die cuts | If The Glue Sticks…Embellish

Clean and Simple Stamping #257

Posted on September 9, 2013 by debbrooner

This card has a larger curved edge than the sketch but I liked the results anyway. I am going to try something new this time and give you a tutorial, complete with pictures, to show how I made this card with my Silhouette. Some of the pics aren’t the best but this is my first time for this so extend some grace my direction, okay?

Step 1: Draw a rectangle that is 5.5″ wide by 8.5 ” high. This will give you a standard 5.5″ x 4.25″ card. I colored this rectangle gray so it would be easier to tell what is what later on.

Step 2: bring in the desired doily and resize it so that it is slightly larger than the card. I made mine 5.55 x 5.55 inches. Place it on top of the card base, lining up the bottom of the doily with the bottom of the card. I have colored the doily so you can see it easier.

Step 3: I made another rectangle by starting it on the upper left-hand of the card base and dragged it halfway down the doily, then sending it backward one step so that it is between the doily and the card base.. This rectangle and the doily will be the 2 pieces that will be welded together. This new rectangle is peach colored.

Step 4: I no longer needed the card base so I removed it.

Step 5: I highlighted both the peach rectangle and the doily and hit the “weld” button and tada- a card with a fancy border!

I used the My Mind’s Eye “Memorable” 6×6 pad, Pumice Stone Distress ink, and the Hero Arts /Sizzix Stamp and Die Cut Butterflies set. The doily is #18185. I added some Distress Stickles and yellow embroidery thread to dress it up a bit more.

Thanks for giving this a peek!

Da Font is Da Bomb!

Posted on August 29, 2013 by debbrooner

I recently downloaded a font called Peony from the DaFont site. It is a free font and is really fun. Each letter is a different, seamless design.
Using my Silhouette, my Amy Chomas pen holder, and a black pen , I typed the letter B across the middle of the card front, which made the vine design. I then added washi tape and a stamped embossed panel. This card was fast and has a good amount of white space for those of you who want to keep things simple!

DaFont: Peony; Hero Arts: Art of the Card-Untitled Love

The ginko pattern is the letter M from DaFont as well. After drawing it with my silhouette I filled the image in with a black pen then added some machine stitching and thin black washi tape. The flower was made using patterned paper and the Sizzix Flower 6 die. I cut the sentiment out of white cardstock ,colored it with red pigment ink, and then embossed it.

Silhouette: Create Title #4094

What other fun fonts do you use? Let me know!

Deconstructed DS 112 and 113 Challenge

Posted on August 9, 2013 by debbrooner

You get 2 Deconstructed challenge cards this time because I didn’t get 112 done until after the deadline. I’ll start with 113.

I came up with a technique I hadn’t thought of before. I decided to place a row of pearls at the bottom of the card and I wanted them evenly spaced. Most of the time I just eyeball it but the more pearls there are to be placed, the more likely that they will go wonky. I laid my row of pearls (still on their backing) where I wanted them on the card and then placed a sticky note directly below them. I then made little tick marks to show where each pearl was to be placed and then put the pearls on the card. The sticky note ensured that not only were the pearls evenly spaced but that they were all the same height. Wish I had have thought of that a long time ago! Here is the picture with the sticky note in place:

All of the papers are from American Crafts “Color Crush” 6×6 pad.

I white embossed both the turquoise hexagon and the sentiment and then used an embossing folder to add dimension to the sentiment hexagon.

Sentiment: unknown; Hexagons: Hero Arts Hexagon Stamp and Cut ;Martha Stewart edge punch: Lattice Arch; Cutttlebug embossing folder: Swiss Dot

This is DS112. Love the colors of the striped paper! All of these papers were from the My MInd’s Eye 6×6 pad called “Memorable”. I really liked this pad because the papers are two-sided. There are lots more color options that way.

Sentiment: unknown; leaf die cut: Sizzix Little Leaf; Stickles

Kraft Cardstock Mania 4

Posted on April 2, 2013 by debbrooner

This is the last of my Kraft + color posts. Hope you have gotten some ideas to try for yourself.

