Tim Holtz wildflower dies and some hand decorated paper for this sympathy card

My uncle passed away last week and the funeral was this week.  I started with the hand decorated background which was created using watercolour and plastic wrap.  The soft colours were just right for this sympathy card.   I ripped the background in two and die cut the top portion using my new TH Wildflower thinlit dies.  I reassembled the pieces on a dark green layer and then mounted the large element to an off white card.  I added a layered greeting.  I used a laser printed greeting from my stash which was created using a font and punched with the Modern Label punch (SU).  I layered two circle punchies to create an accent for it.  I embossed the green one with a flower from an embossing folder (CB) and layered it onto a yellow one before added the printed label punchie which I adhered to my card front using 3D foam tape. 
It was so good to see so many of my cousins which I had not seen in over 20 years at the funeral and it was wonderful celebration of my uncles life.  He will be missed!          Therese

Handmade paper, crocus digital image and a little punched greeting for a quick card

Another paper background I found in my stash was this handmade paper one!!  I have a little bucket on my desk into which I have been adding trimmed backgrounds leftover from other projects.  I mounted the handmade paper (I made myself) to a light yellow card and went looking for an image that would compliment it.  I found this little laser printed crocus image (CLKER) which was just the right size so I watercoloured it, mounted it to a rectangle of yellow cardstock and added a small greeting (Word Window - SU) below it.  I distressed its edges before mounting to my card front over the handmade paper.
I am having fun making cards and using up my supplies but goodness me I have enough for more than a lifetime!!

Therese

New dies - TH Wildflowers with brayered backgrounds for my card exchange

I have some new dies!!!  DH bought them for me for my birthday and they just came in!!  It took a bit of research to decide which ones I would like and I decided on the set with the queen anne's lace silhouette which is the first set of Wildflowers from Tim Holtz.  Wanting to experiment I dug through my stash of backgrounds and found these brayered ones (Kaleidacolour in pad) from quite a while back.  They worked well.  I cut the flowers out (the second one I cut twice -once from the front and once from the back).  I added a full black layer to the first one and only backed the flower with black on the second one and backed it with navy blue afterwards.  I added black ribbon (ribbon yarn) which my sister shared with me when I was there a few weeks ago.  Really nice!!  I added a length and then tied on a short piece to simulate a bow.  I added texture to the second on using my tracing wheel.  I mounted them to coordinating card fronts and then stippled the outside edges with dark blue ink.  Happy!           Therese

Stash busting - a highly texture embossed background made with scraps, stamped focal element and greeting

The scraps I used on this card were leftover from some fun brayered backgrounds (Kaleidacolour - Creole Spice)  I found in my stash a while back.  I mounted the five little rectangles to a piece of purple cardstock and embossed it with an allover pattern embossing folder (Lattice -SU) and mounted it to a coordinating green card front.  I went digging through my image stash to see what I could find to coordinate and this is what I found.  Stamped with a background and leaf in green and trimmed into a rectangle.  It fit perfectly on my background!!  I found a stamp set with this friendship greeting when I was looking for something the other day and made note that I should use it.  I stamped it in navy on white, punched with an oval punch (SU), layered it onto a silver scalloped oval punchie (SU) and mounted to to my card front using 3D foam tape.  I am really happy with how this one worked out!!!!! 
I have mined my stamp sets for greetings which I have overlooked because they are part of a set.  I found all sorts of really nice saying that I will now incorporate into my cardmaking.  Therese

Stash busting - a card from bits from way back

I found the pieces of these card in my long time ago stash and am not sure why I did not make it up at the time of creating the pieces but I finally made them into a card.  The image was inked with two colours and stamped onto ivory cardstock which was hand cut on the right hand side with a bit of wave.  I added the red layer which was also cut with a bit of a wave to the back on the right hand side. Thinking it still needed a bit of something I added a few lines of piercing with my pattern tracing wheel.  Fun!!  I layered this large element onto a coordinating green card.  Digging through my stash I found this greeting which coordinated perfectly so I sponged its edges with green and punched another label (Decorative Label -SU) from red cardstock, cut it in half vertically and mounted each half on either side of it and mounted it to my card using 3D foam tape. Perfect!!          Therese

