Red ornaments on glittered snow!

I would like to say that I have been inspired by the snow of recent days for these cards but I created the background paper and picked out the ornament punchies over a week ago!!  I created the background paper by rubbing dimensional snow paint from a jar onto white cardstock with my finger until it was completely coated and left it to dry. The ornament punchies (SU) are some that I received in a prize from one of my groups. I loved the red colour with the little bit of glitter they had so I thought they would look great on my glittery snow backgrounds. I trimmed my backgrounds to 4" x 5.25" and embossed them with Christmas embossing folders (SX CB).  I punched several leaf branch punchies (MS) from green cardstock and added silver cord hangers to my ornaments.  I positioned the  ornaments on my background first and adhered them with a little strip of 3D foam tape and then positioned the branch punchies so that they could be made to look like they were hanging from them by drawing a black line (Sharpie) between the two.  I glued the branches on with white glue using a fine tip applicator and added a stitch using green thread to ensure that they would not fall off as the card was handled.  I then glued this layer to a white card front!!  Pretty happy with how these worked out!!  I made two of each which adds four to my Christmas card stash for this holiday season!!  That brings my total to 82 from the 78 I had after I made these elf shoe ones.   I have one more sheet of snowy glitter paper so I will have to come up with a design for four more!!

Have you started your Christmas cards??  I have been making a few every month so that they will be ready by the time I need them.  It is not too late!!  You can start today and have fun making them over the next couple of months!!

Therese

A couple more ATC cards!

Here are a couple more cards I created using ATCs from my collection!!
The one on the left features a beautiful koi fish image that was quite glittery.  I layered it over an alcohol ink background I made a while back adding a rust and blue layer along with a flagged strip with blue rhinestones which were coloured with a sharpie marker!!
On the right I layered the leaf ATC onto another alcohol ink background which I bokehed and stamped with a flourish in red.  I added the flagged greeting that coordinated in colour.
These are quick and easy cards because the focal elements are ready to go!!
How many ATCs have you collected?  Do you have them put away or on display? Do you think you will convert some into other projects like cards?

Therese

Subway canvas - Love is . . .

I have been wanting to make a subway art canvas for quite a while and in the last few days I have finally managed to get all the elements together and make it happen!

I bought an 

8 x 10 art canvas at a local discount store and painted it with red acrylic paint in several shades and added a few gold highlights.  I created the subway art in Corel Draw using a wide variety of fonts with the theme of Love is. . . .. 

I reversed it using the Reverse Function in the laser printing process which worked great.  I applied a generous coat of Modge Podge to the canvas and laid my printed art carefully over it (printed side down) and rubbed gently to make sure that the two surfaces were in contact everywhere.  I left it to dry overnight. On hindsight, there was a bit too much glue in some places which created a few ridges.  Those ridges dried and became permanent fortunately they do not detract from the look of the finished piece.  

I generally followed this subway art tutorial at Full of Great Ideas  but I think it is absolutely necessary for the glue to be completely dry before you begin to remove the paper.  As it was, I did lose some detail in some of the letters as I was removing the paper which I touched up with a black fine tip Sharpie.  I followed that with a coat of matte Modge Podge which blended the colours in the letters and covered up any little bits of paper that I had not removed.  I am a happy crafter!!  I will be adding a ribbon hanger and it will be good to go.  I will certainly be making more of these in the future.  

 This is loosely patterned after the bible verse but the verse has so many nots in it that I went looking for words that portrayed positive attitudes and attributes that would provide inspiration for everyone.  I added the I AM and the YOU ARE at the top as a reminder that we must set these goals for ourselves and it behooves us to appreciate these qualities in those close to us.  It is also a reminder that it takes two to create a good relationship and both have to work at it regardless if the relationship is with our spouse, partner, parents, siblings, extended family, friends, etc.  

Therese

Fairy Door

 A fairy door!!  

Everyone should have one just to stay in touch with the other dimensions of life that blur in our awareness as we grow older!!

I did some research when I joined this swap because I had never heard of them before.  What a cool concept!  It keeps the child in us alive!!

It took several weeks to really work out the concept of how I would create the different layers and what features I thought would be necessary in my creation. 

