Birthday card featuring a fun cupcake with a star and some ribbon flags

A fun card for one of my grandaughter's birthday which is coming up soon!!!  I started with a large envelope and created an off white card to fit inside.  I cut the piece of polka dot red paper for my background and decided to embellish it.  With a black Sharpie I added some hand drawn circles and three dots in all the large circles and put a single dot in the each small circle.  Next, I coloured all the circles in with yellow.  Finally, I used the open end of a nerf bullet to stamp red circles in between all the other ones.  The result adds some pizzazz!! I adhered it to my card front.  I laser printed the cute little cupcake (Melonheadz) after adding the birthday greeting, trimmed it to size and then watercoloured it using shimmery paint on the icing and a clear glitter gel pen on the dots and the swirl at the top.  I ran my tracing wheel on three edges and just below the greeting on the bottom.  I punched the bottom with a scallop punch (SU) and then added four shimmery embellishments in the four full scallops.  I layered it with red cardstock and added seven little red checkered ribbon flags on the right hand side.  To finish off my card I used 3D foam tape to adhere this focal element to my card front.  I like how the star echos the little yellow circles in my decorative paper.          Therese

Sympathy card featuring a colour printed decorative paper, ribbon and a layered butterfly and greeting

For this sympathy card I started with a light aqua card and added this colour printed decorative paper (digital image) to which I had added a gray ribbon with both ends adhered to the back with double sided tape.  I found the two butterflies in my stash and added blue foil to the silver one before adhering them together.  I mounted the butterfly to my card front using 3D foam tape.  Next, I tied a short piece of ribbon to the one I had on my card using a single knot to simulate a bow.  I used three punched oval shapes (SU) to create my greeting.  First, a small oval punched greeting, next a large oval punched from the same blue foil as the butterfly backed with a piece of cardstock to give it some structure and finally a large scalloped oval punchie cut from silver cardstock.  After adhering all of them to each other I added it to my card using 3D foam tape.   Really like this one!!!  Therese

Card set - butterflies, decorative paper and embossed scalloped circles

Another two cards for my card set!!  These both feature butterflies from a card mobile I got while back in a birthday card from my daughter.  

For the card on the left, I started with a textured beige card, mounted a piece of decorative scrapbook paper, an embossed scalloped circle die cut and my embellished butterfly.  I added a little die cut body to my butterfly to coordinate with the foiled elements on its wings!!

For the second card I trimmed four rectangles of this beautiful gift wrap and corner punched two corners on each one before adhering them to my beige card front.  I mounted the embellished butterfly to the green embossed scalloped circle die cut and centered it on my card front to finish it off.   Therese

Large birthday card featuring a cute little pig, some ribbon and a layered greeting

What a fun card!!!!!!!!!  This little pig was part of a large sheet of scrapbooking paper. I trimmed it down to the size I needed for this card and trimmed off the top portion and reattached it using regular tape on the back.  I created a layered embellished greeting .  A scallop circle, a round stamped greeting (SU) in green, a flower sequin all held together with a tiny gold brad.  I added a length of green ribbon where my pieces of paper joined adhering the ends to the back.  I slipped a red scalloped circle below it and then mounted my layered greeting over the ribbon.  Everything coordinates so nicely!! 

Therese

Subtle neutral background embellished with gold embossed mesh and a twine nest

 Have been working with a few others on a project for a while and we are now almost finished.  I have made this card for one of the people who have donated time and materials to help us get this project off the ground. 
I started with a large envelope and cut an ivory card to fit inside.  I mounted two scraps of this beautiful gray and pale yellow decorative paper (SU) on the front.  I trimmed a scrap of brown cardstock to size, distressed the top and bottom and then added a piece of gold embossed mesh to it using four square brads in gold.  I mounted this element over where the two pieces joined on the front.  The laser printed greeting punchie (Bird's Cards) I found in my stash and sponged the edge with a bit of brown ink and then mounted it to a kraft scalloped circle punchie (Nestibilities).  I added double sided tape to the back and then wound some kraft cording and gold embroidery thread all around it anchoring them when I could to the back of the greeting.  I added two strips of 3D foam tape to the back and mounted it over the accent strip leaving the "nest" of fiber to find its best place.  Feeling that the edges needed a bit more definition I used a gold gel pen and added faux stitching all around the edges.  That was better!!!   Nothing can really replace a handmade card when you are expressing your appreciation for what others have done for you!!!!!   Therese

