Exchange cards with embossed backgrounds, die cut leaves and laser printed digital greetings

I have made up these two cards for my partners in this month's Card Exchange.  I started with larger envelopes and made ivory cards to fit inside.  I cut two quarter sheets of brown cardstock and embossed them using two different embossing folders - TH swirls, SU wood grain.  I had to trimmed each of them into two pieces to make them long enough for my cards so I chose long greetings from my stash that would bridge the gap.  

For the first card, the greeting is from Beccy's Place.  It is a free digital which I sized and laser printed.  To coordinate with my card elements I colourwashed it a bit with watercolour in green and brown and then watercoloured the flower in a warm yellow.  I adhered my two pieces of brown background to my card leaving the gap in the top section and mounted my greeting over it using double sided tape on each end.  I dug through my little stash of leaf die cuts (TH) and found these that worked with my greeting.  I applied glue on the back and tucked them behind before pressing them down.
For the second card, I used a laser printed font thank you greeting from my stash.  I trimmed both long edges with deckle decorative scissors and then ran my pattern tracing wheel on each edge.  I applied double sided tape on the ends and the middle and adhered it over the gap that was created when I adhered the trimmed background to my large ivory card.  I embossed two of the same leaf die cuts (TH) one in green and one in muted tones (Hammered Botanicals background) with the Swiss Dots embossing folder.  I applied glue to the back of the fronds before applying them to the card front.  I tucked the green one behind the greeting and overlapped the muted one over it.  These sketches are a little CAS for me but I like them.               Therese

Exchange cards featuring wood grain tags, botanical prints and wildflower die cuts

My Exchange cards for this month!  I started with a hammered botanical print which I created with my Big Shot a while back!!  I trimmed them to fit on my brown layers which are just a slight bit smaller than the green cards created to fit in my smaller envelopes.  I sponged their edges with green and brown ink.  I used wood grain tags cut from Christmas crackers which our daughter included in our box of gifts.  I ran my tracing wheel over them and sponged their edges.  I added some coordinating fiber to the tops, added them to the botanical layer using 3D foam tape and then ran their ends to the back using regular tape to secure them.  I die cut two wildflowers (TH-SX) from brown cardstock and used white glue to adhere them to the tags.  I adhered the botanical layers to the brown and then to the front of my green cards.  Love the soft look of those botanical backgrounds!!

Therese

Exchange cards featuring hammered botanical paper, a die cut butterfly and ribbon and bling

I created these two cards for my Card Exchange partners for this month.  I started with half sheets of hammered botanical paper which I created a while back with my Big Shot.  It is a very cool process where you place fresh botanicals - flowers, leaves, etc - between two sheets of white cardstock and pass it through your die cut machine which acts as a press and creates these cool images.  I added blue watercolour to the edges of these prints which really changed them up for me and made them look more like art.   I chose two large envelopes and made cards for them.
For my first card I created a light green card and added a decorative butterfly die cut in purple.  I adhered it using 3D foam tape and added clear glitter on the body and a few of the pieces in the wings.  I found a piece or torn green decorative paper in my stash and it coordinated perfectly so I placed it just below my butterfly which helped ground the background paper.  I added five tiny rhinestones to one of the dips to create a focal point and added the flight trail with a coordinating pen.  I glued this large element to my card front and then added purple dots to each side which nicely repeats the dots in the flight path.  I decided it did not need a greeting so I added an insert and I was done!!!
My second card was created in a very similar process.  I created a blue card for this one and added the same blue watercolour to the edges of my hammered botanical paper.  I so love the look!!  I found a torn strip of paper in my stash that coordinated so I added to the bottom of my decorative paper.  I added the butterfly using 3D foam tape and added some details using a clear glitter gel pen.  I added the same flight path using a coordinating marker and was pretty happy with it.  But it still needed "a bit of something" so I auditioned a few things and settled on this green gros grain ribbon which coordinated very nicely.  I added it to my decorative paper adhering the ends to the back using double sided tape.  I tied the remaining short end to the front using a single knot to simulate a bow.  That was better!!!!!!!!!!!  Again, I chose not to put a greeting on this card.  It holds its own without it.  Therese

Hammered botanicals background with silk flowers and seam binding

I made a special card for my god daughter's birthday!!  I used one of my hammered botanicals for the background and found coordinating silk flowers and vintage seam binding in my stash.  I added a bit of coordinating watercolour around the edges of the background where the white was distracting and glued the 5" x 8" piece to a lightweight green cardstock.  I added a piece of purple seam binding across the length and glued the ends to the back of the layer.  On the right over the seam binding I added a layered greeting which consisted of an oval punched laser printed digital image (Birds Cards), a coordinating purple oval and an oval of vellum which I trimmed with scalloped decorative scissors.  On the left above the seam binding I added three dark purple silk flowers to which I had added tiny iridescent white sequins with tiny black brads.  I tied a short length of the same seam binding in the middle using one knot which nicely simulates a bow and positioned it where it looked like it belonged.  To finish off my card I glued this large layer to the front of a large white card (5.5" x 8.5").   I hope she enjoys it and the little treats I have included inside.  

Therese

Hammered background for my sister's birthday card

I used one of my dandelion and radish leaves pounded backgrounds for this card for my sister's birthday. She loves sunflowers and it was as close as I could come at this time of the year!!  After the background was dry, I ironed it flat and trimmed it to 3.75" x 5". I added a length of yellow seam binding, layered it onto a coordinating green cardstock rectangle and stitched all the way around using green thread in my sewing machine.  I stamped the greeting just above the seam binding in dark green ink using my stamping jig.  I double stamped it to make sure it was dark enough to show up well.  I glued this large focal element to a bright yellow card front.  To simulate a bow I tied a short length of seam binding to the one on the front of my card using a single knot.  I love the way it turned out!!!  I will be seeing her later this week and we are headed out to do a bird photo shoot and enjoying lunch at a tea house.   One of her favorite things to do!!            Therese

Some more pounded flower backgrounds

I did a few more backgrounds the other day after picking my first radishes from my garden. I wanted something that would coordinate with the radish leaves and be different than the geraniums I made last time so I picked some dandelions.  They worked out really well.  It took a bit to figure out the results are better if you break up the flowers into threes before laying them down and it is really hard to get a full on circle flower because they are so thick all you get is a large circle of colour without too much detail.  The radish leaves were very juicy so it was worth having a paper towel handy!!   I did you my Big Shot again to "pound" the flowers which creates more of a problem with run off - I expect that if you used a hammer the juice would be absorbed more locally and the images might be better as well.  I will have to explore that.  It may also be possible to remove the one shim from the sandwich and accomplish the same thing.  Will let you know!!  I hope you will consider giving this technique a try - it is super easy!!  Follow the above link to find recommendations for flowers and greenery which you can use even if you don't have a garden!!  You can even find some options at the grocery store!!
Therese