With Faith,There is Hope

Today I made a "With Faith" Card.  Again as always it is a simple card.  I made one several months ago with this technique, and it did not turn out quite like I wanted it to.  I saw it on a You Tube video, and now that I made this card, I now know what I did wrong on the first card.  I did not have a glue sheet.  double-sided glue sheet is the key to making the card the way it is supposed to look.  Now I know I need to have these on hand (I had a sheet big enough to cover the card mat).  would you believe I made the card blank and the mat out of one sheet of cardstock!   I will show you how below...

Recipe card:

1 sheet of 8.5" x 11 sheet of white or Kraft cardstock (I will tell you why no other color will do for this card)
1 paper pad of 6x6 paper
Poem of your choice, printed.
1 sentiment
1 sheet of double-sided glue sheet.

That's it!! Let get started.

Prep work

1. Cut your cardstock paper in half, going across,
2. fold one part in half to make the card blank, set aside.
3. Take the other half, and cut it in half.  This is your mat, and you make have to cut it down to size you want for the front of the card.   Set aside.
4. Take 3-4 sheets of the paper pad and with your paper trimmer or a pair or scissors, cut 1" strips of paper. set aside   Now you are ready to assemble the card.
5. Take the glue sheet and place on top of the mat, being careful of removing the film and laying it on top.  Once it is stuck, it's stuck.  Do not remove the top layer of the glue sheet.  Trim to size.
6. Next take the top layer of the glue sheet off, again being very careful. Start placing the strips of patterned paper on top of the glue sheet.  It do not matter what pattern you use.  You can go straight up and down, stagger for a brick pattern, or do like I did and place it diagonally.
7. Next glue the mat to your card base.  Set aside.  Now let's work on the inside of the card,
8. Take the poem you selected for your inspiration and if you are using a computer, you can print it out on the printer, if not, if you have neat handwriting, you can write a short poem or quote out. I chose "Don't Quit" by an unknown Author.  Once you do that, cut to fit the inside of the card and glue it down.  A beautiful option would be to print it on Vellum.
9. Return to the front of the card, and you can place a sentiment on the front of the card.

  A word about why you use Kraft or white paper:  I use on of these two colors so that the color of the card or mat does not have an adverse effect on the pattern paper and make them clash.    This is the same reason behind me choosing paper from a paper pad instead of the individual papers.  Black cardstock works just as well, and as long as the paper is in the same brand, you can choose individual papers.  It save time and money in the long run.

Back to school sale at Two Peas

This is the last week for this sale,

Weekly specials from Archiver's

If you have an Archiver's near you, you can sign up to receive their email.  In the meantime, enjoy this email I am passing on to you.

New post: Just a reminder

As I prepare to bring to you my latest creation next week, I could not help but remember what time of year this is.  THIS IS A REMINDER... YOU.. OFFICIALLY...HAVE...3 AND 3/4 MONTHS...TO ...GET...OUT ...YOUR...HOLIDAY....CARDS...READY....AND....IN....THE....MAIL!  There I said it, and it needed to be said, period.
This is a lesson in both time management and the art of giving, without expecting anything back   Some of us are sticklers about holiday cards, while others could care less, do not believe in the art of giving, or just plain lazy.  I must admit, the first two years I got into making greeting cards (officially), I got everything together for the soon to be annual Patricia's Christmas card giveaway (Translation: sending out Christmas Cards), and I had everything ready:  I took a card workshop at Archiver's, even though I was working there, I gathered all the materials (getting a discount helped a lot), I set a date to start, and started on time.  Now I am not one of those start on January 1 type people.  After all, I have my pride, my reputation, and my dignity to protect, not to mention my beauty rest (hey, Christmas Card hibernation until November 1st is good for the soul).  Ladies (and a few good gentlemen), CCH is nothing to sneeze at.  The symptoms are the need to rush, stress, perfectionism, snapping at family and friends (including innocent children) who may get the occasional curse word thrown their way, finally crying spells.  As you get towards Thanksgiving, the family may have to go to the grandparents for the holidays if the mailing list has not been started.  
That was the old me.  After two years of not sending out anything at all, I have turned over a new leaf (starting a business does wonders for the soul.)  I am still not the type who will start making cards for next Christmas January 1, but I am taking clues from the customers I met while at the store.  Here are my tips:

1. Start in May.  I am not talking making cards, I am talking mailing list.  Find out who sent you a card last year, and who did not even bother.  This includes anyone who called or emailed you.   think about  your child's teacher, principle, piano teacher, and so forth.  if you met someone from December 2011 to present who are first timers.  The list does not have to be 100 of your closest friends, but make some kind of list, because in October, you are going to narrow that list down, and separate that list into two piles:  The ones you can hand deliver and the ones you need professional help for sending your lovely cards.
2. Rest in June.   In July or August (for those who create) start thinking about your design.  Is it going to be fun and festive, inspirational, cute, traditional, or somewhere in between. What about color and size?   You should have a basic idea on how the card(s) would look like.  Plan a shopping list of only those items, and use those consumable items (paper, glue, etc) for nothing but that card project.  If you do not make cards, find a person who can make cards for you, if you like the homemade look.  Best place to look is buy local, or if local is not available, Etsy can be your best friend.  be sure to read ALL instructions to the artisan's shop, including how much time they need to make the cards.  It is best to keep in constant communication with the person, in case there are changes in the project.  After all, they are making one of a kind pieces of art for you, and it is their livelihood you are talking about.  Other places include Ebay and Meylah. 
3. Are you going to include a newsletter?   STOP RIGHT THERE! If you are going to send a letter of everything that has happened to you in the past year, a card is not the place to do it.  If you are really going in that direction, I suggest you divide that list ASAP, and send that very personal newsletter to only a few close friends and family.   If  Little Johnny's teacher gets one of those letters, she may think it is cute that he started a teddy bear collection at the age of 5, but it may be embarrassing to him at the age of 16.  On the other hand, does your boss really need to find out why you missed work to go to a ball game in April 2012 or that little Susie can "relive' up" for the first time on pointe at the age of 5?  That little bit of news may cost you your job, so be careful, and keep in mind who your audience is.( There is no such thing as a child dancing in pointe shoes at the age of 5, their feet and ankles are not strong enough to hold their body, so that was a bad example-FYI)
4. Be on time.  The best time to send a holiday card is the beginning of the month.   Doing it this way assures a perfect delivery time, and less pressure.  The latest you can send a Christmas Card this year would be around December 15th.  You can pace yourself with this task, especially if you have a really long list (50 or more people)
5. Get a custom made stamp to sign your cards so you do not writer's cramp, and place you mailing on your computer.  You can use something as simple as free software, trials or if you are really adventurous and you already have it on your computer, try Microsoft products, Word, Excel, Access (listed in order of difficulty)

