Reusing beautiful images from cards for making new cards

 I have received a stack of used cards and am reusing the images to make new cards!!!  It is a win-win!! I have chosen the smallest cards to reuse as the images are to the right scale for A2 cards.  

For the first one, I chose these beautiful poppies, trimmed the image and layered it onto green and then layered this element to the front of a pink card.  My favorite colour combination!!  I trimmed the gold greeting from the original card, layered it onto pink and then onto my card front on a bit of a diagonal.  Excellent!!

For my second card, I trimmed down the image, tied a length of white fiber on the top between the greeting and the image and then glued this element to a green card front.  Done!!

For my third card, I trimmed the owl from the card and reused the borders from the card on the top and the bottom of the image.  I glued these to a brown card front and added a laser printed greeting below the image. 

For my fourth card, I trimmed the all over floral card front to 4" x 5.25" and added a length of vintage green seam binding before gluing it to the front of a green card.  I layered a laser printed and watercoloured circle greeting (Bird's Cards) to a colour washed scallop circle punchie (SU) which was pierced in all the scallops and adhered it to my card front using 3D foam tape.  I tied on a short length of seam binding to the one on the card with one knot to simulate a bow.  

So a few more cards to add to the stash!!

Therese

Christmas Thanks with ivory and pink

For this card I added red ink to the music gift wrap and wiped it off blending it all in in the process.  I used a foam dot stamp to add pink dots in an all over pattern and then layered an ivory punched border (SU) on the bottom.  I layered the background onto a pink card and added to lengths of gros grain ribbon - one pink and one ivory - gluing the ends to the inside of the card using double sided tape.  I cut their ends opposite to create a chevron end and layered on a punchie greeting using 3D foam tape.  I created the greeting using a sponged laser printed digital image from Birds Cards which I punched out with a circle punch and then layered onto a pink scallop circle (SU) punchie.  I pierced all the scallops with a push pin.
I am really enjoying the process of creating cards with these gift wrap backgrounds which I cut from paper that my sister used on my Christmas gift.

Therese

January cardmaking - embossed and sanded backgrounds

This set of cards featured solid core cardstock which has been embossed and sanded to highlight the embossing.  The core of the cardstock is a different colour so sanding the embossed pattern brings out the details.  On this pink card, the effect is more subtle because sanding removes the shimmery outer coating to reveal the true colour of the cardstock below. I added a length of white seam binding before adhering the background to the black card front.  I layered the colour printed butterfly to a black layer and trimmed the one side with decorative scissors before adhering it over the seam binding on the card front using 3D foam tape. The greeting is laser printed, punched with an oval punch and then layered onto a black oval punchie SU).  Finally, I tied a short length of seam binding to the on on the front of the card to simulate a bow!

You can see the sanded effect better on these two cards which have a lighter cardstock as a core.  The sympathy card's greeting features an oval punchie (SU) inserted into an oval ribbon slide (CB).  The greeting on the green card is a window punchie (SU) over a modern label punchie (SU) in a coordinating colour.  I embellished the trimmed edges by piercing them along the curves or in the scallops with a push pin.

Again, this kit was fairly flexible in that the card could be made up in landscape or portrait and the elements could be added in a variety of positions.
All the images are from Graphics Fairy except the butterflies which I do not have any credit information for.

Therese

Vintage birthday greeting on this birthday card

This is another card which I created from a card kit from this week's class.
I embossed this very shimmery pink cardstock and sanded the dots to highlight them.  I added a length of white vintage seam binding and glued this layer to the front of a white card.  I laser printed and then trimmed the vintage image from Graphics Fairy and layered it onto a green rectangle.  I trimmed the right edge with scallop scissors and pierced each scallop with a push pin to add interest and texture.  There was just enough room between the image and the scallops to add a thin piece of white flat fiber.  I adhered this element to the card front overlapping the seam binding.  I tied a short piece of seam binding with a single knot to the right hand side of the one on the card front which nicely simulates a bow.  I trimmed my greeting and flagged both ends, added a green layer and trimmed it to leave an even margin all the way around.  I adhered the greeting to the card below the image using 3D foam tape.
My favorite colour combination - pink and green!!  Love this card!

