Special Cards for Special People

I always love getting cards from our design team. This form of scrapbooking is something I am not good at, and with so many talented ladies on our design team who are experts at it, there  is no need to ever show any of my cards.  Today I am going to show some amazing cards  from the Design Team "Girls". First up is one from Gloria, who is in a class of her own when it comes to making cards.

She has a beautiful card to share today. Using papers from Graphic 45 and one of our butterflies. This cards is very special and deliate and pretty. Who could not be delighted to receive this card in the post! 

IDS0002 Butterfly

  Gloria painted the butterfly with white acrylic paint.  She allowed it to dry completely. Then, inked the butterfly with Watermark ink, and dusted with various mica powders to give it a soft, pastel shimmer. She the inked the edges with Wisteria chalk ink.

For the flowers:  Gloria create flowers with die cut shapes. She inked all edges with chalk ink to match the theme of the art piece. She did a lovely job of hand making her flowers.

For the alphas: Gloria inked each letter with Frost White pigment ink. She sprinkled the letters with violet embossing powder and heated them. Gloria allowed some of the white ink to peek through for a distressed look.

IDALC0001 Lowercase Letters

Don't you love the flowers, they are simply amazing and they must have taken lots of patience to make. Gloria has done a wonderful card, perfect any special occasion. As I said she is in a class of her own when it comes to cardmaking.

Supply List:

Imiganiarium Designs: Extra Large Butterfly, Lowercase Letters
Paper: Graphic 45 Little Darlings: Heaven Sent, Cherished, Little Treasures
Die Cutting System: Spellbinders Grand Calibur; Die templates Grand Peony Creations, Rose Creations, Bitty Blossoms
Wire: Artistic Wire
Crystals: Prima leaves; craft supply branches
Ink: Clearsnap Colorbox: Pigment Frost White; Fluid Chalk Wisteria, Lime Pastel, Orchid Pastel; Watermark
Embossing Powder: Stampendous Violet
Mica Powder: Pearl Ex Pearl White, Duo Green Yellow, Interference Violet; Cosmic Shimmer Silver, Pale Gold
Paint: Deco Art Acrylic White
To see more of her work, visit Gloria's Blog
Gloria Stengel

Next up I have a card from Nadia, again another amazing cardmaker. Don't you love this card, it has a shabby chic look to it, so pretty and fresh. Nadia also is in a class of her own when it come to her work.

Nadia has done a simply beautiful card and I love the finish she applied to her chipboard. She has included some tips for using the chipboard and how to get the look she has.

IDS0002 Butterfly

"For the butterflies and other chipboard pieces - apply gesso, then dab light coloured ink and with your fingers run a darker paint in random places on the chipboard. Finish with a coat of Glossy Accents".

IDT0014 Small Butterflies on a Board

IDS0009 Bird Cage

 "For the birdcage - apply gesso and dab brown ink at random places and leave as is. For the butterflies and other chipboard pieces - apply gesso, then dab light coloured ink and with your fingers run a darker paint in random places on the chipboard. Finish with a coat of Glossy Accents."

IDC0007 Coners with four Circles Small

Just look at the attention to detail Nadia does with every project she makes, whether it's cards, layouts or off the page projects, she is meticulous  in in her attention to detail.
Again other amazing card, perfect for any occasion .
Materials List
Ribbons
Prima Print Papers and flowers.
To see more of Nadia's work visit her blog
Nadia Cannizzo

Another Card I want to share, as I said the Design Team are experts at Cardmaking, is one from Sandie and is perfect for Mothers Day which is coming up soon.

Don't you love Sandie style of paper crafting, it is always so classic and pretty, delacate and dainty. What Mum would not love to receive this card on Mother's day. Again I love the finish Sandie has applied to her chipboard

Here is what Sandie had to say about the process of making her card and the finish she gave to the chipboard.

"I applied texture paste to the 'Mum' chipboard piece (IDW0021), and lightly pounced with the end of my paint brush to give the chipboard a more textured appearance.  I wanted the inks when I coloured to sink into the crevices, and be more intense in colour. Painting with Gesso after the texture paste has completely dried, allows for a nicer surface to ink on.  The distress inks I used are 'Walnut Stain' and 'Stormy Sky', and each was carefully applied to one half of the chipboard, blending slightly in the middle to give a more variegated appearance.

The butterflies (IDT0014) were simply painted with gesso and inked lightly.  All surfaces received a generous coat of Glossy Accents."

Imaginarium Designs: 4 Small Butterflies (IDT0014), Mum for Cards (IDW0021)

Papers: The Scrap Cake, American Craft Cardstock

Flowers: I am Roses

General Craft: Double Sided Tape, Velvet Ribbon, Guipure Lace, Sewing Machine, Thread, Texture Paste and White Gesso

Ranger: Distress Ink 'Walnut Stain', and 'Stormy Sky', Glossy Accents.

To see more of Sandies work visit her blog

Sandie Edwards

Last up I have a card from Nat. Again a beautiful card and one she made for a friends wedding, it almost a gift in it's self.  Nat also makes amazing cards and I have been lucky enough to have received a few over the years. I treasure them all.

She created this card for her best friends wedding. She is what she had to say about her card.
"I'm lucky enough to be able to get our wonderful chipboard man, John to custom cut their names which was perfect for this card. I used the Edward relief border and altered it to create an interest strip on the card. I inked the ID in charcoal ink first and then used metallic silver memory mist to give it some colour".

Nat has done some punching using some of Martha Stewarts border punch's and layered them on her card.

Don't you love the touch of bling on her card. I love the way she has clustered her flowers. Who would not love to receive a card like this and I love the fact that it can stand up.

The custom ID names are simply sprayed in cream household spray paint! It does the job perfectly!

Again another amazing card from Natalie. 

Material
Making Memoreis paper
Bazzill
Prima flowers
Green Tara flowers
ZVA flourish
Martha Stewart doily and punches
Maya Road Crystals

To see more of Nat's beautiful work visit her blog

Natalie May

The Design Team Ladies have certainly got cardmaking down to a fine art as seen here. Who would not love to receive cards like the ones above. Thanks to the Ladies for sharing their skills with us.

Just would like to wish all the Mum's, Mom's and Mothers a happy and wonderful Mother's Day. A special wish for those who have suffered the lost of a child and for who Mother's Day will have a special memory.