Air Mail thank you card

I had paired this image with an ivory card on my desk thinking they would be components of a card down the line.  I worked on a few colour combinations and when I found this background (plastic wrap and watercolour) I decided the card needed to be darker so instead of finding a different cardstock I simply sponged the edges of the ivory card until it was the colour I wanted.  I added a dark red layer beneath the image and the background.  I liked the yellow organza ribbon which I added to the background before assembling all the pieces.  I tied on an extra short piece to simulate a bow.  The image just got a little bit of gray watercolour on the dove and some red on the letter (Arthur's Clipart) before being adhered to the red layer and then to the card front.  I added a laser printed punched (SU) greeting which I sponged with the same colour as the card front to tone down the ivory.  Adhered the greeting with 3D foam tape.  Another card for my stash!

Therese

Butterfly thank you card

Another card made with supplies that have been accumulating on my desk.  I love the decorative paper  - white embossing on white cardsotck of a IO flourish background which was then watercoloured with yellow's and blues!!  I trimmed it and mounted it to a black card front. I had set aside the butterfly image (CLKER) a while back because I thought it worked so well with the background.  I watercoloured it and when it was dry I layered it with a green cardstock oval and mounted it to my decorative paper.  The little fussy cut scroll greeting (CLKER) was just the perfect thing to finish off this card.  I watercoloured it slightly to just tone down the white and added it using 3D foam tape.

Therese

Collaged Thank you card

I made up a few thank you cards to get out in the mail this coming week.  This one started with a dark brown card front.  I had saved this background from a package of Prima embellishments because it was so cool - lacy and stitched!!  I have been saving up little bit to add to this as I have been working in my craft room.  I added some coloured vintage ad transparencies, a plaid tag, some seam binding, a paper button, an oval vintage image and a few words on transparency as well.  The transparency was laser printed with images from Gaby Braun in an all over pattern, sanded on the back and then painted with diluted acrylic paint to age them. They have been in my stash for quite a while.  The tag was part of an exchange a few years ago and the oval vintage image was printed for some other project and I found it in my stash as well.  The butterfly was part of a thrift store find - a bunch of butterflies - stickers and embellisments.  The paper button was laser printed, coloured and them tied with a string before being added to the layout.  Really happy with how it worked out.

Therese

Green and pink baby cards for a baby gift

 I made these for a new mom expecting a baby any day.  Things get busy once you bring the baby home and it is nice to have cards on hand to acknowledge gifts and thoughtful things that those around you do to help out.    These are 3.5" x 6.25" and fit in a #8 envelope which I bought a while back for another purpose.  I cut two out of an 8.5" x 11" piece of white cardstock.  The joint is under the pink border.

I embossed all of the fronts with the swiss dot embossing folder (CB), added green to the bottom of the fronts using a small piece of regular tape.  I added a full length of double sided tape over the joint and positioned the large pink scalloped border (SX) over that which holds all the pieces together and keeps the inside neat and tidy.  I used two images  - the two little owls and the pink rattle - from Pixabay which I colour printed on white, cut them apart then layered them in a coordinating colour before adding them to my card fronts.  I made almost a dozen of these and changed up the layout and the orientation to give the cards a bit of a variety!!  After they were finished, I thought they needed a "bit of something" so I added some dots and dashes on the pink scallops with a white gel pen.  That was better!!  I hope she enjoys them and finds them useful!!

Therese

Green and pink baby card

This baby card is for a couple expecting a baby girl in May.  We are not sure about the due date but I thought it would be better to be prepared rather than not.  Another modified kit from this class!! The image buggy is from WP Clipart. I laser printed it, die cut it with an oval Nesitbilities and then watercoloured it to coordinate with my background paper.  I added a pink oval slightly larger and punched my greeting layer out of it before adhering them together.  Works great and means that they always coordinate perfectly!!  I glued my decorative paper to the front of my pink card.  I embossed (SU) the light green label (SX) which I had trimmed, added a white gros grain ribbon across the center section gluing the ends to the back using double sided tape.  I glued this element to the upper portion of my card and added the oval focal element over it using 3D foam tape. I adhered the little laser printed greeting punchie (SU - word window) over the pink punchie (SU- modern label) and mounted it to the front of my card using 3D foam tape.  I love the pink and green combination!!!
Therese

