A birthday card featuring a paper collage background, sunflower embellishments, a digital greeting and a small butterfly

For this birthday card I created a brown card base to fit in one of the large envelopes from my stash.  I created a collage background using paper scraps and regular tape trimming it to fit on my card before adhering it in place.  I created five sunflower embellishments using two paper flowers in yellow and brown, large copper sequins and a gold brad in the center to hold all the elements together.  I added silk flower leaves to the back using double sided tape.  I used a corner rounder on my greeting (digital from Desert Diva), sponged it with green and brown ink and placed it on my card front.  I auditioned my embellishments until I was happy with them and then glued them down with 3D foam tape.  To finish off my card I added a little butterfly element to my greeting.  Perfect!!!!!!!

Therese

Birthday card from a kit featuring an embossed circle, watercoloured funky flowers and a stamped and layered greeting

Still working on getting the final bunch of card kits from the September card making class made up into cards.  For this one I embossed the circle and trimmed off a sliver and mounted it to my card to which I had already adhered my background of scrapbook paper.  I die cut the image of three flowers (Black Berry Jelly) using my Nestibitilities, watercoloured the image and the sponged the edge with blue and green ink.  I mounted this focal element to my card front overlapping the circle.  To continue the theme I created a layered stamped greeting.  I stamped the greeting in green, punched it with a 1.25" punch (SU) and then layered it onto a 1 3/8" turquoise circle punchie.  I added a blue sequin flower using a green  rhinestone brad and mounted this little greeting to my card front using 3D foam tape.  Enjoying the process of using card kits and changing up the sketch.

Therese

Cards from kits - birthday card featuring resist background, embossed vellum and sequins

I made this card very much like I made up the cards for my January card making class.   I used all the elements though I placed the maple leaf punchie on the outside of the vellum instead of below it and I used double sided tape to secure the sequins instead of brads.  The greeting is a laser printed one which combines a digital frame and a font greeting.  It was punched out using the modern label punch (SU).  I mounted it with 3D foam tape on the right and double on the left because the layered oval was also mounted using 3D foam tape.  The resist background was created with a large harlequin stamp (SU) which was silver embossed before the application of watercolour.  I really love the look of these backgrounds. 
Making cards from kits is so quick!  Everything is ready and you can be creative with the elements and often make very different looking cards.  I this case I pretty much followed the sketch.           Therese

Anniversary card from a card kit featuring a resist background with hearts, an oval with hearts & sequins and a oval layered greeting

Another card from a card kit from my January Cardmaking class.  I used the heart resist background (silver embossed with watercolour) horizontally for this card.  I changed up the design somewhat by adding two heart punchies and layering them over the vellum.  I added the layered sequins which I assembled with double sided tape using the same tape instead of brads.  I dug through my greetings stash and chose an oval one for an anniversary and layered it using a turquoise scalloped punchie (SU) and mounted it with 3D foam tape.  I have a difficult time making several cards exactly the same as my mind its always figuring out other options.  I will probably have quite a few different version by the time I get all of these cards made up!!  Therese

Sympathy card from a kit - embossed resist background, embossed vellum, sequins with brads and a tiny greeting

Needing a couple more sympathy cards!  I made this one up from a card kit from my January class.  It features an embossed butterfly (SU) background which was created using very neutral and pale scrapbook paper, silver embossing powder and watercolour.  It was fun to play with resists again!!  I trimmed the background to fit on a green card and created the focal element by layering a turquoise oval (Nestibilities) with a little white butterfly punchie (SU), an embossed vellum oval which was cut just a bit smaller and green and turquoise sequins on the front and tiny silver brads to keep on the layers together.  I mounted this large element to my card front using 3D foam tape and then added a cute embellished colour printed greeting.  I used scalloped decorative scissors to cut the top edge, added paper piercing with a push pin and then added an embossed line using my score tool.  I used double sided tape on the left hand side which adhered to the oval and 3D foam tape to the right hand side which adhered to the card front.    Therese

Thank you card for family in China featuring chinese greeting stamps, embossed greeting and a silk flower

I made this card for my son and his family who currently live in China (they are well).  I received five Chinese greeting rubber stamps as a gift and thought I would use them to make my thank you card to them.  I was fortunate to have my daughter in law provide the meanings for the little round greetings.  They are all wonderful such as long life, double happiness, etc.  I decided to stamp them all in a random fashion on red cardstock, embossed them in gold embossing powder and then I watercoloured it to give the panel more texture and depth.  Once it was dry I mounted it to a gold card.  I stamped the thank you greeting (SU) and gold embossed it.  Mounted it to a special red paper and added a deep yellow silk flower to the left hand side using a tiny gold brad with a sequin.  I added a short piece of gold ribbon to the left of my card front and mounted the layered greeting over it.  Very happy with it!!  Next time I use the little stamps with a round circle punch!!  Therese

