Just Because

I wanted to make a card using all the Japanese Yuzen paper I had. By placing small pieces of busy/bold pattern paper together I can create a harmonious background.

I also made these buttons out of Yuzen paper and thought they would go nicely with this card.

I love all the fun colours and patterns.

Thanks for visiting,

Cheryl ~

Pattern Play - Lesson 5

Lesson 5 was about paper manipulation. I also combined some other techniques I learned from other lessons in this card.

In the background I weaved strips of patterned paper together and then placed a piece of vellum on top to soften the patterns and colours. I noticed in the end that the white circle in the mid-ground was too big creating too much empty space... = /

I cut some flowers from patterned paper to use as embellishments. I added some Stickles and Glossy Accents to make the middle pop.

This little fox was also cut out from a patterned paper. He is so adorable!

The thought bubble was perfect for this sentiment.

In this picture you get a better view of the patterned paper and the vellum in the background.

Thanks for visiting,

Cheryl ~

Pattern Play - Lesson 4

Lesson 4 was about altering patterned paper. I bought some new BasicGrey paper and I just had to use them right away!

I had trouble with cutting the papers to the right size, but it turned out alright in the end. The background paper was too dark for my card so I used some Distressed Stains in Picket Fence to lighten it. I also use different Distressed Inks to darken the edges of the other patterned papers to make them brighter and stand out from each other.

Thanks for visiting,

Cheryl ~

Pattern Play - Lesson 3

Wednesday's lesson was all about using bold patterned paper. I definitely had trouble with this one! But check out the card I made. I used a bold patterned paper at the top of the card and it turned out pretty cute.

This card have some really playful colours.

I am so in love with this little bear that comes in the stamp set that Kristina Werner designed. The set is called Circle Friends.

I cut the three little dots out of a large piece of patterned paper. Then I used Glossy Accents to make them look like store bought embellishments. It's a little hard to see in this picture, but I also added the Glossy Accents on the tiny blue dots on the scalloped boarder. They look like little beads in real life.

Thanks for visiting,

Cheryl ~

Pattern Play - Lesson 2

Tuesday's lesson taught us how to use stamps on patterned paper and I made this clean and simple card.

I used one of the new techniques to make the flower. I stamped and embossed the flower 3 times, fuzzy cut them out, and then layered them on top of one another using foam adhesive.

I enjoyed making this card, but I don't like the purpose of it. This card was made for a friend who just lost her father recently. My thoughts are with her and her family!

You can see the layers of the petals in this picture.

Thanks for visiting,

Cheryl ~

Pattern Play - Lesson 1

Gosh, I can't believe it's been over a week since my last post. I've had a busy week. My hubby and I went up to San Francisco for a few days to visit his family and then a very dear friend of mine came to visit. I had lots of fun but boy, did I miss my card making! So today I stayed home and spent about 15 hours to make 3 cards. I'm also currently enrolled in another Online Card Making class and I had a lot of homework to catch up on. The class is called Pattern Play.

I always enjoy looking at patterned papers in craft stores and could never resist buying them. However, I also have a fear of using them. I tried a few times but they all turned out badly. So when this class became available I signed up right away. I am enjoying the class so much and learning a whole lot of fantastic tips from the instructors.

For Monday's lesson I made this card using three different pieces of patterned paper.

The colours are fun, they remind me of spring and Easter. The green chevron pattern even looks like an Easter egg. =P 

I used some Distressed Ink in Tea Dye to darken the edges so it would stand out from the card base.

I also added some twine at the bottom to 'tie' it all together. Hehe ^_^

Thanks for visiting,

Cheryl ~

TGF Double Take Tuesday - Aqua & Chevron

I created a card today for The Greeting Farm Double Take Tuesday challenge. The theme for this week's challenge is Aqua & Chevron. What a fun theme to work with!! =D

This card took me all day to complete because Anya Styles is so detailed that it took me a long time to colour and fussy cut her. But I'm pretty pleased with how she turned out. The stamped the chevron pattern in the background too and I had to be super precise with that. @_@ 

She's such a fashionista! So cute! ^_~

The sentiment came with the Anya Styles stamp set. I just think it's adorable!

I coloured on some white paper with the same aqua coloured Copic marker as I did on her shirt. Then I cut out circles and added Diamond Glaze to make them look like store-bought embellishments.

*Side note - I just realized I forgot to colour a piece of her hair that's between her torso and arm. Hahaha, I will fix that right now. =P

Thanks for visiting,

Cheryl ~

KK's Challenge 169 - Clean and Simple!!!

I think I've made enough gift card holders for now and it's time to get back to my card making. I made this one for the Kraftin Kimmie's Challenge 169 - Clean and Simple. Clean and simple is just up my ally now that I've taken that Clean & Simple 2 class, hehehe!

