A large chalkboard greeting, a few heart punchies and some ribbon for this anniversary card

I am trying to get ahead of the curve and preparing my cards for next month while I have a bit of time this week.
This anniversary card came together fairly quickly.  A piece of colour printed digital paper for the background glued to a coordinating card front.  I added the gold ribbon gluing the ends to the inside of the card using double sided tape. I found this chalkboard greeting in my stash and adhered it with 3D foam tape and then added two embossed heart punchies above it with 3D foam tape as well.  Thinking it still needed a bit of something I tied a piece of gold embroidery thread to the ribbon to create a bit of dimension and texture!!!!              Therese

Love this quick and easy technique and made a few more cards!!!!

This is my third set of cards using this technique!!!!!!  Check out the first set here. I combined large digital greetings from Desert Diva's blog with digital images from CLKER electronically in a layout program (Corel Draw) and then laser printed them onto white cardstock.  After cutting them apart I sponged them in appropriate colours.  I enhanced all of these images with watercolour to add definition to the images.  I like the way the sponging gently fades to nothing before touching the greeting.  What a versatile technique!!  Won't be the last time I use this for making some quick cards for myself or giving as gifts!!  Therese

Birthday card that features a die cut butterfly, a digital image and a punched greeting

Am getting back in the swing of things after a few weeks of other summer activities!!  A card for a friend having a birthday very soon!! 
I started with a piece of colour printed digital scrapbook paper and adhered it to a coordinating card front after trimming it to size.  I added a coordinating length of gros grain ribbon cut at an angle on the bottom edge and folded over the top and secured with double sided tape.  I watercoloured the laser printed digital image from Melonheadz adding some shimmer to the bee's wings. I layered it onto a layer of green white core cardstock and distressed the edges before mounting it to my card front with 3D foam tape.   I found a coordinating greeting punchie in my stash and mounted it below the image and centered on the ribbon using 3D foam tape.  I added a champagne coloured die cut butterfly (SX) on the corner of the image using double sided tape.  I cut a bunch of these when I was visiting my sister last time.  As a final touch I added clear dimensional paint to the bee and laid it flat to dry.  Like the look!!      Therese

A fun thankyou card that features a coffee cup, a distressed background and some colourful ribbon

 This card started with a distressed background which I ripped in two and sponged the edges with brown.  I filled the gap with some printed collage paper overlaid with a coffee themed vellum before adhering this large element to a brown card front.  I added a bit of texture to the background by running my tracing wheel around the edges.  The focal element was a digital coffee cup image (CLKER) combined with a font greeting which was originally trimmed square on the top.  Wanting a more distinctive image I trimmed the top portion with a round Nestibilities die and placing my cutting pad to just cut the top rounded part.  Worked out well!!  I ripped off the bottom portion and sponged all the way around.  I watercoloured the image and added dimensional paint to the cup to give it a beautiful sheen.  Once it was dry, I added the little ribbon with flagged ends on the back and ran my tracing wheel across the bottom before adhering this large focal element to the front of my card with 3D foam tape.  I love how this one turned out!!            Therese

A few more of the laser printed and sponged greeting cards

I made a few of these a while back and wanted to make more as I had all sorts of ideas of for combining the large greetings with images.  The greetings are all from Desert Diva's blog and the images are from CLKER except the cupcakes which are from Beccy's Place.    You can check out the others I made here.
For the top left and the bottom right I sponged and then added watercolour to finish off the greetings.  For the other two it was just sponging.  The large greetings are fun and I combined them with the images digitally before laser printing them on white cardstock.  After cutting them apart I sponged them in appropriate colours and then layered them on coordinating cardstock!!  Love these!!!        Therese

A graduation card that features a digital image, lots of watercolour and some beautiful butterflies

I made this card for a special person who is graduated from high school this year.  

I laser printed the greeting (DESERT DIVA - digital) large on white cardstock and added watercolour until I was happy with it!!  After it was dry I adhered the panel to a deep maroon card front.  This is a large format card.  I added three butterflies - a large copper one (SX) and yellow one (SU) which I embellished with yellow and orange and a smaller one which echoes the copper of the large one.  I received this on in a swap so I am not sure of the maker.  I tied cording to the two smaller ones to create antenna.  I mounted them with 3D foam tape.  Really happy with how this one turned out!!

