more paper fun

One thing I really appreciate about the SCAL software is that ability to resize things with a few clicks of the mouse. I can round corners, add or delete nodes. Play with fonts. Change colors and more. Designing is so much fun and rewarding!

I’ve been eyeing a card on Pinterest for a while, but my budget for purchasing dies and files is on hold for a few weeks. This was an idea that I really needed to get made — so opening SCAL was the first step. All the pieces with the exception of the “fish” were created in SCAL. The fish were a free download from freepik.com. More about them in a minute.

The original card I saw was a slider, but I decided I wanted a box card. Yes, I saw Julie Ebersole’s version of the card, but wanted to do something just a little different, so this is my version.

I traced the jpg version of the file in the software. Once the trace was completed, some of the elements were deleted and those remaining were set to print only. The outline was set to cut. Once the fish were cut, adding a little dimension with some Solar Paste and Nuvo Crystal Drops was all that needed to be done with fish. They were installed on a single insert with some foam tape between layers.

The rolled back top and key were a fun addition. Of course the “label” could be any design your want… I did like this sentiment and there’s plenty of room on the back to add a personalization.

The card folds nearly flat to place in a boxy envelope. It would cost more to mail, but this is a perfect card to hand deliver to a special recipient.

card frenzy!

It’s been a busy couple of weeks. June’s cards are nearly finished. The monthly stack (20) of cards went out in the mail last Friday along with those birthday cards happening in the first week of June (sorry, we have to wait on those to be delivered before I share).

The monthly stack is a hybrid card – digital images from Southern Creek Designs on Etsy (Postmarked) combining the pen (from the Greetery) and the hello (W Plus 9) dies used to add a little more interest and dimension. I’ve enjoyed putting these together. The digital collection was perfect for this one.

NOT A CARD! Memorial Day has come and gone, but we added a couple of new pieces to our home decor. Both will carry over for the 4th of July.

The heart is based on a felt ornament that came across my feed in both FB and on IG. Easy to replicate and add my own touch using SCAL and cutting the pieces on the Skycut. The poppy is from Abbi Kirsten. The hearts and stars were from the SCAL library. The ribbons are leftovers from a project we did a couple of years ago. Glad I held on to them.

Here’s a close up of the heart:

The second piece created used some files from Simply Crafty SVGs as shared in this post: https://greatitudes.com/2026/05/21/a-fun-idea/

One last card for this post: Sympathy cards are the most difficult for me to make, especially when there is a closeness to the family and their loss. This card was one that had a life of it’s own. We tried several things, but nothing seemed to work until I had a dream and saw what needed to be the focal piece in the metal frame we were adding to the card. The wax seal was a leftover from another project. It fit perfectly in the frame and was just what the card needed. The feedback was more than anticipated…

This card was made with things from my stash — all of the major elements are retired. You could, of course use other elements to achieve the same look and feel.

I guess that’s it for right now, just have to wait for a few more things to be delivered before posting… so a couple more posts coming up in the next couple of weeks.

Hoping your week is a creative one and your heart is nurtured along the way with good things and many memorable moments. ENJOY!

inspire

3 Positives:
Finished all the Father’s Day cards yesterday
some comfort food for dinner
printed pics for May and June folders – quite a few projects completed all in all.

Our Journey Notes:
24 hr allergy med is working for about 8 – 12 hours. I guess I need to talk to the dr again and see what he recommends next. Also back on the insomnia wheel again. 2 nights in now, but hopefully, this cycle will be a shorter one than the last. A and T have been really good at reminding me of things the last couple of days. It’s been very helpful. Things haven’t been sticking much since my sleep cycle has been interrupted again.

T has two appointments this week. Monday for blood draw and Tuesday he meets with the dr and gets some new scrips for the pharmacy. Late work starts on both those days. He goes back for another eye post op the following week – not sure if he’s taking a vacation day for that one or not.

treasure the simple moments

3 Positives:
cards for the first week in June are ready for mailing – a day in advance
cutting Father’s day and the rest of the month’s bdays today
no change in meds –

Our Journey Notes:
T is having headaches from eye stress. They are now daily. He went to bed early last night after his last dose of drops for the day and taking the rest of his meds. Hoping he won’t have a headache when he gets up this morning. Change in weather in the offing.

No change in thyroid dosage according to the dr. Figured that was what he would say. No other recommendations at this time. I have a feeling he may want to talk after the MRI results are in late next week. I’m changing the dosage on the vitamins – half dose and see if the symptoms I’ve had previously return — If not, we’ll continue on that track. Still have another 2 weeks off of them so I can do the Dexa scan.

I did get yesterday’s “new” list completed for a daily to-do. Including cleaning up T’s email account. 22k unread emails dating back to January of 2025. It will need another purge next month and each month following to keep things down. So, it’s on the monthly to-do list now. We’ll see how this rolls out with another monitor on his computer. His laptop monitor just doesn’t quite adapt to the size he needs to reads a little more easily.

5.27.26

3 Positives:
Cut and assembled 3 bday card fronts yesterday. 23 cards now ready for final assembly and envelopes.
Made a chicken enchilada casserole for dinner. It was yummy with just the right amount of spice
Bloodwork results came back — numbers look a little better.

Our Journey Notes:
T is feeling a bit better. Still trying to find the right med(s) for his allergies. His cough has loosened up a lot and isn’t as dry (from the cold). He has a bit more energy as well in the mornings. Not a lot in the evenings — he spent most of his evening chilling in the living room (sleeping) before I called it a night for both of us.

I still have lots of fatigue and a few other things going on, but overall, feeling a bit more human. Should be hearing from the dr sometime today or tomorrow about the bloodwork results (numbers were a little more in the “I’m comfortable with them” range). I hope it’s sooner rather than later as I need to refill this prescription or have it switched to a new dosage as I’m nearly out of pills and need to change the dosage on the vitamins. Requested a new scrip for the migraine meds yesterday. Hoping to get that filled by Friday. MRI next week and the Dexa scan the week after.