This is hands-down my favorite of all of the cards. It is fairly flat so it could be sent through the mail without any problem. This was pretty much a Cuttlebug card- the honeycomb background, the sentiment, the poppies, and the embossed dots on the side of the card were all done with my mighty bug. I am not a big fan of a lot of the Tim Holtz stuff but the Papillon stamp set is awesome.

Cuttlebug: Honeycomb; With Love; Friends Forever

This one looks a little wonky because it is. If you tilt your head a little to the right…never mind, it doesn’t help.

I am choosing to leave this one in because of a technique that I have started using a lot. I have been gluing gold Momi , which is a medium weight , gold crumpled paper. It looks like this:

When it is glued to a piece of cardstock and then run through an embossing folder it looks like it has actually become part of the cardstock. It almost looks like the cardstock is gilded.

Inkadinkadoo: Illuminata; Cuttlebug: Paper Lace 2

Now for two completely random pictures-

I love the way this store used chevrons. There is a card idea ready to pop out.

Okay, this is weird, I must admit. Does anyone know what this is? Is there anyone else out there who photographs their trash? This reminds me of a Jeffrey Dever polymer clay piece.

My next series will be dealing with small wall quilts so it won’t be paper related. However the ideas could certainly be used for paper arts. Stay tuned.

Kraft Cardstock Mania 3

Posted on March 13, 2013 by debbrooner

This red card uses the negative space left after cutting out the flower shape. It always looks like this type of design is really hard and took a lot of fussy cutting or gluing, but the fact is it couldn’t be easier. Cut the flower design out of Kraft cardstock, back with your favorite designer paper (or in this case marbled paper), add other embellishments and the card is done. Adding dimensional adhesive to the flower panel gave some extra interest to the card.

Silhouette: Flower Rectangle #33935; Cuttlebug: With Gratitude

Do any of you have a basket full of die cuts or stamped pieces that never quite make it to the front of a card? Well I do, and this card is the result of determination on my part to use several pieces in my basket. The paisley square, the background lace, and the sentiment were all lost pieces looking for a home. I colored the lace with Distress Ink and then layered it over a gold metallic paper so that it pulled the background and the paisley square together. The glittery sentiment matched the green PearlEx paint on the square- yay! I had had the purple ribbon for a very long time and hadn’t used it because the color never seemed to match anythingI was working on. It was really a serendipitous thing that it was exactly the right color as well.

One more week of Kraft Mania left. I would love to see what you have been doing with your Kraft cardstock!

Stampendous: Paisley Texture Cube; Silhouette: Floral Lace Background #3924; Cuttlebug: Friends Forever

Easter Cards

Posted on April 5, 2012 by debbrooner

I love little cards! For Valentines day I made 3×3 inch cards (40 of them) and gave them away.You can see all of them here What fun!

The size is big enough for me to do pretty much whatever I feel like doing yet small enough to finish quickly. The amount of cardstock is also minimal and I can hand them out without envelopes if I feel like it.

I decided to stick with one design for the cards that I made for the ladies I play bells with. With my trust Silhouette I was able to cut out lots of teeny tiny flowers, greenery and baskets. I used one of the new teeny tiny cards files to make the cards. Since the cards were very dimensional I decided to put them in envelopes. I had 12 envelopes cut out and ready to fill in a very short period of time! Here’s what the cards ended up looking like. Cute, huh?

teeny_tiny_card_kit_-_25_x_4_bracket_C00054_96084; decorative_ easter_egg_C01413_20387; flower_basket_C00778_31857; flower_set_C01289_20508; leaves_C20090902002518_18816; star_leaves_C00497_20387; leaf_spray_C01298_20387; cute_grasses_2_Coo237_41853; nature_set_C00970_20387

This next card is small too. It is 4″x2 1/2″ and is another of the tiny cards files from the Silhouette store. I embossed the card front with a Cuttlebug folder.