A very floral anniversary card

I always like to include hearts on my anniversary cards and I thought this cute heart flower image from Black Berry Jelly would do the job nicely!! I used a card kit from this class and made a few modifications.   I trimmed the sides off the label and embossed it with a swirl embossing folder (CB) then added a short piece of white gros grain across the center of it adhering the ends to the back using double sided tape.  The background is hand drawn.  I first made some round flower circles with watercolour crayons on white cardstock in several colours, added yellow in their centers and added green leaves in between to fill in.   I used a wet paintbrush to spread the colour.  Once it was dry, I used a fine tip Sharpie and added definition to the flowers and centers.  I added some swirls and some dots in between to fill in the design.  Really fun to do and always effective!!  Check out my tutorial here.  I glued this background to a pink card and then adhered the label to the top portion of it.  I watercoloured the laser printed image which I had cut with oval Nestibilities and then layered it over one just a bit bigger in blue.  I punched the layer for my greeting out of the oval before gluing them together which gives me a perfectly coordinated layer.  I used 3D foam tape to adhere my oval focal element to my card front over the ribbon.  I layered the greeting punchie (Su_) Word Window) onto the Modern Label punchie (SU) and adhered it to my card front using 3D foam tape.

Therese

Mother's day cards using card kits

 I decided to use card kits from my last class to make these cards.  I printed new coordinating greetings to make them all Mother's Day cards.  The backgrounds are wax resist and watercolour which was stamped afterwards using a flourish stamp then die cut.  

I stippled (SU) all the card fronts, added ribbons which I overlaid with layered circular focal elements and punched greetings below.  The red poppies are from the Old Design Shop, the hibiscus from CLKER and the little bird is from TLC and the first two were colour printed and the last one was watercoloured.  These are for my Mom and both of my daughters!!

Therese

Cupcake birthday card

A birthday card for a little girl who is turning 6!!  I used kits from this class and made a few modifications.  I trimmed the sides off of the label (SX) and used white gros grain ribbon across the middle instead. I simply used double sided tape to adhere the ends to the back of the label. I embossed it with a large dots embossing folder (SU) before adding the ribbon.  I adhered the funky background to a purple card front and then added the label with the ribbon.  I watercoloured the cupcake image (Melonheadz) which I had laser printed and cut with an oval Nestibilities.  I layered it onto a blue oval die cut just a little larger.  I did punch the layer (SU- Modern Label) for my greeting out of the blue oval before I glued them together which ensures they coordinate perfectly.  I used 3D foam tape to adhere my oval focal element over the ribbon on my card front and then glued my little greeting (SU - Word Window) to the punchie and did the same with it.  I added shimmery paint to the pink icing which adds just a bit of sparkle to this cute card.
Therese

Cards for my Canadian Exchange

A couple more cards from the kits from this class in March. You can see here that I placed my oval focal element horizontally on my label instead of vertically.  Does give the card a bit of a different feel.  I glued the decorative papers to the card fronts and watercoloured my images which were laser printed and die cut with oval Nestibilities.  The little marching birds are from Torico and the fun Happy Birthday greeting is from StampinFairy.   I layered the images onto slightly larger ovals from coordinating cardstock.  The labels (SX) were also die cut from coordinating cardstock and embossed with an appropriate themed embossing folder.  I punched holes in the ends and threaded in quarter inch ribbon adhering the ends on the back with double sided tape.  I tied a short piece to it to simulate a bow.  I glued the layers of my focal elements and adhered them over the ribbons using 3D foam tape.
The link to the StampinFairy blog no longer works.  To everything there is a season and it seems that this person has moved on!