Cards featuring a brayered background and some gold embossed images

Still making cards for my stash but have branched out into using supplies that have been sitting for a while.  These two cards feature brayered backgrounds I made years ago using the Kaleidacolour stamp pad - Creole Spice onto glossy cardstock.  I love this colour combo!!  For the first one, I added a bit of sponging using a torn paper edge to add a bit of texture to the multicoloured background.  I then stamped this ginko leaf image (SU) and embossed it with gold embossing powder.  I added a laser printed vellum greeting from my stash after tearing the bottom and top edges.  I added a layer of gold gift wrap before layering it onto this perfectly coordinating piece of background paper!!  With a large enough stash you can always find something that will coordinate!!  I layered this large element onto a navy card front!!!  Really love how this one turned out and how serendipitous it was to find a coordinating background paper (laser printed from Morgue File).  For the other card, I added a bit of definition to the background by sponging a few colours over the torn edge of paper to simulate a bit of a landscape.  I stamped and embossed in gold this set of trees (Lovely as a Tree - SU) and used my stamping jig to add a greeting in navy (SU).  I added a navy gros grain ribbon at the top and added three gold brads to finish it off.  I mounted this large element to a navy card front!!  Love this one too!!              Therese

A fun fold with some embossing and a round digital greeting

Another card from a kit for my stash!  These were featured in my March class.  This fun fold is best done with double sided paper so I used this gift wrap which I bought overseas years ago.  It is trimmed to 4" x 5.25" and slit on the center about 1.75" from the right hand side and when the flaps are fold out it reveals the embossing on the card front.  I used two small pieces of double sided tape right next to the fold to secure the flaps, added a length of ribbon from the bottom of the slit to the left hand side of the background securing the ends with double sided tape before adhering it to my embossed card front.  I created a layered greeting which features a laser printed digital greeting from Desert Diva and a scalloped circle cut with Nestibilities both sponged a bit on the edges and mounted using 3D foam tape.  This is my last kit so I will see about making these different next time around!!

Therese

Cards from kits - embossed and sanded backgrounds with fun digital images and one with a greeting

A couple more cards from kits and my stash is growing!!!  These cards kits are from my May Class.   The backgrounds were colour printed on coloured cardstock, stenciled, stamped and embossed with a swirl oval embossing folder.  After embossing I sanded them to reveal the colour of the cardstock which was a light lavender.  I love the velvety smoothness that the sanding creates!!  The backgrounds were glued to pink/purple card front.  I laser printed the images (umbrella from Broken Box Stock and pansies from Arthur's clipart) and trimmed them out using oval Nestibilities before watercolouring them.  I cut larger ovals in coordinating colours to layer them onto.  I mounted them inside the swirl pattern on the backgrounds of my cards!!  I did add a greeting to the umbrella one using a small laser printed font greeting (Word Window punchie SU) layered onto a yellow Modern Lable punchie from SU as well.  A very versatile sketch in that a small greeting can easily be added without modifying the design.  Therese

Cards from kits - a sanded background along with a fun tea digital image and some raffia

I am making cards for my stash and am making up card kits from past classes.  This one is from my May class which featured sanded white core backgrounds and fun image which created cards without greetings which are more versatile as they can suit more than one occasion.
This card features a laser printed digital image form Pixabay - Artsy Bee of a stack of coffee cups.  I love the colour on these cups!!!  I started with a red card front and sanded the embossed background to reveal the white core of the cardstock.  This leaves a very velvety smoothness which adds texture to the card.  I tied the green raffia around the background before adhering it to my card.  I used my distressing tool around the edge of the cup image and mounted it over the frame in the embossed design using 3D foam tape.  This was a really quick one!  Love having kits on hand for getting cards made fast!!

Therese

A shaker card with hearts for our anniversary!

I used an embossed (Lattice - SU) collage background for this card.  Collaging scraps is a fun activity which you can do anytime you have no project on the go or when your mojo is on strike.  You can use almost anything as a substrate - junk mail, a flopped background or a ruined layer!!  Just keep gluing scraps on until you have filled the whole area.  Once completely dry, you can stamp, sponge, emboss and even thermally emboss to make it more than the sum of its parts!! 
I decided to make a shaker card for my DH for our anniversary.  Have not made these often but they are always fun to do.  I cut a square opening with a frame using two Nestibilities square dies nicely spaced from each other on my magnetic plate in my Big Kick. I added a length of white seam binding from the edge of the opening to the right hand edge adhering the ends to the back with double sided tape.  I adhered a coordinating background behind the opening and then layered the whole piece onto brown cardstock and then to a blue card front.  I stacked heart punchies in the opening along with a few micro beads in green.  I added double sided tape to the back of the frame and adhered a small piece of plastic from packaging then added 3D foam tape all the way around to ensure that my little hearts and beads did not escape.  I positioned the frame over the hearts and pressed firmly to adhere my little shaker to my card front.  My shaker is not too shaky as I added a few too many hearts in it but they do move around a bit so it works well enough!!  I tied a short end of seam binding to the one on the front using a single knot to simulate a bow and added a little laser printed greeting using 3D foam tape just below the "bow".  I will be trying this again and will be more skimpy with my inclusions to ensure a better "shake" next time.  Cutting the frame with two Nesties works really well!          Therese

