Another all occasion heart card featuring hearts punched from hand decorated paper, machine stitching and an embossed heart

 This is the second card I made with the bunch of hearts I punched from a sheet of hand decorated paper I made.  It started as a sheet where I tried out all the colours of a new set of pens using a very loose handwriting, a bit of colour added after another project and I added yet more watercolour in a variety of colours to get it bright enough to make the hearts for my two cards.  This is my second card and after having reverse engineered one I found on line I knew that I would need 14 hearts and 4 half hearts.  I did leave one space blank in the third row to put my special heart.  I chose a piece of purple light weight cardstock and glued down my hearts in close proximity to each other and then added the half hearts.  I put it under weight while it dried and then added machine stitching with purple thread tying off the ends on the back and securing them with regular tape.  For my special heart I punched one (SU) from silver metallic cardstock, embossed it with a flourish embossing folder (CB) and added a blue scalloped heart die cut (SU) in behind.  I mounted it in the open space using 3D foam tape.  The stitching on this one was more pronounced and I like it more subtle like on my first card.  I trimmed the purple and mounted it to a light aqua card which fit in an envelope from my stash.  Will do for a "much love","lots of hugs" card or an anniversary card.  It is going into my stash.  Therese 

All occasion card featuring LOTS of hearts punched from hand decorated paper and one special one

 I have been wanting to make a card full of hearts like this one for quite a while.  I finally reverse engineered one I found on line to find that I needed fourteen full hearts and four halves.  I decided to use a sheet of white cardstock from my stash that I had already started altering with watercolour for my hearts.  I added several layers of watercolour in several colours to what was already there - a few marks and some very loose handwriting which I did when I bought a new set of pens and was testing the colours.  After it was dry I cut it into 1.75" strips which is what I needed for my heart punch (SU).  I alternated the direction of punching to make the most use of the strip.  I managed to punch a few halves as well from the scraps.  I chose these thirteen hearts and started gluing them down on a layer of light weight green cardstock without really knowing how wide I would need.  I glued down all the full hearts leaving a gap where the gold heart would be positioned and then added the half hearts.  I set that to press then added the machine stitching after they were dry.  I tied the threads on the back and secured them with a small piece of regular tape at each end.  I punched the gold heart and then added the scalloped die cut (SU) one behind it.  I originally had cut it from white which seemed too stark so I watercoloured the edge green instead.  It was better but I would have preferred a deeper colour but that is what I had in my watercolours.  I adhered them to each other and mounted them in the opening I had left open.  I trimmed the green layer and then mounted this large layer to a yellow card which fit in an envelope from my stash. Glad to have finally made one of these.  I have enough hearts from my piece of decorative paper to make another so I am off to make that happen.   Therese

STASH SERIES - All occasion card with a fun multicoloured chevron background, blue tags with glittery butterfly cut outs, ribbon and a large butterfly

 This is the sixth and last card in my STASH SERIES!!! Some of the elements for all of the six cards were created at the same time which saves time because all the tools were already out!!  

For this card I started with a large blue card front and added this fun chevron background (colour printed digital).  I dug five blue scraps from my stash and punched butterflies (Martha Stewart) out of them before embossing them with different embossing folders.  Next, I reinserted the butteflies into different tags to provide some contrast and texture.  These ones got a bit of extra sparkle because they had opening in their wings where the tape I used to secure them on the back was visible so I simply applied some beautiful glitter and rubbed it on.  It stuck to the tape which both added another dimension to them and made the tape non sticky!!  I rearranged the tags until I was happy and adhere them to each other using regular tape.  I added a white satin ribbon and tied on a short piece to simulate a bow.  After tucking the ends to the back of the tag element I adhered the whole to my card front.  I used a Sizzix butterfly die to cut my focal element  I used a hand decorated paper for the smaller butterfly and both vellum and white paper for the large butterfly.  This butterfly requires that you fold your paper and lay it on the edge of the die and it cuts both wings at once.  I have both a vellum and paper layer because in the end I found there was not enough contrast with the vellum alone.  I embossed the vellum butterfly, adhered the coloured one to it with double sided tape only in the middle where the body would be.  I tied silver cord with a double knot in the middle which created both a body and the two antennae in one process.  I adhered the white paper one to the back using double sided tape in the center.  I adhered the butterfly to my card front using another piece of double sided tape in the center nicely overlapping my ribbon.  The bit of sparkle from the glitter really adds appeal to this card!!  So happy to have had the chance to try making cards this way and I think I will probably do another series some time in the future using a different sketch!!!  So many possibilities!!            Therese

STASH SERIES - All occasion card featuring a floral background, a set of tags with floral die cuts, gray seam binding and a large layered flower

