Carved wood technique for backgrounds

 I tried the carved wood technique by Gina K after seeing a few examples on Splitcoast Stampers in the past few days.  I did not have all the supplies she used so I assembled what I had and got started.  Making the plain wood grain pattern was pretty cool and so effective with so little time and supplies!  I had not tried it before but I will be doing it again.  It took a few tries to get the look she got.  My best one is the top right hand one.  I realized that she created a dark wood grain and after debossing with the vine embossing folder used a light colour pigment ink which left a dark coloured debossed pattern which in her example really looks like carved wood.  Mine a little less because with my pad I could not get the contrast she did with her colours.  So I just decided to make some woodgrain embossed backgrounds and have fun!!  I will certainly give it another go at another time!!  I made quite a few more than these ones but I got into making cards and just realized I should make a blog post about the backgrounds before I blog the cards!!

Therese

All occasion card featuring watercoloured and embossed flower, decorative paper and ribbon

 As I move ahead with getting some all occasion cards made for my stash I am experimenting with new sketches and using supplies and tools that have been sitting for a while. 

For this card, I am using a flower (SU) as my focal element that has not seen much use as of late.  I decided to stamp and emboss it with silver embossing powder on white cardstock.  I stamped several more while I was at it and have added them to my image stash.  I created my background using some white embossed pieces, a yellow strip and a strip of bright purple decorative paper.  I layered the purple strip over the yellow one and trimmed the edges to leave a bit of on each long end and even on the short ends.  I trimmed the white embossed layer and added some on each side of my accent piece then trimmed it to fit on my pink card base.  I added a purple organza ribbon around my background overlapping the purple decorative paper, secured the ends to the back with double sided tape and then tied on a short piece with a single knot to simulate a bow before adhering it to my card base.  I watercoloured the flower to coordinate and mounted it to my card front using 3D foam tape.  Lots of white with some punches of colour!! Perfect!!          Therese

An all occasion card featuring a black and red upcycled denim feather, decorative paper and thread

 For my second card featuring an upcycled denim feather I used one of the black ones I had created!!  I started with a black card front and added some red and white paper from the same Asian paper pack I used last time.  I trimmed out a piece for my background and added a torn length of vellum, folding the ends to the back and securing with regular tape.  I adhered this  large layer to my card front.  I added a swirl to the top of my feather and tied the thread to the top of it  just below the swirl and then wrapped it around my card front and tied the two ends on the front at the top of my feather.  I used a small punch to create a hole on the spine to pass my thread through.  I used a small piece of double sided tape on the back of my feather to help support it on my card front.  

Really happy with this one too!!

Therese

A few more upcycled fabric feathers

Curious as to the effect that could be gained from using different fabrics for making feathers I dug through my stash and found several heavy weight fabrics with printed designs to see what the results would be.  I am pleased with my experiment.  I used silver wire on these.  It worked as well as the gold.   Though, I have to recommend that choosing very tightly woven fabric will lengthen the time required to pull the surplus threads.  The green feather was made from such a fabric and took a LONG while to create.  I chose to use gray thread to create the shaft as it was featured in the original design of the fabric but I see that little remains on the feather though having a printed design does give the feathers more texture and interest and will allow a greater breath in the possibilities for cards.  The fabric I used for the pink feather would be appropriate weight for a book bag and worked very well though its loose weave does give the feather less substance.  It was an educational experience and I am encouraged that almost any heavy weight fabric can be used to make feather so have fun making feathers with what you have on hand!!          Therese

Exchange cards featuring floral die cuts, coordinating papers and canvas frames

These cards are my two exchange cards for August.  I decided to use a paper pack I received a while back that had two canvas frames.  

For my first card, I cut a dark teal card to fit in a large envelope from my stash.  I trimmed several sheets from the pack to create my background - the main portion features little hearts, the top a leaf pattern and the lower piece from a piece that relates very much to the pattern on the frame before adhering it to my card front.  From a different sheet, I trimmed a small strip, punched it with my eyelet punch (SU) and then scored a line with my score tool before adhering it to the back of my frame.  I layered the frame onto my background using double side tape.  I created my focal element using a large flower die cut (SX) which I watercoloured and then embossed.  I added a yellow circle punchie and then a coordinating stamped punchie.  I punched two leaves, embossed them and then assembled my flower by gluing the layers to each other starting from the front.  I added the large flower to my card front inside the frame using 3D foam tape.  I chose to not add a greeting which makes it more versatile and during this time when we are not meeting each other face to face as much it makes sense to send a card to let people know you are thinking of them!!

