A sympathy card featuring a crocus with a font greeting, decorative paper background and some ribbon

In my cardmaking session of all occasion cards I made this sympathy card as well.  I added the font greeting to the crocus image before printing, trimmed it out and then watercoloured it to coordinate with my background paper.  I trimmed my floral background paper and mounted it to a dark yellow handmade paper and then added a dark yellow piece of ribbon.  I mounted my background to a purple card.  To finish off my card I added my crocus image to my card front using 3D foam tape.        Therese
 

Christmas card featuring a paper pieced background, an embellished strip of snowflakes and a small font greeting

 While I was prepping my Christmas card kits last week I played with these snowflake borders which I punched quite a while back when working on other Christmas cards.  I backed the snowflake strip with thin foil (chocolate bar) and burnished it which allowed it to fill the openings on the front.  Very cool look!!  I mounted this focal element to a paper pieced background which I created with scraps from my Christmas paper stash!!  I mounted this large element to the front of a red card and finished it off with a small font greeting punchie (SU - Word Window).    Another for my stash!!   Therese

An all occasion card featuring a sanded embossed background, a poppy digital image and ribbon

This all occasion card is suitable for several occasions - birthday, sympathy or thank you.  

I started with a dark blue green card.  The background was embossed and sanded to reveal the white core of  the cardstock.  I added a wide dark red ribbon with a flagged end using double sided tape to secure it to the front and the back.  I adhered my background to my card front.  The poppies were laser printed, trimmed to size, the edges distressed and then lines of paper piercing added with my pattern tracing wheel.  I wanted to add "something" to the lower right side which was so white. I eventually decided on punching a little butterfly out which reveals the ribbon through the opening.  Perfect!!  I mounted this focal element over the ribbon on my card using 3D foam tape.     Therese
 

Christmas card featuring a die cut tree embellished with silver foil, decorative paper and a small font greeting

 Another card created from pieces left on my desk while I creating this card for my sample for the Christmas Card Kits I put together in the last few days.  

I started with a dark maroon card with lots of linear texture.  I took a 4" square of striped decorative paper and tore it into two pieces.  I glued one to the top and the other to the bottom of my card leaving an even border.  The little tree was embellished with triangle of thin foil (chocolate bar) on the back and burnished on the back which allowed the foil to fill in the openings on the front.  Really cool!!  I punched a little star from silver foil carstock add adhered it on the top.  I mounted the tree to my card with 3D foam tape.  The little colour printed font greeting was mounted with glue.  

I am gaining on the cards I will need for Christmas so this one is headed for my stash as well. 

Therese

Christmas Card Kits #2 - Card #3 - Peace on Earth gold embossed on vellum with some paper piercing on a decorative paper background

For the last card in this kit I decided to feature this Peace On Earth (Prairie Rubber Stamps) stamp which I have had for a long time and have used several times.  It is a large stamp so I used it on a landscape card.  I cut a sheet of vellum in half and then tore each of them into four strips which gave me really nice edges.  I stamped the greeting on vellum and gold embossed it.  I used my stamping buddy to ensure no stray powder which worked really well.  I added swirly paper pierced lines with my pattern tracing wheel after stamping.  I then added small strips of double sided tape to the back in areas of dense embossing like behind the stem of the P and the "h" and  the edge of the E and the "c".  The use of adhesives and glue with vellum are difficult because they are translucent and allow the mediums to show to the front.  By carefully placing the tape in dense areas it reduces the visibility of the tape and busy backgrounds help camouflage it as well.  Both worked in my favor for this design.  This one features a blue card with a painterly decorative paper.  I positioned the vellum greeting to the paper and trimmed the vellum to the edge of it.  I adhered this large element to my card to finish my card.  The vellum may react to the moisture the glue if you use a glue stick as I did.  I simply placed my card under weight until the glue was dry and all was good.   You can see below another version of this card in different colours.  The kits all have a gold embossed greeting with different papers and colours.            Therese

 

Christmas Card kits #2 - Card #2 - A gold embossed PEACE with a flagged strip and decorative paper

