While purple has strong ties to Halloween, (in the Northern Hemisphere) it is arguably most closely connected to spring, followed by summer.

Though lilac season is over for many by this point in the year, plenty of other breathtaking purple blooms continue to dot the landscape. From irises to hydrangeas, pansies to orchids, it is hard not to be intoxicatingly drawn towards this most regal of garden hues.

As touched on in the aforementioned post, my mom’s all-time favourite colour is purple.

Keen to make a card to celebrate one of her latest visits to our humble abode, I deep-dived into the purple end of my craft stash and came up with the greeting featured in this post.

Truth be told, at the time of making this card, I still had a fair number of purple-hued products spread out on my desk in my wee craft room.

Not a day goes by that I do not thank my lucky stars for the roof over our heads and the fact that I get to whittle a tiny corner of it out as a dedicated craft space.

However, objectively, it is a rather pint-sized spot and as a result, when I bring out a decent selection of products pertaining to a specific colour scheme, holiday, theme, etc, I often try to make two or more projects with those items before tucking them back in their respective resting places.

While I am being mindful to work with purple a touch more often these days, chances are it will never usurp my beloved usual palette of dark, fall, Halloween, and antique-inspired hues.

And that is all the more reason, I figure, to create multiple projects when I do pull out a summer garden’s worth of purple products.

In addition to purple, some of my mother’s favourite colours include blue, aqua/turquoise, and crisp white. All of which, I should note, look gorgeous on her!

Thick in the heart of sunny season, where nature, fashion, home décor, and sometimes even things like acrylic dishware are rife with these very hues, it felt exceedingly natural to craft with them as radiant sunshine playfully streamed through the quasi-sheer curtains on the sole window in my craft space.

I work with ink relatively often (be it for edging, creating sky backgrounds, stamping, or myriad other uses). However, despite being a huge fan of dry embossing, I do not tend to reach for my embossing folders nearly as often as I should these days.

Pondering this point a little while ago, it struck me that a good part of the reason why is because of the fact that I often like to make larger-sized cards and most embossing folders (let alone those I own) fall short of the size of my card bases.

Really, though, the more I thought about it, the sillier using that point as a means of sometimes keeping my embossing folders on the sidelines seemed. After all, even if a single embossed piece cannot cover most of my card bases, I can still utilize them for a portion of my design.

I was in an inky mood the day I made this card and so set about creating an ombre-esque design with three assorted shades of purple Distress Oxide Ink atop a floral embossed panel of white cardstock.

To up the volume of purple here all the more, I then took dark purple acrylic paint and created some tiny splatters across my embossed and inked panel.

I have to say, I really like how his piece turned out. There is something to its gradient of lush purple hues that calls to mind a stunning summer sunset.

And speaking of sunsets, many of the other colours that appear on this card would be right at home in the summer skies that help guide us gently into the night through this segment of the year.

Though purple, aquamarine, and white are the dominant colours here, nestled amongst them one also finds rich, warm yellows and delightfully upbeat pinky-corals.

If these hues don’t scream summertime, I don’t know what would!

Lovely purple inked and embossed “Together is the best place to be” card

The delicate, yet visually impactful Fine Bouquet Die from Alte & New used here was a gift from an extremely kind and generous friend that I received in early 2021. I have been champing at the bit ever since to use it for the first time.

What better opportunity than a sweetly pretty summertime greeting?

I cut two copies of this die out. One in white, the other in dark purple, concealing the spot where they meet with some fussy cut blooms from the same floral print paper that appears here in a background layer.

In addition to its use on the embossed panel, ink appears here multiple times along the edges of most of the paper and cardstock layers.

Though a sizable percentage of my paper crafting projects involve at least a little bit of metallic and/or glitter paper, there are certain times – such as this project – where neither of them appears.

However, shimmer and sheen are not missing entirely here, as the white pearl + clear rhinestone adhesive flourish piece adds a lovely background hit of precisely that to this upbeat greeting card.

The sentiment cut apart piece reflects how wonderful I find spending time with my mom to be. Any chance we get to visit is not just a good day, but a great one, and I am incredibly thankful that we live a mere hour’s drive away from one another.

This means that (save for the initial months of the pandemic) we are able to see one another on a fairly regular basis and it is not uncommon for her to come visit for a few days at our house.

Interestingly, as do not have the space for a dedicated guest room, when my mom stays overnight here she sleeps on a high-quality inflatable bed that gets put on the floor of my craft room.

Therefore, prior to them coming together to create this card, the elements at work here would have kept my mom company while she slumbered in that area of our house. (Love that thought!)

Should you wish to replicate this card yourself or simply take a few design ideas from it, read on for a complete list of products used on this lovely purple card as well as step-by-step instructions that will guide you through creating one of your own.

Products used to make this sunny season perfect purple card

-White cardstock

-Light purple cardstock

-Dark purple cardstock

-Tone-on-tone light aqua floral print paper – Vintage Summer Basics 1935 from Maja Designs

-Multi-coloured floral print paper – Hello Baby 3”x4” Journaling Cards Paper from Echo Park

-Cut apart “Together is the best place to be” sentiment piece – ???