I used a woodgrain cardstock for the cross but found that the lily spray included in the file was just too small to cut nicely so I used a die from Memory Box and cut it into pieces for the spray. This is the Floral Square:My only problem with using this die cut was that I had to cut it into pieces, resulting in a lot of waste, so I didn’t make more than 1 of these. Maybe next year I’ll make more.

teeny_tiny_card_kit_-_25_x_4_rounded_C00055_96034; cross_with_lilies_C01045_20508; Cuttlebug Textile embossing folder; Memory Box die Floral Square

I love this holiday! Because of Jesus’ death on a cross for our sins and His resurrection the grave has been defeated. We can know for sure where we will spend eternity. Take some time between now and Sunday to crack open your Bible, read through one or all of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John) and ponder the gift that has been given for you.

It is fitting that I will go to the funeral of a brother in Christ on Monday and celebrate the fact that he is with Jesus. We will grieve with family, but we will also celebrate. It’s an amazing thing, this eternal life with Christ.

25 Christmas Cards Part 6

Posted on December 19, 2011 by debbrooner

Okay, this is frustrating- I finished the blog for the last 3 cards, hit the “save” button and….nothing appeared on the page. Hopefully things will work out better today and I can finish up this series.

This would be a quick card to make if you had a lot to do. The card front was run through an embossing folder and lightly swiped with Versmark ink then dusted with green PearlEx. The deer was embossed and the sentiment was stamped with Versamark and green PearlEx was brushed on. I used an edge punch to make the ribbon and added a piece of hendmade paper behind (next time I would probably lay a thin strip of the handmade paper on top of the ribbon, not under it). That’s it! The background could be stamped, as could the deer, if you don’t have any way to use the embossing folders.

Sizzix Triad Leaves, Sizzix Reindeer #2, Martha Stewart Arch Lattice, Hero Arts Holiday Sayings

This is the first card I made. It is a Silhouette card and I didn’t do a whole lot to it. I did emboss the front, use pearls instead of cutting out berries and green pearls insted of brads.

christmas_card_C001244_20509, Sizzix Triad Leaves

I used American Crafts Pearl paper in white to make the trees. The paper shifts from white to gold when it is moved. Love it! The trees are Silhouette die cuts and the background is handmade paper with a small gold floral print. I cut another piece of the paper, turned to to the back side and used it as a floor for the trees . It never hurts to look at the backside of handmade paper- often it is usable as well.

Well, that ‘s it. I hope you enjoyed these cards and that some of them were springboards for your own creations. Write me a comment and send me pics of the cards yiou made.

25 Christmas Cards Part 5

Posted on December 14, 2011 by debbrooner

I had cut out the green background quite a while back, not even thinking about using it as a Christmas embellishment, but I needed something to use as a backdrop for my stocking and it seemed to work. Again, I used the offset function to cut out a red mat . Easy peasy. I thought the stocking turned out super cute, and the Silhouette cut through my glitter paper like butter.

irregular_squares_mesh_background_C00378_21585, 4_christmas_icons_C01274_20509, Sizzix Dotted Flower Rings, Hampton Arts A Very Merry

I would NOT recommend this next card if you are doing a whole bunch- unless you plan to start making them in January! The cutting out? Very quick. The gluing to the card? Not so much! After I got all of the pieces on the card I decided it needed something more so I ran it through my Cuttlebug using the triad leaves folder. I don’t remember what font I used for the Joy banner but it is great to be able to use any TrueType font with the Silhouette. Because the berries were so small I used Stickles instead of red cardstock.

whimsical_tree_C20091012182328_20508, Sizzix Triad Leaves

I don’t usually do square cards because I don’t like either the extra postage due if the card is mailed in a square enelope, or the half-filled envelope that you get from mailing a square card in a regular rectangular envelope. However, this card needed the square format to work, so half-filled envelope here it comes. I added a some Stickles Icicle glitter to the doily that I cut out and embossed the Noel with a swiss dots folder. This was a very fast card to do.

