Kids Birthday cards - blue and yellow hexagons

I love the soft look of these cards!  I combined the colour printed hexagon paper with digital images from Best Clipart.  By cutting the paper in different places I was able to hightlight the yellow in one and the blue in the other.  I watercoloured the laser printed images, layered them onto coordinating die cuts and adhered them over seam binding that was added to the decorative paper.  I tied on a short piece with one knot to simulate a bow on both of  them.  I added star dust glitter to the scallops on the left hand card.
I hope this little stash of cards will come in handy in the coming year for my daughter and her kids.

Therese

Kids Birthday cards featuring fun nature characters

Really fun paper with funky animals!  I combined the paper with green card fronts and digital images from Best Clipart.  I added layered watercoloured images over ribbon/fibers changing up the orientation for each one.  In positioning my focal element I tried to leave exposed as many of the animals as possible.  I love the funky owl peeking from under the ribbon the left hand card!!   Therese

Kids Birthday Cards - bright and bold

Love this bright bold paper!!  I combined it with green card fronts and digital images from Best Clipart.  I watercoloured the images to coordinate with the paper and then layered them onto die cut circles (Nestibilities) .
For the left hand card I layered the focal image onto a red scalloped circle (Nestibilities) which I adhered to the front of my card.  I added stardust glitter dots to all the scallops and then a short piece of bright green rick rack to add texture and interest.
For the right hand card, I added a length of the bright green rick rack to the decorative paper before adhering it to my green card front.  I coloured and layered my focal element and glued it centered on my card over the rick rack.  The layouts were really were dictated by the bold elements in the paper.   Totally fun cards!!         Therese

Kids Birthday cards featuring stripes

For both of these cards I used striped decorative paper on blue cards along with two digital images from Best Clipart.  I watercoloured the images to coordinate with the background and added ribbon/fiber accents.
For the left hand card, I stitched blue gros grain ribbon to a piece of wider yellow gros grain incorporating a short piece of fiber in the process.  After adhering the ribbon and paper to my card front I added a short piece of light blue ribbon over the fiber and tied a single knot to secure the both of them .  I adhered the layered focal element to the left of the tied ribbon.  On the right hand card, I used the same fiber cutting three lengths.  I overlaid them and stitched them together near the top to created the loops.  I adhered this element to my decorated card front and adhered the watercoloured and layered focal element over it.  I like the rainbow colours in the fiber!!   Therese

Kids birthday cards - bright and blingy

For this set of cards I used a bright wavy paper and layered it onto blue card fronts along with digital images from Best Clipart.  For the left hand card I added a pale blue ribbon to which I had tied three lengths of white fiber leaving them to wave in the breeze!!  I watercoloured the balloon image to coordinate with my card, layered it onto an orange scallop circle (Nestibilities) and then adhered it to my card front over the ribbon.
For the right hand card I chose a portrait orientation and mounted my watercoloured  image over the patterned paper background.  I added some clear rhinestones to the scallops on the pink scalloped circle (Nestibillities) I layered behind the focal image.  Next I added swirls to the eye shapes on the background and added rhinestones to the ends of those as well.  I added dots to all the lines between the elements on my background as well using coordinating fine tipped markers.  Totally fun to be using some of these beautiful papers that I have been "saving"!!
Therese

Collage calendar pages repurposed into greeting cards

 I have been working on getting the pages from this 2012 handmade calendar made into greeting cards.  I was fortunate that I had used 4.25" x 5.5" as my format for the focal elements of the calendar so it was reasonably easy to convert them into A2 sized cards.   I used my heat gun to heat the back of each page to make it easier to remove the art work from the pages.  In most cases it was just a matter of trimming the background to 4" x 5.25" and adding a greeting.  

 For a few I removed some elements and replaced them with others that were more appropriate for a card. This happened most especially on the foil backed first page which had ART in the center.  I removed the red heart and added three silk flowers over the packing tape transfer to hide the letters.  Worked very well.

It was a fun project and I have another 12 cards to add to my stash!!