January cardmaking - a card with a embossed resist background, a layered oval focal element and a small font greeting

I am back to cardmaking with my friends and happy to be at it.  We had very cold temperatures in the last couple of weeks or so and it is nice to have more temperate weather this week.
For our first card, I made up some embossed resist backgrounds using a decorative paper with a very slight floral design in white on blue.  I stamped the designs on the paper using embossing ink and then embossed them with silver embossing powder.  Once they were cool, I watercoloured them to coordinate with a selection of ovals I had in my stash - blue, several purples, turquoise and pink which pretty much completely overwhelmed the pattern which was what I was hoping would happen.  Getting the colours right took a bit of time but I am happy with how they all turned out.  I cut vellum ovals just one size smaller (Nestibilities) and they were dry embossed with a variety of designs/embossing folders.  I added a white star punchie to the purple oval and a white maple leaf to the turquoise one, layered on the embossed vellum oval and secured them together using two silver brads each with a couple of coordinating sequins on them. I adhered my background to a coordinating card and then adhered the oval focal element to it.  I embellished my little greeting with a flagged end and some paper piercing before adhering it to the oval using double sided tape.  It was really fun to be making decorative paper again!!    Therese

Cards from card kits featuring embossed rectangles, layered silk flower embellishments and little greetings

 I am in the process of cleaning up my craft room and preparing for my class at the end of the month so I started with seeing if I could refurbish the card kits I had sitting on my desk.  I remember now that I have tried that in the past and was not successful so I just made them up and will have them on hand for giving as hostess gifts or for the next mortgage fundraiser. 
These were all from the same card kits from the September card class.  I used the corner rounder on some of the corners and embossed them all to give them texture.  The focal elements are layered silk flowers with sequins and a brad to hold them together.  After adhering my decorative paper to the front of my cards I added the embossed rectangles in a variety of configurations.  I added the silk flower embellishments with 3D foam tape and finished two of them off with little laser printed font greetings.  I left one without a greeting because it makes the card more versatile!  Therese

Thank you card featuring an embossed sanded white core background, an embellished silk flower and a flagged vellum greeting

For this thank you card, I started with a coral piece of white core cardstock which I trimmed to fit the white card I created to fit in my small envelope.  I embossed this layer with a floral embossing folder (SU) and sanded it. I took a small strip of the same paper and embossed it with polka dots and sanded it as well.  I adhered it to the main layer after tucking a small vellum greeting beneath it.  I added a little silk flower embellished with a white sequin and silver brad to secure the vellum greeting to the other layers.  I adhered this large layer to the front of my white card.  I flagged the end of the vellum greeting to finish off my card!!!!!!  Therese

Thank you card featuring gift wrap background, a punched accent and a little punchie greeting

For this card, I started with a smaller envelope and created a white card to fit inside.  I tore a piece of this beautiful teal gift wrap (from England) and layered another piece of the same paper in behind with back facing front which is this beautiful pink colour.  You can see a hint of the pattern showing through the pink.  I punched a flower on the right hand side, flipped it and adhered it back into the opening using regular tape on the back to keep it in place.  I added a teal sequin on the front and a little silver brad to keep it in place.  I found the coordinating pink greeting in my stash.  I sponged its edges with teal ink and adhered to my card front over the torn gap using 3D foam tape.  I have enjoyed time in my craft room making these cards!!             Therese

November Cardmaking - Christmas card featuring embossed trees, sanded embossed scroll frames and a fabric snowflake embellishments

I had a few ladies over last night to make Christmas cards.  It was a wonderful evening  - we enjoyed Christmas music as we created.
Our first card featured an embossed tree and greeting in the center of a white core piece of cardstock in a variety of colours.  We embossed them with a scroll frame embossing folder and then sanded the embossing to reveal the white core. The sanding also gives the paper a lovely soft velvety texture.  Next we overlaid a coordinating hand cut oval stencil and sponged a halo around our tree using a coordinating coloured ink.  We added snowflakes/stars to the sky using gel pens - white or clear glitter.  Finally, we added a little embellishment which was created using a white fabric snowflake layered with a coordinating sequin and held together with a brad. We used a push pin to make a hole along the rim of our halo and inserted the brad to secure it in place.  This large layer was then adhered to the front of a coordinating card front.
I have added these turquoise cards which I had made up as card kits for this class but found that the contrast after sanding was not as prominent due to a non white core and that the silver embossing was a bit rough due to the texture of the cardstock.  I wanted a more consistent experience for the class so I had set these aside.    Therese

Christmas cards featuring large snowflakes layered with smaller ones and greetings

For these two cards I cut one piece of white cardstock  4.25"x 5.5" using a large snowflake die (SU).  Having carefully situated the paper on the die I was able to use both pieces - the die cut snowflake and the opening it created in the piece of white cardstock.  

