Christmas card featuring a gold embossed season of light image, ribbon and an aqua and gold gift wrap background

Another fairly quick card!!  I stamped and gold embossed the Season of Light image onto the aqua cardstock, added a layer of gold gift wrap and watercoloured the flame.  I mounted the aqua and gold gift wrap background to an ivory card and added a piece of gold shimmery ribbon to the bottom section securing the ends to the inside of the card.  I trimmed the spine with a slot punch to create the opening in which I inserted the end of my ribbon.  A very nice look for this process.  I adhered my large focal element to my card front and I was done!!             Therese

Christmas card featuring a gold embossed starburst layered with gold on an aqua and gold background

I have been enjoying playing with stamps!!!!  I gold embossed this large starburst image on the aqua cardstock, trimmed it to size and then added yellow marker to colour in the center.  I layered it with gold gift wrap and mounted it to my card front which was layered with my aqua and gold gift wrap background on an ivory card.    This one was fairly quick and easy!!!

Therese

Christmas card featuring aqua and gold gift wrap for the background, a gold embossed nativity layered with gold

Another card using that aqua and gold gift wrap from the past Christmas season! It is a very nice heavy weight paper which I really nice to work with.  I trimmed it to a 4" x 4" and adhered it to an ivory card.  I gold embossed this nativity stamp onto the aqua cardstock, trimmed it to size and then added a layer of gold gift wrap before adhering it to my card front.  I added a bit of colour to the center of the star and I was done!!

Therese

Christmas card featuring a nativity die cut, ribbon, a punchie star and gold embossed Merry christmas on gift wrap aqua and gold background

I am working at getting a few more Christmas cards made with these aqua and gold gift wrap backgrounds.  I cut the nativity wide this time and got a much large scene, gold embossed the greeting on the bottom section,  added a gold ribbon with a tie and then ran my tracing wheel a couple of times across the bottom.  I adhered the background to an ivory card and then mounted the large element I created over it.  Added a little gold star punchie over the stable to finish it off!!

Therese

Christmas cards featuring aqua and gold gift wrap, die cut Nativity and gold embossed greetings

These cards feature the last piece of gift wrap I have to turn into cards!!! Is it a wood grain in gold and light aqua which I have been mulling over exactly how I would use it!!  I started by digging out some aqua cardstock which I have had for a while and worked really well with this paper.  I die cut two nativities (Taylored Expressions) leaving a length of cardstock below.  I trimmed off the star and gold embossed the greetings on the bottom section.  I trimmed the bottom edges using decorative scissors.  I selectively embossed the middle section on the first card using a wood grain embossing folder and then added a length of gold ribbon.  I added a wider ribbon with a tie to the second card without any dry embossing.  I mounted the trimmed gift wrap backgrounds to ivory card fronts and then mounted the large elements I created over it.  I punched little star from gold metallic card (packaging) and adhered them in place over the stable.    Happy with how these turned out! Have a few more to go!!        NOTE:  Creating these during our self isolation during the Covid 19 panemic.     Therese

Anniversary card featuring lots of heart punchies, an embossed greeting and fiber and gold thread

After finding an inspirational card on Splitcoast Stampers I made a brown card and added found a mottled piece of decorative paper for my background.  I needed some hearts - I found some little brown hearts in my stash.  I wanted several colours and some with text so I dug into my scrap stash and punched a few more.  Some from gold gift wrap, a piece of printed text and dark brown decorative paper.  I started gluing them to my background starting from the bottom. It gives them the look of having been poured from above.  Next, I gold embossed my anniversary greeting, added the last three hearts arranged around the greeting and then I tied on a combination of a piece of kraft colour thread and one of gold embroidery thread with a double knot.  I let the ends hang free.  I glued this large element to the front of my brown card.  I like how it turned out but the inspirational one was better coordinated in the colours and had a softer look which I really liked.  This colour scheme is more masculine and appropriate for my guy!!         Therese

Birthday card featuring a watercoloured coffee cup, some hand stitching and embossed velvet paper

