Card kits - a quick way to make a handmade card

I made up this card from a kit from a previous class.  This is the last one from this class and it sure is nice to have had a few card kits around as it makes getting cards made so much faster!! 
I started with two pieces of decorative paper which I glued to the blue card front.  I added the wavy strip over where they join which I trimmed using decorative scissors and added texture with my pattern tracing wheel. FUN!  I watercoloured the laser printed and die cut sailboat image (Arthur's Clipart) and added the blue seam binding on the top securing it with double sided tape.  I added the greeting which I had trimmed with decorative scissors by gluing it to the side of the tag with double sided tape.  I adhered the tag to my card front using 3D foam tape. 
Do you every make up a few extra of a card when you are creating for putting together later?? 

Therese

January Cardmaking - decorative paper and 3D embellishments

For our last card I always try to make it the easiest one!!  

For this one I used a decorative paper for the backgrounds - either a full quarter sheet or two coordinating pieces to create the whole.  I added a layered greeting that coordinated and trimmed the ends to four inches.  

The greetings were laser printed and layered onto coordinating cardstock.  At this point on some of them I added texture with my pattern tracing wheel!!  I tied a ribbon using a double knot on the one end that had room.  I glued the greeting to the card over where the papers joined or wherever looked good on the ones that whole backgrounds.  I created small 3D embellishments that were created using punchies or die cuts.  The butterfly is a die cut (QK), the bird is a layered punchie (SU), the left hand one is a silver foil flower die cut treated with alcohol inks with a sequin and brad  (TH) and the last one is layered punchies with a sequin and a brad.  These were added with double sided tape or 3D foam tape.   What a versatile design!  By changing the paper and the greeting you could make a card for any occasion.               Therese

January Cardmaking - washi tape, embossing and a large greeting

I have been playing with washi tape so created some cards for this class to make use of what I had created!!  You can check out my washi tape experiments here.   It was fun to use double sided tape and tissue paper to make washi tape!!  With a bit more coordinating options after my creative session I chose three short lengths for each of my cards.  I flagged the ends but you can see that others are just ripping them.  I overlapped them just slightly and varied the lengths of them as well.  I created digital focal elements using a digital frame for the Deco Label thinlit set (SU) and filling it with a font greeting and some single elements from image fonts.  After applying the three pieces of washi tape I did some manual embossing around the edges using  the Swiss Dot embossing folder and a hammer.  I coloured my focal element with watercolour.  I mounted the background to a coordinating card, added the focal element using 3D foam tape and to finish off the card added three coordinating sequins using double sided tape.  I really like these cards!!  I created this other one using a fussy cut greeting instead of adding a die cut and adding a watercolour background before putting on the washi tape.  I will be trying some with stamping as well. 

Therese

January Cardmaking - a cute little truck filled with fun!!

Last time our cardmaking group met one of the girls wanted some Valentine cards for her grandsons that featured trucks filled with hearts!!  So I spoke to my sister, Sylvia, who has a little truck stamp and die set and we got together to stamp and cut a few.  We stamped in black and embossed in black then die cut them.  The set includes items you can put in the back like the tree on this first card.  I did a bit of research on line to see what others were putting in the back of their pick ups.  Hearts, gifts, pumpkins, eggs, dogs, etc so I came up with a few images that would be suitable including backhoes and so on.

So for my first card I started with a light gray card and glued on a piece of swirly blue paper to create a sky. I added a torn white strip to simulate a snowbank because I was creating a Christmas card.  I added some stippling on the bottom and a bit of brown watercolour to simulate a winter road.  I chose a little red truck and coloured in the tires with black marker and the windshield, headlight and hubcaps using a clear glitter pen.  I did add a bit of colour to the fenders on the back and front to add a bit of definition and depth.  I used double sided tape to adhere it to the front of my card leaving the back without glue so I could add my little tree.  I used the stipple stamp with green ink on the tree before tucking it in the back of the truck.  I added a layered greeting - laser printed words punched with the Word Window punch (SU) layered onto a red Modern Label punchie.  I added it to my card using 3D foam tape.

For my second card, I use a black card front and added a blue paper at the top and then a green torn strip to simulate a tree line.  I added green scribbles with three different colour pencils on the bottom edge to simulate grass in the ditch.  I used a white gel pen to add a dashed line to simulate pavement.    I glued my embellished red truck in place with double sided tape and then went about adding items into the back.  I had printed off a little dog so I fussy cut it and then added four balloon punchies adding strings with a fine tip Sharpie marker.  I love how it worked out.  To finish off my card I added a small laser printed font greeting with a flagged end.
I am look forward to adding more fun stuff to the back of the other trucks!!         

