Another anniversary card - ribbon, embossing and beautiful paper

Another card for a special couple who are celebrating their anniversary very soon!!
I started with a large pink envelope and made a green card to fit inside once I had chosen this beautiful paper!! I trimmed the decorative paper to leave a small margin all the way around and glued it to my card front. I added a coordinating blue ribbon and tied on a short length to simulate a bow.  I used a slot punch (SU) to cut a slim opening on the spine of my card in which to insert my ribbon - works so well.  I cut a rectangle of coordinating yellow cardstock, rounded the corners, embossed it and add my little laser printed greeting on the bottom section.  I die cut two gold scalloped hearts (SU) to back my two heart punchies (SU) and layered them to create my focal elements.  I added them to the embossed rectangle above the greeting.  To finish off my card I added three little blue heart punchies and them mounted this large element to my card front using 3D foam tape.          Therese

August exchange card featuring one of my digital stamps, an embossed background and ribbon

My other card for my August monthly card exchange.  I started with a large purple envelope from my stash and created a yellow card to fit inside.  I embossed a piece of decorative paper and then ripped it in two as it was not quite long enough for my card!!  I drew this little flower image while watching a doodling video on You Tube.  I scanned the pages, cut out individual images and cleaned up those that needed it and then laser printed them on white cardstock.  FUN!!!!!!!  I watercoloured my trimmed image and added a green cardstock background to it.  I distressed the edges and added a piece of ribbon on the bottom edge tying off a short end to it using a single knot to simulate a bow!! I mounted my image to my card front using 3D foam tape.
It has been fun creating cards with my own images!!  Will be doing that again for sure!! Therese

August Exchange card featuring my digital image, decorative paper and some bling

Having caught up on my July card exchange cards I thought it only made sense to keep going and get my August ones made as well. 
I started with a large blue envelope from my stash and created a card to fit inside.  I added some brocade decorative paper and because it was a bit shy in length I cut it into two pieces and added a strip of coordinating grey cardstock on between.  I created this fun image of a trio of flowers while watching a doodling video on YouTube.  I scanned my pages, cut out a few images which I cleaned up a bit digitally and then laser printed on white cardstock.  I watercoloured my image and layered it with yellow cardstock.  The piece was a bit long so I used an eyelet border punch on the bottom edge and them used my score tool to emboss a strip between it and my image.  I added my focal element to my card using 3D foam tape and finished it off with three little clear rhinestones on the right hand side.             Therese

Exchange card featuring my digital rose image, some embossed borders and raffia & ribbon

I am tardy with my July card exchange cards so I managed to get them done this week!!!!  I started this card using a large pink envelope from my stash and I created a white card to fit inside.  I had chosen this little rose image which is my art!  I created several pages of doodles a while back while watching a doodling video on YouTube.  I scanned them, saved a few as individual elements and did some digital clean on those that needed it before printing them on white cardstock!  Pretty cool to be using my own images on my cards!!  I decided to use this beautiful scrapbook paper but it was a bit short so I created embossed borders for the top and bottom using pink cardstock that coordinated.  I punched the decorative paper with a scalloped border punch (SU) and pierced each scallop with a push pin.  I glued the pink borders to my card front and then added the pink raffia before I adhered my decorative paper over the borders centering it nicely.  I watercoloured my laser printed image and then added it to a cardstock background that was a combination of three different greens. Adds a bit of interest and uses up scraps from my stash.  I added a strip of double sided tape to one edge and placed six little pieces of flagged ribbon into it.  This helped add some texture to my card.  Very happy with how it turned out!!
Therese

Exchange card featuring my digital daisy image, a line of mosaic pieces and a bit of ribbon

I am late with my July card exchange cards and with a days break from summer activities I thought I would get some cardmaking done!!!  This card features a digital image of a daisy which I drew myself while I was doodling along with a doodling video on YouTube!!  I scanned the page of images I drew and isolated a few which I saved as individual images.  I did a bit of digital clean up on several of them and then laser printed them.  Pretty happy with how they worked out.  I will probably be doing that again so I can use some of my own images in my cardmaking!!  

