Envelope for our journals

I let each student pick out a coloured envelope which we reinforced very decoratively with this cool lettered packing tape.  The top of the envelope will be die cut for our binding so reinforcing it was necessary.  The journals will have room for writing a line a day for four years so the elements need to be rugged enough to last for that long.
Envelopes are always handy in any journal for storing any little thing you want to keep - ticket stubs, photos, etc.

Therese

Decorative paper

 Created decorative paper in my class with the same group of young people I created handmade paper with a few weeks ago.  This is a quick and easy technique for making decorative paper.
We used coated paper 28 lb bond paper, watercolours and plastic wrap!!  We started with a letter sized piece of paper, covered it with water using a foam brush, added several colours of watercolour over that and while everything was still wet we covered the whole surface with a piece of plastic wrap which we manipulated with our fingers to create a lot of wrinkles.  It is best not to mix the colours too much and to have enough paint to give you vibrant colours in your finished paper.  The larger sheets were trimmed to yield two 5" x 8" sheets which we will use in the "Line a Day" journals we are creating!!
I have used this technique very successfully with acrylic inks and acrylic paints as well.  You can pretty much use what you have.  Have also used a variety of papers - watercolour paper, cardstock and bond - again, use what you have.

Therese

All Occasion cards

Had a get together with cardmaking friends this week and I made these card kits for us to create with.
The top layer was punched with my new Fiskars Slot border punch which works just dandy for adding ribbon to a card!!  I used a length of ribbon and ran it through the slots and glued the ends to the back.  I tied a shorter piece to the front to simulate a bow.  The bottom of this piece was also punched with a border punch - SU Eyelet punch.
The little squares were created using a serendipity technique and then layered onto coordinating cardstock.  Both of these were layered over some decorative paper on my card fronts.  The top card has gift wrap and the bottom card is a piece that was created using a wax resist technique.
I love making serendipity paper with scraps!!  Always very unique and artsy looking!!

Therese

Postcard challenge

On one of the Cloth Paper Scissors blogs I found the link to a Postcard Challenge by Jane Davies and being as I was in postcard making mode I decided to sent one along to Jane in support of her post office!!
I used a piece of junk mail that I saved because it was so beautiful - this leaf image!!  I added the quote using a black sharpie marker and attached to the same postcard backer as the previous postcard I made.  
So if you are feeling creative and looking for a project why not send Jane a postcard!!  Follow the link above for more information!!

Therese

Past and Present Postcard

On one of my groups I joined a swap where I had to make a postcard with the theme of Past and Present.  It called to mind the quote that goes something like - Today is a gift and that is why it is called The Present.  I cut a postcard sized piece of decorative paper which I spritz with olive green alcohol mist a while back in the process of making Christmas cards.  It did not suit my vision then but worked well for this project.  I joined the dots in a rectangular shape to create a gift and left 24 lines to write on - one for each hour of a day - using a red sharpie marker.  I added a bow and stippling as well to give it a bit of dimension.  I used a black sharpie to add some thoughts on the gift we are freely given every twenty four hours!!  Below I addressed the past - keep only what sustains you!!  The past is over and it is only worth hanging on to the good stuff - the lessons learned, the great memories, etc.  Above is the future - keep in mind what you want and stay open to all possibilities because it doesn't really matter how what you want shows up!!   I sponged the edges and added a bit of stippling with the black sharpie around the edges.  I mounted this to a postcard backer which I got from Graphics Fairy.
We create our the content of our lives using our thoughts, our words and our actions which are all choices we make every day.  Being grateful for our many blessings   like our every day gift of The Present - makes us happier beings!!  Celebrate today, every little thing you  have been blessed with!!

Therese

Thinking of you & sympathy

I made this card up from a card kit that had lost its instructions. I love the technique - stamp in white pigment ink on black cardstock and then colour it with pencil crayons!!  Love the look!!  I added a greeting from my stash and layered it with a coordinating coloured cardstock.
Made this card for a friend who lost one of her friends this week.  It is never easy when friends pass away!!  We were all cardmakers and shared that activity often.

Here is the card I made for the husband and family from another kit that had lost its instructions.  I coloured the image, glued the decorative paper to the card front, tied on a piece of fiber and added a layered greeting.

