Book card!

I created this book which is really a card for a special friend on the occasion of her fiftieth birthday!!

What fun!!

I purchased the kit at the Sweet Sentiments Yard Sale a few weeks ago just intending on altering the pages to suit my needs. It was a wonderful surprise to discover that the book had DREAMS as its theme!! It included the pages, ribbon and chipboard elements in this great colour scheme of seafoam, celery green, warm red and ivory so I decided to work with it. I worked out my wording, cut letters using my Sizzix Doodle Block alphabet in coordinating cardstock, added ribbon to the chipboard pieces and laid everything out so I could see how it would all fit together!! I placed the large chipboard letters on the lower halves of the pages and added my words and accent chipboard elements - two frames and two buttons to the upper sections. With everything laid out, I glued my diecut letters in place using white glue and a fine tip applicator. The chipboard elements were glued in place using a double layer of glue dots to make sure the glue was thick enough to offset the ribbon on the back. Worked well.

Thrifty Tip: use an empty fabric paint bottle with a very fine tip for precise application of white glue.

On the backside of the book I added some envelopes in which she can store images or notes to herself and record the manifestations of her dreams as they become reality!!

As you can see on the left, I glued the outside of the envelope flap to the back of the page and added two clear photo corners to secure the right hand side of the envelope. I added colour printed circles with a message for her on the outside of the envelopes.

Once my pages were finished I bound them together using ribbon. Love the way it worked out!!

I have packaged it in the original container - a plastic box with a handle!! How cool is that!!

It looks so great!! I added my personal message on a panel I added to the inside of one of the envelopes. I hope it will be a reminder of all the life she has left to live and an inspiration for her to choose everyday to take baby steps in the directions of her dreams!!

To achieve any goal, you need only to decide where you want to go, take baby steps every day, stay focussed and never give up! How you get there will unravel in ways you could not even imagine because the Universe takes care of that part.

It is your life, chose to follow your dreams!!

Exchange cards - CB scroll work EF

Love this Scroll works embossing folder by Cuttlebug!! A couple more cards I have created using the folder and the stencil I created for it!! Love the gentle shading possible with the sponges. The images are ones I downloaded from CLKER and digitally coloured to suit my card stock colour!! These are for my monthly card exchange!! Check out other ones I made here.

If you have the Scroll works embossing folder and would like a stencil/mask for nicely shading the inside I have a few for sale. They are quarter sheet size - $1 each. If you are local, you can come and pick one up!! If not, send me an email and we can set up a trade!!

These cards will be on their way today!!

Therese

CD charms

We are having a charm swap on AFTCM!!

This time we needed to use a CD to create our charms so I sanded off the shining layer, added some colour with Sharpies and/or alcohol inks and cut them apart!! Once cut, I laid the pieces on a heatproof surface (corrugated cardboard covered with foil) and heated them until they cleared up, their edges softened and they bubbled a bit. They look like glass!! I layered up the scraps and those made really cool looking charms as well. On the left, those that are finished. I have a variety to choose from - two going in the mail tomorrow!!

These are the ones that I made that I thought were acceptable for being considered for "charmdom"!! I have a half dozen rejects which I am not sure what I will do with. Maybe try redoing them or painting them - we'll see.

These ones are the first I made and in the final evaluation I decided were probably too big to be considered charms!!

Fun! We are going to have some great looking bracelets by the end of the year!!

Therese

Cardmaking - May - sponging

I have been admiring these softly shaded cards on Splitcoast Stampers as well!! I used digital images from CLKER for these cards!! Just love that dress!! You can find it here! The loon, here!

I designed an oval that would fit perfectly on the inside of the Scroll works (CB) embossing folder, printed it on a transparency and cut it out - voila - a stencil for sponging!! I printed the digital images on white cardstock, cut the sheet into quarters and embossed each one with the Scrollworks embossing folder. At class, I provided the stencils, sponges and inks and let each person sponge the frame as they wished. It is best to start sponging gently, from the stencil to the paper. You can mix colours or use different colours to get a very layered look. The image can also be coloured using any other method you desire!!
I mixed a bit of green into the blue for the loon image and it looks good!! To add a little colour to your embossing gently rub your sponge over it. I will be adding a rhinestone to the bodice of the dress and it should make a perfect wedding card!!!

I really like the soft look of sponging so I think I will incorporate that more into my cardmaking. Certainly, have seen others sponging the edges of their layers and greetings which gives a cohesive look to their cards!!

Thrifty tip: I am using the sponges that SU sells - cut into eighths. Just staple on a little cardstock handle in the colour of ink so you can keep them straight. Check out how they did it here! Stored in a baggie they are always ready to go and don't need cleaning!!

If you haven't tried sponging yet, try it!! Stamp an image and use the stencils you have!! Use a die to cut a stencil from scrap plastic - get creative!! Sponging works best with a rounded edged sponge which does not leave lines, so trim the hard edges off your sponge for a better experience.

Therese

Cardmaking - May - rainbow

Rainbows!! I used the rainbow scraps from my last card on these ones!! I made at least four prototypes of this card before I was happy with it!! That does not happen to me very often!!