I started with a large orange envelope from my stash and created a warm brown card to fit inside.  I layered it with this fun orange scrapbook paper.  It was not quite wide enough to for the card so I trimmed a piece from another scrap and because it was not quite long enough I used a pair of scissors and trimmed it into pieces and glued them into the gap between the other two pieces!!  I like the look of a sort of mosaic between the two.   I watercoloured my laser printed image which was trimmed from the large letter sized sheet I printed several on and then I layered it onto a green piece of coordinating cardstock.  I added a piece of double sided tape and placed six little pieces of ribbon into it to create a bit of texture on this card.  I really like how it turned out and will be using the concept of a line of mosaics on future cards!!      Therese

A thank you card featuring a reused layer, a punchie greeting and a bit of lace

For this card I reused this decorative layer featuring a multi layered floral focal element.  I added the little punchie greeting to the upper left and then added a green layer in behind my main decorative layer.  This layer had been trimmed a while back from a swap project.  I added a length of lace on the right hand side before gluing this large element to a coordinating pink card front.  This is a large card which was made to fit in a large green envelope from my stash.  I still felt like it needed a bit of something so I used my tracing wheel to add a row of pierced holes all the way around the green layer which finished it off nicely!!          Therese

Hand stitching in my trailer journal

 I have worked a little more on my Trailer journal while were camping with family a few weeks ago.  I added the words in the peach patch with back stitch in the car on the way up and also added some texture stitching to several of the small patches on the right the one rainy morning we had at the lake. 

 I am happy with the way things are going and I expect it will take a fairly long while to get it all done but there is not rush.  I have started journalling our camping trips and that was really the main reason I wanted to get it started so we could document where we had been and some of the details we want to remember about each outing.   Therese

Thank you card featuring a panel from a used greeting card and a large greeting

I started with a large envelope and made an off white card to fit inside.  I found this cute panel in my stash of cards which were donated to me for cardmaking that had a perfectly coordinated little bird on it.  I created an orange layer that coordinated that fit on my card and then trimmed my decorative panel into two pieces to ensure that it covered the orange layer which left a bit of a gap where the orange shows through.  I dug through my greetings stash and found this one which echoed the strong black line in the image which I simply adhered to my card front using double sided tape.  The greeting had been created a while back using a set of alphabet dies and white cardstock.  It had been then been backed with black cardstock. 

Therese

Thank you card featuring a reused pressed flower panel and a gold embossed greeting

For this card I started with this beautiful pressed flower panel which has very cleverly arranged pressed flowers to make them look like butterflies!!  The pressed flowers were originally protected by a clear acetate and because of that they are still in perfect condition.  The white panel was trimmed from it original card which was donated to me for cardmaking a while back and I simply adhered it to a dark blue card front which I created to fit in one of my large envelopes.  I trimmed a gold embossed greeting (SU) from my stash and layered it with brown before adhering it to my card front using 3D foam tape.  It is really nice to be able to reuse art which has so lovingly been created!!

Therese

Quick and easy card featuring a reused card front

This card came together very easily as I simply trimmed this beautiful image from a card front and adhered it to a dark blue card.  This is a large card which fits in a one of  the large envelopes from my stash!!  Therese

Sympathy card featuring a calendar page with crocuses and a layered greeting

Another sympathy card for my Mom. For this one I started with a purple card front and trimmed the calendar page to leave the frame image of spring flowers.  I used the scraps to create a border with decorative edges which I cut with deckle decorative scissors.  I added a strip of yellow to join the two pieces, two lines of purple using a purple pen and added a little sponged greeting using 3D foam tape.  Went together fairly quickly once I had all the elements decided!  Therese

Sympathy cards reusing original artwork

A couple more sympathy cards using original artwork/photos which were found in my stash of cards to be reused for cardmaking.  The first is one is a photo from a card that was sent to my Mom from someone from out east. Lovely photo of a daisy!!  The second is original art created by my aunt, Maria, which was our Christmas card from her a while back.  Both of these lent themselves to being sympathy cards so I simply trimmed them just a wee bit and adhered them to my coordinating card fronts.  I added a small sentiment to the one on the right but could not bring myself to do the same on the photo so it will go the way it is. 

A large card featuring a reused panel and a watercoloured flower image - my own digital stamp!

