Handmade paper!

Another stack of handmade paper!!

Over the last month and half I have been teaching art to high school students - we have been working on creating a handmade paper art book - one page and technique at a time!! The book pages are all handmade paper - hence a stack of handmade paper was needed!!

I love making paper though in this case I made paper that was a bit more subtle than usual because we were going to be adding our art to the pages and it worked better if the paper was not too busy.

Any size of paper scraps can be used for making paper and I am fortunate to have several Stampin UP demos who save the scraps from their workshops for me to reuse!! Stampin UP cardstock makes really nice handmade paper!!!

Therese

I am back!!

I am finally back to posting to my blog!! It has been a busy month with having the flu, teaching 2-3 classes a week and having a death in the family and therefore a trip out west!! I have been making art so I will be posting my creations over the next week or so!!

Therese

Cardmaking - Feb - kraft magic

I love these decorative papers!! I purchased them in London, England last year - where they sell paper by the piece displayed gently folded over a dowel!! These two feature flowers and butterflies in muted colours on kraft paper so I combined them with a black layer which highlighted the black elements in the papers. Added a black laser printed greeting on kraft cardstock which was also combined with a black layer!! Because I was really appreciating the grungy look of this paper I added two staples as an accent on the greeting!! Pretty much the end of this paper but the joy has been in using it and making some cute cards along the way!!

We have a stash - not to have a collection of "stuff" - but to have just the thing we need when we need it!! So use up your cool collection so you can replace it with yet more cool stuff!!

Therese

Cardmaking - Feb - paper napkins

This card was the result of challenging myself to use some supplies that were donated to me by a fellow card maker - paper napkins!! I stripped the napkins down to one layer and then started playing with how they could be applied to a card. In the end, I cut a piece of white cardstock to 4" x 5.25", applied glue generously to the front and placed a piece of paper napkin over it. I started smoothing it down from the center and if little wrinkles developed I just let them be - it adds texture. With that done, I had the choice to fold all the edges to the back and glue them down OR trim them off. Either would have worked but I decided to turn the edges over to the back and glue them down. The paper napkin gives almost a fabric feel to this layer which made it very tactile. To prevent overwhelming the whole I added a simple colour printed greeting attached with brads and looking at it now it might even have been better to add a greeting printed on transparency so as to avoid hiding any of the beauty of the paper napkin design. I layered these onto coordinating cardstock. A quick and easy design!!

So at the next party you attend, consider collecting two paper napkins - one for your food and fingers and one for your crafting pleasure!! If you are buying napkins for your next event considering adding a few to your stash and share the leftovers with your crafting buddies!!

Therese

Cardmaking - Feb - filmstrip

I have owned the filmstrip die (Sizzix) since last summer and have been gestating on how it could be used in Cardmaking!! An idea emerged this week and I love it!! I cut one film strip and applied two strips of double sided tape to the back of it covering the little holes at the top and bottom, turned it over and added silver glitter!! Just the right amount of bling!! I added more tape to attach my transparency greeting into the right hand side opening and glued the whole thing to a layer of white cardstock and then to a coloured card front. I added a large die cut accent on the left hand side - hearts, flowers, happy faces and butterflies!!

Very happy with how this card turned out!!

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

Technique book pages - emboss resist

Emboss resist!! Yet more fun making backgrounds!! I investigated what could be done using embossing ink and powder to provide a resist when creating backgrounds. The one on the left was created on glossy paper using clear embossing ink (Versamark) and clear embossing powder with several layers of acrylic paint colour washes over it. It took a little elbow grease to remove the acrylic paint from the embossed area though I found it easier if the paint had not dried for too long. A slightly damp tissue on the heavily embossed areas cleaned them up nicely.

Here are all the pages I created for the swap using clear embossing ink and clear powder! Top row - a rubber stamped image with acrylic paint colour washes, an inked stencil stamped on white tissue paper with an acrylic paint wash, a rubber stamped image with an acrylic colour wash. Row two - rubber stamped image on yellow cardstock covered with brown dye ink, rubber stamped image with acrylic paint colour wash, rubber stamped image on white cardstock with watercolour washes. Row three - decorative paper inked through a stencil and an acrylic colour wash, rubber stamped image on a book page with watercolour washes, rubber stamped image with acrylic colour washes.

I found that when using watercolour it was best to let the colour dry well before removing the colour accumulated on the embossing and using a damp cloth reactivated the colour and often removed much of it, so was not helpful. I have quite a few rejects that did not give me look I was going for but were interesting in their own right. Glossy calendar pages were very challenging and in the end I just gave up because even acrylic paint wiped off that glossy surface - who knew!!

So after a week of doing research and playing with background techniques I have my pages complete and ready to be mailed out!!!!!!!

I hope you will consider trying a few of them and making a few cards for your stash!!

Therese

Technique book pages - dryer sheets

My next foray into backgrounds was to delve into the possibilities of using dryer sheets!! After some internet research I would caution that some believe that the chemicals contained in dryer sheets are dangerous and should be avoided.

I worked with used dryer sheets - ones that had been used in the dryer many times but would consider washing them before using them the next time around. The techniques really work best with depleted sheets so if you choose not to use the dryer sheets you should launder them before you proceed. You may be able to obtain what you need by asking friends and family to save them

for you or to post to a Freecycle group and ask for what you need.

The basic idea is just to apply colour to the sheets to make them interesting. I used acrylic craft paint, glitter paint and acrylic ink on my pages. I attached the backgrounds to cardstock by capturing them between two layers using double sided tape. I attached the butterfly sequin using a glue dot which secured the butterfly and background to the cardstock.