-Floral outline die – Fine Bouquet Die from Alte & New

-Floral embossing folder – Floral Reflections Cut and Emboss Folder from Spellbinders

-Teal ink – Memento Dew Drop Teal Zeal Ink from Tsukineko

-Three different shades of blendable purple ink – (I used) Distress Oxide Ink in Milled Lavender, Seedless Grape, and Wilted Violet from Tim Holtz

-Dark purple acrylic paint (gouache could be used here instead, if so desired) – Violet Pansy Shiny Acrylic Paint from Folk Art

-Greyish-white pearl and clear rhinestone flourish (Unspecified product name from the Dollarama brand “Crafts”.)

-Purple crochet trim – Noteworthy Addie Trims from Making Memories

-Dimensional foam, pop dots, or similar to elevate some of your layers

-Adhesive, such as a tape runner, of your choice (I often use my Scotch Tape Glider)

How to make an inked and embossed “Together is the best place to be” card

Begin by making a white card base.

Cut a piece of Maja Designs Vintage Summer Basics 1935 paper a little bit smaller than the size of your card base. Ink all edges with Teal Zeal ink. Adhere to card base.

Cut a piece of light purple cardstock a little smaller than the previous layer. Ink all edges with Seedless Grape Distress Oxide ink. Adhere to previous layer.

Cut a piece of multicoloured floral print paper, likewise, a little smaller than the last layer. Ink edges with Teal Zeal Ink. Adhere to previous layer.

Next, cut a piece of white cardstock a little bit bigger than the dimensions of the Spellbinder’s Floral Reflections Cut and Emboss Folder.

Use the three shades of purple Distress Oxide Ink to make an ombre-esque blended ink panel.

Once the ink is dry, take your purple acrylic paint and lightly splatter small droplets across this panel.

After the paint has dried, place this piece of inked and paint-splattered cardstock into the Floral Reflections Cut and Emboss Folder and run it through your die cutting machine.

Back that piece (as it has small cut-out sections) with white cardstock.

Cut a piece of light purple cardstock slightly bigger than the embossed panel. Adhere embossed panel to purple cardstock, in turn adhering the purple cardstock to the previous layer of your card design.

Cut out the sentiment panel, ink all edges with Teal Zeal ink and attach this piece to the inked + embossed panel using dimensional adhesive (such as Pop Dots).

Adhere the pearl and rhinestone flourish piece to the lefthand side of the card design.

Using the Fine Bouquet Die from Alte & New, cut one piece in white cardstock and another in purple cardstock. Attach these pieces, as shown, along the lefthand side of your card (on top of the embellishment flourish).

Fussy cut a cluster of flowers from the Hello Baby 3”x4” Journaling Cards Paper from Echo Park. Adhere it where the two Fine Bouquet die cuts meet in the middle of the left-hand side of the card.

Lastly, cut two equal-sized pieces of light purple crochet trim. Place each one diagonally across the lower left and upper right-hand corners of all of your card layers (save for the card base itself), as shown.

And voila, just like that you have an easy (and relatively quick) card that is sweet, fun, and ever-so-lovely!

This design – either with the same sentiment or one that better suits the occasion at hand – lends itself well to a wide array of events, including – but definitely not limited to – Easter, Mother’s Day, birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, baby showers, new babies, and retirement.

It also makes a great “thinking of you”, “missing you”, congratulations, or even sympathy card.

Welcoming August back into our lives

Rather mind-blowingly, we have reached the year’s eighth month already. In a matter of days, we will hit the halfway point of summer.

Having just observed Lammas/Lughnasadh two days ago (though, as with most of the Pagan sabbats, I usually celebrate for multiple days in a row and am continuing to do so as this week unfolds), my head and heart are both starting to shift towards fall.

Not, mind you, that they don’t already focus on that season the whole year through – because they most definitely do! (As things such as my #MakeHalloween365 hashtag and year-round festive fall/Halloween projects attest to).

However, as much as I madly adore autumn, I am grateful that we still have a few weeks’ worth of sizzling hot (snow-free!) summer to enjoy before the telltale nip of fall returns to the air and the world is suddenly sweater-clad and frost-covered once again.

Chances are that a sizable percentage of the paper crafting projects I’ll be sharing here between August and November will be fall/Thanksgiving/Mabon/Halloween/Samhain themed.

As most of those creations have yet to be made, it is hard to say to what degree purple will factor into them.

I am in the mood, as I type these words at least, for a fun, classic Halloween palette this year, so I could easily see purple potentially appearing in some of my October 31^st related projects. Time shall tell!

Right here and now though, with a landscape that still looks far more like the start of summer than the end of this season, I will keep delighting in the mermaid-worthy hues of palettes such as the one used on this “just because” handmade card for a little while longer.

Once you’ve pulled out a slew of items for a project, do you tend to make additional creations with them as well, too? When does summer start to give way to fall on your end?

The post Lovely Purple Inked and Embossed Together is the Best Place to Be Card appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

Does this apply to everyone? Certainly not, but it has been my experience that no shortage of people do tend to adore the national holiday that transpires around the same time that they entered the world.

In terms of national/secular holidays, Canada Day has long been a firm favourite of mine. Not the top contender (that, as most of you likely know, goes eternally to Halloween / Samhain ), but one that I often rank as my third most beloved (non-Pagan/witchy) holiday.

