"Owl always..." all occasion cards featuring little felt owls, embossed teal strips and some coordinating backgrounds

I have had these felt owls along with the teal strips sitting on my desk for quite a while and I finally made cards out of them.  

I embossed the teal strips and flagged one end, added coordinating backgrounds, little black branches  (SU - bird punch) and the little font greetings which I printed  a while back knowing I would like to pair them with these little owls.

A versatile greeting that can lead in so many different directions.  

Therese

 

Thinking of you card featuring a silver embossed little flower bouquet and greeting with a watercoloured embossed background

I was making cards the other day for my July family special occasions and decided to make a few extra for my stash.  

This one features a stamped and silver embossed floral image along with a "Thinking of  you" greeting from the same stamp set.  I has been sitting on my craft table and not too far away was this background which was embossed and partially coloured.  Not sure where it came from because I do not own this embossing folder.  Anyway, I paired them up and added a blue ribbon and a green card.  I watercoloured the background ensuring that I left some white spaces to off set the image.  I trimmed it to size and added the wide blue ribbon and then mounted it to a green card.  I watercoloured the image, added paper piercing on all four sides with my pattern tracing wheel and then added a bit of blue watercolour around the edges.  Once dry, I mounted it to my card using 3D foam tape.  Worked out really well!  Therese

 

Anniversary card featuring a white fabric collage background and a stitched heart

 This card was created with a third piece of the white fabric collage I made a while back.  I hand cut a heart from some beautiful fabric and stitched it to my white collage background using all over stitching after I had gone all around the edge.  I used coordinating thread and then decided to add a row of green decorative stitching around the edge. It did not show up as much as I would have like.  I created a layered button to add to my heart.  I started with a red circle to which I added a gold embossed border.  I added a green circle which I over stamped with little bubbles.  Next, I added a brown heart and tied them all together with gold cording.  I stitched this large element to a piece of scrapbook paper uisng dark red thread which framed my piece nicely.  I adhered this large piece to an off white card front.  For my greeting, I stamped "Happy Anniversary" (SU) on a strip of kraft cardstock in brown, trimmed one end with a tag die to get a nice scalloped design with a hole in it.  I flagged the other ends and then ran my pattern tracing wheel on all the straight edges.  I tied on a piece of gold embroidery thread and tied a knot then slipped the greeting over the button.  I used a small piece of double sided tape to hold the greeting from moving.    Therese

Prayer Flags are flying high

I made another set of prayer flags this week and unfortunately I did not get any photos. This is the fabric rectangles I used which gave a different pattern to them.


I took time yesterday to iron out the extra wax from them and then piled them into a stack.  This morning I decided to get started on sewing them to my almost 100 foot length of orange paracord.  I measured the length of the yard again and it came to almost 70 feet so I had some cord to spare.  I decided to leave 5 feet at the house end and the rest at the tree end so I woul have enough to secure each end properly.  I folded the flags over a half inch or so and used this beautiful raibow thread to stitch them to my paracord. 

 I tucked the paracord into the fold, pinned it a several places and used a small zigzag stitch that remained over the cord so each flag would be well secured.  I back stitched on each side and placed them about 6" from each other.  

I did stitch on some strips of yellow and red fabric (12" x 1.5")  to each side of the flags in the same way I stitched the flags.  I put them about a quarter inch apart.  A few near the house and quite a few more on the tree end.  They are much more responsive to the wind and flutter very nicely.  The flags are a little stiffer but they still flutter.  It will take them a while to soften up.  

I am fortunate that an eye hook was found in the workshop stash and my husband put it up on the peak of the garage roof.  He tied it in place with a clove hitch knot and secured the ends.  

I climbed this pine tree to secure the other end.  Fortunately, the neighbours gave me permission to attach it to their tree.  We had originally tied it one set of branches lower but that left the flags hanging almost where we could touch them so I climbed up and moved the end of the paracord up to the next set of branches which was much better.  I tied a clove hitch and several other knots and tied up the bundle and used a zip tie to attach that to the cord.  Not sure if there is any danger from birds and squirrels trying to make off with the cord I left up there.  Time will tell.

Below is what they look like from the road that backs our property.  They look exactly like I wanted them too.  It is so nice when a project works out they way you envision it.  

