John VM's Cards

Operation Write Home Sketch #108

2012-02-14T08:38:00.000-05:00

This is my card reflecting sketch #108 for OWH ... although my dimensions are a little off the general design, idea and concept of the original sketch are all there.

The flowers are all from K&Company/E.K. Success and the text is a silver colored sticker from Stampendous; which I colored copper with a Deca Color marker to match the copper colored lines from Mrs. Grossman's along the edges of the central band.

Happy Valentine's Day 2012

2012-02-14T06:06:00.000-05:00

This card was made using two of my favorite sticker manufacturers: Mrs. Grossmans' and Martha Stewart. The card is a simple 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" white card that I framed 1/8" from the edges with a thin red line from the Mrs. Grossman's Design Lines series. The background heart is the Grapevine Wreath from Mrs. Grossman's Paper Whispers series. The 3D glittered heart wreath and bird are from the new Valentine stickers from Martha Stewart, as is the small heart at the bottom of the wreath. The text; which I cut apart and rearranged, is from Mrs. Grossman's, as is the bow; which is made from vellum pastel ribbons from Mrs. Grossman's .

Unfortunately all the Mrs. Grossman's sticker used are all retired although all are still available at Gentle Creations on line. Happy Valentine's Day!

Generic blank cards.

2012-02-13T09:36:00.000-05:00

I am a strong believer in always being prepared and that is one reason I always keep several generic blank cards on hands. Here are a couple that I made over the week-end.

I wanted to have a spring like feel to the first card and yet be able to use for any occasion during the season. I started by selecting some beautiful 3D glittered magnolia blossoms and birds from "K&Company/E.K. Success". The blue lines in the blossoms directed me to complete the card using various blue tones. The background is a glittered patterned paper from the "Die Cut with a View" Linen pad; which I mounted on a metallic blue paper from "The Paper Company". I also used a white tag from "Martha Stewart/E.K. Success" which I framed by coloring the embossed detail with a thin blue "Sharpie" marker.

For the second card I wanted something that was a little more inspirational and could again serve several occasions, including Easter. Again I started with a 3D glittered sticker from "K&Company/E.K. Success" but this time I selected a batch of crocuses. The background paper is a lightly patterned tan paper from one of the many "K&Company/E.K. Success" pads on the market; which I edged with gold lines and filigree corners from "Star Form". To create a text area I added a shimmering white piece of paper (again edged with gold lines) in the center of the card and then added the flowers to the lower portion of the white panel to leave room for a future text.

These cards can easily become birthday cards, get well cards and even Mother's or Easter Day cards based on the text added.

Valentine's Day 2012!

2012-02-10T11:38:00.001-05:00

I've been making so many cards for OWH that I almost forgot to make my own personal Valentine's Day cards. Since I like ornaments, how about an ornament for Valentine's Day!

The fancy flourished heart is a glitterd rub-on from "Royal & Langnickel Brush Man." I located the rub-on heart on the lower portion of the card slightly off center and then using a fine point red "Sharpie" marker I drew a line from the top of the heart to the top of the card. I then added a sticker text from "Sticko/E.K. Success". To finish off the look I drew a squiggle line and added a small glittered pink heart from "Mrs. Grossman's" to the red marker line just above the large heart.

One more bird themed card!

2012-02-08T18:11:00.000-05:00

Sometime I can't leave well enough alone. I was looking to make another card and came across one more bird sticker and I just had to use it.

The card background is a piece of "Prima" paper; which I edged in brown ink. The die-cut tag is from "K&Company/E.K. Success". The flowers and bird are 3D foiled and rhinestone stickers which I found at a dollar store - so there is no manufacturer orther than "Made in China". The text is a gols sticker from "Stampendous" that I colored black with a "Sharpie" marker.

Bird Themed cards!

2012-02-02T13:15:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine by the name of Cathy Bowman Russell periodically sends me surprise packages and the last one included a sheet of "K&Company/E.K. Success" birds stickers. Then this week I found yet another "K&Company/E.K. Success" sticker sheet with birds. The signs were all there, I needed to make "bird themed" cards. I made three.

The first card uses the newest sheet of "K&Company/E.K. Success" stickers from which I selected a highly detailed 3D cardboard sticker of a flamingo. The background paper is from a 5"x7" pad of "K&Company/E.K. Success" paper; which I edged with bright green sliver lines from "Mrs. Grossmans". The oval was cut and embossed using the "Spellbinder" oval dies from an ivory textured paper from "Bazzil Basics"; which I edged with brown, red and black inks from "Martha Stewart/E.K. Success". The text is a gold sticker from "Stampendous" that I colored using a red/brown marker from "Sharpie".

The second card uses a flat paper sticker with an epoxy pigeon from the same sheet of "K&Company/E.K. Success" stickers that I used for the first card. I managed to find an almost perfect match for the background paper from a "Prisma" pad. I covered the card with the "Prisma" paper, added the sticker and then edged the entire card with grey ink from "Making Memories". The tag was cut using the "Spellbinders" Fancy Labels set from antique gold paper and ivory paper for the inset. The ribbon is from "Offrays" and is actually the back side (the other side is orange). The text was computer generated.

The third card was made using my friend's supplied stickers. The embossed paper sticker from "K&Company/E.K. Success" was on a yellowish paper; which I trimmed as well as I could from the actual peacock image. To compensate for the parts that I could not trim off I used a pale yellow card made from "Bazzil Basics" paper and edged with grey and olive green ink from "Tsukineko". From the same sheet of stickers I cut out various pieces of branches and some of the flowers; which I then reconfigured around the peacock. I added two 3D flowers with a rrhinestone center from a different package of "K&Company/E.K. Success" to add some depth to the card. The text is an old cardboard tile but I don't remember the manufacturer.

Cathy, these are for you as I know you like birds!

MoJo Monday #226

2012-01-31T09:15:00.000-05:00

This week's MoJo Monday challenge immediately caught my eye:: a masculine square or a feminine circle. After some thought I decided to switch and go with the square for a feminine card and the circle for a masculine card.

The square card uses pastel shades of green, olive and ivory for teh background with the introuction of a self adhesive vellum lace sticker (Recollections) for the lower panel. The flower band is a border sticker (K&Company/E.K. Success) which I matched up with one of the glittered die-cuts from the same collection (K&Company/E.K. Success). The text was computer generated.

The circle card uses shades of brown and ivory with various parts of the rustic clocks 3D tole paper cut-outs(Hot Off the Press). The text was computer generated.

Work and Patience!

2012-01-27T13:32:00.000-05:00

Sometimes the simplest ideas take the most work and patience to accomplish. That was the case of my latest card. I wanted to create a card that mimicked the colors of these great 3D glittered flower stickers (Martha Stewart/E.K. Success).

The background is a simple olive green 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" card that I edged with walnut ink (Stamp It-up!). The ribbon was made from two strips of white paper (one 1 3/8" wide and one 1 3/4" wide) that were punched on both sides using a Fleur-De-Lis edge punch (E.K. Success). The wider strip was inked with black ink alone the outside edges and then brown ink along the inside of the punches but leaving the central portion white. The narrower strip was inked with gold ink on the outside edges and light olive green on the inside. The smaller strip was adhered down the center of the wider one and then both were lightly inked with gold ink. Note: all the inks used on the strips were from Martha Stewart/E.K. Success). The strips were adhered vertically down the card 1 1/2" away from the folded edge.I then added brown square rhinestones down the center of the strips. The tag was made using gold paper (Colorbok) and a die-cutting and embossing folder (Cuttle Bug), which I then inked lightly with permanent black ink (Staz-on) and added to the card. I then added the three flowers. The leaves were punched with a rose leaf hand punch (Martha Stewart/E.K. Success) from shimmering dark green paper (Bazzil Bassics), edged with walnut ink and individually added behind the flowers. The final touch was a sticker text (Mrs. Grossman's).

The strips reflect the colors of the flower petals, the rhinestones reflect the color of the glittered flower inner centers and the aged gold tag reflects the glittered ring around the flower centers. Overall it was a lot of work but I think the results were well worth it!

Mojo Monday #225

2012-01-23T09:57:00.000-05:00

When I saw the sketch all I could think of was "form follows function"; which in turn meant architectural motifs. So here's my Mojo Monday #225 submittal.

The smaller stamps are from Stampin Up! and the larger stamp is from Beeswax and the text is from Anna Griffin/All Night Media. They were all stamped using Chestnut Roan Fluid Chalk ink from Color Box/Clear Snap on on Recollection textured Marble paper. I did lightly color the images in pencil to add some depth and character to the over all look.

Just for You!

2012-01-23T08:50:00.000-05:00

Everyone enjoys a special thought for no reason other than the fact that you are thinking of them ... even men! With that in mind I made the following card using a soft background with a bold text.

I used a pastel olive green paper (Die Cut with a View) to make the 4/14" x 5 1/2" card. The image (Rubber Cottage) was stamped in grey ink (Making Memories) on white paper and colored with pencil (PrismaColor). Both the card and stamped panel were edged with stem green ink (Martha Stewart/E.K. Success). The branches are stickers (Mrs. Grossman's Design Line) that were soften with a thin coat of white ink; which I then cut up and reassembled on the card. The ribbon is a self adhesive twill ribbon (Martha Stewart/E.K. Success) on which I added a sticker text (Stampendous).

Thinking of You - masculine style!

2012-01-21T11:23:00.001-05:00

Once again I was reminded that although I'd made some beautiful "Thinking of You" cards, they were all on the feminine side and I needed to make some masculine one's as well. So here's my first attempt.

The card itself is 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" and was made from shimmering ivory paper (Bazzill Basics). The image is made up of three stamps: the deer (Serendipity Stamps), the clouds (Beeswax) and the distressing pattern (Stampin' Up!). The first two were stamped using sepia colored ink (Ranger Archival) and then colored lightly using chalk (Pebbles) and coloring pencils (PrismaColor). I highlighted the face and tail of the deer with a fine point black marker (Sharpie) just to add some depth and expression to the image. The distressing pattern was stamped in black ink over the colored image. Using a deckle edged scissor (Fiskars) I cut out the stamped image and a 1" wide strip from a scrap piece of black paper. Before adhering the stamped panel to the card I edged it with sepia ink. The leaves, branches and text are all gold colored stickers (Stampendous) that I colored with a black permanent marker (Sharpie) and then wiped to create an antiqued gold look (which is not really visible in the scan but works well).

Hero Cards!

2012-01-16T13:18:00.001-05:00

Some simple Hero cards for OWH. All the cards are made using DCWV papers, CuttleBug embossing folders and various K&Company/E.K. Success stickers.

Simple, direct and to the point.

Another window die card!

2012-01-14T09:32:00.000-05:00

I needed a card for an elderly relative who loves cats ... and I wanted to use my new window die again. So here it is!

The window was die cut from a piece of tan paper (see previous post for die info). I laid out the window die-cut out on a piece of self adhesive blue vellum (Generations) with small pencil marks in each of the upper window pane's corners and then cut up a lace doily (Mrs' Grossman's Laser Cut) to fit between the pencil marks to create the curtains. The window die-cut was then added. I started by adding the 3D glittered flower bouquet (K&Company/E.K. Success) on the kleft side of the window after cutting off some of the extrenuous leaves and re-attaching them in different places. Next I cut up a 3D cat sticker (Punch Studios) and slid him behind and into the 3D flowers. I then cut up one more set of the 3D glittered flowers to get the extending branch and added that to the right side of the cat, again sliding it behind and into the cat. The final touch was a sticker text (Stampensous) that i colored with a black marker.

New Window Die-cut!

2012-01-10T13:35:00.000-05:00

I couldn't believe my eyes when Ted at "Happily Ever After" posted a beautiful card he made using a window die-cut. I've been looking for either a window or door die-cut for quite a while and couldn't find either. When I saw the card I quickly logged on to Ted's blog and was happy to see that being a true crafter he posted his sources. I couldn't wait to order my window die-cut and this afternoon it finally arrived! So here's my first of many creations using the window die-cut.

I started by making a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" white card. I continued by die-cutting the window (Poppy Stamps - Small Madison Window #816) from white paper and then highlighted the embossed details in pencil. The window was then mounted on a small piece of light blue paper and then on a piece of patterned paper (Basic Grey 6x6 Design Pad - ledger sheet); which was cut 1" smaller all around than the card itself. I mounted the window closer to the top of the panel to leave room for the flower box. The flower box is a die-cut (Cricut - Ornamental Iron 2) cut out of black paper and adhered to the lower part of the window. The flowers and the small butterfly are 3D glittered stickers with rhinestone embellishments that I got at the dollar store (the only manufacturer information was "made in China"). I cut up and re-assembled two flower stickers to create the look of one continuous group of flowers.

