Airplane postage stamp for a cool card for a pilot

Our son's birthday is coming up next month but we celebrated this weekend because he will be headed back overseas very soon where works as a pilot!!  He has been a plane fan from the very beginning - he knew all their names and numbers!!  This used postage stamp features an F-18 Hornet which is the fighter jet the Canadian Military flies!!  A well known sight and sound of his youth so I thought it would be appropriate for his significant birthday card!! 
I mounted the used postage stamp onto cardstock - navy and yellow  - combined to reflect the colours in the stamp.  I used 3D foam tape to mount this element to a warm blue rectangle of cardstock which I had distressed on all its edges.  I trimmed the bottom edge of the laser printed greeting with Deckle decorative scissors, sponged the bottom edge with coordinating ink and mounted it to the back side of my focal element with double sided tape.  I used a background I had in my stash from when I was creating these fun washi tape cards and embossed it with a timepiece embossing folder.  I sponged the edges with the same ink I used on the greeting and mounted it to a navy card front.  I added a length of white seam binding before adhering my focal element to my card front overlapping it.  The ends of the seam binding were adhered to the inside front of the card using double sided tape and are covered by the insert which I add to all my cards. 
Therese

Christmas cards with used postage stamps and colour printed book page backgrounds

It has taken me more than week to create this set of Christmas cards!!!  The inspiration for using postage stamps came from these cards I created for my grand daughter's Guide troupe for their penpal project.  After searching on line to see what others had created with postage stamps I was inspired to combine a stenciled text background with a framed postage stamp.  

I went through my used postage stamps and culled about 50 stamps that I thought would make good focal elements for my cards.  I needed some sort of text for the backgrounds and deliberated which book I had in my stash that would be appropriate.  I remembered that I had rescued a bible from a box during our Trash to Treasure week which had been soaked by the previous evening's downpour and was now twice the size it had been previously and was straining against its binding.  I had set it over the furnace vent at home and it took several days for it to dry completely.  The pages would make perfect backgrounds of my Christmas cards - the right text size and content.  

I decided that NOEL would be the word I would use on the backgrounds for my nativity postage stamps. To simulate the stenciled background of the inspiration card I thought I might use a large stamp set to stamp on my background.  Unfortunately, the stamps were too large and I had to come up with another way to get the same look.  I decided to use my colour ink jet printer to print the words instead of stenciling them.  I used Corel Draw to layout NOEL in a font that was large enough to fill out the layer I would need for my A2 sized cards.  It took a little tweaking to get it all set up correctly.  Next, I applied some transparency to the word so I could get a more stenciled look to the letters.  I cut a few pages from the front of the bible and ironed them flat with a little steam.  That worked quite well.  Next, I colour printed two backgrounds on one page and cut them apart.  They did not seem to be quite what I remembered that the inspiration card had looked like so I went back and had a look and realized that the inspiration card the text piece was smaller than the whole background and the stenciling extended out to the next layer.  So I went back to Corel Draw and rejigged my document so I could print on a different size of paper.  I cut two pieces of text background, adhered them to white cardstock and then put them through the printer to print my NOEL onto them.  That was much better and so I created coordinating printed backgrounds for a dozen cards.  I layered the text/cardstock backgrounds I had created onto a coordinating lightweight cardstock and then used my sewing machine and coordinating thread to sew them together.  I adhered this layer to a coordinating card front.  To create my focal element I glued my postage stamp to a coordinating cardstock and adhered it to my embellished card front using 3D foam tape.
On this card I used a Mary and Joseph stamp from New Zealand!!  It is a beautiful stamp!!  I printed the NOEL in blue, layered onto purple and then onto a blue card front.  I layered the stamp onto black cardstock and mounted it to my card front with 3D foam tape.

These are the rest of the cards I created with Canadian used Christmas postage  stamps.
You can see that the card on the right has the small printed NOEL which I originally printed and realized it was smaller than I had wanted it to be.  The last one in this collection has been created with the other one small one.

They have a bit of a different look but the concept still works.  I have set aside the rest of the postage to work on later maybe using a different word and maybe a portrait layout.
With the addition of these fourteen Christmas cards I am up to 46 for the year!  Therese

Cardmaking - May - Used postage stamps as backgrounds and focal elements

I decided to use a resource I had previously created for a Pen Pal Girl Guide project for my grand daughter.  You can see the details here.  My daughter recently returned to me the remaining supplies from this project so I went about seeing how I could use them for a card for this evening.  It seems appropriate to feature Canadian postage on cards this year considering that in less than a month we will be celebrating our 150th anniversary as a country.  I trimmed the front off my sample card and it so very nicely was just the right size to layer evenly on an A2 card!!  I simply added a green layer to it and then glued this large element to a black card front.  So I combined the postage backgrounds with appropriate postage stamp focal elements along with a coordinating decorative paper background and black card fronts.  They look pretty cool!!  I did provide layered punchie greetings but most people chose to leave the cards without greetings.  It does allow this card to be used for any occasion!! Those little postage stamps are such great little works of art!!