For colour, you can also consider tea, coffee, dyes, liquid acrylic, textile paints, fabric dyes, reinkers, alcohol inks, spritz and mists - even Koolaid (no sugar)!! I lay the dryer sheets onto plain bond and used a brush to apply the paint and in some cases used several different colours on the same sheet. Because the dryer sheets are so thin the colour medium will soak through creating yet more background paper as you decorate the dryer sheets. Lay them out on a protected surface to dry. You can also consider soaking the sheets - plain or tied - in containers of colour medium, removing them later and laying them out to dry. Either way it is recommended that you iron the backgrounds to heat set the colour. To protect your iron it is best to press them between two sheets of bond paper. Once ironed they are ready to be used in your art!

Some people have stamped or stenciled them to add yet more dimension. Many textile artists are using them to layer into their mixed media art, quilters use them for several different techniques and they can be used to create embellishments in the same way that fabric or ribbon would be used.

There are two techniques that I read about while doing online research that I would like to try. One recommended layering the dryer sheet on a plastic or resistant surface (silicone) and painting it with white glue and sprinkling on glitter. This created a beautifully transparent material which was used to create dove and snowflake ornaments. I expect you could colour your glue with ink and get a coloured version. This may have the feel of fabric.

The other is to used dryer sheets to create "fabric paper". Lay the dryer sheet on a resistant surface and brush on thinned glue (1 part water to 2 parts glue). Then start layering on thin papers with thinned glue between each layer. Add cut out elements, paper napkins or even items such as lace and ribbon for colour and texture. Finish the piece with a layer of neutral tissue paper and a final layer of glue. I have been wanting to try this for a while though was sort out of the scope of this project so I have put it off yet again.

There is also a technique called "Dryer sheet technique" where you coat a colourful image with adhesive, layer on a dryer sheet and add glitter! Great for Christmas cards!! You can check it out here on Splitcoast Stampers.

Technique book pages - metal embossing

So here is what I created while playing at embossing metal!! I have done this several times before and found it such a cool way to add interest and personality to a project!!

This one features metal tape over cardstock and embossing in an embossing folder to which transparent acrylic paint has been added. The heart is die cut and hand tooled with a design and letters which have to be inscribed on the back - backwards - to be right reading on the front. It is attached with 3D foam tape.

These are my pages featuring embossed metal. Top row - metal tape over cardstock and embossed with an embossing folder, four different metals (yogurt, applesauce and nut can seals) embossed using texture plates using silicone mat in a die cutting machine, metal tape over cardstock and embossed with an embossing folder with a hand tooled foil pie plate heart diecut. Row two - flower aluminum can die cuts embossed in embossing folder and layered, flower aluminum can die cuts embossed in embossing folder, aluminum foil pie plate hand tooled through a stencil. Row three - aluminum can die cut flower embossed with embossing folder and a hand tooled applesauce foil seal, hand cut aluminum can seal hand tooled, yogurt container seal hand tooled with a circular design. The colour was added to all using transparent acrylic paint.

You can buy metal for tooling but I find there quite a few options for reusing foil that is readily available such as seals from yogurt, applesauce, cans of nuts and tea. Certainly, foil bakeware can be purchased locally and provides a heavier metal for working with. Aluminum drink cans are yet a little heavier and also readily available though I would caution being careful of sharp edges when cutting cans apart. The metal foil tape can be purchased at hardware stores and depending on the weight may need to be supported by cardstock. Be on the look out for metal items that can be embossed such as copper plant tags, etc.

I have used a pencil for tooling my designs. Consider a pen, knitting needle, crochet hook, blunted skewer, paper or wood stump. Almost any object with a blunt rounded end will do the job. Of course, embossing folders, texture plates and crimpers do the job in a heart beat. Consider using a rubber mallet to emboss the metal in the embossing folders.

You will need a soft surface for embossing - I use just a small stack of newspapers. You want something with just a little give so you don't pierce your metal. A foam placemat, mouse pad or stiff fun foam would also work.

I used a homemade acrylic paint for adding colour. You could consider any of the transparent window paints recommended for suncatchers. Alcohol inks, glass paint, Sharpie markers, acrylic inks, fluid acrylics and thinned acrylic paints would also do the job.

If you would prefer not to tool your own design onto the metal consider using printed clipart, a stamped image or a stencil. Stained glass designs work well to start because of their bold style.

To get started, place your metal right side down on your soft surface and use your tool to create a design. Turn it over to see how it is coming along. There is no such thing as an eraser per se but I have used a wooden spoon or wood handle from a spatula for removing all the embossing and started over. You will see that there is an embossed and debossed side to each piece. You can choose the one that you like best. You can create backgrounds, embellishments and focal elements using metal!!

There are coloured foils which can be embossed and then sanded for a great look. Check out this video for a really cool project!!

So save a few pieces of metal from your daily life and see what you can create using what you have on hand - a newspaper and pencil at the very least - a put a little more of yourself in your next project!!

Therese

Technique book pages - alcohol inks

For these pages I was playing with alcohol inks!! Again, after some on line research had a few new ideas to add to my repertoire of techniques.

Alcohol inks are suitable for non porous surfaces which makes them good on glossy, metallic, pearlized or foiled paper or cardstock, vellum, acetate, foil, plastic, glass, metal and for such 3D items such as dominoes, fragments, stickers, metal embellishments, etc. Just a note though, photo paper is glossy but is designed to absorb inkjet ink and therefore is not suitable for this technique.

