scrap-happy

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Scrap Happy Mixed Media Halloween Cards

I’m joining the Scrap Happy crafters this month with a series of Halloween greeting cards.

My scrappy creations include paper, embossing powder, embossing enamel, Distress Oxide Ink, and Gesso.

I had one 6 x 6 sheet of paper with a small brick pattern, part of a free-with-purchase order last year. I was able to used that little paper over four cards

This year I created Halloween greetings using leftover oversized playing cards. I’ve wanted to try this altered card technique for some time, but I’ve never been successful. Halloween lends itself well to more random design, so I parked my trepidation at the door and had fun.

Jumbo Playing Cards
Jumbo Playing cards with Gesso

Applying Gesso to the face of the playing cards gives the otherwise glossy surface tooth. I wanted the number and suit of the playing card partially visible in each design, and I mostly managed that. As I created cards with the royalty suits, I realized how serious they looked, all the more so once inky spider webs entered the mix. In all the years I’ve played cards, I don’t think I noticed.

This set uses numbered playing cards.

I created one card using vintage stamps enhanced with oxide inks to make the blue stamps look like nightime sky, and a gold to soften the browns for the field. If I did this again, I would have created a softer edge between the top and bottom. I scribbled with a gold pen but I’m not sure it reads well. Again, the process and the learning is what makes this fun.

I photographed the altered playing cards, but I forgot to take pictures once they became Halloween cards. I’m writing this from Ohio, where I’m visiting a friend, so I’ll ask you to visualize a playing card mounted on black paper, then applied to a folding card. I used craft paper cards for the small brick series, and white cards for the rest. Below are two examples as finished cards.

Fellow makers, please consider joining us for this monthly, no-commitment challenge to create from scraps.

Thank you, Kjerstin, for hosting ScrapHappy. The following bloggers also take part in this challenge.

Kjerstin, Eva, Sue, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Tracy, Jan, 
Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Dawn, Gwen,
Sunny,  Sue L, Vera, Kate,
Ann, Dawn 2, Carol, Preeti,
Viv, Karrin,  Alissa, Tierney,
Hannah, Maggie and Wizzy

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ScrapHappy April: Just One Card

Kate at Tall Tales from Chiconi brings together a group of bloggers to share creative uses of scraps. These might be paper, cloth, metal, or an as-yet-unidentified material in search of upcycling. 

scraps of red and green paper

I’ve managed one card this month using a tried-and-true pattern known as a tri-fold card. Sharon and I learned how to make this card many years ago at a Saturday crafting retreat. It works well with scraps, with the challenge of using disparate colors and textures to create a whole.

This month’s card uses an assortment of paper scraps and a rub-on decal from a paper pack. I experimented with a scrap of vellum for the focal point, and I’m pleased with the way it turned out. 

I’ve got more cards in the works…for next time.

Happy scrappy, everyone.

Here’s a list of makers with links to their blogs:

Kate, Eva, Sue, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Tracy, Jan, 
Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Dawn, Gwen,
Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera, 
Ann, Dawn 2, Carol, Preeti,
Viv, Karrin,  Alissa,
Hannah and Maggie

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ScrapHappy for Last Year’s Calendar

Thank you, Kate, for bringing us together for these monthly scrap-happy challenges. Kate and Gun have hosted this blog hop for a decade. Impressive, eh? Forget your troubles, come on get scrappy.

My contribution this month uses scraps of velum and several pages from last year’s The Old Farmer’s Almanac calendar to create three greeting cards.

I used two pieces of heavy white card stock for the body of the card, then adhered a pretty section of the calendar to the card front. These illustrations by artist Kristen Kest are too pretty to toss.

I ran both layers through my nifty die cutter, then scored the top and glued it to the back layer.

I stamped a couple of sentiments onto scraps of velum (I love using velum) and added them to the front of the card. Making these cards was quick, easy, and fun or in Kate’s parlance, scrap-happy.

I have a few more pages of the calendar to craft with. I hope to get to that next month.

Old Farmer's Almanac art by Kristin Kest
Old Farmer's Almanac art by Kristin Kest

Thanks as always, Kate.

Here’s a list of contributing scrap-happy bloggers:

Kate, Eva, Sue, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Tracy, Jan, 
Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Dawn, Gwen,
Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera, 
 Ann, Dawn 2, Carol, Preeti,
Nóilin, Viv, Karrin,  Alissa,
Tierney, Hannah and Maggie

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ScrapHappy: Stone Paper Card

I made a card for this month’s ScrapHappy post (shocking, right?) using a scrap of white paper, inked to a lovely shade of blue, and a salvaged piece of Stone Paper®. Yup, Stone Paper is a thing.

Last fall, my friend Barbara sent us a care package from Spoonful of Comfort, a delicious, soup-based meal. The soup arrived with a reusable cover made from Stone Paper. We devoured the soup, and I saved the cover for a future card.

I’ve crafted with Stone Paper before. The paper is soft to the touch, easy to cut, strong, and sustainable.

Barbara loves birdwatching, and as it often happens, the disparate pieces clicked. I made her a card by die cutting the “soup bonnet” from her gift and adding three wild bird postage stamps from my stash.

I added texture to the blue background using a spatter-patterned embossing folder, then used a glitter pen to create the illusion of raindrops on a window.

Thank you, Kate, for organizing ScrapHappy each month.

Click the links below to see what other crafters have shared this month. If you want to join us, please get in touch with Kate. She does a fantastic job keeping this fun and organized.

Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Tracy, 
Jan, Moira, Sandra, Chris,
Claire, Jean, Dawn, Gwen,
Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera, 
 Ann, Dawn 2, Carol, Preeti, Viv, Karrin, Amo, Alissa, 
Lynn, Tierney , and Hannah