Thank You - Continues!

The Thanksgiving holiday is behind us, but I hope not the thought behind it.  I choose to carry that spirit of Thanksgiving with me into the Christmas holidays and the coming year.  I'll finish out the Thanksgiving theme with today's thank you cards - which of course could be used at any time of the year!  Once again, they feature focals from the Antique Autumn Tags One stamp set and matching dies from JustRite.

I really like the way this first card came together.  It was quite unexpected!  Here's how I did it:

• Brown patterned paper from DCWV matstack with element cut out (5X7 Enchanted Labels 28 from Spellbinders) and saved for later
• Green patterned paper from HOTP
• "Saved" brown element
• Peach card stock cut/embossed with die from Spellbinders' Decorative Labels Twenty-Seven, and a green piece cut from a smaller die from the same set
• I just had to try threading some ribbon through the holes in that small green element, and you see the result.
• The stamped image is colored with glittery gel pens.

This one is not a favorite, though it took some time to complete!  The pink layers - both glitter card stock and vellum - were cut with dies from the Holly Motifs and Accents set from Spellbinders. The white is from Spellbinder's Labels One die set. I cut a lot of the pink pieces apart, and and I also used a lot of the "innies" arranging them as you see here around the focal (colored with gel pens), and the corners of the card.  I like the focal, but am less happy with the corner treatments.  At any rate, it was an interesting experiment.  I finished the card off with some Liquid Pearls.

The focal for this last card was colored with chalks and gel pens and accented with liquid pearls.  It is layered onto a couple of pieces (purple paper and brown glitter cardstock) that were cut with dies from the Ornate Squares set from Spellbinders.  The remaining two pieces were cut using their 5X7 Enchanted Labels 28 set. I used a brownish Liquid Pearls to accent those pieces.  I may add a ribbon bow - it looks like it could use a "little something" else.

Don't Forget the Insides!

Today I thought I'd showcase a few of the "insides" from some of  those "Thanksgiving Cards" that I've shown recently.  The truth is that often I don't do much on the insides of my cards - maybe a bit of a border with papers from the front.  Seldom do I do much more than that.  But with the stamps from JustRite and Spellbinder's dies, I can quickly and easily make the insides look as nice as the outsides!  All the focals in this post were made with the help of "For All You Do Vintage Labels Three" from JustRite (and their matching Vintage Labels Three dies) - for both the frames and the sentiments.  

For this first card, I stamped with Versamark ink onto my blue paper and then heat embossed it with fine black embossing powder. I cut it out and then used a die from Spellbinder's Decorative Labels Twenty-Seven to cut the black mat on which it sits.  Very quick, but quite elegant.

This one was created in two layers.  The top layer was stamped with VersaMark ink onto turquoise paper, then heat embossed with fine black powder before cutting with the matching die (just as the previous one was).  The mat layer was stamped with turquoise ink onto white cardstock, then heat embossed with clear embossing powder.

This one was stamped in brown ink directly onto the inside of the card - then heat embossed with clear embossing powder.

This time I used gold embossing powder on brown glimmer paper.  After cutting and embossing it with my Spellbinder's Scalloped Rectangle die, I took an embossing pen, ran it around the edge, and embossed that with the gold powder too.  The mat was cut from a glittered card stock using a Fleur de Lis Rectangles die from Spellbinders.

The inside of this last card may look better than the outside!  The frame was stamped with purple ink and embossed with clear powder.  Then the sentiment was stamped with VersaMark and embossed with fine black powder. After cutting it out with the matching die, this piece was mounted on a black piece that was cut and embossed using a die from Spellbinder's Gold Labels Four.  The bottom layer is cut from a purple glimmer paper using a die from the 5X7 Enchanted Labels 28 set.

That's it! Quick and easy "insides" for my cards.

With Gratitude on Thanksgiving Day

Again today I have a couple of Thanksgiving/Thank you cards.  Once again they showcase the JustRite stamps and dies - though the sentiment inside the frames comes from a different stamp set (HOTP Tiny Words and Images).  The layers for this first card were created as follows:

• Gold background with gold element cut out of center and set aside (5X7 Enchanted Labels 28)
• Blue paper "Shine Design" from HOTP.
• Gold element saved from first layer
• Blue glimmer paper cut with die from Ornate Squares - small piece cut from center of it, using small die from Marvelous Squares, and set aside.
• Yellow piece cut/embossed with Gold Labels Four die
• Small blue piece that had been set aside.
• Stamped tag colored with chalks and added with foam tape.

