Cardmaking - April - used greeting card

We all have greeting cards that we have received and saved because of who sent them or because of the occasion that was being celebrated!! This technique reuses images from used greeting cards!! I trimmed the card fronts to 3.75" x 5" and embossed them with a stitched plaid embossing folder. I sanded the embossing lightly until the white from the card beneath started to appear - nicely highlighted the stitches. You could use any embossing folder but I would recommend one that is not too busy - lines or polka dots would work well. For those without embossing folders consider embossing the image using your scoring tool. Scoring lines in a grid pattern from the back will emboss them on the front. I added a ribbon and my butterfly accent. The butterfly is a digital image I downloaded from the internet. I laser printed it onto cardstock, watercoloured and trimmed it. I attached it to my card using a modified (stretched to a thin line) glue dot which allowed me to lift the wings for a 3D look!!

Thrifty tip: Don't have a scoring tool - create one. Take two pieces of cereal cardboard the same size - cut one in half and glue the two pieces to the other leaving a slight gap (1/16" to 1/8"). Place your image upside down over the gap and use a bone folder or stylus (crochet hook, knitting needle, pen cap) to score the lines you want. It is easier to line up the score marks if your tool is longer than your image.

This card reuses an paper image and features a digital image both of which are earth friendly!!

Have my cards have inspired you to be more earth friendly??

I encourage you incorporate a few new techniques in your art - it will reduce your impact and kick start your creativity!!

Therese

Cardmaking - April - serendipity

Serendipity is a collage technique that uses paper scraps!! You simply glue a variety of small paper scraps to a cardstock base and embellish it once it is dry. In this case, I over stamped the collage with silver pigment ink, thermally embossed it with silver embossing powder and added just a bit of colour using a flourish stamp with permanent ink in a coordinating colour. Using my paper trimmer, I cut the collage into 1" strips, then trimmed the strips to 3.5"!! They are little pieces of art!! I combined three of them onto a layer, added a couple of flower punchies with a silver brad and stamped a greeting. At class, I gave everyone the opportunity to silver emboss a greeting if they wished!!

Serendipity is a earth friendly technique!! You can use ANYTHING for your substrate!! You need light weight cardstock - consider junk mail, a card front or layer discarded because of a mistake, packaging from the recycle bin, covers from annual reports, catalogs and paperbacks, etc. The smallest I would start with would be 4.25" x 5.5" and 8.5"x 11" is plenty large!! For collaging onto this surface almost anything goes!! You need scraps about 1" in diameter preferably ripped so the edges are soft and easily glued down. In the way of paper, you can use old greeting cards, calendars, catalogs, junk mail, gift wrap, tissue paper, napkins, decorative paper, envelopes, paper bags, packaging, instructions, manuals, artwork, labels, etc. You can also consider adding lace, fabric, mylar, foil, tyvek, mesh, etc.

For these pieces I chose similar coloured papers from my "box for collage" - turquoise and blue for the one and purple and pink for the other. I ripped all the scraps into smaller pieces (1" or so) in uneven and random shapes. Armed with a tray of scraps, a glue stick and some discarded cardstock I started applying glue to the back of the pieces and gluing them down. Lay them next to each other or overlap them - whatever works!! Sometimes I tear the pieces smaller still to fill in gaps. Don't worry about going over the edges - that can be easily trimmed later. Really mix up the colours and texture - like pieces should not be adjoining!! Once you have covered the whole surface, double check that all the edges are well glued down and leave to dry. I would recommend over night to ensure all the glue has dried. It may not look fantastic when you are done -no problem because you can embellish it by stamping with colour, embossing with embossing powder, colour washing with acrylic paint, adding glitter, spritzing with shimmer mist, etc!! My favorite is to stamp with a script stamp and emboss with metallic embossing powder!! Works every time!! Once your collage is finished you can use it to make accents for your art by cutting it into any shape - rectangles, squares, hearts, circles, snowflakes (use a die) - whatever you want!! Straight lines means no waste!!

If you need a visual you can find tutorials here and here! If you would prefer a video tutorial check one out here.

So this weekend consider doing your bit for the environment and create a Serendipity collage while you are watching TV or listening to your favorite music!! Should you also be enjoying some chocolate, incorporate the wrappers into your collage - no evidence!!

Therese

Cardmaking - April - corrugated cardboard

These cards feature corrugated cardboard from a box that was retrieved from the recycle bin!! Removing the top layer to expose the corrugations was a learning experience which I will delve into in a layer post.

