Sunday, January 29, 2012

Two Cards with Stripes and Circles

..
Two similar cards, using up some (very old) patterned paper, for this week's Sketch Challenge #106 on Operation Write Home's Stars and Stamps blog. The paper is, well, not very subtle, which is why it got so old in my stash. I just let it be itself.

Card details:
  • Card stock (left) is Papertrey Ink (PTI) Hawaiian shores (medium aqua) and Paper Source (PS) peacock (dark turquoise), and reverse side of striped paper (light red). Card stock (right) is PS curry (gold) and spruce (dark green), and reverse side of striped paper (light green). I don't know the name of the striped papers.
  • Circles are a combination of EK Success circle punches and PTI 2.5" limitless layers circle dies. Starting from the center: 5/8" punch (medium aqua or gold), 1" punch (dark turquoise or dark green), 2" scalloped punch (striped), 2-1/4" plain punch (dark turquoise or dark green), PTI die (medium aqua or gold), and PTI die (light red or light green).
  • The bottom of the banner is scalloped with Fiskars clouds edger scissors.
Created for Operation Write Home, "supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." (128)

Friday, January 27, 2012

Bright Daisies with Pink, Yellow, and Aqua

After last week's geometric black, white, and gold, I needed to play with some curvy lines and girly colors. So I colored up my daisy drawing and matted it with dark pink, yellow and aqua on a two-tone pink card base.

Card details:
  • My daisy drawing is computer-printed on Neenah solar white and colored with Copic markers BG10, Y15, G40, YG05, YG63, R000, R24, RV02, RV34, and RV55.
  • The colored card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) raspberry fizz (dark pink), hibiscus burst (medium pink), and lemon tart (yellow), and Paper Source blossom (light pink) and pool (aqua).
  • The dies are PTI eyelet lace border and Mat Stack 4 (regular and layerz).
Created for Operation Write Home, "supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." (126)

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Black, White, and Gold Layered Circle

Black and white with a splash of one other color - the midweek challenge on Operation Write Home's Stars and Stamps blog. I chose a gold color and played with layers to create my card.

Card details:
  • Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) true black, Paper Source curry (gold), and Neenah solar white. Patterned paper in the center is one of my PowerPoint papers, left over from last week's card. The dots on the 2nd white scallop are made with Copic marker black 100.
  • Embossing folder is Cuttlebug candy cane stripes.
  • Circles are a combination of EK Success circle punches and PTI 2.5" limitless layers circle dies. Starting from the center: 1-1/4" scallop (white), 1-1/2" plain (gold), 2" scallop (white), 2-1/4" plain (black) , PTI die (gold), and PTI die (white).
Created for Operation Write Home, "supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." (125)

Before and After - Purple Flowers with Green and Aqua


Left: Before (lighter colored leaves)-----------Right: After (darker colored leaves)--

Recently when I showed my "before" card to a friend, I wondered if the dark lacy purple circle was too dark. Her suggestion was to darken the leaves. Great idea! It wasn't bad before, but I do like it better now.

For card details, click here for the original posting. My only change was to add some G07 Copic marker to the "after" leaves.

Created for Operation Write Home, "supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." (120)

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Patterned Squares with Red, Black, and Gray

Black, white, and gray with some touches of red. The button and twill ribbon add a little texture and dimension.

I made this card for the January "three patterned papers" challenge sponsored by Our Daily Bread Designs (thank you, ODBD!) to benefit Operation Write Home. My layout is today's Sketch Challenge #104, from Operation Write Home's Stars and Stamps blog.

Card details:
  • Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) pure poppy (red) and Paper Source gravel (medium gray).
  • I made my patterned paper on the computer in PowerPoint and printed it on Neenah white card stock. The patterns are letters and symbols
    o O * . \ /
    in Papyrus font, which is an interesting hand-drawn looking font. I added some red with Copic marker RV29.
  • The black edges are drawn with Copic multiliner.
  • The three layered buttons are cut with PTI Buttoned Up dies and tied with black embroidery floss. I twisted the black twill ribbon under the button to help cinch it in. Then I used a bit of foam tape to stabilize the button, which is already lifted up by the twisted ribbon.
Created for Operation Write Home, "supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." (123)

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Eyelet Stripes on Canyon Clay

A lovely new card stock color for my card base - canyon clay from Papertrey Ink. I attempted a fancier card today, but it wasn't working. So I made this, much simpler, and I like it a lot.

Card details:
  • The card stock is PTI fine linen (beige), dark chocolate (brown), true black, and canyon clay (orangey brown).
  • The stripes are cut with Papertrey Ink (PTI) eyelet lace die. Adhered with Xyron.
  • I saved some of the leftover dots to add back to the lace. Dots of fine linen in the black lace, for instance. Adhered with Zig 2-way glue pen. I'm using my "quarter inch dots" blog label, because the effect is similar, but they're closer to 3/16".
  • The sentiment "Thanks" is computer-printed with black ink in Courier font (bold).
Created for Operation Write Home, "supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." (122)

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Brown Polka Dots with Hearts and Stripes

Dots, hearts, and stripes. And a button. It just wasn't right without the button. My layout is this week's Sketch Challenge #102, from Operation Write Home's Stars and Stamps blog.

Card details:
  • I made my patterned paper with a Crafter's Workshop 6x6" circle grid template (a thin plastic stencil) and my Copic airbrush. The texture comes from a PaperTrey Ink (PTI) impression plate - linen.
  • Correction added Feb. 12, 2012: I made more patterned paper like this today, and by trial and error, I found that the Copic colors for the airbrushing are E09 (light amount for the lighter circles) and E29 (medium amount for the darker circles). Not E09 and E15 as originally posted.
  • The solid color card stock is Ellen Hutson golden brown, Paper Source papaya (light orange), and PTI Hawaiian shores (turquoise).
  • The dies are Spellbinders Nestabilities classic hearts (3 smallest sizes) and PTI Buttoned Up #2 (1/2").
  • The lines and heart are drawn with brown Micron pen.
  • I sewed the button with embroidery floss - white floss colored with R32 Copic marker - a good match in real life.
Created for Operation Write Home, "supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." (121)