Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Card - Challenge #20 - Square Card

I made this card for CST challenge #20 which was make a square card.  I started with a piece of double sided cardstock measuring 4.25x12" and scored it at 2, 4 and 8, 10".  Folded 2 inches at each end back then folded the halves over the centre for a gatefold card. I unfolded the card and I put the ends over one edge of the Tim Holtz ornamental die to create the fancy edge.  I tacked down the beige fancy edges and placed a 1/8 hole in the centre for the ribbon. I then cut a Sizzix wavy frame in a coordinating cardstock. I glued 3 sides down leaving the top open it on card inside.  I printed a greeting on vellum and trimmed it to 3" and slid it behind the frame.  Pulled the gold organza ribbon through the holes and tied the card closed.

Photo - First Day of Fall

Sunday was a great day here!  +30C temperatures and the leaves were falling in the wind.  I decided this may be my last chance to get some great fall color pics so I headed out with the camera. Here's a few I took. We do have some nice reds in the maples on 97 street.  There were many of us taking advantage of the day.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Card Club - Purple/Chocolate

I started with designer paper and found pea green card stock to match.  I cut the designer paper to 5.25x4.00" piece then I ripped it twice removing a piece to allow the card color to show through. These pieces were glued to the card front.  I placed slit in the border, pulled the super soft ribbon through and tied it in a knot on the card front. Trimmed the ribbon ends.  After checking my collection of card stock I determined I did not have the right color so I created the purple paper for the flower.  I used acrylic paint on white card stock applied with a foam brush.  Once dry, it was die cut into flowers with a Sizzix die.  I then brushed the flower with Burnt Umber (dark brown) acrylic paint using a dry brush technique.  I punched a 1.25"circle in chocolate then a 1" taupe circle and added a purple button with dark brown crochet cotton thread.  A Zot holds the button in place. This accent was glued over the ripped area.

Card Club - Flocked border

I found this flocked border at a Dollar store.  I thought it was so gorgeous.  I created a greeting for this sketch and color printed them.  The greeting is trimmed close to the frame.  I coordinated one word in the greeting to the card color.  I used a couple of embossing folders (Cuttlebug Victorian and Stampin Up Finial Press) in the kits.  I cut the colored square with a Sizzix original die. The embossed layer was glued to the card front.  I discovered after I made my sample that the border was adhesive to the brads are purely decorative. This design is versatile to accommodate a variety of colors and occasions. I made up kits in several colors with several greetings (Thanks, sympathy, birthday). 

Card Club - Felt Flowers

I found these felt flowers at Michaels in red, royal blue and yellow. So I alternated these colors in the elements of the kits.  This card has a white card with a red embossed layer with the Cuttlebug Polka Dots folder.  I added white rick rack at the 2/3 point on the card which was taped into the inside of the card.  I cut the leaf with a Sizzix medium die from forest green felt.  The leaf is glued behind the flower, then the flower is placed on the card front and create a hole in the centre with a push pin.  Place the red sequin onto the tiny white brad then place the brad and spread the prongs on inside of the card.  I had yellow, red, and white rick rack. 

Card Club - Fall Leaves

It was our first Card Club of this season! It's that time of year for colorful leaves.
I started with a dark brown card.  I embossed a Summer Sun layer with the Cuttlebug Polka Dots folder and trimmed to 5.5x4.00" and glued to the card front.  The ribbon slider was cut with a Spellbinder thin die once I had color printed my greeting. See this post for how I did this.  I slipped the slider onto the ribbon and taped the ends of the ribbon to the inside of the card.  The felt leaves were stickers then I used a brown marker to add some dimension to the leaves.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Card - Challenge #19 - Fav Color Combo

I made this card for the CST challenge - favorite color combo.  I chose chocolate, turquoise and tangerine.  I selected a chocolate cardstock for the card.  I chose a 6 3/4 envelope or 3 5/8 x 6 1/2 inches.  I cut my card 3.5 wide and 6.25 tall which left some room for the extension of the tangerine insert.  I color printed the greeting on turquoise card stock and trimmed it to fit the card front. I embossed a white layer with the Cuttlebug HB embossing folder.  Trimmed it to just smaller than the turquoise and about .75 the length of the card.  I placed a tangerine ribbon across the join and put 3 silver star sequin in place with orange tiny brads. 

