Heart Wings cards

Another bonus of a playdate - you can share tools!! I used Linda's Heart Wings (Tim Holtz) die in my Big Kick to cut several sheets of red, black and metallics cardstock and several music sheets of into die cuts!! This die cuts 5 separate elements -a solid heart, a scrolled heart (has a scroll element that drops out), a crown and two wings which gave me a nice collection of elements to combine. I layered them over double embossed backgrounds I created with the technique I described here. I added a gold embossed "Friends" element to both of them and ripped the background of one to reveal an embossed "Thanks". All the elements were embossed with a variety of embossing folders and highlighted with ink if they needed "just a bit of something " more. I cut up one of the scrolls that falls out of the scrolled heart to create ends for my "Friends" elements.

They are my first attempt at "grunge" cards though I am not even sure if that is the right word for this look. Love the way they turned out and I am looking forward to challenging myself to use different colour combinations next time.

Therese

Double embossed backgrounds!

Here's what Linda and I came up with after trying out the double embossed technique with Marg. We did not have white core cardstock so we made some - we cut quarter sheets of white cardstock and painted them with acrylic paint!! Once dry, we embossed it, sanded it, unembossed it and embossed it with a different design. Previously, we had sanded again but instead we decided to apply ink to the embossed design. Worked great!! Then we decided to use a piece of lime green cardstock - not her favorite colour and did the same to it. Again worked great!! So these are ones I created once I got home using yellow cardstock which had been colour printed with a blue texture which I did not have cardstock to match. Again worked very well.

These red ones I created as backgrounds for the cards I want to create using the Heart Wings die cuts I cut on my play date at Linda's. Check the next post for those!!

Needless to say, my head is whirling with all the possibilities of this technique!! I will be exploring "junk mail" and dark cardstock as well.

Therese

Double embossed cards!!

Play dates are such fun!! Marg joined us for lunch and an afternoon in Linda's craft room. We worked on several projects which you can check out once I have them uploaded. Marg brought along supplies for this card project which she saw demoed at a convention last week.

The technique involves double embossing a piece of cardstock which has a core in a different colour than the surface. The demo was done with Core'dinations cardstock. Not sure where this paper can be purchase in our area but Marg was able to find a pad of white core Christmas cardstock at Michaels which worked perfectly!! Great for making quick and easy Christmas cards like the top one in green.

We took a quarter sheet of green white core cardstock and embossed it with the Swiss Dots embossing folder. Sanded the embossed surface until the dots showed the white core of the paper. Put this piece back through our machine with the closed embossing folder on top of it so it would deboss the paper. Next, we embossed the quarter sheet with the holly embossing folder and again sanded the embossed surface until the white showed through. Sanding a little in some areas and more in others gives you a very nice look. The paper feels flocked because of how much it has been sanded. Very luxurious!!

To finish off my card I added some red glitter glue to the holly berries and a triple layered greeting - the card is done!! Another to add to my Christmas card stash!!

For the other two I added a ribbon and a layered greeting. Thanks, Marg for showing us a new to us technique.

Linda and I played with the technique a little more the next morning! More to come on that!!

So be sure to have some friends over and play!! It is such a good thing!!

Therese

Altered page layout!

I am visiting at Linda's and we decided to do an internet challenge and chose GPP's Crusade #42!!

I ripped my strips from a variety of white and blue papers and glued them onto a page in my altered book placing those with colour on the edges of each page. Dug through Linda's stash of collage images and choose what I needed to create my first collage angel. FUN!! The large U is actually a photo of a train upside down onto which I collaged an "I" and some hearts!!

Happy with my layout! Having a great time!!

Therese

More paper!!

Paper sheets from yesterday afternoon and evening!! A total of 35 - 8.5"x 11" sheets!!

Using my large mould and deckle to make larger sheets is most efficient. The sheets can be easily trimmed into smaller pieces depending on the project I am working on.

I was using up some leftovers from previous batches to make these papers except for the second from the left. It is the oatmeal confetti paper to which I added some tea, grass and dark red rose petals. Paper on the left has a creamy white base pulp with flower petals (red and cream), leaves, tea and some peach confetti in it. Third from the left - a somewhat light gray pulp with tiny pink flowers in it - I think from my coral bells last year. On the right, I started with an off white pulp and added pink tissue paper until it coordinated with the carnation petals I had added earlier.

A good day's work - if you can call it work!! Watch for these to show up in my cards later in the year.