Having kits on hand makes getting cards made really quick and easy!!

My sister has been preparing READY TO GO card kits for the last year and is finding that there are many people who feel the same.  Check out her blog and her All Occasion card kits here and her Christmas card kits here.
Take care of your friends!

Therese

Race car birthday card

 Hey!  When you are four you think race cars are just awesome!!  My oldest grandson turns four next week and his Mom is making him a race car birthday - invitations, decorations and cake!!  So I made him a race car card!!
I downloaded the graphic from CLKER and colour printed it on white cardstock along with the greeting.   I trimmed this element very closely around the bottom of the car and leaving a box at the top around the greeting.  I added a tag with a silver #4 and tied it on with some black and white bakers twine.  I added the stitching to the box because it needed "just a bit of something"!!  I embossed the card front using a TH embossing folder that has checks and some distressing which works really well with the car!!!  His little brother is turning one three days earlier so all the gifts and card were sent on their way for the party next weekend!!  His card is here!  Needless to say there is at least one little red race car in that box!!

Therese

Handmade paper - large sheets

In this week's papermaking class we made small embossed handmade paper sheets.  All well and good but a bit boring until you see them dry.  So I brought yellow, blue and teal paper napkin to add colour along with snippets of each colour so the sheets would have interest.  After class I combined the leftover pulps and created a few sheets of paper!  They are very light aqua colour and have confetti of all the different colours - yellow, blue and teal!!  Wonderful paper!
I added tissue paper snippets to the white pulp I had leftover and this also made very interesting paper.  I ran the leftovers from these flowers through the shredder, added them to a blender half full of water and blended it all just a bit.  Really love the subtle colours in this paper!!
I look forward to using these in my art projects!!

Therese

Embossed handmade paper

More handmade paper!!  Had a class yesterday with some young people and we made embossed handmade paper!!  I always use a plain paper for embossing because it shows off the embossed details so well.  I especially love it in white paper so that is what I made up for pulp.

I have a variety of moulds now!  These are ones I have made myself using hot glue and kitchen cloths.  You can see more details here!

These are the ones I made this year for my last class in January.  I did not get any samples made then so I took advantage of my leftover pulp this time and made a whole bunch to have on hand.

These will be great for using later in the session!!

Therese

Heart cards - French elegance

I downloaded a card I just loved off of Splitcoast Stampers gallery last year.  I went looking for it this year to give credit but I could not find it but this card is very similar.  I did not have any stamps for creating the background so I decided to see what I could find for digital images to make a collage that would work.  I found all of these images at Graphics Fairy!!  It took a little bit of working to get them all laid out like I wanted them but then I just pressed print and got four to a page which was quick and easy!!  Fortunately, I had worked with some of them previously so they already had transparent backgrounds. Once printed I cut them apart, stamped them with a stipple stamp in gray and with an all over design in beige and then sponged the edges in a sandy colour.  I glued the background to a black card front, tied on a piece of beige crochet cotton with a double knot, glued on the greeting and then added the five heart punchies!!
I love the simple elegance of this card!! Hope you all have a great Valentine's Day with those you love!!

Therese

Heart cards with border punched greetings

These cards feature decorative paper and heart embellishments.  I used a 4"x 4" of decorative paper and cut in two - 2.5" and 1.5".  We glued the larger piece at the top of the card front and the smaller at the bottom. To create the middle section we glued the colour printed greeting to a coordinating strip of cardstock and then added two border punched strips to each long side.  This element we glued over the gap on the card front and trimmed it to the edge of the card.  Added the heart embellishment using 3D foam tape.  This is such a flexible sketch!  Depending on the paper, you can create a card for any occasion!!  The card on the right features black and white paper I created using Graphics Fairy images because I did not have any paper in my stash that  worked well with my little chipboard heart!!

Therese

Heart cards - masculine

Knowing that somewhere along the way they probably would need a masculine card I designed these.  I inked and sponged the embossed layers so they would be ready to go.  We attached the ends of the twill tape to the back of the embossed cardstock using double sided tape and then glued it to the card front. To create the central element we layered two dark halves behind the metallic decorative label (SU) and glued on a little flocked heart.  It was adhered to the card front using 3D foam tape and then we glued three little punchies to the lower right side.
I like accenting embossing using ink pads because it just hits the high areas and really makes the images pop!!  For the brown one I used two colours because the first one was too brown and it really added depth to the image!!

