All Occasion cards

My favorite cards to make are the "just because" cards that you can use for any occasion. They're great to have on hand if you need a quick thank you, birthday, get well or thinking of you card. Here are a few I made recently.

The patterned cardstock is Making Memories Cosmopolitan collection, the flower is by Me & My Big Ideas (Soft Spoken line) and the chocolate brown satin ribbon is from my stash. I love the blue, brown and cream color combination. The patterned cardstock was definitely the inspiration for this one. I reach for this collection again and again.

To this cream linen card base, I added a strip of pink cardstock by Flavia (Peaches and Pomegranates collection). The squares are color-blocking "sticky swatches" from the Scrapbook Wizard. The polka-dotted Prima flower sits atop a larger one by Build-a-Blossom. Of course, a little bling in the middle doesn't hurt a bit.

This simple card is a variation of my go-to style ... pattern + solid + ribbon or cardstock strip separating the two. My crafting goal this year is to spend more time outside my box. First, of course, I'll show you a few I've already made that are definitely inside my comfort zone. The fun "hot lips" cardstock is by DCWV. Their Rockstar mat stacks incorporate foil; so, I used glossy pink and black cardstock to keep the look consistent. This card speaks to my inner rocker chick.

 The male version of the "hot lips" card ... we'll call this one "guitar dude." Of course, it's really gender neutral. But, I have enough trouble designing cards for teenage boys. So, this one's for the guys.

Eagle Scout cards

My friend April has a son in the Boy Scouts. While attaining the rank of Eagle Scout is quite an accomplishment, finding a card to mark the occasion has become difficult at best. Both of these cards are very clean and simple. I used my Cricut (Doodletype font) to cut the letters and my Xyron to apply the adhesive.

On this cream linen card, I used brown letters and tied a small "Congrats!" tag with string.

This card is khaki green, with a lighter shade of green for the letters. I cut both words as usual, but when I looked at the negative space from the word, "Scout," I decided to use that instead.

Birthday cards

Clearly, I still need to work out a few lighting issues with my photos, but this will give you an idea of what I've been doing.

The inspiration for this card was a set of scrapbooking tags I received as a gift from my friend April. The "Happy Birthday" stamp by Hampton Art fit nicely inside the rectangle tag. In my stash was this great geometric print, double-sided cardstock by American Crafts ... a real find at 10 cents a sheet! (Paper freaks always check the clearance section.) I used the reverse side of the cardstock, a rich plum, for the top section of the card and bordered the edge with a black marker. I lined the inside of the card with white.

Designing masculine cards has always been a bit of a challenge for me. The word "masculine" evokes images of darker colors, metals, and rough-hewn textures ... not really my style, per se. This brown plaid card from My Mind's Eye seemed to be a good starting point. I had a set of leather frames from Making Memories and decided to play up the red in the plaid to match the inside of the card. I stamped and embossed "Birthday Wishes" (by Hero Arts) onto a slightly larger rectangle of sand-colored cardstock, bordering the edge with my trusty black Zig marker. A strip of cardstock in a coordinating stripe completes the look.

Shopping in my own "store"

Well, I've already confessed to being a paper freak. What I failed to mention is that I'm also enamored with all types of flowers, ribbons and other paper crafting embellishments. As my mom has told me countless times, "You have enough to open your own store." I suppose she has a point. It took a lot of willpower (and a tough economy), but I managed to not set foot in a craft store for nearly a year. Instead, I've been shopping in my very own "store." I now have several cards to show for it, and they didn't cost me a penny (well, not today anyway). And, wouldn't you know it? My stash doesn't look a bit smaller! I'd better get busy.

The roots of my paper addiction

I have a real l.o.v.e. of paper ... can't get enough of it. The more patterns, textures and colors, the better. I think it stems from being around so much fabric when I was growing up. My mom was a professional seamstress, and she could do magical things with a few yards of fabric. Sometimes, the garment design determined the fabric she chose; other times, the fabric inspired an outfit. It's the same with me and paper. Sometimes, I start with a card design in mind, but often it's a particular paper or embellishment that jump-starts my creativity.