If you don’t have a Silhouette you could use a purchased paper doily and stamp the Noel on a piece of cardstock.

noel_title_C00539_20387, doily_lace_decoration_C00600_20387, Cuttlebug Swiss Dot, A Lost Art background script

I used the same resist technique that I did for one of the Tiny Bundle cards, but the background stamp I used this time was an alphabet collage. This too was a very quick card. The silk ribbon I used was some that I had purchased quite a while ago. It was so pretty I was hesitant to use it, but use it I did, to good effect.

Ali Edwards Good Cheer, Tim Holtz Seasonal REflections, Unknown Alphabet Collage

What can I say? This card is busy ! There’s the embossing (2 different folders), 2 different patterned papers, 3 colors of cardstock, and 3 different die cuts. MOJO Monday would probably be proud of me, but I must admit it gave me a bit of a tic to look at it after it was finished. I did like the bird on the branch embossed piece , though. The sentiment was stamped with Versamark ionk and dusted with Spring Green PearlEx.

3_borders_C00678_20509, artisan_label_set_C00178_41853, Sizzix Bird on Branch #2, Cuttlebug Paper Lace #2, Hero arts Holiday Sayings

Not quite enough room for the last 3 cards, so see you tomorrow.

25 Christmas Cards Part 4

Posted on December 13, 2011 by debbrooner

Miscellaneous cards

I wanted to do a card that wasn’t my usual 5″ x 4.5 “, so I made one that fits a standard business size envelope. Everything on this card makes me happy, from the dotted border to the “joy” embellishment. I used Versamark ink for the bottom dotted border and white pigment ink for the music .The holly corners are from my Silhouette, as is the “joy to the world” embellishment. This same embellishment could be made by stamping a sentiment and then cutting around it leaving a border. Layer the piece on to some colored cardstock and trim again.

holly_corner_C20090907225746_18816, joy_C20091008175557_19210, Hampton Arts music border, Hero Arts Tiny Jubilee Dots

I used the same dots stamp and Versamark on this card. Kraft card lends itself to Versamark ink very well.

I decided to cut a hole in the card front and then affix the ” Merry Christmas” stamped image on the inside of the card. Since I used dimensional dots to secure it the image stands out even when the card is closed.

I purposely made the pink frame and pearls very subtle. The beauty of kraft cardstock is that it can be brightened up (like the card above) or left neutral. Either way works.

square_nested_C01065_18816, Hero Arts Tiny Jubilee Dots, Printworks Holly andBerries, Magenta Merry Christmas

The next 2 cards contain the phrase “Wise Men Still Seek Him”. Cutting these words out is so quick and easy.

For the background on this card I stamped a poinsettia pattern with Versamark ink and then embossed with clear powder. I cut the panel into to pieces, trimmed each one a bit, and then applied them to the card. I used a Versamark pen to make the dots on the letters. I love the rich red rhinestones that go so well with the background.

wise_men_still_seek_him_C00762_19547, holly_C00780_19547, Penny Black Poionsettia Script

Placement of the words is made even easier by having a mat underneath. I placed the phrase on the desktop and then hit the offset button. I played with the settings until I got to the place whereI had a mat that had the words touching but there was still some open space. I used the same cardstock for both the phrase and the mat and then I ran the mat , right side down, through my Xyron and sprinkled glitter on the sticky side.

wisae_men_still_seek_him_C00762_19547, A Lost Art background script, Bella Bohemia corner flourish

I wanted to do a card using a nativity scene die cut but the ones I bought last year just wasn’t working for me. I got very frustrated. But this year there was a new nativity scene and it worked beautifully. It fit just right on a 61/4″ by 4 4/8″ card. I got the idea for the background from a video made by Paper Try Ink.

