Birthday card featuring double sided decorative paper, an original floral doodle and a layered greeting

I am working on special occasion cards for my family.  It is good to be back to making cards after the holidays. 
I started with a light yellow card.  I trimmed the flourished teal background (gift wrap) to fit with an even border all the way around and then punched three flowers from the left hand side.  I flipped over the punchies and fit them back into the openings and secured them with regular tape on the back.  I added black punchie centers and added a few details using a sharpie marker.  I found this laser printed flower in my image stash.  This is one of my own images which I doodle while watching a doodling tutorial on YouTube.  I scanned my doodles to create my own digital images for cardmaking!  Pretty cool!!  I coloured the flower to coordinate with the background and sponged around the edges with blue ink.  I created a layered greeting using a oval greeting punchie and a pink scalloped oval punchie which I punched from the background paper which will be under the flower image.  Coordinates perfectly!!  After adhering my background to the front of my card I added a length of pink paper twine on the right hand side.  I mounted my watercoloured flower image over the twine and opening using 3D foam tape and then added the layered greeting in the same way.  Finished!!           Therese

Christmas cards that feature gift wrap from this season along with some small greetings

 Having decided that I will be using my supply of non A2 cards for my personal cards this year I have started on the pile of beautiful gift wrap which came with our gifts this year.   I love the fun vintage vehicle one which was floating around at our Christmas gathering this year.  It was very cool!!  I made two cards with that one.  Just added a coordinating layer, gray ribbon and a small layered greeting.  The other two were created from a lovely barn board paper using small gift

 tag elements which came on some of the gifts.  For the top one I die cut the greeting, layered it onto a label and used the front of the tag with the little toque as the main focal element.  Added a bit of stamping and some faux stitching to them before mounting them over the gray ribbon.  For the lower one, I used some coordinating twine I found in my stash and made a bit of nest gluing the ends in the middle and positioned the little greeting over it using 3D foam tape. 

I have a few more pieces of great gift wrap just sitting there waiting to be made up into cards.  I love thse cards!!           Therese

A monochromatic baby card with a hand cut corrugated cardboard star with some twine over a polka dot background

I continue to create cards for my stash!!  This one is also a creative stretch in that is very monochromatic.   I used a brown card front and mounted a piece of colour printed polka dot paper to it which I had sponged around the edges to soften it a bit.  I applied some double sided tape in the area I wanted to position my star and applied a length of twine which I had wound onto my hand which gave me some nice rounded loops.  I rearranged them a bit and then just pressed them into the tape to keep them in place.  I sponged the edges of my hand cut star.  I had cut a bunch of these for a project and while back and it the last one from my stash.  I applied tape to the back of the star and mounted it over the twine.  I really like the look of it!!  I sponged the circle greeting in the center and on the outside edge before mounting it to the center of my star.  Super happy with the way this one worked out!!

Therese

Sympathy card that features handmade paper background and focal element

I made up this sympathy card from a card kit I had in my stash.  I started with an ivory card and added some deep yellow handmade paper with natural inclusions which was torn to size.  I added a green border near the top (SX).  I added a bit of detail to the brown handmade paper leaf die cut (TH) using watercolour and tie some twine to the stem.  I glued it in place over the border and then added a flagged greeting with a little yellow maple leaf punchie. 
It is always a sad time when family members pass away.  We wish the family healing!!

Therese

A light house birthday card with LOTS of texture

Had a whole lot of fun with this card!!  I received an art postcard from my aunt just after Christmas because she received my exchange gift on Christmas Day.  She is an artist and this was a cool postcard made up from art of a friend of hers.  I saved it because it was cool!!  I have been sort of brainstorming how to best use it and today I figured it out!!  I trimmed it to size and then embossed it with a gears embossing folder.  Next, I sanded it which very quickly really gave it lots of texture!!  I was going to colour wash it as well but in the end decided not to.  I went looking for an image to use with it and found this paper in my serendipity stash which I thought would work pretty well so I trimmed it and stamped it with a light house (Class Act ) and a birthday greeting (SU) in black ink.  Very happy with that!!  I lightly colour washed the image and the background of the greeting before tying on a short piece of twine with a double knot.  I added a piece of torn vellum to my postcard background and then adhered it to a brown card front.  I added my lighthouse focal element over it using 3D foam tape.
I really love how it worked out!!!    Therese

Several cards using faux linen backgrounds

 Needed to add a few sympathy cards to my stash so went looking for a technique to use for my background.  I always find inspiration on Splitcoast Stampers  so I went looking and found someone who had created a card using the Faux Linen technique.  Had not created some of those for quite a while so I decided to give it a go!  I used quarter sheets of glossy white cardstock, sanded them vertically a.d horizontally and then sponged on some colour using four different dye ink pads.

