Trees and a loon features on this birthday card!

This card is similar to this one as I made the background from a strip of decorative paper which I cut into two pieces and taped together on the back to give me a piece that was 4" x 5.25".  I stitched on a piece of brown fabric to cover the joint and then stitched on a piece of coordinating rick rack to the left of that.  I layered the laser transparency greeting over the background, stitched all the way around capturing both ends in the process thereby securing it to the background.  I watercoloured the laser printed loon image (CLKER), layered it onto dark blue, added some double sided tape to the back and then tucked it behind the greeting before adhering it to this layer.  Lastly, I glued this whole element to a dark brown card front.  I really like how all the elements complement each other on this card!  Another to add to the stash.

Therese

Card with a quilted background and a crocus!

Another card that came from supplies sitting on the far side of my desk!
The crocus (Blackberry Jelly) image was what I found so I went looking in my stash of backgrounds and found this quilted one whose colours were good so I embossed it with the Lattice embossing folder (SU).  I watercoloured the image, layered it onto yellow cardstock and glued it to my background with double sided tape.  I found the greeting - laser printed transparency - in my greeting stash, laid it on my layer so that the H of the greeting was in the crook of the crocus, folded the right hand side of it to the back of the background and then machine stitched all the way around the edge capturing the folded right side of the greeting in the process.  I glued this whole layer to a yellow card front.  The greeting is free on the left hand side but there is enough pressure from the stitching to keep the whole greeting nice and snug to the card front.  Worked our pretty well!

Therese

Collaged Thank you card

I made up a few thank you cards to get out in the mail this coming week.  This one started with a dark brown card front.  I had saved this background from a package of Prima embellishments because it was so cool - lacy and stitched!!  I have been saving up little bit to add to this as I have been working in my craft room.  I added some coloured vintage ad transparencies, a plaid tag, some seam binding, a paper button, an oval vintage image and a few words on transparency as well.  The transparency was laser printed with images from Gaby Braun in an all over pattern, sanded on the back and then painted with diluted acrylic paint to age them. They have been in my stash for quite a while.  The tag was part of an exchange a few years ago and the oval vintage image was printed for some other project and I found it in my stash as well.  The butterfly was part of a thrift store find - a bunch of butterflies - stickers and embellisments.  The paper button was laser printed, coloured and them tied with a string before being added to the layout.  Really happy with how it worked out.

Therese

Birthday greetings with printed transparency

Had fun making this card!!  I started with a botched piece of alcohol ink background on glossy cardstock to which I added several colours of watercolour and some brown stamping of a vintage map collage background.  It was much improved!!  I added the layered transparency with the car (CLKER) which I had stapled and secured with a little clip with some brown ribbon on it using double sided tape.  I colour washed my greeting, layered it onto a black ribbon slider and attached the ends of the brown seam binding to the back using double sided tape.  I glued the whole element to my brown card front.  Very happy with how this one turned out especially with that rescued background.

Therese

4x4 chunky book page - golden strength

 Started on this swap page a few days ago and finished it off this morning.  I am really happy with how it turned out.
I started by gluing silver foil (chocolate = arts supplies) to both sides of a 4" x 4" cardstock substrate leaving wrinkles and texture.  I scribbled some brown and maroon Sharpie marker over the surfaces and then added butterscotch alcohol inks and blended them. Really like the highlights in the gold!!!  After a bit of internet research I downloaded both of the images and printed them on transparency.  I love the strength quote -great affirmations.  The other is a universal image for strength.

I trimmed the images and found that when placed over the gold foil the reflections were a bit distracting in my quote so I added a strip of handmade washi tape across the back which really helped to highlight the word Strength.  I played with my elements until I was happy with their placement, added three short pieces of ribbon at the top right of my front and stitched down the right hand side which secured all the pieces in place.  I added double sided tape at the bottom edges of both transparencies and then added another thin strip of washi tape to each side.  To finish securing the back I added double sided tape below the printing so it would not show.  For the front I found these three foil wine bottle seals in my stash, trimmed them nicely and added them using large glue dots over my transparency which I had secured with double sided tape.  It is fun to play!!!  My swap will be on its way to my partner today!!
Gardening has taken more time in the last few weeks because it was so hot and no rain.  We finally have had two good rains!!  Catching up on swaps in the next few days before having a visit with grandchildren.

