Christmas - June - merry and bright

I just loved this colour combination when I was putting together cardstock collections in Cleveland!! I was digging through my embellishment drawer looking for stars when I came across these bright green confetti circles!! Done!! They were a perfect match for the green cardstock so I created this little accent piece which I colour printed. It features three little ribbons, a line and the "merry & bright" greeting. Took a few tries to get the colours to match the cardstock perfectly. I love it!! My own little digital stamp!! I glued the "ornaments" - two red punchies and the green confetti - in place, rounded the corners on the element, the layer and the card front and assembled it all with a scrap strip I added because it was sitting on my desk!! I added some paper piercing to the layer and the strip!! These are great textured cardstocks which did not need to much else to make this card work!!

So a few more Christmas cards to add to the collection I have started with several of the cards I have created from the Christmas card challenges I have taken on!! I am a bit behind but am hoping to catch up over the month of July which so far has very little "to do" in it!!

Enjoy your summer!! Do something special for yourself - coffee on the deck, a few more cards, a day of inspiration in nature at the lake or local park. You create your life so take the time to make it special for yourself!!

Therese

Christmas - June - snowy scene

I love the serene quality of the card!! The central element was created by layering an image from a paper napkin onto a sheet of white handmade paper!! The image was trimmed, layered onto the green and the ribbon was added. To make adding ribbon to cards easier I have taken to just layering the ribbon flat across the card and tying another small piece to the front using a single knot. It gives pretty much the look of a double knot without the difficulty of estimating where to cut the ribbon once the knots are tied. So give this technique a try if you find adding ribbon to cards challenging!!

Layered onto the off white card front creates a wonderfully elegant Christmas card!!

Therese

Christmas - June - Vintage santa

A vintage Santa!! I colour printed two different vintage Santas and layered them onto coordinating cardstock using 3D foam tape. To the left you can see the one I layered onto red . The holly leaves were cut off of a garland I picked up last year after the holidays. Along with the red sequins they add some bling to this card. The card front was embossed with a holly leaf design which ties all the elements together!!

Some of the girls used glitter glue to adhere the sequins and ended up with some very nice little glittery centers to the holly "berries". Told you, this is a creative group!!

A quick and easy card!! Nice to have a few of those when you are making multiples of cards for any occasion!!

Therese

Christmas - June - snowman

A wonderful little snowman!! This is a digital stamp I downloaded from My Grafico. You can find the set here. They have a LOT of wonderful images and some freebies. Check them out!!

I layered coordinating decorative paper on my card front - my first card using coordinating designer paper!! I shopped for cardstock that matched on my trip to Cleveland this year so it came together very well. It is so quick and easy to laser print digital images - great time saving for a class!! I colour printed the greeting which I tried to pop out like I have seen on many cards lately. Unfortunately, the end under the image let go and my greeting no longer popped so I recommended yesterday to put a small piece of dimensional tape in the center back of the greeting which retains the pop very well. I have a really creative bunch so there was a lot of variety in the look of the cards created with this card kit!! Love it when that happens and people add their own creativity to their cards!!

Therese

Christmas - June - Winter scene

Christmas in June! For those who want to be prepare for the holiday season I offer a class of Christmas cards in June!! Many this time around have opted for just kits which they will make up over the summer - at the cottage or when there is some down time to just enjoy being creative!!

This card features a 4.25" x 4" white cardstock layer embossed with the Cuttlebug winter village embossing folder. I added a ribbon to the lower edge using double sided tape and a large snowflake with a silver brad. Layered it on the card front ensuring the colour printed greeting was visible!! Added iridescent glitter glue - like Stickles - to the rooftops and snowflake!! Works so well!!

We did this one first in class so the glitter glue would be dry before it was time to pack up our cards and head home. I made these in navy, red, purple and green for some variety!!

Therese

Cardmaking - June - seashore shaker

Shaker cards!! I searched Splitcoast Stampers for ideas and found so many!! Here is a short list of shaker materials you can use - letter noodles, salt, sugar, confetti, glitter, small beads, micro beads, seeds, cake sprinkles, punchies, and sand. I am sure there are many more items that can be incorporated into shaker cards to make them interesting and fun!!