This one's layers are as follows:

• Green glitter card stock cut with largest 5X7 Elegant Labels Four die. (Labels Four die used to cut out center to save for another project).
• Gold vellum cut with the medium-sized die from the same die set.  Because it's translucent, you can see through to the base card where the green was cut and saved for later - adds an interesting dimension.

The rest of the layers are really scraps from other projects:  

• A square piece cut from the green patterned paper using a Marvelous Squares die
• A gold piece leftover from cutting corner pieces with a Marvelous Squares die
• Black "innies" cut apart and attached behind the tag

The tag itself is colored with chalks and gel pens with a touch of silver Liquid Pearls.

Heartfelt Thanks - You are a Blessing

Today I've got a couple more Thank You/Thanksgiving cards.  Both once again showcase stamps from the JustRite stamp set called "Antique Autumn Tags One" and the matching dies.

Fir this first card, I used a sentiment from another set in the frame from this set.  I colored it with red chalk, silver gel pen, and red Stickles for the "jewel".  This is once again mounted in layers cut with Spellbinder's dies.  

• The back layer is a plain piece of red.  I cut/embossed a couple of small squares from the Fair Isle Pendant die set before gluing it down, so I could have them for later. 
• The black mat is cut with a die from the Resplendent Rectangles set.  Once again, I cut a black square from the Fair Isle Pendant set which I saved for later.
• Next came a silver glimmer paper cut and embossed with a MaryAnn cut/emboss folder.  I trimmed away part of the design so it would fit within the black mat. 
• I attached the "saved" pendant pieces to my sentiment (cutting the black one apart so the ends would show a bit more from behind the sentiment), then mounted the whole thing to the rest with foam tape.

For this card (once again stamped with stamps from that JustRite set & cut with the matching die) I chose to color the tag with yellow and pink chalks.  The background paper is a glittered cardstock from a DCWV matstack.  The gold is glimmer paper; the pink is foil paper; the brown is glittered cardstock.  I used the following Spellbinders dies (in addition to the JustRite one):

• Marvelous Squares die for the gold corner pieces
• 5X7 Enchanged Labels 28 (cut in half and separated slightly) for the bottom layer of matting
• Resplendent Rectangles die for the pink foil
• Ornate Squares for the brown glittered cardstock piece
• Gold Labels Four for the next gold layer up.
• Decorateive Labels Eight for the tiny pink foil piece just peeking out behind the tag focal.

Celebrate Your Blessings!

Here are a couple more Thanksgiving Cards.  You will notice that this year I decided to expand my color choices, rather than doing everything in the traditional fall colors.  These focals once again feature stamps from JustRite's Antique Autumn Tags One stamp set and were cut with the matching dies.  For both of these cards, I stamped the tag in brown and then colored them in with chalks. 

The background paper for this first card was from an 8X8 set of papers, but I don't remember the manufacturer.  The brown frame started as a rectangle of brown glitter card stock.  I used the largest die from the Radiant Rectangles set to cut out the inside.  I also used dies from this set to create the cream-colored oval which holds the stamped greeting.  I used my scissors to snip around more of the die-cut elements so I could slip the tag through each end (you can get an idea of how the tag looked to begin with when you look at the next card.  The pink vellum piece was cut with a die from the Resplendent Rectangles set - as was the white mat that sits behind it.

This card showcases background paper from a 4.5 x 6.5 DCWV matstack.  The pink/purple is a mylar-type wrapping paper (it's not the easiest to cut with dies, but persistence works wonders)!  In addition to the JustRite die, the dies used here were (all Spellbinders):

• Marvelous Squares die for the corner pieces (cut apart)
• Radiant Rectangles for the bottom cream mat layer
• 5X7 Enchanted Labels 28 for the Pink/Purple mat layer
• Tag from Ornate Squares for cream top pieces ("innies" glued at each end of the greeting, and the tag cut apart with ends glued top and bottom behind the greeting.  

Time to Give Thanks - Again!

