Spring Card

Hi there,
Are you enjoying spring? I know a lot of people are, especially those who had a lot of snow during winter. Where we live, at this time of the year, we see baby rabbits, baby Sandhill Cranes, eagles, and a lot of other animals. Spring means new life, and it's so inspiring. The card I'm posting today was inspired by spring.

Supplies used
Paper: Rose pink, white and olive green cardstock
Tools: Sizzix cutting/ embossing machine, embossing folder, Spellbinders oval decorative die
Stamp: Cherry blossoms
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Embellishments: Pink and white bakers twine

I hope you enjoy the card. Please leave a comment letting me know what you would use this card for.

Thank you for stopping by, and have a very blessed spring.

This page contain affiliate links. If you purchase, I make a few bucks. Thank you.

Die-cut Flowers Card

Hi everybody,
In my last post I showed you a card I made with my Cricut  .Today I'm posting a card that has the same style - die cut roses - but made with a die by Sizzix . So, if you don't have a Cricut Explore YET, you can always work with your embossing/cutting machine. Let's see the card?

Material used
Tools: Big Shot cutting/embossing machine, Detailed Floral Thinlits Dies, Magnetic platform and precision base plate
Paper: Red and white cardstock 
Stamp: Happy Birthday (Sizzix Happy Birthday To You thinlits with stamps)
Black ink
Embellishments: Red ribbon and bow, pearl and red gemstones
                                                              
Then you ask me, but what if I'm not a card maker? It's ok, you can find this card, and the one from my previous post at Paper Creations, etc shop

  
Thank you so much for stopping by, and may God bless you and yours.

Happy Crafting,

This post has affiliate links. When you click on them and make a purchase, I make a few bucks. Thank you so much.
   

Thankful

Today is my birthday, and I've been mentally making a "list" of what I'm thankful for. Well, the list is too long. God has blessed me in so many ways, not only in the past year, but throughout my whole life. He has given me all the reasons to be thankful, and my 55th birthday is just one of them. So, to celebrate with gratitude, I'm posting a 'THANK YOU' card with envelope, but of course you can make this card for pretty much any occasion.

 Material used:
Tools: Cricut Explore Air, Sizzix Bigshot cutting/ embossing machine, tag die (Avery Elle Beautiful Bow set)
Paper: Antique rose, white cardstock
Stamp: Thanks a million (Fiskars "Many Thanks" set)
Ink: black
Embellishment: Green bow 

 Envelope material used:
Tools: Envelope punch board (We R Memory Keepers), heat gun
Stamp: bow, "enjoy",  and mini tag ( Avery Elle Beautiful Bow set) 
Ink: Versamark clear, green embossing powder

 I like to do something special on my envelopes too, and I love this bow stamp to decorate the envelopes.

THANK you for stopping by, you too are another reason for my gratitude. May God bless you.

This post has affiliate links. When you click on them and purchase, I make a few bucks. Thank you so much.

Handmade Cards, Envelopes, and Box

Hi there,
How are you doing? I hope you are all doing great. Here we are getting ready for summer, and for a missions trip we'll be taking in the beginning of September. In order to raise funds for our trip, I'm making sets of cards in a box and selling them. Today I want to post for you one of the sets I made. I'm also going to post the links for the boxes, so you can make them too, ok?

 

Supplies needed for the cards
Paper: White, pastel pink, blue, yellow, and green cardstock for cards. Pastel pink, green, blue and yellow 24lb paper for envelopes.
Tools: Cutting/ embossing machine, embossing folders, heat gun, white embossing powder, envelope punch
Stamps: Happy Birthday, Get Well, Congratulations
Ink: Versamark
Embellishments: Decorative self-adhesive strips, butterfly sticker

Envelope instructions here
Box directions for English speakers here 
Instruções em português para a caixa aqui 

One of the cards in the box

Make a box and a set of cards for Mothers Day. I bet your Mom will love it.

Thank you for stopping by, and may God bless you.

Vanías Reed

Not Any Valentine's Day Card

One of the things I love about my husband is that he does not wait for Valentine's Day to show his love for me. Sometimes he leaves a note on the kitchen counter, before going to work, to tell me how much he appreciates everything I do for our family. Other times he will bring me a little something like my favorite candy bar or a single rose. And sometimes he'll just do things at home like washing the dishes, or making the bed, etc. He makes me feel special all the time and not only one day a year. But we still celebrate Valentine's Day, and we still exchange cards. So here is the card I made for him this year. The original idea belongs to a Craftsy instructor. I just put my own spin on it. 

