Monday, January 25, 2010

Surprise Pop-up Card

YouTube is a great resource for ideas and can be used as a learning tool. There are a number of wonderful and creative individuals out there who take the time to video tape a fun and exciting project. The card below is from Stampfest (link is below). This cute little card slides up to reveal a message inside. This would make a cute valentines day card for a loved one or an invitation to a kids birthday party. Change it as you see fit and make it your own. I embossed the front cover to add some visual interest and texture to the card. The best thing about this card is that it fits into a standard size envelope and was relatively easy to make. I do suggest watching the entire video first before attempting to make one yourself. Let me know what you think.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mN7uDfqtADA&feature=related


Thank you for stopping by.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Patterned Paper

Patterned paper has multiple uses. The primary use, in regards to cards, is to add some visual appeal. In this post I will discuss a second use. 

The images themselves can be used directly. In the card below, the square cutouts were punched (using 1.5 inch square punch from fiskars) from two different types of patterned paper and lined up in two rows.  They were adhered with raised pop dots to add interest to the card. The scallop border on the bottom of the card was cut from a patterned paper that consisted of nothing but scalloped lines. I selected a brown scalloped line because I liked how it looked with the pink card stock. I adhered it to the bottom of the top flap with tombo mono adhesive. The top flap was cut a bit shorted to accommodate the scallop. The sentiment, hugs and kisses was added using a stamp and brown chalk ink. 

Take a second look at your patterned paper and see what images you jump out at you.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Pattern Repeat

Cards do not have to be complicated. Sometimes the simply cards make the perfect statement. For this card, a onesie image was stamped four times (on white paper), cut out, and colored using the blender pen method.  Every other onesie was raised with pop dots to give the card some dimension. The card itself is a simple 8 1/2 x 11 purple card stock cut in half, scored, and folded. I added the round boarder image below the onesies because I felt the card needed something more. If I had to do it again, I would add patterned paper instead of the stamp. Perhaps even ribbon. Either one of these options would keep the card simple yet add more interest. 






Thanks for stopping by. 

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Just a Note

I am experimenting with different weight, texture, and types of papers. For this card I am using kraft paper. One of the other blogs that I follow (kwernerdesign) absolutely loves kraft paper. So I purchased a 20 pack of cards from Michaels (at 50% off - coupons are your friends). I figured, worse case, I can use them for template cards. I have to say, I am not impressed. I loved all the cards kwerener designed with kraft but it was not inspiring to me. I think it's all the brown. Maybe it will grow on me over time. 

The card below is a very simple card. I used a floral punch from fiskars on the green card stock to add a decorative element. The owl is a stamp that was cut out and raised using a pop dot. The dotted "flying" line was created using a fine tip 0.5mm black pen. A rounded corner punch was used for the bottom two corners and ribbon was added for interest. 

A note about stamping - it is important that you go straight down on your paper. You don't want to rock or push too hard down on your stamp. It could cause your stamp to bleed or not stamp correctly. As you can see, I had some issues with my sentiment. 

(Lighting is getting better I think)





Sunday, January 10, 2010

First Entry

Hello. Thank you for visiting my blog.


Over the past several months I have spent many hours viewing other people's blogs and learning from their creative projects. They inspired me to start my own blog and post my ideas. I hope you too are inspired by my creations and learn from me. 


My very first card is a birthday card. I used 8.5 x 11 regular cardstock - cut in half 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 ; then folded in half using a bone folder.  The cupcakes were stamped with stazon black ink on white cardstock. The images were inked using the blender pen method. Two of the cupcakes were raised using pop dots. A piece of ribbon was added for interest. 


I hope you like it and thank you for stopping by. 
(I'm sorry about the lighting, I'm still learning)