Fall cards for seniors

For many years I've made financial donations to a local organization that works to promote connection and meaningful relationships for older adults. Recently I learned that they have a program called Cards Connect -- individuals make cards and send/bring them to the organization, which then mails them to seniors around the state. They collect cards four times per year, and the donation deadline for fall cards happened to be a few weeks away. I pulled out some autumn-themed stamps, dies, and patterned paper and started creating.

The organization requested that the cards be fairly flat for mailing purposes, so I didn't add the dimension I usually would. I limited my embellishments to flat sequins and tried to add interest with textured or shimmery paper or a bit of splatter.

I created a total of twenty cards to donate this time. I made multiples of a few designs, but I also created some unique cards by using up bits and pieces that I've had sitting around for years (like the die-cut frames and the panel with the Emily Bronte quote).

Inside the cards I wrote a simple uplifting message with a couple of sentences about autumn. I also included a seasonal "dad joke" in each card for a little fun.

I'm hoping to make many more cards for the next round, which will be winter (not holiday-specific). I've already bought some cute patterned paper and coordinating ephemera so I can get a head start. Maybe I'll be able to finish some for my September Christmas cards.

Thanks for stopping by!

Spectrum Gardenia

With my craft room temporarily out of commission, I decided to make some cards at the dining room table with minimal supplies. I dug out the necessary tools (glue, scissors, etc.), white card stock, some pre-folded card bases, basic embellishments, and a few sentiment stamp sets. For the “meat” of the cards I used a few products from the Spectrum Gardenia collection (49 and Market): 12” x 12” card stock, ephemera, and washi tape. These are traditionally scrapbooking products, so some of the items are tricky to use on cards, but I did my best. I also found a few odds and ends that I’d made and never used that ended up working for these cards.

There you have it! Did you catch the upside-down card in the last photo? I promise I made the card the right way; I just goofed up the picture. Ha ha!

I’ll admit that I used more supplies than I originally intended. I kept thinking of the perfect punch or twine or what have you and had to wade through the craft room to find it. But I’m happy with how the cards turned out, so the extra effort was worth it.

As a little back-to-school surprise, I brought all these cards to the school where I work for the teachers and staff to use. Sharing is caring. :) Thanks for stopping by!

'Seas' the day

In my last couple of posts I've shared cards I made after creating a variety of colorful card stock panels with Distress Oxide inks. On some of the cards I used the Distress Oxide panels as backgrounds, and on others I used the panels to die cut images. On today's cards, I did both. These also happen to be my favorite cards of the bunch.

On the mermaid card the background is one of the Distress Oxide panels, embossed with an underwater-themed embossing folder and then spritzed with a shimmer mist. I stamped the mermaid tail on another panel and then die cut it, along with a few tiny seashells. I used other Distress Oxide panels to die cut some coral, and I also used those panels to cut out larger layered seashells for two other cards (the white card above and one further down this post).

The mermaid tail needed some sparkle, so I used a Stardust Gelly Roll to color some of the scales and to add lines on the fluke. I finished the card by adding a sentiment (also stamped on a piece of Distress Oxide panel for perfect coordination) and a handful of sequins.

For the second card, I went more clean and simple. I spritzed a white card base with shimmer mist and adhered a die-cut white fishing net on top. I used three of the die-cut layered seashells and adhered them to the card with foam tape. When I cut out the seashells, I used different areas of the Distress Oxide panel (e.g., darker areas or places where one color was more prominent) for the different layers, which I think adds a lot of depth and realism. I finished this card with a sentiment and a few pearls.

The third card is kind of a mix of the first two: I focused on the seashells, like the second card, but also embossed the background, like the first one. (The embossing folder is technically going sideways on this card, but I don't think it matters too much. It still evokes the feeling and movement of water.)

I also spritzed this card with shimmer mist -- it reminds me of the sun sparkling on water. I finished this card with a sentiment and a few pearls.

My craft room is still out of commission while we're working on the basement. But I've moved some supplies to the dining room table so I can still do a bit of card making. I'll probably be posting just once a week for a while since I won't have as many cards to share. Thanks for stopping by!

Wild and precious life

Today I've got a quick post to share another card featuring Distress Oxide inks. In my last post I mentioned that I had made several panels using Distress Oxide inks, and I shared a couple of cards where I used the panels as backgrounds. This time I used the panels for the die-cut images on the card.

I love this quote from Mary Oliver, and I think it's perfect for a birthday card. I also like to pair it with images from nature, and this time I chose a dragonfly and leaves.

The pink/purple Distress Oxide panel seemed perfect for a dragonfly. This dragonfly is from a Tim Holtz die set, and it has three layers. Normally I would cut each layer from a different color, but in this instance I cut them all from the same panel. You do get some natural color variation, but the different layers don't stand out as much. For the leaves, which are also layered, I cut the outlines from a part of the panel that was slightly darker, and the backing layer is a little lighter.

For the card base I used Crumb Cake card stock stamped with the Circular Grid Bold Prints stamp from Hero Arts. It reminds me of the rings of a tree. The leaves are glued directly to the card base, and the sentiment piece and dragonfly are adhered with foam tape. I finished the card with a few clear droplets.

I will have one more post featuring the Distress Oxide panels I created, so stay tuned (spoiler alert: there will be an underwater/beach theme). Thanks for stopping by!

Backgrounds with Distress Oxide inks

I've been wanting to do more with my Distress Oxide inks lately. So I bought a few more colors to add to my collection, I stamped some swatch cards, and of course, best of all, I spent some time playing. I cut a couple sheets of white card stock into quarters and experimented by blending the inks on the card stock and also by "smooshing" the ink -- applying ink to my glass mat, spritzing with water, and then placing the paper in the wet ink to pick up the color. After the panels were dry, I got to work making cards. Today I'm sharing two of the finished cards; I'll share the others in future posts.

Note: I just realized I didn't make any supply notes for these cards, so I don't have specific product names. If you have questions about the supplies I used, leave me a comment and I'll do my best to get the info for you.

With both of these cards, I used the Distress Oxide panels as card backgrounds. For the first card (left) I used blues and purples with the ink smooshing technique. I think I overworked the background a little because the colors are more blended together than I intended. But it's still pretty! I applied light blue stencil butter through a butterfly stencil to add the focal images. When that was dry I stamped the Xs along the right and left edges and attached the panel to a black card base. I added a black die-cut "celebrate" for the sentiment and finished the card with a few sparkling clear sequins.

For the second card I applied the Distress Oxide inks on the card stock using bending tools. I don't do a lot of ink blending, so I'm not very good at getting a seamless transition between colors. Oh, well. After I did the blending, I spritzed the panel with water, let that dry, and then used the same ink colors to stamp a few doodle-type images. Then I stamped some other images and small words using black ink. Finally I used a clear paste and a stencil to add some subtle texture.

When everything was dry, I added a die-cut circular "wish" sentiment and adhered the panel to a black card base. Again, I finished the card with a few sparkling clear sequins. I really like how all the different elements of this card came together.

Thanks for stopping by!