Therese

Heart cards - double hearts

 Had a class last night for a group of young women who were having a night out - pizza, childcare and some creative time - so I planned some heart cards!!  To keep within the hour time frame I kept the cards quick and easy and did as much prep as I could.
For this card we layered embossed cardstock onto our card front, adhered our little ribbon frame image (Graphics Fairy) and then glued on with 3D foam tape our layered hearts (SU -SX) and greeting (SU).     I provided a variety of colour printed greetings so they could customize their cards for their needs.  In this case the red, black and white one would have been appropriate for Valentine's.
We can bless all the people we love with heart cards at this time of the year!!

Therese

NOEL Christmas card

My first Christmas card for this year!!  I made this one as a thank you for a friend who gave me the NOEL movers and shapers (TH) for Christmas!!  I cut it out of the center of the Ornamental die (TH) using white cardstock, embossed it using  a dot embossing folder (SU), sponged the edges with red and green ink, added red bakers twine on both sides  gluing the ends to the back, added some glittery red paper in behind, layered on an oval (NS) that I die cut with NOEL then sponged with green and finally added two ferny sprigs (MS) and three circle punchies which I embellished with red glitter glue!!  Glued this great element to a green card front which I stamped with a stipple stamp (SU) all the way around the edges!!  The red glitter paper is a wonderful mylar paper that my gift was wrapped in!!  It is fabulous and will be used in my card making!!  Valentine's is coming up and I am sure I can come up with a way to use a bit more of it!!

Therese

More handmade paper!

I taught a Papermaking - techniques class this week to a group of young people!  They were so keen!!  We made embossed paper using fabrics as well as hot glue moulds, layered papers using botanicals (pressed cedar sprigs) and images from paper napkins and duplex papers using ivory and kraft brown - a full duplex sheet as well as an interesting arty one using a  pulp drawing that was added to a sheet of plain paper in the opposite colour!!  They all worked out really well and the students made one of each!!  An hour goes by very quickly!!  Unfortunately, I did not manage any sheets so I have none to show you.  I did manage to make up the remainder of the pulps and so have some botanical papers to show you.  I added yellow petals, herbal tea and some green grass to the ivory pulp and made up about six sheets (right).  I added onion skins to the kraft brown (brown paper bags) and made up several sheets (left).  I finally mixed the two batches and added some of the green cedar I had left over and made a few more sheets (middle).
So a few more sheets to add to my stash!!  I really like the ivory with the petals!!

Therese

Masculine exchange cards

I am getting together with my card making friends tonight and needed a card for the exchange and also needed two cards to mail off for my other exchange so I made three cards this morning!!
They all feature double embossed backgrounds, a laser printed digital stamp from Beccy's of a watch which I watercoloured, a greeting and  a leaf punchie.  I really like the look of the double embossed backgrounds - lots of depth.  They require solid core cardstock and in this case I created what I needed using regular cardstock and acrylic paint.  You can click the link above and get all the details OR find double embossed backgrounds in my LABELS.
Found all the elements I needed in my stash so these came together reasonably quickly!!

Therese

More handmade paper!

Made handmade paper with another group of young people yesterday!  They were really keen and loved the whole process!!  We made some pink ones - plain and with flower petals, some blue ones - plain and with paper confetti and finally mixed the two batches and made some purple ones.
I started with white scraps from my cardmaking and crafting and created white pulp by shredding, soaking and then blending the paper.  I used paper napkins for colour.  They don't need to be soaked because they absorb water instantly.  I thoroughly blended navy blue and burgundy paper napkins and added that to the two different batches.  I added hand cut paper snippets to the blue batch - pink, purple, several different blues and some silver.  I added flower petals, grass and herbal tea to the pink batch.  Above you can see the sheets I made up when I got home with the remaining pulp. I will be teaching this same group a techniques class next week.  Looking forward to making different pulps for that class.
If you are a paper crafter I would highly recommend learning to make paper.  You will be able to use all your scraps to make paper you can use in your crafting!!  It is fun and environmentally friendly!!  If you have any questions about the process just ask!!