Thanks Ted for sharing!

First 2012 publication

2012-01-09T13:03:00.000-05:00

These three cards (which I posted here early in 2011) just got published in the March 2012 issue of Scrap & Stamp Arts magazine and I thought they deserved another showing here.

January Challenge Sketch

2012-01-08T18:48:00.000-05:00

Recently a forum was created by Ivanka Lentke for card makers who used to post on "Cuppas and Cards" and part of the fun is a monthly "challenge" sketch. When I started on "Cuppas and Cards" I leaned towards masculine themed cards and decide to do the same for my first response to the challenge sketch. The January challenge sketch was simple and perfect for a masculine themed card ... so here's my interpretation of it.

I started with two complimentary embossed papers from "K&Company/E.K. Success": one being a copper colored version and the other being a multi colored version of the same image. To accentuate the fact that these papers were complimentary I matched the design and pattern at the joint line. The joint line was covered with a 3/8" wide strip of texture ivory paper (The Paper Company). I used the same textured ivory paper to die-cut a decorative tag with the "Spellbinder Fancy Label" set. The card's edges and the ivory paper were lightly antiqued using Coffee Bean ink from "Inkadinkado". To complete the card I added a sticker text from "Mrs. Grossman's" and two small rub-on flourishes from "American Crafts" to the decorative tag. There you have it: my first challenge entry of 2012!

Thank You!

2012-01-03T18:39:00.000-05:00

I was looking to create a card using as many different products (stamps, chalk, coloring pencils, markers, stickers, papers and die-cuts) but yet having it look very simple and uncomplicated. The result is below.

The papers are: an antique gold (The Paper Company) base panel overlaid with a pale yellow damask paper (Anne Griffin) and a plain white paper for the card and the die-cut. The die-cut was done using the largest die of a set (Spellbinders Labels 18) and edged with two contrasting gold markers (DecaColor and Making Memories) attached to the card using raised adhesive dots. The stamp (Fiskars) was stamped in olive green ink (Color Box Fluid Chalk), colored with coloring pencils (Prisma Color) and high-lighted in the flower centers with a gold gliter marker (Martha Stewart/E.K. Success). The pale blue background around the stamp was done using chalk (Pebbles). The final touch was the text sticker (Mrs. Grossman's).

Happy New Year 2012!

2011-12-31T22:17:00.000-05:00

The start of a New Year is here and that means trying new things. It is for this reason that my New Year's card this year have a different look ... not easy for me!

The first card reflects the sticker's black background by extending it with a black textured strip of Canson paper. My past New Year's cards have often used the representations of champagne bottles as the theme and this image carries on the tradition with a celebratory sticker from Recollections. The feel is retro, down to the glittered multi colored stars.

The second card is my version of the annual countdown. The background paper is actually a Christmas paper from My Mind's Eye. The 3D glittered stickers of the countdown and clock with text are from Recollections and compliment the paper perfectly.

Happy New Year to all and here's to a great 2012!

Thank You card.

2011-12-29T18:15:00.001-05:00

Some times a patterned paper is so powerful that it seems a shame to try and change it ... so make it your design inspiration! I did this with a ColorBok paper from an old pad I found on clearance at WalMart.

The background looked not only masculine but somewhat retro as well ... so I expanded on the look by simply enphasizing the concept. The band and the larger squares are cut from matching solid papers and layered in a scatterned pattern to offset the structured background pattern. The text is a stamp from "Hero Arts" stamped in a blue ink to match the darker blue paper.

Another non-traditional Christmas card!

2011-12-16T11:46:00.000-05:00

This time I wanted not only the color but the image to be non-traditional: so I chose blue and a heart!

The heart wreath was made using a McGill pine branch hand punch and two different shades of blue paper (in this case I cheated and used QuicKutz adhesive papers). I added some turquoise colored faux gems (Stampendous Dot Sparklers) and an ivory satin bow (Anna Griffin) to complete the wreath. The text is a glittered rub-on from K&Company/E.K. Success. The wreath is set on an ivory piece of paer, mounted on a ligt blue paper and then on an ivory card.

Merry Christmas!

Personal Christmas card.

2011-12-15T21:08:00.001-05:00

This year I've made over a hundred Christmas card but none looked quite as good as the one I made for my own use. The card is a simple combination of several stickers that create an elegant look.

I started with a 5" x 5" white card; which I framed with thin antique gold line sticker from "Mrs. Grossman's Design Line" 1/2" from the edges. Using glitter markers from "Martha Stewart/E.K. Success" I embellishes a 3D sticker from "Anna Griffin" before adding the 3D sticker to the card. To finish the look I added some yellow, orange and red mini "Hero Arts" rhinestones over the printed berries in the holly.

Recycled gift tags.

2011-12-05T09:08:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite way to make make Christmas cards is to recycle old gift tag. Here are three quick and easy cards I made using recycled gift tags.

The first two card use 3D glittered gift tags from Punch Studios (which I found at an outlet store for $5.00 for a box of twelve after the season). For the first card I took off the rectangular backpiece of the tag and then combined the tag with a text sticker from "BoBunny" and a 3D glittered poinsietta sticker from "K&Company/E.K. Success" on a piece of "K&Company/E.K. Success" paper in combination with a red background and a simple white card.

For the second card I mounted the gift tag on a piece og gold paper and then mounted the panel on a simple white card. I edged both the gift tag and the gold paper woth gold line stickers from "Stampendous", added gold corner stickers (also from "Stampendous") and finishe eveyrthing off with the additions of various shapes and colors of faux gems from "Stampendous Dot Sparklers".

The third card was made for a friend who likes purple! I found a pack of gift tags for a dollar of a purple and silver tree on a white background surrounded by a purple background. I mounted the gift tag on a white card and edged both the white panel and the purple panels of the tag with silver line metalic paper sticker from "Mrs. Grossman's Design Line". I added a rhinestone star from "Darice" to the top of the tree and various sizes of purple rhinestones (also from "Darice") as ornaments. The final touch was a silver rub-on text from "Martha Stewart/E.K. Success".

Non traditional colors.

2011-11-27T08:35:00.001-05:00

I was challenged to make Christmas cards using what I would consider non traditional holiday colors and these are the ones I came up with.

The first card was the hardest because I have a problem combining shades of "pink" so I decided to make the background a solid pink and go from there. The wreath is made using a hand punch (McGill) of a pine branch punched from plain white paper. I drew a circle in pencil and then filled it in with the punched out images until I got a wreath. The pink bow was pre-made (Martha Stewart/E.K. Success) - thank goodness! The text is a rub-on (K&Company/E.K. Success) and the bling are faux pink gem stickers (Stampendous Dot Sparklers).

The second card uses an old die-cut (Sizzix) and three pieces of grey/green coordinating paper (7 Gypsies). I punched out a tree from two of the papers, cut one of them up and then alternated the cut pieces on the one remaining solid tree. The third paper was used for the background and was mounted on a piece of gold paper (The Paper Company), trimmed and then attached to a white card. The text and flourishes on the tree are rub-ons (Martha Stewart/E.K. Success) and the bling are faux gold gem stickers (Stampendous Dot Sparklers).

The third card is made in shades of blue (with a hint of white) using an electronic die-cut machine (Cricut and the Christmas cartridge) for the house, a circle punch for the foliage and some fancy hand cutting for the tree trunk. I haven't decided on a text for this one yet but whatever it is it will be added in the upper right hand area of the card.

I enjoyed trying to find not only non-traditional colors but seasonal themes that would compliment the colors. Definetly something different for me!

One more ornament card!

2011-11-23T09:07:00.000-05:00

This card uses a 3D gift tag from "Punch Studios" as a base. The tag actually had one more back rectangular layer; which I removed to highlight the shape of the actual ornament. The gold lines are "Stampendous" stickers and the scroll work surrounding the ornament are all left over dams and insets of various gold corner stickers from "Stampendous". The faux ruby gems are also stickers from "Stampendous". The text is a glittered border from "K&Company/E.K. Success" that I cut up.

Christmas Time ... a little early!

2011-11-18T18:13:00.005-05:00

One of my favorite image for Christmas is the "ornament" and I like creating my own "ornaments" for my cards. One of my favorite "ornament" image I use is actually a circular shaped rub-on made for the clear plastic ornaments you can make yourself. To finish off the look I embellish the rub-on "ornament" with stickers. This year I selected two cozy snowy scenes for my images.

The first one card uses a legal size card (4 3/4" x 11"). The rub-on image (Royal & Langnickel Brush Man.) was added on the center of the lower portion of the card. I then ran a thin gold line (Stampendous) from the top of the card to the top of the rub-on. To add to the "ornament" look I surrounded the top and bottom with some of the rub-on gold rub-on flourishes that came on the same sheet as the ornament, gold flourish stickers (Stampendous) and ruby colored faux gems (Stampendous Dot Sparklers). The text is a sticker (Hallmark) which I picked up in the card department of WalMart.

The second card uses a standard A2 size card (4 1/4" x 5 1/2"). The rub-on image (Royal & Langnickel Brush Man.) was added slightly off center on the lower portion of the card. I again ran a thin gold line (Stampendous) from the top of the card to the top of the rub-on. To add to the "ornament" look I embellished the top and bottom rub-on with gold rub-on flourishes that came on the same sheet as the ornament, with gold flourish seals (Gartner Studios); which I picked up at one of our local office supply store. The text (Michael's) is a sticker.

These are fun and easy to make ... the best part is that the rub-on scenes are actually pre-glittered!

Thanksgiving Scarecrows.

2011-11-11T08:08:00.000-05:00

My favorite images for Thanksgiving besides the turkey are wreaths and scarecrows. Scarecrows do not need to be scary, on the contrary here are a couple of cute friendly looking scarecrows to celebrate the Holidays.

The first scarecrow is a 3D paper sticker (E.K. Success/Jolee's Boutique) that is framed by branches with seasonal leaves and vegetables. The frame is a die-cut (Cricut - Home Decor cartridge) while the leaves and vegetables are left over stickers (E.K. Success/Jolee's Boutique). The text was computer generated and printed on a clear address label (Avery). I chose a light brown background to insure that all the other fall colors would pop!

The second scarecrow is a 3D paper sticker (E.K. Success/Jolee's Boutique) that stands against a group of leafless trees while pointing to a pumpkin. The trees are flat laser cut stickers (E.K. Success/Jolee's Boutique) while the pumpkin is slightly embossed 3D sticker (E.K. Success/Jolee's Boutique). The text is a sticker (Hallmark/Stickeroni). For the background I chose a distressed blueish paper (Basic Grey) to simulate a foggy night.

These scarecrows could also be used for Halloween ... they love their work and are only too happy to help out!

Sunflowers

2011-11-04T16:18:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite fall flower is the sunflower and I really enjoy using them on cards. Here are the latest examples.

The first card uses "Sticko/E.K. Success" glittered sunflower stickers on a background created using two "Cricut" cartridges: the "Home Decor" for the green flourishes and the "Elegant Edges" for the tag". The tag was edged in brown and black ink to match the card; which was covered with a "DCWV" hounds tooth patterned paper. The text is a rub-on from "Chartpack".

The second card uses "Jolee's Boutique/E.K. Success" 3D vellum sunflower stickers on a background paper from "Brinks Designs". The paper is actually a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" card size card stock paper; which I found at a craft show several years ago and bought a hand full of different designs and just color photocopy now. The text is computer generated and printed on a clear "Avery" address label.

I kept the cards simple to insure that the beautiful stickers were highlighted and became the focus points.

Simple hello!

2011-10-27T12:48:00.000-04:00

I made this card as a quick "hello" and have received some inquiries as to the techniques, supplies and materials I used for this simple, quick and easy card ... so here goes.

The card is 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" (or type A2) made from textured white paper from "Bazzill Basics". The patterned strip of paper is from an old "Prima" pad and I used only the portion of the paper that had the brownish/greenish colored flourish and flower background in it. I edged the patterned paper with gold strips from the "Mrs. Grossman's Design Line" sticker series. The tag is from an "E.K. Success/K&Company" package from a couple of years ago, that I edged with brown ink to really make it stand out. The tag is attached to the card with raised adhesive dots. The text was computer generated and printed on a clear "Avery" address label. The 3D bird on a branch and the accompanying 3D flowers are stickers from "E.K. Success/Martha Stewart".

