The 16th day- 100 days of christmas cards

Welcome back everyone to the 100 days of christmas cards.Today's card as well as tomorrows cards shows the versatility of using stamps.

The card today features a stamp from the set called 'glad tidings'. I used the lamp post from the set and paired it with the gift tower stamp. The young lady who is holding the pile of gifts looks like she is walking in the street just past the lamp post.

On white card stock, I stamped the two images and then coloured both the young lady and the lamp post with the peerless paint set with glitter added for effect. I die cut the white cardstock at an angle to create a slope effect, adhered it to lilac cardstock and added a lilac ribbon to complete the look.

Hope you like today's card and I look forward to you stopping by tomorrow for the 17th day of 100 christmas cards.

100 days of christmas-17th day

Hi there everyone its the 17th day of christmas cards. I am reusing the lamp post stamp from a set called 'Glad Tidings'in today's card with the mouse characters.

I did this one slightly different in that after I stamped and painted the images, they were 'fussy cut' out and adhered to the white card stock back ground. The girl mouse was placed in front of the lamp post, and the sidewalk curb from the Sheena Douglas's "A little bit scenic- French 50's Cafe"collection, was stamped twice, to create the look of sidewalks. The boy mouse was then adhered to the other side of the 'sidewalk'.

A green strip of cardstock was added to create contrast to the card.

Hope you enjoyed today's card and we look forward to seeing you tomorrow. Please leave a comment before you go.

Thanks.

100 days of Christmas Cards- Day 15

Welcome to the 15th day of Christmas cards. It is a real challenge to be able to do so many cards.

Todays card features a poinsettia in bloom. It is so pretty.

Using the penny black 'glorious' poinsettia die , I cut the shape out of red and green cardstock. With the green die cut I snipped off the leaves of that poinsettia and stuck them onto the red die cut shape. I added some yellow rhinestones for effect.

From W plus 9 seasonal sentiments die, I die cut the word 'hope' from the green cardstock and added a white heart from previously die cut pieces. A previously embossed red strip of cardstock was added to the edge of the card for added colour.

I hope you enjoyed today's card and I look forward in seeing you back here tomorrow.
Dont forget to leave a comment.

14th day of Christmas Cards

On the 14 th day of christmas cards I give to you these cute and cuddly bears! Hi everyone welcome back to Rendesigns and another awesome day of Christmas Cards.

The card here features bears from crafters companion.

I also used stamps from Lawn Fawn's bows and holly collection. The hollies were first stamped multiple times on the card face in a semi circle and painted...(PS I love Nicholas peerless water colour collections). I then stamped the bears on extra paper and painted them.

Using the stitched slope set from simon says stamp I cut a semi circle out of simon says stamp green cardstock and with liquid glue..... stuck it to the bottom half of the card. The bears were then 'fussy cut' out and double sided tape was used to adhere them to the card face.

A few rhinestones were added and there you go...A few friends a carolling in the cold! Have a happy day!

Thanks for stopping by....Please leave me a comment!

On the 13th day of Christmas Cards

Hi folks its the 13th day of christmas cards and I am still going. Today I feature the Crafter's Companion Barkley Rubber Stamp Christmas Set - 1st Class Christmas.

This is a gorgeous rubberstamp which gives you a clean impression. I really enjoy colouring these images and the watercolour paints make it very easy to do.

These stamps are a wonderful, fun addition to any stamp collections.

Hope you love today's creation and I look forward to seeing you tomorrow. Please leave me a comment!

100 days of Christmas Day 12

Hi there welcome back everyone to Day 12 of 100 days of christmas cards.

Todays card features one of my beary friends delivering a gift. This card is great for a little girl or teenager.

The stamp features crafter's companion beary merry christmas. Its a cute stamp easy to colour. Using nicholas peerless watercolour paints I painted the bear...I love the peerless paints. I then stamped the greeting in black and embossed a blue sheet of cardstock.

I added a blue ribbon to complete the look.


Hope you liked today's card and I look forward to seeing you back here tomorrow. Don't forget to leave a comment!

100 Days of Christmas Cards Day 11- The Holly Jolly Hedgehog

Hi there everyone. Hope you're enjoying the 100 days of Christmas Cards.

The card I am featuring today can be given to a boy or a guy. Its festive enough for the season but not too mushy . I kept the design simple - a very happy jolly hedgehog.

