Birthday card from a kit featuring a butterfly kisses image, embossed strip and decorative background paper

For this card I started with a card kit from September's class.  I decided to trim out the circle because it was already folded and used a different image as well to accommodate the trimmed piece.  I trimmed the butterfly kisses (Melonheadz), layered it with aqua and then trimmed the dark purple to size leaving a bit at the bottom which I trimmed with decorative scallop scissors.  I watercoloured the image, added clear glitter to the wings before gluing all the layers together and added dots of clear glitter to the scallops.  I layered a strip of aqua over a strip of orange and then embossed them with a chevron embossing folder.  I adhered my trimmed background to my dark green card front, added the embossed strip and then mounted my layered image over the strip using 3D foam tape.  Really happy with how this one turned out and I will be using that embossing folder again for strips - lots of nice texture and some direction as well. 

Therese

Slow Stitching - #2 tree

I have finished my second tree square in my current Slow Stitching project.  I am really happy with how these are working out!!  I first pinned the two halves to my blue square and used cross stitches in deep pink to secure them both to the background.  Next, I stitched up the right side with vertical stitching.  I did horizontal stitching on the left hand side.  I did my best to capture the edges while I was stitching which gives them a bit of a different look than the other squares I made.   I added a star to this tree as well but it is not much more of an improvement on the first one I did.  I will have to check my embroidery book and see what I am doing wrong as I am sure there are some that look better than that.  I also added french knots in yellow thread over all of it!!  Therese

Birthday card featuring glittered flowers, handcut stems, embossed oval and a small greeting

This kit is one from my January cardmaking class.  I am making them up to build up my stash of ready made cards.  I am changing up a few of the elements as I go because too much of the same does not work really well for me.  For this card, I adhered the stamped, embossed and watercoloured resist background to a coordinating card front.  I embossed the oval with a Swiss Dot embossing folder and adhered it to my card front.  I hand cut some leaves and stems, embossed them and then glued them to my oval.  I added the flowers using 3D foam tape after trimming the stems to a proper length.  I tucked the little greeting from the kit into the leaves and used a small piece of 3d foam tape to the end which I flagged.  I really like this one!!

Therese

Sympathy card from a kit featuring a watercoloured floral image, a layered punchie greeting and an embossed circle

I found another few kits when I was cleaning up my desk and because of the pieces I decided to make up the cards because there was not too much flexibility in the pieces without a bit of a redo of most of them.  They are from my September card making class.
To change it up a bit I trimmed the large circle and embossed it with a soft swirl embossing folder.  I adhered the background paper (stamped decorative paper) and the circle to the purple card front.  I trimmed the image into a rectangle and punched the corners using a little corner punch.  I found this fiber in my stash and ran it around the image and tied it off at the top.  I mounted this focal element to my card overlapping the circle using 3D foam tape.  I had punched a scallop oval out of the circle before adhering it to my card.  I used it to layer the font sympathy greeting which I sponged with a bit of green before layering them.  I mounted the greeting with double sided tape on the top portion and 3D foam tape on the bottom.             Therese

Birthday card from a kit featuring a cake (digital), some glitter and an embossed resist background

I am in the process of making up cards from kits from my last class in January.   I have changed up a few things - I created a completely new focal element using a laser printed cake (digital from Black Berry Jelly) which I punched with an oval punch and then watercoloured and glittered.  I layered it onto adhesive stock, trimmed it with scallop decorative scissors and then added glitter to make a fun border.  I mounted the embossed vellum to the pink oval using double sided tape and then added the cake element to cover the tape which can be see through the vellum.  I  mounted the oval element to my card front to which I had already mounted the stamped embossed resist floral background.  I found the greeting in my stash, sponged its edges with pink and mounted it to a bright silver metallic scalloped oval (SU). 