I finally decided that my door would be able to physically open.  I wanted it to open into a world that was airy and not defined by me so I decided to use metallic cardstock behind my door so the world everyone sees when they open it will be of their own making.  I found one on line that had this feature and I liked the idea of it right away.  I wanted my door to have a window to provide light for the world that lay beyond.  I wanted the frame to have a peaceful greeting.  

So last week I started on my door.  I cut two pieces of light weight chipboard to 5.5"x 8.5".  I painted all four sides with black acrylic paint.  While they were drying I went looking for the pieces I would need.  I found the little strip of wood that I used on the frame of my door.  DH is always bringing me little scraps of wood from his shop knowing that I like to add them to my creations!!  It was about two feet long and a 1/16" thick.  Perfect for the frame of my door.  Next, I located the tiles for framing my opening.  I have a stash of letter tiles I have collected over the years from games, etc and so I started there.  I had originally thought I would use Scrabble tiles to keep wood as a theme but when I found these black letter tiles I decided these ones were "the ones" because they would make the words much more subtle.  I laid them on my chipboard and figured out that I needed 22 to go around so started working out a saying that would work with that many letters.  Needless to say, the paint had long been dry but I now had the wood for my door and the tiles for my frame so I could figure out how big my door was going to be.  I measured three times and cut once!!  I cut both pieces of chipboard with the same opening and marked the backs of both of them so I could keep my layers in proper order.  My tiles were a bit shiny so I decided to paint them black with the bit of acrylic paint I had sitting from painting the chipboard.  Dulled them very nicely but not completely - perfect!!  I decided to build my door first.  I measured and cut my wood strip to make the frame all the way around.  I sanded their edges and dry fit them until I was happy how they went together.  Once I knew how much room there was between the frame pieces I decided on my window size - 1.25".  I used my circle cutter to cut the hole in the top layer, placed it on the back layer, traced the hole onto it and used the circle cutter to cut that one too.  Once I laid them back to back I was pretty close so I just tweaked both of them a bit with an exacto knife.  I decided to add some words, so I found a book page that would do and trimmed it to fit under the wood frame.  I found a scallop punchie in kraft and black (prize on one of my groups) and cut a hole in it as well to create a frame for my window.  Next, I worked on the hinges.  I originally thought two would be enough but when I got to this step I decided that three would be better.  I cut them using a latch die (SX) from leather using my Big Shot.  Perfect!!  I knew that I would need just a bit of play in my door to accommodate the hinges so trimmed just a smidge off the door.  Fortunately, I had allowed a border all the way around my wood frame so I did not have to change that.  Next, I dug out my jewellery findings in hopes of finding something that would work as a handle for my door!!  I found an old earring with this beautiful hoop and with a bit of jigging I made myself a door handle!!  With all the pieces of my door ready to go I started assembling.  I started by gluing my book page to the front of my door.  I cut triangles in the window opening and glued all of them to the inside front of the door.  I glued my wood door frame in place using double sided tape and then used a small drill bit to make the holes I needed through all the layers for my brads.  I drilled holes because I did not want to split the wood which easily happens when the wood is so thin.  I used tiny black brads.  They look like bolts!!  I positioned my hinges, used my awl to mark the holes, drilled them out, attached the hinges with double sided tape and added the brads.  Added my little door handle and glued the frame around my window.  I then glued the back to the front which left the inside of the door neat and clean with all the brad tangs hidden between the two.  I used a black permanent marker on the cut edges to remove the kraft colour of the chipboard on those edges.  Once the door was finished I completed my frame by gluing those two back to back.  Onto my tiles!!  They were hollow at the back so I needed to work out a way to glue them to my frame.  In the end, it was an incremental process.  I glued small squares of cardstock to the inside hollow using hot glue then added a square of 3D foam tape to that which gave me the correct depth to attach to my frame.  I positioned them on the frame to find that I had made a slight error - I had not trimmed my chipboard before I created the door so now I had a half inch on both sides of the frame that was untiled!!  I went looking for something that would do the job of filling that space.  I found a bike reflector (found object on one of my walks) that was the perfect size after I cut it out of its holder and trimmed it in half using a hack saw.  Sanded the edges, added several cardstock layers to the inside and two layers of double sided tape and they were ready to be added to my frame.  I laid out all the tiles and made sure they were all in the correct order before I started gluing them into place.  I started in the top left hand corner and did all that side applying LOTS of pressure to get the foam tape to stick completely to the chipboard.   Next, I started in the right hand corner and started placing tiles.  On my fourth tile, I realized that the last two were flipped though it was difficult to tell because they were an "H" and an "O".  I immediately applied some heat and gently lifted them up.  They did tear a bit of the chip board's painted surface but I was able to repair that and reposition the tiles!!  The little reflectors fit just perfectly at the bottom of each frame and will allow the door to been seen at night!!  A feature I had not intended but adds nicely to the design of my fairy door.  I cut a piece of silver metallic cardstock just slightly smaller than the back and glued it in place using double sided tape!!  The door jammed a bit after it was all assembled and I trimmed it a bit.  I should have waited a bit longer because after everything dried for a bit it may not have been necessary after all but what was done was done - a lesson learned.  In the end, the gap between the door and the frame is a little larger than I would have liked but it works well which is the important thing.  So, it has been pressing for the last day.  I will be packing it up today and sending it on its way to my partner!!