As I wrote this I realized that other than the bird on a branch and the accompanying flowers from "E.K. Success/Martha Stewart", all the products are older and more than likely discontinued or as they say in the craft business "retired". But that doesn't mean the card can't be reproduced with similar newer in stock products. The challenge is to use what you have!

Neat new background product!

2011-10-22T08:37:00.000-04:00

A friend recently introduced me to a new product that creates incredible backgrounds. It's called "Goosebumps" textured spray and I get it on-line through "Paper Wishes". What's neat about this product is that depending how much you spray on and what color inks you choose to smear over it, you can create any look from rock, marble or just textured lumps!

I was given a sample piece of paper (already sprayed) by my friend to see what I could do with it and after some pondering decided on an oriental theme with a stone looking background. I started by trimming the paper a little smaller than a standard A2 size card. I then used several colors of pigment ink from grey to green to gold (Tsukineko and Ink It-up!) to create what reminded me of an old piece of rock. By using pigment inks it allows you to wipe off excess color and blend the colors together ... just make sure you let the finished product dry well before moving on to the next step. I then stamped the peacock image (Impression Obssession) using "Tsukineko Staz-on Olive Green", masked the image and stamped the bamboo branch with leaves (PSX) across the paper using "Tsukineko Staz-on Cactus Green". Again I let everything dry thoroughly before moving on and coloring the peacock using a "Crayola" bright green marker. Before the marker ink dried I wiped some of it off to give the image an aged look. I mounted the finished stamped panel on a piece of dark green paper and then mounted that panel on a green card. To finish the card I used an epoxy 3D Chinese coin sticker from "Jolee's Boutique/E.K. Success" wrapped with a piece of "Offray" gold edged ribbon.

I don't usually "brag" about a product but this one is versatile and allows you to create some great effects just by the amount you use and the color inks you select. Plus depending on the pressure you use when applying the colors and how much you wipe off you can really change the look of the background ... I also did one that looked like leather by using browns and golds. Try it!

Romantic Halloween #2

2011-10-17T09:53:00.000-04:00

I received so many comments on my idea of a "romantic" Halloween card that I just had to make another.

I started with a black card on which I mounted a piece of texted patterned paper from "K&Company/E.K. Succes" die-cut using the parchment die from "Sizzix" and edged in black ink. I then die-cut one of the many frames from the Happy Haunting cartridge from "Cricut" out of black paper and textured ivory paper. The 3D roses are again an "Anna Griffin" monochromatic black, grey and white sticker that I lightly colored using chalks. To add that extra layer I added some black tulle behind the roses. The text is computer generated and printed on a clear "Avery" address label. Think this one I'll keep and use!

Romantic Halloween

2011-10-11T18:07:00.000-04:00

Got a lot of request for details and info for my Romantic Halloween card after I posted it on Face Book ... so here goes.

The background patterned paper is from last year's "Martha Stewart/E.K. Success" Halloween pad; which I edged with black ink before mounting it on a black card. The vertical band was created by double punching a 1 1/4" wide strip of black paper using an "E.K. Success" edge punch. The medallion was a white die-cut tag from "Martha Stewart/E.K. Success" which I turned black using a large "Sharpie" marker. I then cut a circle from rough ivory textured paper to fit inside the medallion. The rose is a monochromatic 3D sticker in grey, black and white from "Anna Griffin"; which I lightly colored with pencils. The text is computer generated and printed on an "Avery" clear address label.

Yes, Halloween can be romantic and even sexy!

Mojo Monday Halloween

2011-10-10T09:27:00.002-04:00

When I saw this week's Mojo Monday's sketch I knew I wanted to use it and what better way than for one last Halloween card.

The card is a pre-made "Die-cut With a View" scallop edged card covered with two different patterned papers from last yeaqr's "Martha Stewart/E.K. Success" Halloween pad which I edged in black ink. The ribbon and medallion are done using the "Martha Stewart/E.K. Success" Iron Gate corner and edge punch. The greyish colored tag is also from "Martha Stewart/E.K. Success" but I colored the edges with a black marker to maintain the somber theme. The pumpkin epoxy sticker is from "Creative Imagination" and the text is a left over rub-on from last year's "Target" Halloween collection. The twine on top is a self adhesive ribbon from a package called "Markings" from "C.R. Gibbons" which I found at our local pet store last year and includes black and tan seld-adhesive suede strips as well.

Elegant Halloween

2011-10-07T13:56:00.000-04:00

I like the sharp contrast of black and white cards but find it very hard to use for an everyday card; however I worked the theme into what I consider to be an elegant Halloween card. I wanted to create an old fashioned funerary announcement look for this Halloween card.

To create the card I started by black embossing a floral medallion stamp (somewhat funerary in look and feel) from "Inkadinkado". The medallion was cut out and the cut edge was colored with a black "Sharpie" marker. For the background I used the "CuttleBug' Swiss dot embossing folder to create a soft pattern . To assemble the card I started by mounting the embossed panel on black paper; which was trimmed and in turn mounted to a white card. Next I ran an "Offray" 1/2" wide black ribbon vertically down the card 1 1/4" away from the folded edge. I added the embossed floral medallion using thin raised adhesive dots and a black "Offray" bow. To finish I added a computer generated text printed on an "Avery" clear address label.

Masculine and Feminine Blank Cards

2011-10-06T08:38:00.000-04:00

I was very surprised at one of my early classes when someone asked me what constituted a masculine card versus a feminine card when it came to color, patterns and subject. I came up with a list for each and recently I used my list to create these two cards.

Masculine:

I stamped a Celtic design from "Just for Fun" with "Ranger Archival" sepia ink on a white shimmering piece of vellum paper; which I trimmed and mounted on a metallic copper paper. I created the ribbon by doubling up with a "Martha Stewart/E.K. Success" edge punch on a 1" wide strip of copper paper. To complete the look I added "Stampendous" orange Dot Sparklers faux gems stickers to the stamped panel.

Feminine

I started by cutting a 1" wide strip of gold Swiss dots on white paper from "The Paper Company", mounting it on a piece of gold paper, trimming that and running it vertically down a pink card 1" away from the folded edge. I edged the card with pink ink. The roses are a 3D "Anna Griffin" die-cut; which I put together using different thicknesses raised adhesive dots. To complete the look I added a pink bow also from "Anna Griffin".

Non traditional Halloween cards!

2011-10-03T12:32:00.000-04:00

I wanted to make some cards using stamps with crow or raven images but unfortunately I only had one stamp with crows or ravens... so I improvized.

The first card actually uses the one stamp I had with crows or ravens. The image is a border of crows or ravens on a branch with a moon outline from "Inkadinkado". To make the card I started by stamping an image of a frame with a bird and some foliage from "Inkadinkado" in black ink on a starry patterned paper from "Frances Meyer". Next I stamped the border image of crows or ravens on a branch with a moon outline in black ink on either side of the first image to create a continuous design. I trimed the stamped image, mounted it on black paper, trimmed it again and then mounted the stamped strip on a blue card. To complete the card I stamped the text from "Serendipity Stamps" in black ink inside the frame .

The second card uses a stamp of two "love" birds sitting on a tree branch from "Stamp Camp" stamped in black ink on more of the starry patterned paper from "Frances Meyer". I then stamped a moon and cloud outline stamp from "Beeswax" in black ink over the first stamped image. I aligned the images using a stamp positioner to insure that the moon outline framed the two birds. I trimmed the stamped panel in a square shape and mounted it on black paper; which was trimmed and then mounted on a square white card. To complete the card I stamped the text from "Serendipity Stamps" in black ink.

Using black ink and a dark night scape patterned paper turned ordinary birds into Halloween creatures and made for great Halloween cards!

Beautiful sexy witch!

2011-09-26T09:39:00.000-04:00

This is a card from 2006 using a computer free clip art image. Rarely do you find such a beautiful sexy witch and let's face it: Samantha Stevens proved that witches were and are beautiful sexy creatures. I mounted the image on orange colored paper and then on black paper. The corners are Mrs. Grossman's bat stickers.

Unfortunately I wasn't smart enough to actually download the image and save it. All I did was print it out. Now years later I can't find it ... should you find it, please let me know!

Old Fashioned Feminine Birthday Cards

2011-09-23T12:07:00.002-04:00

Next month two elderly women friends will be celebrating their birthdays. I love making these types of cards and especially using rose images on them. Unfortunately once again my favorite images are retired ones ... why have all the good ones been retired?

The first card is sharp and elegant and uses an old fashioned painterly sticker image from "Penny Black". The image was given a border frame by mounting it on gold paper. The patterned background paper is from "Anna Griffin" and was framed in gold as well. The gold lace trim is a sticker from the "Mrs. Grossman's Design Line" (also retired). The gold text is from "Stampendous".

The second card is more ethereal and uses a 3D sticker from "Anna Griffin" over partially glittered purplish die-cut border from "K&Company/E.K. Success". The patterned background paper is from one of the many "K&Company/E.K. Success" 5" x 7" mat pads and edged in purple ink. The text is from "Mrs. Grossman's". To finish the look I added a thin ribbon and bow in silver from "Offray".

Hopefully these cards will have as long as life as the recipients have had.

Using an Enveloppe Seal for a Blank Masculine Fall Card

2011-09-19T11:08:00.000-04:00

Sometimes you just need a season appropriate masculine non-holiday related card for someone special ... what do you do when the card stores are just not there for you? Easy, use one of your envelope seals and make your own card. This card combines two layers of papers (one created using a hand punch), one sticker and one seal ... what could be simpler than that.

Start by making a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" card from ivory paper and to keep the masculine theme going I used a textured paper from "Bazzill Basics". Cut a 2" wide strip of metallic copper paper, in this case it's from a sheet of bronze tint burnished copper paper by "River wind/Mrs. Grossman's". Next cut a 1 1/2" wide strip of dark brown paper and punch along both long edges using an "E.K. Success" rope edge punch to create a ribbon like effect. Adhere the punched paper ribbon to the metallic copper paper. Add a "Mrs. Grossman's" design line copper sliver line down the middle of the punched ribbon. Adhere the strips vertically down the card 1/2" from the folded edge. To complete the card add a "Fossler's" metallic seal to the card and you're done.

I like using seals on my cards because they come in many formats and are usually found in packs at stores that sell stationary at a much smaller cost than regular stickers . Seals are usually meant to be used on the back of envelopes but I think they work wonders as decorative highlights on cards as well.

yet another Look!

2011-09-15T08:15:00.000-04:00

In preparing an article on 3D stamping I decided to use the same cottage scene (Inkadinkado) once again and created a third look using one stamp.

Start by stamping the image twice on white paper both time mixing green and brown inks. I used the green ink for all the pine trees and the brown ink for the bare trees in the background, the cottage and the ground cover in the front. Color both images using coloring pencils (Prisma Color). Trim one of the stamped images using a deckle edge scissor (Fiskars), mount on a light olive paper, trim using a deckle edge scissor and add to a white card. Take the second stamped image and cut out the cottage and the large pine tree in the front. Attach the cut-outs using raised adhesive dots to their appropriate places on the card. used two thicknesses of raised adhesive dots to create further depth by having the tree further out in the foreground than the cottage. To finish the 3D look I pulled apart a cotton ball and attached a string of it to simulate the smoke coming out of the chimney.

I didn't add any text to this card just to keep it simple!

One stamp .. two Looks!

2011-09-11T08:20:00.000-04:00

A stamped image can change in theme simply by changing the ink color with which it's stamped. A good example is this snowy scene stamp from Inkadinkado/E.K. Success.

For the first card I stamped the image in a mixture of grey and black ink from ColorBox on a white shimmering paper from Canson. The stamped image and the silver background panel were die-cut and embossed using the Labels Eight dies from Spellbinders. The card itself is made from a grayish Bazzill Basics paper. To add some sparkle (not visible in the scan) in used white glitter on the trees, roof top and ground. To finish the card a simple black rub-on text from K&Company/E.K. Success. The result is very elegant and sophisticated look.