You can see all my technique pages in this photo. Top row - glossy paper, dye reinkers with alcohol and StazOn ink, acetate, alcohol inks and StazOn ink, glossy cardstock, dye reinkers with alcohol and Palette ink (swipe technique), Row two - glossy cardstock, alcohol inks and Palette ink, glossy cardstock, dye reinkers with alcohol and StazOn ink (swirl technique), glossy cardstock, alcohol inks and Memories ink. Row three - foil tape on cardstock, alcohol inks and StazOn ink, vellum, alcohol inks and StazOn ink, acetate, alcohol inks and Brilliance ink.

You can buy the metallic fixatives to go with the alcohol inks though I have successfully used Krylon metallic pens for creating the "polished stone" look which features metallic veining.

I have found that dye reinkers and alcohol work really well on paper to create alcohol ink backgrounds. Unfortunately, they will not work on other surfaces such as acetate or metal.

Blending solution is colourless and is used to dilute and spread alcohol inks. I have personally used rubbing alcohol (70% or more) for 98% of my alcohol ink work with no problems and I read on line in several places that others are doing the same thing. A very cost effective option. In some cases, 90% rubbing alcohol was used as well.

As a substitute for the applicator I have been using a strip of felt attached to a small wood block (3" x 1" x .75) with two thumb tacks. I have a handy DH so a small block of wood was easy to find but you might consider using a wood block from a rubber stamp or one from a Jenga game. You can also adhere velcro hooks to the block instead of using tacks and that will keep your felt in place.

I used Staz On, Memories and Brilliance ink on my pages. I also used Ancient Page ink on one of the pages that did not make the cut for other reasons. Several online also suggested Archival and Versafine for stamping over alcohol inks. You can certainly use pigment ink and embossing powder for a different look. Some dye inks may also be suitable for use on paper but not on other surfaces.

You can use alcohol inks to colour embellishments like brads, rhinestones, metal or plastic tags or letters, dew drops, hot glue, etc.

For a very creative option consider using PVA glue to seal regular cardstock - you can incorporate bits for texture. Once completely dry, apply a quick coat of alcohol inks for very dramatic backgrounds.

I found some places on line where alcohol inks were combined with spray starch or acrylic floor polish (Future - Klear (UK)) to create interesting backgrounds.

Sharpie markers are alcohol based markers so you can scribble them on acetate and use alcohol on a Qtip to move them around and create some unique looking backgrounds and/or embellishments.

Lots of fun playing with alcohol inks!!

I would certainly recommend at the very least trying dye reinkers (StampinUP) and alcohol on glossy cardstock!!

Therese

Technique book pages - moldable foam

I have joined a Technique Book Swap on AFTCM. I signed up for five techniques and this is my first one - moldable foam backgrounds. I did some research on line to see what others were doing and tried the few I had supplies for. I have some Penscore which I used for some of these backgrounds. There is also a product called Magic Stamp which is very similar and works the same way. This foam can be heated and impressed with any texture so the sky is the limit for what is possible.

This next photo shows all the pages I made for my swap using moldable foam!! Top row - PS, cedar sprig imprint and multicoloured dye ink, moldable foam packaging (packaged with a unmounted stamp to be used as a stamping surface), embossing folder imprint and blue dye ink, PS, heart buttons imprint and red dye ink. Row two - fun foam heart, part of a rubber stamp imprint and blue dye ink*, PS, cedar sprig imprint and brown dye ink, moldable foam packaging, part of a floral rubber stamp and blue dye ink. Row three - PS, lace imprint and pink dye ink, moldable foam packaging,

part of a floral rubber stamp and blue dye ink, PS, pressed leaf imprint and green dye ink.

You can see here the little fun foam heart I used to create the blue background* in the previous picture!! It turned out very cool and made a very interesting background. Who knew that fun foam could be used so creatively!!

To create the stamp, heat moldable foam about 10 seconds with a heat gun until it gets soft and smooth and immediately press it into your texture! Hold for 30 seconds or so and you have a new stamp!! The fun foam works pretty much the same way - the thicker fun foam is better for creating stamps this way. Just use a bit of double sided tape to hold the fun foam to a solid surface - piece of wood or thick plastic works well - which you can use as a handle for impressing it onto your texture. Now just apply your ink and stamp away!! They can be cleaned and reused many times if you choose to keep the design you have created. To impress a new design - simply heat again and apply to new texture!! A new stamp!! I have kept a few of the ones I have created in the past because I really like the look of the stamp and how well it makes backgrounds. You can also use foam trays in the same manner but there are warnings on the internet about health risks to heating the foam. It solidifies much more quickly so you really have to be ready when using this type of foam.

If you don't have a heat gun you can use another source but you will have to experiment to see what works and how long it takes to soften the foam. I do not recommend any sort of open flame!!! Consider using a light bulb or electric stove element.

Be on the look out for moldable foam that is disguised as garden kneelers, visors, etc. Anything that has feels like fun foam (spongy) will probably work. The thicker fun foam works better - 1/8" or more.

There is a lot of die cut fun foam available so buy the shapes you want. Otherwise, buy sheets and cut with a die cut machine, scissors or an exacto knife. You can create your own shadow stamps for any of your regular stamps by just stamping the image on the fun foam and cutting out the shape. If you have a Cricut consider using a deep cutting blade to cut out shapes!!

You can use a wide variety of colour mediums with these stamps - ink pads, acrylic paint, textile paints, etc. You can also stamp on wide variety of substrates - paper, cardstock, fabric, wood, etc.

As for textures - the sky is the limit!! Consider rice, pasta, rubber bands, pressed botanicals, rubber stamps, shells, buttons, lace, fabric, placemats, plastic canvas, beads, combs, texture plates, embossing folders, etc. Consider that the image will be reversed so in some cases writing or numbers is not your best option.

