CardPatterns Card

So it turns out that I absolutely LOVE doing the challenges where a website gives a sketch or a theme, and you create a card based on that. I originally thought it would be such a waste of time to sit around and design a card, and then only have one card to show for it. But it is nice to be able to use whatever stuff I want for the cards.... I don't need to make sure that I have enough ribbon for 20 cards to take to card swap. I still like card swap, but this is fun too!

Anyway, here is a card that I made for CardPatterns.
Here is the sketch I was supposed to follow:
Here's what I made:
I decided to keep the color scheme simple. I used a white card, placed black card stock on top of that, and then I used two different black and white patterns.
Then I used red for my color, I put a red ribbon across the card, stamped the 'swirly' and missing you, and traced over the swirly with a thin red marker. And then three red buttons in the corner to finish it off.

MIdnight Madness 3

Two days in a row!!! My son has gotten to an age where he can play on his own for long stretches of time, which means I have more time for crafting during the day... at least for the next 10 weeks until baby number 2 gets here.

So here we are; the card I made today for the Midnight Madness sketch challenge.

I cut a 4x6" card out of a burgundy card stock, and cut 4.5"x3.5" rectangles out of dark green and very pale green card stocks. I adhered the dark green piece to the light green piece just slightly offset, down and to the right.

Then I taped that down to the front of the card.

I used the same burgundy card stock and cut a 2.5" inch square and cut another 2.5"square from a mellow green color. I stamped 'Thank You' on the green square, stuck the two squares together at a slight angle, and taped that to the card.

With all of the paper pieces in place, I punched holes along the left hand side, where I placed my flowers, and fastened them with brads.

I then used a "paper ribbon" to go across the bottom.

My Mojo

So I often want to make a card for the blog Monday Mojo, but I have yet to get around to it.

This week I decided to do it and do it early, so here it is.

I used a 4x5.5" card.

The top is a patterned Vellum, and I found a paper to match to go across the bottom.

I cut a 2.25" square out of light yellow cardstock, and then found a slightly darker shade of yellow and cut a larger square to border the first square.

I stamped 'Thinking of You' and a daisy stamp that I had in Blue ink, and then also stamped the daisy in the bottom corners of the card.

I found a matching dark yellow ribbon and glued that across the seam between the two papers, then glued a yellow embellishiment ribbon across the bottom of the first ribbon, I used the same embellishment ribbon to thread through the bottun.

Purple Birthday

So I'm a little bit torn on this card... it feels a little TOO purple, but here it is anyway.
First, the cutting:
I cut 4x6 cards from white card stock.
Next I cut some purple paper into 3x5 rectangles.
Then I cut 2x3" rectangles from a paper that used lighter shades of purple and had a diamond pattern on it.
Then I cut some of my scraps of white card stock into rectangles that measured about 1"x2.5".
Lastly, I cut a purple ribbon that said 'happy birthday' on it into to strips about 4 inches long.

I stuck the ribbon onto the 3x5 card (with the edges of the ribbon folded over the back.)

Then I Stuck that piece onto the actual card.

I stamped "Happy Birthday" onto the small white rectangle with black ink and taped that onto the diamond patterned paper. Then I pierced holes right along the edges of the white "happy birthday" piece and placed silver brads into those holes.

I then taped that entire piece onto the card.

I thought it needed something more, so I got out a mini stamp that I have of dots, and stamped the little dot pattern on each corner with purple ink.

Baby Shower Cards

So I made two versions of this card...Baby Girl and Baby Boy.
I'll just tell you how I made the Baby Girl Card.
First I took an 8.5"x11" sheet of pink cardstock and used some texturing plates to create the pattern of the little feet and hands. I then took a purple colored stamp pad and lightly swiped the ink over the paper to give color to the raised portions of the paper. I cut the paper into 1"x4" strips.
I took some pink patterned paper, which I traced my pattern of a dress onto and cut out the dress shape. I used a black pen to draw "stitches" around the outline of the dress, and drew pockets onto the dress.
Then I took sheets of cardstock that I had cut into 4"x12" strips, and folded them to make a vertically opening 4x6 card.
I glued pieces of twine (that I bought in the jewelry making section) onto the top corners of the card. I glued one strip of the textured paper onto the top and bottom of each card.
Next, I clipped these adorable little clothespins I got at Joanns (made by Jolee's.) onto the string.
I clipped my little dress into the clips and then stuck some foam squares under the bottom corners of the dress, to keep it in place and to help it to stand out off of the card.

