Anyone? Anyone?

Are you still out there? Has anyone even missed me? Probably not. Well, here's what's been happening. This week my computer and I have had issues. I couldn't get it to recognize the cable that allows me to download pictures from my camera to it, and it wouldn't tell me why it was having this little fit. Today, I tried again, and it was like nothing had ever been amiss. I don't get it. All's well that ends well, and you get to see cards galore over the next few days. Aren't you excited? Hello? Is anyone still out there?

Okay, here's the first card. My old boss texted and asked for a baby card in the same design as the one I made in honor of his firstborn. It's a tri-fold shutter card (still don't get why they call it that, but they didn't ask me), and this one was for their friends' new daughter. The nursery is done in pinks and neutrals with jungle animals. Okie-dokie.

And the little girl's name is Lyla, but her mother didn't want to correct my friend's wife when she sent an email and spelled her daughter's name incorrectly (what?!? then why spell her name the way you did and doom your daughter to having her name misspelled for the rest of her life? again, I was not consulted), so the card is created with her name spelled as Lila. I guess it could be chalked up to post-partem distraction.

So, I whipped up this card using some light cardboard, since I needed but did not have any 12"x12" card stock in a neutral color like white or kraft, some left over Pink Pirouette DSP from last year's InColor collection, and my retired Wild About You stamp set featuring jungle animals. The animals were stamped in PP and accented with Old Olive. I used Outline Alphabet (again retired) to craft the sweet baby's name (with an "i" not a "y" like her parents intended--argh!). The mom liked the card, I was told, even if her firstborn's name was not spelled as she intended. It's the thought that counts? She's more easy going than I was as a new mom.

More to come...

What Should I Do with This?

SCS offers a plethora of challenges to help spark card crafters' creativity. There's a color challenge, a layout challenge, and a technique lover's challenge, to name a few.

This week's TLC221 features a card design called a Tri-Shutter Card. Bonnie at Craftiblog posted her version of a card created by Jan Webb of the SunnySide of Crafting. Debi forwarded a link to Lynn, who hosts the TLC challenge, and somehow I stumbled across it! Follow all that? Isn't that great?! I love the internet, and I just LOVE it when people are generous with their ideas for the greater good. So I'm "paying it forward" by sharing this cool card with you.

This is much more simple than it looks, which is why I like it. It has a WOW! factor without being a pain to make. I'm not going to try to recreate either tutorial; just follow the links. I used Bonnie's.

It starts with a 5.5" x 12" sheet of card stock, and I chose the copper paper from Taste of Textiles. (This isn't quite as marvelous as the long-retired shimmery copper SU! used to sell, but it's better than not having any at all!) I used retired Autumn Vine DSP because it coordinates so well with the copper. Another thing I really like about this card is that it will mail in a traditional A2 envelope.

The problem I have is this: now that I have it done this far, I'm trying to figure out what to do with it. I'm thinking it might make a cool Father's Day card, but a little stuck when it comes to embellishments. I think I'll check out the TLC221 gallery for inspiration. I'm looking for a really good quote to put in the center panel. I welcome any suggestions.