Therese

A day of papermaking!!

Handmade paper!! I like to make paper in the summer time because it dries so quickly outside!! I soaked four different batches of shredded papers and their additions on Monday and had the pulps ready to go at 9:30am when my friend Linda arrived!! We had a wonderful morning chatting and creating almost 100 sheets of 8.5" x 5.5" paper in a variety of different colours.

The base of the blue was a variety of SU cardstock scraps, white - SU whisper white scraps, green - variety of SU cardstock scraps, beige - oatmeal envelopes from bills, brown - brown paper bags. SU cardstock makes VERY nice handmade paper. I am fortunate to have two great SU demos - Dorothy and Catherine who donate their scraps to me!!
Top left - combination of the white with threads and the blue confetti.

Top two over - SU white with threads. The threads were green, turquoise and pink - a donation from a sewing friend.

Top three over - SU blue with SU confetti in turquoise, pink and green.

Top four over - SU white with red threads donated by my sewing friend.

Top right - combination of green and white/red.

Bottom left - SU green with red threads, gold lame and yellow threads salvaged from an old Christmas ornament.

Bottom one over - oatmeal envelopes and SU confetti - teal, burgundy and brown. Bottom two over - Brown paper bag with tea and dark red rose petals. Bottom four over - combination of both brown papers. Bottom right - brown paper bags with marigold, grass and tea.

I highly recommend making your own paper if you are a paper crafter of any kind. All you need is scraps of paper/cardstock!! You don't need to add anything to it but I love paper with texture and interest so I always add something - confetti bits, naturals of some kind or anything else I think would be interesting.

I will be posting the shots of the paper I made in the afternoon and evening later!! It is still drying because the sun and heat of the day was over!!

Therese

Cards for gifts

Made these cards for a gift!! I wanted something masculine and found this stamped scrapbook paper in my stash. When I was there I found a 12x12 sheet of collage images that a friend of mine gave me a while back that would coordinate perfectly. Once I cut the images from the sheet I used my postage stamp decorative scissors to trim the images and layered them onto dark brown card stock.
This sketch at CPS worked with what I had already chosen so I added the beige and brown ribbon to finish them off!! I packaged them in brown paper and added a beautiful ribbon!!

Thrifty tip: What a quick and easy way to package cards!! All you need is a square of fabric or paper and something to tie it closed. Cut a square of fabric or paper - 8.5" to 10" works best for four A2 sized cards. If you are using scrapbook paper I find it works best if you scrunch it several times and flattened it out again before using it to wrap your cards. Consider using handmade/mulberry paper or any other very flexible paper. Place your stack of cards nicely in the center of the square with a point on each side. Fold both side points in to the center, then the bottom point up and the top point down. Tie it closed using ribbon, fiber, lace, cording, rick rack or anything else that would suit your paper and the occasion.

This works perfectly if the recipient is creative!! The wrappings can be easily be reused in their creations and makes it easy to customize the look of your package by choosing their favorite colour or subject matter. Of course, the wrapping can also be reused to package any small gift as well.

This is a win - win in so many ways!!

Therese

Birthday card

One of the guys from our guild is turning 70!! His wife organized a surprise (until Friday) party for him tomorrow!! He is a great guy who can make anything out of wood.

I do not have many masculine stamps and wanted a larger card for this occasion so went searching through old cards I have ready to be refurbished to see if I had anything suitable. I really like the simplicity of this image so I trimmed it down, added a black border and found an envelope the right size in my stash. Added a black ribbon tied with a double knot and a greeting printed on acetate - ensured it would be in the right place and not be smeared!! Have added Happy Birthday inside in black!! A very nice card that did not take too long to make and suited the recipient.

Therese

Christmas card challenges - Nativity

More Christmas cards!! I am catching up on previous challenges - these are for Sylvia's April Nativity challenge and will also satisfy Sparkle's challenge to use stitching and the Anything Goes challenge at Year Round Christmas Cards.

I started by silver embossing the O Holy Night stamp on black and adding a cute little gray snowflake (MS) with a black brad. Layered it onto gray using 3D foam tape. Thrifty tip: I punched the snowflake from the center of the gray layer. It will not show and it is always the right colour.

The card front is layered with a piece of flourished red scrapbook paper which I bought last week at S&S for 40% off!! The flourishes are very sparkly!!
Added a thin black gros grain ribbon, glued the stamped element over it and added faux stitching around the image which I "stitched" with my Stardust marker. It just adds sparkle!! More sparkle on the star and the round petals of the snowflake!!