Foam trays and fun foam can not only be impressed with an image but you can also add details by using a pencil or pen and scribing the surface. Consider though that this may damage the surface enough that it cannot be heated and reused but a great way to add details to a basic shape.

Foam stamps need to be neatly stored so their surfaces are protected from contact with hard edges which over time will impress their surface and possibly ruin their impression. Thin fun foam ones can be stored in CD cases.

So buy yourself a few sheets of fun foam (craft foam), start playing and make yourself a few stamps!! Enjoy!!

Therese

Hands of Time ATCs

I created these three ATCs for a Hands of Time swap on AFTCM!! I used photos I downloaded from The Morgue File - a great resource of photos for free - and added some elements to make them work. The left hand one - I used a dandelion photo, added a clock face and a quote - You only have n o w. Choose wisely. I added some 3D hands with a brad to the middle and added the n and the w with a white gel pen to spell the word n o w. The middle one - I used a photo of a watch, added a quote to the top and bottom and a clock sticky border to the side of it. The right one - I used a photo of a clock mechanism and added a quote with white gel marker.

One swap down - several more to go!!

Therese

Anniversary cards

Created these as anniversary cards but they certainly would do very nicely for Valentine's!! They feature two white die cut hearts (white serendipity technique) with a red fiber heart sandwiched in between, all tied with a silver cord. I added ribbon and red lace to the embossed layer, tucking the ends in behind before I glued them to the red card front. I added three heart rhinestones which was just the right touch of bling!!

Therese

Paper flower card

Made this card for an exchange with my stamping buddies!! I was late getting started so I used items that were close at hand - a paper bag flower I had received in an exchange on AFTCM, background paper that had already been clear embossed, at greeting from my stash of class leftovers and a ribbon just sitting from a past project!! I washed the embossed background paper and the greeting with walnut ink and let them dry while I found some red cardstock. It can together fairly quickly after that - cut background paper to size, glue to card front, add ribbon and glue to inside of card, mount flower with double sided tape and the greeting with 3D foam tape!! Done!!

Therese

Cardmaking - Black Magic

Love the look of this technique - Black Magic!! Again, discovered a tutorial at Splitcoast Stampers for this technique! It is so easy!! Stamp a solid style stamp on black cardstock using white pigment ink, heat set and colour with coloured pencils or chalk!! I am amazed at how great this image looks - the colours pop a little!! I outlined the black cardstock with white gel pen, layered it onto an embossed layer and then onto white cardstock!!

This one is a "quick and easy"!!! Enjoy!!

Therese

Cardmaking - U cards

Have been wanting to make large U cards for a while! I love the graphic look of the large letter U and in this case I let each person customize their card by adding whatever colour they wanted to their black and white card elements!!

For the birthday one on the left - I created a happy birthday element by pairing two fonts, printed a large U which I coloured using colour pencils, a #2 to complete the greeting and continue with the graphic nature of the card and a birthday cake (downloaded from here) embellishment which is also printed and coloured with colour pencils. For the Valentine's card on the right, I used an initial font (Cheltshire Initials) to create the "LOVE" decorative element and added a printed heart embellishment - all coloured with watercolours. The backgrounds are printed as well using a stippling digital stamp that I downloaded off of my sister's blog.

So a card created using digital elements that has very much a handmade look!! Valentine's is the next "big thing" and I am ready with a card for my DH!!

Therese

Cardmaking - Pop up frame card

This card features a pop up frame working well with my theme of adding dimension!! I had seen a card with this frame on a card at Splitcoast and so set about replicating it and later discovered that they had a tutorial for creating it. It does require a ScorePal which I do have so in the end I would have had to work it anyway!! I started with a four square of heavyweight double sided decorative scrapbook paper. If you are making more than one of these the size works well into a sheet of 12x12 scrapbook paper. By working with a scrap piece of bond I discovered that I needed a square just a bit bigger than 2.75" to score the lines for the folds in the right place. So I cut cereal cardboard to the right size and placed it

diagonally on my square. Originally I was marking the two opposite sides of the square so I could ensure that my square was correctly positioned but a few in I realized that I could use the grid on my cutting mat to line up the centers of the sides with the points of my diagonally placed square - too easy!! So the process of scoring them went much more quickly after that. Once I had the square scored I folded all four corners into the middle and adjusted the fold a little to make sure that my corners were nice and tight. Then, all you have to do is fold the points back to the middle of the side to get your cute little pop up frame. I added a colour printed greeting on a neutral layer and added that to a colourful card front.

Thrifty Tip: I also created the cool little dimensional embellishments which I placed inside the frame. These are fun foam shapes all dressed up!! I used a flower die to cut the fun foam, added some pigment ink to coordinate with my paper, poured on some clear embossing powder and heated it with my heat gun. The fun foam with curl and shrink when you heat it. To create the dimension I used a flourish rubber stamp coated with pigment ink to impress the fun foam while it was still hot. Makes very cool little embellishments that are very economical to create!!

Give it a try!!

Therese

Cardmaking - Tri Shutter Card

I challenged myself to create cards with dimension for my January cardmaking session so I started with a Tri Shutter card!! I have seen many of these cards in blogland and they are always impressive so I decided to give them a try. I found a tutorial over at Splitcoast Stampers. I adjusted the dimensions to make it easier to create in class by making the top and bottom 1.25" (the width of my metal ruler) and then chose decorative paper that had no direction so I could cut all of my pieces from a 4" x 12" piece of scrapbook paper giving me three from one sheet of 12x12. Worked out really well!! Many of the ones I have seen have very little room to put a message so I used the middle section of mine for my message space and left it blank. I stamped a bird for the front and added flourishes to the back one where a greeting can be added. I stamped and coloured three small flowers to add as embellishments and added a ribbon on the front.