Therese

Acetate and sticker card

On AFTCM, I joined a swap that requires that I create an elegant acetate card that includes a sticker.    It took a bit of time to come up with the layers for this card to insure that no glue or brad tangs were showing but it finally came all together.  I started by cutting a piece of acetate that when folded in half fit in a large envelope.  I cut another piece of acetate for my focal element, applied my sticker - a vase of beautiful sunflowers - to the front.  I used alcohol inks on the back of this layer to create a soft watercolour look.  I lifted the vase part of the sticker and added a piece of yellow vintage seam binding over the acetate and glued the ends to the back.   I layered some decorative reflective foil to the back of this acetate and attached it using some double sided tape behind the sunflowers. I added this element to the card front using four brads through all the layers.  To cover up the brad tangs I added an embellished layer of green cardstock slightly larger than the element to the inside of the card front using four large glue dots on the brad tangs and a couple piece of double sided tape in the center area.  I had punched the one side of the green cardstock using a scallop border punch (SU) and pierced the scallops using a push pin.  To the inside back of the acetate card I added an embellished layer of white cardstock using large glue dots in the corners.  I had previously border punched one of the edges and added some dots and stitching using a coordinating blue gel pen.  To cover up the sight of my glue dots on the back of the card I added four small sunflower stickers.  To finish it off, I tied a small length of seam binding to the piece on the front with a single knot and tied on a sticker embellishment which I created using two round tag shaped clear stickers with a little sunflower sticker sandwiched in between.
Really love the dimension and interest created by that reflective foil I placed behind my acetate.  It has been in my stash for YEARS!!!!!!!!  Saved this foil wrapper from a KitKat bar when Lost World was the movie to see!!
Enjoy the last of the summer before the kids head back to school!!

Therese

Masked tree swap card

On one of my card groups I had to create a card for a swap that used masking.  Not a technique I do very often but I found a tree images that I thought would be suitable, laser printed it, added some yellow ink using an oval stencil, added the circle punchie as a mask and sponged on several other colours to create a sky.  It is a fun technique which I should use more often because it has a lot of punch with out too much time!!
Used the SU scallop border punch on the bottom and pierced each scallop, layered it onto teal and added the vintage seam binding tying the scrap to simulate a bow.  Layered this element to a black card!!

Happy with it!!

Therese

Cardmaking - Feb - quilt card

Have been wanting to make a paper quilt card for a while and when I discovered a tutorial on Splitcoast Stampers I checked it out!! It was beautiful but I anticipated that cutting squares into triangles might be too much for Cardmaking so I started searching for patterns that were a little less complicated and decided on the log cabin design which just uses strips!! To keep the square within the 4.25" of a regular card I had to modify the design a bit to allow for the use of 3/4" strips. The 3/4" strips are easy to cut with my cutter as that it the width of the cutting blade support - just tuck in and cut!! So in the end, my quilt square is a quarter of the log cabin design. It uses darks and lights to each side of the "hearth" - in my case the yellow or red square on the lower right hand side.

I started by emptying my bin of decorative paper scraps onto the table and started sorting them into colour families and within each of those a stack of each - darks and lights. Patterns like gingham which were too much of each I just eliminated to make the task easier. Then I cut a LOT of strips and started piecing squares!!

You can see on the top one that I used lights and darks of four different colours - green, blue, purple and red and made my hearth yellow. For the lower one, I used the same colour family and used lights and darks that coordinated and a little red square for my hearth. Both options work pretty well.

It works best to use a piece of scrap paper as the support for your paper quilt - in this case I used a 3.75" square. I glued the longest light on the left hand side first - even with the corner and the outside edge. Then, I glued the longest dark along the top just butted up against the light one and even with the top edge. Next, another light one - butted into the corner created by the first two and just kept adding light, dark, etc until I finally glued on my little hearth square. I left the strips hanging off the edges which also meant that I did not have to measure anything - too easy. Once everything was glued down I just took the whole thing to my cutter and trimmed the overhanging ends to be even with my hearth square on both sides. I embossed my quilt using an embossing folder which added texture and helped unite the pieces into a whole - like hand quilting would.

I layered my paper quilt square onto black which helped make the colours pop and then onto my card front. I added a layered greeting and a little paper button!! Also added some paper piercing along the edge of my quilt square!!

So if you have been meaning to try paper quilting give this one a try. I found this pattern fairly easy to manage and though it isn't as pretty as the one on Splitcoast it was a good choice for my first paper quilt.