Therese

Another Thinking of you card

I made this card for the daughter of my friend. They are both cardmakers and she had surgery last week so I wanted to send her card with a springy feel!!  I thought this little umbrella (Broken Box Stock) would be perfect!!  I laser printed it, cut it using Nestibilities - Ovals and then watercoloured it.  I layered it over a blue oval and before I glued them together I punched the backer for my greeting (SU - Modern Label) out of the middle of the oval.  Doing it this way ensures that the layers always coordinate.
I used an alcohol ink/glossy paper background from my stash which I created when I was playing with markers a while back.  It was a bit sparse around the edges so I used a random background stamp to add a bit of colour to the edges and then stamped bubbles using a blue green ink all over the background.  I trimmed it to 4" x 5.25" and layered it onto a turquoise card front.  I cut a label (SX) from yellow cardstock, trimmed the sides off and then embossed it with a bubbles embossing folder.  I added a piece of white gros grain ribbon across the middle using double sided tape to adhere the ends to the back of the layer.  I adhered this piece to the top section of my card over my background.  I adhered my oval focal element over the ribbon using 3D foam tape.  I adhered the laser printed greeting (SU - Word Window) over the blue label punchie and adhered it to my card front just to the right and below my focal element.  This sketch is a slight modification from these kits which I created for my last card class in March.
I hope she is feeling better and that all went well with the surgery!

Therese

Thinking of you card for a cardmaking friend

A card for a friend/couple whose daughter had surgery last week.  Just want them to know that I am thinking of them!!
I had some kits sitting on my work table from my last cardmaking class at the end of March so I decided to see if I could change them up to suit the occasions I needed cards for in the next few weeks.
This card features a wax resist and watercolour background die cut into a large label shape with the TH die.  It was stamped with a flourish background in green ink as well to add some texture and interest.  I added a ribbon on the top portion and used double sided tape to adhere the ends to the back of the die cut.  I tied a short piece to the left hand side using one single knot which nicely simulates a bow.  I stippled (SU) the green card front with green ink and then adhered the label nicely centered on the card.  I watercoloured the laser printed image (Arthurs Clipart) which was die cut with Nestibilities - Classic Rounds and layered it onto a circle of green cardstock.  I used 3D foam tape to adhere this focal element to my card front over the ribbon.  I sponged the edges of my laser printed punched greeting (SU- Decorative Label) with a bit of green ink and adhered it below my focal element also using 3D foam tape.  Fun to use different images and ribbons on these cards!!

Therese

A blingy card for a special girl!

My oldest granddaughter is having a birthday and she will be celebrating with her friends and family with a Minecraft party!!  I know she loves Minecraft but I decided to celebrate her artsy side and made her a blingy purple card for her birthday!!!  I started with a purple card, added an embossed resist flourish (IO) background (white embossing powder and watercolour) and then layered on two die cut scallop borders which I blinged up with purple rhinestones and clear glitter gel pen dots.  I trimmed the fairy image (Graphics Fairy) using an oval Nestibilities, hand cut a purple oval with scallop decorative scissors to layer below it and added another white oval below that one to nicely frame the image.  I layered a laser printed oval greeting punchie (SU) over a scalloped oval (SU) in the same colour as I used on the focal element and added two tiny rhinestones the same colour as the larger ones I used on the scalloped borders.  Thrifty Tip: I actually punched it from the center of the fairy oval to ensure it was the same colour,  I added a length of white vintage seam binding over the center portion of the card and adhered both ends to the inside of the card using double sided tape.  I adhered the fairy image over it using 3D foam tape and then adhered the layered greeting just below it on the right.  I tied on another short piece of seam binding using a single knot to simulate a bow!!  I did add some glitter gel pen dots to the scallops on the fairy oval just to finish off the bling properly!!  I am sure she will love it!!

Therese

A birthday card for DH!

