‘She Loves Pink’ Thank You Card!

Hello Dear Readers!

We enjoyed our recent trip to Oregon and California to visit family and friends. We only stayed in a hotel one night, so I have several Thank You cards to send to express our appreciation for the wonderful hospitality we enjoyed during our trip.

This cute stamp from My Favorite Things is adorable. She is part of the Pure Innocence collection. I have had it for several years so it may not be available, but there are other cute stamps similar to this one!

I stamp the image on patterned paper and layer it on the image. It was perfect to put on a thank you card I created for a little girl that let me stay in her bed at her grandparents’ house. She loves pink!

The tiny rick rack was a perfect touch, along with the tiny butterflies! I usually decorate the outside of the envelope and I tuck the card between an embossed folder to protect it from the mailing process.

I hope she will be excited to receive this card in the mail! Little kids love getting mail addressed to them!

My stash includes this tiny rick rack I had from my grandmother’s sewing box. As you can see, the price on this indicates how old it is! It was still sealed and was perfect for this card and I can use it on a baby card too!

When I attached the rick rack to the card, I wanted to make sure it stayed in place. I wrapped it around the top and bottom of the card, then secured it with a bit of glue. I have a handy trick I use to secure small items on cards.

It was fun creating this card and I hope it brings a smile to a very special five year old girl!

Thank you for stopping by my blog. Enjoy your creative day!

~~~ Vickie ~~~

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Squish ‘Em!

Hello Crafty Friends!

These past few weeks I have devoted my crafting time to using the older supplies I have had stashed away over the years. I love creating my handmade greeting cards and have looked back at the pictures of the cards I have designed since 2007. My card styles have changed, however the reason and meaning of creating cards has remained the same-to let people know they are remembered and special.

Groundhog Happy Hello Card

There are four containers of brads, small charms, sequins, and various other embellishments in my craft drawer.

Lots of Candy Buttons!

Since many of these add bulk to cards, I have found ways to reduce the bulk and use these items. For instance, remember the ‘candy buttons’ that were popular a few years ago? They came in several different colors and styles. I usually attached these cute buttons to cards using a small square foam that fit them perfectly and added some dimension to my cards.

Birthday card using candy button embellishments attached with tiny foam squares.

I had an idea of putting these between a piece of printer paper and running them through my die cutting machine. I squished ’em and was able to attach them to my cards using a small dot of glue. They still added a bit of texture, but not bulk to my cards. It also added some more texture to the top of the button, as you can see in the picture. Not all of these buttons added bulk when I attached the foam square, but attaching the squished button with glue makes it more secure than the foam square. We all want our cards to arrive through the mail intact, and in my opinion glue is much more secure than foam. (Especially if the foam squares are older.)

Tiny foam squares fit perfectly in the button, but adds bulk.

Tiny Candy Button embellishments

More texture is added to the buttons after they are compressed in the die cutting machine, using regular plates. I was pleasantly surprised to see these, the more texture I can put on a card, the better!

Compressed candy buttons look like golf balls on this card!

Another idea I had was to cut off the prongs of some brads I had in my collection. I used one of my handy tools to squish the ends of the cut prongs down into the brad. Then I was able to attach the brad with glue to my card. (If it was a bigger brad, I stuffed it with a sticky zot, and added glue to make sure it was secure.) Not having the prongs opened behind the card, which added bulk, made them easier to mail. When I purchased brads in the past they usually came in packages that held several of these crafty gems. Now I have a way to use these and save on postage!

Cutting the prongs off of brads reduces the bulk on a card.

This technique has allowed to me save on postage and packaging material when I mail cards created with embellishments. And the best part….I am using up my older items!

I hope these ideas help you to use up items in your stash and save on bulk and postage. Thank you for visiting my blog today. Enjoy your crafty time!

~~ Vickie~~

It’s a Cover-Up!

Hello! I appreciate you taking the time to visit my blog today!

When I create cards, sometimes a design requires a bit of a ‘cover-up’ to make sure the completed card meets my high standards.

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The front of a card is the star. When you look inside the card, the printed message and any decorations must also shine. Even the left inside, or top inside, of the card needs to look polished.

If the front of a card has been cut to reveal something on the inside, both sides must look finished.

This heart card is one of my favorites! When I finished the front and lined up the heart on the inside, I goofed. It was a bit off and you could see a part of it when the card was closed. Luckily, the pretty paper has the beautiful flowers which were easy to fussy cut. So, the white inside heart where you would write a message has a flower added to the top! Problem fixed!

When I created this ’Strength and Hope’ card, I realized after I adhered the front panel that the top corner was a bit off. The solution… A purple heart covered it and I don’t think it looks out of place.

Sometimes fixing a problem on a card requires a ’snip’ or two. When I opened this ‘Hello’ card to finish the inside, the top corner accidentally came in contact with an open ink pad. (My fault..always close your inks when not using.) Since it resulted in a smudge, I simply cut the corner and also cut the bottom to match.

I am a fan and frequent user of the ’cover up’ technique in creating cards! Spending time creating a card means I want it to look nice in every way when finished. I am proud of my cards and I hope the people who receive them enjoy them.

Thank you for stopping by for a visit to my blog. I hope you have a wonderful time in crafting your creative projects! Enjoy your day!

~ Vickie ~~

Colorful Ideas!

 

Hello Crafty Friends!

I hope you had a good year and find time to do some extra crafty creating in 2020!  I am planning to add a new post to my blog at least once a month.  (I do post regularly on my Instagram and Facebook pages!  I hope you get a chance to check them out!)

I decided to have my first post of 2020 be about colors, since that is so important in any craft project!

My creative room is almost overflowing with colorful markers. When I am at a craft store or happen to catch myself in a certain aisle in another store, I can’t resist looking at the extensive selection of colorful marking pens and pencils. A few years ago I would have had several in my shopping cart, but today I realize I own more than my share.

Colored Pencils and Special Markers

On occassion, I will use a marker for a small section on my cards. I do not have the talent to ‘blend’ the colors of markers so I can use them on large spaces of paper. (I continue to improve this skill, but even the best ‘blending’ pens and I don’t seem to get along. 😦 ) So, because of this flaw in my skill set, I use pencils (and chalks) to add color to my cards.

Sharpie Markers & Special Markers

When I apply chalks to color images on my cards, I use a tiny cotton ball held with tweezers and hold it like a pencil. I like chalks as I can blend them more easily than markers.

EK Success Chalk Tower

 

Other items I used to purchase quite frequenty, were colored gems and stickers to use on my cards. I have since realized that I can just purchase clear gems and color them myself!  This makes it much easier to match the colors to the papers!  (I do find that the Sharpie markers are the best for this. They dry on most surfaces and don’t smear.)

Using markers to color gems

 

A few of my cards I created and colored with colored pencils.

I think my love of these colorful tools dates back to my childhood. Colored pencils and crayons were my favorites. Coloring in books was something I was always doing, even in my teen years when I was babysitting. Once the little ones were tucked in their beds, I would enter my coloring world until the parents came home. I guess some things never change!

Thanks for visiting today! Enjoy your creative day!

~~Vickie

Seahorses on Waves

Hello Readers!

There are so many lovely printed papers on the market and we can create several items from them. Here are three different cards I designed using the same papers and elements.

These cards can be used as a simple note card to a friend or a thank you card. I would love to create a card for you!
Contact me at horsemarkcards@gmail.com for special requests or information.

I hope you are giving cards to the people in your life. I know they will appreciate it!

Thank you for visiting today!

~~ Vickie