Crackle background tags

I created these tags for a swap on AFTCM which required that crackle be used somewhere in the creation of them.  I have had a bottle of crackle medium in my stash for years and had yet to actually use it so I dug it out and got started!!  I created several pieces of background paper in my attempts and had only one really crackle.  Needless to say there has to be some conditions that I did not fully appreciate from reading the instructions on the bottle.  So be it!  I got enough to create backgrounds for my tags and the other sheets will be used for other projects.  You can find a couple of cards created with these backgrounds here and here.
I used brown cardstock for the backgrounds, painted on the crackle paint and then added teal, blue and coral acrylic paint over the top.   The one that crackled the best had all the colours so I decided to use brown cardstock for my tags to highlight the crackled areas.  I cut the tags 2.5" x 5.5" and trimmed diagonal corners on one of them.
For the left hand tag I cut the crackle background paper to be just a bit smaller, glued on some brown circle punchies and punched a hole through everything. I found some (TH) bird and bird cage chip board die cuts in my stash which I embellished.  I trimmed the bird cage to fit on the card, colour washed it with black watercolour and added a black cotton hanger.  The bird I embellished with sheet music, added a brad for the eye and watercoloured it in blues and browns.  It needed a bit more "somethin" so I added this corrugated card board die cut flower which I embellished with watercolour and some punchies from my stash.  After I glued all the elements to my tag I added the LIFE sticker, a green leaf to the bottom edge of the flower and brown seam binding to the top hole.  Done and really like the final result!!
The second tag is going to the same swap partner so I wanted it to be really different.  I perused my coloured image stash and found this one that matched the teal in the background paper perfectly.  I die cut it with an oval Nestie (NB) and backed it with one in orange just a bit larger - that really framed the image nicely and set it off from the background.  Now, the background needed a bit of something so I embossed some swirls in two corners using copper embossing powder.   I punched the words, watercoloured them and layered them with a punchie before adding it to the tag using 3D foam tape.  To finish it off I added a slot at the top and inserted some brown seam binding.  Happy with this one too!!
They are off to my partner in Monday's mail.

Therese

Sympathy Card

Another card for my stash.
I found this image in the course of looking for other images and decided that it would be most appropriate for a sympathy card.  I trimmed the colour printed image (source unknown), layered it onto an ivory cardstock layer that was embossed with the Swiss Dot embossing folder (CB) and added a piece of ivory ribbon with an added length tied on to simulate a bow.  I layered this element to my green card base and added a colour printed greeting using 3D foam tape.  The greeting was punched out using the SU window punch.
It is nice to have cards on hand instead of trying to rush at the last minute if you need one.

Therese

Thank you cards!

A couple of thank you cards to add to my stash!  These fit in #8 envelopes and are a combination of supplies I had on hand.
The first was created around the die cut tag I found which my sister gave me several years ago to which  I added a seam binding tie in a coordinating colour.  I stamped the top section of the card front with a script stamp (SU) in ruby, sponged the edges and added a maroon layer at the bottom.  I added a sponged laser printed greeting layered onto a coordinating scallop oval to this section using 3D foam tape.  I trimmed the laser printed butterfly (CLKER) closely, watercoloured it with coordinating colours and added both elements to the card front to finish it off.   For the second card I found this stamped and pearl embossed flower image with the ribbon al ready attached in my stash.  I simply added a scalloped layer in behind and embellished it with a silver toned gel pen.  Added a section of the same cardstock to the bottom of the card front and adhered a layered greeting.  
It has been good to have time to play and make single cards using some items I have on hand.

Therese

Another Thank you!!

While I was at it I made another Thank you card for my stash!!
Here I embossed the short end (front) of the card with the distressed embossing folder and added another section of blue cardstock to complete the front.  I sponged on some brown ink to help it coordinate with my main image which was stamped on the decorative paper using a SU solid floral stamp. Unfortunately, my dark brown ink pad was not really dark enough so I added some brown with a marker to help the image contrast with the background.  I added a line of faux stitching on the three straight edges as well.  To complete the card I added a strip of brown cardstock below the main image and a layered greeting on the lower right.
I expect I will need to beef up my stash of Thank you cards to be sure I have enough to get me through to after the move.  We have sold our house and purchased one out west so very soon I will be packing up my craft room and plan to have on hand the cards I will need for the interim so I have a few cards to get ready to go!!

