Making Memorable Gift Tags

Whenever you're giving someone a gift, don't forget about the gift tag. It's always nice to use unusual papers to make memorable tags. When I made these I thought that it would be cute to fill in the crossword blocks with different words like --With Love -- Happy Birthday -- Just For You, or the person's name. You could fill in the blocks with whatever sentiment you'd like just to give your gift that extra special touch. What's really nice is when you're able to coordinate your gift wrap paper and your tags and give your gifts a designer look.

Bookmarks Made From Recycled Handmade Paper

Here are 2 bookmarks that I made from recycled handmade paper. I got the blender out (the one that I use exclusively for making paper) and gathered up all of my scrap papers and went to town. I ended up with a few sheets of interesting looking paper, so I decided to make some bookmarks and save the rest for some other projects.

I tore the edges before the paper was completely dry and then once they (the bookmarks) were finished drying, I punched holes at the top and added the tassels.

A Striped Valentine

I found these great card blanks and I thought that they would be perfect for Valentine's Day cards. I love the red stripes across the thick recycled card stock. They really had a great organic feel to them. I added the some corrugated paper and a heart as the focal point, and a new Valentine's Day card was born.

Cut And Paste The Old Fashoined Way

I still like doing some things the old fashioned way. I know that there are wonderful die cut machines out there that make our lives so much easier, but I still enjoy picking up a pair of scissors and cutting out the pieces for my design. It gives me time to think and enjoy the process. It may take me longer to complete the card, but I have a lot of fun along the way!

Using Different Textures and Colors for Valentine Cards

Sometimes I like to use unexpected colors and textures for card designs. We always tend to get caught up with using traditional colors to represent the season or the particular celebration. Every now and again it's good to go against the grain.

Instead of using the traditional red and white for this Valentine card, I chose to go with browns and more textured papers giving the card a bit more depth and dimension. It's a simple layout, but it's message is loud and clear. The best part about it is that this is a card that's not restricted to Valentine's Day only, you can send a card like this out at any time during the year just to let someone know how much you care.

Collaged Valentine

Hearts are in the air with Valentine's Day just around the corner and I've been playing around with a few collaged heart designs.

For this card I used various grades of handmade papers for the layout. I tore the abstract heart out out of the paper that offered the most texture and made it the focal point of the design.

Another Leaf Printing Idea

This is another take on the leaf print idea. It's has more muted tones and is a bit more subtle, but it still adds a nice touch to a botanical card (or print if you want to frame it). All you need is some acrylic paint and watercolor pencils. Use the acrylic paint to create the image of the leaf and then use the watercolor pencils to do a wash for the background. If you reverse the process and do the background wash first and the work the image on top of the wash after, then your leaf will stand out more. It all depends on the look that you're going for. Just have fun with and see what you come up with.