Asian Influence Cards - Cat and Lily

Hello everyone and Happy Saturday!

You can find yuzen washi papers patterns of cats. One paw is up, and the cat usually symbolizes good luck. I must admit that I like the papers but I find it hard to work with larger patterns and prints.  Today's card has such a cat pattern on it.  Hope you like it!

The ribbon I used is from Mays Arts (I love their ribbons!)  It is orange but goes well with this card.  I think that a lot of the reds that are used in washi papers have a lot of orange in them.  This ribbon seems to go well though!

Close up!

I love brass charms!  This lily is about two inches tall so its larger than what I normally can afford.  But it's SO pretty!  I got this charm from a website called http://www.fancifuls.com/ .  They have a super collection of raw brass charms and the prices are really very good.

You  will also see (on the right side of this picture) that I punched a border pattern out of gold glossy and added that.

 
Hope you liked my card today~!  Stop again because I have more!

Lis

Asian Influence Cards - Asian Card with Pearl Spray

Hello everyone! Today I am excited to share with you a card with wonderful yuzen washi paper in red, black and gold.  The entire paper is covered in a glittery gold.  It's impossible to take a really good picture of this card and paper.  You don't really get to see how rich-looking and color-intense this paper really is.  I hope that what you do see will please you.

Asian Card with Pearl Spray:

The base card is white.  The yuzen washi paper is mounted on black card stock.  I used the Perfect Layers rulers in the smallest border size to create the mat for all three pieces.

This is a much better view of the card.  You can see how I attached the two strips on the left with mounting tape to add dimension.

 Close Up!


I attached the pearl strands between the two strips of mounted paper.  I turned over the top strip and added my mounting tape.  I took off the protective paper from the mounting strip exposing the sticky side.  I trimmed my pearl sprays.  One at a time, I added them to the sticky back of the mounting tape.  Then I attached the top strip to the larger strip.

The delicate ivory organza ribbon I used has a gold edge to it. It complements the gold in the paper nicely.

I hope that you enjoyed today's card.  Come back for more Asian Influence!

Lis

A Note about Supplies (and where I get mine)

We all like our supplies.  And when we find a really good source (or a really good material), we like to share with everyone!


YUZEN WASHI PAPERS:
The yuzen washi paper that I buy is from a company called Jun-Gifts.  This company is located in Japan.  They have a fairly extensive collection of washi papers to choose from.  The price for a PARENT sheet (which is how they sell their papers) is between $6-$8 usually.  This is very inexpensive for handmade (or even machined -but hand decorated) Japanese papers.  They are very good about shipping.  They have a minimum of three sheets of yuzen washi (or about $21 an order).

Note:  A PARENT sheet is a really big sheet of paper, usually 24 to 27 inches by 36 inches.

If you go to Jun-Gifts, they have a WHOLE LOT of stuff.  (Try not to get distracted.  Just keep repeating "I'm here for the paper..."I'm here for the paper...)


White Card stock for card bases:

I use Diamond White card stock that I get from Kelly Paper.  It is a bright white #80 (80 pound) card stock.  I actually buy a ream of it from a stamping and scrapbooking store in Fairfield California called Mainely Stampin' (the owners come from Maine).  They buy in bulk from Kelly Paper.

The black card stock I use is also from Kelly Paper. I buy from them directly. This is a beautiful linen paper. The color is called Epic Black and is probably the best black I've ever seen.  It's a very rich, deep and pure black card stock.  It is offered in text weight (you don't want this - its copier paper weight) and in "COVER" which is the cardstock weight that I get.

The brand (or company) that Kelly gets this black paper from is called NEENAH.  They have a line called "LINEN" and it comes in some beautiful shades including my favorite black, red, Baronial Ivory (this is the ivory I use for my base cards), white, a light blue and a green.  What makes this paper so great is the linen texture.  It has a really rich feel and weight to it, and makes my cards even better looking (at least that's what I think.)

Kelly Paper has stores around the country.  You can go in and buy a single sheet to try out most times.  They sell by the ream and by the sheet usually.


I hope that this has been useful to you.  If you have any questions about where I get some of my supplies (or if you would like to share where you get YOUR supplies, please leave a comment!!)

Take care, Lis

Asian Influence Cards: Lavender Mountain

Hello and welcome to a new week.  This week I will be sharing some beautiful cards with yuzen washi papers.  These handmade papers are breathtaking and beautiful.  Some of the pictures that you will see just won't do these papers justice.  But I hope that you will see some of the beauty of these papers and cards.

Today's card: Lavender Mountain

This first picture is with a flash.  It looked a little washed out but the pink colors in the paper seem to be truer.  You can also see the gold very well.

This photo I took without the flash. Some difference, yes?

You can get a good idea of the dimension of the card.

Close up!

I found this little chinese heart charm and thought it made a cute addition.

The pink organza ribbon has a glittery edge that complements the card.  The top three one inch squares make a nice border.

I hope you liked this sample of cards to come!  Stop on by again tomorrow for a truly fabulous card!

Lis