World's Best Dad & Best Mom Ever Greeting Cards

 

Hello! Welcome back to my blog. I mixed several techniques in today's cards. I did the eclipse technique on a panel created with cardstock strips. I also did my all time favorite technique which is paper stitching. 

I created a dad card and a mom card which can be given any day, not only on Father's or Mother's day. That's why my subsentiment is a non-holiday/occasion sentiment. 

I started of with planning my color combinations for each card. I usually do a search online for color combos that will appeal to me. After going through my cardstock stash for the colors that I need, I trimmed these cardstocks into strips at 4 1/4" x 1/2". 

I adhered a double adhesive sheet on a printer paper cut at 4 1/4" x 5 1/2". I created two pieces of this panel. I adhered the cardstock strips to this panel making sure that each strip is butted to each other. After filling the whole panel with the cardstock strips, I burnished the panel with a scoring tool just to make sure that the cardstock strips are adhered well to the double adhesive sheet.

I die cut the letters from the Spellbinders Stitched Alphabet Etched dies on the panel. I kept every piece that fell off with the die cutting. I added stitching to these letters using DMC embroidery floss. I die cut two more pieces of each letter on black cardstock which I will use to add dimension to the stitched letters. 

I adhered another scrap piece of typing paper to the back of the striped panel. I pieced in the black die cut letters to the negative space on the striped panel. I pieced back the drop out pieces of the striped panel. I pre-treated the striped panel with an anti-static powder tool. I stamped a floral background to the mom panel using Versamark ink. The stamp I used is from Honey Bee. For the dad panel, I stamped several stars using stamps from the Altenew Halftone Stars stamp set. I used Versamark ink in stamping. I poured clear embossing powder to the sticky ink then heat embossed it.

I trimmed an 8th of an inch from each side of the panel. I adhered this striped panel on a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" cardstock.

I adhered the rest of the letters to the panel by aligning the letters to the letters already pieced in the panel.

I stamped a subsentiment on a cardstock strip using dye inks. I adhered this to the panel.

I hope you like today's cards. Thank you for visiting my blog. Have a blessed, brilliant and creative day!

Maria Giselle B.

Altenew is holding its annual card drive which aims to send homemade cards to the elderly who lives in nursing homes or shelters, and let them know that they are not forgotten. After losing my parents, I feel this is the best way to honor them by making other parents feel special. I hope you consider joining this drive. Please visit the Altenew Celebrating Parents Card Drive 2025 post for details. 

Baby Boy Themed Hot Air Balloon Centerpiece

Hello! Welcome back to my blog. Early this month I created a hot air balloon centerpiece for Paper Rose Studio. A coworker of mine liked it that she commissioned me to create a baby boy themed centerpiece which she will gift to a friend on her friend's baby shower.

I find it challenging to re-create a project I made. It gives me a chance to improve the design of the project.

My first challenge was to find the right patterned paper for the project. She requested it to be colored blue. My local craft store does not carry a lot of blue patterned paper. So, I resorted to online ordering with the hope that it is the right blue, and that it will arrive on time for me to meet my deadline. I ordered the patterned papers from Scrapbook.com which shipped my order in time. The patterned papers are from Doodlebug Design which was perfect for the project theme.

I won't go into details on how I created this centerpiece. If you are interested in the creation process, here is the link to the post of my first hot air balloon project which includes process photos:

https://ienjoywhatido.blogspot.com/2025/03/paper-rose-studio-sweet-valentine-hot.html

I cut the giraffe using Cricut. I layered the cuts. I added details to the eyes and the spots using markers. 

On the weaved basket, instead of cutting the excess, I folded the excess inward and adhered it to the inside of the basket. This made the edge of the basket smoother. This is one of the improvements I made on this balloon.

I adhered baby themed sequins on the bottom of the platform where the giraffe rests for additional details. I should have adhered this sequins before inserting the platform inside the basket. It just makes the adhering of the sequins easier.

I added something heavy underneath the platform to prevent the centerpiece from falling. This is another improvement to this hot air balloon. I used heavy foams from my stash which perfectly fitted underneath the platform. I got these foams from my sister, who is not sure how to use it.

