Sympathy card featuring starry background paper, embossed greeting and strip and glittery butterfly

For this sympathy card, I used scraps from my stash that coordinated with the butterfly and adhered them to a coordinating layer of cardstock.  I embossed a strip of white cardstock, ran my tracing wheel on both edges and adhered it over the gap between the two pieces of colour printed background paper.  I was careful to not put too much glue on the bottom edge so I could easily tuck my little embossed vellum greeting under the edge.  I put a small piece of double sided tape on the top of the greeting to secure it in place.  I added the butterfly with 3D foam tape and added clear glitter to the centers of the elements on the embossed strip.  I glued this large element to the front of a large white card. 

Therese

Quick and easy card which features a reused card front and a vellum greeting

I like making a few quick and easy cards when I am in production mode.  This one reuses a card front with some cute little robins in the snow.  I trimmed it to 4" x5.25", added a little stamped vellum greeting from my stash which I folded over the edge and adhered on the back with double sided tape before  adhering it to a green card front.  Too easy!!       Therese

A fun thankyou card that features a coffee cup, a distressed background and some colourful ribbon

 This card started with a distressed background which I ripped in two and sponged the edges with brown.  I filled the gap with some printed collage paper overlaid with a coffee themed vellum before adhering this large element to a brown card front.  I added a bit of texture to the background by running my tracing wheel around the edges.  The focal element was a digital coffee cup image (CLKER) combined with a font greeting which was originally trimmed square on the top.  Wanting a more distinctive image I trimmed the top portion with a round Nestibilities die and placing my cutting pad to just cut the top rounded part.  Worked out well!!  I ripped off the bottom portion and sponged all the way around.  I watercoloured the image and added dimensional paint to the cup to give it a beautiful sheen.  Once it was dry, I added the little ribbon with flagged ends on the back and ran my tracing wheel across the bottom before adhering this large focal element to the front of my card with 3D foam tape.  I love how this one turned out!!            Therese

Valentine cards with some awesome decorative paper hearts

I am working on Valentine's Day cards and found these beautiful hearts in my decorative paper stash!  I have been hoarding them for many years though I have used a few over the years.  There originally were nine on the 12"x 12" sheet.  I have used up the last of them and I am very happy with the beautiful cards they made!!
The hearts were cut from the sheet to about 4"x 4".  As luck would have it I found a coordinating piece of decorative red harlequin paper in my stash!  I trimmed a couple strips of about 1.25" and added a piece to each heart.  I used a variety of ribbons to cover the joint before gluing this layer to my card fronts.  For the first one, I simply added a little gold die cut heart and I was done!!  With no greeting it is a bit more versatile as it can be used as an anniversary card as well.  The next two are very similar in that I added a gold embossed vellum greeting with torn edges.  I attached them to my card fronts using two tiny gold brads.  A short length of ribbon tied to the one on the card simulates a bow.

 For the last two, I added a heart embellishment which was created by layering two heart die cuts - one from red velvet paper and the other from gold packaging.  On the left hand card the joint was so seamless that I did not have to cover the joint with ribbon.  I simply embossed my greeting on the bottom strip and added my heart embellishment with double sided tape.  For the other I added an embossed vellum greeting along with the heart embellishment.  I love how these turned out!! 
Therese

Three new "praying for you" cards with reused card fronts

In the process of making a few more cards for my stash I am reusing card fronts that have been donated to me for my cardmaking!!!  For the one on the left I included the framed lighthouse image to which I had added a small vellum greeting which was stamped and gold embossed.  Next I added a gold layer and mounted this large element to a maroon card front.  For the middle card, I trimmed the floral image from the card front and then ran my tracing wheel around the edges to add texture and then added a gold embossed vellum greeting gluing both ends to the back.  I mounted this image to a green cardstock layer which I had border punched on the right hand side with an eyelet punch (SU).  Thinking I needed something to echo the gold on the greeting I added gold paper circle punchies to the back of the green layer behind the eyelet bumps covering three holes at a time.  I layered this large element to the front of a pink card.  For the right hand card I trimmed the image, added a length of purple seam binding gluing both ends to the back and then loosely tied a shorter piece to it which allowed the tails to lay nicely on the initial length.  A bit of a different look than I usually get  - I like it!!  I added a flagged stamped greeting to the upper right hand corner - the only place it really worked!!!  So a few more for my stash!!                 Therese

