Quick and easy birdie birthday card!

I love these little birds!   One of the pieces I found on the back side of my desk this week and decided to make a card with it.  I cut the 4" x 4" piece of bird decorative paper in two and glued the small strip at the top of a blue card and the large piece to the bottom edge leaving an even margin.  I layered the laser printed greeting onto a piece of red and they a piece of yellow cardstock.  I added faux stitching in red with a fine tip marker to the greeting!!
This one was pretty quick and easy!  Nice to have a few designs that you can do up quickly!

Therese

Trees and a loon features on this birthday card!

This card is similar to this one as I made the background from a strip of decorative paper which I cut into two pieces and taped together on the back to give me a piece that was 4" x 5.25".  I stitched on a piece of brown fabric to cover the joint and then stitched on a piece of coordinating rick rack to the left of that.  I layered the laser transparency greeting over the background, stitched all the way around capturing both ends in the process thereby securing it to the background.  I watercoloured the laser printed loon image (CLKER), layered it onto dark blue, added some double sided tape to the back and then tucked it behind the greeting before adhering it to this layer.  Lastly, I glued this whole element to a dark brown card front.  I really like how all the elements complement each other on this card!  Another to add to the stash.

Therese

Card with a quilted background and a crocus!

Another card that came from supplies sitting on the far side of my desk!
The crocus (Blackberry Jelly) image was what I found so I went looking in my stash of backgrounds and found this quilted one whose colours were good so I embossed it with the Lattice embossing folder (SU).  I watercoloured the image, layered it onto yellow cardstock and glued it to my background with double sided tape.  I found the greeting - laser printed transparency - in my greeting stash, laid it on my layer so that the H of the greeting was in the crook of the crocus, folded the right hand side of it to the back of the background and then machine stitched all the way around the edge capturing the folded right side of the greeting in the process.  I glued this whole layer to a yellow card front.  The greeting is free on the left hand side but there is enough pressure from the stitching to keep the whole greeting nice and snug to the card front.  Worked our pretty well!

Therese

Birds and a kite - a great kids card!

When I was preparing for my card class this week I found a few supplies sitting on the far side of my desk which I thought would be worth translating into cards if at all possible.  The birds paper was a long strip which I cut down to two pieces 2" x 5.25" and then set them side by side and taped them across the back to create a background.  It did require that I add something over where they joined so I went looking for items that coordinated.  I found the roll of green mesh at the thrift store a few weeks ago.  It is about a half inch wide and I have no idea what it's original use was but it worked perfectly for this card.  I cut two lengths and glued the ends to the back of the decorative paper.  I added a length of large red rick rack in between which actually covers the joint.  Again I adhered the ends to the back of the paper using double sided tape.  Next, I stitched on the laser printed greeting with my sewing machine and white thread.  I glued this whole layer to a kraft card front.  I created a 3D embellishment by gluing a punched image of a kite (Birds Cards) which I watercoloured to a red scallop circle punchie (SU).  I pierced each scallop to echo the stitching and mounted it with 3D foam tape on my card front overlapping the greeting and the green mesh.  Pretty happy with how this one turned out!!

Therese

Collage buttons for cards!

 I made a batch of collage buttons for a set of cards for my cardmaking class this week.  It is always fun to make these!!  I used serendipity paper, gift wrap, hand decorated paper, fabric paper, foil, decorative paper from an envelope and several colour washed stamped images.  You can check out the instructions by clicking this link, or Clicking Tutorials on my top bar and scrolling down to click the Collage Button Tutorial. I will be posting the cards later this week and will see about adding a link to that post here once they are up!

Therese

Sweet girl's birthday card

Our youngest granddaughter is one!!  How fast a year goes by!  We were fortunate to have the chance to visit with her this summer - she is a sweet happy little girl who is content to entertain herself as long as she is included in the group.
This card is a bit larger than the standard card.  I used white cardstock and stamped the edge with a handmade stamp that has little circles on it in light green ink.  I added the plaid bordered decorative piece and then overlaid the coordinating decorative ribbon on the left hand side gluing the ends to the inside of the card.  The cute little image is one I received in a swap so keeping with the green and pink colour scheme (my favorite) I watercoloured the cute little bugs.  I created a layer using pink & green cardstock, added my image, punched the bottom with a scallop punch (SU) and then I punched little holes in each scallop.  I mounted the image over the ribbon on my card front using double sided tape.  I added a length of vintage seam binding in green to the birthday greeting tag and mounted it below the image using 3D foam tape.  The very last thing I did was add some pearly dimensional paint to their wings which I will leave to dry overnight.  We will be seeing her again later this year and look forward to seeing her walk and being her fun little self.

