Birthday card featuring letter scrapbook paper, ribbon and a greeting with a paper button

My youngest granddaugther is so looking forward to school so I added bold letters to her birthday card!!  I decided to try the slimline card style using a #8 envelope which are common and available locally.  I created a yellow card to fit inside.  The scrapbook paper was a strip of letters so I cut it in two and stacked them.  I added a yellow ribbon over where they join and secured the ends to the back before adding it to my yellow card front.  I found a coordinating greeting in my stash, sponged its edges and added a little brown paper button (CB die cut) with gold string tied to it.  I mounted the greeting over the ribbon and then tied a short piece of ribbon to the one on the card to simulate a bow.  

Christmas cards featuring word ornaments and custom decorative backgrounds

A few more Christmas cards!!  I cut the ornaments (SX) and words (TH_SX) while I was at it last time I made cards and so I have decided to get a few more made.  I dug out my box of Christmas paper to see what I had for backgrounds. I found several and made up a few more.  

For the first card, I taped three pieces of this beautiful metallic gift wrap together with regular tape and trimmed it, adhered to a green card front, used gold/green metallic paper to back the ornament and create the topper and added gold cording for the hanger.  

For the second card, I created a background by taping together strips of decorative paper together and trimmed it to size and adhered to a green card, used white pearly paper to back the ornament and create the topper and added white cording for the hanger. 

For the third card, I layered the green paper over some yellow decorative paper and glued this large element to a red card front, used yellow/orange hand decorated watercoloured paper to back the ornament and create the topper and used twine as the hanger.  It needed a  bit of something so I added a twine across the bottom and tied on a short length to simulate a bow and added the little layered stamped greeting (Nestibilities).  That was better!

For the fourth card, I taped layers of decorative paper together, added green/gold metallic paper strips over the joints and trimmed it to size then adhered it to a green card.  I used green/gold metallic paper to back the ornament and create the topper and added a gold embroidery thread for the hanger.  Thinking it needed a bit of something I added a coordinating oval punchie font greeting which I sponged with a bit of red before adhering with 3D foam tape.  

I am really liking the chance to change up the backgrounds on these cards.  I prefer to create one of a kind cards!!!!!!!!!!   Therese

All occasion card featuring a dragonfly, some pearly and clear dimensional paint and a little gold cording

 For this all occasion card I started with a dragonfly digital image from CLKER which I laser printed onto white cardstock and trimmed out of the letter sized sheet.  I watercoloured the sky and then the dragonfly using pearly paint so it would shimmer.  I tied the tiny gold to the right of the image and then layered it onto a green/gold metallic paper.  I left a bit of a border on the bottom which I trimmed with wavy scissors.  I paper pierced the wavy edge and then added a line of scoring above it using my Score tool.  I mounted my focal element to the front of a speckled navy card. I added clear dimensional paint to the wings of the dragonfly and left it to dry overnight.  It has turned out wonderfully!!         Therese

"You are awesome" card featuring a colour printed cute little bear, rhinestones and thread

I so love this little bear and his balloon!!  It is an image from LaPetiteFemme on Pixabay!  I added the "You are awesome" font greeting I created then colour printed it onto white cardstock, trimmed it out of the letter sized sheet and mounted it to piece of black cardstock.  When trimming,  I left a large margin on the right hand side, punched the edge with the scallop border punch (SU), added clear rhinestones to each scallop and then added white cording between them and the image.  I mounted this large element to a red card front.    Therese

Cards for a gift - sanded embossed backgrounds, die cut flowers and leaves and ribbon

 I have my final physio appointment tomorrow and the physiotherapist and his team have been the very best so I have prepared a few cards to show my appreciation for their professionalism, kindness and caring. 
I went with a tried and true technique which I have enjoyed many times - embossed and sanded white core cardstock for the back grounds and die cut leaves and wildflowers (TH) for the focal elements.  I found my stash of white core cardstock so I had a few more colours to choose from.  Some of these are also card backs which are colour on one side and white on the other which also works for this technique and a good way to reuse cards.  I embossed and sanded the backgrounds, added a coordinating ribbon, tied on a little piece of cording and then adhered the flowers and leaves by adding white glue dots to the back and tucking them in behind.  Very happy with these cards and happy to be at the end of weekly appointments though I expect I will have to continue my exercise routine for a good while yet to get by shoulders strong enough for the rest of my life!!  Well worth doing all around.         Therese