I punched the right hand side of the rainbow layer with my SU scallop punch, layered it onto white cardstock, embossed it with the D'vine swirl (CB) embossing folder and punched the edge again!! I like the look of the repeated element. The die cut butterfly (SX) has been embossed with the Swiss Dot (CB) folder and threaded onto the ribbon!! I mounted this layer onto the card front and added a layered greeting!!

The rainbows are wonderful!! Great for a baby card or for a little girl's birthday!!

Therese

Cardmaking - May - bare tree

I have been admiring the great tree cards on Splitcoast Stampers so I decided to see what I could do to make one myself. I do not have a stamp of a bare tree so I went looking on the internet to see what was available in the way of digital images. I did find a couple but was not able to change their colour to brown from black - I am sure it is possible but the learning curve was beyond my alloted time!! So I just created my own using the SU one as a visual!! I printed the tree on some rainbow desktop publishing paper from my stash. After trimming, I was left with scraps of rainbow paper (watch for it later) and my tree with a beautiful blue sky!! I stamped on some leaves and added bushes using a torn piece of paper, a sponge and green ink. To finish off my card, I layered my tree onto brown, added some flowers and a grass die cut then glued it to my card front. I added Sapphire Stickles to the blue flowers and I will be adding some iridescent glitter glue to the pink one - just the right amount of bling!! Some of the cards had red apples and looked very much like this card I made earlier this week!!

Fun cards!!

Therese

Cardmaking - May - classic cars

Father's Day is coming up so I prepped a few of these cards for my cardmaking class last night. I prepared several different greetings so the cards could be customized though my "For you, Dad" was not flexible enough for the ones in the group that needed a card for Father's Day for their husbands or sons, so the next time the greeting will say Happy Father's Day!! Without a greeting, it is well suited to a variety of occasions!!

The cars are from a font I downloaded off the internet called OLD CARS. I used four different ones even though both of my cards ended up with the same car!! Must be the one I like the best!!

Layered decorative paper and added a fabric trim. On the first one I colour washed the twill and at class I decided to use colour pencils. They worked remarkable well for removing the starkness of the new twill and helping to integrate it into the look of the card. I laid the short piece over the longer one and tied them together with a piece of string. This works well for giving you the look of a bow without the bulk. Watercoloured the laser printed image, trimmed it close and mounted it above the trim using 3D foam tape. I colour washed the greetings before adding them to my cards. For a more balanced design, I added three little black cardstock punchies to the top left hand corner. A little Dimensional Magic or a similar clear gloss product would give them a bit more shine!! In an effort to use what I have, I will be adding some to mine! Unfortunately, it takes too long to dry for use in the class room.

The guys in our lives need to be celebrated for all they contribute!! Make your special people a card today!! "Just because" is enough of a reason!!

Therese

Paradise challenge - tree and hearts

Scrapbooker's Paradise is having a challenge - dig into your stash and use three things to make a card!!

From my paper stash I dug out some desktop publishing paper with a rainbow on it!! After a bit of thought I decided to print a brown bare tree (digital stamp) in the lower left hand corner of it. With the other three quarters trimmed off I was left with tree with some beautiful sky - perfect layer for my card!! I dug deep into my wood mounted SU stamps looking for this leaf stamp which has not see the light of day for quite a while and added leaves to my tree using green ink. The tree was still in need of something so I dug into my cardstock scrap bin and I found this scrap of red that has leather texture!! It has been sitting there a long time!! Next, I dug into my small punch drawer and dug out this heart punch - it has not been out of there for a good while, though its friends, the flower punches come out regularly!! I punched some little hearts for my tree!! I layered these onto a brown cardstock and added a green grass die cut below - still needed a bit of something so I added some greenery to the background using a torn piece of paper, a sponge and green ink. I added the laser printed greeting from my stash of extra greetings and layered the whole thing onto a black card front. As I was admiring my creation I had a flash of insight - I had some Dimensional Magic - which I purchased years ago that still have not been used so I dug it out and added it to the red hearts!! It gave such a wonderful glossy finish to my hearts!! I will be using it more often!!

Join the challenge - I know you have something in your stash!!

Therese

Masculine card

I created this card as a follow up to my exchange card in hopes of being able to work out a card design for my next class.

I used double sided tape punched with my 1/4" punch to create my little domes of glossiness. They grabbed the embossing powder really well and heated up nicely though gave a more pebbled effect. The little punchies are more touchy to get positioned and more easily damaged in the process so not ideal for the class room. I also tied my twill with a string instead of using a double knot. It is easier for most people to manage that process and creates a card with less "lumps" to catch in the postal template. If the card catches in the template it requires more postage to send.

I am back to the drawing board to see what I can do to change up this design to suit my class.

