What do you do with the handmade cards that you receive?

We all jokingly say that no one better ever throw away one of our cards that we so carefully make and then send off.  But after awhile, those heartfelt creations start to pile up.  Well, I have a system and I thought I’d share it with you.  And I’d love to hear your comments on what you do with yours.

I have two ribbon boards in my studio.  I put all the cards for one event on one of these boards.  For me, I mainly get cards for my birthday, at Christmas and then for Valentine’s Day.  So right now, one of my boards is filled with birthday cars:

And then the other board holds my Christmas cards:

To make room for the Christmas cards, I took down last year’s Valentine cards and tied them up with a ribbon:

These I will save for a year.  After a year, I go through and choose one or two favorites which go in a wooden box.  Some may have a technique that I want to copy and they go in a special binder.  The rest get repurposed*, if they can be. Those that can’t be are thrown away making room for the new favorites. (It’s kind of like going through your closet and getting rid of the clothes that no longer fit, are worn out, out of style or you just don’t like the way they look.)  Now you have room for the new!

Let me know what you do with yours!

Marjorie

*repurposed: remove the card front and attach it to another card base making a new card which you can send to any number of organizations that collect cards – for families of the sick, for the military, etc.   At Creating Lasting Memories we have a monthly “Stamp Your Heart Out” class where we make cards for the military.  We often repurpose cards.

It must be that time to start to thinking about your Christmas cards if you plan to make them. We’ve had a lot of customers coming in and getting stamps, ink and paper just for that purpose.  There is still a great selection though, so I thought I’d share some with you in this post.

For starters, Great Impressions has a nice set plus instructions for 6 different cards.  Come in and check out the display board.  It is typical Great Impressions style – lots of glitter, just perfect for the holidays.  As always, the stamp of the month (the flourish right in the middle of the photo below) is half price if you buy one of any of the other stamps in the set.

I love this reindeer, which is also part of this collection. It’s a perfect example of an easy to make card that looks fabulous.

We’ve got lots of nice sayings, too. Here are a few:

This snowman sparkles especially if you add a little glass glitter and “frosted ice”:

And last, but not least, we’ve got several nativity scenes like this one in cling (please excuse the glare from the plastic packaging):

And trees are always popular and make great cards.  We’ve got realistic ones and stylized ones, depending on your preference:

So I encourage you to stop in soon while the selection is still good and you have plenty of time to make your cards.  Blog special:  Mention this post and get 30% off all Christmas stamps.

Marjorie

Webster’s dictionary defines solvent as “a substance, usually a liquid, which dissolves another substance.” This can describe any liquid – including water. But in the ink world, the term is used to describe any ink that is not water-based. The solvent is really a carrier fluid to keep the ink in liquid form. Once the ink is applied , the solvent evaporates. This week we played with StazOn by Tsukneko, a solvent-based ink designed for decorating non-porous and semi-porous surfaces, such as metal, shrink plastic, acrylic, cellophane, aluminum foil, leather and some glass surfaces. It dries in about 3-5 minutes on non-porous surfaces. It comes in 31 colors. Cleanup is easy with StazOn All-Purpose Cleaner.  Other solvent inks that we sell at Creating Lasting Memories include Copic markers and Adirondack Alcohol Inks.

In class tomorrow we will make a card using the acetate-tissue paper technique, also called “Caught in Crystal.” You can read all about it here.

This is a picture of the card we will be making using one of Tim Holtz’s new Christmas cling sets.  I love this angel:

This card glitters and shines but all that glitz is captured under the acetate so there is no mess.  Wouldn’t these be lovely Christmas cards?  Here is a close-up of that shine:

Join us for class tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. if you can. It’s gonna be fun!

Marjorie

Brilliance Ink by Tsukineko fills a unique niche in the stamping ink marketplace.  Here is a pigment ink with that rich thick intense color that actually  dries on slick surfaces like vellum, glossy card stock, metal and plastic.  The label says “quick drying pigment ink”.  On card stock it does dry quickly.  On vellum it takes 5-10 minutes to dry.  And on other surfaces, you need to let it dry overnight or briefly hit it with your heat gun.  It is the only metallic ink on the market that will dry on all these different surfaces.  I love to use it on dark papers. Try their “moonlight white” or “starlight silver” for snowflakes or stars like on this card.

I haven’t made an entry since February 7th.  That makes me sad.  It’s been a struggle but I have a plan.  It is to post 3 times a week.  It may be short; it may be long but something like this:

The first posting will be “Creating” and will feature a technique, possibly related to Thursday’s free demo.

The second posting will be “Lasting” and will feature a product that we just got in the store.

The third posting will be “Memories” where I will share favorite quotes, journaling ideas, stories or photos.

This week “Creating” is all about using pigment inks.  If you haven’t been in the store for the demos lately, I’ve been doing a series of demonstrations on the different kind of inks.  Thursday we played with pigment inks.  Before Tim Holtz, these rich, thick, colorful inks were THE way to do direct-to-paper backgrounds.  Cats Eye pads by Colorbox are perfect for this technique.  Just apply light pressure as you hold the pad in your hand and press the ink to the paper in a circular motion.  Generally I choose 3 colors and start with the lightest.  Add the darkest color to the edges.