Therese

Cards from kits - birthday card featuring resist background, embossed vellum and sequins

I made this card very much like I made up the cards for my January card making class.   I used all the elements though I placed the maple leaf punchie on the outside of the vellum instead of below it and I used double sided tape to secure the sequins instead of brads.  The greeting is a laser printed one which combines a digital frame and a font greeting.  It was punched out using the modern label punch (SU).  I mounted it with 3D foam tape on the right and double on the left because the layered oval was also mounted using 3D foam tape.  The resist background was created with a large harlequin stamp (SU) which was silver embossed before the application of watercolour.  I really love the look of these backgrounds. 
Making cards from kits is so quick!  Everything is ready and you can be creative with the elements and often make very different looking cards.  I this case I pretty much followed the sketch.           Therese

Slow Stitching - #1 tree

I have finished my first square featuring trees!!  I really like how it turned out!!  I started stitching in one corner and kept going around and around until I was in the center and then tied off my thread.  I did add a small yellow star on the top but it doesn't look a lot like a star unfortunately but it does secure very nicely the top little portion of the tree fabric which works for me.  I added French knots as decoration on this one in a variety of colours.  I like the texture of the trees and yet the colours are still very visible though a bit subdued.  So far, I am not adding anything else though I did seriously consider it.    Therese

Birthday card featuring a resist background, an embossed oval and a balloon with a greeting

Still working on getting card kits made up into cards.  This one is from the January card class.  The background was created by stamping and embossing with silver embossing powder a heart image and then watercolouring all over.  Once dry, you simply wipe the embossed areas to remove any dried watercolour.  I adhered the background to a coordinating blue card.  I manually embossed the oval from the kit using a texture embossing folder and glued it at a bit of an angle on my card.  I added a lavender frame from my stash using 3D foam tape.  I added a shadow to the white balloon from the kit using a black Sharpie marker, tied on a black thread and mounted it inside the frame with 3D foam tape as well.  I found the little greeting in my stash, trimmed it to a tag shape, punched a tiny hole and used the balloon's string to loosely tie the greeting on.  I positioned the greeting and secured it with 3D foam tape.  The string hangs very naturally because I only loosely tied on the greeting.  I love how it turned out!!  Had I used been a red or yellow balloon it would have given the card a bit more punch!!           Therese

Birthday card featuring a cute little owl an oval frame and a background from Digital Graphics Cafe

I have been meaning to check and see what was new at Digital Graphics Cafe for a while and I managed to get there this week.  She has some new graphics so I downloaded a few new ones and decided to create cards for my grandsons while I was at it.  I layered the little owl over the middle of the oval frame - the colours coordinate so well!!!  I added a little font greeting before printing them on cardstock.  I also printed the background paper which I have used in the past and had already sized to a quarter sheet from the original which is larger.  The images coordinate very nicely.  I trimmed the background and adhered it to a gray card.  I trimmed the oval from the sheet, sponged its edges with aqua ink and them mounted this large element to my card over my background.  It was fun to really use a different technique and do some fussy cutting.

Therese

Anniversary card from a card kit featuring a resist background with hearts, an oval with hearts & sequins and a oval layered greeting

Another card from a card kit from my January Cardmaking class.  I used the heart resist background (silver embossed with watercolour) horizontally for this card.  I changed up the design somewhat by adding two heart punchies and layering them over the vellum.  I added the layered sequins which I assembled with double sided tape using the same tape instead of brads.  I dug through my greetings stash and chose an oval one for an anniversary and layered it using a turquoise scalloped punchie (SU) and mounted it with 3D foam tape.  I have a difficult time making several cards exactly the same as my mind its always figuring out other options.  I will probably have quite a few different version by the time I get all of these cards made up!!  Therese

Cards from card kits featuring watercoloured wildflower die cuts, lace and a thread

 

I have been working on getting the extra card kits on my desk made up into cards.  These are the last two from the January cardmaking class.  I used four flowers on the first one because I glued the first one not quite where it needed to be so I simply added an extra one to balance things out.  I had a spare in my stash of wildflower die cuts.   I used different ties - green fiber on one and green crochet thread on the other.  I really love these cards and left them without greetings in order to increase their versatility.    Therese

Birthday card featuring a rocket ship, framed greeting and background paper from Digital Graphics Cafe

Here is the other card I made using new digital images from Digital Graphics Cafe which I downloaded this past week.    I love the cool background paper.  The one I downloaded was a bit too much towards the aqua range so I made some adjustments to the image using Photoshop and it now coordinates with this rocket image much better.  I trimmed it to size after printing and adhered it to a green card front.   I trimmed out the rocket and the framed greeting as well.  It was interesting to be doing some fussy cutting for this card.  The greeting was added to the frame using a font.
It was a nice change to what I normally do when I am card making.