Therese

Sympathy card

You just never know when you will need a sympathy card and it is best to have them on hand but unfortunately I did not.  I made this card this morning for a friend who lost her father this week.  I used an image from my stash which was just the look I was wanting.  Layered it on a torn piece of coordinating cardstock and layered it onto decorative paper which I stippled around the edges with coordinating ink.  I added a coordinating and layered greeting to finish it off.  I love the softness of it!!
It is part of life but not easy to handle when those close to us pass on.  They are in a better place and we need to keep that in our hearts as we grieve.

Therese

Handmade paper

Made some paper yesterday!!  I had a class with some young people in the afternoon and made up the rest of the pulp when I got  home.  I started them off with white pulp - we made some white sheets and embossed a few.  Then I added green (blended paper napkins) to one vat so they could make some green sheets.  I added some green, red and gold confetti (snippets of paper, tissue, ribbon, etc) to another vat and added similar confetti to the green vat as well.  As you can see in the photo there are some pink bits in the green.  This is a result of some of the red bits letting colour and becoming pink in the process. It is a different look than I was expecting but that is the way it is with papermaking - you just never know exactly how all the additions will affect the overall sheets.  A fun process!!
Might be making Christmas cards with these sheets.  If you are wanting to challenge yourself to making Christmas cards over the year and would like a little inspiration I would like to recommend the Christmas Card Challenge  that my sister is hosting.  Here is the quick link to this year's challenges.  Here and here and here are the quick links to past challenges.

Therese

Thinking of you card

Friends need our support!! So today I created this card as a RAK for someone headed overseas!  She will be far from home though, I am sure her trip will be an adventure!!
I started with a kraft card base, layered on a double embossed background (so fun to make - check out instructions here) and some lace then added a mini collage element which I layered with two decorative label (SU) punchies in black.  Added my greeting which was punched with the punch (SU).
Came together fairly quickly!  I like having supplies ahead so that I don't have to do everything from scratch when I want a card!!

Therese

Felted die cut thanks

These felted snowflakes were in the little envelope of die cuts that my daughter sent me for Christmas!!  Love crafty gifts!!
On the left hand card I layered the snowflakes over a wax resist background, added some snowflake sequins and attached them to the card front using little white brads.  In keeping, with the simple look of this card I added a little circular vellum greeting which I just glued to the decorative paper!!  On the right hand card, I layered the felted snowflakes onto a brown embossed background (SU), added some string hangers which I glued to the back using double sided tape, added some sequins and attached them using brown mini brads. Thrifty Tip:  I coloured the domes of white ones with a brown sharpie - voila - brown ones!!  I added a colour printed greeting which I punched with the modern label punch (SU).

Therese

Reuse thank yous

More thank you cards!  On these three, I used the stickers and gift tags that our daughter used on our little gifts at Christmas.
The top card uses a background from my stash.  It was an experiment in using an acrylic block and ink pads to monoprint on cardstock.  It did not suit my purpose when I created it but today it was the perfect thing to layer this cute light bulb sticker on to!  I embossed the layer (SU), glued it to a coordinating card front and added a layered colour printed greeting (SU).
The left hand card has a white on white quilted background embossed with snowflakes (CB) which I found in my stash.  I added the little Santa gift tag, a layered colour printed greeting and mounted the whole thing to a coordinating card front.   The right hand card has an embossed background which I highlighted with glitter.  Once dry, I added a snowman gift tag and a layered colour printed greeting.
I have saved the tissue paper the gifts were wrapped in for making some serendipity backgrounds later on.

Therese

Thank you cards

 Christmas has come and gone and a New Year has begun!!  Wishing all of you every blessing in 2013!! I am in the process of creating cards to acknowledge our many blessings from the holiday season!!
These cards came together very serendipitously.  I started with the cool wax crayon/wallpaper backgrounds I found in my stash.  In my images stash (actually a plastic container which used to hold a set of SU stamps) I found a set of birds I had created using clear embossing powder as a resist with watercolour that worked well with them!!  I added a white layer to all the birds and found colour printed greetings which coordinated (another plastic container) and punched them out with the modern label punch (SU).  For each greeting I cut a coloured cardstock modern label punchie in two lengthwise and glued the two halves to the back of the punchie so just a bit of each would show on the top and bottom to give it a bit of pizzazz.  After layering my background to a coordinating card I attached the bird image and the greeting using 3D foam tape.
And so begins a new year of creating!!  Be sure to count your blessings this year!!

