Use Up Printed Cards #2

Nearly a month ago I started on a Paper Wishers board challenge to use up pre-printed cards in my stash.  Then I got side-tracked with other things and am only now getting back to this challenge.  

Today's card started out looking like this:

I suddenly got to thinking that my diorama die might just fit - and it did!  I only had the tiniest sliver of card left after cutting it out.  

Card Base: I made the card base by using the diorama dies (Divinity Designs) with the rectangular opening.  I had to use plain white card stock for the cross pieces on the inside of the card, but that was fine.

Decorating: For the cake & sentiments, I used stickers from my stash - backed with white card stock & fussy cut.  Two of the presents were printed that I fussy cut.  One I stamped on a scrap of patterned paper & colored it with a marker before fussy cutting.  Then I found a few "streamers" in my stash & added them.

Back:  I don't show it, but the back of these cards have a manufacturer's mark that I needed to cover up so the card would look good.  I cut a piece of white cardstock & folded it to make a 3" x 3" card.  The square piece that had been cut out of the card front was just the right size to glue to the front of this mini card - which I then glued in place over manufacturer's markings.  This gives me a nice place to write a message to the recipient, and also adds some additional stability when  this card is standing up!

Promised Eternal Life

Somehow pictures never are as pretty as looking at the page in real life!  Anyway, today's Bible Journaling page was one that was created VERY QUICKLY & EASILY!  

After protecting my page with gesso as usual, I started with alphabet stickers.  I first stuck them to my clothes & then put them in place on the page (I didn't want them so sticky that I couldn't get them back off!).  In the same way, I used some rectangular stickers to cover the text I wanted to highlight.  Then I took 3 colors of distress ink (Broken China, Worn Lipstick, and Dusty Concord) and applied over the whole page using round sponge applicators.  When the whole page was covered with color, I removed the stickers.  

I decided to outline the words so they would stand out better.  I used colored pencils for this.  The word "ETERNAL" just wasn't very visible, so I colored the whole with colored pencils & outlined it with a fine black pen.

RHINOS!!!

Today I took a break from my "use it up" stash & pulled out my Hunkydory "Magnificent Rhino" set from their Wild at Heart Deco-Large kit (since there was a challenge on PaperWishers message board that called for Rhinos!).  Here are the 4 cards I made from my half of this set:

First is the one you see open above - a double display card for my Hubby for Father's Day.  Here's what it looks like when it is closed:

To make this card, I found a fairly sturdy cardstock in a DCWV 12 x 12 stack (called "Linen Closet").  I used dies from Divinity Designs to cut out this Double Display card.  I took one of the sentiments from the set & cut it into 4 pieces!  I used scraps to glue a gold edge where it was now missing.  Then I put them to the right & left above & below the picture.  The oval "Wild about you" sentiment was from another set in the same kit.  The sentiment in the lower right was from a little book of essential sentiments (Hunkydory 2016).  The borders down the sides were cut from scraps and then edged in gold with other scraps (some of them from other kits entirely - don't throw those scraps away!).  The belly band is attached at the back of the card with ribbon threaded through punched holes at the ends.  These were made by cutting apart a border greeting from the set.

Next up is a card made with the base picture from the kit & a couple of the sentiments that came with it. The background was cut just slightly smaller than the card base & then inked with dark brown ink.  An embossed piece of brown glimmer paper (African Weave by Cuttlebug) serves as a large mat for the sentiment.   The inside was finished in a similar way, using one of the layering pieces and a border piece for added interest.

The 3rd card from this set is the only one that actually has a few pieces layered on it.  It is a Diorama card (cut using dies from Divinity Designs).  This  first picture shows it flat for mailing:

It's not real easy to see the inside of the card as you only get one angle on it, but here's how it looks when "opened":

My 4th & final card from this set made use of the adorable scorable piece of card stock that came in the kit.  This is a birthday card, so I cut some scraps to form a large "H" for the front & added a baby rhino.  The card is actually made as a "Fold Back Gate Fold" - where the card meets in the middle like a gatefold, but the edges have actually been folded back to create the look:

A narrow piece of card stock with ribbon glued to it meets on the side & is tied in a bow.  This is embellished with a piece from the kit & serves as a removable belly band.

