Mail Art

On AFTCM, I signed up for a mail art swap!!

I started by printing the names of the recipients using a nice chunky font and traced them onto the front of my yellow envelopes using a black gel pen. I filled the names in with some doodling, added the address of the person as well as my return address and the postage stamp. Next, I added a border and some doodling in the body of the envelope as well. Once finished with the artwork I started filling in the designs with glittered gel pens in a variety of colours!!

This is my first mail art!! I really enjoyed the process and after I was done I decided to search on line to see what others have done. There is as much difference in mail art as there are artists, though most of the art I found on line was a bit more edgy that what I have done here.

I have added a RAK to the envelopes so they will have a bit of surprise when it arrives in their mail box!!

I enjoyed challenging myself to do something I have never done before!! I have been exposed to mail art online over the years and have received several different examples as well.

Challenge yourself to something you have never done before!! Grow!!

Therese

Fall themed spring card

Made a few more spring cards!! You can find my other spring cards here along with a link to the tutorial. I used 6"x12" to create these cards which makes them 6" square so I will create custom envelopes for them!!

I stamped the rust cardstock with a newspaper background from Impression Obsession which I bought over the summer. Added some distressing around the folds with a dark brown ink pad and added an embossed and sanded piece of decorative white core cardstock. To that, I added a large oval (NS) which I stamped with a text background stamp in beige chalk ink. The leaves were cut using the

TH tattered leaves die - both oak ones. I watercoloured them, dried completely and embossed with clear several times toget a nice glossy finish. Layered these onto the ovals and added raffia bows!! I added a TH ticket strip die cut on the lower flap which I filled with light coloured layers which were stamped with a QF flourish in dark brown. The greeting was printed transparency leftover from a previous project which suited this project perfectly!! I added a small silk flower with a brad and adhered the elements to the top of the bottom flaps so the greetings are hidden by the card front.

Really happy with how these worked out!! I am off to make my envelopes so these can be ready for giving!!

Therese

Challenge Christmas cards

A friend of mine decided to create a challenge!! She cut a whole bunch of these scallop cards using her XL Sizzix die from bright red cardstock and handed them out to 5-6 of us and challenged us to think outside the box and make some cards!! Some were beginner card makers and others have been at it a bit longer and I am probably the veteran. It was a fun challenge and I was super impressed by what the other created - much more out of the box and

creative than I managed to be!! She brought all 23 cards to cardmaking class on Wednesday night and let everyone who was there vote on which one they liked the best. She also had the girls at her workplace vote so we don't yet know who's card came in first but it was fun for all of us to have the chance to create. She has created a prize for the winner - a nice quilted bag.

As you can see, I got started making Christmas cards and just kept

going!! The others were much more broad in their creations - sympathy cards, etc. I also used the cards as is, others added them as a layer on A2 sized cards!!!!!! Those were really nice and that option created so many more possibilities.

Card #1 - A layer of decorative paper to which I added a greeting and some other stamping, some die cut buttons with embroidery thread tied into them, a bit of ribbon and some embellishment to the scallops using a white gel pen.

Card #2 - mini fiber snowflakes attached with glitter glue, large rhinestones, an embossed rectangle on which I layered a stamped greeting!

Card #3 - decorative paper trimmed by hand to reflect the scalloped border, a stamped label embellished with a stamped greeting and 5 petal punch (SU) poinsettia!

Card #4 - decorative paper die cut with an oval with a colour printed winter village scene below it, a bit of ribbon and a stamped greeting layered below the opening.

Card #5 - Lots of piercing, an embossed layer, a glittered tree and a round greeting layered over a die cut bookplate!!'

It was a very fun challenge and I congratulate all the other players for their great cards!! Will let you know if any of the above won or placed at all!! Thanks to Diane for the challenge!!

UPDATE: Just a note to say that Card #4 was the second most voted card in the challenge. One of my friend's card came in first so she decided to award the prize to the next in line which was me!! Here is the wonderful bag that she made as the Grand Prize!!

It is a large colourful bag which is great for all sorts of occasions!! Opens up wide for great access to the contents - I took it shopping on the weekend!!

Thanks, Diane!!

Therese

Cardmaking - September - butterflies!!

I love the little butterfly borders on these cards!! A friend of mine has the punch (MS) and she punched a whole bunch of long borders for me!!

I embossed the background using my newest embossing folder Musical Flourish from Cuttlebug!! When gluing the border to the layer I chose to just lightly tap my glue stick to the back side of it then lightly pressed it to the embossed surface. Swiping the glue stick just adds glue to the holes yielding a messy card front. Added a short piece of ribbon, a colour coordinated stamped and punched butterfly (SU) with a mini black brad and glued the entire layer to my colour coordinated card front. Added a little greeting to one using some 3D foam tape.

Love the contrast between the black and the other colours! Worked well with both the bright or softer pastel colours!!

Have a few swaps to work on so watch for more in the next few days!!

Therese

Cardmaking - September - spring easel

Just love this cool little easel card!! It is created using a tutorial I found at SplitcoastStampers!! You can find the Spring Card tutorial here! They use larger paper but somewhere online I had seen instructions for using a piece that was 8.5" long but when it came time to actually create a sample I could no longer find the tutorial but I did figure it out. You need to use a piece of paper that

is twice as long as it is wide. So I used cardstock that was 4.25" x 8.5" which created a card that is 4.25" square and fits into a regular A2 sized envelope. Using 5.5" x 11" would create a 5.5" inch card and 6" x 12" would yield a 6" square card. So create what works best for you!!
You can see from the top photo that the card stands

very nicely!! You can write a small greeting on the area directly below the image if you pull it open. To get your card to stand you may have to burnish the bottom flap fold very neatly!!