1_pc_nativity_C00539_31857, Bella Bohemia corner flourish, Inkadinkadoo O’ Come phrase

This is one of my favorites. I had embosseed a white piece of cardstock with the Dotted Flower Rings folder but hadn’t used it. One day, out of boredom, I took a Sakura Stardust Gelly Roll pen and colored in all of the flower centers. The result was a great subtle shimmer that would worked well for a white and gold card. The wreath was cut out of a piece of AC Specialty Pearl paper. The paper shifts between white and gold as it is moved around. The bow, berries, and the phrase were all cut out of a gold specialty cardstock. Love the way the phrase is cut out so cleanly!

bow_christmas_wreath_C01349_20508, joy_to_world_C200912022115604_18816, Sizzix Dotted Flower Ring

See you tomorrow!

25 Christmas Cards Part 3

Posted on December 9, 2011 by debbrooner

Precious Gift Stamped Image

I found this stamp at Michaels recently and really liked the way it dealt with the best gift ever in a slightly different way. What a Christmas gift we all have been given!

I have always intended to try an easel card but somehow was scared by the prospect of finding enough images that would work together. Not that big of a deal, I found out. Love the cheery Christmas colors. Since it doesnt work very well to put dimensional pieces on the flat part of the card (the “noel” part) I cut out the holly and then filled the berry holes with red Stickles. Looks like they are above the surface, but they aren’t. The directions for an easel card can be found at the Splitcoast Stampers site. Look under “resources”.

holly_C00780_19547,basic_folding_easel_card_C01456_17986, Inkadinkadoo Winter Trails, Recollections Noel, Stampendous Precious Gift

This card is not my favorite, but in order to get to 25 cards it has to be counted! I sized the scroll label to fit my stamp and added Stickles Icicle glitter to all of the scrolls. For the background I used Versamark and then brushed red and green PearlEx on the image. A quick swipe with a Swiffer dusting cloth and the excess powder was gone. Swiffers are the best for cleaning up glitter as well.

I used the “kissiing technique” for the background of this card. Check out Jennifer McGuire’s blog to get more info. I started with white glossy card and Distress Inks by Ranger. I first inked up a damask background stamp using Peeled Paint ink. I then used Pine Bough ink on a Tim Holtz Reflections stamp and stamped it onto the damask stamp (notice- nothing stamped on paper yet). THEN I stamped the damask stamp on the glossy card. Since the reflections stamps have the words backwards the final result is a stamped image with the words the right direction. Fancy that.

lace_border_0856, Stampendous Precious Gift, Hero Arts Classic Fabric Design, Tim Holtz Seasonal Reflections

The embossing folder I used for this card is a Sizzix one called Triad Leaves. You will see it again several more times. The border is so easy with the Silhouette. I just cut out the green top layer and then ungrouped the image, got rid of the dots and teardrop shapes, and cut out a white piece that fit perfectly behind the green one. I have to admit that originally I started with a border that I had punched out with a Martha Stewart punch. I wanted the border to have white behind it so I glued the green piece to some white paper and pondered the prospect of doing some really fiddly cutting. Fortunately about that time a voice boomed out, “drop those scissors, dummy, use your Silhouette”. Duh.

6_labels_C01078_20509, scalloped_flower_border_C20090810003018_19210, Stampendous Precious Gift, Sizzix Triad Leaves

Next up: “wise men” and kraft cards.

25 Christmas Cards Part 2

Posted on December 8, 2011 by debbrooner

Nontraditional Colors

The colors for this first card came from the Print and Cut wreath from Silhouette (the colors are off slightly, seems that this magenta color is a difficult one to get right). I printed out the wreath on white cardstock and then added Glossy Accents to the baubles for some extra dimension.

This card could be made without having the a Silhouette. Pick out several fun colors of cardstock and go crazy punching out leaves or branches. Shape into a wreath, add circle punch-outs, layer on coordinating papers, and your card is finished.