Opened the card looks like this:

The vertical borders were already there on the printed card stock.  The horizontal ones were from a single border cut in half (not sure if it was from this set or leftover from another set).  I trimmed the picture of mom & baby to fit, and added the sentiment piece.  I finished the edges of the card by drawing all around them & along the fold lines with a brown marker (brush end of Scroll & Brush).

Using Up My Stash #4

This is the 4th in my series of "using up my stash" featuring cards made from my card kit binder.  This first came from an older "Shaped Cards" kit from HOTP.  My SIL made the shaped car card, but there was all this stuff left over - paper, tags, etc. - and then I realized I could cut out the picture of the card that had been printed as a part of the INSTRUCTIONS!  So, this card is the result of that scavenging.   The "Happy Birthday" was stamped with a stamp with a stamp from "Tags & Trims" stamp set (HOTP).  The sentiment was already on the banner.

For the inside I used some handmade black paper from my stash & a couple more banners/labels.  The "wonderful day" stamp was from a poppy theme set of stamps I got from PW.  The "best" stamp was a small Congratulations set from Studio G- with its border masked off.

 

Next up is a birthday card made from a sketch posted on the paper wishers board (with a lot of changes).   Most materials were from an old HOTP card makers personal shopper set.   The punch used for the border was a Martha Stewart punch.  The word "Joy" was from a JustRite set called "Heritage Christmas Ornaments".  The others were already printed there from the set.  I DID add a few black Jewel Dazzles (HOTP).

The inside has similar elements.  The tag already had the sentiment on it.

 

After making the last card, I still had a bunch of the supplies left over, so I made a second card to use them up (well mostly - a bit of black paper is still left).  I used the same sketch, but made it an A7 card.  The "Thank You" is a JustRite stamp from the set called "Grand Sentiments".  The embellishments were made using a Fleur De Lis punch from the dollar store, a die from Nellie's Flower Circles, and a circle punch.

The inside is similar.  The stamp used was from JustRite's "For All You Do Vintage Labels Three".

Using Up My Stash #3

Continuing to use cards sets from my card kit binder, I decided to make a "Road Trip" card for someone special.  The papers & compass transparency were from a card maker's personal shopper set.  The "Road Trip" was a copper embossed piece I got a long time ago from HOTP.  To cut the hole out of the center, I used a Spellbinder's die (Labels 29).

On the inside, I added a little pocket with a flap - so I can include some spending money for their trip, but it won't fall out of place.  The paper was glimmer paper from my stash.  The embossing was done with an old Cuttlebug embossing folder.  I just scored & folded it so it would work, using a circle punch part-way on the inside to create a place where they can easily use their fingers to get to the money.

Next up is a birthday card.  Unfortunately, the light makes this one harder to see.  The circle in the upper left corner says "Just for You".  This card was made using freebie papers from a magazine, and that circular sentiment came with them.   I added white border Dazzles to edge the borders.  The sentiment is stamped and die cut with JustRite stamps/dies (Your Special Day Medallion Labels stamps & Oval Medallion dies). I matted this with white card stock that I cut with the next larger die & colored the edge with a marker.

The inside uses more of the paper & a leftover Hunkydory greeting.

This final card is made using patterned paper from my stash.  The focal was made using JustRite stamps & dies ("Celebrate Today Vintage Labels Four" stamps & matching dies).  I heat embossed it in gold, then used a black Sharpie to color in portions of it.  A ribbon from my stash forms the horizontal border that the focal sits on.  Border stickers frame the card front.

The inside uses more of the paper & border stickers - along with a tag left over from the previous card - that I stamped using a stamp from "Enjoy the Day Vintage Labels Four" from JustRite.

