or Thank-you notes, the back of the card is stamped as an Anna Griffin Design. I thought not only could I use the envelopes but the cardstock print was rather quite pretty as well. So, I went about on my challenge to create a simple card that was attractive. I believe I accomplished this -- I hope you will agree! My finished card is an A2 size card 4 1/4 x 5 1/2-inches. I began by trimming the card front from the decorative print note card and layered it to black cardstock and then onto a white card base. The pretty gold sections in the printed card was the inspiration to die-cut a design from shiny gold cardstock and I chose to use a D-Lites die from Spellbinders called the Frills Etched Die #S1-017. Next I layered that piece onto a strip of black cardstock with a banner notch cut at one end. One of my favorite methods for cutting banner notches is to use my hexagon punch. A square punch or even a heart punch works wonderfully as well.

This die-cut frill was begging to frame a beautiful flower or medallion. I chose to create a tea-bag folded medallion using pearl text weight paper. The basic circle method with a top layer fold back progression was used. If you would like to learn more about tea-bag folding I do have a class called Fabulous Folds available in DVD or online format through Annie's or I also have some copies of the DVD in stock as well as my Tea Bag Folding Through the Seasons book, just leave me a message.
Back to this card, the finishing touch on this card was to create a sentiment panel. I die-cut a small label square and cut it in half and attached a die-cut sentiment to it and then layered it to the bottom right on the card front.

The second card with an original size of 5 1/4 x 3 3/4-inches also includes a tea-bag folded medallion that makes use of a square fold with a progression folding the top left and right layers to the center. To add a bit more visual interest I applied some decorative tape to a cardstock panel and trimmed to 1-inch wide. The words "LOVE" and "YOU" (Sizzix die template #560025) were also cut from the tape/cardstock panel.

Hope you enjoyed seeing these "from this to that" cards and you are inspired to create! Keep watching for more Valentine's Inspiration!
Creatively Yours,
Sharon

Love-ly Inspiration!

Project design by Sharon M. Reinhart, may be used for personal use.

Before you know it Valentines will be upon us. Just stopping by to share a little more Valentine card inspiration. Check back soon, between now and February 14, I will be sharing lots of Valentine ideas.

This Love-ly card begins with a pink shimmer card stock base. Cardstock is cut 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches and scored at 4 1/4 inches and folded in half. For those of you that are beginners this is called an A2 size card with a side fold. The orientation for this one is portrait like a portrait of a person however it could also be created in a landscape orientation like a picture of the horizon or landscape. Another method of creating the A2 base card for this project is to cut your cardstock to 4 1/4 x 11 inches and then score at 5 1/2 inches and fold the card in half creating a top fold A2 portrait style card.

Ok, now onto the decorative part. Layer a 3 3/4 x 5 inch panel of printed paper to a 4 x 5 1/4 inch piece of white cardstock. Then layer onto the card front. I used a memory box die template to create the mesh effect, however if you do not have this die another option is to use adhesive drywall tape, it works wonderfully. A strip of ribbon or perhaps an embossed strip of white cardstock using an embossing folder that has a grid or line pattern would look equally as nice! I am sure you can see that with card making there are all sorts of options. Don't let not having the exact same supplies stop you from creating something beautiful!

The beautiful die-cut heart is one of my favorite die templates and it is from Cheery Lynn Designs it is called Two of Hearts DL128. Again, if you do not have this particular one just layer a plain heart to a decorative edge heart such as a scalloped heart. A plain white cardstock heart has been layered to the decorative pink shimmer cardstock heart. Next for a nice finish here, I have tied a piece of pink tulle into a bow and adhered it to the center of the heart using Tombow Multi Medium. A sentiment has been added by die-cutting the words LOVE and YOU, these dies are from a Sizzix set by Stephanie Barnard #560025 Framelits and Step-Ups. The delicate swirl has also been created with the same die set. To add a little bit of glitz a few pink sparkly gems have been added, these particular gems were found at Dollarama.

Keep in mind that I am using supplies that I have and encouraging you to do the same. Also, I am not being compensated by these companies but will try to list the product names or numbers where possible. I will also try to give you a few creative options just in case and warn you that some of the supplies may not be available but I also know that many of us have tons of wonderful tools and supplies that have been relegated to cupboards and drawers like old toys. Well here is your challenge, pull out those tools and supplies that you used to love so much and have forgotten about and give them a chance to once again be center stage on your creations!

I hope you have been inspired to create!
Creatively Yours,
Sharon

Valentine Inspiration!

Project design by Sharon M. Reinhart - may be used by readers for personal use

This time of year I am typically organizing and cleaning up from the creative mess that remained after creating for Christmas. I was going through my old papers determining what to keep and what to give away when I noticed lots of beautiful papers that are discontinued. Why am I not using these? No, I cannot use them for published works but I can for personal and for kits for others to have fun with. Before my Mom passed away I used to make little card kits for her and I to enjoy some time together and recently I even had my Dad working on some Christmas cards with me. Whether discontinued or not pretty paper can always be used. There are many seniors at centers who would love to receive a special kit, or even children, or a girlfriend that would like to get creative over a a cup of coffee with you. Keep it simple, include all of the pieces needed in the kit. It is best if there isn't a big list of other supplies required in order to complete the kit, maybe just some glue or tape and scissors.

Now, onto the inspiration for this post. It is a cute little Valentine created with some old double sided paper that actually was a Christmas print with deer on one side and this delightful pattern on the other. I thought the colors and pattern was perfect for Valentines! This is a simple collage of die-cut hearts and words using a Stampin' Up set called Love Notes Framelits, a Sizzix set by Stephanie Barnard - Framelits Step-Ups /560025 and a heart die from Spellbinders.

Just pull out your heart themed supplies and use what you have. Punches, stickers, dies, stamps they all would easily translate into this card. Before you pack away all of your Christmas themed supplies, take another look, I am sure you will find many that would also work wonderfully for Valentine creations! I hope you are inspired to create!
Creatively Yours,
Sharon

'Twas the week before Christmas!

Projects designed by Sharon M. Reinhart
as shown in the Dec. 18, 2017 CardMaker Update

If you are looking for some inspiration for Christmas tags, bags and gift card holders look no further! My most recent CardMaker Update has just been released and I would love it if you would head on over to www.cardmakermagazine.com to take a peek at all the photos and content! I am quite pleased with these projects and hope you will be too!
I would like to take this opportunity to wish each of you a very Merry Christmas, may it be spent sharing wonderful moments with the special people in your life!
Creatively Yours,
Sharon

Boxful of Thanks

Being grateful isn't just reserved for one specific date of the year however we do tend to put a bit more focus on it around certain holidays. The Canadian Thanksgiving holiday has come and gone and I hope everyone enjoyed a warm celebration with family and friends. The American Thanksgiving holiday is just around the corner and possibly some of you are looking for some Thanksgiving inspiration. That being said, any of these projects can be changed from a Thanksgiving theme to a Christmas or birthday theme, in fact probably any theme that you are celebrating! We don't necessarily need a theme to show our appreciation!

I invite you to view my most recent CardMaker Update which is all about creating with boxes! For instructions and complete photos just head on over to www.cardmakermagazine.com and take a look at the November 6 Update! I hope you enjoy it!
Creatively Yours,
Sharon