I adhered a light blue pearl on the top of the hot air balloon for additional embellishment. This is another improvement to the design. It is also a way of hiding any imperfections with adhering the honeycomb paper.

This is how the hot air balloon looks viewing it form the side. I love the design variation created by the double sided patterned paper.

I took a photo of both hot air balloon centerpieces that I created before delivering the blue piece to my coworker. 

I hope you like today's project. Thank you for visiting my blog. Have a blessed, brilliant and creative day!

Maria Giselle B.

I am sharing this project at

Simon Says: Transport It

The Cherry Blog~March is National Craft Month!

March 2025 Challenge #74~Anything Goes #129

Floating Easter Quokka Pop Up

 

Hello! Welcome back to my blog. Today's project celebrates Easter using Kat Scrappiness products. The products I used on this pop up card are listed below. 

I stamped the quokka from KS Easter Quokkas stamp set on watercolor paper. I used Versafine Onyx black ink which is a watercolor friendly ink. Before applying watercolor, I dried the ink with a heat gun. I colored the quokka using Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolor. I dried the watercolor with a heat gun before die cutting the image using the coordinating die. I die cut another piece of the quokka which I will use as a backing later on.

I die cut the KS Pop Up Box craft die on orange, pink and yellow cardstocks. The die comes with three tiers of platforms. I die cut the lowest tier on pink and yellow cardstocks, while I die cut the main frame on orange cardstock.

I die cut the KS Buffalo Plaid Background craft die on blue cardstock. I adhered this to the pink tier die cut, trimming of the excess. I adhered the left over on the orange main frame, trimming any excess. I flicked gold paint on the pop-up box die cuts using the same gold watercolor I used on the egg on the stamped image. 

Using two sizes of ovals from the KS Never Ending Oval craft dies, I die cut an oval frame on lavender cardstock. I die cut two pieces on lavender cardstock and an extra piece on white cardstock.

On one of the lavender oval frames, I stamped the sentiments from the stamp set on the oval frame using Versafine ink. I prepared the area first with an anti-static tool. I used different colors of embossing powders for each sentiment, using the same colors I used on the pop-up box. 

I needed to embellish the oval frame. Since I don't have a KS flower stamp, I used the flower on the basket with the quokka included in the stamp set. I inked the flower using the same Versafine ink and stamped it on watercolor paper. I dried the ink with a heat gun and colored it with watercolor. I fussy cut the flowers and adhered it to the frame, in between the sentiments. I added a dot of glitter glue to the flower centers. I set this aside to dry.

I adhered a transparent thread to the back of the stamped quokka. I adhered the extra quokka die cut to the back of the stamped quokka to cover the thread. I adhered the knotted ends of the thread to the white oval frame die cut making sure the thread is stretched along the oval frame. I adhered the oval frames to the back and front of this white oval frame making sure the stamped frame is on the front, and that the front oval frame has only glue on the top half of it.. 

It is time to assemble the pop-up box. I adhered the left tab of the yellow tier to the left side of the orange main frame die cut. I adhered the pink tier after. I adhered the oval frame to the yellow tier by sandwiching the yellow tier in between the frames.

I added glue to the right tabs of the pink and yellow tiers. I closed up the orange main frame to these tabs to connect the tabs. I set this aside to dry. 

I hope you like today's projects. Thank you for visiting my blog. Have a blessed, brilliant and creative day!

Maria Giselle B.

I added below links to the Kat Scrappiness products I used on this project. There will be no additional cost to you should you decide to purchase any of these products. While you are at the Kat Scrappiness website, do check out their wide array of products. Enjoy!

I am sharing this project at

Anything Goes - Weeks #691-692

Animal Cards 4 Kids #23

Fun Shaped Front Trifold Card

Hello! Welcome back to my blog. Today's card features the Kat Scrappiness Easter Quokkas stamp and die sets. I hope you like it.

One of the sources of my inspiration is the stamp set itself. Looking at the KS Easter Quokkas stamp set, I could not help but notice one of the sentiments with what better timing. It does not only pertain to Easter but it also pertains to the cost of eggs. 

I looked at my stash and found this pretty Easter patterned paper which inspired me with the colors of the card. 