Today I am back to Thanksgiving cards featuring a stamp that I showcased last week.  For this first card, I colored the stamped image with chalks and my AquaPainter pen.  In addition to that JustRite stamp (Antique Autumn Tags One) and die (Antique Tags One), this first card showcases Spellbinder's 5X7 Elegant Labels Four die set.  The largest die cut the green background.  As is my usual practice, I used a die from the standard Labels Four set to cut out a shape from the middle that would be hidden by the purple mat. I did the same with the purple mat, expecting to use the cut-out piece from the green to make another layer before adding the brown piece (brown glitter card stock also cut with the 5X7 Elegant Labels Four set).  As I started to assemble the card, though I realized I rather liked having the cream colored card base peek through, so I didn't add the green cut-out.  As you can see, I threaded a ribbon through the die cut pieces to finish off the card.

This card is a bit different!  The corner treatments are from a Marvelous Squares die (Spellbinders).  I used a couple more on the ends of the copper mat (which was cut with a die from Resplendent Rectangles).  Then I cut two more pieces from the brown - this time using a Decorative Labels Twenty-Seven die. Then I cut each in four pieces and arrange the resulting pieces behind the copper mat. I cut the green backing for my chalk-colored stamped image out of green glitter card stock using a die from Fancy Tags Two die set.  Before gluing everything in place, I went looking for a die to use to cut out the hidden part of the copper mat (can't waste any of that beautiful paper afterall!).  The "buckle" from the Radiant Rectangles die set was just the thing and I just HAD to thread some green ribbon through that lovely buckle to finish off this card.  Oh yes, the decorative background paper is from a DCWV 4.5 x 6.5 matstack.

Wishing You Were Here

 

Yes, this card DOES use JustRite Stamps, but just for the words this time. I do like the small words I can use to add to the main sentiment.  They are both from the Grand Sentiments stamp set. They are cut out with Resplendent Rectangles dies from Spellbinders.  (Love those!)  

It's hard to get a good picture that shows the bottom detail of the card, but the border at the bottom adds so much!  I cut and embossed the edge with some of Spellbinder's Edgeability dies and the embossed a blue strip with the same and glued it to the inside where it would show through.  Here are a couple more pictures:

I'm So Thankful for You

Today's Thanksgiving cards showcase another Stamp Set from JustRite.  This one is called "Autumn Vintage Labels Three". I LOVE the acorn frame!  And the sentiment is perfect for Thanksgiving cards!  

This first card came together pretty quickly.  

• The background is a brown glitter cardstock cut with the largest die from Spellbinder's 5X7 Elegant Labels Four. I think I snipped out a bit at the sides with scissors to give this look.
• Then there is the mat for my sentiment. It was made in two layers.  I first cut the black piece with a die from Spellbinder's Ornate Squares.  Then using the same die as a template I traced around it on the blue-green paper and cut that out with scissors.
• The sentiment was colored with gel pens, using my Dove Blender pen.  I like the look I get by doing that.  For instance, on the leaves, I drew in green on the veins, then used the blender to pull the color out to the rest of the leaf, giving a two-toned effect.  Similarly with the acorns, I drew on the cap, then used the blender pen to draw the color out over the rest of the acorn.  I pinked the edge of this piece and attached it with foam tape. 

The second card today uses the same sentiment, but I get a totally different look by using a different frame.  This one is from a Hot Off the Press stamp set called "Stamp and Punch".  I stamped it in black ink, and then used purple chalk and a water pen (AquaPainter from StampinUp) to color the edges. I few dots of purple Stickles sets it off nicely.  I matted it with a plain square mat and then layered that on top of the tag piece cut from Spellbinders Ornate Squares die set. I added a bit of purple Stickles here too, giving the look of jewels. The whole thing was attached with foam tape.

The background is done in three layers.  Plain black, topped with embossed white (M-Bossabilities folder), and then a purple piece. The white and purple are both glimmer paper, so this looks quite pretty in person.  The purple piece was created using one of MaryAnn's "Cut and Emboss" folders.  I love that it cuts and embosses all at the same time!  I enhanced the background a bit using dots of black Enamel Accents.

That's it for today!  Hope you've enjoyed seeing these as much as I've enjoyed making them!

Start Each Day with a Grateful Heart

Today I've got two more Thanksgiving Cards.  For each of them, the frames for the sentiments come from the JustRite stamp set (Antique Autumn Tags One) and matching die set that I've been using all week.  The sentiment itself, this time came from another of their sets called "Vintage Rose Medallions".  I love the sentiment.  It is such a good reminder to me! 