Ready made card fronts and a friendship card

A friend of mine donated these cards to be used in my cardmaking efforts.  They are A2 sized so presented a bit of a challenge when trying to refurbish them into the same size. 
I found place for a greeting on the first one.  I stamped the greeting on vellum, embossed it in gold and then punched it out with a circle punch.  I added a gold flower sequin with a small gold brad.  Afterwards, I decided to add some coral crochet thread which I wrapped around the layer slipping it under the greeting and tying it off to the left.  I glued this large focal element to the front of a brown card.  I was not able to find a way to embellish the other card front so I simply trimmed it smaller and also glued it to a brown card front.  The message is uplifting and positive!!!    Therese

Cards made by reusing beautiful floral cards

A few more cards created with beautiful used cards!!  The top two were made from one card front which I cut in half.  I used the bottom on the left hand card and added a embossed die cut of a lacy border (SU) on the top portion to hide the writing.  I added just a bit of gray watercolour to the border to tone down the white and give it a bit of dimension.  I fussy cut a little laser printed floral wreath (Melonheadz) and watercoloured it to coordinate with the border.  I added just a touch of gray watercolour to soften and shade the edge of this element as well.  I stamped a greeting in the open area and positioned the wreath to the left of it.  I glued this large element to the front of a blue card.  For my second card I used the top half of the card.  I added a length of scalloped lace across the bottom edge securing the ends to the back of the image using double sided tape.  I really wanted to add some dimension and thought maybe I could overlay the printed butterfly in the border with another.  I spotted a container of butterflies on my desk from another project and found this one that would work perfectly.  These are plastic butterfly magnets with beautiful colour and detail which I bought years ago.  I removed the magnet and trimmed the back side before adding 3D foam tape to adhere it over the printed one!! Perfect!!!  

For the left hand card I used an inner flap from a large used card. You can check out the card I made with the image on the front of the card here.  I wanted to add a bit of dimension so I punched a white eyelet border (SU) and glued it to the left hand edge of the image and then added an off white organza ribbon which I doubled knotted on the front leaving the ends long.  I stamped a little greeting (SU) on the lower portion of the image and embossed it in gold.  I glued this large element to a pink card front.  

For the right had card I fussy cut around the flowers from another card front and then trimmed it down to fit on my pink card.  This card front was left over from a card kit so it was embossed on the edges but that worked well for this card.  I stamped and embossed the Easter greeting onto a strip of vellum, tore both edges of the strip and then positioned it on my image then folded back both ends which I taped to the back.  I punched a butterfly from a scrap of the card front and embellished it with a bit of watercolour before stitching it to my image.   To finish off my card I glued this large element to the pink card.            

Hope you will all consider reusing the cards you receive from others in fun and creative ways for making other cards!!    Four or five, nicely packaged, make a nice hostess gift or can even be a blog give away prize!!

Therese

Reusing cards - beautiful flowers for Easter cards

Easter cards!! It will be here before we know it!!
I have chosen to repurpose some commercial cards that were donated to me to create some new ones.
I managed to make two cards from one large beautiful card!!  I trimmed out the large red camellia to begin with.  The layer was just a bit too wide so I trimmed out about 3/16" and taped the pieces back together on the back so that I would not lose the gold decorative edges.  I added an ivory ribbon where they join and glued the whole layer to a red card front.  I stamped the little Easter greeting (SU) in the empty space between the flowers in gold pigment ink and embossed it in gold embossing powder.  Worked perfectly with this beautiful image and the gold borders.
For the next card I used the cut off from the first card that featured a small spray of flowers with gold borders which worked here because I used the whole piece - 5.5" tall.  It was not wide enough so I took a strip of the shimmery card, die cut the scalloped edge with a SU Thinlit then embossed it with the coordinating lacy embossing folder. Perfect!!  I sponged the front edge with gold pigment ink to coordinate with the gold edging and used double sided tape to adhere them together where they overlapped.  I cut out the little rose from the inside, trimmed it into a tag, manually embossed the edges and sponged all the edges with a bit of pink and green.  Next, I applied some gold pigment ink then some gold embossing powder to highlight the dry embossing.  I added a little gold embossed Easter greeting (SU) stamped on vellum.  I tore the edges and folded the ends to the back and secured with regular tape.  Next, I added a pink organza ribbon to my layer and threaded on the tag before securing the ends to the back with double sided tape.  Finally, I glued this large layer to the front of an ivory card.  The tag hides the printing that was on the front of the original card.

In comparison, this card was easy!!  I trimmed the tulip image from the large card, added a layered greeting and a little vellum butterfly punchie!!
I used a scrap from the original card below my trimmed laser printed Easter greeting.  I used just a whiff of glue stick between the vellum and the decorative paper before I attached them to the image layer using a tiny black brad and trimmed them to the edge.  I glued this large layer to a red card front.  I punched the little butterfly from a vellum scrap and adhered it to the card front using a tiny strip of double sided tape which just highlights his body!!