Of course for the boy card, I did the same thing but with blue paper, and overalls instead of a dress.

Thank You Card

Surprise! It's another card.
This one was one of my easier cards to make.
I made a 4x6 White card.
I cut a rectangle out of violet paper at 3.5"x5.5" and stuck it to the front of the card.
I cut a smaller rectangle out of white paper, it was 3.25 inches wide and about 4 inches tall.
Then I pulled out my handy Kraft Edgers scissors and cut the top and bottom edge of the white rectangle. I used a 1/4 inch hole punch to punch holes above (and below) every 3rd point in the scallop pattern.
I used a purple ink to "stress" the edges of the paper and used the same ink to stamp on the words "Thank You" and a pretty swirly thing. All that was left to do then was tape the stamped white paper down on top of the violet paper.

Flower Cake

I know that it seems like I'm only capable of making cards, but it's just not true. I can make cake too!

I made a single tier, three layer 9" round cake, and covered it in chocolate icing. Then I took a cookie cutter in the shape of a flower and stamped the flower outline into the chocolate icing. I took some butter cream icing that I colored with Wiltons awesome vibrant coloring.

I put a ruffle border around the bottom and then piped over the outline of the flowers. I used a paintbrush to drag some of the icing inwards, to give it an embroidered effect. and then piped a little dot into the center of the flowers.

Watercolor Card

I saw an idea for water coloring cards online, and wanted to try it. I liked the uneven coloring of the water colors- it made me think "vintage". You may not see it, but I do...this card reminds me of something I would have seen in my grandmothers (or great-grandmothers) kitchen, which is just what I was going for.

I started with a small card this time, 6x4, folded in half to make the front of the card a mere 3"x4".

I stamped this sunflower and thank you onto the front with black ink.

Then I got out my watercolors, I'm not a painter, so I don't have any good quality painting stuff around, I just have the cheap little water color palates you can get in the kids aisle at Target.

I started by just painting a solid yellow stripe across the top of the flowers, and I let it dry.

I also painted a thin line across the "seeds" in brown.

Then, I cleaned my brush, and dipped it in water. I used the water to "drag" the watercolor paint out. Doing this causes the inside where the paint was originally to stay dark and the places where I pulled the color to are lighter. I intentionally left some spots white.

After that dried I cut some thin strips of a patterned green paper and taped them across the top and bottom of the card.

More Cards

It's getting redundant, but this is what I love to do the most, make cards!

When I sat down and designed this card, it was meant to be a wedding card, but I think it could be used for other occasions, too.

I couldn't find a ribbon that I liked for this so I bought two. A thin pink one, and a wider white one, I simply glued the pink one on top of the white one. (If you do this, you'll want to work with the ribbon quickly, once the glue dries it's no longer soft and pliable). I adhered that ribbon to a pink piece of card stock, all across the inside and front of the card, in one continuous piece.
On the inside I then taped down a square of green paper on the right hand side, where you would write the message.

On the outside, I took the same green paper and cut a pretty looking 'medallion' out of it, I stamped the words "on your special day' onto this piece of paper, and used the same ink to "stain" the edges.
I adhered this with 1/8" thick foam squares, so that it is popping off the card a little. I then stamped a heart in the bottom right corner and lightly shaded in the heart with a colored pencil.

Like before, I couldn't waste the scraps, so I made gift tags with the extra!

Scraps

I I had a lot of scraps pf the paper and ribbon from the brown card below, so I decided to make a few gift tags rather than throw them away. Here are a few that I made.

Look at that adorable ribbon- Do you think I could let that go to waste?!?

