Exchange card - stamped image on polished stone, scalloped diecut and tracing wheel texture

An exchange card for this month!  For this card I used a large envelope and created a white card to fit inside. I started with this circle with a stamped image from my stash.  It is a SU image stamped in blue on a circle die cut of polished stone background on glossy photo paper.  I created the background first - a brayered piece from my stash that coordinated well. I cut it in two and mounted a coordinating piece of  blue cardstock in between.  I added texture to the piece using my pattern tracing wheel - a line on each of the top and bottom pieces and a variety of all over lines in the blue section.  Next, I added a length of coral gros grain ribbon and then mounted the background to my card front. I found a green scalloped circle die cut in my stash with I watercoloured to coordinate with my card.  I mounted my circle focal element to the scalloped circle and added to my card using 3D foam tape.  I found this coordinating stamped greeting (SU) in my stash and flagged the end before mounting it to my card. Therese

Birthday card featuring a dimensional sticker, ribbon and decorative paper

Our god daughter's birthday is coming up soon and I made this card for her!!  I started with a large envelope and made a soft peach card to fit inside.  I added two strips of white embossed cardstock on the top and bottom.  For the middle section I trimmed a piece of laser printed decorative paper into three.  I added two strips of aqua to my card front and then glued the three pieces of decorative paper into place overlapping the aqua strips.  For my focal element I started with a small dimensional sticker.  I added layers - peach, embossed aqua - peach and then onto a larger brown rectangle gluing them together as I went. I used my distress tool on the edges of  the brown one and then added flagged ribbons to the backside of it on the top right and lower left.  As I was considering where to place my focal element I decided I needed a bit more texture so I ran my tracing wheel over the two aqua strips on my card and used a brown gel pen to add a line to my two white embossed strips.  That was better!!  I used 3D foam tape to add my focal element to my card.  Pretty happy with how it turned out!!          Therese

Felted wool dryer balls - part one

 I have been thinking about making dryer balls for a while using the scraps of wool I have stashed!! I found this tutorial on The Spruce which uses hot water in a pot on the stove instead of a hot water wash in my washing machine which seemed a better use of water.  So I got started and found some felted wool scraps for my center.

I wrapped some felted wool around it to start creating a ball and then wrapped a long scrap of felted wool around and it started looking more like a ball.  I dug through my unfelted wool stash and found this pale pink cashmere sweater which had already been cut up for another project and cut some half inch strips from two of the panels.  I started wrapping the unfelted wool strips around my ball and just kept adding strips until it was the size of a hard baseball.

 I decided to tie yarn around it to keep it all together until I could get a few more made.  I managed to make two more balls and they are ready for felting.  I will continue with the felting instructions when I get to them.  

Therese

Anniversary card featuring a layered greeting, embossing and ribbon

 I am working on cards for my family whose special occasions are coming up soon!!
For this anniversary card I started with a large envelope and made a kraft coloured card for fit inside.  I added two panels of embossed white cardstock  (top and bottom) and then overlaid a piece of beautiful decorative paper over them.  I added a length of soft aqua ribbon gluing the ends to the inside of the card using double sided tape. I created a layered greeting using a small laser printed greeting which I punched with a small oval punch (SU).  I added it to a decorative paper oval punchie (SU) and then to a gold metallic scalloped oval (SU).  I used 3D foam tape to adhere my greeting to the front of my card over the ribbon.  To finish off my card, I added two little punched hearts below the paper on the right and three little clear rhinestones above the paper on the left of the ribbon.    Therese

