I was curious about Easel Cards, so I did some research.  I hadn’t really tried any before because they looked very involved.  Boy, was I wrong.  I found some great instructions on the Splitcoast Stampers site.  I’ve been having so much fun – you should give them a try sometime.

My first card uses one of my favorite Christmas digis, 3 Candles by Pamela Lehto available through Squigglefly.  It’s such a pleasure to color and I really like using a wide variety of greens and yellow greens for the Holly leaves.

The completed design on my card face is 5″ by 5″ and the final card size is 5″ by 6.5″  Using a larger base allows me to mail it in a rectangular envelope instead of paying extra to mail a square envelope (and it gave me a different way of decorating – LOL).

To make an easel card stand, the bottom of the card needs a 3-D object to prevent the top of the card from closing.  I used some ribbon from my stash, tied a bow on it, and glued it to my lining paper.  That provides enough depth to keep the card front upright when opened, and allows the card to lie (almost) flat to be mailed.  I generated the sentiment on my computer (PowerPoint – and saved it as a .jpg), added mats and glued in place.

My friend provided the Poinsettia flower from her stash, and my daughter quilled the three  paper spirals to match the spirals on my ribbon.  So the final card was a joint effort, and I’m very happy with the results.

Now for my next card…

The digi is once again from Squigglefly.  The design is called Christmas Bouquet Cup also created by Pamela Lehto.

This card uses a square base.  After coloring my image with Copic markers, I thought that it still needed something, so I added a thin coat of Stickles to give it some sparkle.  Unfortunately, my photography doesn’t do it justice, so you’ll need to take my word for it.

I’m entering both cards in the Squigglefly challenge – Ribbon or Lace and The Paper Shelter Challenge, Christmas is Coming.

Well, I hope you enjoy my cards.  I’m ready to continue my exploration of of easel cards the next chance I get.  Thanks for stopping by today, have a wonderful Thanksgiving with you and your family, and find time to create when ever you can.

Hugs and Creativity,
Linda O (Loster)

I was thrilled with how this card turned out until I discovered something…

I love the digi by The Paper Shelter,called, “Are You Ready My Friend?“  It was so much fun to color with my Copics.  The decorative paper came from Michaels and I created the sentiment on my computer.

Here’s a closer view – have you found them yet?

There are at least two major issues, one that I caught, and one that my friend pointed out.  I’m so glad to have a friend that can tell it like it is.  I’ll be submitting my card to The Paper Shelter’s “Christmas Is Coming” challenge.

Does this help?

I always thought that I paid great attention to detail – I guess I’m wrong again.  I hope you have a fantastic and creative week as you prepare for turkey day.  Thanks for stopping by.

Love,
Linda

You’ve heard the old saying… “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”, haven’t you?   That’s the base for today’s card.

On the outside, it says…

And now for the inside…

I’m going to submit this card to the following challenges:

• Squigglefly – “Let’s see your Polka Dots“
• Outlawz Friday – Alcohol markers challenge  ”Tickle my funny bone“
• Use It Tuesday –   ”Stick it” – printed paper from my stash, digi that I’ve had for almost a year

How I made my card:

The apple digi is from the book, “Copic Coloring Guide Level 4: Fine Details” by Marianne Walker and Colleen Schaan.  The book comes with a disk containing many of the graphics used in the tutorials – that’s where the apple came from.

The Spellbinders that I used are: Grand Labels One LF-161 (for the card base),  Labels One S4-161, and Scalloped Labels One S4-375.

My bow was created by gluing my ribbon back-to-back so that it appeared to be reversible ribbon.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you can find some time this week to do something creative.

Hugs and Creativity,

Linda

Have you ever found something that just works?  It just fits the occasion without hassle, derivation, or additives?  Well, I think I just did.  I think today’s card personifies simplicity and elegance for the holiday spirit.  I liked the design so much once I colored it, I chose to use it as a solitary design on a plain red background.  Can you see what I mean?

The design is Pamela Lehto’s from Squigglefly, and it’s called (appropriately), 3 Candles.  Copic markers gave me the opportunity to create the shading around the candles, as well as add depth and differentiation to the leaves.  Before printing the design, I used Word to change the color of the digi line art from black to green, and I also used Word to create my green border, complete with a light blue shadow.  I finished it off by outlining the leaves with a green Copic Multiliner.

I’m going to submit this to Squigglefly’s “Leave Me Be” Challenge.  Thank you for stopping by, and have a great and creative week!

Hugs and Creativity,

Linda

Imagine that – posting two cards within the same week!  I’m on a roll!

Blue and Green are my favorite colors, so it was easy to design a card around the combination.  It was so easy, it’s almost embarrassing to write about the card – but I will anyway. (LOL)

I used my Fiskars Interchangeable Border tool to create the border along the edge since I was using a pre-made card base.  (See, I told you it was easy.)  My flower digi is from Squigglefly.  It’s part of a set of flowers called Flower Set by Lynne Stansbery.  You might want to check out the set as there are four different flower types in the set – you can use them individually, or in any combination.

