A wedding card that features a digital cake image from CLKER, a embossed layer and some fiber

Always a good idea to have a few wedding cards in my stash and for this card I used my favorite colour scheme - green and pink!!  I started with the cake image which is a digital from CLKER which I laser printed on white cardstock and trimmed to size before watercolouring and highlighting with shimmer paint.  Once dry, I layered it onto pink cardstock.  I embossed a quarter sheet of white cardstock to create my background, tied on a long length of white fiber and tied it off with a double knot before adhering it to a soft green card.  I mounted my layered focal element to my card using 3D foam tape and positioning it over the fiber.  Love it!

Therese

A card that features a woven cross with no greeting

One of my friends requested that I make several cards with crosses on them for special religious occasions.  So I started with this one which reuses a cross I made years ago for an Easter card.  It features thin strips of foiled gift wrap woven and glued to an ivory layer.  I trimmed the cross off the front of the old card and layered it onto a coordinating green cardstock and then adhered this large element to an ivory card.  This one was quick and easy.  I left it with no greeting so it would be suitable for any occasion..

Therese

A friendship card that features serendipity collage, a stamped greeting in an oval opening

For this friendship card I started with this large piece of embossed serendipity collage from my stash.  Serendipity is lots of fun and uses up your little scraps of paper to make a very cool piece of paper which you can use in your future creations!!  I die cut an oval opening in it and mounted a stamped greeting in behind.  The original stamp (SU) has only "friend" so I added "my" using an alphabet stamp set in the same colour as the original.  I used gold embossing powder on the flower and dots to reinforce the gold theme from the collage.  I washed it with a bit of watercolour as well because it was quite bright and I was wanting a more subtle look.  With my greeting in place, I layered the collage onto an embossed brown layer (TH) and then the large element to a dark red card front.  I am having lots of fun creating one of a kind cards!!  Therese

Friendship card with embossed handmade paper, a blingy heart and a stamped heart punchie greeting

Yet more stash cards!!  For this one I embossed a quarter sheet of handmade paper (made it myself) with a flourish embossing folder.  I love the subtle look of it!!  Added white seam binding across the width tucking the ends to the back than stitched it all the way around to a white card with purple thread in my sewing machine.  I added a layered heart shaped greeting.  I started with a large glittery heart which I gleaned from a commercial card, added a stamped heart shaped punchie greeting layered to a purple die cut with scalloped edges.  Makes a great card for a friend for almost any occasion!!

Therese

September Cardmaking - quick and easy cards with laser printed digital images, some sponging and embossing

This is a great go to design if you need cards in a hurry!  I print four images in the center of four quarter sheets on a letter sized piece of white cardstock and then trim them apart.  I use the Swirl Frame embossing folder (CB) and emboss around the printed image.  I have hand cut oval stencils which just fit inside of the embossed frame which I use to mask the outside edge while I sponge the inside of the oval.  It is fun to mix colours and create dimension and texture.  I used a torn piece of paper to create the horizon line of trees behind the car.  Once the sponging is done, I trim the outside of the quarter sheet to the edge of the embossing and mount this large element to a coordinating card front. I did add a bit of watercolour to the bouquet and the car to give them a more realistic look.  I did sponge a bit of yellow in the center of the flowers to give some contrast.  I usually leave these without greetings and I continue to find new images which work well with this technique.  The dandelion flowers are from CLKER, the car is from Arthur's Clip art and the little bouquet is from Beary Wishes.  I expect there are other embossed frames I could use to create a similar look but for now this one works really well.  This was our last card last night.  I always try to make it an easy one and this one qualified perfectly!!

Therese

September cardmaking - decorative paper, an image and ribbon for these birthday cards

For our second card I combined decorative paper (colour laser printed digital images) with coordinating cardstock.  Next we added coordinating ribbon gluing both ends to the inside front with double side tape.  The images were then layered and added with 3D foam tape over the ribbon.  To finish off the cards I tied a short piece of ribbon to the one on the front with a single knot to simulate a bow!!  I did add a punched and layered font greeting to the one on the right.  The pink birthday greeting is from Kisspng which I colour printed and the poppies is from CLKER which I watercoloured - both digital image sources.  This is a very flexible sketch which always makes great cards!            Therese

September cardmaking - Birds, hexagons and birch tree embossing for great birthday cards

