Card making techniques

Today I thought I would share some different card making techniques that I have tried.

This is a card that I made a few years ago for my nieces's birthday. It uses a technique that can be found here called Iris Folding. Instead of using paper though, I decided to use ribbon for the dolphin. The rest of the embellishments are stickers.

This next card uses the technique of quilling - twisting and shaping thin strips of paper. I got the instructions for this card from a book at the library. Sorry I don't remember the title but I am sure you can find something at your local library or online. The technique is simple and fun.

The final technique I will share with you is pinpricking. This is one that I picked up as a kit. The design for the leaves is printed on the back of the card and you use a pin pricking tool to punch holes through the card. This leaves a lovely, raised design on the front. Cut a fancy edge, glue it to a card and you are done. This is one that you could use any embroidery design for.

Hopefully there is something here that you would like to have a go at. Believe me they are all easy and fun to do.

Talk again soon

Jeanette

A baby girl

I can't remember if I have mentioned that both of my brothers, and their partners, were expecting the second child this year. They were also both expecting girls. I thought I would share some baby cards that my daughter and I have made.

I had bought a package of card making supplies. There weren't any instructions in the box so we just created whatever took our fancy. Elizabeth made this one which had some brads holding the "It's a girl" note down and one shaped like a hand.

I mad this one, which is very basic, embellishing the hood of the carriage with a pearl heart and buttons on the wheels.

Here is another one I made. The booties are mounted on foam squares to add depth and I dry embossed some swirls in the bottom left corner.

One of my nieces was born in late July and the other is due later this month or early November. Here is a pic of baby Abigail. Isn't she a cutie.

Talk again soon

Jeanette

Birthday cards

My sister and I have always loved collecting the birthday cards that we have received over the years. When we were growing up we would keep them in a shoe box in a drawer under the bed. Now I have a few shoe boxes and they are in my bedside tables. It is interesting to look back at the style of cards from twenty, thirty or forty years ago. It is also nice to read what people have written inside, some of whom are no longer with us.

Since my children were born I have kept all of their cards too. They don't seem to value them as much as my sister and I did at their age but I still keep them. One day they may change their minds. The card above is one that I made in a class and gave to my daughter for her 15th birthday. She was going through an "oriental" phase at the time.

This card is called a waterfall card and I made it for my daughter's 16th birthday. Again it has and oriental feel with the background paper but the girls pictured are  flappers from the 1920's.

This made me think about going to the pictures recently with my daughter to see "The Great Gatsby". I remember studying the book in high school and seeing the 1974 version with Robert Redford. She studied it last year at school and we have come full circle. I disliked the book, the 1974 movie and the recent remake but I could appreciate its aesthetic beauty. My daughter loved the book and the movie.

 Getting back to the card, it is called a waterfall card because as you pull on the tab the panels flutter open with a waterfall effect.

As each panel peels back it reveals the next picture and a sticker stuck to the back of the previous panel. I planned it so that the last panel would reveal a heart.

Do you keep your birthday cards?

Talk again soon

Jeanette

An economical craft

There are a few things that I love about paper craft:

It is an economical craft;

It is quick to finish;

It is portable;

And, when I do it with a group, it is very social.

Whenever I want to learn a new technique I enrol in a class with Lyn and Rhonda at Golden City Sewing Centre. We usually create two cards in the session and get to see the latest products. Here are a couple that I have made there.

This card is quite simple: the front is covered in two papers, a stripe and a check. The join between the two is covered in ric rac. The Happy Birthday greeting is constructed separately and mounted on foam to ad depth. The watering can button is mounted on mesh and "crinkle" paper and the violet is a sticker.

The next is a tri-fold card. Start with a large piece of card, fold into three and cut the corners off the fold that will be on top. Decorate the top with paper, ribbon and sticker as desired.

Open out the top and decorate the inside as desired.You could write the greeting here but be aware that this paper is seen from the front when the card is closed.

Open out completely and decorate the middle section with paper, ribbon and sentiment. The right hand side has a pocket where you could put money, voucher or a ticket.

I will be giving this to my Mum for her birthday as she loves these colours and roses.

Talk again soon

Jeanette

A finish for Jonathan

When I was rummaging through my stash this week I found a Charles Craft baby bib and decided to make a little gift for my new nephew Jonathan.

I got the patterns for the alphabet and hearts here. I started stitching it on Friday at work during my lunch break and finished it yesterday. I put some red and white star print on the back to cover my stitching and gave it to him last night to welcome him home.

I also gave him this card which I made in a class a while ago. It is also in a bib shape so I thought that was appropriate. It is hard to see in this photo but there is white ric rac around the edge of the card and across the top of the "pocket".

And here is a picture of my son William holding his little cousin. He is so happy to have a new friend to play with in the future.

Well I better get back to my NPNT stitching, a birthday present for my other nephew, a birthday present for my ex-Mother-in-law, a year 10 graduation dress for my daughter, and Christmas presents for everyone......fa la la la la.

Talk again soon

Jeanette

Handcrafted Cards

I thought I would share some cards with you that I have created over the last few years. I made these four cards in some classes at a local craft store in 2006. At each session you make two cards. One that takes a bit of time and the other a little easier. Luckily I scanned them before I gave them away.

 This one is quite simple. The darker card has the corners punched with the floral design. It is then layered on the lighter card so that it shows through the punched shapes. The hydrangeas, writing and "ric rac" edging are just stickers and you may be able to see some dots in the middle of the flowers, these are also stickers.





 This one has machine embroidery thread wrapped around the two white shapes. They are then embellished with the silver stickers and mounted on the checkered paper which is mounted on a white card. The butterfly and flower are also just stickers and more silver stickers in the top right corner.

 This card had the floral paper glued to the left side, then a piece of pink vellum layered to the right of that. Some prairie points were made from vellum and glued to the right side and then the preprinted and embellished (with pearls) strip was glued over the top to cover any problem areas. A vellum label with a heart sticker and wording finishes it off.

This one does not show up well here. It is 3-dimensional, the white frame stands away from the card. The scene is glued to the card then the frame which has also been embossed a little. The frame is then embellished with the butterfly stickers and the potted plant cut out. A silver sticker again for the wording.

I will come back again tomorrow with some more of my cardmaking projects.

Talk again soon.