I'm back with Three Cards for you!

Hi everyone!

I've been very busy at work - and honestly just plain tired.   Summer is upon us once again.  The temps are rising and the sun is shining.  Time for swimming and the corn season will soon be here , then watermelon (mmm).  I do love summer.
My nephew just graduated from high school.. That's a big step for him. Now he's going to college in the fall (community college). He says he wants to be a aerospace engineer. he's smart so I believe him!  I cant wait to see how he does.  I know my college experiences were really a big adventure.

Now on the other important stuff...cards!!

My first card was more of a doodle than anything else.  I wanted to make windows and used a punch.  Its not my best work but I still like the way it turned out.

The white lacy stickers are called DAZZLES and can be found in great variety on the Hot off the Press website www.paperwishes.com.  I have to say that I'm addicted.  they have so many different kinds.  it's makes it very easy to add a sentiment.  You'll see in my last card I use one and I can shape it into a curve to fit my frame.  How nice!

You'll never guess where I get all my cute little embellishments...EBAY!  There are a number of companies that make these little plastic embellishments and sell them on EBAY.  They are usually not very expensive. The quality is good and what is most surprising is that they come from CHINA and I don't have to wait forever to get them.  They come China Post to USPS and I normally get my orders within 1-2 weeks max. 

My next card is called PINK. (Actually my last card was pink too! LOL)  I've been following a blog from Europe ad this lady does extraordinary work.  One of the things she does so well is cut the flowers from the patterned paper and lifts the petals to create 3D designs.  I had to try it for myself. Yes, I know this is not something new but old is new again sometimes.

 

 

 

I just got this new pad of paper from DCWV.  It's all pink with gold foil.  The pink and colors are matte (like some of the chalkboard papers are).  I really loved the powder pink color and couldn't resist buying it. in the card above the pink flower in the upper right is representative of the color and texture of the pink in this pad.)

 

You can see in the close up below I cut with an xacto some of the petals and curled them.  The card isn't half bad.  I finished the card with black Dazzles.

 

My third and last card for this post is my favorite.  I call it Grandmother.

This card also has some pink in it and purple/lavender.

The card is a bit bulky with the paper roses and stick pins but one extra stamp gets it to its destination.

I used a Dazzle sticker (Hot off the Press) and was able to mold it around the inner edge of the picture. It turned out nice.  I edged the picture in black and also distressed the edges.

 

 For the stick pins:  I found these marvelous plastic beads with a metallic and rough surface to them.  I got lots I a bag for a cheap price at Hobby lobby I  believe.  So I added some to the bottom and glued one on top of the last pearl of these triple pearl pins I have. (And yes, that's a black kitty hair -thank you Miss lovey!)

Notice the background of my card?  It's EMBOSSED RIBBON.  I took some 1.5 inch ribbon (I didn't use satin although you can use any ribbon to emboss.  The kind I used can be torn easily down the center), and ran it through with an embossing folder.(two purple and one gold for the center)

I didn't match up the pattern between the ribbon lengths although you can do that.  The result is a satiny, shiny background with a soft texture to it.  The embossed design holds really well.  (I use Xyron to glue my ribbons down when I amusing them to produce a mat).

I hope you enjoyed these three cards. I hope to post more regularly!  Thanks for sticking with me!


Lis

Sympathy Card

hi everyone!

I bought some of the Tim Holtz color vellum and wanted to use it in a card this weekend.  Oh! It is SO lovely!
I chose a pattern with two birds on it.

I have a small xyron (5 inch) so I was able to cut my vellum to A2 size and put it through the machine to cover the back with adhesive. I added this to a white card stock which I then trimmed to size and mounted onto a dark brown card base.  The white card really brought out the colors of the vellum, don't you think?  I'm going to try ivory next to see what I get. Stay tuned!

I added some plum netting ribbon and some blue satin ribbon (I wish I had embossed it. I think the plain ribbon is just a bit too strong).  I made a bow out of pink organza with white dots.

Now, for the pearls.  Do you see those three pearl pins at the bottom?  What a story I have about them!  First they are made by Oasis...and Oasis doesn't make them anymore.  I saw some pictures of these pins on ebay (of course) and thought they would be nice to have for decoration.  So, I ordered some white and lo and behold I was told not only did the seller not have any, the company didn't make them any more. Do you know how you can get caught up in finding an item?....

I went to amazon to see if I could find any. I found a seller who made them (China). And I sent an email asking for a box of this and  a box of that.  Never got a response. So I emailed again - and again no response. NOW I read the amazon ad a little more closely.  Apparently the minimum order is 200 boxes with delivery of 1,000,000 pins per month. ACKKK!!  I laugh now...