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Card Kits - Cmas - Silver Ornament

I made these card kits for a friend who makes cards with residents of a shelter.  Needed to keep the designs simple. They will really enjoy it.

This card has a great classic look.  I started with a red card.  I color printed the greeting then embossed the quarter sheet with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dot folder then trimmed.  I was surprised how little it affected the words. I cut a silver glitter ornament with a Cuttlebug 3x3" die and added some green satin ribbon to the hanger.  Punched a snowflake with MS punch in same card stock as the card. Layered these together and held them to the card with a silver brad. I added a bit of double sided tape just under the hanger to keep it from sliding sideways.  I trimmed the ribbon ends.

Card Kits - Cmas - Embossed Star

These card will be made by folks with little to no card making experience so I wanted a couple very simple cards.  I selected Real Red card stock and designed a frame and greeting which I printed directly onto the card.  I cut the large Sizzix Star in primary yellow and then embossed it with the Cuttlebug Victoria folder.  I mounted the star offset from the greeting. I added yellow fiber to the button and used a Zot to keep in place. Great classic look.

Card Kits - Cmas - Copper Snowflake

I started with deep purple card stock.  I cut the card 4.25 x 11" with a top fold.  I cut the large snowflake in great copper card stock with my Sizzix Large Snowflake die. I used a MS Snowflake punch to create smaller snowflake in the card color.  I layered these and mounted them on the top of the card front leaving enough space below for the greeting.  I held those in place with a large copper brad. I printed the greeting in the same color as the card onto a warm taupe card stock and then I cut it with the Spellbinder ribbon slider die. The slider was slipped over copper ribbon whose ends were taped to the inside of the card. The alternative for this card was navy blue in the card, snowflake and greeting.
 


Here's a picture of how I set up to cut my color printed greetings.  I determine how far apart my words need to be and print them on card stock. I take them to my Big Shot and lay the die over the greeting and a bit of tape on the right hand side was helpful to keep the die in place. Put it into the sandwich and roll. Out comes a perfectly aligned greeting!

Card Kits - Cmas - Glitter Tree

I started with the warm green glitter paper.  I selected a pea green card that coordinated well. I layered a quarter sheet of warm Ruby Red onto which I color printed some texture in a deep red color. I cut the 12x12 glitter sheet into 21 triangular trees (3"Wx4"T). Once cut I punched out several holes with a 1/4" paper punch and added a daisy confetti in red which looks like a poinsettia held in place with a gold brad in the center.  I printed the greeting on the same card stock and punched it out with the Word Window punch. I die cut stars from gold foil paper and mounted it with 3D foam tape.

Card Kits - Cmas - Polar Bear

I made some card kits for a friend on the weekend.  I made 5 designs.
This is a sketch I've used before. On this one I used navy blue card stock with white flecks which looks like snow falling.  The polar bear is Cricut which I glued down the scarf, added the eye and nose.  I ripped a piece of white card stock into a snow bank.  I added the yellow star in the sky. The alternative for this one is Bashful Blue for the card like this one.

Card - Ribbon Slider

I made this card for friend whose granddaughter is celebrating a birthday soon.  I selected some designer paper and mounted it on a pink card.  I cut a Spell Binder ribbon slide in chocolate brown and placed it on the card on a silver 5/8" ribbon through a slit in the fold on the left hand side. Scotch taped the ends to the inside of the card. I color printed the greeting and cut it with  my Creative Memories oval cutter and glued it down onto the slider. I added a white silk flower with a metal on layered over all held in place with a tiny pink brad. I made an identical card with a Thanks greeting for my card box.

Were you one of the lucky ones to get a Spellbinder die at Michaels with a 50% coupon last week?  This set of 3 ribbon sliders was my choice.  They are great because they take 5/8" ribbon and my Cuttlebug sliders take 3/8" ribbon.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Not a Card - CST Challenge #18

I made this little pocket for a challenge which indicated "not a card". I used the Sizzix Petal Card die on scrapbooking cardstock in Soft Sky polka dots on Chocolate Chip.  I created the little sentiments on the computer.  They are 2 3/8 inches square.  This is a little gift for someone who has given support.  The first square is a place address and sign it.  The others are customized to the particular situation.  I made holes in 2 of the flaps and tied it closed with brown crochet cotton.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Card - Train

This card is for a little boy soon turning 3. I used a QuicKutz die. It has all the pieces on a 4" square die so I was able to cut each piece from a different color paper. I used the cool tool glue applicator to get just a bit of glue where I needed. The 3 is cut with the Cuttlebug Red Tag Alphabet dies. The blue sky piece of paper I crunched then flatten and rubbed an inkpad on the high points to create an interesting sky. I ripped a piece of DP paper to create the grass below the train.
I'm submitting this card to the CST Challenge #17 which needed punched or die-cuts.