Therese

Sympathy card

My uncle passed away last week.  He had just recently had his 90th birthday.  I made this sympathy card for his family.
I started with a light blue cardstock which coordinated with my image - a off cut from an invite I had in my stash bucket on my desk that I thought was perfect in colouring for this occasion.  I stamped a circle background stamp all the way around the edges on the front using Versamark ink which was exactly what I was looking for in intensity.  I added a large rectangle of darker blue which I embossed with a floral embossing folder (Darice) and then I added a length of coordinating green ribbon across it and glued both ends to the inside of the card.  The ribbon  slides into a slit on the spine of the card which I cut with my slot punch (SU) - works perfectly every time.    I adhered my image over the ribbon using 3D foam tape on the right hand side and double sided tape on the left to accommodate the thickness of the embossed layer.  I punched out a laser printed greeting, layered it onto a Modern Label punchie in a coordinating green and mounted it to the front of my card using double sided tape.  Very happy with how it worked out and I hope it will be a comfort for those who are grieving.

Therese

"Some bunny cares" fabric postcards

I created these fabric postcards the other day from a thrift store find that had bunny lace and these two little embroidered bunnies!  I ironed the fabric and discovered that because the pieces were rounded these little guys would need to have additions in the corners to create a 4" x 6"postcard.  I added triangles of yellow that coordinate with the bows around their necks and then cut them to size leaving a half inch on each long side so I could fold them over to the back and adhere them in place using fusible hem tape.  When I cut the backs I left them a half inch longer on each short end so I could fold them over to the fronts and thereby creating finished edges all the way around my postcards.   I added some batting between the two and fused my edges down.  This worked very well for finishing them off nicely.  I stitched all the way around the edge as well to get all the layers nicely connected.  I added a line for the to and from and then stitched in some grass with green embroidery thread.  I had been experimenting with fabric labels for my next project so I had two of these little "some bunny cares" labels so I applied them to the bottom of the postcards.  I will be sending these as RAKs when I feel inclined to.

Therese

A large fabric collage created from small strips of scrap fabric

I created this fabric collage background fabric piece the other day by simply sewing small strips of fabric that coordinate loosely onto a substrate fabric.  It is 6" wide which will be just perfect for making fabric postcards for swap I have coming up later this year.  The pieces on the right hand side were tightly woven before being sewn down.  The darker middle section was much more loosely woven before being stitched into place.  It was fun to play with these small pieces of fabric which I found at a thrift store a while back.  Once I have made projects with this piece I will come back and them them here.  

Therese

Large birthday card with a layered flower embellishment

A card for my oldest daughter who is having a significant birthday this weekend!!!  

She loves autumn colours so I chose a piece of scrapbooking paper that reflected those colours with attitude.  I added a strip of brown grosgrain and a length of lace using double sided tape and tucked the ends to the back.  I created the coordinating embellishment using a large yellowish silk flower, a smaller brown one, a green sequin and held them all together with a dark brown brad.  I glued the decorative layer to a large deep red card front and adhered the embellishment over the ribbon using 3D foam tape.  I punched out the laser printed greeting using the Decorative Label punch (SU) and punched another in dark brown.  I cut the brown one in half lengthwise and mounted both halves to the back of the punchie using double sided tape.  I mounted the greeting to my card front using 3D foam tape!! 

They will all be here for the day tomorrow!!!  It will be a wonderful day of celebration!!

Therese

Tutorial - laser toner resist & watercolour cards

I made laser toner resist cards a while back and this time I decided to take a few photos and prepare a tutorial to show the process of making them.  I used free digital images from CLKER for these cards as well and created my layouts in Corel Draw.  I created backgrounds and layouts with the images - 4 per 8.5" x 11" and laser printed them onto white cardstock.  I trimmed them apart to 4.25" x 5.5".