 It is time to get back to our regular activities and so I hosted three ladies for card making last night!!  I love creating the kits and having the ladies add their own creativity to end up with cards that are not the same!!
We started with some serendipity hexagons!! The hexagon die (SX) is a new to me die which my sister was liquidating from her extras and I was happy to add to my tools!!  Hexagons have been around for quite a while and they are so fun to create with!!  Everyone took some time last night to play with theirs and they all came up with a layout that they were happy with.  We added a circle greeting that was just the right size as well.  I features stamped words (SU), a flower sequin held in place with a brad.  We just mounted them with foam tape.  You can see that the right hand edge was embossed with a birch tree embossing folder (SU) which works so well with the little birdie die cut.  The little bird die is from Impression Obsession.  I die cut it from coordinating cardstock, watercoloured the wings to coordinate gluing them to the birds and glued the whole element in place using white glue in a fine tip applicator (repurposed paint bottle).  I am happy with both of my cards!!           Therese

A beautiful rose, some ribbon and a sanded and embossed background for this anniversary card

An anniversary card for my stash!!  I sanded this white core card which I had embossed with a heart embossing folder which nicely revealed the white core.  I added a length of ribbon, layered it onto an off white layer and than onto a green card front.  The rose is a digital image from CLKER which I laser printed onto white cardstock and trimmed to size.  I added to my card front using 3D foam tape.  I found this coordinating font greeting in my stash.  I flagged the end, adhered it with the other end inserted below the rose image and added three clear rhinestones to finish it off!!  Therese

Friendship card that features a layer from a commercial card!

I loved this wonderful card front from a commercial card that was donated to me for cardmaking!! The poppies are beautiful and glittery!!
I trimmed the card to size and added a little green strip to the right hand side before gluing this large element to the front of a pink card.  Quick and easy!!!!  The message continued inside the card so I trimmed it and added to the inside because it was so nice!!

Therese

Quick and easy card which features a reused card front and a vellum greeting

I like making a few quick and easy cards when I am in production mode.  This one reuses a card front with some cute little robins in the snow.  I trimmed it to 4" x5.25", added a little stamped vellum greeting from my stash which I folded over the edge and adhered on the back with double sided tape before  adhering it to a green card front.  Too easy!!       Therese

A birthday floral handmade card with a decorative paper focal element and a gauze tie

Another card for my stash!!  For this one I used an element which I found in one of my boxes of unsorted bits.  It had this wonderful piece of decorative paper which features watercolour and a stamped resist technique.  I love the colours.  It was framed in a neutral cardstock layer with swirly punched corners.  The bottom edge was ripped but it was mostly covered by the elements that I added.  I started by adding a sponged border on the bottom to which added the width I needed for this card front.  I chose to mount this focal element to a pink card, added a stamped & sponged label (SB) greeting attached with a gauze tie with a double knot on the left hand side.  This gauze is so soft that it ties beautifully and adds much texture to the card.  To finish it off I added two little rhinestones to the greeting!!  I love this colour combination and it was good to use this little bit from my stash.  Not sure what the original intention for it was but it worked perfectly for this card.  Therese

Birthday card for a special little girl!!

Our youngest grandchild is having her birthday soon and I made her this card!!  I used a fun card front that features flowers and a little bird!  I mounted it on an embossed green card front and added a little laser printed greeting on the lower right which I embellished with my pattern tracing wheel!  Little girls like bling so I added two coordinating butterfly embellishments and a little heart on the greeting. 
We look forward to seeing her later this fall!!

Therese

An anniversary card that features a chalkboard greeting and a flourish!

Cards for my stash continue!!  I have been experimenting with large greetings for a while and this is one I printed a while back using a chalkboard background and a chalkboard font.  I laser printed it and trimmed it to size.  For this card I glued a laser printed digital background which I trimmed to fit on an A2 sized card.  I added the yellow flourish (SX) and nestled the greeting into it.  Worked very nicely!!  The two hearts are part of the flourish die which worked well for the anniversary theme.  After gluing everything into place I added yellow dots to the flourish using a gel pen.  Therese

Friend handmade card with a great digital greeting and some fun digital colour printed paper!!

I am making cards for my stash and decided to make a few for special friends when the time is right!!  This one features a large greeting by
Desert Diva which I laser printed onto white cardstock and trimmed to size.  I wanted to see if I could get the yellow "Friend" to stand out more but unfortunately the green water colour I applied did not help any.  It took me a bit of time to see what could be done to salvage the greeting but I finally decided to stamp over the letters with a small stamp set.  That worked better than I had expected.  I used my tracing wheel on the four sides to add some texture.  I added a yellow label punchie which was cut in half and mounted each piece to the long edges and then pierced the edge with a push pin.  I tucked in a dark blue half circle in the center of each one and finished off the greeting with a clear rhinetstone in each half circle.  Pretty happy with that!  I adhered a quarter sheet of decorative paper (Pixabay) to a coordinating card front and then mounted my embellished greeting over it.  Pretty happy with the over all look of this one!  I am stretching my comfort zone using large greetings.  Therese

