Circle themed card

Have a few guys to send cards to in the next few weeks so I have started on some cards for them.  I have seen several circle themed cards on Splitcoast Stampers lately and thought I would give it a go.
I started with a small piece of decorative marbled paper which I cut apart and layered onto black - love the stone look of it.  I added some blue and silver circles halves to each side of this element by just taping them to the back once I had placed them where they needed to be.  I embossed a dark blue card front using a circle embossing folder (CB) and then glued my focal element to it using double sided tape.  It still needed a bit of something so I used a silver gel pen and added some dots to the blue half circles and that was enough to make it work for me.  I trimmed a greeting and layered it onto black and mounted it over my element using double sided tape on one side and 3D foam tape on the other.
Really loving the look of that marbled paper!!

Therese

Fall card with an ATC

I made this fall themed birthday card for one of the guys in my family.
I started with a rust card that I embossed with a leaves embossing folder (QK) and then distressed with my stipple stamp (SU) and then sponged all the way around with brown ink.  I added a strip of decorative mesh (window screening that has been embossed with gold embossing powder) which I cut with flag ends and adhered with two pieces of handmade washi tape.  The bright background is from an ATC which I dismantled and it worked perfectly for this card.  I added a watercoloured laser printed greeting to the back using double sided tape and adhered this focal element over the mesh.  I found some wonderfully autumn looking paper in my paper stash, glued it to some cardstock to add some heft to it and die cut several leaves (TH - Tattered Leaves).  I embellished it with several colours of ink using a sponge and added some veining with watercolour.  Attached the leaf to my card front using 3D foam tape.

Therese

Cute pirate card

My grandson's birthday is coming up and he is having a pirate themed cake!!
I found this cute penguin pirate on CLKER
which was just the look I was going for  - not too scary!!  I added "ahoy matey" in a fun font and colour printed the image.  I trimmed it, distressed the edges, layered it onto black and added a small laser printed greeting.  I used a red card and layered a piece of blue decorative paper to which I had added a pierced wavy border of blue cardstock.  I added some orange fiber to the left hand side and added the focal element I had created centered on the decorative paper using 3D foam tape.  Love it when the creation matches the vision that you started with!!

Therese

4x4 art card!

For a swap on one of my groups I needed an alcohol ink background so I played a bit and ended up with a few.  I created these cards as well as these while I was playing.
I decided to doodle some funky flowers for my 4x4 art card.  I love the bright colours of this background and thought the funky flowers would show it off nicely.  I started by tracing the shape of the button on the background and doodled my flowers from there using fine tipped Sharpies in several different colours. I used black to create the stems and the border as well as a couple of layers on my flowers.  The buttons are colour printed and punched out - I like the way they look so real!!  I punched the holes out, sewed in some coordinating thread and used half inch glue dots to attach them to the center of my flowers!!  I am loving the contrast between my plain paper buttons and the bright glossy background.  If you are interested in making some 4x4 art cards I would recommend checking out Joggles art card video!! This one will be on its way to my partner in the next couple of days!!

Therese

Doodled alcohol ink backgrounds on cards

The card on the right was left partially assembled on my work surface after making these Bokeh cards.  I found it as I was trying to find enough space to create today so I finished it off!!  I layered a stamped butterfly punchie (SU) over a white one and tied them together with silver cord to create my focal element.  It works out well that the ends of the cord creates antenna for the butterfly.  I added a dotted trail below the butterfly using coloured fine tip Sharpies, trimmed and sponged my greeting and adhered it in place over the trail using 3D foam tape.  Another card for my stash.  

I do love those alcohol ink backgrounds!!  

The card on the left I will be using for my card exchange and features another alcohol ink background onto which I doodled with gel pens - several colours of blue and both a thick and fine nibbed white one.  I created some flowers and added an uneven doodled border.  I added a white punched border that features dots and flowers which I backed with some blue metallic paper trimmed to the edge of the border.  I layered this element to a dark blue purple card front and added an embellished colour printed greeting punchie (SU).  

Therese

Cards with alcohol ink backgrounds!