So if you have been looking at these thinking they are too complicated, I encourage you to give them a try. It does require measuring and cutting accurately but the putting together goes fairly quickly. There are many other ways of decorating these cards so Google it and/or check out the gallery at Splitcoast Stamper for some inspiration!!

Therese

Challenge - Easel Card

On one of my groups we have a challenge - make an easel card using cream & aqua and include a doily!! This is the card I created!!

I started with a 4.25" x 11" piece of cream cardstock, cut off 4.25" for my card front and scored the remaining piece at 4" and 6.25" which left a 1/2". I decorated the front with a square of aqua/pearl decorative paper and added a round paper doily both embellished with a bit of aqua ink. The middle section is adorned with a lacy accent which I created by layering two pieces of lace onto double sided tape and adding a light aqua quarter inch ribbon overlapping them in the center. The center features a pearly embossed heart layered onto a pearl scalloped circle with an aqua scallop circle (Nestibilities) below the lacy accent. To create the embossed heart I used a white fun foam heart shape, added some aqua pigment ink, sprinkled on some pearl embossing powder, heated it with my heat gun and finally stamped it with a swirly stamp that had been inked with white pigment ink while it was hot. The corner embellishments were created by punching pearl cardstock with a lace decorative corner punch and trimming away the extra leaving a slimmer edge. They were the perfect accents for the corners. I folded the remaining piece on the score lines, applied double sided tape on the half inch flap and laid my card front onto it lining up the bottom corners of the front to the bottom corners of the back. I decorated the bottom 1 1/4" of the back using a strip of the aqua/pearl decorative paper, another piece of lacy accent to which I added a small heart die cut from the pearl cardstock using 3D foam tape.

The card has wonderful texture and would make a wonderful Valentine's card for someone special!!

Therese

Books

Mini books for my Book Club buddies!! We are meeting to make vision boards for the New year and I thought it would be good to have a few affirmations to go with them. So I made these books for each of us to record them and any goals or resolutions we are making for 2011.

Started with a 4.25" x 11" piece of heavy weight cardstock, scored at it 5.5" and 5 5/8" from the right hand side and folded the back on the fold lines. Then I cut it at 4.75" from the left hand side. I decorated the cut off - cover - using bleach and some of my embossing folders!! I added a little epoxy sticker with our initials to finish them off. I lined up the decorated cover with the little portion of the back that folds to the front - it left about an 1/8" gap - and reattached it using black fabric tape. Cut some 4" x 5 3/8" pages for the inside (25 sheets of bond pretty well fills the 1/8" spine) and used my Cropadile to make two holes - one 3/4" from the top and one 3/4" from the bottom about 1/8" from the spine. I used elastics (hair ones) to bind the book along with a wooden stir stick which was cut to the right length and shaped with sand paper to be nicely rounded like the other end. To bind simply put a loop of the elastic through the top hole (back to front) and insert the wood piece and then make another loop with the elastic and put it through the bottom hole (back to front) and push the wood piece down far enough to insert in into the loop. Center the wood piece on both loops. Because my binding was not as tight as I wanted it to be I pulled one of the long sections from the back tight and then brought it to the front and placed it in the trough of the fabric tape hinge. Nicely tightens the binding and also highlights the cover!!

Had a wonderful Christmas with my family out west and counted my blessings that we still have my parents with us and that so many made it to my sister's house on Boxing Day!! Loved playing in the snow with my grand daughter too!!

A new year begins and I am letting go of some things and looking forward to some new ones in many areas of my life!!

Therese

Holiday greeting card

A holiday greeting card for a couple we know who does not celebrate Christmas. I used textured shimmer paper for the poinsettia, added some detail to the petals and leaves using a stylus and used a brad to hold all the layers together. Added the leaves and a swirl to the back and mounted it on an embossed (Swiss Dots - CB) layer along with a piece of silver ribbon. Mounted this embellished layer to a white card front.

I have very little prep left for Christmas - most of the cards were mailed on Monday, parcels mailed last week and only a few last minute items to prep!!

Remember the spirit of the season - peace and love - when you go about your life this coming week and if possible leave some "stuff" aside and spend time with the people you love - make some memories!!

Therese

Photo album

A photo book for my grandson! He is just over a year and likes to carry things around so I made him a book with photos of his family - Mom and Dad, sister, pets, grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins. I used a commercially made album and changed up the front and the back to personalize it and filled it with photos!!

Am on the home stretch of having my Christmas gifts ready for sending out in parcels. Christmas letter today!! Parcels should be out today!!

Cards are just waiting for the letter so by Monday I should all the cards on their way!!

Therese

Christmas tag

Christmas tags for my exchange tonight!! Bought this Sizzix die at Sweet Sentiments last week and wanted to use right away so I decided to use it for my tags. I cut two - one red - one green and put them back to back. I used red glitter on the green one and green glitter on the red one. I cut two sticky label when I cut out the ornaments which I used to make the glittery ribbon. I like using labels for glitter because it is a dry glue and does not make a gluey mess with glitter. Once the glitter is applied the sticky side of the label is not longer sticky and has a paper back. I just glue it in place with regular glue. I added glitter to the bulby ends of the ornament as well. I glittered the center using labels as well. I cut the tree - removed the backing selectively - first the tree stem - glittered that, then the snow - glittered that and finally the tree and glittered that (MS). I cut a sticker oval just larger than the opening in the ornament and applied it to the back of the oval opening in the red ornament, placed the glittered tree in the middle of the sticky oval and applied blue glitter all around it. I used a simple white oval in the back of the green ornament/tag to give a place to write and added a red cotton string!!