For the second card I stamped the image in a mixture of green and brown ink from ColorBox on a white shimmering paper from Canson. I accentuated the ink colors by lightly coloring the image with pencils. The stamped image was cut out using deckle edged scissors and edged in black ink. The card itself is covered with a wood grain patterned paper from K&Company/E.K. Success and edged in brown ink. To add some sparkle (not visible in the scan) in used white glitter on the trees, roof top and ground. The stamped panel was added to the card using mini square brads (Making Memories) in black. To finish the card a red glittered text from K&Company/E.K. Success. The result is very masculine and somewhat country look.

The snowy scene can actually be turned into a spring, summer or even fall scene just by using more shades of green ink and deepening the coloring process of the image. For the fall look Soft Flowers flocking could be used as well.

My first commission piece.

2011-09-07T13:44:00.000-04:00

This week-end someone called our local craft store to see if they made or knew anyone who made custom cards for special occasions and the store manager recommended me. The assignment: a wedding card with a specific theme and text chosen by the client. After a brief e-mail consultation I was commissioned to create a 5" x 7" card in shades of white and ivory using a wedding cake as the theme, with the stipulation that the card be kept simple and elegant . This is my creation.

The card itself is made from white pearlized paper from Bazzill Basics. The background panel, cut using the Elegant Edges Cricut cartridge, is made from pearlized ivory paper with a silver shadow. The banner was cut twice from white pearlized paper using the Sizzix Banner die, cut apart and then re-assembled to create a 3D effect. The banner text was computer generated using the Vivaldi font and matches the insert text. The cake is a 3D paper paper sticker with trimmings of small pearl and miniature 3D glittered ivory and white flowers with pearl centers from K&Company/E.K. Success. I did alter the sticker a bit by removing the plate on which the cake sat to create, at least for me, a cleaner image.

More Fall Themed Birthday Cards

2011-09-05T09:59:00.000-04:00

I came across some items over the week-end that I knew I could use and all were in the dollar bins! One was a bag of silk fall leaves at WalMart and the others were ruby, gold and pale green rhinestone leaves at Michael's. Here are the cards I came up with using these finds!

The first card uses the rhinestone leaves with the addition of some small round rhinestones K&Company/E.K. Success for added bling. The flourishes are rub-ons from K&Company/E.K. Success. The text is a gold sticker from Stampendous that I colored with a black Sharpie marker. The panel was cut and embossed using the largest Spellbinder Nestabilities Mega Deckle Rectangle die from a tan colored paper.

The second card uses the silk leaves and an old metal frame from Making Memories that I colored using a copper DecoColor marker. The frame inset paper is actually the backing from a K&Company/E.K. Success fall sticker pack and has a very small scripted text running across it. The text is a gold sticker from Stampendous that I colored with a black Sharpie marker. I added small copper details around the leaves using remainders from various copper sticker sheets.

Dollar store beauties

2011-09-03T18:42:00.000-04:00

As we all know we can spend tons of money at the craft store for supplies but what about the good old dollar store? I found these really beautifully detailled 3D glittered flower stickers (some of the flowers even have rhinestone centers) at one of our many local dollar stores! Each sheet of stickers comes with five or six large multi layered flower arrangements and three or four smaller assorted ones. The set I got is more for springtime but still ... for a dollar!

The first card I made used one of the large stickers (the flowers and strawberries in the basket) and then two of the smaller ones (flowering branches). For the background I used the largest and the next to the largest die from the Spellbinder Nestabilities Labels Eighteen set. I die cut the white paper and then edged them in grey.

The second card I made used one of the large stickers (the flowers and cherries in the tea cup) and then two of the smaller ones (the strawberries leaves). For the background I used the CuttleBug Swiss Doe embossing folder on light blue paper and a Martha Stewart/E.K. Success white lace tag.

As I said these are more for springtime so left these cards blank for now.

Fall Birthdays

2011-08-31T10:34:00.000-04:00

August and September are sort of "holiday-less" months and as such fewer cards seem to be made or posted, so I decided to make some fall themed birthday cards. I've had this pad of "Me & my Big Ideas" papers for a while and I thought something in there would fit the occasion and theme perfectly. I decided on two papers both with white shadows of leaves.

The first card's background is a fall muted color striped paper with white maple leafed branches as an overlay. In itself the design was beautiful but I wanted to add my own touch to it. To accomplish this I used some old "Frances Meyer, Inc." leaf and berry stickers; which I added to the paper's branch outline. The added leaves and berries pick up the muted colors of the stripes to add vibrancy to the card. The text is a sticker from "Mrs. Grossman's".

The second card uses white flocked leafed branches and flourishes over a solid background paper. Again to add my own touch I added gold rub-on leaves from "Chartpack". To finish the card I added a thin strip of white paper with another "Mrs. Grossman's" birthday sticker and a small rub-on gold leaf.

Sometimes pre-printed paper is so beautiful on it's own that it needs very little to turn it into a stunning card.

Flower Soft Trees.

2011-08-25T18:45:00.000-04:00

A year or so ago I purchased the "Flower Soft" starter kit with a great stamp ... although I used the stamp and I never used the "Flower Soft" product; which resembles a very thick flocking material. That was until now! I was looking for something different to do and saw a card that used the "Flower Soft" product as the fallen leaves from a stamped tree scape. So I thought I'd give it a try.

The first card uses an Inkadinkado stamp which I stamped on my favorite sky paper (Cosmo Cricket - Chicken Little) in a combination of red and brown ink and then covered in part with the "Flower Soft" material. I mounted the stamped image on dark brown paper and then on a square ivory card.

The Second card uses a stamped tree from "Stampscapes" again on my favorite sky paper (Cosmo Cricket - Chicken Little) in brown ink and then covered in part with the "Flower Soft" material. The card was edged with the same brown ink. The banner was created using a Spellbinder die, edging it with brown ink and then adding a computer generated text. To add to the overall effect the banner is actually 3D.

Sound Off!

2011-08-22T14:11:00.000-04:00

I wanted to take a minute and sound off in response to a letter to the Editor printed in Scrap & Stamp Art magazine. Without going in details the writer implied that cards without the use of stamping required little talent. I strongly object to that, as no matter what media is used the card requires the use of a strong sense of design ... which is talent! Yes, I agree that certain media create a wow factor but that does not mean the card maker does not have to apply their own imagination or TALENT to put the card together.

This card uses pencil coloring, stamping, rub-ons and stickers, all which work individually but when put together do so much better. The background is created by layering a solid colored paper (American Crafts) over a patterned paper (DCWV). The edges and corners of the solid colored paper were distressed using a light olive coloring pencil. The nest (E.K. Success/Inkadinkado) was stamped in grey ink and then colored with markers and pencils. the nest actually has a butterfly instead of a bird perched on it's edge ... I colored the butterfly green to make it look like leaves. The 3D bird and eggs paper stickers (E.K. Success/K&Company) cover the stamped butterfly and eggs. The 3D dogwood flowers (E.K. Success/Jolee's Boutique) cover the stamped flowers. The rub-on text (E.K. Success/K&Company) was chosen not only for what it says but also for it's color (green) and the associated flourishes. I created my own matching flourishes on the opposite side of the nest using coloring pencils.

Yes the stamped nest contained eggs, flowers and a butterfly instead of a bird and I could have stamped a similar looking text. To me that would have been a very flat and dull looking card compared to this 3D multi medium gem.

Birthday Wreath

2011-08-20T16:29:00.000-04:00

This card uses some of the most delicate laser cut and 3D assembly stickers I have.

The banner, wreath and flowered vines are 3D laser cut stickers from Stickopotamus while the laser cut text is from Mrs. Grossman's. The laser cut text actually comes in white and can be colored, in this case I used a metallic copper color marker to match the frame within the wreath. The card background is a patterned paper from the Die Cut with a View Old World stack, edged in brown ink. I have to say that the scan does not do justice to the intricacy of the wreath and vines.

Re-used images.

2011-08-16T07:41:00.000-04:00

Over the years I've amassed a huge collection of antique cards and images that I periodically use on my cards. One of my all time favorite image is from an old postcard and one I've used on many cards. The best part is that it even comes with a location for added text or personalization. By changing the newspaper headline as I see fit the card goes from "thinking of you" to "get well" to "another birthday makes the news".

I keep the original card in a glasine envelope and each time I want to use it I color photocopy the original on the highest quality setting the copier has. Depending on the look I want to create I copy it either on standard white paper or photo paper. Depending on your copier, you can also scan an image and then play around with size and color. Simple but effective way to re-use a favorite image.

1973 Flashback!

2011-08-15T10:12:00.000-04:00

While doing some chores I always play music ... this time it was the '70's. Halfway through the CD Tony Orlando and Dawn's "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Around the Old Oak Tree" came on. It made me wonder, whatever happened to the concept of yellow ribbons (which by the way started the concept for all the other colored ribbons) for our service men and women? So I decided to make a card to honor that old tradition in hopes it will start again!

The background is paper from K&Company/E.K. Success from one of military packs. The tree is from a set of stickers I found at Joann"s Fabrics and is also from K&Company/E.K. Success. The yellow ribbon is from a pack containing a variety of different colored ribbons which I also found at Joann's Fabrics. I folded into a bow to create the bow using a mini adhesive dot.

Personally to me this simple card says a lot ... let's bring back the yellow ribbons and let our troops know we want them to come home!

Cards for Sale!

2011-08-12T07:51:00.001-04:00

I've been given the opportunity to try and sell some cards in a consignment store. I wanted these cards to be clean, simple and very professional looking but with that defenite homemade look. Here are three of the new cards that I thought would be worthy of selling!

The first card is an any gender birthday card using a "Picture Show" stamp embossed in copper on tan paper edged in copper ink and colored in pencil and highlighted with some ruby red "Stampendous Dot Sparklers". The stamped panel is mounted on a metallic copper from "The Paper Company" which in turn is mounted on a white card over an antique gold "Offray" ribbon. The text is a rub-on from "Die Cut with a View".

The second card is a masculine birthday card for those golfer's in your life. The 3D golf club crest and banner stickers are from "K&Company/E.K. Success" which I found in the clearance bin at one of our local craft stores. I mounted these on alternating layers of brown and green solid colored papers from one of the fall color pads from "Die Cut with a View". The text is from "Mrs. Grossman's".

The third card is a sentiment card made up of various die-cut images. The parchment background and the banner are done using "Sizzix" dies (cutting each one out twice, cutting one apart and then re-assembling them into 3D images) that were edged in brown ink before mounting on the card. The flower bouquet is a pre-made die-cut from "K&Company/E. K. Success"; which I stretched by cutting the stem portion off the main bouquet and then attaching it lower on the card and hiding the disjointed connection with the banner. The text is computer generated and printed on a clear address label from "Avery". I mounted the die-cut images on a light olive green textured background paper from "K&Company/E. K. Success" to pick up the coloring of the leaves.

Thinking of You.

2011-08-07T09:15:00.000-04:00

Here's another card I made using the Cricut. I used teh Home Decor cratridge to die-cut some flourishes from bright green paper from Die Cut with a View; which were then used as teh stem and vines for the flowers. From teh same bright green paper I created leaves using teh Rose Leaf Hand Punch from Martha Stewart/E.K. Success. The flowers are 3D glittered paper flowers from Martha Stewart/E.K. Success. The text is a gold sticker from Stampendous, as are the lines around patterned Die Cut with a View background paper.

This is a simple example showing how to combine various techniques or media (die-cuts and stickers) to create a quick and beautiful card.

Working with what you have!

2011-08-04T07:29:00.007-04:00

Recently a friend asked why I hadn't done any new "Sizzix" die-cut cards. My response was that I hadn't seen anything new that I really wanted, to which my friend replied "but don't you have a bunch of dies already?" OK, I have to admit that I do have quite a feew (as well as a variety) of diesI've collected over the years from Sizzix and so I went back and took a look at them. As a result I came up with my first two fall/Thanksgiving card for 2011 using mostly "Sizzlets" dies. I'm sure; however; that by now many of these dies have all been "retired" as is so often the story with things I hold dear.

The first card uses leaves die-cut from pale green, tan and burgundy paper using the leaf Sizzlets dies from the Thanksgiving set and then edged with ink in darker versions of the paper color. The vines are from the large Sizzlets Decorative Flourish set cut from tan colored paper and lightly colored with brown ink. The pumpkin is from the Thanksgiving set and was die-cut twice: once from orange paper and once from olive colored paper for the stem. The orange pumpkin was edged with a combination of orange and brown inks. The card itself is made with craft paper edged with brown ink, the panel is made using the Tim Holtz Baroque die on mustard marble paper from The Paper Company and edged with brown ink, while all the remaining papers are from Die Cut with a View. The various pieces were layered flat in overlapping patterns. The text is a sticker from Hallmark
.