The first card features the snowflake die cut which I sponged a bit on the outside edges with blue ink.  I added regular tape to the back of the openings on the ends  and applied blue glitter from the front which nicely fills them with blingy colour.  I dug through my stash of precut snowflakes and found a medium sized one which worked so I sponged its extremities as well.  I added a blue snowflake sequin and adhered all of them together using a silver brad.  I adhered it to a navy blue flecked card and added a greeting below.  The greeting is laser printed, has a flagged end and was glittered all the way around with the same glitter used on the snowflake.  I used double sided tape on the ends and a piece of 3D foam tape in the middle and added it to my card for finish it off.  Love that navy flecked cardstock as it creates a night sky in a minute!!     

For the second card, I used the piece of white cardstock which had the opening in it.  I trimmed it to 4" x 5.25" and mounted a very bright orange yellow and pink background which I created using alcohol and ink from leftover in the inkjet cartridges when we changed them out last time.  Love the contrast and how well the snowflake opening is highlighted.  I layered a pink round sequin, an orange flower sequin, a gold snowflake sequin and a fabric snowflake to create the 3D embellishment for the center which I mounted with a tiny white brad.  I found this stamped greeting in my stash, trimmed it to size and sponged its edges.  Next, I sponged the edges of the white layer to coordinate with the greeting and mounted this large element to the front of an orange card.  Added the greeting below the snowflake using double sided tape.  Love this card with its non traditional colour scheme!!    Therese

Exchange cards for my swap partners featuring glossy backgrounds, sequins and large laser printed greetings

 I made up card kits for my exchange cards this month!  They both feature some bright glossy backgrounds which I made with glossy photo paper and inks.  I used a variety of dies to cut pieces for these cards.  The large greetings (Desert Diva) were printed on white cardstock and trimmed to size. I embossed them both manually with different embossing folders.  I added faux stitching to first one and used my tracing wheel to add some texture to the second one.  The elements were assembled and mounted to coordinating cards.  I added the sequins using tiny pieces of double sided tape.  You can check the others here.  They will be on their way tomorrow!!           Therese

Cards made up from card kits featuring a die cut layer backed with decorative paper, fiber and embossed greetings

I am still making cards for my stash and using card kits from my desk to make the process quick and easy.  These cards were featured in my January Cardmaking Class.   The top one features a gold embossed Merry Christmas greeting, some die cut hearts and some fun sweater knit paper to back them.  I added a length of gold embroidery thread through the opening before adding the paper to cover up the openings.  That layer had been over stamped with a script and scroll design.  I glued this large layer to a coordinating card front. I added three little gold sequins to finish it off. 
The next card features leaf die cuts on the left with the same gold embroidery thread.  The third card features a rose pattern die cut opening and a blue fiber tied to the front.  I backed this one with hand decorated watercolour paper. 
A few more for the stash!!

Therese

Cards featuring decorative paper, three embossed layers and a floral embellishment

A few more cards for my stash.  I made these up from card kits which were also featured in my September cardmaking class.  The large decorative papers were glued to the coordinating card fronts and the three pieces of cardstock were embossed with three different embossing folders.  I corner rounded some of the corners to provide a little variety in the look of the layers.  They were arranged on the card fronts to make a pleasing arrangement and then glued in place.  The 3D embellishments were created by layering silk flowers adding punchies/sequins and then held together with a coordinating brad.  These were applied to the cards using 3D foam tape.  To finish off my cards I added the greetings.  Card kits are so quick and easy!!      Therese

Birthday cards featuring a large layered background with a digital greeting and a bit of embellisment

Needing some cards for my stash I decided to mine the collection of card kits on my desk.  These kits were featured in my September cardmaking class. They feature a square of decorative paper layered with coordinating cardstock to which a coordinating ribbon was added before adhering it to the front of a coordinating card.  Three of the greetings are from Desert Diva, the third is created with a font. The last two have images from Cre8tive Hands which I watercoloured and added glitter with a gel pen.   They were sized, laser printed on white cardstock and trimmed out to a square.  They were distressed on all sides and layered onto a square that was die cut from the layer applied behind the decorative paper which is efficient and also guarantees that they will coordinate perfectly.  The greetings were applied to the front of the cards using 3D foam tape.  I added balloons to the first card to make it more appropriate for a child's birthday.  I added sequins and rhinestones to the second on along with some clear glitter using a gel pen to the greeting and to add some faux stitching to the top portion of the card front.   For the third card, I used a landscape orientation, added some clear glitter to the greeting and a glittery purple butterfly also with 3D foam tape.  I tied a short length of the same ribbon to the piece on the decorative layer to simulate a bow on all of them.  A very versatile sketch and making cards up from kits goes very quickly and you can customize them as you wish. 

