Scrap Flower

There was a project that used several different

coordinating papers.  Now I am a paperaholic of the first order.

I just hate to throw away those scraps.

 

I saw a card similar to this one and had the Cuttlebug

die for single flower petals and so set to work.

The petals are put in backwards, with

the rounded edge to the center.

A Man Card

When I think of cards for my husband I think of cards 

with a definite western flavor.

This card has a cream base card that has the front cover with

faux snake skin that I  made.

The punched border is from dark brown card stock

A piece of card board box had one sides outer layer

carefully removed, it was then die cut with a

Spellbinders Label die, had dark brown ink

sponged over the top to catch the high portions

and then more heavily inked on the outer edge with

dark brown and black.

The phrase has the corners punched and the edges sponged 

with brown and then black inks.  It has been centered on the card boards.

The horse shoes are die cuts from and old Sizzixlets set.

Valentines Day cards

 Layers, embossing folders and die cutting

are the basic techniques used in these cards.

 The phrases are created in Paint Shop Pro X,

copied to Word and sized to fit my Spellbinders dies.

Because I Care - One

This phrase is one of my favorites because it can cover

so many occasions.  I just write Happy Birthday, Get Well,

With Sympathy or whatever on the inside.

I began the design with a plain white card base

that has the edges lightly sponged in maroon ink.

Maroon paper is used as a narrow border under the

Victorian DP  and under the oval die cut

computer generated phrase.

An EK Success punch was used for the

maroon trellis type border.

The DP (design paper) was cut to

5.25 x 4 inches, attached to the

maroon card stock and trimmed to a 

narrow border with layering rulers.

Indian

The Indian image is from a company called Ink Blocks.

I don't know if they even exist anymore.

There were a number of very interesting and 

stunning Indian images that were done for the

company by one artist.

This was stamped with a dark pigment ink

and embossed with a rust metallic powder.

It was cut in a circle with the indention on

one side done by hand with a scissors.

A wild turkey feather is showing through the indention.

This is then mounted on a dark brown circle.

The border is an EK Success border punch.

The parchment beige card base has

the edges sponged with dark brown ink.

A Little Western Flavor

Steps to create the longhorn skull medallion.

1. Use a crackle stamp cream colored leather with archival brown ink.

2. Stamp skull with black pigment ink, emboss with fine line black powder.

    The beads on the horns have been attache with beading thread.

3. Using a die cut or a coluzzle template, cut around the image.  Your die will

    probably not cut all the way through the leather if it is really thick like this

    leather was.  I had to finish the cut with a scissors.

4. Sponge and archival dark brown or sepia ink around the edges of the leather.

5. Attach the round leather image to a dark brown card stock, trim with a decorative scissors.

6. Tear out a circle from a piece of card board that has the corrugations exposes.

7. Heavily sponge with dark brown or sepia ink.

8. Attach skull layers to corrugated card board.

9. Attach end of a wild turkey feather under card board.

 

Steps to create snake skin.

1. Snake skin look is done by first splotching light and medium brown

    archival inks on a white or cream card stock.

2. Emboss with a snake skin embossing plate or folder.  This is a Fiskars embossing plate.

3. Lightly run a sponge over the paper to just catch the raised portion.  You want the

    snake skin look to stand out.  Heat dry to set ink.

4. Brush glossy water base varnish over the whole and let dry.

The dark brown border in the center of the snake skin is from an EK Success punch.

The outer border is a decorative scissors.

The card base is a light biege parchment paper that has all the edges sponged with dark

brown ink.

Keep It Simple

 Two versions of the same design.

The first is in cream and dark green,

while the second is in white and blue.

The embossing folder paper was first cut to

5.25 x 4 inches and then embossed.

Next it was layered over the plain colored paper.

(the dark green and the blue)

This plain paper was trimmed to a narrow

border with a layering ruler.

I used an EK border punch for the borders.

Usually I punch them out using a narrow piece of paper

that is twice the length of the DP border,

 then cut in half and attach to each side of the border.

Now attach this to you EF (embossing folder) and

colored paper piece.  I like to make by border piece slightly 

longer than required then trim them after they are attached.

The whole is now ready to glue

to the card base.

On the green version I punched

out an Anna Griffin butterfly.

Love those butterflies.

Crafty Kitten

 This is Baby. Baby was found in my flower bed in September as a tiny kitten

abandoned by it's mother.  Baby barely had his/her eyes

open and could hardly walk he/she was so young.

Baby came into the house and has not left since.  

A favorite perch is in my box of quarter sheet cut card stock.

I finally broke down and put a towel over the paper 

to protect it.

We make Baby spend time outside each day so he/she

will realize that he/she is a cat.  So far that has

not been a rousing success.  Baby thinks he/she

might be a dog, probably human, but NOT a cat.

We have cat toys strung all over the house.

There is a big card board box with holes cut here

and there that is a fascinating playground for

a lively kitten.

There are balls in both showers along with paper cups,

which make wonderful noises and wake up the

humans at night.