Therese

Merry Christmas!!!

Just a note to wish you all a Merry Christmas and every blessing in the New Year!!  Enjoy your friends and family and count your blessings!!

It was a trip down memory lane when we put up the tree this year as we unwrapped ornaments we have not seen for quite a few years because we have been travelling over Christmas.  They all fit on the tree!!

Therese

Large embossed Christmas cards

These are the other kits I prepared for my cardmaking session last night.  I created these for one of my Christmas card classes and still had some supplies so I prepped a few kits.  I used a variety of colours and embossing folders.  I decided to add a bit of colour to all of the ones I made by sponging very lightly over the embossed areas with ink.  I like the look!!  Before I headed for bed I decided to add a bit of bling to them as well so I added red glitter glue to the berries on the holly one, silver glitter glue to the snow flake one and several rhinestones to the tree one.  A bit of a different look from the clean and simple (CAS) look of the ones I created earlier.
I hope you have your cards ready to go and are in the home stretch in your preparations for Christmas.  I am ready other than some food preparation that will happen in the next few days.

Therese

Embossed with oval greeting

I created these greetings at the same time as the ones I used on these cards though they never made into the kits for that class.  So, yesterday, I invited my friend and her daughter over to make cards and decided to make up kits using them.  The image is from MudMaven Designs and I really love the little bird.  These were quick and easy cards to make - just a bit of colour on the greetings, layer onto the larger oval and add this element to the embossed card front using 3D foam tape.  I added a bit of glitter gel pen to greeting and its layer on this one.
We had a wonderful evening and they went home with some cards and goodies!  After they left I thought this was wonderful way to gift friends with cards because you get the gift of their company as well.

Therese

Santas with a vintage look

A few more cards created with supplies from my stash!!  I sponged the edges of my backgrounds, added seam binding and 1/8" ribbon, glued them to card fronts and added my layered colour printed Santa images.
I like how much of the background shows with the smaller images.

Therese

Santa with ruffled seam biniding

I needed just a few more Christmas cards so I went looking into my stash and found these backgrounds along with these Santa images and thought they would work well together.  I have been wanting to ruffle seam binding so decided to give it a try as this card needed a bit of texture.  I laid down a piece of double sided tape and started at the top by laying the seam binding onto the tape, making a little fold and repeating.  I really like how it turned out and it was easy to do!!  I added white 1/8" ribbon over it, tied it down with crochet cotton and added a little round greeting.  I sponged the background and added it to a black card front then layered my Santa image on red to coordinate with my seam binding.
I like the creative challenge of digging into my stash and finding supplies that I can combine to create new projects.

Therese

Iridescent Christmas RAK card

 Created this card as a RAK  - Random Act of Kindness - for a member of one of my groups.  It is always wonderful to receive a handmade card in the mail so I should really be doing this more often!!
The main element is Angelina Fiber impressed with a snowflake.  This was a fun activity with a group of friends - they had purchased a variety of colours and wanted to play.  I chose this bluish iridescent fiber and a snowflake stamp inked with blue.  Here is a tutorial if you are interested in giving it a try.  I added a silver snowflake confetti then layered it onto colour printed decorative paper which was stamped with snowflakes in blue and embellished with a blue gel pen on a blue card front and attached all the layers using a mini silver brad.  I added the torn vellum greeting afterwards - you get a very cool look when you layer the vellum over the angelina fiber - but I did have to peel up the edges of my decorative paper to tuck the ends of the greeting below it.  The soft blue of this card  seems to be just right to go with this greeting.
RAKs are such a wonderful way to spread love into the world!!

Therese

3D snowflake embellshment

 Here is a close up of the 3D snowflake embellishment I created for my Twisted Christmas cards.

I used:
1 - 1 1/4" punchie (SU)
1 - 1 3/8" punchie  (SU)
1 - snowflake punchie  (MS) (you could use confetti)
1 - sequin
1 - brad
6 - snowflake punchies

First, layer the snowflake punchie onto the 1 1/4" punchie, then that onto the 1 3/8" punchie.  Position the sequin in the center of the snowflake, make a hole and insert the brad.

