Danny's Cards Blog

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...

Update: While the competition wasn't heavily entered, I'll take my wins where I can get them, my card was a top pick on Try Stampin' on Tuesday. Over on Try Stampin' on Tuesday , they had one of the hardest challenges I've seen in a long while. The challenge involved either utilizing a particular sketch or making a bendy card. I'm one always up for a challenge, so a bendy card it is... the only problem... I had no idea where to begin. Here's the challenge they set up for us: I was convinced there would be some type of design already premade on Design Space that would allow me to make a bendy card of some kind, but there was no such luck. I took a look at Melody Lane's Patreon and Lori Whitlock's shop, and alas, no luck. This mean I had to work from scratch. Now granted, I could make the card using traditional techniques, but when I looked up tutorials, the whole process looked a little too intimidating for me. I knew this could be done on Design Spa...

Over on Hero Arts , they had a unique challenge which pushed designers to make an interactive card. I've made a number of interactive cards that have used an assortment of moveable items, springs and sparkles. But as my last few posts keep talking about, I'm trying to get the most out of my new Cricut Maker 3. Before I get into what I made, here was the challenge in question: So I upgraded from the Explore Air 2 to the Maker 3, and one of the reasons was all of the different blades. In truth, I haven't found a good reason to use all of the blades just yet, but one blade I've fallen in love with is the perforation blade. This blade can make small cuts so that you can pop open items or create raffle tickets. I'm in love with the blade, but I hadn't quite pushed into making a full blown card using the blade... that is, until now. I wanted to make a card where it would make sense with what you're revealing. I settled on the idea of a treasure chest. From there, ...

Update: This card was picked as Cupcake Inspirations Sweet Pick! Over on Cupcake Inspirations , the designers gave us a color challenge. As you may have seen from my last few posts, I'm obsessed with my Cricut Maker 3, so any new cards I've been making have been reliant on my new piece of hardware. The color challenge was as follows: I've sort of been on an animal kick. Something about the layering of animals with cardstock to create dimension always looks good to me. I talked about in my last post how I wanted to make an owl card but ultimately went with a llama instead. Today I got to live out my owl fantasy. I found an owl on Cricut Design Space but changed the colors to fit the challenge. I also wanted this to be way bigger than the tiny Twinchie card from yesterday . Here was the result: A simple but very effective card. What I love about this card is it's an "I love you" card with a much younger aesthetic. I could see giving this to a niece or nephew, j...

Over on AAA Birthday they had the most unusual challenge this week. The challenge involved using a twinchie. What's a twinchie you ask? They describe it as "a square, circle or hexagon up to 2" (5cm)."  Here's the challenge in question: I recently acquired my Cricut Maker 3, and so I've really taken time away from Stamping and Die Cutting to utilize my new Maker. I knew I wanted to layer some image of some kind. Originally I was thinking of a mandala-effect on an animal. I looked at owls and bears and frogs and a whole menagerie of other animals. But when I stumbled upon this llama I knew I had to do it. So here is my end result: The layering created an almost stamp like appearance. It's actually quite striking. Here's the card standing upright. I'm loving the return to a Cricut product to make cards that feel impossible otherwise. If you enjoy what you see, be sure to hit the SUBSCRIBE button at the top to see new posts. Please follow me on Inst...

Just over a month ago Cricut released the Cricut Mug Press. At first, the mug press seems potentially baffling: a heat transfer system that can make mug designs. But after just a month with my mug press, I'm obsessed. Unlike the Cricut Joy which took a few months for me to figure out why it was worthy of a purchased, the mug press immediately makes sense. But what makes it special? What does it do different? Let's find out. Going Beyond Vinyl If you own a Cricut, your probably no stranger to vinyl. I've put it on everything from wooden signs, to glassware, to mugs and even made a chess board and chess pieces. Vinyl is it's own level of fascinating. But vinyl is also tricky. It is often a multi-step process with weeding, transfer paper and a lot of crossed fingers and deep breathing. And none of that vinyl is machine washable. Mugs and glassware must all be hand-washed unless you want your beautiful designs to quickly become botched. But the Cricut Mug Press changes the ...

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...

What I love about the Joy of Sets blog is that there Tic Tac Toe challenges are just that, a challenge. While other card making blogs give variations on the same color, emboss, and ribbon styles, Joy of Sets often offers unique counterpoints that make card creating tricky in its own right. Take a look at October's challenge: Unique ideas like silhouette, checks, script, torn and stitches means you can't rely on the conventional. I won't lie, I'm waiting for my new card die set to come so I can make my across the bottom: Ribbon, Window and Glitter.  As it stood, I was a bit perplexed, and I decided that my Cricut Joy might actually be the way to go for this. While originally I felt more tepid towards my Cricut Joy, in recent months, I pull it out when I need a card quickly. I knew the diagonal black, silhouette and glitter would be the perfect way to go. So here were the results: I wish you could actually see the card in motion, as the glitter cardstock captures ever...