 This is my fifth card in my STASH SERIES!!  I am fond of this colour combination which I why I chose to add this beautiful floral background to the large gray card I created.  I dug six scraps of yellow cardstock from my stash, die cut little flowers from them and embossed them.  I reinserted the flowers in the opening in different tags and secured them with regular tape creating texture and contrast.   I arranged my tags, adhered them to each other using regular tape and added gray seam binding tucking the ends to the back before adhering this large element to my card front which fit just nicely on my card.  I tied on a short piece of the same seam binding to the one on the front using a single knot which nicely simulates a bow.  I used a Sizzix flower die to cut all the pieces for my floral focal element.  I cut two from gray cardstock and the other two from yellow using a bright one for the smallest one which is the center.  I adhere them all to each other after embossing them with the D'vine Swirl embossing folder from Cuttlebug.  I hand cut two large leaves, embossed them with script (Cuttlebug) and adhered them to the back of my flower.  I attached my flower to my card using double sided tape.  I really love how this one turned out!!!!!!!!    Therese 

Fun fire starter kits

 I made this batch of waxed papers today in order to send them along to the grand kids as an activity for their birthdays.  The boys have a camping theme so I thought it would be fun to send them kits for making up fire starters!!  I made up instructions and made an envelope for each one of them.  I will be sending the boys theirs for their upcoming birthdays and the girls will get theirs for their birthdays as they arrive this year.  You can see that I made up two of them to make sure they would work well with the supplies I chose this time around.  I used good one side bond paper from our scrap paper pile and simply applied wax crayons to the clean side.  Very little shows through so it makes the fire starters beautiful as well as practical.  I chose to used staples on the ends instead of stitching which makes it very easy for the kids to make themselves and filled them with only crushed newspaper instead of including shredded paper too which will make less of a mess.  I used a half sheet - 8.5" x 5.5" for each one.  You can see more info on this post:  Fire Starters.  If you want more info on how I waxed my papers you can find that here:  Wax crayon backgrounds.  I am glad to have this ready to send very shortly so they will arrive for their birthdays.  

Therese

STASH SERIES - All occasion card with a music sheet background, brown tags with heart cut outs, gold ribbon and a lacy heart

 Number four of my STASH SERIES!!  All the cards, backgrounds and tags were created at one time in order to save time and get all the elements made up when the tools were out.  

For this card I created a large brown card and added a music sheet background (colour printed digital).  I did embellish the background a little with watercolour because it was leaning more to the grays and I was wanting to add brown elements.  The watercolour only absorbed on the highlights of the image where the toner was thin which gave a wonderful effect.  Just enough brown to do what I needed it to with my other elements. I dug five scraps from my stash and die cut hearts from all of them.  I embossed the tags, reinserted the hearts into the openings of different tags to create texture and contrast.  I played with my tags until I had an arrangement I liked but discovered that they were wider than my cards so when I adhered them to each other with regular tape I overlapped them just a little to make sure that this element would fit on my card front.  I added a gold ribbon, tucked the ends to the back and then adhered this element to my card.  I die cut the lacy heart from both brown and metallic gold and used the gold heart in the brown lacy frame to create my focal element.  Because they nest, I used bits of tape on the back to keep my heart in the opening.  I adhered the heart using double sided tape to my card overlapping the ribbon.  It still needed a "bit of something" so I tied on a length of brown crochet thread and tied a double knot.  That was better!!  Therese

STASH SERIES - All occasion card featuring decorative paper, star tags and a large gold embossed star

 This is my third card in my STASH SERIES which I started last week.  The six cards, backgrounds, punched and embossed tags were created in a bit of an assembly line which really saved some time as the tools were all out and got used for all of the cards.  

For this card I created a large red card front and added this beautiful fleur de lis background paper (colour printed digital).  I dug five scraps of red cardstock from my stash and die cut stars from them (Sizzix - red with four stars).  I embossed all the tags and then reinserted the stars in different tags to provide texture.  In this case, there was very little contrast because the reds were very close to each other in colour and value.  I rearranged my finished tags until I was happy with them and adhered them to each other using regular tape which is also what I used to secure the die cut stars in the openings.   I added a thin gold ribbon, tucking the ends to the back before adhering this large element to my card front.  I cut the a red star using the largest star on the Sizzix die, embossed it with script and then embossed it with gold embossing powder.  Lots of texture and a real nice metallic finish!!  I adhere it to a piece of brown cardstock and used a  ruler and exacto knife to trim it leaving a bit of a border all the way around.  I mounted my star to my card front using double sided tape and I was done!!  These cards are much nicer on their second look after pressing!!       Therese

STASH SERIES - All occasion card featuring decorative paper, leafy tags, ribbon and two layered leaves

 This card is part of a series of cards I made for my stash.  I did the first steps - large cards, backgrounds, punched and embossed tag elements in a bit of an assembly line for all the cards - six in all.  It was time saving to make them this way as all the tools were used for each step for each card.  Not my usual way of making cards but I am very happy with how they all turned out. 