Card from a kit - a fun birthday cake, a sanded background and a layered greeting

Another card kit from my May class!  I love how this one turned out!!  The birthday cake is a digital image from Melonheadz which I sized and laser printed before trimming it out of the sheet using an oval Nestibilities die.  I found a layer just a bit larger in my stash and sponged it a bit to get it to coordinate with my background.  The background is coloured cardstock which was colour printed, stencilled and stamped before I embossed it with a swirl oval embossing folder.  I sanded it to reveal the original colour of the cardstock and it also gives it a really velvety smooth texture as well.  I mounted the background to a green card front, watercoloured the cake and created my focal element by layering the two ovals.  I used 3D foam tape to mount it to my card front.  I layered a laser printed greeting and mounted it onto a punched label (SU) in green before mounting in over the oval focal element using double sided tape on the left and 3D foam tape on the right.  Really like this one!!!               Therese

Card from a kit - a fun owl with sequins and a vellum greeting

This card kit was prepared for this class in May.   I discarded the raffia and added a small piece of ribbon instead.  The background was sanded to reveal the white core and it was mounted to a dark green card.  I watercoloured the little owl (laser printed digital stamp from Cre8tive hands), distressed its edges and then embellished them with brown watercolour.  I mounted it to over the frame in the background using 3D foam tape.  Without the raffia it was needed just a bit of something so I added a bit of ribbon in the lower right hand corner that coordinated with the card colour and that was better.  Still needs something so I dug out the sequins and found a few that coordinated so I added four of those using glue dots.  Afterwards, I decided I wanted a greeting so found this one printed on vellum which worked so I removed the copper sequin, added the greeting and replaced the sequin with a small cooper brads which worked just fine!  Pretty happy with how this one turned out!!          Therese

Cards from kits - sanding, raffia and a digital image of a rose

Another card kit which has been used to create a card. This was a kit that was part of my May class.  I sanded the embossed white core background and tied on the pink raffia before adhering it to a pink card front.  I used my distress tool on the edges of the rose image (Cre8tive hands) and mounted it over the embossed frame in the design.  I found an oval greeting (Birds Cards)  in my stash that worked perfectly so I sponged the edges of it a bit and mounted it to the left of the raffia with 3D foam tape.  I did embellish it a bit with colour and clear glitter gel pens.     Another fun card made up from a card kit!!!    Therese 

The last three truck cards from card kits

For my January class I created card kits that featured little truck die cuts.   It is a set - stamp and thinlit die combo from Stampin UP which my sister owns.  I was visiting a few weeks agon and cut a few more red trucks.  I really like these little trucks though with the card kits the layouts have all been very similar.  Black or gray cardstock to which I have added a white line to simulate pavement or stipple stamped to simulate a dirt road.  I added some green grass with watercolour to the torn green layer of two of these and like how that looks!!  I added a layer of collaged, embossed die cut "grass" to the bottom one and I like that a lot. Looks like a tree line. 

 I used balloon punchies with thread strings on the first two and added a load of hearts to the last one.  I chose the greetings from my stash so made them a bit different with bakers twine on one and seam binding on the other and a totally different flagged greeting on the last one.  I added some lines of piercings with my pattern tracing wheel on the last one to add some texture to the sky which I like a lot.  The trucks all got some clear glitter gel pen on the lights, windshield, hub cabs, running rails and front bumper which adds some sparkle.  On the last one I added some watercolour to make the truck two tone which really adds some interest to it. 

I have cut LOTS more little trucks - mostly red ones but I am glad I did cut a few more different colours to add a bit of interest to the next set of cards.  I will have see what other layouts have been use with this little truck to see if I can change things up a little.    I have used a few others things in the back of the trucks so I expect I can find a few other fillers which will change things up as well. 

