Thursday, October 31, 2013

Step Card in Purple and Silver


Yet another step card. (perhaps my favorite from this last group)

I bought these purple and silver pages at a local art supply store. They are 8 1/2 by 11 sheets intended for invitation. I have hoarded them for a while now. They are just so luxurious. It is hard to see in the picture but the silver swirls are very metallic. Of course I covered most of the patterned paper up on the sides but I did leave some exposed on the left side.

The silver paper is actually heavy duty wrapping paper that I bought to use on cards. Works great and embosses beautifully.

The bling is from Michael's and the Regal roses were inked with Dusty Concord and Seedless Preserves on the edges. The cut files for the step card and "thank you" are here. You can get the files for the cross here.

Hope you have a great day!

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Step Card in Red


More Thank You cards.This is Mariposa patterned paper that has beautiful gold embossed flowers and flourishes. It even has a cute little bird...

If you look closely at the rose petals you can see that I inked the white cardstock with Aged Mahogany Distress Ink and then darkened the edges by running the matching marker along the edge. It takes a little while but it adds such a realistic touch.

You can download the step card files and Thank You caption from the previous post

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Step Card Thank Yous


Hello my crafty friends. I have been keeping myself busy by making cards. We needed some special thank you cards to send to some wonderful people who helped out during my dad's time in hospice and the funeral. Since I happen to make cards (LOL) I was happy to create them.

I used some more of my Mariposa paper from the K&Co stack. This one has several colorful butterflies on a glittered cardstock. Look closely and you can see the glittery dots.

I was in a colorful mood so I chose to used Ripe Persimmon and Peacock Feathers Distress inks to color my white cardstock for the card base, mats, and decorations. 

I pulled these colors to go with the Mariposa patterned paper then I ended up covering most of the patterned paper up. LOL

I added WOW Embossing glitter to the butterfly and text. It really popped against all the orange.

To accent the edges of my handmade Regal Roses in Ripe Persimmon, I added some Rusty Hinge ink.

You can download instructions for the side step card here.   Side Step Card

The "thank you" text and shadow layers can be downloaded here. Thank You Caption

The Regal Rose cut files and instructions and the Detailed Butterfly cut files are available in my Etsy shop.


  

Friday, October 25, 2013

Dragonfly


I needed a quick, easy card. I put this cute dragonfly card together. The cut file is simple but using this embossing technique adds a lot of interest. 


I started with plain white cardstock and used Distress inks in Shabby Shutters, Peeled Paint, and Chipped Sapphire to color it. Then it was embossed and did a direct to paper on the raised areas. Next I added some Perfect Pearls.

The shadow layer is inked with Salty Ocean then Chipped Sapphire around the edges.

You can download my simple dragon fly cut file here:

Thursday, October 24, 2013

More Mariposa

I know the Mariposa paper from K and Co. has been around a while by now, but I still love it. To be honest, I have been hoarding it. LOL Well, I decided to finally use it, take pictures, and move on.

Here is a lovely card using Aged Mahogany Distress Ink on the Open Rose and Scattered straw on the Pretty Flowers. I used Aged Mahogany Distress Stain on the seam binding.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Church Logo Cards

I know we all struggle making masculine cards. We love to add glitter and bling to projects but they are not always the right look for cards for men. I was making cards for my church when I realised I needed some more manly looking cards. I came up with some simple cards that look really nice.


I made a cut file that looked like out church logo. Then a clean italicised font to cut out the sentiment. I used the negative of the image rather than piecing all those little bits of paper to the card. The inside pieces of the letters where inserted into the p, g, and o's to make it easier to read.

The middle panel of the card was embossed to add some interesting texture.



Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Orange Butterfly



I made this card a while back for a lovely young lady who had a birthday. She loves orange and this Mariposa paper from K and Co. seemed perfect. Of course I added some flowers and a Stickled butterfly.

I used Ripe Persimmon and Stormy Sky Distress Inks. I am really liking the combination.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Sympathy

 “When you pass through the waters, I’ll be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you.  When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, nor will the flame scorch you.” (Isaiah 43:2).

This verse describes what I have been going through the last couple of weeks. I am heartbroken and yet I feel God's peace sustaining me in a way that is almost tangible  It is still difficult but yet I am not in despair. 

Huge THANKS to everyone who has commented. I truly appreciate it!

I made this card a several weeks ago for a friend who lost a loved one. It seemed fitting somehow to show it now.


Saturday, October 19, 2013

MIssing My Dad

My dad past away last week. He had been sick for a while now and we found out about a month ago that he had advanced pancreatic caner. He would not have survived surgery or chemo. My hubby and I have spent the past few weeks traveling back and forth to visit with my dad. I was glad to be able to say goodbye and say how much we love each other. 

The good news in all this is that since I finally recovered from the pain pump procedure, I as physically able to make the hour-and-a-half trip to my home town and visit with Dad. I was even able to sit through the funeral service. I would never have been able to do all of that a few months ago. I am thankful that God orchestrated events so I could have a few more moments with Dad and have some closure. 

I am sad but I have a peace that can only be from God because it surely is not from me. My father was a Christian and I know that he is in the presence of God. He is no longer sick or sad. He is free.

I will miss his warm smile, his strong hands, and the mischievous little sparkle in his eyes that always made me smile.

I have many photos of my dad but this one from my wedding day (23 years ago) is my favorite.


Sunday, October 6, 2013

Embellished Shimmer Sheetz

So the embossed Shimmer Sheetz were nice, but I wanted to take it bit further.
I placed an adhesive sheet over the embossed Shimmer Sheetz and then pulled it off. The adhesive took the iridescent layer off of the raised areas and left a black film. You can still see the iridescence in the debossed areas of the panel.

I also stampe the black cardstock with VersaMark and applied different colors of Perfect Pearls. Such a lovely rich shimmer of colors!



I repeated the ink and Perfect Pearls on the cardbase.



So what did I do with the adhesive sheet that had all the pretty iridescent shine on it? I adhered it to cardstock then added glitter to the areas without the colored film. So cool!





I will have to show you how I did it another time. I have to take care of some family business. More details later.

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Embossed Shimmer Sheetz Cards

Here are some cards I made a few weeks ago.

I had fun playing with Shimmer Sheetz. They are metallic sheets that come in a pack of 3. This set has an iridescent finish that is very pretty. They emboss wonderfully and add a regal effect to my projects.

I had planned to make some videos showing these cool Shimmer Sheetz but that will have to wait for now. (details later)