I really like the Sizzix Dotted Flower Rings I used for the background , so prepare to see it several other places. Kinda reminds me of the texture of a sea creature.

mod_wreath_pnc_C00574_31857, Sizzix Dotted Flower Rings, Recollections Noel

The die cuts for this card were done with my Silhouette, but it could just as easily be done with snowflake stamps, white ink and white embossing powder. Stamp and emboss the snowflakes on dark cardstock, layer onto a white piece of cardstock,and cut the edges with a stamp-edged scissors. Tie a ribbon around the piece and mount it on a light color card . Add a snowflake embellishment and some pink brads.

snowflake_stamp_C00760_23067, Fiskars Winter Wonderland

Here is another snowflake card, this time in browns, pinks and mint green to match the paper I used. I used a (nontraditional) ledger background stamp and colored the snowflake shaped rhinestone in the middle of the embellishment with a brown Sharpie. I ran the green snowflake through my Xyron machine and added glitter to the sticky side. A much easier way to apply glitter!

4_snowflakes_C00810, classic_snowflake_set_C01124_20387, scalloped_border_set_C00318_31857,Inkadinkadoo Joy Peace Love Mini, Hero Arts Luscious Ledger

I really liked this brown Print and Cut wreath- I think because of all the funky colors. I don’t think of brown as being a christmas color but it worked for me here.

wreath_with_ornaments_pnc_C00557_31857, border_strip_layered_C00253_20509 , Inkadinkadoo Christmas Sayings

That’s all for today. Next time I will show you the cards I made using a new stamp I purchased at Michael’s recently.

Krafty Cards

Posted on August 20, 2011 by debbrooner

I like working with kraft cardstock. It lends itself well to use with colored pencils and can be combined with almost any other kind of paper. The card above uses so many of my favorite techiques- die cuts, embossing, colored pencils, stamping, fibers, Versamark ink with gold PearlEx powder dusted on,and even a rhinestone. Whew!

The closeup shows the colored pencil and the french knots done with metallic thread. Loooove metallic anything.

For this card I used the same rubber stamp but a different colorway. I love the combination of pebble cardstock, handmade paper and kraft cardstock.

Green glitter paper and pink corrugated cardboard both work well with the kraft cardstock on this card. I used a white gel pen as well. More fiber and rhinestones finished the card.

I bought a sheet of this cork-covered paper ages ago but hadn’t gotten around to using it. After I colored the hearts and cut them out I was looking for the right backing paper. The cork paper fit the bill.

I made the flower vase 3D by coloring and cutting out an extra vase then placed it on the panel with a dimensional stickie foam.

The magenta striped hand-made paper and the turquoise embossed card pulled colors from the floral panel.

Simple but effective.

So there you have it! Grabsome kraft card and some colored pencils and get going.

Sweet Baby Card and Other Assorted Cards

Posted on July 21, 2011 by debbrooner

I love, love, love these little boy clothes! The motifs include a onsie, overalls with matching shirt, and socks. There is also a set of motifs for girls. These clothes are tiny, about an inch, yet very crisply cut. I got a little (okay, maybe a lot) carried away so I have plenty of clothes for any new baby boy who arrives to grace this world.

I’m already thinking about making an outfit large enough to fit the front of a card. Should be fun!

baby_boy_motifs_C00257_31857

Generally I’m not a fan of steampunk but I found this paper at Archivers and picked it up more for the colors than anything. Both of the papers I picked are double-sided. One page has several large motifs like the woman with the metal leg and an all-over rust print on the back. The other page has a large steampunk figure on one side and buterflies on the other side.

Looking through my selection of borders I came across this one which I think works well with the theme. I scaled it down to fit the width of the card. I just opened the scale window, selected the “Lock Aspect Ration” button, and then typed in my measurement for the width of the border. The height was then automatically added. Love that feature.

border_circle_C00845_179865

I have to admit that I had this card for quite a while before I figured out how to embellish it. I found the label that I thought would work- not too busy, not too plain, but it was also fairly large. The sentiment had to be large gtoo so I was pleased to find this stamp from Stampabilities. What a great verse!

grandmas_lace_tablecloth_ C00520_19547; nesting_artisan_oval_set_2_Coo431_19210

The next 3 cards were made using a K&co paper with white embossing on it. These cards were quickies.

kaleidoscope_C02815_1

This card was made with the newest Clean and Simple Stamping sketch (FTL149).

elegant_border_C00105_27282

Silhouette makes great inchie envelopes!