Sewing - a new little pincushion for my sewing machine

I have made myself a new little pincushion and attached it to my sewing machine!! This is the best thing!!  I never have a place to put pins when I am removing them from the project I am sewing. I have used a free standing pin cushion which eventually falls on the floor which makes it inconvenient.  On one of my recent forays on the internet I found this idea  - a pincushion for your sewing machine - what a brilliant solution.  There are all kinds of inspiration once you start looking.  I decided to make one that fit around the main body of my sewing machine. It allows me access to all of the buttons and knobs and is still very much right where I need it to be.  The fabric I used is from one of my favorite shirts which I wore until the collar became ragged.   I cut off the front button hole band and then created a little pincushion from the bottom portion of the front from which I cut off the band.  I stitched the two sides together and then turned it inside out and folded over a quarter inch on one end, inserted one of the band and stitched them together.  Next, I cut a piece of cereal cardboard for the backer of my pincushion so I don't scratch my machine when I am inserting pins and inserted it into the other end of my pincushion. Next, I stuff it full of polyester batting then folded in another quarter inch on the open end, inserted the other end of the band (I tested it first to ensure the length was correct) into the the opening and stitched it in place.  I passed the band under the needle and then easily maneuvered the pincushion band over the rest of my machine and settled it nicely round the main section.  It fits perfectly and will certainly come in handy on my next project.  I really love that fabric too!! 

As I was cleaning up I remembered I once had a pair of scissors attached to my desk so I would always have a pair when I was cutting threads while I was sewing so I dug into my bin for ties/shoelaces and found this nice cord which I hitched to my scissors and then to the pincushion band which will keep them nice and close when I am sewing.  They will not be falling on the floor anymore!!!  I just remembered that my daughter gave me a really nice pair of scissors which I have stored away because I was not wanting them falling on the floor so I think I will be digging those out and putting them on the end of my cord!!!  Very happy with my new pincushion!!! 

Birthday card featuring a layered floral focal element, decorative paper background and an embossed greeting

My youngest granddaughter has a birthday coming up and I made this card for her.  It has a fun and funky flower element which can be removed to put it in her room or in a window. 
I started with a large envelope and created a blue card to fit inside.  I trimmed a piece of decorative paper which has some glitter on it somewhat smaller than my card and cut it into four pieces.  I used a corner punch to trim two corners on each rectangle and then glued them in place with even margins on my card front.  I created the flower using a variety of flowers I found in my flower stash - a large die cut, an orange post it note flower, a coral die cut and a layered center created from a scalloped circle, a circle punchie of decorative paper, a 5 petal flower punchie, a sequin and a brad to hold them all together.  I punched a small hole on the top and strung a white cord through to create a hanger.  I positioned the flower on my card so the center was in the middle of the card and brought the hanger to the inside of the card and secured it with tape.  I put a tiny piece of double sided tape below the flower just to keep it in place until it is removed.  I trimmed a glittery embossed greeting, sponged the edges in pink and glued it to the front of my card using double sided tape.  It will be a fun card for her and she will be so happy to have something she can keep for herself to decorate her room!!     Therese

dffd

May Cardmaking - a fun fold with a central element and a little greeting

Our last cardmaking session before the summer!!  We met last week and had a fun evening making cards. 
I prepped kits for the evening using some of my previous sketches from other classes I have had recently. 
For this card I cut double sided decorative paper into four even rectangles and we scored and folded one corner and once glued to our card fronts it created an opening in the center of the card. I punched 1.75" circles which we embossed before adding them to our opening.  I created a variety of 3D embellishments to add to the middle.  On this card, I added a butterfly punchie cut from serendipity paper which coordinated nicely with my decorative paper.  I sponged the edges and tied on gold cording to create antennae.  The greeting is laser printed, punched with a Word Window (SU) punch and layered onto a coordinating Modern Label (SU) punchie.  Love the look!!  Lots of texture and dimension!!  You can check out here the ones from the last class.
Therese

A Christmas card featuring a colour printed page background, a die cut ornament and a punched greeting

