flowers | If The Glue Sticks…Embellish

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!

Kraft Cardstock Mania 1

Posted on February 26, 2013 by debbrooner

There is just something wonderful about Kraft cardstock for me. It has just enough color to add interest to a project and is neutral enough to not detract from any other color I wish to add. So here I sit with a dozen sheets of Kraft cardstock and a sense of anticipation. For the next 3 weeks I will be showing you the cards I have made using this awesome media. I hope you like them and that they provide a springboard for your own creative process.

The first card using a Queen Anne’s Lace stamp is crisp enough to add interest without adding any color at all. I cut out the Hello with my Silhouette ( not sure what font I used- sorry) and used Tim Holtz’ distress ink for the ‘thinking of you’ sentiment. I am not very good at adding more than 1 sentiment to a card so this is my first attempt at doing so. Adding several pearls finished it up nicely.

Inkadinkadoo stamp “Meadow”; Hero Arts “Everyday Sayings”One of the things I promised myself that I would do was to go through my stash of die cuts and use a bunch of them up. I used Wild Honey Distress Ink to color the banner and some white flowers that I had cut long ago and used another Distress Ink for the “awesome”. In order to ground the flowers I used an embossing folder border along the bottom of the card. This card was not my most favorite but it was okay and again I used 2 sentiments. Whoot whoot!

Cuttlebug “Just My Type”; Silhouette “Spring Flowers 1” #8179; “spring Flowers 2” #8180; “Embrace Banner #37895; “Awesome” #37880;

Authentique Paper, 3 Sketches

Posted on April 13, 2012 by debbrooner

Since grey and yellow are so hot now I picked up this pad of cardstock. I found out, however, that the grey is more brown than black. I like it anyway!

I wanted to make 3 cards using 3 fferent weekly sketches. I enjoyed the challenge of each card as none of them were my usual style. They were good” stretchers”.

This first sketch is from Clean and Simple Stamping. I don’t usually try to make cards using circles but this one was very easy to do. I just drew a 4.25 x 5.5″ rectangle on my Silhouette workspace. I then drew a circle, sized it to fit my card and used the Offset button to make the second circle. After I had the size of the card figured out all I had to do for the flowers and the leaves was to pick the files I wanted and then size them to fit.

I have to apologize for the inferior stamping. The first stamping was not too good so I restamped it (easy to do with clear stamps), but it wasn’t much better. I could have stamped the sentiment on a different piece of paper to cover up the mess, but I thought that it would make the card too busy and it will go into my portfolio, so I left it as is.

leaf_spray_C01298_20387; 3d_flower_C01679_20509; 3d_flower_C01678_20509; 3d_cherry_blossom_C00798_31857

This sketch is from the Card Pattern Sketch. Again, I used my Silhouette to get the pieces the right size. Authentique has 2 punch-out pages to coördinate with their cardstock. I used the small argyle tag for the sentiment and added the pink ruler underneath it. I had cut out a pink and a brown flourish, not being sure which one I wanted to use. Neither one alone really made me happy but they looked very good layered. Yes the damask is sideways. This was my day for goofs.

flourish_C02801_1

The last sketch I used was this one from retro sketches. The flower was sketched with my Sil and a yellow pen (yes, the Silhouette also can draw). It was rather ironic because I had no intention of using a bird house on the card, but after layering the flower onto the card I decided it needed something else. There was a birdcage punch-out on the sheet, so I used it. So much for “I definitely won’t do…”

I added Glossy accents to the pink flowers on the top of the card and some really cute sparkly yellow dots to the pink band.

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This last part is for those who are new to card making. When you are using a paper pad that is 6×6 you will also need some coordinating solid color cardstock to use for the card bases and any other embellishments you might like to make. You don’t want to get home and find you can’t finish your card because you don’t have all the right stuff.

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.

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.

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.

mosaic_grid_cutout_card_C00670_21585

More cards coming next week.

Shaped ATC’s

Posted on March 15, 2011 by debbrooner

This swap was fun! All of the ATC’s had to be a shape other than a rectangle. I really like this wheelbarrow made with a my Silhouette and some flower punches. It is rather fragile but hopefully it (and the other shapes) will go through the mail well.

This one might be pushing the limits- a tad too short but I’ll send it anyway. After the fact I realized that I should have welded all the pieces together to get a solid piece for a backing . I did back the cloud part with another cardstock cloud so it should be okay. I’m mainly worried about those teeny tiny goose heads and tails!

Birds, bird, egg. I seem to be going backwards…

This house is a tiny version of an envelope card combo. The roof and the inside (orange part) of the house is one piece while the window/door block is the envelope. The door opens so there is a 3D aspect as well.

I like the raindrop on this one.

Now for the foods related ones.

Hope you enjoyed these. Be sure to go down and hit the ” Email Subscription” button so that you can keep up with my blog.

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.

Desert Beauty

Posted on June 24, 2010 by debbrooner

This will be a short post since I was in Tucson for several days attending a Handbell Festival and have been trying to catch up on things since then.

The first thing that struck me when I arrived in Tucson was the heat, of course, but then as I was driving to the hotel I kept seeing these vivid red-orange flowers that were a real contrast to the brown/olive background around them.

When I got to the hotel these flowers were growing right outside my balcony, so I got an opportunity to get a closer look. I was blown away by how much they looked like orchids- very lacy and delicate. They were truly stunning.

I have no idea what they are called but I am hoping someone out there will comment and let me know! I would hate to keep calling them “red-orange flowers” when I am sure they have a much lovelier name.

As I was out looking for a letterbox the next morning my first reaction to the scenery was that it was lacking in color so therefore not very interesting. But as I continued to walk I saw that while there wasn’t a whole lot of color there was a lot of texture. The variety of textures in the cacti alone was mind-boggling!

This card, a sketch from this week’s Clean And Simple Stamping Blog reminds me of my trip. I used a great handmade silk paper for the flower (one of the Tim Holtz Tattered Flowers with some alteration), and my butterfly antenna technique (adding small dots of paper to the ends of the stiffened embroidery floss) as well. My Tim Holtz embossing folder used with a sand colored cardstock seemed to make a fitting background and I used a sewing machine stitch that looked quite prickly. Even the red mottled cardstock I chose for the card itself added some texture.

I hope you enjoyed this tribute to Tucson, AZ!