Supplies I used
Paper: White cardstock, clear velum, and blue -patterned with some white - scrapbook paper
Tools: cutting/embossing machine, little fox and moon dies (Avery Elle), stitched hillside border (Lawn Fawn), computer and printer, watercolor markers, white glitter gel marker, colored grey pencil
Stamps: Little fox, stars, and moon (Avery Elle), pine tree (Stampabilities), snowy hillside
Ink pads: Black, forest green, and white
Embellishments: heart shaped gemstones, speech bubble with sentiment phrase "I love you to the moon and back"

So, even if you don't celebrate Valentine's Day, this is a card you can give to that special someone in your life at any time. 

Thank you for stopping by. May God bless you and yours with His abundant love.

Vanías Reed    

Thank You Note + Easy Distress Technique

How was your Christmas celebration? How about your New Year? Did you make any resolutions? If you made any, how's it going? We don't do new year's resolutions in our family, but one thing we do is send thank you notes to those who blessed us with gifts during the Holiday season, even if we can only send them in January. Not only is it appropriate to do so, but I'm sure the person who receives a nice, handmade (or not) thank you note smiles as they realize how appreciated their gifts were. It is always a good idea to take time to make someone's day special by letting them know they are appreciated. I got the idea for the card I made here,
and put my own spin on it.  

Material needed for this card
Tools: cutting board, stamping pad, 3D self-adhesive foam
Paper: white, brown and cream cardstock, patterned scrapbook paper
Stamp: thanks
Ink: espresso
Embellishments: "gift boxes", 1/8" (3mm) brown ribbon and bow

Distress technique: rub the edges and corners of cream color cardstock piece, and patterned paper with stamp pad - the same one you're going to use to stamp the sentiment phrase.

Measurements- Card: 4" x 5.5
                                 Bigger box: 2 1/8" x 3/4"
                                 Medium box: 1 5/8"x 3/4"
                                 Small box: 1" x 3/4"
This card is not difficult to make. I made 6 of them in an "assembling line". It was fun to do it, and it didn't take long. You can actually make a card similar to this for any occasion.

Thank you for stopping by, and have a very blessed 2016.

Vanías Reed   

Pop-up Card

Hi there. Today I'm posting a couple of ideas for pop-up cards. They are not difficult to make, and they have that surprise element that will sure put a smile on the face of the card receiver.

 Supplies used for this card:
Paper: Light and dark purple, white, cream with purple flowers, and white with blue strips cardstock. Green with white polka-dots scrapbook paper
Tools: Cutting/embossing machine, Swiss polka-dots embossing folder, scallop border punch
Stamp: Happy Birthday
Embellishments: balloons and cupcake stickers White ribbon

 

 Supplies needed for this card:                                                                  

Paper: Black, and white cardstock, leopard print, cream glitter, lacy, and white scrapbook paper

Tools: Fancy scallop punch, oval punch

Stamp: small Happy Birthday

Embellishments: red ribbon, red bow, large pearl, 2/3" red ribbon

To watch a video and learn how to 
make the pop-up click here 
Thank you for stopping by, and God bless you.

Vanías Reed    

Transform a Note Card

If you follow this blog and/or my Facebook page, you know by now that I am all pro-recycling. For instance, the other day, cleaning up and organizing a drawer which cleaning was way overdue, I found some cute note cards that I bought before I started making my own cards (THAT tell you how overdue the cleaning and organizing were - smile). I looked at those cards and thought, "I can embellish these blank cards, and turn them into something with a little more 'pzazz', (word chosen by my 9-year-old son - LOL). So here is how I transformed a blank note card into a thank you card. 

How I did it
Paper: White and black cardstock
Tools: Cutting/embossing machine, medium rectangle decorative die (Spellbinders), 3D foam glue dots
Stamp: Thanks 

Embellishments: small pink pearls, swirl stickers.

As you can see in this picture, I used the black cardstock to make the back of my label.

 Thanks again for stopping by. I hope you have a wonderful week.

God bless you,

Vanías Reed  

Christmas Thank You Cards

Well, Christmas 2014 is gone already. Now, to send or not to send a thank you note to those who gave you gifts? ABSOLUTELY YES. Someone took time to go to a store, shop online, and/or make you something. So a thank you card is not only appropriate, but shows kindness and appreciation. And, if you have children, teach them the importance of writing a thank you note. Here is what my 9-year-old and I did.

