Some stamped by me - some stamped and sent by friends - some from the stamp catalog. All colored by me though!

I trimmed this one close to create an intimate scene and rounded the corners to make it casual. This corner rounding follows through most of the layers and they are offset to keep that casual feel going. I used Glossy Accents on the bottle and glassware to make them shine and then added the yellow panel which also is glossy finish. The rest is just color-blocking to enhance the image and to provide a resting place for the stamped greeting.

Sweet little lamb has a furry coat created by coloring just curls with a grey marker. The colors of the table scrap panels are used to accent rather than match the stamp coloring. I added a stamped greeting to the top.

The patchwork heart got a fall coloring so I added plaids and stripes to the background using the same color scheme to make it look homey. The vertical stamped greeting was a perfect fit for the space as well as the sentiment.

The coloring on this fella was pretty bright so I kept the layering bright as well. rounded corners lighten the mood, too. I added the greeting to a punched tag and placed a flower brad in it. The tag is mounted on foam tape.

Not a lot of coloring to do on a black and white cow so I added shading with gray markers. I carried the shading over on the pink areas as well. A couple of table scraps create the pasture grass and the swirling sky. The greeting is hand-lettered - because I think it's funny. I used thesoft yellow card base because the stamp name is 'buttercup'. Just a little inside joke for ME.

This one is a visual pun.I had these awesome butterflies made of painted feathers and the colors were perfect so... there you go. Glue dots were the perfect colution for holding feathers to cardstock, by the way. I added table scraps for backing and stamped the greeting on one of them.

Another cute pig! He just got lots of table scrap layering, including the scalloped circle, popped up on foam tape. I also punched a couple of holes in the scallop and knotted a ribbon through them. I had the punched out script on hand from a swap with a friend.

This heart wreath got a more elegant setting with the script and swirls paper scrap. I left a border of the backing card showing at the top and used this space for stamping the greeting, using blue chalk ink to match the printed paper.

Another set with similar techniques and a wide variety of styles.

Ddd

Posted by studio3d@ccgmail.net at 6:00 AM PDT

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Yes, SHOCKED because I found more of these awesome stickers in my stash. Every time I think I've run out of them I find a few more I tucked away somewhere. I hope I stashed some LOTS of places, because I really like finding more of them to use.

I mounted this sticker on a texture-print cardstock and did a fine doodle-line close around it. After mounting on the violet card base I added some faux-stitching lines around the backing. Two strips of wood-grain table scraps were backed with green and crossed at the corner. Then I stamped the greeting on the larger strip.

Little chipboard bird makes another apprearance with this large sticker on a floral print. Simple layering to color tone and a stamped greeting finish it up. I recently picked up a large set of clear-stamp words that can be mixed and matched as desired for greeting phrases. Just mount all together on the block and stamp like they are one unit. NEAT!

No greeting for this little glittery bird. I combined the large sticker with table scrap strips including a Cuttlebug embossed piece with birds. I like the way the swirling branches echo the curls on the sticker and I reinforced one to act as a perch for the bird - extending the end of it onto the sticker for continuity.

Here's to finding lost supplies (please, oh please).

Ddd 

Posted by studio3d@ccgmail.net at 6:00 AM PDT

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Old calendars can provide some awesome backgrounds for use on cards. Combined with great table scraps, embellishments, stickers, and stamps, I created several cards to share today.

First up is a scene down a brightly lit wooded path. Not very many wooded paths area a yellow brick road, but I love this one. I added a golden strip of card for the greeting stamp and for the chipboard bird. The color of the bird is repeated in the rose card base.

Another portion of the same calendar page yielded this photo. I added the bird directly over the photo and used the bottom of one of those tags (featured yesterday) to stamp the greeting and mount at the top. This bird is one that came glittered so I wanted the feel of the card to be 'lighter'. A green panel and a pink card base keep it casual.

Love this casual garden seating group - especially with the flowers dropped on the table. I rounded the corners to lower the formality and added a strip of tissue tape (Tim Holtz) that I just got on sale. The little yellow chipboard bird and the apricot card base pick up colors from the garden. There is no greeting on this card.