To make the card, I took one sheet of cardstock and cut it in two. One piece was cut shorter than the length of the card base and the other piece was cut even shorter for a layered effect. I then die cut the two top layers with two different sizes of circle dies. A piece of red card stock was die cut to fit the size of the inner circle.

Next came the hedgehog which is from the penny black stamp collection. I coloured the hedgehog with watercolour pencils and distress inks. I heat embossed the holiday sentiment in white, on the red circle. Added 3 red gems to complete the look.

Hope you enjoyed the post. Have a great day and I look forward to seeing you back here for the 12th day of christmas cards!

Dont forget to leave a comment!

100 days of Christmas Cards Day 10

Hi there! Its Day 10. Here are some cozy Christmas wishes. Arent these two kittens absolutely adorable. These kittens are from the Inky Antics rubber stamps clear sets....

The stamps are fun to colour and add a playful aspect to your card. This kind of card can be given to someone you love dearly.. The poinsettias are great addition to the stamp. I painted these with peerless watercolour paints.. The die cut which was used came from a stitched slopes die set.

Using a brick wall embossing folder, I embossed a rectangular piece of red cardstock. I put the card together using double sided tape and of course some glitter. Oh how can I forget my little red bow.

Thanks for stopping by see you tomorrow and leave me a comment.

100 days of Christmas cards Day 9

Whoo hoo . Glad to have you back. Day 9 is about the magic of christmas . That's why I featured a snowman as in 'Frosty the Snowman'. I had this circle already die cut so using tape I blocked off the bottom half of the circle, and using faded jeans distress ink by Tim Holtz I coloured the top half of the circle. A white gel pen comes in handy especially when you need to create a snow effect.

Baker's twine was wrapped 4 times around the circle and glued at the back. The snowman was stamped and then 'fussy cut', coloured using Tim Holtz distress markers and some glitter glue was added. Double sided tape was used to adhere the snowman to the circle.
The next step was the embossing of the sentiment in blue. Now isnt that magical!!!!

Thanks for stopping by. Please leave me comment!

100 days of christmas Cards Day 8

Hi there everyone. Thank you for taking time to look at my creations. For the 8th day I featured a very simplistic card.

I used cardstock with a cardinal on a branch. Using the lawn fawn circle stitched die, I created an opening for the christmas greeting. A red border was added to enhance the beauty of the card.

This just goes to show that a card can be made really simple but beautiful.

100 days of christmas cards- Day 7

Welcome back. This is day 7 of my 100 days of christmas cards. Very simple card done in blues and purple.

For this card the shopper is making her way past another shop window but her hands are filled with gifts for friends and family. She has a very classy, sophisticated look.


I first cut out the window with lawn fawn stitched circles. After which the lady shopper were stamped within the circle on the base card and the image painted in blue and purple and glitter added. Merry Christmas was embossed on the outer rim of the card in silver and I added a piece of purple scrap cardstock to the bottom of the card.

For a little more pizazz I added some gem stones and purple ribbon.

Hope you enjoyed reading and I look forward to seeing you back here tomorrow.

Dont forget to leave me a comment.

My Ist day of christmas shopping

Welcome back everyone . On the 6th day of christmas my true love gave to me.... A shopping trip for christmas goodies.

Today my card features a very stylish young lady shopping for christmas gifts. Its called the first day of shopping as I used this stamp a couple more times in different settings so it represents different days of shopping. This day I imagine her walking past a very artsy place...one thats not afraid of colour...hence the pink semi curved piece that represents a pavement.

The stamp is from the penny black collection. It took me about 3 tries before I was able to paint it to my liking. By the fourth try I just said to myself...just feel the colours and let it flow. I have a tendency to over think every thing so I spend alot of time trying to decide if this would look good on a card and if someone will like it...I am trying to change all that and 'let go and let it flow'.

The image was coloured using Nicholas peerless water colour paints in shades of yellows, pink, red, purple, shades of blues and green. I stamped my greetings and added some bling rhinestones. I then added a die cut semi circle at the bottom using some pink glitter card stock I had there for a while.

I hope you like my design and that it makes you reminisce about some of the joys of christmas.

See you tomorrow for my 7th card...hmmm I wonder what will it be?

Keep reading and leave me your thoughts by adding a comment.

The Christmas Village

Hi there.... welcome back folks.... This is the 5th day of christmas cards at rendesigns. Hope you are having a wonderful time as I am.