I made this one - Card 1

We made 5 of this one together. The lights are his finger prints, and he will write the note to thank those who gave him gifts - Card 2

 

,

... and I made this one too. Card 3

 Supplies needed
Card 1
Paper: White and red cardstock paper
Tools: Cutting/embossing machine ( I used my Sizzix, which I love), Postcard and hollies embossing folders by The Paper Studios, scalloped oval punch, and oval die
Stamp: Thank you Stampabillities
Ink: Black 
Embellishments: gold ribbon, holly button 

Card 2
Paper: White blank note card
Tools: dark green glitter gel pen, smallest finger of a child's hand
Stamp: Thank you
Ink: blue, gold, purple, blue, and green

Card 3
Paper: White, dark red, and vintage striped cardstock paper
Tools: Sizzix Bigshot cutting/embossing machine, thank you embossing folder (Darice)

You can make your cards simple or more elaborated, but what matters is that you are taking time to make something nice to thank those who blessed you. 

Thank you for stopping by, and my the Christ of CHRISTmas bless you and yours.   

Vanías Reed

A Fall Thank You

Hi there all Paper Creations, ETC fans. I want to thank you for following my blog, and tell you the good news. For commercial purposes I had to change my Etsy.com store's name. So I present you Crafts Basket . The blog and the Facebook page will keep the same name that you have liked and followed, Paper Creations, ETC that is - at least for now. So check out my store and find there the crafts you have enjoyed here and more. Here is one of the cards I'm selling there.

Supplies and techniques used
Paper: Rust red, mustard, vanilla, white, dark brown, brown, baby blue,   black, orange, forest green, and yellow cardstock
Tools: cutting/embossing machine, frame embossing folder, owl builder punch, scallop oval punch, oval punch, precision scissors, computer, and printer.
Embellishments: Pilgrim and Indian owls, sentiment phrase
Note: I handmade the Pilgrim's hat and collar, and the Indian's bandana and feathers.

Thank you so much for stopping by. May the Almighty God bless your day.

Vanias Reed  

Thank You Note

The other day I just stopped to think about all the things for which I am thankful. Wow! Big, big list. To begin, I'M ALIVE! Isn't it great? Then there is the fact that God sent His only Son to die on the cross, and pay for my sins. I have an awesome husband, and a wonderful son, and the list goes on. How about the freedom we have in this country? This beautiful, blessed country called United States of America. So I decided not to send cards to our troops overseas, who fight for the freedom we have, only at Christmas time. I decided to show them how much my family and I appreciate what they do by sending thank you notes now. Here is one of the cards I made to send overseas. 

 Supplies used
Paper: white, red and blue cardstock, glitter white cardstock
Tools: cutting/embossing machine, lace oval punch, oval punch, star punch, stars embossing folder
Stamp: thank you
Ink: black

I hope you get inspired and decide to show appreciation to someone today. If you have kids, get them involved in this "thankfulness wave" (that's what I call it), and make a thank you card for a soldier today.

Thank you for stopping by. God bless you and yours.

Vanias Reed

Card With Velum Flowers

My mother is turning 90 next month, and I wanted to make a very special card for her. So when I saw this technique that is used to make flowers out of velum paper,  I knew this was what I wanted to use on her card. Here it is. 

The word 'Feliz' means happy in Portuguese

Supplies needed for this card

Paper: Pink, leaf green and white cardstock, clear velum paper

Tools: cutting/ embossing machine, lace border embossing folder, precision scissors, embossing heat tool, embossing powder (I used white and peach), fine point gel pens (pink and leaf green), round corner punch, 3D very small foam mounting circles

Stamp: flowers (I used the rose with a bud)

Ink: Embossing tinted stamp pad, yellow stamp marker)

Embellishment: Leaf green ribbon and bow with white 'sewing' lines, small black glittered letters, numbers and flowers, tiny pearls,

To make the velum flowers, stamp your flowers on velum paper using embossing tinted (mine is a very light pink) ink. Sprinkle with embossing powder covering the flowers completely (I used white powder for my pink rose, and peach powder for my yellow rose). Turn the velum paper up side down over your powder saver, or a white sheet of paper, to get rid of the excess powder. Using an embossing heat tool, dry the powder very well.

Using a fine point gel pen, color your flower gently making sure you don't color the embossing powder. If you want, you can use only the stamp marker. I like to use the gel pen first for a sparkling effect. Cut the flowers carefully with a precision pair of scissors. Use the foam mounting circles to adhere the flower to your card. A white background will accent the velum better.

 

There you have it. Beautiful velum flowers that can also be used on a card for Mother's Day.

Thank you for stopping by. Have a blessed crafting time.