I kept the focus on the roses in this calendar photo by using color echoing in the layering. I reinforced the two lower blooms by layering roses in gold peel-off stickers over them. This gold is echoed in the upper left corner element and the single heart inside the greeting. The greeting is a clear sticker. Love how it fits inside that one bloom.

I was knocked out by the colors in this garden chair! Nothing to do but trim it close, layer on a purple card base and add a clear acrylic greeting sticker. I backed the greeting withcard matching the card base. Simple - beautiful - simply beautiful!

A field of poppies is eye-popping! I used a bright-colored glossy print to back it and separated the two with a fine gold border sticker. The poppy corner sticker at the lower right offsets the gold sticker greeting on the upper left. I used a bright yellow card base in keeping with the overall color pallette.

Lesson: save your calendars!

Ddd

Posted by studio3d@ccgmail.net at 6:00 AM PDT

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Ooooh, goodie! Shopping in the $1 bin at JoAnn Fabrics I found these really cute notebooks of 26 printed tags (I think there were 6 styles in all). Each style has two of each tag. I bought 2 of each style so I could play with half and send half in goodie bags for swaps.

So I set about using some of these tags to make cards:

This vintage-look tag, imprinted with lace and fabrics was layered with a crackle-print paper and a cream panel of cardstock, both with rounded corners. I chose a lavender card base to go with the stamped, watercolored cow I wanted to use (remember the old poem, "I never saw a purple cow..."?). I added a fold of ribbon through the hole in the tag to finish it off. The greeting is stamped.

This tag was purrrr-fect for the little kitty I stamped, colored and cut out. Apanel of printed cardstock from the table scraps and a dusty rose card base rounded out the supplies. I stamped the greeting and added the snippet of ribbon to the tag.

I stamped a background for this tag to rest upon using the 'weeds' (Tim Holtz) and distress ink in Old Paper. I used the distress ink to tone the edges of the pink panel, the tag and the little square, punched from an old greeting card and punched with a corner rounder. A green card base was selected, as well as the ribbon snippet and a stamped greeting.

This tag, with it's diagonal stripes and oval frame made the perfect setting for a playful kitty stamp. The cat was stamped separately, colored and cut out. I had a scrap of checked print and reinforced the cat's bow with the ribbon snippet and the borders on each side of the checked paper. The soft green card base matches the green in the tag. Again, the text is stamped.

This little tag looks like ledger paper and I chose other table scraps with the same golden hues. Each piece was distressed edges using Old Paper distress ink, as does the card base. I colored and cut out the little lamb and added a ribbon snippet and stamped the card greeting.

These geese were time consuming to cut out! I added shadows under their feet with copic markers and let them stretch their necks outside the edges of their tag. The stamped greeting seemed especially to fir the scene of the three geese. I added mulpiple panels of table scraps and a cream card base.

I love a good pun so "Moose You Very Much" seemed right for this fella, stamped, colored and cut out for mounting (yes, I mounted a WHOLE moose - not just his head). The tag was quite plain so I hand-lettered the greeting directly onto it in a casual style. More table scraps make up the layers and the card base has a little bit of texturized look to it.

This tag had a natural line that I used to serve as a 'carpet' for this kitty. The upper line provided a natural panel for stamping the greeting. The table scraps in the background left little definition for the edges of the tag so I backed it with a purple border to pick up the purple in the cat's bow. A dusty rose card base keeps the cozy  feeling going.

I like the vintage look to this tag and the diagonal line needed accenting. So used the diagonal line to create the centerline for the card and kept the backing simple - just a single piece of simmery plum paper. I punched the square from an old greeting card, rounded the corners and color-distressed the edges. It is popped up on foam tape. The greeting is stamped and I added that snippet of ribbon to the tag.

I used the tag on this card to create a landscape, using the swirls as tree branches. It is mounted on foam tape over a background of table scraps and a blue folded card base. I cut the clouds freehand from white cardstock and mounted the right one on foam tape. The bird and house were stamped, colored and cut for mounting. The bird is directly on the tag while the house extends over the edge and it's bottom is mounted on foam tape. The pole for the birdhouse is glued to the card base level for dimension. I did not add ribbon to this tag as it serves as a scene rather than a tag on this card. I stamped the greeting.

