Christmas cards - little trees, a baby Jesus and a snowflake

 I taught three Christmas card classes yesterday as a fundraiser.  These were the first cards I taught at each class.  The kits all had the same supplies - 4"x 4" decorative paper, 1 1/8" strip of coordinating paper, 3/4" strip of coordinating cardstock, a little embossed tree die cut (SX) (CB) OR a colour printed Jesus die cut (Nesties) MDZ) and a coloured laser printed greeting punchie (SU - Word Window) with a coordinating layer (SU- modern label).

 As you can see there were several options available to the participants in designing their  cards.  The pieces could be arranged to create a portrait or landscape card with the large piece on the top or the bottom OR the left or the right.  The embellishment could be placed on the left or the right and the greeting could be positioned in quite a variety of locations.

It was fun to play with the layout to see how many options were possible.  It was also fun to work with so many different papers as well which really helped to give all the cards a bit of a different look.  I created over 200 kits for the three classes so to make the process manageable I located sheets of decorative paper which coordinated with the little trees which were already cut.  I cut each sheet of decorative 12" x12" paper into nine 4" x 4" pieces and then I found scraps of decorative papers in my stash that coordinated and cut nine strips.  Then I dug into my cardstock scraps to find coordinating pieces and cut the little strips and punched the greeting layers.  I embossed all the little trees and the cardstock strips to add texture to the card.  Once all the pieces were cut I designed my greetings, chose colours that coordinated with each decorative paper, printed and punched them all out.  As I assembled my kits I added coordinating cards, quarter sheet inserts with sayings and put all the pieces into an envelope.  One of the ladies requested all religious cards so used the little Jesus graphic from Melonheadz, digitally coloured it to coordinate with the papers I was using, laser printed what I needed on white cardstock and die cut them with my scalloped circle Nestibilities.  This is only a sampling of all the options that I created.
Everyone was happy with their cards and they created even more variety as they positioned elements diagonally, left some elements off completely and located their embellishments and greeting it yet many other locations!!
UPDATE:  I had another small class so I changed up the kits just slightly so they would not be exactly the same as the previous ones.  This is the one features a snowflake as the focal element.  I added a snowflake brad in the center to add some dimension and stability so it could be adhered with 3D foam tape.
Love the versatility of this sketch!!!!

Therese

Cards with more than a pop of colour!

I found the central images for these cards in a box I was scrounging through the other day looking for something else.  I originally had found them to be too powerful in colour to work the way I had originally intended so they had been set aside.  So I took the time to embellish them with white pencil crayon and a star dust glitter pen to help the images stand out a bit from the backgrounds.  I had originally laser printed the images on white cardstock and added coloured inks in large swatches with a foam brush.  They were created at the same time as the background for these cards.    I created a digital frame along with digital greetings for them and printed them on white cardstock. I cut them into quarter sheets and then trimmed each one just a bit so the colour of the card would show all the way around before I adhered the images into the frame.  These have been pressing for more than a week!!   I have a few more to make up so keep an eye out for them a bit later on.    Therese

Exchange cards with quotes

I found coloured quotes (Melonheadz) in a box this week and decided to use these two to make my exchange cards for this month.  These were laser printed and embellished with bright colours a while back and so I went looking for coordinating supplies.  I added a black border to the quotes using a large tipped permanent marker.   For the left hand card, I added yellow and red ink to the inside of the embossing folder before I passed the orange cardstock through my Big Kick.  Love the look!!  I added two lengths of black gros grain ribbon before adhering my quote with 3D foam tape and then adhered the whole element to a red card front.  I created a layered greeting using a ripped strip of cardstock, a small greeting punchie and some small black circles which I adhered to my card front below the focal element using double sided tape.  

For the card on the right, I stitched a rectangle of my own handmade paper in orange to my red card front using black thread capturing the ends of my black ribbon in the process.  I adhered several ripped pieces to the back right hand side of my quote and glued it to the handmade paper above the ribbon.  I created a layered greeting which I glued over the ribbon on the right hand side.

These cards feature a different quote from Melonheadz.  She had a LOT of great digital images on her site!!  I created these in much the same way I did the ones above.  Quotes outlined in black marker, coloured embossed backgrounds on orange cardstock, black gros grain ribbon and layered punchie greetings.  

