Clear & Sheer Day 3

Hi everybody! I'm here with homework from Day 3 at Online Card Classes' Clear & Sheer class. I finished this card yesterday but immediately hesitated to post it. First, I wasn't sure a clear acrylic card would show up in the picture, and second, I wasn't sure I was finished with the card. I decided to go ahead and show you this, and if I redo it, I'll post the second one later.

Our focus on the card was using clear acrylic material for either tags or cards. I decided to try an acrylic card since I already had some. If it looks cloudy to you, there's a reason for that. I just realized I didn't take the film off the clear card before adding the images! Just now saw that on a different piece...of course, I see it after the card is finished & posted! DUH!

Using a Lawn Fawn stamp set called Loads of Fun, I glued some die cut images on the front of the card and then glued the rest of the arrangement on the inside. The sentiment is on the outside. I die cut the same images in white to attach to the other side of where it's originally glued so the adhesive wouldn't show through. That includes the little bubbles. They're so little it was kind of hard to get them to stick. I used Copics to color the images.

My question is, should I've put a piece of patterned paper on the inside of the card for use as a background? Would it look better? These images seem to be floating on the card. I'd love to know your thoughts.

Thank you for stopping by today. I appreciate your visits and comments very much, and I hope to see you again real soon ~ Day 4 is coming up tomorrow, if all goes well.

Clear & Sheer Day 2

Hi everyone! I'm here with homework from Day 2 of Online Card Classes Clear & Sheer. We're having lots of fun learning new ideas for vellum and acetate.

Following a video from Jennifer McGuire, I simply swiped various colors of ink on the back side of a piece of vellum. Before it dried, I wiped it off and let it dry. For the flower, I heat embossed in white an image from Clearly Besotted called Fresh Flowers. The sentiment (from a set by Hero Arts) was stamped on a strip of white cardstock and adhered to the bottom of the card. I also added a die cut piece from Allison's Ribbons die.

This card took some practice. It's kind of hard not to get ink everywhere. I kept getting it on my fingers while I was swiping it on the vellum, then I'd touch the vellum to line it up again. Ink would get everywhere. BUT...I really like how it turned out, so I kept trying until I got it done without ink spots on the vellum. Just a little warning in case you try this!

Thank you for stopping by today. I appreciate your comments and visits very much, and I hope to see you again real soon ~ Day 3's homework will be here sometime tomorrow probably. Take it easy and have a good day!

Clear & Sheer Day 1

Hello everybody! I'm so excited to show you my homework from the first day of Clear & Sheer Online Card Class!

Day 1 was about attaching vellum to our cards. There are various ways to do this, but I decided to follow an example given by Kristina Werner where she wrapped the piece of vellum around the sides of the layered piece.

In my card, I wrapped the vellum around the top layer of the card, not around the second (black layer), too. That's how I prefer to do it, but I have seen where it is wrapped around the top two layers and it looks okay.

Gina K's latest Stamp TV kit, Sending Love, was used most of this card. I stamped the flowers (incentive gift), leaves & butterflies in various colors on a white layer and then added the vellum piece with the heat-embossed sentiment on it. The patterned paper and the card base made of Lemon Drop cardstock were in the kit. I added a few embellishments from my own stock. Not sure I like them, but I'm "chewing" on that for a few days.

Thank you for stopping by today! I appreciate your visits and comments very much, and I hope to see you again real soon ~ Day 2 of Sheer & Clear is coming up soon!

Find A Song

Hello! Hope your week has begun with a boost of positive energy! Mondays can be tough, I know.

This is a card most of you have already seen in other places I've posted it. Since I'm starting a new Online Card Class called Clear & Sheer, I wanted to put this in the pre-class Gallery.

To create this card, I first heat embossed the birds, tree branch and sentiment in VersaFine Black ink. Then, after it cooled, I sponged on Mustard Seed, Orange Marmalade and Festive Berries Distress Inks by Tim Holtz. I spent a lot of time blending the inks so there isn't any clear line between the colors. That takes a lot of patience, but it's worth it. That was the #1 lesson I learned when sponging these inks together.

That was basically it! I just lined the layer with black cardstock, then put it on a yellow cardstock base called Lemon Drop by Gina K Designs. (I'd link this to her site, but it's currently not working.)

Thank you for stopping by today! I appreciate your comments and visits very much, and I hope to see you again soon ~

Hello

Hello! How are you'all doing this fine Friday? Can't believe another week has gone by. Time flies! Well, sometimes it does, at least.

Thank you for your encouraging comments after my surgery. My ankle continues to heal. I can stand on it longer with little pain; bruises and swelling have gone down, too. Yesterday I got the stitches out. I immediately came home and took a very long, hot shower. Oh, how that felt good! Two weeks of sponge baths is for the birds!

Now, on to the card. Stamps of Life sends me a Card Kit every month loaded with cardstock, patterned paper, stamps, dies and embellishments. April's kit included most of what you see on my card. The patterned paper was colored with Stamps of Life markers (new!), but I'm not very happy with my coloring job. I need the other marker set so I can blend more colors that go together. (Do we ever have enough?) Anyway, the sentiment and embellishments are from the kit, too. The gems in the flowers are from my stash.