 I made this card for DH birthday later this week.  I found some brown velvet paper in a box of serendipity supplies when I was making this heart in support of front line workers who are out there every day during this health crisis.  I embossed it with a coffee bean border from Pink Cat Studio which belongs to a set I bought a while back.  I simply laid the rubber stamp on the velvet surface of the paper and passed it through my Big Shot with very little pressure. Worked really well!  I adhered this little piece of embossed paper to a piece of mottled watercolour paper which I had stamped with a script stamp (SU) in brown.  I added a strip of red cardstock which I border punched with a ribbon/eyelet punch (SU).  I added stitching by hand using ivory and gold floss using the holes in the border.  I tied another short end to the left hand side before adhering it over where the two paper join.  I adhered this large layer to a dark brown card front.  For my focal image I chose a large coffee cup (Stamp Barn) which I stamped and gold embossed.  I watercoloured the cup and added a bit of colour to the background to make it less stark.  I used my distress tool on the edge and then smudged it with a brown stamp pad to help it stand out from the background.  I mounted this large image to my card front using 3D foam tape and then trimmed and layered a small font greeting with brown which I tucked under its bottom edge and adhered in place with double sided tape.   Therese

Birthday card featuring glittered flowers, handcut stems, embossed oval and a small greeting

This kit is one from my January cardmaking class.  I am making them up to build up my stash of ready made cards.  I am changing up a few of the elements as I go because too much of the same does not work really well for me.  For this card, I adhered the stamped, embossed and watercoloured resist background to a coordinating card front.  I embossed the oval with a Swiss Dot embossing folder and adhered it to my card front.  I hand cut some leaves and stems, embossed them and then glued them to my oval.  I added the flowers using 3D foam tape after trimming the stems to a proper length.  I tucked the little greeting from the kit into the leaves and used a small piece of 3d foam tape to the end which I flagged.  I really like this one!!

Therese

Birthday card from a kit featuring a cake (digital), some glitter and an embossed resist background

I am in the process of making up cards from kits from my last class in January.   I have changed up a few things - I created a completely new focal element using a laser printed cake (digital from Black Berry Jelly) which I punched with an oval punch and then watercoloured and glittered.  I layered it onto adhesive stock, trimmed it with scallop decorative scissors and then added glitter to make a fun border.  I mounted the embossed vellum to the pink oval using double sided tape and then added the cake element to cover the tape which can be see through the vellum.  I  mounted the oval element to my card front to which I had already mounted the stamped embossed resist floral background.  I found the greeting in my stash, sponged its edges with pink and mounted it to a bright silver metallic scalloped oval (SU). 

Therese

Cards from kits - birthday card featuring resist background, embossed vellum and sequins

I made this card very much like I made up the cards for my January card making class.   I used all the elements though I placed the maple leaf punchie on the outside of the vellum instead of below it and I used double sided tape to secure the sequins instead of brads.  The greeting is a laser printed one which combines a digital frame and a font greeting.  It was punched out using the modern label punch (SU).  I mounted it with 3D foam tape on the right and double on the left because the layered oval was also mounted using 3D foam tape.  The resist background was created with a large harlequin stamp (SU) which was silver embossed before the application of watercolour.  I really love the look of these backgrounds. 
Making cards from kits is so quick!  Everything is ready and you can be creative with the elements and often make very different looking cards.  I this case I pretty much followed the sketch.           Therese

Birthday card featuring a resist background, an embossed oval and a balloon with a greeting

Still working on getting card kits made up into cards.  This one is from the January card class.  The background was created by stamping and embossing with silver embossing powder a heart image and then watercolouring all over.  Once dry, you simply wipe the embossed areas to remove any dried watercolour.  I adhered the background to a coordinating blue card.  I manually embossed the oval from the kit using a texture embossing folder and glued it at a bit of an angle on my card.  I added a lavender frame from my stash using 3D foam tape.  I added a shadow to the white balloon from the kit using a black Sharpie marker, tied on a black thread and mounted it inside the frame with 3D foam tape as well.  I found the little greeting in my stash, trimmed it to a tag shape, punched a tiny hole and used the balloon's string to loosely tie the greeting on.  I positioned the greeting and secured it with 3D foam tape.  The string hangs very naturally because I only loosely tied on the greeting.  I love how it turned out!!  Had I used been a red or yellow balloon it would have given the card a bit more punch!!           Therese