Two small quilt tops

I picked up a few scraps a while back when my sister was lucky enough to come upon a lady down sizing her quilting stash.  I got a bag of scraps and a few boxes of larger pieces and some precut squares as well.  I ended up with a large bag of flannel scraps and pieces and have since picked up a few more precuts and small pieces on my most recent trips to second hand stores. After washing the ones I picked up I was sorting through what I had and started placing some of the squares in alignment to see if I had enough to make a small quilt.  They have been sitting for a few days and I went down there looking to access the felted wool which was at the back of the room and the choice was to pick up all the pieces and try to remember how they all went together or to switch gears and work on the quilt instead of the felted wool project.  Needless to say, that I got started on the quilt and very soon I had filled in all the spaces between the squares with strips and had added long strips in between to get the width I was looking for.  I was aiming for a kids quilt so anywhere near 35"-36" would work.  So I started sewing the pieces in each row together and finished sewing the rows to each other yesterday.  I am very happy with how it worked out as I really did not have any idea when I started what I was going to end up with.  It was fun to play with the pieces and move them around until I liked the way they went with the others.  I had to cut a few pieces for the in between strips so I used my rotary cutter and cutting mat.  Worked really well.  It was fun playing with fabric and actually making something that has a real purpose.  I trimmed the edges even today and measured it and it is 37.5" x 46.5" or so.  I will have to see about finding backing, binding and some sort of  fabric to sandwich in between.  I am looking to make a lightweight quilt so it maybe just a sheet.  We shall see.   Today, buoyed by yesterday's success I decided to see if there was enough fabric to make another top for a kids quilt.  

As you can see I did manage to make another quilt top but when I made the decision to not add any pink pieces to this one I had to get quite a bit more resourceful to make all the pieces fit.  I cut a few squares from some of the larger pieces I acquired recently to have enough for my design.  As you can see, I also had to add a piece to the green and blue ones but fortunately, I had small pieces that I had leftover when I was cutting the squares that were just the size I needed.  So there are 4 lager pieces that are pieced rectangles instead of square - one in each row of squares.  I started by creating the center strip with the only solid colour pieces I had - bright yellow ones.  I found some coordinating pieces of patterned fabric and used a small scrap of dark green which gave the strip a bit of definition.  I added long strips on each side of that one just adding two little pieces to each of them to make them long enough.  One is monkeys and the other is giraffes.  The four rows of squares were then filled with what I had left to make the little strips between the squares.  There was much moving of pieces and squares before I settled on this layout as I did not want the same fabric touching to too close to each other.  I spent the day sewing the pieces of each of the row to each other and then sewed all the rows together.  I trimmed the edges even and this one measures 35"  x 44" - a pretty good size.  I folded them up and pinned a paper with the measurements on it to the corner of each quilt top.  I picked up all the other pieces and put them all back into the bag along with the quilt tops and all the other flannel scraps I has sorted out.  

I am very happy with my days work!!!!!!  I like that they easily could be baby quilts and that I have one for a girl and a boy!! So for now they will be stored away until I can get to finding fabric to make a backing, binding and to add as a filler.  I am looking to make them light weight so they won't require much in the way of filling but for sure that will be a project for another day.  This week we are back to our regular meetings and commitments so there are a few full days ahead.  

Therese 

Another anniversary card - ribbon, embossing and beautiful paper

Another card for a special couple who are celebrating their anniversary very soon!!
I started with a large pink envelope and made a green card to fit inside once I had chosen this beautiful paper!! I trimmed the decorative paper to leave a small margin all the way around and glued it to my card front. I added a coordinating blue ribbon and tied on a short length to simulate a bow.  I used a slot punch (SU) to cut a slim opening on the spine of my card in which to insert my ribbon - works so well.  I cut a rectangle of coordinating yellow cardstock, rounded the corners, embossed it and add my little laser printed greeting on the bottom section.  I die cut two gold scalloped hearts (SU) to back my two heart punchies (SU) and layered them to create my focal elements.  I added them to the embossed rectangle above the greeting.  To finish off my card I added three little blue heart punchies and them mounted this large element to my card front using 3D foam tape.          Therese

August exchange card featuring one of my digital stamps, an embossed background and ribbon

My other card for my August monthly card exchange.  I started with a large purple envelope from my stash and created a yellow card to fit inside.  I embossed a piece of decorative paper and then ripped it in two as it was not quite long enough for my card!!  I drew this little flower image while watching a doodling video on You Tube.  I scanned the pages, cut out individual images and cleaned up those that needed it and then laser printed them on white cardstock.  FUN!!!!!!!  I watercoloured my trimmed image and added a green cardstock background to it.  I distressed the edges and added a piece of ribbon on the bottom edge tying off a short end to it using a single knot to simulate a bow!! I mounted my image to my card front using 3D foam tape.
It has been fun creating cards with my own images!!  Will be doing that again for sure!! Therese

