My Owl Card

Hey there, everyone!

It's the Blog Hogger, back with another card. A while ago, I posted some baby shower cards I made for a friend of one of my daughters. The mother-to-be loved the invitations, particularly because they featured owls. This seems to be a popular theme lately for babies.

Well, I'm happy to say she and her husband are now the proud parents of a beautiful baby girl! Yay for them!

Now, you know I just had to make them a congratulations card. And you also know it had to feature owls. :)

Here's the front of the card:

I used the Hardwood background stamp, and one of the Sassy Salutations stamps for the sentiment. The cardstock is Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake, Whisper White and Strawberry Slush. The ink is Chocolate Chip and Baked Brown Sugar.

The baby owl is from the long-retired Forest Friends stamp set, and it's peeking out through a hole I punched in the cardstock with the 1 3/8" Circle punch. The pink "frill" around the hole was done with the 1 3/8" Circle punch and the Scallop Circle punch.

The front is cute . . . but my favorite part is the inside! Once you open up the card, this is what you see:

Yup, there was some attention to details here, people! lol

Let's see, there's a mommy and daddy owl, compliments of the Owl Builder punch. There are hearts (from the same punch) floating up to the baby sitting on the branch. (Hmmm, now that I've sent the card, I just realized that's not the safest place for a baby, now is it?! lol)

The baby owl was stamped twice, once on the branch and then again on scrap paper. I colored it a delicate pink with Blushing Bride ink and a Blender Pen, and then cut it out and glued it on top of the first owl to make it stand out a bit more.

The branch is from the Up in the Air stamp set. I inked it up with markers, leaving out the birdhouse, and colored it with the Blender Pen.

I also used a scallop circle punched out and Soft Sky ink to make the clouds in the sky, and Old Olive ink to sponge some "grass" on the ground.

The sentiment is written on the left side of the card, when it's open. You can see a bit of the Whisper White cardstock I used off to the left.

I can't wait to get their reaction to this card! :)

A huge owl family hug to everyone,
Colleen

Spring Shadow Box Card

Good morning everyone,

It's the blog Hogger here, coming to you with details on how to make the Shadow Box card I gave Kathy for Easter. You know which one I mean . . . the one that topped the card Kathy made me! (Hey, I had to be sneaky in order to win but all's fair in love and cards, right? lol)

Today I made a similar card so I could do a photo tutorial for you.  Here's the view from the front:

And here's the view from the top:

So here are the details:

Cut two pieces of cardstock at 5 1/2" x 4 1/4". I used Bashful Blue cardstock (cs) for the outside and Whisper White for the inside.  Score both short ends on both pieces of cs at 1/2" and 1".

Cut out a shape in the middle of the Bashful Blue cs using the Labels Framelit Dies. I used the third smallest one.  (Hint: Use a Post-It Note to keep the shape in place when you run it through the Big Shot.)

Run the Bashful Blue cs through the Big Shot using the Finial Press Embossing Folder.  (That makes the score lines very faint, so you can score them again if you need to.)

Cut the Whisper White cs frame for the front, using the third smallest and next size larger dies from the Labels Framelit Dies.

Use the larger of the two frames to cut out the Window Sheet.  Here are the four pieces, all cut to size, that I used to make the card.

Lay the front onto the Whisper White layer, being careful to line up the two pieces of cs. Very lightly outline the bottom of the shape onto the inside layer. (This way you can determine the appropriate placement for the stamped image.)  Remove the outside layer, and stamp and decorate the inside layer.  Erase the pencil line.  (Hint: The legs on the fawn are not fun to cut out!  lol)

Attach the Window Sheet shape to the Whisper White frame using mini glue dots.  Attach the frame to the front of the Bashful Blue cs using mini glue dots.  (I tried to show the Window Sheet in the picture but, since it's clear, it's impossible to see.  However, the light from the flash bounces off it nicely!  lol

Fold the outside and inside sections towards each other, using the picture below for guidance.

Place Sticky Strip along the outside short edges of the Whisper White cs.  (By the way, it's easier to put the Sticky Strip on before you fold the score lines.)

Peel the backing from the Sticky Strip on one edge and carefully line up the edges with the top layer before securing. Do the same with the other side.  Decorate the front of the card with your sentiment, etc.  

I didn't put a sentiment on this card because I'm not sure what occasion I'll use it for yet.  (If you want to see where I put the sentiment on Kathy's card, check out the posting below.)  

Hmmm, maybe this will be my card for Mother's Day, Kathy!  (He he, this is an insider joke . . . that went to the world wide web during a previous posting!  Kathy and I are sooooo sisters!  lol)

If anything wasn't clear or you want more info on a particular part of the card, feel free to leave a comment and I'll respond.

Winning hugs,

Colleen

Easter Bunny!

Hi everyone!

I, your friendly neighborhood Blog Hogger, am definitely on a roll!  New product spurs my creativity and causes me to blog in spurts.  So, here's my latest card, just in time for Easter . . .

It's a version of my Window Sheet card, with a twist that Kathy suggested!  Check out the inside . . .

You can't see where I attached the Window Sheet 'cause I used the Labels Framelits Dies to cut the window sheet in the same shape and size as the Elegant Eggplant frame on the outside of the card.  Tada!!!

Now, let me explain in a little more detail what this card entails.

The Outside:

• The card base is Certainly Celery cardstock (cs) cut at 5 1/2" and scored at 4 1/4".
• The So Saffron cs layer is cut at 5 1/4" x 4".
• I ran both the front of the card and the So Saffron layer through the Big Shot using the smallest Labels Framelits Die at the same time (to make sure the holes lined up properly).
• Then I ran the So Saffron layer through the Big Shot again using the Square Lattice Embossing Folder.
• I made the Elegant Eggplant frame using the smallest and the second from the smallest Labels Framelits Dies.
• I cut out a piece of Window Sheet using the second from the smallest Labels Framelits Die.
• I used Mini Glue Dots to adhere the Window Sheet to the Elegant Eggplant frame and to connect that to the So Saffron layer.  (The Window Sheet is between the Elegant Eggplant frame and the So Saffron layer.)
• I glued the So Saffron layer to the card base.
• I made the flower using the Five Petal and Boho Blossoms punches and a brad.
• I used the Little Leaves Sizzlit Die to make the leaves and sponged the edges with Always Artichoke ink.
• I sponged the edges of everything I could find!  lol

The Inside:

• The Whisper White cs layer is cut at 5 1/4" x 4".
• I sponged Bashful Blue and Certainly Celery on the bottom right corner, leaving lots of room for a sentiment. 
• I stamped and cut out the bunny from the Forest Friends stamp set and used Dimensionals to pop it up.

And that's it, folks!

Fuzzy bunny hugs,

Colleen