I decided I needed to do an Aliexpress haul and thought I could combine it with the Michael’s haul where I bought the new colored heavyweight card stock.  The video for the Aliexpress haul was really long because I decided I should show the dies and how they performed.  Normally I don’t use the dies in videos, but in this case, I was buying dies that layer, and felt it was only fair to show viewers what the dies looked like layered together and you can’t really see that unless you use them.  I really liked the results of the layered dies and hope my viewers will as well.  And wow, the difference in price between Aliexpress and the sites that sell them in the USA…I just can’t believe the price difference.  Jennifer McGuire did a video when the layered dies first came on the market and she said that they were a pretty hefty investment, but it wasn’t until someone else told me that those dies she had demonstrated were over $70 that it really hit me.  I bought what looks like the same dies for $2.59 each.  If we layer three of them together, the cost of mine is roughly $8.50 as the third layer is almost $3.50 on Aliexpress.  I’m blown away by the price difference and really excited to use them.  I’m sure as time goes on there will be a lot more layered dies for us to choose from on Aliexpress and I’ll be hoarding a lot more of them.  One of the things I love about the ones I bought is the debris (not sure what else to call it), that falls out when you cut them.  They are floral shapes and hexagon shapes and will be perfect for other cards.  It’s really cool, because you can layer the smaller flowers on the bigger flowers and get a really great affect.  I’m so excited to make a card with them now that I’ve tried them.

The only disappointment I’ve had so far with my Aliexpress purchases has been an alphabet die set I just got.  The set isn’t capital letters, it’s the smaller letters, but I loved the font.  Oddly enough, the letter “r” doesn’t look like any letter in the English alphabet.  I’m not sure what it looks like, but it’s definitely not an “r”.  I need to contact the company I purchased it from and ask them what can be done.  Of all the letters, you’d think an r is a very simple letter to replicate, but apparently not.  I did die cut the whole alphabet so viewers can decide if they like it or not, but until they fix the r, I’m pretty sure that people will not be really thrilled about this set, even though the rest of it is pretty cool.  Too bad it’s not an “x” , “z” or “q” that went bad…It had to be one of the most used letters in the English alphabet, darn it!

 

I wanted to share a card from my friend Cath that is so delicate with beautiful stitching.  Thanks Cath!
I saw Lindsay make this card a very long time ago on her channel and am using a stamp and die set from Sunny Studios called Perfect Popsicles.  I had a very difficult time using this set as I cleaned the stamps with soap and scuffed them with a nail file and still the ink didn’t want to stick on the stamps…
I used Stampin’ Up inks for the popsicles.  The stick is Crumb Cake, the yellow is Summer Sun and Only Orange, the blue popsicle was colored with Soft Sky and unfortunately, I can’t remember the other blue I used, sorry.  The green popsicle is Lucky Limeade and again, can’t remember the other color.  Since most of the colors I used are retired, please use what ever inks you like on yours.
The card stock is 6″ x 9″ and scored on the 9″ length at 3″ and 6″ the whole length of the card.  Put a ruler or paper on the 1″ mark on your score board on the 6″ length.  You will score on the 9″ length at 1 1/2″ down to the ruler at 1″ and repeat by flipping the paper over (and put your ruler on the 1″ line again) and scoring again at the 1 1/2″ mark only down to the 1″ ruler.
Next take your paper trimmer and put your paper in on the 6″ length so it is against your measuring bar.  It makes it so you can put the paper at 1″ on the left side of your trim bar and cut from the first 1 1/2″ score to the other 1 1/2″ score.
We need to repeat scoring at the 1 1/2″ mark on both ends of the 9″ length only scoring down to the ruler that you place at 1″.  Then use your paper trimmer again and cut at the end of the 1″ score and cut from the end of one to the other score by making sure the left side of your paper (the 6″ length is against your measuring bar), is on the 1″ mark to the left of your cutting bar and line your cutting tool so it starts cutting the paper at 1 1/2″ and ends at 7 1/2″ (which is the second 1 1/2″ score mark you made.)  Sorry if I’m confusing, I find this difficult to explain.
In this next section, layer the papers, but don’t glue them down until later.
The papers you will be lining the inside of the card with are as follows: three of  3 3/4 x 2 3/4″ pieces of decorated paper for inside each of the folds, then layer them with 3 1/2″ x 2 1/2″ plain colored papers (I used ones that matched the blue paper on the card base, but you can use any color you’d like.)  Before I glued the layers together, I put brads on the corners of my papers so I had room for the popsicles.  Use a paper piercing tool and foam underneath the paper to poke holes for the brads.  If you use brads, you’ll want a heavier adhesive between your layers to ensure they stick to their background.    Put foam tape on the popscicles before adhering them to the card.  They were placed in the centers of the three sections of the card that I covered with cardstock.  Don’t glue the three layered pieces down until after you’ve covered the edge of your card with cardstock.  Before I went any further, I used the darker shade of ink with my 1″ chip brushes and wiped around the edges of the popsicles to make them look like they were melting into the card.
The end layer is 1 1/4″ x 5 3/4″ (you’ll need 2)  and make sure the patterns on both face the same direction. The top and bottom layers are 3/4″ high by 5 3/4″ long.  Make sure you put tear tape or another strong adhesive on these two strips as they will bend with the card as it opens and closes.  Lay the two pieces in place, then use your bone folder to really rub against the paper to ensure it’s well adhered then bend the paper in the directions they are scored then use your bone folder and go over every fold to make sure they will bend easily.  I used two sentiments from the stamp set and stamped them with a darker blue ink and notched the ends and attached them to the top and bottom of the card.
This card is a little bit unique, because when you fold it closed, the last panel is actually the front of the card.  Because I added very thick brads at the end, mine will need to go into a puffy envelope to mail.  I actually mailed it in the envelope I made, but put that envelope in a puffy envelope with some gifts for our nephew.
You will need to make a special envelope for this size card and I attached the video on how to make envelopes at the end of the video.