Therese

Three cards that all use the same sketch - an image, an embellishement and a large greeting

I am getting cards made for the next month for my family's special occasions!!!
It just sort of happened that I made three cards using the same sketch!!  It started with the top one - a birthday card for a special little girl!!
A scrapbook paper background glued to a coordinating card front.  I added a watercoloured image of a cupcake (digital laser printed) from Beary Wishes which I layered with a coordinating cardstock.  I added a green layer below the flag ended laser printed greeting which I embellished with my pattern tracing wheel.  I trimmed the green piece to the edge of the card on both sides and added two clear rhinestones to the greeting to add a bit of sparkle.  I did use shimmery watercolour on the icing of the cupcake to make it fun!!  I added a flower embellishment which was created using a flower punchie, a small flower sequin held together with a silver brad to finish off my card.  My next two cards were thank yous.  The pink one features a pink scrapbook paper background, a Birdie Brown little pin cushion laser printed digital image which I watercoloured and a layered laser printed greeting embellished with a couple rhinestones and some lines from the tracing wheel as well.  I finished it off with a little button die cut (CB) tied with a bit of white thread.  The last one features a teacup digital image from Cre8tive Hands which has been watercoloured and layered with cardstock, a colour printed digital background (Pixabay) adhered to a coordinating card front, an embellished layered greeting and a little heart 3D embellishment created from two little hearts die cuts.  Nice when you can make cards with the same sketch - it makes them a bit quicker.  All the supplies were from my stash!!  Therese

Made some cards with photos from photos calendars!!

 I wanted a few cards to add to my stash so I could make a nice set of cards for a gift so I decided to make a few of these simple sentiment cards with pages from photo calendars which I have received from my sister over the last few years.  I love the look of these cards because the photos make such great focal elements.  I have created a few greetings by combining frames with font greetings which I laser print on white cardstock, cut apart and then use as a layer between the photo and a coordinating card front.   You get four greeting layers from one sheet of white cardstock theses can be made up in batches fairly quickly!!  I do have to trim the photos as well because they are 4"x 4" once they are trimmed from the calendars.  These calendars featured teacups and tea pots, black and white architecture and a wide variety of nature shots!!  She has a few 2019 ones ready to go already for sales this fall.       Therese

Handmade cards featuring digital greetings and images along with some sponging

I found a card on Splitcoast Stampers that attracted me because of its large greeting so I took a bit of time to see what else was cool about it.  It was a CAS card with a large black greeting, some flowers stamped in black and some sponging on the lower portion of a white single layer card.  I really liked the look so I decided to make it my own.  I found a few fun greetings on DesertDiva's blog which worked for the greeting.  I found a good variety of images that I liked on CLKER so I combined them digitally and laser printed them onto white cardstock.  After cutting them apart I sponged the images with colours that worked with the images and then layered them onto coordinating coloured cardstock.  Love how they worked out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I like the "wishing you.. " greeting in that it can be for almost any occasion and works with quite a few images.  I did find that I watercoloured a few of them to add dimension and depth.  I added purple to the butterfly wings to define them and just water to the ink that was already there on the purple flowers which changed them enough to give them texture.  I did add purple to the greeting on that one too.  The other two were good to go with just sponging.  I generally started sponging at the bottom of the image and added as I went up decreasing the depth of colour as I went up so that it would just fade away before it got to the greeting.  I will be making more of these!!                Therese

Wedding card with embossing, ribbon and some shimmery watercolour

Stash building!!  I started by embossing a white quarter sheet with a flourish embossing folder, adding a white ribbon by gluing both ends to the back of the layer and adhering this large element to a white card front.  I used a wedding cake image from my stash (CLKER) which I laser printed and coloured with shimmery watercolours in silver, purple and green.  I made the colours subtle because that worked better with the white on white background.  When dry, I layered it onto a purple rectangle from which I had already punched the Modern Label (SU) layer for my greeting.  I mounted it to my card front using 3D foam tape then did the same with my layered punchie greeting.  To finish off my card I tied a short end of the same ribbon to the length on the front to simulate a bow!!

Therese

Wildflower on a brayered background with a small layered greeting

I used a few of these backgrounds the other day to make a few cards.  I brayered these a long while ago using a Kaleidacolour pad on coated cardstock.  They die cut very nicely.  I trimmed this one to size and die cut a wildflower silhouette  (TH) in the center of it.  I backed it with a black layer and then mounted this large focal element to an embossed card front.  I added  little laser printed greeting layered onto a label using 3D foam tape on the lower right hand corner which nicley bridged all the elements. 

Therese

Faux stitching, fussy cutting and a beautiful image of Peggys Cove

Back to making cards!!  This image has been in my stash for a long time because a portion of the sky was not well stamped.  I was looking in my stash for an image that would fit into this frame (also from my stash) and this one I thought was pretty close so I just fussy cut along the horizon and when I put it in the frame the lighthouse overlapped the frame!  I love it!!  I watercoloured the image (PSX), added a blue decorative paper to make the sky, trimmed the outside edges to fit in the frame and adhered all the pieces in place.  I adhered the top of the lighthouse to the front of the frame with a bit of 3D foam tape which makes it stand out very nicely from the scene.  The frame had already been embossed with a distressed embossing folder so I simply added some faux stitching to give it a bit more definition.  I adhered this large element to a gray card and I was done!!  An card for any occasion!!  Therese

A card that incorporates a watercoloured digital image, paper flowers and some stamped stitching