 For my second card, I started with a large envelope and I trimmed a neutral gray card to fit inside.  I trimmed a piece of paper with words from one sheet and added two pieces of the leaf pattern paper on each side to create my background before adhering it to my card front.  I positioned the frame to highlight the words and adhered it to my background using double sided tape leaving the release paper on the ones on the bottom section so I could add my flowers.  I die cut four flowers (TH - Wildflowers) from the variegated sheet which I cut the border from for my first card, added dots of white glue using a fine tip applicator and then tucked them inside the bottom of the frame.  After they dried for a bit I lifted the release paper from the bottom edge of the frame and pressed it into place.  I found a round font greeting in my stash and punched a scalloped circle in a coordinating colour then sponged coordinating colours onto both of their edges.  I adhered the greeting to the scalloped circle (SU) and used a push pin to pierce each scallop which adds texture to this element.  I used 3D foam tape to adhere the greeting to my card to the left of the flowers and overlapping the bottom edge of my frame.  Really happy with how these cards turned out and they will be headed to my partners in this weeks mail.

Therese

An all occasion card featuring an upcycled denim feather, an embossed layer, decorative paper and thread

 I experimented with the creation of upcycled denim feathers recently with the idea of adding them to my handmade cards.  This is my first card but I am sure it will not be my last!!

I started with a card base similar in colour to my feather.  I found a pack of Asian decorative paper in my stash and I really like the  navy blue and yellow so I trimmed out a 4" x 5.25" layer for my card and adhered it in place as my background.  To coordinate with my paper I chose a strip of navy cardstock which I embossed and trimmed to size and then a bright yellow strip which I trimmed on the right hand size with my deckle decorative scissors.  I trimmed it to be just a bit wider than my cardstock and the same length.  I adhered the navy strip to the yellow and then added a row of paper piercing using my tracing wheel.  I added a loop  and swirl to the top of my feather and then added it to my card by tying it to my navy/yellow strip using white thread wrapped several times around and tied with a double knot.  Really happy with how this one turned out and I am looking forward to make several more!!

Therese

All occasion card featuring decorative paper, ribbon and die cut butterflies

 For this all occasion card I started with the floral image which was trimmed from a sheet of scrapbook paper.  I added a layer of the same paper below to get the height I needed and to cover where they join I added a strip of green cardstock which I had run my tracing wheel over several times and tied on a length of pink ribbon using one knot.  I adhered my large layer onto a dark green card front and added four little butterfly die cuts (SU) using white glue in a fine tip applicator placing a line down the middle on the back and simply placing them.  I let the glue dry before pressing my card.  This one will go into my stash and may get a greeting when I use it!!

Therese

Upcycled denim feathers

I found an Instructable on the weekend for making denim feathers!!!!  How cool was that!!

I did a bit more research and found several people who have published instructions for making them. 

I have taken suggestionas from several of the tutorials to create denim feathers for putting on cards.

I had several feather templates so I printed them to be about 4" or so and then cut them out.

I found a few small pieces of denim which I ironed flat so I could trace my patterns onto them.  I was able to trace some in both directions - with the shaft going across and also some with the shaft going up and down.  Depending on the direction the feathers will be a different colour because of how denim is woven - two different colour threads.  The light blue ones were cut with the shaft going up and down and the dark blue ones were cut with the shaft going across.  Not sure if it would be the same for all denims but that it how it worked for the denim I cut.  I traced my pattern onto the denim and cut them out with scissors.  It is not necessary to be very precise as any ragged edge disappears when you remove the threads.  After my feathers were cut I drew a line from the tip to the bottom of the feather to use as a guide for my shaft. 

I decided to use wire for the shaft of my feathers because I wanted to be able to shape them. 

Others have used twine or cording. 

 I cut a piece about 6" long and threaded it through the center of my feather using it sort of like a needle using the line I had drawn as a guide.  To keep the wire from pulling out I folded over about 3/8" at the tip which captures the denim and I used a pair of pliers to really press the wires together.  

I decided to hand stitch the shaft of my feathers.  Others have used glue or zig zag machine stitching to secure their shaft material. 

I chose coordinating embroidery floss and inserted my needle just at the end of the feather leaving a length along the spine to avoid using a knot.  I started stitching at the tip and ensured that I captured the end of my thread and the end of my wire in each stitch.  This process makes it neat on both sides.  I kept adding small stitches right next to each other until I had completely captured the wire in the process of creating the shaft of my feather.  At the base of my feather I tied a couple knots and inserted the end of my thread into the stitching to hide it.  