Thank you card - cherry blossom digital image, embossed white core layer and a bit of ribbon

This card features a digital image from KISSPNG, a new digital image site I discovered in the last few days!!  I colour printed the image, trimmed it to size and distressed the edges.  I mounted it to an embossed layer in the same peachy colour as the flowers.  This was white core cardstock so I sanded it a bit to highlight the embossing which is a nice floral design (SU).  I adhered the image to the embossed layer, added a small piece of brown folded  ribbon using a tiny black brad and glued this layer to a dark brown one which I had trimmed with scallop decorative scissors.  I pierced each scallop with a push pin - an easy way to add texture to this card.  I mounted this large layer to a white card front and added a small laser printed greeting (Desert Diva) which I had flagged and sponged in brown to finish off my card.  Love how everything works so well together!!             Therese

Serendipity hexagons, sequins and a colour printed greeting

I made this card for a lady who has not been able to participate in our card exchange this time around but as a enthusiastic cardmaker she certainly would appreciate a card!!
I have been gifted some new craft supplies by my sister though we might yet work out a trade.  One of the items I received is a Hexagon die by Sizzix!!  The die cuts six at a time and they are the perfect size for cards!!  There has been a serendipity challenge on Splitcoast Stampers and I have been inspired by what others have done so I dug out my little bag of serendipity papers - I have made some ahead when I had the time and it has come in handy.  I chose several pieces that coordinating somewhat and cut as many little hexagons as I could out of the pieces.  Next I decided on a five hexagon layout - there are a lot of options - and chose the five from my little collection that would work best together.  I chose a yellow card front and stamped it with the Worn (SU) background stamp using brown ink.  I added some stippling with my little stamp (SU) and a warmer brown ink.  Next, I sponged the edges of my hexagons with brown ink and adhered them into place using a combination of double sided tape and white glue leaving the bottom one until last so I could glue down my greeting before put it into place.  The greeting is colour printed, trimmed and flagged and sponged a bit.  I had decided to embellish with sequins so I dug out the bag and auditioned quite a few until I had what I thought worked best.  I used glue dots to adhere them into place.  Still thinking it needed a bit of something I added some drops of clear dimensional paint on the card and drops of gold glitter on the hexagons.  With those in place it was just a matter of waiting until they were dry and the card will be on its way to her.   Therese

A birthday card that features a bluebird, organza ribbon and an embossed background!

A friend of mine asked for a birthday card for her bluebird loving friend which featured a blue bird.  I found this bluebird digital at Clipground which I laser printed on white cardstock and watercoloured.  I pieced a layer of scrapbook paper which coordinated and added an organza ribbon before adding my blue bird.  I mounted this layer to an embossed (CB) beige layer which was mounted to a blue card.  To finish off my card I added a small greeting (digital from Desert Diva) which I laser printed, flagged and sponged before adding it with 3D foam tape.    Always fun to challenge myself to create custom cards!   Therese

Thank you card with a fall leaf, fiber and a stamped greeting

I always like to acknowledge the kindness that others have bestowed on us!! 
This card features a stamped leaf which I watercoloured.  I trimmed it down, pierced the edges with my tracing wheel, tied on some green fiber and mounted it to a dark red layer of cardstock.  The green fiber adds a bit of texture.  I glued this large element to an embossed (leaves) brown card front and added a small stamped greeting on the lower right hand corner. 

Therese

A birthday card that features a large birdcage embellishement, a small greeting and some embossed papers

Another card for an upcoming birthday!!  This one features two pieces of embossed cardstock for the background.  The top one has the embossed areas highlighted with coordinating inks.  The bottom piece is white core cardstock which has been embossed with a script embossing folder and sanded to reveal the white core.  A fun technique!! They are adhered to a brown card front and a strip of green cardstock which has been embellished with my tracing wheel has been adhered to where they join.  I added a little gold embroidery thread hanger to this beautiful printed bird cage embellishment before adhering it to my card front using double sided tape behind the printed areas.  I finished off my card my slipping a small distressed and sponged laser printed greeting us under the edge of the green strip to the right of the large focal element.     Therese

A fun image for this pink and green anniversary card

I created this image after a fun day in the snow creating hearts with my boots!!  I found this boot image on CLKER and thought how fun it would be to create a heart with it.  I duplicated the image in Corel Draw, overlapped the two and laser printed the image.  For this card I watercoloured the boot heart and layered it with green and pink cardstock.  I found this fun background which I created using a laser printed text background which was over stamped with a handmade "rubber leftover" background stamp.  I added a green border punched (SU) strip to the back of the background before adhering it to a coordinating pink card front.  I added a length of lace which has both ends adhered to the inside of the card using double sided tape.  The focal heart element was added to the card using 3D foam tape and the greeting was slipped under the image and the lace and trimmed on one end which is concealed below the lace and the other was trimmed to the edge of the card.    I added a little clear rhinestone to finish off my card.             Therese