I thoroughly enjoyed the process of creating this little door and I look forward to finding a place in my craft room for the one I will be receiving in return!!

Therese

More ATC cards!

Here are a few more ATC cards!! You can check here and here for a few more.  I am working on incorporating my large collection of traded ATCs into cards!!
I love this beautiful fish so decided to create a masculine card with it!!  I removed several layers of cardstock and adhered the image and layer to an embossed black layer which was glued to a green card front.  Because the ATC had the word "believe" on it I decided to add a wordy laser printed greeting from Pink Cat Studio that wishes the recipient a magical day.  I added some colour and glitter using gel pens, layered it onto green and added it to my card front using 3D foam tape.
The second card features a colour printed digital background from When the Scrap hits the Fun and I was lucky enough to find this beautiful ATC which coordinated perfectly!!  I added a little colour printed greeting and mounted the ATC to a black layer then added it to my card front using 3D foam tape!! I corner rounded all the corners to keep with the circle theme in the background.   Have not used that corner rounder on a card front for quite some time!!  Another masculine card!!

Therese

Flourished flower cards!

When I was working on thank you cards for my friend I stamped these flourished backgrounds (Impression Obession) to find that they were really not the right colour so I had set them aside along with some coordinating ribbon.  I found them on my desk this week in my efforts to clean up while my sister was visiting!!  She is on holidays and came for a few days of R&R and some crafting time!!  I needed two cards for my card exchange so decided I would use these supplies.  I found these pink Prima flowers which I received as a prize on one of  groups that coordinated with the backgrounds so I got started!!  I added a little white label die cut (TH) which I sponged and stippled (SU) in pink.  I punched slots (SU) for my organza ribbon on each end. I chose to remove the little bumpy centers of the flowers and replace them with a brown brads which will allow them to fit in the postal mail slot.  I added the flowers to the label using the brads.  I ran a length of ribbon through the slots, folded the ends to the back of the backgrounds adhering them with double sided tape and tied on a short length to the front to simulate a bow.  I am loving these scrolled greetings (CLKER) !!  I fussy cut two, watercoloured them in appropriate colours and adhered them below the flower element using 3D foam tape and glued the whole thing to a pink card front.

Therese

"Through the Looking glass" chunky book page

I joined a swap on AFTCM for a fat book page with the theme of "Through the looking glass"!!  I decided to use a frame placed over silver foil for the looking glass.  I downloaded a frame from Graphics Fairy and digitally removed the horses that were inside the frame. I compiled my collage in Corel Draw - starting with the frame, inserting a tree (GF) and creating a stained glass look all the way around it using elements I created. Once I was happy with the look, I laser printed it on a transparency and trimmed it to 4"x 4".  I used alcohol inks and sharpie markers to add colour my design and then left it for a full day to dry completely!!  Once dry, I layered it onto a piece of silver foil which I cut just a bit longer to aid in binding if necessary and attached my looking glass to it using two little mini black brads on the frame.  I added an alcohol ink background to the back and bound the layers using black and white washi tape along the edges.  I added some very cool little metal fasteners which crimped on with pliers  - added just the amount of the industrial look I wanted.  I tied black and white bakers twine to one of them before adding it.  Really happy with how it turned out!!
It is off to my partner in tomorrow's mail!!

