Embossed Flower Soft Christmas Card

This Christmas card started with a Sizzix embossing folder run through my Big Shot Machine.  The embossed image was colored with markers, and I used a pen to create faux stitching around the border. The fun part was the little bit of sparkling snow I added to the tree by using Stickles in place of regular glue to add my Flower Soft.  A stamped greeting finishes off an easy Christmas card.

Using Leftover Stripes & Roses

Here are a couple of cards made once again from leftovers from a scrapbook page - in this case we have flowered paper, striped paper, and plain cardstock.  Two very different looks created from the same basic materials.

Pergamano Sympathy Card

Here's another card using pergamano techniques.  The heart & butterfly shape is created from vellum using the Hot Off the Press "Scandinavian Hearts" template, with the pergamano techniques highlighting the butterfly.  Outline stickers finish the look - including creating the body and antennae of the butterfly.  Here's a picture that shows a bit more of the dimension on the card.

Handling Challenges Part 13 - Corners cut off Photo

This page is designed to hide a challenge with the focal photo.  It had two corners cut off as you can see here:

My "coverup" consists of using a round Card Creator punch in the corners of the mat.  These cover the missing corners.  However, this particular punch can look rather plain and the focal is a bit small, so I triple matted it, using the same punch on all mats. Borders along the sides help enlarge the feel of the photo as well. The pictures along the top of the page are showcased through windows cut with a couple of Spellbinders dies.  The title was cut with my Silhouette.

Inspired by a sketch

This card was inspired by a sketch on the Paper Wishes Message Board.   The original sketch was a square  but I prefer rectangular cards since square envelopes cost more to mail so I changed it a bit.  Here's what the original sketch looked like:

This is a great sketch for using a wide variety of papers.

Stencil Focals

This card shows a focal created with a metal stencil.  I started by cutting the large Spellbinders Fleur De Lis Motif.  I then centered the metal stencil and ran it through my Big Shot to emboss it.  Next, I lightly brushed an ink pad over it to make the embossing pop, and added a few Jewel Dazzles. A ribbon border & sentiment (cut on my Silhouette) finishes this card.

Thanksgiving - Thank You's and Leftovers

Here are a couple of quick Thank You cards for those last minute Thanksgiving expressions - once again made from leftovers from a scrapbook page.  This one starts with a stamped sentiment cut out with a Spellbinder die and matted on black rectangular paper.  The borders are created with black ribbon, narrower tan ribbon and cream die cuts.

Here's another card using the same basic materials:

Die Cut 3 - Edgeabilities with embossing

Here is a card using Spellbinders Classic Triple Scallop Edgeabilities for the border.  I cut and embossed it (using Insert A) in my Big Shot.  The greeting is made with a metal stencil & dimensional paint.  The large flower used in the focal is covered with glitter paint. It and the small flower were cut with my Silhouette.  The diamond-shaped white piece is a die cut (cut with my Big Shot).

Using Leftover Dots

I find that scrapbooking can really speed up my cardmaking.  Since I already have papers gathered that go together, using the scraps from my scrapbooking makes for quick and easy cards.  Here are three cards made with leftovers from a couple of scrapbook pages featuring dotted paper - three different looks from the same basic materials. This first card is graced by another of Nancy's serendipity squares, a couple of layered flowers, and a tag.

This next one uses a serendipity square, flowers, and stamping.

This final card also uses flowers and a serendipity square with borders cut from the papers and a little ribbon bow.

Cardmaking helps with scrapbooking - Faux Stitching

Another technique creeping into my scrapbooking that I first used in cardmaking is faux stitching.  These pages are a good example.  If you look closely, you'll see the black faux stitching lines around frames and titles.

On the first page, frames were created with my Spellbinders dies and Big Shot machine.  On the 2nd page, the frame has corners created by cutting and folding the paper -- based on the Hot Off the Press Template called Diamond Folds #3.

Both pages have titles cut with my Silhouette.

Title Part 21 - Print and cut with Spellbinders

Here's another title.  As you can see, it was cut with a Spellbinders tag die run through my Big Shot machine.

Inspired by Leftovers

Here are a couple of cards inspired by leftovers from scrapbooking. 

Both use flowers and Dazzles sentiments for quick cards.

Make it Focal with Spellbinders Dies

This scrapbook page demonstrates the use of Spellbinders Nestabilities to help make the focal photo stand out - a frame is cut from the brown and a smaller frame from the cream.  These dies are also used to frame the other photos on the page. The border on the right hand side is made with a punch.

Happy Birthday from Scrapbook Papers

This card was made from a set of scrapbook papers designed for teen girls.  I had no real use for this particular paper for scrapbook pages, but they make for a very cheerful birthday card.  I made a fake button from a small foil covered cutout by simply poking holes in it and then threading ribbon through it.

Die Cut 2 - Edgeabilities without embossing

This card, made once again from scrapbooking scraps, features a border made with Spellbinders Classic Triple Scallop - without embossing. I simply die-cut the pink with the edge & insert B (in my Big Shot), and then the brown with just the edge.  That border, together with the Classic Scalloped Rectangles used for the focal, is what makes this card.  Quick and easy!

Using Serendipity Squares Part 4

Here's another card using a Serendipity Square I got in a swap from Nancy (thanks Nancy!) and a base card that I wanted to get used up.  For this one I trimmed a bit from the bottom of the front of the card & then used an edger punch on it (Deco Fan from Martha Stewart).  The trimed part was glued to the bottom of the inside of the card. You can see I added several mats created with my Spellbinders Nestabilities for my stamped sentiment.  Some jewel stickers and a little ribbon bow finish it off.