Therese

Cardmaking - September - handmade paper

This card kit is very versatile!! I used my own handmade paper, added a strip of cardstock which I trimmed, embossed and pierced, some fiber and a 3D embellishment. Created cards for two very different occasions by changing the colours and the orientation!! For the brown one I tied the fiber to the spine with a double knot and added a leaf embellishment ($1). On the pink one I punched two holes, threaded the fiber through, tied it with a double knot on the front and added a layered silk flower embellishment.

THRIFTY TIP: I created a line embossing tool!! Cut two small strips of chipboard (1/2"x 6") and glued them about 1/16" apart on a chipboard base (2" x 6"). Used a stylus or bone folder to score the line. Now I can add an embossed line pretty much anywhere I want on my cards!!

In my tour of blog land this week I read some interesting tutorials on line about making your own embossing folders!! Will have to play with that and see what I can come up with!!

Therese

OSW - a set of cards

One Sheet Wonder!! This technique allows you to create a set of cards that coordinate - great as gifts!! I taught this class to a group of women this week which were all beginner card makers. They enjoyed the class and some got quite creative with their supplies.

I designed this OSW to use a 4" x 12" inch piece of decorative paper - makes the best use of 12" x12" scrapbook paper. By adding 3 sheets of 8.5 x 11 cardstock - 1 neutral and two different colours that coordinate with your decorative paper you can create a set of four cards. These would be perfect packaged in this little card holder for gift giving any time of year.

I created the accents using SU scallop punch, 1 3/8" circle punch and daisy punch. I added some strips and 1/4" punchies cut from the leftover cardstock as well as

some paper piercing using a push pin and mouse pad.

Any decorative paper could be used for making these - gift wrap, all over stamped cardstock, etc. You could also use any manner of accents - either ones you assembled yourself or purchased ones or a small stamped image. So many options!!

The holiday season is coming up and everyone on your list can use handmade cards!! By changing up the colours of your cardstock you can even make sets that look quite different using the same decorative paper!!

So I encourage you to get creative and be ahead of the gift giving curve by making up a few sets of these this week. Challenge yourself to use what you have!!

Here is the cutting diagram you will need as well as the directions for assembling the cards!!

Consider creating some card kits for a friend or family member who has expressed some interest in cardmaking but has yet to take the leap! You might gain a cardmaking buddy!!

Therese

Spirelli cards

Spirelli has shown up for me in lot of places this week - magazine, blogs and galleries, so I decided to give it a try.

You can check out a tutorial here for instructions on doing spirelli. I have placed this link under Tutorials on the right hand side of my blog.

I used the SU scallop punch to create my shape and some very thin embroidery/serger thread for winding around the shape. The pattern you get depends on how many bumps you skip when you are winding. You can go to your right or left - you will get a different pattern on the back of your shape depending on which way you go. I started by taping the end of my yellow thread on the back of my blue shape, came to the front in a valley between bumps and skipped two bumps as I moved to the left. I went around twice because it helped to emphasize the pattern with more thread on it. Took about two feet of thread but I did not cut it until I was finished and had taped it to the back of my shape.

To create my embellishments I layered a punchie shape* created with my SU five petal punch, a little flower punchie and a large yellow brad. I layered these over some contrasting yellow and blue decorative paper accented with a white scalloped strip (SU scallop border punch) leaving enough space at the bottom to reveal my colour printed greetings. I added some dots with a gel pen or piercing to the scallops on the strip and the embellishment to help give them some texture.
Really happy with my cards though it did take me a while to figure out what supplies to use for my spirelli and to come up with a sketch that best featured my cute little embellishments.

*Want to know how I made this little punchie shape?? You punch one shape with the five petal punch, temporarily stick it to a piece of scrap paper and reinsert it into your punch and punch it again with the valleys exactly in the middle of the petals and you get this sort of starburst shape!! You can check out the tutorial here or follow the link under Tutorials called Punch Embellishments video on the right hand side of my blog.

Two of these cards are off for my card exchange this month and another to my sister for her birthday.

I discovered a video tutorial while I was searching for spirelli instructions that shows you how to make several different flowers with the scallop punch!! Check it out here. You can also follow the link under Tutorials called Scallop punch flower video.

