Mixed Media Cards

I love these! Could it be because I got to play with my stash of fabric and vintage buttons?

Layers include fabric, printed paper, tissue paper from an old pattern and cheese cloth. Cut small, medium and large flowers and circles (I used Sizzix dies – Flower Layers and Circles #2 – but cutting shapes free hand would work just as well.) then stack with the largest on the bottom and smallest on the top. Add a bit of cheese cloth at the bottom and between one of the layers. Sew a button in the center to hold the stack together and soak with spray starch. Pinch and scrunch to shape the flower, then let dry overnight.

Center a 2′ Glubers on the embossed background (Cuttlebug’s Textile folder). Add bits of ribbon, yarn, lace and beads around the edge of the Gluber. Then press the flower into the center.

Easy and fun!

‘My Special Valentine’ Heart Garland

Pinterest! Oh my, the ideas I discover over there. I fell in love with a Christmas garland made from cards. Knew I had to have one, but Christmas had passed and I couldn’t wait a whole year to make one and display it. So I climbed into the attic and got out the box holding all the cards I’ve received over the years. I pulled out the Valentine cards Old Rhody and I have exchanged for the past twenty-eight years and, using my Cuttlebug machine and Sizzix dies, created a pretty garland complete with loving sentiments.

Here’s a short tutorial of what I did:
Each heart hung on the garland consists of two hearts – a front and a back. The heart for the back side of the garland is cut from the inside of the card as a way of preserving the sentiment. If that portion of the card is only paper, cut another heart from card stock and glue the paper heart to it.

Lay the heart that will show on the front of the garland face down, run adhesive just beneath the notch in the heart, glueing the ribbon in place.

Now, glue on the back – the heart with the sentiment – so the ribbon is sandwiched between the two hearts.

This is a view of the back of the garland as I added hearts, working from the center of the ribbon out to either side.

Here is the back completed.

A couple of close up pictures of the front when completed and hung.

I truly love the fact that these beautiful cards from years past are no longer hidden away in a box in the attic, but are hanging on a garland for me to enjoy. Going through that box of cards brought to light lovely Easter cards and Mother’s Day cards, too. So, yes, there are more garlands in my future. But right now, I have a few Valentine cards left over. Perhaps I’ll make some strings of hearts to hang in the window. Heart strings. Ohhh… that sounds like the name of a blog….

D’vine Swirl and Flowers Card – Take 2

Last week I posted a card that flopped. I hated it but chose to post it anyway. I’ve used the same tools and made another card but changed the paper. I’m much happier with the results this time. Amazing how much the color and pattern on the paper can make or break a card. I used the BossKut 0692 Petite Flowers die and Cuttlebug’s D’vine Swirl embossing folder. The card is smaller than the one I made last week so I left the wording off the front.

Not Quite What I Envisioned…

We like to put our best work out there for the world to see, don’t we? Basking in the admiration of others is part of the fun of unveiling our latest idea or creation. I think the reason we enjoy this so much, is because of the many times, the unseen-hidden-from-view times, our work falls short of what we’ve envisioned. This happened to me today.

I needed to make a card to give and so after work I headed straight for my basement hideaway just the other side of the washer and dryer. I had an idea. I knew exactly which embossing folder and which die I would use to create my beautiful card. I wasn’t sure of the colors, I needed to riffle through my horde, but I was excited and couldn’t wait to start.

The card I made is perfectly acceptable. But it’s not what I had pictured in my mind when I raced to my craft table. If I hadn’t said anything, you’d never know the execution didn’t live up to my vision, so why am I telling you? Why have I posted it for all the world (well, a few of you in the world) to see? Because on this creative journey, I believe my bloopers and stumbles are just as important as the perfect execution of an idea. I learn from my mistakes. Whether it’s a rejection letter from an editor or unmatched corners in a quilt block, if I take the time to examine the feedback and study where I went wrong, I can improve my results the next time.

On the card below, I embossed the printed paper with die cut flowers already adhered using Cuttlebug’s D’vine Swirl (Divine Swirl) embossing folder. The flowers were cut using BossKut’s # 0692 Petite Flowers die. ‘Thinking of You’ is stamped on paper cut using Spellbinder’s Label Four die. Though I thought the swirly paper was just begging to be embossed with D’vine Swirls, I don’t like how it came out. I’ve included a close up so you can see the embossing. I think that’s what isn’t working for me. The embossing doesn’t show up. So I’m going to use these exact same tools and duplicate this card using a different color combination. I’ll post the results – good or bad.