This first card is a favorite and was so quick and easy to make!  I started with a printed 4.5" X 6.5" piece from a DCWV Matstack called Harvest Gathering. It is such a beautiful piece it doesn't need much else!  I cut and embossed a mat for my sentiment from a beautiful copper foil paper using a Spellbinders Decorative Labels Eight die. The ribbon was one I scavenged from a small gift or card I received.  It looks like it was just made for it!  That's it!  Quick and easy, but I love it!

I'll admit that this one isn't one of my favorites.  I wanted to use the background paper (another from the DCWV matstack) and had a really hard time figuring out how I wanted to use it.  But it looks nice in person.  The tree trunks and bottom later of the stacked sentiment are all a lovely copper metallic. 

The layered sentiment was made this way:

• Bottom layer: Copper foil paper cut and embossed with a die from Spellbinders Resplendent Rectangles set.  
• The next layer (rust color) is actually four die cut pieces tucked behind the yellow.  I cut two tags from Spellbinder's Ornate Squares die set, and cut each in half giving me the bits you see at each of the four corners.
• Next is the yellow layer which was cut and embossed with a die from Spellbinders Gold Labels Four.
• The sentiment is tucked into another of the tag die cuts from Ornate Squares die set.  I took a couple of the "innies" from that die cut and glued them top and bottom.
• The sentiment itself is colored with two different colors of chalk blended together.

Heartfelt Thanks

I'm not sure what happens with the camera sometimes - still learning about taking pictures of  my cards.  In this case, the color of the card at the top is what it is at the bottom, too (purples instead of black & grey!), but you get the idea anyway.  I suspect the issue is that they are both glimmery papers, so the light catches them differently at the top than at the bottom. 

Today I have two more of my "Thanksgiving Cards", though they could just as easily serve as Thank You cards at any time of the year.  They both started with the same "Antique Autumn Tags One" stamp set from JustRite (and matching die set) that I've been showcasing this week.  I love this frame.  As you can see, the two focals look quite different, even though I used exactly the same stamps and both even have turquoise as a major color in them.  The inner sentiment this time, was not from that set.  It was from another of their sets called "Fancy Tags".

The large light purple mat at the base of this first card is a beautiful shimmery purple/lavender paper that I scavenged from a used store-bought card. The turquoise is paper from Hot Off the Press, while the purple and white are glimmer papers from my stash.  One of the techniques I used with this card was to cut my die cuts apart to create the look I wanted.  This is what I did:

• Starting with the corner treatments on the turquoise layer, those were cut with a Spellbinder's die from their Adorning Squares set.  The die cuts out a square from which I cut the corners to "adorn" the corners of the turquoise layer.  
• The next layer up started with a piece of the white paper that was embossed with an M-Bossability folder, then covered with a pretty French Lattice die cut (Cheery Lynn die) from which I trimmed the edges (putting the long edges under the long edges of the white for a bit of an illusion of a mat). 
• Next layer up is purple.  I cut one of the larger pieces from the Spellbinder's Labels Twenty-Seven die set and then cut that in half and arranged each half at either end of my white and purple piece that forms the next layer up.
• The next layer is a white piece cut with TWO dies from the Resplendent Rectangles die set (Spellbinders) which forms a frame for the purple piece that was cut from a die from their Fancy Ribbon Threader die set. I cut a couple strips of the turquoise paper to weave through this purple piece in place of ribbon.
• This all laid the foundation for showcasing my framed sentiment.  After stamping it, I colored it with gel pens and added a "jewel" with some purple Stickles.  The sentiment is attached with foam tape for added dimension.

Next up is a second card using the same stamped focal, but colored differently. 

• Focal: This time it was colored with turquoise chalk and then the silver design was colored with gel pen.  The "jewel" this time was done with liquid pearls.  This framed sentiment was attached to a piece of black glittered cardstock that was cut with a die from Spellbinder's Ornate Squares.  The ends of the tag focal are tucked into the openings in the black glitter die cut, and then the whole thing is attached with foam tape.
• Plain turquoise layer is cut with a die from Spellbinder's Resplendent Rectangles.  I used the same die as a template, tracing around it and cutting out the black mat that showcases this piece so well.
• The next layer down is one of those made with the Embossed Waxed Paper Resist Technique shown here.
• This is matted with a piece of black that was embossed in an M-Bossabilities folder.

