Happy Thursday to You!

A while back my sister was visiting and she asked about the partially eaten chocolate fudge layer cake on the counter:

Sister: What is the cake for?

Me: Eating.

Sister: What's today? 

Me: Thursday.

Then I am pretty sure she broke into song and started singing Happy Thursday to You to the tune of Happy Birthday.  The moral of the story is that Thursday is a perfectly good reason to treat yourself to a chocolate fudge layer cake.

I am posting this bright and flowery Smile card to wish you a Happy Thursday!

Finished size is 4 1/4"x5 1/2"

This card is currently for sale in my Etsy shop. 

You Make Me Happy When Skies Are Gray

A good friend of mine has a delightful little online store called Green Grass Stamps.  She designs and sells rubber stamps and also designs blog headers.  In fact, she is the one that designed my Popper & Mimi logo!  I think her designs are brilliant! 

She designed a set of stamps titled "You Are My Sunshine".  I used one of her stamps to finish the card below.  The sun and clouds are die cut and I added raindrops using brads.  

If you are interested in any of her stamps or blog header designs, check out her store at: http://greengrassstamps.bigcartel.com/

Finished card size is 4 1/4"x5 1/2"

Mom! MOM! MOMMMMM! (And a glittered card)

Sometimes my Mommy duties get the best of me and I don't get my blog posts out until later in the day.  Such is the case today.  As I type, I am sauteing veg for vegetable chow mein while keeping an eye on boiling water.  I am not quite sure where the kids and hubby are.  I hope they show up before dinner is ready.

Dinner is now done and one kid is still on the lam.

 **********************************

Fast forward 15 hours.  It is now the next morning and I am I am determined to finish this blog post.

While I like finished glittered crafts, glitter is not my favorite crafting medium.  It gets everywhere and you see evidence of it for months, especially if the kids get into it.  Nevertheless, I thought I would make a set of cards with glittered accents.  While large prints are generally not well suited for cards, I really liked this aubergine and olive floral paper and wanted to do something with it.  Elements such as brads, ribbons and stamps would get lost in this paper so I opted to accent the lines on the print with glitter. 

After adhering the paper to the card, I applied craft glue to different parts of the print, sprinkled on loads of glitter, waited a few hours and gently tapped off the excess glitter.  The end.

Finished card size is 5"x5"

 This card is available as part of a set that is for sale in my Etsy shop. 

I Actually Did Something I Found on Pinterest!

If you are not familiar with pinterest.com, I imagine it will only be a matter of time.  In my own words I would describe Pinterest as a place to collect ideas for things you want to do later.  It can be more than that, but that is typically what I use it for.  

You can follow people on Pinterest similar to how you follow people on Twitter.  If you find a person with similar tastes, you can follow all or some of their boards without having to get their permission.  If you would like to follow all or some of my boards on Pinterest, go to http://www.pinterest.com/popperandmimi 

A while ago, I saw this picture frame on Pinterest: 

Photo: http://adiamondinthestuff.blogspot.com/

While it is a picture frame, I thought it would translate nicely into a Halloween greeting card.  Adhering all of those googly eyes took longer than I thought!  I started by adhering the four very large eyes and started by randomly placing different sized googly eyes on the card.  The smallest eyes were used to fill in the blanks where the larger eyes would not fit.  Since the card was much smaller than the frame, I opted just to add a satin ribbon rater than an additional sentiment.  Overall, I think it turned out pretty well!

Finished card size is 4 3/4"x4 3/4"

This card is currently for sale in my Etsy shop. 

Celebrate World Card Making Day on Oct. 1!

The 6th annual World Card Making Day falls on Saturday, October 1.  It is a paper crafting fest started by the crafty folks at Paper Crafts magazine.  It has since grown to include a number of crafting entities, including manufacturers and suppliers. 

Each year, World Card Making Day holds a card making contest.  This year I submitted two original designs--one in the birthday category, the other in the hello category.  I would love to post pictures of them, but for several reasons, I will wait until the contest deadline is over and winners are revealed.  I am sure I am one of thousands of entrants, but it was fun to jump into the creative pool.

I have also submitted my blog to be included in a list of bloggers who are participating in World Card Day.  

I will personally be celebrating World Card Making day by shopping at my local craft stores and making cards.  Sounds fun, huh?  :)

Click HERE to be inspired and get more information on World Card Making Day. 