If you are inspired to create cards with used postage stamps please leave me a link in the comments section so I can go check them out!!!

Therese

Penpal cards for Guides

My grand daughter is in Guides and this year my daughter is helping out with the troupe.  They are doing a penpal project and she asked me if I could come up with some cards that would be appropriate.  I had created these cards with used Canadian postage stamps earlier this year and thought I would be able to come up with something similar for this project.  As I played with the concept I thought maybe the design required too many steps to be completed in the time allotted and did not have any creative options for the girls to add their own twist to the cards.
After playing in my used postage stamps stash I came up with this design.  It is a #8 card with a shortened front flap which just happens to hold 20 regular sized postage stamps! I applied mine in a very orderly manner to create a very tight mosaic pattern but I will not be applying that criteria to the girls.  They will be allowed to create any background they wish with the 20 stamps I supply.  Some have all the same stamps for the background and others have a variety within the run of stamps available with the series they were part of.  Needless to say, there were a few days of sorting stamps and removing many from their paper backers before I had enough for the 34 girls in the troupe but it was a good stash buster!!  Once I had all the stamps ready for the backgrounds I searched the rest of my collection for stamps that featured well known Canadian people or activities.  I found Canadian astronauts, hockey players, Canadian singers/songwriters along with  provincial landscapes, etc.  These larger stamps were layered on black and became the focal elements for the cards which can be added to the cards to create either a portrait or landscape card.  I embossed small rectangles to glue to the bottom of the inside back of the cards which were colour coordianted with the front.  So I think there will be enough flexibility in this sketch for the girls to add their own twist to their cards.  I will be teaching the class next week if the weather holds and I can attend the meeting.  If not, I have delivered the card kits to my daughter and she will guide the girls through the process of making the cards for their penpals.

Therese

January cardmaking - Canadian Postage stamps

I love reusing and giving items a second chance!  In this case, I have utilized cancelled stamps which have in their first life accompanied a letter through the postal system.  I was going through my box of used stamps the other day and noticed a set of four stamps which featured mailboxes in each season.

They were all the same size which I thought would make them the perfect focal elements for a set of cards!! I chose cardstock which coordinated with each image cutting the card base from one and using the other to embossed this scrolled frame with a star theme.  I glued the embossed frame to the card front and then cut black rectangles to just fit into the center of the frame.

They perfectly held the postage stamp, the little note greeting which I embossed in white using my handmade stamping jig and a little coordinating ribbon flag which I stapled in place using a little gold staple.  I used 3D foam tape to secure these focal elements to the embossed layer on my card fronts.  I used Merry Christmas as a greeting with the winter postage stamps!!  All the stamps are so representative of Canada. The fall postage stamp features a tractor mail box, a yellow school bus and harvested grain fields of the western prairie. The spring one features an east coast light house and nautical mail boxes including one with a fish head.  The summer one features mail boxes shaped like a cottage, a church and a cow in a lush backdrop of the fertile fields found in the valleys of the Canadian Shield. The winter one features a chalet and a Canada Goose mail box with the Canadian Rockies in the background.  I love how these cards turned out!!
I made four of the Christmas cards which are being added to my stash. That makes my count - 13 so far!!

Therese

Card featuring a ighthouse postage stamp

I found this light house postage stamp and thought it would be great as a focal element on a card!!  I glued it to a light blue rectangle of blue cardstock which I had flagged on the bottom end.  I found several bits of ribbon that worked well with the image and adhered them to the right hand side of the rectangle.  I had another piece of that beautiful background paper which I received from my Secret Sister at Christmas so I layered my element on it and stitched all the way around and then decided to do around the postage stamp as well.  It seemed a bit stark so I used my stipple stamp (SU) and some light green ink to add a bit of texture to the piece.  I adhered this whole piece to the front of a white card.  I sponged the edges of a punched (SU) greeting and added it to the front using 3D foam tape.  I like how this card came together and the colour combinations as well.  I will certainly be using postage stamps in my creations again.  That was fun!!                 Therese

Card featuring a used postage stamp

I made a few cards lately featuring used postage stamps as their focal element.  This one features a round American stamp with the Earth on it.  It is a very cool stamp!!  I layered it on a green circle and then onto a dark blue circle which I cut with Nestabilities.  I still had a piece of this serendipity background so I decided to use it up.  I layered iot onto a medium blue card front and stitched it all the way around with white thread.  I mounted the postage stamp element to an orange rectangle and mounted it to my card using double sided tape.  I found a greeting in my stash that just fit nicely below it so I adhered that with double sided tape as well.  The ribbon I found in my stash as well - I trimmed one end into a flag and cut the other straight.  I glued both ends down with double sided tape and add three blue star brads in between.  Really like the colour combinations on this card!!