Making cards for special days in the lives of my special people!!  This one is for my sister!!  I started with the laser printed image of little sunflowers (CLKER) to which I had added a font greeting before printing.  I watercoloured the image and layered it onto a dark yellow cardstock rectangle.  I stamped the leaf stitching (SU) which I then watercoloured as well.  I trimmed the bottom with decorative wave scissors and pierced a row of dots just above it.  I went digging in my decorative paper stash for coordinating papers and found these blue hued ones that worked.  Blue is one of my sister's favorite colours!!  I trimmed my scraps and mounted them to brown cardstock leaving a bit of space at the bottom where I trimmed it with scallop decorative scissors and mirrored the paper piercing on my focal element by piercing each scallop.  I used a long unused stamp of zigzag stitching (Hero Arts) and stamped each joint between the papers.  My sister is a quilter and will appreciate the stitching on this card even if it is stamped.  I mounted my background to a blue card front and positioned my focal element over it and found that it needed a bit of something to make it pop so I dug through my silk flower stash and found these paper flowers which were exactly the right colours.  I layered two (brown & yellow), added a little brown flower punchie and then a blue sequin before binding them with a brown brad.  After a bit of auditioning I added the floral 3D element to the focal element and adhered this large element to my card front using double sided tape.  Really happy with how this one worked out!!!!!!!        Therese

A cute little bird, a label and a fun greeting for an all occasion card

A few more cards for the stash!!  I manually embossed my blue card using a swirl embossing folder (TH).  I found the yellow top note label die cut in my stash and die cut a circle (Nestibilities) which would accommodate this cute little bird image (Beary Wishes).  I manually embossed it with  a star embossing folder.  I watercoloured the laser printed digital image of the bird and mounted it to the back of label. I added a nice green organza ribbon and tied on a short piece with one knot to simulate a bow then adhered this large element to the front of my card.  I found the laser printed greeting in my stash, watercoloured it and mounted it to a green circle (Nestibilities) before adhering it to the front of my card over the ribbon to finish off my card.  Little birdie cards are handy for a wide variety of occasions and this one is pretty cute so would do for a child's birthday or for a new baby!!                Therese

Embossing, die cuts and silk flowers make for a beautiful birthday card

Cards are always a great hostess gift so I am putting together a few to bring along to a summer BBQ!!  I started with a gray card which I embossed with a very organic and stylized embossing folder.  I embossed the blue label die cut (SX) with the Swiss Dot embossing folder and punched a slot (SU) on each end for the ribbon.  I slipped the ribbon in both sides and then adhered the label to the front of the card and the ends of the ribbon to the inside front with double sided tape.  Next I added a black oval (Nestibilities) which I highlighted with a clear glitter gel pen.  The focal element is a laser printed digital greeting (font words - Bird's Cards frame) punched with a large oval punch (SU) and adhered to the inside of an opening in a decorative label die cut (SX).  These layered so nicely!!!  I added two layered silk flower embellishments to finish off my card!!  The colours matched perfectly!!!             Therese

An elegant card with a beautiful white dress

I love this dress image from CLKER!!!!!!!!!  It is a classic image suitable for a wedding and/or a shower when done is white shimmer as I have done for this card.  I have coloured it in different colours which makes it suitable for a graduation card!!   I layered it onto an aqua rectangle and added three little rhinestones for a little bling!!  I embossed a white layered with a beautiful flourish embossing folder and added a coordinating vintage seam binding before adhering it to a white card.  I mounted the large focal element over the seam binding using 3D foam tape.  Always good to have one of these on hand. 

Therese

Cute little girl with an apple printed on vellum and mounted to a reused layer

For this card I reused part of a larger commercial card for my background.  I found the image in my stash as well (Heather Ellis).  It is printed on vellum so I very carefully coloured it on the back using watercolour (markers or chalks will not wrinkle the paper) and layered it onto a an ivory rectangle before adhering it to my background using four tiny white brads.  I layered this large element to a coordinating card front!!!  I really love this cute little girl images because they work just as easily for little girls as adult women and almost anyone in the case of this thank you card. 

Therese

Layered hearts for a fun anniversary card!!

I like to feature hearts on anniversary cards and am always looking for new ways to feature them.  I had these cut and sitting on my desk from this card from my All Occasion Class.  I decided to layer them and then wanted a way to interlock them so I dug through the scraps sitting on my desk and found this little strip which did exactly what I wanted.  I decided to layer them onto this dark red colour which I embossed with stars instead of hearts which was my original intent.  Somehow, I just could not do the hearts and the stars were calling to me.  So hearts it is!!  I glued down my hearts and then punched out an opening using my Modern Label punch (SU) just below the bottom of the lowest heart.  I glued this large element to a green card front which coordinated with the strip I used.  I added the little punched greeting into the opening using 3D foam tape.  the card still needed "a bit of something" so I added clear rhinestones to the strip and that was better.  After a bit of pondering I also added some to one of the hearts and to the greeting.  That was better but it still was calling for more bling so I added dots to the background layer using a clear glitter gel pen!!  That was better!!!  Always amazing how the muse calls and we are guided!!  Therese