I got a terrific surprise in the mail today from a viewer named Betty.  She made me some really cute small candy boxes and a couple of gorgeous flowers and a card that was an exploding box card, as well as some stickers and other floral embellishments.  I was absolutely thrilled with the goodies she sent me.  I am so blessed to have so many really wonderful people that like my channel.  I honestly never really thought that my channel would catch on, as I’m not like the other channels, so every time something like this happens, I’m more committed to making better content and expanding my horizons.

I had a viewer ask me to make a box card, and it’s one of those things that I’ve wanted to make, but don’t think my hands will fit inside to be able to attach the strips of paper or the embellishments that go into the box.  I’m definitely going to give it a try now that someone has asked for it, because if they want to know how to make one, maybe they are afraid as well, and if I push myself, then maybe they will too.

That is the beauty of this channel.  We’re all in it together.  I feel their support in every challenge I take on, and I think they know I’m here to support them as well.

It’s amazing how fast time has flown as it will be two years for my YouTube channel on October 29th.  Can you believe it?  I can’t.  I know Rich can’t either.  It’s passed in a blur.

With fall coming, I’m starting to fret about winter.  I would love to spend a few months in the south.  Have I talked about this before?  My big problems are these. We’re not going anywhere while Aggie is still alive as I don’t want to stress her out with travel.  We tried it three years ago and she didn’t do well.  So when we eventually make our way south, we think we’d have to have a motor home for the ride, because both of the younger dogs are terrified of the car.  Since we don’t own a motor home, we’d need to either rent one (only for the drive, we’ll be renting a house or condo) and we’d need our car.  So (and this is the crazy part because I have no idea how to accomplish this), we’d need to find someone who would be willing to be paid to drive their motor home with us, our two dogs, and pulling our car behind us.  At the end of the trip, they’d need to come back for us.  I know it’s absolutely a crazy idea, but you need to remember that not only would I need to bring the dogs and our clothes, etc., but I’d also need to bring craft supplies, a computer with editing software on it for Rich, and things that no sane person would want to transport.  I realize this is a foolish concept, but I just hate the winter here, and would love to go somewhere that has temperatures in the 40’s and 50’s.  I’m not looking for Florida, that’s just way too far to go.