A large chalkboard greeting, a few heart punchies and some ribbon for this anniversary card

I am trying to get ahead of the curve and preparing my cards for next month while I have a bit of time this week.
This anniversary card came together fairly quickly.  A piece of colour printed digital paper for the background glued to a coordinating card front.  I added the gold ribbon gluing the ends to the inside of the card using double sided tape. I found this chalkboard greeting in my stash and adhered it with 3D foam tape and then added two embossed heart punchies above it with 3D foam tape as well.  Thinking it still needed a bit of something I tied a piece of gold embroidery thread to the ribbon to create a bit of dimension and texture!!!!              Therese

Love this quick and easy technique and made a few more cards!!!!

This is my third set of cards using this technique!!!!!!  Check out the first set here. I combined large digital greetings from Desert Diva's blog with digital images from CLKER electronically in a layout program (Corel Draw) and then laser printed them onto white cardstock.  After cutting them apart I sponged them in appropriate colours.  I enhanced all of these images with watercolour to add definition to the images.  I like the way the sponging gently fades to nothing before touching the greeting.  What a versatile technique!!  Won't be the last time I use this for making some quick cards for myself or giving as gifts!!  Therese

Birthday card that features a die cut butterfly, a digital image and a punched greeting

Am getting back in the swing of things after a few weeks of other summer activities!!  A card for a friend having a birthday very soon!! 
I started with a piece of colour printed digital scrapbook paper and adhered it to a coordinating card front after trimming it to size.  I added a coordinating length of gros grain ribbon cut at an angle on the bottom edge and folded over the top and secured with double sided tape.  I watercoloured the laser printed digital image from Melonheadz adding some shimmer to the bee's wings. I layered it onto a layer of green white core cardstock and distressed the edges before mounting it to my card front with 3D foam tape.   I found a coordinating greeting punchie in my stash and mounted it below the image and centered on the ribbon using 3D foam tape.  I added a champagne coloured die cut butterfly (SX) on the corner of the image using double sided tape.  I cut a bunch of these when I was visiting my sister last time.  As a final touch I added clear dimensional paint to the bee and laid it flat to dry.  Like the look!!      Therese

A fun thankyou card that features a coffee cup, a distressed background and some colourful ribbon

 This card started with a distressed background which I ripped in two and sponged the edges with brown.  I filled the gap with some printed collage paper overlaid with a coffee themed vellum before adhering this large element to a brown card front.  I added a bit of texture to the background by running my tracing wheel around the edges.  The focal element was a digital coffee cup image (CLKER) combined with a font greeting which was originally trimmed square on the top.  Wanting a more distinctive image I trimmed the top portion with a round Nestibilities die and placing my cutting pad to just cut the top rounded part.  Worked out well!!  I ripped off the bottom portion and sponged all the way around.  I watercoloured the image and added dimensional paint to the cup to give it a beautiful sheen.  Once it was dry, I added the little ribbon with flagged ends on the back and ran my tracing wheel across the bottom before adhering this large focal element to the front of my card with 3D foam tape.  I love how this one turned out!!            Therese

A few more of the laser printed and sponged greeting cards

I made a few of these a while back and wanted to make more as I had all sorts of ideas of for combining the large greetings with images.  The greetings are all from Desert Diva's blog and the images are from CLKER except the cupcakes which are from Beccy's Place.    You can check out the others I made here.
For the top left and the bottom right I sponged and then added watercolour to finish off the greetings.  For the other two it was just sponging.  The large greetings are fun and I combined them with the images digitally before laser printing them on white cardstock.  After cutting them apart I sponged them in appropriate colours and then layered them on coordinating cardstock!!  Love these!!!        Therese

A graduation card that features a digital image, lots of watercolour and some beautiful butterflies

I made this card for a special person who is graduated from high school this year.  

I laser printed the greeting (DESERT DIVA - digital) large on white cardstock and added watercolour until I was happy with it!!  After it was dry I adhered the panel to a deep maroon card front.  This is a large format card.  I added three butterflies - a large copper one (SX) and yellow one (SU) which I embellished with yellow and orange and a smaller one which echoes the copper of the large one.  I received this on in a swap so I am not sure of the maker.  I tied cording to the two smaller ones to create antenna.  I mounted them with 3D foam tape.  Really happy with how this one turned out!!