Not traditional colours but I am very happy with these cards!! Brings my Christmas card total up to 54!!

Therese

Christmas card challenges

Christmas card challenges for July!! I combined Sylvia's angel challenge with Karen's purple challenge to create these Christmas cards. They also qualify for the "Anything goes" theme over at Year round Christmas cards. I stamped and embossed the angel on glossy cardstock then applied alcohol inks starting with yellows in the halo and wing areas followed by three different purples over the rest of the surface trying to concentrate the eggplant in the dress part. I love the way they turned out. I layered the angel onto white cardstock with a scalloped edge. I had difficulty getting my MS doily border punch to punch my six layers so I substituted my SU eyelet border punch for the last two. I expect it may have been the high humidity that caused problems with the very intricate design of the MS punch. I layered a white cardstock strip accented with purple fiber below the image and added a silver confetti star with 3D foam tape. A simple greeting of "Rejoice" is silver embossed at the bottom of the card.

I am really enjoying these challenges!! I have a few to catch up on which I should be able to do this month. So I add these six to my stash. I have counted my Christmas cards and I have 48!!! It is great that I have this many made already and we are only in July!! Join us!!

I used envelopes from my stash which dictated the different format for these cards.

Therese

Spirelli cards

Spirelli has shown up for me in lot of places this week - magazine, blogs and galleries, so I decided to give it a try.

You can check out a tutorial here for instructions on doing spirelli. I have placed this link under Tutorials on the right hand side of my blog.

I used the SU scallop punch to create my shape and some very thin embroidery/serger thread for winding around the shape. The pattern you get depends on how many bumps you skip when you are winding. You can go to your right or left - you will get a different pattern on the back of your shape depending on which way you go. I started by taping the end of my yellow thread on the back of my blue shape, came to the front in a valley between bumps and skipped two bumps as I moved to the left. I went around twice because it helped to emphasize the pattern with more thread on it. Took about two feet of thread but I did not cut it until I was finished and had taped it to the back of my shape.

To create my embellishments I layered a punchie shape* created with my SU five petal punch, a little flower punchie and a large yellow brad. I layered these over some contrasting yellow and blue decorative paper accented with a white scalloped strip (SU scallop border punch) leaving enough space at the bottom to reveal my colour printed greetings. I added some dots with a gel pen or piercing to the scallops on the strip and the embellishment to help give them some texture.
Really happy with my cards though it did take me a while to figure out what supplies to use for my spirelli and to come up with a sketch that best featured my cute little embellishments.

*Want to know how I made this little punchie shape?? You punch one shape with the five petal punch, temporarily stick it to a piece of scrap paper and reinsert it into your punch and punch it again with the valleys exactly in the middle of the petals and you get this sort of starburst shape!! You can check out the tutorial here or follow the link under Tutorials called Punch Embellishments video on the right hand side of my blog.

Two of these cards are off for my card exchange this month and another to my sister for her birthday.

I discovered a video tutorial while I was searching for spirelli instructions that shows you how to make several different flowers with the scallop punch!! Check it out here. You can also follow the link under Tutorials called Scallop punch flower video.

Therese

Altered page with Nature ATC

Catching up on some projects that were put on the back burner last month!! Created this page around the Nature ATC I received from Linda last month. I love the look of those landscapes put together with Stampscapes stamps. Linda has only recently started with this stamping style but is already very good at it!! I loved this style of drawing when I was in college and thought I would give it a go for this altered page. Though a bit time consuming I love what you can achieve with a couple black markers!!

I created the background by painting white gesso on to the book page and adding some blue acrylic transparent paint I create a while back for this project. Just painted it on and moved it around a bit with fingers and paper towel. Once dry, I drew onto this surface with a black fine point Sharpie creating rocks, trees and water. The dimension in the elements is created by adding dots with a black ultra fine point Sharpie. I used the ATC image as a guide. Added colour with Sharpies as well - gray for the rocks, moss green for the trees and several colours of blue in the water. This quote by Bliss Carman suited the layout perfectly so I wrote it in by hand. The holes you can see in the layout accommodate the shell I glued to my previous altered page in by altered book.

Try a new technique today!!

Therese

Baby Neomie!!

Oh my goodness!! Our new granddaughter!! We spent last week out west with my daughter and son in law and their little family!! She is an awesome little human being - eating, sleeping and hanging out with her big brother and anyone else who is willing to spend some time chillin'. It was so great to see them all and a blessing to reconnect and just spend time with them.

