Simple yet ornate
I feel like a kid with a new toy! I have been enjoying the card class so much that I lose track of time and have to rush to work but it has been worth it. I have learned so much in the past few weeks…new techniques, designs, and inspiration! This first one I realized that I will need to get myself a circle cutter as some point in time as it took a lot of trial and error finding the right round object to trace (this ended up being the top of a vase) in order to get the large circle shape that I then had to hand cut. The smaller circles that make up the flower petals I used a circle punch which made that step nice and easy. I love the look of the twine as a different accent instead of ribbon as well.
I played more with the simple flowers in this next one and even added a small area of color with the patterned paper on the inside that will show through the side design area of the card for a nice extra touch.
Reverse images were next up and I always wondered how to achieve this technique. I stamped the first image of the bird on the paper and then stamped it a second time on a piece of plastic. That way I was able to immediately turn the plastic over to put the reverse bird next to the original. It definitely took some practice and is still not perfect but with the hand-coloring of the birds it hides any small imperfections that may not have stamped quite as clearly in the reverse image. I will have to play with this technique some more and see what else I can come up with. Can you tell which was the original image?
Hope you enjoy the new cards. Have a great week!
Simple hearts
I am still having a blast participating in the clean and simple card class. Day 3 techniques were using monotone colors while adding layers behind shapes to add depth. Day 4 used a large text stamp in which letters were cut out to add texture to the words while keeping things dramatic yet simple. I’m trying to use stamps and supplies that I already have and since I don’t have a large text stamp I found a patterned paper of X’s and O’s that created a similar effect. With valentines day right around the corner I stayed with the hearts and love theme.
Hope you enjoy the new cards!
Clean & Simple
How has your new year started? Things are starting off well here. I’m participating in a card class that began this past monday called Clean & Simple Card Making. I’ve already been so wrapped up in it I’ve had to force myself to take breaks to eat! So many tips and techniques and fantastic inspiration already and I’m only a few days in! Day 1 went over a couple simple sketches which we then built on from there. I had received a Cuttlebug for Christmas (so excited to get a chance to use it!!) so I used that to create the background texture of this first card. The center square is out of the same color cardstock as the background but I ran the edges over a black stamp pad to give the edges a little color and help it pop off the background and attached the small hearts with glue dots so they would be raised accents.
The second card was based off another simple sketch in which I decided to create a bright and cheerful birthday card. I found a lightly textured cardstock for the background and then used the candles paper with ribbon accent. A simple Happy Birthday greeting with a few red rhinestones to match the ribbon to complete this card.
Day 2 dove into “Perfectly Flat” cards which I always thought was a huge challenge but love the simplicity and how it looks. I have a few larger rose stamps which I played with some different positioning off the card with a simple greeting. Now I can see why I would love to find a few larger simple stamps and how they can be used to create more of a letterpress feel to the card.
I haven’t decided which is my favorite of the roses cards because I like parts of each of them.
Enjoy the rest of your week!
Happy 2012!!
Can’t believe that another year has flown by! This past year had a lot of ups and downs… well many more downs then ups so the way I am looking at this year is there is only one way to go… UP! This year I’m going to start strong with my main goal in building my business. I need to take more initiative in making things happen and doing more with marketing myself. I’m looking forward to learning more and gaining more experience along the way. The journey is part of the experience and I’m ready to begin! Hope you all had a happy new year and are looking forward to many new experiences and good times throughout 2012!
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