This type of background is great for collage stamps.  Just stamp with black dye ink and you’ve got a simple stunning card.  Then embellish and you’ve got it.

Here’s a couple of cards I made using the same block stamp (ie. four different stamps on one wood cube).  This is the card you will make tomorrow in the Make-a-Card-Monday class at Creating Lasting Memories beginning at 11:00 a.m.

Try using different papers for your direct to paper technique.  It should be matte though, not glossy. Pigment inks never dry on glossy paper. I used some of Tim Holtz’ embossed kraft line.

Here’s another example – same technique and stamp -  just different colors:

One last tip: if your collage stamps has a face, be sure and leave that area with no color or just a bit of your lightest color.

Marjorie

I’ve got 2 cards to share with you today.  Each one is made using Hero Arts stamps.  This first one would be super easy to mass produce.  I really like the mini-rhinestones on the reindeer’s antlers. This next card was a little bit more complicated but I love the added dimension of having the holly extend past the borders of the white strip.  It was embossed and colored with smooch inks.  Red nailheads add the perfect finishing touch.

If you are wanting some more ideas for Christmas cards, please join us on Thursdays for our Make n’ Take from 11 am – 1 pm. Starting next week, we will be all about Christmas for the next 6 weeks.  And for this week’s blog special: come into Creating Lasting Memories and mention this blog entry. You will get 25% off the Hero Arts Christmas stamp of your choice.

All of the World Card Making Day cards are available to view in person at the store.  Hope to see you soon.

Marjorie

I just love this card.  Simple but really fun to make.  The tree stamp is from Hero Arts.  First press Broken China Distress Ink onto the stamp, then add a bit of Faded Jeans to the edges.  Lightly spritz with a mini-mister loaded with water and a bit of pearl Perfect Pearls.  You could use Glimmer Mist Pearl for this step.  Then stamp on watercolor paper.  Lovely, don’t you think?  Repeat the process for the second tree. Once dry, cut the trees out.  Stamp the snowflake using Stazon opaque white or Brilliance moonlight.  The blue cardstock is one of the Hero Arts hues.  Cut or tear a piece of white for the snow at the bottom.  Stamp the text “Merry & Bright” (also Hero Arts).  Adhere the trees.  The one on top is attached with dimensional adhesive.  Those star gems by Hero Arts add just the perfect finishing touch.  Love this card.  Thanks Allene for teaching us how to make this card.

Now for the special savings part: mention this blog and get 25% off mini-mister 3 packs, any distress ink pad, or any perfect pearls set.

Three cards still to go…see you on my next post!

This is a stunning card designed by Chris Liles that uses the Hero Arts flourish stamp.  The stamp is embossed using white powder.  A simple ribbon, button, and felt snowflake combine to make a beautiful card that is quick and easy to make.  Check out how this looks with just a simple color change:

With this card, we just turned the card on its side and added Hero Arts flowers to make a faux poinsettia.  Just like the previous card, the flourish was embossed with white but this time on berry paper.  What a simple but beautiful change.  I could easily see myself making 25- 50 of these to send all my friends and family, while keeping the holiday card making stress-free.  We sold out of this stamp on World Card Making Day but more have been ordered.  Call the store and reserve yours today!  Mention this blog and get a 25% discount off the stamp and the flowers!

Happy stamping….

First, let me tell you what a great day we had.  I heard nothing but positive comments from everyone.  The theme was “Less Stress, More Chocolate” which is a good theme not just for WCMD but also for the holidays in general, don’t you think?

My favorite  card of the day was this one:

This card was made using the wonderful Bo Bunny Noel collection papers, which you can view by watching a video at this link:

http://store.scrapbook.com/bo-cpn130.html?w=bo+bunny+christmas

You can find these papers and embellishments at Creating Lasting Memories.

The stamp set is by Flourishes and has that vintage old-time Christmas ornaments look.  The ornaments were stamped and embossed with yummy Buttered Rum embossing powder by PK Glitz (also available at the store).  Marti taught this card and did a great job designing and teaching!  Thank you, Marti (I hope you are enjoying your European vacation/cruise/family visit!!).

Mention this blog when you come in the store and get 25% off the Bo Bunny Noel papers, Flourishes stamp set or the PK Glitz embossing powder.

More World Card Making Day cards coming soon…

It’s official.  We know how to have fun at Creating Lasting Memories.  Our first Spring Fling on Saturday was 7 hours of non-stop card making excitement.  We made seven birthday cards and now have a nice supply (and absolutely NO excuse for not sending a card full of wishes).

The teachers were all good sports and wore these fun chef hats & aprons we acquired at CHA.  Check out Shari in this photo:

There was lots of good food to eat and plenty of chocolate. I don’t think they minded the hourly prize drawings either!

It was a great time for young and old alike.  Here’s Dottie with her granddaughter Jenn who was visiting from California.  What a treat to get to know her better.

I just want to say a special word of thanks to all 6 of my fabulous teachers: Shari Townley, Marti Arrell, Allene Fewell, Loye Rich, Chris Liles, and Bonnie Bremer.  You guys are wonderful, creative and so supportive.  I couldn’t have done it without you.

Watch for posts of their very creative cards.  I’ll try to give you some instructions on how they were made, similar to what I did after World Card Making Day.

Have a great week and be sure to take some time for ART.