Here are some of the trucks filled with hearts!!!!  I have left off the greetings so that they can be customized for the recipients!!  The hearts are die cuts in two sizes  (CB) which used up a few scraps from my red scrap buckets.  I like that the hearts are all different colours!!!
 Therese

Valentine cards with some awesome decorative paper hearts

I am working on Valentine's Day cards and found these beautiful hearts in my decorative paper stash!  I have been hoarding them for many years though I have used a few over the years.  There originally were nine on the 12"x 12" sheet.  I have used up the last of them and I am very happy with the beautiful cards they made!!
The hearts were cut from the sheet to about 4"x 4".  As luck would have it I found a coordinating piece of decorative red harlequin paper in my stash!  I trimmed a couple strips of about 1.25" and added a piece to each heart.  I used a variety of ribbons to cover the joint before gluing this layer to my card fronts.  For the first one, I simply added a little gold die cut heart and I was done!!  With no greeting it is a bit more versatile as it can be used as an anniversary card as well.  The next two are very similar in that I added a gold embossed vellum greeting with torn edges.  I attached them to my card fronts using two tiny gold brads.  A short length of ribbon tied to the one on the card simulates a bow.

 For the last two, I added a heart embellishment which was created by layering two heart die cuts - one from red velvet paper and the other from gold packaging.  On the left hand card the joint was so seamless that I did not have to cover the joint with ribbon.  I simply embossed my greeting on the bottom strip and added my heart embellishment with double sided tape.  For the other I added an embossed vellum greeting along with the heart embellishment.  I love how these turned out!! 
Therese

Pink anniversary or Valentine's card

My sister, Sylvia, makes lots of her cards without greetings so they are appropriate for several occasions.  Love the versatility!!  So I decided to challenge myself to doing the same.  For this card I started with a white card and added an embossed pink background layer which I embossed with a floral flourish embossing folder (SU).  I like that it nicely fills the right hand side of the card with texture.  I added a length of white vintage seam binding and tie on another short piece with a single knot to simulate a bow.  I layered a pink heart punchie (SU) over a gold die cut (SU) which I mounted using 3D foam tape over a small piece of roses decorative paper layered over white cardstock leaving a very small border.  I mounted the heart focal element over the seam binding using double sided tape.  Love how it turned out!!  This card would be appropriate for a wedding, anniversary, Valentine's or possibly a birthday for someone special and I am encouraged to consider making more of my cards without greetings to make them more versatile!! 
Do you sometimes make cards without greetings??  I am coming to see the value of doing it especially when making cards for my stash. 

Therese

CAS - Watercolour background, washi tape and some flourishes for a great birthday card

I have been wanting to play with this washi tape concept for a while and after making some a while back I had a better supply of coordinating ones so I decided to give it a go. 
I used a scrap of foam packaging to create the background along with a pink Distress ink pad and a bit of water in a spray bottle.  Worked out perfectly!!!  I dug through my stamps and found this flourish that I bought years ago and has seen very little use over the years.  I stamped it once in black and then inked only the top third of it and stamped it again going the opposite direction Perfect!!  I added three strips of washi tape.  Can you guess which one is the one I made???  I made the pink checkered one using double sided tape and tissue paper.  You can check out my tutorial here.    I trimmed this chalkboard greeting close and touched up the edges using a black marker.  I used double sided tape to adhere it to my background and thinking it still needed a bit of something I added two little pink rhinestones.  Next, I added three pink sequins in three different pinks adhering them using double sided tape.  I adhered this large element to a pink background and my card was finished!!!!!!!!!  This is probably as close to "Clean and Simple" as I will ever get so I am very happy with how it turned out!!!! 

Therese

Blue heart card without a greeting

I have been working on cards with hearts for Valentine's Day but have created a few of them in non traditional colours and without greetings to provide them more versatility.  This one features a blue heart die cut from a collaged ATC from years ago.  I layered it onto a light blue heart die cut and went looking for a way to display it.  I decided to use an embossed frame which I manually embossed from an embossing folder.  I manually embossed it because the frame is surrounded by stars which I did not want around the frame.  I trimmed the frame by hand, added a length of blue ribbon to which I tied a short piece using a single knot to simulate a bow and then mounted the double heart focal element using 3D foam tape.  I found some coordinating cardstock and embossed a background using a heart embossing folder.  I trimmed it to 4" x 5.25" and adhered it to a white card front and finished off the card by adhering my framed focal element.   Certainly suitable for a variety of occasions and does Valentine's for anyone who loves blue!!                  Therese

Fun with digital stamps and heart punchies!