Therese

Four Elf shoe Christmas cards for me!

Cleaning my desk!!  I unearthed the remnants of this card this week and finished off another four elf shoe Christmas cards to add to my Christmas card stash!!  My last count (May) I had 74 so that brings my stash to 78 cards ready to go for this holiday season!!
I used a green sharpie to colour clear rhinstones for three of my cards because I ran out of the green ones I used before.  You can see in the photo that the ones on the left are a bit brighter - they are the ones I coloured with Sharpies!  What a great cost saving technique!!  Just buy clear and colour what you need!! I used glittery rickrack, flocked ribbon and added an embossed greeting to my cards.  A note:  Always thermally emboss BEFORE you use Versamark ink on your cards!!

Therese

Alcohol ink play!

It has been a couple of weeks since I went and played with alcohol inks with my sister while she was on holidays!!! Time is flying by!!  We had a wonderful day!  I demoed the "Polished Stone" technique and we made several sheets.  We also played with applying the ink in several different patterns - swirls, plaid, stripes, etc. - each attempt created very different backgrounds. We worked on both glossy cardstock and photo paper. The ink was absorbed differently between those two but both worked well.

 I came home with a pile of paper along with a variety of embellishments too.  We applied alcohol inks to foiled card, foil tape, plastic buttons and charms, plastic die cuts, tiles, etc.  It was a fun creative day and it was great to spend time with my sister and her friends.
Therese

Bokeh Anniversary Cards

It has been a busy few weeks!!  I am working on my cards for September a little later than usual but fortunately these took less time than I expected!!  I went to Splitcoast Stampers for inspiration and found this card which led me to this tutorial for Quick and Easy Bokeh with Dawn Woleslagle!  I was in!!  I had these alcohol ink backgrounds sitting on my desk from my visit with my sister a couple of weeks back and thought they would do the job perfectly!!  I made myself a circle stencil using vellum and punches and used my Brilliance Moonlight white ink pad to sponge through the openings!!  I am very happy with the results!!  I dug out hearts that coordinated from my stash and created the greetings digitally using a scroll from CLKER which I modified by removing the ferns.  I added the greetings in different fonts and laser printed a half sheet.  To create my cards, I trimmed my background to just less than a quarter sheet after they were dry.  I mounted them to coordinating cardstock and adhered my layered hearts using 3D foam tape.  I fussy cut my greetings, gave them a colourwash with watercolour and glued them just below the hearts using yet more 3D foam tape.   

You can see on the left a bit more of the dimension created by the different layers of sponged circles on the backgrounds.  I need to work on the placement a bit more but for my first attempt I am very satisfied!!

It feels good to be back in my craft room though all the family time and berry picking was also very enjoyable!!

Therese

Large butterfly thank you card

I am enjoying the process of making cards for my friend.  I started with the stamped turquoise layer which I created in the process of making these cards. I added the piece of blue green polished stone over it and found that the silver butterfly which worked very well with all the elements.  I decided on a purple card front, adhered all of the layers and found a colour printed greeting to finish off the card.

Therese

Subtle thank you card

For this thank you card I found the stamped background in my stash - solid flower stamped in blue, outline stamped in pink along with a stamped greeting in blue .  All the images are from SU.  I chose a coordinating pink card front, added a tied vintage seam binding embellishment and glued the layer to my card front.
Another relatively quick card and a stash buster as well.

Therese

Shoe shaped card!

I joined a "Shaped card" swap on AFTCM for a SHOE!!  There were so many possibilities but in the end I found an elf shoe card on Splitcoast Stampers that was really cute so I decided to make one of those.  I made my own pattern and traced it onto a top folded red landscape card and cut it out.  I added a piece of white flocked ribbon which I trimmed by hand into little flag ends. I glued it to the top of my shoe using double sided tape and trimmed it to the edge of my card.  I used double sided tape to create a doubled rick rack embellishment to go over the white and positioned it mid way between the flags and the top.  I added large green self adhesive rhinestone bling to the bottom of each flag - perfect!!  I embossed my greeting using silver embossing powder and then decided the whole thing needed a bit more texture so I stamped the shoe with Versamark ink using a snowflake background stamp.  On hind sight, I should have reversed the order of this process so that the stamping was done first and the embellishing of the top done last.
I will be making a few more of these for my Christmas card stash!!  They are really cute!!!