Therese

Kids birthday cards featuring funky letters

I promised a while back to make kids birthday cards for my daughter. These are the ones I made for her last time with balloon stickers.  This time I chose two digital images - a birthday cake with a greeting and a set of balloons to which I added a curved greeting using Corel Draw.  I got these two from Best Clipart .  I  sized them appropriately and laser printed them onto white cardstock and cut them out with a 2.5" Nestibilities Classic Circle die.  Next I dug into my decorative paper pile which may very well outlive me in order to get some cute designs for my cards!!  I started with the right hand card trimming the 12" x 12" sheet to trim off the first set of letters on the page.  I trimmed the strip between the letters and ended up with two strips a bit shorted than the 6 inches I needed so I tape them to each other and then added a blue gros grain ribbon to cover where they join.  To make up the bit of extra space I needed I added a red strip on the left hand side which I had trimmed with scallop decorative scissors and then paper pierced in each scallop with a push pin before I added this large element to a coordinating green card front.   I watercoloured my birthday cake image to coordinate with the card, layered it onto a coordinating blue scallop circle (Nestibilities) and adhered it to my card front over the ribbon.  I had trimmed off several letters and when I tried to use them on my next card they did not work as well as the first ones had so I eventually cut them all apart and glued them to my card front in a fun layout.  I added dark orange strip beneath them to add some texture and interest to the card.  I used a red marker and drew in faux stitching around all of the letter blocks which helped define them and make them into a unit for the background.  I watercoloured my balloon image to coordinate, layered it onto a blue circle (Nestibilities) before adhering it to the front of my card.
It has been fun to play with paper and make cards that I think my grand children will appreciate giving to their friends over the course of the next year or so!!

Therese

Card exchange cards that can be reused

I made a set of cards today for my card exchange.  I am using #8 envelopes and therefore used oversized cardstock to make my cards - 121/2" x 3 3/8" to make a 6 1/4" x 3 3/8" card.  I used a brown cardstock which I purchase in pad form a while back.  I cut a strip of decorative paper 3 1/8" wide off of a 12" x 12" inch sheet and cut it in two to make backgrounds for both cards.  I chose the same elements - a digital laser printed flower (Digital Graphics Cafe), a laser printed digital greeting (Beccy's Place), a strip of kraft cardstock and a couple of small strips of pink.  You can see that I changed the orientation of the cards - one landscape and the other portrait which required that I use the elements using a different layout.  On the left hand card, I glued my background paper to my card front and then added a length of kraft cardstock that has been embossed with a polka dot embossing folder.  I tied a piece of white seam binding to the top section and adhered it to my card front.  I watercoloured the flower image to coordinate with the background paper, layered it onto yellow and glued it to my card with a bit of angle.  I embellished the greeting by trimming the bottom edge with scalloped decorative scissors then added a bit of watercolour.  I used my distress tool on the small pink rectangle before adhering it to my card below my image then added the greeting between the two.
For the right hand card I embossed the kraft strip with a plaid embossing folder and flagged both ends before adhering it to my card front to which I had already glued my decorative paper.   I watercoloured my flower image, layered it onto yellow and glued it to my card at a bit of angle.  I embossed the pink strip, flagged the one end then tucked it under my image before adhering it into place.  I watercoloured the greeting after trimming off the bottom with some wavy scallop scissors and then adhered it below the pink strip and overlapping the bottom of the flower image.  I added single layer inserts on the back inside of the cards and reused instructions on the back.  Happy with how these turned out and they will be off to my swap partners early next week.        Therese

A glittery embossed background with a punched border of butterflies for these two cards

 I found these two scraps together - the turquoise stamped and glitter embossed background and the border punched butterflies!!  A friend of mine punched it for me on one of our play dates a few years ago.  So I created a couple of cards!!!  I started with two deep green card fronts and layered on the embossed pieces on the right hand side.  Added the turquoise pieces along with a scalloped turquoise border in behind on the left hand one and a black strip over the edge on the right hand one.  I found several black circles in my stash which layered very nicely with my round greetings (SU) so I slipped them under the layer before gluing everything into place.  I added sequin flowers to my stamped greetings with tiny brads and then glued them over the black layer which highlights it just enough.  I glued the butterfly border above the greeting.  I added clear rhinestones to the scallops of the border to finish off the left hand card.  Two for my stash!!