Layered scallop circles with a round birthday greeting

A birthday card for my stash that features layered scalloped circles (Nestibilities) along with a couple circle punchies including one with a round greeting.
I layered a green scalloped circle below the gray one and then added an embossed circle punchie then the round greeting punchie (The Spruce) and finally added a blue silk flower, a yellow flower sequin and attached them all together using a tiny gold brad.
For the background I started with a colour printed gray background with soft dots on it and added some doodling and a faux stitching border with a yellow marker to echo the little yellow sequin I used on the focal element.  I added a colour coordinated ribbon across the middle gluing both ends to the back of the layer before adhering this large element to the front of a purple card.

Therese

Reusing beautiful images from cards for making new cards

 I have received a stack of used cards and am reusing the images to make new cards!!!  It is a win-win!! I have chosen the smallest cards to reuse as the images are to the right scale for A2 cards.  

For the first one, I chose these beautiful poppies, trimmed the image and layered it onto green and then layered this element to the front of a pink card.  My favorite colour combination!!  I trimmed the gold greeting from the original card, layered it onto pink and then onto my card front on a bit of a diagonal.  Excellent!!

For my second card, I trimmed down the image, tied a length of white fiber on the top between the greeting and the image and then glued this element to a green card front.  Done!!

For my third card, I trimmed the owl from the card and reused the borders from the card on the top and the bottom of the image.  I glued these to a brown card front and added a laser printed greeting below the image. 

For my fourth card, I trimmed the all over floral card front to 4" x 5.25" and added a length of vintage green seam binding before gluing it to the front of a green card.  I layered a laser printed and watercoloured circle greeting (Bird's Cards) to a colour washed scallop circle punchie (SU) which was pierced in all the scallops and adhered it to my card front using 3D foam tape.  I tied on a short length of seam binding to the one on the card with one knot to simulate a bow.  

So a few more cards to add to the stash!!

Therese

A few more cards that feature a flexible sketch

 I have finished off the last of the card kits I had sitting from my last class.  You can see here the others I created with this same sketch for this class.  I really appreciate how wonderful it is to have flexible sketches because by simply changing the papers, the images and the greetings you can make cards that are appropriate for any occasion.  You can also change the orientation of the card, the position of the ribbon, the location of the image to change up the way the cards look. 

These were fast and easy because I was using kits with identical supplies but as you can see these kits still allow a lot of flexibility and the opportunity for anyone to give the card their own twists.  

These will be channeled into my stash, donated to various causes and/or be packaged to create little gifts that I will have on hand for when the need arises.
The background for the cards on the right and left is a digital background from Free Vintage Digistamps.  

I would highly recommend that you make several kits when you make up your next few cards.  These will be available to you when you need a card as the last minute and you will find that you can easily change up the elements of a kit to provide a fresh take on a sketch when you don't make the cards up at the same time.  

Therese

Scrappy background with a star embellishment

 This is the final card I made with the scrappy backgrounds I created a few weeks ago.  I cut the piece I had into three both ways and glued them equidistant from each other on a kraft card front.  I stamped over all with my stipple stamp (SU) with brown ink which works to unify all the pieces with the card.  I positioned a length of brown twill tape near the middle and tucked a stamped greeting below it and used my sewing machine to stitch both of them into place.  The greeting looked a little plain so I stippled it as well with brown ink.  My focal point is a 3D embellishment which features an punchie star, a scalloped circle and another of those brown and gold paper medallions!!!  You can see here, here and here the other cards that feature these medallions.  Anyone know what tasty treat was housed in them?  Click on the my FEATURED POST on the upper right hand side or click this link and leave me a comment!!  This card is going into my stash.

