Faux vintage postage

My card-making mojo has been hard to find lately. I think about making cards, and I look forward to it. But when I actually sit down to make something, I just don’t feel like it. I know it will pass, but in the meantime my blog will probably be a little sparse. Today I’m going to share a couple of cards featuring faux vintage postage.

To make the postage stamp shapes, the accent images (stamp values, cancellation, etc.), and the stenciled border around the left card base I used the coordinating Postage Collage coloring stencil, stamp set, and dies from Waffle Flower. (These are A2 cards, but Waffle Flower has postage-themed products for a variety of card sizes.) And I discovered that the images in the Tim Holtz Tiny Things stamp set (Stampers Anonymous) were the perfect size to use on the stamps.

For the card bases, I stamped kraft card stock with splatters and then added either a sponged or stenciled border. On each card I stamped a birthday sentiment, arranged three of the faux postage stamps, and used a piece of doily and brown pearls for embellishment.

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April Christmas cards: modern merry

I’m not sure how April got away from me, but somehow I managed to miss making and posting my Christmas cards for the month. Oops! Over the weekend I sat down to make them, and without further ado, here they are:

This design is a little different from what I usually make, and to be honest, it’s not my favorite. I originally wanted to use white card bases with the white die-cut layer, but I had pre-cut black card bases on hand, so I used those instead. The result just wasn’t what I pictured in my head. But I still made 10 of them because I needed to get them done.

On to the details. These are mini slimline cards (3-1/2” x 6”), and the precut black card bases, which I splattered with gold watercolor, are from Taylored Expressions. I used the Mini Slim Half Dots Cutting Plate (Taylored Expressions) to create the white layers, and I glued one to each card base. I also used the cutting plate with a piece of red foil card stock to get the half-circle pieces for the ornaments.

I cut out the sentiment using the Merry die (Concord & 9th). For each card I cut out the word three times: twice out of white card stock and once out of red foil. I glued the die cuts together and then glued them to the card base. I glued two red foil half circles in one of the openings and added a gold bow at the top to make it look more like an ornament. I finished the cards with a few gold sequins.

That's April Christmas cards done. Whew! And I also made my May Christmas cards over the weekend, so those won't be late. ;-)

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Nature Walk collage-stamped cards

Recently I used the Nature Walk stamp set (Gina K Designs) to make four cards. I used collage-style stamping and a variety of ink pads in earthy colors to make my own piece of patterned card stock. I then cut that piece into four A2 panels and got to work on the cards.

For the first two cards I trimmed the panels just a bit, splattered them with copper watercolor, and matted them with copper card stock cut to an A2 size. I added natural trim or twine to each panel, along with a die-cut focal image (sentiment or butterfly), and then adhered the panels to A2 card bases. I finished each card with a few copper sequins.

For the second two cards, I trimmed the stamped panels a bit smaller, but I again added the copper splatter and matted the panels with copper card stock. I added a die-cut sentiment to each card and used a Tiny Attacher to add a snippet of natural trim or crochet trim at the top of each panel. I used cream-colored card bases and adhered a strip of coordinating card stock across each one. Using foam tape I attached each panel to a card base and finished them with copper sequins.

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Delicate Floral Frames

The cards I'm sharing tonight are ones I originally made to send to two of my cousins' daughters for their Confirmation. I don't have many religious stamps or dies, so instead I made two general cards using the Delicate Floral Frames stamp and die set (Simon Says Stamp). As it happens, I ended up not using these cards, so I'll just add them to my stash. 

I stamped the frame images and sentiments on watercolor paper using VersaFine Onyx Black ink. Since watercolor paper is textured, I used a stamp positioning tool so I could stamp multiple times and get a good image. Then I embossed them with clear embossing powder. I used Karin brush markers to watercolor the leaf and flower parts of the images and to add a touch of light gray for a shadow. When the paint was dry I cut out the images with the coordinating dies. (I did have a problem with a little bit of the embossing coming off after I die cut. Luckily it's not too obvious since the embossing powder was clear.)

For the card bases I used kraft card stock and splattered them with a bit of gold watercolor. (It's hard to see in the photo, but I promise it's there.) I made loops of gold thread and placed them behind the focal images, which I attached to the card bases with foam tape. I finished each card with a few gold sequins.

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Time to Party

I always seem to be in need of birthday cards. I don't usually make specific birthday cards for specific people, so I like to have a nice variety in my stash to choose a good card for each recipient. So the Time to Party stamp set (from Simon Says Stamp) was perfect for creating a few fun cards.

For the first two cards I focused on masculine color combos. I often turn to shades of blue, orange, and green when I make cards for guys. They can be earthy, vintage, or, in the case of these cards, fun and vibrant. On the first card, I scored a panel of white card stock in half each direction and then stamped a main image and confetti/star images in each quadrant. With the second card, I stamped polka-dot party hats all over a white panel and filled in the white space with little stars. Both panels are layered on blue card bases, have a word bubble sentiment, and are finished with a few sequins.

For the next card I wanted to make a balloon rainbow. This is a really clean and simple card and, I think, pretty self explanatory. I will mention that I used a few more sequins than I usually would -- two or three of them are covering up little ink smudges. Mistakes are just opportunities for embellishment, right? :)

For the last card I focused on sweet treats. I stamped and die cut a cupcake and an ice cream cone from the stamp set ... and then I didn't know what to do with them. I played around with several different layouts before finally settling on this one. I used a white die-cut frame on a dark pink card base to set off a "Happy Birthday" die-cut sentiment (from Gina K Designs). Then I placed the cupcake and ice cream cone in opposite corners and finished the card with a few blue sequins.

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