I've loved Disney's Little Mermaid for as long as I can remember so when I saw this stamp set on KK I just had to buy it. Out of the three mermaids this is my favorite one. I was so excited to feature her on my card today!

The sentiment came with the stamp set. Isn't it so cute? 

I bought a bunch of new washi tape while I was in Japan and was really happy I could use it on this card to make the sentiment stand out a bit more. I added some dots around the sentiment as well using a blue Souffle pen.

I added some Diamond Stickles on her tail, cause all mermaids' tails should sparkle! After taking this picture I also decided to add some Diamond Glaze on her eyes to make them glossy. ^_^

Thanks for visiting,

Cheryl ~

More Gift Card Holders

I had an awful migraine that kept me away from my crafts and computer all weekend long. Luckily it has finally left me and I can get back to doing what I love! Here are some more gift card holders I made last week but never got a chance to post.

Thanks for visiting,

Cheryl ~

Gift Card Holder 2

How can a craftaholic like me resist not making any crafts on her day off? That's why I made another gift card holder while my hubby puts together his new "lounging chair". He wants to keep me company while I work on my cards so we bought him a comfy chair from Ikea today. Anyway, this was not my best work and maybe I should have just left this as a day off. =P

  

The paper I used in the background is pretty. The lace I added under the washi tape is a nice touch. The little bird is super adorable. But all three together... I don't know... I think the birdy got lost in the background, therefore I'm not liking it very much. =P

Thanks for visiting,

Cheryl ~

Gift Card Holder

I thought I'd make one more little thing before going to bed. Well, it took much longer than I expected, but it was worth the time and I was able to use up some scrap pieces of paper left over from other projects. It is a gift card holder that turned out looking pretty fancy. ^_^

It's a little difficult to see in the picture, but the sentiment at the bottom says "Are a wonderful friend."

I had some sparkly buttons, but not the size I wanted, so I ended up making my own. I didn't have the right coloured twine so I dyed my own too, using Tim Holtz's Distress Stain in Broken China. It was easy but a tad messy. =P

Thanks for visiting,

Cheryl ~

KK's Challenge 168 - Springy, Pastel Colours!

Whoa! 3 cards in 3 days, I'm on a card making roll here! xD

Today I found a challenge on Kraftin' Kimmie's Blog. It is their Challenge 168 - Springy, Pastel Colours! I looked through my stamps from Kraftin' Kimmie, but I couldn't find a stamp that is spring time related. So I just picked one that I liked and haven't had a chance to use yet. I went with the... (gosh, I can't even find her name on the website, because I think she has been retired and they don't sell her anymore... too bad!). Anyway, she's a really cute artist and I like her a lot!

You would never find me painting in my pretty clothes. But this little artist is a cutie so she can paint in whatever clothes she wants to. Even in a pink cocktail dress and a green beret. Hahaha xD

I wanted the plaid paper to look like a frame around the image, so I used my 1/4 inch foam adhesive to give it that dimension and frame-like look. I have no idea how it will fit in an envelope though... I only thought of that after I finished the card. Now I'm staring at the card and thinking "Now what?" = /

The stamp set came with a little paint brush, so I stamped it out a few times, coloured them with different colours and added them to the card. Mainly to cover up some empty spaces I didn't know what to do with.

I bought some pricey paper just for Copic Markers and I tried it for the first time. I can see the difference between the Copic paper and the paper I usually use. I like it, but it's so stressful when I stamp on it. Because I don't want to waste any of the paper, it's expensive you know? =P So my stamping has to be perfect every single time! Luckily, this image stamped out perfectly. ^_^ I had a lot of fun colouring her, even though it took me most of the afternoon to get her just right.

Although this card didn't have a spring time theme, I think the spring time colours came together nicely.

Thanks for visiting,

Cheryl ~ 

ME Sketch Challenge 02

So I decided to try another challenge. This time from Mama Elephant, who is hosting their second sketch challenge. This is the sketch our card designs have to be based on.

And this is the card I made for this challenge...

For the blue background I die cut little stars using a new die I bought from Simon Says. I fell in love with it the moment I saw it and now that I've used it I think I'm even more in love with it! 

The card base is white, but I adhered a piece of yellow cardstock behind the blue one to make the stars appear yellow.

Since this is a Mama Elephant challenge of course I had to use a stamp from their company. I chose this one from their Cosmic Stars set. The Zodiac characters in that set are super adorable!

The sentiment I used came from a different Mama Elephant set called Starry Night.

I added some baker's twine so that it would be similar to the challenge sketch.

So what do you think? Is it a hit or a miss? But either way, I made this card for a good friend whose birthday is coming up at the end of the month. Hope he doesn't see this post before receiving the card. Hehehe =P

Thanks for visiting,

Cheryl ~