Let the Paper Do the Work - 2 Quick Cards

Today I have a couple of quick cards made from pieces of paper my Mom had given me from one of her paper pads - no idea what they were.  The sentiments were printed from Sassy's LLC.

Card #1:

After cutting the paper a little smaller than the slimline card base, I wrapped it with crepe ribbon near the bottom, tying a bow.  After gluing it in place, I added a punched out printed sentiment, with two mats - one cut with a punch, one cut with a cutting die (Spellbinders Petite Scalloped Ovals).

Card #2:

For this second one, I wanted to highlight the 3 colors (coral, yellow, gray) listed for a color challenge. As you can see, I matted the piece with a gray patterned paper.  I used the same paper to cut a narrow strip for a border - as well as the punched scalloped mat for the sentiment and the little punched circles in the upper right corner.  Another crepe ribbon bow completes the card.

HD Perfect Days - Easter Blessings

Today I realized I needed to make some Easter cards for the kids in my family.  I didn't feel I had time to stamp, color, die cut and find coordinating papers for the set I really would have liked to make.  Hunkydory to the rescue! I needed 4 quick cards, and that's just what I got.  Here's what the set looked like before I got into it:

As you can see, there are 1 1/2 sheets of die cuts and 1 sheet of AS (adoreable scoreable printed card stock). I was really glad that there were four die cut sentiments, since I needed four cards.  I added things from my own stash & played with the decoupage pieces so that I ended up with four cards:

Here's a closer look at each.

Card #1:

This was really the last card that I made.  As usual, I saved the base die cut and added any remaining little pieces to it with foam tape - there were quite a few of them this time.  I had long since used up my AS, since there was only one sheet of it, So I had to find something else.  I found this striped paper in my stash, but the blue looked a little out of place until I added blue ink to the pink Easter egg.  The paper was VERY thin, so I adhered it with a glue stick, rubbing firmly with a bone folder to set it.  Then I added the piece I cut from one of the die cut sheet scraps, and a border on the left side.  Then I added the sentiment - again with foam tape.

Card #2:

This was an interesting one to make.  I cut the left side of the AS to form the base for this card.  However, it just had flowers and Easter eggs.  I had to fussy cut a portion of the left side so I could slip my die cut lambs behind it.  Then I filled in with a few extra Easter eggs to hide the fact that the bottom of the lamb die cut was designed to fit into a hexagonal shape.  The border was too short to fit all the way across the top, but I was able to cut it in the middle and separate it - hiding the separation with my sentiment (added with foam tape).

Card #3:

For this card, I didn't have the AS, and only had some smaller die cuts.  I decided to use some grass AS from my stash, and a marbled blue background paper to serve as sky (also from my stash).  To this, I added die cut pieces - lambs, Easter eggs, flowers - to create a scene.  I fussy cut a border piece from the top of the AS and added the greeting with foam tape.

Card #4:

This card was mostly AS.  The lambs, Easter eggs, and flowers were already printed on it.  After cutting it to size and gluing it in place, I fussy cut the top border edge from the remaining AS and added it toward the top.  Then I simply added a sentiment, and I was done.

Four very quick Easter cards thanks to Hunkydory!

Childhood Dreams

Today I decided to tackle some pages from Hunkydory's Little Book of Childhood Dreams (LB for short).  I've had trouble figuring out what to do with them for several reasons: 1) The pictures are "loosely" painted - a style I don't prefer, 2) The pictures are large squares - about 5" x 5" which barely fit on my card if I don't cut them up, 3) The pictures are full scenes - which I find more challenging to chop up. 4) Most of the time I have to really hunt through my stash to find papers that I think will go reasonably well with them.

Here's a picture of the little book pages with which I started:

One of the challenges with LB pages is that if you don't learn to cut them up, there are only so many things you can do with them.  Take a minute to look at those pictures and see how you think you might cut them up and what you think you might do with them, before taking a look at what I did.  Here are the four cards that I made:

And here's a closer look at each one individually:

Card #1:

This time I just cut a narrow strip off each side to make the focal more rectangular.  There was a color challenge this month on the Message Board I frequent that I found challenging indeed.  We were to use Yellow, Coral, and Dark Gray.  Yikes - I didn't much care the combination and couldn't envision what to do.  However, when I saw this LB page, I realized it contained all those colors.  I then went looking through my stash and found some patterns that were predominantly each of those colors.  Finally, I looked through some of Kendra's Card Challenge sketches and found one I thought I could modify to use with my patterned papers and my focal.  You see the result above.  The only other thing I added - other than white mats - was the greeting.  That I got as a freebie download from Debbi Moore.  When all was completed, I was amazed - I actually like it! :)

Inside:

Inside I simply used matted strips of the three different papers to form a border.

