Cardmaking - Dec - Cardinal

December has arrived and most of us are counting down to Christmas hoping the to do list will be conquered in the time we have to get it done! I designed cards for this month's class that are
appropriate for expressing your appreciation for the blessings received over the Christmas season. It is more likely they will be sent if they are ready to go before the season truly gets busy!!

I saw this card on Splitcoast Stampers with its cute little cardinal and after a bit of examination, figured it was created using several punches so dug out my selection to see if I could replicate the little bird. *See below for details in creating the cardinal. I am very happy with the way it turned out!! I sponged all the pieces with black ink and then assemble it. After embossing the label (TH-SX) I added the little green sprigs (MS) punchies and sat the bird just above them. I used the slot punch (SU) to create the openings for my ribbon and glued their ends to the inside of the card. The background paper is one that I created a few years ago using acrylic paint washes and a background stamp I created by gluing fun foam snowflakes to a piece of acrylic. Once I had washed the paper with colour I simply placed the stamp on the wet surface and it moved the colour around which gave a very beautiful subtle texture to the paper which was perfect for this card. I brought along some stamps to let everyone customize their cards to their needs.

It is getting busy! I have parcels to send out, a Christmas letter to print and cards to mail!! Most of the shopping has been done - thanks to DH!!

If your list is looking too long for the time left I suggest you start deleting and/or delegating!! Get creative - no one will ever know that you had intended to make pies and goodies instead of buying them from the local bakery, (baker, friend, farmers market or bake sale)!!

Therese

*A Cardinal tutorial I found on line which is pretty close to what I did. I used a 1 3/4" punch (SU) for the body, 1" punch (SU) for the wing and a scallop punch (SU) for the tail. I used the 1 3/4" punch to create the "face" and just hand cut the beak.

Face: The photo on the left shows the creation of the beak section using the 1 3/4" punch. I first cut a 3/4" strip of black cardstock and removed a concave section from the end by placing the end into the punch and lining up both corners with the cutting edge of the punch and taking out a small slice. The next step is shown here: place the concave end into the punch until you have one edge lined up with the cutting edge and the other edge of the cardstock is about 1/4" away from the cutting edge. The little piece makes a perfect "face" for your cardinal.

Body: Use the 1 3/4" punch and fill the punch opening to about 3/4 full just off the edge of the paper. OR Punch a full circle and trim off about a 1/4 of it.

Wing: Punch about a half of the 1" circle OR Punch a full 1" circle and cut it in half to create two wings.

Tail: Punch a full scallop punchie and cut from the bottom of one scallop to center of punchie. Count two scallops and cut from the bottom of that scallop to the center. One scallop punch will make several tails. NOTE: you could substitute a heart punchie for the tail.

Beak: 3/4" x 1/4" scrap of yellow cut to a blunt point on one end

Eye: mini white brad.

Green Gift Tags!!

They don't look obviously green do they?? They are green as in good for the Earth - rather than green in colour - because I created them to be reused!!!

I used quilting fabric with a variety of images on it, applied Heat and Bond to the back and cut them out to create the central elements for the tags. I used a heavy cotton fabric for the base of the tags and added a

backing of light fabric at the back of the top section that will show above the pocket. I added stitching on the top section to attach the fabrics to each other which also provided some texture. I had planned to do some free motion stitching but my first attempt with a new foot broke the needle so I will be going to the shop and getting a demonstration on how to use it before I try again. I have never used this kind of free motion foot before so it is possible that I had it installed incorrectly or am unaware of the finer points of its use.

I hemmed the top of the pocket, folded it up, pressed the fold and ironed on my central element leaving even margins. With everything in place I used a zig zag stitch all the way around which finished the edges and created the pocket at the same time. After trimming off the hairy bits I used cotton cording in a large eyed needle to create ties. Here is the reusable part - I created cardstock tags that fit in the pocket and can be replaced every year!!! So you can have beautiful tags on your gifts every year!! By adding a hanger instead of ties, these could easily be used as ornaments on your tree. With a bit of planning, they could also be used as gift card holders!! It is a bit of an investment of time but they will last for years!!

Do you consider green options when wrapping your gifts? Reusable fabric bags instead of paper ones? Gift certificates or coupons for services that can be packaged in reusable packaging like little metal boxes or handmade paper or fabric holders?

To keep your holiday dollars in your community consider buying local - gift certificates for hair cuts, lawn care, snow removal, craft or exercises classes, meals at locally owned restaurants, etc. Give locally made jams/baking or "meals" (the ingredients to a favorite dish) in a basket. These also require less "shopping" which will leave some time to enjoy hot chocolate and a movie with your family, visit shut ins or volunteer to help a neighbor with their tree decorating!!

I am happy to have my tags ready to go!! We will be having our exchange later this week!!

Therese

Birth announcements!!

A new baby!! He joined the family earlier this month and everyone is doing fine. His big sister is enjoying her new status and he is eating sufficiently to grow a few inches before Christmas. We are looking forward to seeing the whole family over the holidays!!

I started with a great picture of this little boy cradled in his Dad's arms!! To avoid clashes of colour I converted the photo to black and white and increased the contrast a bit to get better definition. I laser printed the photo, cut it out using a large oval die (NS) and glued it in the center of the panel which I had previously embossed using the Swirl oval embossing folder (CB). His name is printed on the front of the folded accent which I trimmed with decorative scissors, his birth information is inside and the whole piece is nicely tied with some blue fiber. I adhered it to the panel using double sided tape.

My daughter is including them in her Christmas cards so I kept the layers and embellishments to a minimum.