Love the quotes - such good advice to follow in the pursuit of happiness in the process of living a good life!!  

Therese

Fun bird cards

I sold some of my handmade cards at church on the weekend to raise funds for one of the organizations I belong to.  It was very successful so I am making more for next month.
I found these two laser printed card fronts in a box I was rummaging in to find something else this week so I decided to use them to create another couple of cards for my stash.  The bird images (Graphic Fairy) were framed with colour and laser printed.  I embossed the bottom with two different embossing folders and added coordinating vintage seam binding just below the images tying a short piece to the length to simulate a bow.  I glued this whole layer to a coordinating card front and added layered greetings which I created with a label die (SX) and the Window Word punch (SU).  It is nice to find a bit of a stash of supplies that make getting cards made a little faster.  I found a few more things in the box which will show up in the next few posts.
Therese

Birdie fabric postcard for a birthday swap

Another fabric postcard for a birthday swap on one of my groups.   I started with a piece of this fabric collage background which I created a while back.  I added batting and then some crazy quilt hand stitching on all of the lines between the different fabrics.  I then cut a paisley shape out of light blue fabric and stitched it into place with my sewing machine going around several times to give the bird some definition and once in the middle to create the wing.  I added a beak using a small triangle of heat & bonded black fabric.  I hand stitched the eye, the legs and feet and the frilly tail feathers in black.  It needed something to help define the ground so I added some turquoise flowers with green stems and yellow centers.  That worked!!  I stitched on a black border with zigzag, added a white anf pink floral backer and stitched it into place with straight stitch all the way around.  Next, I  folded over the black border and adhered to the backer with fusible web.  I restitched the border with straight stitch really close to the outside edge to finish it off.  Pretty happy with how it turned out though it is a bit busier than I thought it would be when I started!!
Therese

Several cards using faux linen backgrounds

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

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

Therese

Baby cards for my stash

 I am filling out my card stash with a few baby cards!!  I printed the image from BrokenBoxStock with a greeting on letter size vellum and cut them out into quarter sheets.  

I made four different cards -  pink & blue and two other colours for anyone who does not yet know the gender of the child.  

For the pink one,  I used a piece of background paper that featured a gingham border and attached the vellum image and greeting combo to it using an innie & outie bow using green vintage seam binding.  I coloured the image on the back of the vellum using watercolour with as little water as possible to avoid buckling the vellum.  I added a punched ribbon border (SU) in pink after mounting the background/image layer to a white card front.
For the lavender one, I coloured the image to coordinate with my background paper, ripped off the bottom and stitched it to a scalloped border punch piece of white cardstock. I folded the three remaining sides to the back and adhered them using double sided tape.  I glued my decorative paper to a purple card front, added a length of lavender ribbon and adhered my focal element over it using 3D foam tape.  I tied a short piece of ribbon with one knot to my main ribbon just below my image to simulate a bow.  

For my green card, I die cut a circle (3.75") out of my quarter sheet of decorative paper with Nestibilities, centered my coloured image behind the opening and attached them to each other using yellow seam binding and an innie & outie bow.  I trimmed the decorative paper and glued this whole element to a white card front.
For the blue one, I coloured my image with watercolour being sparing with water as before, backed it with a piece of white cardstock which I stitched to the vellum using my sewing machine.  I ripped the edges of the vellum to make it just a smidge smaller than the decorative paper and attached it to my card front using an innie & outie bow after I had glued the decorative paper to the front of my green card.  Really happy with these cards!!
Therese

Fall themed laser resist cards!

 Another set of laser resist cards to celebrate the fall season!!  I laid out a variety of leaves (CLKER) in Corel Draw, laser printed the letter sized page onto white cardstock then cut it into quarters before applying some watercolour to the leaves and background.  Love the way it turned out!!  I trimmed them all to 4" x 5.25" and created four different cards with them.
For the first one, I wrapped green cording and red fiber to the layer before gluing it to a red card front.
I watercoloured my greeting (SU), layered
on a deep yellow punchie which I cut in half and glued to the back before adhering it to my card front with 3D foam tape over the cording.
For the second card, I layered my watercoloured punchie greeting (SU) with green in the same way before I punched holes on either side and threaded in two lengths of beige seam binding attaching the ends to the back of the layer with double sided tape.  I adhered the whole layer to the front of a light blue card.

