Two Challenge Cards

This week I made 2 cards for the Paper Issues Crop challenge. I love this group on Facebook! Everyone is friendly, inspiring and active in the group. Sometimes a couple simple cards is just what I have time for and still perfect to get in some creative time.

The first challenge was to make a 15 minute card with no stamps. I needed to make a quick card for a family birthday anyhow, so this was perfect. I cut some coordinating strips of paper and pulled out some previously cut flowers I'd never used. I hand-wrote 'happy birthday' and added some silver doodles and swirls. After writing a message on the inside, I let my girls decorate the inside and back of the card. I love it when they can help out!

The second challenge was to make a card with just scraps. I always end up with strips of paper and I just can't bring myself to toss them. So I had the perfect pile of scraps to make a star-burst card! And the large middle burst was left over and in my stash too. I left the center blank for a stamp or hand-written message when I know who the recipient is. It's nice to have a card ready to send out in case I don't have time to create one when I need it.