A fun old bicycle image with a cool chalkboard greeting and some bakers twine

Still working on cards for my stash!!  This card features a cool image of an old bicycle (CLKER) which I laser printed on white cardstock, trimmed and sponged the edges with purple to coordinate with the bakers twine I had chosen.  After sponging I decided to distress as well so I had to sponge the edges again to eliminate the stark white.  I also decided to add some faux stitching to give the image a bit of punch.  I fussy cut a chalkboard greeting which coordinates with the sort of vintage feeling of the bicycle image.  I adhered the greeting to the background using 3D foam tape and then inserted bakers twine in the holes of label greeting and used double sided tape to adhere the ends to the back.  I adhered this large element to my card front.  I used 3D foam tape to adhere my bicycle image to my card. 

Therese

An all occasion card with a beautiful butterfly

Still working on cards for my stash!!  I started with this beautiful butterfly (Pixabay) which I colour printed on white carsdstock and trimmed. I layered it onto brown cardstock and then while rummaging in my background stash I found this one created using inks which worked really well. After trimming it to size I tied on a piece of coordinating ribbon and glued it to a coordinating card front.  I adhered my large focal element using 3D foam tape and positioned it over the ribbon.  I tied a short piece of ribbon to the one on the card using a single knot to simulate a bow.  Would work well as a sympathy card or for any occasion for a butterfly lover!!
Therese

Combined a cute cat, some fiber and a punched greeting for this great birthday card

Our son in law shares a birthday day with my Mom so I prepped this card for him.  I am stretching my vision of what works for guy cards and decided that this cute little cat would work just as well for an adult as it would for a child.  I laser printed this digital image (CLKER), trimmed it and watercoloured it.  He is really cute!!  I added a brown rectangle layer, ripped the bottom edge and added a few rows of piercings using my pattern tracing wheel.  I watercoloured the punchie greeting (SU- frame with font greeting) and highlighted the edge with brown.  I found this orange duplex paper in my stash which I thought would look good sanded so I embossed it with this tight embossing folder which somewhat reflected the cat's triangular markings.  It took quite a bit of sanding to reveal the white cardstock which was beneath the orange but I am happy with how it turned out.  I adhered the background to a brown card and auditioned the cat and greeting to see how they looked.  After gluing them down it still needed "a bit of something" so stamped the greeting and the bottom edge of the image with my stipple stamp (SU) and brown ink.  That was better.  Still needed something so I added this perfectly coordinated fiber which I entwined between the image and the greeting.  Better!!    Therese

A card for my Mom which features fun paper, watercoloured digital image and a fun layered greeting

My Mom's birthday is coming up - she will be 82!!  She is still a going concern - quilting, gardening, cooking, reading and taking care of my Dad.  Her favorite colour is this great blue colour so I started with that.  I added this fun decorative paper which I colour printed for a different project and found in my stash.  I glued it to my card front and added white ribbon which I glued to the inside of my card with double sided tape.  The flower image is a digital from Cruzine which I laser printed on white cardstock and trimmed to size before watercolouring to coordinate with my background paper.  I layered the image onto a rectangle which I created using blue and green cardstock and added to my card using 3D foam tape.  I used this oval punched greeting (Bird's Cards) which I sponged on the edges with blue and green and then added a green oval punchie which I trimmed in two and allowed the two halves to show a bit on the top and the bottom of the greeting one.  I mounted it to my card using 3D foam tape and added a bit of blue watercolour to it which finished it off perfectly!!!  Therese

An old mill graphic with seam binding and a simple greeting

Another card for the stash!!  This one features an old mill image from Arthurs' Clipart  which I laser printed, trimmed and watercoloured.  I embossed green cardstock with a grungy TH embossing folder and added a length of eggplant vintage seam binding from top to bottom securing the ends with double sided tape before adhering it to a deep purple card.  I distressed the edges of the mill image and adhered it to my card front using 3D foam tape.  I found a coordinating greeting punchie (modern label - SU) which I had embellished with clear dimensional paint which I added over the seam binding below the image with 3D foam tape.  Finally, I tied on a short piece of seam binding to the one on the front using a single knot to simulate a bow!!