As Thanksgiving draws near, one of the things I'm thankful for this morning is the chance to do some paper crafting again!  It's been way too long and I've missed it!

You Are . . .

Today's cards once again make use of the Just Rite "Antique Autumn Tags One" stamps and matching "Antique Tags One" die set.  I've used the same stamped frame for both, but stamped different sentiments inside them.  That is one of the things I love about these stamps - the frames can be used to frame a variety of sentiments.  These particular sentiments are a part of the set, but I can, and do, use other sentiment stamps with them.

This blue card starts with a piece of striped paper that I've had in my stash for some time.  I don't remember who made it.  I inked the edges and adhered it to my card base.  The next layer up is a piece of white glimmer paper that was embossed in an embossing folder.  I love the texture that adds!  Next layer up is a piece of dark blue glimmer paper cut and embossed with a die from Spellbinder's Resplendent Rectangles. The lighter blue is cut and embossed with a die from their Radiant Rectangles set.  The focal tag itself is framed by another dark blue piece cut and embossed with a die from their Ornate Squares set. The tag itself was stamped in black ink and then shaded around the edges with with blue chalk and popped up on foam tape.

This card brings an unusual color pairing of brown and purple.  It is brought together in the background paper that comes from another 6.5" x 4.5" matstack from DCWV called "Indian Summer".  For the focal, starting with the bottom layer, we have a white layer cut with a die from Spellbinder's Fleur De Lis Squares, then a brown glitter cardstock piece cut and embossed with a die from their Ornate Squares.  The next layer is a purple glimmer paper cut and embossed with a die from their Decorative Labels Eight set.  The stamped label itself is stamped in brown ink and shaded around the edges with purple chalk.  It is then inset into a white piece that was cut and embossed with a die from Spellbinder's Ornate Squares die set before being added with foam tape for dimension.

Thinking of You JustRite

As you've probably noticed with the last several posts, I've fallen in love with JustRite stamps that can be cut out with matching die sets.  Today I've got three examples to show you of cards made with a stamp from their Vintage Rose Medallions set.  The sentiment inside was from some other set I had in my stash.  To make this first card, I stamped the frame & sentiment in embossing ink on a white glimmer paper and then heat embossed it with fine black embossing powder.  After it cooled, I cut it out with the matching JustRite Medallion die. I cut and embossed a black mat using one of the Oval Medallion dies, and used a white gel pen to draw around the embossed line. 

The "Ribbon" is a strip of black paper that has been embossed with one of the inserts for the Spellbinders Edgeabilities dies.  A black and white striped paper matted on plain black gives the background for this card.  I want a white ribbon to finish it off, but don't know if I'll get one before this goes in the mail to someone.

This focal uses the same stamps as those in the first card, but I used white embossing powder and then went over all of it with some distress ink to create the look you see here before cutting it out with the matching JustRite die.  A ribbon runs across the background.  That floral turquoise paper is from my stash - not sure who made it.  The frame was cut and embossed using Spellbinder's Resplendent Rectangles dies, and the  white diamond mat for the sentiment was cut and embossed with their Marvelous Squares dies.

This last card has a focal made with the same stamp, but a different sentiment stamp - all stamped on red card and embossed with white embossing powder.  This time I took a square of white paper, cut out the center with the matching die, and turned it to form a diamond-shaped frame.  The frame this time is popped up off the red sentiment square using foam tape.  All is then matted on a piece of embossed white.  I think the roses paper is from HOTP, though I can't be sure.

Time to Give Thanks

As promised, here are some more cards using stamps from the JustRite set called "Antique Autumn Tags One" that are designed to be cut out with their "Antique Tags One" dies. As before, they serve as a part of a focal that was created by layering cuts from other die sets. 

Though it looks elaborate, this first card was really quick and easy because everything except the layered stamped focal was already printed on the scrapbook paper I chose for the background.  It is called "Grateful Multi-Stripe" made by KI Memories.  You can't really tell it in the picture, but the oval mat piece is a copper metallic paper that is really glimmers and shines when you see it in person.  The die used to cut it is a part of Spellbinders Resplendent Rectangles set.  The gold piece on top of that was cut and embossed  using a die from their Gold Labels Four set.  The tag focal was stamped in brown ink and colored with metallic chalks.