Therese

Birthday Card Set - a little boy with a frog on a very bold and bright background

The final card for my set of sixteen cards!!  You can check out this post to get the details for why and how I created this large set of cards.
For this card I started with a bright blue card front and added the green decorative paper before adhering the bottom border that was punched with a Martha Stewart border punch.  I wanted to back the image with white because a green face is simply no fun.  So I trimmed a strip of white cardstock and punched the top with one chevron (SU).  I tested my image to see if it would fit and folded the left hand edge back a quarter inch to create a flap I could use to attach it to the back of the white strip. I watercoloured the image on the back being very careful not to use too much water because vellum has an aversion to it.  I was not as success as I have been in the past but that is sometimes the way it goes.  After my image was dry I attached it to the white strip using double sided tape on the flap on the left hand side.  I added a bit of glue stick behind the greeting but that was not enough to keep it down because of the buckling from my colouring so I added two little black brads to help out.  That worked quite well.  I tucked the white strip behind the border and trimmed it at the top of the green layer before gluing it into place. The image is from Dearie Dolls.  Lots of free digital images there!!      Therese

A background that is quilted and gold embossed for a thank you card

I found this background in my stash which was created when I was teaching a class a few years ago.  I started with adhesive label, positioned all the strips then sprinkled on gold embossing powder.  The powder stuck where there was adhesive and then I just heated it to melt it!  Worked nicely!!  I trimmed it down to 4" x 5.25"  and layered it onto a dark red card.  I repeated the gold in the greeting by added a layer of gold gift wrap and by colouring my greeting using a gold gel pen.  I love this font!!  Noel!!  The layered greeting was added to the card front using 3D foam tape.            Therese

Birthday Card Set - birds of a feather scrapbooking element on some great polka dot decorative paper

My second last card for this large set of cards!!  To find out why and how I created these cards you can check out this post.
For this card, I started with a blue green card to which I added this very cool polka dot background paper which I got from my sister as we were playing with making #8 cards.  I added a blue green strip near the center to cover up some fold lines.  My sister, Sylvia, also gave me this large focal element which was part of a large scrapbooking paper which featured some great saying and beautiful doodly art before it was all the rage.  I watercoloured the image and glued it to the front of my card overlapping the little strip.  All that was needed after that was a little greeting which in this case was a watercoloured oval punchie with a laser printed greeting over a scalloped oval punchie (SU).  It was adhered to the card using double sided tape.

Therese

Birthday Card Set - Soft and subtle dragonfly die cut card

We are nearing the end of this card set!!  Only a few more to go!!  If you want to know why and how I made these cards you can check out this post.

For this card I started with a kraft card front and added  crackled decorative paper in a coordinating colour.  I created a textured strip to put across the lower portion by first stamping a crackle stamp in brown on brown cardstock then embossing with a textured embossing folder.  To add a bit of dimension I also touched it here and there with a brown ink pad to create some contrast.  I glued the strip to my card front and then layered on a decorative label punchie greeting which was embellished with shimmer watercolours just like the dragonfly.  The dragonfly got the same treatment as the ones on these cards.  Another pass through the Big Shot in the original die along with the embossing mat to highlight the embossed areas, a bit of shimmer watercolour applied with a small brush and then a small piece of double sided tape behind the body section before being applied to the card front.  I used a coordinating fine tipped marker to make a dotted line for the flight path and this card was done!!

Therese

A cute kids card with a distressed background paper

The background paper for this card was part of a calendar my sister gave me years ago and I created another card with the other half a few days ago.  I embossed this one with a polka dot embossing folder and used an ink pad to highlight the texture.  I did all the edges as well.   I found this tag that worked with it so went looking in my images stash to see what I could find that was the right size.  I found this cute image of two little fairies in a tea cup which worked perfectly!!  These stamped images were given to me by a friend quite a few years ago and it is fun to use them and remember the connection!!  I watercoloured the image, trimmed top and bottom with scalloped scissors and then pierced the scallops with a push pin.  I adhered it to my tag and then worked on a layout!!  I used the red scrap I had trimmed off the background just below the image and over the bottom of the tag and then layered a cute little laser printed greeting with triangles before adhering it to my large element.  I added a large brad to the hole in my tag before gluing the whole thing to a turquoise card.  Really like how this one turned out - not the typical kid's card!!

Therese

Birthday Card Set - a few flowers and another shimmery dragonfly

You can check out this post to find the details of why and how I have been creating this set of cards.