Looking for inspiration for Valentine's cards I got distracted with this hexagon digital stamp (SU - Lemonade Stand).  I created several honeycomb patterns using the single hexagon in the digital set and added greetings and images from a image font (2Peas - Peas).  The fun part of using an image font is that the images are instantly colourable!!
For the first card,  I added the "much love" image and coloured it red and left the honey comb pattern in black before printing it.  I trimmed it to size (4" x 5.25") and added heart punchies in each hexagon in a variety of red colours - the dark ones are actually shiny red which adds some fun to the card.  Thinking it needed just a bit of something I did some manual embossing with a hammer around the edges and near the greeting using the Swiss Dot embossing folder (CB).  I glued this embellished layer to a red card front.  A great card for anyone on Valentine's Day!!
For the second card I added a cute little daisy image and a font birthday greeting, laser printed it and trimmed it to size.  I added three little heart punchies and watercoloured the daisy to coordinate.  Did a little manual embossing with a hammer before gluing it to a purple card front. 
Had fun with these backgrounds!!  I have two more printed so they will show up in the next little while!!                   Therese

White on white anniversary or Valentine's card

After some success with making a white on white anniversary card I was on a roll so I worked on this card. 
The central medallion was created by layering three lace doily die cuts (SX) to which I added a pearly daisy punchie and a small round flower punchie.  I tied them all together using a rhinestone brad layered over a silver sequin.  I layered the embossed heart background over a white card after adding the length of white satin ribbon near the bottom.  I tied a short piece of white fiber to the left hand side with a double knot to add some interest and texture.  I adhered the medallion with 3D foam tape and then used white glue from a fine tip applicator to adhere the "love" (SX) die over the ribbon.  I placed a bit of weight on it until the glue was dry to keep it in place and flat. 
This card would certainly be appropriate for a wedding, anniversary or Valentine's Day!!  Gotta love versatility!!   
Therese

White on white anniversary card

You will find all sorts of inspiration on Splitcoast Stampers for white on white creations!!!  I have admired them all for quite a while and have made a few attempts but have not managed an all white one!! 
I started with a white card front and added six little embossed rectangles that were sitting on my desk.  They are a bit warmer white than the card which added some contrast right off the hop!!  I wanted a large embossed central element so I went looking through my embossing folders and found this border one which I have not used very often so I embossed a rectangle of white cardstock with it.  It seemed a bit boring to just have a rectangle so I dug out my TH edge die (not used very much) and cut the top and bottom using one edge and the left and right using the other.  That worked out better than I had expected!!  The "LOVE" die cut (SX) was sitting on my desk from Christmas cards and I thought it would make this into a lovely anniversary card but I felt it needed a bit of something below it so I dug through my lace stash until I found this nice small lace with scallops.  Perfect!!  It is a bit satiny so adds some luxuriousness to this focal element which was just what it needed.  I cut a piece and glued both ends to the back using double sided tape.  To adhere the die cut over it I used a few spots of white glue applied with a fine tip applicator in strategic areas and then gently laid it in place and added just a slight bit of weight and left it to dry.  I mounted the focal element to my card front using 3D foam tape and thinking that it needed just a little bit more I added the tiny white hearts all the way around.  I am super happy with how this card worked out and I look forward to challenging myself to white on white again!! 

Therese

DIY foam background stamp

I have been admiring the watercolour backgrounds created by several artists on Splitcoast Stampers!!  They are using products that I do not own so I was wanting to create a similar look using what I had.  So I dug out some foam packaging, a mount, ink pads, some white cardstock and some water in a spray bottle.  I tore a piece of the foam packaging so it would have rough edges and then used a palette knife to give it some texture by just digging it into the surface enough to compress the foam and mark it.   That worked beautifully!! 

I adhered it my stamp mount and proceeded to play with it and some ink pads to see what I would get.  To get a diffused look I needed a light spray water before stamping and then I just continued stamping in an all over manner without reinking!  The chalk ink pad is the one on the lower right  - much more yellow that I was expecting.  Two different pink stamp pads for the other two.  The one that worked the best was using a pink Distress ink pad and it was the right colour for the card I was making!! 
So I am happy to have "made" myself a fun background stamp and I will be playing with this idea for another while!!  I hope you will all consider experimenting with your tools and supplies when following the inspiration of an online creation!!!

Therese

Another sympathy card reusing a card front

Another card for the stash!  I reused a notecard front using it as a background on this card.  I love the colours - off white, green, gray and black!!  I trimmed the front to size and then punched a hole in near the bottom edge using the Modern Label punch (SU).  I added a length of vintage seam binding between the opening and the left hand side and tied another short piece to it to simulate a bow.  I layered this decorative piece to dark gray and then to a green card front.  I added a laser printed greeting punched with the Word Window punch (SU) into the opening using double sided tape.  Perfect for a sympathy card!!