Therese

Cards for a gift - sanded embossed backgrounds, die cut flowers and leaves and ribbon

 I have my final physio appointment tomorrow and the physiotherapist and his team have been the very best so I have prepared a few cards to show my appreciation for their professionalism, kindness and caring. 
I went with a tried and true technique which I have enjoyed many times - embossed and sanded white core cardstock for the back grounds and die cut leaves and wildflowers (TH) for the focal elements.  I found my stash of white core cardstock so I had a few more colours to choose from.  Some of these are also card backs which are colour on one side and white on the other which also works for this technique and a good way to reuse cards.  I embossed and sanded the backgrounds, added a coordinating ribbon, tied on a little piece of cording and then adhered the flowers and leaves by adding white glue dots to the back and tucking them in behind.  Very happy with these cards and happy to be at the end of weekly appointments though I expect I will have to continue my exercise routine for a good while yet to get by shoulders strong enough for the rest of my life!!  Well worth doing all around.         Therese

Slow Stitching - my new project is trees

 I have been brainstorming concepts for my new slow stitching project and it has taken a while to sort out what it will look like.  I have settled on triangle trees on all the same background though it has been a struggle to sort it out.  I have tabled my other ideas and will make them up later.
I found these very bright 4" squares in my stash of precuts and decided they would be the trees.  I finally decided that the trees would be 2" x 3" which allowed me to make four trees from each four inch square.  I cut off a one inch strip off one side and then cut two 2" x 3" from the piece I had trimmed out.  These I cut into two solid trees and used the four cut offs to make another two.  I chose dark blue with a red pin stripe squares from my stash of precuts as my background which works very well.  I am very happy to be back to slow stitching.  These are going to be very cute!!  Therese

Christmas cards featuring red and blue plaid paper, a variety of images & greetings and some ribbon

I am committed to making Christmas card regularly over the course of this year so I will have them ready by December when I need to have them mailed out.  I decided to use up a piece of foil gift wrap that was around one of our gifts this past season.  It is a red and navy plaid so I just cut what was usable from the piece and got eight 3.75" squares.  I found cardstock that coordindated  - one red and one navy and cut eight cards and the corresponding navy layers for each card.  I dug through my Christmasimage stash and found a few that would work with this sketch and colour scheme.  I also dug through my stash of Christmas greetings and found some that would also work.  I created the cards one at a time after that.

The first one features a Melonheadz image of Santa and the baby Jesus.  I trimmed the image into a square, watercoloured it and added faux stitching all the way around using a permanent marker.  I mounted the navy layer to the red card, added the plaid paper square then mounted the image over the paper using 3D foam tape.  I added a strip of the same red cardstock below the image and mounted my laser printed greeting over it using 3D foam tape.
The second one has a similar sketch.  I added a length of white seam binding to the navy/plaid paper layer before mounting my sleigh image (Black Berry Jelly) with 3D foam tape.  It is watercoloured, glittered and layered with navy cardstock. The greeting is stamped in blue, layered on red and flagged on the right hand side and mounted with 3D foam tape.
The third one features a snowman paper cast which I made a long while back to which I added a little turquoise snowflake with a tiny silver brad.  The paper has turquoise lines which only show when you look at it from an angle.  The laser printed greeting is layered with red, has a folded ribbon on the right hand side and is mounted below the focal image with 3D foam tape.
The fourth one is a bit of a departure from the sketch.  Because the image was larger I tore the square in two and mounted the two pieces to the top and bottom of the navy layer.  I watercoloured the angel (SU) and ran the tracing wheel on all the edges before mounting it to the layer with 3D foam tape.  I punched a Modern Label layer from a scrap of foil turquoise paper which is glued to cardstock to make it stiff enough to mount.  I added a small laser printed turquoise greeting.  I mounted the greeting overlapping the image and added a bit of 3D foam tape to the bottom edge when it attaches to the background.