I am playing catch up with my commitment to make Christmas cards monthly this year.  I am using large and odd sized envelopes from my stash in an effort to make them disappear!!  I chose the envelope and made a dark maroon card to fit in it.  I had the ornament and greeting picked out from my January session of Christmas cards when I made these.  I went digging into my stash to find a background that would work and found this one which I printed a while back when I was working on these cards. It is a digital collage which I colour printed onto a page from a bible.  It worked with the sky of my little round image so I went with it.  I trimmed it to size and adhered to my card front.  I tied cording to the top of my ornament die cut and adhered my little circle image after sponging it around the edge a bit with brown ink.  The image was die cut from a Christmas card I received years ago and was a supply for a different project a while back.  I mounted the ornament to my card front using 3D foam tape and adhered the cording to the inside of my card using double sided tape.  The greeting (Quietfire Designs) was stamped onto ivory, punched out and then layered onto a coordinating scalloped oval punchie (SU).  I layered them and then mounted it to the front of my card with 3D foam tape as well.  I love how bright the image is compared to the background - it really stands out!!  Another one down!!              Therese

A sympathy card featuring a stamped greeting, a butterfly die cut and a vellum layer

Another stash card!!  I started with the butterfly which was part of a mobile which I received in my birthday card from my daughter a while back.  I tied a length of silver cording around the middle, tied a double knot and trimmed the ends to simulate antennae.  I found a coordinating piece of scrapbook paper, a torn piece of vellum and a coordinating peach card front.  I used a rose ink to stamp the greeting on my card, added the vellum using double sided tape situated where it would be hidden my the strip of scrapbook paper and then adhered the strip over the vellum.  I added the butterfly using 3D foam tape to give it a bit of dimension.         Therese

Subtle neutral background embellished with gold embossed mesh and a twine nest

 Have been working with a few others on a project for a while and we are now almost finished.  I have made this card for one of the people who have donated time and materials to help us get this project off the ground. 
I started with a large envelope and cut an ivory card to fit inside.  I mounted two scraps of this beautiful gray and pale yellow decorative paper (SU) on the front.  I trimmed a scrap of brown cardstock to size, distressed the top and bottom and then added a piece of gold embossed mesh to it using four square brads in gold.  I mounted this element over where the two pieces joined on the front.  The laser printed greeting punchie (Bird's Cards) I found in my stash and sponged the edge with a bit of brown ink and then mounted it to a kraft scalloped circle punchie (Nestibilities).  I added double sided tape to the back and then wound some kraft cording and gold embroidery thread all around it anchoring them when I could to the back of the greeting.  I added two strips of 3D foam tape to the back and mounted it over the accent strip leaving the "nest" of fiber to find its best place.  Feeling that the edges needed a bit more definition I used a gold gel pen and added faux stitching all around the edges.  That was better!!!   Nothing can really replace a handmade card when you are expressing your appreciation for what others have done for you!!!!!   Therese

First Birthday card of the new year

My brother's birthday is in early January and I should really learn to make his card in early December so it is ready to be mailed to arrive on time.  I am hoping it made it this year!!!  I used a piece of scrap paper which I created in an effort to not waste paint when I was working on other projects this past year.  I just haul out a piece of white paper and keep adding paint until I am happy with it.  Sometimes it takes several sessions to get it to be "right".  I cut the paper to size, layered onto orange and then onto a large white card.  I am hoping to make good use of my large envelopes this year in the creation of my family cards.  I added a sign post (TH) which I die cut from white core black card, embossed and then sanded a bit to age it.  It still needed a bit of something so I added some silver ink which did the trick.  I used kraft cording to tie the chalkboard greeting to the sign and then glued this large element to my card front.  I used 3D foam tape behind the greeting to give it a bit of dimension.  Love the colours of this one!!          Therese

A graduation card that features a digital image, lots of watercolour and some beautiful butterflies

I made this card for a special person who is graduated from high school this year.  

I laser printed the greeting (DESERT DIVA - digital) large on white cardstock and added watercolour until I was happy with it!!  After it was dry I adhered the panel to a deep maroon card front.  This is a large format card.  I added three butterflies - a large copper one (SX) and yellow one (SU) which I embellished with yellow and orange and a smaller one which echoes the copper of the large one.  I received this on in a swap so I am not sure of the maker.  I tied cording to the two smaller ones to create antenna.  I mounted them with 3D foam tape.  Really happy with how this one turned out!!

Therese

Another set of card using the same sketch!!