For my second card I used a little stamp (SU) with snowy sky and PEACE as the greeting.  I embossed them all in gold which really gives a good result.  I trimmed them all after stamping as I was not able to align them all perfectly when stamping.  I used a black card on for this one and added some beautiful bell decorative paper.  I added a coordinating embossed strip of green cardstock which I flagged on the end.  I tore the bottom edge off the image and then mounted it over the strip using 3D foam tape.   The kits have a variety of papers and colours which coordinate with the gold embossed images.  You can see below another version using gold foiled background paper and a very light sage green cardstock for the card and the embossed strip.  The image could also be placed on the right hand side and the strip flagged on the other end.    Therese

 

Christmas Card Kits #2 - Card #1 - O Holy Night on a scalloped circle, an embossed strip, a ribbon knot and decorative paper

I decided to make as second set of Christmas card kits focusing more on the reason for the season.  

My first set of cards use this cute little image (SU) of baby Jesus and a "o holy night" greeting.  It is the first time I have used it though I have had it for a while.  I love the simplicity of the image.  I stamped the image in blue and then punched it out with a 1 3/8" circle punch (SU).  Next I checked my box for blue themed paper to coordinate.  I found this double sided paper which worked well and punched the scallop circle (SU) from coordinating blue cardstock.  I used a white card and added the decorative paper and then an embossed green strip which I flagged on the bottom.  I added the baby Jesus image using 3D foam tape and thought it still needed something so I made a knot in white ribbon and used double sided tape to adhere to my card.  That was better!!  The kits have a variety of papers and colours but all have a little blue "o holy night".    

You can see below another version of this card in different colours.    I flagged the end of the strip differently and modified the position of the elements on my card front.             Therese   

An all occasion card featuring a pink paper pieced background, a rose and ribbon

This is a very pink all occasion card.  The background is paper pieced using scraps of paper and regular tape.  I thought the triangle piece and the stripes gave interesting direction to the background.  I added a gray ribbon with another little piece tied on with a single knot to simulate a bow to my background before adhering it to my dark pink card front.  The little rose (CLKER) was colour printed, punched and then layered with a dark pink circle and then a green scalloped circle punchie (SU).  I added this layered element to my card using 3D foam tape and added some clear glitter dots in the scallops because it still needed a bit of "something".  That was better!!

Therese
 

Christmas card featuring striped decorative paper, a die cut Christmas tree and a little font greeting

I made up this card from several items on my desk leftover from the development of my sample for this card for my Christmas Card Kits. 

It features a dark red card.  I tore a long strip of decorative paper on the top edge and the cut it in half to create two pieces that fit on my card front.  You can see that both edges are white from the tearing.  After mounting my two pieces leaving an even border. I mounted my little tree which was embossed and sanded which revealed its white core.  I used 3D foam tape to mount it.  The little punchie font greeting (SU - Word Window) was glued in place between the torn edges.   

Another for my stash and to fulfill my commitment to getting my cards ready for sending this year. 

Therese

 

A Minecraft birthday card featuring a square background and black face, a little Minecraft Lego man and a stony birthday greeting

Made this card for my grandson on his birthday!!  He is a Minecraft fan as was his sister when she was that age.  I had a friend request a Minecraft card kit a while back and so I had already developed the pieces I would need for this card.  The grid background is one I found on line and trimmed to the size I needed for my card.  I cut the black pieces as I needed them to create the face.  The little Lego Minecraft guy was downloaded off the internet, sized and printed before being fussy cut.  I applied ink to his edges to ensure that no white showed.  The greeting is another one I found on line.  I sized it and printed it for my card.  I added an orange line to my background after I trimmed it.  I used 3D foam tape to add the black pieces to my background.  I adhered the background to a green card.  I trimmed my greeting to size, flagged the end and then distressed all the edges with my distress tool.  Wanting it a little less crisp I sponged the edges with black ink to just tone it down a bit.  I glued the greeting below the background and then added the little man using 3D foam tape.  He looked like he was walking on air so I added some stippling with a marker to simulate the ground.  I really like how it turned out.  Therese
 

An all occasion card featuring a die cut deer and evergreen tree, torn paper and some coordinating fiber

Another all occasion card which would work very well for Christmas or a birthday.  I started with a kraft card and added a kraft and green paper background.  I tore the top off of a brown cardstock rectangle to create a foreground and added it to my card gluing only on the bottom edge to allow me to tuck the tree and deer in behind.  The deer was sent to me by a friend and I embossed it to give it a bit of texture.  I mounted the tree with double sided tape and the deer with 3D foam tape.  The top area needed a bit of "something" so I added some fiber secured on both ends using with a half circle of kraft cardstock.  This way of securing fiber worked quite well and leaves the inside of your card clean.  I tied on another little piece to give my card a bit more texture.  