Using Up My Stash #2

Here are 4 more cards using up my stash from the card kit binder.  They all feature handmade focals, though this first one starts with a Hunkydory Focal on the card front ("Cute & Cuddly" Whopper Topper).  Papers were from a card maker's personal shopper (HOTP).  I stamped the sentiment on a couple of tabs that were fussy cut from the personal shopper set - using Stampendous silver embossing powder & stamps from "Leaves" Small Stamps (HOTP) & "Thanks for Everything" (Divinity Designs)

For the inside, I stamped an image using stamps my mom had (from a magazine?), colored it with markers & a water brush, and fussy cut it out.

Next up is an aniversary card.  It features a pair of bears - stamped from the same set as that bunny rabbit (previous card) & colored the same way.  It adds a stamped sentiment (Wedding - Inkadinkadoo), a border from an old scrapbook kit (outlined with a pen), and gold border stickers.  Papers are from another HOTP card makers personal shopper set.

The inside uses papers/stickers as for the front.

These last two cards both use many of the same elements - focal stamp from "Janie's Girls", border stamps from "Matching Borders & Focals" and inside sentiments from "Birthday Cheer" - all HOTP stamp sets.  The focals are all colored with markers, water color pencils, and a water brush.  AND they both use up some card stock scraps from my stash.

For this first one, the focal has been cut using a "Fleur De Lis Rectangles" die from Spellbinders, along with an "Elite" M-Bossabilities folder from them.

The inside using the same M-Bossabilities folder.

The focal for this one was cut with a "Decorative Labels Eight" die (Spellbinders) and the yellow mat was cut with a "Journey Rectangles" die (Fun Stamper's Journey).  The sentiment is from an old scrapbooking kit.

The border sentiment was heat embossed with white powder.

Using Up My Stash - #1

The next several posts will focus on using up my stash - particularly that in my card kit binder. This first post shows 3 cards based on one card set from a card makers personal shopper (HOTP).  There is very little extra added to this first card.  The sentiments & borders were part of the set (just had to be cut out).  I DID add a sparkling red & white ribbon above the "Happy Anniversary" border & a red glitter punched piece to serve as "brad" to hold the tag in place.  I also inked the edges of several of the elements.  Here's the inside:

Next up, is a card using the black that came with the kit, along with a border & label.  I added glittery ribbon from my stash.  I used a glittery fun foam to mat the label & die cut the decorative elements (Elizabeth Crafts) and the sentiment (Divinity Designs).  

Inside:

The final card uses most of the remaining papers, along with some decorative elements from an Instant Card Kit (HOTP).  The stamp used for the main sentiment was from "Labels & Trims" (HOTP), and the word "Dance" is a stamp I made with my stampmaker.

Aunt Helen's B-Day Card

Today's card is another quick & easy one using pre-made focals, scraps from my stash, and leftover scrapbooking pieces from a kit.  All had been pulled together in the binder I mentioned the other day.  

Once again, I glued the background pieces together before embossing with an embossing folder (Decor Circles - Teresa Collins).  Then I added my pre-made focal elements:

• Focal from "Jainie's Girls" (HOTP stamp - cut with Spellbinder's Labels 11 die, colored with watercolor pencils & water brush)
• Sentiment from "Celebrate Today Vintage Labels Four" stamped with versamark & heat embossed with white powder on alcohol ink background made from white glossy cardstock (JustRite stamps, cut with matching die)
• "joy" words from stash

Birthday Age

Today's card came from a HOTP personal shopper card making kit.  It's another set that was in my kit binder.  For the front, I added some ribbon from my stash & a stamp from their "Birthday Cheer" stamp set. 

I loved the message that I put on the inside.  It was a part of the kit.  Both it and the circle on the front were cut out with one of my circle dies (Lifestyle Crafts).

5 Quick & Easy

Today I have 5 quick cards - from the kit binder I mentioned yesterday.  I've been trying to use up scraps & thought  that these Hunkydory "Cute & Cuddly" whopper toppers would be just the thing to help me do so quickly. So - that's where the focals & sentiments came from.