For this card I started with a large green card and added a leafy background (colour printed digital).  I dug five scraps of green cardtock from my stash and punched leaves from all of them.  I embossed all the tags and then reinserted the leaf punchies into the openings of a different tag which provided contrast in both texture and colour.  I used regular tape to secure them in place.  I played with the tags  until I was happy and adhered them to each other using regular tape.  I added a length of wide brown grosgrain ribbon tucking the ends to the back before adhering this large element to my card front.  For my focal element I die cut a large maple leaf (SIZZIX) from green white core cardstock, embossed it with a tree embossing folder and sanded it.  I used watercolour to highlight the sanded areas and then added a bit of yellow using a stamp pad.  I found the small leaf in my stash and thought it would make a beautiful accent for my large leaf.  It is a punchie which I embossed, watercoloured and thermally embossed in gold after it was dry.  I layered the little leaf on over the bigger one and then tied their stems together using brown crochet thread.  This large element was adhered to the front of my card over the ribbon using 3D foam tape.        Therese

STASH SERIES - All occasion card featuring decorative paper, embossed tags and a large layered flower

 In an effort to have cards in my stash I decided to make a series of cards all featuring decorative paper backgrounds, little embossed tags with embedded punchies and a large focal element.  I started with six pieces of cardstock in a variety of colours, chose decorative paper backgrounds, strips for my tags along with a punch/die and started the cards.  

For this card I started with a large white card and adhered this fun floral paper in peach and aqua (colour printed digital image).  I chose five pink scraps from my stash, punched each of them with a six petal flower punch and then embossed the tags with a variety of embossing folders.  I filled the holes in each tag with a punched flower from one of the other scraps to create some contrast.  I adhered them from the back using regular tape.  The next step was to arrange them into a large element to put on my background.  I moved them around a bit until I was happy and used regular tape on the back to attach them to each other.  

I did all six of my cards to this level before moving on and adding a large coordinating accent.  

For this card, I created a large flower using a Sizzix flower die.  I cut two large ones  - one in dark pink and the other in white, then a smaller one from a medium pink colour.  I layered them and adhered them in the middle and then cut a yellow circle for the center.  After playing with the elements a bit I decided where the tag element would go and adhered it to my card front over the background.  Once I added my flower I found it needed something to keep it from blending too much with my tags and background.  I added a length of wide white gros grain ribbon with fish tail ends which I simply adhered to my card using double sided tape.  That was much better!!  Once I was ready to glue on my flower I decided it needed some leaves so I die cut two of these leafy sprigs (SU) from green cardstock and adhered them to the back of my flower before adhering this large element over the ribbon on my card.  The green leaves really helped to define the flower as well. 

Doing all the pieces for all the cards at the same time meant that I did all the punching, then all the embossing and then all the assembly of the tags at the same time which really saved some time.  I have very rarely had the time to make cards in this manner before.  I am usually running to get done what I need with a much tighter timeline so end up with one at a time. 

I really enjoyed the process and am very happy with how much character my cards have even if they were made to a certain level in an assembly line.  

Watch this space for the other cards I made as I get them posted!!

Therese

Large all occasion cards featuring blue and aqua decorative paper, sanded white core cardstock, foil and little birds

My last set of cards for donation which are very similar to my last two in that they use the deep aqua paper and the light yellow textured paper.  Both cards are landscape and the first on has the deep aqua pieced instead of whole like the other one.  I trimmed the yellow layer on the bottom one just to add some interest.  The small rectangles of aqua white core cardstock were embossed (top D'vine swirl - CB and the bottom brocade one - CB) and sanded.  I rounded the corner on the top one.  I punched the foil and used the circle punchie on the first one and the one with the opening on the second one.  Created my birds with the SU bird punch - yellow cardstock with watercolour for the bird and aqua for the wings.  The eye added with a black marker and the beaks with a yellow gel pen which I embellished with a lead pencil to add a bit more definition.  The branches for these two were also cut using the TH - Branch Tree using green cardstock scraps which were then watercoloured, adhered and trimmed to the edges.  These focal elements were added to my cards using 3D foam tape. 

