Upcycle Some Quick Sympathy Cards

Today I have 6 cards that I quickly "up-cycled" from cards I had received.

Card #1(above):  It would have been a good idea to take pictures of the "before", but I didn't do that.  For this card I chose to trim the focal off of a card & add my own background.  The dark green is a luxurious suede paper. The gold is plain white card stock that was colored using Golden Glow Opal Polish.  The sentiment is from a Hunkydory little book of essential greetings.

Inside:

Inside I have more of the opal polish covered card stock & green suede paper.  The sentiment at the top was stamped & embossed with clear embossing powder using a stamp from a Sympathy set of stamps that Mom gave me (don't know the manufacturer).

Card #2:

This next  card was a simple fix.  It started with the front of a card that I had received (unfortunately I don't remember who sent it to me at this point).  I simply tore off the greeting strip that had been there & replaced it with one of my own - stamped with a JustRite stamp from their Fancy Tags set.  It's also a great idea for a simple stamped card.  Note that the ribbon has a separate piece tied in a knot around it and flattened so that it is not bulky - even though it's a bulky type of ribbon!

Card #3:

Notice the strip that has the sentiment on it.  This is the color of the card that surrounded the "matted" focal.  I decided I'd prefer to mat it with a darker purplish color as you see here.  The sentiment is again a stamp from that Sympathy set Mom gave me.

Inside:

Inside is more of the same card stock - with little heart punch-outs - stamped with more stamps from the sympathy set.  Silver border stickers finished that.

Card #4:

This was another really quick "up-cycle".  I simply trimmed the card front.  Stamped a sentiment (same Sympathy set), inked the edges & glued it to the front of the card.

Inside:

Inside I added inked borders (from trimmed scraps) & stamped another sentiment (same set).

Card #5:

The 5th & 6th cards started from identical cards, but turned out quite differently.  For this 5th one, I simply trimmed up the card front & matted it with red - then stamped/embossed a greeting (same sympathy set) on another red piece to serve as a border.

Inside:

Scraps from the same materials form a border inside - with a small picture that was taken from the inside of the up-cycled card.

Card #6:

For the 6th card I trimmed out the focal & added it to a peach-colored background paper that I had in my stash (I tore the side edges to add a bit more interest).  I stamped a sentiment (from that same sympathy set) in black.

Inside:

I decided the peach paper would serve as a nice insert for the inside of the card.

HD Floral Favorites - Heartfelt Wishes

Today I have 5 cards made from this one deco-large set from Hunkydory Floral Favorites - Heartfelt Wishes.  The materials that came in the set are shown below:

Here's a quick look at all 5 cards:

Card #1 (above): I used part of the adorable scoreable card stock (AS) for the background of this first card - then added one of the decorative focal pieces from the set.  The sentiment & corner pieces were also from the set.  

Inside:

Inside I just have a couple small scraps from the set.

Card #2:

Next up is a slimline card cut from the AS - with a border piece inserted with gold strip top and bottom.  This was matted on light blue card stock from my stash before adding to the card front.  The oval sentiment is from the set.  I also added a couple of die cut words that were cut from the same blue card stock ("with" is from Piece by Piece die set that came with a paper crafting magazine; "Sympathy" is a Divinity Designs stamp & die from the set called With Sympathy) .

Inside:

A couple more strips of the blue card stock & a die cut from the set completes this card.

Card #3:

A piece of coral card stock matted on silver poster board (both from my stash) form the background for this card.  I also have a border strip from the silver and a small doily - again from my stash.  The focal image is a die cut from the set.  The sentiments are from a Hunkydory little book of Essential Sentiments.

Inside:

Inside is a narrow strip of the card stock & a small die cut from the set.

Card #4:

This card is very simple - peach paper from my stash forms the background.  The focal die cut & sentiment are from the set. 

Inside:

Inside I have more of the piece paper & a couple little pieces from the set.

Card #5:

The background for this card is mulberry paper from my stash.  The rest of the elements are from the set.

Inside:

Inside is more of the same.

Adding these five cards to the running total from previous sets in this kit (see HD Floral Favorites - Picturesque Poppies,) brings the total to 16 and counting for my half of this kit.

Gingerbread Foil ACK - Part 1

Today I start on my last Christmas ACK (Artful Card Kit) from HOTP.  I DO have other ACK's - but no more Christmas ones.  This one is called Gingerbread Foil.

Card #1 (above): This first card is mostly papers, cut outs, and die cuts from the kit.  I DID add a fun double mat for the focal and a couple ribbon tails - from my stash.  The green mat was created using a border punch.

Inside:

On the inside, everything is from the kit.

A Couple of Quick Christmas Cards

First up is a card that I up-cycled from one I received a few years back.  The card front was actually on the inside of the card - I just cut it to size, inked the edges, and added a red ribbon.