Make the most of making cards.  Have fun and a system, after all, you only have 124 days, 20 hours, 58 minutes (at the time of this posting).  Merry Card Making. (Note:  if you are sending Halloween/Harvest Cards ( 2 months, 70 days, 1681 minutes) and if you are sending Thanksgiving cards (92 days)).  I can give you the gory details on how many days until Easter 2013 later.   Be blessed every day.

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Be cheerful..

Hello, I have made another card for the Card a Day Blog.  This time, it is for cheering up a friend or two.  It is called cheer up my friend, and it uses up your scraps.  This card is simple and easy to make and your ingredients are:

2 sheets of cardstock
Patterned paper
Tag
Ribbon
Copic or your favorite brand of marker
fine-tip pen.

I have an odd sized card, and to be honored no measuring it required for this card, but if you know portions, that is ok.  for this card the trick it to make it symmetrical. To do that, know the center point of the card, and you will know where to place it...in the middle of the top of the card base.  Once you get the layering effect you want, add the tag (which is the free drawn image was colored with copic makers.   Add the bow, and you are done.  An alternative to this card is  to cut the card mats into a shape, add a label instead of a tag, and print your sentiment on that.
Have a good and blessed day, always

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Offers from Two Peas in a Bucket

I normally would have offers off to the side, because I know that there are people who would rather see work than sales, but Two Peas sent me three ads to place on my blog, and I only have one spot for them.   I am an affiliate partner with them as well.  So here are this week's ads.


Jillibean Soup:

 



 Studio Calico Stamp:
 
 
 Bella Blvd Collections:



To see all of Two Peas products, go to http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/.

 I will have some cards coming up to show you soon. Be Blessed on this day and every day.

On the Road

Hello and welcome to another card making day.  I am posting this on the Card a Day blog as a travel card.  I must admit that I have not seen too many cards in the past pertaining to traveling, but today, there are cards out there, wish a friend or loved one safe travels until they meet again in about a week.  In my case, a friend of mine moved to Texas a few years ago, and now she is coming here to take her mom back home to live with her for a while.  Even though that friend's mom is leaving behind her other daughter and her husband, her granddaughter, grandson, and great-grandson, as well as dozens of friends, I am hoping to give this card to her Saturday at her last farewell party before she moves to Texas with my friend, Lena.

This card is simple, and you will need the following materials:   (front of the card)  Mariposa by DCWV, cut 1/8 smaller than the actual card, embellishments that are travel-themed, a rub-on or clear sticker with the hello on it.  I cut the card blank 8.5' x 5' and fold in half. The card mat is an 1/8 of an inch smaller than the card front.  I place the embellishment in the center of the card.  the embellishment is by K and Co and is one of their 3D stickers.   Tip:  of you are frugal enough, you can get that same effect by cutting out two of the same image (or three), stacking them on top of each other, while placing a glue or form adhesive dot in between the images.  a simple clear "hello!" sticker was placed at the bottom of the card.  If you do not have a sticker, you can print in your own handwriting, print with your printer, or some simple alphabet stickers will do.   Now for the inside of the card...

I normally do not dress up the inside of the card, unless I get a request for a sentiment or two on the inside, because some people like my mom write personal notes on the inside.  In this case, I added a special treat to this card.  I modeled it after a card I posted on my blog a couple weeks ago.  the one I posted, I originally made it a couple years ago, and the inside of this card is the updated version. The materials I used for the "pocket" are:
2 tags (1 large and 1 small cut down tag)
Mariposa paper by DCWV
Crumb Cake ink by Stampin! Up
White gel pen.
The first thing I did was to "match" the two Tags.  I took the Crumb Cake ink, and rubbed it on both tags.  with Stampin!Up's new form pads, all I had to do was glide it to coat the tags (I inked both side of the large tag).  With the large tag (#8 tag by Inkssentials), I folded up the tag about 3' to form a pocket, took my ATG glue gun to secure it on two sides, leaving the top edge open.  Then I took the Mariposa paper and  created a false pocket on the tag.  I did a _._ pattern around the tag, and set it to the side.   With the small one, it overwhelmed the larger one, so I cut the length down.and i paced a small strip of the Mariposa Paper on the bottom of the card, and did the same type of faux stitching around the tag, and stuck inside the first tag.   before adhering the set to the card, I stuck a piece of gold organza ribbon around the tag group and tied it off.  more of the 3d stickers from the same K and Co sticker set to complete the picture.
As I explained earlier, no sentiment in the card, but I will write a nice personal note for my friend's mother.  She will be back to visit. she has too in order to visit her other daughter's family.  Until then, I hope she will enjoy her stay in Texas, and I hope you have enjoyed viewing this card. Be blessed on this day, and see you next time.

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