Really happy with my little stack of cards.  I am sure they will be welcomed by the staff at the church and will go on to bless others as the need arises!!               Therese
 

Large all occasion cards featuring decorative paper, sanded white core cardstock, foil and little birds

Still making cards for donation and for this set I used the same deep aqua and yellow as the last set.  The deep aqua are 4" x 4" with the yellow layers being larger.  I created white cards to fit in some large envelopes from my stash.  The foil layer on the first was punched with a 1.75" circle punch (SU) and the punchie used on the second card.  I embossed both pieces of aqua white core cardstock (distressed lines - CB on the first, D'vine Swirl - CB on the second) and sanded them.  I rounded the corners on the first one.  I rounded the corner on the foil layer as well before mounting it on my card along with the aqua piece.  The little birds were created using punched pieces from a bird punch from Stampin UP.  I punched the birds from yellow cardstock and watercoloured them, added eyes with a black marker and the beaks with a yellow gel pen which I embellished with a lead pencil to give them a bit more definition.  I punched the wings from teal cardstock scraps and embossed them before adhering them to the birds.  The punch includes a branch with leaves but it seemed too flimsy so I used Tim Holtz - Branch Tree die (SIZZIX) and cut a couple branches using green scraps of cardstock and watercoloured them before adhering to my layers and them trimming them to the edge.  I adhered my birds to the foil with double sided tape and then used 3D foam tape to adhere these focal elements to my card fronts.   I really enjoying making up these little birds and they were just the right size for these cards.  Therese
 

An all occasion card featuring a letter collaged tag, a paper pieced background and some ribbon

This is my second card for my card exchange this month.  I started with a brown envelope and created a kraft card to fit inside.  I dug out my brown and green paper scraps and created a paper pieced background trimming pieces as I went.  In my green paper scraps I found this tag so I decided to use it as the base for my letter collage.  I chose green and brown letters from my stash adhering the larger ones on first and then adding smaller ones after.  I added two pieces of white tissue paper to this one as well to help tie the collage together. I chose a brown leaf die cut as its focal element which I watercoloured, embossed and then highlighted with a bit of ink.  Once it was dry I added it to my tag.  I punched a hole at the top and added piece of beige ribbon trimming the ends diagonally.  I mounted my tag to the front of my card using 3D foam tape.  Very happy with how different all of these cards look having been created with a very similar technique.           Therese
 

All occasion card featuring a paper pieced background, a letter collage and a die cut circle embellishment

Loving this technique so I have decided to make my exchange cards for February using it!!  For this one I used letters for my collage.  I dug out a large red envelope and created a black card to fit inside.  I used red paper scraps from my stash to create a paper pieced background.  Next, I found a gray scrap on which I created the collage for my focal element using letter punchies and die cut from my stash.  For this one I chose mainly red, black and white ones.  Again, I used large, medium and smaller letters.  I added some white tissue paper strips to tone down the contrast a bit. To finish it off I used a large letter S which started life as a chipboard letter and had been stripped of its beautiful outer layer.  I coloured it with watercolour crayon, washed it out a bit and added some red watercolour until I was happy with it.  Next, I sealed it with a layer of white glue.  When it was dry I mounted my collage to a dark gray layer.  As I was auditioning it on my card front I wanted to a "bit of something" to add some texture and interest so I layered two  red circle die cuts, die cut a star from the middle and then cut it in half.  I mounted each half to the top and bottom of my collage on opposite edges.  I added two little punchie circles next to them.  That was better!  I adhered this large focal element to my card and finished it off by adding faux stitching to the edges of the half circles with a black marker.    Therese
 

Large all occasion cards featuring decorative paper, borders, sanded white core cardstock, foil and a layered flower

 I am still working on large cards for donation and using paper donated to me by my sister who is in serious paper destashing mode.   You can check out another set of cards here & here.  For these I used a deep aqua paper with yellow floral accents and a very lightly textured yellow one.  I added the dark aqua first and then the yellow borders.  On the left hand one I used the eyelet border punch on both edges (SU) and I used my pattern tracing wheel on the small strip on my second one.  I used large rectangles of the light aqua white core cardstock on both and embossed the first with a distressed lines embossing folder (CB) and the second with the D'vine Swirl embossing folder (CB) and I rounded the corners on it as well.  I added short pieces of coordinating ribbon to the foil layer on the first card and rounded the corners on the one on my second card. The flowers were created using a large red Sizzix die that has four different layers.  I embossed all the layers once they were cut and then layered and glued them together.  Once I had added them to the foil layer with double sided tape they still needed a "bit of something" so I dug through my leaf punchies stash and found these that worked really well and that was certainly better!!!  Fun to change up the orientation!!          Therese

Birthday card featuring a star collage, a paper pieced background, a stamped greeting and some ribbon

I am having fun with this collage technique!!  For this card I started with a white card which I created to fit a large envelope from my stash.  I dug out my yellow/orange paper scraps and paper pieced a background onto my card front using a few pieces and trimming as needed.  I chose a mottled orange piece and created a star collage on it for my focal element.  I embossed the large star die cuts and glue them in place and then added some medium, small and tiny stars.   Once it was dry I adhered it to my card front over my background using 3D foam tape and went looking for a greeting.  I found this stamped one which worked well.  It has been stamped on a scrap a while back and I thought it would be fun to give it an asymmetrical outline so I just trimmed each side with my trimmer and then added some paper piercing using my pattern tracing wheel.  I added two little blue ribbon ends to the back and then mounted to my card with 3D foam tape.  Love it!!  