Card #2:

This time I cut the LB page down to get a smaller square.  And this card is an example of a phenomenon I've seen happen several times.  When I post a picture of my finished product, I see things that I wish I had done differently.  Sometimes there's nothing I can do about it, but this time I could fix it.  When I posted the above, I realized I'd be much happier if I matted my focal with plain colors before matting it on the decorative background I had created for it.  Here's the result:

I like it much better with those narrow mats!  I really like the way this card turned out, and it's an example of finding unexpected ways to use patterned paper, too!  I knew I wanted to use the lacy die cut mat for the focal (Georgette Square die set from Tattered Lace). For the background behind it, I wanted to use a pattern that was mostly teal, but thought it would be great if it had a touch of orange in it.  I found those colors in a piece that came from a pack of papers meant for babies.  If you turn the card 90 degrees and look REALLY closely, you'll see that the little orange bits are pigs and there's some white writing that talks about the 5 little piggies!  Given how little of it shows clearly, because of the lacy mat overlay and the large greeting (from Many Blessings stamp and die set from Divinity Designs), you really don't see what the paper is - just the colors!  

Inside:

Inside, I matted a piece of white card stock with the teal to create a place to write my message.  The piece at the bottom of this is cut from leftovers of the LB page.

Card #3:

As you can see, I used a couple different sized oval dies to cut the main subjects from the LB page.  I did like the way I cut the LB page, but unfortunately, I'm not quite as happy with the overall card as I wish I were.  It's okay, but I sure wish I had a better collection of oval dies so I could use them to create my mats!  (The ones I DID use were from: Make it Pop die set from Stampendous, and Stitched Ovals from Creative Dies Designs.) The background is just a piece of patterned paper, and then I matted the focal & embellishment on some more of that background paper before matting it with black.  The sentiment is another from Debbi Moore - again matted with black.  Finally, I added some narrow washi tape - black with just a hint of gold or copper foiling.  It's a bit hard to see in the picture, but in addition to adding the tape to the corner and the line above the circles in the background paper, I also added it to the inside edge of the black mat for the focal.  Because of how narrow the tape was, and the lack of a specific design in the tape, I was able to get it around those curves!

Card #4:

Again with this LB page, I trimmed the sides to focus on the boys playing leapfrog and give me a rectangular image.  I used 3 different brown patterns to create the backdrop and mats.  The sentiment is one of my Mom's sets with matching die.  I have a bunch of those done ahead so it makes it quick and easy to put a card together.  This time I inked it with a bit of brown dye ink before threading a piece of patterned paper through it to create a narrow border.  I did use a paper crimper on the narrow piece of patterned paper before threading it through.

HD Twilight Under the Sea - Enjoy the Adventure

Today cards feature another Hunkydory set called Enjoy the Adventure - from the kit called Twilight Under the Sea.  Here's what the kit looked like before I used it:

To this I added a few things from my stash to make these 5 cards:

Below is a closer look at each.

Card #1:

This first card is a fold back card.  You can see the fold back a little better in the next picture which shows the card partially open - as displayed.

For the background, I cut panels from the AS and then used a Sharpie to draw around the edges so it looked like it was matted in black.  I glued the focal to just the folded back portion of the card front, and added the sentiment to the other side so it would be seen hanging below the focal.  Then I chopped up the large frame that had come with the set & glued pieces in various places on the background - using the Sharpie to draw "mats" along all of the cut edges.

Card #2:

Both background and focal are cut from a piece of AS for this card.  It wasn't quite as tall as I wanted, so I sliced it and added a narrow strip of black card stock between the pieces.  Over this I added the sentiment which I had matted on white (with Sharpie along the edges of the white).  It still looked pretty plain, so I completed the card by adding a scattering of black jewels from my stash.

Inside:

Borders of AS scraps (edged with Sharpie) decorate the inside.

Card #3:

This time I took a piece of the AS and matted it with black Mirri to make it more the size I wanted - then added a couple of the sentiment pieces - both matted on white and edged with Sharpie.

Inside:

Again, on the inside, I used Sharpie edged scraps of the AS.  This time I added a little die cut as an additional decoration.

Card #4:

Next, I had this diver focal die cut with a couple of frames.  I didn't want to waste the AS because it would hardly be seen behind them, so I simply inked the card front using several colors of Distress Ink to create the background you see here.  Then I glued the narrow border at as much of an angle as the size of the card would allow.  I added the larger frame with foam tape, while the focal is glued directly over the smaller frame.  The sentiment was added with both glue and foam tape.

Inside:

Inside I again used Sharpie lined scraps for borders - but this time I also added some scraps of black.

Card #5:

This last card was made from the AS that I decided NOT to use on the previous card.  It makes a pretty scene by itself.  I added a black border & sentiment, with another sentiment below.  Both sentiments were added with foam tape.

Inside:

Inside I simply used a Sharpie edged scrap of what was on the card front. Voile'!  5 more cards completed.