Therese

A few more butterfly cards for my stash

 I had printed the butterflies for another project and they were sitting on my desk.  I decided to use them to make cards for my stash.  I used to different decorative papers for these two cards.  The aqua one is decorative scrapbook paper and the blue one is a digital decorative paper which I laser printed and trimmed down.  I added swirly die cuts (SX) to both of these in colours that coordinated with the background papers.  I had to sponge the edges of the focal element on the aqua cards to get it to contrast nicely with the background paper.  I added  laser printed greetings punched with the Word Window (SU) overlaid onto the butterflies. 

For these two cards I used laser printed two digital decorative backgrounds (Pixabay)  and trimmed them to size.  I mounted the to coordinating card fronts, added die cuts that coordinated (SX) and mounted little laser printed greetings punched with the Word Window punch (SU). 

Have really enjoyed making these cards and finding interesting colour combinations to make a variety of cards.               Therese

Cards for my stash - decorative paper, die cuts and laser printed butterfly images

 A few more cards for my stash.  I had laser printed two sheets of these butterfly elements expecting to make up a set of card kits for my last class and that did not work out a the time.  The image is one from Pixabay - Artsy Bee which I digitally manipulated to get several different coloured images to provide some variety.  So I took the challenge of making stash cards with them instead.  I started with this polka dot background paper (digital laser printed) which I layered onto green for my first card and blue for my next one.  I added some brown die cuts in between to add some texture and interest.  The first one has a set of little leaves (SU) and the other has a large swirl (Sizzix).  I added a small greeting in the middle which was laser printed, punched with the Word Window punch (SU) and mounted over the butterflies using 3D foam tape.

For this set of cards I used the same decorative paper (laser printed digital) for both cards.  I mounted one on dark brown and the other on green card fronts.  I added off white die cuts (leaves - SU, swirl - Sizzix) and laser printed Word Window greetings over the butterfly elements. 
This is a loose interpretation of the idea I had in my head when I first printed the butterflies so I am glad I kept at it until the design came together. A very versatile sketch that works for a wide variety of occasions.    Therese

Cards for my stash featuring the same background paper with different focal elements

 I had these card and background papers left over from a card kit idea for my last class that did not pan out so I used them for making cards for my stash.   The green lacy background is a digital image which I laser printed onto white paper.  I mounted them to coordinating green cardstock and went looking for focal elements that would work with them.  I found this cute little girl (eather Ellis) which was printed on vellum.  I coloured it very carefully with watercolour from the back and mounted it to a white piece of cardstock just slightly larger to give it a bit of a frame and attached them together using four tiny silver brads.  I mounted it to my card front using 3D foam tape.  For the next one, I found this laser printed image of the elephants in my stash (Pixabay - La Petite Femme). I layered it onto gray and mounted it to my card front with 3D foam tape.

 For my third card, I used this little birdie image (Birdie Brown) which I watercoloured to coordinate with my chosen elements.  I adhered the image to the peach layer, added a short piece of white ribbon and mounted my layered greeting over it.  The greeting is laser printed, oval punched and then mounted to a scallop oval punchie (SU) in the same green cardstock as the card.  I mounted this large focal element to my card front using 3D foam tape.
These few card went together fairly quickly as I had most of the elements in my stash!!

Therese

Cards from kits - fun fold with decorative paper and some embossing

 In order to get a few more cards made for my stash I have translated some card kits into cards!!  These are from my March class.  A very versatile sketch in that you can change up the paper and the elements to suit almost any occasion.  Since I designed these I have seen some used landscape as shirt fronts with a tie for guy cards and also with the folds facing the other way for a different look.  I suppose they might even work the other way in the landscape orientation if you put our focal element on the bottom edge of the card with the flaps sort of simulating tent flaps.  I will keep those in mind for next time around.
For these cards the front right hand edge of the card was embossed with coordinating embossing folders.  The decorative paper was cut from the left edge about 1.75" at the center point and a line scored from the end of the cut to each corner and then the flaps folded out.  I used a small piece of double side tape to secure each flap placing them very close to the fold and folding them back to secure them.  I added a short piece of ribbon or seam binding from the bottom of the V fold to the outside edge of the decorative paper securing the ends to the back with double sided tape.  These were then adhered to the embossed card fronts.  They all have round layered greetings.  The top one has a round laser printed greeting (The Spruce) which was punched out (1.75" SU)  and layered onto a brown scalloped circle (Nestiblilities) which was paper pierced in each scallop using a push pin.  The button (Torico) was fussy cut and water coloured to coordinate.  It was adhered in the center of the greeting with 3D foam tape and the layered greeting was also mounted to the card front using 3D foam tape.  I used brown thread and a needle to embellish the button before mounting it.