Onward and upward!  I finally found a seller who actually had some and ordered.  I continued looking and found some others that had some and got that too (Australia).  So now I have my pins and you'll see more of them.

I think Im in a pin phase.  I've started making some really nice pin decorations with pearls and misc stiff that I have in my stash. I'll be sharing that with you too! So, come back soon!

Thanks for stopping by!

Lis







 

Some Card Ideas

HI everyone!  I wanted to share these quick card ideas with you -


1.  Two embossing patterns

2.  Chevron pieces

3. Acrylic Jewel sheets

4. Using word stickers (I had them and don't usually use them much). These were from a winter/Christmas set.  I picked out the more general ones to use on this card.

thanks for stopping by!

Lis



Thinking of You...a three Layer Card

 

  

I got the idea for this card from a webisode called Simply Ann.  I liked the idea so much that I copied a couple of parts from it (the acetate and the window).  This card takes a little time to do but it's worth it.

I wanted to make a card for my sister who lives in New York State.  I wanted to do a travel theme because we live so far apart.

To start I decided on a 6 1/2 x 5 card base out of white cardstock. I measured some acetate and cut it with about 1/4 inch so that I could bend it back and attach to the back of my card later.  I love working with acetate.  There is so much that I can do with it like making shaker boxes, stamped designs for overlays, tinting it with alcohol inks.

I started work with my main card by covering it with paper from Graphic 45's Come Away with Me collection.  It fits perfectly with the travel theme.

I covered my card and then used the photo card die to cut the center out.  Then I glued this cut out to the inside of my card using the cut out as a guide.

I decorated each layer so that there was a surprise when you turned the page.

Layer One (the cover):

 

Layer Two:

Layer three:

 

 

Close Up!

 

Aren't these little icon people fun?

I love the flower and leaf dies! One die and several sizes of flowers and leaves! Grand!

 

I can think of so many uses for the light bulb!

 

 

One last thing I did was to take a plain white ribbon and use Distress Stain (Salty Ocean) on it.  I dyed the ribbon, dried it and it came out beautifully.

 

I hope you enjoyed my three layer card!  Thanks for stopping by! Lis

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Because I used a number of dies, I thought it would be convenient to provide the links in case you wanted to look them over.

•  Frantic Stamper Precision Dies
• Petite Leaves   FRA-Die-09194
• Petite Layering Flowers   FRA-Die-09192
• Light bulb set of two dies    FRA-Die-09188
• Iconic People (set of six dies)   FRA-Die-09187
• Adore - 3x4 Photo Card (set of four dies)   FRA-Die-09147

 

Handmade Beauty

Today's card uses a handmade piece of paper that was a gift from my older sister. I made two of the same card and sent one to her.  I love the large flowers and the overall mauve and blue colors outlined in gold.

I didn't want to add too much embellishments because I didn't want to cover up my handmade paper. So, I opted for a couple large paper flowers and some embossed ribbon I had lying around.

Below is a great picture of the embossed ribbon.  This is a metallic wrapping ribbon I bought.  It was nothing expensive or exotic.  In fact, this ribbon is over 15 years old!  Try embossing folders on your ribbons.  You will be surprised how well the ribbon takes embossing and how pretty the results are!  I am sure that you have a Christmas ribbons stash!

The two thin gold lines (one on either side of the ribbon) are actually washi tape.  It's new from Little B Decorative Tapes.  They are FOILED and quite beautiful.  If you buy the thin ones, you get two rolls. And that's a lot.  The one I used on my card is called Gold Grosgrain.

Have fun!
Lis
 

Time to Celebrate!

Today's card is a fun little card I made for a birthday coming up.  I have this ric rac ribbon that 've been wanting to use.  I decided to take it out and see what I could do with it. I've tried making bows with it but they've been ugly failures. SO - if anyone out there knows how to make a good bow out of thin ric rac, give me a holler!

I got this set of clock stamps for about $2 which is a BARGAIN!  The large clock is missing one of the numbers.  I didn't notice and I can always hide it with a pearl or something.  Hey, almost free stamps are great!

 

 

I decided to just crisscross the ric rac on my card.  I stamped a white background with green clocks and added the calendar with the date accented with a pearl. Yes I did curl one of the corners of the calendar.

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Lis

 

 

 

 

 

Pink and White Punched Hearts Card

Pretty Spring Valentine

by Lis Whiting

This month;s challenge is a shape challenge!  And the shape is a heart!  I love making cards so I decided to make some 3-d embellishments in the shape of hearts for my card.  The embellishments are very easy to make.  Choose any heart shaped punch.  Choose your paper and make four (4) punches with it.  This technique works best if the right and left sides are about the same (lop-sided or unbalanced punch-outs will work but it will take a little but more fussiness to put them together).  Take your four punches and put them one on top of the other in a pile.  Fold them in half. You can fold vertically (which is most popular for hearts) but you CAN fold them horizontally or even diagonally if you want to.  Experiment!  Remember that the thicker your paper the more you want to fold carefully.  The goal is to have all folded exactly the same. 