Therese

Embossed serendipity collage backgrounds, embossed &laser printed digital image and small greetings

These cards feature serendipity collage backgrounds which I made up a while back.  It is a great project to work on when you are between projects.  I stamped the backgrounds and embossed them with an all over design embossing folder (Latttice -SU).  I mounted both of these to coordinating green cardstock and then to coordinating card fronts.  For the first one, I chose a dry embossed image of tulips which I created using a brass stencil and a stylus.  I sponged the edges and mounted it to my card front and then added a small layered greeting below and to the right a bit.  The second one, features a colour printed birdie image and a friends greetings (Melonheadz) which I sponged and backed with green cardstock after overlapping them in the corners.  I am stretching my boundaries a little and trying new layouts and ways of doing things!!  Fun!!!!!            Therese

Hammered botanicals as backgrounds and focal elements for these cards along with simple greetings

These two cards feature "Hammered botanicals" backgrounds which I made last year using my Big Kick and some flowers and leaves from my garden and yard.  I trimmed my backgrounds and layered them onto green cardstock.  For the first one, I added a laser printed vellum greeting to which I added a couple of lines of piercing using my pattern tracing wheel before folding the ends to the back and securing with tape.  I mounted this large element to a coordinating purple/pink card.  For my second card, I added a coordinating shimmery ribbon securing the ends to the back with tape as well.  I sponged the edges of my laser printed greeting (Melonheadz) with pink and layered it onto green and trimmed.  I distressed the edges before mounting it to my background using 3D foam taper and positioning it at an angle.  I added 5 clear rhinestones - three on the left and two on the right.  Again, I mounted this large element to a coordinating purple/pink card.  With a bit of experience from last year I will probably try a few more of these backgrounds again this year.  

Therese

A honeycomb background with some fun font images which have been embellished

I found these backgrounds on my desk in a little container in which I have been collecting backgrounds leftover from other projects.  I created this background earlier this year using SU digital stamps when I was working on Valentine's cards.   I decided to find another creative way to use them so I added some sequins to these two.  For the first one, I added three little flower sequins which I mounted to the background just above the greeting using tiny gold brads.  I used a green fine tip marker and added some leaves, swirls and dots.  I watercoloured in the leaves as well as a few of the hexagons.  To finish off this element I manually embossed the edges with a dots embossing folder and mounted it to a red card front.  The Hello greeting is a part of an image font.  For the second card, I watercoloured some of the hexagons in yellow and blue/green and the bee's body (image font).  I coloured the bee wings with a clear glitter gel pen.  Next, I added yellow and white sequins to some of the hexagons using small pieces of glue dot to secure them in place.  Finally, I manually embossed a few aress with a dots embossing folder and mounted this large element to a blue/green card front.  I will have to go find this background and print off a few more as they are great for making cards in a hurry!!           Therese

Reused an image and layered it simply for a Praying for you card

This image was trimmed from a large greeting card which was donated to me for card making.   I added a green layer and then bordered it with my pattern tracing wheel to give it a bit of texture.  I mounted this large element to a sky blue card.  I added a small laser printed greeting punchie (Word Window - SU) using double sided tape which I sponged on the edges just a bit to give it definition.  Love it!!

Therese

Little birdie card with the Tim Holtz die

I made a few of these card kits for my March class.   I made this one up and have a few more to go but will do them up later as I have already several of these on hand.  They have fun background with something interesting on the left hand side.  I have given the bird a beak and a brad eye then mounted it to the cage and finally added its wing. I added the blue ribbon through the hole at the top and then mounted the cage to my card front to which I had already mounted my decorative paper background using 3D foam tape in the center and double sided tape on the perimeter.  I slipped my little tag onto the ribbon and glued it to the inside of my card using double side tape.  I tied a short length to the piece on the front using one knot to simulate a bow.  I added a small piece of 3D foam tape to the back of my little stamped tag and adhered it at a bit of an angle.  I coloured clear rhinestones with a green sharpie marker and positioned them in the holes at the bottom of the cage which are backed with double sided tape which secures them nicely!!  Therese

Large cards from my sister's stash!!

My sister visited a few years ago and left a bit of her stash behind so I have been making cards for her when I get a chance.  Knowing that I would be seeing her I set about making a few cards for her.  I have been enjoying these large format cards - 5.5" x 8.5".  

For the first card I started with some large images which I printed when I was working on another project.  I usually fill a half sheet of images or greetings while I am at it when I am colour printing.  This little bear with the balloon (Pixabay) is one of my favorites from La Petite Femme on Pixabay!!  I started with a red card and mounted a fun scrapbooking paper to it.  I added a strip of brown cardstock about a third down from the top.  I added  short pieces of coordinating ribbon to the back of the image and added a line of faux stitching before mounting it to a dark red layer and adhering to my card front using 3D foam tape.  The colour printed greeting I found in my stash and was just what I needed.  I trimmed it, layered it onto brown and flagged the right hand side.  I mounted it below the image to the left hand side of the card.  Love it!!
For the next card I used a dark pink card and mounted this fun background paper to it after cutting it twice to made four different sized pieces.  I added a length of pink polka dotted ribbon about one third down using double sided tape to keep it in place.  I layered the colour printed balloons (CLKER) onto yellow cardstock, trimmed it and mounted it over the ribbon on the the top of the card using 3D foam tape.  I added another length of the ribbon to the lower portion and mounted the laser printed greeting which I had also mounted to yellow cardstock over it!!  A fun birthday card!!