Therese

Thank you card

We are fortunate to have wonderful neighbors who have been taking care of our house for us for the last couple of weeks so I baked them a pie and made this card to let them know that we appreciate what they do for us!!
This card fits in a #8 envelope.  I started with a 3.5" x 8.5" piece of cardstock, folded it at 6.25", embossed the short side (TH) and added a piece of blue cardstock to complete the card front.  I added a piece of torn decorative paper which I embossed with a QK embossing folder of flowers and then sponged with both blue and brown inks to emphasize the embossing.  I layered the decorative paper onto a piece of brown cardstock, added a length of brown seam binding which I glued to the card front with double sided tape and then glued my layered colour printed greeting on with 3D foam tape over it.  I then tied a short length of seam binding to the other one to simulate a bow.  I also added sponging in brown to all the edges of the card!!
The decorative paper is one that I created in my experimentation with crackle medium that for some reason did not crackle as I expected!  Will try again!!

Therese

Cards for baby

It is fun to create baby cards!!  I made this set of cards for a couple who are expecting a baby girl any time now.  As new parents they will have all sorts of things to take care of so I thought a few cards would be good for them to have on hand.
I used white cardstock (8.5" x 3.5") for the base of the cards and added pieces of pink embossed cardstock to complete the fronts to fit in #8 envelopes.  I added a border punched strip that I sponged a bit on each edge and then added some double sided ribbon - white and pink. I tied a short length to the main piece to simulate a bow.  I layered the embellishment right over where the white and pink cardstock are joined.
I used a watercoloured canvas to create a little envelope for the cards.  A fitting presentation!!

Therese

Baby card

Baby cards!!  Made this card up from a kit and it is perfect for a bright and sassy baby card!!  You can see a few more from this sketch here.
The strips of paper are simply woven and glued to the embossed card front as a unit.  The cute little horse image is from Beccy's Place.  It is watercoloured and mounted to a coordinating scallop circle (Nesties) which I embellished with dots using a white gel pen and mounted to the card front using 3D foam tape.  The little greeting was a tag I created using the SU eyelet border punch but the square end seemed out of place so I simply punched the other end as well which created more balance!!

Therese

Fiber and charms!

 Today, we made charms for our journals!!  In the photo you can see the progression of how they were created.  We started with a chipboard tag die cut (SZ)  to which we glued bits - screening and punchies.  Next we covered both sides with sticky backed duct tape and used a pencil to impress the edges thereby getting the front and back sticky tape to be well adhered to each other.  Next we trimmed the top and bottom with scissors and continued to use the pencil to reveal the texture of our elements and to add yet more texture to any other areas we thought needed a bit more.  Then, we did the other side.  Then we added black permanent marker over both sides and rubbed off as much as we wanted which leaves some black in the grooves and provides definition in our design.  Today, I also provided colour Sharpie markers so the students could colour in some of the elements and/or backgrounds of their tags.  We used cotton cording to tie our charms to the front of our journals.  These were fun to make and look so real!!

Here is my other journal with its little heart tag!!  I also added some fibers to the binding to make it more funky!!  With our embellishing done it was time to write in our journals!!  Some were keeping their journals as a gift so they did not write in theirs.

We will be making cards with our embossed paper in our next session!!

Therese

Journals - assembled and bound!

We have assembled and bound our journals.  Because we missed a
day due to another event we were very focused on Friday so we could get our journals assembled and bound.
To assemble we arranged our pages in order - front cover, January divider, both January journal pages, February divider, February pages, etc.  We added our envelope between December pages and the back cover.  Then, it was time to add our binding so we carefully arranged all the pages, dividers and covers so the die cut holes in the tops would align and we then inserted the Ceralox binding by putting each tang into the appropriate hole.  As more of the tangs were in place the pieces started holding themselves in place and it was easier to finish the process of inserting all the tangs.
Here you can see one of the dividers in the peak of the journal.

Here is the journal (different journal) opened to the first page.  There are instructions for using the journal on the inside cover and a large letter marker for the month of January.














January 1st!!  Because this journal works like a perpetual calendar we will be able to start our journalling on the day we choose because there is no year or day of the week information - only the date!
There are two double sided pages for each month which worked our perfectly for getting all the dates on for every month.  There is room for the longest months that have 31 days and that leaves a few empty spaces for those months that have fewer days like February.  There are four lines for each date which will allow a person to use this journal for four years.  You write "one line a day" starting with the year.