The second card uses leaves die-cut from pale green, pale yellow and burgundy paper using the leaf and leaf 2 Sizzlets dies from the Thanksgiving set and then edged with ink in darker versions of the paper color. The vines are from the Decorative Flourish set cut from olive colored paper for the stem. The pumpkin is from the Thanksgiving set and was die-cut twice: once from orange paper and once from olive colored paper. The orange pumpkin was edged with a combination of orange and brown inks. Other than the card itself; which is a piece of the Basic Grey Ambrosia Citrus (also edged in black ink) all the papers are from Die Cut with a View. The various pieces were overlapped and use various thicknesses of raised adhesive dots to create a 3D effect. The text is a sticker from Mrs. Grossman's.

An interesting side note: the day after I finished these card I received an e-mail from Sizzix advertising their new dies and guess what? One of the new border dies more or less creates this same look. Actually they have two new boreder dies with this type of theme: one for fall and one for Christmas. Good thing is I don't have to buy the fall one!

Old Fashioned Feminine Birthday Card.

2011-08-03T08:30:00.000-04:00

I love the look of aged antique cards with soft images of days gone byand I try to re-create some of these from time to time. Here's one I did recently.

The card itself is made from a antique patterned beige paper from one of the many Die Cut with a View packs that I have; which I edged with brown ink and stamped a Inkadinkado flourish on in a light olive green ink. The ribbon is an old K&Company ribbon over a deckle edged cut strip of antique gold paper from The Paper Company. The 3D sticker (which I also lightly edged with brown ink) is from K&Company and was attached to a Spellbinder deckle edged die-cut and embossed background from more antique gold paper. The sticker panel is attached with thin raised adhesive dots to create a shadow outline. To finish the card I added Me and My Big Ideas mini yellow rhinestones to the stamped flourish.

Delicate Die-cutting.

2011-07-25T09:06:00.000-04:00

My latest cartridge from "Cricut" is called Ornamental Iron #2 and I have to say it has some very impressive detailed designs. The problem is that some of the designs are so detailed and lace like that they are hard to cut on a small scale like the one needed for cards. To make the pattern for a 5" square card I needed two die-cut designs at 2" (allowing for the shadow background and overall framing) and to get two cut-outs that could actually be used I ended up having to cut out five of them! But I think the results are well worth it. Of course i couldn't leave well enough alone and added a small 3D glittered and jewelled "K&Company/E.K. Success" flower to the center.

The look of this card is feminine because of the color choice of white and ecru but it could easily become a masculine looking card by using a darker color scheme or one that actually mimics ornamental iron fencing or detailing.

Another Cricut embellished card.

2011-07-20T13:18:00.001-04:00

Here's are two more Cricut embellished cards; which could easily have been done totally using the Cricut if I'd have the patience of cutting out the flowers in various sizes, assembling them and the glittering the center. Instead I used pre-made Martha Stewart/E.K. Success 3D glittered flowers. Why not, I may as well use them since I paid for them just like I paid for the Cricut.

The first card was made using the Picturesque cartridge card and seal feature. The problem is that you need to use a 12" x 24" mat as well as a piece of paper bigger than 12" x 12" to make a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" card. The card created by the Cricut is actually a three fold card; which is not truly required. So after eliminating one of the panels from the equation it took a while but I figured out how to use a 12" x 12" sheet and even a 6" x 12" piece of paper to make the 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" card. I cut out the fence motif card from white card stock and added the light blue background on the inside of the card. The flourishes I used for the stems and tendrils come from the Home Decor cartridge. To create the opposite look I die-cut the image twice, once using the flip option (or you can just flip the paper over and cut both of them in the same direction). The last touch was adding the punched leaves (Martha Stewart/E.K. Success rose leaf hand punch) and the 3D glittered flowers.

The second card was made using the Heritage cartridge. The fence and gate are made by combining two corners and one tag options of the same design. The trees are also from the Heritage cartridge and were cut once from a light olive and once from a darker olive colored paper. The trees were then cut in half vertically to create four usable pieces. The banner is from the Indie cartridge and was cut out from ivory colored paper. The rhinestone centered flowers are from Jolee's Boutique.

I have to admit these two cards are the best cards I made using the Cricut and have inspired me to create more.

Embellishing Cricut designs.

2011-07-18T13:36:00.000-04:00

When one spends $300 for a die-cut machine and then $90 a cartridge one expects this to be the end to all ends, at least in the world of crafting. People expect to make cards and scrapbook pages using only the Cricut system and although I am not saying it can't be done ... it just isn't my style. So I struggled and sought ways to best use my Cricut without having to buy too many cartridges. I discovered that for my style the Cricut was best used to create backgrounds for stickers or other embellishments and not to be used to create a full card. So I concentrate on purchasing cartridges that offer a variety of images that can be used for various themes versus specific thematic cartridges. My favorite cartridges are: Home Decor, Elegant Edges and Fancy Labels. To illustrate my Cricut style, I made the following three cards.

Card one: Just for You!

This card was made using flourishes from the Home Decor cartridge, embellished with leaves made using the rose leaf Martha Stewart/E.K. Success hand punch. The use of the flourishes as the stems and tendrils just seemed to be the perfect background for the added leaves and flowers. The 3D paper daisy stickers are from Reminisce. The sticker text is from Mrs. Grossman's Card Greetings.

Card two: Celebrate!

This card uses the Fancy Labels for the background medallion, shadow outline and leafy wreath. Again the 3D paper sun flowers stickers are from Reminisce and the sticker text is from Mrs. Grossman's Card Greetings. I matched the shadow outline color to the color of the sun flowers to tie the images together and again embellished the leafy wreath with leaves made using the rose leaf Martha Stewart/E.K. Success hand punch. To finish off the medallion I edged the inside panel with brown ink.

I'm sure had I had the appropriate cartridges, as well as the inclination and time, I could have made the leaves and flowers for both cards using the Cricut.

Card three: Happy Birthday

I wanted to make at least one masculine card and use embellishments that were totally different from stickers for this card. I chose a Tim Holtz label holder in black and copper tones as the embellishment around which the card would be based. I quickly found the appropriate background on the Elegant Edges cartridge. I die-cut the actual image from a metallic copper paper from The Paper Company and the shadow/background from a solid black paper. I then cut a 3/4" wide strip of black paper to create a ribbon. The card was made from some K&Company/E.K. Success paper edged with black ink. The sticker text is from Mrs. Grossman's.

Oriental retro?

2011-07-16T07:17:00.000-04:00

I'd seen these stickers before but didn't want to fork over the money, especially since I was never really sure on how to use them. Then came the sidewalk clearance sale and they were marked down to 50 cent! So I got them along with a couple of other similar packs and because I couldn't figure out what to do with them they were filed away and sat there for quite a while. Then rummaging through my supplies I came upon these stickers again and for some reason an idea came to me - oriental retro!

I made a background card with Bazzill Basics green to match one of the stickers colors and added various width of self adhesive strips white mulberry paper from Generations; which were then laid out on the left side of the card without rhyme or reason. The Sticko/E.K. Success round stickers were then staggered over the white lines in two sets of three, with each set containing one sticker in each color. The text is a computer generated one printed on clear Avery address labels.

Memories....

2011-07-12T08:43:00.000-04:00

This card is composed of my favorite stamp (Make an Impression), favorite text (Fiskars) and patterned paper (Cosmo Cricket - Chicken Little) but unfortunately all are discontinued or to be polite "retired" products. '

The card is made using a textured tan paper from Bazzill Basics edged with black ink. The stamped image was also done in black ink on the patterned patterned and then trimmed. The epoxy sticker text was mounted on ivory paper, trimmed and then added to the card. To complete the look I added the scrolls rub-ons from American Crafts.

Monochromatic Schemes.

2011-07-11T12:17:00.000-04:00

Sometimes when I pull out my papers or my stickers I wonder what possessed me to buy a certain one. That was the case with this wonderful patterned paper and these brown/warm toned 3D flower stickers that I've had for a couple of years and just never did anything with either of them. I found inspiration while using some other stickers and papers.

The first card turned out the inspiration piece. I started with the blue and cream patterned paper from Anna Griffin and then went looking for a matching sticker. the love birds were perfect, especially since the blue color was repeated. The rest was just layering various blue and cream papers. The addition of the Mrs. Grossman's sticker text finished the card of beautifully.

The second card was the challenge but it quickly came together once I started on it. Both the patterned paper from Generations and the 3D flower stickers from K & Company had the burned sienna color tone to them and although I knew they would be perfect for each other, I just wasn't sure were to start. Once I framed the patterned paper on a burned sienna piece of paper from Die Cut with a View everything just fell in place. U cut up the 3D flower sticker; which I then re-arranged over the flower pattern of the paper making sure the tendrils and flourishes remained visible. A simple computer generated text finished off the card.

The single color theme is one of my favorite and I believe these two cards are perfect example of monochromatic color schemes that are anything but bland.

Humourous Masculine Card ....?

2011-07-10T08:15:00.000-04:00

When I saw this old K&Company sticker I knew just what to do with it and thought it would be perfect for a humourous masculine themed card. So far not everyone has agreed with me ... as a matter of fact no one finds this card as funny as I do. What do you think?

What could be funnier than a golfer saying "missing you"?

Masculine Thank You's.

2011-07-07T15:03:00.000-04:00

Sometime a simple card can say a lot. I made these two masculine thank you cards for Operation Write Home and I hope they fit the bill.

The first uses a bunch of "mail' related stickers (I have had for years and have no clue as to made them) to create a central image on which I simply added a text sticker. I used a craft paper for the card to simulate packaging material and to tie in with the "mail" theme.

The second uses various gift wrapping paper from Papyrus to create a travel theme. The first is a tweed; which I mounted on a dark brown paper and added two button stickers to create the look of a sleeve. The second is that of an ancient map, that I cut with a deckle edge scissor. Again I added a text sticker and used craft paper for the card to tie in with the "travel" theme.

Masculine collage!

2011-07-04T15:29:00.000-04:00

This card incorporates every media you can think of. the card is made from deep burgundy paper from Die Cut with a View. The patterned background is paper from Die Cut with a View with pencil colored flourish outlines and edged in burgundy ink. The central image is created using two stamps: the parchment from Third Coast Rubber Stamps and a Venitian scene from Stampin Up! stamped in Ranger archival Sepia ink on a marble background paper from The Paper Company. The parchment corners were double stamped, cut out and adhered with raised ahdesive dots to create a 3D effect. The fancy floourish corner is from Inkadinkado. The tag is die-cut from burgundy paper using the Spellbinders Fancy Labels set. The background copper edged tag is a sticker from K&Company/E.K. Success; which was topped with a die-cut circle from gold mirrored paper from The Paper Company with a rub-on texted message and flower from American Crafts.

Although I purposefully omitted glitter and bling the card being for men ... did I miss media?

Masculine Cards using Spellbinders

2011-07-02T08:00:00.000-04:00

During my frenzy of making cards using the various Spellbinders dies I realized I had overlooked making masculine cards ... so I decided to remedy the situations with the following two cards.

The first card is very formal and has a "British" style to it due to the glittered paisley patterned paper from Die Cut with a View that I chose for the background. The stripe across the card is the lower portion of the background paper; which I cut out and then relocated. The panels are made using a metallic copper paper from The Paper Company and the largest of the Spellbinders Shapeabilities Label Four die and an ivory paper from Die Cut with a View and the second to the largest Spellbinders Shapeabilities Label Four die. On the ivory panel I stamped a horse scene from Stamp Camp using Ranger Archival Sepia colored ink; which I then colored with pencils. The text is a rub-on from American Crafts.

The second card is somewhat less formal and is almost childlike. The concept was to create a crest to congratulate someone for "something". The card is covered with a vertical ice blue diamond patterned paper from Die Cut with a View and edged with an ice blue ink from Tsukineko. The background panels is cut and embossed tan shimmering paper from Bazzill Basics. The actual shield and the wreath are a Tim Holtz die from Sizzix. The shield was cut from a shimmering light blue paper from Bazzill Basics and more diamond patterned paper and then edged with ice blue ink. The banners are done using shimmering white paper from Canson with the Spellbinders Fancy Labels die and then edged in gold ink from Tsukineko. The crown is actually the inset or throw away part of one of the Spellbinders Fancy Labels Three cut out from a scrap piece of The Paper Company's antique gold paper. To finish the card I used silver/pewter rub-on flowers and Fleur-de-Lis on the shield from Autumn Leaves, a black colored sticker text from Stampendous and turquoise faux gems also from Stampendous.