Baby loves to hid under the bed and ambush ankles

and will wake a sleeping dad with gentle and then not

so gentle face pats because attention is desired NOW.

Baby has tried ambushing the Scottish Terrier, MacDuff,

but MacDuff just doesn't get it.  He turns around and chases

Baby, so that game is done.

Watching the water spin round and round in

the toilet is fun, but the claw marks on the toilet seat

attest to the fact that this is something that

should only be looked at and not experienced.

Baby loves paper scraps that fall to the floor when mom is crafting,

so can usually be found lurking about.  When he/she gets

tired of playing he/she retires to this lovely hidey hole

atop mom's papers.

Dad is complaining

that some of those paper scraps have found their way 

into his side of the bed.

And Dad also says that a kitten under the covers at 

his feet disturbs his sleep.

Big Butterflies

 Both butterfly images are from Viva Las Vegas Stamps.

They have been stamped in a dark blue pigment ink

with a extra thick embossing crystals from 

Once Upon A Stamp as the embossing powder.

Since this was a chunky thick powder I heated from

the bottom.  That way the powder doesn't blow off.

You do have to be careful not to scorch the paper.

I believe the phrase is from Our Daily Bread.

It was stamped in the same dark blue pigment 

and a clear embossing powder was used.

The stamped image was cut to 4 x 5.25 inches,

mounted on navy card stock

which was trimmed to a narrow border using

layering rulers.

I border punch was used for the scalloped trim on the phrase.

I don't try to use one piece of paper for this type of work.

I punch out two trims, then attach one at a time 

to the phrase.  Much faster and easier.

Clean and Simple Designs

 The only difference in these cards is the stamped phrase.

I stamped a mosaic border stamp using Hunter Green Colorbox

pigment ink and a clear embossing powder.

The phrase was stamped with Colorbox chalk ink dark green.

This little border could be stamped, could be scrapbook paper,

could be an embossing folder, could be polished stone,

could be pearl ex and glue technique.

To me the secret here seems to be

that you use the same paper for the card base and for

the 5.25 x 4 inch rectangle that is under the border.

Also use the same accenting paper under the border and

under the rectangle. 

This paper has been cut to a narrow border 

using my perfect layers ruler.

Am I going to make some more of these type

of cards using my suggestions above, YUPPERS!

I think I need to use some more of my smaller phrases

to create birthday, thinking of you etc.

 

One trick I discovered in placement of the stamped

phrase was to stamp it before I attached the border.

I positioned the border, stamped and then attached the border,

otherwise I was getting the phrase too high on the card 

and it didn't look right.

A Sympathy Card

A simple design that is just so pretty.

The corners of the plain white card base have

been rounded and then the edges sponged with

Adirondack stream dye ink.

This ink was also used on the edges of

the punched flowers, the phrase

and the oval DP die cut.

The two die cuts are Spellbinders.

Flowers shaped from Punch Bunch punches

and the elegantly curved olive branches

are die cut from a Cheery Lynn Designs die.

A blue/green glitter glue has been used

for the center of the flowers.

Blue Rememberance

The phrase was created by me using PSP X.

It was die cut using a Spellbinders die.

Note that the phrase is towards the bottom

of the die cut, this allows for more

embellishment at the upper portion

of the die cut.

The white card base has had the edges sponged with

Adirondack Stream dye ink.  The edges of the

shaped and punched flowers have also been

sponged with this ink,  In addition the flowers

have a blue green glitter glue as their centers.

Flowers and leaves are from Punch Bunch punches.

Several sizes of pearls are hidden about in

the flower arrangement. 

The DP has been layered over dark blue card stock.

Someone Remembers in Blue

I saw this phrase somewhere on a blog or Splitcoast and

immediately had to make up several versions in 

Paint Shop Pro X. 

It is so perfect for so many different occasions.

I began the design with a white card base.

The corners were rounded the edges heavily sponged 

with Adirondack Stream dye ink.

The remainder of the ink left on the sponge

was swished over the entire card face.

Using a Paper Studio paper called Antique Brocade

and Spellbinder Cardmaker die a frame was cut.

The phrase was cut with a straight edge

with the edges sponged with the Adirondack Stream ink.

I used the flat pieces of paper egg cartons

on the back of the phrase to create a 3-d effect.

A McGill punch is used for the white and blue branches.

The blue branches are just white ones that were 

sponged with the Adirondack Stream ink.

Flowers are from Punch Bunch punches

with the edges again sponged with the Stream ink.

I used a stylus to shape the punched flowers.

The centers of the flowers are blue green glitter glue.

The flowers are arranged over the branches

with pearls scattered about.

Ephesdians 6:10

A wonderful scripture and another one

of my favorites.

This starts on a white card base.

A peach piece of card stock was cut to

be slightly smaller than the card front.

then a Cheery Lynn Designs lattice die cut

was placed over that.  It has been cut down enough

to not show underneath the window layer that is on top of it.