August Exchange card featuring my digital image, decorative paper and some bling

Having caught up on my July card exchange cards I thought it only made sense to keep going and get my August ones made as well. 
I started with a large blue envelope from my stash and created a card to fit inside.  I added some brocade decorative paper and because it was a bit shy in length I cut it into two pieces and added a strip of coordinating grey cardstock on between.  I created this fun image of a trio of flowers while watching a doodling video on YouTube.  I scanned my pages, cut out a few images which I cleaned up a bit digitally and then laser printed on white cardstock.  I watercoloured my image and layered it with yellow cardstock.  The piece was a bit long so I used an eyelet border punch on the bottom edge and them used my score tool to emboss a strip between it and my image.  I added my focal element to my card using 3D foam tape and finished it off with three little clear rhinestones on the right hand side.             Therese

Exchange card featuring my digital rose image, some embossed borders and raffia & ribbon

I am tardy with my July card exchange cards so I managed to get them done this week!!!!  I started this card using a large pink envelope from my stash and I created a white card to fit inside.  I had chosen this little rose image which is my art!  I created several pages of doodles a while back while watching a doodling video on YouTube.  I scanned them, saved a few as individual elements and did some digital clean on those that needed it before printing them on white cardstock!  Pretty cool to be using my own images on my cards!!  I decided to use this beautiful scrapbook paper but it was a bit short so I created embossed borders for the top and bottom using pink cardstock that coordinated.  I punched the decorative paper with a scalloped border punch (SU) and pierced each scallop with a push pin.  I glued the pink borders to my card front and then added the pink raffia before I adhered my decorative paper over the borders centering it nicely.  I watercoloured my laser printed image and then added it to a cardstock background that was a combination of three different greens. Adds a bit of interest and uses up scraps from my stash.  I added a strip of double sided tape to one edge and placed six little pieces of flagged ribbon into it.  This helped add some texture to my card.  Very happy with how it turned out!!
Therese

Exchange card featuring my digital daisy image, a line of mosaic pieces and a bit of ribbon

I am late with my July card exchange cards and with a days break from summer activities I thought I would get some cardmaking done!!!  This card features a digital image of a daisy which I drew myself while I was doodling along with a doodling video on YouTube!!  I scanned the page of images I drew and isolated a few which I saved as individual images.  I did a bit of digital clean up on several of them and then laser printed them.  Pretty happy with how they worked out.  I will probably be doing that again so I can use some of my own images in my cardmaking!!  

I started with a large orange envelope from my stash and created a warm brown card to fit inside.  I layered it with this fun orange scrapbook paper.  It was not quite wide enough to for the card so I trimmed a piece from another scrap and because it was not quite long enough I used a pair of scissors and trimmed it into pieces and glued them into the gap between the other two pieces!!  I like the look of a sort of mosaic between the two.   I watercoloured my laser printed image which was trimmed from the large letter sized sheet I printed several on and then I layered it onto a green piece of coordinating cardstock.  I added a piece of double sided tape and placed six little pieces of ribbon into it to create a bit of texture on this card.  I really like how it turned out and will be using the concept of a line of mosaics on future cards!!      Therese

A thank you card featuring a reused layer, a punchie greeting and a bit of lace

For this card I reused this decorative layer featuring a multi layered floral focal element.  I added the little punchie greeting to the upper left and then added a green layer in behind my main decorative layer.  This layer had been trimmed a while back from a swap project.  I added a length of lace on the right hand side before gluing this large element to a coordinating pink card front.  This is a large card which was made to fit in a large green envelope from my stash.  I still felt like it needed a bit of something so I used my tracing wheel to add a row of pierced holes all the way around the green layer which finished it off nicely!!          Therese

Hand stitching in my trailer journal

 I have worked a little more on my Trailer journal while were camping with family a few weeks ago.  I added the words in the peach patch with back stitch in the car on the way up and also added some texture stitching to several of the small patches on the right the one rainy morning we had at the lake. 

 I am happy with the way things are going and I expect it will take a fairly long while to get it all done but there is not rush.  I have started journalling our camping trips and that was really the main reason I wanted to get it started so we could document where we had been and some of the details we want to remember about each outing.   Therese

Thank you card featuring a panel from a used greeting card and a large greeting

I started with a large envelope and made an off white card to fit inside.  I found this cute panel in my stash of cards which were donated to me for cardmaking that had a perfectly coordinated little bird on it.  I created an orange layer that coordinated that fit on my card and then trimmed my decorative panel into two pieces to ensure that it covered the orange layer which left a bit of a gap where the orange shows through.  I dug through my greetings stash and found this one which echoed the strong black line in the image which I simply adhered to my card front using double sided tape.  The greeting had been created a while back using a set of alphabet dies and white cardstock.  It had been then been backed with black cardstock. 