I always try to make DH cards special!! He loves music and coffee so I try to incorporate those two themes into them if I can. This year, I started with a sheet of music from a choral book which was water damaged.  It was already crinkly so I ripped the page into strips and wove them back together to create my background.  I stamped the weaving with a mosaic background stamp which I created using rubber cut offs (when I mounted stamps).  I stamped in two different brown colours and then washed over them with water to spread the colour a bit.  Very happy with how that worked out.
Next, I decided to use a feather sticker from the above sheet which I bought at DollarTree.  The beautifully detailed stickers are made of some sort of soft foamy material and take colour very well.  I used markers to colour my feather and added a bit of orange using a Sharpie marker!!  I adhered the sticker to a piece of acetate which was printed with "Happy Birthday" and then trimmed around it.  The printing was a bit too prominent so I just scraped through the ones that were visible which sort of distressed them and that was much better.  Next I stitched the feather element to a coffee themed tissue paper leaving "cafe" showing in several places.  I used white thread but once I was finished I thought it would have been better to use darker thread so I just ran a marker over it and that was enough to dye the thread.  I simply wiped the spare ink from acetate with a cloth!!  I ripped off the extra tissue paper to finish off this element.  Once I laid the feather element over the background I realized that I would have to create an over sized card to get all my elements on the card.  I created a dark brown card, stamped the outside front edges using cream craft ink and the same handmade mosaic stamp I used on the back ground and then rubbed in a bit of gold mica powder to create an interesting border for my card.  I glued my background to my card front.  I used a flag ended laser printed greeting over my acetate adhering it with double sided tape.  I layered a burnt orange strip which was also flag ended below the feather element and adhered it to the back using double sided tape below the greeting so it would not show.  I trimmed all the ends and then adhered this whole element over the woven background using double sided tape behind the feather and the orange strip.  I added a brown brad through all the layers to the right of the greeting.  Very happy with how this card worked out.  Just need to add a gift card and it will be ready to go!!

Therese

Foiled background and die cut acetate dragonfly!

We are hosting a Greek Feast this week and I wanted a beautiful card to give to our chef!  She offered her services for this feast to a fundraiser which was hosted earlier this year and we have just scheduled this culinary feast for this week!! She is a great cook so we know we are in for a treat.  We have invited a few friends  - it will be a fun evening!!
I created the pieces I used in this background years ago for an ATC activity.  The aluminum foil tape was adhered to strips of lightweight cardstock, coloured using alcohol inks and embossed with a script embossing folder!!    I cut the strips into pieces and started creating a mosaic by gluing the pieces to a black layer leaving a thin border all the way around.  I really like the look of it with the blues and greens all mixed together.  I chose this die cut "thanks" greeting which I created a while back and rounded the corners.  I was looking for a really nice 3D piece to use as an focal element.  I found this dragonfly die cut (SX) in my butterfly collection.  Its colours worked so well and it was just the right size to work with the greeting as well.  I used double sided tape to glue its body to the embossed background and added two tiny black brads for its eyes.  I added the greeting with double sided tape as well and then glued this large element to the front of a blue card.  I am really loving the 3D effect of this card.  The acetate dragonfly die cut was coloured with transparent acrylic paint which I created for a project a while back. Actually, way back in 2010, for a class I was teaching at the time at a local school!!  Time flies!!

Therese

Die cut Thanks!

I have been busy with other activities and am just back to working on cards so I decided to play a little before getting to the projects I needed for this week.  These two cards used some decorative paper (saran wrap and watercolour) I had sitting in my paper stash which I used for the last two cards for my January cardmaking session.  I laid the two pieces on top of each other and cut them with a pair of wavy scissors and then glued them back together using regular tape on the back matching the blue with the yellow.  I cut the two pieces in two, again with the wavy scissors, and swapped pieces so I would have the same colours in opposite corners.  I trimmed the bottom edges and found these greetings in my stash which very neatly fit in between.  They were die cut with an alphabet die set in the white and then backed with black paper.  In this case, it would not have been necessary to back them in black but they were already all glued together so I used them as they were.  I punched flowers out of the decorative paper and added coloured rhinestones in their centers once the pieces were glued in place on the black layer.  I glued the black layers to my blue and yellow card fronts.  Thinking they needed just a bit of something I added dots and dashes along the wavy edges with a fine tip black Sharpie!  That was better!!  Another two cards for my stash and a little stash busting at the same time!!

Therese

A few cards that deviated from the sketch!!

  I created both of these cards while I was in the process of making this set of birthday cards.  Needless to say, I got a little carried away and changed up the design a bit and they no longer belonged to the set I was creating.  

On the left, I added a strip of decorative paper instead of the greeting (back side of the dots paper), layered on a strip of green and mounted my layered colour printed greeting over those elements.  On the left I added this watercoloured fussy cut cat and fish image with 3D foam tape after I had sewn the decorative paper to the orange layer and adhered it to my white card front.  This card is larger than A2 to accommodate the cat image.  