For the next card I started with a light pink card and mounted to it some beautiful shimmery pink embossed decorative paper.  I found the two halves of a paper doily in my stash and cut out the centers with a doily thinlit die (SX).  I embossed the dark pink layer for my rose image (CLKER) using a lace border die (SU) on top and bottom and fussy cut the edges.  I mounted the lace doily pieces to the back of this piece using double sided tape.  I inserted the lace between the paper doily and the rose layer before mounting this large element to my card front.  I adhered the ends of the lace to the inside of the card using double sided tape and added the laser printed greeting to the rose image to finish of my card.  Thinking it still needed " a bit of something" I added two clear rhinestones to either side of the greeting.  Done!!

For my next card I started with an off white card and mounted a layer of this fun striped scrapbook paper which I had backed with a layer of brown cardstock.  I layered the colour printed image of the brown coffee cup with blue cardstock and mounted on the top portion of my card.  I layered the laser printed greeting with the same blue cardstock and adhered it below the cup image using 3D foam tape as well.  Thinking it needed a bit of something I stamped and embossed with clear embossing powder a little coffee bean from one of my stamp sets.  I fussy cut it  and mounted it to my greeting!!  Much better!!
For my next two cards I used that same little bear image from Pixabay - la petite femme!!   For the first one I created a card using red and black embossed cardstock by just taping together the pieces I needed.  I added a strip of shimmery pink embossed paper which I flagged on the left hand side.  I added the laser printed digital image of the little bear with a balloon onto the red section of the card and added the laser printed chalkboard greeting overlapping the image and the pink strip.  Love how it worked out. 

Very pleased with how the first one turned out I decided to use the same colour scheme for my second one!  The triangle is what I had trimmed off the black layer for my first card so I mounted it to the top of a red card so it would highlight the greeting.  I used a polka dot border embossing folder to emboss a strip of dots on my card front before adding my bear image and the chalkboard greeting.  Love this one too!!
So a few cards for my sister made in one afternoon of creating!!                 Therese

Birthday card with a heart, some fun ribbon and a collage image

My sister has a birthday this coming week and being as I saw her this week I gave her her birthday card a few days early!!  I was great to see her and the rest of my sister were there as well at the funeral this week. 
I started with this large red top note die cut which had a heart die cut out of it.  I added a little texture by manually embossing it with a large polka dot embossing folder.  I tied on a black ribbon between the opening and the edge of the top note using knitting ribbon and a double knot.  I went looking in my image stash for something appropriate for mounting behind it and found this collage stamped image that has been there for a long time!!  Perfect and large enough that I could choose what I wanted to show through.  I mounted it with double sided tape behind the opening and trimmed off the sides. I found the vellum greeting in my greeting stash and it was perfect!! I folded the two ends over the edge of the top note and adhered them with double sided tape.  I mounted this large element to the front of a soft blue card onto which I had already adhered a colour printed background (Melstampz) trimmed to fit with an even border all the way around using double sided tape.  It still needed " a bit of something" so I paper piereced all the way around the edge of the heart opening using a push pin.  That was better!!!  Wishing her a great birthday tomorrow!!!!!!!!              Therese

Tim Holtz wildflower dies and some hand decorated paper for this sympathy card

My uncle passed away last week and the funeral was this week.  I started with the hand decorated background which was created using watercolour and plastic wrap.  The soft colours were just right for this sympathy card.   I ripped the background in two and die cut the top portion using my new TH Wildflower thinlit dies.  I reassembled the pieces on a dark green layer and then mounted the large element to an off white card.  I added a layered greeting.  I used a laser printed greeting from my stash which was created using a font and punched with the Modern Label punch (SU).  I layered two circle punchies to create an accent for it.  I embossed the green one with a flower from an embossing folder (CB) and layered it onto a yellow one before added the printed label punchie which I adhered to my card front using 3D foam tape. 
It was so good to see so many of my cousins which I had not seen in over 20 years at the funeral and it was wonderful celebration of my uncles life.  He will be missed!          Therese

Handmade paper, crocus digital image and a little punched greeting for a quick card

Another paper background I found in my stash was this handmade paper one!!  I have a little bucket on my desk into which I have been adding trimmed backgrounds leftover from other projects.  I mounted the handmade paper (I made myself) to a light yellow card and went looking for an image that would compliment it.  I found this little laser printed crocus image (CLKER) which was just the right size so I watercoloured it, mounted it to a rectangle of yellow cardstock and added a small greeting (Word Window - SU) below it.  I distressed its edges before mounting to my card front over the handmade paper.
I am having fun making cards and using up my supplies but goodness me I have enough for more than a lifetime!!