The flower elements were created using corrugated cardboard punchies - SU flower punch - and layered cardstock buttons - two circle punchies, two holes and a double knotted thread. The leaf is also a punchie! The greeting is a digital stamp - SU Salebration CD - that I embellished with another word, placed in a square frame and laser printed. They were trimmed with decorative scissors.

I arranged all the elements onto the card front which had already been layered with am embossed layer. Once I was happy with my layout, I simply glued all the elements in place.

My previous post has more information about the earth friendly benefits of using digital stamps!!

Reusing items, in your crafting, that would normally be disposed of is also a way of reducing - less new supplies which costs you less and may even save on gas because it is one less trip to the retail outlet. It also introduces a new way of thinking and introduces more creativity which may give your art a new look!! Think about it and do one little thing today to reduce, reuse or recycle something in your art this week!!

Therese

Cardmaking - April - woven handmade paper

To honour Earth Day I have incorporated some aspect of the Three R's into my cards this week for cardmaking!

These cards feature woven handmade paper scraps!! I created the handmade paper by recycling paper scraps left over from my paper crafting - cardstock bits along with used bond paper and anything else I thought would make the paper interesting including grass, petals, fiber, threads, etc. Fun!!

For this card I needed strips to create the woven paper background. Most of my scraps were already strips which had been trimmed from larger sheets for previous projects so most of the work had already been done. I trimmed the strips to size - longer ones for going across and shorter ones for weaving in between. It is easier to weave in the short strips when one end of the long ones have been stabilized so I applied a piece of double sided tape to the short end (left hand side) of the card front and placed the ends of the long strips onto the tape. Then, it was just a matter of inserting the short pieces over and under each long piece and alternating the over and under process until I had woven a piece large enough for the card front. I gently lifted the weaving, applied glue to the card front, repositioned it and applied firm pressure to adhere them together. I love the soft subtle look of the woven handmade paper!!

The images are laser printed digital stamps from StampinUP!! I chose the CD of images that was offered during Saleabration as one of the freebies. It contains digital images of all of the Saleabration freebies - paper, buttons, ribbon, stamp sets, etc. Using Corel Draw I was able to import the digital stamps, resize and combine them to create what I wanted. I simply laser printed the images onto cardstock - voila! images for my cards!! A little watercolour and some 3D foam tape and I had beautiful accents to layer over my woven handmade paper!!

In the spirit of the Three R's, making handmade paper is a win win!! You recycle your paper scraps into wonderful paper which you can incorporate into your creations!! I am a fan of making your own paper but if you are not, please consider donating your paper scraps to a friend that is!!

Using digital stamps is very earth friendly!! No wood or clear mounts, no rubber, no foam, no storage problems and no packaging if you download them!! I use Adobe Photo Elements to change the colour of my digital stamps and you can certainly create full layouts there as well!! The digital stamps are far less expensive and many are available at no cost. I have used several in the last few days for creating this cupcake card and this masculine birthday card. Digital stamps do have some limitations. They require a computer, software and a means of printing what you create. And, you can not thermally emboss them on cardstock!! It is best to use chalk or pencil crayons if you use an ink jet printer. You can use watercolour and copic markers as well with laser printed images.

So consider investigating digital means for some of your cardmaking and scrapbooking!! I am enjoying the new digital stamps I have acquired. I have created folders on my computer for each company I download images from so I can find them when I want them. If you decide to start using digital images organize them right away - create the folder BEFORE you download the images!!

Therese

Star card - reuse

With Earth Day coming up I thought I would see how much I could incorporate the three R's - reduce, reuse, recycle - in my card designs this week.

On this card I am reusing a piece of corrugated cardboard (1) from a box that was in the recycle bin. It took a bit to get the knack of undoing the laminations of the cardboard to expose the corrugations but more about that in a different post!!

It has a neat kraft look so I decided to use that as my colour theme. For my main element I designed a star, made myself a template and cut one from the corrugated cardboard. For the top layer I used an old music sheet (2) to create another star - another reuse item because some of these booklets are in poor shape to be used as music sheets. I traced my cardboard star onto the paper and cut inside the lines to give me a perfect star layer. I found this perfect metal button (3) - another reuse item - in my button stash and tied in some coordinating string to finish off my accent. The embossed background (4) is my next reuse item - it was sitting on my desk because it was rejected when I was creating this card. I added some mesh (drywall tape) and a leftover birthday greeting (5) layered onto a scrap of cardstock (6)!! Six reused items in this card!!

I challenge you to incorporate some reuse items in your creations this week!! I will be using this theme for my cardmaking cards this week as well.

Therese