Operation Write Home has been focusing on masculine cards, which is great, because it seems a little more difficult to make a card a guy would want. Most guys just aren't into all the flowers and glitter like us ladies are. So I started with a little bit of patterned paper, since the new Work It Wednesday challenge is about using patterned papers. Then, I lined it with some green cardstock, and used the tab from a manilla file folder to stamp and emboss the sentiment on (don't tell the husband what I did to the folder, please!). The background just seemed like it needed something, but I didnt want to use more patterned paper and overwhelm the card. So I scored diagonal lines, and I really like the texture it gave to the card. Then, of course, I added some string. I also stamped and fussy cut several stars, one of which I glued to a paperclip with Glossy Accents. I also used a few staples. Who said office supplies couldn't be used for papercrafting? I have also linked this card to Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday challenge blog. Their theme is anything goes! Feel free to check out my Amazon store for products I frequently use and love! There's a link to it at the top of the page!
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I used the sketch from OWH to create this card. I started by stamping stars on the background. Then, I cut a piece of kraft cardstock to cover the bottom right corner. I added a white dash line around the edge just to help it stand out a little more. I picked some blue cardstock for the middle strip. The sentiment was stamped and heat embossed with some white embossing powder. I added a few white eyelets for some embellishments For this one, I used Mojo Monday's sketch. Its a tall and skinny card- I love the look of tall and skinnies. The two patterned papers on the background are from Witch Hazel's October Afternoon's paper pack. I used a kraft cardstock for the other papers. The sentiment is stamped and embossed in white. I cut out several layers of flowers with my Cricut and inked them yellow. I also added a little bit of Diamond Stickles to the flower. I finished off the card with a few buttons. This card is also being linked to Simon Says Stamp. Their theme is yellow. A few products I used: So this is something different than the usual card-posting.
I actually did a scrapbook page... yay! My love of papercrafting started with scrapbooking, believe it or not. I would see examples of other people's beautiful layouts and creative pages. They all looked so perfect! Then, when I would try my hand at it, I felt lost. I didn't know how to get the look I was going for. So I tried cardmaking and got hooked. I think its just the fact that its a smaller area to work with, so there is not as much pressure to add lots of really cool elements and embellishments. Cards are also such a fast, finite project. I can sit down and make one in 10-20 minutes, and then send it off to someone. Done. Cards also help me to stretch my supplies, since I can use bits and scraps of papers on multiple cards. I still have papers from college that I haven't used up yet! (I have hoarder-like tendancies) But, I still love scrapbook pages. I just love the look of a photo that has been gussied up, and every once in a while I get a photo that I just have to scrap. This was one of those photos. We took this one together before a banquet we went to. Its not often I catch my hubby in a cummerbund. This layout is a 12x12, but my scanner doesn't scan photos that big. All of the embellishments are shown here, though. The rest is just the floral background paper that you see. I used a few elements leftover from when I made our wedding invites. The photo is mounted on the back of one of our invites, and the little "love" charm is leftover from our wedding, as well. It makes it feel more special to me that there are bits of our wedding on the page. Anyway, I hope you don't mind me sharing a more personal project with you. Have a great weekend! It's the Midweek Throwdown at Operation Write Home! This month they are focusing on masculine cards in preparation for Father's Day. Their color theme is brown. I decided to try to make a woodgrain background. I dont have a stamp or a textured embossing plate, so I scored lines and then just dragged several different shades of brown across the front. Then, I made a banner and sewed the edges a bit with a zig-zag stitch. My sentiment and stars are all stamped with a stamp set I found at Wal Mart for $1. Sometimes I can find some goodies there. Anyway, I fussy cut the stars, and adhered them down. Some on foam squares. I felt like it still needed something else, so I also added three eyelets. I like the metal element it brings to the card. I like it when I can get two challenges into one card. This one also fits Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge. They are challenging us to make Clean and Simple cards. Have a great Wednesday! Some products I used: Simon Says Stamp's challenge today was to use a big stamp. The biggest stamp I have is a polka dot background stamp. I decided to stamp the polka dots in Versa Mark and emboss them with clear powder on this blue shimmery paper. I love how it turns out- it looks like water droplets. Then, I drew a curved line and cut it out, and then repeated that curve on black, just to give it a more defined edge. The bottom half I stamped with a dotted border stamp. I finished it off with some bright yellow-green ribbon, and a fun sentiment. This next card I made for Avery Elle. Their challenge is to use these colors: I searched through all my papers to find colors that closely matched and this is what I came up with. I started with my blue papers, drew a curve, and cut them out (seems to be a theme with me right now). Then I found the big heart die that I had cut out a while ago and it just seemed to fit perfectly on the card. I stamped on it using Avery Elle's "Oh, Baby!" stamp set, and also used some stickers for the word "baby". FYI: I have been asked if this is some kind of announcement, and I just want to clear the air here. ITS NOT. Moving on... The top portion of the card I dry embossed to give it some more texture. I like how it turned out! Onto the last card of today! This one I made for Mojo Monday. I started using their card sketch and I think I veered off course a little, and came up with this. I stamped a number of birthday sentiments on the side with Versa Mark ink, just to leave a subtle watermark look. Then, I found some coordinating patterned paper for the other side. The stars were stamped and fussy-cut, and I stamped and clear embossed the sentiment. Kinda simple but I think it turned out pretty cute. I could see it being sent to either a boy or a girl. Some products I used: I created this card with the "Stinkin Cute" stamp set from