Cards Cards Cards....and More cards

Been very busy this last week.  Will be just as busy this week.  Lots of different cards being worked on and finished.

I am starting to find my groove.  I'm also going through and sorting cardstock and papers into 12x12 plastic bins, color coded.

My first fun thing this week was a little Easter Basket.  I realized as I started to look for card stock that was spring or pattern - I didn't have much.  I have lovely papers, so I put paper on cardstock. - This presented an interesting issue.  I need wide tape to cover large pieces of paper, so it doesn't come apart when I die cut.

Next set of cards a Sympathy,  Just because, and a Thinking of you cards.  I especially love how the Sympathy card floral piece really turned out.  I've started now doing a cool hack.  Every time I die cut - I cut two more of the same dies.  Now, need to figure out how to best save them since I want to use them but if they are hidden in some bin - I don't.  However, my Cinch will be here this week, and I found my card stock, I have some ideas of making my own storage books.

A couple o new hacks I am doing -layering sentiments, having fun creating art with components (the Just because I used paper and water colored paper to create the sky and the ground/hills.  And of course the butterfly - creating stained glass with multiple pieces to inset into the little open areas of the die cut.  

I can see why I want a Cricut now even more.  Cutting out those butterflies took a lot longer.  I have a lot of fonts that would be great sentiments.  And word dies are not cheap.

My last two finished cards for the week (though there are a bunch in various stages in a pile on my desk) are two Easter Cards.  Again, I love chalking.  It's just such a cool technique on any material.

I liked creating the basket out of the Dazzle and then curving it when I put it down on the card.  It gave it a nice 3d look.

Sigh - I ended up cracking the embossing folder that did the background of this card. This new rubber mat is thicker, and for some reason this time the cuttlebug sandwich was a bit too thick.  I need to figure out if I can get a replacement or fix the embossing folder.

Have a Happy Easter.

K3a - A card that just flowed nicely

I have to wonder how sometimes - a card design just flows - inspiration just rushes out of my mind and I see the card as I create the pieces, and it just comes together so nicely.  

And then at the end you look for the mistake..... or the flaw or the not quite right. (Another post for another time)

This card - worked so smoothly - flowed so easily, and I love it.

K3a - had only one real direction - having worked with me in the past = A Thinking of You card.  Free reign, open territory. 

I make card bodies all the time - basic card with some type of base paper, design or edging.  I have about 50 of them sitting off to the side just waiting. This one I covered with Mini Graphics English Rose paper and then used my Fiskars border punch - Sunburst and staggered the pattern slightly.

This one I knew as soon as I pulled it out of the pile was going to be fun.  I had die cuts and edging pieces left over from other cards, just eager to be used and within seconds I had pretty much the layout of what I wanted to do.

The little note card on the center was a piece of card stock left over from my Recollections Floral Foliage cardstock. I trimmed out the edges and then colored the corner flower with my Pebbles pearlescent chalk.   The upper edge is also from Recollections Floral Foliage.

I added the remaining Cheery Lynn Tiny flowers left over from my spring candle box (another post).  And then stamped the sentiment from Rubber Stampede - Elegant Sentiments - Thinking of You A861e.  I was so happy it turned out, so crisp.  I've been practicing on scraps of white card stock my stamping.  And yes if you don't practice daily it seems to become harder and harder.  Though I am definitely considering getting a block stamp alignment tool and a MISTI.  I know it would definitely make life a lot easier.  I have seen some DIY versions - might do... but I have a lot of wood stamps and its very hard to line those up sometimes. And no I don't plan on transitioning them into non-block stamps.  Too much work.

I used my new 4mm pearls, 2mm fuchsia and sapphire crystals finished the front, flowers and butterfly

The butterfly I cut out using the HOTP 5323 Butterflies die set out of the Recollections Floral Foliage. 

Inside I used Spellbinders S5-201 A2 Curved Borders Two to create the edging on the dark cream 32lb parchment paper and hand cut out little butterflies from the Reflection floral cardstock I had left over. The far back paper is just some random antique pink paper. I added the same pattern that the front has on the bottom and to the sides from the Reflection floral cardstock.

Added to the envelop another die cut butterfly.

Missing your friends? Looking for an easy nice cool way to say ...

Are you looking for creative and unique way to let a friend or loved one know

Thinking of  You

Get Well

Miss ya

I have plenty of open slots for commissions thanks to being staying at home during this pandemic.

Send me a message  -  to discuss a custom creative greeting card for your loved one, friend, or even just someone you think it might just cheer them up to have you send them a card

In the mean time .....

My Heartfelt Creation order arrived - Moving more into the 3-d world.

They have flower shaping molds that work with Cuttlebug.  For me I love hand made flowers on my pieces.  I especially love creating them, painting/coloring and then giving them a bit of 3-d work.