Therese

Class Act contest card - masculine

The card exchange tomorrow evening is themed masculine so I checked out Class Act challenge#5 guidelines - use a masculine image in combination with fabric and/or stitching - and used them as my starting off point!! I stamped and black embossed Class Act's classic car, watercoloured it and trimmed it closely. I added faux stitching with a fine tipped Sharpie marker to my decorative paper, glued it to the top part of my card front, added a colour washed fabric twill which is double knotted and included a colourwashed laser printed greeting. I added the car using 3D foam tape to add a bit of dimension. Thought it needed just a bit of something, so I added three mini glue dots and sprinkled on black embossing powder expecting the embossing powder would be immediately adhered to them. Not so, I had to rub in the embossing powder to get it to stick to the glue dots - who knew! After heating them with the heat gun I had three nice little domes of black glossiness!! Just what I wanted and just the thing to finish off my card.

So check out Class Act's challenge #5, dig out your masculine images and start creating!! If you use a Class Act stamp you will get two chances to win.

While you are there check out the great cards created by their design team!!

Therese

All Occasion cards - embossed

I love the elegance of an embossed image done in white cardstock!! Does not require much else so I simply added a piece of ribbon and a layered greeting!!

The tree embossing folder is by Darice and the flower stems is one by Quickutz!!

I have created greetings in a layout program (Corel Draw) that can be printed and punched out with my punches - in this case the large SU oval punch!! Great for customized greetings!!

Therese

All Occasion cards - masculine

Masculine cards because everyone eventually needs one and Father's Day is coming up!!

I printed these digital images (Arthur's clipart page) onto kraft cardstock and embossed the area below them with a variety of embossing folders which added texture. Tied a piece of ribbon to a strip of black cardstock and layered it over the top edge of the embossing!! A variety of greetings were available and could be added to the strip before it was glued into place.

I love the look of kraft and black!!

Therese

All Occasion cards - patchwork

Quilted cards!! They really look quilted because the paper/cardstock has been embossed using an embossing folder and Big Kick. I love the look of this technique. I cut 1.25" squares for these cards but you could get much more detailed and create your favorite quilt pattern. Check out the log cabin design I used earlier this year.

We used 12 coordinating squares and glued them to a 4"x 5.25" piece of white cardstock leaving a tiny border all the way around and some space between the squares. Embossing the whole layer gave it a lot of texture and hid any little variances in the spacing that occurred as we glued our squares into place. I added my ribbon to the corner but it was long enough to go across in either direction so we had a lot of different variations in these cards. I varied the 3D embellishments and greetings as well.

I actually added the little butterfly (Sizzix) to the ribbon as it had slits on both sides of the body which easily accommodated the ribbon!!

A fun card that could easily be created using scraps of decorative paper!! You know what I am talking about - that little stash of scraps you are having trouble parting with because they are so beautiful!!

Go make some cards!!

Therese

All Occasion cards - spray of flowers

A friend was over the other night with a bunch of her friends for an evening of creating!! What fun to spend time with like minded people being creative and trying something new!! It is the best!

Started with coloured cardstock, added a piece of decorative paper with a border and layered on a coloured image with a small piece of ribbon!! I watercoloured my image but other chose chalks or pencil crayons instead. I mounted my image onto cardstock added a little piece of folded ribbon then mounted it to the card front using 3D foam tape. We had a variety of colours to keep the whole process interesting.

The digital image, which I laser printed, is one offered over on Beccy's blog. She has some cool images - check them out!!

So consider getting together with a friend/s and making a few cards!! You could even consider wrapping up a few in a card holder and using them for gifts!!

Therese

Calligraphy

Calligraphy in a guest book for a local convention!! I used fluid acrylic paint in a shimmery blue for the lettering and added a few flowers in pink with yellow centers. The leaves and stems were added using a Stardust gel pen - just the right amount of sparkle!!

It has been a long time since I pulled out my pens and did some lettering so it was great to get the opportunity to add some elegant lettering to this guest book!!

Therese

Hat pins for a swap!

Hat pins!! Made these for a swap on AFTCM!! It was very fun and easy!! Very tempting to make LOTS of them.

I used corsage pins and added a handmade flower and some beads, some ribbon and beads and the first one in the photo is my ode to steampunk - bits of things wired together and industrial looking accents instead of beads below! Take a close look and you will
recognize earring backs used a decoration on this hat pin!

Here is a close up!! I used very glittery fiber to create this flower shape which is hand sewn from a 2" length using clear thread. I used "Goop" as a clear adhesive to keep the flower and beads near the top of the pin.

Totally fun to use supplies in a new and creative way!!

If you are using pins on your creations please plan to provide some protection from injury for the recipient by covering up the sharp point of the pin. Depending on the creation, you could use an earring back, a small piece of foam or a glue dot to keep the sharp point secure. You could also consider dulling the point some with sand paper to reduce the risk of injury!!

Challenge yourself to something new today!! What have you never created before?

Today is the day!!

Therese

Anniversary cards

No anniversary cards in my stash so I made a few!!

Had a friend over last night and she brought along her MS heart lattice punch - a nice large punch. So I dug out my red paper scraps and punched out a LOT of hearts!! It is nice to visit and craft - time goes by so quickly!!