Both Canada – as the official nation it has been since 1867- and I came into being during the exquisitely warm month of July.

By the time I emerged on the scene in 1984, Canada was a fully established, thriving nation with a strong economy, ever-expanding population, and a magnificent melting pot culture that has, thankfully, only continued to become my diverse with each passing year.

As a youngster, not only did Canada Day serve as the closest holiday to my birthday, but it was the first one to transpire after the school year let out.

In terms of the academic side of things, I usually adored school and was, humbly, a very good student. However, like most youngsters, come late June, the summer break could not get here quickly enough for me.

At the time, where I lived, school wrapped up sometime during the last week of June.

Canada Day returned a few short days later and always felt to me like the true start of the coming two months of school-free enjoyment that stretched out like a glistening ocean embracing the distant horizon.

There was a heady, palpable excitement to both the start of summer and the beginning of our breather from textbooks, teachers, and homework.

Though summer often whizzed by faster than frisbees we threw to one another throughout the roasty-toasty months, when school wrapped up and July began, it felt for a few brief, enchanting moments as though we had an eternity’s worth of time.

Come Canada Day on July 1^st, like many families, mine would usually fire up the barbeque or roast hotdogs, ears of corn, and marshmallows over an outdoor fire pit.

We donned red and white (the colours of the Canadian flag), made our way down to a public park where the town put on festive activities (including providing for free generously sized – and very tasty, as I recall –  slices of frosted vanilla layer cake with the words “Happy Canada Day” piped in red icing on its saccharine surface).

Live music wafted from the mid-century bandstand at that same park. Beachgoers frolicked merrily in the large lake across the street and many a soul, both young and young-at-heart, went in for the free face painting that the town also provided. Patriotic Canadian flags then temporarily emblazed on plenty of cheeks throughout the day.

As night fell, the sultry warmth that is July’s perpetual dance partner enveloped us all.

We would then clamber to find a free patch of sand on the beach or grass at a different park adjacent to that beach and turn our gaze skyward for the beautiful fireworks show that would soon unfold.

This generally happened around 10 pm and the sight of the fireworks being launched high into the air above the warm waters of Okanagan Lake, their multi-coloured hues reflecting with a magical charm on the water’s surface below, was hypnotically wonderful.

Once the fireworks had concluded, many folks leisurely made their way home. Some would carry on to bars, late-night restaurants, friend’s houses, or their own backyards to keep the festivities going.

Others stayed put, stoked small bonfires on the beach and let their cheerful chatter dot the beautiful night every bit as vibrantly as the fireworks we had just witnessed.

Then as now, I love(d) Canada Day.

We here in this country might not always wear our patriotism quite as boldly on our sleeve as those in some other countries are apt to do, but most of us cherish our homeland – or adopted country – something fierce and appreciate that July 1^st gives us an opportunity to let that adoration ring out for at least one day of the year.

Though Tony and I do not have any major plans for it, I am in the mood for Canada Day big time this year (because, let’s face it, as the pandemic lingers on, just about any excuse to celebrate takes on greater meaning and importance than it may ever have done so prior to 2020).

Two years ago I shared a charming shabby chic red, cream and gold Canada Day card that I made.

This time around, we have retained the red (albeit in a different shade) but opted for a different palette. One that nods its head happily to the Victorian and Edwardian eras, but which is more than timeless enough to ensure it is au courant at the same time.

Beautiful rose-filled true north strong and free card

Much like grilled foods, sizzling hot sand, and exuberant fireworks, one of the things that I will forever associate with early summer is roses.

At most of the homes I lived in as a child and teenager, roses grew either on rickety trellises – their paint peeling and aged to shabby chic perfection – or in short, sturdy bushes.

The first roses of the season usually took up the reigns from the local lilacs, emerging at some point in May. Though it was by no means uncommon to see both smiling in the springtime sunshine at the same time.

They often got a second wind around early July, their unmatched aroma fanned by the hot summer breeze.

In my mind, roses and Canada Day are rather synonymous – particularly if those sublimely fragrant blooms are red or burgundy. Their hue a delightful nod to one of our nation’s two national colours.

The line “true north strong and free” is amongst the best known and most beloved from our country’s national anthem.

It reminds Canadians far and wide of how fortunate we are to live in this country and of the sacrifices many have made over the years (including during both World Wars) to help ensure that sentiment remained factual.

These words, cut from a sheet of Photo Play Oh Canada Eh! paper, were the jumping-off point for this Canada Day card.

I also took a colour cue from that same festive paper, composing a somewhat darker, more refined colour palette for this celebratory greeting.

In addition to various hues of grey, I employed teal, pale mint green, aged pine green, white, and deep shades of red worthy of the most magnificent of real summer-grown roses.

A slew of die cut maple leaves upped the festive feel of this handmade Canada Day card, as did an adorable background layer of moose print paper that is just too darling for words!

In addition to maple leaves and moose, another element that is often associated with Canada (in no small part due to lumberjacks and lumberjills) is plaid, so a lovely dose of that also joined the team here.

This is an oversized horizontal slimline card, and much like various other oversized projects of mine (such as the delightful Cottage Spooky Cottage Sign that I shared here earlier this year), it was a bit tricky to photograph in my small, rather basic quality lightbox.

