My Top 10 Card Making Tips

I found this great article online about card making tips. I hope you find it useful!

Happy Monday!

Tiffany

My Top 10 Card Making Tips
By Nicola Ray

Card making doesn't have to be complicated, in fact, it's one of the easiest crafts to start, since you've got most of the things you need already in the home. Whenever you're starting though a few simple tips will go along way and these card making tips for beginners will set you on the right foot.

1. Keep a notepad of your ideas and take it with you everywhere. You never know when an idea may strike! Pop it by the bed at night as well - late at night and early morning are often times when ideas will come to you.

2. Inspiration comes from anywhere. From fabrics and furnishings to papers and greeting cards. Sometimes looking at what other card makers are doing will give you inspiration too.

3. You don't need lots of fancy equipment - just an ordinary pair of household scissors, a ruler and some card to cut on (it will protect your table). So don't spend a fortune, unless you're going to make it a long term hobby!

4. Using repositionable adhesive will make your card making easy. It allows you to move your paper and embellishments around the card to ensure you've got it just right.

5. Try making your own embellishments with beads, crystals and ribbons. They'll make your cards chic and unique.

6. Experiment with using different areas of the card. The main focal point doesn't always have to be in the centre of the card. Think about using the left hand side, bottom or even top of the card.

7. With your designs, less is often best. If you over do the bits and pieces on your invitation, it will look too much. Less is more and definitely so for elegant greetings cards!

8. Collect bits and pieces from the cards you get given. You can then build up a stock of pretty embellishments to use on your own cards later.

9. Think about 3D effects. You can use foam sheet adhesive to add a little bit of height to your embellishments - then they'll really stand out on the page.

10. Don't throw anything away! You'll be able to use all your bits of paper and left over ribbons and embellishments for other cards. Keep them safe as you will be able to use them again!

Nicola Ray is the editor of Wedding Invitation Ideas where you can design, create and make your own wedding invitations. With free wedding invitation templates, step-by-step instructions and lots of stunning designs, it's the perfect place to start. You can find more articles like this one in the Card Making Tips section.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nicola_Ray
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Babies Everywhere!

It seems like when you find out one person is pregnant, five more pop up pregnant too! Between work, family, and my church - there are many babies being born this year!

I absolutely love the Stampin' Up! set All in the Family. This set is so versatile. It comes with a bunch of little bodies, feel, arms, and heads so you can customize your people! They even include a dog & cat in the set and a pair of glasses. This would be a fun set to make Christmas cards with too. Check out the Splitcoaststampers Gallery on this set and I'm sure you'll want to add it to your wish list.

Just a reminder, the Spring Mini expires Monday. Hurry & place your order and get -20% off! There are some fun things for summer in there.

I hope your weekend is going well. Thanks for stopping by and check back soon!

Tiffany

Here Comes the Bride! It's Wedding Season!

Hello everyone! I hope your week is going well. Are all those wedding shower and invitations rolling in? I just got one yesterday in the mail. Luckily, I recently attended a Stamp Camp & made this adorable wedding card. I love the "mr." and "mrs. on it. It's from a gorgeous stamp set by Stampin' Up! called Together Forever. The great part about this set is that it can be used on cards other than wedding ones. It has some beautiful flowers that I used the background on this card, and it has a stunning circular design that can be used on almost anything. I inked the edges using Sponge Daubers.

The little bird house in the background is the one my son painted for me for Mother's Day. I mentioned that in my Mother's Day post, but didn't provide a picture at that time. Isn't it cute?!? My son loves to paint!!!! He will sit there for an hour and paint or color. That's amazing for a 2.5 yr old who can't sit still at any other time.

Enjoy your day. It's almost Friday!!!!! God bless!

Tiffany

Thank ewe! Fun Flock Tutorial

Thank ewe (from Stampin' Up! Pun Fun set) to all who visit my blog regularly, subscribe to my blog, and everyone who leaves comments. You make my day!