The window was cut with a Spellbinders Label die.  Note that 

the window is positioned to leave more space at the bottom to 

leave more room for embellishment.

The flowers were punched with a Punch Bunch punch

and shaped with a stylus.

The leafy stem is a die cut as well.  

I got it at a convention and have no idea who 

the manufacturer is.

The scripture was created in PSP X and 

die cut with a Spellbinders label die.

Lattice in a Window

This card begins with a white card base.

Next layer is a Cheery Lynn Designs

lattice that has been lightly sponged with a 

very light brown ink.

A piece of 4.25 x 5.5 inch white cards stock

has an aperture (window) cut using a

Spellbinders Label.  I cut it leaving more space

at the bottom to make room for embellishments.

The aperture has been lightly sponged as has the

outer edge of the piece and attached over

the lattice.

A Bosscut die was used to cut the greenery

and Punch Bunch punches were used for the 

flowers and the flower centers.

A white Cheery Lynn butterfly that has

been sponged with the light brown ink

is on the greenery in the upper right corner.

Polka Dot Posies

The first step is to cut a piece of card stock slightly smaller than

your card base and attach it to the card base.

I used a Cuttlebug embossing folder that had a 

matching border for this design.

A piece of card stock was embossed in the folder,

cut down and attached to the colored card stock

on the card front.

Now a 4 x 5.25 piece of white card stock

is used with a Spellbinders label die.

The die was centered on the paper and

taped into place with low tack masking tape.

After cutting the aperture the border embossing folder

was used on the left edge.

Flat portions of paper egg carton were attached to 

the underside and it was glued to the card front.

The pink polka dot flowers were punched with a 

Punch Bunch punch and shaped

using a stylus.

The green centers are glitter glue.

Glitter glue was also thinly spread over the greenery.

I also put a small dot of clear glitter glue in each 

little round polka dot on the embossed portion.

The Cornerstone

The flower image was stamped with a light brown.

That same ink was used for sponging on the edges of 

the phrase, image and card base.

I used some plaid Christmas wrapping paper

that has been attached to card stock with spray glue 

as the subtle dash of color.  It was run through

a corrugator for a little more texture and interest.

Three tiny beige pearls  were placed

at lower mid point of the Spellbinders label die cut imgae.

Another Christmas Card

The Spellbinders Ornament die is again used for this card.

I love this die, it is so easy to decorate and the end

result is so impressive.

The embossing folder used for the background is from Cuttlebug.

I used a glossy white paper.

It was layered over a dark green that has

been trimmed to a narrow margin using 

layering rulers.

The ornament has been cut from a polished stone

piece from my stash.  I have a stack of various

polished stone pieces ready to use.  It is a rather

messy technique and it is also addictive.

The bronze metallic looking embellishments on

the ornament have been made using a bronze gift 

wrap that has been attached to card stock using

spray glue.  This is another thing that I do in 

huge amounts at once because of the mess.

I have a file with all kinds of gift wrap

attached to card stock for die cutting and backgrounds.

HINT - shop now for glitzy shiny gift wraps for die cutting

and backgrounds.  The gold especially is usually to be found

only at Christmas.  I use it year round.  The gift wrap is so so so  much 

less expensive than the scrapbook store gold paper.

Floral Window

First cut a lattice from the Cheery Lynn Designs

lattice die.  Attach the lattice to a plain white card base.

Now take a piece of 4.25 x 5.5 inch card stock.

Cut a Spellbinders Label aperture.  I left a little more

room at the bottom than the top to make room for 

a little more elaborate  floral embellishment.

If you desire a more embossed border around the 

aperture run it through the die cut machine

again with the embossing rubber sheet.

The lower left and upper right corners

are embellished with white die cut corners from

Cheery Lynn Designs.

Now we come to the flowers and leaves.

I have no idea who is the maker of the leafy stem die.

The stem on the right is a full stem, the one on the lower left 

was cut down.  Leaves from the cut down stem were

used for the single flower in the upper left corner.

The cream colored flowers were punch with a

Punch Bunch punch.  The brown centers of the

flowers are from Punch Bunches star burst and 

twinkle punches.

Framed Ornament

I began with a Cuttlebug folder that is

trimmed to 4 x 5.25 inches, then layered

over a sage green card stock. 
The green card stock has been cut to

make a narrow border.

This whole concoction is then attached

to a plain white A2 card base.

The ornament frame is from a

Spellbinders ornament die.

I used the largest and the second largest 

dies together to create the frame of polished stone.

The trick is to tape the dies in place before you cut.

The greeting was created in PSP X and

printed on plain white card stock.

It was cut out with the same ornament die.

I used a heavy gold metallic gift wrap

that has been attached to card stock using spray glue.

This was die cut using a Sizzix extended cut die.

The straight gold pieces and the hanger

were cut with a guillotine paper cutter.

The frame is raised over the Christmas phrase

using flat pieces of paper egg carton.

Most pop dots are expensive and too thick.

Paper egg cartons a free.  (big plus!)