Once you have created the four folds you simply trim off the two top corners of the card to create your diamond shaped front. It took a bit of thinking when creating images for these cards because they had to be on a diamond shape (square on its point). The little teapot is a digital image from CLKER and the flowers are from digital stamp sets that were available from StampinUP during Sellabration last year!!

So a little cutting, foldi

ng, colouring and gluing - the result is a cute little card!!

I really like the easel idea so I may be using it later on for mounting a larger card front!!

NOTE: Here is another spring card I created yesterday! Added clear dimensional paint to the wings!! Love the way it turned out!!

Therese

Cardmaking - September - chalkboard

What a cute little chalkboard card!! It is a real chalkboard!! I created it using some chalkboard sticky backed poster paper I purchased at Michaels. So fun!!

I die cut the frame using the large frame (SX) die though I did fold the cardstock in half before cutting to ensure that the frame would fit the width of the card. The original size is about a quarter inch short. I embossed the die cut frame using the distressed lines embossing folder (CB) which gives it the wood texture I was looking for then rounded the corners. I mounted the chalkboard piece to the back of the frame, removed the backing and adhered the entire element to the front of a white card. I printed the apple and leaf (digital stamp from ABCteach) and cut them out. Created a stem using a scrap of brown cardstock and mounted them all to the card front using 3D foam tape. Added the greeting using chalk!! The cool thing is that it can be erased and a new one written in!! I included a little post it note in the card kit to be included in the card informing the recipient that they can use the card front as a little chalkboard!! Would be cool in a locker or on the fridge for leaving little notes!!

Therese

Cardmaking - September - leaves

Fall is coming!! We get back to our regular schedules - for me that is my regular cardmaking classes!! Great to see familiar faces, some new ones and get back to cardmaking!!

We started the evening with this card. It features an embossed background which I distressed around the edges with my distress tool and also aged with watercolour. I used my Tim Holtz Tattered Leaves die to cut the leaves - two of them from my own handmade paper and one from fabric paper which I created earlier this week. I embellished the handmade ones with watercolour to give them a bit more dimension. Layered them onto my embossed layer, added a double knotted raffia accent and glued it to my card front. Would make a great card for a fall birthday or for Thanksgiving!!

The fabric paper was able to withstand a lot of folding and bending as I did my best to not waste any of it when I was die cutting my leaves!! If you are needing sturdy paper for anything, fabric paper is a great option. I have included more information on the fabric paper posting so check it out by clicking the link above!

Therese

Fabric Paper!

I created fabric paper today!! Have been wanting to give this technique a try for a while and discovered it was the Monthly Technique over on Art Techniques so I decided to give it a try today!!

Basically, you are using glue to adhere paper to fabric. Once you have the concept down you can go in so many directions that the sky is the limit as to what you end product is going to look like.

I decided to keep it simple for my first time. I dug into my fabric stash, discovered several medium sized scraps of bed sheet that I had left over from another project and decided to use that as my base. Next, I dug into my collage paper scraps and collected a few pieces - decorative paper, music sheet, book pages, paper napkins, white and coloured tissue paper and a few stamped images left over from previous projects. Rip all your papers into small pieces (2"x3" or so) before you start gluing as your fingers will get all goopy and make ripping paper challenging.

I used glue that DH was prepared to throw out because it had become too thick to use in the shop. You can use any PVA type glue you have. It needs to be watered down so add at least 1 to 1 water. I added more than that because my glue was very thick to begin with. It should be soupy.

Lay a piece of plastic that is larger than your largest fabric piece on your work surface. I used a garbage bag but you can use what you have. This will allow you to remove the fabric paper from the surface once it is dry. Lay your fabric piece down. I started with scraps but I would recommend a piece that is about 12"x12" or so. Smooth out your fabric and start brushing on the watered down glue until your fabric is completely saturated. Now, it is just a matter of laying pieces of paper over the fabric and ensuring it is also saturated with glue. Just keep adding glue as you need it. You can use your brush or your fingers to incorporate your pieces. Once you have covered every inch of fabric with at least one layer of paper the whole thing needs to be set aside to dry!! Fortunately, I have drying racks that I use for my handmade paper which worked ideally for this purpose and my fabric paper dried much more quickly that otherwise. Most people recommend leaving to dry at least overnight to make sure it is completely dry. Your fabric paper is ready to use once it is dry!!

I added stitching to my papers after they were dry. It helps to keep all the layers together and adds wonderful texture as well.

#1 - (top piece) I started by adding a layer of white tissue paper one little piece at a time and overlapping them as I went along. Added some small pieces of music sheet and book page over that. Added some decorative tissue paper, some paper table cloth, some maroon handmade paper and some gold plastic netting (onion bag) and then added some pieces of kraft tissue paper over that.

#2 - (middle piece) I started with a paper napkin ripped in pieces, added pieces of book page, maroon handmade paper, red tissue paper, decorative red tissue paper and kraft tissue paper pieces. Added stitching after it was dry.

#3 - (bottom piece) I started with a flower paper napkin ripped into pieces and added all sorts of flower images from other paper napkins and tissue paper then filled in the holes with ivory/gold paper tablecloth and yellow tissue paper. Added stitching when it was dry.

I am very happy with all the papers I made today!!!!!! Not sure exactly what I will make with them but I expect that at least one or two will end up in my cardmaking class next week!!

You can find instructions by simply doing an internet search for Fabric Paper instructions. Here are a couple of links you can use - CPS , Craft Test Dummies, for more info. Colour can be added during the creation process or afterwards. Stamping and embellishments can be added once it is dry.

This fabric paper is very sturdy so can be used for all sorts of projects - journal covers, collage, 3D projects, etc!!

Have fun!!

Therese