Cardmaking-Companion-Blog

A good friend of ours turned 60 today and he also retires (lucky him). Now I've known the date was looming for a few weeks now but it was only this morning that I got time to sit down and make his 60th Birthday Card.

Now I hurridly routed around in my stash and found this wonderful background paper from the Transatlantique Collection by Graphic 45.

The sheet was a 12"x 12" but the center image fitted perfectly onto my 8" x8" card. I mounted it onto gold bubble foiled card and then a pearlescent brown.

The image was so rich and striking that I didn't really want to distract from it so I decided to keep the sentiments to the minimum and added no further embellishment.

The "60th" is a simple black peel off, mounted onto an oval cut from the pearlescent brown card and then framed with a scalloped edge gold foiled card. Both of these were cut using Nestabilities.

I fixed the ovals using double sided sticky pads to add dimension to the card.

For the insert I used a lovely warm sand colored sheet and kept it plain (i.e. without my usual punched corner!). For the outer edges of the inside of the card I used the cut offs from the original sheet which showed old shipping line posters.

I have to admit I was very pleased with the result and now only wished I'd bought more sheets of this beautiful paper as it is one I picked up from a bargain bucket and was reduced by 66%.

Motto of the story - even if you're not sure how you will use it, if it's a bargain buy it as you'll put it to good use one day!

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On 4th September I shared with you the Handmade Dedication Cards which I made for Elijah. Well today we had another Dedication in Church, this time for Elijah's baby cousin, Emilie.

This time both Emilie's Grandmother and her Auntie (Elijah's mum) wanted cards.

For the Grandmother's card I thought I would just create the same design as I did for Elijah, just changing the colour scheme to pink, instead of blue. Anyway you know what they say about the best laid plans.....

...So this is how the design turned out! Silver foiled embossed card has been layered onto silver Mirri board on a 8" x 8" white card blank.

The centre piece, as in Elijah's card, is a mock book made from a Nestability die. The front page has a pink inlay behind it.

The centre bookmark is a thin strip of ribbon with a miniature cross charm on it. A pink Mulberry Rose embellishes the top of the book, whilst each corner of the matt has a pink pearl embellishment to finish the card off.

The insert I made for the card was in pink with a card making punch cross in the bottom right hand corner.

The second card I made again features the child's name and the service date, but this time I used the circular eyehole Nestabilty die, sitting it onto a circular matt (Nesties again), and then a silver Mirri Board eyelet matt. (The idea was that this would resemble a flower head, like those on the background card.)

Both of these photograghs were taken whilst it was still quite dim this morning. Although the photos are quite dark it does show clearly the printed pink embossed pattern of the background card.

Two green butterfly embellishments "flutter" around the flower head , and a beautiful angel charm completes the card.

In this case the insert was pale green to compliment the butterflies.

I hope you like them both!

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At Church today we had a Dedication Service for one of our youngest members, Elijah. This is a service where the parents commit to explaining the Christian Faith to the child, and we the Church Family commit to supporting the family whenever or wherever we can. When the child is older it is up to him/her to make the decision whether or not they want to be baptised.

This is the Dedication Card I made for Elijah's Grandmother to give to him. Actually that  is not completely true, I started the card off  and was just making the "book" when my friend, Linda, who had come over for the weekend from the Isle of Man, helped me finish it and completed the design.

I have to say Linda is, in my opinion, one of the best cardmakers in the UK. - That's not just a friend's flattery - some of her work is truly exceptional!

Unfortunately I had to rush to take the photographs before Church this morning and they're not so good.

The "book" is cut from a Nestabilty die - the pages have been curled and  pale blue ink has been brushed across the edges. Because the die sizes are such, Linda painstakingly cut  base blue card to shape to sit between the white "pages" and the silver Mirri board "cover". The white satin ribbon has been glued down with a pearl embellishment to hide the glue spot.

The cross has been rubber stamped in Slate Grey ink and it comes from a set available from Stampin'Up. Although the photo does not show it clearly the cross has been stamped flat onto the white card and then a duplicate cross has been layered over it using 3d foam pads.

A simple cross has been punched into the pale blue insert. As you'll have gathered I love using card making punches on the inserts. I have quite a selection but am always on the look out for more.

As you can see from the photos a satin bow and some more embellishment pearls help to balance the card and complete the design.

I normally make cards on my own so it was really good making this, sat on the floor,  with Linda whilst watching Saturday night TV. I feel so blessed to have good friends.

Linda was also kind enough to bring over about 50 cards which she has donated to my card stall for Mission work. I'm sure a few of them will find their way onto this blog soon!