Therese

New dies - TH Wildflowers with brayered backgrounds for my card exchange

I have some new dies!!!  DH bought them for me for my birthday and they just came in!!  It took a bit of research to decide which ones I would like and I decided on the set with the queen anne's lace silhouette which is the first set of Wildflowers from Tim Holtz.  Wanting to experiment I dug through my stash of backgrounds and found these brayered ones (Kaleidacolour in pad) from quite a while back.  They worked well.  I cut the flowers out (the second one I cut twice -once from the front and once from the back).  I added a full black layer to the first one and only backed the flower with black on the second one and backed it with navy blue afterwards.  I added black ribbon (ribbon yarn) which my sister shared with me when I was there a few weeks ago.  Really nice!!  I added a length and then tied on a short piece to simulate a bow.  I added texture to the second on using my tracing wheel.  I mounted them to coordinating card fronts and then stippled the outside edges with dark blue ink.  Happy!           Therese

Stash busting - a highly texture embossed background made with scraps, stamped focal element and greeting

The scraps I used on this card were leftover from some fun brayered backgrounds (Kaleidacolour - Creole Spice)  I found in my stash a while back.  I mounted the five little rectangles to a piece of purple cardstock and embossed it with an allover pattern embossing folder (Lattice -SU) and mounted it to a coordinating green card front.  I went digging through my image stash to see what I could find to coordinate and this is what I found.  Stamped with a background and leaf in green and trimmed into a rectangle.  It fit perfectly on my background!!  I found a stamp set with this friendship greeting when I was looking for something the other day and made note that I should use it.  I stamped it in navy on white, punched with an oval punch (SU), layered it onto a silver scalloped oval punchie (SU) and mounted to to my card front using 3D foam tape.  I am really happy with how this one worked out!!!!! 
I have mined my stamp sets for greetings which I have overlooked because they are part of a set.  I found all sorts of really nice saying that I will now incorporate into my cardmaking.  Therese

Stash busting - a card from bits from way back

I found the pieces of these card in my long time ago stash and am not sure why I did not make it up at the time of creating the pieces but I finally made them into a card.  The image was inked with two colours and stamped onto ivory cardstock which was hand cut on the right hand side with a bit of wave.  I added the red layer which was also cut with a bit of a wave to the back on the right hand side. Thinking it still needed a bit of something I added a few lines of piercing with my pattern tracing wheel.  Fun!!  I layered this large element onto a coordinating green card.  Digging through my stash I found this greeting which coordinated perfectly so I sponged its edges with green and punched another label (Decorative Label -SU) from red cardstock, cut it in half vertically and mounted each half on either side of it and mounted it to my card using 3D foam tape. Perfect!!          Therese

Cards featuring a brayered background and some gold embossed images

Still making cards for my stash but have branched out into using supplies that have been sitting for a while.  These two cards feature brayered backgrounds I made years ago using the Kaleidacolour stamp pad - Creole Spice onto glossy cardstock.  I love this colour combo!!  For the first one, I added a bit of sponging using a torn paper edge to add a bit of texture to the multicoloured background.  I then stamped this ginko leaf image (SU) and embossed it with gold embossing powder.  I added a laser printed vellum greeting from my stash after tearing the bottom and top edges.  I added a layer of gold gift wrap before layering it onto this perfectly coordinating piece of background paper!!  With a large enough stash you can always find something that will coordinate!!  I layered this large element onto a navy card front!!!  Really love how this one turned out and how serendipitous it was to find a coordinating background paper (laser printed from Morgue File).  For the other card, I added a bit of definition to the background by sponging a few colours over the torn edge of paper to simulate a bit of a landscape.  I stamped and embossed in gold this set of trees (Lovely as a Tree - SU) and used my stamping jig to add a greeting in navy (SU).  I added a navy gros grain ribbon at the top and added three gold brads to finish it off.  I mounted this large element to a navy card front!!  Love this one too!!              Therese

A fun fold with some embossing and a round digital greeting

Another card from a kit for my stash!  These were featured in my March class.  This fun fold is best done with double sided paper so I used this gift wrap which I bought overseas years ago.  It is trimmed to 4" x 5.25" and slit on the center about 1.75" from the right hand side and when the flaps are fold out it reveals the embossing on the card front.  I used two small pieces of double sided tape right next to the fold to secure the flaps, added a length of ribbon from the bottom of the slit to the left hand side of the background securing the ends with double sided tape before adhering it to my embossed card front.  I created a layered greeting which features a laser printed digital greeting from Desert Diva and a scalloped circle cut with Nestibilities both sponged a bit on the edges and mounted using 3D foam tape.  This is my last kit so I will see about making these different next time around!!