HD Twighlight Under the Sea - Mermaid Secrets

Mermaid Secrets!  That's the fanciful name of the set from which these cards were made - part of the Twilight Under the Sea kit from Hunkydory.  Here's what the set looked like before I started:

To this, I added things from my stash to make the three cards you see below.  I actually could have made a fourth card since I had a good piece of the purple AS (adorable scoreable card stock) left over, but wanted to save it for another project.

It's a bit hard to tell from the pictures, but all three of these have some real dimension to them.  Since I was making them to give to the recipients in person, I added fairly thick foam tape to adhere some of the elements.

Card #1:

This was really a very quick and easy card.  There was just one thing that made it a bit more challenging - I had to slice a piece out of the center of the background so that I had the borders I wanted top and bottom.  It worked well.  You have to look REALLY closely to see where I did that.  Rather than mat the background with black mirri, I used a Sharpie to draw around the edges.  The rest was pretty straight forward - attached the frame with thick foam tape, glued the focal die cut in place and added ribbon bow and sequins from my stash, added sentiment with foam tape and glue.

Inside:

I decided to leave room for my own message, rather than stamping one, so just added a few scraps and a tag to decorate the inside.

Card #2:

The printed background for this one looked a bit plain, so I embossed (Theresa Collins Decor Circles - A4 size embossing folder) it before matting it on black Mirri and adding a black die cut border (Spellbinders Celtic Accents die set).  When I went to add the focal and sentiments, I felt there wasn't enough purple, so added a bit of ink - both to the background, and the sentiments. The round sentiment was added with foam tape - the rest of the elements were glued in place.  As a final touch, I added a bunch of little pearls on the sea bed - both on the background and on the focal.  The inside just has another matted scrap of the AS used for the background on the card front - not worth a picture.

Card #3:

The printed AS form the basis of this card - serving as both background and focal.  Again I matted it on black Mirri.  I added a frame to highlight the focal - but again the frame needed a bit more purple in it to look right - inking to the rescue again.  The sentiment was added with foam tape.

Inside:

Inside I used scraps (drew around the edges with black Sharpie) for borders, and added another greeting to the top border.

A great set of cards for 3 grand nieces who like mermaids!  (and enough purple AS left to make another really pretty card when I decide how I want to use it)

HD Meadow Farm - 4 Little Piggies

I have to admit that pigs are not my favorite animal, and I might not have ever used this set if it hadn't been for a challenge on a Message Board I frequent calling for cards using PIGS!  I decided it was a good time to use this Hunkydory set called 4 Little Piggies - from the Meadow Farm Kit.  Here's what the set looked like when I started:

As you can see, there were 1 and 1/2 sheets of die cuts and a piece of AS (Adoreable Scoreable Printed Card Stock).  To this, I added additional materials from my stash.  And here are the 5 cards that I made:

Below is a closer look at each:

Card #1:

This first is one take on a sketch challenge I found interesting.  The scene was cut from the AS.  After cutting the unusual angle, and adding a few extra pieces with foam tape, I backed the upper corner with gold linen card stock before adding it to the yellow checked background (from my stash).  The border was created with a scrap of AS, more of the gold linen card stock, and a greeting die cut from an old HOTP die cut set.

Card #2:

Next up we have a background formed from another piece of the AS.  It just had flowers and a wall, but I added some of the pig die cuts - layering some of them with foam tape for the dimension you see here.  Across the top I added pieces of border on either side of a greeting die cut (from the set) that was added with foam tape.

Card #3:

The picture above shows the card as I had initially finished it - and what's in the group picture above.  I simply embossed the card front (Cuttlebug's Kitchen Weave embossing folder), and added a focal I created using various of the die cuts.  I added some extra pieces with foam tape - including the sentiment.  After taking it's picture, I realized that with just a little more work I could make it fit for a challenge - I just needed to add some sequins - preferably blue ones.  This is what I ended up with:

I'm not really certain if it's an improvement or not, but they're on there now!  I added centers with a light gold Liquid Pearls.

Card #4:

The next card was pieced together using a blue marbled background paper from my stash, and a bunch of die cuts arranged to create this scene.  The diagonal border was a remnant of a border in the set.  I added two greetings from my stash - both on foam tape - lightly inking the edges of the heart with pink.

Card #5:

This last card was again made to meet a challenge - which simply required a fold back card.  However, with my focal being horizontal and my card base folding horizontally, it provided a challenge.  The end result looks a little like a step card with the fold on the bottom and the fold-back on the bottom.  I added a little easel-shaped piece of card stock to the back of the card back near the fold to enable the card to sit like this for display purposes.  It's hard to tell in the photo, but I used pieces of AS and die cut sheet scraps to form light blue printed borders top and bottom.  I then added a border strip (from the set) under the top one that repeats the phrase, "Especially for You."