Therese

The last of a set of monochromatic cards created with coordinating papers

These are the last two cards I created using the set of focal elements I created from a sheet of scrapbook paper by cutting out all the large floral elements on the sheet.  I layered the focal elements onto dark maroon cardstock. 
Check out the other two sets here and here. 
For my first card I started with a dark maroon card front and layered on strips of two of the other papers.  I added a length of wide coordinating gros grain ribbon adhering one end to the inside of the card using double sided tape and the other flagged end to the card front using double sided tape as well.  I applied glue stick to the area in between to get a smooth ribbon.  I created a little laser printed greeting which I trimmed with scalloped decorative scissors, pierced each scallop and sponged on a bit of colour.  I mounted it to the bottom edge of my large focal element before adhering it to the front of my card overlapping the ribbon using 3D foam tape. 

For the next card, I used two scraps of the original paper from which I trimmed the focal elements which I glued to my maroon card front at the top and bottom.  I trimmed a length of white cardstock using scallop decorative scissors, pierced each scallop and ran my tracing wheel along each length to create a line of piercing.  Love that little tool!!  I layered a length of maroon cardstock over it and then glued this element over the gap between the paper on the front of my card.  I added a length of coordinating gros grain ribbon on the right hand side of the card creating a slot on the spine in which I inserted the end of my ribbon and glued it in place with double sided tape.  I used double sided tape on the flagged end as well and some regular glue stick in between to get my ribbon nice and smooth.  I added a vellum laser printed greeting to my focal element by folding over the edges of the strip and adhering them to the back with regular tape.  I adhered this large element to the front of my card over the ribbon using 3D foam tape. 
I am happy to have made six cards with this challenge!!!  I have a few more sheets to go and we will have to see what comes of those.               Therese

DIY - Washi tape

I have a few rolls of washi tape that I have purchased over the years.  The ones purchased together coordinate but the groups do not coordinate very well so I am often left wanting to use the tapes but not finding what I need in the collection I have.  SO..... I decided more washi tape would be required before I could liquidate the supply I have.  Make any sense?? There is some logic to it but as you can see from the box that by the end of my Washi Tape making session I have pretty much tripled my selection!!  And so it is!  Those with clips have a carrier and those on the tube were made with the medical tape. 

I did a little bit of research on line looking for Washi Tape tutorials and found quite a few using several different techniques!!  I really like the translucent look of the ones made with tissue paper so I decided to give it a go!  I collected tissue paper, double sided tape, a pair of scissors and a scoring tool (AKA a bone folder).  For any tissue paper that was not smooth I gave it a bit of a press with my iron before getting started.  Once flat, I ran a length of double sided tape over the back side of the tissue paper and then carefully trimmed both sides with the scissors.  Next I burnished the whole length to ensure its adherence and smoothness.  It is best to work on a hard surface which reduces the amount of wrinkles introduced into the final washi tape.  I used clear double sided tape with a substrate as well as a carrier.  Having a carrier works the best when it comes to storing your newly created washi tape because you can just roll it up and it does not stick anywhere you don't want it too.  This washi tape is very sticky and therefore cannot be rolled onto itself like the commercial kind.  It does not tear easily because of the substrate but it has the translucent quality that the commercial ones have. 
For my second attempt I used a more opaque tissue which came wrapped around something and a wider different opaque double sided tape.  These two worked quite well together but the result is opaque and does not tear because of the plastic substrate as well.  It can easily be coloured with ink pads and stamped on to add some texture and designs which means it can be customized for any project.  Using wider tape allows you to cut it down in width and get twice as much washi tape for your effort. 
On my next attempt I used double sided tape from a local store which is very thin and has no substrate - just glue on a carrier!  This one works the best to make nice translucent tape that tears easily!!  You do have to be careful to use the clearest glue you can get.  Yellow glue will show through white tissue paper and affect the look of your washi tape.  Of course, if used on warm coloured tissue paper it matters much less.  Very close to the real thing though you cannot roll it onto itself because it is too sticky!!  I really liked this tape and it was fun to play in my supply of tissue papers!!  In the tutorials they suggested that the single coloured layer of paper napkins can be used in the same way.  Will try that next time!!
On my last attempt I used medical tape!! I laid out several strips on a the smooth back of a plastic place mat before applying colour with permanent ink pads.  I used tiny detailed stamps and coordinating permanent ink colours to add some texture and designs to these lengths of washi tape.  This tape does take colour reasonably well but is generally still quite translucent and when dry is the most like real washi tape as it can be rolled upon itself as it is not too sticky and tears very easily.  It is more difficult to get really bright and contrasting colours on this tape.  I have used watered down acrylics in the past and it works as well as the ink did. You can check out my Faux Washi Tape posting here!!   I will consider a coat of gesso on the tape when I try this next time.  It should give me a bit more opacity but also provide a better surface to which I can add paint or ink and get brighter colours.  This should allow a broader spectrum of ways to finish off the tape with colour, markers, stamping, etc which should provide a wide range of interesting washi tape that would more like the commercial ones. 
So I am very happy with my experiments with making my own washi tape!!  I most like the thin tearable double sided tape on the tissue paper and except for not being able to roll it onto itself it makes great washi tape.  It works for me because of the large variety of tissue papers I have. 
The medical tape works really well too and because it requires ink/paint and stamps it a good option for someone who had an abundance of those instead of a tissue paper supply. 
Be sure to create some coordinating washi tapes so you can combine them in your creative projects!!!!  Leave me a comment and include a link to your Washi Tape fun!!!