As you can see, there is a lot of variety in these sets of paper tags - and I've only scratched the surface. There are many more tags left to play with.

Ddd

Posted by studio3d@ccgmail.net at 6:00 AM PDT

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I don't ALWAYS use leftovers to make cards - not ALWAYS!

For instance, for today's card I used TWO new stamp sets and another bird from the new set of chipboard diecuts mentioned yesterday. One of the new stamp sets is the greeting at the top of the plum panel and the other is the weedy branches at the bottom (one of Tim Holtz's sets). I stamped both in More Mustard Distress Ink and added Stickles to the weeds to match the bird which already had glitter. The plum panel WAS from the scrap bin, I must admit. But the embossed music panel was sent by a friend. I mounted the plum panel with foam tape and used a golden card base to match the bird and stamping.

Yes, only one card to share today as I don't have that many cards made with only NEW materials. LOL!

Ddd

Posted by studio3d@ccgmail.net at 6:00 AM PDT

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I save old greeting cards.

No surprise there, eh?

Well, today will show you WHY!

This first card is made from an embossed 'thank you' note card (center panel) and an anniversary card (two embossed hearts). The hearts had the gold foiling already on them and matched the panel exactly. I just trimmed close around the hearts leaving a tiny bit of cream border. Then I mounted one flat on the background and popped one up on foam tape. I cut a piece of shiny metallic gold cardstock to back the panel and actually had a folded card base with the same irovy tone. It looked a little too matchy-matchy so I added tinted acrylic domed heart stickers to the corners and the hearts. AWESOME!

Not quite as impressive is this one made using the front of an old greeting card. I cut it down and rounded the corners to fit on a dusty rose folded card base. I had just bought a package of these diecut chipboard birds (Studio 112 - $1 bin at JoAnn Fabrics) and popped one onto the branch. The text is cardstock stickers.

And that, my friends, is why I save old greeting cards.

Ddd

Posted by studio3d@ccgmail.net at 12:01 AM PDT

Updated: Thursday, 14 July 2011 9:42 AM PDT

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Yeah, we're up to 'N' in paper embroidery through the alphabet. I found a pattern for a narcissus in the one book I own on paper embroidery and decided this was 'the one' to do.

I selected a purple cardstock (Yes, it is purple - pay no attention to the blue in the photo) and stitched it up in orange, yellow and green. I followed instructions from a blog I follow on how to use a standard border punch to punch out a frame. Then I cut the stitched panel to fit inside and layered them together.

I mounted these over green folded card base and added an orange cardstock sticker. (the sticker says 'reflect')

Ddd

Posted by studio3d@ccgmail.net at 6:00 AM PDT

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Another place I like to get illustrations for using on cards is from my junk mail.

This is a portion of a full-page photo that I cut down. I layered a vellum dictionary entry over it with green flower brads and added vellum flower stickers. This is layered on a blue cardstock and a green card base:

This illustration is from a magazine and I added a string of wooden charms down the right side. I rounded the left corners of both the illustration and the card base. I punched a small hole at the upper left and threaded the string of a printed tag through it. The tag was then glued along the left edge of the photo:

This illustration is also from a magazine and I cut it to the same size as the vellum panel andlocked them together with red star brads. I made a background of wood panel print and denim print, layered the velum panel over and punched through all the layers with a star punch. The dark blue from the folded card base shows through:

From a magazine I got a large illustration of tree branches and got two panels from it. For this first one I added a square vellum panel with brass brads, layered it over a brown panel and orange folded card base. The green text is a sticker:

The other half of the picture I used a horizontal band of vellum and just turned it to the back to adhere it. I mounted over a green patterned cardstock and a yellow folded card base:

Posted by studio3d@ccgmail.net at 6:00 AM PDT

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I gathered up a bunch of illustrations from an old calendar to make cards for today.

