The Buckle Boutique's "Dazzling Diamonds" Makes Beautiful Shaped Embellishments

"Dazzling Diamonds," the adhesive rhinestone sheet available from The Buckle Boutique," is a perfect medium to cut not only strips or letters from the sparkling resin, but is also ideal to use in your electronic cutting machine or with deep-cut dies (e.g., from Cheery Lynn Designs or Sizzix) for beautiful shaped embellishments.

For this sympathy card, I cut ice blue Dazzling Diamonds using my Cricut Explore.  The best way to cut the sheets is to firmly press the resin side (not the adhesive side) down onto a clean, sticky Cricut mat.  Because this is an inverse application of the material, DO flip your image or letters to cut them. 

I cut the dove shown here using the "poster board" setting on the Explore, turn up so that it double-cuts the image.  My mat was nice and sticky so it did not require additional adhesion, but you may want to tape edges of the Dazzling Diamond to your mat, using painter's tape, for a firm hold.

The image weeded nicely from the sheet, with a very clean cut.  The paper I used here is "Skylark" from Close To My Heart, a newly-retired paper. I love that this paper has sentiments such as "Beautiful Memories" printed on it, making it such a sweet paper without being overly melancholy.  The "With Sympathy" sentiment is from the Cricut library on Design Space, cut from CTMH's Cashmere cardstock. The Skylark paper is mounted on CTMH Lagoon cardstock. 

This card is for a Facebook friend, Chris Vicente, who this week lost her dear husband Adriano to lung cancer.  Chris, please accept my love and prayers for you during this difficult time.

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DeFiaNtLy DiFfeReNt & CreAtiVeLy Yours,

Classic Sympathy Card

Of all the cards we make, no doubt the most difficult are those where we need to send a sympathy card. Whether death or another kind of loss, these cards are best remembered, most often saved and savored, and allow us to express an emotion that's difficult to touch.



With general loss in mind, but thankfully no one in particular to whom I need to send this card, I designed the card at left for my stash.

I incorporated both Close To My Heart's Laughing Lola designer paper, with black ribbon to add a classic touch.  The sentiment is stamped with a beautiful new CTMH set called "Words of Comfort (C1524, $13.95), using CTMH Exclusive Ink in "Gypsy."  The metal flourished flower is also from Close To My Heart.


I hope never to have to use this card -- but realistically, I'll be glad to have it on hand.  Take the challenge to make a card that's difficult for you before you need it, when you'll probably not feel like crafting.

Celebrating a Life Well Lived

Recently, the mother of my next door neighbor passed away. While her passing was not unexpected and she needed constant care at a frail 92 years old, loss always hurts. But much as we mourn the death, I think it's equally important to celebrate a life well-lived.

That is why I chose to use my favorite bright and beautiful paper ("Chantilly" by Close To My Heart) as the base for this tri-fold shutter card. 

The finished size (flat) is 4 x 7". I will make a custom envelope for this card, using a 

We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch.

Isn't this center sentiment nice for any occasion?  It is also from Close To My Heart and it is called "Scrapbook Sentiments - Poets". I like that the type font is the same as the "Sorry for your loss" sentiments stamp ("4 My Friend", sold separately also by CTMH).  

I embellished the card using CTMH gems, and fussy-cut birds and flowers from the Chantilly cardstock.  

The beautiful ribbon that perfectly matches the Pear CTMH green cardstock is called "Green Goddess" and is Rumple Ribbon by Lovebug Creations. It is part of the "Heaven and Earth" Collection; click HERE to order your own!  

Working with Swapped Stamp Images

Happy Wednesday, Blog Friends!

Social media such as blogging and Facebook allow us to make acquaintance -- and indeed, long distance friendships -- with crafters across the world. It's a pleasure getting to know these friends, and to share crafting techniques and a part of our lives.

One group in which I participate is on Facebook and is called "Karle's Passion."  (Hi, Karle, you little monkey!!)  Through this group, we swap cut/embellished items monthly, and also have started swapping stamped images. In fact, this month I am the host of the stamped images swap.

Today, I started coloring and creating cards using the stamped images I received last month.  A lovely woman named JoGenna Lynn sent along two images: one of a cross, and one of a Bible. Here is the card I created using one of these images:

The stamped images come on 4x4" cardstock stamped in black ink. I colored the cross using Copic markers (first), Prisma premier pencils with Gamsol, and then added Stickles. The lattice frame was cut with a die by Cheery Lynn Designs, and the embellishment for the tag is a Spellbinders die. The sentiment is an old wooden (unmarked) stamp in my stash, as is the ribbon.

Unfortunately, as I age, I can never have enough sympathy cards and they are the hardest to make, I think. This will go in my stash for an appropriate occasion.  Thank you, JoGenna, for the stamped image of the cross!



DeFiaNtLy DiFfeReNt & CreAtiVeLy Yours,

Card Set - Card # 3: Thinking of You

Here is the last of three cards in the set I've now given to my friend as a hostess set. She loved it!

This card is a 4" square to compliment the shape of the beautiful wreath.

I figure this card could be used for an ill friend, or just a "hello" card, or even a sympathy card.

The wreath is a lovely Flourishes stamp, colored with Copic markers and then fussy cut in fine detail. I adhered it to a soft pastel pink parchment, using foam tape. The sentiment was computer-generated and printed in deep purple. I hot-glued the bow to the top of the wreath, and mounted the pink on lilac cardstock.

For this envelope, I inverted the paper and put the color (deep lilac) on the outside. It could be reversed as well, if the sender chooses.

I put the entire set into a "zodiac" box I found at my local candy supply store. It's about 4.5" square, with an open/glassine window in the front. Because my "theme" for the event was strawberries, I put yesterday's strawberry card in the front of the box.

I also brought the altered candy tins (see last Friday's post) for my fellow attendees, as well as a little more than a dozen chocolate covered strawberries I made at the hostess's request.  I packaged the chocolate-covered strawberries (they were super-large!!), a half-dozen to a box, in a clear acetate single long-stemmed rose clamshell box that I also found at the candy supply store for $1.00.  They looked so wonderful that the hostess said, "oh, I thought you were going to make them, not buy them!"  LOL.

Have a berry nice day, yourself!