Therese

Sympathy card with a reused calendar page and some ribbon

A sympathy card for my stash.  I reused a calendar page which was donated to me a while back.  I love the softness of this winter scene.  I trimmed the page to 4" x 5.25", added a coordinating ribbon and adhered this large element to the front of a blue card.  I tied a short piece of the organza ribbon to the length on the card using one knot to simulate a bow.  I left the knot soft so the ends would not be too vertical.  I added a layered punchie greeting that consists of a laser printed font greeting (SU  Word Window) over a dark blue label (SU Modern Label) and adhered it with 3D foam tape.  Good to have a few of these on hand.            Therese

Thank you card sets using small envelopes

 I received a generous donation of cardmaking supplies which included some envelopes which are just a bit smaller than A2 so I have decided to use them to make Thank you card sets.  I love this paper!!!!!!!!  My daughter donated several scrapbooking kits to me a while back and this gorgeous paper was included in a fun paper pack.  The pattern is in the paper so I just trimmed it down to work with these cards and glued them to brown cards.

I watercoloured the laser printed digital greeting punchies and then layered them onto die cut scalloped circles before adhering them to my embellished card front.  They needed nothing more though I did try several times to include "more" to no avail so these came together fairly quickly due to their simplicity. 

Therese

Another set of Thank you cards

 I have made another set of Thank you cards!!!  The envelopes are just a bit smaller than A2.  I used brown cardstock for these and layered on some wonderful striped decorative paper. I watercoloured the greetings to coordinate with the paper and layered them onto decorative labels which I die cut with the smallest die in the SU Decorative Label thinlets set in coordinating colours.  I added ribbon to two of them, white fiber to the other one and just a strip of brown cardstock with flagged ends to the last one.

I am enjoying this process of making these cards!!  I only put single layer inserts in most of them but when I got to the two bottom ones I realized that in my enthusiasm I had fiber/ribbon on the inside of the card so those ones got full inserts instead. 

Therese

Thank you card sets in peach and orange

 In response to a generous donation of cardmaking supplies I have created several sets of cards for a wonderful person!!!  Some of the envelopes are 5.5" x 4 1/8" - just a bit smaller than the A2 sized envelopes so I decided to use these to make her a few cards. 
I started with some light peach cardstock and cut cards to fit in the envelopes (3.75" x 10.5) and found some paper that coordinated that I cut just slightly smaller to leave

a border all the way around.  I die cut scallops from the decorative paper, tied a ribbon or fiber between the opening and the edge and adhered these to the front of my cards.  On the one in the lower left hand corner I sponged colour onto the card front before gluing the decorative paper in place.  I watercoloured and sponged the my laser printed circle greetings to add a bit of colour and then adhered them in the openings.  I changed up the ribbon/fiber and the orientation to give them each a bit of a different look. 

Reuse photo calendar pages to create cards

 I have reused photos from a 4" x 6" calendar created by my sister, Sylvia.  She creates several different ones every year for sale and I am fortunate to get one for Christmas!! I trimmed the white frame off the photos which left them at 3.75" x 3.75" so I created a backer for them using Corel Draw using several vintage labels (Graphics Fairy) to which I added font greetings in a coordinating colour.  After laser printing them on white cardstock I trimmed them to 4" x 5.25", adhered my photos and then glued these large elements to a coordinating cards. When the photos are beautiful there is very little else you have to do!! These definitely deserve a second life!!    Therese