I made 60 of these baby announcements in one day!! (Correction: I tied the fiber on them once I was there). I had a very tight self imposed deadline -had a plane to catch!! Designed the whole thing in a layout program (Corel Draw) and double side colour laser printed it on cardstock with my new printer!! Got to love new tools!! I know exactly how DH feels when he has the right tool for the job and all goes smoothly. Once printed, I punched the hole so her cute little face would peek through the front. Tied some baby pink fiber to the left hand side which added just that little bit of 3D texture to the design. All the details were printed inside leaving some room for a message.

If you can hug your kids, your Mom, your sister, everyone - do it today!!!

Therese

Christmas - June - merry and bright

I just loved this colour combination when I was putting together cardstock collections in Cleveland!! I was digging through my embellishment drawer looking for stars when I came across these bright green confetti circles!! Done!! They were a perfect match for the green cardstock so I created this little accent piece which I colour printed. It features three little ribbons, a line and the "merry & bright" greeting. Took a few tries to get the colours to match the cardstock perfectly. I love it!! My own little digital stamp!! I glued the "ornaments" - two red punchies and the green confetti - in place, rounded the corners on the element, the layer and the card front and assembled it all with a scrap strip I added because it was sitting on my desk!! I added some paper piercing to the layer and the strip!! These are great textured cardstocks which did not need to much else to make this card work!!

So a few more Christmas cards to add to the collection I have started with several of the cards I have created from the Christmas card challenges I have taken on!! I am a bit behind but am hoping to catch up over the month of July which so far has very little "to do" in it!!

Enjoy your summer!! Do something special for yourself - coffee on the deck, a few more cards, a day of inspiration in nature at the lake or local park. You create your life so take the time to make it special for yourself!!

Therese

Christmas - June - snowy scene

I love the serene quality of the card!! The central element was created by layering an image from a paper napkin onto a sheet of white handmade paper!! The image was trimmed, layered onto the green and the ribbon was added. To make adding ribbon to cards easier I have taken to just layering the ribbon flat across the card and tying another small piece to the front using a single knot. It gives pretty much the look of a double knot without the difficulty of estimating where to cut the ribbon once the knots are tied. So give this technique a try if you find adding ribbon to cards challenging!!

Layered onto the off white card front creates a wonderfully elegant Christmas card!!

Therese

Christmas - June - Vintage santa

A vintage Santa!! I colour printed two different vintage Santas and layered them onto coordinating cardstock using 3D foam tape. To the left you can see the one I layered onto red . The holly leaves were cut off of a garland I picked up last year after the holidays. Along with the red sequins they add some bling to this card. The card front was embossed with a holly leaf design which ties all the elements together!!

Some of the girls used glitter glue to adhere the sequins and ended up with some very nice little glittery centers to the holly "berries". Told you, this is a creative group!!

A quick and easy card!! Nice to have a few of those when you are making multiples of cards for any occasion!!

Therese

Christmas - June - snowman

A wonderful little snowman!! This is a digital stamp I downloaded from My Grafico. You can find the set here. They have a LOT of wonderful images and some freebies. Check them out!!

I layered coordinating decorative paper on my card front - my first card using coordinating designer paper!! I shopped for cardstock that matched on my trip to Cleveland this year so it came together very well. It is so quick and easy to laser print digital images - great time saving for a class!! I colour printed the greeting which I tried to pop out like I have seen on many cards lately. Unfortunately, the end under the image let go and my greeting no longer popped so I recommended yesterday to put a small piece of dimensional tape in the center back of the greeting which retains the pop very well. I have a really creative bunch so there was a lot of variety in the look of the cards created with this card kit!! Love it when that happens and people add their own creativity to their cards!!

Therese

Christmas - June - Winter scene

Christmas in June! For those who want to be prepare for the holiday season I offer a class of Christmas cards in June!! Many this time around have opted for just kits which they will make up over the summer - at the cottage or when there is some down time to just enjoy being creative!!

This card features a 4.25" x 4" white cardstock layer embossed with the Cuttlebug winter village embossing folder. I added a ribbon to the lower edge using double sided tape and a large snowflake with a silver brad. Layered it on the card front ensuring the colour printed greeting was visible!! Added iridescent glitter glue - like Stickles - to the rooftops and snowflake!! Works so well!!