The wind will send my prayer of good will to all.  I wish that all who see them will be blessed with all that is good!!  Compassion and wisdom, health and wellness, friends and family in a larger community, peace and joy, love and light - every good thing!!  The red and yellow symbolize love and light!!!  Therese

 

Birthday card with fabric collage background and stitched candles

 The white background for this candle card is one trimmed from the large fabric collage I made a while back.  I found some scrappy pink pieces in my stash and used them as the candles and added several as flags on the right hand side.  I stiched all the way around the scraps, added double layer flames in yellow and stitched those down then added wicks in dark brown thread.  I stitched the background to coordinating scrapbook paper capturing the fabric flags at the same time.  I adhered this large layer to a large white card which I created to fit in a large envelope from my stash.  I really like the look of these fabric candles.  

Therese

Praying for you card featuring a calendar page and a small greeting

 This is the final card for this Stash building session!  It was quick and easy.  I trimmed the image from a calendar page, mounted to a deep purple card and then added a coordinating font greeting in the upper left corner.    Therese

Papers ready to go for the next batch of Fire starters

After spending part of the day making prayer flags as I was cleaning up and putting things away and had all the waxed papers which I used to remove the extra wax from the flags which I was getting ready to store. With a glance at the clock I realized I could probably get all these done up into fire starter papers being as all the supplies were at hand.  I made some to echo the hearts from the prayer flags by adding a bit of coloured wax and clear wax.  Others I simply coloured up with wax crayons in a random fashion because they were very lightly waxed.  It was another few hours of fun!  I made up 59 from the papers I had on hand so they are now ready to be made up into fire starters on another day.  It will be a much quicker process with all the papers ready to go.  

Therese

 

Another set of Prayer Flags

I worked on Prayer Flags this afternoon.  The set I made last time look like this. I have 24 so far.  These are very similar and use the same base fabric as last time which gives these flags such a wonderful collagy look.  I have used up all the pieces this time so for my next set I will have to find more fabric.  I may have something in my stash that will work similarly.   I am working on having some of each colour with every outside colour - all the colours with blue borders, etc.  I will have a full set with yellow borders now and green as well.  A new fabric next time will change up the look as I will no doubt have to repeat the colour combinations.  It was a fun and creative day!!        Therese

 

365 Project - Heartsy Firestarters made with my prayer flag waxed papers

I have given away most of my firestaters so I started another batch today.  I used the papers leftover from removing the wax from my prayer flags which I made a while back. As you can see from the photo below they are already quite waxed from that process so I simply embellished the ones with the most colour using clear wax and added a bit of coloured wax to those which were lacking a bit of detail and colour. Check out the second photo below. Worked very well.  I managed another 24 firestarters today and I am super happy with how they turned out.  That gives me a total of 50 which is way short of my goal of one a day for the year.  163 - 50 =  113 which I am short so far.   We shall see how it goes.  We are headed into the summer and there may be more motivation and time to catch up on my goal.  In the meantime it was a fun afternoon of crafting!!         Therese

 

Birthday card featuring a very interesting perspective of a biker and font greeting

 I really liked this image when I was searching on line.  I sponged the trimmed image starting with yellow in the lower middle and built up colour from there with a darker yellow, green, then blue and just a bit of purple.  The font greeting was added before printing.  I added some paper piercing with my pattern tracing wheel, some texture with my fine tip Sharpie marker on the bottom edge and for yet more texture three diamond brads on the upper right hand corner.  I stamped the edge of my gray card with an all over image in black ink and then mounted my large image using 3D foam tape.  I have really enjoyed the challenge of making cards for kids who love trail riding with their bikes.    Therese

Father's Day card featuring stars, all over embossing and a greeting in a silver frame

This Father's Day card features white stars embedded in a red background which has been embossed with the D'vine Swirl embossing folder (CB).  I added a silver framed font greeting with black brads before mounting this large layer to a black card.  I love  how striking the contrast is and how the embossing unifies the background.  