I flipped a couple of pages and you can see the end of January with the February month divider page.  And so it goes for each month!!

We will likely be writing in our journals at our next session but it still needs a bit of embellishment!!

Therese

Covers are done!!

 We added our metal embellishments to our covers!!

Using glue, we adhered our embellishments to our front covers.  This provided us a way to keep it in place while we added four brads to provide a mechanical attachment for the embellishment which will be valuable in keeping the journal cover intact as it gets used over the next several years.










Here you can see a close up of the texture on the metal embellishment.  It was super fun to create!  If you would like more information on how we created them follow this link to find out!!

Therese

Journal - monthly dividers

Our journals are coming along.  Last week we pasted our decorative paper to our monthly dividers.
The dividers are black cardstock - 8.5" x 5.5" and they give such vibrancy to the decorative papers.  They look very much like the art that they are!!
I have already die cut the dividers for binding and all the pages are ready to go as well.

Therese

Handmade paper journal covers

 We made our journal covers on Friday and they have been pressing all weekend!!
We started with two sheets of handmade paper - 8.5" x 11".  Folded each to half the size by folding both edges to the middle  - see top  photo - to create 5.5" x 8.5" covers.  We embellished them with some black embossed strips of cardstock which we folded in half.  We glued half to the front and back of each cover at the top and the bottom.  This added some colour, texture and rigidity to each cover.  It also strengthened the top which was die cut for binding with a plastic Ceralox comb and will help the bottom corners wear well as this journal is used over the course of four years .  As you can see they were also cut with decorative scissor on each edge.  I used pinking shears and embossed all of mine using the same embossing folder.  Each student did their own thing so there is quite a variety of interesting covers!!

Here is a shot of both covers on the other side.  Students will get to choose which sides they will use to be the outside of their journals.

We will be adding our metal embellishments later this week.

Therese

Metal embellishment for journal

Yesterday, we created our main decorative elements for our journals.  I made available to the students a wide variety of elements - die cuts ( butterflies, bees, trees, birds, etc) and chipboard letters along with a wide variety of punchies (stars, circles, butterflies, flowers, etc) along with some pieces of mesh (window screening).  They went through the elements, picked what they wanted and collaged them to a scrap piece of cardstock - 4 x 5.5.  These elements provide the texture for the embellishment so it doesn't matter what colour they are or what they are cut from.  After gluing everything in place we covered the surface in metal duct tape - two pieces with a seam down the middle.  As we applied the tape we took the time to rub all the areas of the piece to help reveal all the glued down elements.  Then, we used a dull pencil to follow the contour of each piece to highlight it and really start creating texture.  It was then time to add texture to all the flat areas by simply drawing with the pencil using some pressure to indent the metal tape.  We added lines, squiggles, shapes, cross hatching - just a lot of doodling and also impressed some areas of the mesh to create even more detailed texture within those areas.   You can see that I was able to add details to the bee by just outlining the different areas.  Once they were happy with all their doodling we covered the whole surface using a black permanent marker.  Then, we used a paper towel and some elbow grease to remove as much colour as we wanted from the surface.  The colour remains in the nooks and crannies of the piece to provide some great contrast and create some depth.  Lots of fun!!!  I die cut mine with the TH Ornamental die but some have chosen to keep the rectangle shape.
You can piece the metal tape for a more rustic and industrial look like I did when I created this frame.  You can use a variety of inks and paints for colouring the recesses and it doesn't have to be black - any colour will give you a really different look.

Therese

Envelope for our journals

I let each student pick out a coloured envelope which we reinforced very decoratively with this cool lettered packing tape.  The top of the envelope will be die cut for our binding so reinforcing it was necessary.  The journals will have room for writing a line a day for four years so the elements need to be rugged enough to last for that long.
Envelopes are always handy in any journal for storing any little thing you want to keep - ticket stubs, photos, etc.

Therese

Decorative paper

 Created decorative paper in my class with the same group of young people I created handmade paper with a few weeks ago.  This is a quick and easy technique for making decorative paper.
We used coated paper 28 lb bond paper, watercolours and plastic wrap!!  We started with a letter sized piece of paper, covered it with water using a foam brush, added several colours of watercolour over that and while everything was still wet we covered the whole surface with a piece of plastic wrap which we manipulated with our fingers to create a lot of wrinkles.  It is best not to mix the colours too much and to have enough paint to give you vibrant colours in your finished paper.  The larger sheets were trimmed to yield two 5" x 8" sheets which we will use in the "Line a Day" journals we are creating!!
I have used this technique very successfully with acrylic inks and acrylic paints as well.  You can pretty much use what you have.  Have also used a variety of papers - watercolour paper, cardstock and bond - again, use what you have.