These two both have laser printed greetings (Netty's cards and Desert Diva with a cupcake) which I watercoloured.  Two coordinating layers on the first one with some clear glitter gel pen on the slim ring.  One scalloped circle on the second one with clear glitter gel pen on the scallops and the icing of the cupcake.  These were mounted to their card fronts using 3D foam tape.  It is fun to create with these card kits and certainly quick and easy as well.  

Therese

Stash cards that feature butterfly focal elements, die cuts and tiny greetings

I made these cards for my stash from elements I had printed for my last class and did not use.  I like this sketch and it has made some great versatile cards for a variety of occasions.  For these two I used a handmade background for the one on the left - acrylic paint over crumpled paper and scrapbook paper for the one on the right.  I mounted one on a gray card, the other on a dark green card.  I added coordinating die cut leaves (SU) to the butterfly elements using regular tape to adhered the ends to the backs.  I adhered these large elements to the card fronts I had created.  I added small greetings using 3D foam tape which were laser printed and punched out using the Word Window punch (SU).  

I will be blogging a few more as the week goes on!!

Therese

A Father's Day cards that features digital images - a plane, a greeting and some decorative paper!!

Made this card for DH for the weekend.  Not sure exactly what are plans are going to be but I am ever grateful for his presence in our child rearing years!!!
All the elements for this card were laser printed.  The cool plane image is from Arthur's Clipart, the greeting is from Desert Diva and the  coordinating decorative paper is from Morgue File.
I glued the decorative paper to a red card front after attaching a length of caramel vintage seam binding with double sided tape.  I layered the trimmed plane image onto navy cardstock and used my pattern tracing wheel to add pierced lines of texture.  I adhered the image to my card front using 3D foam tape overlapping the seam binding.  The greeting was trimmed, mounted onto red cardstock and also mounted to my card front using 3D foam tape.  To finish it off I tied a short piece of the same seam binding to the one on the front using a single knot which very nicely simulates a bow!!!!!!!  I did sponge the edges of the plane image with navy and brown and added just a bit of sponged colour to the greeting to dull its bright white look.  Perfect!!          Therese

A large card that features stamping, embossing and blingy punchies

My sister's birthday is coming up and I made her this card.  I found a large blue envelope in my stash so it is a large card which is not my usual size but I felt called to make it bigger than usual for some reason!! 
I created a white card and layered on blue cardstock which I embossed with an organic embossing folder both top and bottom.  I was happy to see that where they meet was not at all evident once the focal element was in place.  The focal element is a piece of alcohol ink background which I found in my stash and it coordinated perfectly with the cool ribbon I found last week which I used to back the butterfly frames.  I stamped the background with a solid daisy (Magenta) in several different inks - light violet, purple, light blue and medium blue overlapping as I went.  I used a small flower to fill in using the medium blue ink.  I stamped and embossed in clear embossing powder a large swirly image then added some stippling around the edges using silver ink and embossed that too.  It does not show well but I was wanting to echo the silver punchies I was putting over the ribbon.  I mounted the background to a black piece which I had already punched with the butterfly frame punch and then the scallop border punch.  I added the fussy cut greeting using tiny silver brads and mounted a piece of that gorgeous metallic ribbon in behind the butterfly frames using double sided tape.  I mounted my large focal element to the front of my card.  I mounted the silver butterfly punchies into the openings in the frames using tiny pieces of double side tape which leaves their wings free to be raised just a bit.  I added clear rhinestones to the scalloped border just below them.  I added four little black butterfly punchies (from the frame punches) to my card using the same double sided tape method as the silver ones.  I used a silver gel pen to highlight their bodies. 
Very happy with my card and it will be off to my sister in tomorrow's mail!!!  Therese

Exchange cards featuring a lace background, sequins and laser printed greetings

I made up these cards for my Card Exchange partners for this month.  I found a piece of plastic in my stash which was printed with a lacy floral pattern which was saved from a used greeting card.  I trimmed out two pieces (2.75" x 5.5") and layered them onto maroon cardstock.  I used double sided tape behind the most solid parts of the images to secure the plastic to the card stock.  I mounted these elements to green card fronts.  I used laser printed greetings from my stash which feature a butterfly oval frame from Birdie Brown and a font greeting.  I chalked the inside with a coordinating red and sponged the outside with a coordinating green ink.  Mounted the greetings to the card fronts using 3D foam tape.  They still needed a bit of something so I added three sequins to each card securing them with small pieces of glue dot and added clear glitter dots to the butterflies on the greetings.  That as better!!  They are off to my partners in today's mail.             Therese

