My Art - Cardmaking #4

I love the look of navy and red!! Really worked well in this card. I had several images for this card set - a dragonfly by Magenta, a butterfly collage by SU and this saying. Love it! This was a going away gift from the girls at my last stampin group!!

The images were stamped in navy blue Memories, cut closely and layered onto navy cardstock. The scrapbook paper was layered above the embossed distressed stripes (CB). I attached the ribbon to the inside of the card again with double sided tape. Used 3D foam tape to attach both the heart punchie and the layered greeting.

So I hope you are inspired a little to get your thank you cards made early so they can be sent soon after the holidays before life gets back to normal and they get lost in the shuffle of everyday life.

When we express our gratitude for our blessings we focus on what we have which blesses us with yet more!

So I wish you a wonderful holiday season with good times and good food shared with your family and friends. Choose peace and love!!

Therese

My Art - Cardmaking # 3

This card worked out so well but it is a bit involved in that there are several components some of which are layered. The background is some really nice gift wrap I bought years ago. I still love the look of it with the gold highlights! I cut the piece larger than I needed and just trimmed to the card's edge with scissors. That ensures that it covers the card front perfectly without having to cut it perfectly and then try to line them up perfectly.
I stamped the green with the Baroque swirl (SU) and used a round dish to draw a line to cut on. I was sure to cut on the inside of the line so there would be no pencil on my half circle. The floral motif is stamped and cut out to the edge of the design and then layered onto a black circle.
I backed the ribbon with double sided tape and applied just the very edge of the lace to the back of it and then glued it to the red piece. Once the components were ready I first glued on the red piece, then the green half circle and the floral motif over that! I did stamp "thank you" on after I was finished!! If left off it gives you a card that is suitable for other occasions!! I was happy with the mildly vintage feel of this card created by the floral motif and the lace.
Therese

My Art - Cardmaking #2

Another relatively quick and easy card. The green layer is gift wrap - I bought a roll of it because I just love this colour! Layered on the twice stamped rectangle and then the ribbon which is tucked to the inside on both sided and kept in place with double sided tape. The embellishment consists of - pink scallop punchie, 1 3/8" green punchie, stamped in pink greeting punchie and a pink flower punchie. I used a push pin on a thick mousepad to make the holes in each scallop. I did add a bit of green stippling to the right hand side of the card to reduce the starkness of the white.

Just a note about punching thin paper. Sometimes it is difficult to punch thin papers so to help the process along do several layers at a time and place a regular bond paper scaps on both sides and the papers in between will punch perfectly!! Good for paper napkins, tissue and thin gift wrap.

Therese

My Art - Cardmaking #1

Had my December cardmaking session this week. It is early but in December it is always wise to schedule events early to avoid the Christmas parties and concerts, etc that are part of many people's lives. I try to get Thank you cards done so that they are ready to go when you feel you need to send a note of thanks to those who have been generous to you over the holidays!

Easy and quick card! Stamped the harlequin background (SU) in caramel, layered on a ripped green layer, added a punchie flower embellishment (SU) and a greeting.

My brain was still in Christmas mode when I came up with this design. It got more out of it as I worked on the other kits.

Therese

My Art - more Christmas cards!

More Christmas cards!! I had a cardmaking session on Wednesday morning and we made these two cards. Some were experienced card makers but most were newbies. Everyone did very well and were pleased with the cards they made. I made an effort to have cards that did not require too many tools or extras being as the group was quite large.
The snowflake card has an embossed snowflake layered onto coordinating cardstock along with a layered oval greeting. These are layered onto a snowflake embossed layer then onto a coordinating cardstock. I added a clear rhinestone brad in the middle for a little bling and it was just enough to make it sparkle just a little!!
The angel card has a few more layers but was mostly just gluing layers into place. I created the music background paper using a scanned sheet of music that I reduced in colour and added "Gloria - angels on high" in a very elaborate font. Once they were laser printed I colourwashed the sheets with walnut ink. I also very lightly colour washed the white cardstock that I stamped the angels on so it would all coordinate. I layered a strip of brown and then a ribbon onto the music background paper. The paper and brown cardstock are trimmed to the edge of the card and the ribbon is tucked around both sides and secure on the inside with double sided tape. I mounted the angel image (SU) on 3D foam tape to give the card a bit more dimension. The greeting was stamped in black right on the front of the card.

That is the end of Christmas cards for classes! I do have a few leftover from each class that I will use for sending out to friends and family!! I still need to write my newsletter so it can be included with my cards for this year.