Therese

All Occasion cards

Had a get together with cardmaking friends this week and I made these card kits for us to create with.
The top layer was punched with my new Fiskars Slot border punch which works just dandy for adding ribbon to a card!!  I used a length of ribbon and ran it through the slots and glued the ends to the back.  I tied a shorter piece to the front to simulate a bow.  The bottom of this piece was also punched with a border punch - SU Eyelet punch.
The little squares were created using a serendipity technique and then layered onto coordinating cardstock.  Both of these were layered over some decorative paper on my card fronts.  The top card has gift wrap and the bottom card is a piece that was created using a wax resist technique.
I love making serendipity paper with scraps!!  Always very unique and artsy looking!!

Therese

Postcard challenge

On one of the Cloth Paper Scissors blogs I found the link to a Postcard Challenge by Jane Davies and being as I was in postcard making mode I decided to sent one along to Jane in support of her post office!!
I used a piece of junk mail that I saved because it was so beautiful - this leaf image!!  I added the quote using a black sharpie marker and attached to the same postcard backer as the previous postcard I made.  
So if you are feeling creative and looking for a project why not send Jane a postcard!!  Follow the link above for more information!!

Therese

Past and Present Postcard

On one of my groups I joined a swap where I had to make a postcard with the theme of Past and Present.  It called to mind the quote that goes something like - Today is a gift and that is why it is called The Present.  I cut a postcard sized piece of decorative paper which I spritz with olive green alcohol mist a while back in the process of making Christmas cards.  It did not suit my vision then but worked well for this project.  I joined the dots in a rectangular shape to create a gift and left 24 lines to write on - one for each hour of a day - using a red sharpie marker.  I added a bow and stippling as well to give it a bit of dimension.  I used a black sharpie to add some thoughts on the gift we are freely given every twenty four hours!!  Below I addressed the past - keep only what sustains you!!  The past is over and it is only worth hanging on to the good stuff - the lessons learned, the great memories, etc.  Above is the future - keep in mind what you want and stay open to all possibilities because it doesn't really matter how what you want shows up!!   I sponged the edges and added a bit of stippling with the black sharpie around the edges.  I mounted this to a postcard backer which I got from Graphics Fairy.
We create our the content of our lives using our thoughts, our words and our actions which are all choices we make every day.  Being grateful for our many blessings   like our every day gift of The Present - makes us happier beings!!  Celebrate today, every little thing you  have been blessed with!!

Therese

Thinking of you & sympathy

I made this card up from a card kit that had lost its instructions. I love the technique - stamp in white pigment ink on black cardstock and then colour it with pencil crayons!!  Love the look!!  I added a greeting from my stash and layered it with a coordinating coloured cardstock.
Made this card for a friend who lost one of her friends this week.  It is never easy when friends pass away!!  We were all cardmakers and shared that activity often.

Here is the card I made for the husband and family from another kit that had lost its instructions.  I coloured the image, glued the decorative paper to the card front, tied on a piece of fiber and added a layered greeting.

Having kits on hand makes getting cards made really quick and easy!!

My sister has been preparing READY TO GO card kits for the last year and is finding that there are many people who feel the same.  Check out her blog and her All Occasion card kits here and her Christmas card kits here.
Take care of your friends!

Therese

Race car birthday card

 Hey!  When you are four you think race cars are just awesome!!  My oldest grandson turns four next week and his Mom is making him a race car birthday - invitations, decorations and cake!!  So I made him a race car card!!
I downloaded the graphic from CLKER and colour printed it on white cardstock along with the greeting.   I trimmed this element very closely around the bottom of the car and leaving a box at the top around the greeting.  I added a tag with a silver #4 and tied it on with some black and white bakers twine.  I added the stitching to the box because it needed "just a bit of something"!!  I embossed the card front using a TH embossing folder that has checks and some distressing which works really well with the car!!!  His little brother is turning one three days earlier so all the gifts and card were sent on their way for the party next weekend!!  His card is here!  Needless to say there is at least one little red race car in that box!!

Therese