Therese

Alcohol ink & ATC birthday card

This card features an ATC I made a few years ago.  I had these scraps of alcohol ink background left over from a "make & take" at the local scrapbook store - Scrapbook Lane - which is located in the Pharmasave in town!!
I cut some of the scraps into 1" squares and glued them down the two sides of a black card front and then measured the space in between and cut two pieces for top and bottom to complete the frame.  I added the ATC in the center using 3D foam tape.
The ATC was created using a slide mount (SX), an image printed on transparency, an alcohol ink background and a quote handwritten with a silver gel pen.  You can check out the details here.
I stamped the tiny greeting (SU) just below the ATC using black ink.
I love the vibrancy of this card!!

Therese

Paint technique swap card

On Just Cards we were challenged to try this paint technique and create a swap card with the resulting paper.  I love creating background papers so I joined the swap!!  For the technique you use dimensional paint to create a pattern on your substrate and while it is still wet you drip on several colours of acrylic paint and drag a credit cart through it.  As you can see I created swirls with my dimensional paint and used two different greens, a yellow and gold for the other colours.  Great look!!   You end up with globs of paint on the side of your paper after dragging your credit card over the whole thing so I used that paint on three more sheets of paper applying the paint using the credit card.  Creates a really cool look and lots of texture - more background paper.  Used some of those sheets for these cards.
For my card I printed a greeting and cactus image from Arthurs Clipart onto a laser transparency and trimmed it to leave an even border all the way around on my card front.  Trimmed my decorative paper to the same size, added a length of seam binding between the image and the greeting and attached it to the card using four small black brads.  I tied a small length of caramel seam binding to the green using a single knot to simulate a bow.
Swaps are fun because they often challenge you to try something you have never tried before.  This was a fun technique I will be using again.

Therese

All Occasion cards - wax crayon background

I was really wanting a punch of colour for my last card of this class so I decided to create some wax crayon backgrounds which never fails to add colour!!! These backgrounds are so fun to create!!

You need a warm surface so the crayons will melt. I used a griddle which I completely covered with foil to prevent the wax crayon from touching the actual surface of the griddle to preserve its ability to make pancakes for breakfast!! You do not need a lot of heat so 200 - 225F is hot enough. Place a sheet of white cardstock on the foiled surface and let it heat up a bit. Now, start colouring on your cardstock with wax crayons - they will melt as you rub them on the cardstock!! Just keep adding colour until you are happy with how it looks!! I sometimes use clear wax or a white/light coloured crayon to help blend the colours. I use a small plastic fork to hold my cardstock steady as I apply wax to the surface and sometimes use the tines to move the wax around and create swirly patterns in it. Needless to say, eventually the plastic tines become deformed by the heat and a new fork is in order!! I have removed the paper casings from my wax crayons to help the process go faster. I am using just scraps of wax crayons - the kind that end up in the bottom of the crayon bucket because they are broken into little pieces!! Ask any mother, and she will gladly donate you the broken crayons her children no longer use!!

Once cooled, I cut the papers down to size for backgrounds on my cards. I made them just slightly smaller than the transparencies so that they would not transfer colour to the envelope!! The images are from Dover, printed onto transparencies, trimmed & layered over the wax crayon backgrounds and attached to the front of the cards using brads!!

Just the punch of colour I was looking for!!

Therese

Black, brown and cream card!

I have joined a new group - Art for the Creative Mind - and have jumped right in with a swap!! The challenge was to use black, brown and cream to create a card for our partner!!

I started with a brown card base, embossed it with a Tim Holtz embossing folder then added the cream top (punched with a SU border punch) to make it large enough for my envelope. I added some printed text at the top and a black and gold double sided ribbon. The text talks about driving in the early days and was taken from an old typing book. The original was too wide to fit the card so I scanned it, reduced in size a bit and printed it on cream paper - perfect!! The image is one I downloaded from the internet, printed on transparency, sanded the back and applied a colour wash of brown acrylic paint - gives it a vintage feel. I layered the acetate over a stippled cream base using discreetly placed pieces of double sided tape and added a soft knot of the same ribbon using a glue dot. I find that the altered acetate hides tape much more easily than the unaltered version. The laser printed punchie letters are also stippled and added to the card front using 3D foam tape.

Fun!! I am enjoying creating some one of a kind cards. Have been distracting myself from class prep so I need to get on that now!!