Very happy with how these cards turned out and it was fun to reuse cards in my cardmaking!!

Therese

Reusing card fronts when making handmade cards

A few more cards created with used card fronts.
On the left hand card, I added a thin yellow border to the right hand side of the trimmed floral image which has a gold border.  I attached the border to the back of the image using double sided tape and then glued the whole element to a pink card front.  I added a laser printed vellum greeting which I trimmed to size and attached with double sided tape just behind the words.
The right hand side features an element cut from a large card.  It was not quite wide enough for an A2 but lower on the card was this little piece of measuring tape which was a perfect accent which I adhered to the right hand side by taping them together on the back using regular tape.  That was perfect!!  I wanted to add a bit of texture so I cut slits just above and below the first D and inserted vintage seam binding gluing the ends to the back of the layer.  I added the gold round paper clip and I was done!!  Another card for my stash!!    Therese

Refurbished Valentine's card reusing a fun card

This is a fun "reuse" project!!  I reused a Valentine's card that arrived a while back along with a bunch of Christmas ones which I used for doing Paper Mosaic backgrounds.  I trimmed the main card to 4"x 5.25" to fit on an A2 sized card. I used a portion of trimmings to create the greeting.  I stamped the greeting in black on vellum, embossed it with clear embossing powder, coloured it with markers, layered it onto the pink cardstock rectangle I had rescued and glued both ends to the back.  I added four little daisies in pink and adhered them with white tiny brads.  I glued this whole element to the bottom section of my card using double sided tape.  I love the fun image!!!
I hope you consider reusing some of the images that come into your life with good wishes on them and give them a new life to bless another along the way.

Therese

Christmas Thank you cards

 As I mentioned in this post, I like to use gift wrap from the gifts I have received to make my thank you cards.  It uses up something that might in some cases be recycled but it also helps me to remember all the beautiful gifts I have been given.  

For these cards, I used the gift wrap off of the gift that my sister gave me. It was a beautiful silver, gray and gold metallic gift wrap that featured pine branches, holly and pine cones.  I started by cutting the non damaged areas into six 4"x 4" squares.  I ripped or cut these pieces into a variety of shapes and glued them to gray card fronts.  Once I had cut the pieces I realized that I could cut the smaller pieces I needed from the scraps I had left over so I made two more cards using light yellow cards fronts.  I used Corel Draw to design my greetings and printed them onto vellum.  I cut them apart, ripped, punched or cut their edges and then gold embossed pine branches (SU) on their edges.  I laid the greetings over my backgrounds and attached them to the card fronts using two tiny gold brads.

As you can see, I have used a variety of layouts for gluing down my background/gift wrap pieces. It was fun to play and come up with different patterns.  Love the cards I made up!!!

Therese

 

Chunky book page - Purple & Grace

In the last few days I have managed to finish my 4" x 4" chunky book page with the themes of purple and grace.    I statred with an embossed white cardstock square which I overlaid with the purple gauzy fabric with swirls.  I used double sided tape on the back to keep it in place. I back this with a 4" square of purple cardstock.  I stamped a vellum overlay using two different rubber stamp alphabets.  Grace was stamped in purple and embossed with Pastel embossing powder.  It is a bit of a grungy font but the embossing powder softened its look. I used my Making Memories magnetic alphabet stamps to finish the quote and added a bit of stippling in purple ink.  I trimmed the sides of the vellum to just cover the page and the two ends so I could fold them over the top and bottom.  I added some short ribbon flags in several colours between the vellum and the page on the right hand side and then stitched them all into place using purple thread in my sewing machine.  I went very slowly as the sandwich was quite thick.  I added a little plastic butterfly charm using a large glue dot and added my credits to the back.  Love the look of grace!!
It is off to my partner in tomorrow's mail.

Therese

Christmas card - sparkly handmade paper

I kept this card simple to highlight the great handmade paper!! I made this paper this summer using SU cardstock, prismatic gift wrap and some white paper confetti!! You can check it out here!!

I trimmed the handmade paper to leave an even margin all the way around by folding and tearing it to maintain the deckle edge then glued it to the white card front. I layered the snowflakes from large to small (SX dies, MS punch), used a push pin to make a hole in the center and added a brad. The other element on the card is a cute little saying printed on vellum. I played with the two elements until I was happy with the design, pierced a hole through the vellum and card front to which I added the snowflake element. The brad holds all the elements to the card front as I resisted using any sort of adhesive on the vellum. It was fun to create the little greeting which includes the words, a little snowflake and a dotted line that creates the path the little snowflake might have taken on its way down. I think all the elements work very well together - glitter and the look of falling snow in the handmade paper combined with the layered snowflake and the little greeting! We had fun making these in four different colours - blue, purple, pink and turquoise!!