Today I am featuring a card I call 'The Christmas Village' . Its a whimsical little area thats bright and cheery that fills your heart with christmas joy.

The card is set on a white background. I used a stamp that I bought years ago from crafters companion. I painted this stamp after I had been inspired by looking at some of Thomas Kinkade's paintings and other christmas scenes I looked at on the internet. I cannot compare with him. I just paint with my feelings and let the brush do what it needs to do.

The paint I used was peerless watercolour paints in ecru,butterfly wing blue, a little bit of bismark brown, some chrome orange and Gamboge yellow. I then cut out the image using the circular stitched die cut by Lawn Fawn and of course my little bit of holiday magic- glitter glue.

Hope you like my christmas village....until tomorrow...have a magical day!

Don't forget to leave me a comment.

Its the most wonderful time of the year

Hi folks. Welcome back. Hope you're enjoying my 100 days of christmas cards because I am.

Today my card is entitled 'its the most wonderful time of the year'. It features 2 cute fawns from the stamp set 'blue bell in love' by Wild Rose Studio who are enjoying the spirit of the season.

Using the rectangular stitched die, I cut out a large rectangle and stamped the two fawns on the die cut shape. Using a medium sized round paintbrush I took pains to paint the back ground without painting the fawns. I used the Tim Holtz distress ink colours of blue print sketch and mermaid lagoon for the background.

I then painted the fawns using nicholas peerless watercolour paints and autumn leaf acrylic glaze.

A little glitter was added and then using a white pigment ink pen I added some dots to simulate some snow. I adhered the fawns with double sided tape.

I then stamped the words "Its the most wonderful time of the year" at the bottom.

I love these cute little creatures. Don't you?

Thanks again for stopping by....on the 4th day of christmas..

May Joy fill your Home

Welcome back everyone. Sorry to be posting so late but I had a very hectic 3 days. I promised that I will showcase a card every day for 100 days and I intend not to disappoint.

Today's card is called "May joy fill your home". A quote taken from the stamp set Yuletide by Kaisercraft.
The full quote is "may joy fill your home and peace find its way to you this season".... such a beautiful saying...

The card features 3 peppermint candy canes, painted in blue red and green with Loew Cornell water colour paints, 'fussy cut' out and placed on white card stock, overlapping each other. I added glitter to the candy canes and then stamped the greeting at the side of the canes.

For an accent I used crafter's companion's blue shimmer card stock....pretty stuff....

Anyway, thanks for stopping by...Have a great day. Keep checking in for cards. Don't forget to leave me a comment. Thanks

Rendesigns: Bearing many gifts

Rendesigns: Bearing many gifts: Hi everyone! Welcome back...I hope everyone is in their own happy place because I am...doing what I love the best..tah dah..... making cards...

Bearing many gifts

Hi everyone! Welcome back...I hope everyone is in their own happy place because I am...doing what I love the best..tah dah..... making cards.

Day 2 of my 100 days of christmas ...I have come bearing gifts. Its a very bright and colourful card and at its centre is a bunch of gifts layered over each other.

The gift boxes stamp is one from the deep red cling stamps family. It features two gift boxes - one decorated with polka dots and the other with stripes, which I stamped on spare card stock, painted using peerless watercolour from the peerless water colour bonus pack of 40. I then 'fussy cut' the gift boxes images and laid them out on the card before I stuck them using glue and double sided tape.

Just a little heads up....I cut the watercolour sheets into small strips and laid them out on cardstock with their names written on the bottom as described on a blog or class I read or did...can't remember which but its a great suggestion. My fav colours are daffodil yellow, turquoise blue,chrome orange, alizarine red, gamboge yellow and grass green.

I added some glitter glue...you can use any one from your local art and craft store. The accent pieces on the bottom of the card is crafters companion green pearlescent card stock I bought years ago (just found a scrap of it so I used it...again some old with the new)and bazzill's gold foil card stock.

Its been a blast. Thank you for reading and see you tomorrow for the 3rd day of christmas.

Don't forget to leave me your comments.

A simple Joy to the World

Welcome back everyone! I am so excited because ...its Christmas Time Again!... my favourite time of the year. I have put together about 100 cards to celebrate the season. My very first card is entitled 'A simple joy to the world' where I blended new products with old ones.