Therese
 

Large all occasion cards featuring decorative paper, sanded coral white core cardstock, foil punchies and butterflies

This is my next set of cards for donation.  They use the same papers as my last set and pretty much the same techniques and layout.  

For the top card, I used two strips of the green polka dot paper for the top and bottom of my large white card.  I added a 4" x 4" square of brown floral paper that coordinates with the green one and rounded the corners.   I corner rounded the rectangle of coral white core cardstock, embossed it with a floral embossing folder (CB), layered on a 1.75" foil circle punchie which I punched out when I made the last set and added a green stamped butterfly (SU) with tan thread tied on to create the body and antennae.  

For the bottom card I used similar techniques and supplies.  The white core cardstock was embossed with a letter embossing folder and I used a coordinating butterfly from my stash.  I changed the format from right to left.  

This process makes the cards all coordinating without any of them being identical.  They go together a little faster when you don't have to rethink your pieces or the layout.   Therese
 

Anniversary card featuring a floral background and a variety of hearts - lacy black frame, copper foil one in the center and two small punchies on the ribbon

 For this anniversary card I started with a large envelope from my stash and made an off white card to fit inside.  I added a layer of block printed background paper that features flowers in several colours.  I cut a piece of brown gros grain ribbon, trimmed the ends diagonally and sealed the edges with the flame of a lighter before adhering it over my background.  I added two little copper foil heart punchies to each end of the ribbon.  I auditioned the dark green lacy frame I had on my desk which was extraneous to the creation of one of my thank you cards but it was not quite what I needed.  I decided to use a black marker and colour it to coordinate with the black in my background paper.  That worked very well!!  I adhered the lacy heart to my card using white glue from a fine tip applicator.  I pressed it for a bit with my hand to make sure it would stay in place over the ribbon.  The large copper foil heart was cut out when I was making my thank you cards.  I applied it with double sided tape on top and bottom and used white glue where it would be over the ribbon.  I am enjoying making cards again!!  It has been fun to be back in my craft room and playing with paper and bits of this and that!!   Theresse

Large all occasion cards featuring butterfly punchies, decorative paper, sanded white core cardstock and some foil

I am still making large cards for donation.  I am using white cardstock to create cards to fit in large envelopes from my stash.  

For the top card, I used a piece of polka dot green paper which coordinated with the green in the brown/pink floral paper.  The brown floral is cut to 4" x 4" and the green just a bit larger.  I embossed a rectangle of the coral white core paper with a floral embossing folder (CB) and sanded it and then layered on a rectangle of foil/cardstock from which I had punched (SU) a 1.75" opening.  I stamped a brown butterfly (SU), punched it out (SU) and then tied on heavyweight tan thread to the center to create the body and antennae. I mounted the butterfly using double sided tape only in the center which allows the wings to be opened up.  I mounted this focal element to my card front using 3D foam tape.  

For the bottom card I did pretty much the same thing.  I used a letters embossing folder for the coral white core cardstock, a green stamped butterfly with brown thread for the body and antennae, a full piece of green paper with a 4" x 4" of brown floral paper and changed up the orientation from left to right.        Therese

 

Large all occasion cards featuring decorative paper, sanded white core layers, foil and die cuts

I usually make a few cards to donate at this time of the year and here are a few I have made for the church.  I started with white cardstock - not my usual but having read some comments online there are those who are choosing to use only neutral cardstock for their cardmaking which makes "matching" a non issue.  Something I am considering though I do have a large stash of coloured cardstock.  This decorative paper was donated to me by my sister who is stash busting her decorative paper stash. It worked so well with the coral white core cardstock I had on hand which are little note cards donated to me by a friend a while back.  I created the foil layers by gluing wrinkled foil (chocolate - love it when  treats provides crafting supplies) onto scrap cardstock and pressing.  I started with large white envelopes from my stash and made the cards to fit inside.  For the card on left, I added a full layer of the swirly decorative paper leaving a small border all the way around.   I punched the foil rectangle with a 1.75" punch (SU), rounded the corners, backed it with white cardstock, glued the flower die cut in the opening and added a small rhinestone to finish it off.  I layered this onto a piece of the coral white core cardstock with I had embossed with D"vine Swirl (CB) and then sanded.  I corner rounded this layer too.  There was not enough contrast between the paper and the sanded layer so I added a piece of white cardstock which I distressed on the edges. After gluing all these layers together I mounted this element to my card using 3D foam tape.  It still needed " a bit of something" so I tied a knot in a short piece of white ribbon and attached it below the flower using double sided tape.  That was better!!