Once you have finished stitching your shaft you start removing the threads from each side.  Simply start pulling the threads that are parallel with the shaft from the outside edges and continuing towards the shaft.  Depending on how well you have aligned your shaft with the threads you might find that some threads are captured in your stitching.  If so, simply cut them the same length as those that are going in the other direction and giving shape to your feather.  Once you have removed all the free threads you will have a beautiful soft and textured feather with a sturdy moldable shaft in the center.  

You can see from my top photo that I have some made from black denim as well.  I stitched the shafts for those in bright embroidery thread for a bit of a different look.  The threads were black in both directions so the feathers were black no matter which direction they were cut.  

The dark blue feathers were horizontally on the denim and the light blue ones were cut vertically on the denim.  I would consider stitching those in lighter thread next time.  I did not know until I made several which ones were going to be dark or light.  You might want to cut one of each and make them into feathers so you can be sure you will be creating feathers the colour you want.  Might be good to add a tag with notes on the feathers in indicate the direction you put the shaft for future reference. 

I am super happy with how these turned out and I expect any heavy weight woven fabric in any colour can be used to make feathers so I will give that a try next time!!  

I have a few made ahead that only need stitching.   A slow stitching project in the making!!  It will be interesting to see how much the wear on these ones will be left on the feathers.  It would be good to have a few that have a bit different colour texture than the others.  

Have fun and create some feathers!!  Check on line for ideas of where you can use them.  You can make them any size you want so they can be used in anything from jewelry or home decor.            Therese

Christmas cards featuring reused card fronts with some embellishments

I worked on some Christmas cards for my Mom and with all the pieces sitting on my desk I thought I would  make a few for myself as well.  The ones in the first photo are odd sizes.  The first one was a card front with rounded top which fit nicely in a #8 envelope.  I cut a red card to fit in the envelope and added some framing and embellishment with a gold gel pen to finish it off.  The gold ornament one fit nicely in one of the long envelopes I had on hand so I simply trimmed it and mounted it to a dark green card I created to fit inisde.  The star and shepherd one I trimmed to fit on a black card that I created to fit in an envelope.  I stamped the greeting on the bottom. The green nativity card front was trimmed and adhered to a green card that fit in an envelope I had on hand.  I added a stamped and gold embossed greeting to finish that one off.  

The card in the next photo are all A2 size. The first two in the top row were simply trimmed and adhered to coordinating card fronts.  The third on with the angel was a shaped card so I found some Christmas music, sponged it to coordinate and then added it as a layer to the back of the card front.  I trimmed the edges to fit and adhered it to a green card front and added a little font punchie greeting.  The two wisemen ones were trimmed to fit on coordinating card fronts and I added a die cut greeting to the first one and a little font punchie greeting to the next one.  The first one on the bottom was trimmed, layered and then mounted to a coordinating card front.  The one on the right was trimmed and then I added a border punched strip on the left.  I added a purple ribbon over where they joined and a little font punchie greeting.  This was layered onto a purple layer and mounted to a orange card front.  A non traditional colour but it worked very well with the card front.  

So a few more cards for my stash!!!!         Therese

Christmas cards - refurbished cards for my Mom

 I have refurbished a few dozen Christmas cards for my Mom.  She is now 86 and it takes longer than it used to when she makes cards so I decided to make a few for her to take the pressure off of getting so many done before Christmas.  She likes cards that feature the nativity so I have saved the fronts of commercial cards that have been donated to me for reuse that feature Mary and Jesus for her.  It was a pleasant day in the craft room and it is so good to be able to do a bit for her after all she has done for me.  

We are blessed!!!

Therese

Slow Stitching - trailer journal cover is finished

My Trailer Journal is finally finished.  I have been working on it for a while and it is finally finished.  I used my Teesha Moore inspired patches machine stitched together to make the cover for a composition book to create the journal.  After that, I started adding stitching to all the patches one at a time.  It was great to be able to do any sort of stitching and be inspired by the fabric design as well.  I used embroidery thread in either coordinating or contrasting colours depending on the look I was going for.  It has been a very fun project and I am glad to have such a creative and interesting cover for our trailer journal.  Once we have filled the composition book we simply have to put in a new one and we are good to go!!

This is the front cover.

This is the back cover.

insides     

Below are some close ups of the stitching in the patches.  