For my third card, I wrapped green cording before gluing the background layer to the front of a green card and added a little layered greeting (SU) over it using 3D foam tape.
For my fourth card, I watercoloured my greeting and layered it with dark orange, punched a slot on the left hand side and threaded through a piece of dark green seam binding before adhering it to my background layer using 3D foam tape.  I adhered the ends of the seam binding to the back of the layer using double sided tape before gluing this whole layer to the front of a yellow card.
I am enjoying the wide variety of possibilities for creating cards with these laser printed images!!!

Therese

Fabric collage postcard with bunny lace

I created this cool fabric postcard for a birthday swap on one of my lists. I started with a piece of this fabric collage.  The bunny lace comes off of a thrift store find which also had these two bunnies embroidered in the corners.  I added batting and a white backer and then machine stitched all the way around until I had stitched the whole surface finishing with a line in the center.  I stitched a strip of pink plaid to the top of my bunny lace and fused it to the front of my postcard.  I thought it would be cute to use the "some bunny cares" quote on the front so I decided to create a custom collage

button.  You can check out how to make collage buttons by following this link or clicking Tutorials above, scrolling down to the link and clicking on it.  They are a very neat way to make a custom embellishment for your projects.  The process is easy - I adhered a plastic circle die cut to a circle punchie of decorative paper on which I hand lettered the quote and punched two holes to make it a button once it was dry.  I added a coordinating punchie of cardstock and stitched it to the front of my postcard using blue embroidery thread.  I finished the outside edges of my fabric postcard using thin crochet thread in a variegated pink colour using the button hole stitch.  Very happy with how it turned out!!  Therese

Get well card with silk flowers and lace

Another card for my stash!!  I found this short piece of lace mixed in with my seam binding and set it aside because it perfectly matched the cardstock I had used for this card.  I dug through my background stash and found this watercolour/plastic wrap one that had the perfect colour combination to coordinate with the lace.  I trimmed it to size, added the lace adhering both ends to the back of the back ground paper with double sided tape. I perused my silk flowers and found a large white one and a small lavender one which worked perfectly so I layered them and added them to this layer using a small yellow brad.  I adhered this whole layer to the lavender card front which I had set aside.  I punched a purple label and added a little laser printed greeting punchie (SU) and adhered it to the front o my card with 3D foam tape.

Therese

Lacy wedding card

Made a wedding card for my stash!! The image looks wonky now that I look at it a little closer!!  It really is nice and square!
I started with a kraft card front and using double sided tape I added to pieces of lace that almost met in the middle.  I used double sided tape to adhere the ends inside the card as well.   I punched a strip of kraft cardstock with the eyelet punch (SU) and sponged the edges a bit with brown ink.  I trimmed the strip the width of the card, added a length of white satin ribbon adhering the ends to the back with double sided tape.  I mounted this piece over the gap in between the two pieces of lace.  I die cut the embossed heart (SU) from shimmery cardstock and sponged the edges a bit with brown ink.  I stitched on some white floss and tied a little bow to give it some texture.  I adhered it to my card front using 3D foam tape.  I layered a little greeting (Modern Label and Word Window) from some punchies and tied it to one of the holes in the border using the same floss I made the bow with.  Really happy with how this worked out!!

Therese

Laser toner resist note card - quick and easy!

I have a few quarter sheet images on hand from my last experiment with laser toner resist cards.  I needed a quick thank you card yesterday so I dug this one out and added watercolour with a brush, dried it quick with the heat gun, trimmed it down and adhered it to the front of of a black card!  Done!! Quick and easy!!  This image is from CLKER!

Therese

September Cardmakng - Handmade Paper Cast featured on these arty cards

 I created the handmade paper casts using white paper pulp and my own moulds which I made using hot glue.  I love the texture of them and so after finding a little collection of them I decided to feature them as the quick card for this cardmaking session!
I chose appropriate cardstock and trimmed the pieces to 4" x 5.25" and embossed them with an appropriate embossing folder.  I used a bit of double sided tape to adhere my paper cast to the layer and another little piece to adhere my greeting to the paper cast and then used my sewing machine with white thread and stitched all the way around capturing the greeting in the process!  I love adding stitching to my cards!!  To finish off the cards, we simply glued this stitched element to a coordinating card front.  I like the little greetings which help show off as much of the paper cast as possible!!

