Another Mother's Day Card

(Click on photo to view a larger image.)

Okay, now I really want to crow. I have managed to create two Mother's Day cards ahead of schedule. For me, that's nothing short of amazing. My inspiration for this card was a notification from one of my Yahoo groups that the weekly layout challenge was due. I haven't participated in a challenge in quite a while but I decided to give this one a whirl and, as is my custom, get more bang for my creative buck by making the card do double duty. Not only do I fulfill the challenge requirements, I have completed a card I needed to make anyway. An Asian theme and a rubber stamped image were among the requirements for this particular challenge so I pulled out all the stops. My last post featured a card I made for my mother. This card is for my sister. It just so happens that my sister loves Asian design also so this card was a no brainer.  

The layout challenge for this week was a criss-cross  pocket card. You can see a tutorial for this layout here. I used a different Asian themed origami paper on the two front pocket flaps and fabric paper on the back of the card. For the inner pull out card I chose translucent vellum so that the pattern of the paper could be seen through it. After stamping and embossing the central image of the woman, I used my Cuttlebug and an oval die to cut it out. Also cut out the larger black oval layer and edged it with gold paint. The belly band is a one inch length of cardstock wrapped around and adhered into place with sticky tape. Gold bamboo and Asian coin stickers are added to the belly band and the central oval is adhered into place using double stick dimensional foam to make it stand off the page. Stazon solvent ink is used to stamp the sentiment on the vellum. Once dry, solvent inks will not smear on non-porous paper such as vellum. A goldtone eyelet and tassel are added to the top to provide a pull for the card. Gold flower stickers add a final touch.


Ballo ergo sum
- Gitana, the Creative Diva

Less Is More

I'm not known for my simple designs. Seems I begin with all good intentions to keep things simple then I find myself going and going, not knowing when to stop and having a ball in the process. This time I think I may have accomplished that elusive task of creating something simple without it being boring.

The central motif was accomplished with a cut-and-fold template by POP-UPS by Plane Class (www.popuptemplates.com) and double-sided paper. In this example I used plain paper, red on one side, white on the other. There are double-sided papers made for this type of application. What is important is that the paper is text weight, NOT card weight, or else the folding won't be as crisp. This panel was adorned with stickers and adhered onto navy blue card stock. All gold stickers from StarForms, Netherlands.

There is no multiple matting, no stamping, no embossing, no distressing, no fancy or extraneous anything. Just three ingredients: paper, stickers, card stock. It doesn't come any simpler.

Ballo ergo sum
- Gitana, the Creative Diva

On a Roll

(Note: Click on image for a larger view)

Okay, so perhaps I'm not being very imaginative but I've done it again. I used the format of another layout challenge to create a card that I need for the immediate future. This time the challenge in question is the weekly layout challenge run by the Oriental Stamp Art Yahoo group that I belong to. I found this layout quite a challenge and didn't know where to go with it, but once I started I couldn't stop. I used lots of gold outline stickers, something I still have to get accustomed to. These stickers are very delicate and I'm always afraid I'm going to break one. I managed not to break any stickers this time around. Let's hope I'm as lucky next time.

Ballo ergo sum
- Gitana, the Creative Diva