I started without a plan, so first, decided to use two hearts on each card. The lattice seemed to be calling for glitz so I added

double sided tape to the back of each of them and applied glitter to the front. I layered them onto white in different configurations to have some variety and added a border of dots to three of them. Layered them onto a coordinating red and decided they needed white below so I cut the layers and embossed each one differently. Added ribbon to three of them and black lace trim to the last one!! Layered onto red and the last one I layered onto black before layering it to the red card.

Do you ever just start creating without knowing where you are going? I don't usually, but, after a relaxing day and no time pressure to get these done, just starting and going with the flow worked for me today. Four cards in less than a couple of hours - that is good for me!!

Therese

Cardmaking - April - used greeting card

We all have greeting cards that we have received and saved because of who sent them or because of the occasion that was being celebrated!! This technique reuses images from used greeting cards!! I trimmed the card fronts to 3.75" x 5" and embossed them with a stitched plaid embossing folder. I sanded the embossing lightly until the white from the card beneath started to appear - nicely highlighted the stitches. You could use any embossing folder but I would recommend one that is not too busy - lines or polka dots would work well. For those without embossing folders consider embossing the image using your scoring tool. Scoring lines in a grid pattern from the back will emboss them on the front. I added a ribbon and my butterfly accent. The butterfly is a digital image I downloaded from the internet. I laser printed it onto cardstock, watercoloured and trimmed it. I attached it to my card using a modified (stretched to a thin line) glue dot which allowed me to lift the wings for a 3D look!!

Thrifty tip: Don't have a scoring tool - create one. Take two pieces of cereal cardboard the same size - cut one in half and glue the two pieces to the other leaving a slight gap (1/16" to 1/8"). Place your image upside down over the gap and use a bone folder or stylus (crochet hook, knitting needle, pen cap) to score the lines you want. It is easier to line up the score marks if your tool is longer than your image.

This card reuses an paper image and features a digital image both of which are earth friendly!!

Have my cards have inspired you to be more earth friendly??

I encourage you incorporate a few new techniques in your art - it will reduce your impact and kick start your creativity!!

Therese

Cardmaking - April - serendipity

Serendipity is a collage technique that uses paper scraps!! You simply glue a variety of small paper scraps to a cardstock base and embellish it once it is dry. In this case, I over stamped the collage with silver pigment ink, thermally embossed it with silver embossing powder and added just a bit of colour using a flourish stamp with permanent ink in a coordinating colour. Using my paper trimmer, I cut the collage into 1" strips, then trimmed the strips to 3.5"!! They are little pieces of art!! I combined three of them onto a layer, added a couple of flower punchies with a silver brad and stamped a greeting. At class, I gave everyone the opportunity to silver emboss a greeting if they wished!!

Serendipity is a earth friendly technique!! You can use ANYTHING for your substrate!! You need light weight cardstock - consider junk mail, a card front or layer discarded because of a mistake, packaging from the recycle bin, covers from annual reports, catalogs and paperbacks, etc. The smallest I would start with would be 4.25" x 5.5" and 8.5"x 11" is plenty large!! For collaging onto this surface almost anything goes!! You need scraps about 1" in diameter preferably ripped so the edges are soft and easily glued down. In the way of paper, you can use old greeting cards, calendars, catalogs, junk mail, gift wrap, tissue paper, napkins, decorative paper, envelopes, paper bags, packaging, instructions, manuals, artwork, labels, etc. You can also consider adding lace, fabric, mylar, foil, tyvek, mesh, etc.

For these pieces I chose similar coloured papers from my "box for collage" - turquoise and blue for the one and purple and pink for the other. I ripped all the scraps into smaller pieces (1" or so) in uneven and random shapes. Armed with a tray of scraps, a glue stick and some discarded cardstock I started applying glue to the back of the pieces and gluing them down. Lay them next to each other or overlap them - whatever works!! Sometimes I tear the pieces smaller still to fill in gaps. Don't worry about going over the edges - that can be easily trimmed later. Really mix up the colours and texture - like pieces should not be adjoining!! Once you have covered the whole surface, double check that all the edges are well glued down and leave to dry. I would recommend over night to ensure all the glue has dried. It may not look fantastic when you are done -no problem because you can embellish it by stamping with colour, embossing with embossing powder, colour washing with acrylic paint, adding glitter, spritzing with shimmer mist, etc!! My favorite is to stamp with a script stamp and emboss with metallic embossing powder!! Works every time!! Once your collage is finished you can use it to make accents for your art by cutting it into any shape - rectangles, squares, hearts, circles, snowflakes (use a die) - whatever you want!! Straight lines means no waste!!

If you need a visual you can find tutorials here and here! If you would prefer a video tutorial check one out here.

So this weekend consider doing your bit for the environment and create a Serendipity collage while you are watching TV or listening to your favorite music!! Should you also be enjoying some chocolate, incorporate the wrappers into your collage - no evidence!!

Therese

Cardmaking - April - corrugated cardboard

These cards feature corrugated cardboard from a box that was retrieved from the recycle bin!! Removing the top layer to expose the corrugations was a learning experience which I will delve into in a layer post.

