Variations on a theme.

Last Christmas I decided to use a deer and tree theme for my personal cards. I made the cards using an  electronic die cut machine system that uses cartridges to create the various deer images from glittered papers. After posting some of the cards, I was very surprised and somewhat disappointed at the number of comments I received about the fact that I used an expensive machine that many crafters don't have or can't afford in this economy. The truth is that it’s not the media that’s important but the idea! The original deer and tree theme can easily be duplicated in a variety of ways without having an expensive die cut machine … it’s all about imagination! To prove my point here are some examples of holiday deer themed cards. All the cards start with a basic size 2A (4¼” x 5½”) white card.

Sticker Version

Although the original card was made using silver glittered paper, the sticker version uses two colored Sticko/E.K. Success stickers; which I overlaid on a light blue metallic strip of paper from The Paper Company. The text is from an A.C. Moore sticker sheet. The use of color makes this card, I believe, a little more masculine.

Rubber Stamp Version #1

For the first rubber stamped card I used a couple of Inkadinkado/E.K. Success winter scenery stamps side by side. To create the silver glittered effect of the original card I embossed the stamped images with silver embossing powder from Ranger. For the background I again used a piece of light blue metallic strip of paper from The Paper Company. The text is computer generated.

Rubber Stamp Version #2

So far the deer images have been small … so for the second rubber stamped card I used a Stampin Up! Single deer stamp. To create a ground line under the stamped deer I used an embossing pen. Again I embossed the stamped image with silver embossing powder from Ranger. For the background I used a piece of dark blue metallic paper from The Paper Company; which was the mounted a slightly larger piece of silver paper, also from The Paper Company. The text is from an A.C. Moore sticker sheet.

Die cut Version Version #1

These days many companies make dies and these are certainly a lot less expensive than electronic die-cutting systems. The deer family was die-cut using a Memory Box die from mirrored silver paper from The Paper Company, to continue the glittered effect. I mounted the die-cut image using raised adhesive dots and then framed it with silver sliver Design Line stickers from Mrs. Grossman’s. The star is a Hallmark sticker.

Die cut Version Version #2

The original idea was to show how motifs could be recreated … so I decided for the final card to recreate the sticker deer card using die-cut images. The deer family and background pine trees were die-cut from white paper using Memory Box dies. I colored the die-cut images Upper portions only) using Color Box Cat’s Eyes ink pads. The die-cut images were overlaid on a blue background. The text is computer generated.

So, next time you look at a card, don’t think about what you don’t have … think about what you do have!

Mrs. Grosman's Card

I recently entered a contest to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Mrs. Grossman's Company and came in 2nd. The theme of the contest was "sticker art" and of course art is what ever you want to make it. For my art, I chose to make a card using ten different layers of stickers from Mrs. Grossman's  from the past 35 years.  

 If you want to see the other winners go to the Mrs. Grossman's website ... it's well worth it!

Stamped backgrounds

I've been trying to stay away from buying pre-printed background paper and trying to create my own backgrounds to highlight stickers. Using stamps to do this is allows you to use complimentary colors and is actually very easy. Here are two quick examples:

The first card took some practice. I started by making a mask using a Spellbinder die from a thin sheet of white paper. With the mask in place on a pre-cut panel of white paper, I colored the inside opening with gold ink (Tsukineko).  Without removing the mask I stamped the text (Stampin Up!) in dark brown ink (Color Box/Clear Snap) over the gold background. I mounted the stamped panel on a piece of antique gold paper (The Paper Company) and mounted the two panels on a white card. The final item is the addition of my last 3D butterfly sticker (Mark Richard); which I've held onto for over ten years.

The second card was actually simpler to make. I wanted to create a "water" themed background for a 3D dragon fly glittered cardboard sticker (K&Company/EK Success) that I had left over. I started with a panel of white paper cut to the size I wanted and which I then edged with masking tape. Inside the taped area I stamped the park scene (Inkadinkado/EK Success) image in black archival ink (Ranger) and then using cotton swaps and various ink pads I colored the stamped image, making sure I extended the color over the tape. Once I removed the tape I had a perfect background. I mounted the stamped panel on a piece of patterned paper; which was actually part of the packaging for one of the many K&Company/EK Success sticker packages I've collected. Mounted the two on a light grey card and then added the dragon fly. 

Father's Day

Masculine cards are hard to make only because there are so few products out there that reflect masculine images ... unless you want to use tired cliches. I always try to find images that would make me stop and look ... not easy. So here are three cards I made using different media to try and celebrate our masculine side for Father's Day.

The first was made using the Art Deco Cricut cartridge and the Art Deco embossing folders from CuttleBug. The background (which inspired the card) was made using the CuttleBug Art Deco embossing folder and then coloring the embossed image with gold ink.The car was made using the Cricut cartridge and has five layers. I made the body of the car beige to match the golden background but that is the beauty of this  card ... the car can be made any color even the recipients favorite color!

The second card is a stamped card with a die cut frame background. I die cut the background using the Spellbinders Fleur de Lys die from a light brown paper. I then masked the interior portion and colored the fanciful edge details with a darker brown ink. On a white piece of paper, using all Stamp it Up stamps, I stamped in black the corner tree, the deer and then over stamped everything with a distress background. I cut the stamped panel down to fit inside the frame and lightly colored the background with chalk.

The last card was made Sizzix and Spellbinders dies to create a regal coat of arms with a very modern monochromatic masculine flair. The background is made using the parchment Sizzix and a textured tan paper which I edged with two shades of brown and then lightly with black ink to create a burned look. The next layer is made using Spellbinders Fancy Tags, cut from white paper and edged again with two shades of brown and then lightly with black ink. The next layer is made using the Spellbinders heraldry die and a metallic copper paper. This layer I also embossed. The final layer is the tattered banner made using the Sizzix die by the same name.

These cards are masculine and can be used for any occasion depending on the text used.

New Baby Cards

The challenges submitted by magazines are always fun and help me get out of my standards. The July issue of Scrap & Stamp Arts was looking for "new baby" cards and I submitted two both with the same theme" the stork and texted paper that fit the image.

The first first was a square card using embossed K&Company/E.K. Success embossed paper. The stickers are from Sandylion. I chose a neutral color scheme so the card could be used for either a baby boy or girl.

The second card uses Me & my Big Ideas paper ... which I carefully laid out to get the text in the right place. The sticker is from Jolee's Boutique/E.K. Success. Because of the color of the hat and the text of the sticker, I decided to make this a boy's card and continue the blue theme.