I am grateful for family!! So fun to have little ones to keep our perspective on life focused in the here and now!!

Therese

Cute mitten Count down calendar

What fun I had today!! I bought 24 little red mittens, a green foil garland and made an advent calendar for two of my grandchildren!!

I created the numbers (1-24) using Corel Draw and printed them out, but stickers or stamped numbers would work just as well. Punched them out with my 1.25" punch (SU), punched a hole at the top and stitched them to the front of the mittens using cotton cord. I laid out the garland, positioned the mittens evenly and using a length of the same white cord I used a needle to attach the cording to the top edge of the mitten and then tied the two ends around the garland. Cute!!!!!!!!!! There is enough room in the mitten to stash a little surprise for the two of them and it works perfectly as a Christmas decoration!! When they are no longer interested in participating in the process of counting down to Christmas the whole thing can be dismantled leaving twelve pairs of mittens and a green garland to repurpose elsewhere!! These little mittens were so cute and would make great ornaments as well.

Thrifty tip: Create an unbreakable and long lasting countdown calendar for less than $10 which can be repurposed when no longer needed!!

So it is winging its way to their house as we speak!!! I included a few little surprises as well!!

Therese

2012 Calendar

On AFTCM, I signed up for a desktop calendar swap. I created this one using two blank coasters which I bound together after they were embellished. On the right hand side, I added a label die cut (TH-SX) layered with an oval (NS) and a butterfly punchie (SU) using brads over the last bit of this decorative paper I had left from my trip to London two years ago. I left the layer loose so that little notes could be tucked under it. On the right hand side, I attached a clear acetate layer with brads and tucked a set of small calendar pages in behind it. After the year is over the recipient can add another set of small calendar pages or insert a photo or quote instead. It will be a gift that keeps on giving!!

I love the soft colours and flowery design of this paper!! Very happy with the way the calendar worked out!!

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

Christmas cards - label die cut

This was a very fun card to do. I created the background paper!! Earlier this year I was drawn to start collecting all the strips of paper I was creating as I was trimming paper for my paper crafting. I had accumulated a good sized pile in a wide variety of colours and saw this card on Splitcoast Stampers where she had created a background using layered strips so I decided to give it a try!! I sorted through the box and put all the green, red and yellow strips in one pile and the teal, blue, purple and pink in another. I used quarter sheets of scrap paper and just applied glue to the paper and started adding strips until the paper as completely covered. Once they were dry, I die cut them using a large label die (TH - SX), embossed them with a large polka dot embossing folder, ran a dye ink pad over some of the surface, quickly added some glitter embossing powder and heated it under my heat gun!! Voila!! A beautiful background!!! As not to cover up too much of the background, I decided to add a simple greeting. The little Merry Christmas greeting I downloaded from When the Scrap Hits the Fun a while back was just perfect for what I needed. I added a few bands of red and green and some holly to the first one and some blue bands and some snowflakes to the second one, printed them, punched them out (1 3/8" SU) and layered them onto a scalloped circle punchie (SU). Added a ribbon and tied a short piece to it for the look of a bow and glued my greeting embellishment just below it with 3D foam tape.

It is a very fun and rather different look for a Christmas card!! Last night, one of the girls' husband is Jamaican and she thought that this card would be perfect for sending their holiday greetings to his relatives in Jamaica!! Love it when things work out that way!!

So that was the last of my Christmas card classes for this year!! We will be making Thank you cards in early December to acknowledge the blessings of the seasons as they arrive!!

Winter has yet to arrive here - there is someone cutting their grass this morning!!

Therese

Christmas card - embossed candle

These elegant cards are quick and easy!! Just some decorative paper as a background and a gold embossed candle image (Hampton Arts) layered onto coordinating cardstock and adhered using 3D foam tape. What really makes these so great is the paper that I have used for the backgrounds which work so well with the gold embossing of the candle. I used bleach to lighten certain areas on the images embossed on the kraft cardstock - it bleaches to a beautiful yellow colour. Worked perfectly on this card I made earlier this year!! In this case I just painted watercolour into some of the bleached areas to add just a bit of colour as I did to the pale pink one!!

THRIFTY TIP: Keep an eye out for great paper as you are shopping this holiday season!!

Therese

Christmas cards - snowman

A cute little snowman!! This snowman image with its chunky style works really well with this embossed handmade paper I made during the summer using an embossing surface I created with fun foam snowflake shapes. The snowman image is actually one from an internet font - Winter Wonderland*. Fonts contain vector based images so they enlarge quite nicely!! I trimmed my handmade paper to size, added the black organza polka dot ribbon and tied on the left over piece using a single knot, coloured and layered my image which I adhered with 3D foam tape and finally added my snowflake (SU) punchie with a mini black brad.

I am happy with my card and how well all the chunky elements work together and are contrasted by the soft polka dot ribbon!! I don't usually buy printed ribbon but it was the perfect fit for this card.

*THRIFTY TIP: Keep an eye out for graphic fonts that have images you can use for your cardmaking. Many are free to download.

Therese

Christmas cards - three trees

Had a wonderful bunch of girls over last night to make Christmas cards!! It is always great to spend time with like minded people doing something you enjoy!!!

Three little trees (Sizzix -movers and shapers die) each cut from a different material - dark green wool felt (felted the sweater myself), handmade paper (my own) and white cardstock!! I have been appreciating cards with these large greetings on the front so I thought I would try designing one. Colour printed mine after doing the layout in Corel Draw and cut them apart. I glued it to the card front which has some snowflakes stamped on it in a very dark green. Added the ribbon and glued both ends to the inside of the card then added the snow banks with a white gel pen below it. The little felt tree has been embellished with red metallic embroidery floss and three little white brads. I moved them around until I was happy with the layout and glued them down. I used regular glue stick for the white cardstock and handmade paper trees. The little felt one required three glue dots applied to the back of the brads to keep him in place.

