Anniversary card featuring a lacy heart die cut, a paper collaged background, layered font greeting and some rhinestones

Have been having fun creating paper collage backgrounds with scraps! I simply adhere the scraps to each other using regular tape on the back and then trim to fit on my card.  For this card I started with a large envelope and created a large yellow card to fit inside.  I created a paper collage background and adhered it to my card front.  I die cut the lacy heart in brown, adhered it to a gold piece of cardstock and then fussy cut all the way around.  I adhered it to my card front and then added a little layered font greeting which I flagged at both ends and layered on orange.  To finish it off I added little brown rhinestones to each heart using white glue in a fine tip applicator then set it aside to dry before pressing.  

Therese

Exchange cards featuring stamped greetings, decorative paper and punchies

For my Exchange cards this month I have made another attempt at creating cards from a card sketch which I rediscovered in my Inspiration file.  These are pretty much CAS cards though they are not necessarily quick in that some thought and auditioning has to be done with the elements you are using to get good balance.  I used rectangles and hearts in my last two cards and I thought that circles might work well so I hauled out my circle punchie stash and put together a few in varying size ( 1", 1.25", 1 3/8", 1 3/4") which I thought would work together.  Next, I went looking for some subtle decorative paper which I could use with my little collections.  After that I created coordinating cards to fit in the large envelopes I had chosen.  I cut the circles in about half - one part just a bit bigger than the other with scissors.  On hindsight, it might have been better to use my paper cutter because it cuts straight.  I found two different greetings  to use and stamped them onto the subtle papers I trimmed out in a coordinating ink colour.  I used a square triangle in order to get the lines of elements perpendicular to the sides of the backgrounds.  My purple greeting was created with magnetic letters - I am still missing my mount - so you can see that the greeting is not really straight but this only became very evident once I was gluing my elements in place so I decided to just go with it!!  I arranged all the half circles until I was happy with the layout of them, moved them up a bit, added a length of double sided tape and then glued the bottom ones in place on the tape and then added the upper ones over them using white glue applied with a fine tip applicator.  The circles give a more balanced look for this sketch but I did have to strongly resist adding dots or "something" to them.  I am enjoying the challenge of this sketch and look forward to using other elements to see if other shapes work better than the ones I have used so far.               Therese

Sympathy card from a card kit - TH wildflower die cuts from Hammered botanicals paper, a bit of lace and a layered greeting

We have a service to go to this week and I have prepared the sympathy cards I need from card kits from my last class. I used the Tim Holtz's wildflower dies to cut the flowers on this card from paper produced when I had a go at Hammered Botanicals.  Where the colour was not perfect I simply used watercolour to augment them until they all looked very much like wildflowers.  I added a length of lace to the diamond background paper adhering the ends to the back with double sided tape before adhering this large element to a green card front.  I tied white thread to the lace using a double knot to add some interest and texture.  I used a fine tipped applicator to apply white glue to the back side of the flowers, tucked them under the lace and held them in place for a bit.  I punched the laser printed little font greeting with the Word Window punch (SU) and then layered it onto a coordinating Modern Label punchie (SU) before mounting it to my card front just below the lace and to the right of the flower stems using 3D foam tape.   I love this colour combination and it makes a wonderful sympathy card.  Therese

Graduation cards from card kits featuring hand decorated paper, metallic die cuts and gold embossed greetings

It is the time of the year when graduations are happening everywhere!  I received a request for more so I made up these two from kits which I did a while back as well.  

I embossed the stamped greeting with gold embossing powder, adhered the decorative paper to the back of the frame and adhered this large element to the front of a coordinating card front.  I added tiny dots of white glue to the back of the die cut greenery (TH) which were cut from metallic cardstock and then gently placed them on my card fronts.  Just a bit of pressure to make sure they were in contact and then left them to dry.  It is not pretty when the white glue squishes out from under the leaves.  Really quick and easy to make cards up from kits!!!!!!!!!!  You can check out the last  one I made here.  That is the end of those card kits so I will have to invent something new for next time!!

Therese

Anniversary card featuring two little birds die cut, an embossed greeting and a vellum frame

I made this card for my daughter and her DH for their anniversary.  I chose a burnt orange card and a coordinating decorative paper trimmed to leave a bit of a border.  I wanted to frame the focal element but the paper was too beautiful to cover up so I used vellum to give the effect I wanted without losing the look of the paper.  I stamped my "Blessings" greeting on the top portion of my decorative paper in copper and found that it blended too much so I reheated it and added gold which was much better - still subtle but visible.  I added the vellum frame which I created using a rectangle Nestabilities and then trimmed the outside edge with a wavy blade in a rotary cutter.  I attached it to my background using four tiny antique gold brads.  I die cut the little birds on a branch from ivory cardstock and then watercoloured the birds to reflect some of the blue in the background.  I mounted the die cut with some pieces over the vellum and others behind using small pieces of 3D foam tape behind the birds.  I was then able to add white glue using a fine tip applicator behind the main branch to secure it in place.  I used white glue to adhere the wings to the birds and the hearts around the greeting.  The little birds are very cute and I love how well they coloured.  I did add a bit of black cardstock behind the heads to get the eye to be black and also coloured their beaks black with a marker.                  Therese

Graduation card featuring a gold metallic die cut fern, beautiful decorative paper and a gold embossed greeting

Thought I could use another graduation card so again checked to see if I could modify one of the card kits I had on hand.  Was happy to find that I could modify this kit which I created for my March Cardmaking class.   I used this great rubber stamp and gold embossed the greeting on the bottom of the white mat which I had created using my Rectangle Nestibilities.  I adhered the beautiful decorative paper to the back of the mat and adhered this large element to the front of a kraft card.  I used a fine tip applicator to sparingly apply white glue to the back of my fern die cut (TH) and gently positioned it on the front of my card so it overlapped the mat.  Really happy with how this one worked out and that I was able to retrofit a card kit!!