Here is what you are going to need:
quarter sheet laser printed images/backgrounds
watercolours
water
a large round brush
and a waterproof work surface

Wet your watercolours so they are really juicy. Choose an image/background.  I chose this hexagonal background for my first one.  I started by adding several splotches of yellow, added several blue splotches and where they mixed it created some green areas. I ran blue all the way around the edges to make sure that there would be colour to the edge all the way around. Keep adding colour until you are happy with how they look.  Don't mix too much - we don't want mud brown.  That is it!!!  Set this one aside and create another one.

For this one I tried adding plastic wrap over the wet paint to get a cool pattern but because the cardstock is very absorbent I was not able to get much of a pattern.












This one is a floral background. In this case I was a little more careful.  I painted all the centers yellow first, then I added colour to the petals and finally I painted the background green.  I found the large paintbrush worked well and helped me resist being really finicky with my application of colour.
So a different brush and a different colour palette resulted in a bit of a different look for these cards!!
It it worth your while to make a few while you are at it.  I would advise having a few blank images/backgrounds on hand for last minute cards!!

Once they are dry they may need to be pressed to flatten them.  You may also consider wiping the surface with a dry cloth to remove any watercolour that remains on the laser toner which will make it pop a little more.  Once they are pressed flat, it is time to make cards with them!!  Trimmed to 4" x 5.25" they are perfect for the front of an A2 sized card. They can be embellished with greetings, ribbon, bling - whatever you are inspired to add.
Have fun and leave me a link in the comments with your creations so I can go take a look!!

Therese

Laser toner resist/watercolour cards with layered greetings

Another set of laser toner resist cards!!

For these ones I used all over backgrounds from CLKER which I watercoloured with bright colours. Really like how they worked out!!

Once they were dry, I trimmed them to 4' x 5.25" and glued them to black card fronts.   I added a 1/4" strip of black cardstock and black & white punchie greeting to finish them off !!

You can check out the other ones here and here. Just another option for this quick and easy technique.  Give it a try and leave me a comment with a link to what you created!!

Therese

A couple larger fabric collage heart cards

These fabric collage hearts were a bit bigger than the others I made so they did not work well for A2 sized cards which I what I usually make.  So I dug into my envelope stash and found a couple envelopes that were just a bit larger and created my cards to fit in them.
For my first card, I created a white card which fit in the envelope I had chosen. I created a background by adhering a strip of green cardstock to a piece of blue cardstock, trimmed it to fit on my card front and embossed it with the Swiss Dot embossing folder.  I had to put it through twice so I was careful the second time to position my top plate so it lined up with the last row of dots so the end of the folder would not crush what I had embossed the first time.  Worked perfectly!!  After auditioning my fabric collage heart I felt that the background needed a bit of something so I went digging in my lace stash and found this one that worked well.  I cut off the length I needed, applied a very thin layer of glue on the embossed green strip and positioned the lace over it.  I folded the ends to the back and adhered them with double sided tape.  I added my heart and machine stitched it in place using coordinating thread.  I added a handmade paper heart punchie which I tied on with pink embroidery thread.  I added a layered greeting below my heart and glued this embellished layer to my white card front.  After a bit I thought maybe the handmade paper heart needed a "bit of something" so I outlined it with dimensional pearl fabric paint and added a few dots as well.  To keep the thread ends out of the paint while it dried I positioned the card upside down on a shelf and held it in place with a little weight. Perfect!  The paint dried perfectly and the thread remained clean.
For my second card, I created a navy card to fit in my envelope then cut a yellow and green layer each a bit smaller than the other.  I embossed the green one with a heart embossing folder, added my fabric collage heart and machine stitched it in place.  I embellished it with a large brad which I coloured with a Sharpie marker to make it the right colour and then slipped four short pieces of soft tulle between the tangs on the back of the brad before inserting it in a hole which I made with awl so it would be big enough.  Really like how that worked out!!  I colourwashed a punched laser printed greeting with watercolour to coordinate, highlighted the edges with a black permanent marker and adhered it below the heart using 3D foam tape.
I am really liking these cards! They are artsy and unique!!  You can check out the others I have made here and here.