I colored the quokka with Copic markers. I die cut the quokka using the coordinating die. I die cut two more pieces on white cardstock to add dimension to the colored quokka.

 

To make this into a trifold card, I cut a 8 1/2" x 11" carstock at 5 1/2" on the long side to come up with 2 note cards. I scored both pieces at 4 1/4" on the long side. On one of the notecards, I partially die cut the front with an oval die from the KS Never Ending Oval Craft dies. Partial die cutting is when you leave a part of the die hanging off the cutting plates sandwich. Any part of the die and paper that are not in between the cutting plates sandwich will not be cut. In the case of my card, I left a part of the oval die hanging on the folded side of the note card. Doing such created an oval cut on the front of the card. But the cut is not complete yet. I used a trimmer to cut off the negative cut created by the oval die on the the scored line. You can also use a craft knife for this purpose.

I die cut a smaller oval on a teal colored cardstock. I ran this die cut inside an embossing folder to add wave impressions just like one of the eggs on the patterned paper. To add some color variation to this teal die cut, I lightly rubbed a white dye ink over the raised edges. 

For the sentiment, I die cut a speech bubble on a yellow cardstock. I stamped the sentiment on this die cut.

I adhered the teal die cut on the oval flap of the note card. I adhered the speech bubble on an extra speech bubble die cut. I adhered the speech bubble slightly beyond the margin of the oval flap. I sneaked another speech bubble die cut in between the red flap and teal oval die cut to which I adhered the yellow  speech bubble die cut. This adds some stability to this hanging embellishment.

 I adhered the quokka to this flap.

For the other notecard, I adhered the patterned paper cut at 4" x 5 1/4" to the front making sure the fold is on the right side of the patterned paper. I trimmed a sliver off the edge of the oval notecard. I applied glue to the inside of the patterned paper note card and adhered this to the back of the oval flap note card. 

I die cut a white cardstock using a die from the KS Stiched Rectangle craft dies. I adhered this to the inside of the trifold notecard. This will be a place to stamp a sentiment and to write a message to the recipient. 

Thank you for visiting my blog. I hope my card inspires you to create a trifold card. Have a blessed, brilliant and creative day!

Maria Giselle B.

I added below links to the Kat Scrappiness product I used on this project. There will be no additional cost to you should you decide to purchase this product. While you are at the Kat Scrappiness website, do check out their wide array of products. Enjoy!

I am sharing this project at

Simon Says: Use Your Favorite Technique (Mine is die cutting.) 

Anything Goes~Weeks #689-690

Paper Rose Studio Sweet Valentine Hot Air Balloon Centerpiece

Hello! Welcome back to my blog. Today's project features products from Paper Rose Studio's Sweet Valentine collection. I love this collection! It might be a Valentine's collection but who said it cannot be used for another occasion? 

My project involves a lot of techniques which I hopefully captured in the process photos below. This project also requires a lot of time and patience. I set the project aside a couple of times to allow the glue to set in. 

1. Creating the Weaved basket

I trimmed the Basics B 12x12 patterned paper into strips using the pattern as guide for trimming. I trimmed this paper in half so my strips will be 6" long.

I flipped the pink strips so that the wrong side is up. I taped the strips together to help control the movement of the paper during weaving. I weaved the striped patterned strips through the pink paper strips.

I only weaved 5 strips. The focal element I used is small. 

I added dots of glue to the weaved strips to keep the weaved strips permanently in place. 

Once the glue has dried, I flipped the weaved strips and scored the strips where the weave ended.

I folded these strips upward. I continued to weave paper through these strips that are sticking out to create the wall of the basket. 

There will be times when a strip of patterned paper is too short to weave around the whole basket. I tucked the end behind a vertical strip. I started with a new strip from where the last strip ended. I kept adding dots of glue to keep the weaving secure. I used laundry clips and reverse tweezers on areas that I applied glue on to hold the weave while the glue dries.

I trimmed off the excess vertical strips using the horizontal strip as a guide for cutting.

2. Creating the Honeycomb Balloon

I die cut 24 pieces of circles on the Basic E patterned paper. My circle is about 5 3/4" in diameter allowing me to cut 4 circles on a patterned paper.