Nevertheless, happily, I managed to get a few usable shots in the end, which you see peppered throughout this post.

I adored making this (if I may say so myself) gorgeous card and, in the process, conjuring up many positive July 1^st memories both from my youth and adult years alike.

If you are keen to make your own version of this elegantly festive Canada Day card, read on for a complete list of the products used on this project plus detailed step-by-step instructions to assist you in doing just that.

And, should you dig the design by not wish to take this paper crafting project in a Canada Day direction, you could easily swap out the sentiment for one that worked for a different occasion. Say as a birthday, anniversary, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or even Valentine’s Day card.

In addition, you could easily use this card design for things like thinking of you, just because, get well, missing you, and congratulations (very much including congratulations bestowed on those who have, or soon will, achieved Canadian citizenship).

Products use to make a Victorian inspired Canada Day card

-Charcoal grey (or black) cardstock

-Medium grey cardstock

-Light-medium grey cardstock

-Dark red (or burgundy) cardstock

-Light mint (or light aqua) cardstock

-White cardstock

-Canadian national anthem print paper – O Canada True North Paper from Photo Play

-Moose print paper – O Canada Eh! Paper from Photo Play

-Teal plaid paper – the backside of the same moose print paper from Photo Play

-Two different ornate oval frame dies, one larger than the other (they do not have to be the same as one another)

-Scallop edge oval die

-Two sizes of scallop edge circle dies (or punches)

-Larger maple leaf die

-Slightly smaller maple leaf die (for the dark red maple leaf in the middle of the card)

-Corner rounder punch

-Teal ink – Tim Holtz Mermaid Lagoon Distress Ink from Ranger (regular or oxide, as you wish)

-Dark greyish-brown ink – Memento Dew Drop Espresso Truffle Ink from Tsukineko

-Two sizes of dark red (or burgundy) paper roses

-Faceted clear buttons – Modern Avalanche Buttons from Bazzill

-Earthy forest (or olive) green hued seam binding

-Dimensional foam, pop dots, or similar to elevate some of your layers

-Adhesive, such as a tape runner, of your choice (I often use my Scotch Tape Glider)

How to make a layered, shabby chic Canada Day card

Begin by making an oversized horizontal slimline card base from dark red cardstock.

Cut a piece of teal plaid paper slightly smaller than the card base. Round both of its bottom corners with a corner punch or corner die, then ink all four sides of this piece with Mermaid Lagoon Distress Ink. Adhere this layer to the card base.

Cut a piece of pale mint (or pale aqua) coloured cardstock a touch smaller than the previous layer. Round both of the bottom corners on this piece and ink all fours sides of it as well, then adhere it to the previous layer.

Next, cut a piece of medium grey coloured cardstock a little smaller the previous layer and round both of its bottom corners, too. Adhere to the previous layer.

Take the moose print paper, cut a piece of it that is (again) a little smaller than the previous layer. Round both of its bottom corners.

Then, cut the moose print paper into a few equal-sized pieces, trimming the pieces down, if needed, to allow a small vertical opening between each piece.

Ink all of the edges on each of the moose print pieces with Espresso Truffle ink. Arrange and adhere them down evenly across the piece of medium grey coloured cardstock.

Using the larger of the two sizes of scalloped circle dies (or a good-sized scalloped circle punch) cut out two circles from white cardstock and two from medium grey cardstock.

Use the smaller-sized scalloped circle die to cut two circles from the “True north strong and free” text print paper.

Arrange the circles starting with the white, then the grey, then the text print layer, so that some of each layer is visible. Adhere the layers together and then (one grouping apiece) to each side of the center of the card, as shown.

We are going to get extra Canadian here next. Die cut two maples apiece from the white, mint green/pale aqua, light-medium grey, and dark red cardstock.

Create two layered stacks of maple leaves starting with mint green/light aqua, dark red, white, and light-medium grey. Splay the layers out a bit so that each of the colours of maple leaves is visible.

Attach the layers to each other and then place one maple leaf stack on the lower portion of the scalloped circles on the lefthand side of the card. Adhere.

Repeat with the other stack of maple leaves, however, this time, you’re adhering them down on the upper right-hand side of the other group of scalloped circle pieces.

Die cut an ornate oval frame from dark grey, charcoal, or black cardstock (I used charcoal cardstock here).

Die cut a slightly smaller scalloped edge oval from medium grey cardstock. Adhere it to the ornate charcoal grey circle.

Next, die cut a decorative border-edged oval piece from white cardstock. Back that oval with a piece of mint green/light aqua cardstock so that the green/aqua cardstock shows through the openings on the edges of the white cardstock oval, but does not extend out past them at any point.

Adhere that piece to the previous oval.

Die cut a scalloped edge circle from light-medium grey cardstock with the larger of the two scallop circle dies. Adhere it to the previous (oval) layer.

Then die cut a smaller scalloped edge circle from the “True north strong and free print paper”. Adhere to the previous (circle layer).

Die cut a single maple leaf from dark red cardstock and adhere it to the centre of the last circle layer that you created.

Use the small banner/label shaped die to cut out a banner from white cardstock.

Fussy cut out a portion of the text print paper (used throughout this project) so that you have a small strip of paper that says, “True north strong and free”.