This card again uses papers from the DCWV "Harvest Gathering" 4.5 x 6.5 Matstack.  The background is a piece that has been inked around the edges.  The focal is once again layered die cuts using Spellbinder's dies.  The largest one (brown) is from the 5X7 Elegant Labels Four set, and the yellow and rust-colored ones are all cut with dies from their Gold Labels Four set. The focal was stamped in brown ink and colored with chalks. 

Gratitude

As Thanksgiving draws near, I once again find myself wanting to stop and take time to acknowledge the special people in my life.  So, as is my custom, I've been making Thanksgiving Cards.  This year I've purchased some special stamps from JustRite that are designed to be used with cutting dies.  This is really speeding up my card-making process since I can use dies to cut out my focal pieces.  Today's post showcases 3 different cards made using the same two stamps - both from the JustRite set called "Antique Autumn Tags One" and cut out with a die from JustRite's "Antique Tags One" die set.  Over the next several days, I'll be showcasing several more cards made using other stamps in that set.  The patterned papers I'm using come from a DCWV 4.5 x 6.5 Matstack called "Harvest Gathering".  I love this size of matstack for card making! The plain colored papers were glimmer paper from my stash. These cards were all made quick and easy by layering die cuts.  And in each case, the focal is given a bit of dimension with foam tape.

The first card (teal one above) was made using the following additional dies: Spellbinders 5X7 Elegant Labels Four (cut the dark teal background), Spellbinders Adorning Squares (one of the larger dies for the black mat, and a medium one for the white mat). The white "ribbon" under the narrow black one is really just a narrow strip of the same paper used for the white mat for my focal.  The focal itself was stamped with black ink and then colored with gel pens.  The center of each flower is a Liquid Pearls dot. The background teal piece was altered a bit by snipping out little pieces with my scissors after cutting it with the Elegant Labels Four die.

These next two cards are done in more traditional Thanksgiving colors. The patterned papers are from the matstack.  For the striped card, I used the following additional dies:  Spellbinders Labels 27 (orange dot) and Decorative Labels 27 (white frame for rust-colored dot, and yellow flowered pattern); Spellbinders Ornate Squares (brown frame).  The focal was stamped in brown ink, and then colored with chalk before adding additional touches with gel pen and gold liquid pearls.

The color on this one isn't true.  The brown is not nearly as black looking as the picture - more like the brown in the previous picture.  Once again in addition to the nested medallion die I used Spellbinders Ornate Squares (brown lacy layer) and Spellbinders Decorative Labels 27 (rust-colored dot and yellow dot pieces).  The focal was again stamped in brown ink and colored with chalk before being accented - this time with a glitter-gel pen.

Faux Metal - and Paper Napkins (Serviettes)

I love the look of metal pieces on a card, but if the pieces are real metal, mailing the card can be challenging.  Sometimes I use metallic cardstock, but that can be pretty expensive and I seldom have the color I want right when I want it!  It's a little tough to tell in the picture, but the edges of my focal element all look like they're framed in a shiny metal frame.  It's really pretty in person, and matches the leaf design and sentiment perfectly since they all use the same product.  Here's what you would need to make this card:

• Brown Cardstock
• Pretty Paper Napkin in autumn colors
• Leafy Template - I used "Mini Maple Leaves" from The Crafter's Workshop
• Cutting Dies & Die Cutting Machine - I used "Fleur De Lis Rectangles" and "Fancy Tags One" from Spellbinders, and their Grand Caliber machine.
• Metallic Embossing Powder - I used a fine Copper embossing powder from Clearsnap
• Embossing Ink - I used VersaMark
• Embossing Pen - I used Zig's Emboss Writer
• Adhesives - I used a glue stick, my ATG with double-sided tape, and some foam tape to add dimension

I started with the frames for the focal.  I cut out the pieces from brown cardstock using my cutting dies, then applied the VersaMark ink directly to the edges, making sure to cover all the intricate edges well.  Then I applied the metallic embossing powder to these edges and heat embossed them. The way the embossing powder melts, it ends up looking much more like a metal frame than if you just cut it out of metallic cardstock.

Next I cut a piece of brown cardstock to fit inside the larger frame.  Then I inked up the leafy template with some of the VersaMark Ink and pressed it onto a piece of cardstock.  I removed the template and sprinkled over the resulting design with the metallic embossing powder.  After heat embossing it, I ran my embossing pen over the edges and veins of the leaves.  This gives a combination glittery shine and watermark effect. 