I really like the texture provided by the felt and the handmade paper and it contrasts nicely with the smooth surface of the greeting and the white tree!!

I hope you are on your way to creating your Christmas cards. Lots of inspiration on my blog from the classes I have taught in the last month, so check them out!! It is not too late to start!!

Therese

Cardmaking - November - Peace

This was my quick and easy card for this session!! I laser printed this very cool sentiment in black onto kraft carstock, layered it onto red and then onto black. I used thisgreat decorative paper which I had in both green and red onto coordinating cardstock for the card fronts. Just a bit of 3D foam tape and a little heart punchie and the card was ready to go!! I did add faux stitching around the edges of the red one but I did not find it necessary on the green one!!

So keep an eye out for some great papers when you are shopping the malls in the next month or so!!

Therese

Cardmaking - November - Snowman

More sparkly handmade paper!! This is the last of it but it was great and I will be making more. I used the rest of it on these cards a while back. In this case, I layered the handmade paper to the card front after attaching my ribbon ends with double sided tape to it's back side. Watercoloured my little snowman image which I layered onto coordinating cardstock and trimmed close using decorative scissors. I trimmed my printed greeting as well and layered it onto coordinating cardstock. I attached both elements to the card front using 3D foam ape. Tied a loose knot in a short piece of ribbon and glued in place over my image using double sided tape. The little snowflake sequin was added using a small white brad.

I love this little snowman! It was a download from Jelly Park challenges blog. It was a freebie on their first challenge in July!

I will be watching for that prismatic gift wrap over the holidays to be used in my handmade paper for Christmas cards next year!!

Therese

Cardmaking - November - glitzy medallion

Love the glitz and pizzazz of this card!! The background paper is one that I printed at home on my laser printer from a file I downloaded from the internet. You can check it out here!! All Free Dowload has lots of great images!! I downloaded the green and red one and with one little slide of the hue button under "Adjust colour" in Photo Elements I created the blue one!! Fun!!

I added the ornament which features a large snowflake metal embellishment which in a former life was an earring!! I glued it to the embossed ornament using a large glue dot because of the weight of the embellishment. I added a silver top to my ornament and punched a hole for the ribbon (the punch I forgot to bring to class) which I ran to the top of my card and glued to the inside of my card using double sided tape. I tied another short length of ribbon into a bow just above the silver hanger. The ornament is attached to the layered card front using 3D foam tape. I trimmed my sentiment with decorative scissors and attached it with two tiny white brads!!

Therese

Cardmaking - November - sanded elements

Another great cardmaking session!! Had a few new cardmakers which was great!!

The three elements on this card were embossed and cut in one piece with a Sizzix embossing die using white core cardstock. I sanded the raised surface then cut them apart to create individual elements. I layered them over an embossed (CB - Swiss Dot) background using 3D foam tape. Once in place, I embellished the elements with tiny rhinestones!!

I used this die a while back - you can check out my other card here! Also sanded a different embossed design on this card.

We did discover at class that one could sand the element too much and we all had to make do because I forgot a punch at home so we were really using my class motto - "There are no mistakes, only opportunities for creativity!!"

Therese

Christmas cards - shiny ornaments

Who knew that sequins could make such cool looking ornaments!!! To convert sequins into ornaments I created little strings with words in them and bows on the ends to hang them from!! I just used double sided tape and attached the sequins below the laser printed strings!! Cute!

I layered the ornaments onto cardstock, added a snowflake border (MS), a length of ribbon using double sided tape and a snowflake sequin with a brad to my stamped card front to complete my card!! As you can see, the border can be used in several different ways and the girls got really creative with these!! The best part of teaching is the opportunity to see others be creative in ways you simply could not have envisioned with the supplies you have provided!!

THRIFTY TIP: Of course, you could substitute circle punchies instead. These are 3/4". It would be a great way to use up the little scraps of cool paper you have been hesitant to throw out!!!

Two more classes to go, so am still in Christmas card mode!! More later!!

Are you inspired yet?? I hope so - make a few cards today!!

Therese

Christmas cards - sketchy images

I just love these little images!!! I downloaded them (Christmas themed Sketchy) from All Free Download sometime in the last few weeks and really thought they would make great Christmas cards. I had to separate the elements electronically so I could use them individually which took a bit of time in Photo Elements. I laid the images out in Corel Draw and laser printed 16 to a sheet of 8.5 x 11!! I am super happy with the way they turned out.

A simple layout - embossed kraft backgrounds with a bit of sponging around the edges, cording in white or black and colour printed images layered onto black cardstock!! I added a little stamped greeting (SU) in black to the images!!

NOTE: I just did a bit more research on these graphics and found the artist!! They can also be downloaded from his blog - Blog.SpoonGraphics!

Therese

Christmas cards - poinsettias

I love the texture of these flowers - a beautiful velvety surface!! They were beautiful, the perfect size for cardmaking and a good price - needless to say, several bunches came home with me from Michaels last week!!

To ensure that the flowers were the star of these cards, I layered them onto a simple green label die cut (TH -SX) through which I had threaded a subdued gold ribbon. I glued the label to a piece of white cardstock which had been shimmered, embossed (SU) and also had a colour printed greeting. I laser printed the greetings before I shimmered the paper so was a little concerned that the printing might be affected by the alcohol in the shimmering process. No problem!! I used Gold Interference Pearl Ex which because it has no binding agent required that I seal the surface before proceeding with the embossing. I used aerosol hairspray as a sealer.