Therese

Another batch of laser toner resist cards

Another batch of laser toner resit cards!!  I have reused some of the images I really liked from the first set and added a few new ones.  Several of these required a bit more detail in the colouring with the watercolour - the butterflies and the flowers.  The other two I was able to apply colour to highlight the greeting which worked out really well.
Pretty happy with these cards!!

Therese

Quick and easy - laser toner resist cards

I have been pondering ways of creating quick & easy cards and here is the first technique I worked out - laser toner resist!!  All of these cards use black toner from a laser printer as the resist along with waterbased colouring mediums.  All of the images are from CLKER.  I created the digital files using Corel Draw but any layout or word processing software could be used for laying them out and then printed them on 8.5" x 11" white cardstock.  I cut them into quarter sheets and then added colour!!  These first three have been coloured using SU watercolour pencils.  For the first one I applied the colour to a silicone craft sheet, spritzed it with water and placed my quarter sheet with the image facing down in the wet paint.  Worked out perfectly!  I wanted the words in the pink area.  I did add a bit of watercolour with the crayons to certain areas - outside edges, some greenery and a few flowers and then spread the colour with a wet paintbrush.
For the two butterflies I applied the crayons to the areas I wanted a specific colour and then spread the paint with a wet paintbrush.  I added the blue on the outside edges by colouring on my craft sheet with the crayon and then picking up the colour with a wet foam brush.  It gives a bit of a different look.   Really happy with how these turned out.  The fun is that these can be painted any colour!!  So, next time I print them out I can make cards that look different by choosing different colours and/or colouring mediums.  FUN!!
There is one missing from this set - it was printed in gray and I was not happy with the result of that one so it has been added to the serendipity stash bin.  I like the contrast of black with the colour much better and in some cases, it was beneficial to wipe them a bit after they are dry to remove any colour that remained on the laser printing.  These buckled a bit with the amount of water I had applied so I let them dry and pressed them under weight to flatten them. You could dry them more quickly with a heat gun and then press them.  To make the cards I trimmed the images to 4" x 5.25" and adhered them to a coordinating card front.

 For this set of cards I used one of the grungy CLKER backgrounds and added images and greetings. I did have to use images or fonts filled with white if I did not want the background to show through - for example, the rose and Happy Birthday.  The heart was transparent and the background shows through.

For these ones I used watercolour from a kids set and a foam brush, randomly adding strokes of colour that worked together until I was happy with the look of the piece.  I did add colour to the flower, the heart and the Happy Birthday afterwards with a smaller paintbrush to get them to stand out more.

 For this set I used Distress Ink pads applied directly to my silicone craft sheet, spritzed with water and then laid the cardstock into the puddle of paint with the image facing down.  I kept sopping up paint until I was happy with how it looked.   I really liked this process and it was possible to choose to place certain colours in specific areas.  I really wanted the top of the thank you card to be lighter and it turned out just like I wanted it to!!

UPDATE:  I have made a few more of these cards since this posting and have created a tutorial as well.  You can find the other cards here and here.   The tutorial is here or you can CLICK Tutorials above and scroll the the bottom of the list and click the link.

So this has been a fun experiment!!  I found it was relatively easy to create some artsy cards using white cardstock, some free digital images, my laser printer and some easily available colouring mediums.  The kids sets of watercolours are on sale at this time of the year and will provide colour for hundreds of cards.
I challenge you to give it a try and let me know how it works out for you!!  Leave me a comment with a link to your creations and I will go and check them out!!

Therese

A few more fabric collage cards

A few more cards that I made with the fabric collages I created a while back.  The collages were created by machine stitching together coordinating fabric scraps and then free hand cutting hearts from them.  

For the first card, I adhered two kraft cardstock strips to a piece of embossed (Swiss Dots) navy cardstock.  I added a layer of scallop edged kraft tulle (SU) adhering the ends to the back with double sided tape.  I positioned my fabric collage heart and machine stitched it in place using coordinating thread.  I added a scalloped heart punchie button which I tied on with kraft coloured embroidery thread knotted twice to keep the button in place.  I colour washed a laser printed greeting and mounted it to this layer using two tiny black brads.  This embellished layer was then adhered to a dark red card front to complete my card.  