Therese

Friend card featuring a panel die cut with round opeing, an image with roses and a little greeting on a tag

This card started with a dark red card to ccordinate with the roses.  I trimmed the ivory panel from a used card and die cut a circle from it.  I mounted the colour printed digital rose image (Calico Collage) behind the opening and then added a lot of lines of paper piercing using my pattern tracing wheel.  I mounted this layer to my card front and worked on my greeting.  I started with the "hello friend" greeting (Desert Diva) which I found in my stash and cut a tag to layer behind it.  I embossed the brown tag using the Scripty embossing folder from SU, distressed it edges and those of my greeting also and added two little flagged ribbons in a soft green to the back.  I mounted the greeting to the tag and then added it to the lower portion of my card using 3D foam tape.  In hindsight the greeting might be just a tad large for the card but I like it anyway!

Therese
 

Birthday card featuring a biker on a challenging course with a fun font greeting

Here is my second bike card I made for my friend's grandsons.  The image is clipart and I printed it on white cardstock and trimmed it out.  I used torn paper to mask the first set of rocks and created them using brown ink. I added several more layers to indicate the rocky terrain.  Next, I sponged some purple hills and then some blue sky with clouds.  I added the greeting before printing and then filled in the inside of the letters with red gel pen.  Added some paper piercing with my pattern tracing tool on all four edges.  I chose a duplex cardstock which was navy and yellow for my card base.  I started on the corner and peeled the navy layer off the front of the card at the top and bottom to repeat the rocky mountain feel of the image.  I added a row of paper piercing above and below the image.  So happy with how it worked out.  

Therese
 

Get Well card with a reused floral panel, ribbon and a large layered greeting

 Winding down with the stash cards.  This one features a panel from a used card that has roses on a yellow background.  I added a deep rose red ribbon and then mounted it to a layer of green cardstock and then to a yellow card.  I started my layered greeting with a large one from Desert Diva which I die cut into a round with my Nestibilities and very lightly sponged the edges with green ink.  I added a yellow layer, a deep rose circle and then mounted this to an embossed  (Swiss Dot - CB) decorative label (SU) which I colourwashed to coordinate.  I mounted the greeting to my card front using 3D foam tape.  

Therese

Father's Day card featuring a fabric paper background, a stitched leather leaf on a collaged layer and a layered greeting

For my fourth card I trimmed another piece of the same fabric paper I used on my last card to size using my wavy cutter.  I created a large label die cut (TH _SX) which I colour washed, collaged with green tinged papers and then added some skeleton leafs as my fnal layer.  I trimmed all of these to the edge of my label.  Once it was dry, I punched two little slots on each end (SU) and ran a piece of green vintage seam binding through.  I thought it needed yet a bit more texture so I ran a row of stitching around the edge using my sewing machine with no thread in it.  That was better!!  I adhered the tag to my background, folded the ends of my seam binding to the back and secured them with double sided tape.  I mounted my leaf with double sided tape in the center of my label  after stitching veins in it with orange thread.  I colour washed a small font greeting (Word Window - SU), layered it on a green label (Modern Label -SU)  and mounted it to the front of my card using 3D foam tape.  Really enjoying making these large card with so much texture!!  Therese

 

Birthday card featuring a kid on a bike with a diamond plate background and a font greeting

This is one of the cards I made for my friends's grandchildren.  The image was printed and trimmed from the letter sized sheet.  I tore the edges of the image and the top and bottom of the font greeting.  I added several blue watercolours to make a background for the silhouette image.  I used a dark blue ink pad to highlight the torn edges.  I ran my pattern tracing wheel on all four sides to add some texture and movement.  I added watercolour to the greeting and added paper piercing to both long edges as well.  I used a background created a while back using watercolour.  I embossed it with a Diamond Plate embossing folder (CB) and the highlighted the texture with the same dark blue ink pad I used on the edges of the image.  Love the look!  I adhered the greeting to the background using two diamond brads and the adhered this elemen to blue card.  I mounted my focal element to my card using 3D foam tape.  Really happy with how it worked out!!       Therese
 

Thank you card featuring a large poppy with a layered oval greeting

Still creating for my stash.  This card started with a dark green card to which I adhered a large poppy image from Calico Collage.  It is a digital which I colour printed and trimmed to size.  I added a red strip of cardstock below it and then mounted my layered greeting over it.  The greeting is a font in a dotted oval which was punched (SU) and then sponged on the edges with just a bit of green.  I layered it onto a silver scalloped oval punchie (SU) which I paper pierced with a push pin on each scallop to add some texture.  I mounted it with 3D foam tape.  