The flowers had chunky glittered centers which I removed and replaced with a little punchie and a brad to hold the layers together. I dug through my stash of silk greenery for leaves that were more appropriate in size than what came with them. I found several options which worked. I positioned the flowers and leaves on the die cut, removed the flower and glued the leaves in place and then added the flower using double sided tape. I had no trouble getting mine to stick but it is possible that glue dots might be a better adhesive for that purpose. With ribbon ends wrapped to the back and adhered with double sided tape I glued the whole layer to my card front. The flowers have some dimension but I think they will not pose a problem when being mailed as they should flatten easily when inserted in the envelope.

Therese

Christmas cards - sanded snowflakes

Spent another wonderful morning with a great bunch of ladies making Christmas cards!!

I love the look of these snowflakes - a bit shabby chic!! The look is the result of sanding embossed white core cardstock!! For these cards I thermally embossed a greeting in the top section of the cardstock layer and dry embossed the bottom section using a snowflake embossing folder (CB). Just a bit of sanding removes the printed colour to reveal the white below. Less sanding gives a more subtle look and a bit more reveals more of the white core and gives a more pronounced look!! For sanding, I used a piece of fine sandpaper over a wood block but you can use what you have.

To the sanded layer I added a snowflake border (MS) in white. a coordinating ribbon and adhered a snowflake confetti using a brad. This whole element was then glued to my card front. It was fun to create these in different colours but that left me wanting snowflakes in colours which I did not have on hand so I altered white snowflake confetti to coordinate with my cardstock by applying ink to them using my Sharpie markers and using a cotton swab dampened with alcohol to blend and/or dilute the colour. Worked perfectly!! You could use Copic markers or alcohol inks in a similar way.

THRIFTY TIP: You can make your own white core cardstock by simply painting a quarter sheet of white cardstock with acrylic paint and letting it dry thoroughly!! The great thing about making your own is that you can make it any colour you want and it is also cost effective!! You can check out my double embossed backgrounds here where I used the above technique for creating white core cardstock.

Therese

Christmas - embossed elements

I used an embossing Sizzlits die by Sizzix to create these embossed elements!! There are three elements combined in one piece so I cut them apart so I could use the ones I wanted and arrange them to suit me. I simply added the elements to dark cardstock, incorporated a ribbon and a couple of rhinestones and I was done!! You could always add some lines of faux stitching with a gel pen if you need a little more embellishment. This is a quick and easy card!! I will be using this die again!!

This is a different kind of fake bow. For this one, you tie a shorter piece of ribbon to a length of ribbon. It has the advantage of being movable on the piece which allows for adjustment once it is tied. Just one single knot is all you need.

A note on the rhinestones: I bought these on a roll and cut them apart so I could use them individually. I first cut down the middle of the double row with an exacto knife and then into twos for the kits. They are easy to use - simply cut apart and peel the rhinestone off the carrier material and position where you want it!! These were the smallest rhinestones available (3mm) and I anticipate they will not cause problems when these cards enter the postal system on their way to their final destination! There are a LOT of rhinestones in one package and when purchased with a coupon makes them a great value.

I saved the easiest card for last because after a few hours of cardmaking everyone is wanting to get finished and on with their day. We were finished in really good time today!!

If you need more inspiration as you tackle getting your Christmas cards done just click the " Christmas" label in the list on the lower right hand side of my blog!!

Therese

Christmas card - sparkly handmade paper

I kept this card simple to highlight the great handmade paper!! I made this paper this summer using SU cardstock, prismatic gift wrap and some white paper confetti!! You can check it out here!!

I trimmed the handmade paper to leave an even margin all the way around by folding and tearing it to maintain the deckle edge then glued it to the white card front. I layered the snowflakes from large to small (SX dies, MS punch), used a push pin to make a hole in the center and added a brad. The other element on the card is a cute little saying printed on vellum. I played with the two elements until I was happy with the design, pierced a hole through the vellum and card front to which I added the snowflake element. The brad holds all the elements to the card front as I resisted using any sort of adhesive on the vellum. It was fun to create the little greeting which includes the words, a little snowflake and a dotted line that creates the path the little snowflake might have taken on its way down. I think all the elements work very well together - glitter and the look of falling snow in the handmade paper combined with the layered snowflake and the little greeting! We had fun making these in four different colours - blue, purple, pink and turquoise!!

Therese

Christmas card - little round window

Love the simplicity of this card!!

Some of the girls were having trouble with the bows so I suggested that they just try making a fake bow instead. That worked very well and was much easier to execute. To simulate a bow just add a shorter piece of ribbon in a single knot and pull tight. I make the knot loose, slip the smaller piece into it and slowly pull tight adjusting the short piece if needed. A little less bulk that way too.

I layered the decorative paper onto cardstock, punched a window about 1.5" from the top and added the ribbon. By positioning all the pieces on the stamped card front I was able to locate and then carefully glue the coloured image in place so it would be nicely displayed in the little punched window!! I adhered the punched layer to the card front using 3D foam tape. Some of the girls glued the image to the back of the window instead of the card front. That works too!! The stamping on the card front gives just the right amount of texture to the rest of the card!!

The little images are digital stamps that I printed onto heavy weight paper. You can find these two images at CLKER. I used two other ones from Arthur's Clipart - little jingle bells and santa with his reindeer.

Therese

Christmas card - Victorian ornament

Another Christmas card class this morning!! It was so good to spend the morning creating and listening to Christmas music!!