I used the OWH sketch #74 for this first one. I used table scraps for the background strips and cut the illustration with a nestabilities die. The text is a clear sticker:

Most of the illustrations in this calendar are of birds. However, I did have one of squirrels that I thought was pretty cute. I cut it top and bottom with a new border punch and layered with some table scraps that had fancy cut edges. The text is a cardstock sticker:

I used a printed vellum panel over this illustration and attached it with brads right through the patterned background. The yellow text block is a cardstock sticker:

I treated this one with a velum panel as well - this one with a dictionary entry for 'happiness'. Patterned background cardstock and a cardstock text sticker finish it off:

It's a good thing I get a new calendar every year, as I really like the pictures they present.

Ddd

Posted by studio3d@ccgmail.net at 6:00 AM PDT

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Assignment: Make back to school cards

(Yes this is a belated posting)

I had some sets of stickers that fit the 'school' theme so that's what I started with.  This first one got a stamped background using my hand-carved crayon image. I placed two stickers on yellow cardstock and trimmed to leave a tiny border. These are popped up on foam dots. I added the word 'school' in rubon letters and cut out the word 'spirit' from a scrapbook paper. The pencil is a sticker and I turned it into an exclaimation point with the addition of a rhinestone. The yellow border all around is the folded card base:

I moved on to a set of stickers that depicts school notebooks. I framed each out in yellow cardstock. For the background I started with a navy blue card, layered a denim print paper, then ablue with script and swirls, then a strip of dictionary print card. Each of these was distressed with 'ole paper' ink before layering. I found someletter stickers with the notebook image and used these to write 'student' at the bottom. Round stickers spell out 'star' at the top and I added a star paperclip as well. This panel was mounted to a yellow card base and the three tags were popped up on foam dots:

Finally, I used OWH Sketch #75 to create this card on a blue card base with a light green panel over it. Strips of text and script papers run horizontally and a red accent strip makes the vertical. Three framed tags overlay the red strip with only the bottom one popped up on foam. The text at the upper left is from a sticker sheet:

These were sent to OWH.

Ddd

Posted by studio3d@ccgmail.net at 6:00 AM PDT

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A tutorial on the OWH Stars and Stamps blog showed the layout for these sunburst cards. I made 18 of them using just table scraps, ribbons (mostly scraps) and some leftover elements from previous projects.

I first cut all the burst pieces and then divided them up into sets of papers that went together. These were glued down and then a bottom strip was selected and cut. These were glued to a base cardstock that matched or contrasted, ribbon was selected and attached with glue dots. Embellishments were added before the panel was attached to a folded card base.

The first three use silk flowers and brads over dircut circles for the embellishments:

And then there are a bunch of miscellaneous embellishments like stamped and colored images, stickers, printed images, die cuts, etc.:

And there you have it.

Ddd

Posted by studio3d@ccgmail.net at 6:00 AM PDT

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For a ladies' retreat coming up I needed to make 60 little books for the ladies to take notes during the sessions. I've made these books before but they always used a cutout/insert of a triangle. We wanted a star on the cover because of our theme so I was going to use my new star punch (this is actually why I bought it).

I made a couple of models using different materials so I could see how the star would fit. It did NOT fit on the one made of denim print paper so I finished it up with a plain circle punch and glued a gold button in place. Then I did the front fold taller on the next sample so there would be room for the star and changed up the way the inside of the cover is finished to make it cleaner.

When I got the logistics sorted out I wrote out the steps and set up an assembly line for myself and completed the 60 books for the retreat. I cut up two large gold holographic bags from the dollar store for the inserts behind the star punch outs.

Each book has 6 sheets of paper which, when folded and stitched into the center, gives 24 writing surfaces.

Ddd

Posted by studio3d@ccgmail.net at 6:00 AM PDT

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On the road to creating a paper embroidery card for every letter of the alphabet, today's assignment is the letter L. For this I used a free pattern from Joke de Vette to create this beaded lamp.

The colors are SO far off on this photo, though. The background is actually orange, the upper beads and threads are gold and the lower beads and threads are silver.

If you can turn off your 'color filter' while you look at this card, I think you'll like it.

Ddd

Posted by studio3d@ccgmail.net at 6:00 AM PDT

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In the clearance bin at my local craft store they had piles of this one stamp.