This is my last card for my sister in this cardmaking session!!  I reused the second panel from one I made recently with the scalloped edge.  Unfortunately, I had already used the other layer to make the other card so I could not trace the pattern so I just made it up - drew it in with a pencil and trimmed it with small scissors!!  It worked out well!!  Better than I expected!!  I decided to frame this floral image.  This is a digital stamp that I made myself!!!! You can check out the pages of doodling I did while I was watching a doodling video on YouTube!!  I did not always follow her instructions and did not do all the ones that she made but I was pretty happy with my pages of doodling.  I recently found these in my craft room and decided to scan them so I could use them as digital stamps.  I scanned all of the pages but only isolated about a half dozen images so far.  I cleaned them up digitally before saving and printing them.  I am pretty happy with this one!!!!!  After printing I trimmed the image to fit in the opening I had cut in my panel with a rectangle die (Nestibilities).  I added a ribbon below the opening and then a little gold star brad over the knot leaving the ends to extend on both sides. I adhered this large element to my large green card.   I watercoloured my image and added it in the opening using 3D foam tape.  I will certainly be doodling more pages of images - maybe butterflies or mushrooms next time!!  There are a LOT of doodling videos online!!  I will be making myself a few more digital stamps!!           Therese

Another large card that features a reused card front and some silk flowers

Still making cards for my sister!  For this card I created a large blue card and then trimmed a piece of pink shimmery paper to leave a small border all the way around.  I trimmed my card front into three pieces - two plaid borders and the main section in the middle.  I adhered both borders to my pink layer and then added the middle section in between spacing it evenly top and bottom.  I found some coordinating silk flowers, added iridescent white sequins and mounted them in the gaps using tiny white brads.  This worked out so well - a beautiful card with lots of texture and dimension!!   Therese

A large birthday card featuring a reused card front and layered punchie greeting

What a cute little peacock!!  Another card I made for my sister.  The card front was just perfectly sized with rounded corners so I dug in her stash and found a piece of blue cardstock that had a white core and decided to create a sanded background for the peacock.  I embossed my trimmed piece of blue cardstock with a swirl embossing folder and had to do it four times to get it all embossed. The center portion was a little funky looking but fortunately it is covered and the edges look good after a bit of sanding!!  I adhered my background to a large white card and then adhered my peacock panel.  I added a little layered greeting  - a punched laser printed greeting laid over a little green scalloped circle (Nestibilities) and adhered to the card on the lower right.  I added two blue rhinestones to the greeting because it just seemed right to add a bit of bling to this card!!  Therese

A quick and easy card created with a reused card front with a beautiful saying & great artwork

Still making cards for my sister and this one was pretty easy!  I loved the artwork and the greeting so I decided to use it as it was!!  Unfortunately, the one side was straight because I had trimmed it from the original card so I used the other piece of the card and traced the scallops onto the back and cut them out!!!!!!!!!!  I am very happy with how that worked out!!  I did add a little gold star brad because it just needed a little bit of texture and dimension!!  I created a large blue card and simply glued this large element to the front of it!! 

Therese

A large card with a beautiful maple leaf on handmade paper and some ribbon and brads

This is another card I found in my stash of cards to be refurbished.  Again, it is one my sister made years ago which featured a large pressed leaf mounted to handmade paper.  Unfortunately, the leaf had missing pieces due to its travels so I managed to remove it and so dug in my stash of pressed leaves and found this one that worked well with the green and the handmade paper.  I wanted to add some ribbon below the leaf but that hid the end of the stem so I decided to cut the stem and rearrange the bottom down a bit.  I used white glue to position both pieces to the handmade paper.  When the glue was dry I added the maroon and gold ribbon which I had layered and mounted it over the bottom section of the leaf covering up the gap in the stem.  I added three little square brads which I coloured to coordinate with a maroom sharpie marker.  I glued the ends of the ribbon to the back of the green layer and then adhered this large element to the front of a large maroon card.  I was happy to be able to give this card another go around!!  Therese