I really love the look of these cards - they have a soft vintage feel!!

The decorative paper is handmade paper with gold embellishment that I bought a few years ago because I really liked the texture of it!! I added a length of coffee dyed lace at the top using double sided tape. Coffee dying the lace was just what it needed - just a little soft colour!! I simply added the lace to some strong coffee (instant coffee and hot water), left it to soak for a few minutes, rinsed it out and hung it out to dry!! Just had to touch it with the iron a bit before using it on my card. Once I added the lace I glued the decorative paper to the front of my card. I added the colour printed punched victorian snowflake image (CLKER) to my die cut ornament (SX) and glued it to the front of the card using 3D foam tape leaving enough room to the right for my stamped NOEL oval greeting (SU punch). The greeting is from Quietfire Design!! I tied a bit of gold cording using a single knot to the lace above the ornament and drew a line from the ornament to lace with a marker to make it look like it is hanging. I drew the line to the top of the handmade paper on the maroon card and I find it is too much. Less is more in this case!!

I am always on the look out for different and interesting paper!! Really glad I picked some of this paper up when I did!!

Therese

Christmas cards - snowman

A wonderful little snowman!!! Used some of these little guys on this card last year!!

The card front has been stamped with white snowflakes which creates a snowy scene when combined with the ripped white strip at the bottom which simulates a snowbank. The front accent has been trimmed to size, cut with a circle die (NS) and embossed with a snowflake embossing folder. I added a cute little ticket as the greeting on this card. It is a freebie I downloaded from Scribbles by Sandy!! She has a some really neat digital stamps on her site!! I printed the little tickets, added a bit of colour and stapled this one to the layer incorporating a red string which I just tied to the staple. For the class, I decided to use a paper clip instead which works better for the kits I created!! After attaching the greeting I used 3D foam tape to attach this element to the card front. Finally, I glued my little snowman embellishment inside the opening with 3D foam tape!!

Really happy with how this one turned out!!

Therese

Christmas cards - confetti tree

This was a fun card!! I have had these little confetti trees for a really long time so I decided to see if I could come up with a design that would highlight them adequately - they are so shiny and bright!! (Not evident on the scan) Very happy with this design!!

I added shimmer to white cardstock using gold interference Pearl Ex and alcohol in a spray bottle. A beautiful subtle shimmer - just what I was looking for!! Once dry, I embossed quarter sheets using this star embossing folder which is available at Ecstasy Crafts!! It nicely echoes the stars on the tree and creates the perfect little embossed space for showing off this shiny little accent! I adhered it in place using tiny pieces of double sided tape but several girls at class this morning just used glue stick. I added ribbon diagonally to the corners and used double sided tape on the back to hold the ends in place, then glued the whole embossed layer to the green card front. The lower right hand ribbon has a second piece of ribbon tied to it using a single knot which also encompasses several strands of gold embroidery thread. This treatment gives you the look of a bow without the bulk which is often a concern when mailing handmade cards during the holiday season!!

Therese

Christmas Cards - Peace Dove

The little dove featured on this card has been die cut using a Sizzix die that belongs to my sister. I love being able to borrow tools from creative friends and family!! It just expands the opportunity for creativity!!

For this card, I cut two pieces of decorative paper and glued one to the top and the other to the bottom leaving even margins. I added the colur printed greeting between them using 3D foam tape. I layered the dove to a die cut circle (NS) and then to a darker scalloped circle (NS). I embellished the greeting and the dove accent with a clear Stardust gel pen before mounting the accent to the left of the greeting. I love this pen because it lays down just clear glitter - no colour - so you can add it anywhere!! Available locally at Ecstasy Crafts! Certainly, you can use any other gel pen or even glitter glue instead.

Therese

Christmas cards - snowflakes

How is this for non traditional colours for a snowflake card?? I loved this red, orange and white paper the first time I laid eyes on it and after creating cards with it for several card classes over the the last few years it has come to an end!! The small leftover scraps have been added to my box of collage scraps. You can check out the other cards I have made with this paper here and here!

I started with a piece of this great paper which I cut with a wave on the bottom to simulate a snowbank which I layered onto white cardstsock and glued to my red card front. TIP: When gluing thin paper - apply glue to the cardstock and lay your thin paper onto it.

To create the accents, I layered a white cardstock snowflake punchie (MS) to a red circle punchie (SU 1 1/4") then to an orange one (SU 1 3/8"). Adhered them to the card front using 3D foam tape which also captured the white thread I used between them and the colour printed layered greeting. Used 3D foam tape to capture the thread at the top and then applied the greeting!!

It was fun to be creating Christmas cards this morning with a fun group of FLY women. First, Love Yourself - I just love their name!!

So begins the Christmas card making season for me - one class down - three more to go!!

If you need inspiration, just click the "Christmas" label on the lower right hand side of my blog to see what I have created.

Therese

Happy Halloween!!!!!!!!!

Happy Hallowe'en!!

Natural Christmas card

This doily stamp is my latest acquisition from Stampin UP. I love it!! In an effort to use what I buy I decided to combine the doily stamp with Sylvia's Christmas card challenge - Natural, By Hand's Challenge of using a circle die and CST's challenge of using stitching in the creation of this card!! I am super happy with the way it turned out!!