Therese

Thank you card with silhouete image

Another thank you card!!  You can see the others I made here and here.
Again, I have used the IO flourish background stamped on a card front.  I found an image in my stash that coordinated nicely (black EP on an acrylic & ink background) which I layered onto black.  I added a layered circle punchie greeting below the image.  It needed a bit of something so I added white faux stitching around the bottom section and dots around the image using a white gel pen.

Therese

Magical greetings with serendipity paper

I made these two cards for my monthly card exchange!!  I was working on these serendipities a few weeks ago and because they were still on my desk I chose to use them for these cards.  I cut them with the largest labels framelit (SU) of the set and punched a slot (SU) on one side.  I found two pieces of coordinating cardstock for the backgrounds and embossed them with a swirl embossing folder (TH).  I added coordinating grosgrain ribbon to the left hand one and white vintage seam binding to the right hand one.  I glued the ends to the back of the embossed layers with double sided tape before I adhered them to white card fronts. I laser printed the digital greetings which I downloaded from Pink Cat Studio and embellished them with gel pens.  I die cut them with circle Nesties, layered them over a coordinating scallop circle (Nesties) and added them to the cards using 3D foam tape.
Serendipity is a wonderful technique for using up scraps.  I should use it more often!!  It might be a good "Art Every Day" project for me because I always have scraps sitting around on my desk.  You can check out my other projects using this technique by clicking HERE!

Therese

Thank you card with roses

Another thank you card!  I used a background I found in my stash that was created using pigment ink and window screening as a stencil which gave it a subtle cross hatch pattern.  I stamped it with the IO flourish background stamp in a darker blue colour and glued it to my warm blue card front.  I added an embossed rose image which I watercoloured using very neutral colours.  I sponged the edges, added a colour printed greeting to the side and adhered it to my card front using 3D foam tape.

Therese

Thank you card using an ATC

Still making thank you cards for my friend.  This one features an ATC from my huge collection.  The ATC had a blue brad in the right lower corner which seemed to be throwing off my colour scheme so I found a star brad in my stash that was a more appropriate colour and substituted in.  Much better!! I added a colour printed greeting, embossed the background using Swiss Dots (CB) embossing folder and glued all the elements to a very light blue card front.  Makes for another subtle card with a beautiful loon image.

Therese

Thinking of you angel "ATC" card

I made this card for a friend who is facing a challenge and I wanted to send her angel.  I found this bright and cherry angel in my ATC collection and thought it would do perfectly for her.  I added an all over gel pen squiggle to the blue layer and adhered it to an orange card front.  I added the angel ATC with 3D foam tape and hand lettered my greeting just below it using an orange gel pen!!
A hand made card is like a gift to someone who needs a lift or a bit of encouragement.  It is a physical reminder that they were on your mind and the hugs you sent along!!

Therese

Monochromatic thank you cards

These are the first of several thank you cards I made for my friend.   I found the three images in my stash and went about finding some coordinating cardstock.  I stamped each card front in a coordinating ink using a flourish background by Impression Obsession.  I added colour printed greetings - either attached to the image as in the blue one on the right or layered with a label as the turquoise and green ones to the left of it. I love the softness of these monochromatic cards and feel that the image is appropriate,

Therese

Sympathy card with polished stone

A friend has lost a loved one this week! It is never easy when someone passes away.  We are often at a loss as to what to say and do.  I have made a card and will be sending it on it way tomorrow along with a variety of thank you cards which is something I can do.
I used a piece of polished stone cardstock I had in my stash and stamped it with a wildflower silhouette stamp (SU) using Concord Distress ink.  I stamped it first in the center and then again to one side then the other.  I used an eyelet border punch (SU) on the bottom edge and sponged all the edges using the same purple stamp pad.  I added a length of yellow ribbon gluing the ends to the back using double sided tape and tied a short piece to it using a single knot which makes a simple looking bow.  I adhered this layer to a yellow card front and added an oval colour printed layered punchie greeting over the ribbon.

