May Christmas cards: holiday postage

I've been enjoying creating postage-themed cards lately, so I decided to continue the streak with my Christmas cards for May.

I started by choosing the patterned paper I wanted to use (an old pack from Stampin' Up!) and then chose a few colors of coordinating ink and card stock. Using the Ho Ho Postage stamp and dies (Simon Says Stamp), I created a whole bunch of the postage stamp images. I wanted to make ten cards for this batch, so I sorted the images and made sure I had a mix of colors and sizes for each card. (Note: The large image with the trees actually has just a line border, like the small tree image. I felt like it needed more color, so I used an alcohol marker to color in the border.) 

Using the Postage Collage Coloring Stencil (Waffle Flower), I added a border around the top two-thirds of each card base. Then I adhered a piece of patterned paper along the bottom portion. I scattered the stamp images along the top edge of the patterned paper, popping up one of the large images with foam tape. I added a small strip sentiment in the lower right corner and finished the cards with two enamel dots in the upper left corner.

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Bright postage birthday cards

I shared some vintage-style postage cards in my last post, and today I have a couple more birthday cards made with several of the same products. But today’s cards are bright, bold, and contemporary.

To make the focal panels for these cards I used the Postage Collage Coloring Stencil and Everyday Stencil as well as the Postage Collage stamp set and dies (for A2 cards) from Waffle Flower. For inks, I used mainly the Spa Collection - Urban Oasis ink pads (Catherine Pooler), although I did add in Baked Brown Sugar (Stampin’ Up!) for the arms in the upper right corner of the card on the left.

When all the stenciling and stamping was done, I adhered each panel to a black card base. I die cut birthday sentiments out of black card stock. For the left-hand card, I also used the outline layer for the sentiment; I cut it out of vellum so it doesn’t hide the fun postage images, but it does soften them a bit so the sentiment doesn’t get lost. For the card on the right, I die cut the sentiment a few times and stacked the pieces together to make it chunkier. I finished both cards with a few clear droplets.

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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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