Therese

Birthday card

A birthday card for a special little girl!! She is growing up fast!!

I embossed the bottom of the card using a swirl embossing folder, added a rectangle of blue handmade paper from my stash and layered on a strip of embossed vellum that coordinated very nicely!! The greeting is printed, layered on pink and glued to the card front using 3D foam tape. It needed a bit of an accent so I created a flower using the SU five petal punchies - one in blue, one is olive - and embossed both of them. Added a pink punchie and attached it to the card using a clear crystal brad.

Perfect!!

Therese

Cardmaking - April - candles

Candles are perfect for birthdays!! These cards feature "candles" - scraps of cardstock and scrapbook papers about an inch wide. I embossed the cardstock to add texture and trimmed the tops to more closely simulate candles. Used heart punchies for the flames - added some colour to make them more dimensional!! Drew in the wicks above the candles with a fine tip Sharpie before I added the flames using 3Dfoam tape. The greeting is printed on vellum which I tore on both sides and added with two brads.
A few ideas for using what you have!!

Therese

Card for grandson!

Unbelievably, our newest grandson is going to be a year old next week!! I made him a boy card with a large number one!! I laser printed and cut out the number one then painted it with shimmery paint and added some doodling to make it interesting. The greeting is stamped on vellum with torn edges and tucked in on both sides of the scrapbook paper to keep it in place.
He is a going concern and has been walking since just after Christmas so I am sure he will enjoy the "Little People" we have sent his way!!

Therese

My Art - Dec cardmaking - vellum butterfly

This card features several layers of vellum and a vellum butterfly!! The butterfly is stamped and embossed. I cut it out along the embossing and slightly folded each wing up so that it is dimensional on the card!! Added it to the card with a SMALL piece of double sided tape placed beneath its body. I used coloured vellum closest to the cardstock and added a cardstock strip below the decorative vellum which helps create another level of contrast. A greeting can be stamped on the strip or on the card front. The two vellum layers and the strip are attached to the card front with brads.

Decorative vellum: I stippled and stamped white vellum to create the decorative vellum I needed for the yellow card. I used a Memories Chalk pad and a long UM (SU). Not all inks dry on vellum. The chalk ink dried reasonably quickly and could be encouraged to hasten its pace with a little heat. Always be careful when using a heat gun on vellum - it can warp and wrinkle with too much heat.

Therese

My Art -

I know that Valentine's has been and gone!! I did get my card made in just the nick of time for our Valentine's celebration! We have started the tradition of cooking a meal together for Valentine's. Always a great way to spend time together and eat good food. We went out and bought some really special ingredients and had a great meal!!
My card features a heart background in gold on the red card front. I layered on some stamped vellum and my greeting stamped in red on white cardstock. I created the accent using several punched circles and a red felt heart ( $1 store). The gold layer is actually gold foil (tea liner) glued to cardstock and then embossed with my Cuttlebug!! It was so great to have this cool metal accent!! I used hot glue to adhere the layers so that they would be well stuck to each other and I would not lose the texture of the embossing. Totally fun!!

Saving the foil lids from dips and yogurt, etc and using them to create metal accents for your cardmaking using the embossing folders and punches is a great way to save $$ for rubber!!

Therese

My art - card for exchange

This card was made for my Card Club exchange! We challenged ourselves last month to work with vellum and one of the girls brought her extensive collection of embossing powders! It doesn't really show up well on this scan but the butterflies are wonderfully glittery!!! I had made several sheets of glittery vellum so used a piece on this card!! It was fun to find matching cardstocks and really highlight the fun colour in the butterflies. I mounted the image with 3D foam tape to add a bit of dimension!

I have been working so much on Christmas cards lately that it was good to change it up a bit and think of other options and colours!!

Therese

My Art - Cardmaking - Vellum

For this card I used colour vellum! I stamped a background stamp on the back with chalk ink and embossed an image on the front with metallic embossing powder. I really like how the vellum worked out!! To attach the vellum to the card front I punched some tabs using the SU Window punch and folded them over the edge of the card . They are attached with brads. I made some in yellow with candles and these blue ones with this flower stamp.

I would definitely recommend experimenting with vellum and stamping! Regular pigment ink will not dry so it has to been embossed but any of the hybrid inks or permanent inks work well. Helps you to create vellum that will exactly coordinate with your card design.