Next, glue the snowflake punchies to the back of this  element positioning them with their centers aligned with the spaces between the branches of the snowflake.  Position the center of the punchies just to the outside of the edge of the layered element you just created.

This creates a nice 3D embellishment for adding to your cards, tags or back to back for making ornaments.

Enjoy!!

Therese

More Twisted Christmas cards

I created more Twisted Christmas cards.  You can see the others here. I played with the dimensions a bit so I could  put them into A2 invitation size envelopes.  You need to cut the length to 10 1/8" and you can leave the width at 4.25".  See the link above to find the tutorial on how to fold and score them.  I added decorative paper from my scraps so I just cut what I needed to cover the different areas of the cards.  These cards are cool because they have a pocket on the front and the inside.  I sealed off the front one before I added my dimensional  snowflake embellishment.  You can check out the

next post to see what I used and how I put them together!!  I added a colour printed greeting which I punched with the Window Punch (SU).
My Christmas cards went out today!!  I always write a family newsletter, print it on decorative letter head and include it in my cards to catch people up on what is going on at our house!!  I love getting news in my Christmas cards too!  Especially from those who we only write to once a year at Christmas!

Therese

Upcycled Heart ornaments

 I have been making little heart ornaments for my friends - just a little handmade something!!  The base of these hearts is a red sweater I bought years ago and wore all the time, especially at Christmas.  As it happens, it because a little stretched out and no longer looked great and fit well so it was removed from my closet to the give away pile.  When I was sorting through that pile I saw my sweater in a new light - crafts supply!!  So I brought into my craft room and cut it apart to so I could use it in my creations.  I first used it to die cut hearts for cards and went looking for it the other day to see if it would work for these little ornaments I had in mind.  One section had Heat N Bond already applied to it because it needed to be stabilized for die cutting earlier so I just ironed it to another piece of the same and  cut out hearts my hand.  I added a bead, round sequin and snowflake sequin to each side by sewing them together with crochet cotton.  I also added blanket stitch all they way around

using the same white crochet cotton.  I created the hanger using the two ends as I started my stitching at the top dip of the heart.
I am really liking the handmade look they have and that my red sweater will live on as tree ornaments in the homes of my friends and family!!
Christmas is about what is in your heart and not about what is under the tree!  There will be less under the tree this year because as a family we have decided to make a charitable donation instead of buying adult gifts. So we will be shopping for the grandchildren and sharing hand made goodies with our families!!
If the holidays are stressing you out, consider changing your mind about what needs to be done and changing any traditions that no longer work for you and your family.  You get to choose!!!

Therese

Christmas Tree tags

 Created these tags for the Tag Exchange with my card making group!  I die cut some decorative paper I created when I made this card using this cool tree die (SX) and then cut bases out of white cardstock for each one.  After gluing them together I sponged all the edges with green ink to blend the white to the green.  I die cut the stars and trunks separately, trimmed them neatly and glued them on afterwards.   I used hot glue to adhere the red sequins to the tree.  Had to be careful as the heat from the glue does interesting things to the plastic sequins.  To finish off the middles I added a little squirt of red glitter glue!  The perfect touch!

Here is the forest of trees that I created!  I did add a string to the top so it can be attached to a gift or used as an ornament!!
We cleaned on the weekend so we could start decorating the house for my get together tonight.  Yeah, the tree is up and has lights!!  Will add ornaments this afternoon and we will be ready to go!!  Looking forward to enjoying all of my Christmas decorations.  We are home this year for the holidays.

Therese

Twisted Greeting card - Christmas

 On one of my groups I am participating in a Christmas fancy fold card exchange so I went looking on the Splitcoast Stampers gallery for some inspiration!!  I found a link to this tutorial by Kelly Gettelfinger for this Twisted Greeting card off a blog so I decided to give it a try!!  It is really easy and looks pretty cool!!  You start with a 4.25" x 11" piece of cardstock, score it diagonally once, fold it over and then score and fold in half to get this angular card.  She also explains how to cut your decorative paper so it will fit your card. It works best with double sided decorative paper

