Brown, Rust, and Orange Thanks Card

An early Christmas present from my (very supportive) husband - a Big Shot die cuttng machine, with some dies and embossing folders. This card is my first attempt at using the new shapes and textures.

Card details:

• Card base - PaperTrey Ink (PTI) fine linen
• Orange strip - PTI orange zest; Cuttlebug candy cane stripes embossing folder
• Brown circle - Ellen Hutson golden brown; PTI limitless layers 2-1/2" circle collection
• Large oval - PTI terra cotta tile; Nestabilities classic ovals LG #4
• Small oval - Neenah classic cream; Nestabilities classic ovals LG #3 with computer-printed sentiment

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." (113)

Christmas Card 2011

This year's Christmas card, like last year's, is made with one of my drawings. It's a Nativity scene from my 2009 Advent calendar, with an added frame of red, green, and gold, and lots of white space around it. The card is computer-printed on Neenah card stock. (110)

I'm currently creating my 4th annual Advent calendar, with a small drawing and a few Advent-season words each day. It's posted a few times weekly on my other (drawing) blog "Mostly Markers." The 2011 calendar post also includes links to my 2008, 2009, and 2010 calendars, as well as my blank 2011 template in case you'd like to use it.

Two-Heart Card, Blue and Green - Before and After

Sometimes a card needs just a little something extra ... a touch of bling, but not always the sparkly-shiny type. In this case, a couple of card-stock dots, courtesy of my sturdy old office-supply hole punch. I'm very fond of using quarter-inch dots, especially with hearts. Click here for more examples.

Below is how it looked before I added the dots.


My card is for the "Love You" challenge on the Operation Write Home Stars and Stamps blog. Card details:

• Card stock is PaperTrey Ink enchanted evening (dark blue) and spring moss (light yellow-green - more green than yellow in real life) on a sturdy PaperTrey Ink stamper's select white card base. All corners are rounded, using the 1/4" side of the corner chomper.
  
• My patterned paper is computer-printed on Neenah solar white, using PowerPoint. (White periods in a colored text box. It requires some patience at first to get the right spacing, but then it's easy to change colors. If you'd like more info, let me know via a comment, and I'll post more about it.)
  
• The sentiment "Love" is computer-printed. Click here for my font details.
  
• The hearts are from a 1" EK Success punch. The 1/4" dots are from a very old McGill Gem hand punch.
  

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." (112)

Two Turquoise Cards - Before and After

                       Before (left) and after (right)

I revisited two of my card designs to try improving them. Although I liked both of my original cards (shown on the left), they didn't have much contrast. The new versions (on the right) are better, I think.

To add more oomph to my pennant card, I used some yellows instead of all turquoise and aqua colors. The yellow card stock is PaperTrey Ink lemon zest, and the embroidery floss is DMC 742 and 744. For an accent, I also added a faux button made from two layers of card stock - Paper Source peacock (dark turquoise) and PaperTrey Ink summer sunrise (yellow-orange). Click here for the rest of the card details as originally posted.

For more contrast on my tag card, I added a darker turquoise layer (Paper Source peacock card stock) under the tag and the blue plaid paper. To give it some dimension, I used a strip of foam tape under the right end of the tag. If you'd like to see more card details, click here for the original post.

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." (089, 032)

Red, White, and Blue Hearts with Bow Punch

Red, white, and blue with hearts, bows, stripes, and dots. I created this card for the "love" themed November Stars and Stamps challenge, sponsored by Our Daily Bread Designs to support Operation Write Home.

The solid-colored card stock is PaperTrey Ink pure poppy (red card base) and enchanted evening (dark blue layer and bows). The patterned paper is computer-printed using my PowerPoint designs. No new designs this time, but I changed the dots and hearts colors to match the striped paper. The hearts are edged with Copic marker B39. The punches are EK Success (heart) and Martha Stewart (bow). I used a white Signo Uni-Ball gel impact pen (broad) to draw the white lines on the enchanted evening layer.

Like most of my cards, this one is 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." (111)

Pink, Red, and Black Window Card with Heart

Another heart card today. This one with strong lines and colors. A striped heart inside a circular window.

The card stock is PaperTrey Ink true black, pure poppy (red), and hibiscus burst (pink). The narrow diagonal "ribbon" is a 1/8" strip of hibiscus burst card stock. The red window is a 1-1/2" circle punch, and the pink window is 1-3/4".

The 1" heart was punched from Neenah solar white, and the stripes were colored with Copic markers RV06, RV13, and R29. The black lines were drawn with Copic 0.8 multiliner. The sentiment "love you" was computer-printed in black ink with Zapfino font.