The rounded oval from the middle of this die is a perfect match to the large SU oval so it will be great for layering!!!!!! I love it when tools coordinate!!

Hope you are well on your way to being prepared for Christmas. We have a bit of shopping to do, some wrapping and a few parcels to prepare for shipping. Hopefully by the end of the week it will be all done!! If your list is too long, check it and see if there is anything at all that can be reduced or completely eliminated. If so, take a break and enjoy the sights and sounds of the season!!

Therese

Altered heart ornaments

A challenge to alter "something" was put out on one of my groups so I decided to see what I could find around the house. I found this small heart shape chipboard board book and it seems perfect for making altered ornaments for a community project called Evergreen Memories - similar to Festival of Trees elsewhere. I cut the binding off and trimmed the pages to round them out nicely. I covered the edges with red tissue paper and used gift wrap - red with snowflakes - on the front and back. I traced the hearts, so, after cutting they were just a bit big to fit really nicely so I crumpled them up and glued them down with wrinkles in them which gave them lots of texture and alleviated any issue of not having a perfectly cut outside edge. Once both sides were done I pressed them under weight to make sure the paper was well glued and to keep them flat. I decorated them today using colour printed vintage images, snowflake punchies, and scraps of lace, tulle and ribbon.

I am very happy with how they turned out and I am sure they will make a welcome addition to the tree. There are over a dozen trees that will be decorated by different organizations on the theme of Peace and will be on display at the museum for a couple of weeks. Over the course of the two weeks the public can drop by, enjoy the sound of music provided by local groups along with a tasty treat and get dose of holiday spirit. After wandering through the display they can choose to buy tickets for the ornament raffle. All the ornaments on all the trees are raffled off at the end of the display in support of local charities and programs. So these ornaments are off on an adventure which will ultimately find them a new home. I send them off with blessings!!

Therese

Cardmaking - December - sanded and resist!

Love the look and feel of this sanded embossed cardstock!! Sanding highlights the embossing and gives the cardstock this wonderful texture similar to suede!! It works only with cardstock that has a different core colour. Check out Core' dinations which a cardstock with a coloured core - very effective for this technique. Several different companies - Close to My Heat and DCWV - sell white core cardstock which is what I used. Just emboss as usual and then sand the embossed side with a bit of sand paper. Do as much or as little as you like!!

Thrifty Tip: you can easily make your own white core cardstock by painting a sheet of white cardstock with any colour of acrylic paint. Once dry, just emboss and sand!!

The main element features a clear thermally embossed flower image that has had a watercolour wash added to it! Once the watercolour has dried you simply buff the embossing with a cloth or tissue to remove any that may have dried on it and the image "pops"!! Great little technique!! Added a colour printed greeting punched with the SU word window punch!!

Love the simple elegant look of this card!!

It is the beginning of December and we had a wonderful snowfall yesterday!! Huge fluffy snowflakes falling gently to the earth!! What a treat to see the great snowman built by the neighbors and their kids when I got home from class!! Went over and took a couple of pictures after I shoveled the drive way!! I may take another couple today in case he melts away in the next couple of days!! So it is, life is filled with little blessings, everyday!!

Therese

Cardmaking - December - glittery!!

Glittery cards!! This sketch features textured paper, a corner rounded embossed rectangle, three flower confetti with glittered centers, some fiber and a decorative strip that was created using blue pigment ink and Star Dust embossing powder!! I created the decorative paper to help the turquoise paper to coordinate with the sparkly fiber, and then, the flowers were screaming for some glitter of their own!! In the end, it all came together but it was a bit of a process to get it there.

The confetti was selling at the craft store last fall as part of a Paula Dean table ensemble. The little bags have a lot in them!! I used only half the bag on this set of cards - I have another bag!! So come spring there will be more cards created with these little turquoise flower confetti!! I added blue glitter glue to the centers. The fiber I added as the last element by centering the glittery accent in the middle of the strip and wrapping the two ends around the brads trimming off any excess afterwards.

Cards with glitz are just fun!! Some of the girls brought their own shimmer spray to class so theirs got an extra layer of shine as well.

Therese

Cardmaking - December - tag cards

Another shaped card!!!! I trimmed the corners on the decorative paper first, glued it to the card front and then trimmed the card!! Much easier than cutting the card first and trying to get the decorative paper right!!

This sketch features a decorative paper background (right hand one is pieced from scraps), a ripped greeting "snow" layer and a tree die cut!! I love this little tree - Marianne Design - which you can get at Ecstacy Crafts. It is so versatile!! I will be using it for Christmas cards next year!! I added double layered circle punchies (3/4" and 1/2") punched with a 1/8" hole at the top of the card, punched through the card front and threaded through some fiber which I tied on the front with a double knot. This gives less bulk at the top of the card which makes it easier to insert into the envelope. Again, if you preferred not to make this a thank you card you just could reverse the greeting layer and glue the plain side up.

Therese

Cardmaking - December - pleated paper

At my cardmaking class last night we made thank you cards for blessing those who will bless us over the Christmas season!! It is really nice to have your cards ready to go so you can immediately acknowledged a gift, a great meal and the thoughtful gestures that will come to you over this wonderful time of year!!

This card sketch features a piece of decorative paper, some pleated tissue paper, ribbon and a stacked flower embellishment attached with a brad. I provided coordinating colour printed greetings as well which allowed the participants more flexibility - without it the card can be used for another occasion!!