Therese

Father's Day card featuring a fabric paper background, a stitched leather leaf and a layer oval greeting

 This is my third Father's Day card.  I created a large rust card to fit in a large ivory envelope from my stash.  I trimmed a piece of fabric paper which I made quite a while back for my background and adhered it to my card front.  I trimmed a rust cardstock scrap with a large rick rack die (SX) and then embossed it with large polka dots.  I trimmed the piece to fit across my card.  I used orange thread to add veins to my burgundy leather leaf.  I adhered it to my rick rack trim using double sided tape and then mounted this element to my card.  I layered my oval Father's Day greeting to a brown scalloped oval after I colour washed it to coordinate.  I added it to my card using 3D foam tape.            Therese

Christmas cards using green fabric ribbon/snippet roll on a tag with a gold star and fun backgrounds

These are the cards I created with my fabric ribbon/snippet roll/garland which I made earlier this week.  

I created these tags on which I stitched my little green trees using my green fabric ribbon/snippet roll.  I die cut them from a greenish kraft cardstock using a large crescent tag die (Ellison).  I embossed them with the Scripty (SU) 3D embossing folder and then highlighted the text and the edges in dark green ink.  I cut some brown fabric into small rectangles so I could use them for the trunks of my trees.  I started by trimming my first piece of fabric ribbon about the width of the tag and then two more just a little less wide so when stacked they made a tree shape.  I used dark green thread in my sewing machine and straight stitch.  I positioned my trunk in the middle of the bottom of my tag and laid the widest strip across the bottom and stitched it in place catching the trunk in the line of stitching.  I turned the corner and then positioned the other two overlapping each other so that there was enough room for a star at the top and stitch up that side.  I turned at the apex and stitched down the other side and met up with the beginning of my first line of stitching.  I like how the dark stitching defines the tree shape and the little snippets give it texture and interest all the way around too.  Totally great!!  I stitched all of my tags and then added red sequins using hand stitching to simulate ornaments on the tree.  For a more natural and less festive look I could have used little birds.   Next, I created the stars.  I used Ferraro Rocher gold foil glued to scrap cardstock as my decorative paper and die cut them with the smallest star on the large red Sizzix die.  I really like the rich colour of that gold foil.  I adhered my stars to the top of my trees using 3D foam tape.  Next, I trimmed out some green and red cards and then found this interesting decorative paper in one of my paper pads which was full of glittery candy canes which I was not sure what I would use it for.  In this case, with only small portions of the paper being visible it worked well.  It was a good colour and the bit of glitter contrasts well with the texture of the fabric bits.  I mounted my backgrounds to my card fronts and then adhered my tags directly to the backgrounds.  They are dimensional enough with all the fabric bits they did not need 3D foam tape as well.  I have made over a dozen of these so they will cover my May and June quota of Christmas cards for this year.  I am off to glue their inserts in and they are headed to my box with the rest of my stash of 2021 Christmas cards!!    Therese

 

Fabric ribbon/garland/snippet roll using fabric scraps in a fun way

I have been checking snippets rolls on line for a couple of years now hoping to at some time have the necessary inspiration to give it a go.  For my current set of Christmas cards I found inspiration in a little Christmas on a tag created my sewing strips of stitched fabric scraps to the tag using a triangle shape.  The little fabric pieces made me think of snippet rolls and so I got started.  I dug through my stash of green "other fabrics" and trimmed a small piece from everyone piece in the box and the cut each of them into smaller pieces with irregular shapes about 1" x 1.25 or so.  I used a 1.5" x  60" strip green polyester fabric with both sides folded to the center as my base.  I used a decorative stitch on my sewing machine which produces a wavy stitch line and then set the widest stitch width and the longest stitch length so that I had a very decent wavy pattern to stitch my "snippets" to my base. I used  dark green thread for both my top and bottom thread. I simply folded the first snippet in half and started stitching and kept adding folded snippets under the presser foot as I went keeping them well overlapped so I covered the base pretty much completely.  It was a very fun process and I simply picked up pieces from my little stack without too much thought.  I did not stitch two of the same next to each other.  I almost finished the full length of my base with what I had cut so to finish it off I cut up a few more snippet pieces. It was a fairly substantial decorative piece by the time I was done and it could easily have been used as a ribbon to wrap a gift or garland on a wreath, tree or banister.  