Therese

Cardmaking - transparency flowers

I thought this would be a great spring or Easter card!! I printed the flower photo on the back side of a transparency in reverse so it would look right from the front. We made four different ones!! Easily printed four to a page on 8.5"x 11" transparencies. The trimmed transparency is glued to the layer of decorative paper which is just a bit larger with SMALL pieces of double sided tape in very dark areas so they would not show on the front. This is layered onto a white card. The decorative paper is some that I have created with acrylic paint on white bond paper. Always gives you a unique and interesting look. I added a strip of cardstock which I embellished with scallop scissors and holes (use a push pin and a cushy surface). I added the silk flower with a punchie and brad through all the layers to ensure that everything was secure. I always add a white insert so my cards can easily be refurbished and reused.

I wish you all a wonderful weekend and Easter!! We had snow last night but it will soon be gone as the sun comes out and stays til the middle of next week!! The tulips are up and living things are popping up everywhere!! The Earth offers us hope at this time of the year!! May we take it to heart and value the life we have been given and give back to the Earth in some way!!
Therese

My Art - Thank you cards

I created these for all the people who attended my Stampin Up party in February!! It was a great afternoon with my SU demo, Catherine. We did two make and take cards and she demonstrated the Big Shot with texture plates and dies. What a machine!! If I did not already own a Cuttlebug I would be buying one of those. She offers a free die if you buy a machine - a sweet deal! It was a great day and I got a few free goodies as well. That is one of the great things about Sale-a-bration!!

The cards feature a transparency printed with a daisy photo which I took last year!! I added the word "thanks" using Corel Draw and printed them four to a page. I used small pieces of double sided tape to attached them to decorative paper which I created myself using gesso, Modge Podge and acrylic paint leftovers from my classes!! I placed the ds tape in an area where it was quite dark so it would not show on the front of the transparency. The ribbon is added to this layer and taped to the back. I glued this to the front of a white card, added my double daisy punch accent with a brad and an insert!! Love the way they turned out!!
Decorative paper: I used white copy paper and painted on my gesso and Modge Podge leftovers in an all over pattern. Once dry I used my acrylic paint leftovers to add colour washes over that. It makes for very interesting paper because the gesso and glue resist the acrylic paint leaving you with a wide variety of hues and texture in your decorative paper. Very unique papers!! I was sure to scan these papers before I used them in my cards so they can be used digitally in other works of art later on. I am starting to build a body of digital elements which are my own work which I can use without any restrictions in my future work. It will be really nice later on to have no copyright issues when I am creating collages or multi media art.
Therese

My Art - housewarming card

I created this card for a friend of mine who just bought her first house! They are excited about it and looking forward to moving in and having their family and friends over!! I thought this card would work very well as an invitation for a housewarming party! She thought it was a great idea!!
The house image is one I found on the internet. I printed it onto ivory cardstock, trimmed it, distressed the edge and layered it onto brown. The words are printed right onto the card. I stamped the card to get a bit of an antique look. The keys are printed on transparency, cut out and added to the card front with a brad.
The house could easily be chalked or lightly coloured to add a bit of dimension to the card.

Therese

My art - fat book mingle page

A fat book mingle page! This is the final installment for this mingle! I created two similar looking pages - one in red and one in pink! I will be sending both of them out to the recipients tomorrow!!
I used vintage clipart (The Lady's Closet) I dowloaded from the internet and laser printed. The backgrounds I created using modge podge and tissue papers!! I filled my large L with a lacy background texture which did not show up quite as much as I thought it would. I added a sticker to the front to finish it off. I used a sanded (on the back) transparency of a rose on the other side which I applied with modge podge just to see how it would work. Very reasonably!! I added colour to the back - the sanded side - of the transparency with Memories ink and I like how it turned out!! Added a stitched line to the edge of the transparency with Sharpie marker.
I have really enjoyed being part of this monthly mingle and am looking forward to other monthly projects to keep me making art.

Therese

Cardmaking - January - Old car

A card suitable for any guy and for almost any occasion!! The decorative paper is gift wrap I bought a few years ago. I will be sad when it is all gone because it makes really nice guy cards!! Will have to keep my eyes open for something similar in my travels! In the past, I have used stamped images of old cars with this paper. I was cruising several font sites the other day and came across this font called - OLD CARS! Downloaded it and printed a few of them onto transparencies for this card. Worked like a darn!! I used a circle of colourful cardstock to highlight the car and make it pop from the background. They are attached using double sided tape behind the brown strip!! The greeting could easily have been added to the brown strip but I decided on a tag instead! I stippled it with brown ink and added colour to the edges to make it pop a bit!!