Therese

A card created with pieces

I needed a card for a family birthday and created this one from the pieces left on my desk after creating this card.   I started by embossing the left hand side of my yellow card front using a QK embossing folder.  I sponged the embossing a bit with read ink and used my stipple stamp (SU) to add yet a bit more texture with the same red ink.  I added the strip of red origami paper to the right hand side.  I love the serendipity flowers!!  I added some sponged yellow punchies in their centers to finish them off and used double sided tape to adhere them to the embossed side of my card.  I wanted a nice prominent greeting and found this one in my stash.   It was laser printed on white so I simply watercoloured it using coordinating colours.  It is a greeting from Birds Cards.  Really happy with this one too!!

Therese

Another Serendipity card

I had this serendipity background sitting on my desk and needed a card for special someone so decided it would do perfectly.  After stamping it in red with my stipple stamp (SU) I trimmed the background to have an even border on a quarter sheet card, die cut a label out of the center portion and backed it with a piece of yellow cardstock.  I had a die cut greeting which I had punched the greeting out of for something else so backed it with this transparent greeting (laser printing on transparency) and it was just what it needed.  I sponged the outer edges to soften the look and adhered the whole element centered in the hole I had die cut in my background.  I added a short piece of red ribbon to the card front using a star brad!!  Really happy with how it worked out!!  I used a similar piece of serendipity for this card!!

Therese

Anniversary card

For card for my daughter and her husband whose anniversary is this week!!
This is another successful washi tape card!!  I added a white embossed layer to a pink card front.  Added three little strips of washi tape that coordinate and added the black and white chipboard heart to which I had tied a short piece of pink ribbon.  I added the laser printed and punched (SU) greeting to which I added a bit of pink sponging and some dots with a fine tip Sharpie.
Here is the first card I made with my washi tape.  It would seem I am sort of getting the hang of it!!

Therese

Window Clings!

 We had a great time with this project!!  I had covered my basement windows with cling a while back so we could enjoy the light from them without feeling like we were in a fishbowl.  The rolls were a bit too wide so I had cut them off which had left a roll about 5 inches wide.  At the time I thought they would make great window clings!! And they did!  We drew our images on quarter sheets of scrap paper, put our small pieces of window cling over them and traced our images with coloured Sharpies!!  My granddaughter made a few free hand ones as well.

I was more structured with my designs and used black Sharpies around the edges which gave them a more stained glass look.
You simply peel off the backing cellophane and apply to the window!!
Had we trimmed them close to our images we would have had a more custom look.
This was a fun creative project that has inexpensive besides!!  We got about 20 clings from one roll end.

Therese

Bottle cap pendants

Another project we tackled when my grand daughter was visiting.  We had collected several bottle caps from an event we attended and thought we would apply some creativity and turn them into pendants.
It took a little more effort to flatten these ones as they had already been crimped onto bottles.  Read - lots of prying with pliers and hammering iwth mallets!!
We printed the sayings off of the internet, glued them into our bottle caps and added beads and bling.  For some of them we also added some clear dimensional paint (clear sun catcher paint). Once they were dry we added a string and some danglies using jump rings.  We created our own jump rings using paperclips.  You just straighten the paper clip, wrap tightly around a skewer, remove and cut down one side with wire snips - quick and inexpensive jump rings!!  She took a few home to continue to craft with.

Therese

Paperclip bracelets

My grand daughter was visiting recently and she wanted to make paperclip jewelry!!  I was not sure what that meant so after a bit of an explanation we decided we would give it a go so we got started.  We straightened some paper clip, added a metal charm and made a loop to capture it.  We threaded on some beads and made another loop.  I had to use two paperclips per side but she was able to use only one.  We bent the beaded wire to conform to our wrists and added clasps!!  They turned out very well!!

Therese

Card with watercolour background

I found this watercolour background in a box on my desk and decided to turn it into a card!!  I had created it in the process of finding ways of creating fast and easy crafts do with my grandchildren using markers, coffee filters and a spray bottle.  This was a piece of white cardstock I used to print off of a coffee filter that was saturated with water and colour.
I added half of a paper doily.  The other half was included in the making of this card.  I added a piece of coordinating vintage seam binding and decided to sew it to the layer capturing the doily in between.  I glued this layer to a blue card front, added a watercoloured birdhouse image (Beccy's Place) and a double layered printed greeting.
I created the corners on my birdhouse image using a half inch circle punch.  I turned the punch over so I could see the paper, inserted the corner until it was a quarter of the circle and punched it.  Nicely done!! I like using my tools in different ways.
I am really liking these handmade backgrounds!!!