I stamped the doily on an ivory card front and embossed it with clear embossing powder. To add colour, I used my newly acquired Portfolio water soluble pastels by just scribbling with the pastels onto the embossed image and using a paintbrush to spread the colour. I need a little more practice as I was not able to mix quite the colour I was looking for so I added some sponging once the surface was dry and that was closer to the look I wanted. Just love the way the doily pops!! I laser printed a round greeting and a poinsettia image from Birds Cards for the middle accent. I cut them out with a round Nestibilities, sponged them lightly, added colour with the pastels and layered them onto a brown scallop circle (NS). Added some faux stitching to the circle accent and the card using a caramel coloured marker to continue my soft and subtle look. Mounted them to the card front with 3D foam tape and added a seam binding bow to finish off the card.

Thrifty Tip: I created the bow using two pieces - one straight across the card and another folded in thirds tied to the middle of the other one with cording. It gives a nice bow with a very flat center which keeps costs down when mailing your cards because they will fit through the slot!!

So another 3 cards added to the stash - total count for this year so far 84!!

Therese

Wax paper resist!

One of my blog visitors wondered if using wax paper over white cardstock in an embossing folder would transfer enough wax to the cardstock to be used as a wax resist. I gave it a try because all the tools were sitting right at hand. Unfortunately, not so! You can see to the left my experiment. The second from the left is the cardstock I put through the embossing folder and painted with watercolour. It has a nice relief but it did not resist the colour. I decided to transfer the wax to cardstock using heat. I placed my embossed wax paper over a piece of white cardstock and wrapped it in white paper and applied heat with my iron. The cardstock has a VERY faint image of the design once colour is added - it is the far left. The cover paper I used had a much better image and resisted the colour very nicely - it is second from the right. On the right is the wax paper!! It looks interesting enough to be used as a layer on a card!!
My visitor does not have an embossing machine so I tried using just crumpled wax paper and created the paper on the left - wrinkled wax paper (left) and the resist paper on the right. You can create all sorts of patterns in wax paper - fold, draw, etc - that can be used for wax resist.

Thanks for asking!!

The two following scans are of the tissue I used as a paintbrush for the application of colour in the above experiment and the two sheets of copy paper I used to dry them with the iron. I did not expect the colour to transfer.

So one little experiment!! 10 pieces of paper I can use in my paper crafting!!

Everyday is a good day to play!! I may use these later today when I am working on challenge cards!!

Therese

Fragment Charms!!

More charms for a swap on AFTCM!! Our bracelets are going to be great!!

Fragment charms was the theme this month so I used these plexiglass shapes as my base. The little rectangular ones were clear - the larger ones were red!!

These were fun to create!!

From my collage box I chose little images and papers for each side of my charms. I used Dimensional Magic to glue the focal element to the back of the plastic shape so it would show through the front.
I glued the back paper/image to the back of the focal image so it would show at the back - a double sided charm. It was fun to cut out shapes and create small collages!!

You can see here the fronts of three charms on the left and the back of the same charms on the right.

I coated the sides and backs of the charms with Dimensional Magic to nicely seal in the images. How do you do that without holding them, you ask?? I attached the front of the charm to the top of a push pin using double sided tape. Planted the push pin into a strip of styrofoam which gave me something to hang on to while I was applying the finish. Worked like a charm!! You need to make sure the charm is level to prevent the finish from pooling but you don't get your fingers gummed up and they can stay there until they are completely dry!!

I drilled holes near the top edge for a jump ring and my charms were finished!! I have mine packaged and ready to go to my partner in the mail today!!

Therese

Cardmaking - October - Handmade paper

I made handmade paper several times this year so my box is overflowing!! Several batches were such nice bright colours - yellow, blue and pinks which I created using SU cardstock scraps donated to me by several local demonstrators. The paper is beautiful and I wanted it to be prominent in my cards so I decided to use a full sheet (8.5" x 5.5") as my card base. I most appreciate the deckle edge on handmade paper but the sheets were not all exactly the right size so I pondered the task of trimming all the errant edges by hand which is how I normally do it. That was going to take a while!! After a bit of experimenting I came upon the idea of using my distress tool on any edges of the paper that had to be trimmed with my cutter. Worked beautifully!! Nice straight edges with a soft deckle look in a fraction of the time!!

I layered three embossed cardstock die cuts - Tattered Flowers TH (SX) and attached them to my card front with a brad. Trimmed my colour printed greeting and glued it into place!!

Love the way they turned out and my favorite is the pink and green combination!!

Therese

Cardmaking - October - Serendipity

I love creating serendipity backgrounds for cardmaking!! It is a process that does not require too much attention and only a few supplies - paper scraps, glue and a substrate. A great activity when you are feeling less than inspired but still would like to do something creative. You can check out these other projects I have created using this technique here or click the Serendipity Label - lower right hand side of my blog.

I created a few full sized pages earlier this year and in September dug out several kits I had prepared for a class a couple of years ago and decided to just get them made up.

I silver or gold embossed my sheets before cutting them into squares and rectangles. Each card has 4 squares and 2 half squares. There are a variety of layouts you can use but I decided I would offset the half ones - one top right, other bottom left. Because each one is like a little piece of art I usually use minimal embellishments. This time, I added a small embossed butterfly punchie!! Click on the photo and check out the cool way I made a body, head and antenna for it!! I saw this on a blog recently - sorry not sure where!! Here's how you do it - fold your cording in half, place the butterfly's midsection inside the fold, tie two knots at the top of the midsection and trim the ends. Voila!! - a body, a head and antenna!! Not sure who invented this cool idea but it works so well!!! I attached my butterfly with 3D foam tape just below its body so the wings can be folded out.

I love the glitz and bling of these cards!! Would be great for Christmas cards in red, green and gold!!

I have a couple of links to tutorials on my April 2011 blog post here!! Have fun!!