Floral embellished Spellbinder Design

2011-06-30T08:00:00.000-04:00

I recently have been going crazy using my various Spellbinders dies using only several colors of papers, several dies and just a couple of sticker embellishments. Here is one of the first ones I did.

I started by doing a lot of die-cutting. Using Nestabilities Labels Ten (starting with the next to the largest) I die-cut antique gold paper from The Paper Company. Then using the next die down I cut some metallic white paper (also from The Paper Company). Next I die-cut the two corner designs from the Shapeabilities Pendant Renaissance Hearts set from some more antique gold paper. Next came one of the Shapeabilities Fancy Tags from pastel green paper as well as two sets of leaves from the Shapeabilities Assorted Leaves set. The assembly went fast from there. I started with a metallic pastel orange card from The Paper Cut and ran a 1/2" wide strip of antique gold paper horizontally across the card. Then came the gold medallion overlaid with the white medallion. I added the two corner pieces on either end of the gold medallion and embellished each with just a single ruby red faux gem from Stampendous. The pastel green label came next and was attached at an angle across the white medallion, with one set of leaves on each side. The final touch was the addition of two glittered vellum daisy stickers from Jolee's Boutique/E. K. Success.

Home made window card.

2011-06-28T14:18:00.000-04:00

Window cards usually come with either a rectangular or round opening ... but with Spellbinders you can make the window almost any shape you want. I decided to experiment and came up with this card.
The first step was to die cut the window in the card blank and the overlay to insure that they matched in size and location. To do this it helps to do the die cutting from the back and actually draw in some reference lines.

The second step was to create the insert. I did this by making a smaller card in a complimentary color which will serve as both the window opening background and the text insert. For the window opening I created a design using rub-on green flourishes from Heidi Grace/Fiskars and some 3D glittered flowers and a rub-on text from K & Company/E. K. Success. It is critical that the design is visible when the card is closed but yet adds interest when opened.

The final card is (I think) beautiful and goes to show that windows can come in all shapes and sizes.

4th of July (part 3)

2011-06-27T05:48:00.001-04:00

The American flag figures in many of my 4th of July cards (see my Face Book album for OWH) but one image I also love is the Statue of Liberty. Here are my last three cards for the 4th using the Statue of Liberty as the theme.

The first uses a layered paper sticker from Jolee's Boutique/E.K. Success with a few glittered fireworks from Mrs. Grossman's. The stickers are mounted on a simple light blue card with a deckle edged white panel. The text is computer generated and printed on an Avery clear address label.

The next card was made using a photograph sticker from Pebbles Inc. on a simple strip of white paper mounted on dark blue card. Again the text is computer generated and printed on an Avery clear address label.

The final card uses another photograph sticker from Pebbles, Inc. This time I added texted paper from one of the military K&Company/E.K. Success for the background edged with a double line of blue from the Mrs. Grossman's Design Line series. Again the text is computer generated and printed on an Avery clear address label. This card uses a legal size white card for the background to mimic the panoramic photograph of the Statue of liberty framed on a sunset.

4th of July (part 2)

2011-06-26T08:39:00.001-04:00

My favorite image and card: the bald eagle. This card is so easy and yet packs such an impact that many people have asked for all the details.

The card itself is a standard A2 (4 1/4" x 5 1/2") white card. The blue inset is cut using either the Spellbinders deckle edge rectangle die or a deckle edge Fiskar scissors. For my card I used the Spellbinder die and embossed the edges of the panel to add additional detail. The eagle is a paper sticker from Jolee's Boutique/E. K. Success (yes all the work is done for you). The fireworks are glittered stickers from Mrs. Grossman's. The text was computer generated on the computer and printed on a clear Avery address label.

4th of July (part 1)

2011-06-23T08:24:00.000-04:00

With this years 4th of July I wanted to honor some true american icons and as an architect I decided to start with buildings. I wanted to use the Mrs. Grossman's Laser cut stickers from years past but could not find them, so instead I used a sticker package from Jolee's Boutique/E.K. Success that had the buildings I wanted.

The first building: the Lincold Memorial. The background is some left over paper from one of the military packs from K&Company/E.K. Success with a flag theme. The tag uses ivory and gold paper die cut and embossed with the Small Labels Spellbinders dies.

The second building: the Capitol. For the background I used a simple white card and some metallic foiled paper from Sandylion to create a banner of flags and stars. The tag is cut from some light blue paper from DCVW using the deckle edge Spellbinders dies.

The last building: the White House. Again I used left over paper from one of the military packs from K&Company/E.K. Success, this time with a texted and star theme.

To complete the last two cards I added some glittered fireworks from Mrs. Grossman's and in all cases the text is computer generated and printed on clear Avery address labels.

Breaking the mold.

2011-06-20T08:50:00.004-04:00

Periodically I try something totally different in style and color just to try and break the mold. Here are two of my latest experiments.

The first is a kid's birthday card. The colors for the background were selected based on the 3D jewelled butterfly stickers from "Sandylion". The multi colored text is a sticker from "Stickoroni/Hallmark". The color scheme was totally different for me, as were the style of stickers.

The second card is also meant to be a birthday card but could be used as an invitation for any outdoor event. The inspiration for the card was the 3D glittered flowers stickers from "Sandylion" and the rub-on retro circle patterns from "American Traditional Designs". To continue with the retro feel I used a background paper from "Basic Grey" which I edged in red ink. To finish the look I used the "Martha Stewart/E.K. Success" rose leaf punch and made some leaves to scatter around the flowers and tie everything together. To add depth to the card I used thin raised adhesive dots on some of the leaves and overlaid them over some of the flowers. Again the color scheme and the style of stickers were totally different for me.

Something different!

2011-06-17T07:45:00.003-04:00

This image of the "tree of life" from Anna Griffin has long been a favorite of mine and in the past I used the brass stencil to emboss paper using my Cuttlebug. This time I decided to use some Dreamweaver Embossing paste and the results were better than I expected.

I started by taping the brass stencil down to a piece of chocolate brown paper from Die Cut with a View and then using a spatula spreading a thin layer of the metallic gold embossing paste over the stencil. After femoving the stencil and letting the paste dry I trimmed the paper and edged it with a black ink pad. I mounted the stencilled panel to gold vellum from The Paper Company, trimmed that and mounted the panels on a square white card. The final touch is a die-cut banner from the Cricut Indie Art cartridge on ivory paper, colored with pencils and to which I added a gold sticker text from Starform.

The textured image adds a different look to the card and the embossing paste really enhances the fine details.

Seasonal Bookmarks

2011-06-15T14:03:00.004-04:00

A few years ago one of the magazine challenges was to create bookmarks with a uniting theme. This was a simple and fun challenge and one that would be perfec for kids. At the time I chose the four seasons as my theme and created the following two sets of bookmarks.

The first set was made using four shades of metallic paper from the Paper Company and four foiled sticker seals from Fosslers. The metallic stripe is from Mrs. Grossman's, as are the alphabet letters.

The second set was made using solid color papers from Die Cut with a View for the background and paint chips for for the various contrasting blocks. The alphabet letters are from Provo Crafts and the images are all Laser cut stickers fom Mrs. Gossman's.

Borrowed images!

2011-06-11T08:14:00.003-04:00

Over the years I've collected quite a few images on various themes and periodically I dig them out to simple but nostalgic looking cards. These two are free clip-art from Dover Press that were colored photocopied. To make these cards I matched the mating to the image and then used gold sticker text colored black using a large Sharpie marker.

Tole Flower Card

2011-06-08T07:39:00.003-04:00

I recently received some "DufexTole" die-cut metallic paper roses. At first the metallic glossy finish turned me off but the more I studied them the more I became challenged at how I could use these foiled pieces of paper. I finally decided that the best way to deal with the glossy finish was to emphazise it rather than to ignore it.

To do this I started by using a metallic aloe green paper from "The Paper Company" for the card itself. I then used a multi-finish gold vinyl sticker frame from "Starform" on a scrap piece of texted paper from "K & Company/E.K. Success". Actually the paper was the backing from one of their sticker packs and these usually have a glossy finish as well. I trimmed the backing paper 1/8" larger than the frame sticker and then adhered the panel to the card. After assembling the multi-layered rose together using raised adhesive dots, I attached it to the lower portion of the frame leaving room for future text. The final touch was a silk bow from "Anna Griffin".

Quick and Easy Kids Birthday Cards!

2011-06-06T08:00:00.003-04:00

Over the weekend I needed to catch up on my personal cards and make birthday cards for our neighbor's kids who will be seven on June 16th. Because they're twins I always try to make similar cards but gender appropriate and this year I opted for a princess and pirate theme.

The background for both was cut using the Sizzix Parchment die and then edged in appropriate colors. For the princess card I used Jolee's Boutique/E.K. Success glittered stickers for the images and a gold text from Stampendous. For the pirate card I used Sticko/E.K. Success foiled stickers for the images and a gold text from Stampendous which I colored black using a Sharpie marker. The glittered/foiled present are 3D stickers from Jolee's Boutique/E.K. Success.

More cards waiting for text!

2011-06-02T08:59:00.005-04:00

Here are two more cards I made using all K&Company/E. K. Success products from various lines that than can be used for any occasion once I decide on the text.

The first card uses a dark background paper edged with gold lines from Starform. The frame is an embossed die-cut backed with an off-white damask scrap piece of paper. The bouquet is a combination of a couple of 3D glittered flowers and leaves.

The second card uses scripted polka dotted paper edged with ink as a background. The copper metal edged tag is from one of the newest lines. Again the bouquet is a combination of a couple of 3D glittered flowers and leaves.

Happy Memorial Day!

2011-05-30T08:01:00.000-04:00

Father's Day - part 3: Fun!

2011-05-27T15:18:00.006-04:00

Here are some carsd that I made for Father's Day without a special theme in mind other than they're fun.

The first one uses Sandylion stickers on a retro/vintage paper from Hot Off the Press. Every father deserves a nice easy chair!

The second was made using all Mrs. grossman's stickers and I think the text says it all!

For the third card I finally gave in and used some alcoholic references (again dad deserves a drink now and then). These are stickers from Sticko/E.K. Success (they have a similar sheet for wine drinkers - oops I meant connaiseurs). The background paper is from Colorbok.

Masculine Birthdays

2011-05-26T08:55:00.004-04:00

The spring clean-up brought up a lot of items I had forgotten I had, including some very nice masculine images. I decided to make birthday cards using using free clip-art and stickers I found.

The first card uses free clip art from Dover Publications of a very majestic deer and his doe. Since the image was faily small I framed it in a set of alternating frames of black and burned orange. This not only enlarges the overall look but also to draws attention to the deer. The text is a sticker from Mrs. Grossman's.

The second card uses stickers and rub-ons. The main image is a golden fall tree sticker (PSX) that I surrounded by a black frame made up of lines done with a black marker (Sharpie) and some rub-on corners (Michael's). I edged the card with red ink to add some depth. The text is a sticker from Cloud-9-Designs/Fiskars.

These are simple cards which celebrate a special occasion for a special person.

More rub-on flowers!

2011-05-25T14:12:00.005-04:00

Here are two more cards that I made using some new found old rub-ons flowers.

The first card uses a pre-made card from Die Cut with a View that has an aged type background to it; which I enhanced by edging it with walnut colored ink from Ink It-up! The rub-on flowers are from Chartpack and actually have a distressed look to them already. The flourishes are also rub-ons this time from American Traditional Designs. To distress the flourishes I ran an eraser very lightly over them and then padded the flourishes and flowers with the walnut ink pad.

The second card uses more Chartpack rub-ons, this time bright red roses. To offset the roses I placed them on some texted paper I had left and which I cut out using a deckle edged scissor end edged with walnut ink from Ink It-up! Ithen mounted the panel on a deep red piece of paper which I also cut with a deckle edged scissor.

Each card has ample room left for any future text I may want to add.

Glittered Rub-on Flowers.

2011-05-23T20:35:00.004-04:00

Spring cleaning occurs in more places than the house ... it even takes place in the craft room and within the supplies it holds. My latest clean-up uncovered some old flower rub-ons; which I couldn't wait to use. I decided to make several cards using the rub-ons and here are two of them.