I’ve done some research, and you can rent motor homes, but they don’t have the option to drop it off in a different location from where you rented it.  Seriously, with the amount of things I’d need to transport, I’d need a motor home or a U-Haul.  See how dumb this idea sounds?  I’ve been thinking about this for months and just don’t have any idea that might work.  I had friends that said I should consider having our car shipping down by train.  I’d be willing to do that if I could find someone to drive us in their motor home.  Then they said that we could just fly…Sure, and what would I do with all of the crafty things I need to bring and our neurotic dogs?  There’s no way I would subject an animal to flying unless they flew with me.  I don’t see any airline letting me fly with an 80 lb dog on my lap.  Although it would be fun to see, again, not possible.  I’d love it if someone had an idea that was feasible.  If any of you can think of a way to get from N/W PA to South Carolina with two dogs and a thousand pounds of crafty goodness, please let me know.  I’m open to any and every idea.  I can’t handle winter much longer here as it lasts for six months, and is grey or dark the whole time (at least it is in my head.)

Today I cracked.  There was an additional 20% coupon off your total purchase of regular and sale price merchandise at Michaels.  I knew the store closest to me had gotten the new colors of their heavyweight 110lb. cardstock and I HAD TO HAVE IT!  I know I don’t need any more paper, but honestly, I really love making my card bases out of a heavy base and this is my cardstock of choice.  I was really happy with the way they have chosen to package the new colors.  Each pack has up to five colors in it.  That way, if you want blue, you have a variety of blues.  I wanted neutrals and they had great choices, but unfortunately, included the black that I already have.  That’s ok because I think I’m going to be making more black cards and using glitters and glimmer sprays on it, as well as pearlized watercolors.  I want to try something new, and this is it.  I was so happy with their paper colors, that I bought three packs.  Remember when Lindsay said you don’t need to shop for things to stock up?  I’ve already broken that rule.  I just wanted to make sure that I had the colors I wanted and since I had the additional 20% coupon, each pack was $8.  That’s a terrific price for something I will definitely be using and I don’t feel guilty about buying it.

Michaels was having some great clearance deals, so I bought a journal and a small cute notebook as well as a kit to make marbleized paper.  I’m not sure how it will work out, but Rich thought I should get it, so I did.  It was originally $30 and I bought it for $10.  The photo on the front of the box shows a clear plastic container that you use to do the project.   I thought the plastic container would be worth the $10 until I opened the box,  It’s a really flimsy white (not quite) plastic that will easily be destroyed in my craft room. I was really disappointed in the container.  The only thing I can compare it to is the lining inside a box when a company wants to separate the objects in the box.

The box said there are 22 pieces inside.  I like truth in advertising and was saddened to see that they counted every piece of paper as a piece and every bottle of ink and every packet of “magic powder.”  I have no idea what the magic powder consists of, but once it’s gone, the box of goodies is practically worthless.  The box front has a great image of very neutral tones of paint on white 12″ x 12″ paper that really looks like marble.  My next disappointment were the colors included in the box….Neutral tones?  No, all primary colors.  Bright, vivid primaries.  I’m not sure if I should return the box or give it a try.  I just wish that Michaels would have had the contents of the box on display so I would have known what I was buying.  Instead, it had those horrible round plastic dots like companies use on 12 x 12″ paper pads…The ones that always rip the cardboard when you try to remove them.  There was no way I was going to see the contents of that box until I made it mine.  Drat!

You know that term Monday Morning Quarterback?  If you don’t, it means someone who after the game is played, explains all of the things that they would have done differently.  I’ve started to think I need to be my own Monday Morning Quarterback, because I make a card and make all kinds of foolish mistakes, glue things together before I should, not glue things together when I should, stamp after I’ve put a layered card together, you name it, I’m making crazy mistakes.  So today I decided to make a card of a spinning butterfly.  In theory it seemed like a simple card to make.  If you could have only seen the mess I made of the card.  I don’t want to admit this, but at one point in the video, I had to swap out the card front for another card front because of the many mistakes I had made.

Once the video goes live, I’d like to be able to say things like “Yes, I realize that it’s impossible to stamp around a raised image, and that I should have stamped first, and raised the image after.”  But I don’t.  Instead I live with everyone out there wondering why I make card so much harder to make than they really are.  I think I would do so much better if I made a practice card first.  In fact I know it would be better, and I just don’t know why I don’t do that, because I should.  Maybe it’s my goal to make card making difficult…Could that be it?  I have a goal?  No, I don’t have a goal or a plan and therein lies my problem.

I saw a couple of videos with a woman from the UK using a product called Foamiran.  It’s a really light-weight foam that you can make flowers and probably a thousand other things.  I loved how light and flowy (flowy?) the flowers looked and thought I should check it out.  The first problem I encountered is not being able t find foamiran in the USA.  I found it hard to believe, but apparently it hasn’t caught on here yet.  I emailed a friend in England and asked her if she would give it a try and see if I could do something with it.  She’s on the job now and will let me know how it goes.