Therese

 

Birthday card featuring an embellished decorative paper background, ribbon and a watercoloured landscape

Birthday cards for family were made up this week!!  For this card I started with a gray card.  The background striped and plaid paper have been in my stash for a while and were just too stark to be used so I decided to embellish them a bit.  I added watercolour in green and blue and then stamped green trees in an all over pattern to the both of them.  I trimmed the striped on and added a piece of plaid one below and added a green ribbon over when they join.  I adhered this large background to my card front.  I sized, printed, trimmed and watercoloured the landscape digital image (CLKER) to coordinate with my background.  I cut a black rectangle to back it and when I came to layer them I decided to offset them instead of layering them symmetrically.  Works - I should do it more often.  I mounted this focal element to my card using 3D foam tape.  It is already on its way!!!!

Therese 

 

Christmas card featuring a little gift, a stamped background and decorative paper and a font greeting

This card was created while I was working out samples for this card for my Christmas card kits.  I had all sorts of pieces I tried out and finally once the design was finalized I decided to make up cards with what I had sitting on my desk.  For this card I trimmed the gift from sticker packaging I have hand on hand for a while.  I cut it square (2 1/8") and added a white ribbon from top to bottom and an embossed flower for the bow.  It was not too bad but the ribbon did not go with a lidded box and the embossed flower did not have enough detail for what I was looking for.  I did add a silver flower outline between them and that was much better.  I stamped my maroon card front with a distressed background stamp (SU - Worn) with red ink.  I trimmed the triangle from a red paper with glittery swirls.  The greeting was laser printed and I added texture with my pattern tracing wheel before trimming it to size and flagging the end.  I glued the triangle leaving the  top loose, added my greeting and then glued the top down.  I added the gifts using 3D foam tape to finish off this card.  I have another triangle of this glittery paper so I will probably make one more for my stash.  I have not made cards for myself yet this month.           Therese
 

An all occasion card featuring a bubbly dog in a tub, ribbon and a striped background

For this all occasion card I started with an aqua card.  I added a little blue gingham ribbon to my brown striped background before adhering it to by card front. I tied a small length of ribbon to the one on the front which nicely simulates a bow.  The laser printed digital image of a cute little dog in a tub (Kisspng) was trimmed to size, distressed and sponged in brown on all four edges.  I ran my pattern tracing wheel along all four edges to create some paper piercing texture before mounting this focal element to my card using 3D foam tape.  I am having fun making cards!!          Therese
 

An all occasion card featuring a pink and black paper pieced background, ribbon and a cute kitten image

Another all occasion card to add to my stash.

I started with a dark pink card. I created a paper pieced background using scraps of paper secured with regular tape on the back.  I added a black ribbon before mounting it to my card front.  I tied on another small piece using a single knot to simulate a bow.  The little kitten with the balloon is a digital image which I colour printed (Kisspng), trimmed to size and layered with dark pink before mounting to my card front using 3D foam tape.     Therese
 

An all occasion card featuring a blue paper pieced background, ribbon and a cute elephant image

For this all occasion card I started with a green card front and created a paper pieced background using scraps of decorative paper and regular tape to secure them to each other on the back before trimming it to size for my card.  I added a little blue ribbon before mounting the background to my card.  I tied on another little piece using a single knot to simulate a bow.  The little elephants (Pixabay) are laser printed, trimmed, layered with blue decorative paper before being mounted to my card front over the ribbon using 3D foam tape.  Love these cute little elephants!!   Therese
 

Christmas Card Kits - Card #3 - a little gift with a fun bow, some embossed decorative paper and a printed font Merry Christmas greeting