We did this one first in class so the glitter glue would be dry before it was time to pack up our cards and head home. I made these in navy, red, purple and green for some variety!!

Therese

Cardmaking - June - seashore shaker

Shaker cards!! I searched Splitcoast Stampers for ideas and found so many!! Here is a short list of shaker materials you can use - letter noodles, salt, sugar, confetti, glitter, small beads, micro beads, seeds, cake sprinkles, punchies, and sand. I am sure there are many more items that can be incorporated into shaker cards to make them interesting and fun!!

In my shaker I used sand which I collected on the beach in Florida which has all sorts of really tiny shells in it!! Perfect for this nautical themed card!! The shaker is under a frame that I cut with my rectangle Nestibilities - so easy to make frames with these!! Added a shell border and some twine for accents and I was good to go!!

For the shaker I used a cello envelope. I found a tutorial on line which used CD envelopes to make shakers. Very cool!! So I just made small envelopes with scrap cellophane and my Seal a Meal. At class, we had a bit of trouble getting the sand to stay on the front of the shaker. It is a balance between having the edges tight enough to not allow the sand in behind and being able to insert the image into the envelope with its little dam of 3D foam tape which keeps the shaker material from settling to far down. Would work much better with a coarser shaker material which would not leak around and out!! Will have to refine that process for future shaker cards!!

Try making some of these! The CD envelopes work really great for square cards and can be disguised so easily!!

Therese

Cardmaking - June - flowers and lace

I love the look of lace on cards!! Combined with silk flowers I really like the nod to vintage that these cards have!!

I mounted the lace with double sided tape to the back of the strip - on the blue one I pierced the strip on both sides to simulate stitching before I attached the lace. Could have also used a gel pen to add faux stitches between the holes. Layered my silk flowers, attached them to the strip with a brad and layered this element over the edge of the decorative paper I glued to the upper part of the card front.

The lace adds such tactile texture to the card!! Love the look!!

Therese

Cardmaking - June - butterflies!

More bright summery cards! These feature great embossed stickers of butterflies and dragonflies!! There were a bunch of stickers on each sheet of these and I still have some left to use on yet another card. Used them here in my All Occasions Class!!

I embossed two thirds of the card front using different Cuttlebug and SU embossing folders. Layered the sticker on coordinating cardstock, tied on some fiber and mounted the element on my card front with 3D foam tape.

Quick and easy cards!! A greeting could easily be added on the flat area or layered below the accent.

Therese

Cardmaking - June - summer circles

Amazingly, it is cardmaking again!! It has been a few weeks full of cardmaking creativity!!

I was feeling like a summery card so I came up with this cool flower design!! I punched several sizes of circles ( 1 3/8", 1 1/4", 1 1/8" and 3/4") and flowers in several different bright colours - lime, neon blue, and neon orange - not a great scan!! Layered them and arranged the elements in a rambling line on my card front. When I was happy with my design I glued them all in place. I added dots and lines in white gel pen and stamped a greeting with white pigment ink. I could have embossed the greeting to make it more bold but I am liking the subtle look of this card!! I added glitter glue to the centers for a bit of bling.

Consider using your scraps and making cards using this design in several different colour schemes!! Great for any occasion and would certainly make a cute party invite!!

Therese

KN - bookmarks

Another HeartFelt item!! These bookmarks feature a felted heart accented with a button and a long piece of fiber that ties tightly to your book very nicely keeping your place!! I tied the button to the felted shape with the same fiber to keep it all coordinating!! Another item to tempt the customers up at the Knitting Nimrod!!

Therese

KN - masculine cards

Made these cards up for Cyndi's space at Knitting Nimrod. They are appropriate for Father's Day as well as birthdays for those special men in our lives.

These are the first in my line of HeartFelt greetings. I felted some old sweaters and will die cut shapes out of them to be the accent elements on this line of cards. Cards that feature felted wool for sale in a yarn shop! What a great idea!!

These cards have felted stars (Sizzix) layered over handmade paper strips with acetate greetings attached with brads or sewing!! They have great texture and wonderul colours!!

If you are in the area consider checking out the store - great vintage buttons, yarn of every description and patterns for most anything!!

Therese

Father's Day card

My Father's Day card for my DH. He loves music so I usually try to include that theme in his cards when I can!! I added a maroon watercolour wash to the music sheet which I clear embossed with a harlequin design. Did the embossing a while back and it was sitting on my craft desk waiting!! I stamped the words and composer images on white and then added watercolour to help them blend in. Also, added a wash to the colour printed greeting which was also sitting on my desk - left over from my last class!!