• Now take the first two punches. Put glue stick on the back side of ONLY HALF of the one punch and match it to the same back side of the second punch.  Glue together.   
• Take the glued piece in your left hand, and place glue stick on the back of the second punch. Take the third punch and match the back of this to the second one. Glue together.
• Do the same for the third and fourth punch.

You should now have four punches glued together with half the back of punch one and four without glue. Lay these flat where you want them on your card and fan out.  Add glue to the back and attache to card.

I also used a Frantic Stamper lattice die and die cut the edge or my card and laced some ribbons through it to finish.

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Products used:

• Frantic Stamper Dies
• Dazzling Diamond Border
• Martha Stewart Punch Enchanted
• Anna Griffin Papers

Three Gems Card

Hi everyone!  The card  today is one I made on the fly.  I wanted to use some of my handmade papers so I got one out. Unfortunately it wasn't wide enough.  So I designed the card to fit the paper.  The card actually opens where the fringed ribbon starts.

The card is fairly simple with strips of different items making up the design: (from left to right)

• pink suede paper
• punched design ivory pearl paper
• fringed ribbon

Close Up!

Here is a close up of the three gem embellishments that I added (misc from Michaels).

 Here's a better (aka clearer) picture of the card and the borders I made for the main focal point.  The card base is made from my new favorite cardstock...Canyon Brown Classic Linen by Neenah (the Paper Mill).  Love it!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Lis

Medieval

I have this cling stamp of old medieval playing cards. I've been working on a card with it for some time now (sometimes my muse takes a vacation!)

Close Up!

I love adding leaf ribbon to my card.  It's one of my favorite ribbons. (gold and silver!! And white - to color with!!) 
Click HERE if you only want to see the Leaf Trim. 

Click HERE if you want to see the full range of ribbon that Frantic stamper carries from May Arts (If you are a ribbon person, you probably need a friend to help tear you away from the computer...)

I added a few pink paper flowers to my vine for additional detail. And I added washi tape around th edges (the beige music pattern).

I added a brass heart charm.

I stamped and embossed in gold and then colored some of the images with Distress Markers.

I hope you enjoyed my card - stop by again!
Lis

23 Degrees West - An Embossed Ribbon Card

(How I love steampunk) I used the same embossing folder for my card as for the purple ribbon at the bottom of my card.

Close Up!

You can get a good look at the embossed pattern on the purple ribbon.

  (I used Vintaj Patina paints on my brass charms - from Ranger)

Well, there you have it. My take on ribbon.  I've only just scratchecd the surface.  I hope that I've inspired you to try your own ribbon style!

Lis

Le Chat Elegant - an embossed ribbon card

Le Chat Elegant (the elegant cat)

The cat was punched out of black glitter cardstock.  The embossed ribbon just makes this card. (Please see yesterday's instructions for ribbon embossing technique).

Come back tomorrow to see another card project with embossed ribbon.

Thanks for stopping by,

Lis

Embossed Ribbons - a Technique for Ribbon Junkies

Cards with Embossed Ribbon

Yes, you read right, embossed ribbon.  First let me take you through the steps to this very easy way to "decorate" your ribbons.

1. Get an embossing folder.
2. Put your ribbon in the folder (remember the Tim Holtz trick of cutting the top middle out? You can do this and feed the ribbon through embossing lengths of it if you need more tha the length of the folder itself.)
3. You will need probably 2 pieces of cardstock as shims.
4. When you are turning your crank and sending your sandwich through your machine, turn the crank slowly and make sure to go through twice (I go up and back).
5. You will end up with some really pretty embossed ribbon.

I tried this with a thicker ribbon, organza, and a cheap (reallly cheap) thin (and cheap) ribbon I got (you guessed it) CHEAP.

Here are the amazing results.

I used a clock embossing folder here.  Its easy to see the difference between the unembossed left side and the middle ribbon. The right side - organza ribbon is also embossed with the same pattern. It was hard to get a good picture so that you could see the embossing.  It is there, I promise you. I really didnt think that the organza would work because its so thin. Im glad that I tried it!

 This is another pic of the organza far right not embossed and the organza 2nd from the right embossed.

Here is another pic of the embossed organza.  You can pick out details of the embossed clocks.

 This was a plastic ribbon.  The right one is embossed with swirls.

 This is the SO CHEAP ribbon (Its in the Guiness Book!).  The middle ribbon is the unembossed piece.  The ribbon turned out beautifully.

Drop by again tomorrow as I share the first of two cards with embossed ribbons.

Lis