When I first began making cards I used a lot of stickers which I thought was the only way to make my cards look bright and beautiful. Now I use stamps since learning some of the techniques including how they can be used to make backgrounds etc. I have a few stickers left over from a couple years ago and I often incorporate them into my designs from time to time.

This card "a simple joy to the world' is one such card. I used some cardinals left over from my sticker stash to complete my composition of a woodlands retreat. The red ribbon is to add some more colour to the card as I used the dark chocolate simon says stamp cardstock for the woodlands frame. Then using my Joy to the world Stamp I can't quite remember where I bought it many years ago but its a little stamp that comes with an angel. I never used it before now...but its a cute little stamp.

Actually thats part of what my project is about...using stamps in my stash...Anyway enough babbling ..Thank you for stopping by . Please leave me a comment and show me what you've been working on as well.

Happy Holidays!

Do you make your own envelopes for your Handmade Cards?

If you are like me, your answer to this question would be Yes!!!

You see I like crafting so when I learnt from Crafter's Companion, I could make my own envelopes,I was excited. I bought the Ultimate Crafter's Companion Tool . Its been probably 4 years and I still use it today for scoring and making envelopes and boxes. The tool is really versatile....

Anyway, I used to buy envelopes from an art store for my handmade cards. Coloured envelopes, texturized envelopes and oftentimes I encountered a few issues.

1) The card was often times too big for the envelope because I would forget to measure before cutting (my fault) and there was no way of trimming it without spoiling the design

2 ) Some of my customers would request certain sizes of cards and I had to go searching stationery / art stores in Trinidad (and there aren't many) to get the particular size envelope

3) It was costly and at the time customers were not willing to pay extra so I had to absorb the loss

4) The store would run out of stocks and there I go again looking for envelopes

When I found the online store crafter's companion, you could imagine I was pretty excited. I bought paper in bulk from a paper company in Trinidad and for a fraction of the cost (more like 1/20 the cost) I was hooked and begun making my own envelopes. Since then I have designed my own envelopes adding other elements to the outside of the cards.

Now I can adjust the sizes of the envelopes to customers request, the cost of making cards have reduced, less time is spent hunting all over Trinidad for envelopes and I no longer run out of envelopes.

Again, thank you for visiting my blog ....till next time. Don't forget to leave me a comment.

'One of a kind' Cards vs 'Repeat designs'

ONE OF A KIND VS REPEAT DESIGNS

Whether you like to receive cards, send cards or design cards, I am sure you've been asked on many occasions about your preference for 'one of a kind' or 'repeat' design. 

For me the answer is definitely a resounding 'One of a kind' cards ...you know... different designs every time. I love to play with all of my card making tools and resources. Love the adventure ...don't you???

ONE OF A KIND CARDS

From a designer point of view for me..... its refreshing,its exciting...its challenging and I love challenges. I love to see things as an adventure as I try not to take life too seriously all the time (just some times). I tap into my inner child to explore the world of fun in my card making process.

Thats why I will be celebrating 100 days of christmas starting
23rd September and ending 6th January 2016 with a new card design every day...you may find that some of the stamps were repeated but still its a different card.

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For the person who is purchasing the card they often tell me - its like what no one else has, so its unique. You have captured the essence of the recipient and so on and so on.

They feel special and also proud to be giving someone a card that they would not find on any other shelf. 


REPEAT CARD DESIGNS

To argue for the Repeat card designs - they are easy to do as the design has been done and sells well ,therefore it takes less time to make.

You can still personalise these cards by adding a name or special greetings to the inside or outside  (for handmade cards). Does not require any design skills or any additional thought to go into the design....No hassles, no mistakes....

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The Purchasers....

There are people who dont care too much for design. For them...it should just be appropriate- birthday, wedding, christmas etc Voila! they buy it...No thought goes into whether the recipient would like it or how they would feel to get a card such as this. 

Its a purchase to get the job done...give a person a card for a certain occasion. There is nothing wrong with this...Its a choice!

Now that I have given you the two sides of the coin which one are you?
'One of a kind' or a Repeat design...? 

What are your thoughts.....Leave a comment!