Two cards that I will be adding to my card stash!!

Therese

Quick and easy birthday cards

I made these cards for a young mother who just recently had a baby!!  I know that babies require a lot of time and attention which often leads a person with a to do list that is overwhelming.  I hope these few cards will be a resource she can use for herself when she has occasions to celebrate with her family members or friends.  If not, they can be packaged to create a quick and easy gift for any occasion!!

These cards all combine a 4" x 4" square of decorative paper cut in two, an A2 card front that coordinates with the paper and a 4" x 1.25" colour printed greeting -  I made them for birthdays but they could have been a variety of greetings.    I had planned to punch the paper before creating the cards which would have given me an accent but I was distracted and forgot to do that on quite a few of the cards.  I did add blue foil below the decorative paper on the blue card which made a very nice accent on that one. I also added faux stitching or dots on the greeting in a coordinating colour. I could just as easily have used a push pin to pierce a line of holes all the way around.  So many more options!
It was a quick and easy project which I hope she will be able to use!

Therese

Snowman cards!

A few snowman Christmas cards!!  I prepped these kits for my cardmaking class last week and a couple of the girls made one.  Today,  I decided to make up the kits that were left over and add them to my Christmas card stash!!  I made up these six and am also adding the sample I made up for class for a total of 7!!  That bring my Christmas cards to 21 so far this year!!  

The background for these cards was some metallic foil snowflake gift wrap.  I added the embossed white cardstock label with the ribbon embellishment to which I attached with 3D foam my watercoloured and layered snowmen!!   The snowman on the right is from Anne's Card 4U and the one on the left is from  Jelly Park Challenges blog.  

I am happy to be keeping up with my goal of making cards ahead for Christmas!!  It helps that I make a few kits for my classes!!

Therese

Three fabric postcards with little birds

After taking a look at my list I discovered that I had two fabric postcards due in early April!!  They needed to be on their way very soon!!!  So I dug out some fabric scraps and created three backgrounds.  In my internet search I had found some birds made with a half of a circle so decided I would make several of them to add to my backgrounds.  I stitched some coordinating yellow fabric to a substrate then cut out three half circles.  I kept digging to find several scraps that I could cut into smaller half circles to create the wings on my birds.  I used fusible webbing to adhere the wings to the bird's bodies and then the same to adhere the bodies to my backgrounds.  I used a scrap of my binding material for this postcard to create tails for my birds.  I tucked the tails just below the bodies and then hand stitched all the way around the wings and the bodies with a tight blanket stitch to have them properly stitching in place.  I added a black sequin secured with a large french knot to create an eye for each of them.  A bit of black fiber is what I used to hand stitch their legs and feet.  At this point, I remembered that I should have sewn my backgrounds to the batting BEFORE stitching on my birds but knowing that it was important I made it work by machine stitching all the way around the bird in a variety of lines.   I was careful to overlap the legs so they would not look like they had been harmed in the stitching process.  I prepared several backers starting with white fabric and adding some pellon to stiffen them up.  I did not have enough for my last one so I usedt a layer of heavy fabric which worked reasonably well.  I stitched the backers with a waves or a grid design before I fused them to the back of my postcard fronts.  I trimmed all the edges to neaten them up.  On the top postcard I incorporated a green nubby fiber in my blanket stitch to finish off the edge. I like the look and it would be fun to incorporate some funky fibers such as eyelash, fuzzy and maybe several fine ones braided together to give them more body.

I did vary their positions on the background - this one is look right instead of left.  You can better see the machine stitching I did on the background on this one.  I added pink bias tape trim to finish off the edges of this postcard.  

This one is looking right and closer to earth!!  I added some blue fiber to the edge of this one using one of the stretch stitches on my sewing machine.   It worked quite well though I may have needed a more substantial fiber to mask the white innards of the postcard. Lesson learned!!  

So two of these will be off to the members of my Fabric Postcard list  which are having birthdays in early April!!  Lots of fun making these postcards but I will be back to paper cards this week in preparation for my next cardmaking class.  

