Peridot Cards

And now for the feminine themed birthday cards…

Again I tried to use a good mix of colors, prints and themes to ensure the cards work throughout the year.  I tried to limit the amount of pink and flower papers but a few did sneak in.

One of my favorites is the blue and green card.  They are my favorite colors and I used one of my favorite card sketches.  For some shine, I added Love from Lizi peel-offs along the edge of the blue scallop print paper.  The second card has some pink and flowers but I think the black background keeps it toned down.  The polka dot paper might be from SEI and the floral print is from Recollections At the Barnyard.  For both cards I added a few bubble embellishments from Queen and Co.

The first card uses paper from 3 different companies.  I always have fun pairing up different colors and patterns.  The green polka dot background paper is fairly new, but the stripe and scribble circle paper have been in my craft room forever.  A few bubbles for embellishment and the card is done.  The second card pairs a pink-ish gingham with a fun doughnut print by Recollections.  Bubbles didn’t seem like the right embellishment and after some searching I found some enamel dots that were the perfect pink-ish color.

I was trying to stay away from pink and flowers but I really liked the stripe and floral papers on the first card.  Both papers are from American Crafts Metropolitan collection.  I added a few yellow/gold sequins as embellishment.  I think one super girly pink card is OK.  The second card uses paper from the Bo Bunny Stay Awhile collection.  To soften all the straight lines I rounded the upper right corner of the background and focal panel.  Hard to see in the picture, but I used a strip of gold toned washi tape to separate the 2 background papers.

Yes, another pink floral card but I think the colors and prints give it more of a boho feel.  The background woodgrain print done in pink and orange is a bit unexpected.  The second card uses another not so common color combination – lime green and orange.  I tried a few different embellishments, but decided to keep it simple with orange/white bakers twine.

The last 2 cards both feature a floral print but have very different feels to them.  With the yellow distressed background, the first card has a more country feel.  Adding several brown brads around the sentiment picks up on the brown in the flowers.  I think the second card, which uses more paper from the Stay Awhile collection, has a more tailored feel with the subtle polka dot and stripe prints.  Adding a few off-white enamel dots finished the card.

So, 20 birthday cards complete.  Now to find a new project to work on.

After my last post I was all set to get going on some spring themed cards, but…

An opportunity to help out at the store where my antique booth is located came up.  They were looking for someone to take over the website.  It sounded like fun and would provide another creative outlet.  After a bit of research and some work the “new” website is up and running.

So now back to my regularly scheduled card making.  LOL.

I seem to work better with a project so when my sister requested some birthday cards it was perfect timing.  20 cards – 10 masculine/10 feminine themed cards.  To ensure the cards work throughout the year I tried to include a good mix of colors, prints and themes.  As most of the cards will be hand delivered I was also able to use multiple layers and plenty of embellishments (twine, brads, rhinestones, etc.).

The first 2 cards feature fish and farming.  I like the bright colors and mix of the fish and geometric prints on the first card.  For the farming card I paired the tractor paper with gingham and woodgrain prints.  I don’t believe any of the papers came from the same collection.  The fish is from a 12×12 sheet from Recollections and the tractor is from Recollections At the Barnyard 12×12 paper pad.

Keeping with the bright colors, I paired a green and cream stripe with a multi-colored wonky square design.  For some separation between the prints I added a pale green Love from Lizi peel off.  A few green brads around the sentiment finished the card.  The second card uses papers from the Bo Bunny Stay Awhile collection.  By using a single collection it was easy to find colors and prints that coordinated well.  I skipped adding any additional embellishments as they would be lost on the busier background and focal panel.

The next 2 cards both have a fall/winter feel.  The first card uses a patterned paper from Echo Park’s Warm & Cozy 6×6 paper pad.  Instead of more brads as embellishment, I used a few gold Nuvo drops in the upper left corner and near the sentiment.  For the second card I wanted to use the branch pattern paper from Recollections.  The background paper, a green distressed print, and the dot print were both partial pieces leftover from past projects.

The two prints on the first card are actually the front/back of a single double sided sheet.  I have no idea who made it as it’s been in my craft room for a while.  I wasn’t sure what to use for the sentiment strip but I think the orange brings out more of the orange in the focal panel.  For embellishment I added blue, green and orange brads.  The patterned papers for the shell themed card all came from the Craft Smart Coastal Cove 12×12 paper pad.  It’s a simple layout, but using a bit of bakers twine added some texture and dimension.

One of my favorite cards features the winter animal print (Echo Park Warm & Cozy) with the black/brown gingham ribbon.  Ribbon isn’t my go-to embellishment on masculine cards but I think doing a simple knot vs. a bow kept it on the masculine side.  The second card uses more woodgrain print along with an outdoor/camping themed paper.  All of these papers were from Carta Bella’s Summer Camp 6×6 paper pad.

I swapped back and forth between masculine and feminine cards, working on whichever papers appealed at the moment.  I’ve saved the feminine cards for another post.