Birthday card featuring a loon, a torn background, washi tape and a layered greeting

For this card I started with the loon image (CLKER) which I laser printed on white cardstock and trimmed out of a letter sized sheet.  I watercoloured the water and once it was dry I masked and sponged in a horizon and landscape beyond.  I added a row of paper piercing using my pattern tracing wheel on all four edges.  I tore a piece from the inside of an used bank envelope to create my background.  I glued it in place on my black card and then secured it with this fun washi tape which my son gave me for Christmas!!  The pattern is a subtle background with hashed lines in gray.  I mounted the loon image over the background and added the little layered greeting using 3D foam tape.    Therese

Birthday card featuring plovers in the sand, trimmed ribbon, decorative paper and a layered font greeting

I am back at making cards for family this week!!  The plover image is from CLKER.  I laser printed it onto white cardstock and using masks I sponged the horizon line, the mountains in the background and added some brown for the sand in the foreground.  I watercoloured their bodies a little after the sponging and added eyes with a white gel pen.  I layered the image and the little font greeting with with black.  I cut a tan card to fit in my large envelope, added a layer of decorative paper cut from a larger sheet and then added a purple ribbon which I trimmed with a wavy edges cutter.  I mounted the plovers with 3D foam tape and the greeting with one side 3D foam tape and the other just double sided where it overlaps the image.  To finish it off I added a decorative border using a black permanent marker on the background.  Love how it worked out!!            Therese

Birthday card with an inked background, ribbon and a stamped focal element

I made this card for my sister in law whose birthday has crept up on me so I am sending it off tomorrow with a little prayer that it will arrive in time!!!!! 
I started with a large white envelope and made a white card to fit.  I found an inky background I created a while back using glossy photo paper and found some coordinating cardstock which I trimmed to have even borders on my white card.  The inky background was not going to be tall enough so I just trimmed it a piece off which will allow me to add something in the space.   I die cut an opening in the top portion, stamped a silhouette branch and birds image (SU) in blue ink on white and mounted it behind.  I added a bit of texture with a little squiggly stamp using light gray ink and then mounted my background to the blue layer.   I added a piece of silver satin ribbon in the space I created by cutting off a piece.  I could have trimmed the bottom section a bit wider but I think this works.  I added a punchie (SU) greeting which I had laser printed (Desert Diva) and to balance the words I sponged the bottom edge.  I masked it off with another punchie and applied blue ink until it was fairly dark.  Bonus - it makes the greeting dimensional as well.  I mounted it over the ribbon using 3D foam tape.  Feeling like it still needed a bit of something I added three little clear rhinestones on the ribbon and that worked really well.  Finished!!  In the mail tomorrow!!!            Therese

Cards as a gift feature serendipity die cuts, stamped backgrounds and embossed focal areas on small cards

 I was gifted some beautiful turquoise envelopes and have been working on finding a way to make cards that fit in them that coordinated as well as worked with their smaller size.  Overnight, I decided that if I created a serendipity collage that coordinated I would be able to die cut my focal elements.  So I made up this serendipity collage background and let it dry.  

 Next, I needed to work out the size of the cards (3.5" x 4 7/8") which I cut from white cardstock.  Wanting to highlight the die cuts I decided to use my Nestibilities circle dies to emboss a circle frame on the front which I have not done in quite a while but I did find my embossing mat and made up well over a dozen little cards.  Once they were embossed I wanted to stamp an all over design to coordinate with the envelopes and the serendipity die cuts.  I chose the Worn (SU) stamp and it took a few goes to get the ink colour right but then it was fairly quick to get them all done.  So the next thing was to get some die cuts which would stand on their own without greetings.  After a perusal of my dies I came up with these - a daisy (SX red), a butterfly(SX black), TH bird (TH), flower with a stem (Sizzlets), butterfly (SU Embosslit), tipsy heart (SX red), layered flower (CB), heart (Sizzlet strip) and bird (paisley on Sizzlet strip). 

For several of them I used silver cardstock to coordinate.  For the butterflies I used silver cord to make their antenna and I added fun bling to the flower with a stem and the larger heart.  The paisley so easily makes a little bird by adding a tiny black brad, a black cardstock beak and some legs just drawn in with a black marker.  I added two little green branches (MS) to the layered flower.  
I am super happy with how they all turned out and I will be packaging these cute little cards up to pass back to the person who gifted me the envelopes.            Therese

Baby elephants with balloons make the perfect baby card!!