Therese

Three cards that all use the same sketch - an image, an embellishement and a large greeting

I am getting cards made for the next month for my family's special occasions!!!
It just sort of happened that I made three cards using the same sketch!!  It started with the top one - a birthday card for a special little girl!!
A scrapbook paper background glued to a coordinating card front.  I added a watercoloured image of a cupcake (digital laser printed) from Beary Wishes which I layered with a coordinating cardstock.  I added a green layer below the flag ended laser printed greeting which I embellished with my pattern tracing wheel.  I trimmed the green piece to the edge of the card on both sides and added two clear rhinestones to the greeting to add a bit of sparkle.  I did use shimmery watercolour on the icing of the cupcake to make it fun!!  I added a flower embellishment which was created using a flower punchie, a small flower sequin held together with a silver brad to finish off my card.  My next two cards were thank yous.  The pink one features a pink scrapbook paper background, a Birdie Brown little pin cushion laser printed digital image which I watercoloured and a layered laser printed greeting embellished with a couple rhinestones and some lines from the tracing wheel as well.  I finished it off with a little button die cut (CB) tied with a bit of white thread.  The last one features a teacup digital image from Cre8tive Hands which has been watercoloured and layered with cardstock, a colour printed digital background (Pixabay) adhered to a coordinating card front, an embellished layered greeting and a little heart 3D embellishment created from two little hearts die cuts.  Nice when you can make cards with the same sketch - it makes them a bit quicker.  All the supplies were from my stash!!  Therese

Made some cards with photos from photos calendars!!

 I wanted a few cards to add to my stash so I could make a nice set of cards for a gift so I decided to make a few of these simple sentiment cards with pages from photo calendars which I have received from my sister over the last few years.  I love the look of these cards because the photos make such great focal elements.  I have created a few greetings by combining frames with font greetings which I laser print on white cardstock, cut apart and then use as a layer between the photo and a coordinating card front.   You get four greeting layers from one sheet of white cardstock theses can be made up in batches fairly quickly!!  I do have to trim the photos as well because they are 4"x 4" once they are trimmed from the calendars.  These calendars featured teacups and tea pots, black and white architecture and a wide variety of nature shots!!  She has a few 2019 ones ready to go already for sales this fall.       Therese

Handmade cards featuring digital greetings and images along with some sponging

I found a card on Splitcoast Stampers that attracted me because of its large greeting so I took a bit of time to see what else was cool about it.  It was a CAS card with a large black greeting, some flowers stamped in black and some sponging on the lower portion of a white single layer card.  I really liked the look so I decided to make it my own.  I found a few fun greetings on DesertDiva's blog which worked for the greeting.  I found a good variety of images that I liked on CLKER so I combined them digitally and laser printed them onto white cardstock.  After cutting them apart I sponged the images with colours that worked with the images and then layered them onto coordinating coloured cardstock.  Love how they worked out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I like the "wishing you.. " greeting in that it can be for almost any occasion and works with quite a few images.  I did find that I watercoloured a few of them to add dimension and depth.  I added purple to the butterfly wings to define them and just water to the ink that was already there on the purple flowers which changed them enough to give them texture.  I did add purple to the greeting on that one too.  The other two were good to go with just sponging.  I generally started sponging at the bottom of the image and added as I went up decreasing the depth of colour as I went up so that it would just fade away before it got to the greeting.  I will be making more of these!!                Therese

Wedding card with embossing, ribbon and some shimmery watercolour

Stash building!!  I started by embossing a white quarter sheet with a flourish embossing folder, adding a white ribbon by gluing both ends to the back of the layer and adhering this large element to a white card front.  I used a wedding cake image from my stash (CLKER) which I laser printed and coloured with shimmery watercolours in silver, purple and green.  I made the colours subtle because that worked better with the white on white background.  When dry, I layered it onto a purple rectangle from which I had already punched the Modern Label (SU) layer for my greeting.  I mounted it to my card front using 3D foam tape then did the same with my layered punchie greeting.  To finish off my card I tied a short end of the same ribbon to the length on the front to simulate a bow!!

Therese

Wildflower on a brayered background with a small layered greeting

I used a few of these backgrounds the other day to make a few cards.  I brayered these a long while ago using a Kaleidacolour pad on coated cardstock.  They die cut very nicely.  I trimmed this one to size and die cut a wildflower silhouette  (TH) in the center of it.  I backed it with a black layer and then mounted this large focal element to an embossed card front.  I added  little laser printed greeting layered onto a label using 3D foam tape on the lower right hand corner which nicley bridged all the elements. 