Sympathy card from a kit - embossed resist background, embossed vellum, sequins with brads and a tiny greeting

Needing a couple more sympathy cards!  I made this one up from a card kit from my January class.  It features an embossed butterfly (SU) background which was created using very neutral and pale scrapbook paper, silver embossing powder and watercolour.  It was fun to play with resists again!!  I trimmed the background to fit on a green card and created the focal element by layering a turquoise oval (Nestibilities) with a little white butterfly punchie (SU), an embossed vellum oval which was cut just a bit smaller and green and turquoise sequins on the front and tiny silver brads to keep on the layers together.  I mounted this large element to my card front using 3D foam tape and then added a cute embellished colour printed greeting.  I used scalloped decorative scissors to cut the top edge, added paper piercing with a push pin and then added an embossed line using my score tool.  I used double sided tape on the left hand side which adhered to the oval and 3D foam tape to the right hand side which adhered to the card front.    Therese

Thank you card for family in China featuring chinese greeting stamps, embossed greeting and a silk flower

I made this card for my son and his family who currently live in China (they are well).  I received five Chinese greeting rubber stamps as a gift and thought I would use them to make my thank you card to them.  I was fortunate to have my daughter in law provide the meanings for the little round greetings.  They are all wonderful such as long life, double happiness, etc.  I decided to stamp them all in a random fashion on red cardstock, embossed them in gold embossing powder and then I watercoloured it to give the panel more texture and depth.  Once it was dry I mounted it to a gold card.  I stamped the thank you greeting (SU) and gold embossed it.  Mounted it to a special red paper and added a deep yellow silk flower to the left hand side using a tiny gold brad with a sequin.  I added a short piece of gold ribbon to the left of my card front and mounted the layered greeting over it.  Very happy with it!!  Next time I use the little stamps with a round circle punch!!  Therese

January cardmaking - a card with a embossed resist background, a layered oval focal element and a small font greeting

I am back to cardmaking with my friends and happy to be at it.  We had very cold temperatures in the last couple of weeks or so and it is nice to have more temperate weather this week.
For our first card, I made up some embossed resist backgrounds using a decorative paper with a very slight floral design in white on blue.  I stamped the designs on the paper using embossing ink and then embossed them with silver embossing powder.  Once they were cool, I watercoloured them to coordinate with a selection of ovals I had in my stash - blue, several purples, turquoise and pink which pretty much completely overwhelmed the pattern which was what I was hoping would happen.  Getting the colours right took a bit of time but I am happy with how they all turned out.  I cut vellum ovals just one size smaller (Nestibilities) and they were dry embossed with a variety of designs/embossing folders.  I added a white star punchie to the purple oval and a white maple leaf to the turquoise one, layered on the embossed vellum oval and secured them together using two silver brads each with a couple of coordinating sequins on them. I adhered my background to a coordinating card and then adhered the oval focal element to it.  I embellished my little greeting with a flagged end and some paper piercing before adhering it to the oval using double sided tape.  It was really fun to be making decorative paper again!!    Therese

Sympathy card featuring a sanded white core background, a strip of vellum with an embossed greeting and a glittery butterfly

For this sympathy card, I started with a piece of white core paper which I embossed and sanded very slightly.  I glued this to a layer of coordinating cardstock.  I tore a strip of vellum and embossed the greeting near the bottom edge.  I punched a hole in the background before adding the vellum strip securing the ends to the back of the layer.  I had the vellum intersect the opening just a little.  I glued my large element to the front of a large white card and added the butterfly with 3D foam tape. 

Therese

Sympathy card featuring starry background paper, embossed greeting and strip and glittery butterfly

For this sympathy card, I used scraps from my stash that coordinated with the butterfly and adhered them to a coordinating layer of cardstock.  I embossed a strip of white cardstock, ran my tracing wheel on both edges and adhered it over the gap between the two pieces of colour printed background paper.  I was careful to not put too much glue on the bottom edge so I could easily tuck my little embossed vellum greeting under the edge.  I put a small piece of double sided tape on the top of the greeting to secure it in place.  I added the butterfly with 3D foam tape and added clear glitter to the centers of the elements on the embossed strip.  I glued this large element to the front of a large white card. 