The fifth card has the plaid paper adhered to the navy glued to the red card.  I layered a die cut nativity image (reused card) onto a white scalloped circle (Nestibilities) which I mounted with 3D foam taper for the plaid paper.  I layered the stamped greeting (SU) with red and mounted it with 3D foam tape.  To finish it off I added a length of white seam binding below the elements and adhered the ends to the inside of the card with double sided tape.
The sixth one has a very similar layout featuring a layered image of a couple of friends out for a walk in a winter wonderland (reused card) layered onto a white scalloped circle with a laser printed image layered with red below the plaid square.  I trimmed the red cardstock with decorative scalloped scissors, paper pierced the scallops and added a couple of embossed lines to each side of the greeting.

For the seventh one, I embossed the navy layer and mounted the paper over it.  Not the best idea with foil paper.  I layered the image of a beautiful house all ready for Christmas (reused card) with turquoise and mounted it this layer using 3D foam tape.  I adhered this large layer to the red card.  I layered the laser printed greeting with red before mounting it to my card front using 3D foam tape.
The eighth and last card features a small die cut ornament in navy.  I used glitter pens to colour the top and the wavy band and added dots of clear glitter to the rest of the ornament.  I mounted it to a white embossed strip with 3D foam tape, added a red ribbon to the top and flagged the end of the strip before mounting it to the navy/plaid paper layer.  I added clear glitter faux stitching all the way around the navy layer and below the plaid paper.  I trimmed a laser printed greeting, layered it with red, flagged both ends and added some embossed lines on each side before mounted it to my card front.
It was really fun to be back making Christmas cards after a bit of a break.  I am very happy with how they all worked out and that they are all a bit different.               Therese

Sewing - a new little pincushion for my sewing machine

I have made myself a new little pincushion and attached it to my sewing machine!! This is the best thing!!  I never have a place to put pins when I am removing them from the project I am sewing. I have used a free standing pin cushion which eventually falls on the floor which makes it inconvenient.  On one of my recent forays on the internet I found this idea  - a pincushion for your sewing machine - what a brilliant solution.  There are all kinds of inspiration once you start looking.  I decided to make one that fit around the main body of my sewing machine. It allows me access to all of the buttons and knobs and is still very much right where I need it to be.  The fabric I used is from one of my favorite shirts which I wore until the collar became ragged.   I cut off the front button hole band and then created a little pincushion from the bottom portion of the front from which I cut off the band.  I stitched the two sides together and then turned it inside out and folded over a quarter inch on one end, inserted one of the band and stitched them together.  Next, I cut a piece of cereal cardboard for the backer of my pincushion so I don't scratch my machine when I am inserting pins and inserted it into the other end of my pincushion. Next, I stuff it full of polyester batting then folded in another quarter inch on the open end, inserted the other end of the band (I tested it first to ensure the length was correct) into the the opening and stitched it in place.  I passed the band under the needle and then easily maneuvered the pincushion band over the rest of my machine and settled it nicely round the main section.  It fits perfectly and will certainly come in handy on my next project.  I really love that fabric too!! 

As I was cleaning up I remembered I once had a pair of scissors attached to my desk so I would always have a pair when I was cutting threads while I was sewing so I dug into my bin for ties/shoelaces and found this nice cord which I hitched to my scissors and then to the pincushion band which will keep them nice and close when I am sewing.  They will not be falling on the floor anymore!!!  I just remembered that my daughter gave me a really nice pair of scissors which I have stored away because I was not wanting them falling on the floor so I think I will be digging those out and putting them on the end of my cord!!!  Very happy with my new pincushion!!! 