Cheer Up!

Do you ever have "one of those days"?  Well, you can be sure that your friends do, too.  Receiving a sweet note can be a real pick-me-up.  This card was designed with "those days" in mind.  I tend to focus on thank you cards a lot, but there are plenty of occasions where a friendly note can make someone's day.   Here are some ideas for when to give a Cheer Up card: 

• Extended hospital stay
• Lost the spelling bee
• Tripped and dropped the cafeteria tray
• Ran out of diet Coke
• Not married to George Clooney

You get the idea.  You can have a little bit of fun by sending a Cheer Up card!  

How to make this card:

Mat printed paper on coordinating cardstock. 

Wrap baker's twine around three times.

Tie on tag.  (I matted the tag on cardstock to give it a little extra pop)

The end. 

TIP: If your tag is hanging the wrong direction, use a bit of adhesive to keep it where you want it.

Finished card size is 4 1/4"x5 1/2"

The Bird Finale

Surely I will make more little bird cards in the future, but today's post showcases the last of the bird cards I made last week.  Like, forever ago, I found these adorable crepe paper bird stickers at the craft store.  I combined them with some delicate die-cut branches and--voila!-- a set of colorful and detailed bird cards. 

This set of cards is currently for sale in my Etsy shop.  

Finished card size is 4 1/4"x5 1/2"

Another Bird Silhouette

I was experimenting with bird silhouettes last week and came up with this design also.  I love little birds and I love orange, so designing this card was only natural.  I also love the sophisticated simplicity of a silhouette.

Finished card size is 4 1/4"x5 1/2" (A2)

For the Birds

I love bird watching and am grateful for the effort my husband puts in to keeping the bird feeders full.  All of our bird feeders can be seen from the kitchen window over the sink so we can bird watch at all times of year.  We even keep a pair of inexpensive binoculars in the window sill! 

Today's set of cards are inspired by the little tweeters that frequent our feeders.  We commonly see American gold finches, house finches and pine siskins (pics of each below). 

This set of cards is currently for sale in my Etsy shop. 

Finished card size is 4 1/4"x5 1/2" (A2)

Male (left) and female (right) American gold finches.  The bright yellow plumage is commonly seen during mating season.  Their colors are considerably more dull during the fall and winter months.  (Photo Wikipedia)

Female (left) and male (right) house finches. (Photo nps.gov)

Pine siskin.  From a distance they look a lot like American gold finches.  The striped pattern on their breast easily distinguishes them from gold finches.  (Photo birdforum.net)

Using Craft Punches

A small investment in a craft punch can have a huge payoff in your paper crafting.  Butterfly punches are a good place to start if you are wondering where to start your punch collection.  Butterflies can be used to embellish any type of greeting card or scrapbook  page.  

For the card below I punched butterflies from five different pieces of coordinating printed paper.  I applied adhesive to the very middle of the butterfly and gently lifted the wings.  These butterflies are embellished with rhinestones, but you can also draw antennae or add other types of embellishments to really make your butterflies pop!

TIP: Use your craft punches upside down for more precise placement on the paper. 

This card is currently for sale as part of a set in my Etsy shop.    

Finished card size is 4 1/4"x5 1/2".  Idea inspired by Paper Crafts magazine. 

Friends

I have great friends, many of whom live very far away from me.  This card was designed with my friends in mind.  I think of my friends often, but rarely think to jot down a note to tell them how important they are to me.  

I used my Cricut to die-cut the flowers, leaves and grass on this card.  I mounted each layer with foam tape for added dimension.  The bottom of the card is finished with a scalloped border and a coordinating grosgrain friends ribbon.  All of this is layered on top of glittery cloud paper.  For my dear friends, indeed!

This card is currently for sale as part of a set in my Etsy Store.  

Finished card size is 5"x5"

No New Baby, Just a Baby Card

Historically I have posted new baby cards because someone in my family has had a baby.  Not so this time.  I just made a cute, baby girl card with some stuff that I had in my supply stash.  I love using ribbon and dimensional elements such as the girl sticker and glittery rhinestone flowers.  While green and purple are feminine colors, they are not as common as pink in baby girl cards. 

This card is currently for sale in my Etsy shop.  

Finished card size is 4 1/4"x5 1/2" (A2)

Thank Your Teacher

My kids have been in school for a couple of weeks and we are finally settling into a routine.  Bedtime is no longer 9:30 pm and breakfast is a bit more substantial than "whatever is in the fridge". 