Similarly for the sentiment, I stamped the sentiment with VersaMark ink and then embossed it with the metallic powder.  Next, I used the Fancy Tags Die as a stencil to draw around the inside oval and then cut it out with scissors before adding to my "metallic" tag.  I added it with a bit of foam tape for dimension, tucking some contrasting ribbon behind it, and adding a bow.  

Now that my focal was finished, I could see which of my pretty paper napkins would set it off nicely.  The trick to using printed paper napkins on cards, is to make SURE you peel off the inner white layer before gluing it to the card, and then rubbing gently (don't tear it!) but firmly when you glue it to your card.  If you don't peel off the inner white layer, the glue will loosen the layers, and over time you'll find the white layer sticking while the printed layer comes loose!  If you're careful, you can cut your napkin to the shape you want and apply a glue stick directly to the back of the napkin.  However, in this case it was much easier to apply the glue to the card, add my napkin, rub to adhere firmly in place, then trim around the card to remove the excess napkin.

So there I have one more card to give to someone to let them know how thankful I am to have them in my life.  Thanksgiving is just around the corner, so I hope I have time to make several more!

Fun Technique for Leaves & Flowers

It's been awhile since I posted on my blog - been super busy.  I'm going to try to get back to posting more regularly, but it probably won't often be more than once a week because of schedule changes in my personal life.  Anyway, I wanted to share this card with you today.  It is really shiny & shimmery in person -- always hard to capture that on camera.  Today I'll be focusing on how I added dimension to the flower & leaves. 

First, here's my list of materials and tools:

• white glimmer paper
• green glimmer paper
• pink patterned paper (from Hot Off the Press)
• pink foil paper (not sure where I got that)
• stamps from JustRite ("Be Strong" and "Antique Valentine Tags One")
• white brad
• pink & green pads (I used green "Page Craft" and pink shimmer "Brilliance" inks)
• adhesive
• M-Bossability embossing folder ("Imperial")
• Spellbinders dies ("Petite Scalloped Oval Large", "Resplendent Rectangles", and "Rose Creations")
• Grand Caliber (could also use Big Shot or other die cut machine if it's large enough)
• Paper Crimper or Corrugator

Instructions:

Background & Frame:

• Cut the patterned paper 1/8" smaller than your card in each direction so it will leave only about 1/16" of the card for a border around it.  
• Using the pink ink, inked the edges of this and let it dry.  Then cut out and embossed the center of it using the largest Resplendent die, setting the cut-out aside for use in another project.  This creates the piercing around the inner edges of the patterned paper.  
• Cut and emboss the frame out of pink foil using all three of the largest dies in the Resplendent set.  
• Using the largest Resplendent die, cut a piece of white glimmer paper that had been embossed with the M-bossabilities folder.
•  Before attaching anything to the card itself, tape the pieces together from the back.  Center the foil piece inside the patterned paper and tape it together, then tape the white piece in place.  Now you can attach the whole to your card front with everything staying where you want it.

Sentiment:

• Stamp frame in pink on white card stock, then stamp sentiment in green in the middle.
• Cut out with the 2nd smallest of the scalloped oval dies
• Using the next larger scalloped oval die, cut and emboss a piece of the pink foil for the mat
• Glue the sentiment to the mat and then mount it to the card using foam tape for extra dimension. 

FLOWERS:  

• Cut each piece of the Rose Creations set (except for the leaves) out of the hot pink vellum. 
• Add dimension as shown below:

This was my "test" petal.  I've seen some really nice kits with different sized embossing-type tools that work great for flowers, but I don't happen to have one of those.  I first tried using the largest side of my standard embossing tool.  I placed the flower on the back side of a small mouse pad and rubbed in circular motions on the inside part of the leaf.  You can see the result on the petal in the lower right corner.  It turned the petal whitish and left all sorts of marks - not a bad look if you want it, but it wasn't what I was going for.  I really wanted a larger tool!  I decided to use the rounded end of my gel pen cover!  It worked great.  I used it on the rest of the petals.  It added a nice textured rounding to the leaves without discoloring them.  For my real flower, I used this "tool" on all of them - just pressing in a circular motion with the end of the covered pen.  For the smallest petals, I just placed the pen in the center of each petal and pressed while twisting it just a bit.  I was quite happy with the result.