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Reaching 40 years of marriage is quite an achievement so when our friends, Bob & Linda , were celebrating their Ruby Wedding recently I wanted to give them a special card.

I didn't have a lot of time to work on the card so I decided to adapt the Golden Wedding Card design. You don't always have to come up with new and exciting designs every time - if you're pushed for time adapt something you've already done which you know works!

So for this one the card blank is, as previously, 8" x 8" with gold mirror card and cream parchment matt and layered onto it.

The centre piece is my good old favourite Sizzix "Forever & Always" embossing folder. Of all the embossing folders I own this is the one I use time and time again!

I tried many different ribbons on this card but decided to use this satin red polka dot one. Note that I fixed the strip to the parchment matt before sticking the parchment onto the mirror card - this enables the ends to be safely secured between the layers so there is no chance of fraying.

Ten paper red roses form the bouquet tied with the matching ribbon. I'm not very good at ribbon tying and it took me half a dozen attempts to get this one to sit correctly.

I slipped a silver heart charm onto the wire stems of the bouquet, twisting the wire to ensure that the charm does not fall off.

For the insert I went a bit over the top! I used a pearlised gold A4 sheet and then using a Martha Stewart border punched a lace edging out in ruby red card.

It's been a number of weeks since the Ruby Wedding but Bob says the card is still sat on their mantlepiece!

Recently at Longton Community Church we held a Promise Auction in aid of the Mission Work we are doing in Uganda and Macedonia. I "promised " 2 lots, each of 10 Handmade Christmas Cards. Both lots sold well but after the auction one of the bidders asked could she alter her 10 to a mix of everyday cards. I didn't have a problem with this and she duly presented me with a list of upcoming occasions - the first of which is a wedding.

Now handmade wedding cards are not something I tend to make a lot of, but I have to say I am rather pleased as to how this one has turned out.

The card blank is my usual "specials" size of 8" x 8" and I've covered it with a sheet of paper from the do crafts Papermania Confetti pad. I love all the sentiments on this paper, and although I did toy with  the idea of putting a sentiment embellishment in the bottom left hand corner I decided the card worked just as well without it.

The 2 hearts have been cut using Nestabilities from a piece of left overpale pink  background paper which has a manuscript design on it.

The scalloped edge is also from a Nestability, cut from a pearlescent pink paper.

The cardmaking embellishments are from a sheet of wedding card embellishments which I picked up from a sale bucket. When I see sheets of embellishments in sale buckets I tend to buy them by the handful as I always find they come in useful.

I also added a heart shape jewel stick on to each heart  and to compliment the pink rose embellishment on the bottom heart I added a pink paper rose to the top heart.

Each of the hearts has been stuck to the card using 3 dimensional foam pads to add more depth to the card.

The insert (not shown) is pink with a heart punch out in the bottom right hand corner and down each inside outer edge of the card I have stuck 4 punched hearts.

If you have any wedding cards which you'd like to share with myself and other readers of Cardmaking-Companion just go to the Readers' Gallery on Cardmaking-Companion, follow the simple instructions and upload your card photo.

I seem to be in a season of special occasions and parties at the moment.  This card is one I made for my dear friend, Pam, who recently celebrated her 60th

Her mother had organised a surprise party for her at Farington Lodge, a beautiful setting, where we all enjoyed a wonderful 3 course meal.

I'm delighted to say that Pam was thrilled with her card.

The card blank is the 8" x 8" size which I now use for all my "specials" - onto it I matt and layered pearlescent card in blue and pink and then used a very ornate butterfly design paper from K & Company, "Sparkly Sweet" speciality paper.

Unfortunately the camera hasn't picked up all the thick glitter on this paper, so as usual does not do the card justice!

The numbers have been cut using my Cricut and have been mounted using foam pads to raise them from the card.

Luckily in my embellishments box I had a couple of rubber butterflies which complimented the paper perfectly.

The finishing touch was the "Happy Birthday" tag which I embellished with 2 crystal gemstones.

For the insert I used the same parchment paper which I had cut the numbers from and then punched the doily edging using a Martha Stewart punch. A small butterfly punch in the bottom right hand corner completed the card.

Way back in January I wrote about an Unusual Wedding Invitation which I had made for Stewie to give to his bride to be, Lisa. Well the Wedding Day finally came last Sunday and we had a lovely day at their wedding.

However, as usual, my life has been really hectic so I had absolutely no time left to make them a Wedding Card myself. I frantically searched through all the card boxes of the cards we sell at Church. Luckily Anita had recently made this delightful card so I dutifully purchased it, but before writing it, decided it was so nice I had to share it with you.