Therese

 

Stamping on fabric and another little quilt top

I did some stamping on fabric while working on my little quilt top.  I used a background stamp (Worn- SU) and a dark red permanent ink pad to add a bit of texture to my fabric.  I stamped the strips I had cut for the border.   Worked very well!  I let them dry then ironed them on high to heat set the colour.  I really liked how the texture on the fabric worked with the other fabrics.  

 I started the quilt top with a panel of 2" squares which was already pieced.  I received it in a bag of fabric scraps last summer.  After cutting and stamping my fabric I added a red border around the panel.  I added a strip of gold fabric which I pieced using coordinating fabrics and then added another strip of red which created the proportions I wanted for my quilt.  Next, I cut strips of the golden palm tree fabric and stitched them all the way around.  I really like how it worked out.  I have put it away and am not sure when it will get finished.  I have garden coming in and am looking forward to a trip to go blueberry picking!!

Therese

Thinking of you card featuring a tree die cut opening, a paper scrap collage background and a little layered tag greeting

Another Thinking of you card for another friend who had surgery this past week.  

I started with a large brown card which I created to fit in a large envelope from my stash.  I pieced a collage background from green paper scraps simply using regular tape to secure them together on the back before mounting it to my card.  I die cut a tree (SX) from a rectangle of green cardstock, manually embossed the edges with a distressed embossing folder and added a line of piercing using my tracing wheel.  I mounted gold paper behind the opening before mounting this large focal element to my card front using 3D foam tape.  

I started with a little laser printed font greeting which I colour washed to coordinate with my card then added two pierced lines using my pattern tracing wheel.  I created a tag by layering two tag shapes in two different green cardstock which I had embossed, added my little greeting and then trimmed the edges of it to the side of the tag.  I punched a hole at the top and added a kraft fiber tie then mounted it to my card front using 3D foam tape.  

Therese

Gift wrap created from brown paper and paper napkins using a collage technique

I wanted some unique gift wrap for a wedding gift and decided to make some using a collage technique with brown paper and paper napkins.  I trimmed a piece of brown paper to 24" x 24".  Next I dug through my paper napkin stash and dug out several that included purple and green.  I separated the top layers off and then tore the napkins into pieces - 2" x 3" or so.  I put them on a tray and lay my brown paper on a surface protected with plastic.  I mixed some white glue with some gold glitter glue and added water enough to thin it down to runny.  I started adding the paper napkin pieces to the brown paper by spreading some glue, adding a piece of paper napkin and then adding more glue over the top to seal it.  I continued the process overlapping as I went until the whole surface of the brown paper was covered and I only had a few pieces of napkin left.  I left it to dry for a few hours with a fan/heater blowing over it.  Once it was dry I ironed it flat and trimmed out a 12" 12" piece to use to wrap my gift.  You can see below how nicely it worked for wrapping the gift and I now have all sorts left over to use for backgrounds for cards, etc.  It was so fun to be working on an artsy project using glue and paper!!!!!!   The glitter in the glue gave it just a bit of sparkle which was nice.     Therese

Little flannel chevron quilt

I have finished another little flannel quilt.  I added a border of solid blue around the chevron pattern I created with the half triangle squares.  This one is soft and comfy!!  It is 40" x 49" so would be perfect as a picnic blanket or an extra cover for a child's bed.  

Therese

Thinking of you card featuring a die cut opening of a dragonfly, a pieced collage background of paper scraps and a punchie greeting

We have a friend who had surgery this week after a couple of postponements.  A good thing!! 

I started with a blue card which I created to fit in a large envelope from my stash.  I pieced a paper collage of blue and pink paper scraps for my background and adhered to my card.  Love doing this!!

I attached them using regular tape on the back.  For my focal element I cut a square of blue cardstock, die cut the dragonfly, backed it with foil gift wrap and then added some texture using my pattern tracing wheel before mounting it over my background using 3D foam tape. The greeting was colour printed on gray, layered onto a white circle and then onto a pink scalloped circle (SU).  I pierced all the scallops with a push pin before mounting it to my card using 3D foam tape.  

It will brighten her day!!

Therese

Wedding card featuring embossing, layered hearts and a layered font greeting

A wedding card for our neighbour's son who is getting married in August.  I made them a little gift of cards and wrapped them in a gift wrap I made using a collage technique.  It was fun to be playing with paper and glue!

For this card I started with an aqua card and embossed a layer of white cardstock which I tore in two then trimmed to fit on the front of my card.  I added two lengths of beautiful lace discreetly adhered with a very thin strip of double sided tape.  I adhered the ends to the inside front of my card using double sided tape.  I layered three heart die cuts to create my focal element and adhered it to my card using 3D foam tape.  I layered a laser printed font greeting punchie onto a scalloped oval punchie (SU) in the same cardstock as my card and added it to my card front using 3D foam tape as well.  Wishing them every blessing as they start a new life together!!

