Pretty Blue Madness...

My mother in law is in the hospital...still. When things turned a little crazy, and to me a little uncertain, I retreated to my card making room. Getting lost in a creative mode allowed some relaxation for my heart. A little worry, a lot of prayer...then this card. Can you see a little bit of anxiety here?

One cool tool recently was added to my punch drawer...and this card used the "star flower" in two colors.

The star flower is cut in two colors, then the small petals are aligned with the large petals. Once that was in place the top star was given added dimension by bending the petals upward.

The brown embossed background matched the paisley paper, using Cuttlebug's Stylized Flowers. A nice back drop for these flowers.

I used a smaller flower from the Delight in Flower set for the centers. One inked in brownish red, and one in blue. Both are attached with a red brad which compliments the tag.

Additional flowers were added to the card with tiny daisy centers (another punch) accented with red dots instead of a brad.

This little tag was made with another recent addition to my punch drawer. The punch has a triple function. You can actually move the tab on the front of the punch to cut one, two or three tags at one time. Cut different colors, add a brad, a ribbon,  and viola...here is a cute way to send the message to special people in my life.


Accessories: Cuttlebug Stylized Flowers embossing folder, punches for flowers and tags, brads,  ribbon and some fun paisley printed card stock.

Well Hello Dolie!

This card combined two elegant features...the fancie large dolie stamp and a hand made 3D flower...it's a beautiful thing! The flower is stamped in white to add another layer of dimension and distinction.

Making the flower takes a little patience...and practice. Just look at the results~~the effort is worth the ooh's and ahh's.

There are a few trade tricks which make all the difference.

Start with 3 to 5 stamped & punched flowers. I had 5 on hand. Have your tools ready to progress through the next few steps with all the punched flowers.

Now turn the flowers upside down, LIGHTLY misting the unstamped side, and then running thru the FISCARS corrugator.
Lay the flower on a hard surface and "press" out the ridges with a straight edge tool, such as the Stampin' Up edger. This makes the paper more pliable.

The flowers need to be cut to the center. One flower is cut with no sections removed, one has one section removed and so on till there are 5 pieces.

The sections are now ready to assemble. I use medium glue dots to fasten the petals, and a small crochet needle to "roll" the edges.

                                                      

Start with the large petal. Overlap two petals so there are 4 petals and glue in place. Press the center point of the flower on a hard service to "flatten" the point. This will help the sections fit together and reduce the height of the flower.                                                                    

Continue the same process with each section. The last two sections are pretty small.  I used the crochet needle to roll the edges first on the two small sections, then rolled the pedals into shape working them with my fingers. Once I liked the look a glue dot held them in place.

Use the crochet needle to roll the edges on the larger sections. I cut the back center points off the smaller sections and pressed to "flatten" the center. A glue dot holds the cut area closed once flattened. Now the flower is ready to put together. Place a glue dot on the back flattened center of the 3 petal section and position into the largest section. Continue till all are fitted together.

Use the two uncut extra flowers for the base.
HINT: punch the center out of one of the extra flowers, and attach sticky backed foam before placing onto the other flat flower. This gives a little room for the center of the 3D flower to fit into. And the extra petals give the flower a nice full look.

*Use a rhinestone or other embellishment for the center if you like. This flower didn't seem to need it.





Accessories: Stampin'Up Triple Flower stamp & matching punch, Stampin"Up Dolie stamp, matching card stock and ink, ribbon, sticky backed foam, Friskars corrugator, various tag shapes.

Bloom'n Blue and Sparkle too!

A lotta bling makes this bloom'n blue flower power greeting card extra special. I combined a few specific tools of the trade to get things started. Start with a combo from Stampin' Up to make the flowers with Triple Treat Flower stamp and right sized punch.
The punch makes the sparkle paper flowers, and the stamp does a nice job on the inner flower. Cut off the outer edge of the stamped flower to show off the sparkles.

Once the flowers are assembled the background is ready to make. For this card I used Spellbinders Flowers emboss/stencil for a letter-press effect. A matching blue ink pad pressed onto the stencil over white card stock created a beautiful background. Be careful when lifting the stencil...the ink smears easily.

These cuties are packed with style and glitz. The inner flower was defined using a dark blue pen on the dots. And, the silver brad matched the silver sparkle in the outer flower. Touch up the flourish with ribbon and a multi-layered tag.  I recently acquired the different sized tag punches which really make it easy.



I had a lot of fun creating this bloom'n blue card...and ya know, it turned out nice!