Ink all four sides of this piece with Espresso Truffle ink and adhere it to the white banner/label piece.

Gently bend the white banner/label piece so that it bows upward a little in the middle. This creates a greater sense of depth and visual appeal for the sentiment area of this Canada Day card.

Adhere both sides of the white banner/label down across the bottom of the central oval and circle layers, as shown.

Using a medium to dark shade of earthy pine (or olive) green seam binding or ribbon (I used seam binding here), make two slightly larger single layer bows and two single-layer slightly smaller sized bows.

Adhere the larger seam binding/ribbon bows to the outer edges of the center of the moose print paper, so that one larger bow appears on each side of the card design.

Repeat the process with the smaller bows, on this time, center them right beside the central ornate charcoal grey oval piece.

Take two small and two somewhat larger dark red (or burgundy) paper roses. Attach one small rose in the center of each of the larger seam binding bows.

Repeat the process by placing the two larger dark red paper roses in the middle of the smaller-sized green seam binding bows.

Lastly, place and adhere four clear faceted buttons around the smaller green seam binding bows, as shown.

And there you have it, one sophisticated, beautiful, and thoroughly festive Canada Day card for you to use as part of your celebratory décor or give to someone special before/on July 1^st.

O Canada! Our home and native land!

While patriotic music has been penned and sung on the soil of this nation for over two centuries now, the Canadian anthem that is familiar to those of recent generations is actually somewhat new.

The national anthem of this country is called “O Canada” and it begins with the same words that I used for the header above.

It was written by a French-Canadian-American chap named Calixa Lavallée in 1880. However, it would not be until 1980 that an Act of Parliament declared it as the country’s sole national anthem (as since 1939, the country had had two different national songs; the other was “God Save The Queen/King”).

Oh Canada was in use from at least the 1930s onward though, so those of both my parent’s and grandparent’s generations, along with my own, grew up memorizing and singing its stoically beautiful words.

The line “true north strong and free” is perhaps my favourite element of Canada’s national anthem, as I know it for many others as well.

Freedom is not something any of us should ever take for granted, no matter where we live in the world. We need only look to this planet’s history to see countless examples of times when peace was shattered and freedom either stolen or greatly jeopardized.

Much like at Mabon, Thanksgiving, and various other points in the year, I use Canada Day as a time to reflect on how lucky I am to call the world’s second-largest country, geographically speaking, home and to live in a land that is, in a lot of respects at least, quite free and respectful of its citizens’ rights.

No country is perfect – Canada included, of course – but at the end of the day, it is objectively a great nation overall and one that I am truly grateful to call my own, eh!

To all those observing Canada Day this year, may you have a splendidly enjoyable, safe, and festive July 1^st – and to everyone else, may the same hold true for the start of the year’s seventh month on your end, too.

Does your country have a national holiday to celebrate its founding? If it does, do you enjoy making craft projects for that special day?

The post Beautiful Rose-Filled True North Strong and Free Canada Day Card appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

At this realitivaly early stage in the eighth month of the year, the temperature and landscape are still decisively summery. The heat is keeping a marathon runner’s steady pace, scarcely letting up for the inky black hours of nightime.

Yet, beneath the patio umbrellas, sandal-clad feet, and lush peach trees, the earth is shifting into autumnal gear.

I adore – and I mean, really adore – the colour palette of late summer and early fall.

Straight up autumn time’s intense jewel tones and earthy shades win out as my favourite seasonal palette, but that of the later days of summer is close on its heels.

It was to this palette that I turned when creating the French Inspired “Happiness Café” shabby chic card featured in this post.

While these particular colours are not overtly summery in the way, say, that neons, tropical fruit hues, or a nautical palette might be, at their heart they remind me of the flaxen tones that nature often takes on as summer winds down.

The immediacy of the season’s beginning is behind us once more, and with it has gone some of the piercing verdant vibrancy.

Now nature is, in certain respects, mellowing a tad, as fields of green morph into seas of harvest time gold and brown.

French Inspired “Happiness Café” Shabby Chic Card

The French component of this card comes primarily by way of the gorgeous Bo Bunny Boulevard Collection items used here.

To extend the French theme, the overall style of the card has a certain romantic, distinctly yesteryear charm.

I might not go quite so far as to call it straight up Rococo, Victorian or Art Nouveau, though to my mind, subtle elements of each of these periods are woven into this card’s design.

As is frequently the case when my paper crafting makes, this card is both shabby chic and generously layered + embellished.

Yet, for all the intricate die cut pieces, paper layers, seam binding, and bejewelled embellishments, this card is not actually that thick.

I’m hoping that, given the itty-bitty 2 cm letter mail height limit on all outgoing mail here in Canada, I may still be able to send it as a letter, not a parcel (which, I kid you not, would add $8 – $15+ in additional shipping costs, depending on the destination).

As I created this elegant greeting for a dear friend who lives outside of Canada (I don’t want to say more, lest they’re reading this and the surprise of this card is ruined), I’m really hoping letter mail will be possible.

This card was a spontaneous creation, which, all things considered, came together quite quickly. Moreover, its design flowed like water and I had a fantastic time creating it.

Once the palette (which, as per usual, the less-than-stellar lighting in our house didn’t do the best job of capturing) had been established, I stuck by it closely.