Therese

Hockey postage stamp on a birthday card

Another of the cards I made using used postage stamps.  I started with this stamp that features a hockey player and glued it to the top of a green rectangle.  I used a chevron punch (SU) to add the slots on the left hand side.  I found this background that was perfect to go with this image.  It was in the gift from my Secret Sister at Christmas.  Not sure what was used below but the surface looks like ti was thermally embossed after it was put through an embossing folder.  I trimmed this background, added a length of red vintage seam binding and stitched it to a light grey card capturing the seam binding in the process.  I added a vertical greeting to the side of my focal element, adhered it to my card front with a bit of double sided tape and then stitched all the way around with white thread.  It still needed "something" so I tied on a short length of seam binding to the right of my element and that was just enough texture and colour to finish off my card nicely.
Have you ever used old postage stamps in your art?  If so, post a link to your creation so we can all be inspired to give it a try!

Therese

Another couple cards with serendipity collage

I have been on a collage kick for the past few days and here are a couple more cards that use a serendipity collage.  I used green and blue for this serendipity and it ended up with some orange in it too which was kind of fun.
I created the collage on 8.5" x 11" scrap paper using a regular glue stick, stamped it with a newspaper column background stamp (IO) using green ink.
For this card, I punched the left hand side with a chevron punch (SU) and backed the holes with navy cardstock.  I added a navy gros grain ribbon and stitched the whole layer to an orange card front using orange thread.  I added a colour printed greeting which I trimmed to look like a tag to the ribbon using orange fiber. I created a bit of a collage on the right hand side using a colour printed light house image (mine) and a green and blue rectangle.  Once the collage was in place I used double sided tape to adhere the greeting in place.  The large white area to the left of the greeting seemed to pop too much so I dug through my used postage stamps and found this one that had the right colouring and size. I glued it in place with double sided tape.  That was much better!!

For this card, I used an ATC from my traded collection which features a beautiful little bird done in glittery transparent embossing paste.  I started by adding navy ribbon to my serendipity collage and then stitched the whole thing to my green card front using red thread.  I added a colour printed greeting to the bottom edge of the ATC and then adhered this element to my card front using double sided tape.
Using ready to go focal elements makes for quick and easy cards!!

Therese

Cards with calendar page art

This week we finished our calendars so I prepared cards kits for the students to work on for the last two classes.
 Here are some of the cards I put together with pieces I had previously prepared for the art calendars. I was working with a 4.25" x 5.5" format so I simply trimmed their edges with decorative scissors and glued them to coordinating card fronts.
The embossed leaf was in my stash so I combined it with decorative paper and

coordinating cardstock then added a short piece of ribbon with a mini staple tocreate a card!!
We also played with shrink plastic which is always a hit with the students.

Therese

Postage stamp art

The last art piece for today features a cancelled postage stamp.  I have a collection of old postage stamps which is a great resource when I am looking for little pieces of art for a project.  This one is from a bird series and it reads 46 cents.  How long has it been since we paid 46 cents for first class postage??  I dug out all the stamps I had from the series and chose those whose cancellation was the least conspicuous.  I added them to coloured tags which I layered over handmade paper sheets that had a handmade paper layer (my own) glued to a quarter sheet of cardstock.  I added a large brad through all the layers and tied on a short piece of coordinating fiber!!
That is number four and we have eight to go!!

Therese

Tree ornaments

With card classes behind me I have been working on getting some of my other projects done!! In this case, tree ornaments for a swap on one of my groups - Art Techniques.