For my second card, I stitched my fabric collage heart to an ivory layer and added a paper button tied on with black thread.  I used my stamping jig to stamp on the greeting (SU) in black in exactly the right place.  I layered this onto navy cardstock and machine stitched them together using navy thread.  This embellished layer was then adhered to a dark red card front.  

You can check out the other cards I made with my fabric collage hearts here.   

Therese

Serendipity heart card

I had this serendipity heart sitting on my desk and decided to create an anniversary card with it. Also sitting on my desk was a few pieces of fabric which I received in a swap a while back so I decided to combine the two.  It originally was stamped with this script stamp and to make it more of a design element for this card I stamped it again using a darker ink.  Really like how that worked out.  I trimmed it down to size, added a bit of glue to my red card front and positioned the fabric in place before stitching it all the way around with red thread.  I adhered the heart to the fabric background using a small piece of double sided tape, layered on a folded piece of red seam binding and then used a white paper button and some gold embroidery thread to adhere them to my card front.  I layered a laser printed greeting to gold foil cardstock, flagged one end and stapled it to my card front incorporating a piece of folded red seam binding in the process.  Love it!

Therese

Fabric collage heart cards

 I have been playing with fabric collage and needed a few anniversary cards so I decided to combine the two and made a few cards.  

To create my fabric collages I simply took coordinating scraps and sewed them to each other by overlapping their edges and machine stitching with a coordinating thread.   

To make my cards I took each collage and cut it into heart shapes free hand.  The first two cards were cut from one collage. For the first card I cut an ivory layer and mounted two strips of green cardstock one on each long side.  Next, I colour washed two strips of vintage white bandaging that looks like cheese cloth with green watercolour and, once dry, I positioned them on the layer and adhered them to the back using double sided tape. Then I positioned my fabric collage heart and overlaid it with a short piece of ivory lace and machine stitched it in place using coordinating thread.  I layered my laser printed greeting onto the same green cardstock I used on the layer and stitched it in place as well.  I found these little ribbon bows in my stash. I placed one over the lace and sewed it on with coordinating embroidery thread tying two knots to keep it in place.  This embellished layer was adhered to a coral card front to complete my card.  Really happy with how this card worked out!  Encouraged by my first attempt I made another one!!  For this card I used a similar piece of ivory cardstock and stitched on kraft cardsstock strips on each long side.  I added some scallop edged tulle (SU) over the middle and gathered the middle portion keeping it in place using double sided tape.  I positioned my fabric collage heart over the tulle and stitched it in place, layered my laser printed greeting onto lavender cardstock and also stitched it in place.  I finished off this layer by positioning a short piece of lace over my heart and sewing on a little bow using lavender embroidery thread knotting twice to hold them in place.  I adhered this embellished layer to a peach coloured card front.  Fun!!!

For this third card, I pieced strips of blue cardstock together by adhering them to each other on the back with regular tape then embossed this layer with a circle/dot embossing folder.  I layered my fabric collage heart over a white mesh fabric, stitched it with coordinating thread and then trimmed the mesh fabric close to the heart.  I positioned this heart on my blue layer, added a handmade collaged heart button and tied them in place using rose coloured embroidery thread.  I layered my laser printed greeting onto rose cardstock and adhered it to the blue layer using double sided tape.  This embellished layer was mounted to a white card front.
Loving the artsy look of these cards!!  You can check out the collaged button instructions by clicking the link in the text or by clicking TUTORIALS above and scrolling down to the Collage Button tutorial.

Therese

Large all occasion cards

 I made up a few large cards for my sister this week. She left her supplies here last year and I am attempting to make cards for her as often as possible.  I was headed to her house yesterday so I brought along what I had made.
The happy bird-day greeting is from Michelle Perkett and was so fitting to combine with this bird decorative paper.  I added a ribbon with three decorative brads in the middle and some ivory borders cut with deckle decorative scissors on either side of the bird paper.  I watercoloured the image and layered it onto red before adhering it to the front of the card with 3D foam tape.
The second card features some very soft looking green flourish paper over ivory cardstock which I combined with a softly watercoloured stamped maple leaf image.  I layered the image with green cardstock, added a length of ivory tulle which I tied on, embellished it with several points of green ribbon which I attached using double sided tape on the back and then adhered it to the front of the card using 3D foam tape.  I layered the punched greeting with a green one which I cut in half and adhered to the back before adding to my card front.