The flower elements were created using corrugated cardboard punchies - SU flower punch - and layered cardstock buttons - two circle punchies, two holes and a double knotted thread. The leaf is also a punchie! The greeting is a digital stamp - SU Salebration CD - that I embellished with another word, placed in a square frame and laser printed. They were trimmed with decorative scissors.

I arranged all the elements onto the card front which had already been layered with am embossed layer. Once I was happy with my layout, I simply glued all the elements in place.

My previous post has more information about the earth friendly benefits of using digital stamps!!

Reusing items, in your crafting, that would normally be disposed of is also a way of reducing - less new supplies which costs you less and may even save on gas because it is one less trip to the retail outlet. It also introduces a new way of thinking and introduces more creativity which may give your art a new look!! Think about it and do one little thing today to reduce, reuse or recycle something in your art this week!!

Therese

Cardmaking - April - woven handmade paper

To honour Earth Day I have incorporated some aspect of the Three R's into my cards this week for cardmaking!

These cards feature woven handmade paper scraps!! I created the handmade paper by recycling paper scraps left over from my paper crafting - cardstock bits along with used bond paper and anything else I thought would make the paper interesting including grass, petals, fiber, threads, etc. Fun!!

For this card I needed strips to create the woven paper background. Most of my scraps were already strips which had been trimmed from larger sheets for previous projects so most of the work had already been done. I trimmed the strips to size - longer ones for going across and shorter ones for weaving in between. It is easier to weave in the short strips when one end of the long ones have been stabilized so I applied a piece of double sided tape to the short end (left hand side) of the card front and placed the ends of the long strips onto the tape. Then, it was just a matter of inserting the short pieces over and under each long piece and alternating the over and under process until I had woven a piece large enough for the card front. I gently lifted the weaving, applied glue to the card front, repositioned it and applied firm pressure to adhere them together. I love the soft subtle look of the woven handmade paper!!

The images are laser printed digital stamps from StampinUP!! I chose the CD of images that was offered during Saleabration as one of the freebies. It contains digital images of all of the Saleabration freebies - paper, buttons, ribbon, stamp sets, etc. Using Corel Draw I was able to import the digital stamps, resize and combine them to create what I wanted. I simply laser printed the images onto cardstock - voila! images for my cards!! A little watercolour and some 3D foam tape and I had beautiful accents to layer over my woven handmade paper!!

In the spirit of the Three R's, making handmade paper is a win win!! You recycle your paper scraps into wonderful paper which you can incorporate into your creations!! I am a fan of making your own paper but if you are not, please consider donating your paper scraps to a friend that is!!

Using digital stamps is very earth friendly!! No wood or clear mounts, no rubber, no foam, no storage problems and no packaging if you download them!! I use Adobe Photo Elements to change the colour of my digital stamps and you can certainly create full layouts there as well!! The digital stamps are far less expensive and many are available at no cost. I have used several in the last few days for creating this cupcake card and this masculine birthday card. Digital stamps do have some limitations. They require a computer, software and a means of printing what you create. And, you can not thermally emboss them on cardstock!! It is best to use chalk or pencil crayons if you use an ink jet printer. You can use watercolour and copic markers as well with laser printed images.

So consider investigating digital means for some of your cardmaking and scrapbooking!! I am enjoying the new digital stamps I have acquired. I have created folders on my computer for each company I download images from so I can find them when I want them. If you decide to start using digital images organize them right away - create the folder BEFORE you download the images!!

Therese

Star card - reuse

With Earth Day coming up I thought I would see how much I could incorporate the three R's - reduce, reuse, recycle - in my card designs this week.

On this card I am reusing a piece of corrugated cardboard (1) from a box that was in the recycle bin. It took a bit to get the knack of undoing the laminations of the cardboard to expose the corrugations but more about that in a different post!!

It has a neat kraft look so I decided to use that as my colour theme. For my main element I designed a star, made myself a template and cut one from the corrugated cardboard. For the top layer I used an old music sheet (2) to create another star - another reuse item because some of these booklets are in poor shape to be used as music sheets. I traced my cardboard star onto the paper and cut inside the lines to give me a perfect star layer. I found this perfect metal button (3) - another reuse item - in my button stash and tied in some coordinating string to finish off my accent. The embossed background (4) is my next reuse item - it was sitting on my desk because it was rejected when I was creating this card. I added some mesh (drywall tape) and a leftover birthday greeting (5) layered onto a scrap of cardstock (6)!! Six reused items in this card!!

I challenge you to incorporate some reuse items in your creations this week!! I will be using this theme for my cardmaking cards this week as well.

Therese

Special card!

A special little girl is turning 4 next week!!! Her new favorite colour is purple so I incorporated it into her card along with this wonderful cupcake!! The cupcake image is a digital stamp from Beccy!! Her images are wonderful!! I needed four candles so I printed more than one image, cut out an extra candle and added it with 3D foam tape. Watercoloured them and added just a bit of glitter because cards for little girls (and big ones) look best with a bit of bling!! I mounted the image to the card front, which was already layered with an embossed layer, using eyelets. Added the greeting with 3D foam tape.