Slow Stitching - snippet roll is finished

I finished my snippet roll yesterday!!!!!!!!  It has taken a while and I have found the process a bit restricting in that I had to undo if I failed to follow the stitching pattern as I would not end up where I needed to begin the next square and I wanted the back to look as good as the front so I did some undoing several times!!  It is about 130 inches long so will certain serve as a wonderful ribbon for securing a creative gift somewhere along the way.   I had hoped to make one more of these but because of the need to keep to the pattern I did not find this process as fulfilling as I had hoped so I will be moving onto a different process for my next slow stitching project.  I have been working on another idea for a bit now and did a prototype this past week and it will also not be a good slow stitching project for me it requires too much precision to get a good result so that has been put on the back burner for now.  

Therese

Valentine's card from a card kit featuring a serendipity heart, embossed background and layer with texture from a tracing wheel

Valentine's has come up so quickly!!  I was so happy to find a card kit from last month's Make and Take that I could use for DH card. 
I embossed my background using a heart embossing folder and adhered it to a black card.  I used the pattern tracing wheel on both long edges of the strip of embossed ivory cardstock before adhering it to my card over my background.  I added the serendipity heart die cut using 3D foam tape.  I dug through my little stash of greetings and found the XOXOX which I thought would work perfectly!!!!!  I flagged the end, sponged it a bit and then tucked in just under the end of the heart and I was good to go!!!!!!  Love having card kits on hand for last minute cards!!  Therese

Cards as a gift featuring Tim Holtz wildflower diecuts, embossed and sanded white core backgrounds and some lace & fiber

Another set of card which I made as a gift to support a friend who had been generous with cardmaking supplies for me.  These fit in smaller envelopes and feature embossed backgrounds made from white core aqua cardstock which I sanded to reveal the core colour.  I love the velvety feel of these backgrounds as well.  I added lace/organza ribbon across these background before mounting them to the white cards.  Some are tied with coordinating floss.  I die cut white flowers using the Tim Holtz wildflower dies.  I like the subtle contrast of the white flowers on the sanded backgrounds.  I got a chance to use a variety of embossing folders in order to make all the card a little different.  

Therese

A set of coordinating cards for a gift featuring sanded white core backgrounds, wildflower die cuts and a bit of lace & thread

I made a set of card to give as a gift to a friend who has been supportive of my cardmaking with donations of envelopes!!  All of the backgrounds were embossed with different embossing folders but all embossed from the same aqua white core cardstock which I sanded to reveal the core.  I used embossed off cuts from the backgrounds to provide a horizontal element on some of the cards. I used organza ribbon, floss and white fiber to embellish some of the others.  All of them have wildflower die cuts in a dark aqua colour which makes them stand out nicely from the backgrounds.  I will not be adding any greetings so they can be used for any occasion.           Therese

Small red and blue baby quilt

I have finally managed to get a backing onto the small red and blue quilt top I made up last year.  It is unfortunate that when I washed it after it was sewn together that the red bled some into the white areas but it would have been worse had I washed the square before starting.  Because of shrinkage I had to trim off a significant portion of the right hand side set of squares but that it the way it goes when the fabric is not washed prior to cutting.  These were cut when I acquired them so I worked with what I had.  Still very happy to have managed to get it finished.  I used added a flannel sheet for batting and a polyester sheet for the backing. I cut it wide on each side and used it to created the binding as well.  I stitched the front to the batting on the seams and then handstitched two rows in between once I had the backing pinned in place.  I was able to better estimate my lines of hand stitching on this quilt because of the size of the pieces.  It is on its way to a good home next week!!           Therese

Exchange cards featuring resist backgrounds, die cut butterflies, wood grain tags and a bit of lace

I have had this paper in my background stash for quite a while and I believe it is gift wrap from a long ago special gift!!!  I have since cut it up into 4" x 5.25" pieces so I can have handy backgrounds for my cardmaking.  I discovered that the printing very nicely resists watercolour so I stamped on them and then added watercolour to give them a bit of interest.  Next I added a strip of handmade pattern paper washi tape and then adhered them to kraft cards. The wood grain tags were cut from the remnants of our Christmas crackers which our daughter included in our box of gifts.  I embossed them with a wood grain embossing folder and then sponged them with a bit of brown ink to highlight the texture.  I added a little bit of lace, a brown fabric tie at the top and then a butterfly die cut (TH-SX) which I embellished with clear glitter on the body and the wings.  I mounted the tags to my cards using 3D foam tape.  They are off to my Card Exchange partners in this week's mail!!