Posted on July 11, 2011 by debbrooner

One of the June swaps I participated in was” inchie envelopes”. There was a template available for one, but I wanted to see if I could come up with something more interesting. Enter my Silhouette! For several of the envies I just took square envelopes and resized them to 1.25″. Super duper easy! The turquoise and red one is actually a CD holder. The pink and brown one with the flower flap and the purple one with 4 scalloped sides and belly band were ones I made myself. They were easy to make as well and add a little sizzle. Here is a picture of the back sides of the envies.

Fun little birds and flower cut-outs embelished the envies.

The only thing better than getting an inchie is getting one in an envelope!curved_envelope_with_liner_C00069_41853; envelope_1529;pocket_envelope_C02775_1; card_cd_2119

Here are the twinchies I swapped this month.

The bird is a Print and Cut and I made the french “bird” label using the 2 piece frame and some text.

vintage_bird_set_print_cut_C00112_41853; 2_piece_frame_C00568_20509

Heart, lace border, and tiny tag are die cuts as well.

Heart 1028; elegant_posts_border_C00437_19547; tags_essentials_C00034_27205

Have a geat Monday

More Cards Using My Silhouette Part 2

Posted on July 1, 2011 by debbrooner

I love double-sided cardstock (especially K&Co) . I used green cardstock to make the card and leaf and then used both sides of the decorative card for the inside and front as well as the flower.

double_pinking_scallop_card_C00707_19547, leaves_set_C00257_21585, Tim Holtz Tattered Florals Die

My favorite new toy at the moment is the McGill flower shaping set which I used for the flowers above. Each stylus in the set has two different sizes of tips so you always have the right size for your project. Shaping flowers is easy: you just lay your flower on a mouse pad and press with the stylus, making small circles until the paper cups up . I believe there are videos on You Tube that show the process.

Flowers aren’t the only embellishments on which you can use the shapers. I used a stylus to give some depth to the flourish on this berry colored card. I glued decorative paper to the front and inside of the card and stamped the sentiment (Hero Arts) on an artisan tag. For the large label I used the artisan shape with chrysanthemum and deleted everything but the outside edge and then embossed it with the “textile” CB folder.

card_scallop_rays_C00466_19547; echo_park_flourish_C00149_48353; artisan_shape_with_chrysanthemum_C01083_19210; artisan_label_set_C00106_41853

And finally, a super easy,quick, and cheery card.

butterfly_cutout_card_C00673_21585

More cards using my Silhouette

Posted on June 17, 2011 by debbrooner

I had a great time this week playing with cards and embellishments using my Silhouette.

I had not been all that excited about the Print and Cut images until I saw this adorable mouse. He just screamed “baby card”! I cut a border in half for the lace and printed a sentiment. I stamped the background (Judikins) with Versamark ink and embossed the gray piece with my Swiss Dots cuttlebug folder. That folder gets used more than any other I have.

mouse_C00230_31857; 3_borders_C00363_20509

I had cut out and colored the floral silhouette for this card and attached it to the debossed side of a white piece of cardstock run through the “Victoria” CB folder, but then I got stuck. I played with it for a while but finally got frustrated and went on to other things. Several weeks later I was rereading Judy Kauffman’s book Creative Cards, Postcards, Envelopes and More and turned to the page she called “clothesline layout” , and there was my answer! Instead of trying to find a place inside my design to place my sentiment (Stampendous) I could “hang” it from the top. Yay! Judy’s book is a great reference to have. She has a chapter on foolproof compositions, easy techniques, using different types of materials, collaging… the list goes on and on.

framed_flower_silhouette_C00808_23067

This card is pretty plain but I like it that way. The card image comes with the card itself and the overlay (which I did in peach). The fun part about this card is the bits left over after cutting. I now have 16 purple and orange crosses just begging to be wrapped with fiber and used on another card. This is an easy card.

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More cards coming next week.