Therese

Cards from kits - embossed and sanded backgrounds with fun digital images and one with a greeting

A couple more cards from kits and my stash is growing!!!  These cards kits are from my May Class.   The backgrounds were colour printed on coloured cardstock, stenciled, stamped and embossed with a swirl oval embossing folder.  After embossing I sanded them to reveal the colour of the cardstock which was a light lavender.  I love the velvety smoothness that the sanding creates!!  The backgrounds were glued to pink/purple card front.  I laser printed the images (umbrella from Broken Box Stock and pansies from Arthur's clipart) and trimmed them out using oval Nestibilities before watercolouring them.  I cut larger ovals in coordinating colours to layer them onto.  I mounted them inside the swirl pattern on the backgrounds of my cards!!  I did add a greeting to the umbrella one using a small laser printed font greeting (Word Window punchie SU) layered onto a yellow Modern Lable punchie from SU as well.  A very versatile sketch in that a small greeting can easily be added without modifying the design.  Therese

Cards from kits - a sanded background along with a fun tea digital image and some raffia

I am making cards for my stash and am making up card kits from past classes.  This one is from my May class which featured sanded white core backgrounds and fun image which created cards without greetings which are more versatile as they can suit more than one occasion.
This card features a laser printed digital image form Pixabay - Artsy Bee of a stack of coffee cups.  I love the colour on these cups!!!  I started with a red card front and sanded the embossed background to reveal the white core of the cardstock.  This leaves a very velvety smoothness which adds texture to the card.  I tied the green raffia around the background before adhering it to my card.  I used my distressing tool around the edge of the cup image and mounted it over the frame in the embossed design using 3D foam tape.  This was a really quick one!  Love having kits on hand for getting cards made fast!!

Therese

A shaker card with hearts for our anniversary!

I used an embossed (Lattice - SU) collage background for this card.  Collaging scraps is a fun activity which you can do anytime you have no project on the go or when your mojo is on strike.  You can use almost anything as a substrate - junk mail, a flopped background or a ruined layer!!  Just keep gluing scraps on until you have filled the whole area.  Once completely dry, you can stamp, sponge, emboss and even thermally emboss to make it more than the sum of its parts!! 
I decided to make a shaker card for my DH for our anniversary.  Have not made these often but they are always fun to do.  I cut a square opening with a frame using two Nestibilities square dies nicely spaced from each other on my magnetic plate in my Big Kick. I added a length of white seam binding from the edge of the opening to the right hand edge adhering the ends to the back with double sided tape.  I adhered a coordinating background behind the opening and then layered the whole piece onto brown cardstock and then to a blue card front.  I stacked heart punchies in the opening along with a few micro beads in green.  I added double sided tape to the back of the frame and adhered a small piece of plastic from packaging then added 3D foam tape all the way around to ensure that my little hearts and beads did not escape.  I positioned the frame over the hearts and pressed firmly to adhere my little shaker to my card front.  My shaker is not too shaky as I added a few too many hearts in it but they do move around a bit so it works well enough!!  I tied a short end of seam binding to the one on the front using a single knot to simulate a bow and added a little laser printed greeting using 3D foam tape just below the "bow".  I will be trying this again and will be more skimpy with my inclusions to ensure a better "shake" next time.  Cutting the frame with two Nesties works really well!          Therese

Card from a kit - a fun birthday cake, a sanded background and a layered greeting

Another card kit from my May class!  I love how this one turned out!!  The birthday cake is a digital image from Melonheadz which I sized and laser printed before trimming it out of the sheet using an oval Nestibilities die.  I found a layer just a bit larger in my stash and sponged it a bit to get it to coordinate with my background.  The background is coloured cardstock which was colour printed, stencilled and stamped before I embossed it with a swirl oval embossing folder.  I sanded it to reveal the original colour of the cardstock and it also gives it a really velvety smooth texture as well.  I mounted the background to a green card front, watercoloured the cake and created my focal element by layering the two ovals.  I used 3D foam tape to mount it to my card front.  I layered a laser printed greeting and mounted it onto a punched label (SU) in green before mounting in over the oval focal element using double sided tape on the left and 3D foam tape on the right.  Really like this one!!!               Therese

Card from a kit - a fun owl with sequins and a vellum greeting

This card kit was prepared for this class in May.   I discarded the raffia and added a small piece of ribbon instead.  The background was sanded to reveal the white core and it was mounted to a dark green card.  I watercoloured the little owl (laser printed digital stamp from Cre8tive hands), distressed its edges and then embellished them with brown watercolour.  I mounted it to over the frame in the background using 3D foam tape.  Without the raffia it was needed just a bit of something so I added a bit of ribbon in the lower right hand corner that coordinated with the card colour and that was better.  Still needs something so I dug out the sequins and found a few that coordinated so I added four of those using glue dots.  Afterwards, I decided I wanted a greeting so found this one printed on vellum which worked so I removed the copper sequin, added the greeting and replaced the sequin with a small cooper brads which worked just fine!  Pretty happy with how this one turned out!!          Therese

Cards from kits - sanding, raffia and a digital image of a rose

Another card kit which has been used to create a card. This was a kit that was part of my May class.  I sanded the embossed white core background and tied on the pink raffia before adhering it to a pink card front.  I used my distress tool on the edges of the rose image (Cre8tive hands) and mounted it over the embossed frame in the design.  I found an oval greeting (Birds Cards)  in my stash that worked perfectly so I sponged the edges of it a bit and mounted it to the left of the raffia with 3D foam tape.  I did embellish it a bit with colour and clear glitter gel pens.     Another fun card made up from a card kit!!!    Therese