A fabric needle book case as a gift

 My Mom is having a milestone birthday this year and we are celebrating as a family.  Not sure she has ever had any sort of birthday celebration so I am so grateful to my sister for suggesting it and getting it started!!!  I wanted to make her something special that would be just for her.  She is a long time sewer and quilt maker so I thought it would be appropriate to have my gift connected to these activities.  After a bit of time I was inspired to make her a needle book.  Not sure she has one but I do know that she has a little metal box in which she stores her hand stitching supplies which she often took with her when they traveled and went camping.  She certainly in the last few years has embroidered panels for quilts with little scenes especially for baby quilts.  It keeps her hands busy when Dad is watching TV.   So I went looking for inspiration online and there are a LOT of images and tutorials.  I was tempted to make several of them but eventually came to the realization that I had to make a needle book that my Mom would appreciate rather than one that was most appealing to me.  So I decided it had to have a quilted cover and it would be best to be rectangle in shape.  Blue is her favorite colour so I choose four fabrics that coordinated and cut strips that when combined would give me a 5" x 8" rectangle.  I wanted to include some hand stitching so I cut a strip from plain fabric and embroidered some flowers in pinks to echo the bit of pink in two of the fabrics.  I went back to the notes I had made when I embroidered these felted wool coasters.   I drew in a few basic lines, stitched the stems in green and then added the flowers which are all french knots in three different colours of pink embroidery thread.  Love how they worked out!!!!!  I stitched the panel to the area of my rectangle which would in the end be the front of my needle book.  I cut a piece of batting and then a piece of cotton for the inside.  I chose a subtle white and gray with a few pink flowers to again echo the pink from the front.  I added an elastic loop then stitched around the edge leaving an opening so I could turn it inside out. Once I had it turned I pressed it really well.  I hand stitched the opening closed and then added hand stitching to the rectangle to better incorporate the three layers and to give a bit of texture to the front.  Finally, I machine stitched all the way around the edge to finish it off nicely.  I cut two pieces of batting to create pages inside my needle book and stitched on ribbon to add a decorative feature and to help give a bit of order to the needles as they are added.  I stitched the pages to the cover down the center using my sewing machine.   I created a heart shaped button for my needle case using shrink plastic and embossed it with a rubber texture mat while it was hot to give some texture.  I hand stitched to the front of my book and the elastic loop will now keep all the pages nice and neat.  

I am looking forward to giving it to her and I hope it will always be a reminder of a special day and how much I love her and how much I appreciate how much of an inspiration she has been for my life.  It sometimes takes years to really appreciate how another's life has been an inspiration for your own!!!!  I am grateful my mother is still here with us so I can tell her in person!!!!  Therese

A birthday card for my Mom (85) featuring a blue tag, an embossed collage background and a beautiful silk flower

My Mom will be 85 at the end of the month and we will be celebrating with her!!!!!  Blue is her favorite colour so I always like to include it when I am making a card for her.  I started with a large blue envelope and made a blue card to fit.  Next, I worked on a blue and white collage background. I dug through my scrap paper bucket and found a variety of white and blue pieces - a bit of watercolour trimmed from a decorative paper piece, some glittery gift wrap, tissue paper, etc.  I dug out a piece of scrap paper and glued on my white and blue scraps which included a few pieces of sheet music.  Once it was dry I embossed it with a large embossing folder which I had to do in three different runs to get it all done.  I stitched on two lengths of while lace and then adhered a length of white seam binding over the stitching tucking the ends to the back and adhering them with double sided tape.  I found this tag in my stash which coordinated so I added a small ribbon at the top and adhered it over my lace.  I found the greeting in my stash, trimmed it to size, distressed its edges and glued it to my tag.  A trip to my silk flower stash yielded these blue and white silk flowers which I layered and secured with a white button brad.  I added it to my collage background before adhering this large element to my blue card front.  I am very happy with how it turned out!!  My Mom is an amazing woman who has lived her life within certain confines but did it with grace.  This is a perfect card for her!!  She has been a seamstress and quilter most of her life hence the stitching and button brad!!             Therese

A birthday card featuring a sanded embossed background, bit of decorative paper and a layer with an image, a greeting and some fiber

One of our son in laws has a birthday coming up - same as my Mom's!!  I started with a large beige envelope and I created a sandy card to fit inside.  While in the drawer for cardstock I found the packaging for a neutral cardstock pack and I thought that maybe I could emboss it and sand it like white core cardstock.  It worked very well.  I trimmed the other edge and taped it to the other edge which added a strip of beige and brown.  I trimmed it to fit on my card front.  I added a small piece of decorative paper (gift wrap) with a driving theme just gluing it over the background.  I found the watch and scarf  image (Beccy's Place) in my stash and the greeting as well.  I watercoloured the image to coordinate with the paper and distressed its edges when it was dry.  I also distressed the edges of the trimmed greeting.  I mounted them to a coordinating rectangle of brown cardstock and added a leather looking fiber in between.  I tied a shorter piece to the front to simulate a bow!!  I mounted this large element to the front of my card using 3D foam tape.  Really like how this one turned out and it was fun to use free supplies!!  Therese