The card is a landscape with scalloped edges. I hope you can just make out the pale white and grey backing paper which Anita has used as a base mat. Onto this she has rubber stamped a delightful wedding image from Lili of the Valley which she had bought from one of the craft shows we have been to, and a simple sentiment.

The stamped image has been mounted onto silver Mirri card and the finishing touch is a white chiffon ribbon.

I love the way Anita has been quite sparing with her use of colour on this card - the image could have been more heavily coloured but I think this would have distracted from the overall feel of the card.

A little glitter just gives the card the right amount of highlights.

And just in case you're wondering what the happy couple looked like - here is their photo - taken just after they'd exited the Church through a whirl of confetti!

It's a sad fact that often our lives are so busy that we take our friendships for granted.

That is why I want to share this card with you. It was made by a lady called Linda (not the same Linda I have previously written about) who has recently joined our card making team and she is making some really lovely cards for us to sell at Church. This one particularly caught my eye because it is so bright and jolly and just immediately makes you want to smile.

I think it is a great card to send to a friend to just to let them know that you do not take them for granted and that you do value their friendship.

I like the way Linda has combined her use of rubber stamping with the torn hand made paper and the printed background paper.

It was really refreshing for me when Linda showed me some of her cards and asked to join our team because her style is very different to mine and she has jolted me into thinking how I can freshen up some of my card making.

So my suggestion to you all is to make some Friendship Cards and let your friends know how much you value them.

At Church recently we had a Celebration Evening to celebrate what has been achieved in the last 6 months and to look forward to the next 6. As part of the evening our choir performed  a special song and I'm going to share it with you here because I think it fits in with this piece on friendship - I know many of my friends have been there for me in tough times ( you know who you are ladies!) and I was grateful for their support.

I hope you enjoy the video - all the singers are amateurs and rehearse together for just a couple of hours a week. I thnk they did a great job on a great song!

I just want to share with you this card I made for my friend Margaret who was 60 yesterday.

Margaret is a very special lady so I wanted to make her a very special card. What makes her so special is that she has recently donated one of her kidneys to another member of our Church who was in desperate need of a kidney transplant.

Margaret is not related to the other person but felt directed by God to put herself forward for kidney matching. Now if you are not religious you might say that this is a load of rubbish - I'm not here to argue the semantics or rights of this I'm just reporting to you what Margaret felt she had to do.

None of the recipient's family were a match but Margaret was so the operation went swiftly ahead.

Margaret has saved the recipient's life because she was failing to respond to dialysis.

What a selfless act - at 59 years of age Margaret knew the risks and was prepared to take them.

Could I be so selfless? The honest answer is I'm not sure - I would like to think I could be but until faced with the situation I do not know how I would react.

As you can see on the card I have made a little bouquet from the floral embellishments which I got at Port Sunlight and I've used lots of pink gemstones to add life to the brown and pink cardstock I've used for the Toppers.

The backing paper is a spare sheet I've had in my "stash" and I thought the brown and pink made a nice choice rather than standard floral, silver or gold based papers.

The words and numbers are cut from the Cricut George cartridge. The base card is cream and I added a punched pink insert.

Anyway I hope you like it and after telling her story you can see why I think Margaret is so special!

Are you ever stuck for a Birthday Card and just want to make something quickly?

Well you can do this easily by crafting a card using a Card Topper, and with a couple of quick additions the card can look really special.

For this card I covered a 12cm x 12cm (approximately 4½" x 4½") card blank with a mottled green paper. This was a piece of  loose paper I had floating around - remember never get rid of your off cuts - they will always come in handy!

I thought the paper complemented the card topper well.  The card topper is one from a sheet from E - Z Stick On Embellishments.

I tend to buy sheets of these card making embellishments when they are in a sale. I just choose ones I really like and then pop them in my embellishments drawer ready for when I need them.

This topper has a blank space on it for you to write a message but I opted instead to put a small clear "Happy Birthday" sticker onto it.

If I hadn't bothered to do anything else the card would have looked a little plain so I added a rose pink chiffon bow to it. This complements the lilac on the topper. I experimented with some peel off corners and thought about punching the edge, but in the end decided this was fine.  On a small card I do think you can overdo the decoration sometimes.

For the inside of the card I decided to use a pink card making insert . I chose pink because it is a nice contrast to the green background paper and also matches the ribbon nicely.

To give some interest to the insert I used a small thumbnail punch to punch a butterfly in the bottom right hand corner. Obviously the white of the card blank shows through - a simple and effective way to make your card that bit special!

This card only took a few minutes to make once I had decided what I was going to use but I hope you'll agree with me that the end result is a pretty Handmade Birthday card!

Susan from Cardmaking-Companion.

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