Happy Creating!!

Therese

March Cardmaking - Another label with oval images

For our third card I decided to use yet another label (SX) and layered on oval images!!  For these cards we started by gluing our decorative paper to our card fronts.  We then coloured our images and layered them onto an oval of cardstock (Nestibilities) in a colour that coordinated with our backgrounds.  We punched holes on the two ends our our embossed label die cuts and inserted the ends of our ribbon and held them in place on the back with double sided tape. The short section we trimmed off was tied using a single knot to the piece we had just added to our labels to simulate a bow.

Once the labels were glued to our card fronts we added our oval focal elements overlapping the ribbon using 3D foam tape.

The tulips are from WP clipart and the little snowman is from Torico - Birdie Brown.  I have started making at least a few Christmas card kits for each class which allows those who have enough of everything else to make a Christmas one for later this year.
I will be making up the extras for my Christmas card stash!!

Therese

March Cardmaking - little flower embellishments with a bit of bling

 For my second card I created some flower embellishments by adding rhinestones to aqua diecut embossed cardstock confetti!!  I chose the background paper to work well with the embellishments I had created and added a  large double punched border strip over the decorative paper.  I did add a ribbon between the embellishments and the layer which is harder to see on the bottom card.  I used the SU eyelet punch on the top white one and the eyelet punch from MS on the bottom one.  The girls had a good time with their cards!  Some decided not to use all of the embellishments on their cards so others decided to use their extras in an all over pattern.

 I love teaching for that exact reason - others provided with the very same supplies will always come up with creative ways of using them differently!!
I provided a variety of greetings and layers for adding to the cards.

Therese

March Cardmaking - resist decorative paper and fun images

 For this month's card making class I started by prepping kits that featured these fun labels cut with the Tim Holtz - Ornamental die.  I used decorative paper which I created a while back using ivory cardstock, clear wax and a diamond texture plate.  After laying the cardstock over the texture plate I rubbed clear wax over the surface and then applied a green colour wash.  Once they were dry, I laid them coloured side down over an absorbent paper surface and used an iron to remove the wax.  I then over stamped the resist pattern using a flourish stamp and olive green ink.  I found that both ivory and pea green cardstock worked well for my cards.  I added some stippling using green ink - a soft green for the ivory and a darker one for the green - around the edges of my card fronts to add a bit of texture.  I added the ribbon across the upper portion of the label adhering both ends to the back using double sided tape and then mounted this element to my card fronts. To change things up a bit I chose to colour print my digital images onto ivory cardstock and then cut them out with my circle Nestibilities.  Once my images were watercoloured I layered them onto green and used 3D foam tape to adhere them to my card fronts overlapping the ribbon.  I tied a short piece of ribbon with a single knot to the length I had already put on to simulate a bow.  I punched out the coordinating colour printed greetings, watercoloured their edges a bit and then adhered them below the focal element.  The pansy is by Anne's "Cards 4U" and the little birdies are from Birdie Brown's.  It is always fun to create fun decorative paper to use in your cardmaking!!

Therese

Paper Beads that can be customized

I have been wanting some slim beads for adding to my projects so I decided to make some paper ones that would fit the bill.  As I was prepping for this project I had white 24 lb paper scraps sitting around from another project that my grand daughter was working on so I decided that it might be best to use those scraps to create the beads which would allow me embellish them later to coordinate with my projects!  I used a piece of wire to wrap my beads around so that the hole would be a good size and I used short pieces of paper (2" x 3/4")  to make the beads not too bulky.  I just applied a layer of glue to one side of the paper leaving some space at one end to start the bead wrapping.  I made sure that the far end was well glued down to the rest of the bead as I finished it off.  I am happy with these!!  I will be able to embellish them with paint, markers or decorative paper depending on what works for my project.  I will likely give them a final coat of clear sealer before I use them.
I Love Paper Beads has a few paper bead making resources so you can check them out if you have never made paper beads before.
Will let you know where these end up as time goes on!!

Therese

A birdie fabric postcard!!