For the card on the right, I added two pieces of the coral swirl paper to my card front - top and bottom.  I used a large piece of the coral white core cardstock and embossed it with the D"vine Swirl embossing folder (CB), sanded it and then corner rounded the corners.  I used the circle I punched from the foil for my first card as the base for my flower and added a white embossed center.  I used some pink raffia to create a bit of a floral element around my circle punchie by wrapping and gluing it to the back of my circle.  I secured them with double sided tape.  I glued my embossed layer to the center of my card and then used 3D foam tape to adhere my floral element to the lower right hand corner.  

So glad to be making cards and these ones have worked out so well.  

Therese

 

Birthday card featuring an embossed card, a background created from tissue paper and stars and a star die cut with bling

For this birthday card I decided to have some fun and create a background right on my card front.  I started by adhering some stars in an all over pattern over my blue card front which was textured with a linear pattern.  Next, I took a piece of white tissue paper and tore it into strips.  I applied glue stick to the back of one of them and laid it over my card front over the stars.  It dulled the silver stars so I cut the tissue paper off of the star.  I kept adding strips of tissue paper over my card front avoiding the silver stars.  Feeling like the edges needed a bit more I added shorter piece several places around the edge.  Next, I added this gray star diecut which consists of four pieces which I secured on the back with regular tape so they would not separate.  I added clear glitter to the star in the middle and the second next star - it does not show well in the photo.  I adhered the star over my background once it was dry using 3D foam tape.  I added strips of clear rhinestones below the star and then added a few more all over my front to add some sparkle and shine.  Thinking it needed just a bit more contrast I added some small blue star punchies using white glue and two vellum star punchies too.  Really like how it turned out and I would like to this background technique again!!       Therese
 

Birthday card featuring a collage background, a butterfly collage, some ribbon and a little font greeting

 Working on family cards for February!!  I used this technique for my previous card and really wanted to try it again.  I started with a white card and added blue paper pieces until it was covered.  I created my focal element by covering a piece of decorative paper with a whole bunch of blue butterflies from my stash.  After it was dry I layered it onto white.  I layered navy ribbon onto a dark red one with double sided tape and added it to my card using double sided tape.  Next, I mounted my focal element to my card front using 3D foam tape.  I trimmed a little font greeting, sponged its edges and added to my card using double sided tape.  To finish off my card I added a little clear rhinestone to my greeting and tied a piece of silver cord to my layered ribbon.  I left the wings of the silver butterfly free so I could raise them a bit which really adds dimension to the card!!         Therese

Anniversary card featuring paper pieced background with a fun heart collage and a layered punchie greeting with ribbon

Starting on my February family cards and made this one for my sister and her husband.  I started with a white card which I created to fit in a large envelope from my stash.  I layered red papers on it just piecing them to fit.  Next, I trimmed a piece of decorative paper from my red paper stash and layered on a whole bunch of red hearts - die cuts, punchies and some fussy cut stamped images.  Once it was dry I layered it onto white and adhered it to my card using 3D foam tape.  I added a little oval punchie (SU) font greeting which I layered onto a red scalloped punchie (SU).  I added some clear glitter on the front and two little bit of ribbon on the back and adhered it to my card front using double sided tape on the top and 3D foam tape on the bottom.  I love how it worked out.  I will do this technique again!!!              Therese
 

Quilting - dark blue crumb squares

I worked on dark blue crumb squares yesterday and managed to get six made.  I started with six floral squares and added all the way around which worked quite well.  Not as crumby as some of my others but they took a little less time because I made them all at the same time by just adding strips to all of them and sewing them all in one go.  Happy with them.  Will combine them with another colour to make a quilt top somewhere along the way.  

Therese

 

Handmade paper fire starters with beeswax

I had a brainstorm in the last few days since my experiments with fire starters - maybe I could use handmade paper for them.  I had to find my box of handmade paper as it has been a while since I was in there.  I made up two of each - two without wax and two with beeswax.  I decided to use beeswax on them because I just recently acquired some and I wanted to preserve the beauty of the paper.   

These are the ones I made above.  The ones without wax worked reasonably but those with wax were much better.  I used my griddle covered with foil in the same way as I did for when I used crayons.  I laid my handmade paper sheet (8.5"x 5.5") over the foil and rubbed the beeswax sticks over it.  Beeswax required a bit more heat (250F) and also the handmade paper is thicker than the other papers I used so it takes a bit longer for the heat to transfer through.  I avoided the edges and that proved problematic when I tried to light them as the sewn ends were less waxed than the rest.  