Sunflowers in the sun for this "Thinking of you" card

I needed of a few cards for my stash so I went through the card kits on my desk and created this card!  It features an embossed and sanded background which was created using white core cardstock.  I love the velvety feel of the sanded pattern!!  The digital image was downloaded from Pixabay (La Petite Femme), laser printed and trimmed to fit into the framed area of this swirly embossing folder.  I distressed the edges and glued green raffia to the back in a swirly pattern to work with the background.  I used double sided tape to secure the raffia to the image and more to adhere it to the card.  I used 3D foam tape to secure the layered greeting (laser printed font punchie over a label (SU)) to my card front just off set from the bottom of the image. 
I love these fun images from this designer and have downloaded a few for my cardmaking!!

Therese

A colourful heart creates a fun wedding card

I found this card in one of my pressing places in my craft space!! It was a bit of a surprise but because I have several places where I press cards I don't always use the same one.  I created this card while I preparing kits for my All Occasions Card Class.  I had used my pattern tracing wheel on this one and then decided to use embossing folders instead so this one no longer could be used as a sample.  I added the laser printed best wishes greeting to make this one a fun wedding or anniversary card.  The background behind the heart opening is a serendipity collage which has been stamped with a large heart background and silver embossed.  After securing the serendipity piece to the back of the opening a ribbon was added and a short piece was tied to it to simulate a bow.  The little greeting is laser printed font and a label punchie (SU). 

Therese

A quick and easy baby card made from a card kit

I love having card kits on hand because it makes getting a card done a breeze!  This card kit was part of my May class.  The green white core cardstock was embossed with a star embossing folder and sanded to reveal the inner core.  It was wrapped with light yellow raffia and tied.  This layer was then adhered to a light yellow card front.  The rattle image (cre8tive hands) is a digital image that was laser printed and trimmed to size.  I watercoloured it, distressed its edges and then mounted it to the background using 3D foam tape.  I love the soft look of these colours and the sanding provides a soft texture as well which are all great components for a baby card!!

Therese

Airplane postage stamp for a cool card for a pilot

Our son's birthday is coming up next month but we celebrated this weekend because he will be headed back overseas very soon where works as a pilot!!  He has been a plane fan from the very beginning - he knew all their names and numbers!!  This used postage stamp features an F-18 Hornet which is the fighter jet the Canadian Military flies!!  A well known sight and sound of his youth so I thought it would be appropriate for his significant birthday card!! 
I mounted the used postage stamp onto cardstock - navy and yellow  - combined to reflect the colours in the stamp.  I used 3D foam tape to mount this element to a warm blue rectangle of cardstock which I had distressed on all its edges.  I trimmed the bottom edge of the laser printed greeting with Deckle decorative scissors, sponged the bottom edge with coordinating ink and mounted it to the back side of my focal element with double sided tape.  I used a background I had in my stash from when I was creating these fun washi tape cards and embossed it with a timepiece embossing folder.  I sponged the edges with the same ink I used on the greeting and mounted it to a navy card front.  I added a length of white seam binding before adhering my focal element to my card front overlapping it.  The ends of the seam binding were adhered to the inside front of the card using double sided tape and are covered by the insert which I add to all my cards. 
Therese

A fun fold with coordinating layers and greeting!

Another card for my stash from the kits I made up for my March class.  The double sided decorative paper was trimmed to 4" x 5.25" and cut with a 1.75" slit on the center of the right hand side.  I scored between the end of the slit and the both right hand corners then folded the flaps over to reveal the pattern on the back.  I used a little piece of double sided tape to secure the flaps placing the tape right at the fold to keep the tips raised a bit.  I added a length of rose ribbon securing both ends with double sided tape.  I punched a laser printed digital image of a flower using a 1.25" punch and watercoloured it to coordinate with my pieces.  I layered it onto a scallop punchie (SU circle punch) and then layered it onto an orange scalloped circle (Nestibilities).  I manually embossed the right hand edge of an orange card and then added my background.  I mounted my floral focal image over the bottom of the slit using 3D foam tape.  The little greeting is a laser printed font trimmed to the right sized and distressed before being tucked under the flap and adhered into place.  The original ones from the class I had left with out greetings but as you can see greetings can easily be added.                       Therese

Embossing and sanding gives this background texture and highlights the car!