This card is way out from my usual style, but it was fun to put together. Once I got started, I forgot about my ankle and just kept going. Healing at its best!

Thank you for stopping by today! I appreciate your comments and visits very much, and I hope to see you again real soon ~

Always Find A Song

Hello! How's your weekend coming along? I hope it's been nice and sunny, and you are able to get outside a little while. Our temperatures here in NC are beginning to climb from the 60s to the 70s, and the beautiful sun is shining.  YAY!

I'm still hopping around with a sore ankle, but the healing is progressing. I have seen the scar from the surgery, and it's not too bad. I'm going through the "itching stage" right now, which my Dad always said "means it's healing." I hope he's right!

Thank you so very much for your well wishes! It means a lot to have friends like you!

After lying around all week, I just HAD to get back to cardmaking! This card took no time to put together, yet it's pretty and meaningful. The stamp set is Birds & Blossoms 2, illustrated by Theresa Momber at Gina K Designs, and I colored the flowers with Copics. Sequins were added for some bling, as well as a touch of sparkle with Wink of Stella on the blooms.

I just love these Cherry Blossoms! It reminds me of when I got to see the real things in Washington, DC. several years ago. Good memories!

Thank you for stopping by today. I appreciate your comments and visits very much, and I hope to see you again real soon ~

FRIENDS

Hello! How has everyone been? I'm back with a card I created last week for my friend (and landlord). I include her rent check in a handmade card every month. Our "secret" is that I never sign it so she can give the card to someone else. 

For the front, I used patterned paper, cardstock and Blue Lagoon ink from Gina K Designs. The stamp set I used is called Banner Blessings from Stampin Up! For the inside, I used a sentiment and flower from Theresa Momber's Birds & Blossoms 2 at Gina K Designs.

This was a very quick, easy card to create. If you have these sets, or something like them, give it a try whenever you don't have the time to create a more complicated card. You know me, CAS Gal!

Update: My ankle surgery went very well. I was in surgery about a half hour and woke up with absolutely NO pain! The doctor tried something new -- Exparel, an injection of a local analgesic that numbs the tissue around the surgical site for THREE DAYS! WooHoo! I was happy! It was just like a nerve block but it lasted a whole lot longer. By the time it wore off, I had very little pain because enough time had passed to begin the healing. Now I have 6 weeks ahead of total rest. Hmmmm...

A big shout-out to my sister, Cecilia, for being so absolutely WONDERFUL! She took care of EVERYTHING, from vacuuming to grocery shopping to preparing meals. My freezer is now full of enough food to last me a month. She even painted my nails and sewed the holes in my favorite blanket! Can't beat that. I've got to thank her husband, Rich, for lending her to me for a few days. I love her so much, not just for what she does but who she is. I think she deserves an extra-special card as soon as I can stand long enough to create it!

Well, you'all have a good week! Thank you for stopping by. I appreciate your comments and visits very much, and I hope to see you again next time!

Love and Prayers

Hello again! I wanted to post this card quickly before mailing out. It will go to a special friend from church who is battling bone cancer. He's a very active member, always doing for others. Right now, however, he's suffering from the effects of chemotherapy and is having to rest at home. I hate to see this happen to such a good person!

The card uses the Love and Prayers stamp set from Gina K Designs and a background stamp of the Lord's Prayer by Inkadinkado. I thought this was appropriate for this friend of faith. The inside says, "With love and prayers."

The flowers and leaves were stamped on cut-outs of the images given to me by a stamping friend who has a Silhouette, and then popped up with adhesives. Stamping on these wasn't that easy, but I did my best to stamp right on top of the cut-out so it wouldn't be off-center.

I'm not sure how soon I'll be able to post again, although I have more cards to post. This Friday I will be having surgery to remove a plate and screws that were put in three years ago when I broke my ankle. That hardware can be painful, so I decided it was time to take it out now that the ankle has healed. Doctor said it would take 6 weeks to recover. Yikes! I'll go stir-crazy!

Thank you for stopping by again. I really appreciate your comments and visits. They keep me moving forward on this creative journey, so I hope to see you again real soon ~

Bold Blossoms

Hi everybody! How are you today? It's a little cold and windy here in NC, but not cold enough to bring out the heavy coats. I know some of you are dealing with SNOW right now. Hard to believe!

The card I'm sharing with you today is a very simple design. I'm not sure it looks "done" but I couldn't think of anything to add that wouldn't distract from the roses in the center. I left the inside blank until I decide who I'm going to send it to.

I used an embossing folder by Darice with red cardstock. Then I added flowers that were colored with Tim Holtz Distress Inks and die cut with the Bold Blossoms and Bold Blooms set by Julie Ebersole. I love those leaves that are so intricate!

If you have suggestions on what I could add to this card, please feel free to tell me. I'm okay with it the way it is, but I'd also like to bling it up some if it would look right.

Thank you for stopping by today. I appreciate your comments and visits very much, and I hope to see you again real soon -- there's more coming!