In the meantime, I was thinking foamiran should be available on Aliexpress.  Here lies the second problem.  What do you think the translation for foamiran would be in Chinese, and how do I search for it?  I made several initial attempts and gave up.  Back to watching YouTube videos about it and there it is.  A video about buying foamiran on Aliexpress.  Problem number three, the video is in Russian.  My Russian is pretty rusty, so the most I understood was Aliexpress and foamiran.  She had responded to an English comment, so I sent her one (in English), trying to find out what she used as search words for foamiran.  I didn’t get a response, but I haven’t given up the search.

Oddly enough, in the past few days while I’ve been on my foamiran search, I started getting emails from a viewer talking about foamiran.  We talk often, but what are the odds we’re both on a search for this product?  She bought hers from a company in Ireland that has an Etsy page.  I went to Etsy and found the thickness of the foamiran that they sell and tried Aliexpress one last time.  I think I might have had success, but won’t know for sure until it arrives in two to five weeks.  I’m really excited and hope this stuff works like foamiran did in the videos I watched, as making flowers is the most requested video that I get.  I’ll let you know how it works out.

I saw Bev Rochester make this card on her site and really loved it.
I started with two 6 x 6″ white cardstock.  I used 65 lb cardstock that I bought at Joanns (and don’t really love as it cracked really easily and I didn’t love that.)
The bird stamp was from Holly Berry House stamps #1347 and I’m not sure where I got it.  Here is a link to Holly Berry House stamps and the birds they sell.  Here’s the link:  http://hollyberryhouse.com/blog/?page_id=852
I used a white card stock scrap and stamped the bird and sentiment with Versafine onyx black ink and used clear Ranger embossing powder over it and heat set it so it would not smear with the alcohol markers.   I used my Touch 5 markers in 31, 36, 41, 100, 104, 93, 96 and 23 to color the bird.
A C Moore sold Floral Doodle paper pad and matching washi tape and I just had to have them (used my coupon for the washi tape.)
.  For the inside of the card, I used orange paper that is 5 1/2″ x 5 1/2″ and white layered paper is 5 1/4″ x 5 1/4″.  You’ll need more orange paper for the die on the front of the card to layer under the bird.

Take your two pieces of white 12″ x 6″ paper scored on the 12″ side at 6″ to make a 6 x 6″ square.  Your first paper, you’ll put in your paper trimmer on a diagonal so the fold of your card is to the left of your trim bar and you will put the bottom right corner of the card in the bottom center of the trim line and the top center of the card in the trim line and holding it in place, trim it.  The other 6 x 6″ square card, you’ll make sure the fold of the card is to the right of the trim line.  You’ll put the bottom left corner of the card in the cut line at the bottom and the center score line also in the trim line, holding it in place and cut.  This will make your criss cross card.  You’ll want to add a strong adhesive to the back of one of the card bases and making sure they are lined up properly so the diagonals on the front will overlap each other, glue the backs together.  Once they are glued in place you’ll want to take the pieces of cardstock that you cut for the front of your card 5 3/4″ square orange and 5 1/2″ square floral doodle cardstock in orange and put them in your paper trimmer on a diagonal with one corner in the bottom trim line and the top (diagonal) in the trim line and cut.  Attach them together with tape runner and then apply them to the left and right flaps.  I didn’t glue down either side of my panels until I added the papers to the inside of the card. The tape runners I used were Darice and Sticky Thumb, both honorable mention choices in my top tape runners.  (I’ll attach that video to the end of this video.)  You can use wet glues, as long as you feel the paper will hold quickly.
I next went to the inside papers and took some ribbon and adhered white thin ribbon in the center of orange ribbon with Fabric Fusion to attach them together, and set them aside to dry.  The ribbons were  2″ long  (long enough to create a loop.)  You’ll want to make a loop and put some adhesive on the ends of the loop and glue it in the top center between your two layers of cardstock.  I forgot to do this, so had to push it between the layers and it’s a lot easier if you remember to do it first.  I added some brads to my white layer using a paper piercing tool before gluing the two layers together.  Used tear tape to attach the white and orange papers together.   I used a white with orange piece of the ACMoore paper 5 1/2″ x 5 1/2″ and adhered it to an orange layer that was 5 3/4 x 5 3/4″ and put tape runner on the back of the orange layer and glued it down.
I used tear tape and ran a thin line on the bottom edge of my diagonal card front and laid it down, then ran a thin line of tear tape on the bottom of the other side and glued it down.
I had a problem with the white paper cracking on the edges, so took scraps of the white w/ orange flower paper and cut it to 3/4″ by 5 1/2″ long and put tear tape on the back after scoring it at 1/8″ and folding the paper well on the score.  I attached it to the cracked corners and used my bone folder to really adhere it well.
I colored the bird with the Touch 5 markers and an Aliexpress die to trim out the bird and same die to back the bird w/ orange paper.  I cut the orange piece in half and made sure it was centered on the bird image.  I used Distress ink, Dried Marigold and a 1″ chip brush, on the bird image then used water and a paint brush.. Adhered it to the orange layer with a piece of white ribbon glued under the bird. Added foam tape to the back of the orange paper but made sure to put foam tape on the bottom half.  Made a banner out of the sentiment and went around the edges of it with Dried Marigold Distress ink and then put foam tape on the back and adhered it to the bottom of the card.  I made a banner and put it on the top of the white paper on the inside of the card,  and decorated the envelope with peg stamps.