Layered some cool looking black handmade paper over my maroon card and added the altered music sheet trimmed to fit on the card front. Layered the pieces with black and arranged them neatly over it all!!

Very happy with how it all turned out!!

Therese

Cards, Cards, Cards - May 29 - embossed strips

Our last card!! These feature strips that are taped to each other, cut to size and then embossed with an embossing folder!! I just chose strips of cardstock from my scraps bucket and add coordinating colours of cardstock strips to make up a piece big enough to cut a 4" x 5 1/4" piece from it. Used different embossing folders for each combination and glued them to coordinating card fronts. I added a coordinating tag (SU small and large tag punch) with a little ribbon accent. Some chose not to staple their ribbons - just glued them between the layers or behind the tag instead. Same sketch - very different look depending on what colours are used. By varying your tag greeting it can be for any occasion!! This sketch can easily be rotated to create portrait cards!!

Cards with versatile designs and are fairly quick to put together. A win - win in everybody's book!!

Therese

Cards, Cards, Cards - May 29 - roses

I love the softest of these cards!!!! These feature shimmery decorative papers and roses embossed with white pearl embossing powder (Michaels). I coloured the first one with a bit of watercolour but I had to be very careful not to make the paint the same colour as the embossing. If the colour matches, your image becomes very flat. Several people in class did not colour their images at all which works very well. Others used contrasting colours to embellish their roses which worked well too. I distressed the edges of the image and cut out the bottom leaf so it could overlap the ribbon. Nice little touch! Again, ribbon is glued straight across the image and the ends glued to the back. The ribbon scrap is tied with a single knot to the front. This element is then attached to the card front with 3D foam tape. The other cards featured blue/white decorative paper with silver embossed roses and multi coloured floral motif paper with gold embossed roses.

Therese

Cards, Cards, Cards - May 29 - little squares

I just loved this sketch when I saw several different cards on SplitCoast stampers that featured these cool little rounded squares!! These are so quick & easy and take so few supplies!! Choose a scrap of decorative paper - cut two 1" squares and corner round two opposite corners. I used my corner rounder from Michaels - it had a tighter round which worked better for the small squares. Choose two coordinating cardstocks and cut two 1" squares and corner round two opposite corners. Draw a cross on your cardstock with a black fine tip marker, add your rounded squares and stamp a greeting!! In my case, I laser printed the cross and greeting on white cardstock in advance so all that needed to be done was to glue on the rounded squares and then glue this layer to the card front!!!! All sort of colours for these ones and four different greetings!!
Therese

Cards, Cards, Cards - May 29 - wavy frame

These cards feature some beautiful butterfly and dragongly stickers I bought at the dollar store a few months ago. Like most things - they were gone in a few days so I am glad I bought what I needed when I did. I knew I would be featuring them in this class!!
I wanted textured cardstock as the base for these cards so those that were not textured were embossed with this SU flower embossing folder. The textured wavy frame (Sizzix die) holds a colour printed greeting and is added to the card front using 3D foam tape. As you can see the card could easily be created in either portrait or landscape format. Another way to change up the look of a sketch.

Therese

Cards, cards, cards - May 29 - 3D elements

The first set of cards for my All Occasions card class on Saturday!! All the same sketch but each features a different 3D element - heart, butterfly, dragonfly and flower.
The blue butterfly - this is a plastic die cut which I cut from packaging then painted with transparent acrylic paint (sun catcher paint). I coloured the bodies with a black permanent marker on the back side. This gave them a pretty sharp look and conveniently gave me a place to put some 3D foam tape to attach them to the card. Bent back the wings a bit for a really cool 3D look. The ribbon is attached to the embossed layer which is trimmed to the embossed edge. Thrifty tip: Attach your ribbon straight across your layer and glue ends to the back. Then cut a piece of 2-3" and tie to the straight ribbon on the front with a single knot. You always get it right!!
The red heart - this is cut from a sweater!! Had this favorite red sweater for years but it eventually became a little stretched and was wearing at the bottom of the sleeves so it was ready to be discarded. Found it again the other day and thought it would be great for cardmaking!! To stabilize the stitching I attached Heat n Bond to the back and then die cut the hearts!! Love them!! Tied on a little clear heart (packaging) with white fiber!! Attached with double sided tape.
The other two elements were a vellum dragonfly and a die cut flower. I painted the wings of the dragonfly with nail polish!!!!! How fun!! They turned out translucent and shimmery just like them should be!!! Attached it with 3D foam tape as well to give the card some dimension. The flower element was cut from double sided colour printed cardstock and layered. These were also attached with 3D foam tape.
One sketch - four different cards by changing up the colours and the accent.