Therese

Sympathy card from a kit featuring a serendipity bird, an embossed strip and a bit of fiber

My last sympathy card for this coming week!  I used a card kit from my January class to make this card.  I mounted my scrapbook paper to a green card front and them flagged the end of my embossed strip.  I tied on my coordinating fiber to the top portion before adhering it to my card front.  I highlighted the beak with a marker, added an embossed wing and a tiny black brad to my bird die cut (TH) to get my serendipity die cut to look like a bird.  I used a bit of colour on the bottom to make the branch seem more like a tree.  I mounted it with 3D foam tape below the fiber and then I added the layered greeting below that.   Therese

Sympathy card from a kit - embossed resist background, embossed vellum, sequins with brads and a tiny greeting

Needing a couple more sympathy cards!  I made this one up from a card kit from my January class.  It features an embossed butterfly (SU) background which was created using very neutral and pale scrapbook paper, silver embossing powder and watercolour.  It was fun to play with resists again!!  I trimmed the background to fit on a green card and created the focal element by layering a turquoise oval (Nestibilities) with a little white butterfly punchie (SU), an embossed vellum oval which was cut just a bit smaller and green and turquoise sequins on the front and tiny silver brads to keep on the layers together.  I mounted this large element to my card front using 3D foam tape and then added a cute embellished colour printed greeting.  I used scalloped decorative scissors to cut the top edge, added paper piercing with a push pin and then added an embossed line using my score tool.  I used double sided tape on the left hand side which adhered to the oval and 3D foam tape to the right hand side which adhered to the card front.    Therese

Sympathy card from a card kit - TH wildflower die cuts from Hammered botanicals paper, a bit of lace and a layered greeting

We have a service to go to this week and I have prepared the sympathy cards I need from card kits from my last class. I used the Tim Holtz's wildflower dies to cut the flowers on this card from paper produced when I had a go at Hammered Botanicals.  Where the colour was not perfect I simply used watercolour to augment them until they all looked very much like wildflowers.  I added a length of lace to the diamond background paper adhering the ends to the back with double sided tape before adhering this large element to a green card front.  I tied white thread to the lace using a double knot to add some interest and texture.  I used a fine tipped applicator to apply white glue to the back side of the flowers, tucked them under the lace and held them in place for a bit.  I punched the laser printed little font greeting with the Word Window punch (SU) and then layered it onto a coordinating Modern Label punchie (SU) before mounting it to my card front just below the lace and to the right of the flower stems using 3D foam tape.   I love this colour combination and it makes a wonderful sympathy card.  Therese

Thank you card for family in China featuring chinese greeting stamps, embossed greeting and a silk flower

I made this card for my son and his family who currently live in China (they are well).  I received five Chinese greeting rubber stamps as a gift and thought I would use them to make my thank you card to them.  I was fortunate to have my daughter in law provide the meanings for the little round greetings.  They are all wonderful such as long life, double happiness, etc.  I decided to stamp them all in a random fashion on red cardstock, embossed them in gold embossing powder and then I watercoloured it to give the panel more texture and depth.  Once it was dry I mounted it to a gold card.  I stamped the thank you greeting (SU) and gold embossed it.  Mounted it to a special red paper and added a deep yellow silk flower to the left hand side using a tiny gold brad with a sequin.  I added a short piece of gold ribbon to the left of my card front and mounted the layered greeting over it.  Very happy with it!!  Next time I use the little stamps with a round circle punch!!  Therese