I have no number stamps so I'm thinking I can butcher this set and use the digits separately. I mean, look at the price!

When I got it home I realized why there were so many. This actually is designed to clip on to some sort of a wheel and be used as a self-inking background.

So I set to with a pair of sharp mini-scissors and cut out the individual numbers.

They were pretty close together so it took some finesse to keep from snipping a part of the border away. It helped to bend the sheet to make the numbers bulge out when cutting where they were close.

As I snipped out each number I placed them in their new storage, the inside of a CD case.

When the whole set was cut I placed a few digits at a time on an acrylic block and stamped on scratch paper. Then I circled the bits I missed cutting off with red pen.

I pulled these off the acrylic block and did some additional surgery on them to clean them up and stamped again.

Perfect! Here is the whole set which I will be able to use for birthday, anniversary and holiday cards. Ooooh, I just thought of another project for these. I've been planning to make a set of countdown blocks and these will be perfect!

I even salvaged a couple of bits of the background 'noise.

What a great lot of use I will get out of my $1.97 investment.

Ddd

Posted by studio3d@ccgmail.net at 6:00 AM PDT

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I acrually started this card as a scrap recovery but the focus ended up differently.

I began with a calendar picture of a field of yellow flowers and punched three times and rounded the corners. I chose a bright yellow background cardstock and lined up the punched blocks across the top. This was very bright and very stark so I pulled out a flower silhouette stamp and applied it four times across the left. I extended the stems to make them uneven.

I wanted to keep the casual feel this had so chose to stamp a greeting in a loose script.

Just to add a little interest in color I added red stickles dots to the centers of all the stamped flowers.

Ddd

Posted by studio3d@ccgmail.net at 6:00 AM PDT

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I pulled these little cupcakes off an old birthday card years ago and have been waiting for the right opportunity to use them. Today is the day!

On a cream folded card base I created stripes using 6 pieces of table scraps - most of which are dotted. I lined up the little cupcakes and then added a gold peeloff text greeting and butterfly.

Ddd

Posted by studio3d@ccgmail.net at 6:00 AM PDT

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As part of a swap of diecuts some time back I was given a butterfly cut from a folded base. It was the perfect size to make a card so that's what I did. I covered the entire surface with crumpled tissue with a rose imprint. Then I covered that with lots of scrolly gold peeloff stickers and some gold peeloff butterflies.

The back layer is slightly larger than the front leaving a border showing all around. You can't see it in the photo because of the way the card is standing, but the back layer has a gold border using a Krylon marker all around. This gives a gold border to the front when the card is closed.

Ddd

Posted by studio3d@ccgmail.net at 6:00 AM PDT

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A group I belong to challenged us with a card sketch. I made mine from table scraps and a bit of bling all in blues, purples and silver. The text is a printed vellum panel.

I used a Dazzles sticker under the butterfly.

Ddd

Posted by studio3d@ccgmail.net at 6:00 AM PDT

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Time for another sketch challenge from Operation Write Home (actually completed in June). Here is the sketch we were to use:

Here are the nine cards I made from this sketch using table scraps:

Posted by studio3d@ccgmail.net at 6:00 AM PDT

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Challenge: Make cards using only Purple and Green

Well, I'm up for that. I pulled out a variety of supplies in the assigned colors and came up with three very different cards.

The first uses a square punch on printed medallions, background paper and two colors/widths of sheer ribbon. I used a clear sticker for the text in the center medallion.

Next up is a card made with a metallic printed vellum panel recovered from an old greeting card. I applied some floral stickers to the base paper and attached the vellum over the top, wrapping to the back to adhere. I gave it a green shimmer frame and mounted on violet cardstock. The finish was to adhere glittery floral acrylic stickers and dots to the flower centers.

Lastly, I used a large cardstock sticker and mounted it on a green frame of cardstock. I covered a green cardstock base with printed tissue paper and popped up the diamond piece on foam tape. The text panel is a cardstock sticker and two additional floral stickers were added as accents.

And that's the way you use Purple and Green.

Ddd

Posted by studio3d@ccgmail.net at 6:00 AM PDT

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