The third one features a book image from CLKER which I combined with the quote before colour printing it.  It was colour washed with watercolour and then double layered in brown cardstock and red decorative paper.  I punched the side of the red paper with a scallop punch (SU) and pierced the scallops with a push pin.  I combined a length of coordinating ribbon over a strip of ivory cardstock and flagged the right hand side.  I mounted it over the decorative paper and then adhered the layered image over it with 3D foam tape.  I layered the punched greeting (SU) and mounted it to the card front with double sided tape.
The fourth card features a simple laser printed greeting layered on black and then onto yellow.  I layered the decorative paper onto a red card front and then added the triangle which was a black cardstock which was embossed with dots offcut from a different project.  I thought it needed a bit of something between the black and the greeting so I added an embossed strip of green layered over a strip of kraft cardstock.  That worked perfectly!

The fifth one features a CLKER image of a vintage village scene which I thought worked well with the gingham decorative paper.  I really liked the ribbon with the paper and image but it needed a bit of something behind it to add some texture and soften the look.  I found a roll of vintage white bandaging that looked a lot like cheesecloth in my stash so I dyed a couple of lengths of it with watercolour to coordinate and added that below the ribbon.  That worked!  I added a folded length of the same ribbon behind the greeting which I had also watercoloured and mounted it with 3D foam tape over the other ribbon.  Pretty happy with how all of these cards worked out!!  It has been a slow but sure process getting cards made for her but I do enjoy making the large cards and it is a different sort of challenge.  I have earmarked some large images which I gained from swaps years ago which I will watercolour  and add to the next set of cards I make for her.

Therese

Summer crazy quilted block

I have been working on a crazy quilted block for a swap on one of my groups.  After researching the cost of sending this one and getting one back in return I have decided not to participate in the swap.  It is the same place I was with the felted wool swap earlier this year.  So I have now learned the lesson but I still have most enjoyed the process of making it!!  I started by piecing some scraps onto a cotton substrate.  The finished square was to be 8" x 8" so we needed to allow at least 8.5" or 9" so that when it was sewn up it would finish at 8" square.  We were warned that stitching sometimes takes up some inches as well so I started with 9.5" to make sure mine would be large enough in the end.  I stitched on blue scraps at the top for the sky, green for a prairie horizon line, yellows for a canola field, a deeper blue on the lower right for creating a prairie lake and a gray on the very bottom for the road using my sewing machine to secure them in place.  Some were sewn to each other before stitching them down.  Others were stitched directly in place.  I started my hand stitching by stitching all of the stitch lines in a colour of thread as close to the fabric as possible.  Then I added stitching on the green horizon line to give the feeling of trees.  I did a variety of greens and then added some brown to simulate trunks and branches.  I added a white line of stem stitching to simulate a jet's vapour trail and added a little silver bead at the end to represent the plane.  After a bit I started feeling that I needed to add some machine stitching to keep the layers all

in place.  I realized that the process of adding sewing machine stitching would have been much easier before the addition of any hand stitching.  Lesson learned for next time around.   I added some beads to the tree line and eventually added a couched funky fiber to the bottom of the green to add texture and represent the shrubs that are often present there as well.
I added stitching to all of the open areas.

I added some stitched birds to the sky. I added a stitch bird to the prairie lake. I added beads to my rows of canola field and also to the water texture I added.  I have so much enjoyed travelling this province this summer.  The skies are so blue, the canola fields are so yellow and

the water reflects so perfectly the sky and the waterfowl are always swimming around and looking so at home on them.  I added a fence - brown fence posts and gray barbed wire between the bottom road and the rest of the piece.  This is what summer means to be now that I have moved back to my home province.  

So in the end no one will see my square but that is fine. I plan on making the other three squares in this Seasons series and combining them in a finished work once the year has come and gone.
I know that my square does not have the typical crazy quilt layout but I am happy with how it turned out and look forward to more stitching this year.

Therese