My mojo is still off on his Summer holidays and I was stumped for ideas. It's not for the want of Christmas card making stuff to use - just a totally blank mind!
The Playground toy box is quite healthy ready for the annual Christmas/New Year prize draw but I want to try and avoid making (or at least publishing) any snippets cards using my own duplicates as that's all part of the fun - I hope! I have a feeling I will be making some Christmas cards and perhaps publishing them ahead of time but not saying if the items I've used are going to be on offer until we hit Christmas and New Year time in the Playground - me bad!
In the end I rootled through my box of shop bought Christmas cards we've been sent in recent years - saved with up cycling in mind. And I came across a card with three sweet little painted robins wearing hats and a scarf on (bless them) - and I ended up CASE-ing one of my own cards of September 2016 so there's more than a touch of déjà vu here!
I was only saying in an email to a blogging friend at the weekend how I never seem to use a lot of stuff more than once - and then I go and almost replicate a previous card, how weird is that then? In fairness, I made three cards last time as I chopped up a card with nine little robins on - just made the one card this time though:
- 4" x 5.75" off white card blank, tent style. Pure and really crisp white wouldn't have looked right against the snowy backgrounds and luckily I had some card blank with the slightest tinge of 'creaminess' - which of course the camera has bleached anyhow!
- one triple window die from the Just Rite Frame Set 'Three in a Row' to die cut the apertures in the card front
- using the Misti I aligned a stamp from the triple stamp Inkylicious 'Seasons Greetings' sentiments set and inked it up using Memento 'Tuxedo Black' ink and stamped it in place
- then cut one spare aperture from a snippet of card and trimmed it to about an eighth of an inch bigger than the aperture on the card front on all sides to use as a template as the three little robins were all perched along a branch on the original card and also very close together
- used the template to draw a pencil frame around each robin and then just snipped them out using scissors
- backed each aperture with red line tape and I added all the red line tape around the apertures for each single square before starting to add the images from behind (by eyeballing from the front of course) and then just peeled off as much backing as was needed as I went
- backed the inside of the card with a slightly smaller piece of the same off white shade of card stock using red line tape - finished!
Drat though, the original card was printed on high gloss paper and try as I might I just couldn't take a photo without some bounce-back of light!
It didn't take all that long to make and, with luck, I'll return to that box of cards to up cycle again - like a couple of dozen times at least as am woefully behind on my Christmas cards target!
Love your robins card Di
ReplyDeleteHappy Wednesday
Kathyk
I whole heartedly agree with everything Kathy said above!!!!
ReplyDeleteHugs, Sarn xxx
A lovely card Di - such cute robins and great upcyling too!
ReplyDeleteKath x
Aww aren't they just darling, I love how you've framed them with a clean and crisp design. Great bit if upcycling x
ReplyDeleteA lovely design and sweet robins. I must try and upcycle some of my old christmas cards that are stuffed in a drawer waiting to be used x
ReplyDeleteSuch a gorgeous card Di, great re-cycling.
ReplyDeleteSue xx
A darling card, Di. I too have saved some cards received over the years. Thanks for reminding me to use them. And have I ever said TY for telling us how you make your cards? Thanks! It really helps. Best wishes for your creative bug to return. :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Di,
ReplyDeleteHappy Rudolf Days.
Oh how I love this card and those Robins are so very sweet.
Love the different Robins in each box and the crisp details in this wonderful design.
Sorry I haven't been in the playground lately time seems to be running away with me every week or am I just getting so much slower doing things.
Thank you for joining the Rudolf Challenge.
Lots of crafty love. Jenny L. DT
Fabulous card Di and super upcycling. Robins are always my favourite xx
ReplyDeleteSo cute, Di xoxo
ReplyDeleteHow cute and sweet robins, they peek out so well from the square windows!
ReplyDeleteA great bit of recycling here and another one for the Christmas box. There must be a theory behind why we buy things we 'must have' because we love them and then possibly only use them once. Have to own up to being guilty of this one too!!
ReplyDeleteI love your cute little robins Di and great upcycling, and they look so sweet peeking out of their stitched apertures. I think that font on the sentiment is very elegant too. x
ReplyDeleteOh, I love these sweet robins, Di! And I'm envious of your stitched triple squares! They make beautiful frames! A perfect design for upcycling!
ReplyDeleteThose robins are really cute and a great idea to put them in those lovely frames, that is a really lovely font for the sentiment.
ReplyDeleteKath x
Fab card, love those robins. I have an obscene amount of Christmas stamps/stash and don't have a single idea in my head with what to make, I think I did better when I had less stuff !
ReplyDeleteHow right you are Joan - it's the same for me as well. I dither around and then end up making nothing! x
DeleteAwww, how sweet is this card Di?!! I love those adorable Robins with their scarves and little hats. Too cute! I also love that you up cycled an old card. I just never seem to get good ones that can be up cycled or just am not talented enough to do it. lol You did it well! I have found that the more things I have, the more hard time I have choosing what I want to use. I did better when I didn't have so dang much! lol But I love all my stuff and don't want to part with any of it. How sad is that?!! Hugs, Brenda
ReplyDeleteoh gosh Di, I just love this one with the 3 robins and beautiful stitched window frame! Such a great Christmas card!
ReplyDeleteThis is lovely, Di. I love robin cards at Christmas and these three are so sweet. I like that aperture die. It must come in o handy as it seems to me that it would be very versatile.
ReplyDeleteI need to sit in my craft room for a full day and make up some of the multiples of cards that I ketted up but did not finish. Then my numbers of finished Christmas cards will finally improve. Soon as school goes back in, methinks. Just a few more days! Right now we are kept busy with their swimming lessons (we pick up their pals too) and on the in between days Al has tken them golfing, and to the water slides, and shauffeured to the Pacific National Exhibition where Little Miss C likes to go through all the barns to visit the horses, cows, goats etc...
You didn't make it easy for yourself but it turned into a fab upcycle with that lovely triple window. Hope your mojo gets back off its hols soon, meantime don't think too far ahead, give yourself a break and take care xxx
ReplyDeleteGreat upcycling, Di. Your little robins are just perfect to pop behind the apertures, super CAS card. xx
ReplyDeleteIts very pretty card!
ReplyDeletehugs
Such a sweet card, Di. There's always something nostalgic about robins on Christmas cards. Trying to finish my card for the Rudolph days so I need to rush...
ReplyDeleteBeautiful card. [Bunny]
ReplyDeleteGORJUSS!
ReplyDeleteoh those robins are too sweet - they deserved a second outing on a card! I used to only buy things that I knew I could use more than one way and then somewhere along the line I just got shop happy lol! Trying to go back to as simpler time with stash....
ReplyDeleteAaaah what an absolute sweetie and Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without Robins and thanks for joining at August's Rudolph Days Challenge, Luv Sam x
ReplyDelete