but it is worth paying attention to how you cut it because it will only fit one way.  In my case, I cut it with the wrong side facing up the first time so ended up with the white back side of my paper facing forward so I had to redo it.  If you use double sided paper you can cover both the inside and outside with opposite papers which works quite nicely.  So I embossed my card instead but that was a bit tricky too because of where the folds are I had to be careful how I put the cardstock into the folder so it would fit in my Big Kick.  I embossed a few areas manually - with a mallet!!  Yogi does this all the time and it gives you lots of control as to how much of the folder you want to use or the ability to do just one element on a folder!!  I applied white ink to the embossing afterwards.  I created focal elements using die cuts, double sided tape, glitter and punchies!  This card has a little pocket on the front and on the inside.  I sealed up the front one before I applied my embellishments and colour printed greeting and added a bit of "something" in the inside one!!  Unfortunately, they do not fit in an A2 envelope but I expect playing with the length of the paper you use would fix that.  Once I have experimented I will add any new info to the end of this post and may show you all how to create this embellishment.

Therese

Sticky Note books - stocking stuffers

I have designed some new sticky note books!!  You can see previous versions here and here and here! These feature decorative paper and have elastic closures with chipboard accents!!  They hold a full pad of 3"x 3" sticky notes and can be refilled once the pad is finished.  They will make a wonderful little gift or stocking stuffer for the upcoming holiday season!  Everyone can use one of these!!
I started with a 3" x 11" piece of heavyweight decorative paper and scored folds for a doubled up front cover, 3/8" spine and a reinforced back. I have added layers on the front and back to stiffen up these areas and added clear tape on the inside of the spine to reinforce it. I sewed on the elastics and then added chipboard spacers to each side before I glued on the colour coordinated chipboard circle accents!
These are great little gifts!  Great as hostess gifts, stocking stuffers and little "on hand" gifts for when you just want to give a little something!!

Therese

Masculine Birthday card

Love how this card worked out!  It is a birthday card for my Dad who is 80+.  I am grateful that he and Mom still live independantly in their own house and are still active.  My Dad was a wood worker/carpenter most of his life so I used a thin piece of veneer that my DH gave me earlier this year for the central element.  I backed the veneer with label before cutting it with the Hanging Sign die (SX TH) using just the sign part.  I stamped the greeting with dark brown ink and sponged the edges as well.  I cut the hanger part of this die using silver foil cardstock.  To give it the look of old metal, I sanded it, added dark brown permanent chalk ink and then dabbed on black sharpie which I rubbed in before it dried which resulted in giving it a bit of a coppery tinge.  I added the hanger to the card front using 3D foam tape and tied on the sign using cotton thread.  I added a piece of 3D foam tape to the back of the sign as well to keep it from flipping over when the card is opened.  I like the way the elements work with the decorative paper.
I like that the wood has a connection to several generations.  I am so fortunate because my DH, knowing that I use all sort of "stuff" in my art, often comes to me with items he thinks I might be able to use!!  As soon as he presented me with several of these thin pieces of wood he had leftover from his night light project I knew I would be using one of them to make a card for my Dad.  As they were born, DH has made wonderful night lights for all of our grandchildren with interchangeable front panels which have been scrolled with detailed scenes.
So I will be sending off my card this week with all the best wishes I can pack into it so it will arrive in time for for his special day!!  Be grateful if you live close enough to your family members to actually hug them on their special days!

Therese

Birthday Scrapbook Card

A friend of ours is turning forty and his family is having a  surprise party for him!!  I decided to make him a card that is also a bit of a scrapbook.
This was a fun project!! I created it using two pieces of cardstock - one 4.25" x 11" (folded at 2 7/8")  and the other 4.25" x 10.75"(folded at 4.5").  I set them into each other and bound them on the fold with cotton thread to make the book.  I colour printed 4" letters with a variety of textures and colours which I cut out and mounted to my pages - J on page one, O on page 3, H on page 5 and N on page 7.  I sponged the edges of all the pages, and added some stippling with a stamp as well.  I created and colour printed some 3D embellishments, added some doodling and a few details of the event leaving room for photos and journaling on several of the pages.  I added my greetings on the back!!  Also created a custom envelope using brown wrapping paper and some cool letter packing tape to house my card/scrapbook.
Looking forward to the celebration and wishing him the very best!!