Thrifty tip: I have seen quite a few cards with pleated ribbon lately and love the look so was wanting to add this accent to one of my cards. I read on Andrea's blog that she had used brown paper from lunch bags to pleat so it started me thinking about using paper!! I finally decided on tissue paper because that is what I had that was the right colour and it is super flexible. I crumpled the tissue, ripped it into strips - some thin others a little wider. I layered the thin ones over the wider ones and used my sewing machine to sew them together adding pleats as I went along. I created a very long piece by just adding pieces where I needed them as I went along and cut it into smaller sections later. FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will definitely be doing that again!!!!!! It is great because tissue paper comes in so many colours and designs and is relatively inexpensive!! Be sure to be saving any of the great tissue paper that shows up over the holidays for your cardmaking!! So versatile!!

Be grateful for everything in your life - friends, family, getting together, gifts, kindnesses, love, laughing, joy, fun and all that happens!! Christmas is a special time of blessing - both in what you give and what you receive - do both!!

Therese

Altered CD - vintage Santa

An altered CD for a swap in one of my groups!! The theme was Vintage Santa so I dug up some scraps of decorative papers and got started. First thing I did was make a sketch of each section - front cover, inside cover, inside back and back cover. I decided which elements would go in each section - images, decorative paper, cardstock, etc. After working out the layering on each section I started cutting paper and gluing it into place. I used LOTS of double sided tape to make sure all the pieces will stay put. The front cover features a colour printed vintage Santa, a stamped "memories", decorative paper, a little strip of lace, olive ribbon with a burgundy "bow" and a piece of burgundy cardstock. The lace and ribbon wrap to the back of the cover and are hidden by the pieces on the inside front which is why I worked out all the layering before I cut and glued anything to the CD.

To the left you can see the front and back in one scan. The back features coordinating decorative paper, an ivory cardstock strip trimmed with scallop scissors and embellished with dots and a line in burgundy marker, a strip of olive cardstock and some burgundy cardstock at the very top. Went with cardstock because I wanted the back to have very little that would interfere with the CD laying flat. The inside cover (left) features burgundy cardstock, a scallop border punched piece of olive cardstock embellished with burgundy ribbon and a layered strip of decorative paper. I cut little notches for the plastic edging so that all the piece fit in neatly. The back cover (right) features a layer of decorative paper, a burgundy strip of cardstock trimmed with scallop border punch and an accordion book which has been embellished with some decorative paper and a little boat sticker which I received this week from my Secret Santa and it was the perfect colours for this project!!!!!!!!

On the left a photo of the accordion book inside the CD. Four and a half pages in ivory cardstock embellished with decorative paper and two more stickers!!

All of the pages and sections were stippled with ink to give them a nice vintage feel.

The recipient will be able to add a few photos and have a cool little album for her 2010 Christmas memories!!

I loved the challenge of creating this project and am very happy with the finished product. Would make a wonderful gift for grandparents filled with photos of their grandchildren. Certainly done in other colours would make a cool little brag book for any event!!

Therese

Home for Christmas tags

Created these house tags for a swap on one of my groups. Theme was Home for Christmas so I searched for images on a clipart CD until I found a couple that spoke to me and I created tags using them as inspiration!!

The first one reminds me that Christmas, at one time, was all about the basics - friends, food and family!! People were grateful to be home with a fire burning and loved to prepare good food and plenty of it so when friends and family dropped they could share from their bounty. Stories were told, experiences were shared and a year's worth of blessing would be acknowledged. It was all about getting together and sharing!!

To create this tag I applied white gesso to a book page and stamped it with a large background stamp to add texture. Glued it to the house shape and trimmed it to the edges. Outlined the house with a black Sharpie and added yet more texture with a fine tip Sharpie marker to the interior surface of the house. Added the heart and framed photo with 3D foam tape and wrote the words and hearts by hand.

The second one reminds me of Christmas when I was a kid. It was always exciting to see cars pull into the yard one by one spilling people, food and presents as they came. Often, people had traveled distances in cold and less than desirable weather to be part of Christmas at our house. Cars would be plugged in or run several times during their stay so they would start, in the well below freezing temperatures, when it was time to head home. We would go to church and open presents when we got home. We always hoped that our one big present would be one of the items we had picked out of the Sears catalogue after months of perusing and making lists. We played board or card games, ate sweets, played outside and went for walks or ice skating!! It was about family and getting together.

For this one I added a bleached navy cardstock to the top and bottom and layered colourful scraps in between. Over the center section, I added a strip of sheet music. I coloured the frame black, mounted the image and added it to the tag with 3D foam tape. Added stitching with a black sharpie on the light areas and with a white gel pen on the dark areas. The heart is also mounted with 3D foam tape and the words are hand written.

I am getting into the Christmas mood. Have been creating Christmas card all year long and just all kinds for classes during the month of November. This was a fun little project and I am happy with the way they turned out!!

Therese

Cardmaking - November - Christmas Santa

I love this swirl embossing folder (Crafts Too)!!! You can check it out along with several others I have used at Ecstacy Crafts!!

I do find that you have to cut your cardstock just a slight bit over the 5.5" so the swirl pattern doesn't fall off the edge of the card but it is such a versatile design!! I used it last month for this card. I colour printed a vintage Santa from a clipart CD that fits nicely in the opening. Created the scallop greeting using a scallop punchie (SU) and a 1 3/8" punch (SU) to cut out the colour printed greeting. The metal embellishment used to be a brad but getting it properly positioned was going to be difficult so I snipped off its tangs and added 3D foam tape to the back which worked perfectly!! Another quick and easy card!!

Therese

Mitten card template!!

If you would like to make your own mitten Christmas cards here is the template I used to create mine. Click on image and download to your computer and print on a 8.5"x 11" sheet of cardstock!! Enjoy!

Angel policy: you can make cards for sale with this template. Please send your friends to this post on my blog to download their own copy for their use.