Cardmaking helps with scrapbooking - Digi-stamps

Here's another example of how my card making techniques are sneaking into my scrapbook pages.  Digi-stamps are common focals for cards which I often color with chalks.  On this page I used the same technique to create the cat/kitten embellishment. The "digi-stamp" was actually printed from a ding-bat type font I had. 

Title Part 20 - Special Font with Chalk Designs

The title on this page was cut from a fluffy font that reminded me of the sheep's fleece.  After it had been cut out, it was too boring, so I added color/texture with the same stencil & chalks I used on either side of the journaling.

The focal picture also demonstrates another fun technique - multiple copies of the photo cropped and layered to create dimension.

Challenge - Use Pink

One challenge I did lately simply said "Use pink".  This inspired me to gather a variety of pink elements and a few scraps of paper to create this card.

Papier Tole

This card was designed as a wedding or anniversary card.  The focal is a foil papier tole from Paper Wishes - who also sell the background paper.  An embossed white card stock (embossing folder run through my Big Shot) forms a contrast to the papier tole focal. The border is a Peel-Off outline sticker and the sentiment is a Dazzles sticker. 

Red/White/Black Thank You

This Thank You card was create in response to a Red/White/Black challenge.  It was a quick and easy card made from Card Makers Classic Instant Card Art and Card Makers Classic Creative Pack with the help of a paper punch and a Spellbinders Die.

Die Cut 1 - Motifs & Labels

Today's cards feature die cuts from the Spellbinders Fleur De Lis Motifs set (cut with my Big Shot).  For this first card, I first cut the larger motif out of the green marble card front AND out of a white piece of cardstock.  I then replaced the green with white and taped it together from the back - including the little pieces (I later covered the inside with another piece of paper).  I then cut a smaller motif from the center of the cut out piece and put it in the center of the white replacement.  Don't throw out the leftover piece! It worked great for the next card.  This card is finished with a punched border, a focal flower cut from scraps from patterned scrapbook paper, and pen work sentiment written around the focal center.

As you can see, the focal on this card was the leftover from the previous card -- matted on white.  Another flower cut from patterned paper scraps, and a sentiment on a Fancy Tags Spellbinders die cut finishes this card.

Using Serendipity Squares Part 3

Here's another quick Thanksgiving card featuring a Serendipity Square from Nancy.  It also uses a patterned card base that I wanted to get used up (I have quite a few of them).  I used a circle punch to punch the edge of the cutaway part of this card.  I added a ribbon across the top and stamped my sentiment onto it.  Then the serendipity square with a bow and I was done.

Use your Paper Features - Malachite

Paper features aren't always specific elements such as borders, color blocks, or specific scenes.  In this example, the marbled color of the background repeats the look of the malachite bowl and chess set in the photo and is a feature of the paper that makes it perfect for this layout.

Title Tips Part 19 - Silhouette Stencil

Here is another way to use the Silhouette to create a title.  The letters are cut out, the letters set aside, and the outline of them glued to the page.  This makes it look like letters were cut out of the background paper and glued to the plain card stock, but it is much easier than that with fewer pieces to glue.  Here's another example of this technique.  "The" is cut fairly close around the outline, whereas "Butisbauchs" is part of a wider border.

Challenge - plain cardstock & stamps

This scrapbook page was inspired by a challenge - use only plain colored card stock, stamps, and pearls!  I wasn't at all sure how well I could do with this challenge, but was quite happy with the end result!

As you can see, I DID use my Silhouette to cut the title and mats.  I also used a cardmaker punch to frame the focal photo. The border stamp I used was about 5" long and hard to line up exactly.  The little red pearls placed at these join points effectively hid the minor variations.

Too Small Die Cut

The focal on this card was cut on my Silhouette, but was too small to work well for this card.  A larger mat-style tag underneath, in a bright color, makes up for the small size of the original tag.  Small ribbons tied through button-shaped die cuts create a nice border.

A couple of Sympathy Cards from Leftovers

Unfortunately, I've needed quite a few sympathy cards lately.  Often, these cards are needed with little warning, so I like to keep several on hand.  As I've mentioned before, I keep printed sentiments for the insides of the cards in a large envelope so I can match the outside to the recipient and then choose an appropriate sentiment for the inside.  Here are a couple of quick sympathy cards made from leftovers from scrapbook pages.  As you can see, the first was blue flowered paper paired with blue striped paper and plain blue cardstock.  The focal is simply a stamped sentiment cut out and matted with Spellbinders die cuts (Labels 4).  As I often do, I ran a pen line around the embossing to help it stand out better. 

The second card has no patterned paper whatsoever:

It came from leftovers from my scrapbooking.  Though the patterned paper was all gone, the plain colored card stocks I had pulled together to go with it, made for a nice card.

Silhouette Thinking of You

Here's another card made from scrapbooking scraps - except for the focal.  The focal was cut on my Silhouette.  I made several of these focals ahead and can pull them out as needed. Quick & easy!

Another Mini-notecard

Here's another mini-notecard - this one made from a few small scraps and stamped images, with the stamped butterfly popped up on a 3-d foam square. Quick, easy, and nice to have on hand for a last minute gift.