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." (109)

Pink Hearts Card with Lace

It's not the card I started out to make. But I like it anyway. Three heart sizes, embroidery floss, and lacy ribbon.

The light pink card base and heart-shaped button are PaperTrey Ink sweet blush, and the medium pink layer is Paper Source blossom. To create the button, I punched two 1/16" holes in my 1" heart shape, then coated it with UTEE (ultra thick embossing enamel). The UTEE makes it shiny and deepens the color.

The pink lace ribbon is Wright's flexi-lace hem tape from the fabric store, colored with RV11 Copic marker. The patterned paper is computer-printed - one of my PowerPoint designs - see this post for more info. The large heart is edged with RV11 marker.

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." (108)

Brown, Orange, and Turquoise Card with Color-Bleed Paper

Bold colors and patterns today. I made the patterned paper with Julia Stainton's color-bleed grid technique, posted on Ellen Hutson's educational CLASSroom blog. I'm having fun experimenting with this technique. For more of my examples, click on the "color-bleed grid" label, at the end of this post, or in the label list on the right of my blog.

For my paper, I used Copic markers E25, E33, YR14, and BG45 on Neenah card stock. The uneven squares and rectangles are about 1/2" to 3/4" in size. To get small droplets of "0" colorless blender, I used an eyedropper from the drugstore. The price was about $3.00 for a set of two. One of the eyedroppers featured a bent tip, which I found easy to work with.

The card stock is Paper Source peacock (dark turquoise card base) and PaperTrey Ink dark chocolate (brown), orange zest (orange), and Hawaiian shores (medium turquoise sentiment square). The twine is rustic jute button twine from PaperTrey Ink. My sentiment "Hi" and the dotted border are computer-printed in Prestige Elite Standard Bold font with turquoise ink.

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." (107)

Pink Lacy Circles Card

Lacy pink circles and scallops. Warming up for Valentine's cards that will need to be shipped by Christmas. Working months ahead for Operation Write Home!

The layered circle is made with six punches, as follows:

• Bottom circle - 2-1/4" plain circle - PaperTrey Ink hibiscus burst (medium pink)
• Lacy circle - 2" scalloped circle with 1/4" hole punch in each scallop - PaperTrey Ink sweet blush (light pink)
• Small scalloped circle - 1-1/4" - hibiscus burst
• Heart - 1" - PaperTrey Ink raspberry fizz (dark pink)
• Flower - 1/2" flower punch with 1/4" hole punch in center - sweet blush

The ribbon is 5/8" white sheer-and-satin, colored with Copic marker R000. The card base is sweet blush. The horizontal layer is raspberry fizz. The sentiment "love you..." is computer-printed with dark pink ink in Zapfino font.

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." (105)

Green and Brown Stripes - Love You Card

For today's card, I used Sketch #93 from the Operation Write Home Stars and Stamps blog. I started to CASE Marianne's striped sample card, but then made some changes along the way. Thank you Marianne, for the inspiration!

The card stock is Ellen Hutson's golden brown (card base), Paper Source leaf (light green) striped with G24 and E25 Copic markers, and PaperTrey Ink fine linen (light tan) striped and framed with olive Copic multiliner and G24, G28, E25, and E29 markers. The twine is PaperTrey Ink rustic jute button twine.

My sentiment "Love you" is computer-printed with brown ink in "Hobo Std Medium" font. The dots are periods (...) formatted as "superscript" to raise them up above their normal position.

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." (104)

ZigZag Pattern - Brown, Rust, and Cream

Today's card has a rustic look, with strands of twine and a rust/brown zigzag pattern on a cream background. One of my many "medallion band" layouts. The solid color card stock is PaperTrey Ink terra cotta tile (rust card base) and dark chocolate (dark brown layered under the patterned paper and sentiment). The patterned paper and sentiment are computer-printed on Neenah classic cream card stock. (Details below.) The twine is rustic jute button twine, also from PaperTrey Ink. The circle punches are EK Success 1-1/2" (sentiment with rust border) and 1-3/4" (dark brown layer). To create my zigzag patterned paper in PowerPoint, I overlapped two vertical "stacked" text boxes of V's in 34-point "Arial Black" font (bold). The text box of rust-colored V's is rotated 180 degrees. By tinkering with the text box placement, and the character and paragraph spacing within the text boxes, I was able to make an interesting zigzag effect. The "Thanks" sentiment on its circular border is printed with same rust and brown ink colors using American Typewriter font (24 point). For the two dots, I used a colon (:) in very large font (110 point) in a separate text box, positioned over the sentiment's text box. A simple way to line up the dots where I wanted them. 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." (103)

Raspberry with Pink Hearts - Missing You

Hearts and circles. One of my favorite designs.