In my shaker I used sand which I collected on the beach in Florida which has all sorts of really tiny shells in it!! Perfect for this nautical themed card!! The shaker is under a frame that I cut with my rectangle Nestibilities - so easy to make frames with these!! Added a shell border and some twine for accents and I was good to go!!

For the shaker I used a cello envelope. I found a tutorial on line which used CD envelopes to make shakers. Very cool!! So I just made small envelopes with scrap cellophane and my Seal a Meal. At class, we had a bit of trouble getting the sand to stay on the front of the shaker. It is a balance between having the edges tight enough to not allow the sand in behind and being able to insert the image into the envelope with its little dam of 3D foam tape which keeps the shaker material from settling to far down. Would work much better with a coarser shaker material which would not leak around and out!! Will have to refine that process for future shaker cards!!

Try making some of these! The CD envelopes work really great for square cards and can be disguised so easily!!

Therese

Cardmaking - June - flowers and lace

I love the look of lace on cards!! Combined with silk flowers I really like the nod to vintage that these cards have!!

I mounted the lace with double sided tape to the back of the strip - on the blue one I pierced the strip on both sides to simulate stitching before I attached the lace. Could have also used a gel pen to add faux stitches between the holes. Layered my silk flowers, attached them to the strip with a brad and layered this element over the edge of the decorative paper I glued to the upper part of the card front.

The lace adds such tactile texture to the card!! Love the look!!

Therese

Cardmaking - June - butterflies!

More bright summery cards! These feature great embossed stickers of butterflies and dragonflies!! There were a bunch of stickers on each sheet of these and I still have some left to use on yet another card. Used them here in my All Occasions Class!!

I embossed two thirds of the card front using different Cuttlebug and SU embossing folders. Layered the sticker on coordinating cardstock, tied on some fiber and mounted the element on my card front with 3D foam tape.

Quick and easy cards!! A greeting could easily be added on the flat area or layered below the accent.

Therese

Cardmaking - June - summer circles

Amazingly, it is cardmaking again!! It has been a few weeks full of cardmaking creativity!!

I was feeling like a summery card so I came up with this cool flower design!! I punched several sizes of circles ( 1 3/8", 1 1/4", 1 1/8" and 3/4") and flowers in several different bright colours - lime, neon blue, and neon orange - not a great scan!! Layered them and arranged the elements in a rambling line on my card front. When I was happy with my design I glued them all in place. I added dots and lines in white gel pen and stamped a greeting with white pigment ink. I could have embossed the greeting to make it more bold but I am liking the subtle look of this card!! I added glitter glue to the centers for a bit of bling.

Consider using your scraps and making cards using this design in several different colour schemes!! Great for any occasion and would certainly make a cute party invite!!

Therese

KN - bookmarks

Another HeartFelt item!! These bookmarks feature a felted heart accented with a button and a long piece of fiber that ties tightly to your book very nicely keeping your place!! I tied the button to the felted shape with the same fiber to keep it all coordinating!! Another item to tempt the customers up at the Knitting Nimrod!!

Therese

KN - masculine cards

Made these cards up for Cyndi's space at Knitting Nimrod. They are appropriate for Father's Day as well as birthdays for those special men in our lives.

These are the first in my line of HeartFelt greetings. I felted some old sweaters and will die cut shapes out of them to be the accent elements on this line of cards. Cards that feature felted wool for sale in a yarn shop! What a great idea!!

These cards have felted stars (Sizzix) layered over handmade paper strips with acetate greetings attached with brads or sewing!! They have great texture and wonderul colours!!

If you are in the area consider checking out the store - great vintage buttons, yarn of every description and patterns for most anything!!

Therese

Father's Day card

My Father's Day card for my DH. He loves music so I usually try to include that theme in his cards when I can!! I added a maroon watercolour wash to the music sheet which I clear embossed with a harlequin design. Did the embossing a while back and it was sitting on my craft desk waiting!! I stamped the words and composer images on white and then added watercolour to help them blend in. Also, added a wash to the colour printed greeting which was also sitting on my desk - left over from my last class!!

Layered some cool looking black handmade paper over my maroon card and added the altered music sheet trimmed to fit on the card front. Layered the pieces with black and arranged them neatly over it all!!

Very happy with how it all turned out!!

Therese