Therese

Christmas ornaments with wooden angels

I made up over a dozen of these Christmas ornaments for a bazaar in my community!  I had a few backgrounds left over from this project last Christmas so decided to finish them off in the same manner to create ornaments. I added little handmade paper Christmas trees to the back which I embellished with iridescent glitter glue and a small gold sequin star along with finishing off the edge by adding glitter glue to each scallop.  For this project I used the little wooden angels with the horns and gifts.

Pretty happy with how these turned out!!

Therese

November cardmaking - Christmas and all occasion

I had a few girls in for a cardmaking session last night and here a few examples of our first card.  I made quite a few kits so everyone could choose what they wanted to make and I also made all occasion kits as well as Christmas kits. It was fun that these kits are all a bit different because they have different decorative paper as well as images.
I started with layering a piece of decorative paper over my card front and adding a piece of ribbon/seam binding that runs the length of the card with the ends adhered to the inside of the card using double sided tape.  I watercoloured my images (poinsettia & kite - Birds Cards, trees - Black Berry Jelly) except for the first one which is a circle punched from an old greeting card.  The colours were perfect with that background.  I layered my images directly onto a scallop circle for two of them, the other two have several layers of circles before I glued them to the scalloped circle.  I adhered the scallop circle element to my layered card front over the ribbon using 3D foam tape.

You can see that I chose to make one of them landscape instead of portrait - love the versatility of this sketch and kit.  I tied a short piece of ribbon/seambinding to the long length on the front to simulate a bow and then adhered my layered greeting using 3D foam tape.

I am glad to have a few extra kits to make up.  It should give me enough Christmas cards for this year and also a few all occasion cards for gift giving.

Therese

Book page art charms

I am doing a personal swap with another member from the Art Charms group.
The theme for this one was to use a book page.  I have been pondering my creation for a few weeks and this morning I was able to create what my mind had conceived!!  Excellent!!
For each charm, I started with two kraft scalloped circles which I cut with Nestibilities.  I used a 4" length of small black gros grain ribbon which I folded in half and glued between the two.  I used double sided tape to hold the ribbon in place then added white glue, placed the other circle over the ribbon and clamped them down to dry.  For the front I cut a black circle and then layered over it a circle (1") cut from a dictionary page.  I backed the dictionary page with regular bond and positioned the "B" punchie before I punched the circle.  I cut a small piece of paper to cover my special word and sponged all the way around so it would be highlighted.  That worked very well.  It still needed a bit of something so I added dots in each scallop using a fine tip Sharpie marker.  I finished the back with another black circle and an image punchie.  Once they were finished I sprayed the fronts to seal them.  Each has a jump ring to attach the lobster claws which I am including in my swap envelope.  They will be on their way this afternoon!!!

Therese

Thank you cards with die cut greetings

I made a few thank you cards for my card bucket.  I started with the left one - cut out the word using a set of small alphabet framelits from a decorative paper I created using a mouldable foam stamp and some cedar branches.  I love the colours - Kaleidacolour - Creole Spice rainbow pad!!  I added two layers - dark green and then light green.  I used a leafy embossing folder and manually embossed the outside edges of a navy blue card and then mounted my focal element to the center.  On the center one I used a very similar technique but added texture to my card front using green ink on a harlequin background stamp instead of an embossing folder.  Again, hand decorated paper cut with alphabet framelits, layered onto dark green and then light green and mounted to my green card front.  For my last one I got a little carried away which happens to me - I don't like to make two cards exactly the same.  I used the same decorative paper as the first one, layered it onto navy and then purple.  I found these two scallop circles in my stash, cut them both in half and mounted them on my card front and then mounted my focal element with the greeting over that.  I like the halo of scallops!!
My card stash is very low so I am need to start making a few every week to build it back up so I will have cards on hand.