I love this image from Pixabay for baby cards!!  I started with a blue textured card front and added a soft blue floral background.  I added a length of white ribbon securing the ends to the inside of the card.  The image was colour printed, trimmed and layered onto yellow cardstock before being mounted to my card front using 3D foam tape.  I tied a short piece of ribbon using one knot to the one on the front to simulate a bow.  The greeting is stamped (SU) in blue.  I embellished with a yellow marker and then added some clear glitter using a gel pen.  I added a few dots of glitter to the star in the scallops as well.  I used a mask to sponge the center area to coordinate.  I mounted the greeting using a piece of double side tape on one edge and 3D foam tape on the right hand side so it would work with the image. 

Therese

Another star baby card that features die cuts and punchies with a central punched greeting

Still making cards for my stash and here is another baby one that features stars!!  I started with a pink card and added the scrapbook paper background.  I found stars that were the perfect colour in my little star stash bin!!!  So I took them apart a little and used some of them independently and others still layered.  This die cuts all the stars at once so I simply kept some together by putting tape on the back and removed some so they could be used separately.  I just laid them out until I was happy and glued them into place.  The single stars where adhered with white glue which I applied with fine tip applicator.  Once they were all in place I added my little greeting punchie which was sponged on the inside with a mask and on the outside edge.  With all of those in place I thought it still needed something so I dug out my little star bucket and found the other stars which coordinated in colour and gave two more size of stars.  I just moved them around until I was happy and used white glue to adhere them into place.  That was better!!  Wanting to add a little bling to my card I used my clear glitter gel pen and added some dots on the two central stars and the swirls (Clipart Panda) of the greeting.  Again, a bit of a creative stretch but really happy with the results.        Therese

Masked tree swap card

On one of my card groups I had to create a card for a swap that used masking.  Not a technique I do very often but I found a tree images that I thought would be suitable, laser printed it, added some yellow ink using an oval stencil, added the circle punchie as a mask and sponged on several other colours to create a sky.  It is a fun technique which I should use more often because it has a lot of punch with out too much time!!
Used the SU scallop border punch on the bottom and pierced each scallop, layered it onto teal and added the vintage seam binding tying the scrap to simulate a bow.  Layered this element to a black card!!

Happy with it!!

Therese

Exchange card - Canada

I created this card for my card exchange tonight!! It will also fit the challenge on ORSA for a Canada Day card and for the yellow theme on By Hand!!

I started with a piece of yellow decorative paper, overlaid a 1 3/8" punchie and the stippled 3 different yellow inks all the way around to make a nice bright sun. I then used the "hole" from the punchie and sponged some orange into the sun area. I added a set of bare trees in brown and some evergreens in olive. Used a mask and sponged on some blue to create the look of water. Layered my image onto brown cardstock. I used a brown card which had a green embossed layer - reeds - laid over it. I raised the image element using 3D foam tape and added some DYI bakers twine.

Thrifty Tip: Follow this link to the video OR click the link under TUTORIALS on the right hand side bar!! The twine is super easy to make and requires only a few basic supplies. Try it!!

NOTE: Be sure to really saturate your thread with ink so that there are no light spots when you are using it on your project.

A card that celebrates summer, camping, Canada and all that is good about all of them!!

Therese

Cardmaking - May - bare tree

I have been admiring the great tree cards on Splitcoast Stampers so I decided to see what I could do to make one myself. I do not have a stamp of a bare tree so I went looking on the internet to see what was available in the way of digital images. I did find a couple but was not able to change their colour to brown from black - I am sure it is possible but the learning curve was beyond my alloted time!! So I just created my own using the SU one as a visual!! I printed the tree on some rainbow desktop publishing paper from my stash. After trimming, I was left with scraps of rainbow paper (watch for it later) and my tree with a beautiful blue sky!! I stamped on some leaves and added bushes using a torn piece of paper, a sponge and green ink. To finish off my card, I layered my tree onto brown, added some flowers and a grass die cut then glued it to my card front. I added Sapphire Stickles to the blue flowers and I will be adding some iridescent glitter glue to the pink one - just the right amount of bling!! Some of the cards had red apples and looked very much like this card I made earlier this week!!

Fun cards!!

Therese