December 19th, 2011
Are you like me and sometimes sit frozen…staring at lovely patterned paper and fabulous stamps but do not have anything to jump start your creativity? How about trying out a simplified card sketch? Today I’ll show you four versions from a card sketch that I designed. All of the cards feature products from Jen’s Lost & Found Two Collection from My Mind’s Eye. This collection has so many beautiful designs that make card-making so easy!
So here’s the simple sketch:
This first card stays very true to the design, where the gray area is a patterned paper panel placed onto kraft cardstock. I skipped the sentiment because the Breeze Dream 6×6 paper already included what the card was meant to say to the recipient-You Are So Special. I inked the edges slightly to give the panel some dimension:
The following card features selective trimming of L&F2 Breeze Dream Stamping Paper, the white area within the design on the paper just called for a simple sentiment to be stamped. I carried the damask element into the card base through embossing. Did you notice how I shifted the gray panel to the middle of the card and the sentiment was moved up to the top as well?:
The next card features stamping on a one layer card (using a card base only). The images from the L&F2 Breeze Dream set are wonderful when creating your own patterned paper. Masking off the right part of the card, I stamped various images in coordinating colors on the left side then came back and stamped the filler scroll image in an ink only slightly darker than the card base to add dimension. The final element was to stitch a line to separate the sentiment from the stamping:
And finally, I used the banner stamp included in the set as a focal design element. I trimmed the panel, inked the edges and layered that onto the same card stock as the panel.
When you have amazing products such as the Lost & Found Two Collection and a simple card sketch, the possibilities are endless for making cards. Let the sketch serve as a starting point and really make the elements and designs from the product shine by throwing in your own twists! I hope that you will be able to use the sketch too for those last minute holiday cards that you’ve got to make!
November 14th, 2011
Karen from The Bald Dragonfly here, and I happen to think that nobody describes the iconic holiday image better than Clement Clarke Moore from his poem, The Night Before Christmas. The image portrayed in Lost & Found Christmas is the spitting image of what is written…”…He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf…” It became a great focal point to my hand crafted holiday gift tags and ornament holder. The beautiful textures and patterns from the Lost & Found: Christmas line offer a nice vintage vibe, while the red glittered accents add a touch of sophistication and glam.
To make the tag/ornament holder, I started with an upcycled package from my boys’ toys. After washing and cleaning the inside and out, I carefully measured the Santa paper and cut to fit inside the packaging. After rounding the corners, I simply added a bit of repositional adhesive in strategic locations to secure the image to the clear packaging. I repeated for the back side of the packaging as well with the same sheet of paper. Then I wrapped some jute twine around the outside of the packaging, having secured that with hot glue.
The tags were created from various designs from the Lost & Found: Christmas collection and scrapbooking/cardmaking tools such as corner rounders, label die cuts, twine and fasteners. I found a bit of red, glittery ribbon that had been recycled from my mother-in-laws holiday arrangement from last year that was a perfect match to the red glitter accents! I simply added a strip of the lighter patterned paper to the back of the tags as a place for the address of the gifts.
Once the person that I gift this to has used up all the tags, the decorated box remains as a perfect place to store precious and delicate ornaments. It’s is like two gifts in one! The possibilities are endless for tag-making with this line. Mix and match patterns and shapes to add variety to your tag line-up or let your tags become more vintage by including such things as lace and buttons.
October 31st, 2011
I have a few laying around the house, providing a stunning base for an ordinary household item such as a lamp, or a vase.
They are all intricate in design, various sizes and shapes, but I treasure them all the same.
They are doilies hand crocheted from my mother’s mother, a fine and talented woman.
The Gertie “Girly” Stamps from My Mind’s Eye Stella and Rose Collection reminded me so much of Grandma’s Heirlooms.
I searched the internet for inspiration and found many stunning displays of doilies that could easily be transformed in a card format.
(simply click on the inspiration image to be taken to the source sight)
Each card features the stamping technique, heat embossing.
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Let’s start with a bit of sparkle. Doilies, Diamonds and Pearls.
Perfect for a congratulatory wedding or engagement card.
In addition to the white embossed doilies, I added a fancy sentiment that was heat embossed in silver and a few small pearls as accents.
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Moving from the glitz and glam to the comfort of home. Doilies and Woodgrain.
Woodgrain dry embossed card stock provides a base for the many layers of heat embossed doilies, like they were scattered on top of a table.
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And finally, doilies bring an extra special touch to holiday decorating. Doilies. Snow. A touch of blue.
This card features the “resist” technique in addition to the plain heat embossing.
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There are so many opportunities for this one beautiful stamp set! I now have a good start to a card set to give as a Christmas or Birthday gift.
I’m thinking that my Grandmother might like these…
Thanks, and I’ll catch you later. ~ Karen, The Bald Dragonfly
February 9th, 2011
Okay I know its been more than a year that I’ve done one of these. But I now subscribe to so many awesome craft blogs, that It should be easy for me (ha!). With the new blog design (what do you think??) I’ve decided to be a little bit more pro-active about my blog. Its been like 15th priority in my life, but I really love updating it, I just never make time for it. So I’m going to steal 30 minutes here and there to keep it updated. An easy way to do this is to celebrate other craft bloggers!
So without further ado… I LOVE cards. I think they are the perfect simple and quick craft. I subscribe to this cute little blog called Note To Self (isn’t that the cutest name??). Lindsay’s cards are adorable but not over-done. She has a great knack for balancing designs and elements but still keeping it simple and sweet. I’m super inspired by her work, so I’ll share a few quick images with you. Check Note To Self out when you have a chance!
How can you do wrong with a big red bow???
And this one is made with MY Fine & Dandy line from MME. Love the flower!
I love anything made with Kraft paper. Add some black and butterflies and you’ve got awesomeness.
I love these Christmas trees. I wonder if she cut them by hand? I definitely see an SVG cut file in my future… good thing Christmas is still a long way off!
Thanks Lindsay for all your beautiful inspiration! I hope the rest of you feel inspired to make some cards, or at least do something crafty today!
If you have a craft blog and are interested in being featured on The Project Girl, please send me a link to your blog by clicking on the “contact” button at the top of the page.
March 27th, 2010
Hello! I paper-crafted yesterday! It has been quite awhile since I’ve done anything but sit with my laptop, but it was so much fun just to play around! On Wednesday, I got a HUGE box of paper and accessories from My Mind’s Eye.
So I quickly made this cute and very FAST card using the Quite Contrary line from MME that Zoe Pearn and I designed. I cut out the little imperfect scallop border by hand and then doodled a border around it to make it look a little more finished. Then I simply added a border sticker, some sticker letters and sticker buttons (with a little twine pulled through the holes). And I finished it off with a rhinestone border from MME’s Lush Line.
Also on the inside, since the b-side of the paper was too busy to write on, I pulled a journal card from Quite Contrary and wrote on that:
Actually playing around with this line made me realize how great it is for card making. Which I’m really excited about because that is probably my favorite thing to do with paper right now! There are tons of little journal cards and accessories and most of the prints are really small and work well for layering especially when dealing with small spaces like cards. When I find a little free time in a few weeks, I’m just going to sit down and make a huge collection of cards with all this paper!!