Therese

Exchange cards

Created several of these for my card exchanges this month - Canadian Card Exchange and my card club. Stamped the boat image (ink on left - bleach on right) on black and mounted it to a coordinating layer. Cut a 2.75" circle from decorative paper, cut it in half and mounted it on the card front behind my image. Added some paper piercing for more interest and texture.
Got the sketch for this card somewhere on Splitcoast Stampers when I was searching for inspiration for cardmaking this month - masculine cards!!

Therese

Chunky Art Book - # 13 - snow scene

Stamped background paper, border punched and watercoloured strip, punchies, watercoloured image and word.

The charm on this page coordinates nicely but its words are quite faint due to using a failing Sharpie to write the words.

Added a little pin pricking to the decorative strip and some dots around the image in both black and white.

Therese

My Art - Oct cardmaking - heartfelt greetings

These cards feature die cut felt shapes!! Fun!! I added cardstock accents and brads to attach the felt shape to the card front but they could have been just glued instead!! Once I attached my felt accent I stamped a single word greeting (SU) and used a push pin to add a pin pricked design that incorporated the word and the felt accent. I freehanded my pin pricked design but you may wish to draw a light pencil line to follow and then erase it when you are done.

Really love the simplicity of this card!!

Therese

My Art - black and taupe male cards

Needed a male birthday card so decided to make more than one while I was at it!! In the end they were not all male cards but I used the same decorative paper and duplex cardstock for all the cards. It was really fun to play and just make cards.

Top left: I used one of my Heated Pearl dragonflies on this card. Used the pieces I had ripped off the edges of two of the other cards to add texture above and below the decorative paper. Overlaid a small black ribbon over the wide taupe grosgrain - new to me technique. The small greeting is embossed with black embossing powder!

Bottom left: Another dragonfly!! This one had a lot of gold and copper in it so I used copper brads in the middle of the flower and three below the focal element. Black embossed the greeting and flowery flourish (clear stamp). Also did some piercing on this card. Read somewhere about this thrifty tip!! You can use plastic canvas to make evenly spaced holes in your cards. I bought a piece of that a while back and cut it into strips to be used for cardmaking and matched them up with strips of old mousepads which are thick and foamy. All you need then is a sharp push pin and you are set to go!

Top middle: A dragonfly, some piercing, a few flowers and flourishes!! I added clear dimensional paint to the flower centers to highlight them. They got a little squished in the process of pressing the card but still look good. I had really wanted to add small rhinestones but did not have any the right size or colour!! How can that be possible with a drawer full of bling??

Bottom middle: The pine tree from Lovely as a tree set (SU) stamped in brown. More piercing!!

Right left: Pine tree again. I used a little foam circle (from the middle of a fun foam snowflake) to stamp a little dot in each corner of the image and then highlighted them with clear dimensional paint. They were dry and looking good and are now less shiny and bumpy than they were because I pressed the cards. Still happy with the way they look!! Added a strip of cardstock and a circle greeting.

Right right: Stamped the tag on kraft and black embossed it. This is a new to me stamp that I finally used!! We all have a few of those around. Embossed the decorative paper using the numbers embossing folder (CB). Because the paper was taller than would fit in the embossing folder I did not fold it. I just laid the paper on the debossed side of the folder and then put a silicone texture mat over it and ran it through my Cuttlebug and it embossed the paper!! It is great to find a new way to use the tools you have. Added some black ink to highlight the numbers. Stamped a journalling block on the right hand side of the card several times to add texture. Added the greeting! I added a black embossed star to the tag and tied it to the card using thin black ribbon.

It was a fun afternoon of making cards and I have six cards ready to go!! It does make sense to make several cards at a time while you have all your supplies out and are in a creative mood!!

Therese

My Art - cardmaking - dragonfly

This is one of my most recent SU sets! I like the long horizontal format and because all the elements are independant they can all be cut apart as well if you want to use them individually! Great when our stamps are versatile!! I used a small crafty sewing machine without the thread to make the stitching on the green layer. Very quick and easy. The image is watercoloured and then all the pieces are simply layered onto the card front. Some of the girls are preferring pencil crayons to watercolour lately. Consider trying something new for adding colour! Chalk is something I have not used in quite a while which also gives a look similar to watercolour. We have the supplies so we should rotate them and stretch our creative muscles by trying something new!!
I just took care of my grand daughter for over a week and I know that her Mom rotates her toys so she doesn't get bored with them. We should do the same with our art supplies!! Put away the old standbys and bring out the ones we bought last year and still have tried!! Go for it!!

Therese