Therese

Christmas cards featuring stained glass ornaments, decorative paper and an embossed panel

Having committed to getting my Christmas cards made early this year I have already made more than half of what I need but staying at home has facilitated getting farther ahead so I have made this set of cards.  I cut the ornaments and trees from a sheet of beautiful stained glass glitter paper my sister gave me a while back.  I cut a strip off the large sheet and cut the first three ornaments with one of the dies in the Heirloom Ornament die set from Nestibilities.  From what was left of the strip I cut a round one (Nestibilities) and three little triangle trees.  I wanted to layer my elements on black which worked with the round ornament because I have the double set of the Classic Circles ( Nestiblities) so I was able to cut a black layer for it.  The trees were easy as they are just triangles.  For the teardrop ornaments it required a bit more engineering.  I had created myself a tool for practicing and teaching calligraphy at one point in time by whittling down the sides of two pencils and then tying them together so I could easily demonstrate the proper angle and how the flat nib forms the letters.  I went looking for it and found it!!!!!!!!!  I used it to trace the shape of the ornaments onto black cardstock.  I then fussy cut on the second line which was relatively easy.  Pretty happy with how that worked out and will have to keep that in mind for any other custom layers I might need to make.  I then die cut snowflakes to mount in the centers using a Cuttlebug set which I have not used very often but were the perfect size for these ornaments.  I mounted them to the ornaments using tiny black brads and added little white fabric snowflake in between.  Love how they turned out!!  Next, I created toppers for my ornaments.  I used my scallop decorative scissors to trim the edge of a thin strip of bright silver foil and then trimmed them into segments which would be right for each ornament.  I mounted them to my layered ornaments using white glue applied with a fine tip applicator.  For backgrounds I decided on this funky snowflake paper in my stash which was laser printed a while back from a digital wallpaper file.  I decided to add a layer of embossed silver cardstock between them.  I coloured a length of thick white thread using a permanent marker to create the hangers for my ornaments.  I used different embossing folders for all of them and mounted the silver pieces to the backgrounds and then added the ornaments using 3D foam tape, adhered the thread hangers to the back of the background paper using regular tape and then mounted these large elements to coordinating card fronts.  I punched silver foil stars for my trees and mounted them with the silver strip as a backdrop.  I added a small black snowflake and then a white fabric one to one of the trees to make it stand out.  I decided against greetings as they seemed to be balanced without them.  So another few cards to add to the stash!!         Therese

Birthday card featuring a scrapbook paper collage background, one of my digital images and an epoxy sticker

I made this card for my sister for her birthday coming up soon.  I started with a large envelope and created a blue card to fit inside.  I used scraps of decorative paper to create a collage for my background.  I used regular tape to attach them to each other on the back and then trimmed it to fit on my card front and then adhered it in place.  I have a supply of epoxy stickers from a ways back and found them the other day looking for something else.  I thought I should see if I can use them up so I added one to this card.  It is a blue image that looks like a postage stamp and says "Rest and Relaxation" on the bottom.  I mounted it to a little blue rectangle of cardstock that coordinated with my back ground.  I watercoloured my floral image - a digital doodle that I create a while back - mounted it to yellow then to blue cardstock.  I ran my tracing wheel on the four sides of my greeting before mounting it to blue as well.  I played with the layout of my elements til I was happy with it and then adhered all the elements in place on my card front to finish it off.  Very happy with how it turned out and will be creating more collage backgrounds with scraps.              Therese

Anniversary card featuring die cut hearts, shimmery paper and cardstock and some lace

The last of my family cards for July!!  For my youngest daughter and her husband for their anniversary.  I found several heart die cuts in my stash and added several shimmery pearl hearts to go with them. I chose a large envelope and made a dark purple card to fit inside.  I cut a piece of dark purple shimmery paper to fit on the front with an even border.  I used my fingers to manually emboss this layer with a bit of texture using a texture plate.  It is not visible in the photo and some of the texture was smoothed out in the process of gluing it to the front of my card.  It still had enough to break up the expanse of the shimmery paper which is what I wanted.  I mounted the hearts on the top portion of my card.  I added a piece of lace to the lower section and added a small oval greeting punchie.  I have really enjoyed stretching my boundaries and trying new sketches and ideas for my July cards!!

Therese