I am working on a swap that needs an alcohol ink background so I thought I would play around a bit and see what I could come up with.  While I was playing I came up with what I needed for my swap and made a few other cards as well.  Above on the left, a Christmas card.  I created the background by using my busted baster to create circles in green and red on the light red alcohol background.  I also added some thinner red lines using several size of lids which I have been saving out of the recycle bin.    I stamped my greeting in green and to give it a bit of punch I decided to add a bit of a bokeh effect by adding white pigment ink from my Brilliance Moonlight stamp pad sponged through several different sizes of circle stencil.  I stitched it to a red layer.  It has four embossed ornaments on the left hand side which I had to do by hand (hammer on a sturdy surface) because the orientation is wrong to get the whole thing to run through my Big Kick.  I added an embossed line around the rest of the main element using my scoring tool (MS).  

This adds one to my current count of 82 giving me 83 Christmas cards ready for this holiday season!!  

On the right, I added some thin red circles (lids), some solid circles (foam stamp) in red and yellow  and a bit of bokeh (Brilliance Moonlight ink) to this alcohol ink background.  I inked the leaf stamp using yellow, red and green ink and stamped it onto the 4x4 background.  I reinked it four more times and stamped it around the first image.  I added two orange strips which were embossed with a wood grain embossing folder and sponged with brown ink.  I added a colour printed greeting layered onto dark brown over several lengths of unraveled hemp cord.  

Really happy with these cards!!  I believe that the leaf stamp had never been inked before!!  I will be using the leaf one for my card exchange!  

Therese

Cards using ATCs

 On Saturday, World Card Making Day, I spent some time in my craft room making some cards for donation.  I decided to work with my stash of ATCs which usually makes the creation of a card quick and easy!!
These two embossed metal heart ATCs are ones I created years ago for trading.  You can read more about them here!!  I added a layer to each of them (black on left, orange on right), added them to red card fronts and stamped greetings.

I used alcohol backgrounds on both of these cards and ATCs from my collection!
I added a bit of script on the left hand one before I adhered the ATC along with a flagged greeting.

I love this ATC - a bit of a sewing theme!!  I adhered the ATC to the card front and stamped a small greeting on the right hand corner.  Love it!!

For the one on the left I added a multi layer background and a yellow one before I layered the ATC element onto the coordinating alcohol ink background and rust card front.  I added a small stamped greeting to the right hand corner.

For a friend who needs to know that we are thinking of you her I have created an angel card using an ATC I created years ago for trading. You can check out the details here!  I stamped the greeting on the watercolour background first, added it to my blue card front and then adhered my angel ATC equidistant from the top left hand corner.  I like the way the colours coordinate so nicely!!  I hope my little angel will be a comfort to her while she heals!!

Therese

Fabric 4x4 quiltie

On one of my groups I am hosting a 4" x 4" fabric quiltie swap!  The theme is open and all that is required is that the quiltie have fabric on front and back with batting in between, some hand stitching and is embellished a little.
 This is the quiltie I made for the swap.  It looks a little different than the little quilties I have been making for my journal covers.  I did buttonhole stitch all around this one instead of the overcast stitch I have been using for the others.  The front is pieced from a few small pieces - flowery for the bottom edge, green for the horizon and floral blue, pink and white for the sky.  The pieces were sewn together by machine and then I trimmed my piece to about 4.75" so I would have enough to roll over for my edge and have it be a 4" x 4" finished size.  I dug through my fabric scrap stash for the house body, the roof and the door.  I applied "iron on hem tape" to the back of each piece using release paper to prevent the iron from sticking to it.  I ironed on the house first, leaving the bottom up from the edge a bit to allow for the border, then I added the brown triangle for the roof and added the door last.  I added the batting, my back and stitched all the way around using white thread and the button hole stitch.  Next, I added extra stitching.  I used brown thread to add several layers of stitching to the roof and then added beads (bugle and ebeads) in brown around the perimeter.  I added a stitched half round window to the door and button hole stitch around the perimeter then I added a yellow ebead to the door to simulate a handle.  I added French knots to all the flower centers on the body of the house and used stem stitch to add some definition to both sides.  Added chain stitch to the top and bottom edges of the green landscape/horizon layer.  I added some random stitches to the sky to give it some texture.  Finally, I added two butterfly beads and a little metal silver heart above the door.

I used navy fabric with a white grid for the back and filled in the squares using several different stitches in several different colours of thread.  I added my copyright using Iron On Label - I simply wrote on the label tape using a fine tip Sharpie and ironed it onto the back.  I added the swap credits and info on a tag and pinned it on the back as well.

It was fun to make a quiltie with a theme and do a a variety of stitches.  I printed off instructions for a few more so I can add more variety next time.
I hope there will be enough interest to make several more of these so we can all have a few pages to bind into a book!!

Therese