Simon Says Stamp. I am just in love with this little skunk! Of course, stamping him on everything by himself made me a little sad that he was all alone. He must be lonely, right? So, I decided to give him a friend. I stamped him on some watercolor paper so I could use my watercolor pencils to color him in. Then, I did some mirror stamping to create the flipped image. If you haven't tried mirror stamping, you should. Its a really awesome way to get more out of your stamps. Look it up on YouTube. Anyway, after I had both our skunks stamped and colored, I cut them out, chomped the corners, and adhered them to some fun background paper. Then I stamped the sentiment in black and embossed it with clear embossing powder. Last but not least, I added a white satin bow. Since this week's Wednesday challenge at Simon Says Stamp is featuring animals, this was the perfect card to link to their blog today. Some products I used: There is one street in the neighborhood where we live that had some beautiful flowering trees all along the street. I'm not quite sure what kind of trees they are, but the blossoms are in full bloom right now and they are absolutely gorgeous! I love taking a walk down the street and taking in their beauty. The blossoms were somewhat my inspiration for the watercolor on this first card. After painting the flowers, I adhered them down to some light pink patterned paper. Then, I stamped the little butterflies on vellum and embossed them in gold. I'm linking this card to Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge blog. This next project I made using the sketch from Mojo Monday. I know its not a card, but hopefully it still counts? I thought it would be a perfect tag to put on a housewarming gift of some kind. Its pretty simple, but it would be cute to put a lining on the back to write a special note on. Well, that's my projects for today. Happy Monday! Some products I used: I just love it when I can use materials that I have had for a while. The little bow on the cupcake is some raffia that I've had forever (in fact I think I stole if from my mom when I moved out). Anyway, I started by stamping the cupcake in brown, and then adding the little bow and cherry. To the cherry I added some Glossy Accents. Then I stamped and embossed the sentiment in white. Before adhering the cupcake down, I ran the background papers through my sewing machine with a zig-zag stitch. I just love the look of stitching on a card. After all that, and when I got the cupcake on, I still felt like it needed something, so I added the three buttons on the right. This card I am linking up to Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday challenge blog. Their challenge was Easter or Sweet Treats. Obviously, I went with the sweet treats:) This next card is for OWH's Sunday Sketch Challenge. I kept it simple with just a bit of patterned paper and the sentiment. Then I stamped some silver stars on the bottom. I did a little bit of diagonal scoring as well. The design is flipped from the original sketch, but that's because I started scoring on the wrong side of the card. I had to fold it over so the raised part would be on the outside. So note to self: think about which side is the right side before scoring! A few products I used: I have been having so much fun with this new stamp set from Simon Says Stamp. Who knew a skunk could be so cute! I started by stamping our little skunk friend and coloring him in with my watercolor pencils. I wondered if watercoloring on regular heavy cardstock would warp it any, but as long as I used only a small amount of water and didn't let it seep in too much it was fine. I felt like he needed a little something else, so I stamped and added a bow tie with some foam adhesive. Who wouldn't want to see a skunk in a bow tie? For the sentiment I knew I wanted it embossed in black, but I don't have any black embossing powder, so I used another trick that works if you dont have the color you are looking for. Ink up your stamp in Versa Mark, and then ink it with whatever color you want it to be. Stamp your image, and use clear embossing powder on it. Your sentiment will be embossed and will be in the color of ink you chose. I put our skunk on a light blue background, and then on a black cardstock and rounded the edges. I brought in a few red hearts just for another pop of color. Here's my next card, which goes in quite a different direction. I used my watercolor pencils to create a few flowers on some watercolor paper. I cut it into a square and adhered it with foam adhesive to give some dimension. You might not be able to see very well but I did score a frame around it on the card base. Although I love how bright the card is, it still looked a little plain along the bottom, so I added a border with my pink watercolor pencils. This did warp the card a bit, but I let it set under a heavy book over night and that helped. The sentiment is stamped in black, and its from Avery Elle's cupcake stamp set. I'm also linking this card to Avery Elle's card challenge. The challenge is to use their stamps and do something with watercolors. A few products I used: I've been having so much fun with a pack of watercolor pencils I found in my closet last week. I got them in high school and totally forgot about them! I know watercolor on cards is a huge trend right now so I decided to jump on the bandwagon and give it a try. I used the sketch from Mojo Monday for my layout on this card. I didn't follow it exactly but the main elements are there. Simon Says Stamp gave me the inspiration for the theme of the card with their Monday challenge this week. Their theme was "journey", or traveling. I immediately thought of the pack of chipboard stickers I have. I've been waiting for an excuse to use this hot air balloon, and it seemed perfect for this project. I started by creating the background with some kraft cardstock and my watercolor pencils. Usually I hate it when my watercolors warp my paper, but I really like the aged effect it gave here. Then I found the "journey" sentiment on a pack of vellum sayings. I used a screw brad to attach it. I pulled out my sewing machine because this card was just calling for a stitched border. I used some sticker letters on the balloon to finish the sentiment, and made a crumpled twine bow to glue to the top. I really like how it turned out! Very different for me with no stamping, but its good to stretch your creativity, right? Some products I used: |
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AuthorSo glad you found me! This blog is my little space where I can share bits about my life and my latest crafting projects (mostly handmade cards). My goal is to share, inspire, and to be a positive presence in the creative community. Find me on Instagram!Archives
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