She will have a happy day with friends and family, cake and surprises because she has a great Mom. She will enjoy our gift once spring arrives!! It is always fun to make cards for those special people in our lives!!

Therese

Embossed card

A variety of embossing on this card! Used a new embossing/die cutting die to create the heart oval on this card! I embellished it with purple ink and afterwards added some white Brilliance ink to give it a bit of pearlescence. I traced the edges onto a coordinating decorative paper and trimmed it inside the line so it would layer nicely behind the oval. I tied on a short piece of white ribbon with a single knot, added double sided tape behind the little heart and added some coordinating glitter for just a bit of bling before I layered them. I used a new Tim Holtz embossing folder - Regal Flourishes - to emboss the edges of the card by inserting the sides in different sections of the folder at an angle and partially embossing the cardstock until I had embossed all the edges. I slipped in the little greeting - colour printed and punched with the word window punch (SU) - in under the swirls at the bottom.

This oval is the perfect size for cardmaking and I really like how this card turned out!!

Therese

DH Birthday card with digital image

DH's birthday is next week and I thought I would get his card made early as we are celebrating on the weekend!! I incorporated a lot of texture by using dyed fabric tape, mesh and corrugated cardboard!! He has treated himself to a new tool so I thought this image was appropriate!! I downloaded the image from Beccy's blog. She has some really great digital stamps!! Her newest one is a cute bunny which would make great Easter/spring cards.

This scrap of corrugated cardboard was headed to the recycle bin but instead I ripped the paper off one side to reveal the corrugations and distressed it with some walnut ink. The fabric tape was also distressed with walnut ink - just painted it on and dried it with my heat tool!! I painted the laser printed image with walnut ink and added silver pencil crayon to the metal parts - perfect!! Once I started layering the pieces on my card I added a piece of mesh (drywall tape) which is so appropriate!! Added a small round layered greeting with 3D foam tape!!

It is great to have such a perfect image for making this card!! Be sure to check out Beccy's blog!! I have added a link under Online Digital Resource on the right hand side of my blog!

Therese

Sympathy card

Needed a sympathy card this week so I decided to use my newly acquired Sizzix tree embossing folder. I embossed the tree on dark green cardstock, trimmed the edges, rounded the corners and distressed the edges. Cut an ivory layer and did the same then layered them. I mounted this element to a card front which I had previously embossed with a Cuttlebug embossing folder. I added a ribbon tied with a double knot and a layered greeting.

Therese

Christmas skinny

I started this project wanting to create a Skinny - 3x5" for an exchange on one of my groups. I started thinking about a theme and what I would like to create and in the process checked my to do list to see if there was any inspiration there. Christmas cards - I am behind on the challenges on Sylvia's blog so I decided to see if I could combine this challenge and the skinny swap. It was a done deal once I established that the skinny would fit in a #8 envelope!!
I also discovered that cards that fit in #8 envelopes also make very efficient use of 12x12 scrapbook paper - 8 layers per sheet!! So I started with the scrapbook paper layer, chose some taupe cardstock that coordinated and cut them to size - 11" x 3.5" scored and folded at 6.25". Another efficient aspect of this process is that the scrap -11" x 1.5"- that is left from cutting the two cards from one piece of letter sized cardstock is the perfect width for completing the front of the card. So I trimmed the leftovers to 3.5" x 1.5", attached them with double sided tape which also helped to adhere my decorative paper to the card front and left the inside nice and neat!! I added a piece of paper lace that I created with my new SU punch - perfect little scalloped border with the holes already punched!! Next, I went looking for an image that would coordinate - this SU snowflake with the Peace greeting was perfect with its somewhat distressed look. To fulfill the requirement for the February swap there had to be some musical element - so I stamped a strip of cardstock with SU musical wheel stamp. I distressed the top edge, cut the bottom edge with scallop scissors and pierced a hole in each scallop. Now I needed embellishments!! I added a snowflake punchie in white attached with a mini white brad and a metal snowflake layered onto a string bow and attached with glue dots.

I used my sewing machine, a needle dedicated to paper and some white thread to add a lot of stitching - to both sides of the musical strip, to attach the scallop paper lace to the bottom of the decorative paper and then all the way around it as well. I added the snowflake punchie, the stamped image and the metal snowflake over the bow!! I distressed the edge of the card with ink. The edges of the decorative paper and the image, as well as, the top of the strip were all distressed with my SU distress tool (fancy thread cutter as used in sewing).

So in the end, I have a skinny for the swap and 7 Christmas cards to add to my stash!!

Have you started on your Christmas cards? You will be a happy camper come November when they are all done!! Check the links I have on the right hand side of my blog that lists some of the Christmas card challenge blogs that I use as inspiration.

I am off to add inserts and envelopes to these before I add them to my box!!