For the original card I made in kraft and blue, click here. For my tutorial, click here.

Card details:

• The punches are a 1" circle, a 1/4" circle, a 1" heart, and a 1/4" double slot punch. Tip: punch the slots first, and then the hearts.
  
  
• The sentiment is computer-printed in purple ink with "Lucida Handwriting" font. The card stock is Paper Source rhubarb (raspberry), Papertrey Ink scarlet jewel (deep wine), and Paper Source strawberry (bright pink).
  
  
• My white "ribbon" is a narrow (3/16") strip of Neenah card stock. I tried using real ribbon, but the Neenah's stiffness made it easier to thread through the slots, adjust, and adhere. Tip: bend each heart a bit while threading it onto the "ribbon."
  
  
• I ran the threaded hearts through my 1-1/2" Xyron. Then I was still able to adjust them as I positioned them on the dark wine circles (which I had already attached to the top raspberry layer).
  

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." (056c)

Raspberry Hearts Card with Squares

Hearts, a circle, squares, and a ribbon stripe. Shades of raspberry. In real life, the colors go well together.

The card stock is Paper Source rhubarb (card base), PaperTrey Ink scarlet jewel (dark wine color), and Neenah solar white, on which I computer-printed the pink squares.

The sentiment "Love you..." is computer-printed in purple ink, using Hobo Std Medium font, expanded spacing. The ribbon is 1/4" twill, colored with RV66 Copic marker. The EK Success punches are 1" heart and 3/4" circle.

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." (102)

Six-Circle Card - Red, White, and Blue

A circle of red, white, and blue on a striped background.

My six-circle element was borrowed from Charlene Austin's beautiful card, posted on her Willow and Paisley blog. To simplify the spacing and assembly, I printed a template (below) for myself. I placed my red and white circles face-down onto the template and laid a few strips of Scor-tape across them to adhere them to each other. (But not to the template!) Then I adhered the red-and-white piece face-up to the large blue circle.

If you'd like to use my template, you can paste the template .jpg into Word or PowerPoint and resize it, as desired, to fit your punched circles. For my card, the large outer circle is 2-1/4" diameter.
More card details:

• Card stock is Neenah solar white, PaperTrey Ink pure poppy (red), and Paper Source night (a very dark navy blue).
  
• I made the red-and-blue striped paper in PowerPoint and computer-printed it.
• Circle punches are 2-1/4" and 1" by EK Success.
• The three lines on the red strip are drawn with cobalt Copic 0.5 multiliner.
  

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." (101)

Red and Green Ten-Dot Christmas Card

A simple Christmas card using a ten-dot design - two offset rows with ten half-inch circles. (Or nine plus two halves, to be precise.) Created for Operation Write Home's World Cardmaking Day "Holiday Cards" blog hop. I love making cards that can help our troops connect with their family and friends across many miles.

For a holiday theme, I drew little loops and stripes on three of the dots to look like Christmas tree ornaments. I colored all the dots with red, green, and gold Copic markers. Then I added shiny domed stickers on top of the "ornaments", a red marker stripe below the sentiment, and a red ribbon bow. I made some with a deep green card base (above) and some with red (below). For all the details, scroll to the end of the post.

To continue hopping with Operation Write Home, click on the blog hop badge below!

Card details:

• The dots are colored with Copic markers G14, G17, R29, R59, and Y26.
  
• My card stock is Neenah solar white, layered on Paper Source spruce (deep green: top card) and PaperTrey Ink pure poppy (red: bottom card).
  
• I used Seongsook's helpful ribbon trick for my bow knot.
• My shiny clear EK Success epoxy dome stickers came from PaperTrey Ink (72 for $3). The diameter is just a bit over 1/2". Press down hard to adhere them, or they won't look really clear. They are very mailable - flexible, and less than 1/16" thick. Not to be confused with "bottle cap" tops, which are (in my experience) larger, thicker, more rigid, and pricier.
• The Merry Christmas sentiment is computer-printed in dark green with "Lucida Handwriting" font (expanded spacing).
• The ten-dot pattern can be hand-drawn with a plastic circles template (1/2") and a black 0.3 Copic multiliner. But it needs careful spacing and "perfect" circles to look nice. After a few times of drawing it, I made a PowerPoint file that prints my (uncolored) circles. Much easier.
• For a few more of my cards based on this pattern, you can click on the ten-dot label, below or in the labels list on the right of my blog.

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." (24)