Therese

Cardmaking - October - step card

Have been seeing step cards on blogs for a while and thought I would give it a go!! I watched a few videos, checked out a few tutorials and decided for my first attempt I would create only one step. You can check out this tutorial over at Splitcoast Stampers which gives step by step instructions for a center step card. They are some times also referred to as stair cards if you want to search for a few examples or tutorials.

Once I figured out my dimensions, I designed a layout with the cutting/folding lines and printed them on the back of the cardstock which made the process of creating the cards in class much less time consuming.
We made one cut and scored three fold lines. The last fold (bottom of the step) was created during the process of getting the card to fold flat. Worked out quite well!! To decorate the front panel I cut a small piece of decorative paper into three little rectangles, trimmed the tops into a slant, and positioned them making sure there was enough room for the flames above them. Glued them into place and trimmed any over hang at the bottom. Added wicks with a black sharpie marker and glued the flames into place with 3D foam tape. The flames are actually wing punchies from the SU bird punch!! Love versatile tools! I added some colour to my flames to give them a bit of dimension. I used watercolour on the top one and chalks on the bottom one - some used pencil crayons in class. Tie fiber to the card front overlapping the candles. With no place for a regular insert in this card I decided to add a flap with a greeting so there would be a place to write a message. I created this cool digital stamp!! I really liked the one put out by SU recently in their Delightful Dozen set so I decided to create my own. I used Corel Draw to lay out all the words in different fonts. Really happy with the way it turned out!! Can see a few more of these greetings in my future. Printed them in colour on white cardstock to coordinate with the card front, folded them and glued the back flap to the back of the step. The front flap can be tucked inside the step as well.

I really like the look of this dimensional card!!

Therese

Cardmaking - October - Rainbow Wishes

Love these rainbows!! I was inspired by this card from Splitcoast Stampers!! I dug through my cardstock scraps and started cutting little rectangles in seven different colours - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple and pink. Made a pile of each colour and then started matching them up - some more pastel, some more muted and others very strong and bold. I made a few specialty cards with what I had left over - all pinks or blues for baby cards and this green, orange and yellow combination for a Halloween card!! We did all sorts of embossing on our cards last night - some did just the elements others did the whole card front!!

I gave each person a scrap of white paper to glue their rainbow pieces to which allowed them to emboss the rainbow as an element before gluing it to the card. The greeting is laser printed onto white and then the pieces were trimmed apart (3/4" and 1.25") After embossing the elements were glued to a black card front. A bit of ribbon, a die cut, a stamped image or a few rhinestones would all be great 3D elements to add a bit more dimension to these cards!!

These are a quick and easy card once the rainbow pieces are cut. I have a lip on my trimmer which easily allows me to cut 3/4" strips so it was fairly quick to cut the scraps into strips. I really enjoyed matching up the colours but you could easily plan your colour combination in advance and only cut the pieces you need.

Consider red and green for Christmas cards!! A simple 3D element or some ribbon and you could make a bunch of cards in one day!! Are you inspired?? Make a few cards to add to your stash today!!

Therese

Fall Fairy!

A fall fairy!! I have a swap on Just Cards for a Thank you or Thanksgiving card so I decided to use some fall colours which worked in perfectly with the Fall challenge over at Class Act blog. The challenge at the By Hand blog is to use Pennants so I decided to add my greeting using little pennant triangles. I really like how that worked out!!

There have been all sorts of options explored in the creation of this card before this one finally emerged. I created the background using my new Fancy Fan letterpress plate (SU) inked with yellow and green craft inks in a random pattern. I created a new sandwich to allow me to use my silicone mat when I put it through my Big Kick so it would emboss the design as well as print it!! Loving the look!! I trimmed this layer and added to the top of a card front in the same red colour. Added a strip of green cardstock to which I glued my little pennants. I watercoloured my alphabet punchies and added them to the pennants using 3D foam tape. I watercoloured my image (Class Act - fairy), trimmed it close and layered it to a yellow rectangle which had been distressed a bit with ink using my stipple stamp then attached it with a couple copper brads.

I am really loving the bright warm colours of this card!!

Therese

Christmas cards!!

Pink Christmas cards!! Have been wanting to make some pink ones for quite a while, so with a card swap on Just Cards themed The Letter P I decided that pink and peace would work for the month of October and made it happen. It also works for Sylvia's Christmas card challenge for September which was Non Traditional colours so I am on a roll!! Come to think of it, the challenge on CST is monochromatic and this card will work for that as well!! Wow - lots of bang for the effort. I created 7 of these - one will be sent off for the swap and the others are headed to my Christmas card stash!!

If you haven't started your Christmas cards yet, check out Sylvia's blog for her challenge - she has had a monthly challenge since January - and get started with any of the challenges that catches your eye. A few cards per week until December 1 and you will be happy!! There are other challenges available. Just do a search or check out the ones I have listed on my right hand sidebar!!

As you can see there are two versions of this card - the simple and elegant one which I started with and as I proceeded card #4 received some bling and so did a few others!! I am of two minds about whether they all should have bling or not!! It is so like me to not be able to make more than a few cards exactly the same!! I will have to sleep on it!!

I cut the ornament (SX) from shimmery pink Core di nations cardstock! I cut the wave from shimmery white cardstock (Bazzill) using a Quikutz Cookie Cutter die I recently acquired!! I also cut the hanger from the same shimmery cardstock layering them onto the main ornament with a bit of white glue and trimming the wave to the edge. I stamped Peace (Chapel Road - Class Act) onto the lower bottom corner of a piece of white cardstock in pink and embossed the whole thing with Musical Flourish (CB) embossing folder. I mounted the ornament to the embossed layer using 3D foam tape incorporating a pearly string beneath the hanger, used double sided tape to hold the free end to the back of the card and added a length of shimmery pink and white ribbon about a half inch from the top by gluing both ends to the back with double sided tape. I glued this layer to pink, trimmed it close and mounted it to a white card front. I decided to add a short piece of string to the pink ribbon. Simply tied it around the ribbon with a double knot and situated it to overlap the ornament's string. I like the look!! The last few got some bling!!