Therese

My Art - Tag exchange

This is the tag I created for our Tag Exchange with the girls that meet here! The scallop design (SU) is stamped and embossed with a rainbow embossing powder that I bought years ago. It was much nicer than I remembered!! I added a scalloped layer below that which I cut with my Nestabilities in my Cuttlebug. Layered that onto a rectangle which was embossed with the D'vine Swirl embossing folders (CB) and dabbed a bit around the edges with the same ink that I stamped the image with. I corner rounded the corners before I embossed it. I added a brad to the center to hold all of these layers together. I added a knotted ribbon which I tucked to the back and then added this to a plain white layer. Added a silver eyelet and silver/white cord for tying on! We each made enough tags so everyone could have a full set. Kate made hers out of clay and fired them with a glaze! Super wonderful. I will be putting my angel "tag" on my tree!!

So we have some wonderful tags for putting on gifts this year though it is tempting not to use them because they are so nice!

Therese

MM - Sticky note book

Sticky note books!! This is a new spin on this classic little book that holds a pad of stick notes. My sister and I came up wtih this one while she was here on holidays few months ago. It holds a 2009 calendar as well and the pad of sticky notes and has a magnetic closure!! We used some glittery cardstock we bought locally and they turned out wonderfully!! You can find a good selection of these at the Merchants Mill in Consecon!!

Hoping to make a few more of these for Christmas!!

Therese

MM - Glass Ornament

Glass ornaments with my own little flair!! I used my own backgrounds that I had created with alcohol inks for the backgroud of these ornaments.

I would highly recommend that you scan any and all your art for future use and sometimes even scan all of the steps so you can use them later on.

I used a layout program to add white words and simple images to the backgrounds and then colour printed them onto vellum. I clear embossed the colour printing thinking it would not dry onthe vellum but several areas had already dried enough to not be wet enough to have the embossing powder stick to it. In the end, it did not affect the look of the image at all. I printed an 8.5 x 11 with six circles, embossed and then cut them out with my circle cutter!! I inserted them into the pancake glass ornaments by rolling them up and putting them through the top.

They turned our really nice and I am happy to see my own work featured prominently in these!! They were delivered to the Merchants Mill last week!

Therese

My Art - Masculine cards

I am looking forward to the new year already because I have a hard time getting those early new year cards out in time!! I need several masculine cards so I decided to make a few while I was at it. I had stamped these trees with Pearl Ex a few months back and had them sitting on my desk. Decided to see what I could combine them with for the cards I needed. They worked out very well!! I like the colour combinations and the different hues in the Pearl Ex that I could draw from for cardstock colours. Have not played with Pearl Ex very much but did buy a few colours from my local SU demo - SU has retired them - so am looking forward to more playing in the future!! You might need to click on the image to see the cards in better detail so you can see the Pearl Ex trees!

Therese

My Art - Christmas cards

Had a card for an exchange to make so used up the very last of the leftovers from that black and gold paper!! This one features NOEL printed on a laser transparency backed with gold gift wrap and mounted with double side adhesive and 3D foam tape. The gold paper was stamped with a script stamp (SU) in black and layered under the other!! Pretty simple but quite effective!! These are off in the mail and I hope they arrive before the end of the month!!

Therese

My Art - Christmas cards

A quick and easy design!! Had someone at my last class that is a beginner card maker who was wanting a few extra kits. She wanted them to be simple and easy to put together without too many tools and steps. The background was created with the Cuttlebug snowflake embossing folder. I added a layered snowflake embellishment (SU punches) and a glittery blue fiber for texture. It needed just a little something so I added a colour printed greeting that I punched out with the window punch (SU) and glued in place with double sided adhesive!!
It has been totally fun to create so many Christmas cards this year. Have two more to come up with for another class in just over a week. Will post them when they have been created!! I hope you will glean some inspiration from these cards for getting your own made in time for sending along to family and friends.

Therese

My Art - Christmas cards

Just love this black and gold combination for Christmas. I just had to buy this roll of paper when I saw it!! The ribbon matches perfectly and was a $1 store find - it is awesome high quality doublesided ribbon!! I cut the oval ribbon slide with my Cuttlebug and added a snowflake punchie (MS) with a black brad. Used a ribbon saving tip to maximize my ribbon and had JUST enough for all my card kits. The trick is to tie both ends of the ribbon to each other and then cut it to fit the front of the card. We used double side adhesive to attach the ends to the inside of the card. The greeting is gold embossed on the bottom edge of the black card.
Therese

My Art - Christmas cards

A glittery snowflake!! This is a Sizzix snowflake die being sold by SU. Perfect size for the front of a card!! My sister owns the die and brought it with her when she was here on holidays. We cut a bunch with my Cuttlebug. I used speckly navy cardstock that looks like a snow storm. I applied double sided adhesive behind the points of the snowflake, covered them in prisma glitter and then removed the carrier to mount the snowflake to the front of the card. I added a silver brad to the center!! I used the same double sided adhesive to add glitter to both sides of the colour printed greeting! Had not planned to add glitter to this card but after playing with glitter on the little Christmas tree in the last class I decided to give it a try. Work out very well!!