I mounted my colored digi (colored with Copics, of course), on a piece of blue card-stock from my stash, added it to the card base and tied a ribbon.  Quick, simple, and done.  I’m going to enter my card in the following two challenges, the Outlawz Challenge:  Paper Al A Mode – Personal Color Challenge and The Paper Shelter Challenge:   Use Two Colors Only.

Thanks for stopping by today, have a fantastic and creative week.

Hugs and Creativity,

Linda

Okay, what happened to September?  Somehow, it just disappeared, and now October is half over, and I don’t have much to show for it.  Well… at least I’ve had time to make a few cards.

Today’s card features a dare-I-say “cute” Zombie from Make It Crafty.  He’s adorable, isn’t he?

Coloring with my Copics was easy – I didn’t stick to any particular color scheme.  I used YG00 for most of the face, and a combination of YG01 and YG02 for other parts of the skin and bones.  You can’t go wrong coloring torn clothes – any marker available will work just fine!

The background for my card came from my stash as well as the Washi Tape.  I used some jute ribbon to tie around the center panel and my skeleton charm came from a pair of Halloween earrings I had (too busy to go to the craft store and buy something new – so I thought I’d give these a try.)

I’ll be entering this card in three challenges this time:  The Squigglefly Challenge SFC4113 for Halloween, the The Paper Shelter (Charmed) and the Use It Tuesday’s SCRAPS, PIECES, ODDS & ENDS challenge – (piece of the earring for the charm.)

Thanks again for stopping by today, I hope September and October haven’t been sliding too fast for you this year.  Enjoy the remainder of the Fall season.

Hugs and Creativity,

Linda

Yes, I had an idea – but before I get to my card, I must tell you that we had a fantastic time on our cruise.  My husband, an avid swimmer, and I, an “I can tread water if I need to swimmer – but I’d rather not get wet, or too hot in the sun type of person”  took time out to go Power Snorkeling.  I was very apprehensive at first, but, I’ll admit, it was a blast!  We were in the Bahamas, in crystal clear water, and it was amazing.  Maybe we’ll get to do it again sometime – I sure hope so!Now, for my card… I made this before I left, and I hope you can relate to my obsession – craft stores and their sale/coupon offers..

I’ll admit it, in the craft store, I can think of a zillion ways to use most of the products that I see.  There’s just no limit to the ideas that run through my mind while I’m in the store.  So, I rationalize that I really need the embellishment, paper, or gizmo in front of me.  And, of course, when it’s on sale, I can’t buy just one, especially since there are so many variations available – what if I need them all?.  Then, when I get home, I forget how I wanted to use them.  My bad!   (I’m sure that advertisers love me because it proves that their advertising is working.)  That’s what happens to me when I see some of the beautiful Washi-type tapes available.  I’m attracted by the colors and/or the designs, or just the idea that I “might” have a use for it someday.  I’ve been (sort of) collecting them for the last six months or so – but I really haven’t used many of them.

My normal process for designing cards is to start with my colored graphic (colored with Copic markers, of course), add a background, secure it to the card base, and then work in my embellishments, including decorative tapes.  But, the decorative tapes weren’t “fitting in” as an add-on embellishment, and I wasn’t using my tapes as I expected to when I bought them.

So… I had an idea!

My idea was… Find the tape that you want to use, then either make your card base (complete with background matting if desired), or use a pre-made card base that coordinates with the tape.  THEN add the colored graphic and embellishments.  On most cards, I find that the tape works best as part of the background, instead of trying to fit it in as an embellishment. This is how I made my card:

My pre-made card base provided an excellent opportunity to use a border punch (also used less than I anticipated), that would show the contrast between the pink on the outside and white on the inside of the card base.  The border punch is one of the Fiskars interchangeable border punches.

I was curious to find out if my punch would be versatile enough to give the illusion of a “rounded” corner, so before using the border punch, I cut the corner off with my scissors.  Then I punched the top edge, the corner edge, and the vertical edge.  I think it worked out well – definitely something different.

Once I had my base card shaped and ready, I decided on the design lines I wanted my tape to create for the background.  Some of the tape on the front of the card wraps around to the back of the card, and may even continue to the inside of the card.  I didn’t take a picture of the back of the card (my bad), but the diagonal tape wraps onto the back of the card creating two vertical lines.  This is what the inside of my card looks like:

Can you imagine the possibilities?

After taping my card, I used a fairly simple graphic, popped it up with pop dots – one of the designs that I used in a previous post, created by Anne Fenton, published in Through The Craft Room Door, and was included in the Summer Issue 2013.  (Sorry, this digi is only available to TTCRD subscribers)

After adding a few flowers as embellishments, my card was complete, and I have successfully created a way in which to use my stash of tapes and several of my semi-abandoned tools.  I’m going to submit this card to the Use it Tuesday Challenge blog – using two stashed items (Tape and Fiskar’s Interchangeable Border cartridge).

Thanks again for stopping by today, I hope I was able to spark some new ideas for you.

Hugs and Creativity,

Linda

Hi there, and thanks for stopping by.  Thanks again for those of you that voted for my “No Butts” card in last week’s Squigglefly challenge.  It’s great to know that someone is actually checking out my blog, and, of course, I enjoy the special goodies that go with winning any challenge.