For Card #3 I decided to use this textured maroon cardstock for all the kits.  I trimmed the little square (2 1/8") gifts from sticker packaging which I have had on hand for a while.  I love the colour of them and that they give the appearance of a box with a lid.  Once I made the gift I was on the lookout for a way to make a bow for the top.  I tried quite a few other options until I discovered this little flower outline once placed behind the square looks like a bow!!  I cut them from shiny silver foil cardstock and adhered them to the back using double sided tape.  Perfect gift!!!  I decided on a triangle of green decorative paper as an accent and decided to emboss it as well to add texture.  I created my greetings using several different fonts and printed some in maroon and green.  I started by adding my triangle to my card front and not gluing the top portion.  I trimmed my greeting and flagged the end before mounting it to my card.  After gluing the greeting I glued the top my triangle in place.  I added the little gift to my card front using 3D foam tape.  I really like how this card worked out!!  It is nice to be able to reuse beautiful packaging as well. 

I used maroon decorative paper on some of them which I embossed with a different embossing folder.  I used green greetings with these cards.  I also found that in some cases the triangle is on the left because of how I cut them with my cutter.  In which case the greeting just needs to be trimmed on the other end instead.  It has really been fun creating these kits and I am sure there are a few who are looking forward to getting to making their Christmas cards as there will be fewer large gatherings this year for Christmas.  

Therese

 

Christmas card kits - Card #2 - a little tree die cut, a square of torn decorative paper and small greeting

For Card #2 I decided to use a square of decorative paper which I tore into two pieces and mounted to my green card front leaving an even border all the way around.  The paper has stripes so I could have torn it the other way and had a bit of a different look.  I mounted the little tree die cut - my own handmade paper - over the gap using 3D foam tape.  It could have been mounted on the right instead.  I added a small laser printed font greeting to the right which was printed on white cardstock and punched with the Word Window Punch (SU).  I simply glued it in place.  Two different papers in this set of cards.  

The other cards in this set feature this other striped paper and you can see that I tore the paper differently on this one which gives the card a different look.  I mounted the little ivory tree which I had previously embossed along with the little font greeting which I trimmed with my Scalloped Oval Punch (SU).  

I am always on the look out for ways of using my tools differently and I was wanting to give my little greetings a bit more interest and I had the punch upside down on my desk and it just occurred to me I could use the punch to give my greetings  a decorative edge.  You can see below that I use the punch upside down and simply insert the little greeting into the slot of the punch. It is easy to align because you can see exactly where it will come down.  I really like how they turned out.   It works best on slim greetings because if they are a bit larger you can detect the curve of the second scallops which I found a bit distracting.    Therese

 

Christmas card kits - Card #1 - Embossed dove, decorative papers and a layered PEACE greeting

 I have been playing with making up some Christmas card kits. I will not be having a class at home due to the restrictions so I thought some card kits would be in order so those who are interested can start on their Christmas cards now and have them ready in time for the Christmas season.  

For Card #1 I am featuring an embossed dove (SX) on a square of white cardstock.  It is layered with a coordinating square of cardstock.  The scalloped oval punchie (SU) is cut from the inside of the square which guarantees that it is exactly the same colour.  To start I have chosen a blue cardstock for this card and a coordinating blue decorative paper which I have adhered to my card front. I adhered my dove to my layer and mounted this focal element to the top portion of my card using 3D foam tape.  I added a blue embossed strip of cardstock trimmed to the width of the paper  just below the image and then I added my layered greeting also using 3D foam tape.  The greeting is a font called NOEL which I designed with a dotted outline and then laser printed before punching out with the large oval punch (SU).  I have a large variety of colours and papers in this kit which is always fun to create!!

This is my second sample.  I usually make this one in class but in this case I just decided to make it up and include it in my post.  I love the wonderful handmade paper on this second card and it works so well with gold and silver!!

Therese

An all occasion card featuring a pieced background, ribbon and a cute little hedge hog image

What a cute little set of hedge hogs!!  I started with a green card, created a background using scraps of decorative paper and regular taper to secure them on the back before trimming to size.  I added a green ribbon before mounting the background to my card.  I trimmed the little colour printed image of the hedge hogs to size, ran my pattern tracing wheel on all four edges and then mounted it to brown carstock.  Once trimmed, I mounted this focal element to my card front using 3D foam tape.  Thinking it still needed " something" I added three little green rhinestones just below the ribbon on the right of the image and that was much better!!!!!  Therese