UPDATE:

A few more Christmas ones!!

And a few more that were included in the kits from last week's class!  Love the simplicity of these cards!!

Therese

September Cardmaking - Faux doodling cards with collage buttons

 These cards all feature collage buttons - you can see all the buttons I created  here.  in the past I have doodled around my collage buttons like on these cards but being a little short on time I decided that I would search the internet for a few digital images I could use instead.  Not sure that I saved any time but I did come up with a few circular frames that I could use!!  The first one I downloaded from Open Clipart.  I did modify the original just a bit by cutting and pasting a flourish to replace a more graphic element that was positioned on the outside border.  The flourish works better for what I was looking for.  The secong one is a doily combined with a circular rope frame which I got from CLKER.  I laid out my designs in Corel Draw by first sizing the graphics to accommodate the 1.5" collage buttons, added greetings and printed them on white cardstock.  Once the buttons were created I chose card fronts and ribbon that coordinated.  I used a large eyed needle to thread the ribbon through the cardstock and tied a double knot to keep the button in place.  I added a length of ribbon between the greeting and the focal element adhering the ends to the back of the layer using double sided tape.  Next, this whole element was glued to a coordinating card front.  I tied another short length of ribbon to the piece on the front using a single knot to add texture and interest.  I am happy with these cards though I would have preferred to use my own doodled designs.  I will be doodling more of these circular frames and will scan them before I use them so I can laser print them for future cardmaking.  I will get a few more made as these are very similar in colour!!

UPDATE:

Here are a few more of the cards I made up from the kits from last week's class!!  Love those buttons!!

Therese

September Cardmaking - a card featuring a die cut leaf

 My first card for September's cardmaking class.  I started by choosing this cool paper for my background.  I love it for fall cards!!  I am very near the last piece of this one!! Next, I die cut the leaves from some coordinating pieces of cardstock (4" x 2.75"). It was a little tricky as this leaf (TH) is on a large die (Tattered Leaves) along with several others so I drew guidelines in pencil on the foam to help me position the cardstock correctly every time!  I decided to create my greetings on vellum so printed a bunch in coordinating colours.  I started by gluing my background to my card front.  I had a variety of coordinating colours.  Next, I slipped the greeting (4.25" x 3/4") through my die cut leaf and lined up the greeting where I wanted it to be and stapled it in place.  I trimmed away the vellum end sticking out from behind the die cut.  I added 3D foam tape to the back of the die cut and mounted it on my card front.  I flagged the end of the vellum greeting and stapled it again.  On the left hand card I could not add a staple because the throat of my stapler was not deep enough so I just used a small piece of double sided tape on the back of the vellum just below the words.  It worked perfectly and does not show on the front.  So two different options for this card kit and after class we discussed maybe using a landscape layout so I will consider that for my left over kits.

Update:

Here are a few more I made up since class last week.  We had talked at the end of the class that maybe a bit of sponging would look nice on the edges of the leaf so I gave that a try.  I also added glitter faux stitching on the one leaf die cut on the left hand side.  I did manage to find quite a few layouts that worked with the elements in this kit.  I like to change things up a bit when I am making multiples of any card.
Therese

Pink & black little or big girl cards!

I had these two label elements on the back side of my desk.  I found them in the process of cleaning up before I started on my cardmaking kits for this week.  I had created backgrounds for them originally but they were too busy so I went looking for something a  little more subtle.  I found a piece of hand decorated paper and a piece of embossed pink handmade paper which worked really well and glued them to pink card fronts.  I watercoloured the punched images (dragonfly - stamped - no credit, hearts by Torico), layered them onto the black punchies and then glued these to the center of my serendipity labels.  For the left hand card, I attached the label using silver brads and layered pink and black cardstock strips below my stamped greeting (SU).  For the right hand card, I used the slot punch on each end of the label, ran a strip of black cardstock through the holes and machine stitched all the way around the handmade paper background capturing the ends in the process.  I added a laser printed punchie greeting (Window Punch SU) layered onto a black Modern Label (SU) punchie to finish off my card.   Really happy with how these turned out - one of a kind!!

