Danny's Cards Blog

After a card show I have one of two feelings. One: I feel reinvigorated and want to craft as much as humanly possible. Or two: I'm exhausted and I need some R & R to get my creative flow back in check. After my last show I fell firmly into the latter category.  Thankfully, November is here, and with that comes a host of Christmas and holiday inspiration. Inspiration struck yesterday thanks to Sketch Saturday's wonderful sketch #686 .  Here's the sketch in question: A fun sketch no doubt. I just purchased the Starry Night Recollections paper from Michaels, and so using that and this sketch, here were my two creations. Here's my submission piece: As you can see, the gold foiling really catches the light. It's quite a stunner. My second piece I was also really proud of: I'm all about that blue and gold Christmas, so I was super thrilled with how these came out.  Hopefully, my inspiration keeps coming. Thankfully, I have a number of holiday cards I have to make,...

I received my new Anna Griffin Bell Pop Out dies this week. I missed almost all of the Christmas in July work, so now here I am in August late to the parade. Thankfully, there are plenty of sketch challenges to get my inspiration going. Over on Atlantic Hearts , they provided a sketch that I thought I could work with. Here's the sketch in question: I went a different route than I usually go with a card like this. Normally, I would cut out squares and follow the sketch as closely as possible, but now that I own a Cricut Maker 3, I thought I would try something different. With Jingle Bells as my theme (because of the pop out), I decided to deboss my paper with my Maker 3 and then I found some bells I liked and cut them out and added a bow to give it a little dimension. Here's the end result: Of course, the real star of the show is in the inside of the card is the pop out. Here's a still of the pop out: But in case your curious, here's what the card looks like in action: T...

Over on Daring Cardmakers , the designers asked us to adorn our work this week with Tags, Toppers and Labels. Christmas tags are some of my favorite things to make during the holidays, but rather than just make a bunch of tags, I decided to turn those tags into cards. So here were the two cards I ended up making: I used a basic three square sketch that is quite popular and staggered the tags with 3D dot adhesives for a little dimension. And here's the second card I made: In the same sketch pad I used to made the tag cards, I also made these next cards. They're unrelated to the challenge, but I figured they were worth the post nevertheless. First up, a little vintage Santa: And then a Merry Home card: Anyway, if you like what you see, be sure to hit the SUBSCRIBE button at the top to see new posts. And be sure to follow me on Instagram  @DannysCards For various Christmas Cards, check out the following posts: Inkspirational Challenge #228: Snow Cards Festive Friday Challenge 007...

Over on the Inkspirational Blog , their was one word on their mind. Anyone here on the East Coast waiting for the first Nor'easter with up to two feet possible this Wednesday and Thursday know what that word is: Recently, I ordered these Mini Holiday Frame Dies from Anna Griffin and got right to work with this challenge in mind. Armed with brand new stickers from the Recollections collection, I knew exactly what I wanted to create. Here was the first card of the bunch: The white snow flakes stayed front and center. I used my cardinal embellishments to give it just another layer. And here's the card from another angle: The center phrase says, "Let Heaven and Nature Sing.... Let Earth Receive Her King." Sticking with the red theme, my second card was a little more secular: As for the next two cards, I went with a more woodland theme: I used a gold shimmer background to give the snowflakes another level of pop, and then spruced up the card with evergreen trees. My final...

Recently I've been searching for a reason to pull out my Anna Griffin Christmas Tree Pop Up Cards . Anyone who knows anything about pop up cards knows, they take approximately forever to make. While by no means the longest I've spent, these dies are definitely show-stopping wow cards that take a fair amount of time to make (anywhere from 1 to 2 hours). Over on the Festive Friday Challenge blog , they asked makers to use three or more items from a list. The list was as follows: For me, this was easy. red, ornaments, ribbon and evergreen trees were the highlight. So here's the card in question: Now you might say, but Danny, that's not really an evergreen tree. And that's because it's not. The surprise is when you open the card and this pops out: And here's the card in action: And because I can never make one of anything, here's the green version of the same card. While time consuming, this is definitely a card type I will return to again next holiday seaso...

I think there's something to be said for a religious card. While I personally am not religious, I always admire those with faith and a close relationship with God. This card comes courtesy of TIME OUT Challenges which asked to make cards inspired by the following quote: For a couple weeks I've waited for the perfect challenge to finally pull out my Anna Griffin Angel Jacket Card Dies . In the past, I loved how jacket card dies look, but I often find them too time consuming to really pull out more than a handful of times. That said, I'm happy to report that these Angel Jacket Cards took a little less than the hour mark, which means they will definitely be pulled out again. I created two variations of the same card using the dies: I used Recollections card stock I had to create the card. I also used Cricut brand glitter card stock for the wings and dress and put washi tape on the side to give it an extra layer. Additionally, I added a white ribbon and a little saying that de...

This week over on the CAS[E] this Sketch! Blog  they offered a clean and simple sketch that was a pure delight. As those around here know, CAS cards are not really my specialty. I spend much more time with layers upon layers; nevertheless, this allowed me to go to the basics and get some simple Christmas Cards done. The sketch was as follows: I really wanted to stay true to the blocking of the sketch. Ultimately, I created four variations on the sketch design. My first card leaned into the sketch as shown. I used some holiday scraps to give the design a little pop. My second card used the same scraps, but with a different stamp sentiment. This is the second time this week I've used this Truck Recollections stamp, but I really can't get enough of it. Something about the truck and plaid played really nicely together. I then went for the green variations: Really the exact same set up in green. And here was the fourth variation: In the background you can see my gorgeous new rainbo...

My absence on my blog means that the holidays are feeling busier than usual. The work, life balance is a bit tough. And as I finally make my way through some video games, I've had a little bit less free time to make cards. Additionally, the few cards that I have made, I haven't had a chance to upload pictures just yet. That said, I sat down this evening to make a few cards that I'm pretty happy with. This card comes courtesy of Freshly Made Sketches which gave the following layout. This was actually the perfect little challenge for this evening because it allowed me to pull out my scrap box with some leftover holiday strips. I quickly got to work using my brand new recollection stamps.. The first card I made feels like the "manliest" Christmas card I could muster. Does anything say manly like plaid, a truck and the phrase "Trucking Through the Snow"?  For my second iterations of these cards, I used my brand new Recollections penguin set. And as a slight...