For my first card I stamped a fern leaf (Salt Spring Island Stamps) using a light wheat colour highlighted with dark brown before stamping.  I added a length of mesh (gold embossed window screen) along with three lengths of twine which I tied on the left with a short piece.  I stamped my greeting on ivory in dark brown, sponged on some colour and added stippling.  Layered it onto dark brown, distressed the edges and mounted it over the mesh/twine using 3D foam tape,  I added a coordinating paper butterfly to which I tied some twine to create a body and antenna.
For my second card I stamped a flower image in black after stamping it in gray which did not show up well enough.  I offset the black one a bit which is another technique I found on Splitcoast when I was cruising the other day.  I coloured the image with markers, stippled the back ground a bit, added three eyelets (coloured with Sharpie to coordinate) and added a layered vellum greeting.  I layered a flagged piece of parchment just below the greeting on my vellum to help it stand out, adhered it to the background with glue then folded the ends to the back and secured them with double sided tape.  I glued this whole element to a red card front.
For my third card I stamped a leaf stamp (SU) all over my background in two different brown inks.  I layered my watercoloured image onto a dark brown circle and watercoloured my greeting (CLKER) as well.  I added a length of blue vintage seam binding adhering the ends to the back of my background, added my image and greeting with 3D foam tape and then tied on another short piece of seam binding to simulate a bow.  I glued this whole element to a dark brown card front.
For my fourth card I stamped a large solid flower (SU) using coordinating ink onto my background six times without reinking which gave a perfectly dimensional look to my design.  I used the small three flower stamp (SU) to add flowers in between my large ones in coordinating ink.  Added a bit of stippling in the same colour.  Love they way it turned out!!  I added a vellum greeting adhering the ends to the back.  I found this little butterfly in my stash so I added tied on some white fiber to create a body and antenna and glued it right near the greeting.
It was fun to revisit this technique and use some of my stamps again!!!

Therese

Shabby Chic postcard

Signed up for a postcard swap on one of my groups that called for  us to create a shabby chic postcard with a raised M.  I found this lovely postcard on Graphics Fairy.  I digitally added some handwritten text (GF) in black, printed it and fussy cut it out.  I thought it needed a bit of colour on the edges so I sponged on a bit of green and dark brown to hide the white cardstock edge as well as to add a bit of dimension to it overall.  It still needed a bit of something so I stamped some butterflies in a soft green and added a few flourishes in the same colour to embellish the middle section.  I designed a medallion accent using a doily (CLKER), some text and a large M which echos the words Moment in the quote.  I printed it, fussy cut around it and mounted it to a scallop circle (NS) which I had sponged with the same green and brown inks as I had used on the postcard.  I punched some holes between the text lines and inserted a length of pink vintage seam binding.  I ran the ends of the seam binding to the back of the post card and into slits I had cut which effectively hides them behind the seam binding on the front and finishes off the back quite nicely.  I adjusted the scallop on the seam binding and glued it into place on the front.  I tied a short length of seam binding to the left hand side of front piece to add some texture and added some dimensional magic to the M for the same reason.  Still needed a bit of something so I added some layered flower punchies, some thread loops and few pieces of brown twine between the medallion and the post card to finish it off.
Very happy with how it turned out.  It is always fun to challenge myself to use different styles when I am creating for swaps!!
Therese

Snowman Christmas card

A few more Christmas cards!!  I die cut the snowmen (TH) when my sister, Sylvia, was visiting the last time and thought I should get them glued up before I lose some of the pieces.  I love the simple look of these guys!!  Once they were all assembled I decided to use a kraft background and a black card which works for the Splitcoast challenge of using non traditional colours.  I embossed my kraft layers using a swirl (TH) embossing folder, sponged the lower section with a white pigment pad to add a bit of dimension, added the laser printed greeting with twine using 3D foam tape and glued the ends of the twine to the back of the layer using double sided tape.  I adhered this layer to the black card front, added my snowmen using 3D foam tape and added three little snowflake punchies.
Really happy with how these all worked out!!  I made nine of them which gives me a total of 23 for this year!!
Therese

Dinosaur birthday card!

Dinosaurs are always popular with kids and our three year old grand daughter is no exception!!  She is having a dinosaur birthday so I made her a corresponding birthday card!!  I used an image from (CLKER) and laid it out with the greeting and some fossil looking footprints which I printed onto white cardstock.  I watercoloured the images after I had ripped the edges.  I glued the image to the dark brown card front, added some twine and tied on a couple of ends to create some texture.  I added a cut out footprint using 3D foam tape to create yet more dimension.
We brought some fun dinosaurs for the family when we were there last and they were a hit.  I am sure she will enjoy her dinosaur cake and the day with her family!!  Her brothers had birthdays in Feburary and I made her older brother this card.

Therese