(Just a little note- I am currently on a break from card making as I am out of the country so I thought I would discuss a few questions that I have been asked to comment on several times in the past. So if I sound like I'm babbling its probably left over pina colada in my system. )

Tranquil Hibiscus

Hi folks...Thank you for your continued support for my blog. I know its been a while since I posted. Some upgrade works were being done on my property which involved an excavator and in the middle of the work some cables were cut in error. Yes...my internet cable was one of those cut...It was a nightmare getting it sorted out with the provider. In the Caribbean, the customer service for certain services is a nightmare. I tried using a different provider but they said they could not provide the internet service as the area in which I live, require cables to be upgraded and they havent reached my area as yet. So I had to work with the current provider. To make a long story short...I finally regained service so I am back... Today's card is a sympathy card I did for a friend of mine whose mom died.

In making the card I used a hibiscus stencil, tim holtz distress inks and stitched dies.

This design can be used for birthdays, get well, congratulations as well. Ideas are limitless, colours are limitless. Please leave a comment on my blog if you like this design. Thanks for stopping by.... see you...

Life is a beach at retirement!

Hi again...welcome back to Rendesigns. Hope you had a great weekend. Today I decided to add a card that I did for my sister's friend. Its a retirement card. The card was done like a book with 3 pages. The concept was not mine but I adapted the concept to what I had in stock and designed the card around it. The first page was the front of the card which said 'Happy Retirement', 'Life is a beach' and 'I am the happiest retiree around' for which I used an Art Impressions stamp of a woman on the beach sipping a drink...

The overleaf of the front page was a set of balloons for each department where she worked, to sign their names.I added a bit of paint and glitter to the balloons

The second page was the message which again I did not write but I designed the look of it. (I normally write my own messages for my cards but if someone wants to write their own message I let them!)

The overleaf and next page were simple and designed for persons to write 'well wishes' on them.

I think it went well....Let me know what you think by leaving a comment on my blog

Sympathetic Sunday

Welcome back! Today I thought I would change things up bit and post a slightly different card. The only stamping done was the message 'With Sympathy' I did this card for a friend whose dad has just died and I thought I would share it with you. For me it is easier to do Sympathy cards geared towards women or for a family which includes women, as you can do flowers but when its for a man I like to try and see what I can come up with... So this is my card for today...... Let me know what you think...

For the message 'With Sympathy'

Let's have some wine

Hi there...welcome back! Today's posting is for all you wine lovers out there...... The image used is from Deep Red Stamps called 'sidewalk cafe'. This is probably the 2nd time I used this stamp and I have had it for at least a year. This stamp gives a good clean impression on cardstock and it is a great stamp to colour...whether with markers or watercolour. I used India Black ink by Memories to stamp the image and then used two different types of watercolour pencils. The message "wine a bit...." is by Art Impression- a great collection of stamps which is very easy to use and gives you a clean, neat image and text when used. Here is my card. Hope you like.

This was actually fun to do....I am really enjoying myself as I randomly select stamps to use. Please leave a comment before leaving my site. See you on my next post day after tomorrow! Thanks.

Other products used

Crazy in Love

Hi there again....Welcome back to rendesigns. Today my card is entitled "Crazy in Love". As I said, this month I am featuring cards by randomly choosing stamps in my stash.... I love this cute little stamp by Stacy Kay...it was fun colouring with markers I found in a little art store here in Trinidad. Its a pack of 20 fabercastell markers. About 20 years ago I started colouring with markers with my sister who is now deceased. I never picked up markers after she died in 2003. She was way better than I was. This is a card she drew and coloured with markers and colour pencils, that I found recently.

Beautiful isnt it..... Told you she was very talented. So this is me trying markers again......

The card was coloured in a combination of markers, water colour pencils and water colour paints. Hope you like. Dont forget to leave me a comment.

Other products used were

Thanks for stopping by!

Jumping in the leaves....

Hi there...and welcome to rendesigns...

Happy to see you all ....... for the next month I will be using stamps I have in my stash in colorful ways!

I have been purchasing stamps over the years, and would you believe I have never used some of them in card making! I started off making cards with stickers but I have grown to love stamping and there are lots of fantastic and very cute stamps out there. Follow me in my journey of using stamps from my stash to make beautiful cards.

Today my card is called "jumping in the leaves".....I chose this heading from the stamp "Take time to jump in the leaves". I think it is so cute. It reminds me of my childhood days...but it also reminds me not to take life too seriously!

This card was done in shades of blue using Tim Holtz distressing inks. The stamp which was used repeatedly was from HOTP (Hot off the Press). The Message was heat embossed in white..... Hope you like it! Dont forget to let me know what you think...