Cardmaking

Many years ago, I received a handmade thank you card in the mail.  It was both thoughtful and creative.   Sometime after that I found myself in one of the scrapbooking supply isles of a local craft store just standing there, in awe, looking at all the neat things available.  I didn't know what to do with any of it.  But I bought a few items, then a few more.... and here I am now with an entire room filled with everything from paper punches and decorative scissors to ink pads and rubber stamps.  Oh such wonderful toys!!  I've tried assorted techniques and still have a few more I might get to eventually but for awhile now I've been somewhat addicted to tags and pop dots.  Crimping papers is great fun too.  Ribbon, yarn, or tulle seem to end up on many of my cards.  Since I can't knit, crochet, or sew... it's the next best thing I guess.

Occasionally, I'm asked to make something special.  Recently, a friend requested a birthday card for her sister who has a connection with butterflies. 
So out come the supplies.... I gather up assorted things that might work and then play around with them.  Sometimes an item isn't quite right.  I have wanted to use that blue-green paper for awhile and have a textured teal paper to go with it.  But I realized it looked like peacock feathers and thought it would clash with the butterfly theme.  So back to the paper pile.  

The final card came out like this.  It's colorful, but also has a gentle feel to it.  Warm and summery too.  The tulle almost reminds me of butterfly wings.  The envelope I did in a box design with a couple flower cutouts glued on.  It's a deep color but picks up one of the colors of the floral paper. 

Next is a photo of a card I did a few years ago.  It was for a girl who loved 'Casablanca' so I found a photo online, printed it out for background paper, used another photo of 'Rick' and 'Ilsa', made a little film wheel out of heavier paper and glittered it up and added ribbons to the side. 

This card I sent to the artist who did my first (only have 2) tattoo.     

My daughter's wedding card was a bit bold.  One very large glittery flower and pearl sticker that I bought just like that.  Easy breezy.  So there was time to work on other things, like her jewelry, you know, the other obsession!   

My husband volunteered me to make this next card.  He's in the construction field and someone he knew was retiring.  He was an estimator for a painting company.  A few of the guys and their wives went in on the gift and I made the card for everyone to sign.   

So there are a few assorted samples of my handmade cards.  I hope you like them.  They were a joy to make!