For this first one I used 3 different scraps - yellow, red & turquoise.  I glued the yellow & turquoise together & ran the glued piece through my Grand Caliber using an embossing folder (Spellbinders "Cane Weave" 3D folder).  The red strip was a leftover piece from a Hunkydory sheet - but it only had the gold on one side.  Since I wanted it on both, I took another piece of the same scraps & glued to the other side to give me the gold border on both edges. 

This cute little kitty looked so good by herself, that I ended up doing NOTHING - not even embossing the card front.  The sentiment is cut from a coordinating border.

Next up is this cute little bear.  I needed to piece two of the orange scraps to fit the card - but was able to hide the join by adding the lighter orange strip.  Then I ran the whole thing through and embossing folder (this time it was "Swiss Dots" by Cuttlebug).

For this cute hedge hog, I took a piece of turquoise, glued brown glimmer paper to it at the top & then a stripe across near the bottom before running the whole thing through my machine to emboss it. (Spellbinders Mbossabilities "Elite")

This final one was a bit different.  This time I cut a frame using a Spellbinders 5X7 Card Creator's die (Enchanted Labels 28).  I DID have to snip the corners in one place to get the topper to slide in like this.

Kit Binder

I've been going through my stash, trying to get it down to a more manageable size.  As a part of that process, I created this "Kit Binder".  It contains papers & focals that can go together to create a quick card - preferably using up scraps at the same time!   So, for each page in the binder I have gathered papers & embellies from a purchased kit, OR focals (purchased or made-by-me), sentiments & scraps that go together.  

Unfortunately, even though my kit binder is a 3" binder, it is really too full, so in the next few days you'll see cards I've made from those kits - trying to get it down to manageable size.  :)

Thank You Swans

This card is CASE'd from one in a papercrafting magazine I subscribe to (Cardmaking and Papercrafts) - the same magazine from which I got the papers, several of the stamps and dies used when making this card, and even the water embossing folder!!!

CARD FRONT:

• Structure: I started with a standard card base, then cut away the center of the card front, leaving just 1 1/2" borders top and bottom.  In its place, I added a piece of acetate, gluing it to the top and bottom borders.  To hide the glue on the inside, I cut 1 1/2" strips of card stock from the cut away piece and glued on the back side where the acetate attached to the border strips.
• Borders:  I created two borders.  For each one I cut a strip of the pink flowered paper (from magazine) and added it to the center of the plain white card pieces that were left top & bottom of the card front.  To the center of this, I glued narrow strips (again cut from the cutaway piece), that I had stamped with a border stamp (HOTP "Matching Borders & Focals" - masked off the last word on the stamp).  I colored the small stamped flowers in the border with one of my Scroll & Brush markers.
• Swan: The swan was stamped on a piece of white card stock & cut with the matching cutting die before being glued to the acetate (since the set includes a swan going the opposite way, I stamped the reverse image on another die cut piece of white card stock & glued it to the back of the acetate to hide the glue marks.  NOTE: I didn't actually place this swan until the inside of the card was finished so I could hide the swan that is behind it.
• Waterlilies: These were die cut - the lily pads from a turquoise glimmer paper, and the water lilies from white card stock.  I stamped the center of the coordinating water lily stamp over the die cut pieces & then colored the water lilies with the same marker I used for the smaller flowers in the borders.

INSIDE:

• Background: For the inside I started by cutting a piece of the swan paper (from the magazine) and gluing it in place so that the swans would be positioned the way I wanted to see them when the card was closed.  This actually left some white at the top and bottom, but I didn't care because I knew I'd be covering that part later.
• Water & Stamped Sentiment: For the water, I embossed several coordinating strips of paper using the embossing folder that came with the set in the magazine, and layered them as you can see in the picture.  The sentiment that I stamped on this "water" came from a Divinity Designs cut and emboss set called "Thanks for Everything". 
• Top Border: As you can see, I cut a strip from the same patterned paper used on the front of the card.  After gluing it in place, I die cut the word "Thanks" (from Divinity Designs) and glued it in the center.  To finish, I outlined it with a fine-line black marker. 

Here's a closeup of the inside: