Papier Tole Christmas

 Today we wrap up the month with a bunch more Christmas cards.  These all feature papier tole focals.

Christmas with Silhouette

In addition to a sentiment cut and matted with my Silhouette, this card uses several die cuts (cut in my Big Shot) to mat the focal.  Note the use of vellum to help the elements stand out from the busy background.

Cut & Emboss Christmas

Though this is another of the older card bases, one can hardly tell with all the layers added to this card.  The border was cannibalized from a card received a couple of years ago. I especially like the cut and emboss folder used for the white part of the card. This card makes use of extra art that came with a Papier Tole set.  Stickles and red jewel dazzles add a bit of glitz.

More Paper Piecing - Fleur De Lis Squares

Here's another example of paper piecing like I showed last week.  These ones use the Fleur De Lis Squares dies.  I decided to fill in the little spaces with the coordinating pieces in part because I thought it looked pretty strange when I could see white through some of the holes (where they were over the border) and green plaid through others.  This next picture shows another example using white with red instead of red with white.

Larger Photos Part 3

Sometimes I find that a photo works really well as the background of my page, allowing one to get a feeling of the surrounding area.  That is the case with this page showing the scene from our balcony (which you can see in the upper right hand corner).  Note that for the journaling, I took a portion of the picture and lighted it a great deal before adding the text to it.

We went for a walk in this Koala Sanctuary near Brisbane.  Though we didn't see any koalas, we saw plenty of signs that they'd been there.  By using one of the pictures as the background, you can see the type of vegetation in the sanctuary, while the other photos show close-ups of things we saw there.

Here's another example of how a background photo sets the stage for the closeup.

Snowman Brad Buddies

These cards started with old printed base cards from Hot Off the Press. I've been wanting to use them up, but have found them to be a real challenge. I decided these Snowman Brad Buddies (also from Hot Off the Press) would make great focals for them.  I used Sharpie permanent markers to color the brad buddies to coordinate with the cards.

Thinking of You - Feminine

I had a lot of fun with this card.  The focal is made using pergamano techniques and a stencil I got from Paper Wishes.  After embossing the cat, I colored it with Smooch paint, and used the pink Smooch to create a matted look.  I then triple-matted it. A couple of the mats were also embossed.  The sentiment was cut and embossed out of two different papers. The vellum was trimmed close to the embossing and then stamped and outlined with Smooch before being glued to the first die cut.

More Papier Tole Scraps

Here are a couple more examples of using the extra papier tole art to make cards.  This one also has a stacked set of silk/paper flowers with paper leaves cut on my Silhouette. 

Embossing folders and a doily add to this one.

Paper Piecing with Fleur De Lis Rectangles

Usually we think of Paper Piecing as using various papers to create a picture, but in this case, I used it to create a frame by using the leftover pieces from a second die cut in a contrasting color. (Note also that I ran the cutout through an embossing folder for added texture.)

This card shows what the die looks like without the addition.  I felt that seeing the brightly colored card through the cut-outs made the card look a bit busy, so I came up with the idea of using the scraps like paper piecing. 

Here's a card with a red die cut and white as the added pieces.

And here are a couple of ginger bread cards with opposite colored decorative mats.

Doesn't that make a nice look?  It's certainly made me decide to save the scraps from my die cutting!  I put all the little pieces in a little zip-lock bag, so I have them available to fill-in whenever I decide that I want that look.

Larger Photos Part 2

Continuing the theme from last week, here are some more pages with larger sized photos.  In this case, they are all more than 1/2 the size of the 12 x 12 page, and is a great way to showcase photos you are proud of.  Here is a case in point.  I had so much fun taking pictures of the Sydney Opera House while taking a bit of a cruise on the harbor. You can see the difference in lighting from our trip out to our trip back.

These pictures were taken as we walked around Sydney.  I love the jacaranda trees, so added a close-up of their flowers.

Here the larger picture helps give an idea of the coastline that forms this part of the national park.

Larger pictures don't always have to be rectangular in shape, as in this picture of Lady Barron Falls.

Devils

Sometimes it takes a lot of work to create a focal - and other times it comes really easily - like this page about the Tasmanian Devils.  The size of the picture combines with the close-up and facial expression to draw the eye right away.

What do you think about the embellishments on this page?  If you said there weren't any, you'd be wrong.  In addition to the various pictures, the font used for the title is an embellishment that really helps support the theme of the page.

I always get a kick out of these pictures because, though the devils look rather ferocious - they were actually yawning rather than growling!

Thinking of You - Masculine

I needed a masculine get well card in a hurry, so ended up with this one. I really didn't have time to make a focal, so used the sentiment as my focal. I like browns and tans for their masculine feel, and find the layered lattice die cuts work nicely.  You can't tell from the picture, but there are a bunch of sparkly dots at the junctions - "innies" from some peel-off borders.  In real life they really spice up this card.

Embossing Folders Dress up a card

 Today I'll show several examples of how embossing folders help dress up a card (as well as tone down a busy background).  This first one has a stamped focal.  I stamped it with white opaque ink, then colored it with chalk and cut it out with a die cut.  Holographic paper helps set it off nicely and coordinates well with the holographic sticker greeting.

 This one was done in a similar way - another die-cut white-stamped focal colored with chalks - complete with red holographic paper and greeting.