Therese

ABCanada - Nature ATC

On my Altered Group we are doing a Nature ATC swap!! This is out of my usual colour scheme but I have been working on getting out of my comfort zone so I just went with it!! I punched the flower out of the original layer and attached with 3Dfoam tape just over a bit and backed the hole with turquoise cardstock and added a rhinestone to the center. Overstamped the background with the quote and then added the quote stamped in red on white which I ripped apart to make it fit. Added a turquoise and white fiber tied to the belly of it all. I have sent it along to another player and she will have the fun of including it when creating an altered book page!!
I received this ATC from Linda which I will include in an altered book page sometime this week!! Check later and see what I have created!!
It has been a busy week prepping for my card class.

Therese

Christmas Card Challenge

More Christmas cards!! These ones - I made 6 of them - are for the May challenge - candles on Sylvia's (my sister) blog!! Simple elegance!! I stamped the candle image on black glossy in copper pigment ink and embossed it with copper detail embossing powder. It is very tricky to stamp on glossy with pigment ink and not smear!! I got the hang it after several attempts. I layered the stamped image onto copper foil - very thin - but very nice and reflective. I layered this element onto a black card front which I embossed with a wedding Sizzix embossing folder! Love the richness of the copper and the elegance of the calligraphy in the stamped image next to the embossed swirls!!
Still considering doing the nativity challenge on Sylvia's blog which was the challenge for April.. I have a class on Saturday to prepare for so once that prep is done I will consider working on more Christmas cards!!
It is never too late to get started on your Christmas cards and the challenges might give you a place to start!!

Therese

Cardmaking - May - Zentangles

Zentangles!! I created a variety of them for the class I taught at the school so I printed up a bunch to use as accents on these cards!! Used pretty much the same layout as these - varied the border punches (5 in all)!!
The right hand side is embossed with the SU dots embossing folder. I love it because it is larger than some of the others and it does the whole card front at once!! Added the black border punched layer that has a little piece of fiber double knotted to it in the middle.

Quick and easy design! We all need some of those!!

Therese

Cardmaking -May - embossed vellum

Embossed vellum!! I am always using Splitcoast Stampers as inspiration when I am cardmaking!! So many cards and wonderful ideas!! I made a little sketch when I was perusing the site - I think I got pretty close to the same look as the one I found there.
Embossed vellum and trimmed it to the edge of the design. Layered that onto coloured cardstock and attached it with with four silver brads. Added the ribbon and attached the ends to the back. Love the way my greeting came together - an oval ribbon slide (CB) with a large oval punchie (SU)!! The large oval punchie fits perfectly into the slots in the ribbon slide to make a wonderful layered greeting!! I colour printed the greetings and just punched them out. Added the layered greeting over the ribbon using 3D foam tape. Had the inspiration to add a punched circle below the bird on the left hand card but thought of it too late to add those to the kits!! I think it would add "a bit of something" to the card.

Therese

Cardmaking - may - Paperclips

Found these cool paperclips in my travels in the last month and had to incorporate them into my cards this month. They are called Regal Owl Paper clips!!
I colour printed the greetings on the white cardstock just far enough apart to place the 1" strip of decorative paper in between. I glued this to my card and trimmed to the card edge. I used a SU word window punchie to create a tab by folding it in half and inserted it on the solid side of the clip and attached it over the decorative paper using a brad. Then threaded ribbon through the other side and glued the ends to the inside of the card.
You might even have some scraps or small strips of decorative paper in your stash to easily create a few of these cards. Use a different paper clip for a different look.

I will use the clips again. Next time, standing up, so you can see the "owl" in them!!

Therese

Cardmaking - May - corrugated card

The theme for May cardmaking was masculine cards! We all have guys we like to make cards for and we are often challenged to come up with ideas that will be suitable!! I have only a limited number of stamps for guys so I am always challenging myself to come up with new card ideas with them!!
I used four different images on these cards - lighthouse, train, tree and vintage grapes collage. I coordinated the cardstock to work with the different images. Most of the images could be coloured and then were trimmed to fit on the corrugated card!! This element was then layered onto the card front and the trimmed colour printed greeting was stapled on with a bit of ribbon added on the right hand side.
I like the way these cards came together. Not to complicated or fussy - like most guys!!