Therese

My Art - Christmas cards

A Queen Anne's Lace snowflake!! I picked more QAL this summer and pressed them for making Christmas cards. I just love creating with this soft green colour. I cut the layered scalloped circles with my Nestabilities and my Cuttlebug machine. There is a double layer of acetate that protects the QAL which is attached to the back layer with a tiny piece of double sided tape. There is an ivory layer that I cut at the same time as the front on the inside that hides all the layers and acetate. The outside of the card is stamped with a multi snowflake stamp(Michaels $1.50) in soft green ink. The scalloped circle that I cut out of the front ivory layer I stamped with a large snowflake in the same green ink and glued to the inside of the card so when the card is closed you can see it through the window. I used Bowtique ribbon (last year's supply) of the ribbon and layered my stamped greeting onto a darker green oval and applied it with 3D foam tape.

Love the natural feel of this card and it is really different as a Christmas card!!

Therese

My Art - Christmas cards

I created this card for my regular Cardmaking class for November - Christmas cards!! I do love playing with my Christmas stamps and seeing what I can create. For this one I created an alcohol ink background on glossy paper with a painters tape mask on the bottom to create a snow bank of sorts. The ink did leak a bit behind the tape but still gave enough of a masking to create the snow effect I was looking for! I used SU reinkers - Night of Navy and Brocade Blue. Really like the watercolour effect of this technique! Embossed the trees from Lovely as a Tree set over the background!! Love it!! Added a silver embossed greeting on the navy card and a snowflake brad to bridge the two!! Though it is not very visible I did layer the trees onto silver foil paper as well. Matches with the embossed image and greeting very well. This was a quick card and would work very well for a production card. You could vary the colours of the sky, the cardstock and the greeting for different seasons as well. Very versatile design.

Therese

My Art - Mingle fat book page

This is my Yalpha mingle page for November! I had it started early enough but they were late going out because I got all caught in getting my Christmas card kits ready. I printed a laser transparency with the large S which is a decorative font I downloaded from the internet. I glittered the back - white glue and glitter - so it required a day of drying before it could be assembled. I could have planned the positions of my snowflakes (MS) better so as not to interfere with my words but it is not too bad!! I am liking the posibilities of this glittering technique!! I think the next time I would print my letter in reverse and glitter the printed side which would make the outside less vulnerable to wear and tear!! Someone special will be getting RAKed with one of these!! It would seem that I have been on a transparency kick with these mingle pages lately. Will have to challenge myself with some thing new for the next one!!

Therese

My art - card for exchange

This card was made for my Card Club exchange! We challenged ourselves last month to work with vellum and one of the girls brought her extensive collection of embossing powders! It doesn't really show up well on this scan but the butterflies are wonderfully glittery!!! I had made several sheets of glittery vellum so used a piece on this card!! It was fun to find matching cardstocks and really highlight the fun colour in the butterflies. I mounted the image with 3D foam tape to add a bit of dimension!

I have been working so much on Christmas cards lately that it was good to change it up a bit and think of other options and colours!!

Therese

My Art - Hugs in a Mug

Here is my version of a hot chocolate treat for Christmas morning!! I have altered a tea tin (Tetley) with decorative paper, a belly band with instructions and a scallop with my "Hugs in a Mug" name!! I searched the internet for some hot chocolate poems and ended up modify one to fit my needs. The can contains hot chocolate mix, Hershey kisses and marshmallows!! These have been delivered to the Merchant's Mill. My sister has also made up a few of these for her sales this year and sold several yesterday so I am hoping they will be popular!! These would be great as gifts for hostesses, teachers, etc.

Therese

My Art - Christmas Cards

Peace on Earth! What we all want for Christmas!!

This is a large card that fits in a #10 business size envelope. I wanted the poinsettias to really show and found that the A2 size really didn't show them off the way I wanted it to. Love the colours - almond, warm red, sage green and silver!! This is also gift wrap I bought last year at Michaels. I just knew that I had cardstock to match the red. In the end, because of the size of the class I did not have enough red so I used almond as a base card and cut strips of the red to line the top and bottom edges so it would LOOK like it was on warm red. Works for me!! Gold embossed the greeting on vellum and ripped the edges. Discreetly added double sided tape - two little pieces behind the words and ensured that I caught the vellum with the brads in the snowflakes (Martha Stewart) to secure it in place. A card that came together very well and has some weight to it!! Very happy with the end product on this one!!



This is the last of the five in the large Christmas card class!!



Therese

My Art - Christmas cards

This is a quick and easy card!! The bottom layer is gift wrap I bought two years ago at Michaels. Well worth checking out the gift wrap as you shop during this season. Buy a roll or two to make Christmas cards for next year!! I stamped the harlequin (SU) on the top section and then added the decorative paper. I colour printed the words and then ripped both sides before I glued it over the

top edge of the paper. The star is plastic and was part of a garland I bought last year - not sure where $1 or Canadian Tire. I just cut them all apart and used a glue dot to attach it to the card front. Everyone really liked this card!!

Therese