Therese

Faux stitching, fussy cutting and a beautiful image of Peggys Cove

Back to making cards!!  This image has been in my stash for a long time because a portion of the sky was not well stamped.  I was looking in my stash for an image that would fit into this frame (also from my stash) and this one I thought was pretty close so I just fussy cut along the horizon and when I put it in the frame the lighthouse overlapped the frame!  I love it!!  I watercoloured the image (PSX), added a blue decorative paper to make the sky, trimmed the outside edges to fit in the frame and adhered all the pieces in place.  I adhered the top of the lighthouse to the front of the frame with a bit of 3D foam tape which makes it stand out very nicely from the scene.  The frame had already been embossed with a distressed embossing folder so I simply added some faux stitching to give it a bit more definition.  I adhered this large element to a gray card and I was done!!  An card for any occasion!!  Therese

A card that incorporates a watercoloured digital image, paper flowers and some stamped stitching

Making cards for special days in the lives of my special people!!  This one is for my sister!!  I started with the laser printed image of little sunflowers (CLKER) to which I had added a font greeting before printing.  I watercoloured the image and layered it onto a dark yellow cardstock rectangle.  I stamped the leaf stitching (SU) which I then watercoloured as well.  I trimmed the bottom with decorative wave scissors and pierced a row of dots just above it.  I went digging in my decorative paper stash for coordinating papers and found these blue hued ones that worked.  Blue is one of my sister's favorite colours!!  I trimmed my scraps and mounted them to brown cardstock leaving a bit of space at the bottom where I trimmed it with scallop decorative scissors and mirrored the paper piercing on my focal element by piercing each scallop.  I used a long unused stamp of zigzag stitching (Hero Arts) and stamped each joint between the papers.  My sister is a quilter and will appreciate the stitching on this card even if it is stamped.  I mounted my background to a blue card front and positioned my focal element over it and found that it needed a bit of something to make it pop so I dug through my silk flower stash and found these paper flowers which were exactly the right colours.  I layered two (brown & yellow), added a little brown flower punchie and then a blue sequin before binding them with a brown brad.  After a bit of auditioning I added the floral 3D element to the focal element and adhered this large element to my card front using double sided tape.  Really happy with how this one worked out!!!!!!!        Therese

A cute little bird, a label and a fun greeting for an all occasion card

A few more cards for the stash!!  I manually embossed my blue card using a swirl embossing folder (TH).  I found the yellow top note label die cut in my stash and die cut a circle (Nestibilities) which would accommodate this cute little bird image (Beary Wishes).  I manually embossed it with  a star embossing folder.  I watercoloured the laser printed digital image of the bird and mounted it to the back of label. I added a nice green organza ribbon and tied on a short piece with one knot to simulate a bow then adhered this large element to the front of my card.  I found the laser printed greeting in my stash, watercoloured it and mounted it to a green circle (Nestibilities) before adhering it to the front of my card over the ribbon to finish off my card.  Little birdie cards are handy for a wide variety of occasions and this one is pretty cute so would do for a child's birthday or for a new baby!!                Therese

Embossing, die cuts and silk flowers make for a beautiful birthday card

Cards are always a great hostess gift so I am putting together a few to bring along to a summer BBQ!!  I started with a gray card which I embossed with a very organic and stylized embossing folder.  I embossed the blue label die cut (SX) with the Swiss Dot embossing folder and punched a slot (SU) on each end for the ribbon.  I slipped the ribbon in both sides and then adhered the label to the front of the card and the ends of the ribbon to the inside front with double sided tape.  Next I added a black oval (Nestibilities) which I highlighted with a clear glitter gel pen.  The focal element is a laser printed digital greeting (font words - Bird's Cards frame) punched with a large oval punch (SU) and adhered to the inside of an opening in a decorative label die cut (SX).  These layered so nicely!!!  I added two layered silk flower embellishments to finish off my card!!  The colours matched perfectly!!!             Therese

An elegant card with a beautiful white dress

I love this dress image from CLKER!!!!!!!!!  It is a classic image suitable for a wedding and/or a shower when done is white shimmer as I have done for this card.  I have coloured it in different colours which makes it suitable for a graduation card!!   I layered it onto an aqua rectangle and added three little rhinestones for a little bling!!  I embossed a white layered with a beautiful flourish embossing folder and added a coordinating vintage seam binding before adhering it to a white card.  I mounted the large focal element over the seam binding using 3D foam tape.  Always good to have one of these on hand. 

Therese

Cute little girl with an apple printed on vellum and mounted to a reused layer

For this card I reused part of a larger commercial card for my background.  I found the image in my stash as well (Heather Ellis).  It is printed on vellum so I very carefully coloured it on the back using watercolour (markers or chalks will not wrinkle the paper) and layered it onto a an ivory rectangle before adhering it to my background using four tiny white brads.  I layered this large element to a coordinating card front!!!  I really love this cute little girl images because they work just as easily for little girls as adult women and almost anyone in the case of this thank you card. 

