Sharing a project - cards

If you've listened to the ScrapGals podcast this week, then you know we talked about scraps, tags, and cards. I challenged myself to make some cards since that is definitely outside my comfort zone. Here are the two cards that I made Labor Day weekend. Of course, I'm sharing with you the whole story - failures included. :) That's just how I roll.

I made this first card because I really do have a friend that experienced a loss; a sympathy card seemed to be a good place to start. Tracie discussed using a recipe of paper strips to make cards, so I decided to go with that plan. I had some 4 X 4 Jenni Bowlin papers that I'd used on another project; that seemed to be a good place to start. Once I'd adhered the paper strips, I started looking for something I could use as a title and embellishment. I played around for a few minutes with several options and practiced stamping my title a couple of times on different surfaces. Since our show mentioned tags, I thought I'd incorporate one here. Of course, I ended up jacking up the title slightly and will have to remake it, but I do like the design and the idea of the card. I didn't let the stamped title dry long enough and it smeared slightly when I picked up the card to move it. Even though that aggravated me, I still learned some valuable lessons. First, I CAN actually stamp. I was really pleased with how crisply the images stamped for me on the very first try. (Fwiw, I used a mounted rubber stamp on the title and an unmounted rubber stamp for the sentiment inside and black StazOn ink.) Second, I like the immediate gratification of making a card. I only worked on this card for 15 minutes or so and had a finished project. That's a win in my book. Finally, I love the idea of using a recipe for a card. Even though I didn't look at any examples before starting to make this card, Tracie's recommendation about paper strips was on my mind. That's all it took for me to be able to come up with this plan.

After I'd made the first card, I was itching to make another one. Using the same collection of 4 X 4 papers that were already out on my desk, I made this thank you card. Again, I started with paper strips then looked for a way to embellish my card and add an accent/focal point at the same time. I chose a premade journaling spot and simply adhered a wood veneer phrase to it with Glossy Accents. On the inside of the card, I added a small sentiment to make the card seem more finished.  Same recipe but a different feel to the card overall - that's what's really cool about using the paper strip recipe that Tracie recommended. I can't imagine that I'd get tired of that system for a long time, especially if I varied the width of the strips, the direction of them, etc.

Ironically, I also found a couple of cards I made earlier this year when I started to work on these cards today. I 'think' I made them at the end of January, but I'm not 100% sure on this. I thought I'd share those here too. I do remember that I made them using scraps that were already out on my desk from other projects, but I don't recall the other details. Here's a little extra card inspiration for ya!

I hope to work on a couple of more cards tonight or tomorrow, so stay tuned to the blog at the end of the week for more potential card/tag/scrap samples. Go and be crafty, my friends! :)