However, it's time consuming and creating more than two or three flowers at a time is a lot on my hands.

SO.... I went and got the Rose shaping mold and the Basics Shaping mold which will work with my die cutouts that I already have.  Going to use the basics today to see if I can create carnations for the K8a project.

If these turn out to be as useful as I think they will be, I am going to invest in the dies/stamps and forms for several other types.

And I have a design for the Monthly Dies R Us Challenge.  Will post tomorrow the finished piece.

K8a - This is just going to be amazing

First of all I like the fact that I know who K8a is. I know who the card is going for, and I also know that I get the opportunity to make a showcase piece that we're going to use as an example of what you can do with a card that becomes a gift in of itself.

I like making gifts - and art cards are really one of the best ways to combine gift/card.

Another way is my mini album ideas.  Bigger than a card, but not completely a full album.  Usually 5-7 pictures.

So this one is a travel album. The palette was really easy for me to pull together.  I love distressed watercolor cardstock. I wanted one page to be a little more formal so I found this distressed damask pattern in my inventory.

Next was cutting out the base which I decided to do a 10" wide which is scored at the 5" and 6" in high.  7 pieces of that.  Then I cut up the distress cardstock at 9" wide and 5 1/2" high

I did a quick layout look and feel to get an idea of what I wanted for pages.  Mind you I have a lot of work still ahead.  The blue back is going to get a light big stamp ink impression that is slightly distressed.

I have to cut out a bunch of different components to create a raised layering.  I have a lot of real amazing craft yarn to do little tails on each center section of the pages.

I need to look through my flower dies and find the carnation die and start on those components.

But I ordered the metal pieces I want to add to the book.

I have some ideas for the cover, need to order my chip board.  But I found the perfect ribbon for the lacing.

I might add some additional flat metal fleur de lis  embellishments and a lion head.

Tomorrow I am working with K8a to pick out the photos for each page so I can make the mats for the photos.  I have some ideas of some fun mats. 

Once this is done it is supposed to become a Star Mini Album.  More tomorrow.

#kickstarter #Make100 #scrapbooking #albums #travel #crafting

The best lay plans of mice and ....me

Preface: The card has been sent and I would have posted the first part earlier but I never found enough time to actually finish the post.  So this will be a two part post - first part catching up, the lessons, the pitfalls and some interesting wicked ideas. I have marked the dates that I wrote and saved the draft so I can myself figure out how best to update and when going forward.  I like sharing the journey of each card.  It really is fun.


February 25th
I've been having a hard time with this design.  It isn't that I don't have an idea.  The ideas I keep coming up with are for ornaments.  And that while it is cool, isn't a very Happy Birthday card.

I love the idea of making this into a Victorian Christmas ornament similar to another design I have done.

But no matter what I did - it still looked like a Christmas Ornament.  Once I finish it I will post to show how cool it is, but it clearly is not a Birthday Card.

February 28th

I have at least picked out the colors and started making the components.  I love this purple, but when I went to do the inset embossing in the component, well no matter how light my sandwich was, the inset impression broke the paper apart.  SIGH.

It is a frustration of mine that I can't seem to get the inset embossing sandwich to work - and with this new Anna Griffith Cuttlebug it seems even pickier.  I ended up having to rescue the mat as it curled itself around the rollers.  I never had that happen before with the previous cuttlebug.

I have kept this and want to see if I can do something to make it a little bit more creepy and use it for a friend who's birthday is Halloween.

March 5th

ARGGGGG

I love how this looks.  I love the purple flowered paper (handmade), love how it is turning out.  My 2mm new bling arrived finally and I love the long lines, makes for a nice border.  Need more colors...and pearls...

So I was about to put the Happy Birthday sentiment on and it just didn't look right.  It felt...like a let down.  So thinking now.  Birthday going inside the card

Yes I put it at an angle.  I love making corners, found this square die that I cut into for pieces after cutting it out.  Made a nice frame.  I have to set this off to the side so I can finish packing the first one and mail it off.

Lessons learned so far:

I need more practice with embossing.  Not all paper can get wet (you're supposed to mist the paper) but some of the paper I use have a sheen. That streaks and looks like well it got wet and dried.

I did manage to get most of the dies re-organized so I found some ones I hadn't used in a while.  I need to make more.  I like them... easy to make center pieces with.

Depending on the card's deadline - if I can't get something the first week, I reach back out for clarity and conversation.  I really don't work well with very limited information unless the person says 'Do anything'.

Letters - need to figure out if I am going to start using my massive font collection and print out the name - on card stock and then cut it out into some nest-abilities shape.

#greetingcards #birthdaycard #kickstarter #make100

Throwback Thursday

#ThrowbackThursday

- One of the valentine cards back sometime in 2007-2009ish I made where I really stepped out of the box and started exploring what my style is.

I realized at this point I like 3d look and feel.