Retro Cards!

Sometimes going back in time can be fun! I found these great wooden buttons at Wal-Mart and couldn't wait to use then in cards.

 

The first card uses a wooden "peace" button as the inspiration for the theme, the color scheme and even the circular design motif. The card is a pre-made embossed off-white card from Cramer & Company, which I embellished with a retro patterned paper from Die Cut with a View and a matching border from Mrs. Grossman's Design Lines. To add another layer I used a second epoxy button that picked up some of the colors from the "peace" button and brought in some new ones as well. To finish teh card I used a variety of epoxy button stickers and rhinestones.

The second card uses another wooden "peace" button. Again I played up the circular theme and the colors from the button but in a totally different manner. I started with a 5"x5" white card which I edged with some Mrs. Grossman's Design Lines. The solid color circles are rub-ons from American Traditions and the intertwined multi colored circles are stickers from Stickopotamus/E.K. Success. The finale touch was the addition of an appropriate text in the form of a sticker from Mrs. Grossman's.

One for the Boys!

Learning a new trick is always great, especially if it's one that can add another dimension to your cards. That is why I like the partial embossing technique ... this allows me to create an unembossed area for text!

The back ground (even though it's a little hard to see in this scan) was made using the "star" embossing folder from CutleBug. I started by placing my white paper in the bottom half of the embossing folder and then running it through the embossing machine. Then I turned the paper 180 degrees and embossed the upper third. of the paper. This left a flat unembossed space in the embossing to work with. In this case I used a glittered text sticker to compliment the glittered 3D sticker.

I noticed that I'm not the only one who likes flat spaces inside the embossed background ... Tim Holtz has come out with templates to be used to create oval spaces ... but why spend the money when you can make your own!

Special Birthday

I love making special cards celebrating special occasions for special friends. Here's the latest birthday card I made for one of my FaceBook friends.

I wanted the card to be bright and happy (like the recipient) ... so I started with a rhinestone bird fabric sticker from Jolee's Boutique/E.K. Success. Then came the hard part, finding items that worked with this colorful image. I started with the background paper; which turns out to be the packing paper for K&Company/E.K. Success stickers. I liked the multi colored background with the random polka dot pattern. Then I used my Spellbinders to die-cut an appropriately fanciful tag/frame. To add to the card I used the remaining glittered rhinestone epoxy stickers that came in the package with the bird sticker. Of course I cut those up and re-arranged them to suit my needs. The text is another sticker from Mrs. Grossman's.  Hope you like it ... I know she did!

Monochromatic Multi Layered Cards

Combining all the different die-cut, embossing and punches one has into a single card can be quite challenging but also very rewarding. When I recently saw some beautiful examples on Pinterest as well as posted on face book by Sheryl I just knew that I had to try this technique.

When I finished my first card I realized that I'd missed the boat!  The solid color background paper I used, although embossed, just wasn't right and took away from the rest of the layers. 

So I tried again and again.Finally I got the hang of it and the next three cards came out much better.

Each one followed the same basic principal and was made entirely out of white paper.  The background was embossed using  a "CuttleBug" folder and then lightly colored with an ink pad to set the color scheme for the rest of the card.  The next layer  is a panel which was created using one of my many "Spellbinder" die-set.  Each die-cut panel was embellished by either a ribbon or an arrangement of flowers; which were either done using a punch ("Martha Stewart") or another die-cut system ("Sizzix").  On the first card I also added a teddy bear and three hearts; which were punched out using a mini Michael's punch.  For my color schemes I selected: black for the first one, lime green for the second one and gold for the third one. 

These cards are fun to make but do require a lot of patience. Good luck making yours and can't wait to see them.

All occassion blank card

As much as I like framing my images on my cards and creating scenes I also like to cut up my stickers to make them fit the overall design and size of the card.

The card's background was made using two shades of blue  to match the color of the one large Pansy which were cut using a Spellbinder die set.  The flowers are a dollar store find and are made up of several 3D glittered and rhinestone covered stickers from one package. Some of the stickers I cut apart and re-assembled to create a fuller look (such as the flowers on the lower right portion) while others I trimmed to give a more specific shape (like the flowers in the pitcher) and then I used the trimmed off flowers to create an even deeper 3D look by adding them on top of another layer.

Although it's a lot of detailed work, cutting up and trimming stickers is made easier if you lay the sticker on wax paper and use a very sharp Exacto knife (scissors tend to flatten the 3D stickers). You'd be surprised how much you can do to a sticker!