For these next two cards, the embossed pearlescent cream colored paper makes a special mat for the die-cut greeting.

 Ribbons and shaped brads help finish off these cards.

This one uses a Dazzle sticker placed on the embossed background and then colored in with smooch inks.

This one uses both a dazzle sticker (paper pieced with colorful papers) and a couple of brad buddies (reindeer and "joy").
  

My last example uses a double-matted greeting cut on my Silhouette, along with a purchased tag covered with die cuts and cut-out candy canes.

Three from One (Papier Tole)

Well, I've gotten a lot of my old cards used up this past month as I made various Christmas cards. I LOVE using Papier Tole for the focals, but they can be sort of expensive - often $1 per card, even on sale.  This first card is an example of a Christmas set I got.

 I used the extra art for the inside of the card.

As I thought more about it, I decided to be a bit more frugal.  Instead of just making one card per papier tole picture, I made all THREE of these cards from ONE.  By picking and choosing, I was able to take some of the parts that would ordinarily add dimension to one picture, to make a second dimensional picture:

 Then I used the extra art piece as a focal for a third card.

Sneek Peek - WOW!

Today I'm giving you a sneek peek at the guest challenge I'll be posting on the Paper Wishes Message board on Wednesday.  While at Paper Wishes the acronym, WOW, usually stands for "Week of Webisodes", for this challenge it stands for "White on White." I've been seeing quite a few of these White on White cards popping up in a variety of places on the internet.  I have no idea who first started the trend, but I find them to be SO elegant, I just HAD to try it myself.  The concept is simple -- use only white (except perhaps for a touch of black or silver for the sentiment)!  Obviously for that to not be boring, you need to focus on texture.

#1 Love - This first example has a LOT of layers.  It started with the border cut with a Reflections die from Cheery Lynn (you could also use a border punch to get a similar effect.  Next I put a piece I had embossed in an embossing folder. Then came a lattice piece (cut from a lattice die, of course).  I think the "Punch It" punches would be great for this.  Next I layered a portion of a cut/embossed piece from my Marianne Designable folder. I then cut a fancy label, added a dazzle greeting and liquid pearls, and put it on with pop-dots for added dimension.  I finished the card with a layered flower held together with a mini-brad with punched fern-type leaves surrounding it.

#2 Wedding Wishes - This one is a bit less elaborate, but still very elegant.  The main background on this card is a simple embossed dot, created with an embossing folder.  The side border was punched with a Multi-punch called "Marta".  The sentiment, (Wedding Wishes with two doves) is created with a stencil and dimensional paint applied to a pre-cut and embossed piece of paper.  Across the top edge there is a row of ribbon, topped with a layer of punch-outs (these were the "innies" from a lattice die cut, but any punch-outs would work). These punch-outs were each topped with a dot of Liquid Pearls.  The flower is several layers of a silk flower I got from Paper Wishes and held together with a large brad that was topped with the words "live, laugh, love" (petite Dazzles stickers).  A delicate ribbon bow completes the card.

#3 Thank You - This final card was designed to demonstrate that one can make a lovely white on white card without a lot of expensive tools like dies and embossing folders.  This one starts with the lower edge of the card being cut with a punch.  I used the Tiara Multi-punch, but one could just as easily cut it with a paper cutter or decorative-edged scissors if you don't have a border punch.  The center part of the card is a piece of glimmer paper that I scored every 1/4".  While it's certainly easier to use a scoreboard to do this, it is not necessary.  You can use a ruler and stylus to create the same effect.  Above and below this strip of scored paper, I added some white Stitched Border Dazzles.  A piece from the White Doily Dazzles set is placed on white glimmer paper and fussy cut around the edge.  A silver Dazzles Greeting completes the focal which is attached to the front with foam squares to give it a bit more dimension.

So there you have 3 examples of this technique.  What can YOU use to make a WOW statement?  Here are some ideas (in no particular order):

• scoring
• dry embossing with stencils and/or embossing folders
• heat embossing
  
• die cuts
• pergamano techniques
• liquid pearls, stickles, enamel accents, etc.
• quilling
• flowers, including various 3-d, folded, and layered flowers
• rhinestones and pearls
• lace
• white Dazzles or other stickers
• die cuts
• ribbon
• doilies
• stitching
• paper piercing
• fun flock, glitter, FlowerSoft, etc.
• punches
  

 What other things do you think of?  I'd love to hear your ideas.

Larger Photos Part 1

One of the things I like about digital photos is being able to print them the size I want.  Often that is a standard size - like 4"x 6", but sometimes I like to print them larger.  At first, I did this by having them printed, but now I have a wide-body printer that makes it easy to print my pictures whatever size I want.

Today, I'm showcasing a few scrapbook pages that have photos that are larger than the normal 4"x6" or even 5"x7".  This helps one see more of the details in the photos -- like this picture of the Strangler Fig.  Here are a few more pages with pictures that range from 9" to 11" long:

Boomerangs

Today's theme is boomerangs, and I found the best embellishments to support the theme - Brad Buddies from Hot Off the Press!  They made great corner treatments.  And I loved the patterned paper I used on these pages (also from Hot Off the Press). The bright colors speak to the excitement of the experience.