Therese

Fabric paper Thank you card

Needed a quick card for a friend who has been babysitting my tomato plants for the last week or so.  I used a piece of fabric paper which I used  to make this chunky book page and made a while back.  I simply cut a piece 4" x 5.25" and stitched it to a yellow card front and added a layered punchie greeting.
I love the texture of fabric paper and am thinking it is time to make more!!  I only have a small piece left from this last sheet!!  I have been collecting tissue paper and paper napkins which will provide some interesting images to incorporate!!

Therese

Triangle Christmas card

This is truly a triangle card!!  It is triangular on all three sides and the amazing thing is that it can be folded and mailed in a regular
envelope!!  I started with three 4.25" squares of red cardstock each scored and folded diagonally.  I cut the decorative paper to 4" square and trimmed it diagonally - a perfect fit on the large triangular areas.  The little pieces (back side of paper) were cut to 1.5" square and cut diagonally.  I added faux stitching to the large triangles using a black gel pen.

The front features a vellum greeting which I folded over the edges of the paper and secured with double sided tape.

I added a length of black cording which I also adhered to the back with double sided tape and tied on a short piece to simulate a bow.  The scallop accent was glued over the cording and features layered punchies - the watercoloured poinsettia (Beccy's Place) over a green circle (SU) over a black scalloped circle (SU).  I hand cut a half circle to tuck the back flap of the card into so it would stand nicely.

You can see here what the card looks like open flat. It will be folded down the center, inserted into the envelope and sent on its way to my swap partner.
Below you can see the individual pieces before I glued them together.  The white strips is double sided tape before I peeled off the release paper.


My card will not fit into an A2 sized envelope so I will have to find a larger envelope.  To make one to fit into an A2 envelope use 4" squares for the cardstock and reduce the sizes appropriately for the decorative paper.  If you decide to make some of these for A2 envelope consider using 12" x 12" cardstock - it would yield nine 4"x 4" squares which would make 3 cards.
Really enjoyed making this card!!  Love swaps for stretching my creativity!!

Therese

Fairy Door

 A fairy door!!  

Everyone should have one just to stay in touch with the other dimensions of life that blur in our awareness as we grow older!!

I did some research when I joined this swap because I had never heard of them before.  What a cool concept!  It keeps the child in us alive!!

It took several weeks to really work out the concept of how I would create the different layers and what features I thought would be necessary in my creation. 

I finally decided that my door would be able to physically open.  I wanted it to open into a world that was airy and not defined by me so I decided to use metallic cardstock behind my door so the world everyone sees when they open it will be of their own making.  I found one on line that had this feature and I liked the idea of it right away.  I wanted my door to have a window to provide light for the world that lay beyond.  I wanted the frame to have a peaceful greeting.  

