Thursday 28 April 2011

Layered Flower

Handmade paper flowers are all the rage now with so many techniques being introduced. Find some gorgeous ideas on YouTube.

I came across the idea for this layered flower in a magazine and decided to try it out.
The technique is simply to layer 2 flowers together but pasting only from the base of the petals to about halfway up. Separate the tips of the flowers by curling them upwards so that the bottom flower layer can be seen.

Sponging the edges of the petals accentuate the layers. Add a few more layers of different sizes and you're done!



For the flower center, try buttons (like I did), small flower buds, beads, filigree, etc - spoiled for choice!

Below are some more images of the finished card I made.


Find me on Facebook or leave me a message - seriayu.cards@gmail.com

Friday 22 April 2011

In the meantime: Some cards I made lately

Here they are:

The lace on the above card was coloured by Distress Ink (Crushed Olive). As the lace is cotton, I simply sprayed a bit of water on it and gently swipe the ink onto the lace. At first, the ink will be blotchy but give it 5 mins, and it will spread and even out. When it dries, the lace looks like it was made in that colour!




The normal way I make the paper flowers is to wet the petals and crush them. The crushing gives them a nice texture and natural looking lines. For the flower in the card above, I decided not to crush the flowers just to see the effect. It looks like a blooming rose. The lace is coloured again, using Distress Ink (Antique Linen).





The card above was made for a guy. I admit I hit a mental block for this one so I kept it safe with musculine colours with a dash of orange to brighten it up. The design is also simple, again safe, and because most guys dont go for clutter. For that matter, I dont think most guys go for handmade cards either!






Find me on facebook or contact me at seriayu.cards@gmail.com







Saturday 16 April 2011

Mother's Day Cards



Need some inspiration for Mother's Day cards?
Let me share some...

We had a few hours to spare this afternoon so we decided to make Mother's Day cards. Although Mother's Day is 3 weeks away, I could not tell if we had time to do this project later. (note to self - make use of your free time before your busy time)

Here are what the kids came up with:

Sya (13 yrs old)


Amal (11 yrs old)



Haz (9 yrs old)



Fir (7 yrs old)



Lovely aren't they? I love it that each card has its own feel and style. And they are all made to honour the same awesome lady - the kids' mom, and my sis-in-law.

Hope they gave you some inspiration!

Wednesday 13 April 2011

Try an Unusual Colour Combination

I had the design in mind. I had the papers I wanted to use. But there was still something missing in the card!
So I decided to add a flower, and WALAH! It was perfect (in my eyes) except the colour of the flower - light brick red - was totally off and did not match the rest of card (turquoise & black).

So I decided to make the flower the next day in a matching colour, only to be bit by the LAZY bug. I sat there too lazy to make another flower but not able to find anything else to fit my design, when it hit me - why not incorporate the colour of the flower into the card!

So I took the lace and inked it with Distress Ink (Fired Brick). It will look very dark at first, but as the ink dries, it spreads, evens out and lightens. I also included a brick red coloured paper.
And the result is this:


I admit that the colour combination is rather unsual, but I feel it turned out rather well.


So why not try an unusual colour combination? It might just turn out great! And if it doesn't, take it as a learning opportunity. :)

Tell me your thoughts! Find me on Facebook or email me - seriayu.cards@gmail.com

Tuesday 12 April 2011

Hard to find my colour!

Recently, due to space constraints, I had to stack my ink pads. Because of that, whenever I wanted to find an inkpad, I had to flip and go through the pile of inkpads before I could find the colour I wanted. I find this time-consuming and unproductive, but could not find a solution that is simple, easy and fast to do, and effective.

Today, I was about to go through the same process of finding the inkpad I needed, when I noticed that one side of the inkpad was white and wide.
TING! I had a flash of inspiration!


I wrote the names of the colour on the white side!

On hindsight, I could have done that earlier, on the other sides of the inkpads.

So, conclusion - I'm not that brilliant afterall! Heh...

Saturday 9 April 2011

An April kind of card

To me this card embodies April - bright and sunny, yet still with cooling April showers.
The paper is from the Mariposa stack (DCWV) and the designs add elegance and a touch of class.

I used to feel that my cards were complicated. But recent trends have had numerous embellishments making their way into card making, not to mention layers upon layers of gorgeous papers, ribbons, lace and flowers. The folding techniques have also become more complicated with so many new card layouts to try.
So now, my cards are categorized as simple cards, as there is minimal embellishments, comparatively, and have a simple 2-fold layout.

For this card, I had used a handmade flower and lace as embellishments, and let the printed paper fill up and set the tone.

Here are some other details of the card, including the inside.

Maybe it's time to 'complicate' my cards?

Tuesday 5 April 2011

Two of the same?

Unsually, I had made the same card twice! But as any crafter will tell you, no two handmade work is 100% the same.
I used DCWV Street Lace pack, which has beautiful coordinated papers. The lace, black dragonflies and glittered flower designs of the paper sets the look of the card. I only had to add a flower, ribbons and sentiments.
This is the original card

A good friend had admired it, and since her birthday was just around the corner, I decided to make her the same card. Here is the 2nd card.
I had used the exact same paper, but added a second flower (I handmade all the flowers). I also added some black 'tendrils' using wires.


There is glitter on the flower petals and on the black tendrils too.

For the inside, I always choose to follow the feel and theme from the front of the card. Not only does this make it effortless, it also gives completeness and 'together-ness' to the card.

Saturday 2 April 2011

A day spent making Tags

Today is the weekend when I am at home and get to spend some time with my nieces and nephew.  We decided to make some Thank You tags. I decided to let the kids do everything with a little guidance from me.
We started with them choosing the tag shape, then the cardstock paper and then they proceeded to cut the tag shapes. Then they chose and stamped the Thank You words. After that came the flowers and other decorations.

What was a really pleasant surprise was when they suggested stamping backround/decorative shapes to 'fill in' the empty spaces, something that can only be gained through experience. I am so proud of all of them!

My mom chipped in with 2 tags!

Here are the finished products. They made 24 pcs in total.