I have another set of card which I created using card kits from a previous class.  Card kits make card making quick and easy!! 
For these two I adhered the decorative paper to the card fronts.  The one on the left had the two piece of paper already taped to each other to be the right size!  I layered the laser printed greeting to the strip of cardstock and tied on the ribbon.  You can see that the birthday greeting has been embellished with the tracing wheel.  The greeting elements were glued to the card fronts and the 3D embellishments were added to finish off the cards.  For the left hand card, the embellishment is a punched butterfly which has been watercoloured and inked to coordinate with the card and has had metallic thread tied around its body leaving long ends which creates its antennae. The right hand card has layered stars with a sequin and bound with a gold brad.      I love the variety of card which can be made with one sketch by just changing up the paper, greetings and embellishments!!!            Therese

Silver, red and green for a very festive thank you card

I am having fun creating cards from my Christmas paper stash!!  For this one I chose three pieces of commercial handmade paper which features red dots and silver glitter!!  I adhered them on the front of a red card front spacing them evenly and then added two little strips of silver ribbon in between them.  I tied the card front using some fine silver cording which I tied off on the left and then mounted a chalkboard greeting from my stash over the strands using 3D foam tape.  Love it!!

Therese

All occasion cards without greetings

For these two cards I was reusing a portion of a used card that had this bright pink border with some orange ribbon and a zigzag edge. 
For the left hand card I embossed the top portion of a white card with the Swiss Dot embossing folder in my Big Kick and then glued my wide decorative border to the bottom.  I punched two butterflies (MS) which I layered onto two handmade paper butterfly punchies to which I added silver cording to simulate antenna.  I drew in a flight path with a gel pen before gluing the butterflies in place.  For the right hand card, I die cut flowers (SU) from the same fun pink floral paper and three different coordinating pink cardstocks.  I layered the flowers and bound them with a brad which I coloured with a Sharpie marker.  I embossed the front of a white card with the leaves embossing folder before adding my wide border to the bottom edge.  I cut stems and leaves from green cardstock and glued them in place tucking their ends behind the top of the border.  I used glue dots to adhere my flower to my card front.  Love this floral paper!!               Therese

Christmas cards with handmade paper trees & sequins

I am behind on getting Christmas cards done monthly this year.  These are technically my March cards!!
I started with some handmade paper triangles which I created a long while back when I was regularly making handmade paper.  I created them on a spare screen sitting on my mould and used a baster to add the paper pulp which allowed me to include a lot of texture.  I chose to let them dry naturally which preserved all the details I had created instead of couching them.  They were needing a bit of touch up in colour so I colourwashed them with green acrylic paint and I dried them with my heat gun.  Worked very well!!
I added a garland using various fibers and stitching and used sequins to simulate ornaments.  They are all different but I generally used the same sketch which worked well with the size of the "tree".
For this one I used red rick rack which I positioned with glue dots and a few dots of white glue in strategic locations.  I added large gold sequins using glue dots and overlapped them over the rick rack garlans.  I adhered the tree to the background paper and added the gold star brad.  I adhered this large element to a red card front and added a laser printed layered punchie greeting on the top right hand corner.

For the one on the left I added white fiber for the garland gluing the ends to the back.  I added iridescent white sequins with glue dots.  I glued my tree to a white shimmery embossed background then added a white snowflake brad at the top.  I tucked a laser printed greeting just behind the tree and embellished a clear iridescent sequin which I applied with a partial glue dot.  This large element was mounted to a deep plum card front.

For this one I used shiny thread and some copper blending filament in my sewing machine.  I cut a length of each and wound them onto an empty spool so I could feed them into my needle at the same time.  It worked well though I was going very slow because I was incorporating the sequins as I went.  I started at the lower right hand of the tree and started my stitching.  Next, I positioned a sequin and manually adjusted the machine to stitch just before the sequin, in the middle of the sequin and just past the sequin. I continued to stitch in a zig zag pattern up the tree adding sequins (large blue, gold and copper) in the same manner.  I returned to the bottom in the same manner but did not add any sequins on the way down.  I really like the look of the blending filament and the shiny thread!!  I glued the tree to my decorative paper and added a gold brad at the top.  This one was coloured with a gold paint marker to coordinate.  I added a laser printed layered punchie greeting to finish off my layer and glued this large element to a rust card.

For this one, I stitched a garland with white shiny thread using a long zig zag stitch.  The tension was off a bit with the top thread being a bit tight so the zigzag is not as apparent as I was expecting.  I added four small fiber snowflakes using iridescent glitter glue then added dots along the garland as well.  While they were drying I layered my decorative paper over a snowflake punched border and glued this layer to a dark green card front.  I glued my tree to the decorative paper and added an iridescent snowflake charm to the top of the tree using a glue dot.  I added a simple laser printed punchie greeting to the top left.  It still needed a bit of something so I added a dot of  iridescent glitter glue to the centers of each snowflake in the border and I like that much better.