Navy blue (which reads more as black here – my apologies!), muted golds, honey tones, and taupes; earthy blues, sage green, and crisp grey are the stars of the show.

As a collective whole, these colours also channel a certain French feel to me – both of the aged, exquisite architecture of Paris, and at the same time, of the rolling hills and pastoral lands of the French countryside.

Another hit of France comes by way of the fleur de lis used on this project.

I’ve adored this classic shape since childhood and, as this project reminded me, they’re something that I need to use it more often in my paper crafting – especially since doing so feels like a lovely odd to my French ancestry.

While there is a lot going on in the design of this card, there are not actually too many 3D elements.

The single creamy-white paper rose near the bottom and the two gorgeous metal and rhinestone swan flatback charms are the main 3D elements here.

These chic metal swan charms have a fair bit of heft to them. While they can be used for a wide range of purposes and projects, they were sold as jewelry making components and it’s easy to see why! How stunning would they look on a necklace, brooch or cuff bracelet?

Because the pair of swans, coupled with the multiple layers of paper on this card front did add up in weight, the finished card was quick to fall forward on itself.

To counterbalance this, I added some layers of paper inside (in the greeting area), which balanced the weight out and eliminated that concern.

This lovely greeting will zip off to its recipient as a thinking of you card. However, it could easily work as a thank you, “just because”, birthday, anniversary, Mother’s Day, congratulations, retirement, or (in some instances) get well card, too.

Card making tips and tricks from this project

–Don’t feel you have to stick to the boundaries of your card base. As you may have noticed from many of my previous card shares here, I love extending some of the elements of my card designs over the sides.

Sometimes, it may be just a subtle reach beyond the card base. At others, I let this design approach run wild and free. It’s safe to say, this shabby chic card falls into the latter camp!

If you need to keep your card to within a certain size limit for mailing or other reasons, then naturally, you may be limited to a degree by how much you can go over the borders of your base. Even then, though, you can usually still have something peeking over at least one side.

By working beyond the size of the card base, you extend the canvas, so to speak, of your card, add awesome visual interest, and can design a greeting that stands out all the more from the pack.

-Put your Stickles to use! I adore Stickles and have at least a dozen colours of this handy-dandy glitter glue in my craft stash.

Anytime I go to town with the Stickles, I cannot help but think of one of my favourite crafters (and a huge inspiration on my own paper crafting style), Lisa M. Pace, whose paper crafting how-to books are chock-a-block with Stickle filled projects.

Stickles add instant sparkle, elegance and fun to your projects (with little bulk – win-win!). Plus, when you edge a given design element with a border of Stickles, it almost looks like a separate layer unto itself.

-Mirror doilies with similar looking die cut shapes (and vice versa). An actual white paper doily appears here, as do intricate die cut shapes that have much the same look.

The pairing is appealing and sophisticated, as well as vintage looking. It could also read as rustic, festive, or many other things, too, just depending on the overall design of your project.

-Raid your jewelry making stash (or jewelry box) for embellishments. There is little in the way of strict dividing lines between crafting camps in my supply stash. I often reach for beading or needle work material for my paper crafts, and encourage fellow crafters to do the same.

If you don’t bead/make jewelry, you can still pick up some supplies for this craft to use on your cards, tags, scrapbook pages, etc. Thrift shops, discount and dollar stores, yard sales, flea markets and eBay can all good places to source reasonably priced jewelry making supplies.

In addition, if a piece of your costume jewelry has broken or you don’t wear it anymore, consider repurposing it into one or more of your papercrafts.

You might just be surprised by how many projects a single beaded necklace, for example, can help to embellish. Plus, by recycling, you’re helping to keep the earth that much happier and healthier in the process.

-Add a tag with ribbons, seam binding, and/or twine to your project. In this case, the tag is stationary, but you could design it to be removed from the greeting itself. I love this eye-catching technique and the way it helps to instantly elevate the charm of any project all the more.

How to Make this layered, embellished shabby chic card

To begin with, I created a card base out of medium grey cardstock (white cardstock would also look fab here), followed by a piece of solid navy blue cardstock just a touch smaller in size than the card base itself.

After that, I layered a piece of pale hued lacy damask print paper from Kaisercraft, which I edged with stickles and allowed to dry before proceeding with the rest of my design. Ditto for the central “Parfumerie” piece.

While the Stickles were drying, I cut out the intricate die cut shapes, selected the rest of my ephemera die cut pieces and assorted embellishments, cut the seam binding for the tag piece, and added some Stickles to the white cardstock die cut pieces.

Once all of the Stickles had dried on each respective element that included them, I set to work layering and composing this card.

I should mention that the central “Café Happiness” sentiment is actually two different die cut shapes layered on top of each other. The larger banner shaped base topped with the “Café Happiness” piece.

After I had arranged and adhered all the layers, including the white doily, I added the adhesive pearl fleur de lis pieces and the metal + rhinestone swan charms.

Lastly, I tied the seam binding to the tag, and with that, this intricate, yet fairly easy to make card was complete.