 

 

 

 

I realize that I missed a day of blogging, but some days I don’t really do very much.  I could make up a great story about what I did in my head, but that’s not really fair, or the truth, so we’ll stick to the facts.  Just the facts, mam.

Today, my girlfriend texted Rich early and said there was a garage sale that we needed to attend.  They are relocating and selling a lot of great designer clothes, and it’s just a really fun sale.  They have one every year and we always love going.  So Rich and I went and had a great time.  I didn’t buy anything crafty, but we found some house type things, special light bulbs that go into recessed lighting and a bunch of things you hate to buy, but need.  We also bought a big box fan as we don’t have central air conditioning and although we have air conditioning, we don’t like it when Honey is in her cage, as we think it’s warmer in there than it should be .  Ok, I think it’s warmer than it should be and since she’s my baby, I’m going to make sure she’s cool when we aren’t home.  There, the mom of the house put her foot down.  (Or else Rich mentioned we should buy a box fan for Honey, and I just never got around to buying one, you be the judge.)

Rich stayed up late editing the criss cross card video and wow, is it long.   I know people don’t want to waste their time on long videos and yet, I can’t help it, I make mistakes and that makes my videos run longer than I intend.  Even when I write things down so I know the steps I need to follow, I still forget and do something that makes them long.  Viewers say they want me to keep my mistakes in, so I want to write things on the screen to help viewers do things correctly, but YouTube took that option off of their editing.  It was so easy for me to add notes to videos before, and now, I have to write my notes to Rich and ask him to write it on the screen.  As if he doesn’t already have enough to do with my videos, now I have him writing notes.  His work is never done.

We spent the day at our friend’s house, at a picnic with college friends.  My friend Sue’s son and his family were visiting from Colorado, and I volunteered Rich to take family photos and she was thrilled.  He takes his job very seriously, and spent a lot of the time away from everyone, taking candid photos.  Of course, he thinks his pictures are terrible, when in reality, they are truly works of art.  He’s submitted a lot of photos to national contests and has been in the top ten percent of thousands of photos, so he does great work.  Rich chooses to believe he’s not very talented, but I think he compares his work to some of the greatest photographers in history, which is never a good thing.

When we got home from the picnic, Rich rushed to Sunday night basketball, and I spent the evening buying crafty things.  I’m on a big buying binge (try saying that five times fast), and have been making sure I have all kinds of things I don’t really need.  I’m a huge fan of Stampin’ Up inks and papers, so bought some that have been discontinued.  I don’t think I could work for a company that changes their stamps as often as Stampin’ Up does, since as a sales person, you’d continuously need to be selling your old inventory and buying new.  You really wouldn’t want to keep a lot of retired merchandise, as you wouldn’t be able to sell it, and that’s really the point of being a sales person.  Honestly, as someone who likes to buy their merchandise, I just wait until things I like are retired, and buy them at huge discounts through either Ebay or Splitcoast Stampers.  I never feel badly about using the stamps, papers or inks in a video, because I know that my viewers  will always be able to find them online, as their reps are selling off retired merchandise as quickly as possible.  Therein lies my problem.  I think they retire things at the end of June every year (I might be a month off), and then I find so many things that I want (or just have to have) that I buy crazy amounts of things.  I like to buy the inks/refills/papers and markers once they are retired, so that’s what I’ve been buying lately. I used to want to have all of their colors, but then started to realize that I really don’t like all of their “in colors”, so only buy the ones I do like.  It’s my way of trying to reign myself in.  haha.   So now I need to force myself to stop shopping online and focus on using some of the thousands of things that I have.  Oh, who am I kidding, I’ll never use all of the things I have, I’m a crafty hoarder.   If this is the biggest problem I have, I think I’ll be ok.