My card today was designed to be entered into two challenges – Sqiugglefly’s Pink and What? Challenge and Use it Tuesday’s Two Hoarded Items Challenge.

As you can see, I matched Pink with Green and Purple.  I think, with the right design, these three look fantastic with each other together.

I love both of these floral designs, they were fun to color.  The top, gladiola-type flower is from Squigglefly.  The design is one of four flower designs included in the Flower Set digi image from Lynne Stansbery.  With the shading built-in, it’s really easy to show depth with my Copic markers.

The iris flowers were a little more challenging.  I had to do some research to decide what I wanted them to look like.  There are so many varieties of irises it was hard to decide, so I came up with a mutation of my own.  The iris digi came from Anne Fenton, published in Through The Craft Room Door, and were included in the Summer Issue 2013.  (Sorry, this digi is only available to TTCRD subscribers).

For Use It Tuesday’s challenge, I have included the pink and green floral paper that came from one of my 8×8 card-stock books that I’ve had for much too long.  It’s a two-sided paper, and I hate to waste the other side, and I usually don’t use it in a basic card, but it just worked this time so I made an exception.  The dimensional flower is also from days gone by.  They never seemed to work with anything before because they were off-white.  After coloring my graphics, I decided to color the loose flower petals with my Copics so that they would compliment my card.  They seemed to work OK, didn’t they?

BTW, I’ll be tied up next week (it will be for fun, of course), and I won’t be posting until later, so be sure to check back in a week or so.  Thanks again for stopping by today, I hope I was able to spark some new ideas for you.

Hugs and Creativity,

Linda

Squigglefly’s Challenge this week is Down on the Farm.  I couldn’t resist this tongue-in-cheek interpretation of a farmer tilling the garden (on the farm), that I found on their website.  The digi is available from Squigglefly and entitled Gardener.The Copic markers I used on the blue jeans were B91 and B95.  For skin tones, I used E000, E00 and E01.  The background was created on glossy paper using Copic Various Refill ink on a small felt pad dabbed over the paper.  I used light blues and a little light violet for the sky, several shades of green for the trees in the background, and several earth tones for the ground.  After coloring my farmer, I fussy-cut the design and used pop up dots to give the card more depth.

The No Butts About It… saying was computer generated, and punched from a 1 ¾ circle punch, and backed by a 2” scalloped circle.  I used foam between the layers and to attach it to the card front.

This card could be used for many occasions – what would you want to say on the inside?

Thanks again for stopping by today, I hope I was able to spark some new ideas for you.  Hugs and Creativity,

Linda

Need a fun thank you card?  Cheryl Grant Alger’s Grip It and Rip It (Max) available from Squigglefly.com is a very cute design, and is very easy to color.  I thought it would work great as a Thank you card that could be given to almost anyone.  If you would prefer more of a girlish look, they also have a girl on the skateboard – check it out, here. PreviewYou may not see it clearly in the picture, but I printed the sentiment and graphic directly on my Copic paper, along with the border lines.  To do this, I created a MS Word template* that allows me to create four different designs, using the same layouts as the template.  I can change out the graphics – or the text, so that I can use it over and over for a new look each time.

This is what my page looked like before printing:

After inserting all four of the graphics that I wanted into the template, I printed the page and trimmed each design to either 4” by 5 ¼” or 3 ¾” by 5”, depending on the graphic and if I wanted to mat the graphic before I placed it on my final card.

And… I could have stopped there because I had four fantastic card designs.  However, I wanted to take it a step further.  I masked off the sentiment with post-it notes and/or removable tape, and I used my Copic markers to airbrush the background so that I could have the gradient colors in the sky.

And… of course… my favorite step… I colored the graphics designs with Copic markers.

I secured my Skateboard design to a card base and added a flower and buttons to complete the picture.  Clean and Simple, right?

I’m going to submit this card to this week’s  Outlawz CAS challenge – Flowers.

If you use MS Word, and would like to try the template that I created, click HERE to open the template and follow the directions explained below.  Let me know how it works for you, as I’m always updating and revising my templates.

You will need to activate the SHOW / HIDE tool on the menu bar (it looks like a backwards “P”) and turn on VIEW GRIDLINES from the LAYOUT menu tab (this only activates once you have clicked inside the table – and this template is made from a table, so clicking anywhere in the middle of the page will give you access to the LAYOUT menu.)

Notice the four highlighted areas on my picture – one in each “cell”.  Each area is where you insert a graphic.  Using the INSERT / PICTURES tool from the menu bar, you can insert graphics, being careful not to change the height or width of any cell on the page.  If you have trouble with any of the text currently within a cell (and you probably will with the lower right cell), after pasting your graphic into the cell, right click on the graphic and choose the WRAP TEXT option from the drop-down menu and select TIGHT.  This will allow your graphics to reside anywhere within the cell.  Just re-size and move the graphic as needed.

Thanks again for stopping by today, I hope I was able to spark some new ideas for you.  Please try my template and let me know what you were able to do with it.

Hugs and Creativity,

Linda Osterwise (a.k.a.  Loster)