Therese

Layered hearts for a fun anniversary card!!

I like to feature hearts on anniversary cards and am always looking for new ways to feature them.  I had these cut and sitting on my desk from this card from my All Occasion Class.  I decided to layer them and then wanted a way to interlock them so I dug through the scraps sitting on my desk and found this little strip which did exactly what I wanted.  I decided to layer them onto this dark red colour which I embossed with stars instead of hearts which was my original intent.  Somehow, I just could not do the hearts and the stars were calling to me.  So hearts it is!!  I glued down my hearts and then punched out an opening using my Modern Label punch (SU) just below the bottom of the lowest heart.  I glued this large element to a green card front which coordinated with the strip I used.  I added the little punched greeting into the opening using 3D foam tape.  the card still needed "a bit of something" so I added clear rhinestones to the strip and that was better.  After a bit of pondering I also added some to one of the hearts and to the greeting.  That was better but it still was calling for more bling so I added dots to the background layer using a clear glitter gel pen!!  That was better!!!  Always amazing how the muse calls and we are guided!!  Therese

A fun old bicycle image with a cool chalkboard greeting and some bakers twine

Still working on cards for my stash!!  This card features a cool image of an old bicycle (CLKER) which I laser printed on white cardstock, trimmed and sponged the edges with purple to coordinate with the bakers twine I had chosen.  After sponging I decided to distress as well so I had to sponge the edges again to eliminate the stark white.  I also decided to add some faux stitching to give the image a bit of punch.  I fussy cut a chalkboard greeting which coordinates with the sort of vintage feeling of the bicycle image.  I adhered the greeting to the background using 3D foam tape and then inserted bakers twine in the holes of label greeting and used double sided tape to adhere the ends to the back.  I adhered this large element to my card front.  I used 3D foam tape to adhere my bicycle image to my card. 

Therese

An all occasion card with a beautiful butterfly

Still working on cards for my stash!!  I started with this beautiful butterfly (Pixabay) which I colour printed on white carsdstock and trimmed. I layered it onto brown cardstock and then while rummaging in my background stash I found this one created using inks which worked really well. After trimming it to size I tied on a piece of coordinating ribbon and glued it to a coordinating card front.  I adhered my large focal element using 3D foam tape and positioned it over the ribbon.  I tied a short piece of ribbon to the one on the card using a single knot to simulate a bow.  Would work well as a sympathy card or for any occasion for a butterfly lover!!
Therese

Combined a cute cat, some fiber and a punched greeting for this great birthday card

Our son in law shares a birthday day with my Mom so I prepped this card for him.  I am stretching my vision of what works for guy cards and decided that this cute little cat would work just as well for an adult as it would for a child.  I laser printed this digital image (CLKER), trimmed it and watercoloured it.  He is really cute!!  I added a brown rectangle layer, ripped the bottom edge and added a few rows of piercings using my pattern tracing wheel.  I watercoloured the punchie greeting (SU- frame with font greeting) and highlighted the edge with brown.  I found this orange duplex paper in my stash which I thought would look good sanded so I embossed it with this tight embossing folder which somewhat reflected the cat's triangular markings.  It took quite a bit of sanding to reveal the white cardstock which was beneath the orange but I am happy with how it turned out.  I adhered the background to a brown card and auditioned the cat and greeting to see how they looked.  After gluing them down it still needed "a bit of something" so stamped the greeting and the bottom edge of the image with my stipple stamp (SU) and brown ink.  That was better.  Still needed something so I added this perfectly coordinated fiber which I entwined between the image and the greeting.  Better!!    Therese

A card for my Mom which features fun paper, watercoloured digital image and a fun layered greeting

My Mom's birthday is coming up - she will be 82!!  She is still a going concern - quilting, gardening, cooking, reading and taking care of my Dad.  Her favorite colour is this great blue colour so I started with that.  I added this fun decorative paper which I colour printed for a different project and found in my stash.  I glued it to my card front and added white ribbon which I glued to the inside of my card with double sided tape.  The flower image is a digital from Cruzine which I laser printed on white cardstock and trimmed to size before watercolouring to coordinate with my background paper.  I layered the image onto a rectangle which I created using blue and green cardstock and added to my card using 3D foam tape.  I used this oval punched greeting (Bird's Cards) which I sponged on the edges with blue and green and then added a green oval punchie which I trimmed in two and allowed the two halves to show a bit on the top and the bottom of the greeting one.  I mounted it to my card using 3D foam tape and added a bit of blue watercolour to it which finished it off perfectly!!!  Therese

An old mill graphic with seam binding and a simple greeting

Another card for the stash!!  This one features an old mill image from Arthurs' Clipart  which I laser printed, trimmed and watercoloured.  I embossed green cardstock with a grungy TH embossing folder and added a length of eggplant vintage seam binding from top to bottom securing the ends with double sided tape before adhering it to a deep purple card.  I distressed the edges of the mill image and adhered it to my card front using 3D foam tape.  I found a coordinating greeting punchie (modern label - SU) which I had embellished with clear dimensional paint which I added over the seam binding below the image with 3D foam tape.  Finally, I tied on a short piece of seam binding to the one on the front using a single knot to simulate a bow!!