You do not have permission to copy and distribute this file in any manner and/or claim it as your own when submitting cards for publication!!

Therese

Cardmaking - November - Christmas mittens

Mittens!!!!!!! Have been wanting to make a shaped card for quite a while and finally just did it!! I created the mitten shape in a layout program (Corel Draw) and printed it on the back of the cardstock. Folded the card with the printing on the outside and cut out the shape. Added an embossed rectangle to create a cuff and added a snowflake border in white to jazz it up a bit. The colour printed greeting was distressed and mounted with 3D foam tape. Added snowflake punchies and a stitched border to the edge using a white gel marker!! Love it!!!

To top it off I added a "snowball" (white cardstock circle) to the inside where you can write your message!!

These are cute!! It is a real change from the standard Christmas card and would be great for those who are young at heart on your list!!

Therese

Cardmaking - November - Christmas snow scene

I have been using my new tools!!

Here I used my largest Oval Nestibilities to cut out a winter scene I stamped in brown on white cardstock. I added a bit of chalk and a dotted border around the edge to just define the oval and highlight the image. Layered the image over scrapbook paper on a warm red card and added a colour printed greeting layered on brown with two silver brads!! Quick and easy!!

Themed packages of scrapbook paper are great for creating cards that have a coordinating look for making sets of cards!! Consider making a few sets for giving to those on your list that are hard to buy for or have everything. We all like to send special Christmas cards to our best friends and handmade ones certainly fit the bill!!

Therese

Cardmaking - November - Christmas poinsettia

Christmas cards!! Had a great class last night and they loved the cards!!

For these ones, I started with decorative scrapbook paper, added a red layer below, an ivory decorative strip trimmed with decorative scissors and a green ribbon!! The poinsettia is stamped in red and clear embossed on an ivory scallop (N)*. I added some green watercolour to soften the image a bit. The top one also has gold glitter glue added to the center of the flower and on each scallop for a bit of bling. It is mounted to the card front over the ribbon using 3D foam tape. The NOEL greeting (Quietfire) is gold embossed and punched out with an oval punch (SU). They are also embellished with watercolour to soften their look.

I like the soft muted look of these traditional Christmas colours!!

*Thrifty Tip - to save time when prepping for this class I embossed the poinsettia images in the oven!! Heat oven to 325F and place your stamped images with embossing powder on the back of a clean cookie sheet. Place in oven and 30 seconds later they are all embossed - a dozen at a time!! You have to watch very closely because if left too long the embossing powder will melt into the paper!! Great if you are embossing images for cards made in lots - Christmas, invitations, etc.

Therese

Christmas exchange cards & contest

Decided to create a card for Class Act's contest and while I was at it made several - one for my group exchange on Tuesday and a couple for my CCE card exchange!

I love this snowflake image!! It is a Class Act image and they are having a Christmas card contest right now!! You just need to create a card with a Class Act or Chapel Road stamp and send in a scan. The prize is a rubber stamp - so in the end it is a win-win situation. You have one more card for your Christmas card stash and you could win more rubber!!

I stamped the snowflake on a white circle, embossed it with Stardust embossing powder, used my fun foam stamp* to add colour to the center and layered it on a blue scallop (Nestibilities). Started with a white card and added a greeting. The "let it" is a font to which I added a flourish and then colour printed on the white card. The "snow" is a Quietfire stamp which I stamped and embossed with the same Stardust embossing powder. I layered over that a decorative paper which I created. I first printed an all over pattern of snowflakes in blues like the one I used for this card and added blue watercolour washes using ink from my stamp pad. I ripped the bottom edge to reveal the greeting on the card. I added a layered white snowflake border (MS) over the scallop accent to finish off my card.

*Thrifty Tip - you can create your own stamps using fun foam!! Just cut out any shape, mount to wood or acrylic with double sided tape and use with your ink pads!! For the snowflake center I stamped the image on fun foam and cut out the center section. Works really well for highlighting that area. Consider using the precut fun foam shapes - snowflakes, snowmen, stars, hearts, etc!!

I am well on my way for having all my Christmas cards made for this year. There is lots of inspiration here if you need some quick and easy ideas. More coming in a bit!!

Therese

Christmas Zentangles

Another fun swap on one of my lists!! I spent a couple of hours quietly drawing - adding lines to create shapes into outline letters I printed with a chunky font. It is great to have a good outline to follow. After that, it is all about deciding where the lines need to be, adding texture and varying the light and the dark for good contrast in the overall image. I have never zentangled words before but I have created zentangles in letters for monogram cards and some in squares!!

I am sending these off to my partner for this holiday themed swap and look forward to the ones I will receive in return!!
Christmas is a great time to be creating zentangles!! I have created these large enough to be framed so she can use them as art in her home every holiday season!! I have not added any colour because it keeps the art more graphic and black and white can be framed in any colour to coordinate with the current decor. So I challenge you to create a few zentangles for the holiday season! Print a whole bunch and add them to your holiday cards, frame a few to adorn your home or make a set of cards or some framed art as gifts for those who have everything!!

Be creative this Christmas and add a bit of your art in your home!!

Therese

Heart Ornament

Thanks to a friend of mine I have a few of these die cuts to play with - adorned heart Nestibilities!!

I created this ornament using two die cuts - there are three in the set - and simply inserting the red into the white and adding a backer to keep them nested. White embossed the word love on the red heart.

The Love stamp is a new one! Won it at a class on Quietfire's community two weeks ago!! Suzanne makes rubber stamps from her wonderfully calligraphed sayings!! I am looking forward to incorporating the rubber stamps I won into my projects in the next little while!!

Sending off this little heart with some love to a special person!!

Therese