Therese

Graduation cards from card kits that feature an embossed greeting, decorative paper and a gold metallic die cut

I made another three graduation cards using the card kits from my last cardmaking class in March.  I love how they worked out!!  The first one has a colour printed image of a great decorative paper I made a while back with coloured acrylic medium.  Love the vibrancy of this image!!  The other two are scrapbooking papers that I really liked.  The white mats are made from white cardstock which I cut with a rectangle Nestabitities from Spellbinders.  I stamped and gold embossed the greeting on the bottom portion of the mat.  I mounted the paper behind the opening and then adhered these large layers onto coordinating card fronts.  The gold metallic botanical die cuts were cut with a set of Thinlits from Tim Holtz and adhered with white glue applied with a fine tip applicator.  

Therese

Valentine card with non traditional colours, stamped tissue and ribbon

 I made this card for DH for Valentine's.  It is very non traditional in the way of colours but I like the way it turned out.    I started with a large envelope and made a card to fit in it from a subtle green cardstock.  I manually embossed the edges and the bottom with a music embossing folder (CB).  I decided to create a collage so I started with a piece of gray packaging that was printed with a bold floral/filigree pattern and tore off the bottom edge.  I dug through my heart stash and took out several in the green persuasion which I glued down.  Next, I found a book page with a love title and tore a heart from it.  I glued the large heart over my collage of the other hearts.  I took a piece of white tissue paper which I stamped in black with a heart flourish stamp in black ink and then again several more times which I embossed with clear embossing powder which created some clear sections.  Afterwards, I stamped it all over with a script stamp (SU) in black as well.  I applied white glue over all of my collage and adhered my tissue paper over it leaving some of the wrinkles and folds to add texture and finally folded the edges to the back and glued them in place as well.  I applied white glue to the front as well and mixed in a bit of glitter glue in light green which worked as well to create a bit of transparency in my tissue paper.  After it was dry, I added a ribbon, tied on a piece of raffia to simulate a bow, a little "Always" tag and some little iridescent sequins.  Finally, I added a large heart sequin over a little green heart punchie and then attached that with a small gold brad. I am happy with my collage but my grey background hardly shows through but that is the way it goes sometimes.  I glued this large element to my embossed card front to finish off my card!!  I pressed it to ensure that the layers were nicely glued to each other.  We are celebrating Valentine's tomorrow!!        Therese

Thank you cards using my masterboard, an embossed layer and a die cut greeting

Here are the first four cards I made with my masterboard.  They are a bit off colour - they are in reality much warmer in colour.  

I cut off a strip of about 3.5" and drew hearts on the back by hand.  I cut them out and then used an embossing marker to add details to the hearts which I embossed with gold embossing powder.  I really like how well that process worked.  I embossed four quarter sheets of ivory cardstock and cut up two sheets of coordinating cardstock to make the cards.  I glued the embossed layers to the card fronts and then adhered my hearts.  I die cut the word Thanks (SX) from black cardstock scraps and then used my fine line white glue applicator to add the words to my cards.  Super happy with these cards!!  They will soon be on their way across the country to family and friends who we reconnected with on our trip east week before last.  

Therese

A set of cards which feature decorative paper, flower die cut with hand cut foliage and an embossed oval as a background

I made this set of cards to package as a gift!!  They all follow the same sketch with a wide variety of colours and textures.  I started with the ovals (leftover from a Christmas card class a while back) and found decorative paper and a card which coordinated.  Next, I die cut a flower (SX) in a coordinating colour and hand cut the greenery and adhered all the pieces together using white glue in a fine tip applicator.  I punched a 5/8" circle and embossed it along with the oval.  I sponged the edge of the oval.  Now all the pieces were ready for assembly.  I ripped a strip from the decorative paper - some times lengthwise, other time crosswise.  I glued the two pieces to my card front and adhered the embossed oval over the gap.  I used white glue to adhere my flower over the oval and then the circle to the center of my flower.  You can see that there are a variety of ways the pieces can be put together.  I made them without greetings so the recipient can use them for any occasion.  

I made this set with butterflies earlier.  It has been fun to make these sets and fairly quick once you get going because all the design decisions have been made it is just a matter of getting all the pieces to coordinate.  

Therese

Serendipity hexagons, leaf die cuts and a round greeting with some bling!

Fun with serendipity hexagon die cuts!!!!!!  Love new tools!!  I used seven little hexagons on this card.  I embossed the top and bottom of my navy card front using a distressed embossing folder (TH) and then adhered my serendipity hexagons using double sided tape and white glue.  I added the little circle greeting which I had embellished with a blue flower sequin adhered with a tiny black brad.  This is a stamped greeting from my stash but it is just the right size to go with the hexagons.  I cut two leafy branches (TH) which I glued on using white glue on all the leaves and pressing until it was dry.  I love these serendipity hexagons!!  Though there are all sorts of great cards created with hexagons online!!

Therese