I worked on this fabric postcard for one of the girls on the Birthday list yesterday and managed to get it finished this morning.  I needs to be on its way to arrive in time for her birthday!!!  I stitched together three pieces of fabric - a blue tone, a green tone and a brown tone to simulate a landscape.  I added some batting, a white backing and then stitched a grid over the whole of it in white thread.  I have seen some of these little birds on line both in the fabric and paper world so I thought I would try to make one.  The body is just over half a circle in dark blue and I added a double wing in red and orange.  The tail feathers are red swiss dot and the beak, a triangle of yellow.  I added fusible webbing to the back of all the pieces and layered them as I went. Orange wing to red wing, then the wing to the bird, then the beak and the tail feathers where they needed to be and then the bird to the postcard front.  Once they were in position I used black thread and a small zigzag to stitch them into place.  I added two legs using the same zigzag stitch.  I used straight stitch for the beak and added a yellow sequin with a black bead for its eye.  Love the way it turned out!  I added some polyester trim in dark brown around the edge which very nicely framed the whole thing!!  It is off to my partner in today's mail!!

Therese

Crazy Quilted Felted Wool Mat

I finished my felted wool mat today!!!  It has taken more than a week to get all the stitching done and the backing stitched on.  It is approximately 12" square.  Due the the unstable nature of my substrate and the tension of my stitching it has shrunk some since I stitched on all the pieces.  You can check it out here. Unfortunately, it is now a bit smaller than the requirements of the swap but not sufficiently to be unacceptable so it will be headed to the swap hostess later today.  UPDATE:  Mailing is prohibitive so have dropped out of the swap and will be keeping my wool mat for the time being.  

It was recommended by the swap hostess to use larger thread due to the loft of the felted wool so I dug through my threads and culled the larger ones into my stitching basket.  I also collected my seed and Ebeads boxes along with a bag full of sequins to use as embellishments.  Along the way I decided to incorporate a flower and leaf  and butterfly die cut as well.  I started by adding stitching to all of the butt joints starting by doing the five edges of the center piece and then continuing to follow the sequence in which the pieces were stitched onto the substrate.  I wanted to expand my stitch vocabulary so I consulted my stitch book - Stitch - step by step - Maggi Gordon and Ellie Vance regularly.  I would pick a colour of thread, find a stitch and do one joint.  I just kept going trying new stitches and sometimes inventing some because I did not remember how to do them correctly.  This process took several days.  Generally, I would remove the basting stitches as I went along.  There were only a few sections on the edges where I left the basting because the pieces needed more support.  

Once all the joints had been stitched down to the substrate I started adding the decorative stitching and embellishments to the surface.  I started by adding french knots in yellow in the center section to create a reasonably level area that could be used to display a decorative object or candle.  I then added stitching and embellishments to the surrounding pieces and so on until the whole surface had  been decorated.  Again, I removed the basting stitches as I went. 

I took several close up shots of the details of the stitching and little bits I have added.  I used seed beads in the center of my sequins to keep them in place and used coordinating thread to keep it as invisible as possible.  I created flowers and added several butterflies - a sequin, a die cut and a plastic embellishment.   I cut a square of black fabric for the backing, turned over the edges and used the blanket stitch to tie them together.  Now, that I take another look, it would seem that I have done that stitch backwards as well. I believe the line should be on the outside of the piece!!  It was a totally fun experience and I hope my swap partner will enjoy using this wool mat!!  I am looking forward to the one I will receive in return.    Therese

Women & lacy embossed metal on colour printed backgrounds

A couple more cards with these cool colour printed backgrounds on book pages!!  You can click here to see the other ones I created for guys!
I decided to feature yet more embossed metal on these cards so this time I cut a strip from a metal foil pan and used a scallop Thinlits die (SU) to cut the edge and the coordinating embossing folder (SU) to emboss the design.  I went through my stash of images and found these stamped images of 1930 women and they worked perfectly with the strong background and the lacy border.  

