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The end of the school year is so hectic that I always forget to give our bus driver a thank you card or just run out of time.  So this year, I decided to make one in the beginning of the year for Mr. John!  Once school starts next week, things will be crazy again and time will fly by.  Which reminds me, I must get started on Christmas cards.  I see so many people make such cute cards with different shapes, so I tried to do that with this card.  It sorta looks like a bus, right?  I used More Mustard Card Stock (100946) and ink (103162) for the card base, sponging the  ink around the edges.  For the windows and wheels I used Basic Gray (121044).  Circle punches are my friends – the 1-1/4″ (119861) and 1/2″ (119869) for the wheels in Basic Gray with the 3/4″ (119873) in Whisper White (100730) behind the wheels. The splash of Whisper White on the wheels and under the text really brightens up the overall card.  I used a corner rounder in various places to soften the corners.  The Real Red (102482) letters where cut with the Many Thanks Sizzlet  (115972) and my Big Shot – so easy.  It still looks a bit plain – I suppose I could add more details.  But at this point, I’m happy to have a card ready to go.  If I think of anything else to add, I still have a bit of time to do so.  And if I do add more detail, I’ll be sure to post an updated photo.  

Sorry, no Thank You card for today.  Getting ready to head to the beach this week.  But that does not mean I’m not grateful today!  One of my favorite movies I watch with my kids is Veggie Tales’s Madame Blueberry.  In the movie, the phrase “A Grateful Heart is a Happy Heart” always sticks with me.  I’m not sure that message had gotten through to my kids, but it most certainly means a lot to me.  Every day my prayers include gratitude.  I often am grateful for the same things (usually my children, my husband, home, food on the table, etc.).  Several months ago, the leader of my Bible Study recommended keeping a Gratitude Journal for two weeks, writing down at least 3 different items of gratitude each day, without any repeats.  I certainly have enough blessings to do that!  So I kept the journal for those two weeks.  My kids even joined in, although they did have some repeats.  Writing them down indeed made me smile!  So the phrase “A Grateful Heart is a Happy Heart” was proven to me!  So yes, please do continue to make Thank You cards to show your appreciation to the kind people in your life, but also take time to Thank GOD with ALL of your heart – you’ll be so happy you did!  Next on my to do list – decorate a Gratitude Journal that I can continue to list my blessings.  So look for that project in the next month or so.  Now is a great time to get composition books at a great price, with Back to School sales!

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You knew you would see another daisy, didn’t you?  I do LOVE this die!  I see many many daisies in my future (haha).   Anyway, as usual, I waited until the last minute to make a birthday card that I needed to get in the mail pronto.  What to do?  Get out my Big Shot, of course!  It’s the best tool for procrastinators like myself!  It helps me every time to make a quick card.

bright cheery birthday card

I started with a whisper white card, embossed it with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder (117335).  I then added some Certainly Celery satin ribbon (117288), tying a simple knot.  I made the flower using the Flowers, Daisies #2 die (114520) with Melon Mambo (115320) card stock for the larger 3 layers and Chocolate Chip (102128) for the 3 smallest flower layers.  You see I used another favorite embellishment, the Antique Brads (117273) for the very center.  Since the flowers from the die have a rather large opening in the center, I used a hot glue gun to keep the brad in the center of the flower.  I used my bone folder to gently bend the petals of each flower layer to give some added dimension.  I attached the flower and the sentiment banner to the card with Dimensionals (104439).  The sentiment is from a stamp set I earned for free during Sale-a-bration last year.   Be sure to return to my blog to know when you can earn free stamps like this set!  The sentiment was stamped in Certainly Celery (105217) to match the ribbon.  One of the BEST advantages of using Stampin’ Up! products is the matching or coordinating items within their lines.