Therese

Canada geese and washi tape

Whenever I need inspiration for cardmaking I always head to the gallery at Splitcoast Stampers.  There is a veritable bevy of wonderful cards there to provide as much inspiration as I need.  I found one that featured a round focal element and some layers attached with washi tape!!  I have been wanting to use the washi tape I bought months ago and have been struggling with finding a good sketch that would make the best use of my limited colour options.  This one did the trick!!  I started with a dark gray card front, added an embossed strip of light gray cardstock using two different washi tapes - black & white plaid above and the diagonal stripes below.  Perfect!!  I found the geese (Arthurs Clipart) image in my stash as well.  I cut it round using Nesties and cut it a black layer while I was at it.  The original card had a greeting with a flagged end so I decided to add a black strip with a flagged end and a small laser printed greeting below it.  I glued the strip with the greeting attached on the card front using double sided tape and mounted the geese image using 3D foam tape.
I am encouraged by this card.  I hope to be able to incorporate more washi tape in my cards as time goes on.  I realize that having only a limited supply of colours and patterns certainly curtails my options but as this card proves I just need to keep at it and I will find more sketches that work with what I have.

Therese

Waterfall Card with glittered serendipity squares

Joined a swap on AFTCM for creating a waterfall card.  You can check out a tutorial for this card on Splitcoast Stampers.  I wanted it to be special so I created a quarter sheet of serendipity paper to highlight the squares on my waterfall.
I used red, yellow and brown in my serenditpity and if you look real close you can see some of that special paper I used on these cards.  Once it was dry, I cut it into 2" squares and cut a hole in them using the smallest flower on the TH Tattered Flower die.  I applied double sided tape to the back of them, adhered them to a coordinating yellow cardstock and trimmed them leaving an even border all the way around. I added red punchie centers, sprinkled gold glitter over the flower area which had double sided tape in it which gave me a sparkly flower in the middle of my serendipity.  Really like the way that worked out!  I found this origami paper in my stash that was just the right colour of red and glued it to my yellow card front.  I created my waterfall from a strip of darker yellow cardstock and adhered my elements to it using double sided tape. I intentionally offset them and like the effect it gave. I attached a strip of red cardstock to my waterfall to create the belt and attached this element to my card front using a gold brad on one side and gold staple on the other.  I corner rounded the right hand edge of my pull and stapled on a bit of ribbon to help with activating the waterfall.  I added a double layered oval greeting over the staple I used to attach my belt.  I love that the lines in the paper line up perfectly with my oval greeting.
I am really happy with how this card turned out.  Lots of dimension and texture and a 3D element to boot!!

Therese

Tree Fabric Collage - How to

I created this fabric collage of a tree and thought I would provide a bit of information for anyone who might be inspired to make one themselves.

I started with a floral bed sheet!!!  I cut two 9" squares from it and then cut a piece of batting just slightly smaller.

I laid the fabric on a piece of plastic and applied acrylic paint colour washes in blues and greens to create a landscape back ground for my tree.  Once the fabric was dry I used a hot iron to heat set the paint.  I do not expect this piece will ever be washed but I thought it would be best to do it anyway.  I painted both pieces similarly though there is only one in the photo.

 I found a piece of brown fabric in my stash and cut out a tree trunk, pinned it to my front piece and used my sewing machine with brown thread to sew it in place.

 Next, I dug out scraps of green and brown fabric and cut out, by hand, LOTS of leaves - really just pointy ended ovals about 1.5" long.  I used a glue stick - yes the kind you use for paper - to glue all the leaves in place making sure that I distributed the different colours through out the tree.

Once they were all in place I used my sewing machine with green thread and sewed down the center of each leaf to securely attach them all to my fabric.  Next, I created the little quilt by placing my back over my tree with the right side facing down and positioned my batting over that.  I sewed around the perimeter using a half inch seam allowance and left a 2.5" opening in the seam. I then turned it right sides out and pressed it.  I hand stitched the opening closed and then top stitched about 1/8" all the way around the edge of the piece in green thread.
I began the process of adding stitching and beads with the trunk and then did all the leaves.  I used what I had in my stash of beads - mostly round seed beads and a few longer thin ones.  I mixed the colours and tried to coordinate them with the leaf colour.  I used brown, green and blue embroidery floss to stitch on my beads.