Therese

Embossed serendipity collage backgrounds, embossed &laser printed digital image and small greetings

These cards feature serendipity collage backgrounds which I made up a while back.  It is a great project to work on when you are between projects.  I stamped the backgrounds and embossed them with an all over design embossing folder (Latttice -SU).  I mounted both of these to coordinating green cardstock and then to coordinating card fronts.  For the first one, I chose a dry embossed image of tulips which I created using a brass stencil and a stylus.  I sponged the edges and mounted it to my card front and then added a small layered greeting below and to the right a bit.  The second one, features a colour printed birdie image and a friends greetings (Melonheadz) which I sponged and backed with green cardstock after overlapping them in the corners.  I am stretching my boundaries a little and trying new layouts and ways of doing things!!  Fun!!!!!            Therese

Hammered botanicals as backgrounds and focal elements for these cards along with simple greetings

These two cards feature "Hammered botanicals" backgrounds which I made last year using my Big Kick and some flowers and leaves from my garden and yard.  I trimmed my backgrounds and layered them onto green cardstock.  For the first one, I added a laser printed vellum greeting to which I added a couple of lines of piercing using my pattern tracing wheel before folding the ends to the back and securing with tape.  I mounted this large element to a coordinating purple/pink card.  For my second card, I added a coordinating shimmery ribbon securing the ends to the back with tape as well.  I sponged the edges of my laser printed greeting (Melonheadz) with pink and layered it onto green and trimmed.  I distressed the edges before mounting it to my background using 3D foam taper and positioning it at an angle.  I added 5 clear rhinestones - three on the left and two on the right.  Again, I mounted this large element to a coordinating purple/pink card.  With a bit of experience from last year I will probably try a few more of these backgrounds again this year.  

Therese

A honeycomb background with some fun font images which have been embellished

I found these backgrounds on my desk in a little container in which I have been collecting backgrounds leftover from other projects.  I created this background earlier this year using SU digital stamps when I was working on Valentine's cards.   I decided to find another creative way to use them so I added some sequins to these two.  For the first one, I added three little flower sequins which I mounted to the background just above the greeting using tiny gold brads.  I used a green fine tip marker and added some leaves, swirls and dots.  I watercoloured in the leaves as well as a few of the hexagons.  To finish off this element I manually embossed the edges with a dots embossing folder and mounted it to a red card front.  The Hello greeting is a part of an image font.  For the second card, I watercoloured some of the hexagons in yellow and blue/green and the bee's body (image font).  I coloured the bee wings with a clear glitter gel pen.  Next, I added yellow and white sequins to some of the hexagons using small pieces of glue dot to secure them in place.  Finally, I manually embossed a few aress with a dots embossing folder and mounted this large element to a blue/green card front.  I will have to go find this background and print off a few more as they are great for making cards in a hurry!!           Therese

Reused an image and layered it simply for a Praying for you card

This image was trimmed from a large greeting card which was donated to me for card making.   I added a green layer and then bordered it with my pattern tracing wheel to give it a bit of texture.  I mounted this large element to a sky blue card.  I added a small laser printed greeting punchie (Word Window - SU) using double sided tape which I sponged on the edges just a bit to give it definition.  Love it!!

Therese

Little birdie card with the Tim Holtz die

I made a few of these card kits for my March class.   I made this one up and have a few more to go but will do them up later as I have already several of these on hand.  They have fun background with something interesting on the left hand side.  I have given the bird a beak and a brad eye then mounted it to the cage and finally added its wing. I added the blue ribbon through the hole at the top and then mounted the cage to my card front to which I had already mounted my decorative paper background using 3D foam tape in the center and double sided tape on the perimeter.  I slipped my little tag onto the ribbon and glued it to the inside of my card using double side tape.  I tied a short length to the piece on the front using one knot to simulate a bow.  I added a small piece of 3D foam tape to the back of my little stamped tag and adhered it at a bit of an angle.  I coloured clear rhinestones with a green sharpie marker and positioned them in the holes at the bottom of the cage which are backed with double sided tape which secures them nicely!!  Therese