For this one, I added a garland using silver cording gluing the ends to the back.   I added tiny silver and blue sequins using partial glue dots in a bit of a random pattern.  I glued the tree to my soft blue floral background then added a silver star sequin using a silver brad.  I glued this large element to a blue card front.  I layered a laser printed oval greeting which I had sponged with a bit of green ink over a scalloped oval of blue cardstock.

It was great to use up these little trees and get some Christmas cards made!!  I have a few more ideas so hopefully this month I will get caught up.

Therese

Felted wool roses for my twig wreath!

It has been a long time coming but I finally finished my twig wreath with the felted wool roses my daughter gave me three years ago for Christmas!!!!  I love how it turned out!!!
The felted wool was cut with a spiral blossom die and I stitched them up individually.  I arranged them the way I wanted them and then stitched them to an extra piece of wool felt.  I added a few silk leaves left over from my flowers for cardmaking.  I attached cording to the felt and then tied the whole piece to the wreath!!  There are navy blue and three colours of dark pink and some light pink flowers.

Therese

New handmade cards with reused focal elements

 I was going through a box of card fronts that my sister gave me a few weeks ago and decided to reuse some of the images from them to create focal elements for new cards.
For this first one, I cut out the main element on the card front and trimmed it very close to the small line frame.  I mounted it to a piece of dark blue cardstock and added red vintage seam binding to two opposite corners.  I mounted this element to a light blue card front.  I added a sponged laser printed punchie greeting (SU Word Window) on the upper right  using double sided tape.

For my next card, I trimmed the pink cardstock around the cat image even on three sides leaving a larger section on the bottom.   I added a length of white fiber below the image wrapping it around several times and securing the ends to the middle with double sided tape.  I sponged the edges of an oval greeting punchie  (SU) with green and then layered it onto a green scallop oval (SU) which I punched from some junk mail.  I adhered it below the cat image and over the white fiber using 3D foam tape.  I punched four pieces of white cardstock using the ribbon border punch (SU).  I mounted double sided tape on all four sides on the back of my cat element and adhered the ribbon border to the back of the image leaving about half showing.  I trimmed the ends with scalloped decorative scissors which very closely simulated the scallops on the ribbon border.  Really like how that turned out!!  I mounted this large element to a pink card front.

For this card, I trimmed around the iris image leaving about the same amount of blue border on the top and left, more on the bottom and even more on the right.  I added a trimmed vellum greeting, folded the ends to the back and secured them with regular tape.  I added a scalloped border (SU) in purple on the right hand side and pierced all the scallops with a push pin.  I mounted this element to the front of a white card.  Finding that it still needed a bit of something I rummaged around in my little stash of butterfly punchies and found this little white embossed one which I thought would do very nicely as a 3D embellishment.  I tied a silver cord around the body section, tied a double knot and then trimmed the ends a bit long which created body and antennae for my little butterfly.  I mounted it to my card front using a small piece of double sided adhesive.
I am happy with my new cards with reused elements!!

Therese

Angel Christmas card in non traditional colours

While I was creating these Christmas cards I had two pieces of plum cardstock left over so I decided to make a couple of different cards with them.
I stamped this collage angel stamp with gold pigment ink and embossed it with clear detailed embossing powder.  I did try it with regular gold embossing powder first but that resulted in the loss of many of the the fine details in the image.  So I just turned the piece over and stamped it again on the back side.  I bleached the face and hands area which worked out really well.  I watered down the little bit of bleach I had left in my dish and colour washed it over the background.   I really like how that worked out.  When painting with bleach always use a plastic paint brush because the bleach will destroy natural fibers.  I used one from a kid's set of watercolours.  Once that was dry I fussy cut the edge which gave it a nice organic feel.  I chose a dark plum card and layered on a rose embossed layer to which I had already attached a plum ribbon.  I adhered my focal image to my card front using 3D foam tape.  Next, I tied on an extra piece of ribbon to simulate a bow to the one already on the card and for fun, I included a length of gold cording in the knot.  I like the look!  I layered my laser printed greeting punchie onto a gold label punchie and mounted that to my card front using 3D foam tape.  My focal image was then really in need of a bit of gold to help it stand out so I applied some gold metallic wax to the edges.  It was not quite enough but because it is already glued to my card front I have decided to live with it.  On my next card I used a bit of gold pigment ink on the edges and some of the same gold embossing powder which gave that image just what it needed to compete with the gold cording and the greeting.
So that is two more to add to the six I did earlier which brings my total to 8!!

Therese