Therese

My last Christmas cards - nativity die cut, embossed greeting and star and a bit of fiber

I am on my last go for getting my Christmas cards made for this year!!!!!!  I hope I can keep the commitment to making them monthly next year because the pressure of getting them all done at the last minute is not much fun!!
I wanted to use this wonderful decorative paper that mimics falling snow so I die cut the nativity (Taylored Expressions) from coordinating cardstock, stamped and silver embossed the greeting on the bottom edge of the 3.5" piece and then tied on a piece of white fiber.  I cut a piece of 3.5" x 4" of the falling snow paper and embossed  a  star so it would appear above the stable.  I mounted the decorative paper first and then added the embellished nativity die cut.  Love how they worked out!!  I will be making as many of these as I need to finish up the cards I need for this year!! 

Therese

Christmas cards featuring little penguins skipping with a light string, some ribbon and fiber

I had hoped to make this sketch one of the cards for my card class last week but unfortunately I had a very difficult time getting them to stamp cleanly and emboss them effectively.  These are the ones I salvaged from the discard pile.
I started by stamping and embossing with black embossing powder the little penguins and then stamped the greeting below and did the same.  I watercoloured the image and then distressed the edges before adding a length of ribbon/seam binding between the image and the greeting.  I tied fiber to two of them and a length of the same ribbon on the other one before mounting it to a coordinating layer of cardstock.  I mounted a piece of decorative paper to a coordinating card and then mounted my large focal element with 3D foam tape.  I am really happy with this sketch so I will consider stamping in permanent ink when I revisit it. 

Therese

November Cardmaking - Christmas cards with lace, foil, decorative paper and a silver embossed Peace On Earth

For our last card we made these fairly quick cards.  We started by adding a strip of silver foil to our decorative paper securing the ends to the back with double sided tape.  Next, we overlaid it with a length of lace which we secure in the same manner.  This large layer was then adhered to the front of a coordinating card.  We coloured our images and embellished our edges with decorative scissors or by tearing.  I tore the edges on both of mine and added a bit of green chalk on my torn edge which echoed the center of the poinsettias.  I added clear glitter with a gel pen to my dove which appears very glittery in real life and a little more mottled in the photo above.  I really liked how the subtle silver behind the lace echoed the silver embossing on the stamped images.

It was a most enjoyable evening and they have a few special cards to send this Christmas season!!

Therese

Christmas cards featuring a little truck with a tree, sponged & stamped background and torn snowbanks

 A few Christmas cards with these cute little trucks!!  I cut these a while back when I visited my sister.  It is a stamp and die set (SU) so I stamped and embossed them in black and the die cut them.  I made a lot of different colours but my favorites are the red and yellow ones.  The four backgrounds are blue scrapbook papers I found in my stash.  I cut them to 4" x 5.25" and then sponged several lines of blue using a torn paper strip which makes a mountain range.  Next, I sponged a row of green which makes a sort of horizon line.  Finally, I stamped a row of pine trees in green.  Always so effective!!  I embossed all the trees using the Manhattan Flower embossing folder which gave them all really neat texture.  I sponged the edges of the lighter coloured ones.  The little trucks were all embellished with glitter gel pen on the window, door handle, lights, bumper, running boards and hubcaps.  The wheels were coloured black with Sharpies and the fenders were watercoloured to coordinate.  For the first one, I added torn snowbanks at the bottom, added my truck using 3D foam tape in the center and double sided tape behind the wheels to give it a bit of dimension.  I added the tree the same way in the back of the truck.  I added a layered oval greeting (SU - punches) featuring a font greeting and glued this large element to the front of  a black card.  To finish it off I added some dots of iridescent glitter glue to the sky and let it dry.  For the second cards I followed the same procedure (oops! missed the tires - I will fix that) and stamped the greeting on the snow bank instead and left the sky as it was.  Glued to a blue card. 

 This card features a stamped greeting on the snowbank and iridescent sparkles in the sky created with glitter glue. 
The fourth card has manually embossed dots in the sky which I sanded to give them their white appearance.  I love this effect!!!!  On this one the greeting was stamped and embossed with silver embossing powder. 
Really happy with these cards!

Therese