 So I was very impressed with the end product though it does not resemble very closely the snippet rolls I have found on line I think it would be very fun to make one of these up for home decorating.  I can certainly see a red and gold one for a Christmas tree, orange and purple for Halloween on a front door wreath, etc.  As a ribbon for wrapping gifts it would make an awesome statement with kraft paper gift wrap.  This one will be turned into Christmas cards which makes it very versatile!!  

Therese

Graduation card featuring a kraft and green background cut & folded to reveal a diamond shape filled with a gold star die cut

For my last card I started with a dark green card.  I trimmed a kraft and green paper to size and then made two cuts which allowed me to fold the flaps to the front and reveal a diamond of dark green.  I adhered it to my card and then added the gold star die cut with 3D foam tape.  The greeting is a digital from Desert Diva which I laser printed, trimmed to size and watercoloured to coodinate.  Then I trimmed the bottom edge with scallop decorative scissors and added dots with a gold gel pen in each scallop and then ran my pattern tracing wheel on all four edges to add some paper pierced goodness to it.  I filled in the little cap with the gold gel pen as well.  I tucked the greeting just below one of the flaps and adhered it with 3D foam tape.   Thinking it still needed a bit of something I added a wavy line all the way around the background with the gold gel pen.  That was better!!

Therese 

 

Birthday card featuring a tractor and a large font greeting

 A friend asked for a few cards for her grandsons' birthdays.  I found the images I needed online and printed them at the same time on one sheet of white cardstock and them trimmed them out. This one is for a two year old who loves tractors!!!  I lightly watercoloured some details around it to give it some context and ran my pattern tracing wheel on all four edges.    I chose a green card and a yellow layer which I embossed with an all over pattern that made me think of tractor tracks.  I layered the yellow onto the green and added the tractor image with 3D foam tape.  I trimmed the font greeting and flagged both ends.  I layered it onto a scrap of the same green as the card and trimmed it leaving a small border on the top and bottom and a bit more on the flagged ends.  I adhered them with two small black brads and then mounted the greeting to the card with 3D foam tape.  

Therese

Friend card featuring a bright yellow and pink background, a black wild flower silhouette and a stamped greeting embellished with rhinestones

Another card for my stash which features this very bright background which I created with leftover ink from an inkjet cartridge.  I layered it onto a pink card and added a black silhouette wild flower die cut (TH-SX).  The stamped greeting was trimmed and embellished with gel pen in the flower, some watercolour, pink rhinestones in two colours of pink and with some dots and dashes drawn with a fine tip permanent marker all the way around the edge.  I mounted it to my card using 3D foam tape. 

Therese
 

Graduation card featuring an embossed layer die cut with stars which reveals the yellow and purple background paper

My next card features a white layer from which I cut four stars (SX) and then embossed it with a letter embossing folder(CB).  I mounted this piece to a yellow and purple decorative paper background which allows it to show through the openings.  I trimmed a piece of vellum, stamped my greeting with purple and clear embossed it.  I tore top and bottom edges, added several lines of paper piercing using my pattern tracing wheel and then positioned it over my layered element and folded the ends to the back securing them with double sided tape.  I added a purple ribbon to the bottom and then mounted this large element to a yellow card front.  A nice bright card!!

Therese

 

Thinking of you card with a bright yellow and pink background, three glittery daisies and a layered greeting

For this stash card I started with a bright yellow and pink background which I created using ink leftover in my inkjet printer cartridge.  I found the greeting in my stash and trimmed it to size.  It is from Beccy's Place.   I watercoloured the rose and then trimmed a strip of coordinating pink cardstock and punched it with the Decorative Label Punch (SU) to make decorative edges.  I mounted the greeting to my background using two tiny black brads and then mounted this large element to a yellow card.  I added the three sparkly daisy embellishments with 3D foam tape.  

Therese
 

Graduation card featuring lots of gold - stars, background paper, embossed greeting and brads

My next graduation card was created with lots of gold elements.  I started with a brown card.  I chose a shimmery gold background paper with broad stripes.  I added the gold embossed greeting and then trimmed the strip to the same width as the background and adhered it with two gold brads - one large star and one regular sized one then mounted it to my card front.  I added three star die cuts (SX) cut from gold cardstock.  I sponged their edges before mounting them with 3D foam tape to my card.  