I used a card kit from my May class to create this card.  The focal image is an old car digital image (Arthur"s Clipart) which I laser printed, die cut (Nestibilities)  and watercoloured to coordinate with my background.  I added clear glitter ink to all of the chromed areas - bumper, wheel spokes, lights, etc.  I layered this focal image to a blue layer, added some coordinating green ribbon which was folded, trimmed and glued to the back.  The background was created using coloured cardstock which was colour printed, stenciled, stamped and then embossed with a scroll frame embossing folder.  The embossing was slowly sanding to reveal the original green cardstock.   The sanding adds some soft texture to this background.  The background was layered onto a navy card front and the focal image was added using 3D foam tape.  A fun card appropriate for Father's Day or a guy birthday!!
Therese

Card kits - little birdie cards

A made up a few of the card kits from this March class to add to my stash!! Little birdie cards are very versatile because they can be used for a wide variety of occasions.  

These ones feature decorative paper layered onto coordinating cardstock as a base.  After drawing a beak and inserting a tiny black brad for the eye the bird die cut (TH) was inserted into the bird cage (TH) and secured with double sided tape at the bottom which ends up securing the rhinestones as well.  The wing was added next using 3D foam tape to give it some dimension.  Next, I secured the ribbon into the hole at the top of the cage using double sided tape and used both 3D foam tape and double sided to secure it to my card front.  I threaded the little greeting tag (die cut then stamped using a jig) on the ribbon before securing the other end to the inside of the card front with double sided tape.  I trimmed off the extra length and tied it with a single knot to the length on the front just above the cage to simulate a bow.  I used a small piece of 3D foam tape to secure the greeting in place after sponging it with a bit with ink.  To finish off my card I positioned clear rhinestones into the holes at the bottom of the cage!!              Therese

Handmade cards that feature bunnies and bears with cute greetings made up from card kits

I have made up the last few cards kits from this class in March.  I really enjoyed making witty sayings for these cards!!  They all have decorative paper backgrounds with trimmed laser printed greetings on the bottom edge and embellished with a ribbon and border punched cardstock border (SU) in a coordinating colour.  The bear and bunny are die cuts (SX) with black cardstock glued to the back to fill in the eyes and pink for the bunny's nose.  I used washi tape over oval die cuts to make the egg embellishments for the bunnies and embellished the bear with watercolour and a little heart punchie.  I will have to consider making these guys in different colours next time!!                        Therese

Reused some images from a photo calendar to make a set of cards

 Made up a set of cards for a friend using photos from 4" x 6" photo calendars from my sister, Sylvia.
She is a photographer and produces several photo calendars every year.  She offers them for sale on her blog and also has several locations where she sells them as well.  DH and I are blessed every year to get one each for Christmas.  I love using the images from the expired calendars for making cards.  I used nature and tea related images from several of her calendars in this set of cards.  


 I trimmed the images from the 4" x 6" calendar pages and layered them onto coordinating card stock which I had embossed on the bottom edge using border embossing folders.  After adhering the photo to the layer I added a length of ribbon adhering the ends to the back of the background using double sided tape.  I glued these large elements to the front of white cards.  These are just a slight bit smaller than A2 cards and are perfect for notecards.  I left them without greetings to make useful for any and all occasions!!                 Therese

May Cardmaking - white core cardstock embossed and sanded with fun images

For our last card I decided to do a bit more sanding!!  For these ones, I embossed white core cardstock with two different embossing folders.  Sanding revealed the white core and contrasted nicely with the coloured outer layer.  We tied some fake raffia around the layer before mounting it to a coordinating card front.  The images had their edges distressed.  I chalked the edges of the colour printed owl image (Graphics Fairy) and did not add any colour to the edges of the balloon image (CLKER).  Both images were mounted to their respective card fronts using 3D foam tape. 

Another fun and creative evening of cardmaking!!!