Therese

Quick and easy birdie birthday card!

I love these little birds!   One of the pieces I found on the back side of my desk this week and decided to make a card with it.  I cut the 4" x 4" piece of bird decorative paper in two and glued the small strip at the top of a blue card and the large piece to the bottom edge leaving an even margin.  I layered the laser printed greeting onto a piece of red and they a piece of yellow cardstock.  I added faux stitching in red with a fine tip marker to the greeting!!
This one was pretty quick and easy!  Nice to have a few designs that you can do up quickly!

Therese

Trees and a loon features on this birthday card!

This card is similar to this one as I made the background from a strip of decorative paper which I cut into two pieces and taped together on the back to give me a piece that was 4" x 5.25".  I stitched on a piece of brown fabric to cover the joint and then stitched on a piece of coordinating rick rack to the left of that.  I layered the laser transparency greeting over the background, stitched all the way around capturing both ends in the process thereby securing it to the background.  I watercoloured the laser printed loon image (CLKER), layered it onto dark blue, added some double sided tape to the back and then tucked it behind the greeting before adhering it to this layer.  Lastly, I glued this whole element to a dark brown card front.  I really like how all the elements complement each other on this card!  Another to add to the stash.

Therese

Card with a quilted background and a crocus!

Another card that came from supplies sitting on the far side of my desk!
The crocus (Blackberry Jelly) image was what I found so I went looking in my stash of backgrounds and found this quilted one whose colours were good so I embossed it with the Lattice embossing folder (SU).  I watercoloured the image, layered it onto yellow cardstock and glued it to my background with double sided tape.  I found the greeting - laser printed transparency - in my greeting stash, laid it on my layer so that the H of the greeting was in the crook of the crocus, folded the right hand side of it to the back of the background and then machine stitched all the way around the edge capturing the folded right side of the greeting in the process.  I glued this whole layer to a yellow card front.  The greeting is free on the left hand side but there is enough pressure from the stitching to keep the whole greeting nice and snug to the card front.  Worked our pretty well!

Therese

Birds and a kite - a great kids card!

When I was preparing for my card class this week I found a few supplies sitting on the far side of my desk which I thought would be worth translating into cards if at all possible.  The birds paper was a long strip which I cut down to two pieces 2" x 5.25" and then set them side by side and taped them across the back to create a background.  It did require that I add something over where they joined so I went looking for items that coordinated.  I found the roll of green mesh at the thrift store a few weeks ago.  It is about a half inch wide and I have no idea what it's original use was but it worked perfectly for this card.  I cut two lengths and glued the ends to the back of the decorative paper.  I added a length of large red rick rack in between which actually covers the joint.  Again I adhered the ends to the back of the paper using double sided tape.  Next, I stitched on the laser printed greeting with my sewing machine and white thread.  I glued this whole layer to a kraft card front.  I created a 3D embellishment by gluing a punched image of a kite (Birds Cards) which I watercoloured to a red scallop circle punchie (SU).  I pierced each scallop to echo the stitching and mounted it with 3D foam tape on my card front overlapping the greeting and the green mesh.  Pretty happy with how this one turned out!!

Therese

Collage buttons for cards!

 I made a batch of collage buttons for a set of cards for my cardmaking class this week.  It is always fun to make these!!  I used serendipity paper, gift wrap, hand decorated paper, fabric paper, foil, decorative paper from an envelope and several colour washed stamped images.  You can check out the instructions by clicking this link, or Clicking Tutorials on my top bar and scrolling down to click the Collage Button Tutorial. I will be posting the cards later this week and will see about adding a link to that post here once they are up!

Therese

Sweet girl's birthday card

Our youngest granddaughter is one!!  How fast a year goes by!  We were fortunate to have the chance to visit with her this summer - she is a sweet happy little girl who is content to entertain herself as long as she is included in the group.
This card is a bit larger than the standard card.  I used white cardstock and stamped the edge with a handmade stamp that has little circles on it in light green ink.  I added the plaid bordered decorative piece and then overlaid the coordinating decorative ribbon on the left hand side gluing the ends to the inside of the card.  The cute little image is one I received in a swap so keeping with the green and pink colour scheme (my favorite) I watercoloured the cute little bugs.  I created a layer using pink & green cardstock, added my image, punched the bottom with a scallop punch (SU) and then I punched little holes in each scallop.  I mounted the image over the ribbon on my card front using double sided tape.  I added a length of vintage seam binding in green to the birthday greeting tag and mounted it below the image using 3D foam tape.  The very last thing I did was add some pearly dimensional paint to their wings which I will leave to dry overnight.  We will be seeing her again later this year and look forward to seeing her walk and being her fun little self.

