Smooth out those ‘bumps’ on cards!

Hello Crafty Friends!

I am back again to share a simple little trick to make your die cut items look a bit better.

Many of us use die cuts to create dimension on our cards. There is a huge selection of dies from so many different companies, which makes us happy crafters!

We use all types of papers to die cut items for our cards. Some of the papers are easy to remove from the die, while others need a bit of ‘poking’ to release them. When I have to poke through the tiny holes on a die to release the paper, there is usually a tiny indentation on it. Some dies also have little embossed impressions (‘bumps’ ) that are visible on the paper.

I have found a nifty way to smooth these bumps on the papers after they have been cut. I simply put them in between a folded piece of printer (or any lightweight paper) and run it through my die cut machine. I either use another piece of paper as a shim, or run it through my machine twice.

Goodbye bumps, (sometimes it still leaves a faint impression, but that’s OK.). Sometimes I may want to keep the bumps on the paper, but this gives me another option when I create a card.

I hope this gives you another trick to add to your crafting world. I get lots of great ideas from other crafters, so I like to share a few ideas I have discovered too! 

Thank you for visiting today, I really appreciate your loyalty! 

~~Vickie Horsfall~~

Ink + Emboss + Die = Cards!

Hello Crafty Friends!

Most of the cards I have been creating have been made using patterned papers from my stash. There are so many new inking techniques that I would love to try, but have told myself I need to use up the papers I have before I venture into all the new techniques. Well, that didn’t last long. LOL

I inked up one of these two papers with some colors that I thought I could blend together to create a nice background, using blending brushes. Well, I was not crazy about the colors. The ‘broken china’ ink was much better, in spite of my streaks. (I embossed the card first, then took the ink pad and lightly added ink to it.)

I decided to emboss the ‘blended’ sheet to see if that made them better. In my opinion, it did not help. I put in a bit of time thinking about these and did not want to waste them. So I decided to die cut flowers from them and make different cards.

I found some patterned paper that matched the color of the broken china background and added flowers on this card. I decided to use up some of my many brads, so the centers of the flowers had a bit of sparkle. The message ‘Celebrate All that is Good Today and Everyday’ added to the linear look of the card.

I layered some flowers from the second background sheet and added some brads and ‘candy buttons’ in contrasting colors for the centers of the flowers. I decided a solid white embossed background was best to make the flowers ‘pop’ on the card. I added the message ‘Be True, Be Brave, Celebrate You’ and was happy with the result.

So, I did not waste the backgrounds I began with on this creative adventure! I even used some patterned paper and some brads and candy buttons that I had in my stash to create these two cards. (If you are like me, I am very thrifty with my papers and supplies. That probably explains why I have so many items in my crafting room stash! )

I hope this inspired you to think of other ways to use backgrounds that you are not very happy with and create something new and different!

Thanks for stopping by for a visit! Enjoy your creative time!

~~Vickie ~~

Taking a Break!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

Life keeps us busy, as you all know. I know I have been, and continue to be, very busy in my personal life. My two sons will be getting married in March and May. I am so excited to welcome two beautiful daughter-in-laws into our family!

My time will be spent preparing for these two special events, so I will be taking a break from posting on this blog.

I will continue to post cards I have created on my Instagram account. I hope you will check it out to see what I have been up to. I will also continue to be active on my facebook page. Perhaps something I created will inspire you!

It is always fun to ‘go back in time’ to visit past posts I have here. Lots of ideas for creating cards and tips for using craft supplies, as well as a few ways to use different items, may give you some ideas you can use!

I hope to be back soon with new posts and ideas for creating cards. You can follow me by adding your e-mail to be notified of my next post.

Thank you for your support and I hope you enjoy crafting in your creative world!

~~~Vickie Horsfall~~~

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~~

Senior Citizens and Kids!

Hello! Welcome to my HorseMark Cards blog page!

Postings on my blog have not been as regular as I would like; sometimes life gets in the way. However, I feel very passionate about sharing cards, so I think this post is very important. I hope you do too!

Technology has made it so simple to send a ‘thank you’, happy birthday’, ‘feel better soon’, or ‘congratulations’ greeting to someone. These greetings take a moment to send, and the recipient receives their message instantly!

Online greetings can be nice to send, however many people do not have access to smart phones, laptops, or computers. Many of our older senior citizens are included in this group. Some of them feel lonely when family and friends are not able to visit, and keeping in touch can sometimes be difficult for them. This is one of the reasons giving an actual greeting card is so important.

Thankfully, there are so many wonderful groups that have been working to make sure people receive an actual card in the mail. These are just a couple of the organizations that help make sure cards are sent to people who may need to be remembered the most.

Cards for Kindness

From the Heart

Kind Cards for Cool Kids

Let’s remember the kids! Many need some encouragement, happy birthday, and congratulations greeting cards sent to them. Many kids are dealing with an illness, bullying, and feeling of loneliness. Siblings also appreciate being thought of and all kids love to receive mail addressed to them!

Birthdays, Thinking of You, or just a simple Hello card is a wonderful way to let people know they are not forgotten.

I am thankful for the many talented handmade card makers who help make the lives of our senior citizens and kids a bit brighter when they send them a card.

I have also contributed to these organizations and I am honored to be a part of making sure people are not forgotten.

Remember to give a card to someone special today!

Thank you for visiting my blog today. Enjoy your crafting day!

~~~ Vickie

Read more: Senior Citizens and Kids!