So last week I started on my door.  I cut two pieces of light weight chipboard to 5.5"x 8.5".  I painted all four sides with black acrylic paint.  While they were drying I went looking for the pieces I would need.  I found the little strip of wood that I used on the frame of my door.  DH is always bringing me little scraps of wood from his shop knowing that I like to add them to my creations!!  It was about two feet long and a 1/16" thick.  Perfect for the frame of my door.  Next, I located the tiles for framing my opening.  I have a stash of letter tiles I have collected over the years from games, etc and so I started there.  I had originally thought I would use Scrabble tiles to keep wood as a theme but when I found these black letter tiles I decided these ones were "the ones" because they would make the words much more subtle.  I laid them on my chipboard and figured out that I needed 22 to go around so started working out a saying that would work with that many letters.  Needless to say, the paint had long been dry but I now had the wood for my door and the tiles for my frame so I could figure out how big my door was going to be.  I measured three times and cut once!!  I cut both pieces of chipboard with the same opening and marked the backs of both of them so I could keep my layers in proper order.  My tiles were a bit shiny so I decided to paint them black with the bit of acrylic paint I had sitting from painting the chipboard.  Dulled them very nicely but not completely - perfect!!  I decided to build my door first.  I measured and cut my wood strip to make the frame all the way around.  I sanded their edges and dry fit them until I was happy how they went together.  Once I knew how much room there was between the frame pieces I decided on my window size - 1.25".  I used my circle cutter to cut the hole in the top layer, placed it on the back layer, traced the hole onto it and used the circle cutter to cut that one too.  Once I laid them back to back I was pretty close so I just tweaked both of them a bit with an exacto knife.  I decided to add some words, so I found a book page that would do and trimmed it to fit under the wood frame.  I found a scallop punchie in kraft and black (prize on one of my groups) and cut a hole in it as well to create a frame for my window.  Next, I worked on the hinges.  I originally thought two would be enough but when I got to this step I decided that three would be better.  I cut them using a latch die (SX) from leather using my Big Shot.  Perfect!!  I knew that I would need just a bit of play in my door to accommodate the hinges so trimmed just a smidge off the door.  Fortunately, I had allowed a border all the way around my wood frame so I did not have to change that.  Next, I dug out my jewellery findings in hopes of finding something that would work as a handle for my door!!  I found an old earring with this beautiful hoop and with a bit of jigging I made myself a door handle!!  With all the pieces of my door ready to go I started assembling.  I started by gluing my book page to the front of my door.  I cut triangles in the window opening and glued all of them to the inside front of the door.  I glued my wood door frame in place using double sided tape and then used a small drill bit to make the holes I needed through all the layers for my brads.  I drilled holes because I did not want to split the wood which easily happens when the wood is so thin.  I used tiny black brads.  They look like bolts!!  I positioned my hinges, used my awl to mark the holes, drilled them out, attached the hinges with double sided tape and added the brads.  Added my little door handle and glued the frame around my window.  I then glued the back to the front which left the inside of the door neat and clean with all the brad tangs hidden between the two.  I used a black permanent marker on the cut edges to remove the kraft colour of the chipboard on those edges.  Once the door was finished I completed my frame by gluing those two back to back.  Onto my tiles!!  They were hollow at the back so I needed to work out a way to glue them to my frame.  In the end, it was an incremental process.  I glued small squares of cardstock to the inside hollow using hot glue then added a square of 3D foam tape to that which gave me the correct depth to attach to my frame.  I positioned them on the frame to find that I had made a slight error - I had not trimmed my chipboard before I created the door so now I had a half inch on both sides of the frame that was untiled!!  I went looking for something that would do the job of filling that space.  I found a bike reflector (found object on one of my walks) that was the perfect size after I cut it out of its holder and trimmed it in half using a hack saw.  Sanded the edges, added several cardstock layers to the inside and two layers of double sided tape and they were ready to be added to my frame.  I laid out all the tiles and made sure they were all in the correct order before I started gluing them into place.  I started in the top left hand corner and did all that side applying LOTS of pressure to get the foam tape to stick completely to the chipboard.   Next, I started in the right hand corner and started placing tiles.  On my fourth tile, I realized that the last two were flipped though it was difficult to tell because they were an "H" and an "O".  I immediately applied some heat and gently lifted them up.  They did tear a bit of the chip board's painted surface but I was able to repair that and reposition the tiles!!  The little reflectors fit just perfectly at the bottom of each frame and will allow the door to been seen at night!!  A feature I had not intended but adds nicely to the design of my fairy door.  I cut a piece of silver metallic cardstock just slightly smaller than the back and glued it in place using double sided tape!!  The door jammed a bit after it was all assembled and I trimmed it a bit.  I should have waited a bit longer because after everything dried for a bit it may not have been necessary after all but what was done was done - a lesson learned.  In the end, the gap between the door and the frame is a little larger than I would have liked but it works well which is the important thing.  So, it has been pressing for the last day.  I will be packing it up today and sending it on its way to my partner!!