Pocket Cards

For a recent card swap I made a "pocket card" I don't know if that is and actual name for this or not, but I'm going to go with it.

Out of a medium brown paper, I cut pieces that were 4"x12". I folded this strip of paper 4 inches from the top and two inches from the bottom. I glued along the outside edges of the 2 inch fold, to make a pocket, the 4 inch fold was left to flap open and closed.
I then cut 1/4" thick strips of paper and glued them along the edges of the card, inside and out.
After that I took a cream colored card stock and cut it into 3x5 inch rectangles, and stuck a ribbon down the left hand side. This piece goes into the 'pocket' of the card and is, of course, where you would write the message.

I took a coordinating ribbon and glued it across the front of the flap of the card.

On top of the ribbon I layered three different sized flowers, and glued that on.

I mixed and matched some of the flowers for some variety.

Birthday Invitation

For my sons first Birthday I handmade his party invitations. They were pretty easy.
I cut 4x6 rectangles out of the background (polka dots) paper.
I drew the number one onto some card stock and cut it out to use as a stencil, So I traced the number 1 onto the yellow paper, and cut out the number.
I took a set of party themed stamps that I bought at Target and stamped the images onto the invitation.
I then took a black pen and added "stitches" around the outline of both the background paper, and the Number One

Valentine Card

For a recent card swap I made a Valentines card.

I started with white card stock, and folded it to make a 4x6 card. I cut a 1.5x1.5 inch square from the front portion of the card.
I then cut red paper to be 3.5" by 5.5" and I cut a 2x2 inch square out of that.
Next, I cut out a 2x2 square of pink paper, and cut out the center 1.5"x1.5".
Lots of cutting squares. Here's what the pieces looked like.

I then cut 16 gauge wire and bent it slightly. I glued one end of the wire to between two small hearts that I had cut from the same red paper as above.

Next, I glued the other end of the wire to the white paper, right above the cut out box. On top of that I layered the pink square of paper, and then the red layer of paper.

I then stamped/embossed the words 'Be My Valentine' on the front. Voila!

Gift Tags

In November, the cardswap I go to swapped gift tags instead of greeting cards.

Poinsettia tags, these were very simple, I traced a pattern I made onto the poinsettia patterned paper, and then cut it out, to get the tag shape, then took my favorite scrapbooking/cardmaking glue, Scotch Quick Adhesive, and outlined one poinsettia with the glue, then sprinkled on some red glitter, and shook off the excess. Very Easy.

Snowman Tags For these I made myself a round top tag shaped pattern for the green paper, then trimmed down the card I used for the pattern and used it to trace on my red paper.

I used a snowman punch on the bottom corner of the tag, and glued the two papers together.

I cut a slit in the top of the tag, and ran some red and white striped scrapbooking ribbon through the whole I created, and glued the ends of the ribbon together.

Ornament Tags For the ornament tags I started with white cardstock and cut it into 2 inch circles.

I took green and pink scrapbooking ribbons and glued them across one side of the circle.

I took some gold DCWV cardstock and cut out the top of the ornament, using my Kraft Edgers scissors across the bottom. I used a 1/8" hole punch in the top and then threaded some thin white "rope" I found in the scrapbooking aisle through the hole in the ornament topper, and tied a knot on each end of the rope.

Buttons and Bows Tag Here I made a pattern for the shape of the tag and traced it on the green paper, I again trimmed down the cardstock I used as my pattern, and used it as a pattern for the white paper. I glued the green and white tags together.

I Threaded some scrapbooking ribbon through two of the buttons, and then glued all three buttons down with my wonderful Scotch Glue.

I punched a hole, and set a silver eyelet at the top of the tag, and ran some red cording through the eyelet. I took 20 gauge wire and wrapped it around the red cord, and used pliers to curl the edges of the wire.

Santa Tag My personal favorite.

I cut 2" circles from white paper, and 2" circles from red paper. I cut small circles (about 1/2") out of peach and black paper. I cut small triangles from the red paper again and then small rounded crescents from the white paper.