I mounted the backgrounds to the blue card fronts - I left the bottom one whole and cut the top one into four pieces before I glued it into place.  Once I started working with my pieces I decided that the lacy border was a bit too bright so coloured the whole surface with a black permanent marker and then sanded it.  I like the way the recesses are darker and the embossed areas have a bit of a satin finish from the sanding. I used an eyelet punch (SU) to create a subtle blue border and mounted that to the back of my metal border.  I sponged the cardstock edge just a bit to tone it down and then trimmed it to fit on my cards.  I added vintage gray seam binding to both elements and used double sided tape to adhere them to the fronts of my cards.  I softly watercoloured the edges of my images after I cut them into circles with my Nestibilities.  I cut larger circles from black cardstock and mounted my images to them.  I adhered the images to my cards using 3D foam tape.  I added a layered laser printed greeting to the portrait card.  I also tied a short length of seam binding to each of the ones on my cards to simulate a bow!  I will be printing more backgrounds onto book pages!!  It is a great way to reuse your art in your creations!!  I suppose it would be possible to print onto dictionary pages, music sheets, maps or even gift wrap!!!  Oh, the possibilities!!
You can check out my embossed metal tutorial by clicking on the featured post or by clicking the TUTORIALS tab just below my header!!  If you give it a try, come back and leave a comment with a link to your creation!!!  Would love to see what others are doing!!

Therese

A few masculine cards with colour printed background on book page

I made a few cards today.  I was looking to create some different backgrounds so I did some internet research on creating backgrounds and was inspired to print some of my scanned backgrounds onto book pages.  I dug through my stash of books for collage and found a text book of Latin Prose which I got free on a boulevard a few years ago.  The pages are 5" x  8" which I thought was close enough to half a page to work in the printer.  I searched some several older folders of my scanned backgrounds to find something to print on the pages.  I created this one by brushing Citrasolv onto a colourful page from a National Geographic magazine and letting all of the colours blend.  A very cool technique!! I opened the scan in Corel Draw and sized it onto a half page so it would print on 5" x 8" and ran the book page through my colour laser.  I love how it worked out!!  I printed several sheets while I was at it so I have a few extra!!  I would highly recommend to all of you to scan or photograph your creations for reuse in future projects!!

So here are the three cards I created today!! This one features the top of one of the printed backgrounds.  I trimmed the background to fit on a black layer (4" x 5.25").  I cut a circular hole in the black cardstock layer, layered the decorative paper over the black, turned it over and traced the opening on the back of the decorative paper and used the next size Nestibilities to cut a larger hole in it.  I glued the decorative paper to the black layer which created a frame around the edge and a black frame around the circular opening as well.  I tied a short piece of gray seam binding to the right hand side of the opening using a double knot.  I backed the hole with a scrap of decorative paper which coordinated in colour and had some gold as well.  I fussy cut my coloured train image (Class Act) and used 3D foam tape to adhere it in the hole.  I cut a flagged end on my greeting, layered it in black and adhered it below the image with double sided tape then glued this element to a light blue card front.

 For this card I made two cuts on each side of my decorative paper which gave me nine pieces. I layered them onto my blue card front and adhered them in place.  I watercoloured this boat image (CLKER), layered it onto teal and trimmed the left hand side with decorative scissors piercing the edge to add texture.  I created my greeting by adding a watercoloured laser printed greeting to a blue tag.  I punched a slot at the top of the tag so I could thread my gray vintage seam binding through it.  I adhered the ends of the seam binding to the inside of my card using double sided tape.  Note in the photo you can see that I used my slot punch to create an opening on the spine of my card to insert my seam binding.  I love multi purposes for tools!!  I adhered my image to my card front above the seam binding, positioned my greeting and adhered it with 3D foam tape and then tied a short piece of seam binding to the length to simulate a bow!!  Love the look of the background on this card.

For this card I adhered this little bicycle image onto metal foil and trimmed a border all the way around using scallop decorative scissors.  I embossed a frame right next to the image and then another next to it and then used my pencil to emboss dots in all the scallops!!  I love how it came out. You can check out my Featured Post to check out my Embossed Metal Tutorial or follow this link or Click the Tutorial Link on my header.  I layered my decorative paper onto black and then onto a medium blue card front.  I adhered my image with its embossed metal frame to the top portion using double sided tape.  I layered my laser printed greeting over a strip of black paper and used staples to secure it in place.  I used 3D foam tape to adhere this element to my card front.
Had a fun day of cardmaking!!

Therese