Still have one more card swap to finish and a few other projects on the go!!

Class Act has a new challenge on their blog! You could win some rubber!! Go and check them out!!

Therese

Spooktacular card!!

Another card which is not typical of the cards I usually create!! This one is for the Technique swap - TORN - on Just Cards combined with the challenge on the Created By Hand blog which is OVAL. I was perusing this on line e zine called Crafting Ireland and on page 77 found a card tutorial for a mummy which used an oval and torn fabric!! Just what I needed as inspiration for this card!!

I cut a black oval (NS) and wrapped it with torn strips of white tissue paper. Initially, the strips were about an inch wide but in the end I trimmed them down to about a half inch to be more in scale with my oval. I applied glue to the ends of the strips and started wrapping them around the oval leaving spaces for eyes and a mouth. It looked too ghoulish with just blank spaces for eyes so I decided to use my punches to make some. I started with one large black oval (SU) and glued on a small yellow one. I cut that in half and added the two ends of a large oval with the middle perpendicularly punched out of it using the large oval punch. Unfortunately, I had to use two ovals because one of the ends fell inside my punch!! Who knew there was even an opening there!! So, I now have two pieces of cardstock inside my punch. Yes, two!! I did it again!! I will have the punch doctor (DH) take a look at it and see about extricating the pieces before they get lodged somewhere that interferes with the workings of the punch!! I added the details using a black fine tip Sharpie marker. I eased them under the tissue paper a bit which made them look more real. I mounted this to a purple card front on which I had dawn a haunted house, a cemetery and some bats and added a round punchie in yellow for the moon! I coloured in the details with glitter gel pens - I am loving those!!

Lastly, I added the laser printed spooktacular greeting with mini black brads and the two letter punchies using 3d foam tape!!

Very happy with how this "one of a kind card" turned out!! It was fun to do some hand drawing right on the card and embellish it with the gel pens!!

Therese

Handmade paper swatches!

Handmade paper swatches - all ready to go!! I signed up for a swap where paper makers from everywhere will be sending in little swatches of their handmade papers and one blessed soul will be creating a book for each of us - 56 of us!! There will be page for each sample along with the recipe!! They had scans of previous swatch books and they looked so cool and what a resource!! So I managed to get my papers made, my swatches ready along with all the other required elements like payment and a return address label, put all the elements into a large bubble envelope and sent it on its way yesterday!! Not sure how long it will take to get a book back but I am hoping that maybe by Christmas though it may be the new year if any of the swatches are delayed for any reason! Regardless, I am sure the book will be a feast for the eyes when it finally arrives!!

Therese

Trick or treat card!

Have joined a new card group, Just Cards and the swap info came out this week. I joined four swaps so I thought I would get started!!

I created this card for the Colour Theme Swap - Orange and Black. As my DH just commented - this is not my typical card!! I downloaded the digital stamp from Robin's Art Musings - here!! She has several there including a cat, a spider and a bat!! I laser printed it and cut it out with a round Nestibilities die, coloured it with my "new to Me" Portfolio water soluble oil pastels and mounted it to a black and then an orange scallop circle (NS). I added some stenciling to the top right of the card using some punchanella (thanks, Dale) and the Portfolio pastels. I simply placed the punchanella on the card front, rubbed an orangy red pastel over the surface and took a damp paint brush and washed over the area which nicely coloured the cardstock through the holes! I can see a lot of potential for these pastels!! I washed some colour over my harlequin decorative paper as well to help it coordinate better with the orange scallop. I embossed my black torn strip with a large dot embossing folder and added stitching with a white gel pen. Added stitches to the card and on the diamonds of my decorative paper with a black gel pen. Once the decorative paper and the black strip were glued down I added the plaid ribbon which was the subtle addition of colour that this card really needed. I went "stash diving" to find this cool glittery green wired fuzzy stuff - it was on someone's discard pile at Christmas so I took it home. Perfect to add a bit of glitz to this card!! Final touch was to add some dots on the orange scallop with a glittery black gel pen!!

Really happy with how this card worked out!! I will be submitting it for our weekly challenge on CST which this week is Stitching!!

If you are a Canadian paper crafter consider joining CST - Canadian Stamp Talk. It is a great group moderated by group owner, Nancy from Calgary.

So fun to create without limits!!

Therese

Mail Art

On AFTCM, I signed up for a mail art swap!!

I started by printing the names of the recipients using a nice chunky font and traced them onto the front of my yellow envelopes using a black gel pen. I filled the names in with some doodling, added the address of the person as well as my return address and the postage stamp. Next, I added a border and some doodling in the body of the envelope as well. Once finished with the artwork I started filling in the designs with glittered gel pens in a variety of colours!!

This is my first mail art!! I really enjoyed the process and after I was done I decided to search on line to see what others have done. There is as much difference in mail art as there are artists, though most of the art I found on line was a bit more edgy that what I have done here.

I have added a RAK to the envelopes so they will have a bit of surprise when it arrives in their mail box!!

I enjoyed challenging myself to do something I have never done before!! I have been exposed to mail art online over the years and have received several different examples as well.

Challenge yourself to something you have never done before!! Grow!!

Therese