Therese

Thank you card

A thank you card I created for my friend, Sherry who has been so helpful with the house. I brought her back some cardstock and a cute little stamp so she can get started on her Christmas cards early this year!!

I watercoloured the rose and cut it out. Attached the handmade paper to the card front and then mounted the rose with 3D foam tape. Added a ribbon with a layered coordinating greeting on a ribbon slide!!

You can check out the cardstock I have for sale here:
www.tmalakrsc.blogspot.com

Email me at bmalak at cogeco dot ca if anything there catches your eye!!

Therese

Exchange cards

Created several of these for my card exchanges this month - Canadian Card Exchange and my card club. Stamped the boat image (ink on left - bleach on right) on black and mounted it to a coordinating layer. Cut a 2.75" circle from decorative paper, cut it in half and mounted it on the card front behind my image. Added some paper piercing for more interest and texture.
Got the sketch for this card somewhere on Splitcoast Stampers when I was searching for inspiration for cardmaking this month - masculine cards!!

Therese

Christmas card challenges

I combined Tracy's challenge from last month - using patterned paper as the main element in your card and this month's colour challenge to create these cards. Life has been busy and I have been away for a bit so I did not get to the April challenge at all. It worked quite well to combine the two challenges!!
I chose the cool snowflake paper which had some of the colours from the challenge which are red, cream, kraft and chocolate. I ripped the bottom of this layer, added a knotted ivory ribbon and glued it to the red layer which was embossed with the Sizzix snowflake embossing folder. Stamped the greeting in red on cream and punched them out with the small SU oval. Layered them onto chocolate punchies (large SU oval) and added them to the card front over the ribbon using 3D foam tape!! Made eight to sort of make up for the ones I did not get done last month!!
Very happy with my cards!! I know I will be happy when it is time to send them and they will be ready!!!!

It is not too late to get started!! Join a Christmas card challenge today and be ahead of the game!!

Therese

Collage art - vision board

My vision board!! The girls and I from my book club decided that we would create vision boards for our lives!! It has been a subject that has come up several times over the last few months in the discussion of the last few books we read. The idea that you create your life - draw into it certain things depending on what you think, say and do!!
So we spent an evening envisioning what we would like in our lives - making a few notes and the next time we got together we brought along magazines (from our own supply and some gathered second hand from Freecyle or Kijiji). Armed with scissors we started going through them cutting out anything that we were attracted to and/or represented something we wanted in our life. Early on in our discussion about vision boards I thought I was going to have trouble picking out "stuff" I wanted (has been my pattern) but as we discussed it more and after spending some time thinking about what I "wanted" I realized that what I wanted had less to do with "things" and more to do with relationships and experiences. Cutting out images was such a fun process!! We had magazines from a wide variety of subject matters so we were challenged to think outside the box!! Some in the group gathered only a few images and words and had their vision boards made that night. They were focused and clear about what they wanted!! It took me the better part of two days to create this collage!! I did like the way theirs looked with no white spaces in between their images so I did that on the outside of mine. I laid out my images according to areas of my life - home, DH, family, retirement, etc. I was amazed at how almost all the images that I had grabbed from the magazines found their way to my board and fit in!! Totally fun to cut out words from different places to say what I wanted to!!
So now, to draw these things into my life, I need to spend some time every day focusing my attention on what I want. That gets you thinking about it, puts you in a mind set of talking about what you want and a lot more likely to actually doing something about making it happen. You need to do all three - think, say and do!!
It is really a process of becoming clear about what you want.
This is poster board size so I am going to print off some smaller ones that I can have around to remind me of what I want in my best life.
There is no wrong way to make a vision board and you can make a new one anytime you like!! I totally enjoyed the process and will certainly be doing it again. Maybe a smaller one that deals with only one area of my life!! Created on 8.5 x 11 cardstock they could easily be stored in page protectors in a binder and would be easily availabe for review!!
Try it!! It is for sure that your thinking will get you a life - why not choose it more consciously!!

Therese

KN - Handmade paper card gift sets

More handmade paper card gift sets!!! I made up a few more of these gift sets for the store because it opened the weekend before Mother's Day and these would be perfect for any Mom!! These have been featured here on my blog several times. They are totally fun to make and love the way they feature handmade paper so nicely!!

Therese