Therese

Sympathy card

My uncle passed away last week.  He had just recently had his 90th birthday.  I made this sympathy card for his family.
I started with a light blue cardstock which coordinated with my image - a off cut from an invite I had in my stash bucket on my desk that I thought was perfect in colouring for this occasion.  I stamped a circle background stamp all the way around the edges on the front using Versamark ink which was exactly what I was looking for in intensity.  I added a large rectangle of darker blue which I embossed with a floral embossing folder (Darice) and then I added a length of coordinating green ribbon across it and glued both ends to the inside of the card.  The ribbon  slides into a slit on the spine of the card which I cut with my slot punch (SU) - works perfectly every time.    I adhered my image over the ribbon using 3D foam tape on the right hand side and double sided tape on the left to accommodate the thickness of the embossed layer.  I punched out a laser printed greeting, layered it onto a Modern Label punchie in a coordinating green and mounted it to the front of my card using double sided tape.  Very happy with how it worked out and I hope it will be a comfort for those who are grieving.

Therese

"Some bunny cares" fabric postcards

I created these fabric postcards the other day from a thrift store find that had bunny lace and these two little embroidered bunnies!  I ironed the fabric and discovered that because the pieces were rounded these little guys would need to have additions in the corners to create a 4" x 6"postcard.  I added triangles of yellow that coordinate with the bows around their necks and then cut them to size leaving a half inch on each long side so I could fold them over to the back and adhere them in place using fusible hem tape.  When I cut the backs I left them a half inch longer on each short end so I could fold them over to the fronts and thereby creating finished edges all the way around my postcards.   I added some batting between the two and fused my edges down.  This worked very well for finishing them off nicely.  I stitched all the way around the edge as well to get all the layers nicely connected.  I added a line for the to and from and then stitched in some grass with green embroidery thread.  I had been experimenting with fabric labels for my next project so I had two of these little "some bunny cares" labels so I applied them to the bottom of the postcards.  I will be sending these as RAKs when I feel inclined to.

Therese

A large fabric collage created from small strips of scrap fabric

I created this fabric collage background fabric piece the other day by simply sewing small strips of fabric that coordinate loosely onto a substrate fabric.  It is 6" wide which will be just perfect for making fabric postcards for swap I have coming up later this year.  The pieces on the right hand side were tightly woven before being sewn down.  The darker middle section was much more loosely woven before being stitched into place.  It was fun to play with these small pieces of fabric which I found at a thrift store a while back.  Once I have made projects with this piece I will come back and them them here.  

Therese

Large birthday card with a layered flower embellishment

A card for my oldest daughter who is having a significant birthday this weekend!!!  

She loves autumn colours so I chose a piece of scrapbooking paper that reflected those colours with attitude.  I added a strip of brown grosgrain and a length of lace using double sided tape and tucked the ends to the back.  I created the coordinating embellishment using a large yellowish silk flower, a smaller brown one, a green sequin and held them all together with a dark brown brad.  I glued the decorative layer to a large deep red card front and adhered the embellishment over the ribbon using 3D foam tape.  I punched out the laser printed greeting using the Decorative Label punch (SU) and punched another in dark brown.  I cut the brown one in half lengthwise and mounted both halves to the back of the punchie using double sided tape.  I mounted the greeting to my card front using 3D foam tape!! 

They will all be here for the day tomorrow!!!  It will be a wonderful day of celebration!!

Therese

Tutorial - laser toner resist & watercolour cards

I made laser toner resist cards a while back and this time I decided to take a few photos and prepare a tutorial to show the process of making them.  I used free digital images from CLKER for these cards as well and created my layouts in Corel Draw.  I created backgrounds and layouts with the images - 4 per 8.5" x 11" and laser printed them onto white cardstock.  I trimmed them apart to 4.25" x 5.5".