The first card uses several layers of paper (some patterned, some solid) but all edged with walnut colored ink (Ink It-up!). To tie in the various papers I used a paper adhesive ribbon (Anna Griffin Christmas 2010 collection). The addition of the poppy rub-on (Chartpack) was the final step.

For the second card I used a pale yellowish green texted and patterned paper (K&Company) for the background which was mounted on a chocolate brown panel before beeing mounted on a simple white card. I used brown flourish with white flowers rub-ons (American Traditional Designs) to create the stems layer of my card. The second layer were the glittered flowers (Royal & Langnickel Brush Man.).

I wanted these cards to be usable for any occasion, so until I decide on how to use the card I won't add a text or greeting.

Father's Day - part 2: Cars

2011-05-20T08:15:00.008-04:00

OK, so we all know men like cars and for this reason I made several Father's Day cards using cars as the theme; however to create some interest I used a variety 0f media.

The first card uses a 3D sticker (Jolee's boutique/E.K. Success) of a classic car. I continued the color scheme of the car by using a white card as the background and then mounting the sticker on a white stripe edged in black. To add the text I drew in the car's antena using a black marker (Sharpie), cut the banner from paper and then added a computer generated text printed on a clear address label (Avery).

The second card also uses stickers (Paper House Productions) of classic cars but this ime I tried to simulate movement by staggering the images of the cars across the card. I added black rub-on flourishes (Heidi Grace/Fiskars) behind the cars to further add to the concept of movement. The text is again a computer generated one printed on a clear address label (Avery); however this time I used a script type font to emphasize the concept of movement.

The third card uses a rubber stamp image of a classic car (Inkadinkado) on a parchemnt die-cut background (Sizzix) using a marbled paper to simulate the look of an old map. To add to the "travel" idea I added a stamped compass image (Stampibilities). The car and compass were colered with pencil and the die-cut background was edged with brown ink. The text is also a rubber stamped image (My Sentiments Exactly).

The last card uses the image of an antique car from pre-printed card stock (Graphics 45). The background texted paper on the card is paper I've had for a while but unfortunatly do not have a manufacturer for and the stripe is cut out of a patterned paper (Hot Off the Press). I edged the card with brown ink and then mounted the car image on a chocolate brown panel. The text is again a computer generated text printed on a clear address label (Avery).

Father's Day - part 1: King of the Castle!

2011-05-18T09:13:00.013-04:00

This year for Father's Day I made a total of thirty-five cards, all of which were for "Operation Write Home". I decided to break down the cards by theme and the first theme is: King of the Castle! I wanted these cards to reflect a medieval knight/chivalrous type of concept.

The first card was made using partial images from the "Indie Art Cricut" cartritge of a lion and a banner to create the illusion of a family crest. I used the shadow option for the lion to create depth while I edged the banner with walnut colored ink. The background texted paper is from the "Die Cut with a View ' Once Upon a Time" pad which was cut using a deckled edged scissor (Fiskars) and edged with more walnut colored ink. I added an oval cut out (also edged in walnut ink) behind the lion image to simulate a shield; which is the center of a die-cut using the "Lacy Labels Cricut" cartritge .
The second card also reflects the lion theme but on a more child friendly level. Again I used a partial image from the "Indie Art Cricut" cartritge of a shield and the outline of the oval from the previous card using the "Lacy Labels Cricut" cartritge to create the illusion of a family crest. The lion and leaves are felt stickers from "Sandylion" .

The third card was made using the "Sizzix Tim Holtz Alterations" die of a banner, shield and garland over a parchment die also from "Sixxiz". The crown is a sticker left over from a "Sandylion" princess sheet .

The last card truly uses a castle image. The background paper with teh castle image is from the "Die Cut with a View ' Once Upon a Time" pad which was cut using a deckled edged scissor (Fiskars) and edged with more walnut colored ink. The ribbon is a self adhesive paper ribbon from the "Anna Griffin" christmas series.

In all cases the text was computer generated in various fonts and printed on a clear address label from "Avery".

Make the Text match the Image!

2011-05-14T08:06:00.006-04:00

I got these 3D copper foiled retro stickers (K&Company/E.K. Success) out of the clearance bin for a ridiculously low price of fifty cents about six months ago and of course once I got them home I couldn't figure out what to do with them. Well I finally created two cards with them, the problem is finding an appropriate text or saying!

The first card uses rub-on green flourishes (Heidi Grace/Fiskar) on a antique monochromatic background paper (K&Company/E.K. Success) edged with walnut ink. I added a die-cut tag (K&Company/E.K. Success) for the text.

The second card also uses an antique monochromatic background paper (K&Company/E.K. Success) edged with walnut ink and again I added a die-cut tag (K&Company/E.K. Success) for the text.

I'll add the text in the appropriate place once I figure out what it is! Any suggestions?

Mother's Day - the true meaning

2011-05-05T07:11:00.005-04:00

This card was made a few years ago and since it has always been one of my favorites and so totally different for me I thought I'd post it. The idea is simple: a mother with her young ones, showing that no matter how far apart they are, she will always be looking out for them. The background paper is from Basic Grey and the stickers are of course all from Mrs. Grossman's.

Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day - part 3

2011-05-04T08:46:00.004-04:00

One of my favorite images for Mother's Day cards has always been the "Lily of the Valley" and with that in mind here is the last batch of Mother's Day cards for 2011.

The first card was inspired by a pre-made scalloped die-cut tag (K&Company/E.K. Success). The tag is edged in gold and that set the theme for the gold border around the background paper and the gold ribbon running down the card. The flowers are a paper sticker (Martha Stewart/E.K. Success) and the text is a gold vinyl sticker (Stampendous). The background patterned paper is a pale white on yellow floral (K&Company/E.K. Success) selected so as not to over power the other subtle colors.

The second card uses the idea of a framed image by actually using a die-cut frame (K&Company/E.K. Success). Again I used the theme for the gold border around the background paper and the gold ribbon running down the card. The background patterned paper is a pale yellow (K&Company/E.K. Success) selected so as not to over power the other subtle colors and which is also seen as the background inside the frame. This time I used a combination of two different versions of paper stickers (Martha Stewart/E.K. Success) to create the floral focal point. Again the text is a gold vinyl sticker (Stampendous).

For the third card I created my own frame using a corner and edge punch set (Martha Stewart/E.K. Success) and pastel turquoise colored paper (Die Cut with a View). I created an outline inside the punched panel using blue sticker lines (Mrs. Grossman's Design Lines). The flowers are a paper sticker (Mrs. Grossman's Paper Whispers) while the text was computer generated and printed on clear address labels (Avery).

These three cards are simple in theme and very elegant; which is why to me they fit Mother's Day perfectly.

Mother's Day - part 2

2011-05-01T14:30:00.005-04:00

Here's the next batch of Mother's Day cards. The first three were mainly monochromatic but this second batch is very colorful ... at least for me!

The first card was made using a K&Company/E.K. Success die-cut background that I brightened using coloring pencils, faux ruby gem stickers from Stampendous and burgundy ink on the edges. I added a Sizzix die-cut banner with a computer generated text printed on a clear address label from Avery. To add some depth to the card I turned the banner into a 3D image by folding back the ends and then edging the entire thing with walnut ink. To finish the card I mounted the panel on a simple white card.

The second card looks a little like an Easter card, but I thought the bunnies in a flower patch would work for Mother's Day as well. Again I used a K&Company/E.K. Success die-cut for the background; which this time I simple whited out the original text and replaced it with one of my own which again is a computer generated text printed on a clear address label from Avery. This time to add some depth I added some individual glittered die-cut flowers from K&Company/E.K. Success. To finish the card I layered the panel on a reddish paper to match the flowers (which I edged with gold sticker lines from Mrs. Grossman's) and then mounted on a pale orange card.

The third card is also made using a K&Company/E.K. Success die-cut for the background but this time I added gold corner stickers as well as gold chain stickers to highlight the panels design. The background lace is a gold sticker from the Design Line from Mrs. Grossman's that I mounted on a red card back to back making sure that I matched the patterns. The panel was then adhered to the card using thin raised adhesive dots. To finish the card I again added faux ruby gem stickers from Stampendous and a computer generated text printed on a clear address label from Avery.

Mother's Day - part 1

2011-04-25T12:52:00.007-04:00

This year I made over thirty Mother's Day cards with all of them going to Operation Write Home. I don't want to post all of them here so I have selected several; which I will post in a couple of batches of three or so cards. The majority of the cards will have one thing in common and that is the text format. It seems that simple holiday specific sticker type text is impossible to make according to the manufacturer's, so I create my text stickers using the computer and clear address labels (Avery). The first batch are simple flower based cards using one primary color.

The first card is a study in yellow using a stamped image of a rose (The Picture Show) which I colored in yellow and for added emphasis mounted it on a yellow piece of paper (Die Cut with a View) cut out with a deckle edged scissor (Fiskars). One of the computer generated text was added to finish the card. The second card is a study in pink using alternating panels of pastel pink paper (Die Cut with a View) and pink damask patterned paper (Prima) as a background for a frame created out of gold paper (The Paper Company), a die-cut system (Spellbinders) and faux gem stickers (Stampendous Dot Sparklers). The inset is created using lily of the valley stickers (Martha Stewart/E.K. Success) and one of the computer generated text.

The last card of the first bunch is a study in blue using a pastel blue ribbon (ColorBok Self Adhesive Ribbon) and a rose cameo (Martha Stewart/E.K. Success) in blue and white. The text is a gold sticker (Stampendous) that I colored with a black marker (Sharpie).

Simple, elegant and perfectly appropriate for the occasion.

Mojo Monday - week 187

2011-04-19T09:54:00.007-04:00

When I saw this week's Mojo Monday sketch I immediatly knew I had to do something masculine with it. The sketch reminded me of a clock, specifically a grandfather clock and so naturally I decided to make my version of a grandfather's clock.

The background papers are both from the "Imaginisce" Timeless collection. The full background is "garden promenade" and the frame inset is "for all times". The frame, clock face and tag are all from an old "Sandylion" coordinated pack I've had for years. The ribbon across the card is a velvet ribbon from "American Craft" while the bow is satin and is by "Martha Stewart/E.K. Success". I edged the background panel with walnut ink and the frame with black ink both from "Ink It-up!". To add some depth the ribbon and tag are mounted on shimering brown paper from "Bazzill Basics". The scalloped edge was created by using the "Martha Stewart/E.K. Success" edge punch called cherish on tan paper from "Die Cut with a View" and then edged with more walnut ink.

Last Easter cards for 2011

2011-04-19T07:31:00.004-04:00

These are my last two Easter cards for the year and for these I decided to use animal images with very simple yet elegant layouts.

The first card uses a lamb sticker (Day Spring Chapters of Life) which is mounted on a shimmering blue paper (Bazzill Basics) circle with raised adhesive dots and then mounted on a white card. The lily embellishment is a left over sticker (Jolee's Boutique/E.K. Success). The text is a rub-on (Chartpack).

The second card uses a dove stickers (Jolee's Boutique/E.K. Success) from a wedding pack mounted over a glittered text sticker (The Design Studio). These are mounted on a 1 1/2" wide strip of shimmering blue paper (Bazzill Basics) running vertically down a white card and edged with silver lines (Mrs. Grossman's Design Lines).

Easter - crosses part 2

2011-04-18T10:45:00.005-04:00

I decided to cheat for the remaining cross cards and combining theme #1 with theme #2 by adding lilies to the crosses.

The first card is very simple and uses a 3D sticker (Jolee's Boutique/E.K. Success) of a cross entwined in lilies mounted on a purple colored parchment die-cut (Sizzix). To emphasize the 3D effect I die-cut the parchment twice, cut out the corner on one of the die-cut and with raised adhesive dots added it to the other die-cut. The text was computer generated and printed on a clear label (Avery).

The second card uses a rubber stamp (Inkadinkado) image of a cross with flowers stamped in gray on a light purple piece of paper. The image was colored with pencils and then the remaining flowers from the sticker above were used to cover the flowers that are part of the rubber stamp image. The light purple panel was mounted on a white card and edges with darker purple lines (Mrs. Grossman's Design Lines). The text was computer generated and printed on a clear label (Avery).

The third card started with a pre-made tri-fold scalloped window card (K&Company/E.K. Success). The exterior most scallops were cut off to create a square opening which was edged with wide metallic silver lines (Starform). the inner opening was square and simply edged with thin metallic siler lines (Starform). The inside of the card was lined with shimmering light blue paper (Bazzill Basics). The design is a combination of lilies (Jolee's Boutique/E.K. Success) and a glittered die-cut cross (Jolee's by You/E.K. Success). The text is a metallic silver sticker (Stampendous).