Therese

Christmas cards - star embellishments

Gotta love finding cool embellishments for card making for a bargain!!  These stars were formally part of a Christmas garland which I cut apart to create individual elements for cards!!  Always worth keeping your eyes open and seeing the possibilities for the parts!!
I colour printed the greetings onto letter sized card stock, cut them into quarter sheet layers and embossed them.  I used a subtle embossing folder - Swiss Dots - to keep the greeting legible.  I added ribbon into a point of the star and attached both ends with double sided tape to the top of the embossed layer.  To finish off this layer I covered up the ends with a strip of decorative paper which was cut on the bottom edge with decorative scissors.  I added another strip to the bottom edge.

Therese

Christmas card - winter scenes

These cards feature different winter scenes which I colour printed from images off of a Vintage Holiday CD.  You could easily use old Christmas cards cut with a die or circle cutter instead.  They are layered onto a scalloped circle die cut (Nestibilities) which is embellished with a clear glitter gel pen called StarDust by Sakura.  Love being able to add just glitter with no colour!!  This element is layered over the card front which features a length of seam binding with a single knot bow, a colour printed background and a coordinating card.

Therese

Christmas cards - white on white

I love the elegance of white on white embossed cards!!!  For this card I embossed a swirly oval embossing folder onto shimmer paper and added a soft blue oval using a stencil, blue dye ink pad and a sponge.  Love the way it worked out!!  Added a length of white seam binding, a blue confetti snowflake with a white mini brad, an embossed little tree die cut (SX - movers and shapers) and a colour printed punchie greeting (punch - SU)!!
I hand cut the stencil I used here but have subsequently discovered that the largest oval Nestibilties die is the same size and does the work in no time!!  It is fun creating your own stencils for using with your stamps and embossing folders!!
Want some white on white inspiration??  Check out Sue's Nelson's gallery Heart Prints or search Splitcoast Stampers for white Christmas cards.

Therese

Christmas cards - trees

I was invited to make cards with a new group of women last night. It is always fun to meet new people and share card making with them.  I did not know if any of them had card making experience so I prepped kits accordingly!!  Turns out that only a few had made cards before but all were up to the creative challenge of making cards so we had a fun night.
We started with this card which features these cool little Christmas trees which is a digital stamp from The Alley Way Stamps.  Check them out - they have cool images, a design team and challenges!!  I cut and pasted an extra one into this image to give the card better balance.  I laser printed the images which allows them to be coloured with any medium - watercolour which is what I used, colour pencils, chalk, markers, etc.   The image is layered onto coordinating cardstock and adhered to the card front using 3D foam tape.  For the card front, I added a length of seam binding to the decorative paper layer, tied an extra piece to the front to simulate a bow and glued this layer to the card.   We added a bit of glitter with glitter gel pens but we could easily have used glitter glue instead.
A versatile sketch which allows you to create different looks by simply changing up the decorative paper.  So you can make all your cards the same and not have them all look identical.  Perfect if you are looking to create lots of cards in a short amount of time!!
I have almost as many cards as I need now!  Even if you have not yet started, don't panic.  With this sketch all you need is some decorative paper, some coordinating cardstock and ribbon!!  Quick and easy!!

Therese

Double Dutch Fold card - Tropical Paradise

I created this card for a "Tropical Paradise" Double Dutch fancy fold card swap in one of my groups.  I really enjoyed the process of creating a single card because I took the time to cut the palm trees by hand and embellished them with watercolour, added multiple die cuts to the sky, stamped the sand with shells and added a layered embellished greeting!!  You can check out Splitcoast Stampers for the instructions for this fancy fold.
It was refreshing to be creating something other that Christmas cards and took the better part of an enjoyable afternoon.

It is off to my partner tomorrow!!

Therese

Credit card sleeves

Just created these cool credit card sleeves!!
I used heavy weight decorative paper for the main body, lined the insides with sticky backed foil duct tape and used a few more pieces on the outside edges to make them durable.  I used a round punch, half way over the edge, to make the little finger divot doing the sides one at a time before I taped the edges together.
These covers will protect my cards - debit and credit - that have a chip (RFID - radio frequency identification) in them from being scanned by accident.
You can see a documentary video here about how easily your information can be obtained without your knowledge.    Of course, there are companies out there selling protective card sleeves for this purpose but I thought it would be fun to make my own and make them personal!! Might consider adding some alcohol inks and/or permanent marker doodles to these as well.

Therese