Cardmaking on the go...

Greetings from beautiful western Washington! I'm here with my kiddos visiting my husband's family for the entire month of June, which means two things: #1 - I actually have a little more time to scrap than usual, because I don't have my usual never-ending list of household chores and once the kids go to bed I have actual free time, and #2 - I'm limited to the supplies I could cram into my rolling and shoulder totes. When I was packing my supplies I really only picked supplies for the layouts I had planned and didn't think too much about cards, but I've had several dfferent card needs come up unexpectedly. Definitely a challenge, but I've been having fun seeing what I could do with the supplies I had on hand.



I was glad to find a stamped Tilda stashed in my tote from my last crop for this card, and I borrowed my MIL's colored pencils to do the coloring. The paper is from a Crate Paper baby collection, the label shape I cut with my Cricut and my new Home Accents cartridge (I think I used that one for just about all these cards). The rub-on and the ribbon are from Stampin Up.




Once I got here I realized I had completely forgotten to do Father's Day cards for my hubby's dad and grandpas and my own grandpa, but I didn't have a lot of paper that was really masculine. I used scraps from this cute American Crafts line on kraft paper, and a stamp and curly label punch from Stampin Up. "Dad" and "Grandpa" were cut with the George cartridge.



For this card I used this week's sketch from 2 Sketches 4 You. I have to admit this was a tough one for me, but I was really pleased with how it came out. There's that label shape from Home Accents again, plus the flourish photo corner behind it. The paper is from Crate Paper, and I used my Heidi Swapp edge distresser to rough up the edges of the rectangles. That is definitely my favorite cheap tool!



Last week while we were here we were so sad to learn that my husband's grandma has breast cancer. We headed over to her house a day or two later for some quality time, and I wanted to take a quick card to let her know we care. She's such a bright, strong person I wanted to make a card that would reflect that. This paper again is from Crate Paper (same as the first card) and the butterfly is from Home Accents. I used my SU scallop border punch and rub-on.



This one is for my sister, who unexpectedly had to get her gallbladder out soon after I got here. I was so bummed I couldn't be there to help out, but I definitely wanted to send her all my love and moral support. I love this Crate Paper -- I couldn't resist buying it when I saw how well it matched this cool dandelion shape from the Home Accents cartridge. The oval frame was cut with George. The stamp, label punch, border punch, and ribbon were all from SU.



This last one was for a wedding of some close friends of my in-laws. Not the colors I would usually use, but these were their wedding colors and it really seemed to fit the bride and groom's personalities. Inside it says "You make a great pair!" My mother-in-law laughed when she saw it -- turns out the bride's email address starts with greenpear. I must have cardmaking ESP!

Whew! I feel very productive -- maybe less really is more! I've also finished a couple of layouts, but I haven't been able to get a good picture so you'll just have to stay tuned... :)