Therese

Criss Cross card

Created this card - a criss cross card - for a swap on AFTCM!! I love the way it turned out!! I started with a 5.5" x 11" strip of cardstock which I scored at 4.25", 8.5" which left about 2.5" on the end which I folded to the front on the left hand side. As this card evolved I thought that I should have considered making it 4.25" x 11" so that the wonderful edge of my inside card would always be visible. Alas, I did not have the complete vision when I started! I used my new (last night - Thanks Diane!) Sizzix die - Ornate Frame to create the inside card - love the little corners and the bit of a scallop on this die!! I added a border punched layer, some die cut decorative paper and a stamped scallop circle (Nestibilities) with a little rhinestone!! The stamp is from Quietfire - love those flourishes!! They are having a Blog Hop today and tomorrow and are giving away rubber stamps and Spellbinder dies so follow the link, click on "Blog" on their home page and check it out!!
For the outside I layered on decorative paper and created a band for the lower section. For the band, I started with a strip of pink cardstock to which I glued two pieces of this beautiful pink fabric embellishment - one on each side. I used my new scallop ribbon border punch (SU) to create a short piece of paper ribbon with ivory cardstock. I cut a slot between the holes at every second spot and threaded through pink 1/4" ribbon - love the look. I think this punch has huge potential!! I wrapped my strip around the card, trimmed the ends to be even and glued them to each other. I glued the paper and ribbon layer over that which covered the joint. I created the metal accent by gluing an embossed metal button (cut off the shank with a hacksaw) to a filigree scallop using a large glue dot. I also used a large glue dot to adhere it to the band.

Voila, a Victorian inspired card to cheer someone!! I really enjoyed taking the time to make this a special card! It was great to use some of my new tools as well.

Therese

Grunge background!

I created this background in response to a grunge challenge on one of my groups!!!!!!!

I have never created a full fledged digital collage before though I have dabbled with graphics. I am very pleased with how it worked out!! It has been a time consuming task because I am not very familiar with all of my graphics programs and I needed to find all the elements I included. Most were scavenged from picture fonts because they automatically come with transparent backgrounds!! I did start with one of my glue resist backgrounds which I used when creating these cards.

So I challenge you to download this background, create some art with it, come back and leave me a comment so I can check it out!! It is so cool!!

Therese

Card Holder and template

Created this cool little holder that fits 4 cards!!

Needed a bit of a gift for a woman who has been gracious and so I made up this holder so I could present her with a few cards to express my appreciation!! The design is based on the Create-a-lope way of making envelopes. I bought the template many years ago and have created digital files based on the original concept several times for different projects.

I printed my file on the back of the cardstock, scored and folded the lines, trimmed the corners and added a few glue dots to keep the holder together. Added four cards and tied it closed with a length of ribbon (26"or so)!

Great way to package a set of cards for gift giving!!

Therese

Angel policy: You can download and make holders with this template. Please send your friends to this post on my blog to download their own copy for their use.

You do not have permission to copy and distribute this file in any manner and/or claim it as your own when submitting cards for publication!!

Zentangle cards!!

More zentangle cards! In an effort to have cards on hand and keep cut up supplies from accumulating I made up these cards this past week. The supplies were extras from this class. I will add greetings to them when I am ready to use them!! I did have a morning of creating Zentangles to have enough to make up all the kits I had. I love to create these little interesting pieces of art - all originals!!

Therese

St. Patrick's card

Imagine having your birthday on St. Patrick's Day!! I saw a cloverleaf made with hearts on Splitcoast Stampers at the beginning of March and later discovered one of the girls on one of my groups has a March 17 birthday so I decided to make her a card. Needless to say, it will be late because I only got to it this week!! Handmade cards are always a nice surprise in our mail boxes!!

I die cut the hearts (CB), scored them down the middle and glued them to a white layer. I cut a stem and glued it in place. Several layers, a bit of bling and a layered greeting!! Quick and easy!!

Click on the image to see that I used a tracing wheel - a very well loved one - to add texture to the card front and around the edges of the white layers!! Totally fun!! Well used ones can only be purchased at a thrift store or garage sale but are well worth buying if you find one!! They do not pierce the cardstock, instead they just deboss it so you can easily make all sorts of gorgeous curvy lines in a hurry!! I do have a new one as well which I am sure will pierce cardstock which would add a totally different look!!

Thrifty Tip - I coloured my bling with Sharpie markers!! I usually buy clear rhinestones so I can make them any colour I need to coordinate with my project using my markers!! You could use alcohol inks as well - just apply with qtip!!

Have fun!!

Therese

Beeswax - Bloom, Just, Peace

After a bit more research on the internet and watching a few videos I have made a few more beeswax collages. In this one, I used design elements I had left over from this project. I started with a coaster which I discovered is very absorbent - it would have been better for me to glue the light blue background to the coaster and then add my elements with beeswax but with enough wax all the elements are now firmly attached to the coaster. I drew the stems on the background paper with a green marker, used layered punchies for the flowers and added some die cut butterflies. The fence die cut was attached with wax and the words were laid over it. I coloured my letters with pencil crayon, outlined them in black Sharpie and cut them out before adding them to my collage. All the elements were dipped in the beeswax using my new tweezers, laid on the collage and burnished with an old gift card (any piece of hard plastic would do) to ensure that the elements are well attached. I started with the fence and words, added the letters and flowers in layers and finally added the butterflies. I did add some wax with a brush over some areas to make sure that all the elements had enough wax to keep them in place and used my heat gun to settle all elements into place. The elements do float when you heat the collage so sometimes it is tricky getting everything to stay in place.

