Happy Memorial Day!

Father's Day - part 3: Fun!

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

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!

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.

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

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!

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!

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

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

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

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.