I thoroughly enjoyed the process of creating this little door and I look forward to finding a place in my craft room for the one I will be receiving in return!!

Therese

Gifts of Imperfection - Self compassion

 Here are my journal pages for Week 3 of my Brene Brown on line Ecourse!!  I am two weeks behind but so be it!!  This week we had to find photos of times in our lives or experiences when we were hard on ourselves.  We will now show our selves compassion and whisper to our former selves (which are still inside us) what we needed to hear then.
I started this page by adding my photos and then the wording in two fonts that seemed to go with the words and laser printed the page.  I added

colour using pencil crayons.  Not my usual medium but that's what seemed to be calling me today.  I added frames around the photos and created a heart.  I added little scalloped circles to which I will add my compassionate whispers.  I created another page to record the compassionate whispers that I need to hear as I move forward.  I used my Creative Lettering book as inspiration and hand lettered the title and the definition along with some doodly lines to keep things organized using a fine tipped Sharpie. I coloured inside and between the letters with the same pencil crayons I used on my first page.  I love the little heart at the end of "whispers".
I am really enjoying the art journalling part of this class!

Therese

Cardmaking - June - Fun Greetings

It is always fun to change things up, so for this card I combined the image and the greeting.  All of the images were downloaded from CLKER and I added some fun greetings using an appropriate font.  Some of the other ones were: "Heard you needed a pick up" with a little truck, "Best Fishes" with a cute little fish, "Be Happy" with a little bee, "Butterfly Wishes" with a butterfly, "Smile" with a camera, "You're Purrr- fect" with a cute kitten and "You're so sweet" with a little cupcake!
I cut the circle elements and the scalloped layers with my Nestibilities.  Started by adding a layer of decorative paper to the card front and a length of seam binding or ribbon.  Tied on a short piece with a single knot to simulate a bow and added my main layered element over it using 3D foam tape.
It is always good to have a few greeting cards on hand that you can send to friends and family for just for fun!!  These fit the bill perfectly!!

Therese

Cardmaking - May - little boys

These cards were created with little boys in mind.  They feature decorative paper as the main element of the card which is a different way of approaching card making for me.  I love the little animals!!  I added two embossed and pierced rectangles and a colour printed greeting layered over a scalloped circle.  These are quick and easy cards!!
These fit in #8 envelopes which I purchased in bulk at an office supply store.  Some of the girls in class mentioned that they have been purchasing them at discount stores.  I thought they were a different size but  when I compared them this morning they are the same size so consider that option when buying envelopes.
THRIFTY TIP:  To make two #8 cards from an 8.5" x 11" piece of cardstock cut off two pieces that measure 3.5" x 11". The scrap that is left over (1.5"x 11") is exactly the right width for adding to the 11" (11" + 1.5"= 12.5") to make a 6.25" card (6.25 x 2 = 12.5).  Cut two 1.5" x 3.5" pieces and add to the two pieces you have already cut.  I usually hide the joint below an element or a layer.
In this case I added a piece of double sided tape below the two rectangles which holds in place the 1.5" x 3.5" piece I added to the front bottom of the card.  You could also choose to add a piece in a different colour which works just as well and uses up scraps.

Therese

Cardmaking - April - woven accent

In the spirit of making the most of the supplies I have on hand and in celebration of Earth Day I decided to use the stash of paper strips I have accumulated as I trim paper for other projects.  I love how these worked out, though, I really prefer the randomness of the red one.  The one on the left used cut offs from these cards and I am really happy how bright the colours were next to the yellow cardstock but after I glued down the piece and added the image I thought it was just a little too square and even but taking it apart would have been problematic because these are made using wax crayons.  The butterfly image I downloaded from CLKER and the heart is from Torico, I laser printed them and use 1 3/4" punch to cut them out. Used a scalloped Nestibilities circle die to cut the layer.  The little patch of woven strips works really well over the embossed card fronts.
Therese