Wise Friend

 

How about a wise friend in a nontraditional color? For the Cupcake Inspirations Challenge this month, I made a turquoise owl. The unexpected color really pops! 

Starting with the stenciled background, I used Gina K Wild Lilac ink for the magenta, Altenew Firefly ink for the pistachio, and Gina K Blue Lagoon ink for the turquoise. The Lawn Fawn stencil makes a whoosh of fall leaves blowing in the wind! 

The owl has some small pieces, so a pick up stick and tweezers come in handy for assembly. The glitter card stock makes the wing stand out. Since the owl is pretty small, it works well as an accent with the large word "hello" from Emily Moore Designs. The leaf die cuts come with the owl die set. This set will come in handy for fall and Halloween cards. 

Supplies:

Altenew Woodland Wisdom mini-delight set, Firefly ink

Gina K Designs Tiny Tags die, Wild Lilac & Blue Lagoon ink 

Emily Moore Designs hi hey, hello word dies set

Lawn Fawn Autumn Breeze stencil

Paper Studio glitter cardstock

Other challenges entered: 

Crafters Cafe- anything goes

 A Cut Above- use diecuts

Paper Rocks Scissors use paper or scissors

Triple B Butterflies, Birds or Blooms

Critter Crazy Challenges use a critter (owl)

How Sweet it is...

James Taylor's song "How Sweet It Is  (to be loved by you)" was the inspiration for this card. Play along this month at A Place to Start challenge blog with a card inspired by a song or anything goes (as always).

The popsicle diecuts are the August mini-delight from Altenew. It comes with a variety of toppings for the popsicles. I chose to go with chocolate dip with nuts and a brown glitter swirl. I filled the Emily Moore Designs shaker frame with clay sprinkles.

                               

 The inside of the card is finished with the leftover cut out and more lyrics from the song. Yes, I used my own handwriting, which can be tricky because it usually isn't perfect. I think the recipient will enjoy the personal touch though. I did practice on a piece of paper for spacing before writing on the actual card. 

This would make a great card to remind someone how well they love you or switch it up with some red and pink hearts or sequins for Valentine's Day. 

Supplies:

Altenew Sweet Popsicles mini-delight set Aug 2026, Adore You stamp set (Thank you), Coffee Break cardstock set, Red Cosmos enamel dots (heart)

Emily Moore Designs Shaker Frame The Doily

Trinity Stamps sprinkles clay embellishments

Gina K Designs dark chocolate ink

Paper Studio glitter cardstock

Scrapbook.com acetate

Hobby Lobby foam tape

Challenges:

A Place to Start Inspired by a song

A Cut Above Use diecuts

Paper Rocks Scissors use paper or scissors

The Neglected Stuff Use anything old and neglected from your stash.  I used some clay sprinkles I've had forever! 

 

In the Garden

 

In the Garden

Cupcake Inspirations challenge this month is "in the garden". My own garden is mainly flowers with a few tomato plants, so this card shows my floral harvest. Play along with us at Cupcake Inspirations.

Create your own Patterned Paper

Create your own patterned paper with stencils, like this one from Emily Moore Designs. The layered stencil set comes with 3 floral stencils, 1 foliage, stencil and 1 stencil for the floral centers. Use brown ink for the centers to match the wooden crate. Using Emily Moore Shaker Frame, The Doily, die cut the floral paper you've created. This shaker frame doesn't have to be a shaker, just pop it up with some foam tape on green cardstock to add dimension. Stamp the gardening tools on the green layer and adhere a few of the foliage pieces to this layer. 

Die Cut Garden Crate

This little garden crate from Altenew is super cute with the wood pattern etchings. The floral dies come in this Gardener's Corner set as well. Add some mini sequins for centers and a little more shine on the sentiment using a clear shimmer glitter brush pen. This same shimmer will work well on the hand trowel if you'd like. 

Supplies:

Emily Moore Designs: Field of Flowers Layered Stencils, Shaker Frame The Doily

Altenew Gardener's Corner stamp & die set, Timeless Sentiments 2

Gina K Designs & Altenew Inks

Scrapbook.com clear shimmer glitter brush pen 

Challenges:

Cupcake Inspirations In the Garden theme 8/10-9/14

 

Birthday Cake Gift Card Holder

 

                                    

The challenge twist this month at A Place to Start is to make a card without using rectangles. Here's a birthday cake shaped card with a gift card holder inside. It's super easy to make using these Emily Moore Designs products. 

Cutting the Cake Shape Card Base

To cut the base of the cake shape card, just align the left side of the cake base die along the folded edge but leave the die hanging off of the paper so that side won't be cut. 

Make it Special 

Use some brown glitter card stock for the chocolate icing and some patterned dot paper for some extra special touches. The dots remind me of sprinkles! I aligned some icing dollops over the gift card holder edges. 

Supplies:

Emily Moore Designs Gift Card Holder- Make a Cake, "for you" word dies, Short and Sweet Happy Birthday dies

Gina K Cozy Textures Patterned Paper (retired), Intricut die cutting machine

Paper Studio glitter cardstock pack

Challenges:

 A Place to Start August Challenge ATG, twist of no rectangles 8/3-8/28