Variations on a Theme

Though this is another of those notepad covers like what I made here, they could just as easily work for the front of a card.  Today I've got three examples.  All use the same colors in the same order, embossing done with embossing folders, mats cut with Spellbinder's dies, green stamping, and the same color of Flower Soft.  There are just subtle differences between the three.  Which one do you like the best?

Newspaper Clipping

This is one of the pages from my most recent scrapbook.  Newspaper clippings can be especially challenging for a scrapbook page since the print often comes VERY close to the edge, so a lot of edge treatments don't work well - they run the risk of covering some of the words.  In this case I had a newspaper clipping that had to serve as the main element on the page, and it would have looked very plain without something to dress it up.  However, many of my usual "go to" decorative elements hid too much of the clipping.  Then I thought about these Scrapbooking Dazzles from Hot Off the Press.  They were perfect for making a decorative frame that set off the focal clipping nicely.  Because the clipping took up so much of the page, and the title of the article stood out well from the rest, I used that as a page title rather than adding another one.

Valentine Theme

I didn't have much time to work on cards before Valentine's Day - and got nothing posted, so here is a belated Valentine's card.  The background is printed tissue paper glued to a plain white card.  The red is a suede-type paper with nice texture - my Fiskar's cutter with Victorian blade helps create the decorative matting with this special paper.  Outline stickers finish off this quick and easy card.

Thank you for Missing Me!

I've heard from several of you who noticed that I hadn't posted in awhile and checked in to make sure I was okay.  Thank you so much!  I had been sick and had some other things come up that got in the way of my posting.  Thank you for telling me you missed me!  Knowing you appreciate the things I post helps keep posting on my blog high on my to do list.  I also notice I've got a new member that signed up for my blog - welcome craftycardmaker!  That's another way you tell me that what I do here is valuable to you.

So, "on with the show"!  As a thank you to my loyal blog fans, I've decided to post a LOT of pictures today - sort of my way of trying to make up for missing so many days.  They are all pictures of fancy covered notepads I've made from inexpensive dollar store finds (I got the notepads 5 for $1).  For basic instructions, check out this blog post.

The notepad at the top of the page features a digistamp by Angelique at Sliekje's Digi-Stamps.  She makes the cutest digi-stamps and shares them for free!  The texture is an embossing folder run through my Big Shot, and Spellbinder's dies with the same machine created the mat for the focal. Here are some more folders with digi-stamps - some with stamped messages:

I've colored these with a variety of materials - gel pens, chalks, pastels, and Smooch inks.  One of the best things I've found to help give a bit of depth and texture when I color my digi's is to use my Dove Blending Pen.  It works great with my gel pens as I color a portion of the area with them, then use the blending pen to draw the color into the remaining areas, giving me darker and lighter areas in my pictures. I also use it with my chalks so I can add the color more precisely.  It also seems to help set the chalk.  For these next two, I not only used digi-stamps, but added outline stickers:

And here's one with outline stickers and a printed tag. It also has a couple of "Jewel Dazzles":

Next up are some with Flower Soft added for texture:

Digi-stamp with small tag

Digi-stamp with outline sticker & Jewel Dazzles

Butterfly stencil with chalks & Flower Soft - tag at bottom

These last three used acrylic stamps from the "Botanicals" set from Hot Off the Press.  And here's another using their "Sweet Tweets" set:

I think the Sweet Tweets set is one of my favorites for using with Flower Soft.

Finally, here are some notepads using glitter cardstock for a special look.  Most of them use tags or die-cuts, some with ribbon:

Thanks again for missing me, and for commenting on my blog. Have a GREAT DAY!