Hello friends, and welcome back to Card Swappin’ With Dave! I hope all of you have been putting smiles on your family and friend’s faces with your handmade cards. I know I need to get a card out to a special friend this week who is really down and needs a big pick-me-up. Do me a favor and make a card to send to a friend or family member that you may not have talked to or heard from for a long time. With all of us being so busy, it is sometimes difficult to keep in touch like we want to and like we should. It is a great way to connect with those special people in your life.
At the card swaps at Stamp & Scrapbook Expo, I always like to ask the card swap guests if there is a particular item they like to include in each card that they create. It works like a “signature” on their cards. Flowers, bling, or washi tape are just a few. I like to see the creative stamps that the swappers have come up with that they stamp on the back of each card. This just adds that little extra special touch to their cards. We have a lot of guests who incorporate sewing into their cards which is an awesome way to make their love of two hobbies combine into one beautifully finished product!
I like to incorporate one of my old hobbies that I used to be involved in several years ago which was postage stamp collection. Over the years I was able to collect several (well, maybe several boxes) of cancelled postage stamps from not only the US but from around the world. I have so many beautiful stamps that depict flowers, butterflies, birds, wild animals, beautiful scenery, and the list goes on and on. Recently a local realtor placed American flags in everyone’s yard on our street. It looked so wonderful and it was a beautiful thought. I found her business card attached to the bottom of the flag and wanted to show her our appreciation for the flag by sending her a thank you card. I used patriotic-themed papers and created a card like the one shown below. I added a cancelled US Flag stamp from several years ago just to add that special touch to the card. I placed a card inside, too, so she could write a note to someone and reuse the card if she wished to do so. I included a note just to say thank you for the placing of the flags in our yard and our street. I enjoy using the stamps I used to collect in this way as it my “signature” on my own cards. Take a look at some of your other hobbies, either something you are doing now or that you used to do, to see if you can include some of those items in your next card.
This next card, created by Steven Ziegler at our Chantilly show, shows how one of his childhood favorites, marbles, played a big part in the background for his cards. He took some distress sprays and sprayed the bottom of a container starting with the lightest color first. Then he rolled the marbles around on the sprays to collect the colors. After that, by taking his background paper and attaching it to the container, he simply rolled the marbles on the card background to create an amazing array of colors. What a fun way to create a beautiful card! Steven also mentioned that he had marbles all over the place which makes the fun of this technique even better.
Wendy Abdo, who attended our card swap in Duluth, GA, created a wonderful “Thinking Of You” card using the quilling technique. With this technique you can determine the size and texture of each flower or swirl you create to add to your cards. The lucky recipient of one of these cards would feel very cared for with the time and effort it took to create such a beautiful card. Each design is one-of-a-kind, created by using your imagination. You can use this technique to make the wheel of a carriage or even an elegant fence topper to send to a special friend who enjoys gardening.
I would love to see some of your cards at one of our card swaps at Stamp & Scrapbook Expo. Check out all the great themes we have for our swaps. There is always something for everyone and you are guaranteed to walk away with some great cards and great card making ideas. See you next time!
~Dave