You can check out the final project here.   It was a really fun project and I expect I will be making a few more!!  If you are inspired I hope you will give it a go!!

Therese

Fabric collage - a beautiful tree!

 On AFTCM, I joined a fabric collage swap!!  I was very excited about the possibilities because I have been enjoying making these little quilties inspired by Teesha Moore and a bigger piece just seemed like it would be more fun!!!  It is 8" x 8" and features hand painted fabric, fabric leaves, floss and beads!!!  I sewed the foundation together and then embellished it by adding hand stitching and beads.  Here are some close ups of the beading!!

I download some embroidery stitching instructions off the internet which was very helpful in figuring out how to get the beads on as I was stitching.  It was totally fun and I love how it turned out!!  I believe there will be a few more of these stitched projects in my future.
Check out my next post to see how I created this piece!!

Therese

Birthday card - hand decorated background

Was cruising Splitcoast Stampers for some inspiration the other day and found several with hand decorated backgrounds so I dug out this painted background and thought I would embellish it a bit for my card.  I lightly brushed white acrylic paint through an all over circle stencil using a foam brush to add dots which I liked very much. One person had cut up her background into three pieces so I decided to do that as well.  I first punched out the flowers and then used scissors to cut a line through the holes.  I really like how it turned out!!  I punched out "BIRTHDAY" on the bottom edge of the bottom piece and punched "HAPPY" out of black cardstock and glued it above the holes.  I glued all three pieces to a layer of black cardstock and then mounted that to my green card front!!  I added shimmery white punchies to the inside of the flowers.  Pretty good!!  It still needed a "bit of something" so I added the little dots using a fine tip Sharpie marker and three little black butterfly punchies which I attached with tiny black brads.  That was much better!!
It is amazing that creating it such a multileveled process!!  I can certainly see me using more techniques for adding more dimension to my own hand decorated papers!!

Therese

The last of the paper!!

Here are a couple more cards using that wonderful paper!  There are only scraps left which will no doubt end up in a sheet of serendipity paper somewhere down the line.
For these cards I layered the silver gray ribbon over the light rust one that came with the paper using double sided tape.  I trimmed it to length and folded the ends to the inside of the card fronts.  I attached them with double sided tape and added a piece of regular tape over that because they were not staying in place.  I added a 3D embellishment created using a flower die cut, several silk flowers, a copper sequin and silver brad. I sanded the shiny silver brads so they would have a dull finish which worked better with the paper. I watercoloured the laser printed greetings and layered them onto the rust ribbon slides and adhered them to the card fronts using 3D foam tape.
These are my exchange cards for this month and are off to my partners in tomorrow's mail.

Therese

Beach Bag Tote

This is the last sewn item I am making for fundraising at an event I am attending this summer!!
The colourful fabric is a batik print created by my brother while he attended art school and has been in my sister's stash for years.  She brought it out earlier this year and challenged me to make something out of it!!  It is beautiful and I wanted to highlight the batik as much as possible!!  I stamped the light fabric to add colour and texture to it so it would coordinate more closely with the batik.  It seemed a better fit when they were lined up on my cutting table but all in all I am pretty happy with how it turned out!!  The bag is lined with the same fabric as the handles and has a zipper at the top!!

Therese

Cards for a gift

Here I am again with this paper!!  I needed a small gift to bring along to the neighbours when they invited us over for dinner the other night.  I quickly made these four cards and packaged them in a folded wrapper tied with a ribbon.  You can see a similar one here.

I prepped the supplies for these cards:  rust card base, a layered diecut and silk flower embellishment, silver gray ribbon, rust ribbon slider and an oval laser printed greeting.  You can see from the photos that I just combined the elements differently to get several different looks including changing the

orientation.

I would normally pull cards from my stash for a last minute gift but since I moved last year and have not taught cardmaking classes the selection in my card stash has been pretty low!!
I will have to make a point of getting at least a few cards ahead!!

I like the summery look of these cards!!

Therese