Cards made with Stickers - my way!

2011-04-15T20:30:00.000-04:00

I love using stickers and people are always asking me how I get the results I do with pre-made products. Well, it's not a secret and it's actually very simple: I don't treat a sticker as a finished product. I have no problems cutting stickers apart and re-arranging them to get as much use as I can out of each individual one or to get the finished look I want. I do this by placing the sticker I want to cut up on wax paper and use a very sharp craft knife to cut it apart. I also have no problems coloring stickers to match my specific needs. Most paper stickers can be colored with markers; however care must be used to make sure the marker does not bleed through the sticker and dissolve the adhesive quality of the back side. As I said to me a sticker is a starting point not a finished product. To illustrate my "secret" for this blog I made the following three cards but there are other examples on my blog such as the February 1, 2011 post.

The first card uses two of the same two bloom Iris sticker (Mrs. Grossman's). For the central image I wanted one to create a fuller stalk with flowers at various levels of the stem. To start I took one sticker and cut it apart. I separated the leaves from the stem and then split the remaining portion of the stem with the flowers into two pieces so that each piece contained a flower and a piece of stem. I then arranged the full sticker and all the pieces of the cut up sticker on a piece of wax paper to create the fuller flower stalk before I moved it to a piece of light blue paper. By underlaying and overlaying the various parts the finished stem takes on the illusion of depth and fullness. To finish the card I trimmed the blue paper, mounted it on a purple paper matching the color of the flowers, trimmed that panel with a lace edge sticker (Mrs. Grossman's) and added a purple line (Mrs. Grossman's). I mounted everything on a lavender card and to finish the card I added the text (Deja View Wonderful Words) below the flower image.

The second card I made uses a left over piece of a 12" long ocean scenery sticker (Mrs. Grossman's). The original sticker is only about 1" high and I didn't want to have just a narrow band of either the ocean or beach across the bottom of the card. To start with I cut up the sticker in two pieces, overlaid two of the pieces to create a wider and more dramatic looking band which allowed me to have both the wave and the beach as my background. To complete the scene I added the background clouds and gulls; which are all parts of the same scenery sticker. The white tag was made using a border punch with a matching corner punch (Martha Stewart/E.K. Success) while the blue wave trim was made using an edge punch (Fiskars). The text is a sticker (Cloud-9-Designs/Fiskars) which is now also available as an acrylic stamp from the same company. The third card started with one laser cut texted and lace sticker (Mrs. Grosssman's) that I mounted on a piece of burgundy paper and then trimmed down. I covered three of the laser cut flowers within the sticker with other flower stickers (Mrs. Grossman's). To create the river of flowers I started by locating the panel I made in the lower right hand corner of the card and then tracing around it in pencil. This creates a space around which the river of flowers (Mrs. Grossman's) goes through but does not need to actually be covered with flowers. Matching the flowers I used on the panel I started the river by laying down the largest of the flowers from the upper left corner to the lower right corner of the card in an uneven pattern and spacing. To maximize my stickers I cut some of the individual flower stickers in pieces and used them around the marked off area of the panel which creates the illusion that the flowers continue behind the panel. I also re-used the portions of the flowers that I trimmed off along the edge of the card around the panel. To complete the look I filled in the river with different sized flowers. The panel was then attached to the card with raised adhesive dots.

These were all done with flat one dimensional stickers but I use the same techniques with 3D stickers.

Easter - Crosses part 1

2011-04-10T08:03:00.005-04:00

As I said this year I chose two themes for Easter and these are the first three cards I made using a cross as a theme.

The first card was made using a die-cut system (Cricut with the Inspired Hearts cartridge from Walmart). The image was so beautiful and powerful that I decided to leave it alone except for the addition of the sun behind it. The papers all have a shimmering finish (Bazzill Bassics) except for the cross; which is just a mat finished burned sienna color (DCWV).

The second card was made using a laser cut wooden cross that I found at our local craft store (Micheal's'). I colored it in green, red and gold using magic markers (Sharpie). To emphasize the center I added a faux gems sticker (Stampendous Dot Sparklers - diamond). he background is made up of three rays in white shimmering paper (Bazzill Basics) embellished with gold lines (Starform).

The third card was made using my favorite media: stickers. The cross is a 3D sticker (Studio 112/K&Company/E.K. Success) mounted a circle of metallic copper paper (The Paper Company). The card was covered with more of the metallic paper and then with a patterned paper (DB Designs) trimmed with a deckle edged scissor (Fiskars) and edged with walnut color ink (Ink It-up!). The rays are antique gold stickers (Mrs. Grossman's Design Lines). The text was computer generator and printed on a clear adhesive label.

Pin-wheel Card.

2011-04-09T14:22:00.005-04:00

Since I posted this version of a pin-wheel card on my Face Book page, I've had a couple of people ask me how I did it! My immediate response: it was not easy and required several tries with a lot of patience!

I started with the basic pieces of a pin-wheel: two squares of paper 2 5/8" x 2 5/8" for the background (Bazzill Basics shimmering brown) and four squares 1 1/4" x 1 1/4" of shimmering white (Bazzill Basics Diamond) and shimmering ivory (Bazzill Basics Glass Slipper) for the pinwheel. I used a corner punch (Martha Stewart/E.K. Success - eyelet lace) for the pattern. Because of the size differences between the punch and the squares I turned the punch upside down so I could see where I was punching and used a needle nosed tweezers to hold the squares in place while I punched them. I punched each square twice along one side. To get each square right took several tries and many more 1 1/4" squares than I had originally cut out! When I went to layout the card I realized that due to the punched out pattern some of the design was overlapping the bottom of the previous piece of paper and was not visible. So I went back and trimmed each square by trial and error so that when they were laid over each other the background paper would show through.

To finish the card I used an old piece of text patterned paper (Hot Off the Press) that I mounted on more of the shimmering brown paper and centered it on a 5" x 5" square card I made from more shimmering white paper. After I attached the finished pin-wheel, I added a gold banner (Martha Stewart/E.K. Success) across the front with a gold text sticker (Stampendous) that I colored black with a marker (Sharpie). The final touch was the addition of the sugared pansy stickers (Martha Stewart/E.K. Success) and some leaves that I cut out from another sticker (Hydrangea from Martha Stewart/E.K. Success).

Because of the 1 1/4" size restriction some corner punches will not work while other will. The only way to find out which ones work is with lots of patience by trial and error. The final results are well worth the pain!

Easter - Lilies Part 2

2011-04-02T07:09:00.007-04:00

Here are my next two Easter cards using the lily theme!

The first card was made using a series of consecutive overlays in tones of shimmering white and shimmering ivory papers (Bazzill Basics) with the inner frame made using a die-cut system (Spellbinders). The bouquet of flowers with the bow is a 3D glittered sticker (Jolee's Boutique/E.K. Success). The text is computer generated on clear adhesive paper.

The second card was made using white glittered 3D frame stickers (All That Bling/E.K. Success) mounted on a pastel blue patterned (Die Cut with a View). The bouquet of flowers with the bow is a 3D glittered sticker (Jolee's Boutique/E.K. Success). The text is computer generated on clear adhesive paper.

Easter - Lilies Part 1

2011-03-29T11:09:00.006-04:00

This year I chose two themes for my Easter cards: lilies and crosses. Here are the first three cards using the lily theme.

The first card uses a background panel created with a matching edge and corner punch (Martha Stewart/E.K. Success) mounted on a pastel green card and edged inside with a pastel green line (Mrs. Grossman's). The lily is a 3D embossed sticker (Martha Stewart/E.K. Success). The text is a sticker (Stampendous) colored in black with a marker (Sharpie).

The second card uses two die-cut sticker flowers (Jolee's Boutique/E.K. Success) mounted on a die-cut (Spellbinders) green background and trimmed with a white bow (Offray). The panel is mounted on a simple white card. The text is a sticker (Stampendous) colored in black with a marker (Sharpie).The third card uses a simple sticker (Punch Studios) mounted on a gold die-cut background (Spellbinders) edged with a gold pen (Deco Color). The panel is mounted on a patterned piece of paper (DCWV) edged with gold lines (Mrs. Grossman's). The text is a rub-on (Chartpack).

Two-toned Thank You's

2011-03-22T13:59:00.005-04:00

I recently ordered some Anna Griffin products and when they came I was amazed at how bright and multi-colored the papers and stickers were and yet how well they matched. Within the pack of multi-colored paper and stickers I found a couple of almost monochromatic sedate two toned pieces of papers. These caught my eye and I decided to create thank you cards using these odd two-toned papers.

The first was made using a black and white paper with matching 3D rose stickers; which I embellished with a touch of gold for the text banner. The text is a sticker from Mrs. Grossman. I mounted the patterned paper on a single black card; which also serves as a border for the overall layout.

The second card was made using a gold foiled pastel turquoise paper and a gold foiled texted tag. I mounted the patterned paper to a mirror gold foiled paper; which in turn I mounted on a pastel turquoise card to tie everything together.

More of the Green!

2011-03-15T07:54:00.005-04:00

For the next two cards I wanted to keep things simple, elegant yet appropriate for the occasion.

The first card was made using a combination frame and text stamp (Studio G/Hampton Arts) altered to remove a section of unwanted diamond patterned fill and stamped in green ink (Ink It-up!) on white paper. The white panel was then mounted on a green panel and then on the card. The shamrocks are stickers (Reminisce). I added some green rhinestones (Reminisce) for some added bling.

The second card was made using glittered rub-ons (Royal Langnickel and Brush Company) and a strip of glittered green paper to create a matching ribbon.

Both cards are simple, elegant and perfect for the occasion.

Thinking of You (one for each)

2011-03-12T08:30:00.004-05:00

"Thinking of You" cards are fun to make. Here are two quick and easy examples: one feminine, one masculine and both with a nature theme.

The masculine one is a quiet woodland's scene created with a variety of stickers (trees and background scenery: Mrs. Grossman's, deer: Jolee's Boutique/E.K. Success and text: Stampendous).

The feminine one is also a collage of stickers (all from Mrs. Grossman's).

Masculine Unicorns(?)

2011-03-09T08:30:00.005-05:00

Unicorns are usually associated with fairy tales and therefore little girls, but what about guys who like unicorns? Are they out of luck? Not in my book! Here are three cards that use unicorns images in what I believe to be masculine ways.

The first one is the one from 2008 and actualy uses a photocopy of a unicorns from a book versus a sticker. The surround is made from gold sticker lines and corners (Starform) with a gold text (Stampendous).

The second card is made using a die-cut background (Sizzix - parchment) turned into a 3D image, antiqued with brown ink and mounted on some Florentine paper also edged in brown. The crest, laurel leaf crown and banner are die-cuts (Sizzix - Tim Holtz series). The text and unicorn are stickers (Mrs. Grossman's).

The third card is made using two concentric square gold sticker frames (Starform) mounted on an ivory and aquamarine blue shimering paper (Bazzill Bassics) and then cut out. The larger frame in ivory was mounted directly to the aquamarine blue card. For the smaller aquamarine frame the center part was cut out and then the frame was mounted on ivory paper and finally attached it to the card using raised adhesive dots. The unicorn is a sticker (Mrs. Grossman's) as is the gold text (Stampendous). The faux gems are also stickers (Stampendous Dot Sparklers).

More St. Patrick's Day cards

2011-03-03T07:56:00.003-05:00

These two cards were made using patterned paper (Deja Views - Lucky Days Shamrock Big Stripes). The paper in itself was beautiful with portions being foiled in gold as well as texted in gold.

For the firs card I used the patterned papers flourishes and stripes as my background. I embellished the printed stripe pattern with green sticker lines (Mrs. Grossman's Design Lines). To finish the concept I added a 3D button sticker (Reminisce) in the middle of the flourish and surrounded it with green heart stickers (Mrs. Grossman's).

For the second card I cut out the texted stripe from the patterned paper and adhered it to a mirrored gold piece of paper (The Paper Company) that I edged punched with a scalloped design (E.K. Success/Martha Stewart). I then added leprechaun stickers (Mrs. Grossman's) at the tope and bottom of the text and a lace edge (Mrs. Grossman's). To make the card I cut out the foiled geometric design stripe from the patterned paper and edged the right side of the card with it. I then overlaid the rest over it.