A Couple of Cards to Make...

Another post with handmade cards....

I tend to create designs that use paper scraps.

I keep my paper scraps in a couple of clear plastic shoe boxes.

Anything that does not get used in a card making session goes into the boxes when I clean up.

This means the next time I make cards, new items get paired together.

The first card today starts with a printed card blank.

I usually pick those up on sale or clearance.

They save a step of adhering a printed background.

I added an embossed red scrap.

I punched several flowers from tissue paper and crumpled them up.

Then I smoothed them out, layered them and glued them in place with a great big rhinestone for the center.

I stamped my greeting on a scrap of white cardstock.

I love the look of a little banner so I trimmed out a v of paper from the left side.

Pop dots are my best friend when card making.

I added the banner to the card with a couple to add dimension.

To finish it off, I glued another punched flower and small rhinestone to the greeting.

You can do any occasion or theme with the basic design.

Often if I am making cards, I will do a variety with the same format.

It saves time once I get going.

The next card uses little paper scraps to make a sweet banner.

Add a blue background a little smaller than your card.

Freehand cut a cloud shape from white card stock.

Cut it in half (It will do 2 cards).

Glue the half cloud to the top of the card and stamp the greeting of your choice.

Clip little triangles from paper scraps.

Glue them in an arc.

Cut a piece of cotton twine and tie a bow on each end.

The last card today uses a few die cuts.

I die cut a tree and embossed it first.

Then I punched a few circles and embossed them.

I tore a piece of green paper that was the same width as the card for grass.

Then I just glued them all together.

I hope you saw something you can use.

Sometimes the simplest thing can inspire me:texture, patterns, shapes, color combinations....

Thanks for stopping by....

Christmas Banner in A Mason Jar Gift

Recently I jumped at the chance to do a Mason Jar gift.

I am a long time admirer of Angie from The Country Chic Cottage  and she wanted to do a round up.

I have a passion for mason jars and pick them up every chance I get so I figured this would be easy.

But then I did the typical me thing....

I come up with half a dozen ideas for Mason jar gifts and could not decide on one.

So I am showing you one today and I plan to share one every Monday from now until Christmas in a feature I will call Mason Jar Monday.

Here is today's Jar gift.

A Christmas banner in a jar.

The jar is not the star of the show this time.

The banner is.

It is fast and easy to make.

The perfect gift to make in multiples.

Gather some supplies:

I used an old hymn book from a book sale

my Stampin' Up Simply Scored Board

scissors

a stapler

scrap red paper

some green twine

buttons

and a Sharpie marker.

Remove pages from the hymn book and trim the edges.

I cut my pages into roughly fourths.

Then I clipped a triangle out of the bottom of each piece.

I did spend some time in the studio searching for a fast easy way to do letters.

Of course the search took longer than it would have to just get started.

So I decided to just use a marker and do them free hand.

That is more fun anyway.

I used a large flower punch to punch out a few red flowers.

I folded the top of each piece of paper over and stapled it onto some green jute twine.

I stapled the red flowers between the letters and glued a button over the staple.

I spelled Merry Christmas, but you could do any word or phrase you want.

To make the rosette, remove three more pages from the hymn book.

Use the Stampin' Up Simply Scored board to score the paper about every half inch.

Accordian fold the pages.

Fold the pages in half and glue three of them together.

Add another red punched flower to the front and top with a button.

Pile your banner pieces up and stack them so you can slide them in your mason jar.

I used a wide moth quart jar.

I also added two glittered clothespins to hang the banners.

Then I wrapped the lid with more twine.

Glue your rosette to the lid.

If you would like the recipient to be able to use the rosette as a decoration or ornament, do not glue it on.

Instead use sticky dots so it can be removed later.

It would be a special gift to make a family's name and the date they got married or moved into a new house.

You could make sweet first name banners for a child's room or a new baby.

But I made a Christmas banner for this one.

And because I did not have anyplace in my house ready for a christmas banner, I displayed it in the garden.

I love this little woodland vignette outside my shed.

The large piece of slate was from a school house.

It was given to me by a friend of my husband.

The concrete mushroom and planter I made several summers ago.

The tree mushrooms were cut by my husband when a tree blew down in the yard last summer.

Hope you enjoyed my little Mason Jar gift.

Thanks for stopping by...