I started with a piece of fabric paper I created a while back. I always thought I would use it to make some hearts so when it came time to make ornaments I
decided to make some heart shaped ones!! I free hand drew the hearts on the back of the fabric paper, cut them out, laid them onto some coordinating ruby coloured upholstery fabric (remnant/sample) and cut out a backing piece for each one. I sewed a piece of cardstock with my info printed on it and embellished with a cancelled Christmas postage stamp to the backer. The filling I cut from some fleece I had on hand. I embellished the fronts by sewing on a piece of lace, ribbon and a length of twill tape on which I had stamped "spirit of peace" with a magnetic rubber stamp alphabet. I added a cancelled Christmas postage stamp from my collection to each one!! I layered all the pieces, added a ribbon hanger between the front and the fleece and sewed a close zig zag stitch all the way around to combine them. For a little dimension I added a little rosette of gathered tulle and a metal key charm. On the back I tied on a pearly button using the ends of the floss I used to sew on the rosette.

It will be fun to see what I get in return. If I am lucky they will arrive in return mail before Christmas!!

Therese

Envelope book swap

On one of my groups we are having an envelope book swap!! I thought it was a great idea!! I choose to use the theme - from our house to yours - referring to the communication between families that is done through the postal system - we all love to get mail!!

I used walnut ink to distress my envelopes and added coffee cup stains to most of them!! Cool effect!! I created art on the front and the back and included fun stuff inside too!!

The front of the A2 sized envelope features a road stamped on the bottom using an unmounted distressed wheel (SU), a bare tree stamp (Applachian Arts), some mountains (Applachian Arts) and words stamped with my set of magnetic letter stamps (Making Memories) - all in dark brown ink (Memories Chalk). I used an old funky book, drew houses with a large black permanent marker on the pages and cut them out to embellish my envelopes. Colour printed the mail box onto label, cut it out to make a sticker and placed it by the road near the house. I stamped the little envelope on label as well and cut it out as well. I placed it near the top of the house and used a fine tip Sharpie marker to create a line of movement from the words to the mail box.

On the back of the envelope I stamped the unmounted wheel stamp of houses (SU) across the bottom edge and added a bit of colour with coloured pencils. I dug through my postage stamp collection looking for an appropriate postage stamp. Found enough of these that feature flags and were similar in colour to my mailbox so added that to my flap next to the my words along with a line of movement with a black Sharpie.

To the inside of the envelope I added a little petal envelope cut from brown paper embellished with french script (SU) that has postage stamps inside it. They all feature houses of some kind. I also included one of my 3D house ATC!!! These little ATCs actually can be unfolded and make a three dimensional house!! Very fun!!

I have mailed them off and am looking forward to the little stash of envelopes I will be getting back!! I will make myself some interesting covers and bind them all together using my Bind it All!!

I am starting to have a little collection of interesting art books that are all my creations!!

Therese

Vintage love letters postcard

This is my creation in response to a challenge to create a vintage love letter postcard. It was totally fun to put together but gathering the supplies took a bit of time. The background is colour printed - a vintage postcard with music on it - front and back. I downloaded them from Jack and Cat Curio - they have great art and occasionally some images for download - very cool stuff!! I downloaded the handwritten letter from a collage Flicker group where people upload stuff for sharing. The rose I downloaded from the internet - not sure where from.

I printed the postcard - front and back and glued it to cardstock and then colour washed the edges with walnut ink so it would look like it was only one piece. I colour washed the handwritten letter with walnut ink as well and then cut a piece the size I needed for my project, from it. The rose I colour printed and cut out close to the edges. I cut the little envelope using the petal card die (SU) from gold vellum which had heart swirls on it and put a vintage heart tag on the inside closing it off with a brown seal. It is a reuse item - can you guess where it came from - leave me a comment if you figure it out. The ribbon is brown vintage seam binding and I dug a gold heart embellishment from my metal stash. The postage stamps are used stamps I have collected along the way.

After preparing all of my elements I started laying them out and seeing how they all worked with each other. Once I had all the items laid out the way I wanted them I glued everything in place starting with the lower items and finally adding the seam binding and the metal heart!!

I love the way it came together!!!!

Therese

Cardmaking - September - postage stamps!

These cards feature little postage stamps matted off like little works of art!! It was fun to rummage through my collection of used stamps and see what I had that coordinated with my backgrounds.

THRIFTY TIP: Save any interesting postage stamps that come in on your mail. They are free little works of art that can be used in your creations in so many places!!

I created the backgrounds using the double embossed technique!! On several I added a bit colour with a stamp pad after the first sanding just to add some depth to the background. I recommend that you use a simple all over design for the first embossing and something more bold or with a motif for the second embossing. Still have some experimenting to do with this technique!!

So, just mounted the postage stamp to a small rectangle (Nestibilities) and layered it with 3D foam tape to the other rectangle (Nesties). This element was mounted to the embossed layered card front using more 3D foam tape. I like the look of these little double matted pieces of art!!

Therese