I started with a pink card and added the pink striped decorative paper.  I added a strip of brown across the lower portion and added a laser printed greeting which had been embellished with watercolour.  The dragonfly is left over from making these cards so I put the dragonfly back into the die and passed it through the Big Shot a couple of times to make sure it was embossed sufficiently to show all the detail.  With it still in the die I applied shinnery watercolours to the various sections to coordinate with my background.  I popped it out of the die, added a short piece of double side tape just behind its body and positioned on my card front.  That leaves the wings and tail free which helps give it some dimension.  I used a marker and created a dotted line to create its flight path and my card was finished!!

Therese

A birthday card with a collage feel

I created two sets of cards last week as a prize for a family event and packaged them in Ferraro Rocher chocolate boxes.  You can check them out here!!
This card is part of the cards I had started creating before I decided to make cards that fit in the #8 envelopes which fit so perfectly in those beautiful clear boxes!!
I started with a background from a calendar which my sister gave me years ago.  I had dismantled it but the paper was so cool I had saved it in my stash of background papers.  I found it in a box this week and thought I would see if I could make a card with it.  It was already a bit distressed and interesting so I decided to work with that!!  I used a TH embossing folder and embossed only the top portion and used light gray stamp pad to highlight the texture I had added.  I did all the edges as well.  I added a strip of handmade faux washi tape with a bit of a blue tinge and overlaid a piece of Paris themed commercial washi tape over it.  I stamped "hold on .... dreams" using my black Versafine stamp pad.  Wow!! It worked so well and was such a nice solid black!!  Finally I added a vellum birthday greeting with two square brads and glued this whole element to an orange/yellow card front.

Therese

Birthday Card Set - a background created with stripes of decorative paper and cute little cupcake digital image

I have been making card for a gift and if you want all the details of why and how you can check out this post.
For this card I started with a white card but you cannot see any of it because I created my background right on the front of the card from edge to edge.  I started with the little strawberries from my stash and added several other papers that coordinated then added two stripes of red cardstock.  I still needed one and figured it should be green to coordinate with the strawberries and I found a scrap of this green polka dot paper and I thought it was perfect!!  So I played with the layout and then glued them all in place one at a time trimming them to the edge of my card.  I watercoloured my laser printed greeting (Melonheadz) using coordinating colours and added it to my card front using 3D foam tape.  The plain red stripe needed a bit of something so I added pink and green sequins to it using glue dots - that was better.  Now, the green one looked a little plain so I added two lines of clear glitter gel pen and some pink daisy punchies as well.  They were calling for clear rhinestones even before I got them all in place.  I used the clear glitter gel pen to add dots to the little scallops on the strawberry strips.  Finally, I just had to add some clear heart bling to the last strip of pink decorative paper which seemed to complete the design.  Way more blinged up that what I usually make but I am sure a little girl will be most pleased on her birthday to receive this cool blingy card on her birthday!!

Therese

Birthday Card Set - a fun cupcake digital image with some very graphic decorative paper

Yet another card for the set!!  Click here to get all the details on why and how I am making these cards.

For this card I started with a dark brown card and combined two pieces of coordinating decorative paper to create a background.  I added a thin strip of brown cardstock over the place where they joined which gave the whole card a very dramatic look!!  I watercoloured the cute cupcake (Melonheadz) with shimmery watercolours in very subtle shades to coordinate with the background.  I added a thin border to the image using a dark brown permanent marker to help it stand against the bold paper before adhering it to my card front with double sided tape.  I added a bit of shading to the laser printed oval greeting, layered it onto a brown oval punchie and adhered it to the front of my card using double sided tape.  Really love how this one turned out!!

Therese

Hand decorated return address labels

I printed another set of return address labels last week and with the prep for our weekend plans I did not get to painting  them til today!!  I used the yellow and magenta ink spray that I created using the spent inkjet cartridges.    Needless to say the yellow had a bit of malfunction and so there was more yellow than I had originally planned to use so I just went with it and added a bit more magenta afterwards!!  They are bright!!!!!!  Have enough for another few months now!!

Therese

Birthday Card Set - a doodled flower with some bling

This card set continues to grow!!  To get all the details check out this post.
For this card I started with a pale pink card, added the striped paper and the doodle art flower sticker before adding the eyelet punched border (SU) which I embellished with clear rhinestones.  I watercoloured the flower sticker and added a bit to the oval punchie greeting as well.  I added the greeting using double sided tape once it was dry.  It looked like it needed a bit of bling as well so I added two small rhinestones near the flourishes.  I am very happy with how effective these stickers have been in my cardmaking!!

Therese