I attached the white and red circles with a small strip of paper folded in half, each half glued to the edge of one of the circles.

I Cut the peach and black circles in half and glued them to the edge of the red circle as Santa's feet, hands, and face. I took a black velvet ribbon I found and wrapped it around the belly of Santa, held in place with my handy Scotch glue.

Cut a belt buckle from a golden-yellow cardstock and sprinkled it with glitter then glued it into place on the belt.

Last Step: I glued on the hat and the fur lining of the hat.

Penguin Stocking

My mother always made our Christmas stockings So I decided to give it a shot for my sons first Christmas.

For the Stocking I started with a nice basic red fabric, and cut it into my stocking shape.

I took some holiday fabric I found and cut out these cute little penguins from the fabric. I lined the penguins and the Christmas trees up in a pattern and pinned them down, I quadrupled up on some white thread and stitched all the pieces down with some uneven 'x' shaped stitches. I did the stitches so thick and uneven to give it a very handmade look.

I just happened to make a matching onesie for my little guy to wear on Christmas day.

For the onesie I took some red fabric (the same red fabric I used on the stocking) pinned it all around the collar of a plain white onesie, and just hand stitched it in place. I took the same red fabric and sewed in a small square on the front of the onesie, then took a couple of penguins and stitched them on.

Turkey

Here's a simple Craft I did, but I think it is cute. First I papier mached a balloon and let it dry completely.

Then I cut like one million strips out of brown tissue paper (maybe not quite a million). Then I glued the paper strips on in rows, starting near the back, then just gluing rows in front of each previous row, I just glued the strips flat down on the bottom of the turkey.

For the head I cut the shape out of cardboard, glue the tissue paper on it in a sort of mosaic layer way and then painted the beak and waddle.

Tombstones

My sister and I made some simple tombstones as yard decorations, I just cut a cardboard box, and made tombstone shapes. We painted them black, then used white paint to add the names to to grave markers, we went with a Harry Potter theme, we're nerds I know but it was fun.


I also cut strips of cardboard and attached them to the back with masking tape to support the tombstones in my yard.

Halloween Ghosts

I made some window hangings for Halloween, Just lay out some wax paper pour some school glue out in the shape of a ghost, and place some wiggly eyes in the glue while it's still wet. At First I just used the plain white glue, but decided to add orange and black food dyes to make some of the ghosts more colorful, I also made a few pumpkins with the orange glue, and spelled out the word 'BOO' in black, for the letters in BOO I had to try more than once because the glue runs more than I thought it would, so I had to leave lots of space inside the letters.

So easy, and cute, this will be great when I have preschoolers

and MORE Cards

I made new cards for the next month's cardswap.

First the birthday card. Simple I cut 8-1/2 x 11 red cardstock in half lengthwise then folded it in half and cut the edges off of one half... like so:

































I used Kraft Edgers Scissors to cut a length of patterned paper from making memories, I cut it just wider than the skinny portion of the red cardstock.

















































Attach the two pieces and you get this:





































Next I stamped "Happy Birthday" on a smaller piece of the same red cardstock and voila:






























The other cards I made were Thank You






I layered two flowers I bought in the scrapbooking aisle to some cardstock using some cute little brads, then I painstakingly cut out circles from a golden colored cardstock, and then cut out slightly smaller circles from a dark brown cardstock, stuck all those circles onto the card, and then used a silver gel pen to write in the "THANKS"

More Cards

As I previously mentioned, I don't like paying large sums of money for greeting cards, just to end up having them thrown away- So I decided to get involved with a cardswap in my area. I had to make 14 cards, and I will get to swap out some of them so that I get a bigger variety of cards.

I started out with a pack of cards and envelopes from Halcraft, and a package of embellishment paper from Making Memories.

I cut some of the embellishment paper into 2-inch squares.









I laid out the squares of paper in a sort of tile pattern, and glued them in place with a glue stick.









The Finished Product- I like it, it has a little bit of a 'mod' look to it, but still a little classic I think.













All 14 cards, ready for the cardswap.