I had to go back and add wax to the edges.  For those already made up I simply dipped the ends in melted beeswax.  For those not yet made up I found that sewing through paper coated with beeswax is problematic as the wax is a little sticky.  So for my next ones I will put regular wax on the edges and the beeswax in the center.  It will give a nice highlight to the paper to have a coloured edge.  I will investigate the availability of parraffin - used for sealing canning jars - at the grocery store to see if there is any available at this time of year. It would provide a clear quick melting options for handmade paper.  I do like the beeswax on the handmade paper so I would consider just putting the parraffin on the  edges.          Therese

Slow Crochet - garlands made with crochet thread and felted wool die cuts

I have been brainstorming to find a process by which I could create garlands using thread and fabric shapes.  After a bit of research on garlands I found most had twine or ribbon as their base and a wide variety of fabric components including some made from felted wool die cuts, blanket stitched fabric shapes and "heat n bond" fabric elements.  I have a stash of felted wool donated to me by my daughter and I thought it would be a good place to start.  I wanted to find a way to secure the shaped elements to the substructure that would involve some slow activity so I decided to explore crocheting.  I liked the fact that I could use fairly thin crochet thread to create a more robust substructure than it would be on its own and that the finer thread would work to secure the elements in a sort of sewing way.  It took me a while to find what I was looking for online.  The technique I discovered is called surface crocheting and though I did not find any examples of it being used with fabric I thought I would give it a try.  I found some precut diecuts in the stash of felted wool and thought they would do for my experiments.  I started yesterday and found that the technique worked quite well for securing the butterflies to the substructure I created.  Interestingly, physics being what it is it, where you choose to run the surface crochet affects how the element hangs on the substructure.  I had thought that it would be great to have the substructure run right through the middle of the butterflies horizontally.  It was disappointing to see all the butterflies flip over when I hung my garland because they are heavier at the top than the bottom.  A bit more research and I decided to try to secure the butterflies at the top of their wings instead.  That worked better but they really looked more like they were caught in a net with the substructure between the wing tips which was not really the look I was going for.  So today with a bit of time on my hands after having done the mending (how did that happen??????????) I decided to see if I could go through the middles vertically and have the butterflies just be following each other on the garland.  That worked quite well and as I was playing with them to take photos I tried hanging them vertically instead of horizontally and liked that quite a bit too. I think the vertical ones would work really well in the wind - either hung outside or on a screen in a window.  I did have a butterfly vertical garland that I receive as part of a birthday card a while back.  It hung on the screen in the patio door and was always being activated by the wind.  It had a little weight at the bottom so maybe these would need weights at the bottom as well when hung vertically.  

We shall see as it is a work in progress and I am very happy to have a process that works to create garlands with fabric as a slow activity.   You can see below how the surface crochet appears on the elements.  It looks like regular stitching on one side and chain stitches on the other side.  It was so nice to be able to find a way ahead for this project.  Appreciate all those who share on the internet so the rest of us can find them.  

Therese

Slow Stitching - large leaf hand stitching project is finished

 I have finally finished all the leaves on my large leaf border hand stitching project!!!!!  I have enjoyed this slow stitching project (44" x 9") but dealing with a large piece and defined directions of stitching has meant having to flip it back and forth as I went across each section of every leaf.  I will be working on a small project next though I have yet to invent it so it may take a bit of time to sort it out.  I have been pondering the concept of combining crumb squares with a central square.  In that regard it would be easy to incorporate hand stitching into the square.  I will work out something and let you know when I get started.  

Here are my leaves one at a time!!

Firestarters - 365 project for this year!!

 

This is my first batch of fire starters which I have decided is my 365 project for this year.  It was the end result of trying to use up the paper that accumulates in my craft room and put it to good use.  After several sessions of online research in regards to fire starters I have had two full days of experimenting on the structure and content of these fire starters as it only made sense to have a fire starter which actually starts a fire before I made 365 of them.  

I have tried several options for the outside structure including bond paper and paper from paper bags and that which comes as filler in online orders.  All the ones I tried worked well.  For inside I have tried many variations including - crumpled newspaper, newspaper strips, small pieces of bond, shredded bond and many different ways of combining them.  At the end of my first long day and many different combinations  - even using bacon fat as an accelerant  - I decided that an accelerant was necessary so I would try wax and maybe polyester fabric.  My experiments with polyester fabric did not go well and I was unable to get it to burn with a flame strong enough to start a fire.  It was worth a try.  

Next, I decided to give wax a try which is one of the most used products in DIY fire starter tutorials.  I don't have a lot of wax on hand except in the form of waxed crayons and I decided that this would be a good place to start.  It would make the outside beautiful and encourage flames!!  I trimmed papers to approximately 5.5" x 8.5" from bags from bananas bags and some brown paper from parcel filler.  I put the bottoms of the bags through the shredder for the next step.  