Therese

 

Father's Day card with a stitched fabric paper background, stitched green leather leaf and fun round greeting

This card has the same fabric paper which I used on my last card.  It has all over stitching in a variety of thread colours.  I trimmed it to size using my wavy cutter on the top and bottom.  I adhered this large background to my large ivory card which I created to fit in a large envelope from my stash.  I die cut a large tag, colour washed it with coordinating colours, adhered several pieces of torn dictionary pages and then embossed with my Scripty (SU) embossing folder.  I added some dark green ink to highlight the edges and the embossing.  I added yellow stitching to my green leather leaf (SX) and then adhered it to my tag using double sided tape.  I added a red ribbon to finish the tag before mounting it to my card using 3D foam tape.  I found this round greeting in my stash - it combines a round greeting with  a leaf and acorn image (Meljens Designs).  I watercoloured the image, layered it onto a coordinating red die cut circle and mounted it overlapping my tag on the lower right hand corner.  I tied a little piece of kraft twine to the stem of my leaf to finish off my card.

Therese
 

Exchange cards with fabric vases and flowers, ribbon and a daisy punched border

 I worked on my exchange cards this afternoon - in my basement craft room which was very pleasant compared to the heat outside.  The heat will really help things grow and with garden in it is good!

I started with two panels 4.25" x 5.5" which seemed reasonably sized to fit in some envelope and card combinations I found in a drawer when I was looking for something else in the past week.  The panels were ivory cardstock with some inclusions so I thought I would have another go at cards with fabric accents.  I trimmed two little vases from some fabric scraps, stitched on smaller scraps with white thread  and then handcut two little flowers from pink fabric and two centers from blue fabric.  I stitched the centers to the flowers with the same white thread.  I positioned my vases on the cardstock panels and stitched them on with navy blue thread all the way around twice and then drew a line and made the stem and went around the flower center a few times and them back down the stem to finish off. They are very cute!!  I embossed the opposite side with a leafy floral embossing folder border - one embossed, the other debossed.  I added a little length of pink ribbon and tied on a little length of blue picot ribbon to create some texture and interest.  I added a blue half daisy border below my images and then used an unthreaded needle to stitch all the way around both of them.  The border punch is a "new to me" one I bought at a garage sale last weekend for $2 - works very well.  I trimmed out some dark rose paper backgrounds for my ivory cards and adhered my stitched panels to them.  Having fun making cards with little fabric accents.    These are off to my partners in tomorrow's mail.  

Therese

Thank you card featuring a fabric paper background, a peach image, ribbon and a little greeting

 A card for my stash!!  I started with a brown card and trimmed a piece of fabric paper with my wavy cutter to fit with a small border all the way around.  I added a row of stitching with my sewing machine using rust thread.  I trimmed the peach image from a panel from a used card and added the flagged gold ribbon before mounting it to my background and then I adhered this large element to my card.  I colour washed a little font greeting to blend and mounted it to my card front with 3D foam tape.  

Therese

Graduation card featuring a fabric paper background with added fibers and a greeting with a watercoloured background

 I was on a roll and made a few more graduation cards!!  Here is the next one I made.  I started with a rust card and trimmed a background to fit using my wavy cutter.  I added several fibers to it before adhering it to my background.  The greeting (Desert Diva) was laser printed, trimmed to size and then the ends were trimmed with the Decorative Label punch (SU).  I watercoloured to to coordinate with the background and adhered it with a couple of tiny brads before adhering this large element to my card front.  

Therese

Father's Day card featuring stitched fabric paper background and stitched leather leaf

 I have been working on Father's Day cards.  I need an extra this year because I son became a Dad late last year!!  For this one, I started with a large ivory card that fit in a large envelope from my stash.  I trimmed a piece of stitched fabric paper which I made a while back.  The beige strip is some kraft paper twine which I unwound and glued in place folding the ends to the back.  I added yellow stitching to the leather leaf using my sewing machine and used double sided taper to adhere it to my background.   I adhered this large element to my card front.  I colour washed my font greeting after I trimmed it to size and passed my pattern tracing wheel along all four edges before adhering it to my card using 3D foam tape.  

Therese