Once I was finished collaging I buffed the wax and added some mica poweder (Pearl Ex - interference blue) to the edges and a bit on the flowers and butterflies.

For this one, I glued the stamped background paper to the coaster before I started and that worked well. I used die cuts, punchies and some laser printed words I had in my basket of scrap goodies to work up this collage.

In the final stage where I was adding wax and making sure all the elements were secure, I added a puddle of wax on the left hand side and pressed one of my embossing folders into it. I left it in place until the wax harden - a trip to the freezer encourages the process. Love the look of it!! Very dimensional! You could press a rubber stamp in the wax as well to get a nice impression.

I added mica powder to the edges of this one as well in a gold interference colour as well as regular gold to highlight the embossed wax area!! Very cool!!

For this collage, I used ripped pieces of book pages and music sheets to create an all over collage look on the coaster by dipping the pieces, laying them down and burnishing with the gift card. The elements I gathered from my collage bucket - newspaper stamped with acrylic paint using an embossing folder, laser printed "Peace on Earth", die cut and punchie hearts, punchie "R" and the other words were cut from stamped newspaper.

It was difficult to get the foil heart to stay embedded in the wax. I expect because it does not absorb wax so maybe it should have been added last with a dab of wax. I used silver mica powder on the edges, in a few places on the collage and to especially highlight the texture on the bottom edge.

I have really enjoyed doing these collages. For anyone trying it for the first time I would recommend starting small - ATC size would be great, prepare all your elements and build from the bottom up. Tweezers are great for dipping the small pieces and keeping "floaters" in place. Don't be in hurry - take your time and add items in one at a time. Use your heat gun carefully and not too close - if you have a one with variable speed and temperature, use a slow speed and medium - low temperature.

I will finish these off with hangers and enter them in the Art Lottery on AFTCM!!

Therese

"Glass" beads

I made these beads!!!

While surfing Craft Gossip this morning I found this post about making beads from soda bottles and thought they looked very interesting so I checked the recycle bin for supplies - NONE!!!!!!!! All the plastic went out last week!! So, on my way home from my walk this I was on the look out and found three empty bottles which I promptly washed and disinfected so I could play!!

These are so cool!! They look so much like they are made of glass. I made all these beads from one center section of a medium plastic bottle. The ones I found had #1 in the triangle on the bottom. I cut the flat mid section into strips about 3/4" x 4", coloured them
with permanent Sharpie markers, rolled the strips around a pair of long needle nose pliers, tied them off with wire and used my heat gun on medium to heat the plastic to form a bead. The plastic shrinks and becomes thicker and in the process forms a bead. After this little bit of experimenting, I prefer to roll the bead so the inside of the bottle is on the outside of the bead. I applied colour to one side, the other side and both sides - they all look good. If you use a lot heat, the plastic will bubble and create a completely different looking bead - check out the top left light green bead in the first photo.

I expect that some of these cool beads are going to end up on a mixed media charm bracelet!! Starting to collect a few interesting charms that will look wonderful together!!

Thrifty Tip: Make cool beads using what is in your recycle bin!! If you don`t have Sharpies - any alcohol based markers will do like Copics. You could also use alcohol inks, liquid acrylic inks or acrylic paints though I would apply them to the side that will be inside the bead to leave the outside shiny and clear.

These would be great on book bindings, make great charms for a bracelet, or be very cool beads for making jewelry. You can customize the colours to your project or outfit!!

Have fun!! Leave me a comment and a link if you make some beads!!

Therese

Thank you cards

I had a Stampin UP party a week ago and I am expecting the goodies we ordered to show up this week so I made thank you cards for all those who came and participated in the fun afternoon and for those who placed orders, as well.

The decorative paper is my own creation - a mix of acrylic, fabric and glitter paint. I layered the decorative paper over white cardstock that had been laser printed with the greeting.

I added a bit of ribbon which I tucked behind on the left and overlapped with a 3" embossed scallop (Nestibilities) on the right. I added a die cut butterfly (Sizzix) over the scallop which has been embellished with stamping and an iridescent finish - nail polish!! It was the perfect blue/green colour and gave the butterflies just enough bling without being overwhelming. I layered this accent on the card front which is just 4.75 wide. These will be accompanied by #8 (6 3/4) envelopes.

I have taken a closeup of the butterfly to let you see the details and hopefully some of the shimmer!!

Thrifty Tip: Consider using nail polish when you are looking for a durable finish on accents! It comes in a million colours, can be purchased inexpensively and stays wet long enough to add glitter or other embellishments and and in some cases can be somewhat translucent which allows a lower layer to show through. In this case - the stamping was done first and the finish applied afterwards . When you paint it onto an absorbent surface like the cardstock I used here it will be less glossy but a couple of coats fixes that.

Therese