I set up my griddle and coloured the paper using my wax crayons.  I have used wax crayons on several different substrates in the past.  A while back I made backgrounds for cards using cardstock.  You can check out instructions here.   More recently, I made some Heart Art using bond paper which worked out really well.  So with foil on the griddle I just started colouring my pieces of paper with my crayons and creating fun and interesting colour combinations.  It was lots of fun!!  

Next I folded the pieces in three the long way and stitched across the bottom to create a sort of tube for stuffing.  I did them all at once on the sewing machine and cut them apart once I was finished.  

Here is what I used to stuff the "tubes".  I held the "tube" in my left hand and took a small sheet of newspaper (4" x 4" or so) and scrunched it and put it in the top of the tube then used the palette knife to get right to the bottom.  I took a small handful (1/4 cup) of shredded paper and inserted that into the tube.  I scrunched another piece of newspaper and inserted it over the shredded paper and push it down to about middle with my palette knife.  Added another bit of shredded paper and then lastly another scrunched piece of newspaper.  I pushed the newspaper just down enough so I could pinch the top edges together so I could stitch them together.  I sewed them one at a time as I created them to ensure they did not lose their contents.  

Here is a photo of one fire starter - front and back.  As  you can see the edges really don't need to be neat and there is enough overlap to keep the contents inside.  No fancy stitching either - just regular thread!!

I managed to make 26 fire starters today so I am ahead a bit on my goal of making 365 - one for each day of the year!!  I have tied them into bundles of six which I think would make wonderful gifts for friends who have a fire pit or go camping.  I expect there is MUCH more outside social distancing visits in our future so these will come in very handy!!       Needless to say that there were at least that many sacrificed in the name of research and the final test was to see if DH could light a fire with one.  Success!!!  He was very happy with how they worked.  They are super easy to use - you simply light both ends and insert below your kindling - OR  - place below your kindling and light both ends.  In a few minutes you have a fire started and are on your way to a new adventure.  We are very fortunate that we have plus temperatures here this week so my experiments have been conducted outside in the fire pit without freezing any part of myself.  

  So I have an outlet for scrap bond (shredding) and paper bags and such which I have been saving to make decorative paper for cardmaking.  Instead, some will be decorative paper which will be channeled into fire starters.  I have a plan to organize my craft room so that there is less storing and more using that happens in there.   I hope that more creating will happen as a result!  We shall see!!

Therese

Crumb quilt squares in reds with a floral motif

Wanting to have some fun today I decided to make some crumb squares.  I dug through my crumb starters and found these red and white embroidered florals which  were in a batch of fabric I acquired a while back.  I had to cut them apart which left them with quite interesting angles.  The largest one unfortunately had been previously been trimmed close and I could not avoid stitching over the design.  I really enjoyed making these six crumb squares today!!  I have a small pile in my quilting box.  I know I have a couple other bright red ones in there and will have to work on created a few more that would coordinate with these ones to make a quilt top - purple would be very red hat, green would be very Christmas,  so maybe it will have to be blue or yellow!  We shall see!!  I managed to get everything cleaned up before supper which was excellent.  Works better when everything has a home.   Therese

 

Birthday card with a cute sheep, some ribbon and a "ewe" greeting

 Another January birthday card using an image I printed off a while back.  It is a digital of a cute little sheep with a heart on its butt and bird on its head.  (Beyond the Fringe Crafts) I started with a large envelope from my stash and created a black card to fit inside.  I added some blue decorative paper (digital) with a black ribbon across it.  I watercoloured the image, added a wavy line of paper piercing using my pattern tracing wheel and then layered it onto yellow to coordinate with the star and ribbon in the blue heart.  I mounted the image over the ribbon using 3D foam tape and then tied on a short length of yellow ribbon to the black one to simulate a bow and reinforce the yellow from the image.  I had added a cute little font greeting when I printed the image.  Worked out well!!           Therese

All occasion card featuring a collage background, a layered butterfly and rhinestones

 I am reaching the bottom of the pile of triangles  For this card I added a layer of yellow decorative paper to my card front before adding the triangles.  I left gaps between them and they barely go from side to side and are standing quite upright.  I added strips of white tissue paper over them to diffuse their edges and soften the colour a bit.  I added this turquoise butterfly sticker and then a little teal punchie one over it.  I die cut the body from black cardstock using a Quickutz die.  I mounted the little butterfly using 3D foam tape and then created a flight path using clear rhinestones.  Quite a bold background with the striped paper in there but the bright turquoise butterfly is bold enough to not be overwhelmed.  I added a black wavy border with a fine tip black sharpie marker to repeat the black of the butterfly body.  Glad to have so many cards in my stash!!          Therese