Sunday, June 19, 2011

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day, everyone! I finished up my Father's Day card last night, so today I'm going to post pictures of the process of making it. Now, please keep in mind that I don't own a Cricut machine, so everything on my cards is either handmade or embellishments that I've purchased (such as the chipboards). I've also been exhausted after starting classes this week and working two full days in a row, so this card isn't my best work, but I feel it should be posted anyway, despite the fact that I'm not really happy with it. But hey, I have to start somewhere, and I'm hoping that this blog will help me improve my card making skills. With that said...

This is the final picture of the card. My dad is really into patriotism, so I decided to make a patriotic card for him. The stars didn't work out as well as I hoped they would (I wanted them to have more of a sponge effect), but oh well.


Here are the materials that I used to make this card:
Sorry about the bad lighting and ugly-looking carpet (it really doesn't look that bad, I promise) but this was the best I could do for only having one night to complete the card. I used:

-Patriotic Collage paper made by The Paper Studio
-Vintage Flags paper made by The Paper Studio
-Red D A D chipboard embellishments
-Regular scissors and zig zag scissors (the border of the card is zig zagged, it's hard to see)
-Elmer's spray adhesive and Elmer's Craft Bond Memory Glue Pen
-White Anita's All-Purpose Acrylic Paint and homemade star sponge
-Sharpie, tacks, exacto knife, and paper trimmer

To make the stars, I created my own star sponge stamp. To do this, I made a star template in a word processor, tacked it to a sponge, traced it, and then cut it with an exacto knife. Here's the more detailed process:
Not perfect, but it worked.
Yes, this is a Thanksgiving-themed paper plate.

And that's basically it! It took about two hours total, with having to wait for the paint and glue to completely dry. That's probably WAY longer than it should have taken, but hey, I'm just a beginner. :) I realize now that another goal of starting this blog was to show that awesome cards can be made by anyone, even on a low budget and with a small amount of materials. Part of the fun for me is figuring out   how to make my cards more creative with only a small collection of supplies, such as creating the sponge stamp. 

I hope you enjoyed my first "real" blog post, and thanks for stopping by. Many more to come! :)

Ashley

16 comments:

  1. What an eyecatching and wonderful card! Thanks for sharing the details! ~ Blessings

    http://gracescraps.blogspot.com/

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  2. How sweet is that!
    Thank You for dropping by my blog
    Becoming your follower
    Looking forward to seeing more amazing projects from you
    Cheers from Bangalore ,India
    Dr Sonia S V
    http://cardsandschoolprojects.blogspot.com

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  3. awesome card! Thanks for following my blog. I'm follow back. Have a great week:)

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  4. @Tracey - Thank you for being so sweet, you have no idea what that means to me! :)

    @Dr Sonia - Thank you for the nice comment, and you're welcome! Cheers from Sycamore, Illinois. :)

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  5. @Judy - Thank you, and you're welcome! Have a great week also, I look forward to seeing your posts! :)

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  6. What a creative Father's Day card! I'm sure your dad will love it! How creative of you to make your own stamp! It was a great idea!

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  7. Thanks for sharing your card, it is wonderful!

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  8. Hi Ashley, welcome to the big bad world of blogging, I'm sure you'll get just as hooked on it as the rest of us. Thanx for the lovely comment you left on my LIM challenge card. What a super card you made for your Dad, I bet he loved it! Well done for designing your own stamp, the stars look great.
    Sally x
    p.s. Thanx for following my blog but I can't seem to find you in my followers listing.
    p.p.s. I'm now a follower of your blog. :)

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  9. Hi Ashely, thanks for stopping by my blog. I love your card and the pictures of the process. It is very cute!! Very creative! looking forward to seeing more of your creations:) Your new follower

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  10. Wow, Ashley, this card is so stunning! I absolutely love it - it is so creative and beautiful and patriotic! Welcome to the world of blogging :) I'm still pretty new myself, I just started in March, but a word of warning...it is SOOO addictive! I could spend hours in blogland! I'm so glad you stopped by my blog so I could find yours! I am now following you and look forward to more of your wonderful creations!!

    Lisa
    http://indymermaid.blogspot.com

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  11. Really neat that you used a sponge for your stamp! Adorable card! :-D

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  12. Very nice! Thanks for becoming a follower on my blog!
    hugs
    Deanne
    http://deannescreativejuice.blogspot.com/

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  13. Super cute card! I bet your dad loved it! I am following you now. Stop by my blog sometime, I have giveaways every now and again (one coming up sometime this week) and great inspiration!

    Welcome to the blog-o-sphere and I can't wait to see what you create! :-)

    artfuldelight.blogspot.com

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  14. Thank you all for the sweet comments, they make me smile every time I read them! What a great start to the blogging world, I'm loving it already! :)

    Ashley

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  15. Very nice card Ashley....I love the stars....

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  16. This is a great card, and your right, awesome cards can be made even with little. Keep sharing your wonderful work!

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! Please leave your blog address so I can visit you, too! :)

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