LEAVES:

• Cut two large and one medium leaf from green glimmer paper.  
• The idea for how to add dimension to the leaves using a paper corrugator came from a Spellbinder's video, and it works great!  Simply folded the leaf in half lengthwise:

• Then run it through a paper corrugator! (They used a straight one, I only have the wavy one, so used that -- worked great)  Just place your folded leaf into your corrugator, tip side first, at a 45 to 60 degree angle with folded side down. Then run it through. 

• It comes out looking like this:

• And when you open it up you have this:

Isn't it cool?  LOVE IT!!!!  So quick and easy!  Your other option is to simply use your stylus and a mouse pad to emboss your own lines.  The smallest leaf shown above is approx 1/2" by 3/4" and perhaps looks better with the stylus-embossed lines, because the corrugator's lines are a bit far apart for a leaf that small.  Here is a picture comparing the two techniques on the smallest leaves:

The one on the left is hand-embossed with a stylus. The one on the right is just run through the crimper. I like the spacing of the hand embossed, but the crimper actually gives a bit more depth.  What do you think?

Have fun playing!

Masculine Card

With Father's Day just around the corner, I decided I better get some cards made.  This one is for my husband - who, frankly, likes colors that don't particularly appeal to me.  To accommodate his tastes, I made this card.  (The light blue is just the photo background - not part of the card!)

It's a pretty simple card - made with stamps and some cutting dies (Ornate Squares and Resplendent Rectangles by Spellbinders) - with some of the elements popped up on foam tape for added dimension.  The stamp of his name was made using my Teresa Collins Stampmaker, and certainly comes in handy when I want to personalize something for him.  The central sentiment is a small stamp from Studio G.  Though it's hard to see in the picture, the edges of the striped paper are bordered with a 1/8" black ribbon that looks really nice in person.  Once again, I made the mats for my elements by tracing around the outside of the dies and hand cutting along these traced lines.

As you can see, this is a square card.  I seldom make square cards since I like the envelopes to match the card pretty well and mailing square envelopes cost more.  However, since this was to be hand delivered, this wasn't an issue.  

But I still needed an envelope.  I made one using my Enveloper (Ultimate Crafting Companion).  The biggest challenge for it was deciding what paper to use for it.  The paper had to be 9 3/4" square, which ruled out any 8 1/2" x 11" sheets, and I hated to use my 12 x 12 papers for an envelope.  What I decided on was this wallpaper sample!  It worked great!

Misc Cards

From time to time I've made somewhat generic cards without greetings on them so they could be quickly transformed into a card with whatever greeting I needed.  Lately, I've realized, however, that I too often forget to look at them when I need a card!  I have cards made ahead and arranged by type of occasion.  When a specific occasion arises, I go and look in that section to see what I have that might work.  Unfortunately for me, I seldom think to look in the "Misc" section to see what generic card I might adapt for a specific need! Too often, I just have frantically put a whole new card together!

So, I decided to go through my generic cards and add specific greetings to some of them so they'd be more likely to be used.  So, today's cards are all cards I've already posted on my blog - but they were posted in generic form.  I thought it might be nice to show how I finished them.  This first one was first shown here.  I was amazed how well the "Thinking of You" fit on this generic card.  Love it!  I had been a bit worried because the focal had been added with dimensional tape around the edge and I was afraid I wouldn't get a good impression.  I also didn't know how well plain black stamping would work next to the embossed areas. Before stamping, I made sure to place my card front on a double-thick piece of fun foam and the press reasonably hard when I stamped.  I don't think I could have gotten such a clean stamped image otherwise.  But I was very happy with the result.  It looks like it was originally designed with this sentiment!

This card was of more recent origin - a rather recent post here.  As you can see, I added the "Happy Birthday" greeting to finish it off, by stamping on a small tag cut with a Spellbinder's Decorative Labels 8 die. I matted the tag on a turquoise piece of paper by tracing around the outside edge of the die and cutting on that line.

These last two cards were made using dimensional paint and fun flock.  The one with the pink Iris was finished by adding a stenciled greeting with dimensional paint.  You can see the original here. The tag had already been cut and put with the card - I just had to add the greeting as you see.

The final one was finished with the addition of a small tag (once again cut with a Spellbinder's Decorative Labels 8 die) with a stamped greeting.  You can see the original of this one here.