I created a template using the negative circle die cut by folding this panel on the center. I used this to guide me where to score the circle die cut. 

I folded the circle die cut on the score line using a bone folder for a crisp fold.

I created another template using another negative die cut panel which I used as my gluing template. I marked the center of this template on the center as pointed by the arrow above. This is where I applied a line of glue on the inside of the fold, which is the B side of the circle die cuts.

I use clips to keep the folded circle adhered. As the glued circle die cuts piled up, I placed a magnet over the center of the half circles. I wait for about 10-15 minutes before going to the next step.

On the glued half circle die cuts, I applied a line of glue to the sides of the half circle, about 3/4" from the edges as shown above as red lines. The pink marks are guides as to where the half circle should be aligned.

After applying the liquid glue, I placed another glued half circle die cut over it. I continued this process with all the circles.

I adhered the half circle die cuts in batches. I glued 6 pieces together first. I clipped it with a laundry clip before working on another batch. Once I was done adhering the half circles together, I adhered the each batch of half circles together. 

I secured the 24 circles with a large laundry clip and set this aside to dry. I was tempted to open the folded balloon but decided not to.

3. Creating the Inner Basket Platform

I created a platform using a light pink cardstock to elevate the bunnies inside the weaved basket. 

I cut the cardstock based on the measurement of the inside of the basket plus 1/2" on all sides. I scored each side at 1/2".

I snipped the scored lines as seen above to create tabs. I folded the cardstock on the score lines. 

I slipped the unglued platform inside the weaved basket to see if it fits. 

I marked the center of the platform with a pencil. 

I hammered a hole on the marked dot on the platform.

I threaded a white stick through the hole to test the stick, if it fits the hole. 

I cut a hole on the corners where I will thread the yarn. At this point, the tabs were already glued. If I planned this ahead of time, I would have cut the slits before adhering the tabs. This trick still worked though.

I pushed the yarn through the holes with the help of a craft tweezer. If you noticed the yarn is knitted. I knitted this a while back. I was practicing how to knit. I am so glad that I am able to finally put this knitted yarn into use.

I switched to a glue gun to adhere the yarn to the bottom side of the platform.

This is how it looks with all the knitted yarn threaded through the corners of the stand.

I added a blob of glue using the glue gun on the reverse side of the stand. I stuck the stick through the hole and into the glue.

I added glue to the corners of the stand using a liquid glue. I also added a blob of glue from the glue gun on the bottom part of the weaved basket.

I inserted the stand to the weaved basket. I pushed the stick towards the weaved basket so it will be glued to the heat gun glue adhered on the bottom of the basket.

4. Connecting the Balloon to the Basket

I generously applied glue to the inside of the folded circles.

I added glue to the two outer ends of the half circle just like how I did it earlier.

I opened the folded half circles to make the ends meet and create the balloon. I applied clips to keep these ends together while the glue dries.

My stick was too thin to support the balloon. Good thing that I found another stick that is larger than the first stick. I was able to thread the thin stick through it. I applied a blob of glue using the glue gun on the bottom center hole of the honeycomb balloon. I inserted the stick into the glued hole. I squirted some glue to the base of the stick.

I applied liquid glue in between the honeycombs where I pushed the knitted yarn into. 

5. Adding the Critters

I used the negative space of the rabbits embellishment as a stencil to trace the shape of this die cut to a piece of white cardstock. The rabbits are from the Sweet Valentine Embossed Die Cuts pack.

I fussy cut this traced embellishment. I adhered this to the back of the embossed die cut to cover the stick as seen below.

If I will do this all over again, I will make the basket sturdier. Although this centerpiece does stand, it sometimes tumble forward based on how it was placed on the surface.

I adhered floral sequins to the floor of the platform for a bit of shimmer and interest.

I hope you like today's project. Thank you Paper Rose Studio for allowing me to share this project  in your blog. 

Have a blessed, brilliant and creative day!

Maria Giselle B.

I am sharing this project at

Challenge #324~Tie It Up #27

March Challenge~Spring Mood Board #2

Anything Goes