Inside:

Inside I used a glassine envelope to hold a little booklet of recipes that had come with the same card.  It feels good to start using these things up that I've been holding onto for years!

Card #2:

This second card was made using materials from a HOTP Cardmaker's personal shopper.  I added nothing from my stash except a bit of inking around some of the elements.

Inside:

Winter Wishes ACK - Part 4

6 more cards today, plus the 15 cards already made, brings the total cards from this Winter Wishes Artful Card Kit (ACK - HOTP) to 21.

Card #16 (above): The embossed background (A2 Snowflake Background by Darice) really sets off this set of embellishments from the ACK.  The blue paper is also from the kit.  The stamped message is from a Snowman Small Stamp set (HOTP).

Inside:

Inside are more embellishments & paper from the kit.  The stamped image is from one of Mom's sets.

Card #17:

The plaid paper and blue paper are from the kit - along with the white frame.  The snowman is a die cut from Mr. & Mrs. Snowman set (Spellbinders).  The pink & white are from my stash. The sentiment is stamped using a HOTP stamp from a bulk kit I got.

Inside:

Another strip of the pink & another die cut from the kit (stamped with the same stamp used on the last card) complete the inside.

Card #18:

The background for this card started out as a "failed" embossed piece where I had inked the embossing folder before embossing the card stock (Framed Petite Labels 5x7 M-Bossabilities from Spellbinders) - only to have it crack through in places.  It made a great base for this card, though.  The border, focal, and most of the elements are from the kit.  The sentiment was cut with a Gemini cutting die set called Winter Wonderland.

Inside:

Inside are more of the same - plus a scrap of paper from the kit & a stamped message (one of Mom's stamps).

Card #19:

Once again, most of the elements are from the kit.  The die cuts are cut from scraps of purple & white card stock that I had in my stash.  The ornament was a die from 3 Lacy Christmas Ornaments from Paper Artist (HOTP).  The sentiment was from a Tim Holtz set called Happy Holidays Script (Sizzix).

Inside:

On the inside, narrow strips of scrap purple from my stash helps to pull together the patterned scraps from the kit.

Card #20:

Once again most elements are from the kit.  The exception is the stamped greeting (HOTP bulk stamp set).  

Inside:

The stamp (from the same set as outside) is the only thing on the inside that didn't come in the kit.

Card #21:

All I had left at this point was scraps of paper, a label cutout & a button die cut.  I cobbled them together with some snowflakes from my stash to create one final card.  The large purple snowflake on the white background was die cut using a Spellbinders Cut Fold Tuck Snowflake die.

Inside:

 Inside is simply more of the same.

Multi-Papers & Color Me

The first two cards I have today were made using a 8" x 8" Wedding paper pack - old one from HOTP.  

Card #1: This first card was made with 4 different green papers in the pack - along with some embellishments from the same paper pack.  The die cut borders are from Spellbinders' Captivating Squares die set.

Inside:

Inside is more from the paper pack.

Card #2:

Similarly, this one uses 4 pink papers & some embellishments from the pack.  It also used the Captivating Squares die (Spellbinders), and a sentiment die from Octagon Box Kit (Card Making Magic).

Inside:

Inside I have more paper & embellishments from the pack and another Card Making Magic sentiment - this time using a die from A5 Box Kit.

Card #3 - Color Me:

This card started with a Color Me Topper & Sentiment (from HOTP).  I colored it with Distress & other inks - and added a glitter ribbon from my stash.

Inside:

Inside is more of the same - and a Dazzle thin line border strip.

Winter Wishes ACK - Part 3

Today I have 4 more cards from the Winter Wishes Artful Card Kit (HOTP).  This brings the total so far from this kit to 15 cards.

Card #12 (above) - These cards were pretty quick & easy using fun die cuts from the kit.  The stamped greeting is from JustRite's Noel Christmas Ornaments.  Everything else is from the kit - inside & out.

Inside:

Card #13:

More elements from the kit - and the same JustRite stamp used on the last card.

Inside:

Inside are more elements from the kit - and a stamped message (Christmas Cheer - HOTP stamp set).

Card #14:

All but the purple matting paper (from my stash) is from the kit.

Inside:

More elements from the kit - and a message stamped from JustRite's Christmas Labels Twenty-Two stamp set.

Card #15:

Everything on the card front is from the kit except for the white matting paper.  I used a Spellbinder's die (Radiant Rectangles) to cut the inlay pattern and backed it with other paper from the kit. The stamped & embossed greeting is from a HOTP large Christmas stamp set I got years ago.  

Inside:

Inside I made a border from paper in the kit, added a label (which I stamped with a stamp from HOTP's Snow Globe stamp set).  The snowman was made using Spellbinder's dies (from the set Mr. & Mrs. Snoman).  His hat & scarf were die cut from papers in the kit - the rest was from my stash.  Mouth & nose were colored with my scroll & brush markers (on a scrap of paper which I attached behind the die cut).