Products used to make this elegant thinking of you card

-White, grey, and navy blue cardstock

-Lace damask print paper – Rose Avenue Collection “Suite” paper from Kaisercraft

-Sage green paper – Boulevard 6×6 inch paper pad from Bo Bunny

-One or more ornate filigree/doily shaped metal die(s)

-Assorted ephemera pieces – Boulevard Noteworthy Notable Die Cuts from Bo Bunny

-White paper doily (premade or die cut, as desired)

-Silvery-gold coloured glitter glue – Platinum Ice Stickles from Ranger

-Light gold and taupe seam binding (the gold is the shade “Trophy Gold” from Snug Hug, the taupe reached me unlabeled)

-Fleur-de-lis adhesive pearl embellishments – Say It In Pearls Strip (in) Cream from Prima

-White paper 3D rose – Garden Blooms from Blue Fern Studios

-Metal, enamel and rhinestone swan flat back charm embellishments (purchased a while back on AliExpress.com)

-Dimensional foam, pop dots, or similar to elevate some of your layers

-Adhesive, such as a tape runner, of your choice (I often use my Scotch Tape Glider)

Utilize monthly colour palettes in your paper crafting projects

In some parts of the world all twelve months are blessed with their own distinct colours that are part of the bigger seasonal picture of each chapter of the year.

I encourage you tap into the inspiration and premade colour schemes that each month of the year brings (no matter if your own area is awash with said colours or not).

Not only will you have a built-in colour palette at any point in the year, but this approach can help your projects to feel that much more on theme and imbued with festive cheer.

August is the last full month of summer. The current season extends until the third week of September, but by that time, in many corners of the globe, the gentle shades of the early harvest season have given way to the rich, intense hues that we immediately associated with fall time.

I love working with those colours, just as I do the softer (or conversely, brighter and more sun-baked) hues of August. Both bring me joy – just, as I wholeheartedly hope they do for the people that I create handmade cards for.

What if your favourite month or season from a colour palette perspective?

Project share

Pin the image below – or any other in this post – to Pinterest, pop it into your Instagram Stories, post in on Twitter or Facebook, or share it anywhere else you wish to help yourself find it again and to inspire others at the same time.

If you make a project based on or inspired by this card – or want to share any of your other handmade crafts with me – please use the hashtags #WitchcraftedLife and #WitchcraftedLifeMakes on social media so that I see can your beautiful creations.

The post French Inspired “Happiness Café” Shabby Chic Card appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

Each of our answers to these questions is apt to vary. They hold some universal similarities, however, and attest to the fact that a good many of us, especially those who are presently self-isolating, are missing loved ones, be they near or far right now.

The majority of my own (small) family, lives within about a three-hour radius from our home. As we’re all isolating though, we haven’t been able to get together for several weeks now and it’s anyone’s guess as to when doing so will be possible again.

My family is far from alone in this boat. It’s a scenario that many of us are experiencing right now and is, for some people, proving to be amongst the most difficult aspects of life as it presently exists.

I’m missing my relatives something fierce and have begun making thinking of you cards to send to some of them, as the pandemic stretches ever onward.

Recently I whipped up this eye-catching, generously sized thinking of you card for a younger member of our family who is the picture of au courant style, modernity, and hip personal taste.

Well before this thinking of you card came into being, the moment I saw Carta Bella’s chic, gorgeous Spring Market collection, its imagery and colour palette made me think of this person, so I knew it would be just the ticket for a card destined for them.

Modern shabby chic thinking of you card

What is modern shabby chic?

Glad you asked!

While I doubt there’s an official definition chiselled in stone anywhere, I personally tend to view it as a 21st century adaptation of the classic shabby chic style that has a youthful, slightly less vintage centred aesthetic to it.

Feminine details (such as flowers, gingham, ribbon and bows) can still be present, as can pale colours, but this take on shabby chic welcomes you to use darker hues, modern patterns, and fun, quirky details (oversized plastic fern, anyone?) as well.

Were we talking home décor, you might even find some industrial or Scandi details thrown into the mix, and of course they can come out to play on your paper crafting projects as well.

I hesitate to call it the millennial take on shabby chic, but objectively, that would be a fair way to describe it, if one was so inclined.

This is a big card. Perhaps the tallest I’ve ever made. While plenty of store bought cards measure eight inches or taller, we don’t tend to see nearly as many oversized cards in the handmade card world.

I tend to favour larger cards to begin with, so upping the height of mine a bit more than (my) usual wasn’t tricky at all.

I won’t be reaching for a card base this size every day, of course, but every now and then it can be heaps of fun to play with a larger card front that almost feels a bit like a small LO or a good sized mini album page.

The sentiment cut-apart piece was the jumping-off point for the colour palette and embellishments that I used here. A mix of white, pink, red, soft green, light browns, and eye-catching black, as well as a few hits of light cream peppered throughout the design.

Putting this feminine thinking of you card together

To start with, I created a generously sized card base out of basic white cardstock, followed by various layers of patterned paper and coloured cardstock.

I then mixed harmoniously hued patterned papers from the same collection here to add to the stylish modern feel of this design.

Two heart-shaped doilies (one red, one white), an ornate die cut rectangle and its respective frame (from glossy black cardstock), tags cut out of patterned paper, the sentiment piece, and some die cut grey and light brown branches/springs came next.