Therese

May Cardmaking - gold foiled tissue with vellum flourishes

I love this gold foiled tissue paper!!!!!!!!!! It is so brilliantly gold - check out the second photo!!!  I added colour from the back side using watercolour.  Once dry, I glued the tissue paper to a 4" x 5.25" white cardstock to keep the colours vivid turning the edges to the back and gluing them in place.  I glued these backgrounds to coordinating card fronts.  I die cut flourishes (SX) to accent my cards.  The two right ones are vellum.  The far right - the vellum was chalked to coordinate with the background.  The middle one was coloured using Sharpie markers which made it very vibrant.  The one on the left was cut from white cardstock instead of vellum in an effort to give it some contrast against the uncoloured tissue paper and in order to keep the whole card elegant.  After some discussion at class I ascertained that I could have cut the flourish from coordinating cardstock to get the high contrast which was achieved with the Sharpie marker.  I used the modern label punch (SU) to punch out some backers for my greetings from some very shiny gold card which coordinated very nicely.  I glued the flourish to the background and then mounted my layered punchie greeting over it using 3D foam tape.  You can see that the card works in both orientations and that the angle of the light really highlights the gold in the tissue paper giving these card a wonderfully fun appeal.            Therese

May Cardmaking - sanded embossed backgrounds with oval images

These were our first cards for cardmaking this time around.  The backgrounds were initially colour printed with an inkjet printer with an all over design in one colour onto coloured cardstock.  After I cut them into quarter sheets for these cards I was looking to strengthen the colour so I added some colour by sponging ink through a stencil and then added a stamped background.  After this treatment they were embossed with a scroll works embossing folder which leaves a blank oval in the middle. 

We started by sanding the embossing in order to reveal the colour of the cardstock.  The yellow one provides less contrast than the blue one but you can see the scrollwork's yellow line.  We glued our backgrounds to coordinating card front.  Oval focal elements work well so I laser printed some digital images  (flowers -Blackberry Jelly    bear - Birdie Brown) and trimmed them from the sheet by die cutting them with my oval Nestibilities.  Next, I used the next sized oval Nestibilities and cut a coordinating layer from cardstock.  I watercoloured the images, adhered them to the coordinating layers and then mounted my large focal elements to my card fronts using 3D foam tape.  I still felt like they needed a bit of something so we coloured clear rhinestones with coloured Sharpie markers and adhered them onto the images.  Really like how these cards worked out and it was fun to see how the sanding worked on the other cards.  

Therese

Anniversary card in very neutral tones

I created this card using an embossed layer I created while I was making these cards for my large all occasion card class.  It had some residual lines from the die cutting process which were not masked by the embossing.  I used some black fiber tied over the affected area to camouflage the lines.  I glued some serendipity paper to the back of the heart opening and added a small laser printed greeting.  I adhered a piece of black paper to a white card front and glued the large embossed layer over it leaving an even margin all the way around.  Works so well!!! 

Therese

Baby cards using cute images from La Petite Femme on Pixabay

 I love this image from Pixabay (La Petite Femme) and it is perfect for making baby cards.  I sold all I had and needed some in a hurry so I dug through my image stash to see what I had and found the pink one.  I wanted to make a gender neutral one as well so I experimented to see if I could digitally change the colour of the balloon and found that it was very easy in Photo Elements!!  Excellent!!  So I printed off a few in different colours - green, blue and yellow which should make a few more baby cards when I need them next.  Yeah!!!!!!
The first card features a green card layered with some swirly green and white decorative paper cut just a bit smaller than the front of my card.  I laser printed the image after I digitally made the balloon a coordinating green and added a greeting, trimmed it to size and layered it onto grey before mounting it over my decorative paper background using 3D foam tape. 
For the second card I used a larger image which I had already printed with pink balloons.  I cut a pink layer for the image.  I layered a laser printed circle punchie greeting onto a silver circle punchie and adhered it to my image.  I punched a larger circle from the middle of the of my pink layer before adhering it to the back of my image and then I mounted the circle behind my image so it would highlight the greeting.  Really like how that worked out!!  I manually embossed a grey card front around the edges before mounting my focal element to it using double sided tape. 
Loving these cards!!
Therese

A bear with apples and a primary colour scheme!

A few more cards for my stash!!  I love this image of the bear with the apples by Birdie Brown which is laser printed on white cardstock and trimmed!!  I also highlighted the edges with a black marker.  The background features blue decorative paper and a red embossed panel with yellow gros grain where they meet with the ends glued to the back.  This is mounted to a white layer and then to a brown card front.  The image is watercoloured to coordinate with the background.  No greeting makes this card versatile and appropriate for a fall birthday or a thank you card!!

Therese