Vanias Reed   

Candy Style Gift Box - Free Printable Template

Valentine's Day became a big holiday for couples. But I've been blessed with a husband that doesn't wait for Valentine's Day to give me a little something. Once in a while he likes to give me a treat like my favorite candy bar or a rose 'just because...' So, even if you already have a gift and/ or a card for your Valentine, keep this box in mind for any other occasions or 'NOT occasions'. The possibilities are endless. Just change the cover. 

Supplies used
Paper: white cardboard, white with red polka-dots scrapbook paper
Tools: template, 1/4" circle punch, spray adhesive
Embellishments: red bows + optional embellishments shown in pictures below

Template (12"x 12" paper)

Right click on picture to save to your computer and/or print.

After cutting white cardbord, spray it with spray adhesive and glue it to a 12" x 12" scrapbook paper. Let it dray well before cutting and folding.

Some embellishments options

 Thank you for visiting my blog. Happy Thanksgiving.

Vanias Reed   

 

'Valentine's and More' Card

The card I'm posting today can be used for Valentine's Day, but can also be used for different occasions or even as a Thank You card. Here it is.

Supplies used
Paper: White, red, glitter red cardstock
Tools: Cutting/embossing machine (Sizzix), twirl embossing folder (Darice), 1/4" heart punch (Recollections)
Stamps: "You made...", single rose (Stumping Up)

Valentine's Day is almost here, but you don't have to have a special date to make a card for someone you love. Do it 'just because'.

Thank you for stopping by. May God pour his love in your heart.

Vanias Reed   

First Anniversary

One year ago today I published my first post to start this blog, which I called "New Beginnings".  I cannot believe that a whole year has gone by already. It all began because I wanted to share some of the things I have learned about and have come to love. But God has been so good to me that out of this came a small business. So today I want to thank all of you who have visited my blog, pinned, liked, used and shared my projects. Most of all I want to thank God for inspiring me and giving me the ability to create and make things, and I want to thank my husband for his huge support. 
Here is a little bit of what has been published here.

Paper Creations

ETC

Thank you, thank you, thank you...

May the Lord of lords, the Creator of everything, Fountain of all creativity and Loving God bless you and yours.

Vanias Reed  

Finger Prints "Lights" Thank You

My husband and I are teaching our son not only to be grateful for what he has, but also to express his gratitude to those who bless him. So I decided to make this thank you card with him to send to dear people who gave him Christmas gifts. 

Supplies used for this card
Paper: white note card
Tools: My son's pinky, ink pads, dark green gel pen, ink pen for stamp
Stamp: thank you (stampabilities)
Make cards like this with your children to give to grandparents, uncles and aunts and you'll melt their hearts.

Thank you for visiting my blog and have a very blessed New Year.

Vanias Reed   

Christmas Thank You Card

Now that we celebrated Jesus' birthday and received gifts, it's time to thank those who were generous to us. So today I'm posting a thank you card idea for you. I'll be posting a couple more later. Here it is.

Supplies Used
Paper: White note card, red, green and off white cardstock, cream with hollies paper
Tools: Cutting/embossing machine, thank you mini embossing folder (Sizzix)
Embellishments: red ribbon and bow, red gemstone.

Make a special thank you card for those who remembered you at Christmas. 
Thank you for visiting my blog. God bless you and give you a wonderful 2014.

Vanias Reed    

Flowerpot

One of my cousins suggested that I made a flowerpot card. So, Alessandra, here it is. I hope you like it.

 

 Paper: double sided polka-dots and pink, and white cardstock.
Tools: Flowerpot template, craft knife, dot runner adhesive, glue pen and a paper creaser.
Accessories: ribbon, flower stickers, gemstones

This time I didn't write any message or sentiment inside the card. It can be used for Easter, a birthday, a new home, a bride shower...

Here is the template. Just right click on the picture, save it in your computer and print it.

Another idea for the flowers it to die-cut your own and use buttons for the middle.

  I enjoyed making this card so much that I already made a second one with different pattern and flowers.  Have fun making one too... or more. 

Vanias Reed     

Thankful

Today our project is a thank you note. 

 We are going to use white and purple cardstock paper. An embossing folder and a cutting die, and purple pearls gemstones.

We cut the white cardstock paper 8" x 12" to make a 4"x6" card

The purple cardstock paper will be 0.2 inches smaller than the card.

The embossed paper will  be 0.2 inches smaller than the purple paper.

Both corner embossing folder and "thanks" cutting die are from Sizzix.

After pasting the layers of paper, use small 3D dots to glue the word thanks on the card. Then add the embellishment. And you have made another beautiful card. Congratulations!!!

Vanias Reed