Therese

Thank you card featuring a reused pressed flower panel and a gold embossed greeting

For this card I started with this beautiful pressed flower panel which has very cleverly arranged pressed flowers to make them look like butterflies!!  The pressed flowers were originally protected by a clear acetate and because of that they are still in perfect condition.  The white panel was trimmed from it original card which was donated to me for cardmaking a while back and I simply adhered it to a dark blue card front which I created to fit in one of my large envelopes.  I trimmed a gold embossed greeting (SU) from my stash and layered it with brown before adhering it to my card front using 3D foam tape.  It is really nice to be able to reuse art which has so lovingly been created!!

Therese

Quick and easy card featuring a reused card front

This card came together very easily as I simply trimmed this beautiful image from a card front and adhered it to a dark blue card.  This is a large card which fits in a one of  the large envelopes from my stash!!  Therese

Sympathy card featuring a calendar page with crocuses and a layered greeting

Another sympathy card for my Mom. For this one I started with a purple card front and trimmed the calendar page to leave the frame image of spring flowers.  I used the scraps to create a border with decorative edges which I cut with deckle decorative scissors.  I added a strip of yellow to join the two pieces, two lines of purple using a purple pen and added a little sponged greeting using 3D foam tape.  Went together fairly quickly once I had all the elements decided!  Therese

Sympathy cards reusing original artwork

A couple more sympathy cards using original artwork/photos which were found in my stash of cards to be reused for cardmaking.  The first is one is a photo from a card that was sent to my Mom from someone from out east. Lovely photo of a daisy!!  The second is original art created by my aunt, Maria, which was our Christmas card from her a while back.  Both of these lent themselves to being sympathy cards so I simply trimmed them just a wee bit and adhered them to my coordinating card fronts.  I added a small sentiment to the one on the right but could not bring myself to do the same on the photo so it will go the way it is. 

A large card featuring a reused panel and a watercoloured flower image - my own digital stamp!

This is my last card for my sister in this cardmaking session!!  I reused the second panel from one I made recently with the scalloped edge.  Unfortunately, I had already used the other layer to make the other card so I could not trace the pattern so I just made it up - drew it in with a pencil and trimmed it with small scissors!!  It worked out well!!  Better than I expected!!  I decided to frame this floral image.  This is a digital stamp that I made myself!!!! You can check out the pages of doodling I did while I was watching a doodling video on YouTube!!  I did not always follow her instructions and did not do all the ones that she made but I was pretty happy with my pages of doodling.  I recently found these in my craft room and decided to scan them so I could use them as digital stamps.  I scanned all of the pages but only isolated about a half dozen images so far.  I cleaned them up digitally before saving and printing them.  I am pretty happy with this one!!!!!  After printing I trimmed the image to fit in the opening I had cut in my panel with a rectangle die (Nestibilities).  I added a ribbon below the opening and then a little gold star brad over the knot leaving the ends to extend on both sides. I adhered this large element to my large green card.   I watercoloured my image and added it in the opening using 3D foam tape.  I will certainly be doodling more pages of images - maybe butterflies or mushrooms next time!!  There are a LOT of doodling videos online!!  I will be making myself a few more digital stamps!!           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

A large birthday card featuring a reused card front and layered punchie greeting

What a cute little peacock!!  Another card I made for my sister.  The card front was just perfectly sized with rounded corners so I dug in her stash and found a piece of blue cardstock that had a white core and decided to create a sanded background for the peacock.  I embossed my trimmed piece of blue cardstock with a swirl embossing folder and had to do it four times to get it all embossed. The center portion was a little funky looking but fortunately it is covered and the edges look good after a bit of sanding!!  I adhered my background to a large white card and then adhered my peacock panel.  I added a little layered greeting  - a punched laser printed greeting laid over a little green scalloped circle (Nestibilities) and adhered to the card on the lower right.  I added two blue rhinestones to the greeting because it just seemed right to add a bit of bling to this card!!  Therese