Card - Teenager - Bold graphic

I made this card for a friend for her grandson who is celebrating a birthday this week. He is a teenager so I wanted to keep it bright and bold. I use Kiwi Kiss card stock and found this bold graphic paper which I layered nearly to the edge. I cut the HB with Sizzlet Notepad Alphabet in coordinating colors. I mounted these to a white tag with I edged with a navy ink pad. I added 3 ribbons in coordinating colors.
I'm submitting this card to the CST Challenge #17 which needed punched or die-cuts.

Monday, September 5, 2011

Card - Black Felt Border

I made these cards for my monthly card exchange. I started with the black flocked border I bought at a dollar store. I thought it was smart looking. I designed a square color printed greeting which was layered on to a colored square that matched the card color. This was layered onto a embossed layer then onto the card. I attached the felt border with several brads that matched the card color. Top - Devine Swirl EF and Bottom - Finial EF. This is a very versatile design as the color of the card can easily be changed to suit different sentiments. I have designed several other greetings for the design. Keep and eye out for them later.

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Cool Tool - Refillable Bottles for glue

If you find yourself trying to glue down small pieces of paper like thin die cut letters or small punchies you know that a glue stick won't do a good job. Snail adhesive a bit better because it's dry but still covers way more area than you want and wastes glue. Double sided tape is really not flexible enough to meet the need. You need an application of glue in a very thin line. This requires a narrow tipped applicator. On the left with the purple lid is the tool I use for this job. I buy it a the craft store and it works great. What if you would like several of these then it becomes expensive. In comes the idea of recycling bottles sold with various other contents. You need ones with very fine tips which are removable from the bottle. Once emptied it can be converted to glue. Good old white glue works well and is inexpensive and likely is on sale right now for "Back to School." The middle one is fabric glue bottle and the other is used in stained glass. I found these in the clearance section for very little money. And since I was more interested in the bottle and not its contents that was great. Once I have used the contents I will have 2 small bottles for dispensing glue on small items. I teach classes so that will provide several to share around the table. Maybe you have some already in your craft supplies, maybe you have a friend into fabric or stained glass. Maybe a posting on-line will connect you with those who empty these bottles regularly. This is a cool tool! I can't take the credit for this idea, it came from my sister during my visit this summer.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Cmas Card Challenge - September - Non Traditional Color (2)

Here's the another card I made for this challenge but was having a hard time getting the colors right in a scan. I made a triangle tree of the 3 colors bright pink, green galore and turquoise. Embossed them with 3 different folders. Punched some small yellow stars for the top. Added hand drawn stars in the sky and snowbank on the ground with a thin black marker. The trunks were added with marker as well.

Cmas Card Challenge - September - Non Traditional Colors

I chose Turquoise, Green Galore and Bright Pink for my non traditional colors for my September challenge and nice textured white cards. I could not decide on one design so I made several. I don't remember the company which makes the rubber stamp greeting.

Top Left: The tree is a QuicKutz die so I cut each layer in a different color. The trunk was cut in black. I glued the snowflakes cut by the die in the sky. I drew by a hand a snowbank with a thin black marker.

Bottom Left: The tree is created by gluing narrow strips of pink and green card stock on a piece of turquoise card. I then drew the sweeping tree shape on the back of the white piece and cut it out with scissors. The trunk was cut from black card stock. The snowflakes were hand drawn with a thin black marker. I added a small yellow star at the top. The snowbank was cut from the leftover from the tree and laid in the opposite direction.

Right: Again a QuicKutz die which creates a tall tree which needed a taller card than an A2. The 6 pieces cut into the 3 colors and alternating the colors. Cut the stem in black. Added a yellow star at the top. The greeting stamped and I drew a border with a thin black marker.

I made 4 cards
Total so far 76.