Christmas cards

It's December and time is running short for getting those Christmas cards done!

I cheated a little this year and ordered a card kit from Stampin' Up! It helped quite a bit, as I had over 60 cards to make. I can't remember exactly, when I started making my Christmas cards this year, but I was thinking about it in October. Actually, I probably started the first week of November.

Here are some samples of cards that I made..... and each card was different. I made over 60 cards with different designs. No two cards were exactly alike!!


For these cards, I used the stampin spots to make the background. Depending on the colours, you can see that some will create a subtle effect, while others (such as red) will have a bold effect.








I used a brayer to create the background for these cards. It creates an interesting effect....the colour is not as opaque (unless you choose to use the brayer several different times), and it creates a pretty effect for a card that can be very simple (far left), or with more complex elements (centre and right).




For these cards, I used the tree stamp from Lovely As a Tree, which is one of the most versatile stampsets I have. I created layers of trees on this card to create a forest. Only one tree is stamped out with solid (or bolder) colour as the focus.

Variations of this type of card can also use glitter for snow effects, watercolouring, or even embossing.


I love making Christmas cards....I find it a great challenge to make different types of cards with my supplies. I always try to do something different each time. So far, I haven't run out any ideas....

Life is Good!

There are always reasons to celebrate life, whether its a birthday, or just because!!

I had gotten the Stampin' Up! set "She's All That" a few months ago and decided to make a bunch of cards with it, using the theme "Life is Good". Here is what I came up with....





And then because I was on a roll, I went ahead and made a birthday card with an image from the same set.....


Sometimes it's just so hard to get started on card-making, but when I'm on a roll, the ideas just come rolling in......

Variations of a Theme - Vellum

So because I haven't blogged in awhile....here's a bunch of cards I've made with vellum!

Vellum is somewhat intimidating for some people because you can spot creases and wrinkles easily, and it doesn't absorb ink like cardstock. Not only do you have to wait for the ink to dry, you also have to fold it just right.

AND because vellum is opaque, there's the question of hiding the glue spots or sticky dots, or whatever adhesive you are using.

Here are my attempts with using vellum.....

The card to the top right uses photo corners to hold the inside page. (Sorry I have no photo of it!)

The card below includes a bookmark inside. I used glue dots for this card. Notice how the book mark is on the left hand side, opposite the front cover. That hides the glue dots from showing.



The card below uses vellum on the card front. I used glue on the rubber stamp, and sprinkled glitter all over the vellum, but you have to remember to clean the stamp right away. I washed the stamp under the tap and cleaned it again with non-alcoholic baby wipe.

Notice I didn't use ANY ink on this card. I used one of the Stampin' Up! Rub-ons for "friend" and the versamark pad for the water-colour effect. No glue was used either. Instead, I used coloured staples.

I decided to make this one as more of a challenge...I wanted to see if I could make a card without using any ink and I came up with this idea!

I have no idea what long-term-use of glue on my stamps will do though..... I've only done this once.



So far......

Think, think, think.....

I love this tree image.

It's from Lovely As a Tree, a very versatile stamp set, great for seasonal, and masculine cards!

Why do I love this particular tree? It reminds of of the Party Tree in the Shire, from the Lord of the Rings, or it could be a giant tree from the Thousand Acre Woods....both are my favourite fictional places.









Hmmm..... if only I could figure out how to add streamers to the tree. Then I could make a Tolkien-esque card.....

Or maybe I can add a Winnie the Pooh sticker....and Tigger too!


Think, think, think.....

Blooming Beautiful

I've been busy lately but have made plenty of cards this past month.

I thought I'd post the Mother's Day card I made.... I used a sponge and regular ink pad to create the background. To help the sponge pick up more colour, you can always spray a little bit of water onto the sponge, or use a re-inker. I also used chalk pastels to watercolour the flower image.

I like using the scalloped circle punch. It's great for spotlighting an image!!

Something simple

I'm a big fan of simple layouts. Did I say that already??

Maybe it comes from the yearbook editor days, but when there are too many elements on a page, it just looks way too cluttered for me. A simple and clean design is what I always try to go for.

Of course, that means my layouts probably aren't very original, but hey, I never said I was a designer! Just a monkey-crafter! :P

Anyway, here is a card with a simple layout, which can be adapted for virtually any kind of card you want.

For this, I used the versamark watermark pad to add some very faint texture to the background on the white cardstock. You can barely see it, but it's there.

The watermark shows up more in this picture than it does in real life though, because of the light. It's almost like my own designer paper, home made. :) So far I've found that the watermark can be better seen on coloured cardstock, and it is barely noticable on the white, but I haven't used it that much. I'll keep trying new things with it though as I like the effect very much!

As for the images, I love this stamp set. It's aptly named "If the halo fits" from the 2008 Spring-Summer collection of Stampin' Up! So far I've used the angel image for a birthday card, and a get well card, and this one is a thank you card. So versatile! :)

(I'm going to have to figure out how to edit picture sizes.....)

Fancy Birthday

One of my sisters celebrated a birthday in March and I'm quite proud of the card I made for her. I based it on another card that I had made last year but with a slightly different layout.

For this one, I used an image from "Summer By the Sea" from the Spring-Summer 2008 Catalogue from Stampin' Up! As you can see, since this is a later card, my watercolouring has improved!! (but not by much hehe).

The greeting is from "A Little Birthday Cheer" and the definition of "wish" on the envelope is from "Define Your Life".

I used a glue pen to write "Birthday Girl" and

tapped glitter all over it for the final touch. I really like this card. Its simple, but very pretty!

Not all my cards turn out this way though. Sometimes it takes me FOREVER to get a card right. *sigh*

But this one's just perfect! :D

Lining things up.....

I know...the watercolouring could use some help, and I could have used more adhesive.

Watercolouring was the first technique I learned in a card class, and I love the technique. (I'm still trying to perfect it though.) So of course, this was one of the first stamp sets I ordered and of course....this also ended up being one of the first cards I made.

The image is from "Seaside Sketches", from Stampin' Up!'s 2006-2007 Catalogue. I only watercoloured the background and the jeans to add focus on the father-son duo.

The circle window was created using the 1-3/8" and 1-1/4" circle punches from Stampin' Up!

The circle looks in at the greeting (also from "Seaside Sketches" set) which reads "The best things in life are not free, but priceless." The text inside doesn't exactly line up perfectly, and if I were to make this card again, I'd definitely try to line it up better. But that is a minor minor detail.

I think this would be a great Father's Day card!

Intro to Monkey Crafts....

Yes yes, monkey-crafts, my crafting blog.

I'll be putting up cards and maybe other things, that I've made. :) But....I've only made cards and bookmarks so far.

So yes, here's what you'll see....99% of images will be from Stampin' Up! Supplies I use will be about 50% to 100%. Why? Cuz I'm a Stampin' Up! Independent Demonstrator! :) (Plus I like their stuff.)

Why am I posting my cards? Not sure....partly because I like to make cards but have very few people to give them to, or I just can't part with it! Since I'm taking pictures of my cards anyway (so that I remember what they look like when I do give them away), I might as well share some of them.....

Not all of them will be "monkey originals" but they will be all "monkey-made"!