Accessories: Spellbinders Flower stencil, Stampin' Up Triple Treat Flower stamp & punch, Tag punches, ribbon & brads.

Paper Blossoms

Every time I get to visit with my VERY talented SIL Wendy Weixler, she teaches me a fun trick...she is full of talent. There are several die cuts & punches which cut the paper for blossoms. But the real fun is making your own, even out of felt. The possibilities are endless.

The process has several steps. Breakdown the stiffness of the card stock by misting with water...lightly! Run it thru a Fiskars corrugator, then press out with a straight-edged tool.

The crochet hook works nicely to help "bend backwards" the petals for a realistic effect...try it on other flowers you make too!

I made up my own spring time flower version to practice with. The flowers have several layers of varying sizes, and colors. Cut to the center of a flower, and fold one petal over the petal next to it & secure with a glue dot. Each layer was made this way and glued on top of the previous layer. Sprinkle extra small centers around the larger petals.

Aren't these just to pretty for words! The cards were given extra pizazz with the butterflies...more on that in a minute.

I really like this easy method, my big fingers are able to manipulate one overlapping petal which gave me a sense of you-can-do-it!

This pink version was my best work so far on making 3D blossoms. The printed paper and varied-sized flowers with alternating card stock all came together.

Now for the fluttering butterflies. I used a punch, and a die cut. I also made two of each cut for a symmetrical effect. How nice is that! Doesn't it just make your little heart flutter...or not...it does mine!

Accessories: Sizzix die Butterflies & Tropical Paisley embosser 656796, Mc Gall Butterfly punch, Martha Stewart edgers, boarder punches, ribbon & various colored card stock, Stampin' Up Fabulous Phrases stamps.

One of my friends at work brings me a card for all the special holidays, and I wanted to show her my appreciation. What came together was a nice assortment of coordinating "gift" cards made to fit in a wooden gift box. The box lid and four sides are decorated with matching paper...so sheik. The top opens with a hinged lid!

Each card is about a four inch square to fit easily in the box. A variety of matching paper and embellishments are from one tablet of printed paper with pop-out tags and lettering. WOW, designing is really fun with so many choices! Just add a few accessories like ribbon and brads.

Designing with a few punches jazzed things up. A flower petal punch and multiple prints nicely blended the overall effects. I also tested out my new Spellbinders die cut Pendants design. That was fantastic!

                                                                                                                                                                 Edges can be fancied up with an edging punch. I used a couple varieties.

Now, putting all 12 together makes a wonderful "Thank you so much for thinking of me" gift! 

Accessories: Spellbinders Pendants die, punches: large flower, picture corners, label, edge. Colorbok earth tones patterned paper/stickers, ribbon, brads, "friends" stamp, box for cards.

I love getting pictures from friends and family. Last September our church updated their directory, and we received a few extra pictures.  Here are some finished cards showcasing a few.

There are a couple techniques to help cards "stand". Picture matting was used as one of the background layers. I find inexpensive scraps at the craft stores. Pictures & paper layers were reinforced with "corners". All the corners I used were made with a punch.

Plus, the cards have added card stock on the inside. I added a short piece of matching ribbon before gluing the inside card stock in place. The ribbon, fixed to both the "top" & "bottom" of the card stock prevents the card from opening too far, and "slouching" after time.

Using cut-out scrapes from various corner punches added contrast to corner pieces, coordinating the color scheme.  A variety of embellishments made each card unique. Don't ya love the hanging gold beads!  Recently I discovered elegant "Pearls" paper and loved the pretty effect. The paper is heavy and simmers nicely.

Accessories: papers - Auburn Pearl, Once Upon A Time mat, gold picture frame mat, red, black, blue & white card stock; punches -  Martha Stewart picture corner punch, Friskars corner punch, Nestabilities scalloped die cuts; stamps - Stepin Up 1997 butterflies & flowers stamp set; embellishments - Cloud 9 quotes, ribbon, gold beads, brads,etc.

       Wendy is my SIL, and her birthday is just around the corner. She is the QUEEN of card making in my book (check out her site with the link)! This card used a new Martha Stewart matching corner & edge punch. I played around to see some of the special effects when this idea came together. The glitter paper in the center added a nice diminsion to the dark blue background, and the brads have a slight glitter as well.                                                                                                                                                                                     HAPPY BIRTHDAY WENDY 

Ink: Autumn Rainbow blue by Stampcraft

Paper: Christmas Cardstock matstack dark blue, Best Occasions Glitter Pack white, white cardstock

Accessories: White glitter brads, scallop edge & corner punch from Martha Stewart