Hearts Are Many Colored Things

Posted on February 2, 2011 by debbrooner

You’d think that since red is my favorite color I would go crazy with it for Valentines day cards. I guess it is contrariness on my part-nobody is going to tell me what color to make my hearts!

So here is an overview of Valentine cards I have made over the years.

Red , gold and wire

Copper, purple and black

Pink and silver. Fusible web, cupboard lining, silver embossing powder.

Blue, green and purple. Watercolor.

Red, green and blue. Guilding.

Assorted browns. Copper leaf.

Pink and black.

Gold and black. Metal tubing.

Pink, brown and copper. Copper mesh.

Blue and yellow

Russet and gray. Russet PearlEx.

Purple and green. Alcohol inks on polymer clay.

Kraft and gray. Cork paper background.

Pink, gray and kraft.

And finally a red one!

Black and red. Die cut letters and texture plates

I missed a few colors…I wonder what an orange hearts would look like? Oh, the possibilities.

“Clearance”- I love it!

Posted on October 8, 2010 by debbrooner

The Silhouette store has had a sale going on for the last couple of weeks. There were several designs I liked, and the price was right- $.50!

I read the official Silhouette blog and was challenged to really use those designs, so I came up with several cards.

For the card at the top I used the diamond mesh and the the small scallop border. I double cut the mesh (I find this works best for most of the intricate designs) using white cardstock, then applied red and green distress inks.

The green background on the above card is called” stacked lines ” . I applied green distress ink, leaving a bonus background which I used on the nest card, trimmed it down a bit, and then used the holes like cross stitch paper (left hand side of the card). Quirky but fun.

Yes, this is the stenciled paper from the card I made above.

This last card sports the flower that was on sale. I love the Art Deco feel.

Try to make this week another one of those where you use an unloved stamp, stencil, or die cut in a new and usual way, then send me a picture!

Insider Trading

Posted on September 15, 2010 by debbrooner

I just finished going through Peggy Jon Ackley’s book “50 Nifty Collage Cards” and had an epiphany- decorate the inside (the guts) as well as the outside of the card! For all you out there who already do this I apologize, but for the rest of us this is a great new way to add more zing.

I went through my older cards and picked ones I thought could use some updating and would benefit from some inside sprucing up.

As you will see, I used rubber stamps, PearlEx, small flowers, punch-outs, and stickers to add some interest.

Fall Is In The Air

Posted on September 10, 2010 by debbrooner

I can’t believe that it is almost fall. I have very mixed feeling about this time of year. I love the cooler days and the color of the leaves. I don’t, however, like the fact that after fall is winter. Fall would be perfect if spring came after it.

While thumbing through the above book (it has some awesome ideas), I found a Shadow Forest Wallhanging. I thought that the design would make interesting ATC’s as well.

Here’s the tutorial for the 3-D ATC.

You’ll need:

4 sheets of cardstock in 4 different colors

Bare tree pattern (make your own or use a pattern such as the Silhnouette “bare tree” one)

Tiny leaf paper punch

Glue

From the darkest color of cardstock cut out an ATC- 2.5″ x 3.5″. Cut out 1 tree and one frame from the remaining 3 colors of card. The dimensions of the frames are 2.5 x 3.5 (outer dimensions) and 2″x3′(inner dimensions).

Because the tree cut out that I used was a bit too busy for this project I trimmed a lot of the tiny branches off. The dark gold tree has been trimmed and the light gold tree has not.

Next I glued the trees to their matching frames. Notice that each tree is placed in a different spot on its frame. This means that you will need to trim tree parts that go past the outside edge of the frame.

In order to make the card more dimensional I glued 2 pieces of card together, cut them into tiny squares, then glued the squares the corners of the back and middle frames . You can see them in the picture above on the darkest frame. You could use dimensional foam, but it would make the card too bulky to put into a sleeve .

All that is left to do is to glue layers together and add your punched leaves.

Here is another Autumn-themed card that I made for one of my Yahoo groups.

And finally, while this mini ATC’s theme is oriental, the colors remind me of fall as well, so I am including it.

Have a great week!