Once those elements were in place, I added a green plastic fern leaf, some paper flowers in various sizes and colours, a skinny text print strip (at the bottom of the card), and a few grey enamel dots to pick up the grey that appears in some of the other elements on this card (including the sentiment piece).

Unlike a lot of my makes, where I scrutinize every last detail, rearrange things multiple times, and generally take hours to create a single card, I took a much more devil-may-care approach, if you will, here and went with my first instincts on the entire design.

I have to say, it was both strange and liberating feeling to put something down and essentially let it live there when all was said and done. While I didn’t glue my card elements in place until I was pleased with the final design, again, I did take things easy and let the moment guide me.  

This wasn’t a card that felt like it needed to be over thought to death and I rather love that about it. 

Card making tips and ideas from this project

–Use the negatives (borders/areas left after you cut out a die cut shape) from your die cuts on your projects. While some might not work well in this capacity, others, especially when they create frames or easily recognizable shapes definitely can be used and they are a great way to get extra mileage out of your paper and card stock stash.

-Raid the artificial flower selection of dollar, craft, houseware, and big box stores for materials to use in your paper crafting projects.

Plastic, fabric, and silk versions of leaves, ferns, branches, and blooms can all be put to work on cards, layouts and other projects. Plus, in some cases, you may be able to get more flowers (or leaves, etc) for your money than with similar pre-packaged selections from paper crafting brands.

–Let ornate doilies do the job of die cuts. You could easily use ornate (circular, heart-shaped, mandala, etc) die cuts here, if you wished, but as I had two lovely, fancy heart-shaped doilies on hand in colours that worked fabulously with my project, I opted to put them to work on this make.

And remember, you can altar the colour of many white or variously coloured doilies, if needed. I didn’t do so here, but had I wanted to, things such as light layers of spray ink, pencil crayons (colour pencils), pastels, chalk, ink, paint, glitter, and embossing power would have been ways of going about doing so.

-Repeat motifs in different sizes and materials. Here, the two heart-shaped doilies are joined by a dimensional cream coloured wicker heart to create that trusty design standard: an uneven number of similar elements.

-To convey a sense of shabby chic, tear or otherwise distress some of your papers and/or cardstock, as I did with one of the pattern paper layers.

-A card like this can get mighty busy, mighty fast, so aim for cohesiveness in your colour palette, pattern sizes, and the types of embellishments that you use.

-Sending or hand delivering bouquets or arrangements of actual flowers to perk up their day might not be possible at present, but we can convey a similar sense of floral cheer by including blooms of all sizes, shapes, colours, styles and designs on our cards.

-While I didn’t do so here, a card of this nature would take kindly to things such as a splattering of paint, gouache, or spray ink, if you fancied.

Products used to make this layered, contemporary style card

-White, dark red, light grey and light brown cardstock

-Glossy black cardstock – Glossy Black Mirror Card from Tonic Studios

-Various patterned papers – Spring Market 6×6 inch paper pad from Carta Bella

-Floral tag cut-aparts – Spring Market Floral Tags from Carta Bella

-Ornate frame die

-Branch, spring or slender leaf die(s)

-White and red paper doilies (or similar die cut hearts)

-Assorted sizes of black, pink, red, white and/or cream flowers

-Plastic fern, leaf or branch (or similar die cut piece)

-Cream or white coloured woven wicker heart (dollar stores, craft stores, eBay and AliExpress can be good sources for these kinds of woven heart embellishments)

-Grey enamel dots – Classic SS728D Enamel Dot Stickers from Forever In Time

-Dimensional foam, pop dots, or similar to elevate some of your layers

-Adhesive, such as a tape runner, of your choice (I often use my Scotch Tape Glider)

Thinking of you cards are like hugs in our mailboxes

Given that a good many of us are presently in isolation, I realize that popping out to the mailbox (unless perhaps you have one located right near your house; which we do not) isn’t the easiest or potentially safest of tasks. As such, ending our handmade thinking of you cards out may not be a breeze right now.

If you are leaving your house, be it regularly or occasionally, that does make things simpler. If not, one option is to make cards and then take photographs or videos of them, sending those pics or vids to the respective recipients of your greetings.

When dashing out to the mailbox becomes feasible again, you can then post your greetings with a heartfelt personal message inside letting that person know how much they are (or were, if it’s after the fact) on your mind during the pandemic.

And, if applicable, perhaps inviting them together again once it’s safe to do so.

While I do plan to post this card on a future (rare) excursion out of the house, in general, that’s my approach between mailbox trips right now.

There are few things more heartwarming or meaningful than knowing you’re on the mind of someone who cares about you.

If you have the chance, I highly encourage you to whip up a few thinking of you, missing you, just because or similar types of cards for your loved ones to convey precisely that message.

Your thoughtfulness will brighten their day and hopefully help them to feel like the circumstances that are presently keeping you apart are a bit easier to bear.

Project share

Pin the image below – or any other in this post – to Pinterest, pop it into your Instagram Stories, post in on Twitter or Facebook, or share it anywhere else you wish to help yourself find it again and to inspire others at the same time.

If you make a project based on or inspired by this card – or want to share any of your other handmade crafts with me – please use the hashtags #WitchcraftedLife and #WitchcraftedLifeMakes on social media so that I see can your beautiful creations.

The post Modern Shabby Chic Thinking of You Card appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.