A very close friend just got married and I wanted to make a card that would be sweet and fast, because I made it at the last minute.

I used Bristol Strathmore paper 10″ x 7″ scored at 5″ on the 10′ length to make a 5 x 7″ card.  I cut an additional piece of the same paper at 5 x a little under 7″ to glue to the back.  I cut a congratulations die and used the die set from Aliexpress of hearts and used one of the biggest dies to cut the front out of my card.  I also used a stamp set from Aliexpress that is called Dream.  Here’s a link to the page I found it on.  You’ll want to look through the pages to make sure you find the lowest price.  It’s the second image on this page at the top.  https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?catId=0&initiative_id=SB_20170715170916&SearchText=dream+stamp+scrapbook+clear

The heart die set is $2.97 in the eighth row down on this link.  It might not be the lowest price, so I’d check the other pages to make sure you get the best price.
https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?initiative_id=SB_20170715171116&site=glo&g=y&SearchText=heart+dies+scrapbook+metal&page=2&user_click=y

I took the heart out of the front of the card and put the big swirl image from the dream stamp set into the MISTI.  I used Melon Mambo ink from Stampin’ Up and stamped the image.  After repeatedly stamping until the color was dark and consistent, I moved the card to another position and stamped the same stamp using a post-it-note as a mask so I didn’t overlap my stamping.  I covered the entire card front with the swirl image.
When the Aliexpress stamps are new, they need to be cleaned with a baby wipe or baby shampoo or Dawn detergent so they will accept the ink.  If they don’t, rub gently with a nail file—gently.
Any places on the card front that didn’t have enough ink coverage, I created my own pattern to fill the empty spaces with a Melon Mambo marker.  If you don’t have a matching marker, you could use a micro brush or Fantastix, or toothpick, to draw little swirls or dots..  I don’t think anyone would notice as there is such a busy pattern on the front.  I did have a little overlap of ink near the top, so put my ribbon there.  I also had some ink overlap on the left near the bottom, so put my sentiment there.  It’s not hard to be creative when you need to cover ink errors.
I added the 4 7/8″ x 7″ piece to the back of the front of my card so I have a surface to attach the heart to.  I added fun foam to the back of the heart with fun foam and put tear tape on the back of the fun foam and glued it into the heart opening on the card.  I took a sentiment from the same dream set and stamped it on white card stock and used a 1 1/4″ square scallop punch to cut out the sentiment, took tear tape and adhered it to the card where I had ink overlapping.  I used white chiffon ribbon and sliced a line on the seam of the card where I wanted to thread my ribbon.  Wrapped the ribbon around the card and tied a bow where the ink was overlapping to cover that little boo boo.
I used Ranger multi matte medium to glue a pink die cut of the word congratulations on the heart.  If you start in the center of the word and work in either direction, you have a better chance of centering the word where you want it.  You can also die cut the heart and lay the congratulations die where you want it in the heart and cut it out.  Then put the heart over the heart on your card and lay your die cut into the spot where you cut it out of the heart, glue it in, and remove the heart once your die cut is where it needs to be.  You need to be very careful that you don’t glue that heart down.
I had a problem with getting ink inside my card, so I eliminated the back and cut another piece of white cardstock that was 6″ x 7″ and I scored the 6″ side at 1″ and folded it.  I put tear tape on the one inch scored piece and then attached the one inch piece to the back of the front of the card as I had to cut off the back because both the front and back of that piece of cardstock had ink on it.
I had a stamp runner that I had purchased from Zulily a long time ago that almost matched the melon mambo color, so I ran the hearts along the flap of the envelope to finish the card.