Therese

 

Doily Challenge - a large birthday card featuring hand decorated paper, vellum greeting and some paper sequins

This is the fourth card I created for my Doily Challenge.  I started with a large white envelope and created a white card to fit inside.  I trimmed a piece of light aqua cardstock to fit on my card with a very tiny margins all the way around. I found a piece of hand decorated glossy paper which was created with a wrinkled wax paper resist and watercolour.  The colours worked well with the dark teal doily.  I trimmed a piece off and used a scalloped border punch on the right hand side after trimming it to size to fit on my aqua layer.  I used a vellum greeting which I printed when I was creating my last card.  After positioning it on my card I created a green strip to hide the double sided tape I used to adhere my vellum greeting.  I added four aqua flower paper sequins to the strip, trimmed four little flowers from my doily and adhered them to the paper sequins.  To finish off my card, I added clear rhinestones to my paper sequin flowers which  was perfect!!  I love the look of the hand decorated paper with the vellum and the paper sequins!!     Therese

Birthday card featuring a layered floral focal element, decorative paper background and an embossed greeting

My youngest granddaughter has a birthday coming up and I made this card for her.  It has a fun and funky flower element which can be removed to put it in her room or in a window. 
I started with a large envelope and created a blue card to fit inside.  I trimmed a piece of decorative paper which has some glitter on it somewhat smaller than my card and cut it into four pieces.  I used a corner punch to trim two corners on each rectangle and then glued them in place with even margins on my card front.  I created the flower using a variety of flowers I found in my flower stash - a large die cut, an orange post it note flower, a coral die cut and a layered center created from a scalloped circle, a circle punchie of decorative paper, a 5 petal flower punchie, a sequin and a brad to hold them all together.  I punched a small hole on the top and strung a white cord through to create a hanger.  I positioned the flower on my card so the center was in the middle of the card and brought the hanger to the inside of the card and secured it with tape.  I put a tiny piece of double sided tape below the flower just to keep it in place until it is removed.  I trimmed a glittery embossed greeting, sponged the edges in pink and glued it to the front of my card using double sided tape.  It will be a fun card for her and she will be so happy to have something she can keep for herself to decorate her room!!     Therese

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Doily Challenge - a large birthday card featuring a teal doily, a stamped greeting and some paper sequins with bling

A friend gave me a package of teal doilies when I attended her garage sale earlier this year and I thought I would challenge myself to use them in cards.
I started with this card which used just less than half of one of the doilies.  I started with a large aqua envelope and I created a white card to fit inside.  Next, I cut a light aqua layer for the front just slightly smaller and used the piece of doily as a stencil sponging on aqua ink on the right hand side.  I really liked how that looked.  I started layering pieces on the left hand side to create layers on my card.  I ended up with a piece of plastic trimmed from a commercial card that has a white doily pattern, my piece of teal doily, some blue foil and then a piece of silver foil.  After auditioning all the pieces I glued them to my layer one at a time and added the final white doily piece using two silver brads which I applied through all the layers.  I glued this large layer to my white card front and then worked on some embellishments.  I found a stamped and embossed greeting in my stash which coordinated nicely, added a navy blue layer, tuck it under the white doily layer and adhered it to my card front.  I found these light aqua floral paper sequins in my stash, sponged their edges with the same ink I used to stencil and then adhered them to my card front nicely arranged near the greeting.  To finish off, I added clear rhinestones to the centers of the flowers.  It was a challenge to use this colour in that it was quite dark.  I am happy with how this one turned out.        Therese

Another large card that features a reused card front and some silk flowers

Still making cards for my sister!  For this card I created a large blue card and then trimmed a piece of pink shimmery paper to leave a small border all the way around.  I trimmed my card front into three pieces - two plaid borders and the main section in the middle.  I adhered both borders to my pink layer and then added the middle section in between spacing it evenly top and bottom.  I found some coordinating silk flowers, added iridescent white sequins and mounted them in the gaps using tiny white brads.  This worked out so well - a beautiful card with lots of texture and dimension!!   Therese