It would seem that I have a bit of a theme of "use what you have" and "make it yourself" in my cards this month which was not intentional. It is a good practice to make use of the "stuff" you already have!!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

Therese

Cardmaking - January - A forest

Had a totally blasty time creating backgrounds for this card!! I hauled out my stamp pad reinkers, rubbing alcohol, felts & wooden block that I use for "polished stone" technique. I used coated copy paper instead of glossy cardstock! I cut the paper into quarter sheets and did individual little pieces of art. The reinkers I used are the really OLD ones for office stamp pads!! The rubbing alcohol worked really well for dispersing the inks and I made a whole bunch of cool backgrounds.

I overstamped them all with this image of a forest from Applalachian Arts Stamps which I have had for many years and just finally inked!! Because they were all different colours I used several different colours to overstamp the image. Amazingly, once stamped the backgrounds looked so great and appropriate!! I punched the card front with my corner slot punch on the the two bottom corners and trimmed my image to fit inside the slots. The greeting is printed on transparency and just placed between the slots and the image. I added a strip of cardstock behind the greeting to highlight it.

Take some time to create a bunch of backgrounds with the supplies you already have!! When you create your own background paper your cards and creations have a bit more of your touch in them!!

Therese

My Art - Christmas cards

Had a card for an exchange to make so used up the very last of the leftovers from that black and gold paper!! This one features NOEL printed on a laser transparency backed with gold gift wrap and mounted with double side adhesive and 3D foam tape. The gold paper was stamped with a script stamp (SU) in black and layered under the other!! Pretty simple but quite effective!! These are off in the mail and I hope they arrive before the end of the month!!

Therese

My Art - Mingle fat book page

This is my Yalpha mingle page for November! I had it started early enough but they were late going out because I got all caught in getting my Christmas card kits ready. I printed a laser transparency with the large S which is a decorative font I downloaded from the internet. I glittered the back - white glue and glitter - so it required a day of drying before it could be assembled. I could have planned the positions of my snowflakes (MS) better so as not to interfere with my words but it is not too bad!! I am liking the posibilities of this glittering technique!! I think the next time I would print my letter in reverse and glitter the printed side which would make the outside less vulnerable to wear and tear!! Someone special will be getting RAKed with one of these!! It would seem that I have been on a transparency kick with these mingle pages lately. Will have to challenge myself with some thing new for the next one!!

Therese

My Art - Cardmaking - Altered

We played with some altering techniques for this card. Stamped harlequin background (SU) onto the card front as well as onto an old book page with walnut ink. Trimmed the page to fit on the front of the card. I created a torn edge on the right hand side. Over this I layered a transparency which I printed with my laser printer and some images from the internet. This leaf one is from Trish Bayley. I also used a light house, a woman with a child, the Eiffel tower (Brenda Braun) and a scene with an old automobile!! To allow the transparency to be altered I sanded the back side so it would also accept walnut ink. Everyone enjoyed the process of adding walnut ink to their pieces!! You could use acrylic paints or pads and/or reinkers instead of walnut ink. Certainly using a different colour would give the card a totally different look. I used some new double sided tape on the back in the dark areas and it did not show at all on the front side. To secure it on the bottom corner I overlayered a book plate with greeting and attached it with brads. Added another brad to the other corner to have it well attached. It is fun to alter items and add them to your cards. The bookplate was cut from silver foil which I sanded and painted with burnt umber acrylic paint. I sealed the paint with clear acrylic finish to make it more permanent. Try your hand at altering some of your regular supplies to get a more antique look.

Therese

My Art - Fat book page

Created this page for a friend of mine. I usually take a few days after the WAF to stay and play at her house!! As always it was really great to be at her house. She has a wonderful space for creating and does awesome art. You can check out her blog. She is a teacher and was back to school this week! I hope the little package I sent will cheer her once she is back from school and the gym!!

I printed a full sheet of beauty images onto a transparency. Cut out this one and used photo corners to attach to the page. I had to trim the corners because the backs can be seen through the image. Used glossy and stamped with an antique looking fabric image in a coordinating colour and added a purple ribbon with a heart charm.

We worked on cards as well. She was finding it hard to get back into cards after having mostly created altered art projects so we played with the Cuttlebug and she was very quickly back into the flow of cardmaking. We discovered that you can use the Cuttlebug embossing folders in her pasta machine - been in the upper cupboard for a while!! Nicely repurposed into her stamping studio and one of the settings will easily shred paper for making hanmade paper!!

She created this wonderful Asian book in our creative days!! Check it out!! She is on the Altered Pages design team and I think her little Asian Love Book turned out great!!

Therese