Here is what you are going to need:
quarter sheet laser printed images/backgrounds
watercolours
water
a large round brush
and a waterproof work surface

Wet your watercolours so they are really juicy. Choose an image/background.  I chose this hexagonal background for my first one.  I started by adding several splotches of yellow, added several blue splotches and where they mixed it created some green areas. I ran blue all the way around the edges to make sure that there would be colour to the edge all the way around. Keep adding colour until you are happy with how they look.  Don't mix too much - we don't want mud brown.  That is it!!!  Set this one aside and create another one.

For this one I tried adding plastic wrap over the wet paint to get a cool pattern but because the cardstock is very absorbent I was not able to get much of a pattern.












This one is a floral background. In this case I was a little more careful.  I painted all the centers yellow first, then I added colour to the petals and finally I painted the background green.  I found the large paintbrush worked well and helped me resist being really finicky with my application of colour.
So a different brush and a different colour palette resulted in a bit of a different look for these cards!!
It it worth your while to make a few while you are at it.  I would advise having a few blank images/backgrounds on hand for last minute cards!!

Once they are dry they may need to be pressed to flatten them.  You may also consider wiping the surface with a dry cloth to remove any watercolour that remains on the laser toner which will make it pop a little more.  Once they are pressed flat, it is time to make cards with them!!  Trimmed to 4" x 5.25" they are perfect for the front of an A2 sized card. They can be embellished with greetings, ribbon, bling - whatever you are inspired to add.
Have fun and leave me a link in the comments with your creations so I can go take a look!!

Therese

Laser toner resist/watercolour cards with layered greetings

Another set of laser toner resist cards!!

For these ones I used all over backgrounds from CLKER which I watercoloured with bright colours. Really like how they worked out!!

Once they were dry, I trimmed them to 4' x 5.25" and glued them to black card fronts.   I added a 1/4" strip of black cardstock and black & white punchie greeting to finish them off !!

You can check out the other ones here and here. Just another option for this quick and easy technique.  Give it a try and leave me a comment with a link to what you created!!

Therese

A couple larger fabric collage heart cards

These fabric collage hearts were a bit bigger than the others I made so they did not work well for A2 sized cards which I what I usually make.  So I dug into my envelope stash and found a couple envelopes that were just a bit larger and created my cards to fit in them.
For my first card, I created a white card which fit in the envelope I had chosen. I created a background by adhering a strip of green cardstock to a piece of blue cardstock, trimmed it to fit on my card front and embossed it with the Swiss Dot embossing folder.  I had to put it through twice so I was careful the second time to position my top plate so it lined up with the last row of dots so the end of the folder would not crush what I had embossed the first time.  Worked perfectly!!  After auditioning my fabric collage heart I felt that the background needed a bit of something so I went digging in my lace stash and found this one that worked well.  I cut off the length I needed, applied a very thin layer of glue on the embossed green strip and positioned the lace over it.  I folded the ends to the back and adhered them with double sided tape.  I added my heart and machine stitched it in place using coordinating thread.  I added a handmade paper heart punchie which I tied on with pink embroidery thread.  I added a layered greeting below my heart and glued this embellished layer to my white card front.  After a bit I thought maybe the handmade paper heart needed a "bit of something" so I outlined it with dimensional pearl fabric paint and added a few dots as well.  To keep the thread ends out of the paint while it dried I positioned the card upside down on a shelf and held it in place with a little weight. Perfect!  The paint dried perfectly and the thread remained clean.
For my second card, I created a navy card to fit in my envelope then cut a yellow and green layer each a bit smaller than the other.  I embossed the green one with a heart embossing folder, added my fabric collage heart and machine stitched it in place.  I embellished it with a large brad which I coloured with a Sharpie marker to make it the right colour and then slipped four short pieces of soft tulle between the tangs on the back of the brad before inserting it in a hole which I made with awl so it would be big enough.  Really like how that worked out!!  I colourwashed a punched laser printed greeting with watercolour to coordinate, highlighted the edges with a black permanent marker and adhered it below the heart using 3D foam tape.
I am really liking these cards! They are artsy and unique!!  You can check out the others I have made here and here.

Therese