I had so much fun making this card! I used Fun Flock for the first time. It is so easy to use and it leaves a fuzzy finish. Love it!!!

Fun Flock Tutorial

Supplies: Cardstock, stamp, ink, Fun Flock, adhesive, and a tray. I prefer Sakura Quickie Glue pen. It makes it easy to get into all those little creases.

Step 1 - Stamp image on your cardstock and apply glue where you would like to add Fun Flock. I did a little section at a time because my glue was drying up too fast.

Step 2 - Sprinkle Fun Flock on your image and gently press fibers into the adhesive. Allow adhesive to dry and tap off excess into your tray.

That's it!




Cute, easy and fun! Fun Flock comes in an array of colors. You can also mix flock with glitter to get a sparkling image!



Any questions? Just drop me an e-mail! Have a wonderful day!!!!

Tiffany

Altered Tin for Cards

Happy Summer!

Summer has arrived! I decided to take my photography outside this weekend. My flowers are in bloom and the sun is out!

This project came out of the "blue" for me! I was at Michael's and they had on clearance these adorable tins for $1. The bottom of it is solid blue and the lid is blue with white polka dots. I just bought it with no clue what I was going to do with it. When I got home, I found the perfect paper to go with it. I picked it up last month when I was at my sisters in IN. The brand is the Paper Studio. I had a sheet in the wavy background and a sheet with these huge flowers on it. I cut out two of the large flowers from the sheet. I layered and creased them in a little to give it some dimension. I also cut out the center of the flower and mounted it on pop dots. See what you can do with just 2 coordinating pieces of patterned paper? The "T" is a silver metal monogram. I tied American Crafts ribbon on it in the same colors as the paper & attached white grosgrain ribbon on the trim of the lid. I am going to use this to store some of my cards in. Maybe just my summer ones!

Thanks for stopping by and wait until you see the cute card I'm working on using Stampin' Up! Pun Fun set! I'll be posting that soon along with a tutorial on using Fun Flock!

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Tiffany

I'm an Eclectic Paperie Friend Today!

I am honored to be featured today as an Eclectic Paperie Friend in their online newsletter! How fun is that?! I'm ready to party and these bee's look like they are too! Did you catch the bling on their little bodies and heart shaped antenna's? Hopefully my picture is picking up the glitter on the paper too and the little heart after "happy bee-day".

The pattened paper is from Imaginisce - A Shore Thing Sweet Summer Breeze Glitter Paper. The stamps are the very cute Stampendous Bee Happy Collection. I colored in those cute bee's with my Copic Markers. The bling on the stamped images is Stickles Glitter Glue in Diamond. All supplies can be found at Eclectic Paperie. Their online store is easy to navigate around, they have awesome products, and it's super easy to order. They also ship things out pretty fast too! Go take a peek - you'll love this store!! :)

The weekend is approaching and I have lots more on the way! Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check back soon.

Tiffany

Heartfelt Thanks

This month is going by fast! Summer always goes fast, doesn't it?

I was in the mood the other night for elegant and simple card making. This Stampin' Up! set, Heartfelt Thanks, is just that! I used cardstock from the Earth Elements line of Stampin' Up! I tend to use up my Earth Elements pack of paper sooner than any other because these colors remind me of fall, and I LOVE fall. I use these colors all year round. With this set of 4.25 x 5 inch cards, I used Old Olive, Ruby Red, Pumpkin Pie, and Very Vanilla. I used my SU! slit punch to create the scallop border. I posted a blog entry last week with a link to that tutorial. The "Blessings To You" stamp is from Hero Arts. Don't forget your little dew drops. I love them!!!

Stampin' Up! released a new product line this week - Decor Elements! It's a line of self adhesive vinyl art used to decorate your home. It can be used on walls, mirrors, windows, or other hard, smooth surfaces. This product will be available to you on July 1st. If you are interested, drop me an e-mail and I will forward you a brochure with more information and pictures!

Have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping by!

I have something really fun to share with you tomorrow!!!! :)

Tiffany