Not once in my three years of teaching HS did I receive a personal thank you note from a parent or student.  While I am not bitter about this whatsoever, I have made it a goal to personally thank my kids' teachers a bit more often. 

Have you been in a second grade classroom lately?  Seven and eight year-olds emit some sort of funk that is a cross between greasy hair and dirty jeans.  Classroom management issues aside, the smell alone makes me admire their teachers even more. 

These cards were made using the technique described in this post.  I absolutely love the glittery apple paper and only wish I had more.  A set of 4 of these cards is currently for sale in my Etsy shop. 

Finished card size is 4 1/4"x5 1/2"

I Vant to Suck Your Blood

Back in the 80s, I remember watching a movie on Beta where a vampire turned into a bat and flew out the window.  While I know this is traditional vampire lore, it is what I was thinking of when I made this card.  I also think I vaguely remember a blond woman in pink with blood dripping down her neck.  

I die cut the moon from light yellow paper and inked the edge with silver ink.  The bat is die cut from black glitter paper and adhered with foam tape for added dimension.  I used white polka dot paper for a starry night effect. 

This card can be purchased by clicking http://www.etsy.com/listing/81156012/halloween-card-flying-bat-and-moon

Finished card size is 4 3/4"x4 3/4"

A Halloween Card Design by Marin

My 5 year-old daughter, Marin, loves to do crafts with me.  Rarely is there a time when I am downstairs in a heap of paper and scissors and she is not right there with me at her little table with her "kid approved" craft supplies.  Right now her favorite medium is stickers.  She created the card below with a set of spooky Halloween stickers.  If it isn't obvious, I will explain the story behind the card in the caption.  :)  Marin LOVES to see her cards on the internet.  Be sure to leave her a comment, too!

The story as told to Mom by Marin: A mom witch cat and her baby witch cat.  The mom cat is riding a broom and eating a big candy corn.  The baby witch cat is holding a magic wand. 

It's...Another Girl!

Within the past week or so, yet another cousin of mine had a sweet baby girl.  Ever drawing on inspiration from daily life, I decided to make some more baby girl cards.  I like the addition of red to the traditional pink and purple color scheme.  The heart is embossed with my newest favorite crafting tool: the Cuttlebug embossing/die-cutting machine.  And, as is ever trendy these days, I used red and white baker's twine for the bow.  Congrats Alicia and Erik on the arrival of your sweet little girl!  

Finished card size is 4 1/4"x5 1/2".  Design inspired by Paper Crafts Mag.

Black Damask + Orange = Scary Chic

Unless you have been living under a rock, you know that damask prints are a hot trend in home decor and crafting.  Today's featured card was created using a small, black damask print and orange satin ribbon.  The result: a sophisticated and chic Halloween card. 

I adhered the Boo brad to the top of the bow using Glue Dogs and "stitched" around the edge using a fine black pen. 

Finished card size is 4 1/4"x5 1/2" This card is currently for sale on Etsy.

It's a Great Night for a Fright!

I have a tremendous collection of googly eyes that I have bought for one reason or another and have never used.  In my ongoing attempt to use what I already own, I found the idea for this Halloween card in Cards Magazine and thought I would give it a try. 

Making the card was easy enough:  Punch a bunch of 1 1/2" circles, adhere to a black card then add googly eyes and a sentiment.  Even the non-craftiest of persons could make this card.  

If you don't want to make this card, it is also for sale at my Etsy shop at the following link:  http://www.etsy.com/listing/80837195/halloween-googly-eye-card-with-circles

Finished card size is 4 1/4"x5 1/2"

Popper & Mimi Paper Crafts is now open on Etsy!

For the past couple of months I have been working on getting ready to sell some of my creations on Etsy.com.  If you are not familiar with Etsy.com, it is kind of like an online arts-and-crafts store.  I started to amass more crafts than I knew what to do with so I thought that selling them would be a good way to share my work!

You can check out http://popperandmimi.etsy.com to see the items I have listed.  Inventory is small right now, but I plan to add items daily.  Several items I have featured on my blog are, or will be, for sale.  If not, and you would like a custom creation, just let me know!  I am feeling a little nervous since I am not quite sure how everything works, but I am hoping that with a little experience everything will work out!