paper punches | If The Glue Sticks…Embellish

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

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.

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!